Assistant Manager Pak Gi-oong formed an ‘O’ with his index finger and thumb after answering him. Team Leader Lee Young-gyu, who saw Assistant Manager Park’s signal, started to slowly move towards where Lizzy Ahn was lying down, while Team Leader Lee Ja-sung and Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong started to head towards the beach as well.

  The reason so many agents were carefully approaching a single target was due to the large Caucasian men standing next to her. The men were wearing touristy attire, but some of them could be her personal bodyguards. Without any official approval from the foreign nation’s government, the agents had no jurisdiction to arrest her, so it would be illegal. Therefore, the agents had to be cautious.

  “Hey! Could I trouble you for a picture?”


  Team Leader Lee Young-gyu used broken English while trying to give Lizzy Ahn his camera. However, Lizzy Ahn put on her shades and turned her head around. The Caucasian man standing next to her stepped forward and waved at him to move along.

  “I knew it, those guys are her bodyguards!”


  “Hey! Could you maybe take our picture instead?”


  “Hey! Fuck off!” The Caucasian man who was almost 7ft tall yelled angrily.

  “All I’m asking for is one picture, and you have to be that grumpy? What a dick,” Team Leader Lee Young-gyu spoke in a sarcastic tone to anger the bodyguard.

  Another blonde curly-haired man standing behind the large bodyguard started to give him the finger and spoke in indiscernible Italian.

  “What the hell is that bastard saying? I’m gonna break off his finger.”


  As soon as team leader Lee Young-gyu finished speaking, the large white man punched him in the face. However, he seemed to have expected the punch and dodged it before retaliating with an uppercut.

  Smack!

  Argh!

  The large man fell and a fight broke out. The man with blonde and curly hair and others joined in and started to circle Team Leader Lee Young-gyu.

  “So, you’re gonna gang up on me? Let’s go, you bastards!”


  Team Leader Lee Young-gyu started to fight off four other men at once while Lizzy Ahn and her other bodyguards moved to leave the scene.

  “Team Leader Lee is already on the move. How many bodyguards does that bitch have, sir?”


  Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong glared while looking at Lizzy Ahn who was being accompanied by five bodyguards as she moved back to the hotel.

  “What use would the money have for her? She has more than enough to last her a lifetime. I would hire a dozen bodyguards if I were her, too.”


  “You’re right, sir! I suppose I would do that as well. All she has is money…… Wait! Isn’t all of that our tax money? God, that pisses me off.”


  “Stop complaining and take down a few of them already!”


  “Yes, sir.”


  As Lizzy Ahn was being escorted back to the hotel by her five bodyguards, Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong stood in front of her with his arms stretched wide and smiled.

  “Hey! Beautiful lady. How about we grab a cup of tea?”


  “Get out of the way! You yellow monkey!” The African man who was taking the lead shouted while frowning.

  “What! Monkey? Hey! How dare you call me that! You’re the one to talk, you black bastard!”


  The bodyguards were all taken aback by Assistant Manager Park’s sudden use of Corean, and Lizzy Ahn was shocked as well.

  “Wait! Are you Corean?” Lizzy Ahn asked.

  “Oh? You’re Corean as well, miss? It’s good to meet a fellow countryman overseas!”


  “No. I am American. I just have ties with Corea, so I would advise you to back off before things get out of hand.”


  “Oh! Don’t be like that…… Why don’t we grab a cup of coffee from the hotel’s cafe? I’m traveling alone and have been really bored.”


  “Hmf! I’m not interested, so get out of my way.”


  “You have the looks but I guess your personality is……”


  Before he could finish, the African bodyguard threw a punch at Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong’s face.

  Smack!

  Assistant Manager Park fell after being sucker-punched in the face. However, he moved back to soften the blow before he was hit.

  “Argh! I’m gonna get beaten up in a foreign country.”


  Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong stood back up and got into a stance to fight.

  “Hey! Come at me! You black and white bastards!”


  When he signaled at the bodyguards to fight, the three men alongside the African man all joined in to fight Assistant Manager Park. While he distracted the bodyguards, Team Leader Lee Ja-sung had snuck up behind Lizzy Ahn. He covered her mouth and hit her on the neck to make her pass out.

  “What the-! Who are you?”


  When he saw an Asian man approach the VIP Lizzy Ahn, the Caucasian bodyguard who was closest to her pulled out a pistol. However, Team Leader Lee Ja-sung had already placed Lizzy Ahn back onto the floor and then kicked the guard in the jaw.

  Smack! Argh!

  The remaining four bodyguards were all taken down by Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong and were rolling on the floor in pain. Other tourists started to gather around the sudden street fight. Team Leader Lee Ja-sung pulled out his fake badge and spoke to the crowd.

  “Interpol. Please step back.”


  He waved at the tourist to tell them to move away while whispering to Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong, “Assistant manager Park! Let’s go! Things will get complicated if the police get involved.”


  “Yes, sir. Let’s move.”


  Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong carried Lizzy Ahn on his back and started to run towards the road in front of the hotel. Team Leader Lee Young-gyu, who had been fighting off the five bodyguards on the beach, was already in front of the hotel with a car.

  “Get on, hurry!” Team Leader Lee Young-gyu shouted after opening the windows.

  Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong and Team Leader Lee Ja-sung put Lizzy Ahn on the back seat and got on the car.

  “Let’s go!”


  If the agents had attempted to arrest Lizzy Ahn head-on, then the bodyguards would have used their own firearms to retaliate, and that could lead to bystanders being injured. On top of that, many European nations were on high alert from the terrorist attacks from IS. If the Italian government and other European governments were to catch wind of the mission to arrest an American green card holder in another nation unofficially, then she would obviously claim human rights laws and ask for help.

  That would cause enormous diplomatic issues and the attempt to bring Lizzy Ahn back to Corea would all be for nothing. That was why the Corean government agents planned to approach Lizzy Ahn secretly. It all went according to plan and the arrest was made easily without any issues.

  Two days later, Lizzy Ahn was safely transported back to Corea with Team Leader Lee Ja-sung, Assistant Manager Park Gi-oong, and Team Leader Lee Young-gyu. NIS director Lee Young-jin awarded them with awards and promotions.

  * * *

  July 20th, 2023, 10:00 (Mexico Standard Time 19th, 19:00)

  Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

  Acapulco, which was once famous for being one of the most beautiful resort cities, had become an infamously dangerous place where even local people would avoid. Once an internationally famous drug cartel’s assassin organization took over the city, the city’s police and government officials did not maintain the peace within the area out of fear of revenge from the cartel. The entire city was overrun by drugs and it became lawless in an instant.

  Namgoong-won appeared in the city despite the Corean Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ designation of the city as a no-travel zone.

  A year ago, Namgoong-won had resigned from the NIS and started a video game company and he was finally able to locate the Scorpion agent who murdered his parents and younger brother.

  After the war against Japan was over, the Scorpion organization disbanded, and codename SD887, Takada Makoto used his assassination skills to become a member of the cartel’s assassins while thoroughly hiding his identity.

  However, Namgoong-won was able to take out Sergei Haritonov and extract Takada Makoto’s voice from the Scorpion organization’s smartphone. With the help of the Hocula supercomputer, he was able to hack into every communication line in the world and detected a voice pattern that exactly matched Takada Makoto’s a week ago at Acapulco, Mexico.

  A person’s face could be changed through plastic surgery easily, but their voice could not be changed unless if someone’s vocal cords were injured. It took some time, but Namgoong-won’s judgment was precise.

  Acapulco had many beautiful hotels for being a resort city. Namgoong-won stayed at the Los Brisas Hotel at the beach. The reason he picked the hotel was because it was the last spot Takada Makoto made a phone call.

  As soon as he arrived at Acapulco, he went through a broker and bought a 50-caliber Desert Eagle magnum, placed it on his side, and focused on his tablet PC. Since the city was lawless and crime-ridden, it was easy to acquire a gun. Anyone could buy one as long as they paid a price higher than the market. Acapulco’s laws were that corrupt.

  Namgoong-won had spent his time waiting in the hotel room when the tablet PC on his left hand started to sound an alarm. A red dot started to blink on a 3D map on the screen.

  It meant someone with the matching voice pattern was making a call. The exact location was room 521 at the hotel he was staying in.

  Namgoong-won’s heart started to beat faster from anxiety at the thought that the moment he had waited for had finally come. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and started to check over his equipment.

  Namgoong-won checked over the 50-caliber Desert Eagle magnum he bought, the X-C01 console, shield glasses in the form of sunglasses, and a protective suit under his clothes that he borrowed from his old friend at the NIS, Lee Ja-sung.

  A few minutes later, Namgoong-won turned on the TCS (Transparent Cloaking System) to hide himself and checked the interior of room 521 with his shield glasses. The room did not show any signs of life, but a life sign was detected inside the bathroom. It seemed like someone was taking a shower.

  Namgoong-won used the X-C01 console to open the door and quietly entered the room. Soon, Takada Makoto finished his shower and sat down on the living room sofa with a bathrobe on.

  The murderer of his parents and younger brother was right in front of him. Namgoong-won was full of rage. He placed his Desert Eagle magnum from his side to the back of Takada Makoto’s head and turned off the TCS mode.

  Takada Makoto’s assassin instincts sensed something was up, and he attempted to turn his head around, but Namgoong-won grabbed his neck with his left hand and struck him on the head with the gun’s handle.

  “Argh, who, who are you?”


  “Shh! Quiet, Takada Makoto.”


  When an unknown man appeared out of nowhere and called him by a name from 10 years ago that he himself had forgotten about, Takada Makoto felt a chill down his spine.

  “How, how do you know that name? Who are you?”


  “Are you curious? Do you want to know who I am?”


  “Wait, are you from Japan’s prime minister’s cabinet intelligence department?”


  “I suppose you have bad ties with them too? You’re wrong, I am Kim In-jik.”


  Takada Makoto, who could only move his eyes from being pinned down by Namgoong-won, could not remember who Kim In-jik was.

  “I guess you don’t remember!”


  “It’s the first time I am hearing it. Who are you?”


  “Eight years ago, as a Scorpion agent, you were tasked with assassinating three family members at Busan under the guise of an explosion, were you not?”


  “E-eight years ago?”


  “It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember. Your destiny will not change.”


  “I- I remember. Yes. I did take a job like that. How did you know about the Scorpion organization?”


  “Why would a man who will be dead soon want to know?”


  “P-please, I have 10 million dollars. If you let me live, I will give you all of it. Please spare me……”


  Smack!

  Before he could finish, the magnum’s handle struck Takada Makoto in the head and he fell to the floor screaming in pain.

  Argh! Ugh……

  “It’s-it’s true. I will give you all of my money. Just let me live……”


  Smack!

  Namgoong-won jumped over the sofa and stepped on Takada Makoto’s side.

  Ahhhhhhhhh~

  He grabbed his sides from the pain and rolled around on the floor.

  “I don’t need dirty money from a man like you!”


  Namgoong-won placed the barrel of a gun at Takata Makoto’s forehead as he begged pitifully for his life and pulled the trigger.

  A few minutes later, Namgoong-won turned on the TCS mode, exited room 521, and quietly moved through the hallway to head to the underground parking lot. Namgoong-won turned off the TCS mode after nearing the parking lot and left the hotel in the car he had prepared earlier. Namgoong-won’s eyes continued to fill up with tears and he sobbed while driving down the road. The feeling of emptiness from finally avenging his family and missing them after eight years made him continue to cry until he left Acapulco.

  A few hours later, Takada Makoto was found by the cartel on the floor of his hotel room. He did not have any external damages, but his eyes did not focus and he could not control his own body.

  Namgoong-won wanted Takada Makoto to die a slow and painful death. That was why he injected him with a serum he prepared personally. The serum was designed to slowly destroy brain cells one by one and paralyze the body. In short, it was designed to put someone in a vegetative state. It would take 5 to 10 years before Takada Makoto would die while suffering from his body slowly losing its capabilities.