Mercenary Black Mamba

The guarding military officer exploded into a tirade of anger.

"A vile racist confessed to it on his own!"

Fabius smiled contentedly.

"You are a monster! Of course, you would conduct experiments on humans."

Besson pointed at him with the clapperboard he was holding.

"I didn't mean that!" The guarding military officer hurriedly tried to defend himself.

"Shut up! Hey, friends. This haughty white man thinks Blacks are primitive and Pygmies are some rats. What do you think?"

Fabius looked back at his companions. Henchmen wearing channel uniforms and holding various filming equipment and journalists wearing hunting caps with logos swarmed in.

"Racist go to hell!"

"Leave the Pygmies alone!"

"Evil Yankees should leave the Earth."

"The US Army should open their facilities to the public and assume legal responsibility for spraying the jungle with defoliant!"

"Everyone, before they could eliminate the evidence, let's force ourselves in."

The fake journalists clamored frantically.

"Oh shit!"

The guarding military officer was overwhelmed. He could do nothing but blink at the unexpected situation.

"If you do not allow us in the facilities, we will report you to Green Peace and Friends of Earth. Can you handle thousands of eco-activists?" Fabius blackmailed.

"I see. I will tell my superiors."

The guarding military officer surrendered to the characteristically noisy French. Once criticized by the press and surrounded by eco-activists, it was the camp that was going to be in trouble.

"First gate."

"What is it?" Richard answered the phone.

"Journalists from a French broadcasting station. I refused their entry but they are insistent."

"A broadcasting station? The hyenas are here. Elaborate."

Richard was getting a headache as he was briefed. It was not something he could decide.

"Commander, journalists are here from France."

"France? Is this a joke?"

McKinley stared at his subordinate with a confused face. He would have thought that something like "Marilyn Monroe is bathing in the dirty water of the Ganges" was more believable.

"They said, the camp is ruining the tropical rainforest irresponsibly and abducting Pygmies. The guards are stalling them."

"What a bunch of crazies. Kick them out."

McKinley scoffed dismissively.

"They don't listen."

"Shoot in the air to scare them off. Wait, where did you say they are from?"

"Canal+."

"Canal+. What is that?"

"The biggest commercial television network in France."

McKinley picked up the receiver.

"Lieutenant Colonel Michell, confirm with Canal+ if they really sent journalists here."

"Yes, Sir!"

McKinley hesitated after getting Lieutenant Colonel Michell's report. If they were really journalists, he couldn't scare them away.

"Damn it. Why did they send journalists to an African backcountry lousy with cannibals?"

"Could it be one of the DGSE's schemes?"

"The frogs wouldn't try something as ludicrous as this. Whether they are real or fake, they will not enter."

"They will report it to environmental activists. Would that be all right?"

"That is something I will worry about, not you. Scare them off!"

"Yes, sir!"

McKinley said firmly. Because of the KGB mole, the project was postponed and they suffered tremendous human and material losses. He could not let a group of journalists inside the camp for fear of spies hidden among them.

* * *

There was a loud clamor at the front gate. The journalists and guards yelled and fought. Fabius and Besson, with Mu Ssang's order, would not withdraw even if the guards fired at them.

When the noise became louder, marines swarmed out of the outer barracks. They were tired and bored because of the prolonged operation. The two female journalists wearing hot pants and tank tops that revealed their cleavage gathered much interest.

Hundreds of marines clung to the fence like cicadas and ogled. Soon, some started complaining that journalists should be allowed inside. The complaints soon turned into a roar. The front gate area where stern silence usually reigned sounded like a bazaar now.

* * *

One laborer exited the noisy scene surreptitiously. He melted into the air. A whiff of wind swished past the spot on the fence that was 30 meters away from the front gate and five meters from the ground. Ironically, more guards usually meant more negligence.

He chose the daylight hours to infiltrate the base due to Predators and infrared cameras. Camouflage could fool the human eyes but not infrared cameras. He infiltrated the base to check on Hae Young and see if she was okay. There was no need to make a mess.

"This should discourage most infiltrators," Mu Ssang marveled.

Their internal defense was as impeccable as the Agrippina shield on the outer perimeter. Three-meter-tall barbed wire fences flanked a five-meter-high electrified fence. The combined width was 10 meters.

With the dense web of infrared cameras, guard posts at five-minute intervals, and military dog surveillance squads that patrolled at random intervals, the whole defense measures hinted at America's wealth.

Once in the base, Mu Ssang was surprised once again. Radars, missile launchers, lined-up helicopters, armored vehicles, Humvees, trailers mounted with MLRS containers, 360-degree concrete bunkers, endless barracks, and steel-plated guard posts surrounding the outer perimeter. All were very US army that had the most supplies in the world.

Black Mamba strolled across the barracks and training grounds and infiltrated an abandoned container on the waste dump. The 20-square-feet container was full of discarded clothes and furniture. He calmed himself to sleep with a MAG ammunition container as a pillow.

Black Mamba opened his eyes at 1 a.m. An expert sniper didn't need an alarm clock. They fell asleep and awoke when they needed to. Once outside the container, he checked his armor and weapons, skulked across the building's shadows and blind spots, and infiltrated the center of the camp.

Armadillos and hedgehogs were armed with hard shells and spines, but their inner flesh was soft. The camp was the same. There was barely any security inside in stark contrast to the outside. He silently judged the patrolling squads holding flashlights and didn't even try to smother the sound of their footsteps.

When he went across training grounds as big as several football fields and some green fields, a steel-frame building appeared. A gigantic radar dish was installed on the roof of a single-story pentagon-shaped building which looked like a military facility at first glance. These were the headquarters.

Six two-story buildings that looked like laboratories were lined up 300 meters from the headquarters. Two camouflaged buildings could be seen flanking the entrance of the headquarters building. The entire group of buildings was submerged in darkness. Only one window of one of the two-story buildings shone alone.

Mu Ssang climbed the wall like a gecko and looked into the window. A white man in a white gown was looking into a microscope. He used telekinesis to unlock the latch and infiltrated the room like smoke.

Containers full of fossils and miscellaneous objects were piled up. Tools and facilities were covering an entire wall. It was a typical geology laboratory.

"Yawn!"

The man yawned with his mouth open wide and stretched himself. The man's eyes, now facing the ceiling, saw Mu Ssang. The man's mouth was open agape in surprise. Before he could scream, fingers as strong steel tongs clasped around his neck.

"Hurgh!"

The man's eyes bulged as if they were about to fall out of their sockets. In a moment, his muscles stiffened and all energy left his body.

"Shush!"

Mu Ssang's fingers penetrated the table. Several holes were made in the hard mahogany. That was a sudden and effective threat. The man blinked repeatedly.

"You are a smart man."

Mu Ssang released his neck.

The man coughed and hurriedly inhaled oxygen. His blue face quickly regained its natural tone. The man started to hiccup. A finger poked his back.

"Huh!"

To the man's surprise, the hiccup stopped at once.

"Name and department?"

"Jack Owen, in charge of polarization analysis at the United States Geological Survey."

"Nice to meet you, scientist. I am looking for Hae Young, a Korean researcher. Where is she?"

"You mean Lin!"

Owen's eyes widened. The hundreds of researchers were from every corner of the world but everyone knew who Lin was. Every week, the head of security Michell, educated them on the incident to prevent a similar thing from happening.

"Miss Lin is imprisoned for treason."

"Treason?"

Mu Ssang's eyes widened like two dishes.

"She was accused of hiding Oparts she excavated without reporting."

"Hmm!"

That made Mu Ssang anxious. The dream where a chimpanzee took Hae Young was not random but a prophetic one.

"Where is she locked up?"

"The jail inside the office of the military," Owen answered willingly.

His rebellious mood acted along with his fear. The researchers were resenting the authoritarian rule of the camp and the acts they committed. Unlike what the camp wanted to make them think, the researchers sympathized with Hae Young.

"Where is the office?"

"It's the building on the left of the laboratory. There are two palm trees in the front yard. You need to be careful of the gorillas that patrol the area randomly."

Owen told him more than what he intended to know. He thought it was absurd to give someone the death penalty or life just because she didn't immediately turn in something she discovered. Owen wanted to see the power-wielding management get into trouble.

"You are too cooperative."

With "gorillas," he must have meant humanoid Grendels. Mu Ssang looked into the man's eyes. His brain waves and blood pressure were well within the normal ranges.

"My wife gave birth to our child three months ago, but because of this damned security, I couldn't give her a single call. I am not against being a patriot and getting a government job, but no one would enjoy living like a locked-up slave. Let them go to hell. Of course, I am scared that you may harm me."

Owen looked at the holes in the table and shuddered.

"Thank you. How many guards does the jail have?"

"I am not sure. The ones in charge of the jail are only 30 in number."

"You've been a great help. You must be tired. Sleep well!"

Mu Ssang inserted the 3mg syringe filled with hydroxybutyric acid. The man had been too helpful to be knocked out. Mu Ssang swished away. Owen fell asleep five seconds later.

It was fortunate that the buildings were simply laid out. He could easily identify the building with palm trees in the front yard. The one-story building Owen told him about was but a pitch-black silhouette in the darkness. He suddenly felt so much in a hurry.

He scanned the inside of the building with Dimensional Sight. 27 men were asleep. Three were awake. Two with savage energy were definitely Predators. He jumped on the roof. As soon as he tore off asphalt shingles and got rid of the plywood and styrofoam, the interior was visible.

Behind an ordinary office space without a trace of paper, three wood-paneled steel doors were next to each other. It was a similar layout to the Daegu Prison where he was imprisoned under trial. It seemed like prisons looked similar whether they were made by Koreans or Americans.

A Shadow agent in a black uniform had fallen asleep sitting on a chair. Two broad figures whose faces were hidden behind full-face helmets and goggles were flanking the steel doors. Empty eyes glinted behind the dark goggles. They were the same type of humanoid Grendels as Mestizo that killed Ulumbo the guide.

Mu Ssang held Vajra and wielded Resonance Wave. The amplified wavelength gathered on the tips of his hands. Grendel looked up suddenly. Their senses were much more heightened than humans. Finger Wind shot through the air. A coin-sized hole was made from its forehead all the way through to the back of its head.

The Grendel shrieked and started shaking. Vajra grazed its neck at lightning speed. Its neck as thick as a glamorous woman's thigh dropped to the ground. A white tentacle burst out of its neck. The tentacle picked up the severed head and pulled it toward the neck. It was clearly more tenacious than Mestizo that Samdi killed in the cenote.

The head stepped on by a boot with Thousand Ton Stomp was smashed. It only took two or three seconds. A Predator with tremendous combat power and tenacity was eliminated in mere seconds.

"What was that?"

The Shadow agents held his MP5 at incredible speed. But to Mu Ssang, he looked like he moved in slow motion. The barrel of the gun was snapped at once. With one slap, Mu Ssang sent the agent's head snap away at an impossible angle.

"Sorry to wake you up. You will be able to ride a wheelchair if you recover well."

Mu Ssang muttered quasi-consolation, cut a hole in the steel door with Vajra, and strode inside. Muggy air and fishy stench assailed his nose. The room must be less than seven square meters. The tiny space only had a steel cot and a mobile toilet.

"Huh."

Mu Ssang felt dizzy and almost stumbled. A small silhouette crouched on the cot, asleep. She smelled fragrant, unlike the air inside full of stench. This scent was smelled by the brain, not by the nose. The scent of her soul shimmered into his nose. He knew who she was without looking.

"Hae Young!"

Longing, remorse, resentment, and all the other indescribable emotions came rushing inside him like a tidal wave. He caressed her face with trembling fingers that registered some roughness. Her ever-plump cheeks were now gone.

"Idiot!"

He felt as if sudden anger had suddenly clogged up his heart.

"Hmm?"

Hae Young flailed around with both arms. He held her arm. It was as bony as a dried-up rice plant. He embraced her upper body carefully as if she was made of brittle glass. He could feel her ribs and vertebrae. She was bonier than famished desert women.

"I will kill these bastards!"

The inside of her body scanned by Dimensional Sight was messier. There were ulcers all over her intestines and her lungs were damaged which hinted at torture. In this condition, even Dimensional Sight could aggravate her injuries.

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