Chapter 163

Chapter 163 – God of Crime #5

“Ah? Ah? Ahh? Failure? Failureeee?! Me? Never! I didn’t fail! Don’t talk such nonsense! It doesn’t matter if you are a guest! Don’t!”

The moment was enormous enough to break down a mountain . However, he was just an old man with a burnt body, and his only weapons were a penknife and an iron skewer . He couldn’t win against Tae-hyuk, who had fought numerous criminals .

“…Machina . ”

Tae-hyuk sent a signal and the robotic arm inside his backpack extended, punching the Clown in the face .

Peeok!

“Aaaack!”

The Clown literally flew back and hit the ground . He got up and exclaimed,

“T-This! M-Machina! H-How do you have it?”

“Oh, this? I got a lot of sponsorship and received one . It is easy to clean myself in the bathroom now . ”

“Huuuuuck!”

The Clown moved his gaze and watched Tae-hyuk . The Clown felt instinctively that he couldn’t beat the opponent . Tae-hyuk approached the Clown and said,

“You can’t win against me even if you mobilize all your people . Killing you here will be the most neat way to end this, but I’m not comfortable with that . I will stun you and take you to the police . ”

Tae-hyuk struggled because the Clown knew his identity . But the opponent was completely crazy . Anyway, he was no longer active as Phantom . If he stayed quite than the Clown would just be treated as a madman .

Tae-hyuk deliberately raised the Machine in a threatening manner .

“Clown, this is checkmate . ”

Then the Clown commanded the pierrots .

“Hikikikikik! You ignored what I cherished the most! Then! Yesss! This time, I will take your most precious thing… Thing! My cute little pierrots! Seo Ha-ran over there…!”

“…Kuk! T-this bastard!”

Not even one second passed . All sorts of ideas passed through Tae-hyuk’s mind . It was the worst situation .

He had purposely talked about something else in order to turn the Clown’s attention away from Seo Ha-ran . Was it the wrong choice? Would it have been better to obtain Seo Ha-ran first, even if there was a little risk? If the Clown’s command was completed, then Seo Ha-ran would be in danger .

There was only one way to stop it right now . It was to kill the Clown…

N-No . He couldn’t become that monster again… Then what about Ha-ran?

“Stop right there, Director Go Ah-tae . ”

His accelerated throughts stopped . Tae-hyuk slowly turned his head and looked at the entrance of the laboratory . There was a man holding a gun .

“…Y-You . ”

The Clown was so confused that he shut his mouth before issuing the order to kill Seo Ha-ran .

“Fortunately, it seems like I made it in time . Um, is that Phantom over there?”

“D-Detective Cho Kang-suk!”

Kang-suk narrowed his eyes as he looked around the roo . Then he discovered Ha-ran tied up among the pierrots . His eyes trembled for a moment . However, his pistol was still aiming at the Clown .

Kang-suk looked at Tae-hyuk wearing the phantom mask and said,

“I never thought I would meet you here… I was looking for the whereabouts of my missing fiancee . Is it a bingo?”

“…Yes . It is nice timing . ”

Kang-suk showed up to save Ha-ran . Tae-hyuk didn’t give any hints, but Kang-suk discovered this place . If the Clown didn’t give orders, then the pierrots wouldn’t do anything . If he did anything even slightly suspicious then Kang-suk would fire his gun .

Tae-hyuk suddenly asked,

“But how did you get here? There were clearly guards . ”

“Huh? There was no one?”

“…Detective Cho Kang-suk, your luck is really good . ”

“Hahat! I will take it as a compliment . At any rate, Director Go Ah-tae . I will arrest you on charges of kidnapping, etc . ”

“Kiik! Kikikik! Me? I will get arrested? I have to complete my research that will bring a new prosperity to mankind!”

Kang-suk sighed loudly and said,

“You might have been that before, but now you are just an ugly criminal . ”

“C-C-Criminal? Me?! Criminal?”

The Clown fell into a state of cognitive dissonance and became restless . Kang-suk spoke to Phantom,

“I’m sorry, but it is hard for me to move . Can you help me with the kidnapped woman over there? I will definitely pay it back . Well, my actions might be a little bit illegal . ”

Kang-suk seemed to perfectly think that Tae-hyuk was Phantom . Tae-hyuk nodded and went over to Ha-ran . The pierrots didn’t receive any orders so they just gave a low moan . Ha-ran was tied up but he couldn’t see any . It seemed like she had taken something similar to a sleeping pill .

He shook her body a few times before she started blinking .

“How you regained consciousness?”

“…T-Tae-hyuk . ”

Tae-hyuk said with panic .

“I am Phantom . I’m sorry but I think you mistook me for someone else . ”

“H-Huh… No matter the situation, do you think I wouldn’t recognize you, even if you were wearing a mask? Oh, t-this place is dangerous! Get away from here quickly!”

“…We’ll talk more later . Just stay still for a moment . It is hard to untie you . ”

Tae-hyuk would worry about what to tell Ha-ran after successfully rescuing her . But first, they had to get out of here . Kang-suk, who was confronting the Clown, shouted with a loud voice,

“D-Director Go Ah-tae, don’t run away!”

Suddenly, the Clown started running towards the Core Drive in the centre of the lab . The confused Kang-suk pulled the trigger of his gun .

Tang!

“Cough!”

If a culprit was trying to escape then the first place to shoot was the legs . The Clown ignored the blood dripping down his legs and headed into the Core Drive . It happened so quickly that Kang-suk couldn’t respond properly . The Clown manipulated a panel and triggered something .

Kuooooong!

“What? What are you doing?”

The inside of the Core Drive turned red . The plasma started to rotate around around the Clown’s body .

“Kiik! Kikikikikik! Kuhahahaha! I have activated the Core Drive! I will prove to everyone that my research hasn’t failed! Now from here! The human race! It will be a step towards evolution!”

The Clown danced with joy behind the tank made of tempered glass . The situation inside the Core Drive wasn’t clear so Kang-suk fired at the Clown .

“Stop what you are doing and get out of there! Damn! It is tempered glass!”

Tae-hyuk was also confused .

[Caution!]

-The Spying skill has detected a danger .

-The special ability has been triggered and 20 affinity points have been reduced .

-Amount of time remaining until the Core Drive explodes― .

-00:10:09’

Core Drive explosion? Then what about the Psychotropic Incense? No, what big explosion?

There was no doubt that it would be dangerous .

“Detective Cho Kang-suk! Drag that clown out! He wants to blow this place up!”

Kang-suk made a horrified expression .

“Damn! I can’t die along with that bastard!”

Tae-hyuk took Ha-ran to the entrance of the laboratory and gave her the route to get out of here . Then he ran to the Clown and asked,

“Clown! What will happen if the Core Drive explodes?”

“Kikikik! That is impossible! My research was a success! Just stay there and watch the birth of the best invention in human history!”

Tae-hyuk bit his lip and muttered,

“Tell me just in case . ”

“Kuk, kukuk . The Core Drive is an antimatter that generates infinite energy . If it explodes, then it will have the energy of one or two hydrogen bombs . ”

“…You were studying such a dangerous thing here?”

“Don’t worry! My research! Definitely! It is successful!”

It was dangerous . This place was dangerous . This was why the study was frozen .

“Damn! I will make you stop this!”

“St-op? Stop? Stop?! I won’t do it! I won’t let anyone interfere with my research! Kuhahat! Kuhahahat! The Core Drive is a success! It is successful!”

“……”

Kang-suk’s face turned pale as he heard the story from the side .

“Phantom… Is that really what Director Go Ah-tae said?”

“…It seems so . ”

“Damn! I will call reinforcements right now!”

“There are only 10 minutes left . We have no choice but to resolve this by ourselves . ”

“…I don’t know how much damage the blast will cause . Can we stop the bomb? Damn… Turn off that machine right now! Or else I will kill you!”

The Clown ignored Kang-suk’s desperate words and declared triumphantly .

“Kukuk… It seems like this is the only thing I can do to prevent the Core Drive from being stopped . ”

The Clown closed his eyes and stabbed his chest with the iron skewer . The Clown laughed even when he was dying .

“My research is definitely a success! A success! Su…”

It was a pointless death . Kang-suk’s eyes filled with despair . He sat on the floor and knocked against the tempered glass with a bitter face .

“Damn… Dying like this…”

“D-Detective Cho Kang-suk . I will try it . ”

“P-Phantom…?”

“I am Phantom . Turning this machine off is simple . ”

“Can I believe you?”

“I told you . If you go outside, then Seo Ha-ran will be waiting . Get her out of here . ”

Kang-suk nodded slowly with a firm expression . Phantom was a criminal, but he didn’t seem the type to lie . Once Kang-suk left, Phantom… No, Seo Tae-hyuk muttered in a small voice .

“Now, what can I do?”

@

Fortunately, he sent Kang-suk and Ha-ran out of here, but the problem was from now on . If he didn’t stop the Core Drive then serious damage might occur . If he didn’t have any luck then the Psychotropic Incense might leak outside the lab . Then it would literally be like a zombie movie .

Tae-hyuk first collected the remaining Psychotropic Incense left in the institute and gve it to the pierrots .

Then he said,

“Get out of here right now . Head to the nearest hospital . ”

“Un-der-stood . ”

The pierrots started to move according to the orders that Tae-hyuk gave . Thus, Tae-hyuk was left alone in the laboratory .

“If I use the Machine then I can break through that tempered glass . However, if I install a bomb…”

As Tae-hyuk was in distress, someone approached him . Tae-hyuk looked at them with confusion .

“What, you went outside… N-Noona?”

A smiling Seo Ha-ran was standing there . She said to him,

“It is a dangerous situation… Is there no time to explain it again?’

“……”

“I couldn’t move my body, but my mind was fine the whole time . I heard the entire conversation between Tae-hyuk and Go Ah-tae . ”

“N-Noona…”

“Don’t worry . I absolutely won’t tell the ‘truth’ to anyone . No, it will be fine . ”

Ha-ran smiled and reached out to Tae-hyuk .

“Noona . Do you have anything to break that tank and stop the equipment?”

“……”

“Don’t look like that . Noona…it will be okay . I’m not scared at all . I mean, I’ll do it . Sister will stop it . ”

Tae-hyuk’s eyes flashed . She was saying that she would sacrifice herself with such a pure expression .

Ah, yes… He had seen this look before .

-From now on, I will be your mother and father .

Ever since then, Ha-ran had sacrificed herself for them . Tae-hyuk hesitated for a moment .

“…Noona . I’m sorry . ”

“There is need to be sorry! I’m doing this because I like it . ”

Pushuk!

Tae-hyuk sprinkled some of the Psychotropic Incense in Ha-ran’s face . Her eyes instantly relaxed and she became a puppet who would listen to anything Tae-hyuk said .

“Run away from here . And together with Cho Kang-suk…”

He paused for a moment and looked at Ha-ran’s face . Yes, he came here because he wanted to see a smile on her face .

Tae-hyuk smiled . Finally, he ordered Ha-ran .

“…Live happily for a long time . ”

“Un-der-stood… Ah, no, T-Tae-hyuk…”

Despite being affected by the Psychotropic Incense, she called out the name of her brother until the end . But she couldn’t disobey the command and left the laboratory .

Tae-hyuk sighed . There were only four minutes remaining . What was the condition for upgrading to the ‘God of Crime’?

Acquiring one million affinity points . Maybe the Core Drive exploding would emit a bigger energy than he imagined? Yes, there were one million people in the city .

The condition for acquiring affinity points . Changing someone’s fate . Killing a person who should’ve lived, or saving a person who should’ve died . Maybe the God of Crime was…

Tae-hyuk couldn’t help sighing .

He wasn’t afraid . He had been destined to die from the death penalty anyway . He had returned to the past to create a new relationship and to change his sister’s despairing face into a smile .

Yes, this was enough . He was satisfied .

Tae-hyuk slowly muttered as he watched the Clown lying on the floor .

“The crime skills . The evil that exists in the world is gathered and given shape . If a person’s mind is weak then they will get corrupted by it . ”

The numerous criminals that he met popped into his head . He had learnt their abilities in the form of the crime skills .

“Pickpockets, scammers, kidnappers, murderers, thieves, gangs and the mafia . Their malice gathered and a monster was born . But… Humans who will sacrifice themselves for others exist . ”

Seo Ha-ran devoted everything to her brothers . Song Hye-mi and Cho Kang-suk as well…

The world wasn’t simply filled with malice .

He slowly raised his head . It was different from the future, where he was falsely charged . From now on, he would change the fates of one million people . Of course, among them…

Tae-hyuk laughed .

Sacrificing himself for somebody else? He wasn’t such a great person . He used to be on death row . Now, he was a criminal who committed numerous crimes .

So…

“At best, I am just trying to be the God of Crime . ”