BXBX NOVEL Chapter 690. Exploring (5)
Chapter 690. Exploring (5)
Back then, Zhang Dajing wasn\'t aware of this truth. After all, how could a man forced to live in a foreign country as a so-called spy find his life enjoyable? No, that wasn\'t quite right; rather than enjoyable, it\'d be more correct to say he didn\'t find it fulfilling.
His role was an agent tasked with collecting information. However, there wasn\'t much for him to investigate in South Korea. The higher-ups didn\'t particularly want something from him either. Which was unsurprising, seeing how they viewed Korea as a convenient country to dump somewhat-useless agents. To them, there didn\'t seem to be a point in collecting information on Korean soil, but the country\'s close proximity to China meant it couldn\'t simply be overlooked.
All these factors combined to give Zhang Dajing an extremely-boring life in Korea. Most of the tasks he dealt with were basically going along with time-wasting nonsense cooked up by higher-ups who couldn\'t bear to see their subordinates lounging around doing nothing.
Back then, Zhang Dajing found that life boring. Unstimulating. He wished for assignments that could make him feel the burden of responsibility. He wanted something more thrilling to happen in his life!
But now, after reflecting on his life leading up to this moment...
\'Yup, I\'ve been a stupid bastard, haven\'t I?\'
Zhang Dajing held his head. Why didn\'t he realize it back then? That he was living in a paradise?
What was that about wanting something more thrilling in his life?
\'Thrilling, my ass!\'
Slam, bang! Crash!
Indeed, the sight of all those Chinese martial artists crashing and slamming onto the floor looked oh-so-very thrilling, now didn\'t it! After finally finding himself in the middle of an extremely thrilling event, something he had been ardently wishing for all this time...
Zhang Dajing\'s honest impression was rather straightforward.
\'I wanna go back to those daaaaaays!\'
Why had he been so blind? He should\'ve been content with what he had! The era had changed, after all!
If it was ten years ago, people might have still held on to romantic dreams of leading a heroic life, but not anymore. Not in this day and age. People of the current era only wanted a stable life free from trials and tribulations, and they worked hard to achieve that \'dream.\'
Zhang Dajing used to find such people pathetic. But now? Ironically, it was he who hankered for that life more than anyone else!
Back when he was still the agent working for the Crimson King\'s faction, Zhang Dajing didn\'t have to face any dangers. He had no responsibilities to worry about. And he still got paid well every month!
Not only that, but he didn\'t have to worry about being forced to attend company dinners, too! Clocking out on time was a guaranteed perk of his job!
Where would anyone find a godly job like this in the world? Other than the minor demerit of zero pension, this job should even make government workers green with envy. Besides, Zhang Dajing could\'ve easily saved up to deal with the pension problem since his salary was so much \'fatter\' than what most government workers could hope to get.
If someone asked him what he thought was the world\'s greatest, most ideal job, Zhang Dajing would\'ve unhesitantly replied, \'Working as an agent for the Crimson King\'s faction in South Korea... Before Vator\'s entrance to the scene!\'
\'And they say you don\'t know what you had until it\'s gone...!\'
The corners of Zhang Dajing\'s eyes began stinging from the sweat of his heart. Humans were allegedly ungrateful creatures who didn\'t know how good they had it. That assertion seemed on point since Zhang Dajing had been so full of dissatisfaction and complaints despite having a godly job like that!
Why didn\'t he realize that not being in constant danger was a massive blessing? If he only knew back then what he knew now, his outlook on life would\'ve been ten times brighter and happier!
No matter how swift regret was, it always came too late.
The result of Zhang Dajing throwing away a life in paradise and choosing to serve Vator and find some worth in himself was...
“Kkrrrrruk...”
Zhang Dajing watched as another martial artist landed not too far away from the table he was hiding under. That poor man\'s eyes rolled back as foams bubbled out of his mouth. And when those foams gradually turned crimson from all the blood, Zhang Dajing wiped the tears away from his eyes.
\'Yup, I must\'ve gone insane!\'
Someone once said that life looked like a comedy from afar, but up close, it\'d be a tragedy. The life Zhang Djaing yearned for seemed so cool and exciting from a distance, but now that he was a part of the so-called excitement... Things were a lot crazier than he had bargained for!
\'Goddamn it! How could you attack someone with weapons when they are in the middle of a meal?! You stinking sons of b*tches!\'
Bothering a dog in the middle of a meal was considered rude, so imagine what it\'d be like with people!
\'Sure, I\'m willing to understand why! However!\'
Even if this was China, completely ignoring eyewitnesses was impossible for martial artists. In the past, they could\'ve swept everything under the carpet by threatening and pressuring the media and the Public Security Bureau. Unfortunately, the same tactic was less effective these days. Even if the media could be suppressed, there was social media to worry about.
In this day and age, when even a random tramp roughing it in the streets carried a smartphone, avoiding cameras was an exercise in futility. That was why the Chinese martial society was pushing for stricter, nay, make that \'blanket\', censorship of all social media sites. Of course, the poor politicians got caught in the crosshairs of the public\'s disgruntlement, but that wasn\'t the martial society\'s problem.
In any case! Completely shutting out all potential witnesses was a prerequisite when you wanted to wreck someone real good. Kang Jin-Ho and Vator weren\'t some random local hoodlums, after all; for obvious reasons, they couldn\'t be dragged to some deserted back alley to be taken care of.
In that sense, this diner must\'ve looked like a perfect location for an ambush as it was a lone building found on the rural outskirts.
So far, so very understandable. Zhang Dajing could understand that much. However...
\'But... What made them feel confident enough to attack us?\'
Zhang Dajing cautiously pushed his head past the table\'s protection.
BOOM!
That was when he was treated to the sight of Vator punching someone literally through the roof. Zhang Dajing reflexively closed his eyes and prayed for the victim to safely reach the afterlife. That man must\'ve died, after all!
Indeed, if that victim had morals, he should die from a hit powerful enough to send a body through the roof and into the sky! Only in manhwas would people survive a brutal hit like that.
Of course, that man was a martial artist, so he should be sturdier than regular people. However, that didn\'t mean they were invulnerable. A punch like that should still kill him. Especially when the person punching was none other than Vator...!
“Hahahaha!” Vator burst into raucous laughter while wildly swinging his arms. That attack didn\'t really qualify as a martial art technique since all he did was load his massive arms with qi and swing them around like a windmill!
However, the enemies were still rendered helpless against this plain attack. Their plight was understandable, though.
Martial artists were still susceptible to blades to their flesh, but that story didn\'t apply to Vator. Even after an attack containing every ounce of the enemy\'s strength landed on his back, Vator would turn his head while making an expression that said, \'Oh, my bad. I didn\'t know you were there. If you had hit me any gentler, I would have never noticed you,\' before kicking the poor bastard out of the bloody building!
This was illogical. Totally irrational! Wasn\'t this the same as trying to fight an opponent covered from head to toe in metal armor with nothing but a sponge spear?
“You rat-like bastards!” Vator loudly roared and reached out to grab the martial artists pitifully shivering away in the corner, obviously too scared to even fight back. And soon... People\'s bodies flew around like bullets.
\'Huh. Talk about being the modern-day Zhang Fei...\'
Not even Zhang Fei during the Battle of Changban would\'ve displayed such martial prowess! Besides...
\'If you\'re comparing who\'s worse off, the other side will surely take the cake...\'
At least Vator\'s side left an impression of some kind. An impression that he was a noble warrior displaying his godly attainment in martial arts in the middle of an enemy encampment.
On the other hand, Kang Jin-Ho\'s side didn\'t have any of such noble traits.
Crunch...
“Krrrruk...”
That was neither a scream nor a pained whimper. No, that was a brief death throe of a man whose throat and jaw got crushed in Kang Jin-Ho\'s grip.
\'All I did was turn my head, you know! Stop switching genres, okay?!\'
Zhang Dajing grimaced deeply while witnessing that grisly end of a nameless goon. It was like watching an exciting action movie with Vator as the lead actor, but a small shift in the viewing angle rewarded Zhang Dajing with scenes straight out of an 18+ horror flick! This bizarre chasm in genres tormented Zhang Dajing to no end.
Vator\'s surroundings could be described as \'clean.\' Unsurprising, considering anyone caught in his grip was thrown away into the distance while those getting hit by his huge fists were blown far away. However, Kang Jin-Ho\'s vicinity was littered with collapsed martial artists.
Every single one of them was losing copious amounts of blood, obviously unconscious. Thanks to what he had done, the floor Kang Jin-Ho stood on now resembled a pond filled with blood.
Splash...
Every time Kang Jin-Ho took a step, the chilling sound of blood splashing around rang out in the diner.
“Uwaaahhh....?!”
This diner wasn\'t all that spacious, to begin with, so with these many martial artists cramming inside, they didn\'t have enough room to urgently turn around and flee. They knew they couldn\'t stay here, but the circumstances were preventing them from running away.
The fear of knowing their retreat had been cut off! And the fear of not knowing what would happen to them the moment they showed their backs! These rats, who had created their own dead-end, could only stare wide-eyed in fear as a starving cat leisurely closed the distance.
Zhang Dajing could only sigh in pity at this scene.
\'I mean, really now. None of this is your fault, you know?\'
Sure, they could be blamed for going ahead with this ambush after failing to accurately gauge their opponents\' strength. What Zhang Dajing wanted to say here was that unreservedly blaming these poor bastards didn\'t make sense.
All human beings could be classified according to their \'class.\' And they behaved according to their classes. Those who regularly caused a scene in bars and clubs were invariably thugs and hoodlums. Meanwhile, petty thieves usually were under some financial strain. Of course, there were cases of scions of wealthy families causing a scene in hostess bars in South Korea before getting arrested for disorderly conduct, but those were outliers. The so-called exception to the norm, as it were!
The only crime these Chinese martial artists were guilty of was not knowing the identities of the culprits responsible for the minor incident in the outskirts of Sichuan. And that was the fault of the higher-ups, not the grunts.
Game devs did their utmost best to ensure no bosses would descend on the low-level hunting grounds for noobs. However, this was reality, not a video game. Since that was the case... How could a boss mob on those two men\'s level invade this deep in the boonies and raise hell like this!
Zhang Dajing earnestly sympathized with the Chinese martial artists. Too bad, his feelings weren\'t enough to change the situation in any meaningful way.
“Kkkhweuhk...”
“Urgh, euh...”
Less than ten minutes after all these men flooded into the diner all confident and the like, they were lying on the floor, getting an unexpected \'comfy\' rest against their will.
It seemed Kang Jin-Ho and Vator thought nothing worthy of their consideration had happened here, judging from their slightly-annoyed expressions while walking back to their table.
Kang Jin-Ho grunted. “You can come out now.”
“...Oh, of course.” Zhang Dajing cautiously slipped out from under the table before flinching a little. \'Holy cow. Isn\'t this a bit too much even for them?\'
Despite all that chaos, the food on the table had not been disturbed once. Even as Kang Jin-Ho and Vator destroyed and flung people around, they still ensured no bodies would land in the table\'s vicinity.
Should that be seen as remarkable or small-minded? Zhang Dajing couldn\'t make up his mind.
Vator pointed at the table. “Let\'s finish our meal, then.”
“...I\'m sorry?” Zhang Dajing blinked his eyes in confusion.
“We should finish our meal before setting off.”
Finish their meal? Here?
Zhang Dajing carefully glanced around.
“Urgh... Krrrrk...”
Martial artists, with their arms and legs bent at weird angles, were whimpering in pain on the floor. More than half of them were bleeding profusely from their ripped and torn injuries, too.
Zhang Dajing couldn\'t tear his eyes away from all the pool of blood gradually creeping toward their table. But now, what did they want to do? Finish their meal?
How insane must you be to even think about finishing your damn food in this place?!
“Mm? What\'s the matter?” Vator cocked an eyebrow.
“...It\'s nothing, sir.”
Zhang Dajing\'s heart hurled heavy criticism at his traveling companions, but his mouth remained modest as ever.
\'Oh. I think someone pissed himself...\'
Among the stench of acrid blood, Zhang Dajing could pick up the faint whiff of ammonia. He wanted to cry right about now but held himself back admirably well and cautiously picked up his chopsticks.
He needed to eat to survive, after all! Yes, eat and keep surviving!
However, why was his vision getting blurrier ever since a few seconds ago? Zhang Dajing sneakily wiped the corners of his eyes away with his sleeves.
“By the way, master?” Vator asked Kang Jin-Ho after dumping a plate full of well-roasted chicken in his mouth. “I don\'t think defeating groups of small fries like them every time they show up will get us anywhere.”
“Yes, I agree,” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.
“This is only a waste of our time. By now, you should have figured out where you want to go, so where are we going?”
“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho took his phone out of his pocket and stared at its screen. “That man is still not answering, you see...”
“...You should get in contact with this person as soon as possible. Blindly driving around means we will be forced to retread our steps sooner rather than later. Humans need to know how to plan ahead, after all.”
“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho nodded in acknowledgment. Then, he scrolled through the list of contacts on his phone before tapping on the green call icon.
“By the way, who are you trying to contact, master?”
“It\'s a little hard to explain. Should I say he\'s a wrinkly old man?”
“...Huh? An old man?”
Zhang Dajing listened to the two men converse while listlessly munching on Dougan, a type of firm tofu.
\'Damn it, I guess I won\'t need any seasoning at this point...\'
The stench of blood was so strong that Zhang Dajing thought he was chewing on tofu cooked in blood sauce. No wonder he couldn\'t suppress his shuddering at the sight of these two men busy stuffing their faces while nonchalantly chatting away in the middle of all this carnage!
\'I... We gotta leave this place as soon as possible!\'
At the very least, they needed to leave China. Only then would Zhang Dajing maintain his...
Rrrrrng!
That was when the call finally connected. Kang Jin-Ho quickly pulled the phone away from his ear, put it on speaker, then left the device on the table.
Vator tilted his head. “Why are you...”
Even before he could finish his question, a loud voice suddenly exploded from the phone\'s speaker to interrupt him.
-MY LIEGEEEEE!!!
Even through the phone\'s speaker, the urgency of the owner of that voice could clearly be heard. So was his impressively virile internal energy reserve.
Vator\'s expression grew unreadable, while Kang Jin-Ho could only groan softly under his breath. As for Zhang Dajing...
\'These two are already enough! They are enough, I say! So why! Uwaaaaah?!\'
After instinctively realizing that yet another eccentric character had entered the scene, Zhang Dajing cried out in despair... In his mind, of course.