NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 60



Only Krnovel

As before – 1

When the Uiyoldan members and Kim Won-bong first heard of this plan, they were half in doubt.

“So you’re saying that you’re going to plant explosives on the locomotive and detonate it when it gets to Geumchon Station, causing a chain reaction of explosions?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“······I should apologize for doubting you a little while ago.”

“yes?”

“You are the greatest terrorist I have ever seen.”

“?”

Kim Won-bong branded me a terrorist with a serious expression on his face.

I laughed it off when the Japanese government pointed fingers at me and labeled me a terrorist, because it felt like a compliment to me, but it felt strange to hear such things from people who were doing the same job.

Of course, Kim Won-bong did not say that to criticize or mock me.

In modern times, the word terrorist has a negative connotation, but in this era, such perception was much less prevalent, so independence activists proudly called themselves terrorists, and this statement came out of Kim Won-bong’s mouth.

“Who in the world would think of planting a bomb on a train, sending it into the station, and destroying the enemies inside?”

“······I don’t think that would happen normally.”

“No, I don’t think they would dare even think about it for fear of harming civilians in the surrounding area.”

“······.”

I had already heard from the station staff that there were no civilians at Geumchon Station for operational reasons.

“There are no civilians at Geumchon Station.”

“I know, but don’t you think it’s normal for civilians to think about delivering bombs to crowded stations?”

“My bomb is a smart thing with eyes, so it’s a convenient tool that picks out only traitors who collaborated with the Japanese or minions of the evil Japanese government who oppressed Koreans.”

“Okay, let’s say that for now.”

Kim Won-bong seemed to have a lot on his mind, but he didn’t bother to tell me anything.

Instead, he placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a couple of light massages.

“This teacher must be having a hard time.”

“This is my job, how can I call it hardship?”

“Yeah, that’s right···.”

Kim Won-bong took off his mask and quietly put on his glasses.

“See you later in Shanghai.”

“This time, Manager Kim will buy you a meal.”

“Ugh… Why would someone who knows our financial situation do that? We’ve already spent all the money we had to buy a bomb.”

“But still, there is money coming in one way or another.”

Kim Won-bong chuckled at my question.

“That should be used for another project.”

“······.”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

The Shanghai Provisional Government may have had no money, but it had some shame, but the legendary terrorist Kim Won-bong and Uiyoldan had neither money nor shame.

Well, this must have been a headache for the great Japanese Empire for years.

This was something I could learn from too.

‘Next time the provisional government people come to visit, we should chase them away by giving them something else instead of cod legs.’

Kindness is a luxury for a spy.

Judging from the tastes of the provisional government people, codfish was a luxury for them.

So I was thinking of making some stew or fried chicken with the leftover chicken at home and treating them to it.

I also heard the story about Kim Won-bong getting sick from eating oily food in China, so this was perfect for a little revenge.

“Well then, goodbye now.”

“Yes, please go in and take a look.”

Kim Won-bong and the members, wearing thick glasses, an old baker’s hat of unknown origin, and an equally old fur coat, carried the unconscious Hwang-ok and Kim Jae-jin and mingled with the crowd exiting the train.

I don’t know about Hwangok, but Kim Jaejin will probably not see the sun rise tomorrow.

The words of traitors usually go like this.

Kim Jae-jin would have known that too.

“What a sad thing.”

I woke up Detective Kim Deok-gi, who was still unconscious, and took him to the engine room, where I tied him up tightly.

Then he slapped my cheek.

-puck!

“Wake up~”

“Ugh···.”

-puck!

“It’s morning~”

“Euuugh···.”

After being hit a couple of times, Detective Kim Deok-gi’s eyes finally came into focus.

“Uh···. Here···?”

“Don’t worry. This is not a hospital.”

“What are you saying now…. Ugh!”

Detective Kim Deok-gi lowered his head, his face distorted in pain.

I lifted up Detective Kim Deok-gi’s face slightly and met his gaze naturally.

He glared at me with piercing eyes, his eyes squinting in pain as if his head was splitting (it actually did split a little).

“You, you···. Who are you···.”

Detective Kim didn’t recognize me because he had been hit in the head so hard that his memories had been physically erased.

“Hmm… Do you know what day it is today?”

“Today? Today is···. Ugh!”

“It seems like all my memories from the past few days have flown away.”

“Your memory has disappeared?! What the…. Hey, doctor! What do you mean!”

“Oh, I’m not a doctor.”

“what···?”

Detective Kim looked at me quietly.

Then he continued to look at me with a frown on his face as if trying to remember something.

“Ugh!”

“Oh, you’re not feeling well. Don’t overdo it.”

“Ugh… Where the hell am I and why is my body tied up!”

“That’s a very good question.”

I took the lighter out of my pocket.

Then, he turned the fire up to the maximum and lit it, lighting up the dark surroundings and making the numerous explosives hidden in the darkness shyly reveal themselves.

“Hey, bomb?!”

“Here, hold on.”

I cupped Detective Kim’s hands together as he panicked at the sight of the bomb and gave him the lighter.

Detective Kim struggled a little and resisted, but thanks to his hands and feet being tightly tied up, he was able to carry out his work without much difficulty.

“Now, Detective Kim… When you came to Tianjin to achieve independence for Korea, I, Mr. Kim, could not help but shed tears of emotion!”

“What the hell are you talking about! When did I!”

“It seems that Detective Kim is not of sound mind right now and cannot understand the situation… Detective Kim was inspired by Comrade Yak-san Kim Won-bong, the leader of Uiyoldan, and decided to sacrifice himself for the independence of Korea.”

“I told you, I’ve never done that!”

“Yes, you might think so. We also couldn’t believe that the infamous detective Kim Deok-gi would suddenly devote himself to Korean independence.”

“I never said anything like that!!!”

“Ugh… It doesn’t work.”

Perhaps because he had never done this kind of gaslighting before, he was a bit awkward, but Detective Kim quickly noticed and started making a fuss.

“What the hell are you doing! Won’t you untie this right now?! You dare tie up a detective from the Empire of Japan… Do you know what will happen if you get caught doing this!”

“I came to Joseon to bomb it, do you need to know that?”

“What, what did you say···!”

Light and darkness alternated with the flickering flame of the lighter as the wind seeped in through the crack in the door.

Every time the sparks danced, Detective Kim and my faces would brighten and then darken repeatedly.

“You, who are you···.”

“Someone you don’t know.”

“That means…. Hey, the ghost of Gyeongseong!”

“Tsk, no one listens even if I ask them to change that old-fashioned name.”

Detective Kim’s body, which had been twisting and turning just a moment ago to somehow escape from here, suddenly stopped.

And then, soon, he began to tremble like an aspen tree.

“Please, please save me…. Uh, in my house, I have parents who only look at me….”

“A fox-like wife has a rabbit-like child?”

“······.”

“Where in the world is there anyone who doesn’t have a family?”

I held his trembling hand tightly.

“Ugh···.”

“The comrades that our detective Kim caught while running around day and night must have had families.”

“Ugh···. Okay, wait a minute···.”

Detective Kim struggled to pull his hand away, but my grip was too strong for his frail body to break free.

“Children won’t even remember their father’s face, and old mothers will be exposed to the cold wind as they wait for their children who will never return.”

“Ugh···.”

“So, our detective Kim, you should do your part in the independence movement for those who couldn’t return home. That’s the only way.”

As I said that, I got up from my seat.

Then, as the engineer had told me, I released the brakes and increased speed.

Then, the huge machine began to move, making a sound like a giant whale rising from the deep sea and letting out its holding breath.

“I’ve put in enough coal, so from now on I’ll run like crazy to the station.”

“T, This won’t change anything…! T, So let this go and switch over here! You, a big shot like you, the Governor-General’s Office will take a big, big cut!”

“okay?”

Detective Kim seemed to have now entered the negotiating portion of the five stages of accepting death.

But sadly, I was not the type of person to listen to what he had to say.

“How stupid.”

“?!”

“Do you think the Empire of Japan you believe in will last forever?”

“Well, of course···.”

“Japan will perish.”

“!!!”

Negotiation is something that is possible only when you offer something to someone who is willing to talk to you.

The promise that I would enjoy wealth and honor if I joined the Japanese Empire was completely unacceptable to me.

In the first place, the Japanese Empire collapsed soon after, and the Republic of Korea rose from the ashes like a phoenix.

I’m not an adventurous person who would board a sinking ship.

“I’ll make it happen.”

As I said that, I finally found some oil from the train depot and sprinkled it evenly all over the engine room.

Meanwhile, the train began to gradually increase speed toward Geumchon Station.

“Okay, follow along. Long live Korean independence~”

“······.”

-Click.

Finally, I took a picture of Detective Kim looking up at me with a blank expression while holding the camera.

“Don’t worry, I’ll send this to your family to use as a memorial photo.”

“······ah.”

Detective Kim still held the lighter tightly in his hand.

If you let go of that now, we could have been together.

I don’t know if it was because he didn’t want to die that much, or because he had some belief that I could save him.

“If you put down that lighter right now, Detective Kim might end up dying here.”

“······.”

“how is it?”

I gave him a choice.

Then he began to worry.

He was torn between sacrifice for the Empire of Japan and just dying a dog’s death, not between life and death.

But a person who had done nothing for Joseon in the first place did not have the courage to do something for the Empire of Japan.

“Please, spare my life… This is what I beg you to do….”

That was the last time he was seen.

“Then, good work, Comrade Kim!”

With those last words, he jumped off the train.

There was no particular damage as it rolled around here and there while falling on the grass that had been previously observed.

“Hmm… the smell of grass.”

I looked at the back of the train running powerfully, brushing away the bits of grass stuck to my clothes.

The sight of the train rushing along the designated tracks was like the future of Japan rushing toward destruction, running powerfully without looking back.

Now when that train arrives at the station, more people will die.

“Poor thing.”

******

“Whew···. I never thought I’d see something like this in my lifetime···.”

Superintendent Miwa Wasaburo of the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency, Gyeongseong High Police Department, Local Government Office of the Government-General of Korea, was astonished as he searched the site of Geumchon Station, which had now neatly disappeared.

Inspector Yoshino, who was assisting him, was so shocked that he could not speak properly.

“Yoshino.”

“······.”

“Inspector Yoshino?”

“······.”

“Tsk···. Inspector Yoshino!!!”

“Oh, yes! You called!”

“Aren’t you coming to your senses? Is this a joke?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving such a tragic scene…”

“Is this the first or second time that the scene has been so horrific? Don’t indulge in unnecessary sentimentality and just report the damage.”

“yes···.”

Inspector Yoshino began to shuffle through the folder he was holding, then cautiously opened his mouth.

“In order to capture Uiyoldan members and Uiyoldan leader Kim Won-bong who were trying to infiltrate the country at Geumchon Station, two companies of troops commanded by Captain Yamaguchi from the 20th Division stationed in Yongsan came to provide support…. It is said that 272 police officers from Gangwon-do, Pyeongan-do, Gyeonggi-do, and Gyeongseong were also lying in wait in the area….”

“So? How many dead, how many injured?”

“······doesn’t exist.”

“What? No deaths?”

“······yes.”

A deep furrow appeared on Miwa’s forehead at Inspector Yoshino’s weak answer.

“Are you telling me to report that now? How can there be no deaths in a disaster like this!!!”

“Ugh!”

Miwa suddenly kicked Inspector Yoshino’s shin.

But after hearing the words that eventually came out of his mouth, Miwa and Kyungbu couldn’t help but freeze.

“Since no bodies or remains were found around here, they were all classified as missing···.”

“······Missing person?”

“yes···.”

“This is driving me crazy.”

Miwa looked back at the Geumchon Station site again.

Yoshino’s words were that countless people in this vast area had evaporated without leaving behind even a single piece of clothing.

“······There may be people trapped under the rubble of the building, so deploy more troops immediately to search for survivors.”

“yes···.”

Inspector Miwa, who had given the order to Inspector Yoshino, picked up a piece of debris from the collapsed Geumchon Station building.

The stone carving was quite heavy.

‘The bomb’s power has increased again.’

Miwa didn’t think that all those people would have disappeared without a trace.

I figured there might be pieces of it scattered around here somewhere, though I’m not sure where.

‘It has to be that way.’

Otherwise, Miwa would have been consumed by the fear of the ghost that had returned from Shanghai.

But what was even more ironic was that while Miwa felt fear at the returning ghost, she also felt joy at the honor of capturing him and returning.

‘Yes… This is how it should be! Ghost of Gyeongseong! This is how it should be! You are a guy who can do this and more!’

As Manager Miwa was looking around the scene, a small piece of debris caught his eye.

It wasn’t something that had fallen from a building or a train wreck, but something smaller and thinner… something like a sheet of iron, but its shape was somehow familiar.

“Is that a piece of lighter?”

The object, which appeared to be a charred and torn piece of lighter material, had an engraved image of the King of Hearts, a playing card with a sword stuck into his head, on its outer surface.

“king.”

It looked eerie because it was blackened and had broken marks here and there, but Miwa took the item away without saying a word.