Part 18: Five Past Twelve

_{content warning: violence}

[BGM: Pensive Moments]
Okay, so, things are a bit trickier this time around, including a slot for pieces down at the very bottom that's incredibly easy to miss if you aren't thorough (In fact I think part of the puzzle IS the fact that there's a slot at the bottom, to teach you to always check top to bottom).



The end goal for this section is pretty exclusively on Kang's side so that he survives the shootout, but we've got some Bad Endings to knock out first, so let's get started by switching the order that the guy explains the forms to Chang.



“Have it signed by the lieutenant of your unit...”
I looked down at the green B2 form in my hands, and I had an idea.

I clutched the form in my hand and ran back to Unit 4, stopping at the lieutenant's desk.
I put my hand on the handle of the drawer; my heart was beating rapidly in my chest.

This would be a huge mistake.
Forging the signature. In all seriousness, this would be a crime!
What the hell was wrong with me?!

Calm down and think! There must be another way.

I let out a sigh.
Fine... It should be okay if I just go ahead without a gun, right?

I rushed out of the building, hailed a cab, and headed towards the port.
Buddha would surely bless me.



Whoops, Chang's too much of a stickler for justice to bend the rules, even if it means saving his Lieutenant. Maybe we should try something else.



[BGM: Lethal Affair]


The machine gun slowly stopped, and I heard lots of people yelling outside.
I peeked outside to take a look.

Some men from the Gangmun Group were holding down a pretty buff young man, pressing his head to the ground.
His head was already covered with blood.

Choi Yo-Han grabbed his hair and pulled it back violently.
I finally saw his face.

“Yo! If I remember correctly, isn't this the new guy in your unit, Lieutenant Kang?”
“What a cute and silly one he is. He came all the way here to save his precious lieutenant without even bringing a gun.”
“Who do you think is cuter, him or my son? Lieutenant Kang?”

Fuck you...

The kid's nose and mouth were breathing heavily, and he kept mumbling through the blood.
“Lieutenant... don't... mind... me...”

Choi fired up the machine gun once again.
The kid's fragile flesh was torn to pieces and pounded into a stain on the ground.



I didn't want to fucking mind you!
What the fuck were you doing here?!
Didn't you know I meant to not fucking tell you about our mission at this goddamned place?!
And you idiot, you didn't even bring a fucking gun?!
How would you defend your precious... justice?

Justice... what was the fucking... point... now that you're dead...



[BGM: Pensive Moments]


I looked at the toy gun as if it was mocking me. I tore the pink form into pieces in a rage.
The God damned rules!
Were these stupid rules more important than a human life?!
The custodian was staring at the TV and he paid no attention to me.

I squeezed the torn pieces of paper in my palm and tossed them onto the desk.
Then I stormed out of the armory without looking back.

I let out a sigh.
Fine... It should be okay if I just go ahead without a gun, right?

I rushed out of the building, hailed a cab, and headed towards the port.
Buddha would surely bless me.



An interesting quirk about this section (and how the game's logic operates on a larger sense) is that there's actually very little we can do on Kang's side to change things, since almost all of the pieces can't be moved out of Chang's half. Therefore, the same solution (that is, not having the toy gun there) may produce different results simply based on the order of things on Chang's side- again, these letters aren't happening in a vacuum, and these two letters aren't simultaneous, so the changes that happen in Chang's side in turn reflect in Kang's side, which comes afterwards.



If we switch the order of the forms but leave everything else the same, we get basically the same scene where Chang considers forging Kang's signature. The only thing that's new is that he briefly remembers seeing the toy gun, but dismisses it immediately- not enough to really merit showing the entire outcome. However, one key detail to keep in mind is that even though the black pieces are segmented this time around, they still change to reflect the input solution. In the event we swap the order of the forms off the default, instead of Chang tearing up the pink slip, he has the idea to forge Kang's signature, and the middle piece reflects that part of the story chronologically.



I wonder what would happen if we moved the piece about the toy gun down below that middle black piece, when he's standing at Kang's desk?


[BGM: Lethal Affair]


The M134 abruptly stopped firing. Then I heard the sound of metal hitting the ground.
I peeked out to see that Choi Yo-Han had dropped the machine gun and he was covering his abdomen with his right hand.

“Fuck! There were other people here, you morons! Find them!”

Soon, I heard the sound of people fighting.
Yet Choi Yo-Han held onto the machine gun again and pointed it right in my direction. He kept staring in our direction like a hawk.
He was not going to let us get out of here alive today.



About 20 minutes later some men from the Gangmun Group were holding down a pretty buff young man, pressing his head to the ground.
His head was already covered with blood.

“Yo! If I remember correctly, isn't this the new guy in your unit, Lieutenant Kang?”
“What a cute and silly one he is. He came all the way here to save his precious lieutenant without even bringing a gun.”
“Who do you think is cuter, him or my son? Lieutenant Kang?”

Fuck you...

The kid's nose and mouth were breathing heavily, and he kept mumbling through the blood.
“Lieutenant... don't... mind... me...”

Choi fired up the machine gun once again.
The kid's fragile flesh was torn to pieces and pounded into a stain on the ground.

I didn't want to fucking mind you!
What the fuck were you doing here?!
Didn't you know I meant to not fucking tell you about our mission at this goddamned place?!
And you idiot, you didn't even bring a fucking gun?!
How would you defend your precious... justice?

Justice... what was the fucking... point... now that you're dead...



[BGM: Pensive Moments]


“Have it signed by the lieutenant of your unit...”
I looked down at the green B2 form in my hands, and I had an idea.

I clutched the form in my hand and ran back to Unit 4, stopping at the lieutenant's desk.
I put my hand on the handle of the drawer; my heart was beating rapidly in my chest.

This would be a huge mistake.
Forging the signature. In all seriousness, this would be a crime!
What the hell was wrong with me?!

Calm down and think! There must be another way.



There was a toy gun on the ground.

I picked up the toy gun.
Could this be useful?
Whatever. It would be better than nothing.

I rushed out of the building and hailed a cab.
With only a toy gun on me I headed towards the port.



It's an A for Chang since he now no longer is gun-less, but it's still a Bad outcome for Kang for, uh, obvious reasons! Let's go ahead and get the S ending for both of them.





All it requires is having the order of the slips match the outcome where he tears up the slip of paper, but not having the toy gun visible to him beforehand.

[BGM: What You Saying]


I felt blood rushing to my head and I picked up the gun.
Then I turned back to the armory and slammed it on the desk.
“Thud.” I dropped to the ground, on my knees.

“Sir! I have to tell you something.”
“Becoming a police officer has always been my dream, ever since I was a kid! I've always thought that one day, when I finally became a police officer, I would be able to defend justice and help people who were in need!”
“Even though Lieutenant Kang has a lousy temper, loves smoking, and is often mean to me, always has me doing paper work, and... likes junk food. But as a police officer, a defender of justice, I can't just let him be in danger without doing anything!”
“And sir, if you don't loan me a gun now, it will all be too late!”



The custodian turned his face back again, looking at the top half of my head behind the desk.
While tears were welling up in my eyes, it was nothing compared to the river coming down his face.
Silence.
I stood back up and dusted off my pants. Well, I tried.

“Wait.”

The custodian wiped his face clean and put on his jacket.

“I can't break the rules and loan you a gun. However, I'll come with you. Oh, by the way, bring this along too.”

The custodian stuffed the toy gun into my hand.
A toy gun? Are you kidding me right now?
However, the old man seemed dead serious, so I tucked the “gun” into my waistband.
Still, as a rookie cop, all I had right now was a toy gun and the custodian of the checkout counter of the armory. I was beginning to feel uncertain about this rescue mission!



[BGM: Lethal Affair]


The M134 abruptly stopped firing. Then I heard the sound of metal hitting the ground.
I heard lots of people yelling outside.

I peeked out and saw that Choi Yo-Han was lying on the ground, unconscious.
His lackeys were completely frantic and running around hysterically.
I didn't know what exactly had just happened, but it was my only opportunity.

I charged into the crowd and took a gun from one of the mobsters. However, even with a weapon I was still outnumbered.

[BGM: Evolving View]
Just when I was about to be swamped, I saw a shadow running behind those bastards.
At first I thought it was just my imagination.
But then, the bastards suddenly began falling to the ground one after another, and a familiar yet annoying figure jumped up onto a huge cargo container.
With his left hand beside his waist and his right hand waving some kind of strange, white cloth, he shouted to the entire warehouse.



”Listen up, you evil bastards! Today is the day that you're going to see justice being served, by me! I'm going to arrest every single one of you, and bring you all to the police station!”

I was 100% sure now.
The only person who could say something like this without any irony was him.

Who knew the kid had some talent, despite always seeming a little off?
Thanks to him, half an hour later the only people still standing were all from our side.

I tossed another empty gun on the ground.
One of those bastards was lying near my feet, and I saw half of a pack of cheap cigarettes. I wasn't feeling picky at the moment, so I lit one for myself.
It seemed to help with the exhaustion a little bit.

What a night... I would need a beer when I got back, before I went to sleep.

I sat down on the bottom of a random person nearby. I felt like I never wanted to get back up again.
And then I looked at Chang Gyeong-Min.
He had been jumping upside down for half an hour, doing his weird karate, but he didn't seem tired at all.
Young people... Pfft.

“You're operating without authorization, you know that, right?”



“Yes, sir! This is me defending my justice!”

“Yes, sir” my ass. Look at that grin of yours.
And what was the deal with your voice? It was so loud that it hurt my skull.
Well... whatever.



…

[BGM: New Life]






NEW MESSAGE: Unwanted



NEW MESSAGE: Shaking Hands



***

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