Codename-Anastasia Chapter 25 - 2.12 Counterattack

A vague humming sound. The shadow swayed rhythmically across Kwon Taek Joo's eyelids. Fingers were cut off, limbs and body were cut in half. The body was cut into pieces like a fish and quickly lost body heat. All the blood was drained, leaving only a bloodless mass of flesh washed in bleach. He didn't feel any pain. His mind was still blank. Are you dead? All that remains are vague thoughts that dominate my mind in the last days of my life.

His arms and legs froze. His body seed to float in a vacuum, and also seed to be sinking into the water. The strong sll of alcohol entered his nose and a dark area imdiately appeared. Cold water flowed through every hole in the body. There is a fishy sll.

A black snakehead fish appeared in the darkness. One child. two children, three children... They kept coming in droves, their eyes sparkling. They wander around and look for prey that has been thrown away. Then a guy suddenly burst in and everyone simultaneously started tearing off the white at and eating it.

A dark shadow swayed in the blurry vision. But Kwon Taek Joo could neither see the face nor hear the voice. When he ca closer to get a closer look, they also backed away. A certain distance was maintained and a dark shadow surrounded it. It moved slowly, then faster until his eyeballs couldn't keep up. His breathing beca labored. When the rotational force reached its peak, the black shape beca a water bubble and burst.

Don't forget your promise to dad.

A sound echoed in the foam that had disappeared. It wasn't a human voice. Kwon Taek Joo quickly turned back to the source of the sound but the separated black shape did not reappear. Have you completely stopped breathing? So you can see the souls of the dead and even hear their voices? Why does consciousness not disappear but still remain?

Kwon Taek Joo floated vaguely, but a giant water bubble suddenly erged and quickly passed beside him. He turned back to look. The bubbles receded very quickly and then ford a shape. It was bigger and more dynamic than anything Kwon Taek Joo had ever seen.

It's that bastard. The mont he realized the identity of that shape, his body reflexively took a step back, but the more Kwon Taek Joo stepped back, the bigger and bigger he beca.

Don't co here.

The silent scream shook the space.

The next mont, that giant shape crashed into him. His body was sucked into the dense darkness. Kwon Taek Joo choked. The forgotten pain returned more vividly as if every joint in his body had been chopped into pieces. The peeling skin was unbearable. The black shape that covered his body instantly turned white, emitting a cold, mocking laugh.

Stupid rabbit.

"..."

Kwon Taek Joo's eyelids opened wide. Vision fades then becos clearer. Everything is before your eyes. Is there a problem with your vision?

Kwon Taek Joo closed his eyes and then opened them again. Nothing changes. The quiet white ceiling, the faint sound of the air conditioner, the familiar sll of disinfectant.

The cushion felt like it supported his back firmly. From what he saw, it seed like this was a hospital.

Kwon Taek Joo raised his hand. An intravenous needle was stuck in the back of his hand. There are up to two injections. He even brought an oxygen tank with him for ergencies. Apparently he was still alive after thinking he was dead.

So what is illusion, what is reality? His head felt like it was waterlogged and he couldn't rember anything clearly. It's difficult to know whether the afterimages left in the brain are real or not. The only thing Kwon Taek Joo was sure of was right before he got off the train. When he tried to recall the mories afterward, his head felt like it was about to explode. Kwon Taek Joo groaned softly and clutched his bandaged head.

"Are you awake?"

Suddenly an unfamiliar voice intervened. Kwon Taek Joo suddenly woke up with relief. His hands involuntarily groped around his waist. But the guns that should have been there were gone.

After identifying his opponent, Kwon Taek Joo quickly let down his guard, because the person facing him was also in a not so good condition. He was in a cast from shoulder to wrist Kwon Taek Joo raised his head because of a bandage around his neck. His eyes were bruised and swollen, and his lips were swollen and dry. A bandage was wrapped around his head and duct tape was applied to his torn forehead and cheekbones. Judging from the fact that he was on crutches, his legs also seed to be in bad shape. It appears this person has been in treatnt for at least 12 weeks.

But sohow, that face caught Kwon Taek Joo's eye. It might have been just a hallucination, but he had a profound sense of deja vu. Not long after, the man's identity appeared in his mind. Kwon Taek Joo could recognize him, but he didn't imdiately because of his miserable appearance.

It's Psych Bogdanov. No, he's the man that Kwon Taek Joo mistook for that bastard. On the day of the hotel terrorist attack, he disguised himself as a paradic and followed Kwon Taek Joo. At the ti, he thought he was Psych Boedanoy. Now he knew he wasn't, but what the hell was he talking about? Rembering that he aid at the helicopter as soon as he saw Zhenya with a bazooka, it's best that Kwon Taek Joo should not get close to this person.

"Who are you?"

"You asked too early."

"There has to be a ti to ask."

"Ah, that's probably not the case. You must have been so busy that you didn't even notice your partner."

"...partner?"

Kwon Taek Joo frowned. The man ca forward to face him.

He heard from departnt head Lim that there was a randomly assigned partner. After considering the attention of people around him, the other side naturally approached him and said they would send photos at the appropriate ti. The next day, two pictures were sent to him. One was a photo ofZhenya, and the other was of the man standing in front of him. At that mont,Zhenya started talking and Kwon Taek Joo imdiately thought he was his colleague. He was very brave and he helped him on the first day he entered the country, so Kwon Taek Joo was not too suspicious.

How the hell did things get so ssed up? A perfect confusion was created by the head office's mistake of forcing an unwanted partner and mistakenly sending a really important photo and ti to etZhenya.

But there's still sothing puzzling

"Why didn't you reveal your identity sooner?"

"Did I have ti to reveal? If you had ti then why didn't you tell ? How the hell was I supposed to get to you when you were so attached to Bogdanov? I waited until you were alone to approach you but I almost died trying to take you to a quiet place to explain. Have you forgotten that you beat until I passed out and drowned in the water?"

He wears his sarcasm with a lot of resentnt towards Kwon Taek Joo. Why not? It's all because of Kwon Taek Joo that this man is now in such a bad situation. He was so embarrassed that he couldn't lift his head and wondered what the hell he had done.

"Now it sounds like an excuse, but I have a reason... Ha, it's really an excuse. Sorry for not recognizing you. I'm truly sorry for that."

"I feel like I'm being teased because you admit your mistakes so easily. This is the price of wasting ti."

"Because of misunderstandings with my teammates, I almost died several tis. If that doesn't console you, I can take a few hits right now."

Suddenly Kwon Taek Joo stuck out his left cheek. That's not just talk. He thought that if the man wanted it that way, he would comply. The man clenched his fists. But soon he loosened his grip and scolded him for being ridiculous.

"I really want to, but that's okay. Look at you."

The man clicked his tongue in disapproval. What could be enough to arouse his compassion? Only then did Kwon Taek Joo raise his hand and touch his face and body. That alone gave him a clear idea of his condition. His head was bandaged, and his forehead, cheekbones, earlobes, nape, and collarbone were also bandaged. Even the slightest twist made his back ache.

So what about your fingers? Kwon Taek Joo rembered old mories and suddenly opened his arms. A bandage was wrapped around the ring finger, which was in severe pain. Truly so.

"Finger.."

"I heard it was a broken bone."

That's right, as expected at that ti... huh?

Kwon Taek Joo nodded and looked blankly at the man.

"..What?"

"Are you deaf in your ears too? I said it's a broken bone. Is that the first ti you got your finger bandaged?"

"Isn't it cut off?"

"Is there any reason to cut it off? You've watched too many mafia movies."

He shook his head with a puzzled expression. Before losing consciousness, Kwon Taek Joo received a strong shock from his ring finger. He clearly heard the clicking sound of the cigar cutter, and he thought he was going to cut his finger, but it was just a simple fracture. In addition, except for the ring finger, the other fingers are normal. Kwon Taek Joo couldn't believe it and turned his hand over.

"But didn't Morgan's body have all ten fingers cut off?"

"That's true, but you're alive and he's dead. So you don't have to be sad that your fingers are

still attached in the sa position."

Kwon Taek Joo was confused. He thought that, just likeZhenya killed Morgan, Kwon Taek Joo would do the sa. How are you still alive?

"How did I get here?"

"You were left on the riverbank near Olkhon Island. Just in ti the Bogdanov family moved there and our agents who were still chasing them found you. The doctor said if it had been a little slower it would have damaged your heart."

Is that so? Zhenya didn't save Kwon Taek Joo himself, he just didn't care if he lived or died. He didn't even know that his joke had luckily saved his life, that he would try to save his miserable life.

No, right? Kwon Taek Joo rembered the injection he was given before losing consciousness. He also felt the bandage on his neck. Really if it was 'polonium-210' at that ti, would he still be able to open his eyes?

"I won Polonium-210?"

"Who said that?"

"At that ti it was obvious that Zhenya..."

"Zhenya , that crazy guy? Yevgeny Vissarionovich Bogdanov. I an your best friend?"

He raised his voice sarcastically. "Zhenya, Zhenya..." he repeated his na several tis.

"How can you call him by such a familiar na? Even his blood relatives don't call him that."

He clicked his tongue with a tired expression. What kind of intimate na? Kwon Taek Joo was about to get angry but he kept his mouth shut. A vague thought appeared in his mind. From the beginning, he introduced himself asZhenya. Of course he didn't think that was his real na, because it wasn't a common Russian na. So he thought it was just a nickna he often used. Because arms trading is his main job, he seems to hide his identity as a habit. In so ways, he resembled Kwon Taek Joo himself, and he felt a kinship with him.

He also knew that 'Psych Bogdanov' was scandalous. He still forgot that Psych had a real na, though. Additionally, Yevgeny's nickna is 'Zegna. When learning Russian, he also learned about ethnic composition, history, society, life and culture. But nicknas don't really matter. At that ti, he did not know that Kwon Taek Joo would co to Russia or call Russians by nicknas.

What was he thinking when he told him his intimate na? And what did he think when Kwon Taek Joo called him by that na without any suspicion? He had given him a clear hint as to his identity, but how interesting it was to see an idiot who believed he was a colleague. Climb back up walls, cycle in Siberia in the cold of winter and go through dusty air vents.

Zhenya's face, which was smiling like a devil, sparkled before his eyes. Kwon Taek Joo gritted his teeth, his fist trembled.

"Zhenya!"