SYNO Chapter 50

Following Frederick’s orders, several fully armed soldiers entered the basement. Ssangryeong leaned against the railing on the deck, waiting for the situation to be resolved.

He was waiting for Bormann, armed with a sharp knife, to be dragged out by the soldiers, ready to spit on him the moment he appeared.

However, after a few minutes, the soldiers emerged from the staircase one by one, their faces etched with disappointment.

Ssangryeong raised an eyebrow.

“What? Why are you empty-handed?”

Then, Frederick, his face a filled with fatigue and accumulated stress, appeared last. He walked straight towards Ssangryeong.

“Aaron.”

Frederick, who had seamlessly adopted the name he was officially supposed to use, placed a hand on Ssangryeong’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Thanks for the tip. But there wasn’t even anyone resembling Bormann in the basement, let alone Bormann himself.”

“He wasn’t there?”

“No. It’s an internal matter, so don’t worry about it. Focus on how to behave yourself in the Home Nation instead. That would be more helpful.”

Frederick forced a smile, trying to reassure Ssangryeong. But Ssangryeong, never one to take things at face value, frowned.

They had asked for his cooperation, and now they were drawing a line, calling it an “internal matter”?

‘After I went through all the trouble of thinking about it and telling him.’

Even after Frederick left to attend to his duties, Ssangryeong continued to pace the area restlessly.

It was strange.

A criminal understands the mind of another criminal. From Ssangryeong’s perspective, having lived as a fugitive for years and encountered all sorts of criminals in the Dependent Nation, this didn’t make sense.

If someone escaped in a confined space like this, they were either going to kill themselves or commit a suicide attack.

Although the warship was huge, like a luxury cruise ship, with a large capacity, there weren’t many places for an escaped prisoner to hide.

Somewhere without pursuers.

Somewhere with plenty of obstacles to hide behind.

Somewhere where it would be convenient to achieve their objective.

“It has to be there.”

Since boarding the ship, Ssangryeong had explored every nook and cranny, habitually scouting out several key locations.

For example, if a situation arose where he had to escape in case his relationship with the Commander soured, where would be a good place to hide?

He had actually kept several places in mind, just in case. And that basement had been one of the most promising locations in the eyes of Ssangryeong, who wouldn’t know loyalty if it bit him in the ass.

It was a place where few people, except for a handful of personnel would enter, and it housed the massive machinery essential for operating the ship. In a worst-case scenario, this is an optimal location he could go to and he could also use the machinery as leverage for negotiation.

‘But he’s not there? Is that bastard a complete idiot?’

Ssangryeong scoffed. If he had escaped to somewhere other than there, he would be caught soon.

Or he had already jumped into the sea and become fish food.

‘Why do I keep worrying about it? They said they didn’t need my help.’

Ssangryeong turned abruptly.

As Frederick had said, he should just go back to his corner and think about how to behave himself in the Home Nation.

As Ssangryeong walked across the wooden deck, he stopped after a few steps as if rooted to the spot.

“Aaargh, this is so annoying.”

He scratched his head. He couldn’t just ignore it; it would bother him and prevent him from taking a nap.

He felt a slight pang of embarrassment and a bruised ego from having his logical deduction proven wrong.

It felt like his pride as an experienced criminal had been trampled on.

Furthermore, the thought of obediently following Frederick’s instructions made his stomach churn. He had given them advice from a criminal’s perspective, yet he wondered if that incompetent Vice Commander had even searched the place properly.

‘Fine, then. If you don’t believe me, I’ll have to check myself.’

Ssangryeong’s eyes gleamed sharply. He saw a group of soldiers patrolling with pistols, searching for Bormann.

Pretending to clean as he passed by them, Ssangryeong swiftly stole a pistol in the blink of an eye.

‘I would have starved to death in the Dependent Nation if I couldn’t even pickpocket.’

Ssangryeong smirked.

It was an old skill honed from years of picking the pockets of thieves whenever he was starving.

Having secured a weapon for self-defense, Ssangryeong headed towards the stairway leading down to the basement without hesitation. The dark and gloomy space didn’t faze him; compared to the streets of the Dependent Nation, this place was a luxury suite.

Creak.

Ssangryeong carefully opened the door and scanned the room with his golden eyes. The basement engine room was spacious, with rows of machines covered in black protective covers.

‘That perverted bastard. I’ll shoot him on sight.’

The memory of Bormann’s creepy, leering gaze was still vivid in his mind. Since he was a spy, the Commander would cover it up even if he injured him.

‘He should be grateful I’m even catching him.’

The thought of receiving praise from Pienne gave him courage. Ssangryeong puffed out his chest.

‘Let’s think calmly. Put myself in his shoes.’

The search party had already been through here, so Bormann wouldn’t be hiding anywhere obvious.

Ssangryeong gripped the loaded pistol in both hands.

Then, there were only two places where a criminal could hide without being detected.

One was…

Creak. 

Ssangryeong carefully opened one of the machine covers, large enough to hide a person.

Seeing that it was empty, he became aware of his pounding heart.

“Phew...”

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

He had been prepared to shoot on sight, but actually shooting someone wasn’t as easy a decision as he had thought.

He had only come here to confirm his suspicions because they didn’t believe him…

‘Did I make a mistake coming here?’

A moment of regret flashed through his mind. Who was he, a mere nobody, re-checking a place the military search party had already cleared? It was presumptuous.

Despite his hesitation, Ssangryeong checked inside every single machine cover.

He wasn’t there.

He couldn’t find those black, snake-like eyes anywhere.

Then there was only one place left.

Ssangryeong swallowed hard. If Bormann was here, he must be…

He hesitated for a moment, then raised his head.

His golden eyes widened as soon as he saw a dark figure hanging from the ceiling like a spider.

“Ugh! Fuck…!”

The moment their eyes met, Bormann dropped from the ceiling, landing on top of Ssangryeong. Ssangryeong screamed as the heavy weight pressed down on him. Before he could even sit up, Bormann’s hands were around his throat, choking him.

“Ugh…!”

“Is that you, Captain? The one who sent the search party here?”

“Ack!”

“The disappointed search party members were wondering why you would do such a thing. I immediately thought of you.”

Ssangryeong’s face turned red. He couldn’t breathe. If Bormann applied a little more pressure, his neck would snap.

Ssangryeong’s struggles weakened as his strength drained.

The ceiling had been clear when he entered. He wouldn’t have missed a dark figure clinging to it.

It meant that, as he had suspected, Bormann had been hiding above the ceiling and had secretly crawled out when the coast was clear.

He had predicted Bormann would be hiding either inside a machine or in the space above the ceiling, but he hadn’t imagined him clinging to the ceiling like a spider.

It would be difficult for anyone to hang there for even a few seconds without considerable strength.

Ssangryeong realized immediately.

Bormann was a specially trained spy.

“Who are you, really? You’re definitely not an ordinary soldier.”

“Ugh…!”

“What do you think is the reason I was suddenly exposed as a spy and captured? Well, I think it’s because of you.”

Bormann’s dark eyes, filled with resentment and rage, glared down at Ssangryeong, as if trying to kill him with his gaze.

Ssangryeong’s vision flickered as the blood vessels in his neck constricted, threatening to burst.

But his hand, still gripping the pistol, twitched.

Bang! 

Bormann, noticing the movement, tried to snatch the pistol, but Ssangryeong had already fired.

He couldn’t shoot Bormann, who was completely pinning him down. Knowing it was impossible, Ssangryeong changed his target.

‘Call for… help!’

Ssangryeong’s bullet, missing the machines, hit the ceiling in the corner of the basement.

The loud bang resonated throughout the warship.

“You little bastard!”

Bormann’s eyes widened, and he twisted Ssangryeong’s hand, trying to wrest the gun away.

“Aaargh…!”

Unbearable pain shot through his arm as his right wrist broke, but the moment he was free of the chokehold, Ssangryeong gritted his teeth and punched Bormann in the face with his left fist.

The man stumbled back slightly, but Ssangryeong couldn’t shake him off.

The difference in their strength was too great.

His punch, despite his best effort, hadn’t done much damage to the well-built, muscular man.

Bormann was still on top of him, and he raised his large fist high.

That punch would kill him.

‘Fuck…’

Just as Ssangryeong squeezed his eyes shut,

“Ugh!”

Bormann, who had been on top of him…was suddenly kicked hard in the head.

Ssangryeong’s eyes flickered open as he saw who had kicked Bormann.

It was Pienne.

The man was staring down at him, his eyes cold, taking in Ssangryeong’s injuries.