The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 83

Shin Hae-soo immediately checked the time. There were three hours left. It hadn’t even been ten minutes since the video was uploaded, but the view count was rising at an alarming rate.

Hae-soo picked up the radio with a bitter expression.

“We need to find him before 12…”

-Well, yes, but…

Hae-soo and the team leader both knew it. Finding him in three hours in this state was impossible, but they had to do it.

“And, we found the body of the last victim, Kim Hae-eun.”

-The body… Okay, I understand. Let’s find him first.

“Yes.”

Hae-soo hung up and slowly looked around, wondering if there were any clues in the room. Just then, the phone rang again. It was Jung Young-soo.

-Did you see it?

“I just saw it.”

-He’s a real attention seeker. Did you block the video?

“It’ll be blocked soon.”

-If you block it, he’ll definitely create another account. He’ll upload with an account he already made, or if you trace his IP, it’ll be divided into hundreds. Assuming he uploads from the same place, the overlapping IP addresses of two accounts will be his location.

“You can find him?”

-If he’s uploading the video and doing the live broadcast from the same place.

“So, we can’t know until the live broadcast starts?”

-…We have to try our best to find him before then.

“Okay.”

Finding his location when the live broadcast starts would be too late. They had to find him before that.

Since the time was already announced, there was no more urgent case than this.

The Violent Crimes Unit, with the support of the Gangjin Police Station detectives and patrol officers, began searching every place related to the missing Lee Seo-eun in Jijeong-dong.

“Kim Hae-eun was found in the basement of the study room she frequented. Based on that, it’s highly likely that Lee Seo-eun was kidnapped from a place she often visits.”

Based on Hae-soo’s words, they focused their search on places within Lee Seo-eun’s daily routine.

The video was taken down with the cooperation of the site, but YouTubers specializing in trending topics rushed in like reporters, uploading videos analyzing the authenticity of the videos he uploaded.

People seemed to be ‘expecting’ what would happen at 12 o’clock.

The Violent Crimes Unit collected and analyzed CCTV footage from Lee Seo-eun’s route from home to work.

Hae-soo was analyzing it at 8x speed with his excellent dynamic visual acuity.

Tak.

The screen Hae-soo stopped showed a man passing by Lee Seo-eun a few hours ago.

“Horn-rimmed glasses, chubby face, lips…”

He was wearing a mask, so his mouth wasn’t visible, but his appearance was very similar to the photo Jung Young-soo sent.

“Check if this person passed by number 7, at 19:30.”

“Yes, Detective!”

At Hae-soo’s words, the youngest detective quickly opened the number 7 CCTV file and checked.

“He turned towards the station at the convenience store at 26.”

“Then, number 11?”

“Yes, I’ll check right away.”

Hae-soo and the youngest detective tracked the man’s whereabouts. He didn’t seem to be aware of the CCTV, so tracking him wasn’t that difficult. His final destination was the subway.

“Hmm…”

He didn’t come out of the subway. They checked the subway CCTV as well, but they only saw him getting on, not getting off.

‘Is this not him…’

It might not be him since only the facial outline is similar. They always keep the possibilities open, but now they don’t have time, so they need to choose and focus.

It was presumed that Lee Seo-eun went home after passing by that man on her way home.

Her neighborhood happens to be a blind spot for CCTV, so it’s not accurate.

There were a few cars parked nearby, but the black boxes turned off when the engine was turned off, so they were of no help.

She might not have gone out at all, or she might have gone another way.

There are too many possibilities, and they can’t narrow it down. And time keeps flowing. Hae-soo tore at his hair.

“This is driving me crazy.”

At Hae-soo’s reaction, the team leader raised his head.

“You too? Me too. You’re really amazing. You can see something at 8x speed?”

“Because it’s urgent, I’m just checking roughly.”

“That’s true, ah damn it, there’s less than two hours left. We need to identify and search intensively, everyone look for 30 minutes and identify the location.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Then Oh Geng was on the phone with someone, hung up, and raised her hand.

“I got in touch with a friend! Add coin karaoke to Lee Seo-eun’s activity radius!”

She was living a pretty simple life. Work, home, work, home, and sometimes coin karaoke alone. She said she rarely meets friends, only about once a year.

“Okay, Violent Crimes Unit, add coin karaoke to the missing person search area.”

Patrol cars and detectives were thoroughly searching the coin karaoke and her neighborhood.

“Let’s go out too.”

“Yes!”

“Me too, please, hyung [older brother/male friend].”

“Catch that bastard.”

Hae-soo, the youngest detective, and Oh Geng also left the Violent Crimes Unit headquarters and set out to search. The team leader remained at headquarters to act as the situation room.

Oh Geng took a violent crimes detective with her to another place, and Hae-soo went to Lee Seo-eun’s house first with the youngest detective.

It’s a cozy studio apartment. It seems to reflect her personality.

“She smokes, which doesn’t match the room.”

The youngest detective said, pointing to the cigarette case.

“I guess.”

“But she doesn’t seem to smoke at home. There’s no smell at all.”

“She must have smoked outside, sigh… Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

They hoped something would come out, but they didn’t get any hints.

There’s less than an hour left. Hae-soo became even more anxious. He hoped to see the future vision from the victim’s point of view, but it didn’t happen. He even thought of the vain hope that it might not be visible because she wouldn’t die in an hour, but the possibility is low.

-There’s nothing in Sunnet.

-There’s nothing in Sun Eleven.

-Two hundred and one is a bust.

-Two hundred and three is also a bust…

The police officers’ voices have no strength. They finished searching, but it was a bust, and time was running out.

Hope is gradually disappearing from their minds.

Hae-soo was also searching with the youngest detective, and he stood still in the middle of the road, looking around.

There’s something they missed. The *jjimjjimham* [unpleasant feeling] doesn’t go away. The *nom* [bastard] doesn’t move the victim. There’s only one indicator so far, but since there’s no time, they have no choice but to gamble on the more likely side.

He’s not around. He’s not at home, not at the coin karaoke, and he hasn’t been seen leaving the house.

Time is almost up. It’s frustrating.

“Detective, what do we do?”

“Home, home is the most likely…”

Then the team leader’s radio came on.

-He’s up, he started a live broadcast. That bastard.

Hae-soo quickly turned on YouTube on his phone. The suspect uploaded a live broadcast with another account, as Jung Young-soo said, and people were already finding it like crazy.

The surroundings are very dark, and only one small LED light is illuminating the place.

A woman presumed to be Lee Seo-eun is tied to a chair with her eyes covered. Her body was slumped over, as if she had fainted.

[Hello. I am the Executor. My account was blocked, so I’m starting a live broadcast with a new account. This woman is Lee Seo-eun, a young and pretty office worker. But the reality is very ugly and dirty. First, I’ll show you the comments this bitch recently posted.]

The suspect, who introduced himself as the Executor, was wearing the same crying mask as before. He displayed the comments Lee Seo-eun had written on the screen.

The number of people connecting in real time was increasing rapidly. The notification that someone had connected was rising so fast that it was impossible to see.

┗Wow, crazy, that bitch wrote those comments?

┗I’m also a gay who lives in the ㅁㅈ community, but I don’t do that shit

┗She deserves to die

┗This is crazy…

People saw the comments he posted and judged Lee Seo-eun, who was being held captive, as someone who deserved to die without even judging whether they were true or not.

Hae-soo frowned at the sight.

Ziiiiing

It’s Jung Young-soo’s phone call. Hae-soo quickly pressed the call button.

-I found it! It’s 50 meters near Kkotnim Studio! I think it’s in Kkotnim Studio. I’ll send you the location!

“Okay.”

Kkotnim Studio is Lee Seo-eun’s home. It’s also the place Hae-soo thought of last. He thought he had already searched enough, but there must be places he hadn’t searched.

Hae-soo immediately picked up the radio.

“The suspect’s location is up. 50 meters near Kkotnim Studio.”

-Okay, patrol officers to the surrounding area, detectives and the Violent Crimes Unit search Kkotnim Studio!

“Let’s go too.”

“Yes, Detective!”

The youngest detective ran to the driver’s seat, and Hae-soo was going to the passenger seat. Hae-soo suddenly staggered and grabbed the hood with his hand. At the same time, his vision turned black.

*

Smack-!

His cheek feels hot as if it’s been burned.

When he opened his eyes, it was dark all around. There is one small LED light in front of him.

“Ah, you finally woke up. How drunk were you on the drug?”

“Eoreo, reoreo…”

“You still can’t come to your senses, not knowing you’re going to die. Everyone, please congratulate me. Lee Seo-eun has finally woken up.”

He took out a knife, showed it to the camera, and approached Lee Seo-eun.

“I usually do other things before killing, but today is a special live broadcast, so I’ll change the procedure. Watch carefully. This goes into this woman’s white neck.”

Thwack, pshhh-

Freezing cold air entered deep into her neck.

The man deeply stabbed her neck without any hesitation and pulled it out.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle

Blood poured out of her neck like a waterfall. He showed the scene with his phone camera and continued to explain.

“It’s real, right? All the bastards who said it was fake and a show, come out. Does this look like CG too?”

┗Yes, CG [computer graphics] ㄴ잼 [no fun]

┗Then would it be real?

┗The faker is trembling, the attention seeker is 인정 [acknowledged]

┗It’s so gross…

“Sigh, you idiots, not knowing anything. Anyway, this blood comes out for a long time. There’s more blood in the human body than you think, 6 liters? Anyway, there’s a lot. Now I’m going to cut off the dirty wrist and skin the face, so if there are people who can’t watch this… watch it now, you’re going to be cut off anyway, so watch it now, it’s more fun than you think, ah, it’s over now.”

As he spoke, Lee Seo-eun trembled and slumped over.

*

“Huh! Huff”

“Are you okay?!!”

Hae-soo gasped for breath. The youngest detective was surprised and jumped out of the driver’s seat again. Hae-soo pushed him away and shouted.

“Get in quickly! To Kkotnim Studio!!”

“Yes? Yes! Yes!!”

Now he knew. He hadn’t been possessed because he was unconscious. He didn’t have a watch, but he died almost immediately after waking up.

Therefore, there are only a few minutes left in the present. He killed her at 12 o’clock as promised. There are 3 minutes left now.

On the way, Hae-soo gritted his teeth and racked his brain.

The surroundings were dark, cold, and noisy. There was also a musty smell…

Hae-soo urgently picked up the radio.

“Where is the boiler room in Kkotnim Studio?”

-This is Soondool, I couldn’t confirm that.

-This is Oh Geng, I just arrived, but it’s not in the basement, I’m going to the roof!

-The rest of you, search all the other houses! Get cooperation first!

Since it wasn’t far, the car quickly arrived in front of Kkotnim Studio. As soon as Hae-soo got out of the car, the radio came on.

-This is crazy, the roof door won’t open! Even if I break the doorknob, it won’t budge, it’s strange!

Oh Geng is in good shape, but he’s stronger than he looks. If he can’t open it, no one can open it.

-Hey, there’s 1 minute left! This bastard is really trying to kill her!

-Auuugh!!

Hae-soo turned his head and looked at the building next to it. It’s a little taller than Kkotnim Studio. Hae-soo ran up to it and shouted on the radio.

“Buy time somehow! Shoot a gun or something!!”

-Aish, damn it!

Oh Geng raised the gun to the sky and pulled the trigger.

*

A dark room, a masked man holding a knife, and Lee Seo-eun’s blindfold was removed.

┗Ooh yeah

┗Pretty

┗Don’t kill her, it’s a waste

┗Let’s have some fun first

┗She looks tired. Let’s take off her clothes first

The masked man chuckled and slapped Lee Seo-eun without hesitation.

Slap, slap, smack!

“Wake up. Wake up, wake up!”

Lee Seo-eun opened her eyes with a swollen face from the masked man’s merciless slaps.

“Ah, you finally woke up. How drunk were you on the drug?”

“Eoreo, reoreo…”

“You still can’t come to your senses, not knowing you’re going to die…”

Bang bang bang!!

The masked man flinched and dropped the knife at the sudden sound from outside.

“What the hell, is that a gun?”

┗What’s going on outside? Gunshots?

┗This is crazy, was this really real?

┗The police must have found him

┗I’m so nervousㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [laughing]

┗Why am I cheering him on, don’t get caught

┗Hurry up and judge him first

┗I’ll write a petition if you get caught.

┗Kill her quickly before you get caught

“Hey, are you going to kill her early because you’re scared of the police? That’s what amateurs do, I’m going to push through as promised. What’s there to be afraid of?”

Chuck

He picked up the knife again.

“…But it’s already time? Watch carefully. The knife goes into this white neck here.”

Just before he stabbed the knife into Lee Seo-eun’s neck.

Bang!!

A loud roar echoed. The masked man was startled again and looked around. At that time.

Crack-!

A black wall tore open and a large hand popped out, grabbing his neck.

He had set up a square tent with blackout curtains in the boiler room on the roof and was broadcasting.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Hae-soo grabbed his neck and lifted him up. When he tried to move his knife-wielding hand, he grabbed his hand and twisted it.

Crack

“Kkeoeoeok!”
Hae-soo pushed him against the wall. Meanwhile, the fallen phone was still filming Lee Seo-eun.

┗What, did the police come?

┗Looks like it, the police’s physical is crazy

┗Look at the timing, it’s a hoax

┗Ah… that’s a shame.

< #83. Broadcast and Viewers > End