Chapter 6. Hunter of the Deep Sea
Snap.
The final steel wire strangling my neck broke apart, scattering metal fragments through the water.
I slowly released the severed wire from my hand and looked ahead.
The sand stirred up by the explosion still hadn't settled, leaving the water cloudy.
But Manager Park's expression was perfectly clear.
Fear.
Until just moments ago, he had been confident.
He had planted explosives.
Prepared underwater steel cables.
Even run electricity through them.
It seemed he had already suspected that I wasn't an ordinary human.
But none of his preparations had worked.
It wasn't that I had merely endured them.
I had torn the steel wires apart.
Armed divers crowded around Manager Park.
Including the men guarding the cave entrance, there were at least fifteen of them.
Maybe close to twenty.
That's a lot.
I'd assumed this was just some ordinary smuggling organization.
Apparently, it was much bigger than I thought.
Manager Park raised one hand.
That seemed to be the signal.
The divers all moved at once.
Spearguns.
Underwater firearms.
Wire launchers.
Every weapon pointed directly at me.
Wow.
I almost laughed.
What is this, some action movie?
The next instant, dozens of spears and bullets came flying at me all at once.
Thud! Thud-thud!
I didn't dodge.
There was no reason to.
Ping! Ping!
The spears bounced away the instant they hit my skin.
The bullets weren't any different.
Several struck my body directly, but all I felt was a slight sting.
They didn't even leave wounds.
The divers visibly froze.
They had every reason to panic.
People died when they were shot.
Even if they survived, they were injured.
That was common sense.
But I was completely fine.
"Finished?"
My voice obviously wouldn't carry properly underwater, but they should at least have been able to read my lips.
Manager Park signaled again.
This time, two large men stepped forward.
Judging from their thick arms and movements, they weren't ordinary divers.
They looked like former special forces or people who had received professional combat training.
Both drew long diving knives from their waists.
"Oh, come on."
I scratched my head.
"Do we really have to do this?"
No answer.
Both men charged at once.
They were fast.
By normal human standards.
But to me...
They were ridiculously slow.
The first man's knife came straight for my neck.
I caught the blade between two fingers.
It stopped completely.
The man's eyes widened.
I applied just a little force.
Snap.
The blade broke.
"Huh?"
I was actually more surprised than he was.
Another failure at controlling my strength.
At that moment, the second man attacked from behind.
I turned and grabbed his arm.
This time, I was really careful.
I thought I'd used as little strength as possible.
But the man spun once through the water and slammed into the sandy seabed.
Thump.
A cloud of sand erupted.
He stopped moving.
Apparently, he was unconscious.
"Sorry."
I meant it.
"I'm still getting used to this."
The surrounding divers slowly began backing away.
It seemed they had finally realized it.
They couldn't beat me.
Then Manager Park moved personally.
He was different from the others.
He didn't look frightened.
Instead, his eyes remained calm as he carefully observed my movements.
This guy's different.
Manager Park pulled a small metal sphere from his waist.
I frowned.
"What's that?"
He threw it toward me.
The metal sphere stopped right in front of me.
Then it burst with an intense flash.
Boom!
My entire vision turned white.
Ah!
An underwater flash grenade.
The instant I reflexively closed my eyes, something struck my side.
Thump!
My body was pushed sideways.
Manager Park.
He had attacked at exactly the moment my vision disappeared.
Fast.
Precise.
A professional.
I immediately opened my eyes again.
Maybe because of my regeneration, the pain and blurred vision disappeared almost instantly.
Manager Park charged again.
Punches.
Kicks.
Elbow strikes.
They came one after another.
Normally, it would have been difficult to put much power behind attacks underwater.
But he was clearly accustomed to moving in these conditions.
He had properly trained in underwater combat.
Several blows landed.
They didn't really hurt me.
Still...
They were annoying.
Persistent bastard.
Instead of dodging the next punch, I caught his wrist.
Manager Park immediately tried to pull away.
He couldn't.
I applied the slightest amount of strength.
His movement stopped completely.
"Got you."
For the first time, his eyes shook.
I pulled him toward me and moved my mouth right in front of his face.
"Who are you?"
He probably couldn't hear me clearly.
But he could read my lips.
Then Manager Park smiled.
I narrowed my eyes.
He was smiling?
In this situation?
Something felt wrong.
I soon learned why.
A tremendous vibration came from deeper inside the cave.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Something was moving.
Still holding Manager Park, I turned my head.
Even the divers looked shocked.
Manager Park himself turned toward the sound.
Judging by their reactions, none of them had expected this either.
Deep inside the cave...
The sand beneath the area where the crates had been stacked began collapsing.
And beneath it...
Something enormous slowly emerged.
"..."
For a moment, I was speechless.
A ship.
A massive wooden ship that looked hundreds of years old was buried beneath the sand.
Maybe the explosion had disturbed it.
Or perhaps the ground supporting it after all these years had finally collapsed.
Either way...
Part of a shipwreck that had remained hidden until now was being revealed.
"Wow..."
This time, genuine admiration escaped me.
It looked as though the cave itself had formed above an ancient wreck.
The hull was damaged in several places, but enough remained to recognize its overall shape.
Then something glittered through the broken sections.
Gold.
Silver.
