The Former Mercenary is a Chaebol Heir

Episode 33: Fierce Battle Between Equals

Shin-woo and Jang Man-soo turned their heads toward the entrance.

The person who entered was Lillian Foster.

“Li… Lillian?”

“You’re here?”

“Oh― Captain!”

Walking up to the desk, Lillian placed a box on the left side of Shin-woo’s desk.

“This is my spot, right?”

At this, Jang Man-soo looked at Shin-woo with a bewildered expression.

“What… What is this? Lillian is working here too?”

“Of course. Where else would she be?”

“What about managing LIVIO SOFT in the States?”

“That’s what Dale Becker is for. With the leash tightened, he won’t be thinking of betraying us.”

Currently, Dale Becker’s stake was far lower than Jang Man-soo’s, making it difficult for him to betray the company and protect his own safety.

Lillian, listening to their conversation, shot a sharp glare at Jang Man-soo.

“Jang Mandu! Do you have a problem with me working here?”

“Huh? No… I don’t. No problem…”

“Lillian, be careful with that ‘Mandu’ nickname from now on. It’s fine when it’s just us, but if someone else hears, who knows what could happen.”

“What? I’ve been calling him ‘Mandu’ my whole life! How can I call him anything else?”

It’s only been seven years.

When Lillian first learned Korean, she mispronounced Jang Man-soo’s name and continued calling him that ever since.

“There are people in this company who know the name ‘MANDU,’ you know.”

“Then what should I call him?”

“Just use his name. His actual name.”

Lillian’s face twisted as if she absolutely didn’t want to call him that.

“You dislike it that much?”

“It feels strange―!”

Then, Jang Man-soo muttered under his breath.

“As if I enjoy hearing it…”

“What was that? Want to die?”

The two, who had once wiped out enemies on the battlefield, were bickering over trivial matters.

Shin-woo looked at them with exasperation.

“Both of you, knock it off.”

“Tch―!”

“…”

Once they quieted down, Shin-woo shook his head in disbelief.

“Lillian is here as a long-term transfer from LIVIO SOFT. Her position is Deputy General Manager.”

“What?! Deputy General Manager? I’m just a team leader! Why is she a Deputy General Manager?”

Once again, Jang Man-soo shot up in indignation.

At that moment, Lillian ran over and smacked him on the head.

“‘She’? ‘She’? In the Eastern Land of Courtesy, Korea, you call your elder ‘she’? To your sister?!”

Jang Man-soo was twenty-three, and Lillian was twenty-seven—a four-year difference. Lillian Foster was an American through and through.

Of course, as an elder by age, she technically was his “Noona” (older sister), but having spent so much time abroad, she hadn’t really taken to the custom.

“Both of you, seriously, tone it down.”

“He’s the one who keeps provoking me! By the way, how’s the communications network coming along? We need to find Rick, Hector, and Wei as soon as possible. They’re probably looking for the Captain too.”

Lillian looked at Jang Man-soo with an expectant gaze.

“What?! Why are you looking at me like that? You think I’m holding off on it? We’re missing parts!”

“What exactly do you need? I can check with some black-market sources to see if I can get it.”

“An IBDN8334 military satellite aperture antenna and a CELIS049 bi-directional ultra-high-frequency array jammer.”

At the same time, Lillian’s brow furrowed as her expression twisted in confusion.

“…Wh-what is that?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Those are the parts you just asked for. And they don’t even exist yet.”

“Why did you make it so complicated? Is this for the Pentagon? A secret intelligence organization?”

“You specifically asked me to make it impossible for anyone to trace us!”

“Oh, right.”

Initially, Jang Man-soo hadn’t planned on constructing such a complex communications network.

But given Lillian’s CIA background, she was concerned about the possibility of Triad Eye being tracked, so she had insisted on it.

“I told you I’d make it simpler…”

“You should have figured that out yourself!”

“Are you done talking?”

The two began arguing once again.

With a growing headache, Shin-woo took out an eight-sided die and rolled it in his hand to calm himself.

Clatter― Clatter―

“Huh? Isn’t that the equipment you used to carry, Captain?”

Hearing the sound, Lillian stopped fighting and stared at the die in Shin-woo’s hand.

“Yeah. Man-soo made it for me.”

“Then, what about mine?”

Jang Man-soo bristled again.

“Did you leave your equipment in my care?!”

“Aren’t you responsible for our gear?”

Lillian’s specialty within Triad Eye was bomb-making and disarming.

Her equipment back then included a tactical vest called the C4 Tool, outfitted with detonators, fuse lines, working tools, and other bomb-making essentials.

“We’re in South Korea! Where am I supposed to make your equipment? You want to be arrested as a terrorist?”

“Even a basic kit would be fine!”

“…Fine, fine!”

It seemed Jang Man-soo was finally tired of arguing.

“Both of you, seriously, take it down a notch. I have to go visit KITE, so you two stay here and get some work done. If you need help, Man-soo, work with Lillian.”

“…What does Lillian even know?”

“Are you looking down on me? Who do you think you’re talking to, with no college degree?”

“Are you belittling me for just having a high school diploma?”

Lillian, at twenty-seven, had completed both a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s in Materials Science at Stanford—a bona fide genius.

On the other hand, Jang Man-soo, only twenty-three, had learned computer science and mechanical engineering through self-study—a genius in his own right.

But watching them bicker made them seem no different from schoolchildren.

“Do whatever you two want… I’m heading to KITE.”

Shin-woo shook his head in resignation and left the office.

As he reached the underground parking lot and got into his car, he noticed a transparent piece of plastic on the floor. It was a piece of cellophane tape he had placed there as a marker to detect unauthorized entry.

‘Did someone break into my car?’

The car’s dashcam footage was also erased.

With a growing sense of caution, he inspected the seats, under the car, the trunk, and the hood before calling Jang Man-soo.

[Why are you calling me right after you just left?]

“Looks like someone’s been in my car.”

[Seriously? Is there a problem?]

“Not at first glance.”

[Then take the red die I gave you, split it open, and plug it into the car’s USB connector. Set it to decoy mode.]

One side of the split eight-sided die popped off like a lid, revealing a USB connector.

Shin-woo followed Jang Man-soo’s instructions. The navigation screen turned on, displaying something.

【LEUCO Operating System Access】

It switched to remote mode, allowing Jang Man-soo to control it. Soon after, the screen began to flicker, and shortly, a voice came through.

[The VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control) safety lock has been disabled by hacking. The brake system is also compromised. This looks like they’re out to kill you.]

“So, they’re finally making their move. And they’ve set the stage quite nicely, too.”

Shin-woo smiled, as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

From the other end of the line, he could hear the sound of rapid typing.

[Since the remote device has a limited range, they’re probably nearby. What’s your plan?]

“Can you reset the hack without alerting them?”

[Already done. If they try to activate anything, you’ll get an alert.]

“Then it’s time to act as bait. Let’s go with the Ashgabat Operation style. Remember that one?”

[Ok―!]

“Set up a network with Lillian, and don’t make any moves until I send the safe signal.”

Shin-woo plugged in his earphones and started the engine.

Leaving the headquarters building, he drove onto the main road, his senses heightened.

‘If they’re smart, they’ll avoid crowded areas.’

They’d hacked his vehicle’s system—clearly planning to stage an accident as a cover-up for their plot.

The car continued south, heading into the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.

Beep―

As if on cue, an alert popped up on the navigation screen.

【Vehicle Control System Trespassing】

It was the alert Jang Man-soo had mentioned.

“So, it begins?”

Thanks to the precautions already in place, the vehicle had no immediate issues.

However, Shin-woo’s car began swerving left and right erratically as if the brakes were malfunctioning, and its speed accelerated rapidly.

Screech― Screech―

The car sped up uncontrollably, with the brakes seemingly failing.

***

Meanwhile, about 20 meters behind Shin-woo’s vehicle, a black sedan was tailing him, with two men grinning maliciously.

“Got him perfectly.”

“Make sure you stay close. We have to finish the job right.”

The two men, Nam In-hwang and Moon Tae-beom from Unit 666, were tasked with eliminating Baek Shin-woo on their superior’s orders.

At Moon Tae-beom’s prompting, Nam In-hwang, the driver, accelerated to match Shin-woo’s now faster pace.

“I doubt he’ll hold out for long before crashing!”

“I heard from the commander that he’s an exceptional driver. He might hold out for a while.”

They had received some details about Baek Shin-woo in advance.

“What―? Hey!”

Screech― Screech―

As if in response, Shin-woo continued to dodge oncoming vehicles, barely avoiding collisions as he sped forward.

“Is he trying to stop without hitting anyone?”

Scrape― Scrape―

Shin-woo tried slowing down by scraping against guardrails and medians, but it was futile.

Eventually, he veered onto a side road, leading into an abandoned construction site.

The car climbed over a pile of sand, flipped, and rolled.

Crash― Bang―

From a short distance away, Nam In-hwang hit the brakes. The flipped vehicle lay still, silence settling over the scene.

“Didn’t explode, huh? Guess it’s not like in the movies.”

As Moon Tae-beom muttered, Nam In-hwang nodded.

“We’ll have to finish it ourselves. I’ll check him first. Bring the tools.”

They got out of their car and approached Shin-woo’s vehicle.

Nam In-hwang crouched by the driver’s side door, peering inside.

Shin-woo hung upside down, his body held by the seatbelt, with blood trickling from his head and his eyes closed.

“He’s out cold, alright.”

Moon Tae-beom, who had been grabbing tools from the trunk, called out.

“Should I go with Plan A, same as last time?”

“That should do.”

Moon Tae-beom walked over with a toolbox, pulling out a wrench, wire, and a cutter.

“Just tampering with the oil pipe and brake pads enough?”

“Replace the cylinder, too. Use the worn parts to make it look like an old vehicle malfunction led to a sudden acceleration and explosion. Oh, and give him a dose, too.”

Nam In-hwang extended his hand as he spoke.

Moon Tae-beom took a syringe and a vial from the toolbox.

“Here. But aren’t you really going to help with the rest?”

“We decided with rock-paper-scissors, didn’t we? You get the engineering, I get the cleanup.”

He inserted the syringe into a vial labelled ‘Prilene,’ drawing in the clear liquid.

“Don’t give too much. If it leaves traces in the body, it could lead to complications. They warned us to be extra cautious this time.”

“It’s not like this is our first job.”

Nam In-hwang smirked, tapping the syringe before approaching Shin-woo to administer the injection.

Looking at Shin-woo’s unconscious face, blood still trickling down, he murmured.

“What rotten luck you’ve got, poking around where you shouldn’t have.”

Meanwhile, Moon Tae-beom began tinkering with the engine components exposed by the crash.

He swapped out the cylinder and messed with the oil pipe.

Then he noticed that Nam In-hwang had gone silent near the driver’s side.

“Hey! What’s taking so long? Injecting him shouldn’t take this long!”

Annoyed, he shouted, but there was only silence.

Sensing something was off, Moon Tae-beom walked around the front of the car toward the driver’s side.

Nam In-hwang was slumped against the shattered driver’s window, unmoving.

“What are you doing? Fell asleep giving the injection?”

—