Arena Chapter 99:
Arena Chapter 99 – A New Birth (Part 2)
It was after the call was over .
Knock knock .
At the sudden knock, chief Kim Joong-tae quickly removed the Kim Hyun-ho file that was atop his desk .
“Who is it?”
“This is Cha Ji-hye . ”
“Oh, come in . ”
During that quick conversation, chief Kim Joong-tae had a lot going on in his mind .
The knock that sounded was as if it had been waiting for him to finish his call .
She had waiting in front of the door until the call was over .
Then did she hear the conversation? Does Cha Ji-hye know Chinese?
‘No, as far as I know, she doesn’t know Chinese . ’
The door opened and Cha Ji-hye walked in .
In a white suit and red blazer and banging body .
As always, she came walking in with a wide stride, Cha Ji-hye gave her report .
“We have discovered someone who we suspect is a new examinee . A social media text was posted and we have hacked their ID and password and deleted it . ”
“Really? What turn examinee do you suspect them to be?”
“Without anyone for support and afraid all alone is the feeling we got . I suspect it is a first turn examinee . ”
“I see . ”
Their eyes met for just a second .
A short moment’s eye contact .
Very short . Just an instant .
“Well . I’ll leave you, sir . ”
“Mm, yes . Good work . ”
Cha Ji-hye headed back out of the office .
‘Whew, I don’t think she knows anything . I need to be careful going forward . ’
Because he had become so out of touch with the outside world and had starting acting like the king of a secret research agency, chief Kim Joong-tae started blaming himself for being so carefree .
***
Chief Kim Joong-tae’s own opinion of himself being too lax was completely correct .
Unlike him, Cha Ji-hye was positive that there was something suspicious going on .
She didn’t not know Chinese well . But she did understand some words .
Jinseong Group .
Money (Qian) .
How much (Duo shao) .
And from the window she could see what the reflection was of what was on chief Kim Joong-tae’s computer monitor .
A picture of chairman Park Jin-seong .
That was enough for Cha Ji-hye .
‘He’s trying to sell Kim Hyun-ho’s identity to the Chinese . ’
There were bad rumors floating around even since chief Kim Joong-tae’s national intelligence service days .
He wasn’t some inefficient pencil pusher or figurehead .
He has a dirty past .
The reason a man like him got this position in a large administration was because he was a figure with a meteoric rise in China .
And now it was without a doubt that he was trying to sell Kim Hyun-ho’s identity to the Chinese examinees .
‘I have to stop him . ’
Kim Hyun-ho lost all his comrades and, even after becoming alone, he survived . He is still alive so that meant he cleared his 6th exam .
This was the potential of the competent Kim Hyun-ho .
But any target of the Chinese examinees would be in danger . Now as a mere 6thturn examinee, Kim Hyun-ho alone wouldn’t be able to defend himself from all the Chinese examinees .
‘I have to start tailing the chief . ’’
If it was information regarding chief Park Jin-seong’s recovery it’s a big deal .
They’ll want the information tonight or immediately tomorrow .
Chief Kim Joong-tae always had a set routine he followed every day but he will have to personally pull the file with Kim Hyun-ho’s identity .
If possible, she must stop the transaction and at best she must leave the location of the transaction with proof and use it to cause chief Kim Joong-tae’s downfall .
Kim Hyun-ho was no longer a part of the Korean Arena Research Agency but as the one that was responsible for him while he still was, she still felt a sense of responsibility .
‘I know what I have to do . ’
First of all, she sent a warning message text to Kim Hyun-ho .
[Be careful of the Chinese . Be cautious and alert . No contact . ]
To be careful, she sent the text on the emergency burner phone she always carried .
Cha Ji-hye decided that this should be more than enough information for him to understand the situation .
He has been with chairman Park Jin-seong so he should know his way about this stuff .
And there was no way Kim Hyun-ho wouldn’t know that his skills would eventually become the target of other nations either .
That evening, having taken the helicopter off the island, she hid the car she had parked near the helipad and staked out in it .
From the entrance of the helipad, chief Kim Joong-tae’s BMW 7 appeared .
She left a good distance between them and started her pursuit .
Chief Kim Joong-tae was heading towards the Incheon Seollin-dong Chinatown .
‘As expected . ’
The Chinese person that the exchange is happening with is already in Korea .
It meant that he or she was already in Korea before they had heard anything from chief Kim Joong-tae . Or came as soon as they heard .
Regardless, this person had been searching for Kim Hyun-ho .
Crazy with the greed to not lose the goose that lays the golden eggs .
‘Should I go in now?’
Getting chief Kim Joong-tae now and stealing his file of Kim Hyun-ho, she thought about this option .
But no matter how she thought about it, that idea was simply too rash .
The opponent was the chief and he has a straight line to the blue house (connected to the white house) for sure .
Not only would she not be able to handle the aftermath, but doing that won’t block the transfer of Kim Hyun-ho’s related information into Chinese hands .
She was going to get proof of this back-alley transaction and then use that to cause his downfall . That was the best idea .
For now, she could only hope that Kim Hyun-ho can protect himself .
She sent him a warning so whether it is chairman Park Jin-seong or the Denmark examinee group’s Odin, he should be able to utilize his sources to defend himself .
She got out of her car and continued to tail chief Kim Joong-tae .
Chief Kim Joong-tae went into a tranquil restaurant with a Chinese owner .
Cha Ji-hye wasn’t able to go in and instead had to watch the restaurant through a window from outside .
Thankfully, she could see where chief Kim Joong-tae was sitting .
‘Who is the one meeting him?’
With a silent camera, she was getting ready to take pictures as she scouted through the window .
Then a man appeared .
A young man with a tall build and short hair . He looked to be about in his young 30’s .
Cha Ji-hye gasped in shock .
‘Lee Chang-wee!’
The bigshot of the Chinese examinees .
In the formal rankings, he does not exist but amongst all the examinees in the world he is considered as one of the best .
They way he was able to became so strong was by being a tool for the Chinese communist influencers .
He was getting other examinees to be work for politicians and he himself became an influential figure amongst examinees .
He was basically their commander in chief .
Building strong relationships with those in power and using all manners of ugly methods, he acquired massive amounts of karma and got stronger .
‘No way, is Lee Chang-wee himself going to do this?’
If he really was pursuing this matter himself, Kim Hyun-ho would be in a desperately dangerous situation .
But thankfully, Lee Chang-wee wasn’t someone that put himself out there easily . He took care of most things by using those under him .
***
“It’s been a long time . ”
Chief Kim Joong-tae greeted him with a smile .
Lee Chang-wee sat down across from him and gestured .
“The info . ”
“I have to check the deposit first . ”
“I have to check that the information is worth the deposit first . ”
“It’s not like I don’t know that you guys check out the information and then say it’s not worth it when it is or just not pay straight out”
“You wish to die?”
“Tsk tsk . ”
Chief Kim Joong-tae clicked his tongue .
“How will we make a deal this way . I am making a reasonable request and you threaten me? Deposit it into a swiss account while I watch . ”
“If the information isn’t good, be prepared to die . ”
“You already said that earlier . ”
Lee Chang-wee smirked .
“Pretending to be a veteran is comic . You’re a man with his tail between his legs . ”
“What?”
Chief Kim Joong-tae’s face looked embarrassed for the first time .
“Tail?”
“She’s one of yours, isn’t she? The young woman . ”
At the words young woman, chief Kim Joong-tae recalled Cha Ji-hye .
‘Damn! Did I get caught then?’
It was obvious that chief Kim Joong-tae was in a predicament .
Then, Lee Chang-wee did something completely unexpected .
“Well, she’s taking pictures, let’s assume some poses . ”
Saying that, Lee Chang-wee took a stack of cash out of his inside pocket and placed it on the table .
“What, what are you doing?”
“What do you mean, I’m giving her a good picture . I’m rather photogenic so it’s not a problem, but not you, huh?”
“Pfft… . ”
Abruptly, a blatant picture of chief Kim Joong-tae receiving money from Lee Chang-wee had been taken .
He had no idea that he would be had this easily and was completely flustered .
A bit later, after calming himself down, chief Kim Joong-tae spoke .
“9 million (won) . ” (9,000 USD)
“5 million (won) . ”
“Now listen!”
“4 . 5 million . It will keep going down . Mr . Hyung, your back-alley transaction has a picture taken . ”
“Fuck . Fine . ”
Lee Chang-wee had a huge smile on his face .
“Who told you to lose your senses? Tsk tsk, being tracked . That’s the level of a Korean spy for you . ”
“Enough of that, take care of it now . ”
“That’s what I’m thinking . ”
Said Lee Chang-wee .
“Teleport . ”
That instant, Lee Chang-wee disappeared .
***
“Kuk!”
The moment Lee Chang-wee disappeared, Cha Ji-hye reflexively rolled her body to the right .
Pat!
By just a hair, Lee Chang-wee’s grasped nothing but empty space .
“Oh! You dodged?”
To Cha Ji-hye, it was Chinese that she couldn’t understand but with she got what he meant through his tone and body language .
Getting right up, Cha Ji-hye tried to secretly push her finger to send the pictures to her email .
But Lee chan-wee didn’t give her that chance .
The moment Lee Chang-wee’s figure became blurry, Cha Ji-hye boldly ran forward and threw a flying knee kick .
Puk!
It was blocked by Lee Chang-wee’s elbow .
No matter how small, she successfully put a stop to his attack .
“Haha! Again? You’re an impressive woman! If you were an examinee, you would have become a big shot . That is a pity . ”
Lee Chang-wee showed her something in his hand .
“How is this in my hand?”
“Kuk!”
Cha Ji-hye squeaks when she realized that her smartphone was stolen .
Bba du duk! (cr-uuuush!)
Lee Chang-wee put all his strength into his fist and the smartphone was crushed to bits .
“I will send you to heaven with a full corpse . Summon, Kaiser Silver Longsword . ”
A dark silvered light longsword appeared in his right hand .
To the end, Cha Ji-hye showed no signs of fear .
Even at the moment her heart was pierced, to the end, she just kept repeating something over and over .
As if making a wish .
Like leaving a will .
Kwajik-
The dark silver longsword penetrated her heart .
“……!”
Cha Ji-hye stared Lee Chang-wee straight in the face, and accepted death . Her lips quivered and then stopped .
“Retrieve . ”
The longsword disappeared .
For a while, Lee Chang-wee admired the disaster he had created and then tilted his head .
“I can’t tell what it was you were mumbling . It would have been good if I had a translation skill . ”
With the teleportation skill, Lee Chang-wee disappeared again .
Just the corpse of the bleeding Cha Ji-hye was left dumped in the dark alley .
***
When she came to, she first felt a flush heat .
The humidity and heat mixed and took over her whole body .
When she opened her eyes, she saw a dense jungle .
A blue sky blocked with huge leaves .
A lively sun shining down .
And then a rectangular board about the size of a notebook appeared .
-Examinee Cha Ji-hye . Your desire for the exams was heard .
-It was deemed you have the aptitude necessary and you were selected to become an examinee .
-If you wish to become an examinee, select confirm, if not, select deny .
With a husky voice, she has to squeeze out, she says
“Confirm . ”
Then the words on the board changed .
-Name: Cha Ji-hye
-Class: 1
-Karma: 0
-Mission: survive the duration of the time limit .
-Time limit: 30 minutes
Survive .
30 minutes .
Cha Ji-hye got up right away .
With a sharp eye, she surveyed her surroundings .
A jungle with lots of marshes .
Heat and humidity .
‘Lizardman . Mud Golem . A 1st turn level lizardman . ’
A new examinee was born .