Chemistry

10. Special Research: Venice Entropy(6)

「Yoon Yi-seol, Han Jeong-woo」- Zattere pier

As a middle-aged man disembarked from the boat, Yoon Yi-seol’s first impression of Cheon Seung-guk was that of a handsome man with a mature aura.

“Are you Han Jeong-woo?”

“Dr. Cheon Seung-guk?”

“You look quite well.”

“Dr. Cheon, you’re younger than I expected.”

Cheon Seung-guk confidently addressed Jeong-woo with a demeanor that suggested he could handle anything.

Jeong-woo, in turn, looked at Cheon Seung-guk with a gleam in his eye that said he was smart enough to know better.

‘Huh? Their eyes are similar.’

Although their faces were not alike, there was a certain resemblance in their atmosphere. Cheon Seung-guk glanced briefly at Jeong-woo and then turned his gaze toward her.

“I recognize Jeremy, but this little one…”

“Oh, hello. I’m Yoon Yi-seol.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you.”

Cheon Seung-guk greeted her lightly and made a pointed remark to Jeong-woo.

“You were complaining al morning, but were you free enought to stroll around with a lover? Your confidence is quite something.”

Seeing Cheon Seung-guk’s expression as if appraising him again, Jeong-woo raised an eyebrow as if to dispel any misunderstandings.

“She’s not my lover. Doctor, don’t you know Yoon Yi-seol?”

“Why should I know about this young lady?”

“You don’t watch much TV, do you? Yi-seol is my friend. She’s accompanying me on this trip to Venice.”

“I can’t fathom it. Is such a beautiful young lady just a friend? Do you have an even more beautiful lover hidden somewhere?”

“You don’t even know who she is. She’s a top star in Korea… Forget it. Let’s get back to work.”

Yoon Yi-seol felt a sense of diminishing self-worth whenever she met Jeong-woo’s acquaintances.

Cheon Seung-guk retrieved a rope from the front of the motorboat and tied it to a dock pillar, then looked back at Jeremy.

『Hey, Jeremy. Where’s the Drex?』

『…it’s here, but are you really Dr. Cheon Seung-guk?』

『Doesn’t our conversation from earlier dispel your doubts? Well, then, go back and finish the contract with Lancess without the complete Drex.』

As the two figures came to mind, Jeremy cleared his throat and lowered his head. Cheon Seung-guk turned his gaze to the other side of the dock.

『Alright, Jeremy. Unless you’re going to act like a scared cat, there’s a cafe right here that serves excellent coffee, so let’s talk there…』

As Cheon Seung-guk was speaking, he turned his eyes to Jeong-woo and sighed.

“Jeremy’s got a tail again?”

“Really?”

“At the three-way intersection.”

Both of them simultaneously turned their gazes toward the intersection.

“I haven’t confirmed whether they are employees of Lancess or the security guards who fainted.”

“They’re Dusf, aren’t they? They look like they’re of Chinese descent.”

Yoon Yi-seol raised her head in the direction they were looking and was surprised to see six men in suits approaching. She overheard something about Professor Jeremy’s bag drawing attention from chemical companies worldwide.

Cheon Seung-guk released the rope again and said.

“We can taste the coffee here another time. We need to unpack at the hotel first. Jeremy, get on the boat.”

“Doctor, Yi-seol has a schedule, so if we go too far…”

“We’re going to Lido Island. Well, where should we drop you off along the way?”

Yoon Yi-seol was amazed by this suggestion.

“The island where the Venice Film Festival takes place? I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“This young lady knows her stuff. Most of the hotels and resorts there are top-notch.”

Cheon Seung-guk shouted as he tossed the rope into the boat.

“Hop on! Let’s go.”

Jeong-woo, who had boarded first, reached out his hand to Yoon Yi-seol. As they sat side by side in the rear seat of the boat, Jeremy and Cheon Seung-guk also boarded.

Vroom—

The engine roared to life on the motorboat, equipped with four comfortable seats, a steering wheel, and a transparent windbreaker. The men in suits who had been rushing desperately stopped in their tracks and began reporting on their phones as the boat slowly moved away.

Cheon Seung-guk, turned the head of the motorboat towards the direction of the canal exit.

“Do you know the best thing about Venice? Even if CIA grandfathers chase us, they can’t catch up if we escape by water.”

Whoosh—

The boat kicked up a wake as it gradually gained speed.

“Is this your boat, Doctor?”

“Yeah. I acquired it a long time ago. It’s old, but it can still go fast…”

Feeling a sudden shiver down his spine, Cheon Seung-guk glanced back and licked his lips. Two boats had just emerged from a narrow canal between the canals and were rapidly changing direction, heading towards them.

“If they’re chasing us in speedboats, the situation changes a bit. Those Chinese guys are just throwing money around.”

Jeong-woo, who had turned his head backward, now had eyes filled with surprise at Dusf’s pursuit.

“Come over and take the wheel.”

“Me?”

“I’ve set the speed to maximum, so just keep it straight.”

Jeong-woo took the wheel, and Cheon Seung-guk walked to the back of the boat.

『Hey, Jeremy. Hand me your phone.』

『Why?』

『Why do you think?』

Pointing at the two boats in the rear, Cheon Seung-guk snatched the phone from Jeremy as if taking it away and opened the back to remove the battery.

『Blackberry? What era is this? When was this model without even touch functionality made? You’re about to become a multi-millionaire, upgrade to the latest one.』

『What are you doing right now?』

『Because of people chasing us because of you, I’m trying to solve it with your phone. A person should have a conscience.』

Jeremy’s gaze, which seemed to express complete incomprehension, made Cheon Seung-guk grimace as if giving up. He then took out a handkerchief from his pocket, dipped it in the water, and removed the battery from the phone. He wrapped the battery in the wet handkerchief and tightly held it in his right hand.

“Yi-seol.”

“Yes?”

Yoon Yi-seol, who had been staring at Cheon Seung-guk absentmindedly from the rear seat, widened her eyes at his call.

“Are you the type to scream if you see something unexpected?”

“Uh… probably?”

Towards the rear of the boat, the two faster boats were approaching.

“Then, could you please keep your mouth shut? We’re about to do something a bit unusual.”

Yoon Yi-seol covered her mouth instinctively upon witnessing what appeared to be sparks emanating from Cheon Seung-guk’s right hand as he held the battery.

As the two boats approached, Cheon Seung-guk swiftly tossed the battery forward. He then casually shook out the handkerchief as if nothing had happened. The battery, following an arc, fell onto the water.

Watching it with an expression that asked what he had just done, Yoon Yi-seol felt her eyes tremble at the events that unfolded next.

With an eerie sound like “kuwung,” a wave suddenly shot up, causing one of the boats to lose balance and veer sideways.

“A, a bomb?”

“Not that grandiose. I just temporarily activated a surface wave. It converted the battery’s internal energy.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah? It doesn’t seem like the right time for admiration here.”

“But this is chemistry.”

“Well, it’s not the type of chemistry you’d typically think of. Anyway…”

Cheon Seung-guk looked at Jeremy as the boat that had lost balance regained its direction and accelerated again, while the other boat continued to follow closely.

『Do you have any spare batteries? It didn’t work as powerfully as I thought with this old model.』

『W-what are you doing, you…』

Jeremy, still unable to believe what had just happened, clutched the seat tightly and watched Cheon Seung-guk warily.

“Oh, come on. What are you going to do if you panic like this, man? You’re living in a country known for gun control.”

While Cheon Seung-guk grumbled, Yoon Yi-seol found a spare smartphone battery in her bag.

“Could this one work?”

“Oh? That should be enough.”

“Here you go.”

Taking the spare battery and wrapping it in the handkerchief, Cheon Seung-guk winked playfully at Yoon Yi-seol.

“Yi-seol. Remind me later to ask Jeong-woo to buy you something better than this.”

Crack.

Yoon Yi-seol, who witnessed the much clearer spark that shot up from Cheon Seung-guk’s hand compared to before, couldn’t close her gaping mouth.

If Jeong-woo was like a wizard searching for Duchi with a mysterious gaze, and Professor Jeremy was also searching, then this Dr. Cheon Seung-guk seemed to have the aura of an archmage, observing these bad guys—no, these employees of some wealthy Chinese company.

And then, the spare battery held by Cheon Seung-guk fell onto the water with a splash.

Kuuung!

Suddenly, a loud noise startled Jeong-woo as he turned his head. A two-meter-high wave surged abruptly from the back of the boat.

“What the heck!”

The wave engulfed the two high-speed boats that were following them.

One boat shot up into the air like it was jumping, then crashed into the water, shutting off the engine. The other boat quickly changed direction, barely reducing its speed, and managed to avoid capsizing.

Meanwhile, Cheon Seung-guk, who had been at the back, calmly took out an umbrella from the floor.

Thud.

As Cheon Seung-guk and Yoon Yi-seol were the only ones under the umbrella, Jeong-woo and Jeremy had to endure the downpour that fell directly onto their heads.

“When did you bring an umbrella? Thank you, Doctor.”

“Thanks for lending me your battery.”

After exchanging polite greetings with Yoon Yi-seol, Cheon Seung-guk returned to the steering wheel. Jeong-woo, who had just been washed with canal water, wiped the moisture off his face with his outerwear and asked.

“What did you just do?”

“Something I usually do.”

“You do this kind of thing regularly?”

“I don’t go down alleys where I might get hit by bacteria.”

Jeong-woo had only heard it briefly because he was busy driving the boat, but Cheon Seung-guk had just created a water column by specially reacting the battery. It was an incredibly intense reaction, far beyond what heating a hand warmer could achieve.

‘Is it because it’s the same ability but on a different level?’

However, no matter how much Jeong-woo thought about it, he couldn’t figure out how to create such a situation with the level of dust particles and batteries that generate static electricity.

Standing on the receding boat, the Chinese individuals were shouting and pointing fingers in this direction.

“Doctor, isn’t it risky to do this kind of thing?”

“It is.”

Having taken the steering wheel, Cheon Seung-guk directed the boat southeast after leaving the canal and spoke.

“Everyone has their own priorities in action. This is a choice according to my standards. If I showed them this much, they would have known I came. I’ll handle the consequences on my own.”

Jeong-woo’s gaze lingered on Professor Jeremy. Due to fear, his face had gone beyond being just frightened and seemed to have lost all spirit.

The timid professor, who had decided to come here after receiving an email that struck the heart of Cheon Seung-guk, was having a truly eventful day today.

After about 20 minutes of traveling on the Adriatic Sea, the rain stopped, and the group arrived at an island that stretched out in the form of an emerald amid the sea.

「Weber, Tom」 – San Marco District, Back Alley

『Did you just sleep because you were tired?』

Weber’s question made the two bulky men burst into laughter, finding it absurd even by their own standards.

Tom, who was standing beside him, raised an eyebrow and asked Weber.

『So what should we do now?』

『Besides Dusf, three other companies also smell fishy. Especially the Middle Eastern guys. The Chinese capital is nothing compared to them. They haven’t arrived in Venice yet, but they will by tonight.』

True to his role as a spy implanted in most of the world’s top chemical companies, Weber was quick with information. Tom was taken aback by the news he shared.

『In that case, should we hire more mercenaries and use force if necessary?』

Click.

-Boss.

Weber raised his hand briefly in response to the voice coming from the radio.

『What is it?』

-Dusf was chasing Jeremy on two boats, and then there was an underwater explosion… It was like they hit a mine…

Weber, who was receiving the report, raised his head.

『Ignorant. Cheon Seung-guk is there. We shouldn’t deal with him like that.』

Tom, who had listened to the radio message with Weber, wore a stunned expression and asked.

『An underwater explosion? Sir, was our opponent a terrorist?』

『No.』

Tom, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, froze in place at Weber’s next words.

『They’re even more ruthless. Terrorists usually have a purpose. But this guy’s intentions are unclear. He’s a psychopath in the chemical industry. He’s like a devil incarnate. Tell the mercenaries. Never approach Cheon Seung-guk alone.』