The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 70

The men hesitated, taken aback by Shin Hae-soo’s imposing aura. But they were ten strong, armed with gleaming, razor-sharp knives, against a single unarmed man.

Moreover, these weren’t just any thugs; they were the kind who’d lived and breathed violence. They advanced quickly, their eyes filled with murderous intent.

Swish.

Hae-soo retreated, maneuvering between the parked cars.

Some followed him directly, while others scrambled onto the cars without hesitation, lunging at him. An SUV was parked on one side, so the men avoided climbing on it.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“Die!”

As Hae-soo faced the man directly in front of him, another attacked from the side. Hae-soo leaned back to dodge the knife, grabbed the attacker’s arm and the back of his head, and slammed his face into the SUV’s window.

Crash!

In that moment, the man he’d been facing ducked low, closed the distance, and swung his knife. Hae-soo ignored the blade, raising his knee.

Thwack!

The man didn’t even manage to cut Hae-soo’s leg before his face was pulverized by the knee strike. It was a risky move, made possible by the stab-proof vest Hae-soo wore.

“Yiaaa!”

They charged again, from the side, the front, and the back.

Hae-soo seized the arm of the man attacking from behind, twisted it sharply, and shoved him into the man in front.

‘Ugh.’

Hae-soo’s brow furrowed slightly.

The feint was a genuine issue. His left wrist was in bad shape from the earlier fight, sending stinging jolts of pain with every movement.

These guys had a different look in their eyes than ordinary gangsters. They possessed the focused gaze of hunters facing a stronger opponent. They showed no fear.

They were unlike Mo Chang-gui’s subordinates, who were experienced in brutalizing many people. These men radiated the raw viciousness of those who had survived in a brutal world, where they had both inflicted and suffered terrible wounds.

Even with their facial skin torn on the car windows, their noses broken by punches, and their arms twisted, they didn’t give up, attacking with relentless tenacity.

“Left! His left isn’t right! It’s not a feint, the bastard’s injured! Focus on the left!”

Everyone except two shifted to the left, demonstrating their discipline even in the heat of a life-or-death struggle.

They had witnessed Hae-soo’s skill in taking down a dozen or so top-tier fighters at the party, so they had dispatched selected experts.

Bang!

Hae-soo’s fist connected with one man’s face. The man’s eyes rolled back as he flew through the air, his head smashing against a car window before he collapsed.

Hae-soo shook his right hand, glaring at them like a cornered wolf.

Four men were unconscious on the ground, but their momentum hadn’t diminished. Therefore…

“I can’t hold back.”

The men stiffened for a moment at the words, unsure if it was a bluff or a genuine threat.

Ding-dong.

The sound of the elevator arriving echoed through the garage. The wooden blocks that the men had wedged into the elevator doors before the battle had been removed during the fight.

The men, and even Hae-soo, stared at the elevator with wide eyes.

It would be incredibly dangerous for an ordinary person to stumble into this situation.

-Basement floor 1. The doors are opening.

Screech-

In that brief lull, the doors slid open, revealing a delicate figure.

A pink hoodie, a deeply shadowed hood, leggings, and running shoes – it was Haru.

She looked at Hae-soo, her eyes widening slightly, then surveyed the masked men. A murderous intent gradually crept into her gaze.

“I won’t kill you.”

As soon as she spoke, she darted out of the elevator, snatched a knife from the floor, and lunged at one of the men.

The men’s brains short-circuited for a moment at Haru’s sudden appearance and actions.

Haru dodged the man’s knife, slipped to the side, stuck to his back, slashed his armpits, and then dropped down, cutting his hamstrings.

Slice, slice-

“Kuaaak!”

While the man screamed, blood gushing from his armpits and legs, Haru performed a front roll towards another man and severed his Achilles tendon.

“Aaaak!”

The knife-wielders had truly met their match.

The men descended into chaos as Haru stormed onto the battlefield.

“Ugh…”

Bang!

Hae-soo knocked out the man who had just regained consciousness. Now there were four left, and they seemed to have lost their will to fight for the first time due to Haru’s unexpected arrival.

Thud, thud.

With two people surrounding four, Hae-soo grinned and swung his fist. At the same time, Haru also charged forward, holding the blood-stained knife in a reverse grip.

*

In the blood-soaked underground parking lot, four cars were damaged, and twelve men groaned on the floor.

Hae-soo took out a cable tie from his inside pocket, handed it to Haru, and made a phone call.

“Yes, this is Sergeant Shin Hae-soo from the Violent Crimes Unit. I request three patrol cars for support at the Lead Building underground parking lot. We were attacked by knife-wielding assailants. More than ten of them. I have them subdued, so please send them slowly.”

Hae-soo had the men kneel in a neat row and waited for the patrol car support, then cut the cable tie of one of the men who looked relatively okay.

“Take off your coat and wipe up the blood with it.”

“Yes…”

“Quickly.”

“Yes, sir!”

The man began to wipe the blood splattered on the car with movements as quick as a military private.

Meanwhile, Hae-soo looked at the other men and raised one hand.

“Who’s the boss here?”

No one said anything, but you could tell who the boss was by the direction their eyes were darting. Hae-soo also released his cable tie.

“Go.”

“Yes?”

“Go, go tell the guy who sent you what happened to you, then he won’t send you again.”

He looked at his subordinates’ faces and asked.

“Aren’t you going to ask… who sent us?”

“It’s not just one or two, hurry up and get lost, I’ll count to three. One, two…”

“Thank you!!”

He bowed deeply and limped away desperately.

Haru, who had been quietly watching his retreating figure, said.

“Shall we follow him?”

“Just keep an eye on him from a distance.”

Haru nodded slightly and followed the man.

*

The man kept glancing behind him as he ran away, caught a taxi, and immediately made a phone call from there.

“It failed.”

-What? You were so damn confident.

“That guy isn’t human. And some strange woman popped out in the middle…”

-Damn it, that’s why you can’t trust rumors, shut up and get it done somehow, or you’ll die.

“Watch your mouth. I know your face.”

-Don’t bullshit and finish the job no matter what, or die.

The man was silent for a moment, then hung up.

The taxi driver was glancing at him in the rearview mirror.

“Have you never seen anyone talking on the phone before?”

“Ah, no.”

The man got out of the taxi and went into the basement of a three-story multi-family house, then came out after 30 minutes. He changed his clothes and wore a hat pulled down low over a large bag.

Then, he looked around and carefully moved his steps.

After a while, a woman subtly appeared in the spot where he had passed.

“He’s packing his bags and moving. It looks like he’s trying to escape. Shall we catch him?”

-Catch him, I’ll be right there.

“Yes.”

Tadatadak-

The man quickly turned around at the sound of light footsteps rapidly approaching. He checked the woman’s face for a moment and his pupils widened. But after checking her hands, his eyes turned fierce. He thought he could handle her since she didn’t have a knife.

He twisted his upper body to avoid Haru’s small hand and took out a knife from his waist. No, he was trying to take it out.

Thud, thud, crack-

But Haru kicked his hand, dropping the knife, and skillfully climbed onto his back, crossing her arms and pulling on his collar.

“Kkeueueue!”

It doesn’t take more than 10 seconds to pass out if you properly compress the carotid artery.

He thrashed around and hit his back against the wall before slowly collapsing.

*

All twelve men, including the last one, were brought to the Gangjin Police Station.

The last number the man called was a burner phone [a disposable phone used to avoid tracing]. It was currently turned off, so they only checked the last location it was turned on. It was in the center of a busy street, so there was nothing special to gain.

Hae-soo entered the interrogation room again with his left arm in a cast. Inside was the boss man he had let go.

Hae-soo silently clenched and unclenched his right fist, staring at his face.

The man flinched every time Hae-soo clenched his fist.

A suffocating silence filled the room, and the man sweated profusely before opening his mouth, exhausted.

“It’s someone who came to us after hearing rumors that we were good with knives. As it’s a contract killing [an assassination carried out for payment], I don’t know anything about the client’s identity. I only know what he looks like.”

Hae-soo nodded slowly and continued to clench and unclench his fist.

“He came to the office. He had the air of a swaggering thug, and he gave us a down payment of 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD] and said he would give us double the completion fee. His face might have been caught on the company car’s black box.”

Hae-soo finally opened his mouth.

“Get up.”

Hae-soo took the man to his office and collected the surrounding CCTV and black boxes.

The man pointed to a person wearing a hat and walking with a swaggering gait.

“This is the guy.”

Looking at the angle where his face was properly shown, it was a man with a snake tattoo on his neck that went up to his chin. It was a man he had never seen before. It seemed like they had put a lot of effort into it this time since it was a contract killing.

But since they could identify who had instigated it, catching him was only a matter of time.

*

The Violent Crimes Unit was lying in wait at two locations: in front of Geonyeong Corporation’s office and at Jang Kang-cheon’s house.

“Are we just waiting here for that snake tattoo guy to show up?”

“He might come out, or they might go out, either way, we have to hope they make contact.”

The burner phone number that the contract killer had called was being checked in real time by the Intelligence Division.

Several hours later.

Gurgle.

The youngest member clutched his stomach and frowned.

“Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.

The sound was loud enough for Hae-soo to hear. This was the kind that would force its way out even if you tried to hold it back.

“Go.”

“Sorry!”

The youngest member quickly opened the van door and headed to a nearby public restroom.

Clang.

But the restroom door was firmly locked. The youngest member grabbed the doorknob tightly and was overcome with despair.

“Damn it…”

The youngest member seriously considered breaking down the door, but reluctantly turned his head.

Creak, creak-

At that moment, the door opened and a man with disheveled hair and a suit came out.

A pale face with narrow eyes, gold-rimmed glasses, a face he had seen somewhere.

‘Who was it?’

The youngest member went into the restroom and took care of his urgent business. Once he had emptied out what was inside, he finally had some leeway and remembered who the man from earlier was.

‘The Chief Secretary!’

It was the Chief Secretary of Geonyeong Corporation that he had seen in the pictures. He’s using a public restroom and locking the door when the Geonyeong Corporation office is right in front of him? Even in a disheveled state as if he had been in a fight? Anyone could tell that it was strange.

The youngest member picked up his phone and was about to call Hae-soo when.

“Heeeuuu…”

A small groan was heard from the side. The youngest member quickly finished up and opened the next stall.

Inside was a man who had been beaten to a pulp. There was a snake tattoo on his neck. The youngest member picked up his phone.

“Detective, I found that guy.”

*

After investigating the man’s identity, he turned out to be the Chief Secretary of Geonyeong Corporation’s cousin, a violent offender who had been in and out of prison several times.

Now the pieces were roughly falling into place.

*

At the Geonyeong Corporation office, a team leader with a slightly protruding belly, followed by three well-built men, was confidently moving their steps.

Their appearance was noticeable anywhere. Several people hurriedly blocked their path.

“Y-you can’t just come in here!”

“The president isn’t here right now!”

At that time, the Chief Secretary came out of the president’s office, closed the door, and raised his chin.

“For the police to barge in like this without a warrant, can you handle the consequences?”

Swish.

As soon as he said that, a piece of paper was thrust in front of his nose. It was an arrest warrant.

Hae-soo put his face next to the paper and opened his mouth.

“I have a warrant, so don’t let some mere criminal block my way, move.”

<#70. Free Pass>