Goblin Library - Chapter 190
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 190
Lim Sung-un and Lee Hye-eun were loading cash into the military duffel bags they’d brought.
“Shouldn’t we pack the gold bars too?”
“Let’s start with the cash first.”
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Lee Hye-eun glanced toward Choi Tae-sik while stuffing bills into the bag.
He was still fighting like a madman over there.
She’d tried to help by throwing gold bars a few times, but Choi Tae-sik had raised his hand to stop her, so she reluctantly quit.
It was clear his pride was deeply wounded by his inability to bring down his opponent.
“This is taking forever,” she muttered quietly.
Lee Hye-eun glanced at the duffel bags scattered across the floor.
Eight military duffel bags were already completely full. Yet there was still a mountain of cash left to pack.
She pulled a fresh duffel bag from inside one of the others and resumed stuffing money into it.
That’s when a heavy thud echoed through the space, followed by a sharp metallic clang.
She turned to see a man collapsed on the ground and Choi Tae-sik standing over him.
“Did you win?”
At Lee Hye-eun’s question, Choi Tae-sik caught his breath and turned his head. His gaze was fixed on a gold bar lying far off against the wall.
The man he’d been fighting had stepped on the gold bar Lee Hye-eun threw, stumbling. Choi Tae-sik seized that opening and landed the finishing blow.
“Phew!”
Choi Tae-sik exhaled heavily and looked at Lee Hye-eun.
“Tape.”
Lee Hye-eun pulled tape from her bag and tossed it over. Choi Tae-sik bound the man’s hands behind his back, wrapping them tightly.
After securing his feet as well, Choi Tae-sik wiped the sweat from his face with his hand.
“Good work.”
“That guy… he was incredibly strong.”
Lee Hye-eun handed Choi Tae-sik an ion drink. He took it and was drinking when he asked with a puzzled expression.
“Where did you get this?”
“There’s a refrigerator over there.”
Choi Tae-sik looked in the direction Lee Hye-eun pointed. Refrigerators and ice boxes were stacked in that corner.
There were also microwaves and similar appliances.
“What? Don’t tell me he was eating and sleeping here?”
“Looks like it. There’s even a bathroom over there. He set the whole place up like a studio apartment.”
[Let’s focus on gathering the items first.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun nodded and resumed loading money into the duffel bags.
“Tae-sik, catch your breath for a moment.”
“No need. I’m fully recovered.”
With that, Choi Tae-sik grabbed a duffel bag full of cash in each hand and hurled them out through the door.
Thud! Thud!
Next, like Lee Hye-eun, Choi Tae-sik began stuffing money into another duffel bag.
Even as he did, Choi Tae-sik kept glancing at the collapsed man.
『Why, does it bother you?』
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Choi Tae-sik hesitated for a moment before speaking.
『If this place gets hit, that guy’s done for, right?』
Lee Hye-eun nodded.
『Considering the amount we’re taking… it won’t end with “you couldn’t have done anything about it alone.” He’s definitely going to have a rough time.』
Lee Hye-eun secured the duffel bag filled with money to the handle and spoke.
『Did you develop some sympathy from fighting him?』
『It’s a shame to waste that skill.』
Muttering to himself, Choi Tae-sik swept money into the duffel bag. The team members, now frantically finished with the cash, moved on to the gold bars.
They couldn’t fit many gold bars into the duffel bags. Not because of space, but because the weight was simply too much.
Military-grade duffel bags were tough, but if you packed them full of something as heavy as gold bars, they could tear during transport.
So the team members distributed the bars appropriately across the duffel bags, crammed one more into each cash-filled bag, and threw the luggage outside.
And as Lee Hye-eun stacked the duffel bags onto the hand truck, she spoke.
『I saw a few more hand trucks outside.』
Watching Lee Hye-eun hurry out of the warehouse, Choi Tae-sik said.
『Hye-eun seems excited.』
[Seems excited? I’m thrilled. I’ve never seen this much money before. This is what they mean by money you can’t even count.]
At the delighted tone in Lee Hye-eun’s voice, Choi Tae-sik chuckled and was loading the duffel bags onto the hand truck when Lee Hye-eun pulled over another one.
They filled three hand trucks completely with duffel bags, yet there were still plenty of bags remaining.
『It was good that we brought plenty of duffel bags.』
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lim Sung-un nodded and spoke.
『We’ll go back and come again. Let’s move.』
At Lim Sung-un’s words, the team members pushed the hand trucks and headed out.
Lim Sung-un and his team members were stacking duffel bags into a truck parked behind Jang Ma-ru’s Hideout vehicle.
‘Sweating while moving money… Is today my birthday?’
At Lee Hye-eun’s remark, Choi Tae-sik sighed and spoke.
‘We can cut a cake once we get to the Safe House.’
‘That sounds good.’
Watching Lee Hye-eun break into a bright smile, Choi Tae-sik glanced sideways. Beside him lay the man he’d fought, his eyes and mouth sealed with tape.
He’d brought him along because leaving him behind would likely result in his death. Once released in a deserted location, the man would manage to escape on his own.
‘You can drive a truck, right?’
At Choi Tae-sik’s question, Lee Hye-eun nodded.
‘Of course. I did all the deliveries myself when I ran the Flower Shop.’
‘Then drive for us.’
‘What about you?’
‘I can’t leave this guy alone. And it’s too dangerous for you to guard him.’
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lee Hye-eun nodded and climbed down from the truck.
Clang!
She closed the cargo door behind her.
[We’re all set here.]
[Then let’s move out. You go first, and I’ll follow behind.]
As Lim Sung-un finished speaking, the truck pulled away. The moment it started moving, Choi Tae-sik tapped the man’s body.
Flinch!
As the man’s body twitched, Choi Tae-sik felt for the man’s ear.
An earphone was plugged into the man’s ear. When they’d brought him out, they’d inserted it and played music so he couldn’t hear the team’s conversations.
‘Can you lower the music volume and make my voice come through with a voice modulator?’
[Yes, I can.]
‘Do it.’
[Done.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s confirmation, Choi Tae-sik spoke.
‘We cleaned out all the money and gold bars that were in your Vault.’
Flinch!
As the man’s body stiffened, Choi Tae-sik continued.
‘I could have left you behind. But… I figured your Organization would kill you if I did, so I brought you along.’
『….』
Choi Tae-sik, watching the man, placed his fingers on his own palm and spoke.
‘If you promise not to scream, I’ll remove the tape from your mouth. If you agree, tap your fingers twice on my palm.’
Tap, tap!
As the man tapped his fingers twice firmly, Choi Tae-sik peeled the tape away from his mouth.
‘Haaah…!’
Watching the man exhale deeply, Choi Tae-sik asked.
‘What are you planning to do from now on?’
‘Take me back to that place.’
Choi Tae-sik’s eyes narrowed at the Goblin Man’s words.
“You think I’d just let you go after that much money disappeared? If you go back there, you’re dead.”
“I know.”
“And you’re still going back?”
“If I don’t go, they’ll kill my family.”
“Your family?”
“The Company knows where my family lives. If I don’t go back and die… they’ll kill them.”
[Ah… this is… ah… what do we do?]
Jang Ma-ru asked in confusion, and Lim Sung-un spoke up.
[Ask if there’s someone watching the family. If not, have them leave with their family.]
“Is there an Organization member watching your family? If not, leave with them.”
“…There’s no one watching, but there are neighbors.”
“Neighbors?”
The Goblin Man hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“We live together.”
“We?”
“…”
When the Goblin Man fell silent without answering, Choi Tae-sik spoke.
“Go back and you die. Run and your family dies. And we have no intention of going back.”
Choi Tae-sik continued, still looking at the Goblin Man.
“But we do want to save your family.”
“You’ll really save my family?”
“We don’t hurt people. Otherwise, I would’ve left you inside. I knew that even if you were found beaten and tied up in there, your Organization would kill you anyway.”
The Goblin Man gave no answer to Choi Tae-sik’s words.
[Repeat exactly what I say.]
Following Lim Sung-un’s instruction, Choi Tae-sik repeated his words.
“There’s not much time before sunrise. And I’m the only one you can trust. Cooperate. If you do, we’ll save your family too.”
The Goblin Man seemed to deliberate for a moment, then sighed and spoke.
“Former soldiers live together in the Villa where we stay.”
“Former soldiers?”
“We’re… all former military.”
“Military? A Special Forces Unit? Which one?”
“…I can’t tell you the unit’s name.”
Then the Goblin Man spoke urgently.
“But we… we haven’t committed any crimes.”
“You haven’t committed crimes? You say that after seeing all that money?”
“We only transported, protected, and guarded it. We never beat anyone or stole anything.”
“Even if what you were protecting was a Criminal Organization’s money?”
“By that logic, what about Lawyers defending criminals? Doctors who operate on murderers and save their lives? We didn’t commit crimes with our own hands.”
“Do you really think that argument holds up right now?”
When Lim Sung-un rebuked him through Choi Tae-sik’s mouth, the Goblin Man let out a bitter chuckle and spoke.
『Serving in the military under the guise of protecting the nation? This is far better. At least now I can provide my wife and children with better clothes, better food, and a far more substantial salary than I ever could in uniform.』
The Goblin Man’s voice turned sharp and bitter.
『They call it the South Korea Special Forces Unit, but do you know how abominably soldiers are treated? And if you get injured during an operation…』
Choi Tae-sik spoke as he watched the Goblin Man fall silent.
『You said time is limited. We’ve sealed the vault and cleaned up, but when will the Organization discover something’s wrong?』
『Phone calls come in at 7 AM and 7 PM via landline. So the Company won’t know anything until 7 AM.』
『Does anyone come looking for you?』
『Money enters the vault once a month. Except for that, no one comes looking.』
『So you just stay there eating and sleeping, guarding it?』
『When money comes in once a month, we rotate shifts. So I spend that entire month living inside the vault. Then when the next rotation happens, I get a month off at home.』
The system was simple: one month eating and sleeping inside the vault, then one month resting at home.
[Spending an entire month alone inside a vault… This is practically a recipe for mental breakdown.]
Choi Tae-sik nodded at Jang Ma-ru’s murmur.
『We didn’t see you in that vehicle.』
『That vehicle?』
『The one that transports money to the vault.』
『You were monitoring that vehicle?』
『How do you think we found the Warehouse?』
『The Warehouse?』
Choi Tae-sik asked back, seeing the confusion on the Goblin Man’s face.
『You don’t know about the Warehouse?』
『The rotation personnel don’t know where the vault is located. We wear blindfolds and helmets from the moment we enter the vehicle’s cargo area. We only remove the blindfold once we’re inside the vault. So we have no idea where the vault is. Only the squad leader and the assistant squad leader know the vault’s location.』
『Even you, who’s inside it, don’t know?』
『Secrets are best kept when fewer people know them.』
『So how many of you are there?』
『Ten in total.』
『Are you all from the same unit?』
『Yes.』
『So what exactly do you do?』
『The squad leader sets the Team’s schedule. Another team member and I rotate monthly inside the vault. The other six handle security and protection duties.』
The Goblin Man turned his head toward where Choi Tae-sik’s voice came from and spoke.
『We… we were just doing our job.』
Choi Tae-sik spoke to the Goblin Man, who was making excuses again.
『You know yourself that argument is complete nonsense. That’s why you keep stammering out these excuses.』
The Goblin Man fell silent at Choi Tae-sik’s words. Seeing him like that, Choi Tae-sik asked.
『Where’s your home?』
The Goblin Man thought for a moment before giving his home address.
[Tape his mouth again.]
At Lim Sung-un’s instruction, Choi Tae-sik taped the Goblin Man’s mouth shut.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
Choi Tae-sik spoke to the man who was struggling and trying to say something.
“I keep my promise to save your family.”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, the man stopped thrashing.
“Turn on the music.”
Choi Tae-sik, who had the man put music back on through his earphones so he couldn’t hear anything, spoke.
“What do we do?”
Lim Sung-un was silent for a moment, then explained the operation.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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