Chapter 24: Escapee (1)

Chapter 24: Escapee (1)

“…An incident has occurred where an inmate escaped from the Northern Gangwon Prison located in Sokcho, Gangwon Province. The inmate is presumed to be a Climber, and it has been revealed that there are over 30 casualties within the prison. In this unprecedented situation, the government has deployed the Army to conduct a search…”

When I woke up on a sunny Monday morning, insane news was blaring from the TV.

“What the…”

An escape? A Climber?

The escapee’s face and personal details were already all over the internet. Seodongwoo. The kicker was that he still hadn’t been caught.

While there had been occasional cases of Climbers committing major crimes abroad, I never thought something like this would happen in our country. Good grief.

Thinking about how the world was going to hell, I opened the communication window out of habit. Things were noisy over here, too.

“What’s this now?”

It was the Hard difficulty communication window. Some lunatic was posting and drawing all sorts of aggro.

“This guy is completely out of his mind. We need to find him quickly.”

Kang Juhyuk was struggling behind the wheel, his stomach still churning. He had just come from inspecting the Northern Gangwon Prison, the site of last night’s horrific bloodbath. The metallic stench lingering in the prison seemed to haunt the tip of his nose like a phantom scent.

Shin Soojin, sitting in the passenger seat, was silent and deep in thought. Kang Juhyuk struck up a conversation.

“What do you think, Team Leader? What level do you think he is?”

The man had torn an entire cell door off its hinges and escaped with impunity. He was far from Normal.

Seodongwoo had been imprisoned ten years ago on a life sentence for murder, which meant he had become a Climber while behind bars. To date, there had been three cases in South Korea where inmates became Climbers. In those instances, the inmates were granted pardons on the condition of special management if they reported their status.

Yet, Seodongwoo had hidden the fact that he was a Climber, scaled the Tower in secret, and eventually forced an escape. And he did it in the most brutal way possible. The only logical conclusion was that the man was simply a predator.

It was a mystery how he had managed to enter the Tower without being noticed, but for now, it was speculated that he had silenced his cellmates and entered during the night. The average clear time for Hard difficulty was about 10 minutes; if cellmates kept their mouths shut and the guards’ patrols were avoided, a secret entry wasn’t entirely impossible. However, there was no way to confirm this since Seodongwoo had slaughtered every single one of his cellmates before escaping.

The hardest thing to grasp was Seodongwoo’s level.

“Team Leader?”

“…Yes? What did you say?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what level Seodongwoo might be.”

“I agree. He’s likely around Level 20.”

They had reviewed the CCTV footage from the prison and the testimonies of the guards who had engaged him and survived. Guns didn’t even work properly on him. It was clear he was either at a high level or possessed skills that reinforced his physical durability or provided defense.

With incredible physical ability, Seodongwoo had broken through the blockade of armed guards, hopped over the prison walls, and fled. Having been tracked entering the mountains after leaving the prison, the Army was currently searching the Seoraksan area.

The Climbing Surveillance Department of the Climbing Department was also deployed for this unprecedented crisis. While there had been minor scuffles involving Climbers before, an incident of this scale was a first.

However, there wasn’t much they could do at the moment. All they were doing was moving toward one of the predicted escape routes while sharing information with the search party. “Predicted” was a generous term; the search seemed to be hitting a wall.

Perhaps he had already left the mountain range. The abilities of a high-level Climber were far beyond the scope of common sense. He could likely navigate rugged terrain as if it were his own living room.

“Even if we find him, he could just flee into the Tower as long as he isn’t in the middle of combat. Sigh, seriously, how did this happen…”

To make matters worse, this lunatic was currently wreaking havoc in the communication window. A Climber using the nickname ‘Soyoung’ had appeared in the Hard difficulty window. He was typing all sorts of nonsense like a psychopath, telling people to find him, claiming Climbers should run wild together, and offering to explain why murder is fun.

They couldn’t be certain the user was truly Seodongwoo, but given the circumstances, the probability was high.

Kang Juhyuk glanced over at Shin Soojin, who had been quiet for a while. Seeing her staring intently into the air, he asked, “Is something wrong? Is that guy talking nonsense again?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Shin Soojin’s aura was so unnervingly heavy that Kang Juhyuk read the room and shut his mouth.

‘Is she just really angry?’

It was understandable, given that over twenty guards had been killed by the man. Although Kang Juhyuk hadn’t worked with Shin Soojin for long, he knew one thing: she loathed evildoers with a burning passion.

She was one of the few high-level Climbers in South Korea above Level 20. With international competition among Climbers gradually intensifying, a high-level Climber was essentially a national asset. Shin Soojin was one of them.

Despite her young age, Kang Juhyuk respected her. She could have enjoyed far more wealth and fame if she wanted to, yet she handled public affairs for the country as a Climber for the Climbing Department, which was always understaffed.

“There’s a rest area coming up. Should we stop for a bit?”

“Sure. You look like your stomach is bothering you; I’ll drive after the break.”

“Huh? No, I’m fine!” Kang Juhyuk replied instantly.

With such consideration for her subordinates, she truly was a boss worthy of respect. While Kang Juhyuk’s mood improved internally, Shin Soojin turned her gaze out the window. She stared at the communication window with cold eyes, gritting her teeth.

***

Kim Seong-ho had been feeling quite unsettled lately.

Having raised two children, his only life-long worry had been his second child. Yet, out of nowhere, his eldest—who had never caused a moment of parental concern and always did well on his own—had become a Climber.

After looking into it frantically, he heard that Easy Floor 1 wasn’t considered dangerous. And with repeated clears, one could exit whenever they wanted. Still, a parent’s heart couldn’t help but worry.

Because his son had never been a troublemaker, he also had faith that he would take care of himself. That was why he couldn’t bring himself to oppose it. He knew his son always listened to his parents, but once the boy made up his mind, he was stubborn to the end.

“Manager Park, you said your son is two years old now, right?”

“Yes, sir. He’s 15 months old.”

“How would you feel if your son became a Climber later on?”

Manager Park tilted his head before answering, “My heart would probably drop. Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Right? Then what if it were Easy difficulty?”

“On Easy… wouldn’t that be a bit less worrying? They say almost no one dies on Easy unless they try to climb to the higher floors.”

Kim Seong-ho felt the urge to refute that immediately. “No. Even so, wouldn’t your heart feel different when you’re actually in the situation? That’s just how parents are.”

“Ah, yes… I suppose so,” Manager Park said with an awkward laugh. “But sir, I imagine you’ve hardly ever had to worry about your children. Your son is a medical student at Seoul National University, after all. Haha.”

“…True. Well, it’s time for you to head home.”

Kim Seong-ho sighed internally and prepared to leave. Suddenly craving a beer, he stopped by a convenience store before going home. He sat on a plastic chair outside, drinking a can of beer while scrolling through the news on his phone.

—The whereabouts of the escapee Seodongwoo remain unknown…

“Tsk, tsk. What are they doing, not being able to catch him yet?”

Seodongwoo, the Climber who slaughtered guards and escaped from prison. They said even the Army was involved in the search, but three days had passed and he still hadn’t been caught. Public anxiety was soaring.

Thinking the world was going to the dogs, Kim Seong-ho drained the rest of his beer in one gulp. Feeling a slight buzz, he took a long way home to get some fresh air.

He was walking down a secluded alley lit by orange streetlights when someone approached from the opposite direction. It was a man wearing a hat, a hoodie, and a mask. His physique was intimidating, so Kim Seong-ho tried to keep his distance and pass by.

“Hey, old man.”

The man suddenly called out to him. Kim Seong-ho flinched and stopped.

“How do I get to Yeongdeungpo Station from here? Let me ask for directions.”

“…Yeongdeungpo Station? It’s that way…”

Kim Seong-ho kindly explained the way. The man felt dangerous, and tension hung in the air.

“Ah~ it was that way. I was going the complete opposite direction. Thanks.”

Fortunately, the man listened to the explanation and started walking away. Kim Seong-ho was just about to start walking again, thinking to himself how rude the young man’s tone was.

“Oh, but old man, wait a sec.”

Kim Seong-ho turned back to the man. At that moment, the streetlight flickered. Kim Seong-ho looked up at the flickering light for a split second before looking back at the man.

“Wh-what is it?”

The man stepped closer, scanning Kim Seong-ho’s face up and down. “…You look like him.”

“Wh-what…”

“You look like my old man, the one who beat the shit out of me and then bailed when I was ten. You aren’t my father, are you? Hehe.”

The man’s eyes were dangerous. He seemed mentally unstable, talking nonsense. Kim Seong-ho felt his heart pounding and shook his head frantically.

“I-I have a respectable family of my own. You have the wrong person.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s a joke. But you really do look like him. It pisses me off.”

The man grinned and waved a hand he had pulled out of his pocket. “So, let me just hit you once. I’ll hit you lightly since you were nice enough to give me directions. If you die, well, that’s just how it goes.”

CRACK!

Kim Seong-ho’s body flew through the air, slammed into the alley wall, and crumpled to the ground. His consciousness cut out instantly. The man whistled and continued on his way with a light step.

***

“…What did you say?”

Late at night, a devastating call came from my father’s number. My family and I hurriedly dressed and rushed to the trauma center.

“If he had been any later, it would have been bad, but the surgery went well. His life isn’t in danger, so you can rest easy.”

“Th-thank you, doctor. Thank you so much…”

My mother nearly collapsed from crying, and my sibling burst into tears as well, so I had to comfort both of them. My father lay on the hospital bed with his eyes closed after the emergency surgery. I looked down at him, my face a cold mask.

They said he was brought in with all his ribs crushed, as if he had been hit by a truck. Miraculously, there was almost no internal organ damage, so the surgery ended without complications.

“Are you the family members of the patient?”

A police officer arrived and explained the situation. My father hadn’t been in a car accident; he had been assaulted.

“Assault? Who could have done this to someone…!”

“…Are you familiar with Seodongwoo? The Climber who recently escaped from prison. It’s not certain yet, but we are investigating on the assumption that he was involved.”

An escapee? Seodongwoo? My family and I could only stand there, stunned.

“There is CCTV footage. I can show it to you if you’d like…”

We watched the CCTV record the police showed us. An alleyway. My father was walking when he seemed to strike up a conversation with a man coming from the other side. They were about to go their separate ways when the man approached my father again.

The sight that followed was horrific. My mother and sibling gasped. The man suddenly swung his fist, and my father’s body was launched into the wall before he collapsed.

“…”

The moment I saw that, something snapped in my head.

“Since he exposed his location like this, we should be able to catch him soon. We’re currently mobilizing all police force to track his path…”

If he was someone who could be caught that easily, wouldn’t he have been caught already? That thought crossed my mind, but the police finished their explanation and left.

In the early morning hours, my mother spoke to us. “You kids go home now. I can look after Dad by myself.”

“I want to stay too.”

“Where are you going to sleep here? It’s fine, so go home and sleep. You have school tomorrow.”

I took my stubborn sibling and headed home. Even after arriving, my head felt hot. It was rage. I don’t think I’d ever been this angry in my life.

“Whew.”

I sat at my desk and opened the communication window. The guy who had been spewing all sorts of garbage in the Hard window for the past few days. This guy was likely Seodongwoo.

I searched for a message the man had left, glared at the nickname, and sent him a whisper.