novelraw Chapter 117
Chapter 117
Chapter 117
The following day, I received word from Sung Sihoon. To summarize, he had decided to accept my proposal.
"Of course he had to accept it!"
Jung Oh-hoon shouted with a smirk. He seemed incredibly proud of himself for having pulled something off. I thought it was indeed something to be proud of. It was a fact that we had accurately struck the weak point of the company known as Taebaek. The law of the survival of the fittest is a truly useful means to quickly solidify one's position while one is in their prime.
"The problem comes after that."
It is difficult to maintain it afterward. You could call it the price for solidifying a position so quickly. Ultimately, that was exactly what was holding Sung Sihoon back now.
"I am strong. Therefore, all hunters in Taebaek must obey my instructions."
He was justifying the exercise of his influence in roughly that manner. But what if the condition for that influence, the part where he says he is strong, is shattered? Everything collapses. In the end, Sung Sihoon had no choice but to accept the proposal I made yesterday to maintain his influence within Taebaek.
"Right! I told you this would work."
Jung Oh-hoon, having succeeded in leading the matter to a successful conclusion, shouted in a cheerful voice.
"He essentially tripped over his own feet."
It was a matter that could be evaluated briefly. Regardless, the duel between Sung Sihoon and me was scheduled to take place in private, in a place where no one else was watching. And depending on that result, I would either become his lackey or he would cooperate with me. One of those two things would happen.
"Are you confident you can win?"
Han Sang-ah threw the question and then pulled out a strange liquid contained in a large water bottle.
"Would I have started this if I weren't confident I could win? But what is that?"
At my question, Han Sang-ah gulped down the contents before answering.
"Chicken breast shake."
"That is very different from the chicken breast shakes I know."
At my remark, Han Sang-ah pushed the water bottle toward me. After taking a single sip, I turned my gaze away.
"I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"Yeah."
Han Sang-ah nodded at my evaluation and continued to drink the contents.
"What did you put in it?"
"Chicken breast and water."
Is she crazy? She put only those two things in without anything else. No wonder it tasted disgusting.
"Why are you eating like that?"
"There is no need to chew. It is good for eating a lot quickly. It takes a long time to chew through 600g of chicken breast."
After finishing the contents, Han Sang-ah gagged briefly and then tossed some vitamin pills into her mouth. Seeing her gag, it was certain she wasn't eating it because she liked it.
"You can't do that if you're in your right mind. I was horrified this morning when I saw Han Sang-ah pouring olive oil into a beaker and drinking it."
That was Jung Oh-hoon’s evaluation. It was a detail that showed how intensely Han Sang-ah had been working lately. It seemed she was anxious because the gap between us was widening so obviously.
In truth, I did use a somewhat unfair method. I had jumped up all at once by using the fragment of the Banshee's Tear in that manner. However, that method was not good for Han Sang-ah or Jung Oh-hoon.
"You have plenty of money. Why not try to find an elixir?"
When I nudged Han Sang-ah, she answered.
"I have no intention of becoming a water tank that just hoards a lot of mana. You don't defeat other hunters just because you have a lot of mana."
"That's right."
Han Sang-ah was doing well. If that effort continued, it would surely return as a good result.
"Sang-ah isn't the problem, Chan-seok. You are the problem, aren't you? This duel is private. There are no rules. You could die or become disabled there, you know?"
"Oh, Mr. Jung. It seems you've grown quite fond of me now. You're even worrying about me."
At my words, Jung Oh-hoon replied.
"If you become a cripple, where am I going to make money? The money I'm making lately has increased so much that common cases don't even catch my eye."
"Wow, look at you using such pretty words. Put those worries aside."
There was no way I would become a cripple. If things went a bit wrong, Sung Sihoon might become one, though.
"Ah, I almost forgot something important. So, where is the location of the duel between you and Sung Sihoon?"
I answered that question.
"The underground test facility of the Darak-dae Training Ground. It is quite a distance away, so I plan to leave immediately after the crown awarding ceremony tomorrow."
At my words, Jung Oh-hoon opened his eyes wide and made a surprised sound.
"I heard a rumor that they are torturing aliens and predators in that basement."
"Should I take a picture for you if I meet them?"
Jung Oh-hoon shook his head at my remark.
"Anyway, the Darak-dae Training Ground huh. Then even if the duel between you and Sung Sihoon is treated as private publicly..."
"The government will know."
They were likely planning to specifically measure how much power I possessed.
"So, what is your policy? The government is in a situation where they're trying to measure your skills."
Since I had not used the Paradoxical Flame in the fight with Choi Yeoreum, I smirked at Jung Oh-hoon’s words.
"If they are curious, I'll let them know."
I had no intention of hiding the power I possessed. Rather, after performing a sufficient display of skill there, I could send a sort of warning. Look, I possess this much. Unless you can perfectly suppress me in a very short amount of time, you had better act very cautiously before touching me. It was a sort of "drag you down with me" strategy.
[Hello, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. Do you remember me? It's Ja Sujeong from Embargo Tower.]
My phone vibrated, and when I checked, a familiar name had contacted me.
[Yes, how have you been? Why are you contacting me?]
[It's difficult to say over the phone, but could you spare a moment? The Planning Director would like to meet you.]
The Planning Director of Embargo Tower? I answered that I understood and then said goodbye to Han Sang-ah and Jung Oh-hoon before heading immediately to the guided location.
It was a quite nice and large traditional Korean house. Looking at it from the outside, you wouldn't have known it was a restaurant. After being guided and arriving, I opened the sliding door, went in, and greeted Ja Sujeong and the man sitting next to her.
After finishing the greetings and sitting across from the two of them, I looked around.
"A full-course Korean restaurant huh. Personally, I was expecting an Italian restaurant."
I understood that the Planning Director, Bradley Piazza, was an Italian-American. At my remark, Bradley answered with a smile.
"The menu is not the important thing in a meeting like this. Isn't who you meet and what kind of stories you share much more important?"
"That is true."
If I were hungry and wanted to eat, simply wrapping rice in seaweed at home would be more comfortable than a place like this. Bradley Piazza gave a slight look to Ja Sujeong, who was sitting next to him. Ja Sujeong immediately stood up, gave a greeting, and left. Now, only Bradley and I remained in the room.
"I think it's fine to get straight to the point. Why did you call me?"
At my words, Bradley replied.
"We obtained information that the Headhunter's next target is the Triple Blood Cave. The reliability is quite high."
I answered while eating the chestnut porridge placed in front of me.
"That is true."
There was no reason to hide such a fact as if it were some great secret. Bradley replied to my words.
"The Triple Blood Cave is identified as being in a place formerly called Pyeongseong City."
"And?"
Bradley smiled and opened his mouth.
"It's nothing else, but that is a quite interesting region. It's the place where North Korea's State Academy of Sciences used to be."
"It's more surprising to me that the records of a failed nation's national research institute would interest Embargo Tower."
At my remark, Bradley shook his head.
"We are not looking for records. We are interested in the facility itself. I heard that in the past, North Korea loved doing things secretly there, didn't they?"
Well, it was the State Academy of Sciences in name only. The Kim trio's hobby was fiddling with nukes and making bombs in the basement.
"The South Korean government will also likely try to utilize that facility after doing some repairs."
"And?"
"Looking at your actions, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, it seems you aren't on friendly terms with the South Korean government."
Having finished speaking, Bradley looked at me with a smile.
"While you are handling the Triple Blood Cave, if you could just fulfill one simple request, there are many things we can do for the Headhunter."
A simple request. How simple must the request be that we had to share it while eating in a private room like this?
"So, you want to install a few 'observation devices' from Embargo Tower at that location in advance?"
"Yes, even if our intention is not that, it's an issue that the South Korean government could easily misunderstand."
So, they wanted to install observation devices in a facility that South Korea was likely to use, secretly from the South Korean government. What did he mean, his intention was not that. And it wasn't a misunderstanding; it was a fact. I replied with a smile.
"Director Bradley. It seems Embargo Tower is mistaken about something."
"Is that so?"
Looking at Bradley, I took a sip of water before answering.
"The South Korean government and I are not in a relationship where you could say it's good or bad. I am simply going around to subjugate Erosion Cores, am I not?"
In the first place, I had never made a deal with the South Korean government, and I had no memory of having a serious conversation with them.
"But it's not like the South Korean government is very fond of what Hunter Yoo Chan-seok has done, is it?"
"So?"
Is this fellow pretending he can't understand me, or does he truly not understand?
"I am not a businessman or a politician. There is an Erosion Core, so I am simply removing it. I don't weigh what kind of gains or losses that brings to a specific country."
I am not doing all this hard work for the benefit of a specific nation. A cleaner simply cleans dirty places silently. I don't weigh who benefits from it.
"I will eliminate the Triple Blood Cave. I don't care what happens on that land afterward. If you have the ability, try sending people yourselves."
Whether Embargo Tower's attempt succeeded or failed was not my concern.
"But in the case of the Tsushima incident previously,"
"We didn't do anything."
All I did was remove the Erosion Core in that region. Well, I did give a hint afterward for what to do next, in a "how about this?" sort of way. But we weren't the ones to put that proposal into action. The same went for Jaun Valley. What we did was exactly up to the removal of the Erosion Core. We negotiated with companies because we needed money for the removal, and we gathered hunters for the removal.
"Isn't what we're asking for the same? We will provide financial cooperation for the removal of the Triple Blood Cave, so—"
"Wow, that is more than welcome. If you provide financial cooperation for the removal of the Triple Blood Cave, I will gladly accept it."
But that wasn't it. He was saying they would support the funding only if I promised to enter the abandoned facility after the removal of the Triple Blood Cave and install observation equipment. Did he not know how big of a difference that was? Giving money to a cleaner as a reward for cleaning is vastly different from giving money in exchange for handing over personal information found during the cleaning process.
"The point is, it's a refusal, Bradley Piazza. If you want to ask for something other than the removal of an Erosion Core, find other hunters."
The Headhunter, the three of us, did not gather to do that kind of work.
"So... you're saying you'll only do the things that get you praised and then pull out?"
"Yes. If you don't like it, Director, you could always hire other hunters to eliminate the Triple Blood Cave."
If you can't do that, don't grumble about us only doing what we want and then leaving. It makes me want to stick a chopstick into your head, you chopstick-like bastard.
"I have clearly recognized the Headhunter's position."
"I am glad to hear it. Oh, but you're still going to let me eat before I go, right?"
Bradley nodded at my words. Afterward, we spent a pleasant mealtime in silence.
See? Wrapping rice in seaweed at home is much more comfortable.