Episode 87 [ Alchemy Factory, Blood Magic, Plague – 2 ]
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AMT players belong to civilian guilds. The ‘level’ is lower than that of the player.
It was a general gaze that works when dividing the hierarchy of players.
However, when looking at the ‘class’ as a standard, even if you were an officer, you were treated better than most mid-sized guilds, and in the case of special classes, many ‘rankers’ belonged.
[999 Special Mission Battalion] was that kind of place.
They are an elite player unit specializing in counter-terrorism operations and receive pay and treatment comparable to that of most large guilds. Therefore, he had great pride and was gaining popularity.
They were deployed to the scene of the fire at the Gangdong-gu Alchemy Research Complex today.
This could not help but be taken as a bad signal.
This is because the incident was not just an accident but had the connotation of ‘terrorism.’
– Breaking news! There is news that an operational vehicle from the [999 Special Mission Battalion], widely known as the best player counter-terrorism unit in Korea, was entering the scene of the fire at the alchemy laboratory in Gangdong-dong at 14:55, 5 minutes ago. According to police officials, there were many unidentified assailants at the scene of the fire…
to the extent that all the media conveyed the seriousness of the incident based on their actions.
And soon the police announced the sad news through an official announcement.
The site was occupied by an unidentified terrorist group, and
hundreds of employees were currently held hostage.
Thus, the Republic of Korea was turned upside down once again.
However, there was something writhing in the basement below…
no one had yet noticed the real threat.
***
“…Look over there! “It’s Cobra Squad!”
“It’s real! They’re here!”
A shout like that was heard towards the armed forces of the player getting out of a bulletproof truck at the
scene of the terrorist attack at the alchemy research complex in Gangdong-gu.
Cobra Squad is a team specializing in ‘sniping’ among the [999 Special Mission Battalion], and is led by a team leader who is an A-grade gunnery player. They had solved many serious situations at home and abroad.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
At the appearance of the Cobra Squad, the reporters raised their cameras.
“—The article that included their photos had an extraordinary click-through rate, so it was a scene that could not be missed. .
Cobra Squad! “I believe it!”
“I wish you good results this time too!”
There were even reporters who sent their support out of self-interest.
As such, these were also players who had joined the ranks of Korea’s ‘heroes’.
However, their faces, hidden behind face masks, were wrinkled.
“Ah… the weather was too . “What the fuck is this on a good day?”
“That’s right. I wonder what kind of bastards take hostages these days…”
The reason was because the main goal of this operation was ‘hostage rescue’.
Even for the [999 Special Mission Battalion], hostage taking was a troublesome matter.
“Damn, those guys are also armed with firearms.”
Regular firearms pose no threat to the player, but are more dangerous to civilians than anything else.
And no matter how good your skill is, you cannot turn the gun pointed at the hostage’s head.
In other words, it is a very legal operation in which ‘negotiation’ must be expected at all costs. It had no choice but to get longer.
“Ha… I can see the pain in my head.”
They soon gathered inside the operation command center, and the operation team leader, Lieutenant Colonel Oh Seong-hoon, came in.
He was an A-level wizard-type player with extensive experience in counter-terrorism operations.
“Okay, now that everyone is seated, the briefing begins.”
It was Oh Seong-hoon, who had solved dozens of counter-terrorism cases so far, but now his expression was dark.
And the first words he uttered were also more pessimistic than ever.
“…The situation is worse than expected.”
As he operated the remote control, the projector turned on and a picture appeared on the screen behind him.
It was a photo that appeared to have been taken of the laboratory by a drone camera,
showing masked terrorists inside the window armed with AK-47 rifles.
“The terrorists currently identified are They number 18 and are armed with automatic rifles and explosives. And… it is said that some of the hostages are even wearing bomb vests with mana circuits.”
At those words, the entire crew’s faces could not help but harden.
“Hah crazy… mana circuit bomb—!”
The explosion switch was ignited the moment the life of the caster of the Mana Circuit Bomb magic was ended.
If such a thing existed, ‘sniping’, the most important method in the fight against terrorism, would become impossible.
In other words, currently, there is virtually no ‘forceless’ way to rescue hostages. It was safe to assume that there was none.
“Two… These seem like quite large-scale evildoers, but what is their identity?”
“There is also… There is no information yet, and it is unclear where they infiltrated.”
“Ha… Then what do those bastards want? Shouldn’t we just give in to this?”
When faced with a difficult problem like this, it was always best for the ‘negotiations’ to proceed smoothly.
“There are no special demands yet, and they are just repeating that if they do something foolish, they will all be killed.”
A hostage-taking for unknown reasons by an unidentified terrorist group…
It was a moment when even the possibility of ‘negotiation’, the first stage of the hostage rescue operation, was broken.
“So that means the goal is at least not ‘money’?”
“Yes, it looks like they are buying time to extract some technology from the lab.”
The situation was vague in many ways… Sighs came from all over the place.
“So, for now, I plan to continue talking with them and focus on understanding their intentions. In the meantime, Team 2’s elementalist duo will send spirits into the building to check the situation inside.”
In the end, all we could do for now was just ‘surveillance’.
Two hours passed, a short period of time, with nothing done. It was a natural reaction for the media to start expressing doubts about the police, who were unable to do anything. –
.. . Currently, it is known that 298 hostages are being held inside the laboratory building B, and the police authorities announced that they are attempting to negotiate with the terrorists. However, there has been no significant progress in the negotiations for over two hours, and the safety of the hostages has not even been confirmed. Also ,
the [Cobra Squad], which had gained a reputation for successfully carrying out the previous two counter-terrorism operations, was mobilized, but there was no particular trend and there was no clue to solving the problem… “The pair of civilians turned into pieces of meat
. “But how can I get in?”
“Sergeant Sergeant Gu, the main tanker must always keep his cool and not get excited.”
“If I keep my cool, will the hostages inside have mana shields?”
The Cobra Squad members gritted their teeth as they listened to the news bulletin coming from the car radio.
“Ah… Why is something like this happening when our ransom prices are soaring?”
As the reporters responded earlier, ‘Cobra Squad’ was currently enjoying enormous popularity.
It was because he had risen to the ranks of heroes by solving the last three operations very nicely.
If they handled it properly this time, their stock price would skyrocket.
And in other words, if it fails, the stock price could plummet overnight.
“Ah, this is really bad timing.”
Although they were not celebrities, they had no choice but to care about the fame that spread to the public,
because such fame determined their ‘ransom.’ Even
though they were civil servants belonging to the state, successful players were able to negotiate the ransom with the state.
In other words, their performance was It was money.
“Oh, I was planning to stay for about half a year and earn some money, then go on to become the leader of the guild strategy team…” “
Do you think the team leader will let you go? “You’ll have to do it for two more years.”
At that time, a loud noise began to be heard from somewhere.
Doo doo doo doo——
“……Hmm what do you mean? Isn’t this a helicopter?”
Oh Seong-hoon, the operations team leader who was looking at the operation situation board inside the command center, asked that question, and
one of the administrative non-commissioned officers slightly lifted the tent
at the entrance to the command center. A helicopter was landing in an open space about 50 meters away from here.
“Hmm… I heard that someone was coming .” Wasn’t there one?”
If he showed up in a helicopter, he must have been a fairly high-ranking person.
Oh Seong-hoon, the person in charge of this operation, couldn’t help but feel an instinctive discomfort.
At that time, Oh Seong-hoon’s lieutenant belatedly delivered the news.
“That team leader! An emergency order has just been issued from above!”
“The message is to proceed with the operation in cooperation with reinforcements arriving soon.”
Oh Seong-hoon frowned at those words.
“…What? We’re not short on troops right now, so why are we suddenly needing reinforcements? Whose order is that?”
“Uh… the leader called me personally, and that is an order from the Blue House.”
“The Blue House…”
Here, the Blue House does not mean the President, but the President’s direct agency [National Gate Response Strategy Office].
To intervene directly… This was quite unusual.
‘Is there something in the basement of that laboratory?’
That’s why Seong-Hoon Oh had such doubts.
“So, didn’t you tell me who the great reinforcements you’ll be sending in are?”
On the other hand, I was excited to see who the great person the Blue House had dispatched was.
“They say it’s that AMT soldier… Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook.”
***
Inside the helicopter on the way to the scene, Lee Hyun-wook was informed of the current situation by team leader Lee Kyo-jun.
“…Terrorists have even mobilized ‘mana circuit bombs’, so it is not easy to rescue the hostages. And after checking the on-site CCTV, there were no signs of external intrusion, so we suspect the use of a portal.”
But all of them were things I already knew.
And I also knew hidden facts that even they didn’t know about.
‘The terrorists who occupied the institute in the first place were not an outside intrusion, but an internal rebellion.’
An alchemy research complex operated by a research foundation established by the [Gukwang] Group, the second-highest ranking business group,
was developing a technology to maximize the efficiency of an energy source called ‘Mana Stone’.
‘But that was just a camouflage, and it was actually a secret blood magic research facility.’
Blood magic (血魔法) is literally magic that uses blood as a medium and is a type of black magic.
‘The business started after obtaining the drink of the gods [nectar] from Greek mythology…’
Thus, the goal is to fulfill the mystery of mortals’ obvious wishes and tasks, such as ‘eternal immortality’ or ‘evolution’. Since we live in an era where magic is a reality, it would have been thought that such a thing was possible.
‘So those who had a lot of money but didn’t have much life left invested generously.’
With the enormous support of such people, experiments were carried out to break taboos using all kinds of methods.
And among the contents of the experiment, there was also research on ‘objects’ containing the power of ‘devils’.
‘…As time goes by, researchers fall into the devil’s temptation one by one.’
Thus, the devil worship group formed was the one who caused today’s incident.
At that time, a helicopter landed in the vacant lot.
“Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook has arrived. This will probably be your last mission as an AMT soldier, right?”
Lee Hyun-wook still had his ‘duty duty period’ left. Although he was actually acting like a civilian under the protection of Woo Seong-moon, he was officially an AMT soldier. That’s why he was still wearing his AMT combat uniform. Lee Hyun-wook got off the helicopter with his face covered with a mask. He was
here
. This was because the fact that they had come should not be leaked to reporters.
At that time, someone walked out of the operation command center. He was wearing AMT black combat uniform with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
“Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook. I am Oh Seong-hoon, the operations team leader. “He is a soldier, but he is not actually a soldier anymore, and he is going to become a huge person in the future, so I guess we should treat him a little difficult, right?”
He said rather sarcastically and held out his hand.
“…I don’t mind. “You can do whatever you feel comfortable with.”
Hyunwook Lee said that and held the lieutenant colonel’s hand as a sergeant.
Now there was no need to bow down to military officers.
Following Hyun-wook Lee and Seong-hoon Oh, I entered the operational command center.
“As expected, Seoul’s saviors are different, but they are different. You said you participated in the operation with connections from the Blue House?”
In fact, Lee Hyun-wook was planning to tell Woo Seong-moon that he would step forward after a certain amount of time.
But surprisingly, Woo Seong-moon contacted him first and asked him to solve this hostage situation.
Lee Hyun-wook’s ‘control of metal’ could neutralize the hostage takers’ ‘gun weapons’. They said it was because they could…
‘First of all, the fact that Woo Seong-moon personally asked for it… means that he is also aware of something.’
It seems that Woo Seong-moon had anticipated the disaster brewing here to some extent.
But even so, he was unable to prevent the disaster from erupting.
“My abilities are specialized in rescuing hostages, so I was dispatched after receiving orders. i look forward to.”
“…By specialization, do you mean how it can help in rescuing hostages?”
Oh Seong-hoon’s repeated questions were sharp.
It was understandable.
As counter-terrorism experts, they were wasting hours, and out of nowhere, he appeared alone and said he could solve it. ‘
Yes, they can’t help but feel sorry for the situation and me. …’
Sure enough, all the special forces members in the command center opened their eyes and looked at Lee Hyun-wook.
“What I can do is simple. “I can control the hostage takers’ firearms.”
“Ah, can this be taken to literally mean physically restricting the person from pulling the trigger?”
“Yes, it can bend the muzzle or render the internal bolt inoperable.”
At that time, a snorting sound was heard from one side of the command center.
“No, really, if we had a gun, we would have taken care of it in the first place. We’re not stupid…”
It was a man with the rank of captain who muttered that.
His name is Lee Gil-
hyeon, and judging from the fact that he is holding an arrow, he appears to be an archer and probably a member of the Cobra Squad.
He crossed his arms and glared at Hyunwook Lee.
“Have you heard of the hero Narimana circuit bomb?”
“Yes, I heard that too. And that too ultimately requires a metal bomb trigger.”
Hyunwook Lee answered without hesitation.
“And looking at the bomb vest in the photo taken by the drone camera, it appears to be the same model as the one that took place during the hostage crisis in the Kherson market in Ukraine eight months ago. It is made in Hungary. It is connected to the caster’s body through ‘mana’, and when the caster dies, a ‘mana circuit’ is formed. “It would be the way the ‘trigger switch’ is pressed.”
“…….”
“In other words, I can control that metal trigger switch.”
This may sound easy, but it was actually a problem that required a high level of concentration.
However, Lee Hyeon-wook had the confidence to do it. Because it had already been done.
“And if there is another method… that is, a type of magic circuit that does not require a metal trigger device, it can subdue the spell caster without killing him.”
“…how?”
“Everyone probably has a lot of metal objects on their body.”
Almost all objects and weapons in this world are made of ‘metal’,
so unless you specifically identify Lee Hyun-wook and prepare for it, you can subdue him with just his hand gestures.
After hearing that, Oh Seong-hoon nodded.
“Well, that’s fine. It’s not like we can object to their orders in the first place.”
He, too, would not be pleased with Lee Hyun-wook’s appearance, but the success of the operation was more important than his personal feelings. And on the other hand, he wanted to see with his own eyes the true face of this ‘hero’ of whom there were only so many rumors. “Now then, Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook, our snipers
. Now I have to match the sign, so…”
But Lee Hyun-wook shook his head before he could finish his sentence.
“No, there is no need for sniper support. “I will handle it from start to finish.”
“-what?”
Captain Lee Gil-hyeon, one of the sniper agents, got angry again this time.
“You don’t need us now? What kind of operation wouldn’t require snipers’ help?”
Cobra Squad was proud of being the best sniper squad.
Perhaps that’s why they were upset when they heard that there was no need for snipers.
“On the contrary, it could become dangerous if a heterogeneous linkage gets in between my control. “A sniper’s bullet or arrow could hit the metal I control and cause a stray bullet or arrow that could hit the hostage.”
Now this pale young man was insisting that he would carry out this operation alone.
“Look, I know you’re showing off, but take it in moderation.”
Lee Gil-hyeon said that and got up from his seat.
“Ha, you came all of a sudden and treated us like bridesmaids… I know you’re a great person, but this is completely different from what you’ve experienced. Even Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the greatest hero in our country’s history, would not be able to fight terrorism. But it’s been so long since I’ve been called a hero that I’m in someone else’s territory—”
“Captain Lee, stop—just stop there.”
“Ha—Chief, no, team leader, this isn’t right. “For such an important matter, such a brat…”
Lee Hyun-wook also couldn’t hold back and said,
“Captain Lee, I’m sorry, but I came because it was an important case.”
“what?”
“You haven’t been able to do anything until now, so you were replaced.”
Those words were full of confidence:
“…You’re going crazy. Let’s see how good you are.”
Lee Gil-hyeon said that and stormed out.
***
In the Alchemy Research Complex Building B,
18 terrorists were holding AK-47s and standing guard in all directions.
At that time, a man stood up from among the hostages.
“Damn—hey! Director Lee, please talk to me!”
Clang—
Four guns were pointed at him.
“How could you do this to us!” “Please at least say something!”
“…Doctor Oh, please keep your mouth shut. Do you want to be thrown into the basement over there?”
“Hey, this dog! Do you know what you did now?”
As you can see from this conversation, the terrorists and the hostages were once colleagues.
“How could a family that eats together… How could those monsters…”
He muttered like that and looked into the eyes of this director
. There was something strange about his eyes. They were blurry and the black ones were shining with a dark red light.
“Oh, of course! Those eyes… you all are not normal!”
Come to think of it, rumors had been circulating in the company for a while.
Research into black magic took place underground, and every day at 4 a.m., members of the department held a devil worship ritual. It was literally a rumor and there was no way to confirm the truth. But now, this situation and the hellish things going on in the basement of the lab… it was all real.
“You guys, who were researching ancient relics, got your hands on strange objects and finally went crazy!”
“Ha… that won’t work. “Doctor Oh, you need to go down to the basement.”
When Director Lee said that, two terrorists came up and grabbed both of his arms.
“…Oh, no! no! “Let go of this!”
“Why are you having a fit all of a sudden?”
They dragged the man they called Dr. Oh towards the elevator.
Then they opened the elevator door, but there was no elevator and there was pitch darkness.
They threw Dr. Oh inside.
“Aaaah——”
His screams gradually faded as he fell further down
. The moment the sound ended, a completely different and strange sound was heard.
Kyaaaaa—— The sound
of boiling phlegm, the sound of something being torn apart, and the sound of chewing and swallowing…
“…….”
Hearing those sounds, the other hostages could not help but tremble.
At that time, a terrorist approached Director Lee.
He shook his mana messenger and wrinkled his face in annoyance.
“Hah… Manager, they say they’ll come in for negotiations again?”
“Tsk, don’t you still know that’s not what we want?”
All they wanted was to hold out until some task was completed under time.
“If they come too close, we will shoot the hostages.”
“But wouldn’t those bastards be able to approach using skills like stealth?”
“No, I won’t do anything that could kill the hostages.”
he was so sure
“In the first place, they have no way of knowing what is happening underground, and they are only looking at the lives of the hostages…”
But as he said that, he turned his head.
At that moment, I noticed an unfamiliar face standing at the entrance of the building.
He… was wearing a black combat uniform. Is it because a person like that
– that person –
shouldn’t be here, but he was walking in so confidently… Director Lee’s judgment was momentarily clouded and he stared at that figure blankly for a few seconds.
“—what are you!”
He shouted that a little late,
but the answer he received was so absurd:
“…I came to negotiate hostages.”
