Hammurabi Style - Chapter 25

Sangki Beak was standing in a black and white world where everything was still.

A red key pattern appeared on his arm.

The numbers on the pattern started to change.

5:00

4:59

4:58

4:57

Sangki Beak stared at the key pattern for a while and touched his laugh lines.

Soon, he tore a wave in the air and came outside.

***

Kimin and Sera Lee’s gathered in Saehyun’s store.

Their eyes were all focused on a video.

The title of the video was ‘Disaster From Sangki Beak And Saehun Choi’.

Saehyun Jae acquired the video from the government 

“They know they can’t kill each other. Then, it means Mr. Saehun had an idea if he started the fight.”

“Oh, it’s starting now. That is it.”

Kimin took up Sera’s talking.

Saehun Choi was trying to trap Sangki Beak within a subspace on the screen.

His idea was to make a trap, lure him, and then locking him up.

“That was why he kept getting hit on purpose.”

“It was possible since he doesn’t get any damage from the attacks.”

“We should watch how Sangki Beak handles it.”

The main scene was about to start.

“Um…?”

“Huh…?”

They blinked their eyes for a moment and then paused the video and rewound it.

They watched it again.

“Is the video cut in the middle?”

“It doesn’t seem to be…”

Saehyun Jae hesitated to answer Sera Lee’s question.

“Isn’t it just time-stop, Miss?”

While no one was answering Hakdong Lim’s question, Kimin rewound it one more time.

They started watching it again.

Kimin stopped the video at the moment Saehun Choi trapped Sangki Beak inside the subspace.

“Let’s slow it down it from here.”

Sangki Beak got trapped and his body was getting surrounded by the subspace.

“Here is the frame in question.”

At that moment just one frame passed, Sangki Beak and Saehun Choi suddenly disappeared, the subspace was badly torn to pieces, the surrounding buildings suddenly became ruined, and people around instantly became shattered to pieces.

It was only one frame between daily life and chaos.

Kimin rewound it several times to watch it again and opened his mouth.

“This video was not cut I think. You see the smoke from a broken car over there, right?”

“Oh, I see. If it was cut, the smoke wouldn’t continue coming out that naturally.”

“That’s right.”

Hakdong Lim tilted his head at the conversation between Kimin and Saehyun Jae.

“Then, it wasn’t time-stop? It doesn’t quite feel right to say it’s time-stop…”

“In my opinion…, it makes sense if he overwrote time.”

Sera Lee and Hakdong Lim strained their eyes at Kimin’s words.

He continued his hypothesis.

“There has to be another world to overwrite the original world. It’s only my imagination, but I’m guessing that Sangki Beak’s hidden skill is transferring over to another world, destroying it, and overwriting it onto the original world.”

“That’s a very plausible guess. It should be a similar method even if it’s not right.”

Saehyun Jae agonized a little bit and opened his mouth.

“Then, the world Sangki Beak destroyed has to have been a world where time was stopped. If something moved, it’s going to be weird.”

“That makes more sense.”

When Kimin was answering Sera’s question, Hakdong presented a question.

“If he overwrote the stopped world, it doesn’t make sense that the buildings already collapsed when they came over. It’s different from the common knowledge I know about time-stop.”

Everyone was thinking deeply and Kimin concluded.

“Probably, the world was originally like that. The dead bodies were all shattered into pieces. The world Sangki Beak brings is not going to be normal I think.”

“Hahaha… that could be true. By the way, I don’t know if the space barrier made by Saehun handled that incident. Everything tore through the subspace and came out.”

Saehyun Jae turned on the TV.

[ The skill user, Saehun Choi from [The Rulers] expressed his regret at the disaster and announced that he will support by compensating for the damage done and pay for the restoration with his private money, 500 billion won. ]

“Ohh! He made it!”

Hakdong Lim happily nodded his head at the news that Saehun Choi came out himself.

[ The normal people are shaking from anxiety by the ‘disaster caused by Sangki Beak and Saehun Choi’. They were nervous about being killed by skill users at any time…. ]

[ Even though there is criticism when other ‘skill users’ are wrongly accused instead of ‘The Rulers’ who are the perpetrators, the abhorrence towards skill users does not seem to decrease… ]

[ There is growing public opinion to name the day of that disaster as ‘Protection of the Ordinary People Day’ to remind us of what happened. Bills to ensure the ordinary people’s safety seem to keep drawing up. ]

“It’s obvious since they have fueled the hatred towards skill users. It already added oil to the fire, so now only the burning is left.”

Saehyun Jae mumbled, then turned off the TV.

“It seems not right to stand against it.”

“Everyone is going crazy.”

Only silence remained.

Kimin started thinking while there was only a sipping sound.

‘By the way, what made them fight?’

His thinking continued.

‘Sangki Beak is after me.’

‘Saehun Choi is… behind the Dark Auction according to rumors.’

‘Dark Auction…? Dark Auction and me…’

Kimin opened his eyes widely.

‘The mask type artifact.’

‘Has he found me?’

Kimin’s thoughts were getting deeper.

‘No. If he did find me, there is no reason to fight Saehun Choi.’

‘I can’t delay my revenge anymore. I have to kill him before he gets information on me.’

His mouth slowly opened.

“Miss. Sera.”

“Yea?”

“Do you think I can get the security video from Ohsung?

“Um… I will ask some people I know.”

Kimin was going to change his words because what he asked for was too massive, then Sera Lee’s words stopped him.

“I can probably get it.”

“Thank you.”

***

“Mr. Jo, is it really ok this way?”

“Of course not. The more serious problem is that she doesn’t eat. She can’t stay alive just with the medical fluid.”

Mr. Kwan and Mr. Jo were talking quietly and letting out a sigh.

They just stopped by the place inside the shelter where Hayeong was staying.

It was decorated like a small house.

Hayeong stayed deep inside of the shelter, and they were talking outside of the door.

A weird thumping sound kept echoing in the bedroom.

It was Hayeong regularly hitting her bed frame with a spoon.

The sound was a little bit heavier because the spoon was made of wood.

Mr. Jo quietly listened to the sound and opened his mouth.

“I don’t know what to do. She’s getting worse. Do you have any idea?”

“I would have already used the idea if I had one. I’m going nuts too. The chairman told us to force her to attend the meeting though.”

“Of course, he wants to check her condition himself.”

They let out a deep sigh again.

“We can call other doctors, but not a psychiatrist, right?”

“Yea… because a psychiatrist will try to talk to her. Even if she wears a mask type artifact, she could start talking about something that shouldn’t be said.”

“Then, I’ll dismiss that.”

Ha…. Mr. Kwan had a deep sigh.

Behind his sigh, the hitting sound kept resounding in the bedroom.

“Let’s just be honest to the chairman that our care has limitations.”

“I don’t think he will understand that. You know his personality well. Also, no place can offer better care than this shelter.”

“That is right, but…”

Mr. Kwan grimaced and continued his words.

“… I think we need to tell him about this. I will take the bullet. You just support me, please.”

“Ok.”

Tok, Tok.

Tok, Tok, Tok.

Tok Tok Tok Tok Tok Tok Tok.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang Bang Bang Bang!!

– Arghh!! Arghhh!!!

– Wahh…

“She’s doing that again.”

Mr. Jo nodded his head and took out his phone.

“Hey, it’s me. Put some gas in the VIP shelter after we leave. For relaxing and sleeping. After 15 minutes of inputting the gas, inject her with the medical fluid.”

Mr. Kwan lowered his shoulders and pointed to the outside.

“Let’s go. It’s almost time for the chairman to come.”

“Ha… Ok. It will be alright.”

The two moved towards the VIP meeting room in a gloomy mood.

After they finished preparing, the chairman was connected.

*

– What?

“Hayeong Choi’s condition is not good at all.”

Jinbum looked displeased.

– Isn’t it because you guys couldn’t take care of her well?

“We have done all that we can do. I’m serious.”

– Forget it. She just has to be alive until the bastard comes. It is a project that Sangki… Mr. Beak is paying attention. You got it, Mr. Kwan?”

Mr. Jo interrupted.

“Mr., Can we call a psychiatrist? It can be really dangerous for her at this rate.” 

– What if she reveals something? Are you going to be responsible?

“Then, I will try to talk about her symptoms to the doctor. She seems to need psychiatric medicine.”

– Hm…

Jinbum thought about it a little bit and then nodded.

– Go ahead. I will mention it to the director of the hospital.

“Thank you, sir.”

– Is there more to talk about?

“The incident about the helium gas… I have investigated, but I couldn’t find anyone special.”

– Ha… Ok. Is there any news about the bastard?

“We are keeping eyes on him, but nothing has happened.”

Jinbum let out a sigh at Mr. Jo’s words.

Mr. Kwan carefully asked.

“Mr. Park. About the disaster…”

– What about it?

“Is it related to how Sangki Beak stopped by our company?”

Jinbum had a guilty conscience but denied it.

– What are you talking about? How is it related to us?

“That’s what I thought. I will make an order to control public opinion.”

At that moment, Mr. Kwan’s phone rang.

He picked up the phone, and soon, his face became pale.

****

Kimin inserted a USB from Sera into his PC and thought about what she told him.

‘She said she found an odd video when getting the security videos.’

Kimin played the video.

There was a woman who showed up on the screen.

She tapped the bed frame with her spoon all day, screamed, and suddenly fainted and slept.

After she fainted, somebody came in and injected her.

She woke up afterward and cried again.

She took off her mask.

‘Hayeong Choi. I found you.’

Kimin smiled deeply.

–
Translator’s note

Sorry for the late! The website didn’t work for a while.

Enjoy 🙂