Gates possess immense economic value as an indispensable new energy and material resource in modern industry.

However, before pointing out such advantages, let us consider the fundamental truth.

Gates are vicious enemies that threaten humanity.

Though they are suppressed and utilized through the means of hunters, they are not a free resource that guarantees absolute safety.

That was precisely why Jung-woo’s actions commanded such overwhelming public support.

[Expectations for Seoul’s security are growing by the day!]

[Within the past three days, the real estate market was the first to react. Experts attribute this phenomenon to rising expectations for residential safety…]

[The Abnormal Disaster Countermeasure Bureau has released an official statement expressing profound regret over the current situation, in which Gate density levels routinely exceed safety thresholds…]

[Hunter Shin Jung-woo…]

Justification.

The issue of Gate Shock, his position as the one who resolved it, and his characterization as the strongest hunter who had forsaken greater profit for the greater good—

Even at a glance, Jung-woo was the more reasonable figure.

By that same token, the guilds and the Management Bureau that held vested interests found it difficult to put the brakes on his actions.

Ultimately, it all came down to public support.

Especially in the current gate management system, which straddled the line with the political sphere, it was an element that could never be ignored.

Above all, in South Korea, residential safety was an issue directly tied to the massive vested interests of the real estate market.

With every development making breaking news, mounting any covert operation had become nearly impossible.

To move in secret was impossible when Jung-woo was so thoroughly public.

To be precise, it was Jung-woo’s summon, Bear Hero, that moved far too openly.

[Breaking news! We’ve just received word that Hunter Shin Jung-woo’s summon has moved!]

[Photos with the Teddy Bear summon are flooding social media as we speak!]

The news broadcast cut to Bear Hero standing at a bus stop, mingling with citizens.

Around the bear’s neck hung a sign and a transit card.

『Currently on official duty.』

Bear Hero was making gate patrol rounds without Jung-woo.

While riding public transit, no less.

Unlimited summon duration.

No summoning range restrictions.

And the capacity for independent judgment and combat execution.

These were the detailed capabilities of Bear Hero that had come to light over the past few days.

With a creature that had perfectly overcome every chronic limitation of the summoning aptitude striding boldly through the streets, how could the public possibly look away?

“Take a picture with me!”

“Give me a hug!”

Ppok!

“Kyaaah!”

Despite its terrifyingly formidable power, it had an approachable appearance.

Its trivial mannerisms and its citizen-friendly actions alike.

Bear Hero’s popularity soared to unprecedented heights.

The online response was no different.

[Ah, Guardian of Seoul Real Estate…]

└ I worship you…

[This is seriously fucking hilarious lmaoooo Is Shin Jung-woo insane??]

└ Insane = Running Seoul gate patrols and initializing gate density

└ He’s the most wholesome hero in the world!

[But this was genuinely shocking. Looking at the released data, there wasn’t a single Gate that hadn’t exceeded density thresholds. The only ones managing things properly were Cheon-hwa, Black Moon, Athens, and surprisingly Marang.]

└ The big-name guilds are different for a reason lmaoo As for Marang, the owner Baek Geun-ho is Super Gaoman, so of course he wouldn’t pull that kind of thing

└ Those fucking bastards are just bloated lmaoo It hasn’t even been that long since they were screaming about humanity’s extinction from gates

└ My grandpa was crying while watching. He said if Shin Jung-woo had been around back then, my aunt might still be alive.

[But the teddy bear is so cute… Why isn’t the Countermeasure Bureau making merchandise, seriously ㅠㅠ]

└ fr How are they worse at their job than a museum…

└ Should I just make some and sell them myself…

└ You know, right? Hunter summon merchandise is the kind of thing companies mobilize their legal teams to crush

└ The Countermeasure Bureau seriously sucks at their job fr;

By scratching exactly where the public itched, Jung-woo’s actions sent not just Seoul but the entire Korean public into a frenzy of enthusiasm.

It had reached the point where even overseas observers who had been watching him were beginning to form fan communities around Bear Hero’s unique character.

Above all, Jung-woo’s approval ratings were climbing significantly.

But of course—think about it.

Based on the abilities revealed so far, Jung-woo had demonstrated the power to manipulate every gate in South Korea through that summon, should he choose to pursue personal gain.

And yet, he wielded that power exclusively for the public good.

The moral authority that such characterization conferred was immense.

Under the scrutiny of all eyes, so intensely focused.

Like an unstoppable freight truck, gate density was being initialized one after another.

Naturally, there were those who found it absolutely maddening.

“Oh dear~! Mr. Bear! At this rate, we’re genuinely going to starve to death!!!”

Ppok!

“Please! Please! We’ll lower the density, so spare us the environment reset, pleeease!!!”

Ppok!

In front of the Eunpyeong-gu Third gate.

The master of the managing guild clung to Bear Hero’s leg, dragging along the ground as he pleaded pathetically.

Having been particularly aggressive in lobbying the Management Bureau, the guild master—who had been maintaining the gate at a high-risk shock density level—knew he was finished but made one last desperate flailing attempt.

“I’m crying!!! I’m literally crying!!!”

He had abandoned all pretense of social dignity.

But…

Dori-dori.

Bear Hero simply shook its head, its stance unwavering.

The guild master stared into the button-hole-like, pitch-black eyes of Bear Hero and saw an endless abyss.

A surge of indignation erupted from within him.

“You psychopathic bastard!!! We’re all going to die at this rate!!!”

Though saying so wouldn’t make an already drawn sword return to its sheath.

Paaaaaaang—!

“Kyaaaaah!!!”

A friendly neighbor to citizens.

A psychopathic teddy bear to corrupt guilds.

Jung-woo’s summon was, as always, giving its all on the job today.

Kwang—!

A fist slammed down onto the office table.

The table had clearly cost far more than any office worker’s salary, but it now lay scattered across the floor as scrap firewood.

The current Seoul Mayor and former Management Bureau executive once renowned as a first-generation hunter, Yu Myeong-cheol, snarled low, veins bulging on his forehead.

“What the hell is that bastard doing now.”

In response to the question, Kim Shin-wook, director of the Nowon-gu Management Bureau, answered.

“Hunter Shin Jung-woo is currently handling affairs within the Countermeasure Bureau. His summon is moving toward Yongsan-gu…”

“Stop him.”

“…I apologize.”

“I said stop him! How can you fail to catch a single bastard and let things come to this!”

“We have no justification to stop him. Nor the power. He is not an easy opponent.”

“This is all because you failed to recruit him back then! Take responsibility!”

Shin-wook’s head bowed deeper.

A glass ashtray crashed down onto his head—Kkwang! Blood dripped from the wound, but Shin-wook did not flinch.

He simply said.

“I apologize.”

“Don’t just apologize—find a solution! Kim Shin-wook! Do you want to lose your government position!?”

“I will find a solution!”

“Y-you useless bastard…!”

Myeong-cheol’s lips trembled before he roared his dismissal.

“Get out! Don’t let me see your face until you come back with a plan!”

“Yes, Mr. Mayor.”

Shin-wook bowed his head even deeper, then turned expressionlessly and left the mayor’s office.

An aide waiting by the door offered him a handkerchief.

Shin-wook pressed the handkerchief against his forehead and walked on.

“Report the situation.”

“Cash flow has been disrupted. Several planned operations have been scrapped, and as a result, there are complications in securing funding for the next election…”

“Not that. The elders.”

“…”

“Those idiotic old men must have gotten greedy again. Isn’t that right?”

The silence was confirmation enough.

Shin-wook glared at some point in empty space with deeply sunken eyes and muttered.

“Should have known when to stop gorging. This is what happens when brutes who only know how to use force seize power. If they hadn’t squandered everything and saved their ammunition…”

But no—that was a meaningless hypothetical.

What was done was done.

Shin-wook let out an irritated sigh.

‘Damn it.’

This was, at the very least, a problem Shin-wook had been worrying about.

Shin-wook himself was part of that faction, as he too aimed to enter politics as a hunter, but he had always been skeptical of the group’s stability.

He knew the internal workings all too well.

Like well-fed lions, the “elders” who had already acquired both honor and power could not even conceive that someone might attack them.

It wasn’t incomprehensible.

‘The sole deterrent—the First Bureau Chief—had vanished.’

It had already been fifteen years since the First Bureau Chief had gone missing inside a gate without returning.

With the prevailing opinion that he was as good as dead, those who had nothing to fear could only grow more brazen.

Given the circumstances, the Management Bureau faction had planned to milk the system dry, consolidate their position, and then pull out.

The problem was that disaster had struck before they could do so.

‘Shin Jung-woo. Shin Jung-woo.’

He was a man who had sent a chill down Shin-wook’s spine from their very first meeting.

Too calculating to dismiss as a lucky, naive kid—what lurked beneath the surface was more like a cunning serpent.

In truth, his moves had been far too shrewd.

‘I never imagined he’d come at us like this.’

Before Shin-wook could even register the need for countermeasures, the other side had already finished preparing and launched their offensive.

The speed and the design of it all defied reason.

‘He secured public support and popular sentiment first. His persona created the moral imperative.’

That was why the political sphere could not take any additional measures regarding gate density.

The moment they tried to impose sanctions beyond that, they would be framed as holding citizens’ safety hostage for their own profit.

Had he known the Management Bureau’s internal affairs all along?

Or was there someone in the Countermeasure Bureau who had persuaded and was pulling his strings?

Naturally, the latter was more plausible, but Shin-wook was a man who placed great faith in his own judgment.

‘Why does it feel like Shin Jung-woo orchestrated all of this himself?’

From the very moment of his awakening, he had known exactly how to wield the crown he possessed.

With a deftness that was downright chilling.

Was he truly the innocent, public-spirited man his outward image suggested?

Absolutely not.

He had a purpose driving these actions.

Therefore—

‘It’s entirely plausible that he’s behind this.’

The thought would not leave him.

“Director.”

“I know. Still, we have to humor the old men. We’re all about to die together, after all.”

Shin-wook climbed into his car and sank into the seat.

He placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it.

“Drive.”

The car pulled away.

With eyes steeped in shadow, Shin-wook ceaselessly schemed for a way to navigate the situation.

Jung-woo said.

“They probably won’t be able to move immediately.”

“Right. A hole’s been punched in the hive, so they’ll need to patch it up first before the honey starts leaking out.”

Ho-jong’s metaphor had a way of fitting the current situation rather well.

A smile tugged at the corner of Jung-woo’s mouth.

“I plan to decide our next moves based on how they respond. Until then, I’m preparing something else.”

In truth, there was little difficulty in this task—it merely amounted to bringing forward the collapse of a Management Bureau that would have fallen in two years anyway.

Above all, having the answer sheet that was the future meant he already knew the tools needed to solve the equation.

He and Ho-jong were sharing such insights as they designed the stage together.

In the process, he realized once again—this was a truly unusual man.

“Hmm, you’re remarkably bold, Mr. Jung-woo.”

He never asked why.

Not why Jung-woo was doing all this, nor where he had obtained such information.

Jung-woo could acknowledge himself that there were plenty of suspicious aspects about him, yet Ho-jong never pressed on any of them.

He simply looked to one purpose and turned a blind eye to everything else.

That, to Jung-woo, was genuinely fascinating.

‘Come to think of it, even before the regression, the reason why this man had charged headlong into the Management Bureau was never fully revealed.’

Beyond that, five years from now—after the Countermeasure Bureau had completely replaced the Management Bureau—Ho-jong would outright declare his retirement from public service.

He departed as if without a single lingering regret, severing all contact so cleanly that news of him simply ceased.

That was why a certain thought crossed Jung-woo’s mind unbidden.

“Is it a grudge?”

Whether the reason for his hostility toward the Management Bureau might stem from a personal vendetta.

It was a question without a subject, but their relationship had grown accustomed to this style of conversation.

Ho-jong caught on instantly and replied.

“What about you, Mr. Jung-woo? Are you poking the hive because you covet the honey?”

A question returned for a question.

Perhaps it was about time to share this much.

“It’s a little different.”

The vested interests they held were of no interest to him.

What mattered to Jung-woo was finding a way to prevent the catastrophe known as the Zero Gate.

The environment and information needed to achieve that.

To put it in terms of that metaphor:

“It’s not the honey I need—it’s the hive.”

Perhaps that answer pleased him.

Ho-jong cast his gaze out the window and spoke softly.

“Same here.”

Of course, it was still a remark laden with hidden meaning.

“I painstakingly built a hive and filled it with honey, only to watch hornets seize it. I just can’t stand the sight of that.”

Those words triggered a recollection.

‘Ah, right. That’s how it was.’

Director of the Abnormal Disaster Countermeasure Bureau, A-Rank Hunter Jin Ho-jong.

This man was a first-generation hunter active since the Millennium Shock, and simultaneously the person who had built the public-service hunter system alongside the First Bureau Chief.

‘The First Bureau Chief…’

Would connecting it to that be too much of a leap?

Even so, it was information too significant to ignore, and the matter of the First Bureau Chief was assembling itself in his mind.

“Mr. Jung-woo.”

“Yes?”

“The reason I don’t ask you questions. Are you curious?”

The abruptly offered remark pinpointed Jung-woo’s exact curiosity.

So Jung-woo conveyed his affirmation through his gaze.

In response, Ho-jong waved the leave request form he had tucked between the reports.

“As I said—you’re someone who understands attachment.”

Ho-jong wore his usual languid air.

But his words struck at the heart of the matter.

“Someone who wants to be proud in someone’s eyes doesn’t cross the line.”

Jung-woo stared at the leave request form.

He had written it himself, and even he found its contents brazen.

『I need to take my daughter to the zoo.』

He had considered phrasing it in more professional terms, but decided that being explicit would make it easier to convince Ho-jong.

In that moment, Jung-woo understood.

Ho-jong had pinpointed his weakness with perfect accuracy.

He was right.

As long as Se-gi existed, Jung-woo could never become something evil.

“You’re pretty dark yourself, Director.”

“As dark as you, perhaps?”

“I feel like we’ve gotten closer. Is it just me?”

“Don’t be weird. I’m a married man. Three daughters—two of them already married off.”

Ho-jong waved his hand dismissively.

“Have a good trip. Enjoy your time with your daughter.”

Jung-woo replied with a gentle smile.

“Yes, then I’ll be off.”

For Se-gi’s smile, which mattered above all else.

Tomorrow was the day of their first outing together.

And simultaneously—

【Quest】

▶【[Great Caregiver] Always putting the child first is what makes a true caregiver, wouldn’t you agree!? Parenting never ends! Keep collecting those Praise Stickers! (7/10)】

Perhaps, after this outing, the next skill slot would unlock.

Of course, to do so smoothly, he needed to finish today’s work first.

‘I need to wrap up these documents quickly.’

Whatever else he was, he was still an office worker.

S-Rank or whatever—doing one’s own job properly was simply human duty.

Jung-woo sat down at his desk.

Grasping the work itself was no challenge, thanks to his pre-regression experience—he adapted quickly.

He was in the middle of reviewing what needed to be done.

“Hunter Shin Jung-woo.”

“Ah, yes. Ms. Da-ye.”

Chae Da-ye, the administrative officer of the command staff, appeared carrying a stack of papers.

She was a young woman with a fatigue-lined face, hair tied up haphazardly, and a rumpled outfit. Their first meeting—where she had been fiercely screaming at Ho-jong—had left such a strong impression that Jung-woo still felt somewhat awkward around her.

She held out the stack of papers and said.

“You haven’t collected your magic Stones yet.”

“Magic Stones?”

When he asked back, Da-ye nodded.

“Yes, all of them—the magic Stones from the Magical Beasts you dealt with, and the Special magic Stones from the Champions. You haven’t submitted a single collection request this whole time?”

Only then did it dawn on Jung-woo.

‘Ah.’

Come to think of it, despite having devoured so many Magical Beasts, he hadn’t given the magic Stones a single thought.