Chapter 81

Chapter 81

At that moment, the mans punches ceased. It was too dark to properly see why he had stopped hitting me. Had his left arm gone limp from beating someone for so long? The smell of blood was palpable. I couldnt tell whose blood it was. In the darkness, while gasping for breath and holding onto the mans right arm and hand, I saw a light and turned my head to find Kim Ga-young limping towards us, her pad switched on.

It is Arthur Goodman.

Only when Kim Ga-young came closer could I see why Arthurs fists, which had been swinging at me, had stopped. Yoo Geum-yi was pressing down on Arthurs left arm with all her body weight. To hit me, he would need the strength to lift a weight of about 50 to 60 kg or more with one arm. At the edge of the light, Lee Jihyun was groaning and pushing away an iron chair with her arm.

Im Kim Ga-young, working in the lab next to yours. The Asian bitch you cursed at. I knew you were a racist, but I never thought wed meet like this in this situation.

It was all in Korean. I couldnt tell if the translator had broken or come off when I fell. All sorts of English curses poured out of Arthurs mouth. They were all curses about women, the kind that would justifiably get you fired from society if you uttered even a single letter.

Kim Ga-young approached at a slow pace, and as Arthur was struggling to break free, I pressed down on him with all my might. Lee Jihyun approached Arthurs right arm, which I was holding onto. Then, using her ten fingers, she pried open one of Arthurs right pinky fingers holding the gun. With her ten fingers, she began bending that forced-open single finger in the opposite direction of the joint. Aaaaargh! After completely bending the pinky finger backwards, she moved on to the fourth ring finger, repeating the same process.

Finally, Kim Ga-young, who had approached us to a distance of zero, took out a bottle from the bag she was carrying. It was a bottle of hydrochloric acid. Had she grabbed it during the blackout? Even in the faint light of the pad, Yoo Geum-yi gasped as she recognized what it was. Before I could stop her, Kim Ga-young opened the bottle and poured it straight onto Arthurs head without hesitation.

Aaaaaaaaagh!

The smell of burning protein immediately filled the air. Yoo Geum-yi groaned and turned her head, and I squeezed my eyes shut, swallowing a scream. As I pressed down on the struggling body with all my strength, I heard the glug-glug-glug sound of the acid pouring out of the bottle like water. Even with my eyes closed, the smells and sounds reached me directly. The body pinned under me was thrashing and trying to break free with all its strength.

You are a certified asshole.

Kim Ga-young spoke in a flat tone, unfazed by the screams of her victim.

You think youre the only human. Difficult and trying situations can befall anyone. At times like this, everyone struggles. Everyone wants to survive, everyone wants to be selfish. But even in tough circumstances, you shouldnt have turned into a monster so easily. Kids twenty years younger than you are out there saving people, and youre not even ashamed at your age?

Soon the screams subsided. Due to the blood flowing down, I couldnt see well through my right eye, so I slightly opened my left eye and saw that Kim Ga-young was now pouring the acid not on his head, but directly onto his face. Oh my god. I didnt have the stomach to watch and closed my eyes.

OB (Organic Breakdown) wasnt researched and developed over such a long time to kill people. Because of you. Because of you. So many people died. Because of you, so many good people were hurt.

Now, convulsions began to grip the mans body. When the third finger was twisted, Lee Jihyun finally pried the organic compound gun from Arthurs hand. She then placed it inside Kim Ga-youngs open bag and zipped it closed.

Dont turn into a monster in crisis situation. No matter how hard it gets.

Im heavy.

Ill know when I carry you.

Yoo Geum-yi looked at Lee Jihyun, Kim Ga-young beside her, and me, then almost collapsed onto his back, lacking any strength. James stood up effortlessly with Yoo Geum-yi on his back. Then he remarked, as if in disbelief,

Light as a feather.

He then strode over and laid Yoo Geum-yi on the long bench located next to the vending machine. Seeing this, another man approached Lee Jihyun, causing her to growl and point the scalpel at him. The man pointed at James and said to Lee Jihyun,

Wow! Calm down! Im friends with him. Sam Young. Sam! You know? Youve seen me before. Weve seen each others faces many times.

Help Ga-young. Her hands are injured from the acid. She needs to rinse them with water.

As Sam cautiously approached, he saw Kim Ga-youngs hands and exclaimed, Holy shit! Mother fuck! He then forcibly carried Kim Ga-young on his back and ran down the corridor. It seemed like he was heading towards the restroom.

Jihyun. Go help Ga-young. Make sure you dont get separated. Ill stay with Geum-yi.

Lee Jihyun looked me over from head to toe and frowned, but ran off in the direction Sam had dashed. I was surrounded by a group of five or six men. Strangely, I wasnt afraid. Perhaps it was because such terrible and frightening things had already happened, or maybe my brain had determined that I was in too much pain to feel any more. If this were a normal situation, I would have been terrified to be surrounded by several unfamiliar men.

The men slowly approached, showing their open palms, and touched my shoulders, striking up a conversation. Hey bro. Why are you so badly hurt? Dude. Are you okay? Your forehead is cut and bleeding a lot. Can you press this towel against it? Your cheek is all busted. Who beat you up like this? Did you at least get some hits in?

Its okay. Please lay me down next to Geum-yi too.

Someone grabbed my right shoulder, and someone else grabbed my left shoulder. I was nearly dragged over to the beverage vending machine area. With my limited vision, the Seabed Pollution Center seemed to have a similar structure to the Deep-Sea Life Center.

The problem was that this was the third floor, and the lower part of the building, which looked like an shape, was completely flooded. It was submerged in water up to the second floor. I seemed to have lost consciousness for about 10 seconds, and when I came to, I was lying on a long bench in the corridor, slightly away from the bench where Yoo Geum-yi was lying. Someone was pressing a towel against my right eye, and mistaking it for them pressing on my nose, I abruptly sat up, but realizing that wasnt the case, I lay back down limply.

You startled me.

The man who introduced himself as Kanu chuckled and pressed the towel firmly against the wound.