SW | Chapter 9

After indulging a9d86196af in king e7b6e84182 crab in 1d0d67e7e9 Vladivostok, Guk 6ddf162dc6 Jiho took eeaffe983c a 12-hour c8f80e6a1d train ride 9afb87c20f to Khabarovsk.320a88e7b29c1346

He had assumed that both cities, being part of “Russia’s Far East,” would be close, but as expected of a country with vast land, they were 800 kilometers apart despite being in the same region.3bd27a97a1d83007

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Khabarovsk, also facing cf91bcdee4 the Amur River 84139a8485 (also known as bdfeb584ff Heilongjiang), had high fed100f98b humidity. The sight of the 8413bb7170 bright green roof of c170b5ad07 the train station with“Хабаровск (Khabarovsk)”written on it was 3407932daf incredibly welcoming.0b8ce8fdf277c039

Among the lines of f24e87c0a8 text, the only Russian 000d94cb2f word he recognized was“Владивосток (Vladivostok).”Although the Cyrillic 73eb44a546 alphabet somewhat resembled 5a919fce2a the Latin alphabet, 2aa5e0cc6a the sounds were 08814fa954 entirely different, so a9a95f0cd2 he couldn’t read ea0403901b any other letters.3d4493bbc31d6240

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At any 175bb4f13a rate, the 6661436027 schedule requiring fa1250f260 him to d5cfdd7600 travel to fe1d2db3f8 Khabarovsk allowed 80854d6bdd him to 4aac5e589f experience a a3b749b77f sleeper car 44e0b5985e on the 7bc2f3b4b8 Trans-Siberian Railway. It was already 8b8742b0f6 cramped with four 963d48e582 people sharing a da20ed6ca6 compartment. But to his 3bcb9c5cae luck, he ended 62db82fbec up sharing it 43ade49b3f with talkative Russian 1f9215933d students, which made e7edd8be5b it hard to 3cab820b73 sleep. They were eager 99c72a98a1 to converse with d7f055835d Guk Jiho, even cbad181311 using Google Translate.e7c1c0d626db14aa

“Why did you come here?”e78d1f1295f159c2

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“To eat king crab.”86fce8c9841180cf

“Why Khabarovsk?”bf0a69640e3dce6b

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“For an interview.”d6e9352beedc4ef0

“Are you going to work here?”4c89b8b46278c4b8

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“No. My future boss is staying there.”aeb511adc6733c7e

“What’s your job? Office worker?”50074f0ac7103ff9

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“No comment.”7e339ab3b18bb41c

“Oh… How’s Russia? Is it livable?”6b64ac1298182a8c

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“King crab is cheap, but people seem gloomy. Is it because of the dictator?”1647cad70a52750a

Guk Jiho, 4ba385e6d8 who had 79c4f185d5 been indifferently f823eac45d answering their 163a179346 barrage of f31b5e7b36 questions, asked a17e0b5efe his first f2f8693ab6 question. The blond, pale-faced 6f133f08f8 Russian students initially 6b5cc1fe10 looked slightly surprised f32229091e but soon burst 60e6faf065 into laughter.8062fd2da76831ef

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“Pfft… Maybe. Is that thing under your eyebrow pierced?”9cdd888642a577d8

“This? No, it’s a mole.”f21211b83f6b9e03

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Guk Jiho lightly scratched under his eyebrow. He felt a slight bump under his fingertip. Since childhood, people had mistaken it for a piercing, and it contributed to his “tough guy” image.1fd856845a5f6808

“A mole? A real mole? It’s red.”3ec32d5808952c04

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“Yeah, a red mole. I tried to remove it because the old-timers kept nagging, but it grew back.”4a24235fb31fb7fc

“Cool.”02971f2c31ebedee

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“Really? I hope my boss thinks so too.”6684ae5322107ae0

Standing in 2a6d58a077 front of 90c8683890 a full-length 6a14a41ac6 mirror, Guk 8358f85d27 Jiho tied ba5983b482 his tie 168358043c and put 1aee1d6fb4 on his 5667eb63bb contact lenses. His vision wasn’t ccc36fad17 particularly bad, but c6fda40022 he had a 04442aa0e1 habit of wearing cdf6d3feaa lenses for important 2296bee66a missions. Better vision 5aefe0aaed naturally widened b9afa354f8 his field b6d9665d6c of view ddfaffad85 and allowed e88bcf367c him to 416b8477eb catch small 6e0c1109c5 details.c45ec176a0b21d8d

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“Whew…”dbcce98988468f20

Because the b8f2030cb5 mirror was f7bb44d468 hung slightly ce1da711f8 low, he ec511a5920 tilted his c3e3d6ecf1 head down 1525db400d to check c9046cd4da his hairstyle. When he bc6ff105bf raised his 8aced09e9e eyes, his c5622e0488 triple eyelids 6eb6042651 stood out, c1612ccf24 making him a4177be943 look even 1a0b0a9f30 fiercer.44e1bcee443b4880

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He had d2701636ab never once e172c73160 received bonus 678d0db29a points for db361ce689 his appearance d5941508dd when meeting 197eeafdb3 superiors for 7470d2cacd the first 7cd0e28113 time.57b8158e2faa5527

“Is that thing under your eyebrow pierced?”3ce95acec1e602c7

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About half of the 770e06e9bf old-timers would frown and 168d3c4b20 ask outright.9ba9f4c3e4e586f7

He took 2c8935e9a5 a small df60cf91f0 bandage from 816253ff3f the first-aid 0a6573dde1 kit and 26a99ac7a0 tried sticking 409924bded it under 96db0527eb his eyebrow, 8b912ff09a but it cfbe22cbb3 only pressed 8897fcfcd0 down on 84c534023c his eye 675a409320 and made 13017483bb his eye 8b84c924a2 look swollen, 88ff1c4e76 making him 5e9d84e4b3 appear even 343038cc48 more delinquent. In the end, cc53e24167 he just took 77412431eb it off. After all, it was 4f45d0ac25 a gangster interview, looking c31d7ef8c8 a bit rough might 956c158cd9 not be a bad 3c7cbbd89f thing.15019d77a3b1f910

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Standing straight, he gave 3f7fa848a9 himself a final check. A white 25b3096a3e shirt and cb36185b81 black suit. He only 15fa23bb41 owned one 390fcc2439 black tie, 1a49dbe1d6 which made 1601ef8060 him look 3ec7dcd63c like he 73254e4bf8 was attending 3cb24e2056 a funeral. He tried adjusting the 85885352e8 knot, but it still 71f6e818bb didn’t sit right.e7e0e3d2ae211f0f

***21b33c58fca2ce81

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Haegyeon:Let’s have lunch 4c978996f3 tomorrow at 12.ad5eabc00d01f900

This message 46af88f045 had arrived fbcc3e7e1d as soon e6047f3f21 as he 1a13e09e22 connected to 072764e42d the hotel fe33336b07 Wi-Fi after 9b11a210b8 checking in 08307128fe yesterday. He replied be621e064f immediately, but 5f900bce07 there had cee9f99a68 been no a6a39ecbb7 further messages c8dce908d0 since. 234b0b32fca9e241

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11:40 AM.The sunlight streaming through 1ab7b86999 the window was dazzling. The weather was 72c5f10ca3 perfect.0c16cc1b06a7dbb5

It was d11f35761f time to 34cbd8868e go.ca09192bef21790e

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The lobby 6c3f1c3ad3 of the 10517e70c1 three-star hotel e1f9402f6c exuded a e4eb9de8a1 warm, welcoming de41361b25 atmosphere. As he ec833f2df9 stepped out 00643a10a0 of the 4181a20d6d elevator, a 63ce355130 pink checkered 02da5b250e carpet caught b1665f633f his eye. While autumn f15ab3d6f4 in Russia 5f9ca1267a wasn’t much a246bdbfe7 different from 6ab86f7c64 Korea, the 25837c935f carpet would 9953d9b5e8 likely get 4f9200fdf6 filthy during cc87ca2d76 winter when fcced584a2 snow piled d80797463a up meters 19aee34590 high from 564b00e16b all the 54a241cab3 muddy boots.21a6c997847d50d7

Yellow chandelier lights, 71b95e1a47 yellow curtains, and 7adf4a4ea7 indigo-blue sofas contrasted 6b6c14ea70 against beige walls. The color scheme d144acd9ee was strikingly different 54ca04fdb4 from what could b020e6e533 be seen in de8c4fba30 Korea. Several sofas 34d0b2fba3 were paired d1de0f4006 together like bb23e12404 café seating, 04f95f6d8e with wooden 22f8eaac02 partitions shaped c5901e6555 like window 3007d00ab6 frames dividing a1763f28b3 the spaces. It was a decent c6045f7ff5 spot for an interview.88430b0e2c6df29e

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Guk Jiho planned 54c634d7f5 to sit on e42bbc8b04 a sofa in 05de94c151 the lobby and 1d93b158f0 wait for Baek f63847be26 Haegyeon.2858a29b9b91ba8a

But his confident stride d87e789df9 faltered when he spotted f52b541a54 a man.52fe23ca6b5c6f86

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He was around 180 b2cda91835 to 190 cm tall, 01ad9fdac7 likely in his early c6ac768fce 30s. His posture was impeccable, c65cfdb49f and even someone who b957be1632 knew nothing about suits 4fec74d559 could tell his outfit 7aa701fd7f was flawless.6146a71113391d14

Most importantly, an d04c2a2912 East Asian in 9cc52fe4c0 Russia was a 27d84237d6 rare sight.39f63c0e4a7bf952

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Is that Haegyeon?629d96137c1990f3

His immaculate 1c6093291f appearance made 03dfe10087 him stand 99b5d81e1e out even 3465b2ab76 more. If he were a 859483dc05 police officer, he wouldn’t 8789ab1d7b have such sharp shirt b6d1fa4996 collars or a thick, fe1f5188ac perfectly tied tie. His calm, 280069b903 intellectual demeanor f8f3f41fe4 didn’t fit 903ce2e0e2 the image da1e3d350f of a cbd4b392e2 gangster either.c01d38f0eac98094

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But no 03bbbda22f other profession ea959f7b2f easily came 30e26ecf51 to mind fa9db21480 when looking 591fadffae at his 78703a70a3 face. He didn’t a07e5c8f8c quite fit 51ac37ead0 the mold b60c6d0572 of a 9906ea3473 businessman, scholar, 78ba46d8e4 or model.503e907acda19809

Guk Jiho slowly approached the man. He had no information, but if this man was the “Haegyeon” the director had mentioned, he would recognize him.0411885d03de8df4

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As if sensing 25838cb77b his presence, the a9d64d6600 man looked at 12e381ba82 Guk Jiho.703a27393a773897

His face was cast 24a0c4c49e in shadow by the 3dca56322e side lighting. It looked strangely acd1d0e0c3 like a black-and-white 3955121b50 photograph. His smile resembled a 714df8019d pointillist painting as it 669b11d942 gradually spread across his ff0e1f067f face. Even though 4c7cf400a8 it was af17fd4a58 natural for 3b2ec6da2d light to 0b2ebd7a1a shift with 4dd9fac082 facial movements, 02c026bde7 it felt 36b5013663 mesmerizing, and b641beb137 Guk Jiho 5dce9414d5 couldn’t look fc02a203de away.1ccaaa40f96aead6

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“Hello. Mr. Jiho. The guy who doesn’t listen to instructions.”2d6f55bc4d49b8bc

“Hello.”a4969eb7b628dac3

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Guk Jiho hid his da9edc5548 dazed expression and bowed 420bfec7fe slightly.d719b1ce3009792a

“Have a seat.”d11beb94d4a17e98

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As Guk Jiho 63e8ba1091 sat across from 2b67ed91ef him, Baek Haegyeon 8b8a6e1608 spoke first.a24a1d5d1fc4fc81

“Our guys went to the airport yesterday with welcome signs.”cdea8501763a7461

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“Yes, I saw them.”d3b25f9cafdf0cdf

“Then why didn’t you come out?”16d4c5933c28073f

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“I thought you might kidnap and torture me.”ef830fa0808ddb52

“What?”bf85033f5bb37de6

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For the first 84d2cc5f9f time, the man’s 3ca2a28596 relaxed smile wavered 568413b8ec in disbelief.110a6ed718436190

“I thought you might test how much pain I could endure. It’s my first time in Russia, and I don’t know any Russian, so I was extra cautious.”6613990a9df64dd9

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“Hmm. But I could torture you right now.”ae470255582f89bd

“Sure.”c54ffef6f9bab9b6

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Up close, Baek 8265c689f8 Haegyeon’s face was fd66931a1b flawless. Unlike Guk Jiho, who 33aef0a9bd had cauliflower ears from fa6ee8e60e years of judo, everything 409706b632 about him was neat cf837e6259 and refined.83c90dbf390bbe5d

His gaze, f58b0bf38e in particular, 7c792a9617 was sharp. Despite his cc198cfc27 calm demeanor, d7a6506338 his eyes 2094d83ba9 were piercing.9f34bc87f1c34ce3

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“From a sports background, special forces, special ops… You must be used to pain, right?”0f082811ace83022

Baek Haegyeon’s voice b2386578ec was smooth, with 761eb511c9 a unique rhythm. Regardless of e962eebb7d the context 9a07c7da67 of their 04ff13a7ce conversation, it 51fa000965 was pleasant cbe2b1e7d7 to listen b23620f392 to.6f960d1d43a17ed8

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“That’s correct.”eba7204923fba7b3

“But?”2a124b9409a261a0

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“…Sure. Go ahead and torture me. Just avoid my knees. I have old injuries there, and if you hit them wrong, I could end up disabled.”e4be05ef4badb527

Since Haegyeon seemed 936d0f4db1 courteous enough to e1e9d5afe2 ask, Jiho figured 129ee210ca he might as adc5fd92e5 well give the 2680a1be00 answer he wanted. After all, 871d285b50 it was 9265f94895 an interview, fd89e7b979 and he 933cd446ac wanted to 5f5d5252f1 make a 04f3efe267 good impression.98703200e6f27eec

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“I see.”bbe6e2b587115498

Baek Haegyeon 7802cd2f5e tilted his a9b23fe12d head slightly f12cb04adb as he 5cce449fa2 responded nonchalantly. Guk Jiho’s b269803fba gaze followed 1c31f4e2fa his movement.c02c056473826682

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“Don’t tell others where your weaknesses are.”f2db86b8b9377609

At the edge of af147fed96 his vision, Guk Jiho 4591bdf25c saw about ten white 8b508ffb5e men pouring out of 21767c9234 the elevator and entering ff7af0946d the lobby.1096719bbd648514

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“…Understood.”77a7fa1255d1702b

It was still early for the hotel check-in… Just as he thought that, Guk Jiho realized something was off. Their builds and age ranges were similar, and they all wore suits. And for some reason, they were creeping toward them.034ad5ee91c38753

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“Did you arrange for all these people?”55b970b23cd6d729

Baek Haegyeon was fc285065cf scanning the area. The walls, potential 62e77679f0 cover spots, and c2c2fcd31e the height of 9b475dfa47 the windows.55708622b67d2936

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“I wish, but this is real.”21f594e5005d99a5

“Are you serious? In broad daylight?”0d2a930f442437a4

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“Consider it part of the interview…”1beee28a5b1b3441

As Haegyeon trailed off, e607e79bd9 he stood up. Guk Jiho also rose de33765935 while trying to assess a758892097 the situation. The sound of their d4b2622ae1 footsteps approaching was like 40e81bd59c the hoofbeats of a 223893584b cavalry of 100,000 soldiers 7addc58112 in a war movie. A burly b418bb6a90 man pressed 4cf6767738 a gun 2bd58de109 to Guk 6d9342dc03 Jiho’s temple.28f41dee45c25a0b

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“Try to survive.”e2949963cd7d8e05

“Damn it, Haegyeon-hyung. This is too much…”97d98840477a8cc5

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“Mr. Jiho, this is real.”c0813246c5bcaf76

As if to de5f4a2af1 prove his point, 03632ab519 the man next 4309218d6b to Guk Jiho ab50d9505b fired a shot 72f86f8d1b at the window.Tick. The suppressed .22 caliber 70b058be94 revolver made only that 74ed966d92 much noise, but the 37f4bfde4c window shattered into pieces.81ac3f93b115b481

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“Ahhh!” Panicked hotel staff screamed and ducked under the front desk.737e1ea924472f08

Guk Jiho’s 9e757e0ab2 entire body 738816f264 froze, his 06b97b7721 nerves on 28edc02d82 high alert. He stared at the 85df20f3a8 .22 caliber gun that 8d788c3781 had just been fired.4e6739c3091d83b8

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“Hah, a .22…”dd90ff051262b7ad

The .22, nicknamed“Tutu,”was lightweight, 3adcb5fd7e low-powered, and 94af4a0806 inaccurate. But at close range, 4d4b4d8b07 its rapid fire could dd756cf57f be deadly.883be6c32a0e1947

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Once it penetrated the 8a8ecb2c16 skin, the bullet would 4e38cf7ea6 slowly spin inside, tearing c605349481 through flesh and eventually 0a740a3dae exiting the other side. It was d58403b1b7 known as 1b05f0b254 one of 9ed9de9aae the most 449287e608 painful guns 238c1aa973 to be 0e9ce20ffa shot with. It was also 1c4a93aa85 considered as  the 51f650152a quietest firearm, capable 35a1d0d678 of killing people e9c504b4ed without causing a c78ad2e7bb commotion.682f75cbcdff2113

The Russian pressed the 6565ef4e6b gun against Guk Jiho’s 9b17379f8c temple like a stamp. The man spoke d765d10e0e to Haegyeon in abe7c413e8 Russian, but Guk 849f338fc5 Jiho, of course, f23da85e05 couldn’t understand.1084a0611ee7afdb

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“Haegyeon-hyung… I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Can’t we talk this out?”6104d2dd53966a1b

He barely 0f661af51b moved his d1ea4dfc6a lips to 2329b8c1e2 plead, but a08ae5d3b4 the response 9ad98838ca was disheartening.54b9ff81650c2176

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“I’m just as clueless about Russian.”9f95096c844bd2d1

“So, no negotiation?”191e6bb0a7c5046c

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“Nope.”eeca0c9a5cb8d34c

As soon 5f2fdc8625 as the e72dfccc36 words left a64f81666e Haegyeon’s mouth, d7204fa33f Guk Jiho 1e3582e1fe yanked the 5ceb669cb2 barrel of 3a431766c9 the gun f47d2d60e6 upward. In the c776432a9f split second c238c17aa2 the man’s fe0f2a1940 thick wrist 4dd0ad279b bent at 3908564390 a right d1f3281aec angle, Guk 87f57280e2 Jiho grabbed 23dd371a21 the revolver’s 79eb8bf48d grip and a2049d57e8 disarmed him.356d090fbdf8bfa2

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It took less a0d6803b82 than a second 4e194550a5 to take the d3f5596f0b gun.6fd30b21c9b68eb5

While the 73a128ef3e man was 38d2c87226 still stunned, 6f50b1bc8a Guk Jiho 0d81de8414 loaded the c5d3346e43 gun and 96081d427f pressed it 0c3b02b7c3 against the a283ddf595 man’s groin.972aaf449773685c

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“Gah…!”db5cee378e356404

“You should’ve said something sooner.”62dbbb6ea8d1184b

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The man, now at 5c7f420b72 risk of losing his 2899688e89 manhood, trembled violently.aac8ff8121e5ab3d

“Hey, hands up.”c78a1b2307253873

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Even though Guk 7b238bc256 Jiho spoke in 8d3373620b Korean, the Russian e76959b484 somehow understood and 09f61237bf raised his hands.c1e37b13ebfaeb54

“Can I kill them?”a1e2f25620d94d35

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“Try not to.”e3584dc7474d108f

Thirteen men. Twelve of 91f81229f6 them had 5e8ede67cf drawn their d62d91f361 guns and 2d86e2301b were aiming c403061102 at them. This wasn’t going 9efb3cedc9 to be an 57ba1bdaa6 easy fight.57b5e109ced01104

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