NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 128



Only Krnovel

Flash point (7)

“Let’s see… … Chosun Ilbo trainee reporter Hwang Geon-cheol… … .”

“Is there a problem?”

“Um… … . None.”

Incheon Jemulpo is usually bustling with people.

From Chinese people who came to Joseon to see their families or find work, to Westerners who came to a small land in the East to explore the world from a foreign land far away, to people with dreams who wanted to leave the small land of Joseon and throw themselves into the wider world.

Besides these, countless other people have filled Jemulpo with their own stories.

But as there were so many people, there were also so many police officers, there were about fifteen of them walking around for each block.

‘Why are there so many police officers?’

Thanks to that, Geoncheol was checked five times in a row for the first time in his life.

I had received it once or twice in Gyeongseong, but this was the first time I had received it several times in a row.

“Could you please show me your ID?”

“… … .”

The search was never-ending.

The police on the street asked for identification from anyone who was even slightly suspicious or who simply made eye contact with them while passing by.

“No matter how much I do this, isn’t it too much!”

“That’s right! I don’t know how many times they’ve checked me since a while ago!”

“The police have nothing to do!”

As the police came out forcefully, naturally, people’s complaints exploded.

There was only one thing the police could do about the citizens’ complaints.

-bang!

Red blood spurted from the chest of the old scholar who was tying his hat string at the very front.

The old man collapsed without even being able to scream, and the people around him hurriedly tried to pick him up, but he had already died as if he had been hit in a vital spot.

“This is a special order from the Government-General of Korea! Those who refuse to comply with the inspection will be summarily punished according to the special order of the Government-General of Korea! Everyone, follow along!”

The police officer who shot and killed the old man frowned as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have seen, then quickly went back to what he was doing.

“ID.”

“Yes, I am here.”

The police conducted indiscriminate checks and searches without distinction between locals and outsiders, and even foreigners.

“Hey! “what are you talking about.”

“What is this nosey guy talking about?”

“He says he is a man named Ha-il from the West, and he came to Joseon to do something called twerking.”

“Twerking? What is that?”

“Doesn’t that mean you came to work?”

“A Westerner came to Joseon to work? Arrest him!”

“yes.”

“What the… … .”

However, foreigners had to be mindful of the opinions of the great powers, so they were treated more politely, but this was not the case for locals or outsiders.

“You don’t have your ID? Get that bastard!”

“Hey, wait a minute… … This person is going to be my wife… … .”

“The wife has her ID, but the husband doesn’t? Both of them are suspicious! Get them!”

“Ahem… … I came over from Kyushu to do business for a while and now I’m planning to go to China.”

“Why would a citizen of the Empire of Japan go to China?”

“… … ? Didn’t you say you were doing business a little while ago?”

“So why are you going to China at a time like this? Isn’t there some other reason besides business?!”

“For any other purpose… … . There is no such thing!”

“You’ll find out when you investigate, take him!”

“No, what is this… … .”

Whether they were local or foreign, if they refused to comply with questioning or arrest, they were beaten with clubs without fail.

“You! You brat! How dare you! The Empire of Japan! If a policeman orders you to! Do as he says! You must! No!”

“Ouch! Ugh! Ugh!”

Some were beaten, some were shot while trying to run away, and others had their belongings forcibly taken from them, leaving them unable to move forward or leave, sitting on the floor in tears.

And Hwang Geon-cheol stood still and watched this scene quietly.

‘Those who are supposed to protect the citizens are actually suppressing and oppressing the people… What is going on?’

If the imperial police had only been violent towards Koreans, Hwang Geon-cheol would have understood, but now the imperial police did not discriminate between Koreans and Japanese.

The person who was shot while running away is a Korean, and the person who was hit in the head with a police baton and was dragged away with his skull broken is a Japanese person.

And in the meantime, the Chinese people were being beaten until they were almost half-crippled because they couldn’t even understand the language properly… … This is what you could call hell on earth.

‘Why on earth is it like this…?’

Hwang Geon-cheol was speechless at the sight.

There was no way to know what on earth had happened in Jemulpo that had made the police so angry.

‘no way……?’

He looked down at the briefcase in his hand.

As of now, there is nothing else to doubt.

Inside the small but heavy briefcase, there was only one receipt with the signature of the Governor-General, but if it had been made known to the world, it could have been an item that could have dealt a serious blow to the Governor-General.

‘Are the police looking for this?’

Then it is somewhat understandable why the police are on edge now.

‘If this falls into the hands of the soldiers, the Governor-General’s office will be in an awkward position, so everyone will be in an uproar.’

This also means that if you get caught doing this wrong, there is a high chance that you will be caught red-handed and suffer an unpleasant fate.

If you are associated with the ghost of Gyeongseong, it would be difficult to survive no matter how great your father is or how much money you have in your family.

Geoncheol, who had thought that far, raised his head again and looked around.

Fortunately, the police seemed to have little interest in Hwang Geon-cheol as they were busy controlling the chaotic situation surrounding the shooting moments before.

‘What, what should I do with this… … .’

It is clear that the Ghost of Gyeongseong told him to put the briefcase in a certain location because if he did, something incredible that he could not even imagine would happen.

‘Are you really telling me to just leave this there…?’

Hwang Geon-cheol’s gaze turned to the briefcase again.

No, it was just a briefcase… … and I had no idea how I could find even one receipt inside it.

‘Surely… … there isn’t some kind of connection between the military and ghosts… … ?’

In Hwang Geon-cheol’s head, a blockbuster movie script based on the theme of the Gyeongseong ghost that will dominate theaters next summer was already flowing out smoothly.

As Hwang Geon-cheol was wandering around Jemulpo without being able to easily come to a conclusion and do nothing, the police, who found this suspicious, summoned him.

“Stop, this is a security check.”

“Oh, yes… … .”

Hwang Geon-cheol took out his ID card naturally as he had done a little while ago, but this inspection was a little different.

“Okay, your ID is fine, but what’s in that bag?”

“Hey, your bag?”

Hwang Geon-cheol’s gaze turned to the bag.

Then he hurriedly hid his bag behind his back.

“This, this is… … . So… … . Ah! I’m a reporter who was dispatched to the Incheon branch of the Chosun Ilbo, and this contains important documents from the Chosun Ilbo… … .”

“Are you a reporter?”

The policeman glanced at the ID and nodded.

“It’s definitely a reporter. So what documents are in there?”

“Uh… … . That is… … . Should I say it is important information from the Chosun Ilbo? Yes, that is right.”

“?”

Geon-cheol’s awkward appearance, where he mumbled his words and couldn’t even make eye contact with the police, was the perfect sight for anyone to be suspicious of.

“Please give me the bag.”

“This, this is a bit… … .”

“I won’t say anything else. Please give me the bag.”

The policeman put his hand on his waist.

This was a threat to pull out a gun if anything happened.

Of course, pulling out a gun here meant saying you were going to shoot.

“Give me your bag.”

“… … .”

It was a situation that could no longer be resolved through words.

That’s why Geoncheol quickly looked around.

This is a process to check if there is anyone who can help you or if there is something that can be used as a weapon.

‘does not exist!’

But there was no one or thing around him to help him.

“shit.”

“Put your bag on the floor and take three steps back. Hurry up!”

“… … .”

Hwang Geon-cheol felt the other police officers’ eyes turning towards him.

Then beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

‘I’m screwed.’

There is no way now.

‘Should I just hand you the bag and tell you everything?’

If I’m lucky… … no, if I make full use of my father’s support, wouldn’t I be able to get out of this safely?

For a brief moment, this thought crossed Geoncheol’s mind, but he soon had no choice but to shake his head.

‘No… … Even if we escape like that, the ghost of Gyeongseong will eventually come and destroy our family.’

You can’t bring a tiger into your home just to avoid a few wolves.

If that was the case, the only way left was to overcome this situation on my own.

The odds of success don’t seem all that great, but… … they’re better than meeting the ghost of Gyeongseong in person.

After gathering his thoughts, Geon-cheol grabbed his briefcase and waited for the police officer in front of him to get closer.

“Put your bag down. Hurry up!”

“… … .”

Guncheol watched the police getting closer and prepared to swing his bag at any moment.

‘Come.’

Just one room.

As the thought of taking him down in one blow filled Geoncheol’s mind, all the nerves in his body rushed to his fingertips.

“Can I borrow your bag for a moment?”

“?”

“What are you!”

Someone showed up and snatched Guncheol’s bag.

Geoncheol must have been holding the bag tightly, but the other person naturally snatched the bag from Geoncheol’s hands.

“for a moment…….”

Geoncheol hurriedly tried to catch the person who snatched his bag, but the person was faster at opening the bag.

“You were here.”

Inside the bag was not a receipt, but the gun I saw yesterday.

-bang.

The man who snatched the bag picked up a gun without any hesitation and shot the police officer.

Naturally, the policeman who had no defenses whatsoever died immediately.

But that wasn’t the end.

“Hanamu!”

“Shooting! Shooting! Armed terrorists… … .”

-bang!

Once again the gun fired.

What was surprising was that every time he blew fire, only the police officers fell in the crowded Jemulpo.

It didn’t take long for him to kick all the cops around him out of the city.

It was truly an amazing display of marksmanship.

Hwang Geon-cheol, who was blankly watching the situation, realized that the back of the man holding the gun looked somewhat familiar.

His back resembled that of the ghost who had beaten him up the night before and disappeared.

“no way……?”

“Thank you for your hard work, Hwang Geon-cheol. I thought you wouldn’t have to search my bag.”

“… … Are you using me to bring in a gun?”

“Why? Are you upset that you almost died over a pistol?”

“… … .”

Guncheol didn’t answer.

The ghost also didn’t pay much attention to Geon-cheol.

He just glanced at his watch and smiled.

“It’s almost time.”

“… … ?”

“If you want to live, you better run.”

“???”

As soon as the ghost finished speaking, he jumped into a nearby trash can.

While Guncheol was standing there blankly, unable to understand his strange behavior.

“It’s a bomb! Everyone run!”

With someone’s urgent scream.

-bang!!!

The sea in front of Jemulpo Port began to shake, and with a huge explosion, the ground shook and seawater rose into the sky, swallowing up all the ships anchored in the port.

But Geoncheol didn’t see this.

Because the shockwave from the explosion hit him and he was flung into a nearby restaurant.

* * *

Let’s turn back the clock a bit to a few hours before the explosion.

Inspector Sasaki, a senior detective at the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, was smoking a cigarette on the deck of a ship while looking out at the beautiful seascape.

He was so anxious that he couldn’t keep his hands or feet still, constantly shaking his hands or legs.

“Why is that person like that?”

“Don’t you know? It’s been like that since we left Shanghai?”

“No, but why did the police board our ship?”

“What, I heard that the Joseon Police Department requested cooperation?”

“Oh, really… … . You’re making such a fuss over just carrying some stuff.”

“That’s just how the police are.”

Sasaki didn’t even respond to the voices of the sailors who were pointing at him and muttering.

Because there was no need to react in the first place.

What was important to him now was not the conversation of those ignorant brats, but the enormous amount of explosives sleeping in the holds of this ship and other transport ships.

‘You guys are really crazy. You guys! You psychopaths! You crazy terrorists! You bomb-loving bastards!’

Sasaki continued smoking his cigarette while his hands were shaking.

Those poor sailors will know that the firearms they are carrying on board are brand new firearms produced at a munitions factory run by Oh Tae-sik, an arms dealer in Shanghai.

But that was wrong.

What’s sleeping inside the ship right now is a massive amount of explosives that could explode at any time.

It was a special explosive that Na Seok-ju bought cheaply from a Chinese warlord, and was made by a crazy Hungarian bomb master called Magyar of the Uiyoldan and a Wen Torai provided by the Provisional Government.

I don’t know for sure, but I’ve heard that if this really blows up, Jemulpo Port will disappear from the map… … Sasaki couldn’t possibly board the ship in his right mind.

‘Why me again!’

Originally, it was supposed to be Na Seok-ju, not him, who was going to board this ship.

Mr. Lee of Gyeongseong also agreed with him.

However, just as the matter was about to be concluded, the Government-General suddenly requested that Japanese people be brought on board instead of Koreans working for the company, and thanks to this, Sasaki was able to board the ship.

‘진짜 개새끼들…….’

Sasaki just kept smoking cigarettes.

All I wanted to do was jump off the ship as soon as possible.

But I had to hold out until the ship entered port.

This was the only order he received from this teacher in Gyeongseong.

[Once the ship arrives at Jemulpo, do not look back and leave Jemulpo by any means, no matter what you ride or how you run.]

Sasaki lit his last cigarette with trembling hands, looking at Jemulpo in the distance.

“Whew… … My life really sucks.”

What came out of his mouth, along with the black cigarette smoke as dark as his insides, were truly savory Joseon curses.

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 129