“It seems like a fire has broken out.”
“That’s the pride of our team.”
The team leader chuckled with satisfaction, observing the scene as if a fire had indeed occurred.
“If we disguise it as a fire, instead of the police or special forces and military coming, only firefighters will rush in.”
Upon hearing that, the employer nodded lightly.
As the team leader pointed out, there was a vast chasm between those who could respond with force and those who simply came to extinguish a fire.
If the police come, they’re armed with live ammunition; if special forces are mobilized, they’ll bring sniper rifles, flashbangs, and smoke grenades. If the military is dispatched, they might even use mortars and heavy weaponry.
In contrast, the firefighters only had tools like axes for rescue and high-pressure hoses to spray water. While there might be capable individuals among them, they wouldn’t stand a chance compared to mercenaries equipped with proper gear and combat prowess.
So, from the mercenaries’ perspective, police turning into firefighters was like a carnivorous beast becoming a gentle herbivore like a deer.
Moreover, that was not the only advantage.
The golden time was crucial.
Even if the firefighters arrived on the scene, assessed the situation, and requested support, precious time would have already slipped away. During that elapsed time, the mercenaries could easily complete their mission or vanish without a trace.
Aside from this, there were various other benefits. Disguising as a fire could draw in onlookers, allowing the mercenaries to hide among them to escape or, in a pinch, take the gathered crowd hostage, much like how it happened in Korea, where they tied up onlookers with bombs to buy time…
The advantages were limitless.
“The inside of the building seems to be well subdued.”
The team leader gazed at the shattered front door.
Black smoke was relentlessly billowing from the entrance, yet curiously, no one was rushing out of the building despite the smoke rising ominously.
As if there were simply no people inside.
Or as if all the people within had collapsed, suffocated by the smoke.
Naturally, this was a good sign.
It meant the people inside were likely incapacitated by that smoke.
“All right. Let’s go. Ah, it might be dangerous to breathe in that smoke; do you happen to have a gas mask?”
While signaling the mercenaries, the team leader asked the employer if he had a gas mask, preparing to offer his own if not.
However, his concern faded as he saw the bizarre mask plastered on the employer’s face, and upon seeing the employer nod, his worries vanished as if they had never existed.
“Of course. There’s no way someone wearing a mask like that would be unprepared for something like this…”
The man wore a mask that looked as if it had been torn from the head of an evil spirit clawing its way out of hell. It was an object that looked divine from its very appearance and material—there was no way he wouldn’t be ready to handle a little smoke.
‘Well, at least it doesn’t seem like I’m serving some rich kid with weird hobbies.’
It felt unsettling.
Strange.
Yet paradoxically, the employer’s suspicious demeanor provided an odd sense of reassurance to the team leader.
This bizarre man was surely different from the rich young ladies who demanded absurd pleasures and fainted at the sight of blood.
Unlike those filthy brats who screeched and whined when they arrived on the scene, terrified enough to wet themselves when they saw someone dying.
“Do you have any equipment to identify us amidst that smoke…? Ah, yes. You have it. Understood. Let’s go, and please follow closely behind.”
Embracing his trust in the employer proportional to the unease he felt, the team leader entered the building.
Without a hitch.
Since it wasn’t a typical battlefield laden with mines, they stepped forward confidently, using EMP bombs to periodically scorch any circuits that might trigger traps. And at the slightest hint of suspicion, they would utilize strangely shaped bombs from their backpacks.
What they pulled from their backpacks was a bulging sock soaked in a sticky liquid.
They’d stuffed explosives into the socks and soaked them in adhesive to create makeshift sticky bombs.
They swung the socks around playfully like they were just playing a game and tossed them into any suspicious location.
Boom!
The thrown sock latched onto its target thanks to the adhesive and erupted with a tremendous sound.
Thanks to the excellent performance of the adhesive, it wouldn’t bounce back or roll away.
And so, they pressed on, step by step.
Nothing could stand in their way.
Conventional traps?
Boom!
Easily dealt with by those sticky bombs.
Electronic devices were blasted apart by the EMP, and those who were supposed to delay them were gasping from the toxic smoke. Having inhaled the poisonous fumes, they wouldn’t easily regain their senses unless they had remarkable resistance to toxins.
Of course, there were means to slow their steps.
Swish!
Crash!
A thick fire shutter descended, completely blocking their path.
It was a massive shutter, thick enough to evoke thoughts of an armored vehicle.
It appeared it had automatically activated given that the situation was suspiciously fire-related, rather than being triggered manually.
“Quite thick.”
But the fire shutter couldn’t completely block their path.
It might slow them down momentarily, but it was far from enough to hold them back.
“Hand me a magic spike bomb.”
As if anticipating such circumstances, the mercenaries utilized another bomb that could easily penetrate the fire shutter.
They opted for a magic projectile bomb, nicknamed ‘magic spike bomb,’ because the shape of its explosion resembled a spike piercing through.
With skillful hands, they installed five magic spike bombs into a pentagonal formation.
Then they pulled out the hammers strapped to their backs and exchanged signals before simultaneously swinging at the bombs with all their might.
Kaboom!
Then came the massive explosion that followed.
As the warriors launched their combined might into the five magic spike bombs, they erupted with overwhelming noise, sending their explosive force forward and creating a large hole in the fire shutter.
Thus, five holes were created.
The holes successfully pierced through, revealing the scene beyond the thick fire shutter.
Upon seeing this, the team leader summoned his energy, concentrated on his legs, and leaped to deliver a kick at the center of the pentagonal formation.
Kaboom!
After being struck by the team leader’s powerful kick and already having five holes drilled through, the fire shutter gave way effortlessly, creating an enormous opening.
Crash!
The shattered pieces of the fire shutter crashed to the ground, and only after hearing that sound did the team leader push his body through the hole.
And the mad dash began anew.
The mercenaries, perhaps feeling that time was of the essence, rushed forward with incredible speed.
While they did so, they optimally utilized bombs to clear any obstacles in their way.
“We’ve arrived.”
Their frenzied run halted right at their destination.
The warehouse of divine objects.
A location suspected to hold all the divine objects, not just the ones set aside for research.
And with that, they presumed, plenty of security measures would be in place.
Finally facing the location, the mercenaries and the employer halted their sprint.
Taking out fireworks from their backpacks to celebrate reaching their destination, they—
Kaboom!
—set off the fireworks.
“Gather it all up. With the equipment I provided, it should be safe to handle the divine objects for a time.”
“How many minutes?”
“About four minutes.”
“I see? Hey, everyone! You heard that? Four minutes! Let’s gather everything within two minutes!”
Those who entered the warehouse began frantically collecting the divine objects.
Wearing the protective gear provided by the employer, they stuffed the divine objects into unremarkable bags with frenzied energy.
Not only were they using their arms to sweep the objects into the bags, but they also tilted shelves to cram the divine objects inside or flipped the shelves entirely, using the bags as makeshift dustpans to gather them all from the floor.
“I’ve packed everything. That took 1 minute and 50 seconds.”
“Impressive.”
Their efforts led to a groundbreaking reduction in time.
Within less than two minutes, they had gathered every divine object in the warehouse.
The employer praised their astounding achievement, and the team leader felt delighted to showcase their team’s skill.
In that warm atmosphere, they began their return journey, laden with bags.
They retraced the path they had intruded upon.
Following the path that had been wrecked by their explosives.
“Guys, don’t forget the rice cookers!”
Of course, their return was no peaceful affair.
They had strategically placed rice cookers at various spots, rigged to explode at the right moment.
This way, they laid bombs intermittently, making their escape smoothly.
“Perfect.”
Outside, there were no firetrucks, no police cars, no military, no guards.
Nothing at all.
“Extremely fast and flawless.”
Everything was perfect.
Indeed, it was truly a perfect operation.
