"Glug, glug, glug..."
"PFFT!"
A splash of cold water doused Grayson Faber's face. He jolted awake, blinking in confusion, a stray piece of scallion stuck to his cheek.
Jack, who had just ended a call with Alice, turned to witness this disgusting scene. His face twisted in disgust, and he instinctively took a step back.
Ma Sido, meanwhile, set the empty cup aside, crossed his massive arms, and glared down at Grayson with an expression so fierce that the young man immediately snapped back to reality.
"I swear! I had nothing to do with what happened to Jessica! Please, you gotta believe me!"
"Then why the hell did you run?" Clay sneered, snapping a pair of handcuffs onto him.
Grayson darted a panicked glance at Jack—then at the hulking Ma Sido—before instinctively shrinking toward the less intimidating of the two. His voice dropped to a pathetic whimper.
"I... I panicked! You guys are FBI, for God's sake! Why the hell would the FBI come all the way to Korea to find me?!
I mean... I saw the news, alright? I know what happened to her... That sh*t was horrific!"
Jack wasn't buying it.
"Tell us the last time you saw Jessica."
"A few nights ago... at a club in Itaewon," Grayson admitted quickly.
"Yeah," Clay said, arms crossed. "We already checked the club's security footage. You didn't exactly look friendly."
"Of course not!" Grayson snapped. "That btch* nearly cost me my job! I just wanted to know why she did that to me!"
Jack almost laughed in disbelief.
"Oh, you mean why she reported you for harassing her?"
"Harassing?! Come on! I called her a few times—that's harassment?"
Jack and Clay exchanged looks.
"Few?" Clay repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Try hundreds. And let me remind you, lying to the FBI is a felony—even in Korea."
Grayson's shoulders slumped.
Jack pressed further.
"And this isn't your first time, is it?
Just like in Tallahassee, Florida... with that other girl. The one you hit with your gun handle."
Grayson froze.
"You follow a pattern, Grayson," Jack continued. "First, it's calls and texts. Then, it's showing up uninvited. And if that doesn't work, you get violent.
So tell me—why shouldn't we assume you escalated again?"
Grayson looked like he was about to puke. He frantically shook his head.
"I swear! I had nothing to do with her death! After I left the club that night, I went straight home!
I wanted to blackmail her about sleeping with rich Korean guys—but she didn't even care!
That's when I realized... it wasn't worth it.
This place is full of girls who'd sleep with a foreigner for free. Buy them a few drinks at a bar, and they'll practically beg to come home with you.
So why the hell would I waste my time on a btch* like her?"
—
"So you just let him go?"
Standing outside the U.S. Embassy, Ma Sido raised a skeptical eyebrow as he watched Jack and Clay walk out.
Jack, predicting this reaction, threw the question right back at him.
"You work homicide, right?"
Ma Sido nodded.
"Then you tell me—does that guy look like a serial killer to you?"
Ma Sido scoffed. "Honestly? The only thing I wanted to do was punch him in the face."
Jack smirked. "That makes two of us."
He then pulled out his phone and showed Ma Sido Alice's latest report.
"Two weeks ago, while Barbara Walker was being murdered, Grayson was in Thailand."
"So he's completely cleared?" Ma Sido asked.
Jack nodded. "He was out of the country for nearly a week. There's no way he killed Barbara Walker—so we're dropping him as a suspect."
Ma Sido's frown deepened.
"So if he's innocent, then why did you deport him?"
Jack shrugged.
"The school dropped his work visa after they found out about his history of violence back in the U.S. In two hours, he'll be on a one-way flight home."
Of course, Jack left out one tiny detail—
The real reason Grayson got deported was because that sleazy "Morning Dawn" agency panicked the moment FBI got involved.
So, in classic "not my problem" fashion, they cut ties with him immediately.
Jack and Clay just took advantage of the situation and had him escorted straight to the embassy in handcuffs.
Ma Sido glanced at the sky—the sun still hung high.
"We've got time before dinner."
Jack grinned. "Know any good gyms around here?"
Clay's eyes lit up.
"Preferably one with a sparring ring."
He glanced at Ma Sido, the look in his eyes borderline predatory.
Ma Sido snorted.
"Fine—but if I go, you two are buying dinner."
—
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Heavy thuds echoed through the boxing gym.
Every protein-powdered gym bro watching the sparring match looked pale—a few even clamped their legs shut like startled virgins.
Inside the ring, Ma Sido and Clay were going all out—trading bone-crushing blows like they were nothing.
Clay may have been taller, but Ma Sido's stocky, bulldozer-like frame put them at an even weight class.
Still, Jack could tell that Clay was struggling.
"Sh*t," Jack muttered, watching closely.
Fights between heavyweights were always brutal—but Ma Sido's style made it especially hard to counter.
Clay was trying to use his reach to stay at mid-range, but Ma Sido—
This brickhouse of a man—
Was constantlyslipping past Clay's attacks.
Instead of dodging back, he kept dipping forward, closing the distance until he could throw devastating hooks and uppercuts.
It reminded Jack of Mike Tyson's "peekaboo" style—but even less forgiving.
Clay tried to reset the distance, but Ma Sido took three steps forward and—
BOOM!
A brutal overhand right slammed into Clay's forearm guard, nearly knocking him off balance.
"Want a break?" Jack grinned from outside the ring.
Clay, panting, shook out his arms. That last exchange had almost collapsed his guard.
"F*ck that," he muttered. "He wins. I'm done."
He wasn't stupid.
If this had been a real fight, Clay could've dragged it out until Ma Sido's stamina gave in.
But this was just for fun. And he'd already gotten what he wanted—
A taste of what it felt like to get hit by a truck in human form.
"Ahhh," Ma Sido groaned, collapsing onto the mat.
"That was fun."
Jack leaned over the ropes.
"Think you've still got energy for dinner?"
Ma Sido snorted.
"If you don't pay for at least two bottles of baijiu, I'm reporting you to immigration."
[A special discount will be available from December 30th until Three Kings' Day.]
[Use 37B44 to get 33% off all levels until January 6th]
[Unlock +20 Advanced Chapters on Patre on. com /Mutter]
[For every 50 Power Stones, 1 Bonus Chapter will be released]
[Thank you for reading!]