novelraw Chapter 76
Chapter 76
Chapter 76
We each took on roles and started getting ready to tackle Jaun Valley.
Until I go in to hunt Jaun Valley myself, my job is basically to be the face.
There are three of us under the banner HeadHunters, but in terms of name recognition, Han Sang-ah and Jung Oh-hoon can’t keep up with me.
“This feels like I’m a celebrity doing promo rounds before an album release.”
It can’t be helped. We need a lot of Hunters for the Jaun Valley raid, and if we want to gather them, we can’t avoid this kind of outreach.
It is not just about making money. It is prep work for taking down a grade 1 Erosion Core.
“I really hate this.”
Muttering that, I zoned out in the green room. People are very interested in me.
For now I am doing well and I have not caused any particular trouble, so they all worship me, but public adoration turns into disgust and blame in a heartbeat.
They say public sentiment can hit rock bottom. Sometimes the fall takes less than a day.
A staffer called me from the waiting room, and the show began. It was a kind of talk show.
On a big stage the host and I took our seats, and in the audience, people selected by lottery watched while the host and I talked.
Once we went live, we traded small talk.
A quick self-intro, what I have been up to lately… that sort of thing. Like stretching before a workout.
“By the way, what was the actual gimmick with the Bratsk Refrigerator?”
With the mood warmed up, we slowly shifted to the main topic. Of course people became very interested in me after I successfully took down the grade 1 Erosion Core known as the Bratsk Refrigerator.
Naturally there was a lot they wanted to ask about it.
“It felt like a kind of puzzle. If Hunter Han Sang-ah and I hadn’t worked together, I think both of us would have died in there.”
With that preface, I continued slowly.
How Han Sang-ah served as my eyes while I moved my body to clear out the monsters… how we struggled to remove the core of the Erosion Core, and then spent two weeks hunting out the source afterward.
That kind of story.
“And I heard that the incident in Seoul this time could have caused immense damage if not for Hunter Yoo Chan-seok.”
I smiled and shook my head.
“There are plenty of Hunters in Korea besides me. I think others would have been fully capable of handling it.”
I was planning to keep talk of the Sohwi situation to a minimum. There is still too much we do not know, and it is not the kind of thing to talk about carelessly.
“I only regret that casualties occurred despite our best efforts.”
That was enough darkness. What followed were trivial questions about me.
The questions and answers were all in the script anyway, and I had it memorized so thoroughly I could have chewed it up and swallowed it, so handling it was easy.
“Since you have overcome so many incidents together with Hunter Han Sang-ah, your feelings for each other must be special huh.”
Ah, that one was not in the script. At least not in mine. Thinking that, I gave a simple answer.
“I told you we’re married, didn’t I?”
The entertainer who asked the question burst out laughing.
“Your answer at the Donghae City press conference was memorable. But a lot of people are really curious, you know.”
So you want a real answer. Fine. No reason not to. I was planning to take what I came for from this appearance anyway.
“At the moment Hunter Han Sang-ah and I share the same goal. Hunter Han Sang-ah’s goal is to eliminate Club Shaddai, one of the Great Eight, someday. As for me, my goal is to wipe out every Erosion Core in this world.”
I paused, then spoke.
“On top of that, there is Hunter Jung Oh-hoon, who recently joined us. The three of us plan to operate as a small team called HeadHunters.”
“Then you and Hunter Han Sang-ah will continue to work together and rely on each other.”
The audience let out a weird cheer.
Wow, they are going to keep pushing to the end? Fine, let’s go wild. I smiled and said:
“Should I take a selfie with Sang-ah on a motel bed and send it to you?”
At that, for a moment, the host, the staff, even the audience all froze. Why the faces? Isn’t that exactly the kind of thing you wanted? And of course the show was live.
“Stop asking pointless stuff. Even now people are dying, and in the middle of Seoul monsters are suddenly popping up with no Erosion Core or Erosion Zone in sight.”
I looked at the entertainer who asked and continued with a look of disbelief.
“I wish you would take our work as Hunters a little more seriously.”
Asking unscripted questions and trying to steer things that way ticked me off.
“Granted, a lot of Hunters are not really working right now, so I understand.”
At my words, the expressions of people who thought things could not get worse grew even stiffer.
“You are not doing anything, are you? Has anyone heard news that a grade 1 Erosion Core was taken down recently? Besides the one I did.”
Up until I wrecked the Bratsk Refrigerator, there had been none.
“Is it because Hunters lack ability? No. There are plenty of Hunters more skilled than I am.”
So what in the world are they doing and where are they?
“The reason Han Sang-ah, Jung Oh-hoon, and I decided to join forces is exactly that.”
Grade 1 Erosion Core extermination.
“Of course it is dangerous and hard. I have experienced Erosion Cores from grade 3 to grade 1. Grades 2 and 3 were manageable, but grade 1 is on a different level.”
Grades 3 and 2 are so-so. grade 1 costs you your life. Just as Lee Se-eun warned, it is something you attempt only if you are prepared to lose everything.
“Since no one else is doing it, we will. We will gather Hunters, prepare, then go in and clear out the Erosion Cores planted everywhere like fence posts.”
Honestly, I do not think doing it for money is bad. But I cannot say that here. There is no need to reveal what I really think in a place like this.
I just need to provoke a little, sound a little arrogant, and at the same time prod other Hunters who will be watching this broadcast.
That was the goal from the start.
“If you want to make money, I think you should look for other work. Some people are risking their lives to eliminate Erosion Cores. I do not know how they are not ashamed.”
By now the host and staff looked like they did not care about my relationship with Han Sang-ah at all.
So why poke the bear. Stirring things up is my specialty. The host tried his hardest to contain the situation. But this is not a fire you can put out.
I have just stabbed most of the Hunter companies in Korea through the ribs with words. This is well beyond what a mere host can fix.
“But Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, are you not on break right now?”
In the end, the host gave up on putting out the fire I lit. Instead, he decided to burn me with it.
“I am not on break. With Hunter Jung Oh-hoon, whom I decided to work with, I judged his potential to be high, but I also decided that if we were to work together we needed to bring that potential up.”
I took a sip of water and continued.
“And we are almost done preparing. From here on out, Han Sang-ah, Jung Oh-hoon, and I will operate as a team called HeadHunters, and our next target is Jaun Valley, a grade 1 Erosion Core in Changchun.”
“As for Hunter Jung Oh-hoon, he is a controversial figure.”
I snorted and answered.
“Do monsters in Erosion Zones get weaker when they meet Hunters with good character? You fight monsters with skill, not with character.”
Even a Hunter with a righteous, pure desire to save people cannot do anything and will get their head ripped off if they lack skill. That is how the world works.
“I need capable Hunters, not upright Hunters.”
“Are you saying you do not care if they are criminals?”
I answered the host.
“Why, can’t criminals hunt monsters? We are fighting creatures that yank human heads from the ground like radishes if you clench a little down below.”
It is not like I am saying to hire child sex offenders at a kindergarten, or put a robber on apartment security detail.
If a criminal dies fighting monsters, they go to hell, or they just rot in the ground. And this is not even what we were talking about.
“Thanks to the exploits of a great senior, Korea’s situation is overwhelmingly better than other countries.”
Right now Korea has such a standing that even if the Foreign Minister said “Chink” on an official stage, China could not say anything.
To be honest, I do not care much for that great senior either. After proudly ranking first on that Hope’s List or whatever, he vanished.
No one knows where he is or what he is doing. But criticizing that senior worldwide is basically a death wish, so I will not touch it.
“But what are we doing on the foundation that senior built by sacrificing himself? Most Hunters are focused only on maintaining the status quo. They are rotten with self-preservation.”
They are afraid their amassed fame and wealth will evaporate, so they do nothing.
“I do not think all Hunters are like that. But I think everyone knows which Hunters I mean. The ones that popped into your head are the ones.”
For example? Sung Sihoon of Taebaek, or the late Sohwi.
“The members of Team HeadHunters are not like those Hunters. And I have no doubt there are others who share our purpose.”
Even if your skills are a bit lacking, that is fine. We only vet people for the core Team HeadHunters roster. For joint operations, it is enough if our aims align for a while and we part ways afterward.
“If you want honor, fine. If you want a better world, fine. Even if you simply take big risks to chase big profits, that is fine too.”
Your motives? I do not care. They do not have to be pure.
“Everyone lives with their own motives.”
Hundreds of people gathering under one motive to raise a flag is impossible without brainwashing.
Motives can differ as long as the direction is the same. Anyway, I think I have done what I came here to do. The TV people probably do not want this to continue either.
The host did his best to wrap things up quickly. Honestly, I think it will be hard to do damage control.
Why pull tabloid tricks. If you had not, I would not have set the studio on fire.
“I wonder if Han Sang-ah and Jung Oh-hoon are doing a good job.”
While I was suffering here, those two were not sitting around either.