Deal Breaker - Chapter 68
[ In one hour, we will take a helicopter from the desert outskirts and move toward the border. ]
However, the command center across the Mediterranean chose the smokescreen.
Kanghyeon had explained his concerns to the team commander early this morning, but the commander dismissed it as an old memory. Since Kanghyeon was the only one capable of manipulating memories with such precision, he seemed even less inclined to believe it. He said he would pass the opinion along anyway, but in the end, it appeared that higher command had decided to raid the border-area village.
[ Our team will be in charge of rear support… ]
As the commander enlarged satellite images on his tablet and explained the operation, Kanghyeon had no choice but to listen in silence. Persuading them with nothing but his intuition, without concrete evidence, was unreasonable. Besides, he wasn’t the commander, but merely a mercenary.
Well, I guess I’ll be going home tomorrow.
After familiarizing himself with his assigned role, Kanghyeon packed his gear and set out. He was armed with a handgun he hadn’t held in a while, a bulletproof vest, and more. This time, he was stepping onto a battlefield where bullets might rain down and bombs might explode.
I’m tired.
On the way to the operation site, Kanghyeon received continuous guiding in the helicopter, but the fog in his head didn’t lift much. The headache that had started after he overused his abilities last night was still there.
I should have brought Hyeji.
He felt regret. Realizing that he used to perform just fine even in this condition made him chuckle bitterly. He had grown spoiled after living on nothing but S-Class guiding with a 94.52% matching rate.
The move to the operation site was instantaneous. From inside the armored vehicle, Kanghyeon watched as troops transported by special operations helicopters from a base in Italy advanced in perfect unison toward the abandoned building. The radio clipped to his bulletproof vest crackled with static.
Since Kanghyeon wasn’t a physical-type Esper, he waited in the rear for a call. If someone dragged a militant out from inside, his job was to pinpoint the exact location of the kidnapped people, or if that failed, to enter the operation site and disarm the enemies through hypnosis.
On such a sweltering day, the Guide must have felt stifled being trapped in a car with the windows closed, because he went outside.
[ Do not go near the operation site. ]
[ And don’t go far. ]
The sergeant sitting in the passenger seat and Kanghyeon each said a word to the Guide in turn. Only the three of them remained in the car, including the driver.
[ So you’re a mental-type Esper. That’s impressive. ]
The sergeant turned to Kanghyeon and spoke with a friendly smile.
[ How exactly do you use your ability? Can you turn it off and on like flipping a switch? ]
Even soldiers do not often see Espers. Mental-type ones in particular. He seemed fascinated.
[ Ah, that’s a trade secret. ]
[ Then can you hear what this guy is thinking right now too? ]
The sergeant asked, pointing at the driver, who was sitting stiffly at attention.
[ You mean thinking about wanting to kick his superior’s a*s once? ]
The driver’s face drained white, and Kanghyeon and the sergeant laughed mischievously.
[ Don’t worry. Your dirty thoughts are safe. ]
When Kanghyeon said that his ability was expensive and precious, so he only used it when necessary, questions poured in about the technique he had used during yesterday’s interrogation.
[ You were incredible. I wondered if that would even work, but the moment you locked eyes, he just spilled everything. I thought at least we wouldn’t go past midnight today, but then… ]
The sergeant trailed off, but Kanghyeon understood. Last night, the soldier assigned as the Arabic interpreter had been inadequate, so the interrogation had taken a long time.
Having traveled around Eurasia as a child and then settled in the United States from high school onward to study, the languages Kanghyeon spoke were Korean, English, Russian, plus a bit of French and German.
Should I learn Arabic too?
Abilities like memory reading, mind reading, and suggestion had limitations if you didn’t know the other party’s language. Thought was based on language, after all.
He could read memories built from images, but he couldn’t understand the conversations exchanged within those memories. He had heard several conversations in that executive’s memories yesterday, but since he had no idea what they meant, they were no help.
[ Then if you keep sending a message telling someone to kill themselves into their head via telepathy, you could Guide their actions that way too, right? ]
At the sergeant’s words, Kanghyeon gave a reluctant smile.
[ I don’t do unethical things. ]
Because of the nature of his ability, he sometimes received absurd requests. Things like a certain American businessman offering shares of a major corporation outright in exchange for having his government’s memories erased. No matter how high the compensation, he refused those.
