Chapter 180.2: So just keep running (1)

The strength was being drained from the soldier’s body as much as Kang Chan was supporting him. He was letting himself go. The pain from his fingers was likely rapidly rushing in on him, and his exhausted lungs were probably demanding he get some rest.

“You’re not a member of the special forces if you stop here, got that? So keep running!” Kang Chan roared.

“

Arrgh

!” the soldier cried out as tears sprang to his eyes.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Still, he pushed himself to run.

“Argh! Arrrgh!”

Overcoming his limits, the soldier moaned loudly.

The two of them ran side by side. To catch up with the rest of the team who were up front, they had to be quicker.

Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.

Kang Chan realized why the road suddenly became more challenging to tackle—they were on a railroad track covered in gravel.

Kang Chan and the soldier sprinted over the tracks faster.

On the uphill path, the soldier stumbled for the second time, but Kang Chan quickly grabbed onto his military gear.

Thud, thud!

However, Kang Chan failed to overcome the weight of the soldier this time. He fell along with him.

“Hah, hah.”

Kang Chan immediately stood up and removed the team member’s gear from his body.

“Get up, motherfucker!” Kang Chan shouted.

The soldier’s right hand was as swollen as a rubber glove filled with air.

Clack!

Kang Chan slung the soldier’s gear on his back and positioned it diagonally across his soldiers.

“

Hah, hah.

What do you think General Choi would say if he saw you?” Kang Chan asked rebukingly.

“

Argh

,” the soldier groaned.

“Yeah, that’s right, punk!” Kang Chan agreed.

The two resumed running. Maybe it was because he wasn’t carrying his gear anymore or because mentioning Choi Seong-Geon got to him, but the soldier didn’t slow down anymore.

Kang Chan felt as if his neck and waist were going to be snapped in half.

Despite all the problems they had, they finally crossed over the railroad tracks.

They were now only five to ten minutes away from their destination. Kang Chan could even see the foot of the mountains now from where they were. It wasn’t too far off.

It was a damning incline, but seeing it motivated them more.

Weeoo. Weeoo. Weeoo. Weeoo.

The sound of old sirens echoed from the distance.

‘You’re too late, motherfuckers!’

Kang Chan and all of his team members would have the upper hand for as long as they could enter the mountains.

Damn it!

Why was it that all the operations he went on never went smoothly?

“Hah, hah!”

Kang Chan could feel his limits trying to stop him. With every step he took, it felt as if another person was climbing onto his back. In moments like this, Kang Chan could feel the weight of death approaching him. If he was too late or someone from behind started raining bullets on them, everything would be over.

Kang Chan lived tenaciously. It was always those who were alone who became mercenaries, and he only ever felt joy in life when he opened his heart up to his men. Hence, he always found the pain of losing people like them horrifying and unbearable.

“Hah! Hah!”

Although taking another step was as tough as dying, he couldn’t stop. If he stopped or slowed down, he would really die.

Thwack, thwack!

From up ahead, Kang Chan could hear the sound of someone tapping his rifle’s buttstock with his hand.

It was Dayeru. He was now in position and prepared to cover him while helping Kang Chan find where to go as well.

“

Argh! Arrgh

!” the soldier groaned again.

This son of a bitch! You got this! You should’ve run like this earlier!

The dark mountain was right in front of them. He could see the trees and the steep ridge higher above as well as the silhouettes of their team members and the muzzles of their rifles pointed in their direction.

Seok Kang-Ho quickly grabbed Kang Chan.

“

Hah

! Up! Go up!” Kang Chan ordered through his teeth.

Kang Chan didn’t refuse Seok Kang-Ho’s help, who was taking off his military gear.

Clack!

Seok Kang-Ho now carried the weight of the equipment.

To be honest, carrying the gear all the way up the mountain would have been a burden, so Kang Chan left it to Seok Kang-Ho.

Click!

Kang Chan also injected some morphine into the broken fingers of the soldier he was just running with. As soon as he was done, they began to climb up the steep ridge of the mountain.

Weeoo. Weeoo. Weeoo.

The siren sounds became clearer and clearer. Quite a few lights were now coming from the distance.

Are you really planning to cross the railroad tracks by car? Try all you want!

Kang Chan gritted his teeth as he went up the path.

There was nothing much to life. Was it so strange to eat jjamppong with the chief of the president’s security and the director of the National Intelligence Service and then run across North Korean territory a few days later?

Clack! Clack! Crack!

“Hah! Hah!”

Pain throbbed all over him. It was as if his body was asking him if he had gone mad.

‘Whatever! Come at me with everything!’

Even if his waist snapped or his shoulder was dislocated, he would do whatever it took to live.

He would fight for as long as he had to until all the men who were with him returned home alive.

Clatter! Swish!

Small pebbles rolled down the incline, causing some soldiers to slip.

Maybe it was because they were in the mountains, but it was incredibly darker than usual. They had smeared camouflage cream on their faces, so only the whites of the soldiers’ eyes were visible. It was quite a scene watching all of them climb up the mountain.

The light came closer to the entrance of the mountain.

Ha. Those motherfucks are in for a panting treat.

From this point forward, it would be a battle of who could last longer. Kang Chan had experienced this kind of fight so many times that he was now sick of it, but that also served as evidence that he had never once lost in these battles.

“Hah! Hah!”

He knew the soldiers had already pushed themselves past their limits, but that didn’t mean they could stop here.

Everyone was well aware of that too.

That was why they braced their trembling legs on the steep ground and clung to the vines and rocks with their scratched and injured hands as they climbed up.

About twenty minutes further into their infiltration, Kang Chan could no longer see anything when he looked down at the mountain. He could only see the headlights of cars in the distance and stationary lights from ever further.

“Halt!” Kang Chan ordered.

At his command, the team members let out the gasps for air that they had been holding in.

“We’ll take a short break here,” Kang Chan announced.

Slump! Slump!

Kang Chan heard all the soldiers plopping down to the ground.

Click!

Kang Chan hoisted his rifle onto his shoulder and raised his left leg onto a rock as he scanned the surroundings below.

Clack!

Seok Kang-Ho threw down the extra military gear he had to carry and walked over to Kang Chan.

“Damn. We almost died back there,” Seok Kang-Ho remarked.

If someone heard their conversation, they would probably think that they were no longer in danger and had gone back to South Korea.

Kang Chan was so thirsty that his throat felt as if it was on fire.

“Turn around,” Kang Chan ordered Seok Kang-Ho.

When Seok Kang-Ho did as instructed, Kang Chan reached into his gear and dug through it until he found a water pouch that looked like an IV drip bag.

Glug. Glug.

He felt like he could drink all the water in the world. He couldn’t drink too much, though, since doing that would make his body too weak.