Chapter 265
Chapter 265
The weight behind Sungyoon’s words pressed down on everyone in the room . All of them knew how close Sungyoon and Hyunwoo were, so the mere fact that Sungyoon was saying Hyunwoo had been acting suspiciously was shocking in itself .
“Do you mind telling us the reason you think so?”
Bruce’s laid-back attitude disappeared when he asked the question, and a calm look appeared in his eyes .
“I’m sorry, but let me ask you one thing first . Did the Mayor ever mention to you how the ambushers move around?”
“No . We never heard about it . ”
“Do you mean those who show up everywhere like ghosts? Did you discover anything about them?”
A look of anticipation appeared in Russell’s and Bruce’s eyes .
‘Looks like the two of them are still in the unknown about it . ’
The Mayor had kept the secret about the portal close to his vest .
‘He didn’t tell it to two of the strongest Connectors . ’
Russell and Bruce worked very closely with their respective governments . This could be the reason the Maor hadn’t told them about this matter .
‘I should’ve expected it . They weren’t included in the sweep of the ancient city . ’
“Then I can’t tell you the precise details . ”
“For what reason? No . It’s to be expected . I could see him holding back the information . This is the wily Mayor we’re talking about . ”
Bruce didn’t sound thrilled by this development, but Sungyoon kept his mouth shut . Russell looked at Grace, and she let out an awkward smile .
“It seems even the Princess knows about it . ”
Russell sarcastically spoke . He was just needling her, and there was no ill intent behind his words . Of course, his voice contained a little disappointment, the disappointment a grandfather felt toward his granddaughter for keeping a secret .
“I’m sorry . ”
“No, it’s fine . If you can’t even tell your own country, the matter must be very important . Do not feel guilty about it . ”
“Let me add on to that . Ms . Grace wasn’t happy with keeping it a secret . She fought against it until the end . ”
“I see . ”
Sungyoon’s words washed away all of Russell’s disappointment . Grace bowed toward Sungyoon as a gesture of thanks .
“I see . It can’t be helped . ”
“Hey, aren’t you letting them off the hook too easily because of the Princess?”
Bruce grumbled as he still didn’t like what was going on . However, Russell wasn’t one to blink an eye at Bruce’s complaints . He ignored Bruce and advanced the conversation .
“Let’s put aside the fact that you’re hiding some information . Put it in simple terms . What made you suspicious of Hyunwoo?”
“I believe Mr . Hyunwoo found out about that information . The probability is high . No, I’m sure . However, he didn’t mention it to anyone when he had the chance . ”
“Mmm!”
If the Mayor was making sure everyone kept their mouths shut, it must be a very important piece of information . And Hyunwoo trying to monopolize this information would be enough to make Sungyoon suspicious .
“That isn’t enough . Honestly, a lot of people in this industry try to keep important information to themselves . ”
“That’s why I was only a bit suspicious and didn’t mention my suspicions to anyone else . ”
“Mmm . He did something unexpected, but there was no clear wrongdoing . ”
“If I speak my mind, I doubt Fabion wants to stab Armstrong city in the back . I bet they found something so ludicrously profitable that they want to monopolize it at all costs . They have done something like this before too . I think the Mayor is being too sensitive since Armstrong city is in a precarious situation . I understand that, but . . . ”
Bruce spoke in a monotonous voice, and Russell agreed with his opinion . The only reason they argued over the mission was their mismatched personalities .
“Anyway, we were hired for this job, so we have to carry it out . We’ll follow Fabion and find out the reason behind their actions . If they’re doing something bad, we can just kick their asses . ”
Bruce stood up from his seat, stretched his arms, and gestured at the others .
“Are we done here? Let’s go . We won’t know if we’re going into a dragon’s nest or a rabbit warren unless we see it for ourselves . ”
He then led his party out of the room . Russell was once again annoyed by Bruce, who had ended the meeting on his own, but he knew that Bruce was right . So he got up too .
***
“We were caught sneaking out . I guarantee it . ”
Jinsoo spoke as he chewed on beef jerky while moving through the labyrinth .
“Armstrong city’s leaders aren’t idiots . We were so brazen in our actions, so of course, they would notice it . In fact, I had heard that they contacted us several times to see if something was up . ”
“I heard it too . ”
“Sometimes, I have no idea what our president is thinking .
Jinsoo complained to Hyunwoo . He had been suddenly recalled and forced to move into a big group in this mission . It had pissed off Jinsoo .
“I was so close to seducing this woman . Even though it would’ve only lasted for a while, I was going to go have a good time with her in Bali . ”
Hyunwoo gave Jinsoo a stern look . When the two of them were alone, Hyunwoo didn’t mind Jinsoo complaining about their idiot president . But right now, they were traveling with other Fabion Connectors . Some of them glared at Jinsoo .
‘Of course, that bastard would have an aneurysm if anyone speaks badly of the President . ’
A man charged toward Jinsoo like an angry boar, and Hyunwoo let out a chuckle at the sight .
“Try saying that again, you bastard!”
Grab!
The boar-like man grabbed Jinsoo by his collar .
Huge, that was the first thought anyone would have on seeing him . His over-two-meter tall stature was further enhanced by his overdeveloped muscles . With his shaved head, ugly face, and boar-like figure, the man could intimidate anyone .
However, his appearance didn’t work on Jinsoo .
“Huh? What’s wrong, Mr . Gisoo?”
Jinsoo dangled in the air as Gisoo’s rough hands grabbed his collar, but he remained unfazed . He was even laughing, and his words contained sarcasm .
“What’s wrong? You’re openly badmouthing the President! What do you mean what’s wrong?”
“We’re from a free country . I can say what I want . Oh right! Mr . Gisoo, you’re the President’s loyal dog, right? I guess I’m at fault . I badmouthed the owner in front of the dog . I messed up . ”
To deliver the finishing blow, Jinsoo barked like a dog .
“You... bastard!”
Gisoo’s eyes became bloodshot, and the hands holding Jinsoo’s collar surged with strength . Jinsoo reacted in kind . His face became blank, and murderous intent appeared in his eyes . Just when both men were about to circulate their magical energy, someone stopped them .
Tuhp!
Hyunwoo grabbed Gisoo’s arm .
“Stop it . What are you doing? We are about to go into a battle, yet you’re trying to fight someone on your side . ”
“You stay out of this!”
Gisoo’s eyes flashed in anger, and he almost lost all reason . However, Hyunwoo didn’t back down .
“If you cause an internal conflict here, the President won’t be happy . ”
As soon as the words ’the President’ was mentioned, Gisoo backed down . Hyunwoo inwardly laughed at the simple man .
“He’s the one who picked a fight with me . ”
“That’s true . ”
Hyunwoo looked at Jinsoo .
“You should apologize first . ”
“Yes, yes! I’m really sorry! From now on, I promise undying loyalty to the President . ”
“Kim Jinsoo!”
Hyunwoo raised his voice a little . He knew it would be dangerous to push Gisoo any further . Jinsoo clicked his tongue as he raised his hands .
“Alright, I’m sorry . ”
It was clear that Jinsoo wasn’t sorry, but it was better than the previous apology . Gisoo knew he wouldn’t get a better apology than this, so he let go of Jinsoo’s collar . But he couldn’t just let go of the incident .
“... I’ll report this incident to the President . ”
Gisoo continued .
“Also, let me give you this warning . We don’t have a choice in this matter . These moon bastards might reveal everything to Armstrong at any moment . We can’t assume they will always be in conflict with Armstrong, and if they spill the beans, all of us are done . We aren’t dumb enough to act so openly, but it’s a desperate time . Please remember this . ”
Gisoo then glanced at Hyunwoo and smirked .
“This is all happening because someone here was unable to tie up the loose ends in the past . ”
“This is embarrassing . ”
Hyunwoo spoke in an embarrassed tone . However, his voice sounded like Jinsoo, and Gisoo could see that Hyunwoo wasn’t sincere . It angered him, but he then remembered another topic . He once again sneered at Hyunwoo .
“Now that I think about it, I heard you’re close with a 1st Gen Connector affiliated to the company of Jungbum’s daughter . ”
“You mean Woo Sungyoon? Yeah . We’re pretty close in our own way . ”
“The President assigned me to kill him . ”
“Is that so?”
Hyunwoo’s reaction was underwhelming . When he didn’t see the reaction he desired, Gisoo’s face turned red from anger . He glared at Hyunwoo and Jinsoo and turned his back on them after snorting .
“You should train that bastard a bit better . ”
Gisoo stomped away .
Jinsoo mumbled something at his back, but his voice was so low that even Hyunwoo couldn’t hear it .
“Don’t be rash!”
Hyunwoo spoke to Jinsoo .
“Yes . I’m reflecting on my actions . ”
Of course, Jinsoo’s words couldn’t be trusted if one took his attitude and body language into account .
After the scuffle, Hyunwoo and Jinsoo moved a little bit away from the group . They spoke low enough that even the Connectors with good hearing couldn’t hear their words .
“He’s getting on my nerves . ”
Of course, Jinsoo was talking about Gisoo .
“It doesn’t matter . We’ll be killing them all later on . ”
“He can only act like that because he doesn’t know death is on the way . ”
“Anyway, are you ok with what he said? He said he’ll kill Woo Sungyoon . ”
The last straw on the back of the camel named Dongin had broken . Dongin wanted to get rid of everyone that got on his nerves .
‘He’s such a short-sighted man . ’
Hyunwoo sneered .
“He can try if he thinks he can do it . I won’t help or interfere . ”
Hyunwoo sounded completely uninterested, but Jinsoo could see the anticipation in his eyes .
“Well, it’ll only matter if he can survive that long . ”
“That’s true . How much more do we have to travel before we reach our destination?”
“We’re almost there . ”
Hyunwoo pointed at the ground .
“It should be on the next floor . ”
“As you said, this is unfinished business for you . Shall we go clean it up?”
Jinsoo didn’t hide his predatory bloodthirstiness as he licked his lips .