Chapter 1299. Making Deals (4)

“I was kidding,” said Kang Jin-Ho from the backseat of the car.

“...”

“Really.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su depressed the accelerator harder, his expression as hard as a steel mask. The car containing the duo rocked a little as it accelerated raucously.

“No. Sir. Assembly. Master.”

He spoke with his teeth clenched.

“I can go on a vacation at any time. Sir. That’s not that important, after all. Aren’t we facing a crisis where this country’s future, and the Martial Assembly’s fate, hang in the balance?”

“...”

“Please don’t sweat over it, sir. I’ll survive.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled and tried to say something, only for him to stop when he heard Lee Hyeon-Su’s icy voice.

“However! Giving someone

hope

only to take it away at the last second is not something a man should do.”

“...”

“Yes, I will survive. Even if Hyeon-Ju will try to take my head off...! Yes, I’ll live. I mean, since she cares about me, she won’t outright kill me. At least my head will remain attached to my neck by its skin.”

Some words that could either be a threat or conciliation continued to escape through Lee Hyeon-Su’s clenched teeth.

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced a little. “As I said before, it was just a joke...”

“Assembly Master.”

“Yeah?”

“All jokes have a kernel of truth in them.”

“...”

Unfortunately for Kang Jin-Ho, the result of him joking around was getting burned ever so slightly.

“Okay, that’s enough horsing around,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled and replied, “I don’t mind delaying my vacation for a week, sir. That’s not a priority, after all.”

“No, don’t. You need that break.”

“Sir, I’m not kidding. I don’t...”

“I’m not kidding, either.”

“Sorry? But I...”

“Well, I’m not sure if you’ll be needed this time, that’s why.”

“...!” Lee Hyeon-Su furrowed his brow while asking back, “Sir? What do you mean?”

“You’re not going to China, right? What can you do when you’re stuck here in Korea?”

“...”

Huh?

Now that I think about it...?

Indeed, the operation would take place in China. Since it was impossible to know the situation in China in real-time while staying in South Korea, Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn’t have anything to do.

Maybe he might be able to help out if he accompanied Kang Jin-Ho to China. But the risk of doing that was too great for him.

All sorts of variables could rear their ugly heads during the operation, so someone who couldn’t protect himself—like Lee Hyeon-Su—might become a liability, a burden. The odds of that happening were uncomfortably high.

“B-but, even if I’m in Korea, I can analyze and decipher the situation in the surrounding areas, and... and...”

“Not really?”

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly felt triggered and hurriedly looked into the rearview mirror. That was when he saw Kang Jin-Ho in the backseat casually shrugging away.

“Sir, you are not suggesting that I won’t be of any help this time, now are you?”

“Not exactly, no...” Kang Jin-Ho replied, a subtle smirk on his face. “But it’s also true that we won’t have a particular use for your expertise this time. There is always the right time and place for everything and everyone, no?”

A vein bulged on Lee Hyeon-Su’s forehead just then.

Not going on his vacation was fine. He didn’t mind at all. Hell, he could also endure Lee Hyeon-Ju’s hellish nagging without going insane if he had to. And he could shoulder all the endless nights stuck behind his desk and waves upon waves of fatigue trying to overwhelm him.

However! There was one thing Lee Hyeon-Su absolutely could not endure!

“Sir, I am not going on a vacation.”

“...”

“I shall! Prove to you! How useful I am! Through this operation!”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho dazedly stared at the back of Lee Hyeon-Su’s head. Why was that man voluntarily putting himself through more hell like this? Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t figure it out. Even though he told Lee Hyeon-Su several times to enjoy his vacation!

The sight of Lee Hyeon-Su insisting on working himself to the bone like this upgraded Kang Jin-Ho’s emotion from flabbergast to pity.

He even swore to himself not to become a workaholic like Lee Hyeon-Su!

Even if abilities and passion were seen as important in this world, Lee Hyeon-Su had gone too far to be considered normal.

Take away

work

from Lee Hyeon-Su, and what would he have left?

“In any case,” Kang Jin-Ho muttered, cutting Lee Hyeon-Su off. “It’s already been decided, so go and enjoy your vacation.”

“I’m not going, sir.”

“And I’m telling you to go.”

“Sir, I’m not going.”

“...”

Something felt

reversed

here for some reason? Even if the martial world was a wee bit different compared to the surface world, was it okay for things to be flipped around like this?

“Come on. Just go...”

“Never, sir. Fire me instead.”

“...Nope. That’s out of the question.”

“Since I ain’t going anywhere, don’t tell me to go on this vacation, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.

If a certain labor union heard him say that, they’d pounce on him to crack his skull or something, yet Lee Hyeon-Su still unhesitantly said all these things!

All the human rights the South Korean workers shed blood and tears to secure over the decades got unceremoniously destroyed inside this car!

“Besides, I wouldn’t have known what to do with all the free time on my hands, sir. This is for the best, I believe,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.

“...”

“Then, shall I proceed with the planning of...”

“N-no, let’s,

uh

... talk about this later.”

“

Hmm

... Understood.”

Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply. It seemed Lee Hyeon-Su really needed to talk to a shrink as soon as possible. Of course, the number of people in the Assembly with all the screws tightened correctly in their heads could be counted in one hand. Even so, Lee Hyeon-Su had to be one of the worst cases in the organization!

“By the way, sir...?” Lee Hyeon-Su tried to change the subject by cautiously asking, “Are you serious about going to China personally?”

Kang Jin-Ho casually replied, “Well, if it comes to that, yes.”

“

Mm

...”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. Just that...”

Lee Hyeon-Su scratched his head while holding the steering wheel with one hand.

“I get the severity of the situation, but I still don’t think you should get involved personally, you see? It won’t look good to other people, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled. “It won’t?”

“Yes, I believe so. I’m not talking about something like saving our face, sir. The ideal Martial Assembly we want is... the one where you’re at the core, the goal that everyone works towards, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“So, in that case, you stepping up when the situation is urgent makes sense. However...”

“You don’t think this matter isn’t urgent enough?”

“Yes, in my opinion.”

Kang Jin-Ho casually shrugged. “Then, who should we send?”

“Well, that’s...

Eh

?”

“Are you thinking of Vator?”

“You must be kidding, sir!”

Lee Hyeon-Su freaked out almost immediately.

Vator was a trustworthy individual. Unlike his dull-looking exterior, intelligence sharper than most blades lie hidden in his brain. Hadn’t he already proven how intelligent and composed he could get during the war against the Japanese?

Unfortunately, this matter simply could not be entrusted to the big man for obvious reasons.

After all, this is supposed to be an assassination!

Asking Vator to do that would be akin to asking a tiger to go to a nearby beach and collect seaweed!

Countless martial artists existed in this world, and if Lee Hyeon-Su was asked to pick one person least suited for an assassination mission, he’d unhesitantly pick Vator.

“The entire continent would know Sir Vator has entered China the moment he sets foot in the airport, sir!”

“That’s right.”

Not even Kang Jin-Ho could deny that.

“Then, Chang Min?”

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned slightly. “Although not a bad idea, asking him to do this when he’s in the middle of a large-scale mission in Japan is a bit...

Mm

...”

After saying that, Lee Hyeon-Su realized he should consider a bit more on if it really was not a bad idea!

Chang Min seemed more composed compared to other executives, but when the time to unleash violence came around, he’d cross the line without hesitation. In assassinations, one should only eliminate the target as speedily as possible and leave, so considering that point...

If it was up to Lee Hyeon-Su, he’d never ask Chang Min. Which means the only person left was...

Kang Jin-Ho smirked. “Then, Wiggins?”

“A Caucasian assassin roaming around in China is a bit, well...”

At least it’d look

picturesque

, for the lack of a more suitable term! As a handsome aging assassin, Wiggins would cut a hundred times more dashing figure than protagonists in most Hollywood movies. But that was only applicable in movies, not in reality!

Kang Jin-Ho playfully asked, “Then, Director Bang Jin-Hun?”

“...Yes, I’m in the wrong, sir. I apologize.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed deeply.

What a cruel reminder this was of how none of the Assembly’s executives could be considered normal. Even though Kang Jin-Ho could be seen as eye-catching and rather strange in his own unique ways, Lee Hyeon-Su still couldn’t think of anyone among the executives more suited than his boss for this operation.

Of course, Bang Jin-Hun might do a good job, but...

But why couldn’t he look a bit more normal, like an average person?!

Lee Hyeon-Su could only complain in his mind.

None of the trio could do that fundamental thing of flying under the radar. Even Bang Jin-Hun, who looked most

normal

compared to the others, would still invite sudden spot checks by the security officials in the middle of a street. And he wouldn’t have anything to complain about, all thanks to his thuggish countenance!

In fact, no one in the Assembly would be surprised to hear him getting detained in the Chinese airport for no reason other than he looked suspicious to the authorities. Indeed, everyone would just groan and think,

Yup, I knew it!

This was why youngsters had to be nurtured. Demon Flames stepping up would’ve been nice, but they were in Japan right now. And other young martial artists were not quite strong or trustworthy enough for a mission like this.

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly felt like a manager of a professional soccer team with a too-small pool of quality players.

Even though the team had killer players, there weren’t enough capable subs, forcing the manager to rely on the same set of players over and over again. Such a thing wouldn’t be an issue short-term, but in the long term? The players’ fatigue level building up would become a massive concern.

Fixing this situation was simple-enough on paper, of course. Either buy several top players from other teams, or invest heavily into nurturing promising youngsters.

“Sir... I wonder if our younger generation is doing their best to train.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “

Huh

?”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s eyes narrowed to slits.

Yup, I’m gonna train them even harder, like dogs!

He must ensure that Kang Jin-Ho wouldn’t have to step up in every case like this in the near future. That would be ideal for the Assembly, as well as for Kang Jin-Ho himself.

“In any case, sir. I’m definitely participating in this operation.”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned loudly. “You know... That’s a sickness.”

“I don’t mind, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su knew why Kang Jin-Ho reacted this way, but he just could not yield on this matter. Because this operation was dangerous for that.

Even though they were bantering like this in a subtle attempt to stop the atmosphere from getting too heavy, the crisis facing them this time was far graver than it appeared on the surface.

First of all, this would be the Assembly’s first time doing the Korean government’s bidding. This point must never be overlooked. But the second point to remember was...

China and then, North Korea...!

China being the Martial Assembly’s biggest enemy didn’t need to be repeated at this stage. Now that the situation with the Round Table and Japan had been taken care of, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call China as the sole remaining enemy.

To be more correct, it’s not the entire China that was the enemy, but the Crimson King’s faction. Even though they were hiding behind the facade of an alliance, the Assembly did not believe a word coming from the Crimson King’s faction, and the Crimson King’s faction did not trust the Assembly.

But the operation must take place within China, which was basically the backyard of the Crimson King’s faction.

On top of that, North Korea...!

We simply don’t have much information to go on.

Although Lee Hyeon-Su had yapped on about North Korea as if he knew everything there was to know, that country was still veiled in mystery to him. And it was a little too late to search for any morsels of information at this stage.

That meant the operation in China must commence while the completely unpredictable variable called North Korea loomed large just beyond the horizon.

What a crappy situation this was. Calmly thinking about everything involved alerted Lee Hyeon-Su to how risky this operation was. However, saying his worries out loud would only make Kang Jin-Ho reaffirm his choice of going to China personally. That was blindingly obvious.

“

Fuu-woo

...”

As frustration began clogging up his chest, Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at Kang Jin-Ho through the rearview mirror.

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled. “You can smoke.”

“...”

Did Kang Jin-Ho become a mind reader recently or something?

“T-thank you, sir.”

A man who couldn’t read a room even if his life depended on it not too long ago somehow developed the sixth sense in noticing other people’s emotions and thoughts. How miraculous was that?

After mouthing a cigarette, Lee Hyeon-Su carefully lit it up. He puffed the gray smoke out through the open driver’s side window, then glanced at Kang Jin-Ho through the mirror again.

“Sir, for this operation, I...”

“Chief Lee,” Kang Jin-Ho abruptly interrupted Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Yes, sir?”

“I want you to investigate those who got harmed by the drug incident this time.”

“...”

“We should compensate who deserves it.”

“But, sir. Being an addict means...”

“Yeah, I know. Those who aren’t interested won’t do drugs even if others egg them on. Even if our people hadn’t circulated that drug, those addicts would’ve tried other drugs. I get that.”

“...”

“That doesn’t absolve us of our responsibilities, though.”

The corners of Lee Hyeon-Su’s lips curled up without him realizing it.

Kang Jin-Ho could be such a difficult person to keep up with. Sometimes, he’d act like an emotionless devil, yet in times like this, his sense of responsibility could become overwhelming and unreasonable, too. Maybe that was because his standards differed drastically from most ordinary people.

Also...

“Understood. I’ll start the investigation right away.”

Lee Hyeon-Su must be following Kang Jin-Ho because the latter’s standards made sense to him.

The car charged forward with a little more momentum than before.