The intelligence agency DGSE and the tactical team got rid of Black Mamba’s entity quickly. Other than his initial, they had erased his age, case history, and even his physical dimensions. It was normal to do that for a call name.
Worthy of being the best hospital in the world, Meta Shef Blanc and Plober finished the shoulder surgery perfectly. They splinted the broken shoulder and reattached the ripped joints. They also arranged the disorderly muscles back into place.
They were able to combat the cavitation[1] by using pig muscles to temporarily connect the tissues that had been damaged. And with that, the surgery ended.
As requested by BM, the rest of the treatment was handed over to Edel, the lioness doctor. The nickname came about from her protective nature around her patients, who she treated like her cubs. She would do whatever that was needed for them.
She did everything from sterilizing the wounds to changing the bandages. The hospital was unable to record anything and could only observe from afar to fabricate their reports.
BM, no, Black Mamba’s wounds started to show signs of recovery after three days. After the second regeneration of cells, they started to grow in size. Black Mamba’s hunger increased to 10 servings.
Ombuti and Sun WooHyun were well aware of Black Mamba’s large appetite. Even Edel wasn’t surprised by it. Ombuti’s gaze softened around Edel as time went by.
“Jjol ttagu, hit me on the side with your palm.”
“I don’t want to. Tell Ombuti to do it.”
Sun WooHyun slowly crept away when Edel glared fiercely at him.
“Wakil, this servant is making you alysh[2],” Ombuti yelled from outside the room with flour all over his hands.
“Oh, you immature fools.”
Black Mamba clicked his tongue. Within four days, Ombuti and Sun WooHyun became more conscious of Edel and did whatever she requested. Black Mamba was too dense to know why.
“Edel, help me out.”
A cat-like smile crept onto Edel’s face.
“Get ready.”
Her small fist lightly grazed his broken ribs.
“Hit it hard.”
“I can’t.”
Edel shook her head back and forth. No woman in the world would hit the man she loved, especially when he was injured.
“Why do I even bother?”
“Adorable, monster man, don’t worry. The callus is currently remodeling. Black, even if your arm falls off, you will pop right back up. Although I hope nothing like that would ever happen.”
Edel stroked his badge and smiled. Sun WooHyun had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
His broken bones would take longer to heal than his flesh wounds. His ribs, which broke and damaged his organs, would take at least four months to heal properly. If it was a hairline fracture, it would take around four to six weeks.
Black Mamba had two broken ribs. A normal person would not even be able to walk. Black Mamba had pulled out and reattached the broken ribs by himself during the war. Due to that, his recovery time was much faster.
There were two mechanisms involved in healing broken bones—the initial and direct internal remodeling followed by the second phase of recovery. Each mechanism had its own processes. However, they worked together to ensure a quick and efficient recovery.
The stages to a full recovery went as follows: infection, soft callus, hard callus, remodeling, and final recovery. To summarize, the recovery of broken bones would begin with seven days of infection, taking about two to four weeks to develop into a soft callus, and another three to four months to harden. After a total of about four months, the bones would begin to merge into its original structure.
The concept of callus can be compared to Piccolo’s arm in Dragonball when he got his arm cut off and it regenerated. The memory of the arm’s original structure was stored in the embryonic cells, allowing the creation of another copy. If the callus was strong and fast, then quick regeneration like Piccolo was possible. Of course, Black Mamba wasn’t Piccolo, but his recovery speed was surprisingly as fast.
For Black Mamba, his callus regeneration was illogically fast. The broken ribs had already gone into the hard callus phase in four days. It was incredibly fast compared to the regular duration it should have taken. His recovery took a quick 360-degree turn. The small scrapes and cut were negligible.
As a doctor, Edel knew the severity of the injuries. She knew how to treat it and any other problems that could occur from daily life activities. She made sure none of it would cause him discomfort and paid attention to even the smallest scabs. Under her watchful eyes, the Baldgras doctors got severely stressed. That was why Edel was nicknamed the lioness.
“Ombuti, the Captain would be doing what he should now, right?”
“He’s a conservative man, do you think he could shake up colonel Philip?”
“He’s gotten a lot messed up than before, so I trust him. Call N’Djamena.”
“They blocked outside contact.”
“What? When?”
“It was when Wakil first got admitted into the hospital.”
“What? What are these idiots doing?”
A vein in Black Mamba’s forehead throbbed. He hadn’t known because he had been focusing on recovery for the last couple of days. It was said that the person who shat his pants would be the one complaining about the smell, but the things they were doing were ridiculous.
“Do we have to run around a bit?”
“There is a good gym in the basement,” Ombuti replied with an irrelevant answer, unable to comprehend what he was saying.
“Jjol ttagu, tell the black punks outside to come inside.”
Three black-suited DGSE agents holding MP5s came inside. Black Mamba greeted them while sitting up in bed.
“Attention!”
“Quiet, I am a patient that needs to relax. What organization do you belong to?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh, how dare that low ranking punk ask Wakil a question?” Sun WooHyun scoffed unbelievably.
“I will not ask you a third time. What organization?”
“I’m sorry.”
The black-suited agent repeated the same answer like a parrot. The lowly guards knew nothing about Black Mamba. They were only ordered to strictly guard over him. Those within the DGSE jurisdiction could not have their identities revealed.
Sun WooHyun’s foot shot upwards.
Thud—
Like a whip, it hit the black-suited agent in the temple.
“Son of a b****, didn’t Wakil say that he wouldn’t ask you three times?”
Ombuti dragged the fallen agent into the corner. In the meantime, the other agents didn’t alter their stiff stance. They were going crazy, unable to defend themselves against the people they were guarding.
“Organization? I won’t ask you twice.”
It was a peaceful question that excluded rank. The second agent flinched.
Swish—
Thud—
Sun WooHyun moved like lightning to block the black-suited agent’s attack. The sudden attack led to a reflex defense.
“Ack!”
The black-suited agent fell after blocking the attack. He kicked him in the neck so that the IV swung around to its original position.
“You won’t say anything either, right?” Black Mamba asked, knowing full well they couldn’t answer.
“I have a long way to go before I can catch up to you, Black Mamba,” Sun WooHyun said as he watched Black Mamba do pull-ups.
Whatever was in Wakil’s hand would turn into a weapon. There was no way you could not be amazed by his swift and powerful moves.
“I’ve beaten his dogs so the owner will soon show up. The little punks are making me angry while giving the excuse that they are guarding the place. Move them.”
“Black, should we fill the full 10 hours? You think they’ll have midazolam and methocarbamol?”
Ombuti stared at Edel, who was searching through the medicine cabinet, with wide eyes .
It’s not even surprising. She’s similar to Wakil. Her butt and breasts are big too. Hoho!
Ombuti smiled with his eyes. The more he saw her, the more he liked her.
“Jjol ttagu, what’s that? Isn’t it embarrassing to hold hands with a pathetic guy like him? I will have to start training in a week. If you don’t want to die, you better start building up your strength now.”
“I understand.”
Sun WooHyun didn’t say another word. No, he was full of happiness. The only thing left for him in this world was his body, and that was his only wealth. Wakil said he would make it strong, so there was no reason to hesitate any longer.
The seventh floor of the foreign tactical DGSE headquarters in Saint Dominique was filled with smoke from the Goluz. After finishing the long phone conversation, Boniface had a splitting headache.
“Smart punk, he sent lieutenant Paul first to threaten them. Damn, it looks like the serpent will get eaten up by Black Mamba. They should kill all the fantasy writers who said that the serpent is the strongest after the dragon.”
Boniface muttered nonsense under his breath while glaring at the documents on his desk. This would not blow over with a weak attempt at compensation.
Black Mamba was after him specifically.
The Ratel team would want compensation for their losses.
Compensation for the dead comrades.
Change in the ranking of the leaders.
List of the defeated.
Like a snake, he scanned the confidential documents with slitted eyes.
“Damn punk, this won’t do.”
Knock knock—
Miguel entered.
“Director, the Kanma is on the move. He turned the security guards into pulp. The Baldgras dispatch team is on standby.”
“What? Didn’t you say he had gotten shot and is severely injured?”
“If it was anyone else, he would have died multiple times. You know that friend’s physical build defies logic?”
“This is insane. Tell the agents to come in. I’d like to hear it directly from them.”
“Attention! Captain Gaston reporting.”
“Report on the current status of Black Mamba.”
“He has been hospitalized for four days and has removed the bandages and casts from his full upper body. He only has scars from 35 shallow injuries. He is doing light stretching and weight training in his hospital room. According to director Blanc, he could be discharged in 10 days.”
“This is driving me crazy. Even after crossing the Styx, he removes his casts in three days and starts to train. Does that even make sense? Why did he turn the agents into pulp?”
“Due to the security breach.”
“Idiots! Who’s the dumb punk who did that?”
“Director Landre ordered it.”
Boniface pressed the button to call his assistant while wearing an expression of disbelief.
“Call the idiot.”
Boniface no longer talked about Landre. He was only in that position to uphold the image of the cultural minister, Jacque Long. Once the government tactical team took hold, he would be transferred to the foreign department.
“Gaston, cancel the security. Get rid of the listening devices. Do you not know what will happen if we poke a sleeping tiger? Huh!”
“Yes, I will immediately do as you ordered.”
Gaston, who had taken the brunt of Boniface’s annoyance, ran out hurriedly. Boniface flicked angrily at the Goluz he had been holding between his fingers. Miguel was able to escape from the fishy-smelling smoke.
“Miguel, are the agents badly hurt?”
“They are asking us to knock them unconscious.”
“Interesting. The Kanma will have mercy on us. I will process your resignation today, Miguel. Disappear for a couple of months.”
“I’ll do that.”
Miguel felt relieved. He took responsibility for the backdoor tactic and double contract and put in his resignation. It was a tail cutting technique. He didn’t even feel cheated. He had come to terms with it once he received the report. Miguel sincerely wanted to avoid the wrath of the Kanma.
“The person taking over your position is Hugo Landre,” Boniface mentioned as Miguel walked out the open door.
Miguel turned back quickly.
“Landre? He’s a pencil-pushing bureaucrat with no field experience, do you think it will be okay?”
“He is the nephew of the cultural minister, Jacque Long. I have to live too. He will have to face Black Mamba. He will either die from getting beaten or put in his resignation.”
“This is typical of the serpent. He’s trying to shove him into the mouth of Black Mamba.”
Miguel nodded his head. Any organization could not avoid such a situation. It was a way to get rid of the evidence through legal means.
They switched Miguel with an Arab in his early 40s and had him step into the office. He had a bald spot in the middle of his head. His balding was severely accelerating.
“Vice president, I came as soon as you called.”
“Landre, go to the Baldgras hospital. Go alleviate Black Mamba’s mood. Do whatever he asks.”
Landre was well-built physically but was one to cause trouble during operations. He was someone they needed to get rid of. Boniface kicked out the troublesome punk.
That night, Landre went to the Baldgras hospital right away. He was antsy and wanted to know what kind of monster Black Mamba was.
“I am the tactical director for the DGSE, Landre.”
When he bent over, the bald part of his head shined as it reflected the light. Edel did her best to hold in her laughter. Landre’s eyes flashed as he turned around to face Edel.
“Oh mademoiselle, it pains me to see such a lovely lady in a sterile hospital like this.”
[1] The production of small vapor-containing bubbles or cavities in a liquid or tissue.
[2] A doughy starch, most often made from millet and served with stew.