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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Righteous Villain
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Late at night, at Busan's finest hotel.
Screams echoed throughout the building.
"Ugh... what? Who are you people!"
"Shut up and come out if you don't want to die!! Move it, now!!!"
Mysterious figures, taking advantage of the night, had stormed in.
They rode the elevators to each floor, smashing open the doors of sleeping guests and taking them hostage.
People, startled awake, found guns pointed at their faces.
The assailants forcibly roused them, herding everyone down to the first floor, to the ground floor.
"Is this the last floor?"
"Yeah, let's finish this quick. Otherwise, the boss will be furious."
The hallway was already a chaotic mess.
Crossing the tumultuous hallway, filled with masked figures shouting and pointing guns, and hostages screaming as they were dragged away, two terrorists went to do their job.
That was to seize the remaining hostages from the rooms.
As one terrorist moved to smash a door, the other beside him grabbed his arm, stopping him.
"Hold on, there's something I've always wanted to try. Every time I break down someone's door, I've wanted to shout this."
"What is it?"
"Just listen..."
The terrorist who heard him chuckled, as if dumbfounded, but still said:
"That's ridiculous... But fine, go for it. It's a kind of manly fantasy, I suppose. I'll join you."
"Thanks. Alright, let's start on three. One, two... three!"
With that, they simultaneously kicked the door, shouting together.
"FBI, OPEN UP!!!"
As they advanced into the room past the broken door, a groggy man lying in bed simply waved his hand, and the stock of the gun one of them was holding suddenly flew up, striking him in the head and knocking him down.
It was an anticlimactic end.
***
"What the hell are these bastards...?"
Waking from my sleep, I rubbed my groggy eyes and muttered.
Seriously, loud noises suddenly erupted all around, and when I opened my eyes, two masked guys were pointing guns at me.
Startled, I used telekinesis to manipulate the guns, making them strike both of their heads.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, they tumbled under the bed. What are these guys?
"Ugh... what's going on?"
Subin and Seeun, who were sleeping beside me, finally woke up. Seriously, what in the world were we doing while all this chaos was breaking out...?
From the sounds alone, after waking up, it was nothing short of a living hell. Screams, cries, shouts, shattering glass, crashing sounds, gunshots, and more...
I could only say this.
"Looks like there's been a terrorist attack?"
Seriously, me.
I'm a guy who genuinely tries not to swear.
But isn't this just too goddamn much?
What did I do to deserve this...? I've only gone on vacation twice so far, and both times, something like this suddenly happened.
There are so many hotels in Busan!
Why! Why does it have to happen at the hotel I'm staying at?
No matter how I think about it, it feels like the world is ganging up on me.
I feel wronged. I pride myself on living diligently, if not exactly virtuously.
Why! Why did God create me, Dain, and then create such heinous villains?
Oh God, please let me be a righteous villain today...
"Haaah... Oppa, what in the world is going on?"
Seeun, woken from her sleep, looked around with tired eyes. Her expression was one of annoyance, as if wondering what new nonsense was unfolding. How is it that she's not even scared anymore? Has she already adapted to terrorist attacks?
"Hold on, I'm going to check the parking lot."
With that, I quickly teleported to my car in the parking lot.
"Move it, move it!!"
"Load the supplies! Get the weapons!"
The underground parking lot was already a mess.
It was filled with masked figures, and military trucks were there by the dozens.
Rookie, stop. This place is hell.
I was thinking of bringing Seeun and Subin here if it looked safe, but that seems highly unlikely. Extremely.
Rummaging.
First, I gathered the necessary items from the basket I'd brought.
A yellow mask that covered my entire face, check.
Wireless earphones and a connecting device. I'd need these to talk to Seeun even if we got separated. Check.
As for guns... according to my plan, a machine gun would be overkill, so I only brought small pistols. For now.
Having quickly gathered what I needed, I briefly glanced outside the hotel before teleporting back to the room.
I acted with extreme swiftness; barely a minute had passed. Returning quickly, I handed the items to a nervous Seeun and a quietly assessing Subin.
"Alright, first, grab these pistols... Subin, you know how to use them, and Seeun, I taught you last time, right?"
Outside, the commotion and shouts were still rampant.
We might be discovered if we stay long, so let me explain quickly.
"From what I saw outside, there are armed vehicles driving around the roads and helicopters flying overhead; things aren't looking good. So, it's best if you stick close to me right now. For now, let's pretend to be hostages and go downstairs."
They both nodded at my words.
I don't know who they are, but someone dared to wake me up?
Unforgivable.
The bastard will be on the first floor.
Haaah, I really wanted to live a normal life.
I gripped the gun in my hand.
Ah, this cool, weighty sensation. It's been two months.
It's time to return to 'Villain' Egostick.
"Oppa... why are you striking a pose even in this situation?"
Under Seeun's dumbfounded gaze, I felt a bit awkward and shoved the gun deep into my pocket.
Fortunately, the clothes I was sleeping in were just black track pants, so putting the gun in my pocket wasn't an issue. Imagine how embarrassing it would have been if I'd been wearing my sky-blue cloud-patterned fuzzy pajamas.
Gun packed, earphones in, mask stuffed deep into my pants... Alright, all preparations are complete.
"Alright, let's go too."
As I looked at them and turned my head, they both nodded and followed behind me.
Stepping out of the room, it was pure pandemonium.
Ceramics were shattered, sprinklers were going off, it was utter chaos.
"What are you doing! Move it, now!"
A masked figure growled, pointing a gun at us.
"Oh, alright, alright. We're going."
I feigned a slightly obsequious smile and moved past him.
"If you don't move faster... Ugh!"
I used telekinesis to manipulate the gun held by the guy who kept running his mouth, striking him in the nose with the buttstock.
The masked figure cried out and collapsed.
You talked too much.
Fortunately, it was such a mess that no one noticed.
The hostages who had been brought out all looked as if they'd lost their minds.
Of course they would. Who would have expected to be dragged out of a hotel in their underwear in the middle of the night?
Men, women, families, balding middle-aged men – a variety of people were being dragged along.
This truly felt like a bolt from the blue.
Mingling with the other hostages, shuffling along the hallway, we eventually reached the elevators.
"Alright, go down the stairs! Move it, move it!"
These bastards were shoving people, cramming them down the narrow stairwell.
...We're on the 27th floor, and they want us to go down the stairs? Seriously?
I gritted my teeth at the heartless cruelty of these bastards.
As if waking people from their peaceful sleep wasn't enough, now they're practically making us rock climb?
You're all dead.
There's no way I'm going down that.
I whispered to the two clinging to my sides.
"Hold on tight."
Then, I smoothly teleported as if it were nothing.
It'll be a little... a lot difficult, but there's no other choice.
How long would it take to go down all those steps, one by one?
No one probably saw us vanish like that.
And if they did? Oh, they'd just think they saw things, probably.
***
The hotel's first-floor lobby.
Just hours ago, this place had been filled with gentle classical music, where people conversed elegantly. Now, it had suddenly transformed into the chaotic bustle of Jagalchi Market.
In this vast space, like a grand cathedral, people were packed tightly, shoulder to shoulder, like bean sprouts in a sieve. Amidst them, masked figures patrolled with guns, creating a chilling scene.
Late at night. The hotel, which should have been a pleasant end to a peaceful day, had been transformed into a noisy, horrifying conclusion.
Near the main entrance, a tower of chairs had been mindlessly piled up, using chairs scattered throughout the lobby.
Against the door, which had been barricaded to prevent intrusion, stood a single luxurious chair, upright amidst the towering pile of chairs.
And in the middle of that chair tower sat a man, legs crossed.
A-grade villain, Monkey Wrench.
He sat there, fiddling with his handlebar mustache as if he were a pirate king, a cigar clamped between his teeth.
"...Are all the hostages gathered?"
He chewed on his cigar and asked his subordinate, who was at the base of the chair mountain. The subordinate shouted back with a voice full of vigor.
"Yes, sir! Everyone from all 30 floors has been secured down here!"
"...Understood."
The man, who had been sitting there for a while, fiddling with his mustache, finally stood up.
As he rose, his massive muscles rippled.
As he began to stand, a masked cameraman frantically started setting up filming equipment.
In this vast and crowded lobby, packed with people, not a single breath from anyone else could be heard; only the sound of the man rising to his feet.
Once his massive frame was fully upright, he shouted loudly towards the front, in other words, towards the camera.
"To the Association and the Government."
He spoke with a weighty tone, then took a deep breath—inhaling—and shouted loudly.
"Right here, right now!!!! We hold thousands of hostages!!! If you do not immediately deposit cash into the account we name!!!! We will slaughter everyone!!!! The account number is one! zero! zero! two!-"
As the man bellowed with explosive volume.
Suddenly, amidst the hushed hostages, a round of applause began to echo.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
In this space, silent save for the man's shouting, the sudden applause was utterly out of place.
Even Monkey Wrench himself, who was broadcasting live, paused mid-sentence.
In the space that had suddenly fallen silent, the only sound that could still be heard was the applause.
As the surrounding citizens turned their heads, their eyes wide with shock and fear, searching for the lunatic who was clapping.
Under their gazes, I quietly rose from my seat.
My hands still clapping.
Now, *that's* how you make an entrance.