Snake Venom Ch 28

Chapter 28

How should I explain this complicated situation? All that came to mind was a pathetic thought—I should have agreed on a set of hand signals.

Cheon Wooshin, his gaze fixed on the tablet, asked in a neutral tone.

“How many are problematic?”

It was a lifeline for Lee Yeonwoo, who had been fidgeting anxiously in his head. He replied confidently.

“All of them.”

Cheon Wooshin let out a low hum and handed the tablet to Lee Yeonwoo. The agent, who had been closely watching Cheon Wooshin’s every move, opened his mouth.

“What’s going on?”

“To us, it’s nothing serious—”

Cheon Wooshin slowly looked around before lifting his eyes.

“If we determine someone’s an uninvited guest, we’re allowed to shoot on sight. Our clients are the type who won’t tolerate even a drop of blood being spilled unlawfully. Did you accept the job knowing that?”

His low and precise voice carried blatant provocation. Lee Yeonwoo looked back and forth between Cheon Wooshin and the men, his expression appalled. If it was going to be this obvious, I wouldn’t have bothered wiping my nose!

As expected, the pureblood standing at the rear furrowed his brow. His cold, expressionless face resembled the others, but strangely, he emitted almost none of the oppressive aura characteristic of purebloods. Despite his pheromones being stronger than the others’, it was an unfamiliar and bizarre behavior to Lee Yeonwoo—enough to make him certain. At any rate, it was truly a relief that Cheon Wooshin had noticed.

“Are you saying I wasn’t invited? Now of all times?”

The pureblood brought up the contradiction in “now of all times.” Considering he had been filtered out at the most formal of checkpoints, his indignation was understandable.

“What more do I have to prove—”

“What’s the point if it’s all dressed up?”

Cheon Wooshin’s words cut him off, his tone not only rude but downright delinquent.

The straight posture of the man, once worthy of admiration, crumbled slightly. Cheon Wooshin tilted his head in a defiant slant, standing with a cocky lean.

“The stink of fakery is everywhere.”

The three men’s faces stiffened, and they exchanged looks. A brief silence passed.

The agent, his eyes changed, slipped his hand into his jacket.

But Cheon Wooshin was faster.

His hand, extending with flawless precision, seized the man disguised as an agent by the back of the neck with brutal force. With a short gasp of “Urgh,” the pistol halfway out of the man’s chest holster was instantly in Cheon Wooshin’s hand.

The moment the muzzle touched the underside of the man’s jaw—phwip—his head was pierced in an instant, spraying blood onto Cheon Wooshin’s face. He glanced at the warm blood dotting his cheek and muttered,

“Live ammunition.”

Without changing expression, Cheon Wooshin dropped the collapsed man in front of him to use as cover. Resting the barrel on the corpse’s broken neck, Cheon Wooshin gave the sight a brief inspection.

He had already identified the target’s position. One bullet would be enough. As the man disguised as a bodyguard gripped his weapon, Cheon Wooshin took out his finger.

“Aaagh!”

As the screaming man staggered, Cheon Wooshin, still using the corpse as a shield, took two swift steps to the side. He moved toward Lee Yeonwoo. As soon as he had Lee Yeonwoo behind him, he shoved him back with his own body. Thud.

“Stay here as if you’re not here.”

How… is that even possible? Crushed behind Cheon Wooshin’s broad back, Lee Yeonwoo rolled his eyes wildly. Bullets were flying, and he himself had never even fired a tranquilizer gun. Worse, he had already been spotted. Determined not to get in the way, Lee Yeonwoo nodded vigorously.

Cheon Wooshin ducked his head behind the cover. Suppressed gunshots rang out in succession. The enemies’ bullets struck the corpse of their already-dead comrade one after another.

Cheon Wooshin’s gun barrel peeked out from behind the body as he caught his breath. A dry murmur escaped his lips.

“One mouth is enough.”

He muttered, aiming at the man’s head. The desperate movements of the man, clutching his mangled hand and scrambling for a gun, meant nothing to Cheon Wooshin’s cold gaze. Phwip. The man’s skull was pierced without even a scream, and he collapsed.

At that moment, a bullet grazed past Cheon Wooshin’s eye. Despite the hair-trigger tension, he only slightly turned his head, face eerily calm. Rather, the once-quiet gleam in his eyes now flared blue with fire.

With two already down and their accuracy faltering, the enemy force was no better than wolves without fangs. As soon as he pushed the corpse aside, Cheon Wooshin gripped the gun firmly with both hands. His sharp focus did not miss the moment of their disarray. Only two shots rang out.

“Graaagh!”

A man dropped his gun at his feet. Eyes bulging, he stared at his fingerless hand and shrieked in agony. Then, recognizing Cheon Wooshin, he hastily retreated. The blood spurting from his hand drew a red trail on the floor. His face, twisted in horror, looked as if he had seen a monster.

Cheon Wooshin turned and shoved Lee Yeonwoo against the wall with a thud to the chest. His calm face belied the force of his grip, which was intense and commanding.

“Lee Yeonwoo-ssi, stay right here. Do not move.”

The man who still had his legs began to flee. Cheon Wooshin loosened his tie and aimed the muzzle at him. Before the man could react, his heel exploded and he fell flat. As he tried to crawl away in a pitiful scramble, Cheon Wooshin completely undid his tie and followed. He bent down and grabbed the man’s jaw.

His gaze, fixed on the man’s fear-soaked eyes, was utterly indifferent. Cheon Wooshin drew his arm far back and then punched the man square in the face.

Thwack. Crack. The mechanical, destructive blows shattered the man’s nose and burst his eye. His clenched mouth dropped open. Blood pooled in the gaps left by his broken teeth and dripped down his chin. Unfazed, Cheon Wooshin twisted under the man’s cheekbone, forcing his jaw open.

“You can’t die yet.”

The loosened tie was stuffed into the man’s mouth. Brutal, choking sounds scratched their way out of his throat.

Cheon Wooshin fumbled below the man’s neck, then tore off a strip of skin. Beneath the silicone disguise, a face different from the photo emerged. This was the source of the suspicious scent Lee Yeonwoo had sensed. He gasped, plastered against the wall like a dead mouse, and Cheon Wooshin greeted him sweetly.

“Hello?”

Huff, huff—coarse breathing leaked from the barely-surviving man. Cheon Wooshin stared coolly into the man’s one remaining intact eye.

“If you tell me where the corpse is, I’ll let you live.”

The fact that they had copied someone’s face and come all the way here meant the original was likely already dead.

“You were the last client on the list.”

Only Lee Yeonwoo understood the cryptic remark. The obsession to confirm the venom fangs of the dead body was chillingly thorough.

When the man only panted silently, Cheon Wooshin pressed the muzzle to his furrowed brow. The heated gun barrel scorched the thin skin.

“Otherwise, I won’t let you die cleanly.”

To say such a thing after already crushing the man’s limbs—just what kind of torture did he intend? The blood-covered man’s lips twitched. Even Lee Yeonwoo, watching from a distance, could tell from his eyes that he was trying to say something.

Keeping his aim steady, Cheon Wooshin pulled the tie from the man’s mouth. Along with a spill of blood, a beastlike groan slipped out, but Cheon Wooshin’s demeanor remained unchanged. His cold gaze demanded only the answer he was promised.

The man, gasping hard several times, finally croaked out a trembling voice. Only after hearing the answer he wanted did Cheon Wooshin press his in-ear communicator.

“Two of the suspects disguised as clients are dead. The last one is bleeding. Gunshot wounds.”

—Gun… wounds? Gunshot wounds? Tranquilizers?

The voice on the other end was clearly shocked. Cheon Wooshin replied in a bored tone.

“Gunshot wounds from live rounds. If you don’t stop the bleeding quickly, he won’t last long. You’d better figure out who’s behind this. From now on, make clients go through a gun check, too. I almost died.”

—…….

“And also—”

Cheon Wooshin bit the inside of his cheek to cut off the sentence. Words that had surged up were swallowed back.

“Director  Nam, have you checked the time? When exactly did I request backup? At this rate, all the clients could be dead. Is this what happens after retirement?”

It was hard to tell who the actual team leader was from the conversation.

Cheon Wooshin ended the call unilaterally and expertly bound the prone man’s hands with wire cuffs.

Lee Yeonwoo, who had been glued to the wall watching anxiously, timidly stepped away. Thinking it was finally safe to relax, he let out a long breath.

The memory of Cheon Wooshin’s movements, unbelievable even after seeing them with his own eyes, filled Lee Yeonwoo’s head. The ruthlessness of his decisions and his relentless drive to obtain what he wanted.

“……”

Lee Yeonwoo stared at Cheon Wooshin’s back as he made a phone call. The fabric of his jacket stretched taut across his muscular back, but the icy blue glow in his eyes had vanished, as though it had never been there.