Chapter 333: Accident (3)

Although such a description might be inappropriate under the current circumstance, the sight of a collapsing tunnel was a proper spectacle to behold. Jo Myeong-Su shuddered while staring at the tunnel's cave-in that created deafening noises. Indeed, the scene of a large man-made structure crumbling to pieces had this power to firmly grab hold of a person's attention.

'This is why Hollywood movies always resort to explosions and destroying stuff...'

This spectacle would've been greatly entertaining to watch if only it hadn't been an artificially-created accident. The tunnel continued to crumble as loud explosion noises went off. Eventually, everything completely came down in a messy heap.

“...Sir, I think it's over,” said Jo Myeong-Su.

However, Lee Hyeon-Su didn't bother to respond. He continued glaring in silence at the CCTV monitor with a stiff, expressionless face.

'Staring that hard won't help you see better, though...'

Jo Myeong-Su tutted inwardly.

If Lee Hyeon-Su was at the scene witnessing everything personally, that might have helped. But he was staring at a monitor. No matter how closely he peered at the footage transmitted by a camera, he wouldn't be able to see what wasn't there.

“Sir, what should we do?”

“Wait,” Lee Hyeon-Su curtly replied while keeping his eyes glued to the monitor.

And so... How long did they wait like this? About five minutes passed by. All the dust clouds had settled down by now, and no suspicious movements had been detected until then.

Having confirmed it with his own eyes, Lee Hyeon-Su slowly stood up straight and glanced at Jo Myeong-Su. “We're withdrawing. Now.”

“He's surely dead now, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “Right. If he survived that... Kang Jin-Ho can't be a human being.”

Jo Myeong-Su glanced at the monitor. The image of a completely-collapsed tunnel was still playing on the screen. The weight of concrete debris and earth filling up that tunnel was not something a human could physically withstand. Even if that human being happened to be a martial artist boasting a high cultivation realm!

'And, even if he somehow managed to survive the cave-in...'

Unless the Hand of God came down to help, Kang Jin-Ho would still die anyway, either through asphyxiation or his worsening injuries.

“...Sir, was he really such a dangerous individual for us to go this far? So dangerous that we're even risking the possibility of the media cottoning onto our existence?”

Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at his subordinate but chose not to reply.

'He won't understand even if I try to explain...'

Trying to understand the level of danger Kang Jin-Ho posed was not possible unless one met him personally. No words, verbal or written, were adequate enough to explain it. Even if someone found the fitting descriptors for Kang Jin-Ho, they would still fail to describe one-tenths of the fear he could instill in a person.

'Still, this is a bit...'

Lee Hyeon-Su found himself ruing something.

Kang Jin-Ho was like a breath of fresh air for the Korean martial world which was gradually becoming more and more rigid over the years. Although that breath was tinged with unmistakable whiffs of blood, there was no denying the simple fact that the Korean martial world, usually represented by the names of Lee Jung-Geol and Kim Seok-Il, had experienced a great upheaval through Kang Jin-Ho's entrance.

'Maybe, it could have changed for real...'

In an alternate universe, Kang Jin-Ho could've become the existence that decisively transformed the Korean martial world from a small-time entity nervously stuck between two powerhouse martial nations to a global player itself.

Apparently, when one managed to bring down a powerful enemy, they wouldn't feel happy or satisfied but be rueful and lament the loss instead. Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head and tried to sober himself up before he became too sentimental.

No matter how strong someone was, no matter how infinite their potential was... It didn't matter if they failed to live. Being powerful didn't mean you'd always survive. And the survivors were always the strongest ones, anyway.

“Myeong-Su, tell the others to retrieve the cameras. And... If you find any evidence left behind, dispose of it, too.”

“Sir, cops and others should soon arrive.”

“That's why I'm telling you this.”

“...Understood, sir.” Jo Myeong-Su frowned while watching Lee Hyeon-Su leave in a huff.

'Why is he so pissed off like that?'

Jo Myeong-Su couldn't understand his senior's attitude. They just eliminated an opponent that could've inflicted a lot of damage to their side had they confronted him head-on. And in an exceedingly 'simple' manner, too. So, why did Lee Hyeon-Su look like he had a stick shoved up his arse? It was like he was still dissatisfied with something.

So much so that he even looked furious from some angles!

Jo Myeong-Su cried out. “In that case, we'll return after taking care of the mess first, sir!”

Lee Hyeon-Su cursorily waved his hand once, not even bothering to look back at his subordinate.

“...Bloomin' hell.” Jo Myeong-Su groaned. Trying to humor a senior officer was always an exhausting endeavor regardless of what one's profession was.

***

“Really?” Kim Seok-Il mouthed a cigarette while listening to Lee Hyeon-Su's report on the phone. “Got it. I'll handle the reporters and the cops, so you focus on the clean-up. Remember, even I'll have a hard time fixing it if someone finds something too incriminating. I'm hanging up now.”

Kim Seok-Il ended the call there, then lit up his cigarette.

“Fuu-woo...”

He slowly sucked on the cigarette, causing the clogging smoke to fill up his lungs. After exhaling the unhealthy smoke, Kim Seok-Il leaned comfortably against the chair and rested his head.

'So, it's over, then?'

No, he shouldn't say this matter had closed the book on every trouble facing him. He still had to take over the Martial Assembly, which should plunge into unprecedented chaos soon. And there was the important matter of opposing the grubby paws of the Japanese to deal with, too.

Kim Seok-Il had a feeling that things would only get more hectic from here. The situation was bound to get even more complicated. Still, he thought he had overcome one huge hurdle.

'Kang Jin-Ho, Kang Jin-Ho...'

Kim Seok-Il chuckled bitterly. It had only been a few months since he first heard that name. But today's incident reminded him of how immensely pressured he felt by it. Kim Seok-Il remained unflustered and level-headed even when dealing with a big shot like Lee Jung-Geol, yet a lone brat caused him to have insomnia on some nights. That was how thorny that Kang Jin-Ho bastard proved to be in his life, but Kim Seok-Il had finally eliminated that eyesore for good.

“He did something major, then.”

Lee Hyeon-Su was the one who suggested this plan. Eliminating Kang Jin-Ho through the so-called 'regular' methods was nearly impossible. Even if the Yeongnam Group threw every man it had at its disposal and successfully killed Kang Jin-Ho, dealing with the Martial Assembly afterward would be impossible. At least, that was Lee Hyeon-Su's opinion.

So, he came up with this plan. To kill a monster that even bullets didn't work, one had to go a little more extreme. A little more destructive, said Lee Hyeon-Su.

When Kim Seok-Il first heard about the plan, he wondered if Lee Hyeon-Su had lost his marbles. That was how flabbergasted he was. After he objectively analyzed the suggestion, though... Kim Seok-Il realized this could be the best option available.

Here was a trap none could possibly survive. Even if it was the crafty Kim Seok-Il, he wouldn't have escaped this trap. He'd just die while feeling flabbergasted and dismayed.

As long as the Yeongnam Group's involvement in the destruction of the tunnel was buried away, and the whole thing was seen as a large-scale accident, this method could very well be the best method to deal with Kang Jin-Ho.

'Money I gotta spend to clean this mess up will be something else, though.'

However, that was how dangerous Kang Jin-Ho's existence was. Kim Seok-Il was fully prepared to risk their existence being exposed to the public as long as Kang Jin-Ho was dead at the end of the day.

Kim Seok-Il leisurely sucked on his cigarette while enjoying this refreshed feeling akin to having a troublesome tooth removed.

“The sight of the Martial Assembly in chaos should be something to behold, alright...”

Even if the Assembly learns about how Kang Jin-Ho was killed by the tunnel cave-in, they would have to actively assist the Yeongnam Group in covering up their involvement in the whole thing. The Assembly would also be... 'troubled' by the existence of martial artists being exposed to the public, after all!

Kim Seok-Il wasn't sure what the Assembly's higher-ups would feel while cooperating, but it must be similar to reluctantly chewing on sh*t and then smiling about it.

Thinking that he had landed a cruel blow to the Assembly, which was a first in what felt like ages, Kim Seok-Il smirked deeply in satisfaction.

“Now then... Should I start cleaning up all the mess left behind by some brat?”

Kim Seok-Il stubbed his cigarette on the ashtray, then picked up his phone again.

***

“You can't get in touch with Mister Jin-Ho?” Jo Gyu-Min shot up from his bed. He turned his head and looked at a nearby clock. It said four in the morning. “...No, I'm not with him. And I haven't contacted him during the day, either.”

Park Yu-Min on the other side of the line sounded urgent and anxious.

Jo Gyu-Min grimaced. “What about his phone? Was it off? Or, there is a signal, but he's not answering?”

-No, it's off.

“...Really?” Jo Gyu-Min sat down on the edge of his bed. “Since it's Mister Jin-Ho we're talking about, I'm sure nothing major has happened to him. Still, I'll try to check up on him, just in case.”

-His family called me earlier, so I told them there was nothing to worry about. But I'm also getting nervous, Chief Jo. Honestly, I've been feeling weirdly nervous throughout the day, you know?

“Did Mister Jin-Ho go home right away?”

-Yes. He was riding his bicycle today. He hadn't told us where he was thinking of going, though. If he went home right away, he should've been in his bed asleep, but... Since Jin-Ho's not home, and his phone is off, could he be...?

Park Yu-Min couldn't finish the rest of his sentence. It wasn't going to end on a positive note, anyway.

“He won't have any problems even if aliens decide to invade Earth, Mister Yu-Min. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later, am I right?” Jo Gyu-Min tried to sound affable and unconcerned, but even he could tell that this situation was too suspicious.

Something like this might happen frequently with other people, but with Kang Jin-Ho? Now that would be too strange. Not only did Kang Jin-Ho not have a habit of wandering around the streets late at night, but he also didn't drink for fun or party the whole night, either.

When a person clocked off for the day past midnight but suddenly couldn't be contacted any more, people would inevitably assume something untoward must've happened to him. Although something as ordinary as a car accident couldn't be the culprit in Kang Jin-Ho's case...

'...The Yeongnam Group.'

That name flitted in and out of Jo Gyu-Min's head just then. If something happened to Kang Jin-Ho, they had to be involved somehow. Jo Gyu-Min was sure of it.

“For the time being, let me snoop around first and give you a call afterward. If Mister Jin-Ho's family calls you again, please tell them I'm looking into it, so they shouldn't worry too much.”

-Okay, understood. I'll leave it to you, Chief Jo.

“Thank you. Well, then.” Jo Gyu-Min ended the call, then rushed toward the bathroom. He turned on the tap to wash his face with the cold water. Once he was sobered up enough, Jo Gyu-Min stared gravely at his own reflection.

'I'm not getting a good feeling about this...'

Unlike other people, Kang Jin-Ho was definitely not the type to turn his phone off and have fun doing whatever. He had never done that before, after all. And not once did he get sidetracked and go somewhere else after revealing his intention to go home for the day.

Jo Gyu-Min instinctively sensed something suspicious was afoot. After roughly wiping the water off his face with a towel, he picked up his phone again.

After a short bout of the familiar ringtone, a subdued voice came from the other side of the line.

-Why are you calling me at this hour, Chief Jo?

“Mister Jin-Ho's gone missing.”

-...F*cking hell. This must be my first time hearing something that wakes me up so quickly.

Bang Jin-Hun unhesitantly spat out a couple of choice words, then resumed his conversation with Jo Gyu-Min.

-Okay, I need details. When was the last time Mister Jin-Ho could be contacted?

“I was informed that he was heading home around midnight. And he can't be contacted since then. His phone is also off.”

-Goddamn it!

A loud

Boom,

Bang!

could be heard coming from the other side of the line.

-You want me to check it out, am I right?

“Yes, Mister Bang.

-Okay. I'll check out everything we can from our side. We'll see if there's been any trace of the Yeongnam Group bastards making a move. Meanwhile, share with us if you learn anything new.

“Understood. Then, speak to you later.”

-Okay.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The call ended, but that suddenly left Jo Gyu-Min's head in a blank state.

'This... Where am I supposed to even begin?'

Obviously, his current task was to track down Kang Jin-Ho's whereabouts. However, Jo Gyu-Min wasn't sure where he should start his search from. Or how to start his search, for that matter. How was he supposed to locate someone who couldn't be contacted?

'Should I go through CCTV cameras first?'

Jo Gyu-Min quickly shook his head. Nothing would be better than CCTV cameras when trying to track down ordinary people, but Kang Jin-Ho was a martial artist. Besides, if the Yeongnam Group was targeting him, they wouldn't forget something as elemental as tampering with the cameras.

In that case, how...

Jo Gyu-Min suddenly raised his head. “The GPS!”

As long as the phone was transmitting its location before getting turned off, Jo Gyu-Min should be able to guesstimate the direction Kang Jin-Ho was traveling in at the time.

Jo Gyu-Min quickly rushed outside and began putting on his clothes.

'I hope nothing bad has happened...'

Despite thinking that his wishes might be in vain, Jo Gyu-Min continued to pray anyway.