Chapter 44 – Trap of the Trap (3)
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Shin-woo had been walking along the streets near the company just 30 minutes before.
Then, he was “kidnapped” in an alley and transported to an unknown location, seated with a hood over his head.
‘Judging by their methods and skills, they seem pretty amateurish….’
His head was covered with a hood, and his wrists were bound together in front of him with thick cable ties.
Though he heard harsh voices nearby, they were full of empty threats and bravado rather than actual menace.
‘This doesn’t feel like Unit 666 or Myung In-chul’s doing… Could it be someone unrelated who was hired?’
Shin-woo sharpened his hearing and began to pick up on subtle details.
‘Judging by the echo of the footsteps, it seems like an unfinished building. There are about five people close by, and around ten more a bit farther away.’
His senses had become more acute after his regression, allowing him to piece together these conclusions by combining the sounds of voices and footsteps.
There could, of course, be others remaining silent.
At that moment, the sound of approaching footsteps in hard-soled shoes echoed from a distance.
Three people.
One of them, walking at the front, came to stand directly before Shin-woo.
“I was going to ask if you were doing well, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, does it?”
The man standing in front of him was Ahn Seung-joo, a friend of Myung Un-seok and the heir to S-One Finance.
“…Who are you?”
“Wow, you can still talk so bluntly in this situation. I’d heard you were rude, but you’re even more arrogant than I thought. Not bad.”
At Ahn Seung-joo’s gesture to the man standing next to him, the hood was removed from Shin-woo’s head.
As the dim light from a makeshift lamp illuminated the surroundings, it revealed the interior of an unfinished construction site, just as Shin-woo had suspected.
Squinting against the light, Shin-woo recognized Ahn Seung-joo’s face immediately.
“You’re Ahn Seung-joo of S-One Finance, aren’t you?”
“Oh… So you know me?”
“You’re quite famous in these circles.”
Perhaps it was because Shin-woo remained unexpectedly composed.
Ahn Seung-joo felt a twinge of displeasure at his reaction.
“Most people would be trembling in a place like this. But you, Baek Shin-woo, seem pretty used to situations like this, huh?”
“Not particularly. Though I have done plenty of kidnapping myself.”
In most cases, the targets were key figures on the enemy’s side.
The goal was to abduct them discreetly and extract critical information.
“You’re one funny bastard. But aren’t you curious why I brought you here?”
“You kidnapped me because you wanted to threaten me into giving you something.”
Ahn Seung-joo stared at Shin-woo, seemingly impressed.
“Oh, sharp, aren’t you?”
“I’m familiar with this kind of setting.”
Of course, Shin-woo meant as the one making the threats, not receiving them.
“I’ll get straight to the point. How about working under me? Honestly, you’re just a bastard who’ll never become MH Group’s successor. Wouldn’t it be better to live without financial struggles? I can promise you the treatment you deserve.”
As Ahn Seung-joo’s smile widened, Shin-woo barely resisted the urge to punch him in the face, his brow twitching instead.
“My earnings are already pretty decent.”
“Sure… Your investment skills are impressive. But you see, I’ve suffered significant losses because of you. The stock that was supposed to quintuple suddenly plummeted like a fish head being chopped off.”
“Ah, you mean Telecom? I never gave you any tips about that. Did Myung Un-seok tell you?”
This time, Ahn Seung-joo’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Who else could it be but him? But the source still came from you. So, you’re the one who should take responsibility.”
“Looks like you got scolded by someone and now you’re taking it out on me….”
At those words, two burly men carrying wooden clubs approached Ahn Seung-joo.
They exuded an intimidating presence, glaring at Shin-woo as if ready to strike at any moment.
“Hey, Baek Shin-woo! Do you think this is some kind of joke? If you don’t want to work under me, then at least give me access to your intel pipeline. If you do, I’ll let you go without breaking any limbs.”
“Talk about nonsense. Your tailing was so sloppy that I deliberately walked into an alley to make it easier for you to kidnap me. And you call this atmosphere threatening?”
“What… What did you say?!”
The men froze momentarily.
After all, MH Group’s headquarters and its surroundings were part of a high-rise corporate district.
During rush hour, the streets were filled with people, making a quiet abduction nearly impossible.
Of course, Shin-woo had noticed their pursuit from the beginning.
Their methods were so laughably crude that he had allowed himself to be caught just to see who they were.
“I guess I shouldn’t have expected much.”
Snap
At that moment, the cable tie binding Shin-woo’s wrists snapped as if cut by a knife, falling to the floor.
“H-How did you…?”
Shin-woo slowly stood up, stretching his stiff body.
“Agh, does that really matter now? What matters is what’s going to happen to you guys next.”
“You crazy bastard…! Do you think I won’t break your bones to make you understand?!”
At Ahn Seung-joo’s outcry, the burly men charged at Shin-woo.
“Seriously… Such a predictable pattern….”
With those words, Shin-woo grabbed the wrist of the man swinging a club, twisting his arm up to the elbow and snapping it.
The club fell from the man’s grasp, and Shin-woo caught it midair, swinging it directly at the other man’s knee.
Crack—Thwack!
“Ahhh!”
“Argh!”
One man’s knee and the other’s wrist were both shattered as they collapsed to the ground.
Those watching the scene stood dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ve been in a bad mood lately, so I have no intention of holding back.”
His irritation stemmed from Myung Un-seok, TSF, and the elusive hidden compartment in Jang Man-soo’s closet.
The switch to open the secret room seemed to be relocated periodically, adding to his frustration.
Surveying Ahn Seung-joo and the burly men, Shin-woo smirked.
“Aren’t you coming in? Isn’t this a takeout order? Should I serve it to you?”
The men’s faces twisted in humiliation as Shin-woo’s mocking words grated on their pride.
“Boss! Should I just kill this bastard?”
The man who spoke as he approached Ahn Seung-joo was Moon Geun-cheol, the leader of the other men.
“Don’t kill him. Just break a leg or two. Crawling on the ground ought to help him see reason.”
“What are you doing?! Didn’t you hear what the boss said?!”
Ten men began to surround Shin-woo.
Meanwhile, the man whose wrist and elbow Shin-woo had twisted tried to sneakily get up, only to have Shin-woo kick him in the chin.
Thud—
“Urgh!”
Like a signal flare, the man flew backward, prompting the others to charge at once.
Shin-woo slipped into the gaps between the charging men.
Pow, smack! Crack—Thud!
Moving right up to them, Shin-woo deftly dodged their punches and clubs, twisting joints and striking back with precision.
“Aaagh—!”
“Ugh!”
With elbows and fists, he landed blows on jaws and necks, leaving the men gasping for air as they collapsed.
One strike, one kill.
Of course, Shin-woo held back just enough not to kill them, delivering damage only sufficient to incapacitate.
The men, clutching their battered bodies, lay trembling on the ground.
“What a joke. You weren’t even worth warming up on.”
After confirming that all ten men were down, Shin-woo turned his gaze to Ahn Seung-joo and Moon Geun-cheol.
“Aren’t you going to join in?”
Moon Geun-cheol, locking eyes with Shin-woo, drew a sharp sashimi knife from his coat.
“This bastard…! You must have a death wish!”
“Stop shouting and just get over here already.”
“You’ll stop spewing nonsense once I put a hole in your gut!”
Moon Geun-cheol held the knife firmly and lunged at Shin-woo.
At that moment, Shin-woo casually flicked his wrist.
A thin wire shot out and wrapped around Moon Geun-cheol’s wrist holding the knife.
At the same time, Shin-woo stepped on the wire with all his strength.
“What the—?!”
With a bewildered cry, Moon Geun-cheol’s wrist, and then his entire body, were yanked to the ground by the wire.
Crash—
“Why keep asking questions you know I won’t answer?”
Thud—
Shin-woo kicked Moon Geun-cheol’s head like a soccer ball as he lay prone on the ground.
Knocked out cold, Moon Geun-cheol crumpled where he lay.
Meanwhile, Shin-woo turned to look at Ahn Seung-joo, who stood frozen to the side.
“You didn’t run away? Well, if you had, I’d have smashed the back of your head when I caught you.”
Muttering to himself, Shin-woo picked up a fallen club and began approaching Ahn Seung-joo slowly.
Sensing something had gone terribly wrong, Ahn Seung-joo began backing away step by step.
“W-Wait! Let’s not do this. We can talk. Talking is good, right? Like civilized people!”
“We’re already having a conversation. A physical one.”
Whack—
The club struck Ahn Seung-joo squarely on the knee.
“Aaagh—!!”
Screaming, Ahn Seung-joo clutched his knee and rolled on the ground.
“Why scream over something like this? It’s not even as bad as what those guys got. Don’t you think?”
Some of the men lying on the ground behind him looked as though they were about to pass out completely.
“Y-You! Who the hell are you? How can you fight like this?!”
“Is it that I’m good, or that you’re all just terrible? Anyway, we still have something to finish. Weren’t you saying you’d break my legs and make me crawl?”
Shin-woo’s gaze shifted to Ahn Seung-joo’s other knee.
Seeing this, Ahn Seung-joo began crawling backward, desperately trying to escape.
“Oh, look at that. A guy with a torn ACL who dodged the draft is crawling pretty well. You might even pass a combat drill at this rate.”
Following slowly, Shin-woo lifted the club resting on his shoulder.
As terror overtook Ahn Seung-joo’s face, he raised both hands in the air.
“Wait! There must be something you want! I’ll give you whatever it is, so let’s just stop here! Please?”
“There’s only one thing I want.”
“W-What is it?”
“What else could it be? Your knees.”
Crack—
The club slammed into Ahn Seung-joo’s other knee, snapping in half as it hit the ground.
“Aaaaaagh—!”
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the area, seemingly endless.
As the piercing sound made his ears ring, Shin-woo furrowed his brows and picked up another club.
“If you don’t shut up soon, the next hit’s going to your head.”
“Hup—!”
Ahn Seung-joo clamped his hands over his mouth, tears streaming down his face.
Meanwhile, Shin-woo slapped the face of one of the still-conscious men nearby and asked,
“Who has my phone? If you don’t answer in three seconds, I’ll make sure your other arm is useless for life.”
“T-The phone… It’s with… h-him…!”
The man pointed weakly toward Moon Geun-cheol, who was still unconscious from the earlier soccer kick.
Shin-woo walked over and retrieved his phone from Moon Geun-cheol’s coat.
“Well, I guess you learned something from watching movies. But you’re still amateurs.”
Muttering to himself, Shin-woo dialed a number on his phone.
“Send me the recording.”
[Of course. Edited it so you can use it right away. Check it.]
A message arrived, and Shin-woo opened the attached audio file.
He played it aloud for Ahn Seung-joo.
【Sure… Your investment skills are impressive. But you see, I’ve suffered significant losses because of you. The stock that was supposed to quintuple suddenly plummeted like a fish head being chopped off.】
【Ah, you mean Telecom? I never gave you any tips about that. Did Myung Un-seok tell you?】
【Who else but him? But the source still came from you. So, you’re the one who should take responsibility.】
.
.
The conversation Shin-woo and Ahn Seung-joo had just had played back perfectly.
Listening quietly, Ahn Seung-joo trembled, clutching his injured knees in pain.
“H-How did you…?”
“You don’t need to know how. You just need to understand why I played it for you. If any word of this leaks out, you won’t enjoy what happens next. Try filing a lawsuit or making this public, and this audio will go out too. Or if I feel like it, I’ll just kill you and leave the country. Simple as that.”
If anyone else had said it, it might have sounded like an empty bluff.
But having just witnessed Shin-woo take down ten men in an instant, Ahn Seung-joo knew better.
“Do you understand?”
Faced with the repeated question, Ahn Seung-joo could only nod.
“Your fingers are fine, so go ahead and call an ambulance. Oh, and you’d better prepare to pay the price for this mess.”
With that, Shin-woo retrieved the wire he had used on Moon Geun-cheol and checked that he hadn’t left anything behind before leaving the scene.
As Ahn Seung-joo remained behind with the fallen men, he sighed in relief.
But his trembling hands, fumbling for his phone, showed just how shaken he was.
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