The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 18

A large sofa factory sat an hour outside Gangjin City.

Thanks to Gangswae’s cooperation, Mo Chang-gwi, the head of the Hook Gang, was quickly located.

Shin Hae-soo arrived at the factory at the same time as Oh Gang-seok’s Violent Crimes Unit 1, despite his late start.

“We don’t know how many are inside. The structure is roughly three floors: first, second, and a basement level. It’s quite large. There are three entrances: east, west, and north. Wait at the entrances and breach all at once upon radio command. The team that finds Mo Chang-gwi first radios in. Don’t spare the bullets; these guys are crazy.”

The other teams nodded at the Violent Crimes Unit 1 leader’s orders. The Violent Crimes Unit 2 leader continued,

“Patrol officers have been called, so they’ll be arriving soon. I told them to coordinate radio frequencies, so they’ll begin the encirclement once we breach.”

“Okay.”

Oh Gang-seok grabbed Hae-soo’s shoulder and steered him towards Violent Crimes Unit 3.

“Chief Shin, move with Violent Crimes Unit 3.”

“Yes.”

Hae-soo agreed that supporting another team would be better than staying with Oh Gang-seok’s Violent Crimes Unit 1, to maintain balance in this kind of operation.

Unlike the Dying Night case, where two organizations were fighting each other, raiding the headquarters where the boss is located is like cornering a rat. They think they’ll die if they don’t kill, so it’s much more dangerous than before.

-Two hundred one, reporting in.

-Two hundred two, reporting in.

“Two hundred three has reported in.”

The three teams arrived at their respective positions, and the Violent Crimes Unit 1 leader’s voice came through the radio.

-Okay, breaching now. Let’s all see each other alive. Safety first.

-Two hundred two, breaching.

“Two hundred three, breaching.”

Violent Crimes Unit 3 consisted of five people, including Hae-soo. They entered through the back door, the north entrance.

Whirrr, thud. Whirrr, thud.

Upon entering, they heard loud machinery noises. It sounded like the factory was running even at dawn.

Violent Crimes Unit 3’s role was to thoroughly search the second floor.

The youngest member of Violent Crimes Unit 3, walking next to Hae-soo, rubbed his arm and shivered.

“Ugh, creepy…”

Violent Crimes Unit 1 usually handles the most dangerous cases, as indicated by the number sequence. So, as the youngest member of Violent Crimes Unit 3, this kind of brutal scene was unfamiliar and scary to him.

He looked at Hae-soo’s broad shoulders as he walked, and to shake off the fear, he started a conversation.

“Chief Shin, are you married?”

Out of the blue, Hae-soo shook his head.

“No.”

“I see. I’m getting married next month. My girlfriend…”

“Shhh.”

Hae-soo urgently stopped him. He was startled, and his eyes widened.

“You don’t talk about marriage, girlfriends, or kids at a Code Zero scene [active crime scene].”

“Yes, understood…”

The youngest member nodded blankly. Just then, a fork in the road appeared.

“You and Chief Shin go this way; the youngest and I will go this way.”

“Yes.”

Hae-soo teamed up with a detective in his late thirties and headed down the left path.

The detective led the way, then suddenly stopped at a bend in the road and pressed himself against the wall. He looked at Hae-soo, held up two fingers, and pointed inside with his index finger.

The gesture indicated that there were two people around the corner, and it sounded like they were talking. A surprise attack is most effective when the enemy doesn’t notice it for as long as possible.

Hae-soo nodded, lowered his stance, and passed the detective. Two men, seemingly Hook Gang members, were facing each other and talking.

“…I got so pissed that I cut off that bastard’s wrist first, and then severed his Achilles tendon.”

“Wow, that’s hardcore. I want to try that sometime…”

Hae-soo, who had lowered his body and approached within about five meters, felt one of the guys sense his presence and turn his head.

At the same time, Hae-soo pounced like a beast, covered one man’s mouth and struck the back of his neck with a knifehand strike [a martial arts technique using the edge of the hand], and punched the other man in the nose as he was pulling out a knife from his pocket.

Thwack-

“Ugh.”

The man, wincing at the pain of his nose collapsing, staggered backward. This time, a hook [punch] came in and struck the man’s jaw.

Crack!

With a gruesome sound, the man collapsed to the floor like a doll with its strings cut. His lower jaw was dislocated to the side, and his bones were misaligned.

Hae-soo turned around and gestured to the detective, who was now cautiously approaching. The detective looked down at the two unconscious men and muttered.

“A nuke punch [extremely powerful punch]? Oh Gang-i wasn’t praising him for nothing.”

He clicked his tongue and followed behind Hae-soo.

As they were climbing the stairs to the second floor, the emergency bell installed throughout the factory rang. The surprise attack had been discovered.

The first floor was the factory, and the second floor had break rooms and locker rooms.

Thud thud thud thud.

The sound of footsteps echoed chaotically. There were more gang members on the second floor than on the first, as there were break rooms.

“It’s them! It’s the cops!”

Five men spotted Hae-soo and the detective and rushed towards them. Three of them were shirtless, covered in tattoos to the point where it was hard to find any skin color. Each of them was holding a weapon.

Thud thud thud.

Footsteps could be heard from behind as well. It was a narrow hallway that was difficult for three people to pass through at once, but they couldn’t be surrounded from the front and back.

Hae-soo pulled out his gun and asked the detective,

“Did you bring a lot of bullets?”

“Huh? Ah, two [magazines].”

Enough for two reloads. Hae-soo immediately pointed the gun at the ceiling and pulled the trigger.

Bang!!

“Put your hands over your heads and get on the ground, and no one will get hurt.”

“Kill them!!”

“Waaaaah!”

Even though he fired the gun, it didn’t work at all. Hae-soo aimed at the lower body of the man running at the front.

Bang, bang!

“Agh!”

One shot per person, Hae-soo kneed the face of the man who had his thigh shot and was kneeling, and grabbed the hair of the man next to him and slammed it against the wall.

The other men flinched at his actions of shooting without hesitation. Hae-soo didn’t miss the opportunity and shot them in the thighs.

Bang, crack!

“Sh, shi*! Are cops even allowed to do this?!”

Hae-soo stepped on the head of the last man and twisted his arm back.

“If you come at a cop with a knife, it’s okay to kill you.”

Handcuffs take up a lot of space, but cable ties are light and take up less space. That’s why many veteran detectives bring cable ties when dispatched to scenes where they have to apprehend a large number of people.

Hae-soo was the same. While he was tying up the last guy with cable ties, another group came running from the opposite side.

Hae-soo gestured with his chin at the detective, who was flustered. The detective soon understood and calmly raised his gun and aimed it at them.

*

While the detectives were struggling in their respective positions, a radio message came through.

-Basement, basement, Mo Chang-gwi!!

The purpose of this dispatch was to apprehend Hook Gang leader Mo Chang-gwi. As soon as the radio message was heard, the atmosphere inside the factory itself changed as the detectives began to move busily.

-Heading to Songwon! Keep calling out the location!

Hae-soo also made eye contact with the detective and started running to the basement.

-No, shi*, this bastard, cough!

Hae-soo’s heart grew anxious at the ominous sound.

“Wait, wait, Chief Shin, let’s go together!”

Hae-soo ignored the detective’s words and ran to the basement.

Two men blocking the way could be seen. There was no room to worry about the safety of the enemies when a cop was about to die.

Hae-soo didn’t slow down and collided with them.

“Yaaah!”

He punched the face of the man who jumped and swung his knife down. The knife pierced Hae-soo’s shoulder, but the blade tore through the man’s grip due to the stab-proof vest, and the man’s face caved in as if it had been molded into the shape of a fist, and he collapsed.

The next man extended his knife towards Hae-soo’s neck. Hae-soo crossed his arm with the man’s, grabbed his wrist, spun around, and struck his temple with his elbow.

Thwack!

The man couldn’t even scream and fell on the spot.

Passing them and turning the corner, the stench of blood wafted out.

“Cough, cough, cough.”

A long-haired man covered in blood could be seen. Around him, three detectives were bleeding and lying motionless.

In his hand, he held the youngest detective who had told Hae-soo earlier that he was getting married next month. A blood-soaked knife was held to the youngest’s neck.

He was holding the youngest as a hostage, facing Hae-soo. Hae-soo immediately aimed his gun at him.

“Mo Chang-gwi, drop the knife.”

“Heh, will your gun be faster, or my knife?”

Before he could even understand what kind of bizarre words those were, Mo Chang-gwi’s knife slashed the youngest’s neck. Then, using the youngest, who was gushing blood from his neck like a fountain, as a shield, he charged at Hae-soo.

When that hot blood soaked Hae-soo’s face, he made a decision.

‘Reset.’

Reset can only be used once a day. In this kind of surprise attack scene, you have to carefully choose when to use it. And Hae-soo thought there couldn’t be a worse situation than this.

Whoosh-

Just as the tip of Mo Chang-gwi’s knife was about to touch Hae-soo’s neck, the surroundings changed drastically.

*

Honk honk-

He was on the way to the sofa factory on a motorcycle.

Hae-soo had regrouped with the detectives and entered with Violent Crimes Unit 3.

The youngest member rubbed his arm and muttered.

“Ugh, creepy. Chief Shin, are you married?”

Hae-soo looked at him and raised his index finger.

“You don’t say things like that at a Code Zero scene [active crime scene].”

The youngest blinked his big eyes, closed his mouth tightly, and just nodded.

And when they arrived at the fork in the road and the groups were divided, Hae-soo said to the detective in the same group.

“I’m going to move quickly. Keep up.”

“Huh? Uh?”

After that, the detective clicked his tongue as he watched Hae-soo’s unwavering movements.

“What the heck is he? Is he a monster?”

Thwack thwack thwack!

He subdued them as if he knew where the enemies were and what attacks they would make.

After going up to the second floor, he didn’t touch the other empty rooms and ghostlike found the room where five guys were gathered and quickly swept them away.

“Oh Gang-i doesn’t look for Chief Shin for no reason…”

Crack!

Hae-soo, who had taken care of the guys he encountered in the hallway, gestured to the detective.

“Please take care of these guys.”

“Ah, yes, but where are you going…?”

The detective tilted his head as Hae-soo suddenly went down the stairs.

And not long after, a radio message came through.

-Basement, basement, Mo Chang-gwi!

*

Thwack thwack!

“Ugh.”

Basement, Mo Chang-gwi was pinning a detective against the wall and stabbing him in the heart with a knife. Even though he was wearing a stab-proof vest, the blade dug into the detective’s flesh due to his tremendous brute force, and the detective’s body froze.

As Mo Chang-gwi was about to ensure his death by pressing down on the handle of the knife with both hands, a shadow fell over him.

Thud!

Hae-soo tackled him with a body slam. The two rolled around in the hallway and quickly got back on their feet.

Glug glug

In that short moment, he pulled out the knife, and blood poured out of the detective’s chest.

Hae-soo glanced at the detective and took a step back, raising his guard at the chilling aura.

Swish

The blade grazed his forearm. If he had been a little late, a blood line would have been drawn on his neck.

“Not bad.”

Mo Chang-gwi stuck close to Hae-soo so he couldn’t pull out his gun and swung his knife.

Hae-soo frantically dodged his knife without being able to pull out his gun or baton.

Whoosh-

The blade narrowly passed by the side of his neck. Because of the distance, his elbow was fully extended, making his movements large.

Hae-soo tucked his arm into his armpit and struck his face with his elbow.

Crack

He could feel the sensation of his nose bones crumbling at the end of his elbow.

However, even though his nose bones had collapsed, he didn’t even close his eyes and swung his elbow at Hae-soo.

Hae-soo blocked his attack with his palm, released his armpit, and pushed his body with his shoulder.

As he created some distance, he quickly pulled out his gun and pulled the trigger. This time, it wasn’t his lower body, but his upper body.

Bang, bang!

Surprisingly, Mo Chang-gwi accurately saw the direction of the muzzle in this dark place and twisted his body before the trigger was pulled to dodge the bullet. The second bullet grazed his shoulder.

Swish

Judging that it was no longer possible to dodge, he threw the knife and hid while Hae-soo deflected it. A voice like scraping a steel plate with a sickle could be heard.

“The cop is trying to kill someone.”

“You’re not a person.”

Hae-soo narrowed his brows and chased after him into the alley where he had disappeared. The next turning point was quite far. He couldn’t have disappeared this quickly.

Suddenly, a question arose. Why was Mo Chang-gwi alone in this situation, both before and after the reset? He should have been accompanied by dozens of subordinates.

Shuk-

Hae-soo took a step back and pulled his upper body back. A sharp blade was thrust right in front of his nose. He had climbed onto a container box and attacked from above.

The question was solved. This guy has no intention of running away. He’s enjoying hunting cops.

Bang, bang!

As soon as he aimed his gun, he disappeared again. Hae-soo jumped up, grabbed the ceiling of the container box, and fired his gun one more time above with only his upper body raised.

Bang

It was dark, but the silhouette should have been visible because of a faint light in the distance, but it wasn’t even visible.

Hae-soo came down and focused on the sound. He knew what the guy was waiting for. Hae-soo suppressed the sound as much as possible, took out a bullet, left one space empty, and reloaded.

Rustle

‘It’s on the left.’

Hae-soo immediately turned around and aimed his gun. Mo Chang-gwi, sticking his head out, could be seen.

Bang!

The guy once again dodged the bullet with amazing reflexes.

Click

When Hae-soo pulled the trigger one more time and the sound of the firing pin hitting the empty space echoed, Mo Chang-gwi smiled bitterly and charged like a wolf.

Hae-soo quietly aimed at him again. Mo Chang-gwi’s smile disappeared at Hae-soo’s unwavering eyes.

Bang!

The bullet pierced his shoulder, and blood splattered. Even in that short moment, he had noticed and twisted his body.

Almost simultaneously, the tip of his knife grazed Hae-soo’s neck.

Hae-soo felt his left neck burning as if it had been burned. He reflexively turned his head but couldn’t avoid it.

Cheeeee-

A blood line formed on his neck, and blood spurted out. He had avoided the carotid artery but suddenly became dizzy and staggered. Hae-soo could feel it instinctively.

‘If I stop it now, I’ll die.’

The knife, confident of victory, came at his neck again. His head was dizzy, and his vision narrowed. He couldn’t be like this against this monstrous guy.

At that moment, Mo Chang-gwi’s blade was clearly visible, as if the camera had zoomed in on a picture. He felt like he could grab it. If he thought it was possible, it was possible.

Thud

Hae-soo’s left hand barely crossed his knife and grabbed Mo Chang-gwi’s wrist. At the same time, he struck the man’s temple with his elbow and punched the face of the man who was backing away.

Thwack crack-

Then, he raised his right elbow, which was holding the knife.

Snap!

“Kghack!”

Only then did he scream as his elbow was destroyed, and he lunged at Hae-soo’s neck, biting the place where he had been cut by the knife and blood was flowing.

Crack!

Hae-soo grabbed his collar at the dizzying pain, turned him around, and pushed him against the wall. At that time.

Bang! Bang!

Mo Chang-gwi’s head hitting the container box and Hae-soo’s back becoming hot were almost simultaneous.

When he turned his head, the detective who had been bleeding and lying on the ground was holding a gun. The detective’s eyes were full of embarrassment.

Mo Chang-gwi, with Hae-soo’s blood all over his mouth, laughed like a demon.

“Is this what they call team kill [friendly fire]?”

< #18. Hook Gang Leader Mo Chang-gwi > End