Soon Baki and Seongji Yuk reached the third deck, but it was empty. They searched the room for clues, yet found nothing of importance. It didn't even look like anyone had been there recently.
Seongji muttered, "Did that worker lie? It doesn't seem like anyone was here before."
Baki wondered why a worker would lie unless he wanted to divert their attention. "Seongji, we should find that worker. He's trying to hide something."
Seongji Yuk nodded. They left the deck and returned to the restaurant, but it was also empty. They started searching nearby areas. The whole cruise seemed deserted—after all, it was past midnight. Just as they were about to leave after checking yet another area, they spotted a peculiar man.
He had messy purple hair that obscured his eyes. The moment they noticed him, he noticed Baki and Seongji Yuk. Suddenly, the guy vanished from his spot and appeared in front of Baki. "Hey~ Are you with them? Did they send only two of you to stop me?" He ruffled his hair. "Why did you guys bring a baby when you're about to fight?"
Without warning, he performed an overhead following-legged axe kick. Baki easily dodged by jumping backward. The guy rushed again with a high roundhouse kick followed by a low kick to the shins. Baki blocked both, grabbed him, delivered two knee strikes to his face, then hit him with a kick to the chin. The guy crossed his arms to block.
He shook out his arms. "I didn't expect someone so strong from their side. Are you a hired mercenary?" Without waiting for an answer, he rushed at Baki and launched a leaping roundhouse kick that pulled Baki toward him, following with a powerful jumping uppercut. But Baki didn't even flinch at the impact.
Instead, a maddening smile appeared on his face. Seongji Yuk knew that look. He knew the opponent was in trouble now.
Baki leaped and landed on the other guy. His body turned and dropped a powerful spin kick against him, smashing his opponent into the ground and creating a crater. Then Baki grabbed his arm and slammed him into the ground again. Baki placed his right leg on the guy's neck and kept his balance with the other leg.
The fight seemed to have ended, except the ship suddenly lurched, causing Baki to lose his balance. The purple-haired guy broke free from the arm lock and stretched his body. "Damn! That was a strong move. I didn't expect anyone to be this strong. Even Minyul Cheon shouldn't be this strong."
Hearing the name Minyul Cheon, the worker's name tag resurfaced in Seongji Yuk's mind. He asked, "Are you talking about the cleaner who works here?"
The purple-haired guy scratched his head. "Huh? Why would he be a cleaner? He's a human trafficker. Didn't he send you to stop me?"
Seongji Yuk shook his head. "No, why would we work for a human trafficker? We're searching for some kids who came with us. They've been missing since evening."
Realization dawned on the purple-haired guy's face. "Ah! I thought you guys were sent to stop me. I didn't expect anyone to be roaming around the deck at midnight. If you're looking for your family, they might've been captured by Minyul Cheon."
Baki, who had been listening to all this, finally spoke up. "I understand all that, but why is the ship moving at this time?"
The purple-haired guy thought for a moment, then replied, "According to what I know, they're going to transfer the kidnapped kids to an island. So they should be heading there now."
"Then we have to stop them. Otherwise, it'll be too difficult to find them on an island," Seongji Yuk said.
The purple-haired guy said, "I should probably know where they've kept them. One of my guys intentionally got caught. He has a tracker on him. By the way, I'm Choi Sunjae."
Choi Sunjae pulled out a small device from his pocket. A red dot blinked on the screen.
The three of them moved quickly through the ship. Seongji adjusted the baby carrier on his chest, making sure Yenna was secure. They descended two flights of stairs.
"It's in the cargo hold," Sunjae said, looking at the tracker. "Bottom of the ship."
They reached a heavy metal door. Baki pushed it open. Inside was a large room filled with storage containers. Dim lights flickered overhead. The tracker showed the signal coming from the far end.
They walked between the containers. Seongji Yuk sensed something was wrong. It was too quiet. He placed a protective hand over Yenna.
"There," Sunjae pointed at a container. The door was slightly ajar.
Baki walked up and pulled it fully open. Inside was just empty space, and on the floor lay a small electronic device—the tracker.
"Shit," Sunjae muttered.
A loud clang echoed through the room. The metal door they'd entered through slammed shut. Lights blazed on from all directions. Suddenly, people emerged from behind the containers—dozens of them. They wore dark clothes and carried weapons: pipes, knives, chains.
The enemies rushed forward from all sides.
Baki didn't wait. He charged at the closest group. His fist connected with the first man's jaw. Teeth flew out. The second man swung a pipe. Baki caught it mid-swing, yanked it away, and smashed it across the man's head. Three more came at once. Baki ducked under a knife, grabbed the attacker's arm, and twisted. He threw that man into two others.
Seongji Yuk moved carefully, keeping Yenna protected. A chain whipped toward his head. He leaned back, letting it pass over him. He stepped in close and drove his palm into the attacker's chest. The man flew backward into a container with a loud bang. Two men attacked from both sides. Seongji spun, his leg sweeping both their feet. They crashed down. He stomped on one's stomach. The man gasped and went still. Throughout it all, his other hand remained on the baby carrier, keeping Yenna stable.
Sunjae launched himself at a group of five. His kick caught one in the throat. That man fell, choking. Another swung a crowbar. Sunjae blocked with his forearm, winced, then headbutted the man. Blood sprayed from the man's broken nose. Sunjae grabbed him and threw him into two others. They tangled and fell. The last one tried to stab him. Sunjae twisted away, caught the man's wrist, and kicked his knee sideways. It bent the wrong way. The man screamed and collapsed.
More kept coming. They surrounded Baki, but the next moment he vanished from his spot and all the enemies were sent flying back. It was an almost impossible feat that Baki achieved by exploiting the 0.5-second window of unconsciousness in his opponents.
Seongji blocked a pipe strike with his arm. It hurt, but he pushed through. He grabbed the pipe, pulled the attacker close, and delivered three quick punches to the face. The man dropped. Another jumped at him. Seongji caught him mid-air and threw him down. The man hit the ground hard. Seongji kicked him in the head. He stopped moving. Yenna made a small sound in the carrier, but she remained asleep thanks to the headphones covering her ears.
Sunjae was smiling. A man swung at him with a chain. It wrapped around Sunjae's arm. He pulled the chain, bringing the man stumbling forward. Sunjae's knee met the man's face. The chain fell loose. Two more rushed him. He ducked under a punch and rose with an uppercut. One man fell. The other grabbed him. Sunjae pushed him away and kicked him in the stomach.
After a while, all the enemies were down. Baki looked at Sunjae. "So? Do you have any other way to find them?"
Sunjae scratched his head. "We can try interrogating these people?" He gestured at the enemies groaning on the ground. "Or, we can directly go to the captain and capture him. Since he is driving to the island, he should know something."