Chapter 58 – Hunter [Freak]

“Yangseon Guild, you say?”

At Gu Seongguk’s question, Hyeon Woongryeol nodded.

Gu Seongguk felt his mouth go completely dry and swallowed his tea in one gulp.

Hyeon Woongryeol refilled his cup and continued speaking.

“It’s already a matter verified through cross-checking between intelligence agencies. That Yangseon Guild is directly or indirectly involved in this Seoul Station terror incident is practically an established fact.”

Gu Seongguk seemed quite shocked.

His always calm and composed eyes were shaking as if an earthquake had struck, and the hand holding the teacup was trembling like that of a Parkinson’s patient.

Only after taking another sip of tea and several deep breaths did Gu Seongguk barely regain his composure.

“Yangseon Guild… villains and terrorism?”

Yangseon Guild, a major guild under a prominent chaebol corporation.

Its Master, Yang Seungjun, was a man who had even served a prison sentence for his involvement in that atrocious Rust House Gate incident.

Moreover, he was one of the figures most actively advocating for the abolition of the government’s policy to save small and medium-sized guilds.

But Gu Seongguk had thought he wasn’t a terrorist; his record, actions, and appearance might resemble a villain, but at the very least, he wasn’t a villain.

However, President Hyeon Woongryeol was now personally telling him that his thinking had been very naive.

Gu Seongguk looked at Hyeon Woongryeol and spoke.

“This is no simple matter. We must arrest Yang Seungjun immediately. This isn’t an issue we can resolve within our country alone; it’s a major crime requiring cooperation with the Superhuman Crime Investigation Bureau of the International Superhuman Association. This could potentially lead to a loss of public trust in Hunters as a whole.”

Hyeon Woongryeol nodded. But from his mouth came an answer Gu Seongguk had never expected.

“But we can’t arrest him right away.”

“Huh?”

Hyeon Woongryeol took a sip of tea and spoke with a somewhat frustrated expression.

“The information I currently have… if I take this to court, it will absolutely not be recognized as admissible evidence.”

For a moment, Gu Seongguk looked at Hyeon Woongryeol with a bewildered expression, speechless, wondering what kind of nonsense this was.

At that moment, a single word flashed through his mind.

‘Surveillance of civilians.’

Surveillance of civilians, secretly conducted under any administration.

Sometimes for the private interests of the regime, sometimes for the public interest of the state, it was carried out as a matter of practice, but the results were rarely made public.

Not only did it have no legal evidentiary value, but a backlash could also cause the regime to collapse.

Hyeon Woongryeol looked at Gu Seongguk and finished his statement.

“That’s why I’d like the Association to investigate Yangseon Guild.”

Gu Seongguk looked at Hyeon Woongryeol.

“At the Association level?”

Hyeon Woongryeol nodded.

Gu Seongguk felt his head growing complicated.

Considering the increasingly bloated large guilds and the power they naturally wielded, there was no better item than this.

If handled well, it could be an opportunity not only to dismantle Yangseon Guild but also to weaken the power of the National Hunter Federation and reassess the Association’s influence over Hunters.

However, if the other side caught wind and launched a counterattack, it could conversely lead to the Association’s downfall.

Gu Seongguk took a sip of tea and looked at Hyeon Woongryeol.

‘This sly old fox…’

If it goes well, the regime will benefit.

<A regime that fought against evil large guilds and realized justice!>

What a fantastic election slogan?

But if it fails, the responsibility would fall solely on him, the Association Chairman.

‘Even if I say it was an order from the Blue House, no media outlet would listen to me. They’d have already taken money from the National Hunter Federation.’

And the President before him, with a grave expression, passing the bomb to him, would keep his mouth firmly shut.

‘He’ll probably just settle things with the National Hunter Federation Chairman. And then the National Intelligence Service or police will pin all the surveillance of Yang Seungjun on me too.’

Whatever the case, it was a proposal that neither the Superhuman Association nor Gu Seongguk himself had any reason to accept.

‘But to refuse…’

Considering the subsidies the Superhuman Association received from the government, it was also difficult to refuse easily.

Moreover, wasn’t the investigation and handling of all superhuman-related incidents and accidents occurring within Korea the inherent duty of the Superhuman Association anyway?

Whether for practical reasons or in terms of justification, Gu Seongguk had no way to refuse Hyeon Woongryeol’s proposal.

Gu Seongguk swallowed his tea and spoke to Hyeon Woongryeol.

“It doesn’t seem to be an issue I can decide unilaterally. I’ll discuss it with the Association directors and then decide.”

“Association directors… Do you trust those people, Chairman?”

“……”

“They have underlings in the National Assembly. Wouldn’t they have them in the Association as well?”

“……”

“Please discuss it as quickly as possible with your most trusted inner circle and reach a conclusion, Chairman.”

“…… Understood.”

Hyeon Woongryeol grinned.

“Hehehe. Oh, Chairman, your teacup is empty again. Hehehe.”

Hyeon Woongryeol refilled Gu Seongguk’s cup.

“Then I’ll trust only you, Chairman.”

In response to Hyeon Woongryeol’s words, Gu Seongguk ultimately gave no reply.

December 15, 2027.

13:45.

32nd floor, JH Group headquarters building, Samseong-dong, Gangnam.

Originally the Vice Chairman’s office and General Planning Manager’s office, but since November 14th of last year, also used as the JH Guild office.

The door opened, and Siguk, the owner of this spacious area, entered with a toothpick in his mouth.

Park Seongjun, who had been sitting at his desk looking at his computer screen, stood up.

Siguk gestured for him to sit, then went to his own seat and sat down, asking.

“So, nothing special happened?”

Park Seongjun sat down and replied.

“No, nothing particularly unusual.”

“Really? That’s good.”

“……”

“What did you have for lunch?”

“I went to the company cafeteria.”

“Really? Today’s menu didn’t look good, so I skipped it. How was it?”

While exchanging conversation about the Guild Master, Korea’s first and the world’s 50th A-Rank Hunter, and the company cafeteria lunch menu, Park Seongjun thought to himself.

‘What on earth is the Master thinking?’

Park Seongjun’s Rank was E-Rank.

Earlier this year, after graduating high school, while retaking the college entrance exam in Noryangjin, he Awakened by a very chance opportunity. Upon Awakening, he obtained a Tracking Skill, but his Rank was E-Rank.

More superhuman than F-Rank, which wasn’t much different from ordinary people, but still not particularly useful in superhuman society—E-Rank.

At first, Park Seongjun even considered hiding the fact of his Awakening from the Superhuman Association, but ultimately, following his parents’ advice, he reported his Awakening to the Association.

Because he was E-Rank, no guilds particularly called for him, so Park Seongjun intended to return to being a retaker after obtaining the Association’s understanding.

At that time, Siguk, Korea’s first A-Rank Hunter, called him.

And after about an hour-long interview, he was immediately hired as the JH Guild office manager.

The office manager of a guild under JH Group, a quasi-large corporation, with an A-Rank Hunter as its Master.

Rather than wondering ‘Why did he hire me?’, the fact that he had risen from the uncertain status of a retaker to the definite status of a Hunter simply made him happy.

And on November 14th, his first day at work, Siguk told Park Seongjun:

『The reason I hired you is simple. It’s because you have a Tracking Skill.』

True to his word, Siguk had Park Seongjun use his Tracking Skill to find the villains he designated.

When Park Seongjun found traces of a villain, Siguk would mobilize and very easily subdue the villain, then hand them over to the Association.

And after capturing the last villain on December 3rd, Siguk essentially stepped back from guild duties.

『Master, aren’t we going to do any other work?』

『What are the conditions for maintaining a guild business license?』

『Going on at least one dungeon raid per year, taking on security duties for at least one facility, or arresting at least three villains per year and handing them over to the Association.』

『Then rest easy until December 3rd next year.』

‘Is it okay to keep staying here?’

The Master, Siguk, sitting at his desk handling JH Group work that had absolutely nothing to do with guild duties.

And the office manager, Park Seongjun, whose work upon arriving at the office consisted solely of web surfing, reading webtoons, or watching WaiTube on the computer.

And JH Guild, maintaining only a shell, receiving good publicity for choosing public service and honor over money from the public.

‘Does this place really have a future?’

Just as Park Seongjun was staring blankly at his computer monitor with such thoughts…

Zzzzzz-!

His phone vibrated briefly once.

Park Seongjun’s gaze turned to his phone.

A text message had arrived.

<Web Sent Shin Kook Bank 12/27 13:49 1310420 JH Guild Deposit 7,823,000 Balance 8,123,452>

“……”

Park Seongjun turned his gaze back to the computer monitor.

‘Right. Let’s just live quietly here.’

Thus, Park Seongjun quickly concluded his internal conflict and focused again on the WaiTube video.

How much time had passed?

The door opened, and a person entered the Vice Chairman’s office.

It was Han Myeongho, CEO of JH Trading.

Han Myeongho bowed to Siguk in greeting and then greeted Park Seongjun as well.

“Oh, hey. Long time no see, Seongjun…”

At that moment, Han Myeongho felt a murderous gaze directed at him.

His eyes turned to Siguk.

Siguk was glaring at him with a terrifying expression.

Han Myeongho gave an awkward smile and greeted Park Seongjun again.

“Uh… right… Long time no see, Hunter Park-nim.”

Only then did Siguk relax his expression.

He spoke to Han Myeongho.

“Use honorifics properly. Even though our Hunter Park is E-Rank, he can turn someone like you, CEO Han, into a corpse with his bare hands.”

“…… Yes.”

Siguk got up from his seat. Then, he and Han Myeongho went into the reception room attached to the office.

Watching this, Park Seongjun shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze back to the computer screen.

“So, the atmosphere?”

As soon as they sat in the reception room, Siguk asked Han Myeongho.

Han Myeongho, mixing two cups of instant coffee with his own hands, answered.

“First of all, perhaps because the Vice Chairman became an A-Rank Hunter, everyone has become more cautious. Especially that bastard Deputy Director of the Guard Department, he was practically ready to lick my shoes.”

Han Myeongho placed the coffee in front of Siguk. Siguk took a sip and opened his mouth.

“Those bastards, even if they act like that in front, who knows what they’ll do behind our backs. You never know when they might stab us in the back again.”

“Exactly. Aren’t they the ones who secretly hoarded Magic Stones and then, when caught by us and the FSB, just made excuses?”

“Well, anyway, putting that aside, what about the FSB side?”

“That side, well, they were just slightly surprised. Not like those Guard Department bastards ready to lick shoes, more like, oh? Really? Didn’t know. Tell him congratulations. That kind of feeling.”

At Han Myeongho’s words, Siguk nodded in agreement.

‘Well, their president is an A-Rank Hunter, so… Come to think of it, since Ivan Ivanov was former FSB Director, Dmitry must have seen him at least once, right?’

Thinking such thoughts, Siguk took a sip of coffee.

Han Myeongho continued.

“Well, anyway, neither the Guard Department nor the FSB seemed particularly concerned or worried about the Vice Chairman’s Awakening. We clearly stated our intention to maintain the same relationship as before, and they probably find it difficult to immediately find a partner to replace us anyway.”

Siguk nodded and said.

“Right. And there shouldn’t be any replacement partners in the future either.”

“Correct.”

Soon, the entire world will face an era of greater upheaval than the 2020 Upheaval.

The 2030 System will arrive, where Hunters, who had been forced under the 2021 System to adhere to the rule of law and civilian control, will begin to directly seize political power.

‘Mana engineering will develop daily, and as that happens, excellent items created worldwide will flock to the Najin Black Market.’

Under the 2030 System, North Korea’s Najin becomes one of the world’s three major Magic product black markets, alongside El Salvador’s San Salvador and Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam.

‘For us to firmly control Najin by then, the current transactions must continue. And…’

Siguk looked at Han Myeongho and asked.

“Haven’t you heard anything about the health condition of the North Korean pig bastard?”

“The Guard Department bastards are keeping it hush-hush, so I haven’t heard anything specific from that side. According to the FSB guys, honestly, he has at most next year, the year after.”

Siguk nodded.

‘As expected, this also doesn’t change much historically.’

In his past life, North Korea experienced a political crisis with the death of its supreme leader in 2028.

‘Back then, the pig bastard’s sister and wife somehow managed to handle it, but…’

Sketching a big picture in his mind, Siguk instructed Han Myeongho.

“For now, CEO Han, keep monitoring the internal situation in North Korea. Also maintain steady contact with the FSB guys. Ah, of course, don’t trust the FSB too much. Anyway, even though they’re corrupt bastards, they’re still Russian intelligence. Always keep in mind that we could get dragged in if we’re not careful, and don’t let your guard down. Understood?”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

Listening to Han Myeongho’s confident answer, Siguk downed his coffee.