The Swimming Emperor(17)
What would you do if your subordinate, who you entrusted with an important mission, didn't return on time?
You'd go look for them yourself.
'Is it about time for them to come?'
While they were waiting for their inexperienced colleague, I familiarized myself with the structure of the airplane and searched for objects that could be used as shields.
The large carts that flight attendants use to transport in-flight meals and beverages.
I didn't know the exact name, but if I set this up as a shield, it should block bullets shot from the front.
And there's one more thing.
"Molang Molang?"
"Shh."
"Molang~"
I put the friend I had brought in my bag all the way into the cabin on my head like a wig.
Since I had seen this alien lifeform perfectly block arrows, it should have some effect on bullets as well.
The second observer was...
"Match your speed with mine."
"Don't you go too fast."
One man on each side of the aisle between the airplane seats, the two men were coming while being cautious of the passengers.
Are they very cautious? Or are they looking down on me?
There were no guns this time either. Although there were two people.
'That's a shame.'
It would be much easier if I could secure a gun that could attack from a distance.
This time, I had to deal with two people at once.
If I fail?
A gunfight with indiscriminate sacrifices of defenseless passengers under the influence of sleeping pills would ensue!
"......"
I hid in the blind spot where the two aisles between the seats formed an 'H' shape and waited for them to come.
Swoosh-
I could see the approaching shadows.
'Left side? Right side?'
I had to attack the side that came faster.
"Uh-?!"
Zap-!
After ambushing and knocking out one person with a stun gun,
"You- Ugh?!"
"Molang!"
The slime I threw stuck to the man's mouth, making him unable to speak.
The flustered man couldn't even use the stun gun and-
Thud!
My kick hit his Adam's apple, and he crashed into the wall.
"......."
He died instantly.
His neck bone was broken.
"Hmm... Did I smell the Gomusin Grandmaster’s foot too much?"
The taekwondo I learned while being hit by the Gomusin Grandmaster was very practical.
On top of that, my strength!
If they can't dodge or block and expose their vital points, it's 100% death.
"It wouldn't be fair if only you lived, right?"
"......"
Thud!
I broke the neck of the man who was unconscious from the stun gun as well.
Bandits, thieves, pirates...
In the world of the romance fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count>, I've encountered attackers to the point of boredom.
And I never forgave or spared them, not even once. Because it's an emergency situation with the lives of countless people, including myself, at stake.
I have to deal with them for sure.
'What's next?'
The total number of airplane hijackers I identified was five. I've dealt with three of them, leaving only the leader and one subordinate.
However, as long as they have guns, I must be prepared for a 'futile death' until the very end.
One shot.
It's a fight where I lose if even a single bullet hits my body.
"Kang Moon-soo! I know you're hiding there!"
"......"
"Show yourself and surrender right now!"
"......"
The airplane hijackers knew my seat and name precisely.
What does that mean?
'It's Nam Hae-soo's doing again.'
I had a hunch from the moment the accident happened, but I didn't know he would try again after apologizing and just a day later.
Doesn't he wonder about 'Kang Moon-soo', who knows his daughter's name?
I was too careless.
"If you don't come out, I'll kill one passenger at a time!"
"......"
"Do you think I can't do it? Want me to show you?!"
"......"
I couldn't feel the need to respond. I had no intention of surrendering, and if I responded, my position would be exposed.
There were two targets left.
It would be nice if passengers who woke up from the sleeping pills joined and helped, but there were no signs of them waking up.
'As planned.'
I waited in front of the kitchen connected to the first-class section with the in-flight meal cart that I would use as a bullet shield.
A hostage situation?
It was far from enough to provoke me, who had personally experienced wars treating people like disposable items.
Instead,
"Did Hwang Hae-soo order you?"
I activated the recording function on my smartphone and asked.
"...Just surrender."
"It seems like we won't be able to hear the answers we want from each other."
"By the time I count to three-"
Swoosh.
Ignoring the warning, I pushed the in-flight meal cart forward.
'Aren't they shooting?'
Was it all a bluff in the end? They wouldn't let the subordinates take it, fearing it could be confiscated, but they kept it until the very moment they really needed it.
"Not going to shoot?"
"Damn it!"
Did they decide they might really be in trouble if they continued like this?
The last remaining hijacker's subordinate aimed his gun at me.
Click.
"Die!"
"No...!"
The startled leader yelled at his subordinate, who was pulling the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet couldn't penetrate the in-flight meal cart I was pushing and was blocked.
"Don't interfere-"
"Don't kill him!"
"Do I look like I'm going to die...!"
"You'll die if you resist anyway!"
While my life was at stake, I closed the distance completely as the leader and his subordinate argued.
'How ridiculous.'
Do they believe that anyone can be killed as long as they have a gun?
While it's true that guns are powerful weapons, my body has personally experienced battlefields where arrows fly.
I'm not an ordinary athlete.
"Dodge!"
The leader dodged the speeding in-flight meal cart in the aisle and leaped into the seat next to him, but his subordinate collided with it.
"This little- Aaah~?!"
Crash!
And he immediately fell backward.
'What a fool.'
The hijacker who tried to win against an athlete with his strength alone, just trusting his gun?
He seemed to have lost his judgment while mistaking the gun for his own strength.
Leaving such a fool aside,
"Hello?"
"You brat...!"
Screech!
The leader, with a stun gun in each hand, charged at me.
Agile yet restrained movements.
He seemed to have been properly trained, but when compared to Valentine, who taught me swordsmanship, it was just a yawn.
'However...'
The fallen subordinate, who had collided with the in-flight meal cart, was on my mind. He hadn't let go of the gun even when he fell.
"Die...!"
I'm sorry to the leader, but the subordinate was much more threatening to me.
"Go!"
"Molang!"
I threw the soft slime.
Bang!
The fired bullet couldn't penetrate the slime that clung to the muzzle.
"What, what is this...?!"
"Molang Molang~"
While glancing sideways to confirm that the subordinate's gun was neutralized, I also threatened the leader with a stun gun in the same way.
One shot each.
We wouldn't die, but even if we were grazed by a stun gun, defeat was certain.
"What did you do to my subordinates?"
"I killed them all."
"Killed?"
"That's right."
"...You committed murder. Is that something you can say so calmly?"
"I killed to survive. Is that such a strange thing to say?"
I asked back similarly.
Swoosh~
Swoosh~
Because of the seats on both sides of the airplane aisle, it's difficult for both of us to dodge.
At first, I was confident, but now I couldn't move recklessly either, measuring the distance back and forth while waiting for an opportunity.
'It feels like fencing?'
In a fencing match, the person who scores a valid hit first wins.
With stun guns, the one who gets the current into the opponent's body first wins.
"What's the purpose of hijacking the plane?"
"How did you wake up?"
"I asked first."
"Give up the idea of dying comfortably."
"We can't have a conversation!"
The leader, who didn't want to overdo it until his flustered subordinate could provide support.
Since there's no next chance if I'm hit, I have no choice but to be cautious.
The tense standoff continued.
Then,
"Aaah?!"
The subordinate, who gave up on his gun and aimed for his colleague's gun, screamed.
Crash!
It was because the flight attendants, who couldn't budge due to the threat of the gun, courageously rushed at him all at once.
"Pin him...!"
"Grab him!"
The gunless man was quickly subdued by the flight attendants and-
"What now?"
"Damn it!"
The leader, sensing that his subordinate was captured, threw away the stun gun and moved his hand to the gun on his shoulder.
Pat.
I didn't miss that gap and rushed towards him.
Sizzle-
My stun gun was blocked by the protective gear worn like a wristband on the leader's arm.
However, he chose to step back instead of counterattacking, to buy time to hold the gun.
'In that case...!'
With the determination that I would die if I was late, I kicked.
Thwack!
"Ugh?!"
I wouldn't have dared to try if I hadn't thrown away the stun gun.
But the leader threw it away, and in return, I gave him a refreshing slap on the jaw!
'It must hurt.'
With a kick infused with the intention to 'kill the opponent,' it was so strong that even the Gomusin Grandmaster would have pointed out the will to kill.
It would be a pity if he was unharmed.
Thunk!
"Phew~!"
Although I wanted to kill them cleanly, the two vicious criminals need to be kept alive to serve as witnesses.
To find out who's behind it!
'Although it's obvious even if I don't listen.'
Nam Hae-soo.
Wasn't the reason he didn't kill me also because of that?
If he really wanted my life, he would have thrown me out of the plane when all the passengers were asleep.
"Kang Moon-soo, the athlete!"
"Thank you!"
"Thanks to you, I'm alive!"
The flight attendants, who had captured the leader as well, shared their joy of relief.
"It's not over yet."
If they can't catch the captain of this plane, Nam Hae-soo's subordinates will land in a bustling place. I have to go to the cockpit right now and stop that at least.
Click.
"Don't move."
"......"
I stopped in my tracks, feeling the muzzle of the gun pressed against my back.
'What's going on?'
I wasn't the only one confused.
Click.
"Eek?!"
"Wh, what?!"
Some flight attendants, armed with guns taken from the hijackers, pointed their guns at their colleagues.
A double trap!
My careless judgment, thinking that only the captain who controlled the plane had betrayed us, led to this failure.
'How foolish... they were the ones who distributed the in-flight meals with sleeping pills.'
There was another strange thing.
Surveillance cameras installed throughout the plane.
If they had been working properly, they would have noticed me as soon as I woke up.
But they didn't know.
So,
"You were accomplices from the beginning."
The flight attendants followed meekly without resisting, probably because of the instigation by the hijackers.
The flight attendant who pointed the gun at my back answered.
"If you hadn't caused a commotion, it would have gone quietly."
"Ha! So it's my fault?"
"It's a pity. We, who love South Korea, have to flee from South Korea."
"Are you kidding? People who claim to love South Korea are kidnapping South Korean Olympic national team athletes?"
"Kang Moon-soo, it's because of you."
"Why me?"
I couldn't understand the flight attendant's remark, blaming me for the wrongdoing.
"...You don't need to know."
"Is that so?"
I ignored the gun and moved.
"Huh?!"
However, the flight attendant, who had warned me that he would shoot if I moved, hesitated and didn't pull the trigger.
And that brief hesitation.
It was enough time for a counterattack.
Thud, thump.
I spun my body 180 degrees, dove into his arms, and naturally grabbed his neck.
"Never killed anyone, have you?"
"Cough...!"
"Because you're a flight attendant. South Korean airlines wouldn't be so desperate for talent that they'd hire a murderer to entrust them with an expensive plane."
"Ugh!"
"Don't move. I won't stop you if you want to test whether I can kill someone or not."
"......"
Click.
After using the captured flight attendant as a shield, I also aimed a gun I had taken from them at them.
"Put down your guns and raise your hands."
"......"
"......"
Bang!
Not wanting to give them time to think, I shot without hesitation.
"Kyaa?!"
"Huek?!"
The flight attendants, startled by the sound of the gun and the bright red blood, screamed and fell down.
Thud.
And death.
The accomplices, who didn't think I'd really shoot, trembled and shouted at the futile end of their colleague.
"Are you crazy?!"
"I already killed three before. One more just added here."
"......"
"Surrender. Or die."
"Eek?! W-wait! Promise you won't kill us!"
"I promise."
Thud, thud, thud.
The accomplices put their guns down on the floor and raised their hands above their heads.
"Now, then... Huh?"
Wobble-
The plane's altitude began to drop rapidly.
'No way...!'
I looked out the window, which I had been ignoring because I could only see clouds.
Land.
A dense jungle filled with palm trees and sandy beaches were visible.
"Where is this?"
"Ha-ha! It's already too late!"
The accomplice laughed at my question.
"I'm going crazy!"
It was certain that our destination was not the one planned for participating in the Olympics.
If we land at the airport like this, we'll definitely be caught!
I won't allow that.
"Everyone. Nam Hae-soo's target is me. If I'm gone, you won't be in danger."
"Kang Moon-soo. What on earth does 'leaving suddenly' mean...?"
The question from the flight attendant who didn't understand.
While putting on a life jacket from under the seat, I answered.
Click.
"Literally. Where are the parachutes?"
There will be a skydiving demonstration by the national swimming team athlete!
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