Chapter 200: Is It Smithen or Sharlan, That Is The Question (1)

On Sunday, Kang Chan took a day off from his workouts. To be honest, he felt so drained that he would’ve taken the day off even if it was a weekday. In fact, when he woke up, he could barely sit up and eat breakfast.

The human mind could be quite mysterious.

He had lived ten years as a mercenary and only lived in South Korea for barely half a year, yet what he missed the most was Yoo Hye-Sook’s signature spicy bibim noodles and japchae. And ramyeon too, of course.

‘Anyway, how am I supposed to fight against a rock?’

If he just kept having stand-offs against it, he would eventually die from constantly losing all his energy to it. It wasn’t like provoking it by saying, “You don’t even have a mom, do you?” worked.

Sitting on the bed, Kang Chan had coffee and toast while contemplating how to deal with the Blackhead.

“Argh!”

Feeling a bit more recovered, Kang Chan forced himself to get down from the bed. Immense pain coursed through him.

‘Wait.’

A thought suddenly occurred to him as he stood straight.

If the energy was inside him, he should’ve seen it while he was wearing the goggles. He saw multiple wavelengths coming from external sources, but he didn’t get the chance to look at the one he was exuding.

He knew that Lanok and the researchers were wearing radios, but was anyone else wearing goggles?

Kang Chan immediately picked up his phone and called Lanok.

- Mr. Kang Chan! How are you feeling?

“I’ve finally regained some of my strength,” Kang Chan replied.

He heard a low sigh of relief coming from across the line. They exchanged a few pleasantries before Kang Chan told him about the idea that just popped into his head.

- That’s interesting. One of the researchers actually thought about that as well. He said he got to look at you with the goggles on before you wore the suit.

Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!

“What did he see?” Kang Chan curiously asked.

- A dark and intense red, apparently.

That wasn’t what Kang Chan expected. Since the red light attacked him so violently, he thought that the energy that he possessed would be a different type and color.

“Red? That’s surprising. I thought my energy would have a different color to complement the red wavelength.”

- I will relay your message to the researcher and have him call you if necessary.

“Thank you, Mr. Ambassador,” Kang Chan responded. He heard Lanok laugh over the phone.

- If only Europe was aware of the present danger, all Europeans would have been grateful to you. Oh! Before that, you will likely have to endure quite a commotion.

Lanok lowered his voice as he continued.

- Mr. Kang Chan, Ethan has a dark heart. It’s hard to know what he’ll do to hide the subterranean shock device and the fact that England did something so foolish. There’s only one way to perfectly keep secrets in the intelligence community.

Lanok sounded so calm despite talking about such sinister topics. They spoke about a few more things before dropping the call.

‘So the rock and I have the same type of energy, and it has to take all the energy I possess to refill its power?’

The Blackhead lost two of its nine energies, and Kang Chan supposedly had one of them. However, if he and the Blackhead actually shared the same energy…

Kang Chan tilted his head.

Did it ressurect someone else aside from me and Seok Kang-Ho?

His thoughts were just becoming more complicated.

‘I have to think about this methodically.’

Right now, the most pressing issue was the Blackhead overpowering him. The researchers weren’t fools, so they were probably thinking the same thing and would likely put more effort into creating another solution like the energy-severing suit.

After finishing his lunch, Kang Chan began to stretch.

“Whew!” He couldn’t help but groan as he sweated. His pride would have been less hurt if he had been hit in the head with a rock.

Around dinner time, Pierre came to see Kang Chan to check whether or not Kang Chan was going to participate in the training, which was starting tomorrow. Kang Chan answered without hesitation. If he said he wasn’t going to participate, he would essentially be wasting the opportunity that Lanok made for him by giving him France’s slot in the training.

After dinner, Kang Chan stretched some more and walked in place. Unable to bear the thought of losing to a stupid rock and dying from it, he grew determined to win.

***

In the 506th criminal division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, Deputy Prosecutor Lee Seung-Ryul sat behind his desk as he watched Oh Gwang-taek being brought in. Oh Gwang-Taek, who was in a yellow prison uniform and handcuffs, had chains wrapped around his wrists and two prison guards holding onto each of his arms.

Thud.

Oh Gwang-Taek plopped down on the metal chair in front of Lee Seung-Ryul’s desk.

“Do you have anything to say?” Lee Seung-Ryul questioned.

“Let’s stop right there. Isn’t it illegal to call suspects to the prosecutor’s office and have them wait for hours?” Oh Gwang-Taek replied.

Lee Seung-Ryul smirked, seemingly amused. His beard was untrimmed and messy, making him look quite disheveled.

“I’m investigating you right now. I don’t see the problem,” Lee Seung-Ryul said.

“We both know what’s up. You’re trying to prevent me from any visitations, so you’re making me stay here the whole day by summoning me for record purposes. Enough is enough,” Oh Gwang-Taek leisurely countered.

Lee Seung-Ryul smirked again as he quickly thumbed through a thick pile of documents.

“You’re pretty well connected for a gangster. I might just get a nervous breakdown thinking about all the coming days. So why don’t we end all of this now? That way, I won’t have to keep you trapped in a tiny waiting room for the whole day, and you get to play king comfortably within the confines of jail. It’s a win for both of us, eh?” Lee Seung-Ryul said, pausing his perusal of the documents to look up. “Park Ki-Bum from the parking lot gang has already confessed to everything. Everyone below him also came to confess, and we even have camera footage of you meeting the top dogs of Honam and Yeongnam in a hotel. It’s about time for you to admit to what you have to and move on.”

“Ha! So you’re saying that I, the great Oh Gwang-Taek, am best friends with a little high-schooler? Shit. I won’t be able to say my name in public anymore with how embarrassing that is,” Oh Gwang-Taek said, turning his head in the opposite direction as if he was ignoring Lee Seung-Ryul.

“I’m also quite curious about that. Are you saying that you’re not friends? If so, then let’s clear things up. Is Kang Chan a part of your family?” Lee Seung-Ryul chided.

“Why don’t you get a copy of my family documents if you want to know so badly? I’m Oh Gwang-Taek, and that high schooler’s name is Kang Chan. how would we be a family?”

Lee Seung-Ryul looked at Oh Gwang-Taek as if he were a fool. “Kang Chan, this punk, killed a French citizen, took over Gong Te Automobile, and beat up former vice president Kim Seon-Il to steal DI. We even have camera footage of Joo Chul-Bum slapping Kim Seon-Il.”

“You can talk to Joo Chul-Bum about that, then!”

Lee Seung-Ryul nodded and standoffish replied, “You know how this works. You’re the top brass, Kang Chan is the brawn, and Joo Chul-Bum is a member of your crime ring. All that’s missing is the punk funding you. I was going to do this nicely, but you’re forcing me to dig through your bank accounts. Fine, let’s do it,”

“You should write a book. I think it’ll get pretty popular.” Oh Seung-Ryul didn’t seem the slightest bit ruffled.

“You know we have all the camera footage, right? Come on, Oh Gwang-Taek! Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Kang Chan acted alone to kill a French citizen, stole the business rights to operate in Korea from Suh Jeong Motors for Gong Te automobile, beat up a former executive to take DI, and messed up the parking lot gang and Park Ki-Bum’s men. Let’s wrap it up like that.” Lee Seung-Ryul didn’t miss the moment Oh Gwang-Taek briefly glanced at him. “Don’t you feel sorry for Suh Do-Seok? He can’t even properly get around anymore. How’s he gonna live in prison? If you just confess to what I mentioned, I’ll cut down the sentence from ten years to five for you, Suh Do-Seok, and Joo Chul-Bum. Considering two of the men you stabbed died, that’s a short sentence!”

Lee Seung-Ryul lifted his chin when Oh Gwang-Taek just looked at him silently.

“Honestly, with your status, wouldn’t you still live like an emperor even behind bars?” Lee Seung-Ryul asked.

Oh Gwang-Taek tilted his head. “Five years?”

“Five years,” Lee Seung-Ryul replied with certainty.

Oh Gwang-Taek signed loudly and straightened his back.

“You fucker! You thought I would sell out a high schooler just for five years in prison? Motherfucker! Tell your wife to be careful from now on whenever she leaves the house,” Oh Gwang-Taek angrily warned.

Lee Seung-Ryul gritted his teeth.

“Don’t ever call me again just to tell me this kind of bullshit,” Oh Gwang-Taek sprang up from his chair and walked toward the door.

The assistant prosecutor and prison guard looked at Lee Seung-Ryul with flustered expressions.

“Take him away!” Lee Seung-Ryul shouted.

Oh Gwang-Taek was already waiting in front of the door.

***

On Monday morning, Kang Chan got up and forced himself to head to the gym. As usual, he started with some cardio and then did his strength training routine. Afterward, he ate breakfast, drank coffee, and enjoyed a short break. Unfortunately, his condition still wasn’t up to par.

The fact that he and the Blackhead shared the same energy still lingered in his mind. If Seok Kang-Ho had one of the missing energies, then who was the other one?

A name flashed across his mind.

Smithen.

That man should’ve been dead, but Kang Chan eventually found out that he was still alive and well.

Kang Chan called Seok Kang-Ho.

- It’s me.

“Can you talk right now?” Kang Chan asked.

- I’m at the newly set up office. They’ve just delivered all the furniture, and the gym equipment has all been set up as well. Hurry and come back to Korea already. We now have the perfect place to drink coffee and smoke together.

After Seok Kang-Ho jokingly urged Kang Chan to go home, Kang Chan told him what happened last Saturday.

- It would make sense if it was Smithen. Considering his condition back in Africa, he was as good as dead.

“Daye, there’s something I’m curious about. Where was the Blackhead at the time for us to have gotten its energy? I’m sure the energy wouldn’t have left the rock if it was just left alone, so something must have happened that caused it to release two of its energies. We’re not the only ones who died back then either, you know,” Kang Chan pondered out loud.

Seok Kang-Ho couldn’t reply immediately.

“I think figuring that out should be our priority. What made it release energy?” Kang Chan said.

- Nobody knows except for Sharlan, right?

“Didn’t Sharlan say he took money for it? The person trying to buy the diamond had to have given him the money… Ethan. That’s it! That punk must know something!” Kang Chan exclaimed.

Kang Chan felt as if the threads were being unraveled one by one.

Learning what happened back then didn’t guarantee that he would find a way to stabilize the Blackhead. Nevertheless, it was still better than being oblivious to it.

- Give it some more thought, Cap. If something dangerous happens again like last time, we have no idea what’ll happen to you.

“I should meet Ethan first. Otherwise, I’ll go meet Sharlan,” Kang Cha mused.

- Didn’t that son of a bitch say that he would give you something if you let him out?

“I didn’t know about the energy I had back then,” Kang Chan said.

- Exactly! That bastard probably knew that there was some issue with the Blackhead. Maybe he was trying to use that to negotiate with England!

Was that what happened?

“Daye!” Kang Chan suddenly shouted.

- What is it?

“I’m sure I cut that motherfucker all the way to his left ribs, yet he’s still alive.”

-Are you saying Sharlan has the energy?

“It’s possible.”

- Do you think that’s why the fucker said he wanted to negotiate with you? He knew England would need him.

The situation became more complicated as their questions were answered.

“There’s still some time. I’ll call again after I’ve discussed this with Ambassador Lanok,”

- Got it. Anyway, are you sure you’re fine? I can go to France too if you want.

“Let’s wait things out a bit longer for now. If something goes wrong and you get hurt by the Blackhead too, no one reliable enough will be around to take care of things,” Kang Chan said worriedly.

- If something happens to you, even if it means all of Europe explodes, I’ll go and crush that damn Blackhead to pieces.

“Ha, sure. Just keep your phone next to you at all times,” Kang Chan urged.

- Will do.

After hanging up, Kang Chan looked outside with a blank expression. He was almost certain that he just got a new lead.

After some time, Pierre knocked on the door and came in. As Kang Chan stood up, five men followed Pierre inside.

“Mr. Kang Chan, allow me to introduce the men you’ll be training with,” Pierre said.

All five had chiseled jaws and sturdy bodies that reminded Kang Chan of Jeon Dae-Geuk and Kim Tae-Jin. They seemed to be in their thirties, which was around the same age as Kang Chan in his past life.

“This is Andrei, a Spetsnaz,” Pierre began.

Andrei gave a curt nod.

“Leon from GSG-9.”

Leon, from the German special forces team, held his hand out to shake Kang Chan’s.

“From Israel’s Sayeret Matkal, Grafelt.”

Kang Chan shook hands with him as well.

“Frederic, a Green Beret.”

This guy looked the friendliest out of all these people.

“Jiang Kanglin, from the SW.”

Jiang Kanglin just nodded instead of offering his hand.

Now that Kang Chan thought about it, the only men he didn’t shake hands with were the ones from the Spetsnaz and the Snow Wolves. Well, it wasn’t that important anyway. He really couldn’t care less.

“Tomorrow morning, we will assign everyone to their rooms, and in the afternoon, we will begin classes on negotiation, information exchange, and use of satellites,” Pierre continued.

When Pierre led the five men out of the room, Kang Chan immediately questioned what he was doing here.

People who worked at intelligence bureaus probably already knew each other’s faces. If a problem ever arose, he could have just asked someone to introduce him to these people. That made him wonder if spending five uncomfortable months with these guys and visiting each other’s countries were really necessary.

‘I’ll see how things go a little longer.’

After steeling his resolve, Kang Chan called Lanok.

- Raphael speaking, Monsieur Kang.

Lanok’s secretary, Raphael, was the one who answered.

- The ambassador is in the middle of a meeting right now. If it’s urgent, I can connect you to him.

“It’s fine, Raphael. I have about four hours of free time left anyway, so just tell him that I asked to speak to him once he’s done with his meeting.”

- Will do, Monsieur Kang.

Perhaps it was because Kang Chan was far away from home, but he felt glad to hear Raphael’s voice too.

Is it Smithen or Sharlan? Damn it! Am I Hamlet or something?

To answer that question, all he really had to do was wear the goggles that made energy wavelengths visible to him and look at Sharlan. If Sharlan shone, then that would mean he possessed the energy. If he didn’t, Kang Chan could just take the goggles to Korea and look at Smithen. Sharlan was in France’s Loriam base, so it would only take a few hours to get there by plane.

Kang Chan smirked and looked outside the window.

If Sharlan had the energy, killing him and determining where the energy would go would be a good experiment.

Knock, knock.

After some time, someone knocked on his door. It sounded different from what he was used to. As Kang Chan turned his attention to it, the door opened, and the five men earlier walked into the room.

“Can we have a cup of tea?”

Kang Chan didn’t know how to feel about the French he spoke.

“Have a seat,” Kang Chan replied.

The five men dragged over chairs from the table and desk and made themselves comfortable.

Kang Chan remembered being told to press zero on the telephone like in hotels. When someone answered the call, he requested tea for six people.

This was a kind of brazenness that only white people had. If they were Korean, they would’ve prepared tea themselves and brought it over.

“Are you the God of Blackfield?” Andrei gazed sharply at Kang Chan.

Jiang Kanglin had a similar look in his eyes. The other three just seemed very curious.

These bastards. I’m already in a bad enough condition as it is…

“You look a bit different than from what I’ve heard. You seem too young,” Andrei continued.

“What are you trying to say?” Kang Chan asked, sounding quite irritated.

“I’m just asking if you really are the God of Blackfield.”

“Why do you want to know?”

Andrei tilted his head.

“If you are the God of Blackfield, then you should already know the reason.”

Pft.

The corner of Andrei’s eye twitched, displeased by Kang Chan’s smirk.

“Andrei, if you came here to train, then just stay quiet and learn.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, boy,” Andrei scoffed.

Kang Chan just snickered in response. He kept receiving all kinds of nonsense just because he was reborn as a young person. Well, he did hear the same thing when he was first dispatched to Africa, and all those punks had been…

“Let me give you a warning. Don’t you ever laugh at my face again,” Andrei growled.

“Phuhuhu.” For the first time since coming to France, Kang Chan laughed out loud that his chest heaved violently. He never expected it would be because of some Russian.

Andrei slowly stood up and assumed a stance that showed how serious he was.

Kang Chan stretched his neck from side to side.

It didn’t matter if he was in a bad condition or who he was up against. He wouldn’t just let anyone who picked a fight with him get away with it.