Chapter 120.1

Chapter 120.1

Lee Wooshin, his resolve steady, retraced his steps along the verified footprints without hesitation.

His boldness bordered on the absurd, leaving Yoo Dawit wide-eyed, uncertain if he had heard correctly.

“Team leader, what are you saying?”

“Yoo Dawit, you’re the expert in this field. You don’t need me to spell it out. Right now, disarming the mine is impossible. Even with help from St. Petersburg, it’ll take over eight hours by air. I don’t have the luxury to wait, and I’m more capable than you all.”

“…!”

“So I need to see this through properly.”

“No, I stepped on it. I’ll take responsibility. Leave this to me and go to Agent Han Seoryeong!”

“Right, that was my original plan.”

The low murmuring voice carried an impulse to dash forward at any moment. But contrary to the burning urgency in his heart, Lee Wooshin took a step in the opposite direction.

He pulled Yoo Dawit’s torso close and slowly began to push his foot off the ground.

“Team leader!”

“Shh—quiet. My original plan was to cut your leg below the knee and have you hold your foot firmly on the mine until the rescue team arrived. But you wouldn’t like that, would you?”

“…!”

“It’s actually a method often used by South African mercenaries.”

The chilling statement made Yoo Dawit swallow hard. His face turned ashen, and though his body froze in fear, he couldn’t bring himself to push Lee Wooshin away.

As someone with an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) background, this was his first time stepping on a mine. Yet, having handled, detected, and dismantled hundreds of explosives, his mind raced with calculations.

What were the odds of surviving after stepping on a mine? Even if someone survived by sheer luck, they’d have to endure life with missing limbs and burns that scorched their esophagus.

Then, Ki Taemin, who was still lying on the ground, shouted out, “In movies, they put the safety pin back in and lift their foot, right?”

“You can’t do that.”

“What?”

“Once a mine is triggered, reinserting the safety pin is impossible.”

Lee Wooshin shook his head firmly. Safely inserting the safety pin required carefully removing the mine beforehand—something only possible before stepping on it.

After stepping on the mine, the safety pin’s hole would no longer align. Blocking the detonator’s hole again was simply not an option. Yoo Dawit added, “And since it’s already triggered, removing the booster isn’t possible either.”

“You can’t open the cap either,” he continued.

One by one, the two eliminated possibilities, thinking rapidly.

Mines are typically straightforward explosives, designed to detonate the moment they’re stepped on. However, this type—triggered when the foot is lifted—revealed the installer’s malicious intent.

The mine wasn’t just meant to kill, it was designed to trap its victim, isolate their spirit, and ultimately drive them to despair.

Lee Wooshin, however, appeared indifferent, like he was crushing a pebble under his boot.

Their team leader wasn’t the kind of person who would ever offer himself up for sacrifice. If anything, he’d recline on a sofa, resting his chin on his hand, and say, “You guys figure it out.” What on earth was going through his head to make him act like this?

Finally, as Yoo Dawit’s foot was cautiously pushed off the mine with the same pressure, he let out a breath he had been holding. His knees trembled uncontrollably, but before he could steady himself, a calm order followed.

“Yoo Dawit, find something that weighs at least 10 kilograms. Now.”

“…!”

Yoo Dawit jerked his head toward Lee Wooshin, who gave him a crooked smile and taunted, “What? Were you planning to leave me standing here ungratefully?”

“No, of course not!”

Flustered, Yoo Dawit looked around at the empty expanse of fields.

“Here? You want me to find 10 kilograms here?”

“Don’t you feel sorry for your superior who’s standing in for you? Are you not going to save my life?”

“But, team leader!”

Ah! Some things about his personality never change. Yoo Dawit exchanged a subtle glance with Ki Taemin, who was still lying down. The situation brought to mind their instructor, who had relentlessly drilled trainees. At the same time, he understood Lee Wooshin’s plan.

Just as Lee had pushed his foot off with equal pressure, he intended to place another object on the mine’s pressure plate. It was the most practical solution under the circumstances.

But 10 kilograms… That would require the weight of about three bricks. In this barren field of dirt and crops, where could they find something that weighed 10 kilograms? And with the darkness already engulfing their surroundings, the task seemed even more daunting.

“I’ll correct that—20 kilograms.”

“…!”