Chapter 73 – Swimming Emperor (17)
When a subordinate sent on an important mission doesn’t return on time, what would the others do?
They’ll come looking for him personally.
‘They should be coming soon.’
While they nervously waited for their foolish colleague, I studied the airplane’s structure and looked for objects that I could use as shields.
The large carts that flight attendants use to carry meals and drinks.
I didn’t know their exact name, but if I set one upright, it should be able to block bullets fired from the front.
And one more thing—
“Molang-molang?”
“Shh.”
“Molang~”
I placed the creature I smuggled aboard in my bag on top of my head like a wig.
I’d seen this extraterrestrial being completely block arrows before. It should be at least somewhat effective against bullets.
The second set of guards…
“Match your pace with mine.”
“You’re the one walking too fast.”
Two men were advancing down the aisle, one on each side between rows of seats, watching the passengers.
Were they being cautious? Or just looking down on everyone?
Once again, they didn’t have guns. Although their number had doubled.
‘That’s disappointing.’
If I could secure a firearm, this would be much easier.
This time, I had to take down two at once.
If I failed?
There would be a gunfight in which unconscious passengers, sedated and defenseless, would be slaughtered indiscriminately.
“……”
I hid in a blind spot formed by the H-shaped intersection of the two aisles, waiting for them to approach.
Sss—
Their shadows grew closer and closer.
‘Left? Or right?’
I had to attack the side approaching me faster.
“Wh—?!”
Bzzzt!
I ambushed the first one with a taser and knocked him unconscious.
“You—Wha?!”
“Molang!”
I threw the slime, and it stuck to the man’s mouth, sealing it shut so he couldn’t even scream.
Stunned, he didn’t have a chance to pull out the taser—
CRACK!
My kick struck his throat and slammed him into the wall.
“…….”
Instant death, again.
His neck snapped.
“Hm… Did he smell Master Gomushin’s kicks a little too closely?”
The taekwondo I learned by getting beaten by the Master Gomushin was extremely practical.
And with my strength added to it?
If an enemy failed to dodge or block and was struck at a vital point, death was guaranteed—100%.
“It wouldn’t be fair if only one of you lived, right?”
“……”
CRACK!
I snapped the neck of the man who had only been knocked unconscious by the electric shock.
Bandits, raiders, pirates…
In the world of the romance-fantasy novel I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count Family, I encountered attackers like these endlessly.
And not once did I spare or forgive them. Especially when countless lives—including my own—were at stake.
I had to make sure they were dealt with permanently.
‘Who’s next?’
From what I observed, the total number of hijackers was five. I had taken out three. Only the leader and one subordinate remained.
But as long as they were armed, I had to be prepared for a “meaningless death” until the very end.
One shot.
If even a single bullet hit my body, I would lose.
“Kang Moon-soo! We know you’re hiding there!”
“……”
“Surrender immediately and show yourself!”
“……”
The hijackers knew exactly where my seat was and what my name was.
What did that mean?
‘So it’s Hae-soo again.’
I suspected it from the moment the chaos began, but I didn’t expect him to try again just one day after apologizing.
Isn’t he even curious about the fact that I know his daughter’s name?
I had been too careless.
“If you don’t come out, we’ll kill a passenger every minute!”
“……”
“Don’t think I won’t do it! Should I show you?!”
“……”
There was no need to respond. I had no intention of surrendering, and answering would only give away my location.
Only two targets remained.
It would’ve been helpful if any sedated passengers woke up and joined the fight, but there was still no sign of that happening.
‘Just as planned.’
I dragged the food-service cart I planned to use as a bullet shield and positioned it near the galley connected to first class.
Hostage threats?
Not enough to rattle someone who has faced war where human lives were treated as mere supplies.
Instead—
“Did Hwang Hae-soo order you?”
I turned on the recording function on my phone and asked.
“…Just surrender.”
“Doesn’t look like either of us will get the answer we want.”
“I’ll count to three—”
Scrrrrk.
I ignored the warning and pushed the food cart forward.
‘He’s not shooting?’
So it really was all bluff. They didn’t let their underlings carry guns fearing they’d get stolen, yet when they actually needed one, they hesitated.
“You’re not shooting?”
“Damn it!”
Perhaps realizing he might really die like this—
The last remaining subordinate aimed his gun at me.
Click.
“Die!”
“No, don’t—!”
The startled leader shouted at his subordinate as he pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The bullet failed to pierce the food cart I was pushing.
“Don’t interfere—!”
“You can’t kill him!”
“I’m about to die, what else am I supposed to do?!”
“If you disobey, you’ll die anyway!”
While the leader and subordinate argued over my life, I closed the distance completely.
‘Ridiculous.’
Did they think having a gun meant they could kill anyone?
Yes, guns are powerful weapons.
But I have stood in battlefields where arrows rained like storms.
I am not an ordinary athlete.
“Move!”
The leader dove into a seat to avoid the charging cart.
The subordinate, however, stood his ground—
And was smashed directly.
“Like hell—GAAAH?!”
CRASH!
He toppled over immediately.
‘What an idiot.’
Trying to overpower an athlete with brute force while relying only on a gun?
That fool must have mistaken the weapon’s strength for his own and lost his judgment.
Leaving the idiot aside—
“Hello there?”
“You little brat…!”
BZZZT!
The leader charged me, holding a taser in each hand.
His movements were nimble and controlled.
He seemed properly trained—but compared to Valentine, the swordmaster who taught me, it was practically dull and laughable.
‘But…’
The subordinate who crashed into the cart concerned me.
Even while falling, he hadn’t let go of the gun.
“DIE…!”
Sorry to the “boss,” but the subordinate was far more dangerous to me.
“Go!”
“Molang!”
I threw the soft alien creature.
BANG!
The bullet fired toward me was blocked by the slime stuck on the gun.
“It—What the hell is this?!”
“Molang-molang~”
As I confirmed out of the corner of my eye that the subordinate’s gun had become useless, I raised my own taser to threaten the leader.
One strike each.
It wouldn’t kill us, but even a graze from a taser would decide the match.
“What did you do to my men?”
“I killed them all.”
“Killed them?”
“That’s right.”
“…You murdered them. And you can say it so calmly?”
“I killed to survive. Is that statement strange to you?”
I threw the same question right back at him.
Whoosh—
Swish—
Because of the seats lining both sides of the aisle, it was difficult for either of us to dodge.
Even after my initial confidence, I couldn’t make careless moves and kept adjusting my distance, waiting for the right moment.
‘Feels like fencing.’
A fencing match where the first landing strike wins.
A taser duel worked the same way—whoever sent electricity into the other’s body first would win.
“What’s your reason for hijacking this plane?”
“How did you wake up?”
“I asked first.”
“Give up thinking you’ll die easily.”
“There’s no talking to you!”
The leader wouldn’t make risky moves as long as he waited for support from the subordinate.
And I couldn’t be reckless, because I wouldn’t get a second chance if I was hit.
The tense standoff dragged on.
Then—
“Aaargh?!”
The subordinate, who had abandoned his own useless gun and was reaching for his comrade’s weapon, screamed.
CRASH!
The flight attendants, paralyzed by the threat of the gun, suddenly found courage and swarmed him.
“Pin him—!”
“Hold him down!”
Unarmed, he was quickly overpowered.
“What now?”
“Damn it!”
Realizing his subordinate had been taken out, the leader tossed his tasers away and reached for the gun strapped to his shoulder.
Flash—
I didn’t miss the opening and dashed at him.
BZZZT—
But the taser strike was blocked by protective gear covering his forearm like a sleeve.
However, instead of counterattacking, he stepped back to buy time to grab the gun.
‘In that case…!’
If I hesitated even for a moment, I’d die.
So I kicked.
WHAM!
“Gah?!”
If he hadn’t discarded his tasers earlier, I wouldn’t have dared attempt it.
But he did—and I rewarded him with a clean kick to the jaw.
‘That must’ve hurt.’
I had kicked with the intent to kill—so much so that even the Master Gomushin commented on how murderous it felt.
If he was fine after that, I’d be disappointed.
THUD!
“Haaah…!”
As much as I wanted to finish him off, the two criminals needed to live.
To testify who was behind this.
‘Even though I already know.’
Nam Hae-soo.
Isn’t that also why they didn’t kill me?
If they truly wanted me dead, they would have thrown me out of the plane while everyone was asleep.
“Kang Moon-soo!”
“Thank you!”
“You saved us!”
The flight attendants—having restrained the leader—shared their relief and gratitude.
“This isn’t over.”
If we failed to seize the captain, the plane would land somewhere crawling with Nam Hae-soo’s subordinates.
We had to storm the cockpit and prevent that at all costs.
Click.
“Don’t move.”
“……”
I froze, feeling the cold metal of a gun pressed against my back.
‘What is this…?’
I wasn’t the only one stunned.
Click!
“Eek?!”
“What—What are you doing?!”
Some of the flight attendants, holding guns they had taken from the hijackers, were now aiming them at their own colleagues.
A double trap!
I had mistakenly assumed that only the captain had betrayed us.
‘Idiot… these were the same people who handed out the drugged meals.’
There was something else strange.
The security cameras installed all over the plane.
If they had been working properly, they would’ve noticed the moment I woke up.
But they hadn’t.
Meaning—
“You were accomplices from the beginning.”
The reason the flight attendants obeyed quietly without resisting must have been because subversive members among them were controlling the situation.
The flight attendant pressing a gun into my back spoke:
“If you hadn’t caused trouble, we could’ve gotten away quietly.”
“Hah! And that’s my fault?”
“It’s tragic. People who love the Republic of Korea are forced to escape from Korea.”
“You’re joking, right? People who ‘love Korea’ kidnapped Korean Olympic athletes?”
“Kang Moon-soo, it’s because of you.”
“What did I do?”
I couldn’t understand why he was blaming me.
“…You don’t need to know.”
“Is that so?”
I moved, ignoring the gun.
“Huh?!”
The flight attendant had warned me he would shoot if I moved, yet he hesitated—he couldn’t pull the trigger.
That brief hesitation—
Was more than enough for a counterattack.
Snap, grab.
I spun 180 degrees into his arms and naturally seized his throat.
“You’ve never killed anyone, have you?”
“Ghh…!”
“You’re a flight attendant. Korean airlines aren’t so desperate for employees that they’d put murderers in charge of expensive aircraft.”
“Urk!”
“Don’t move. If you’d like to find out whether I can kill someone, I won’t stop you.”
“……”
Click.
Using him like a human shield, I pointed the gun I had taken at the others.
“Put the guns down and raise your hands.”
“……”
“……”
BANG!
I didn’t want to give them time to think.
“Eek?!”
“H-Huh?!”
The gunshot and splash of red sent the flight attendants screaming and diving to the floor.
Thud.
And one more death.
The infiltrators, who never expected me to actually shoot, trembled at their comrade’s sudden end.
“A-are you insane?!”
“I already killed three before. Now there’s just one more added to the count.”
“……”
“Surrender. Or die.”
“Hiiik?! W-wait! Promise you won’t kill us!”
“I promise.”
Thump, thump, thump.
The subversive flight attendants dropped their guns and raised their hands.
“Good. Now—huh?”
Sway—
The plane suddenly began descending rapidly.
‘No way…!’
I turned toward the window I had been ignoring because it showed nothing but clouds.
Land.
Dense jungle full of palm trees, and a beach.
“Where is this?”
“Hahaha! Too late!”
One of the rebels laughed at my question.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
Wherever it was, it certainly wasn’t our intended destination for the Olympics.
If we landed at that airport, we’d be captured for sure.
I wanted no part of that.
“Everyone. Hwang— Nam Hae-soo’s target is me. If I disappear, none of you will be harmed.”
“Kang Moon-soo, what do you mean disappear—?”
A flight attendant didn’t understand my meaning.
As I pulled a life vest from under a seat and put it on, I answered:
Click.
“Exactly what it sounds like. Where are the parachutes?”
Time for a demonstration—
By a national swim team athlete’s skydiving.