Chapter 76 – Who Is the Real Culprit? (2)

Lee Ho-soo disappears into darkness with his nose crumpled.
I quickly snatched the flashlight from Kim Hyeon-jun’s hand and pointed it at Lee Ho-soo, who had disappeared.

“Ugh..!”

I checked the figure of Lee Ho-soo, who was stuck in the wall, dripping with a nosebleed, and turned the flashlight to the side again.

“… Dazzling Get rid of it.”
“Hey, don’t you say thank you? This saved me at best, but it came out very shameless. Did you put an iron on his face?”
“It’s an attack I could have avoided.”
“It sucks.”

Swoop-

Following Kim Hyeon-joon taking off his mask, I feel more relieved when I take off my mask, which was frustrating.
Of course, this ungrateful child is annoying.

“Hey, say thank you quickly.”
“Hate.”
“And… Should I just lose one?”
“Don’t forget I always have a pistol with me. Are you short on memory? Or are you incapable of learning? And it happened because you were careless because you said he wasn’t a criminal. Feel sorry for me.”
“Hey.”
“Why?”
“Your memory is lacking.”
“What?”
“You came with a pistol in your desk drawer right in front of me. I’m afraid they’ll find out it’s you.”
“… “

Thug… Thud…

At that moment, Kim Hyun-joon, who lowered his right hand and groped his waist, coughed lightly and turned his head to the side to avoid my staring gaze and murmured.

“Thanks…”
“Okay, that’s what it will be. By the way, since I also caught the culprit, is that really mine?”
“Isn’t this strange?”
“What?”
“The real culprit gave me a chance to escape, but why did you attack me instead of running away?”
“Looks like you’ve been complacent. Uh… You weak bastard.”
“… “
“And while they ran away, they probably tried to kill you and me and take away the coins and, if you’re lucky, the attributes. What do you think is strange about that?”

Kim Hyun-joon, deep in thought, snatched the flashlight from my hand and walked to the place where Lee Ho-su was tucked away in the corner.

“Lee Lake.”
“Sue, it was because I was scared for a moment! I’m trying to survive by leaving the shelter alone. Save me! I am not the real culprit!”
“Shut up. Whether you’re a criminal or not, from the moment you attacked me, you became a criminal.”
“Please, please. Please save my life..”
“Hey, this bastard is more shameless than you. How is it? I think my feelings are similar to yours now. Are you in a bad mood?”
“Be quiet..!”
“What the hell am I talking about?”
“Whoa… “

Kim Hyun-jun, who lowered his head and sighed without looking at me, raised his head again and looked at Lee Ho-soo’s face.

“A little while ago, when I said that you would die tomorrow, you spoke as if you were taken aback, but your eyes did not flinch at all. Like acting.”
“Oh no! What are you talking about?!”
“Yeah, what bullshit is that?”
“… Just be quiet for 2 minutes. Request.”
“Okay, time it. Start.”
“… “

Kim Hyeon-jun, who was staring at me with dumbfounded eyes, quickly turned his head and started pouring out what he wanted to say to Lee Ho-soo, as if it was a waste of time passing.

“I knew in advance that you would not die tomorrow. That means either you know the real culprit, or you’re confident in escaping yourself, or there’s a helper like us who will come to your rescue.”
“Do, what the hell are you talking about?!”

And… My mouth is tickling to death because I want to say what bullshit.
This bastard, did you lose your mind after being attacked once?
Or are you really going to get mad and cover up the sins you didn’t have?
Even if you don’t do that, you’re going to die anyway, so what’s the point of doing that?

“When I saw your movements a moment ago, you don’t have the strength to escape on your own. Then either you know the real culprit or there is another helper who will come to your rescue. But if you knew the real culprit, you wouldn’t have to be locked up here. Unless you’re on the same side. Who else is you Another accomplice.”
“No, that is crazy! Why the hell are you doing this to me?! There is no such thing!!”

Damn, 2 minutes long.
I’d say just be quiet for a minute.
But it’s really strange.
Where does that kid keep glancing at?
I have to look at Kim Hyun-jun if I’m going to have a conversation, and I’m supposed to look at me if I’m going to be wary of me or ask for help, but that guy keeps glancing between me and Kim Hyun-jun.
And if that’s the case, that door that’s open right there.

“Hey, Kim Hyun-joon.”
“There are still 30 seconds left.”
“It’s not like that, but it seems like there’s a real accomplice?”
“… “

Kim Hyun-joon turns his head after me, who is looking towards the door.
And into the quiet basement, very subtle footsteps are heard.

(Let’s go catch it.)
(Wait. If you come in here, it will attack you.)
(Hey, we heard footsteps, but he couldn’t hear us? Think about it, think about it.)
(…)

I whispered with my voice as low as possible so that no one coming here could hear, and as if I was running, I grabbed the flashlight that kept changing hands from hand to hand and started running.

Tadada dat-
Come on!

Footsteps are heard nearby.
Probably on the stairs around the corner.

Click-

I turned off the flashlight before rushing out into the corner and slid across the floor, almost crouching in preparation for any possible attack, and raised the flashlight toward the stairs to turn it on.

Click!

“Cadet..!!”
“Sir.. What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing? Sometime after I went, there was still no news, so I came. And put that away!”

Kim Ji-hoon, who ran to the side to avoid the flashlight shining directly on his face, finally took out a small flashlight from his pants pocket and lit it.

“What happened? The plan was to escape right away. I think the situation is over, but why haven’t you answered the radio yet?”
“You go and ask. But what about Camilla and Diana?”
“Minseo noona and Juha are guarding it. Taejin hyung and Minsu hyung are also waiting next door with a few guards.”

Our plan was like this.
Let this lake escape first.
And if the guy is the culprit, he is very likely to commit additional murders before he leaves, so he attacks the scene or if he has an accomplice, he attacks the scene the moment he finds the accomplice without leaving the shelter.
Well, this is Kim Hyun-joon’s plan, and mine was a little different.
I thought that Lee Ho-soo was unjustly framed as the culprit and that the real culprit would be different, so he planned to advertise loudly so that the real culprit would know that he had escaped.
If that happens, Jinbeom must have thought that everything that happened afterwards would be overwritten by Lee Hosu without any doubt about him, and Jinbeom would have made sure to move so as not to miss the opportunity.
The target of the real culprit who moved like that was very likely to be Diana, whom I had spread the rumor that I had acquired B-class traits in advance, and it was my plan to catch the real culprit who came to kill Diana.

“Isn’t it still too late for Ha Jin-hyung’s plan? Even if that person doesn’t have to go find the real culprit, the real culprit won’t miss the opportunity anyway if that person escaped. In any case, there is nothing to be suspicious of. If I were the real culprit, I think I would move.”
“Hey you idiot. I told you that this bastard and the real criminal are not separate, but accomplices.”
“Then why?”
“Whoa… The fact that he glanced at the door means that the accomplice decided to come to help, and that means there is a high probability that the accomplice also saw the two guarding the entrance lying around.”
“Then the accomplice will notice to some extent. The fact that getting him out is a trap we’ve dug. So he won’t move easily.”
“Ah… “

It was only after hearing all of Kim Hyun-joon’s words, who took over my words, that Kim Ji-hoon nodded as if he understood.
This kid said he became a noncommissioned officer right after graduating from high school.

“So what now?”
“What should I do? There is only one way.”
“What is it?”
“Torturing this bastard until he calls out his accomplice.”
“Wait, wait…! Torture… Creepy!!! Take off..! Knock..!”

When Lee Ho-su, who is kneeling on the floor with his toe raised, kicks the stomach, the guy falls backwards and holds on to his stomach as if he can’t even breathe properly.

“Everything, Captain… Are you okay with that?”
“Human rights must be respected, but there is no reason to respect the human rights of murderers in this world.”
“Yes, you speak well.”

Kim Hyeon-joon In a way, that guy looks like a typical military barista who is stuffy and stuffy, but looking at some situations, including this time, he is a very awake guy.

“Then, shall we break one leg first? Just in case you could run away.”
“I entrust this task to you. Do whatever you want.”
“For a moment… For now, let me say… “
“Do it a little later. It will be over soon.”

Snap-
Swoop-

Grabbing his right ankle with his left hand and lifting him up to his waist level, his wide-eyed Lee Ho-soo screamed in fright.

“No, I will tell you! I’ll tell you everything I know… “
“How many times have we asked? You missed your chance So don’t miss the next chance~ I already missed this one.”
“Hey you crazy bastard!! If you break my leg, I won’t tell you! Never!!!”
“Let’s see where we can do that. Are you a strong-willed independence fighter or a vile pro-Japanese?”
“Please don’t… “

Looking at Lee Ho-soo, who was about to shout as he stretched out his arms toward me, who was holding his right ankle, I smiled at him and struck his clenched right fist with all my might.

Awesome!!!

“Kuaaaaa”
“Wow~ Now you can kneel backwards. I envy you.”
“Quaaaaa!!!!!”

His right fist slashed his knee, and Lee Ho-soo’s right leg bent in reverse.
Certainly, with this, the possibility of him escaping became zero, and I pushed his right ankle forward like a car gear stick and folded his bent leg in the complete opposite direction.
But strangely enough, Lee Ho-soo, who had been screaming to die, became very quiet like a bed talking about science.

“… “
“Hey, are you sleeping?”
“… “
“No, what if I do that?! You fainted!”
“Don’t you know what moderation is? Whoa… It’s my fault for entrusting it to you.”
“Yes, it is your fault. This weak bastard is also at fault.”
“Hyung.. It’s more strange that you don’t lose your mind when your legs are bent like that.”
“Ugh..! Everything, captain… How did this happen…?”

As we were arguing over Lee Ho-soo, who had passed out, we heard the voice of a guard who had just come to his senses.

“So you didn’t tell us to trick the enemy?”
“Sorry. I did it because I judged that he would notice if I acted poorly.”
“No. If that’s the case, that’s fine. It was only that I was short of breath, and there was no injury or pain anywhere.”
“… I’m sick… “
“His hitting you was unplanned and impromptu by that guy.”

Next to the guard who passed out after being choked by Kim Hyun-jun, the guard who was still holding on to the stomach that I had hit looked at me with eyes full of displeasure, but that was it.
It’s not that I hit you with bad intentions, it’s because I said let’s find the culprit.
And even if you have complaints, you won’t be able to argue or attack.

“Then let’s wait here until he wakes up, and Ji-hoon says you’re on the radio and tell everyone to go home and sleep. If this guy doesn’t escape anyway, the real culprit won’t move either.”
“But what if it moves?”
“Hey, you stupid bastard! The bastard who was accused of being the culprit is being held. But if he kills another person here, he’s not the culprit~ There’s another culprit~ and he advertises himself. Wouldn’t it be like you?!”
“It could be… “
“Hey, Hyunjoon Kim. Do military baristas pull out without looking at something like a head? If it’s just limbs, are you going to pull out all of them?”
“Don’t belittle the soldiers. It’s not that Ji-hoon’s words aren’t without truth.”
“What?”
“If the real culprit noticed that we were trying to set a trap after we came here to save him, even if that wasn’t the case, we would get what we could get and leave this place, even if it was because of the anxiety that this guy might have revealed his identity. It’s something you never know.”
“That’s right! I said that because I had the same thoughts as the captain!”
“Don’t be mean. You just chatted without thinking.”
“It’s real!”

It doesn’t matter much what Jihoon Kim thinks.
The important thing is whether or not the culprit really thinks of running away after doing the right thing.
If, like Kim Hyun-jun said, Jin-beom is thinking of picking mulberries and leaving this place, he will definitely be aiming for Deena.
Kim Hyeon-jun and I are also tasty prey, but the risk is too great for the two of us.

“Hey, Hyunjoon Kim. Then I’m going to Deanna, you take that fool and torture him when he wakes up.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to switch roles? I think you’re better suited to torture than we are.”
“A stronger person should go where the risk is high. You’re weak, so do something safe here.”
“I feel pretty dirty. Let’s switch roles. You guys guard this place and torture him to find out the real culprit.”
“No, you weakling bastard.”
“Wait a few days. I will beat you down soon.”
“Why me? I just need to knock you out now.”
“Eh… Aren’t you tired of that? It’s like this once a day Not any kids, tsk tsk… “

Kim Ji-hoon shakes his head and clicks his tongue at the sight of me and Kim Hyeon-jun growling as we push our faces together.
Like he said, it’s normal to have a war of nerves like greeting once a day.

– Captain! A hot topic has arisen here!
-Brother!!! Come here quickly!! I think someone set the fire on purpose!

At the sound of Ahn Tae-jin and Min-seo’s voices coming from Kim Ji-hoon’s radio, Kim Hyun-joon immediately turned around and ran to the place where the American Union was staying.
Of course, Kim Ji-hoon also followed us by radio with the security headquarters, and the flames that rose simultaneously from as many as three villas could only be extinguished after a whopping 30 minutes of extinguishing work.
Even though I couldn’t find the person who started the fire, and I had to spend a lot of coins that people paid for taxes to buy water and fire extinguishers to put out the fire, but no one was burned to death, so I thought it was a situation that could be satisfied to some extent.
Until we go back to the basement.

“Hey, how is this… Captain… “
“… “

A basement full of red blood.
A total of five people were killed, including Lee Ho-soo, the two guards who came to their senses, and the two guards who Kim Hyun-joon had subdued after coming out of the building entrance.
Ah… Is it hard to accept?
To have a madman as close as me.