Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 280

280. Whispering Star (2)

“You’re his sister, but you don’t even say hello. Why do you keep avoiding him?”

Lee Seoyeon glared at Hyun-woo with a displeased expression.

“He’d be thrilled to know his sister is one of the Star’s kin he’s been slaughtering.”

“What, you still haven’t told him?”

“Is there a need to?”

Lee Seoyeon shrugged and said,

“Jitae is an obedient and good brother. I hope he stays that way, untainted by you.”

“Seems like there’s one person in the family who shouldn’t be tainted.”

Lee Seoyeon approached with her arms crossed. She tried to appear calm, but a hint of nervousness was evident.

“First, let me express my gratitude. It’s not the best outcome, but it’s a decent compromise. Lin Huimin was on Helen’s purge list. This will boost my standing. I’m far from being a Saint [a high-ranking member of the Starving Star], but that’s just a matter of time.”

Lee Seoyeon said with a bitter smile.

“The Chinese have been too powerful within the Starving Star’s forces. This will divide the power a bit. If I’m lucky, I might even strengthen Taesung’s faction.”

“Things are working out easily.”

“Yeah. Cheonru’s disappearance is a loss overall, but whatever. A third or fourth Cheonru [a powerful individual] can always appear. What matters now is my gain. And I succeeded in another quest this time.”

Lee Seoyeon seemed quite pleased despite her nervousness.

Hyun-woo couldn’t understand why Lee Seoyeon was reporting all this to him.

Was she showing off?

She barely did anything. She just piggybacked on what Hyun-woo and Yumin accomplished.

Then, Hyun-woo pondered for a moment and came to an absurd thought.

“Are you perhaps reporting that you’re working hard?”

“…You phrase it so miserably. Yes. Is that not allowed? Solidifying my position within the Starving Star is the task you gave me, isn’t it?”

A task.

Lee Seoyeon showed little genuine loyalty to the Starving Star.

Perhaps that’s how it is for those who gather for profit.

Or maybe there’s another reason.

“Just in case, my connection with Lee Jitae is quite useful too. You know what I mean? I have useful information about the Alliance. Don’t think of me as your only lifeline…”

“Right now, I’m more curious about you.”

As Lee Seoyeon looked at him with a questioning gaze, Hyun-woo grabbed her hand.

It was the hand he had crushed when he eliminated the Starving Star’s Saints at Muan International Airport.

At the time, Lee Seoyeon’s hand was so damaged that it couldn’t be restored even with surgery or potions.

But now, her right hand was perfectly fine, capable of wielding an iron mace.

“What, you grab another woman’s hand like that in front of your girlfriend?”

Hyun-woo pulled off the glove covering Lee Seoyeon’s right hand.

Lee Seoyeon flinched but couldn’t resist.

Her right hand was as black as obsidian. It wasn’t mangled as Hyun-woo had left it.

Only after Hyun-woo confirmed her clean, black hand like a sculpture, Lee Seoyeon could snatch her hand away.

“Just like Yumin said. That hand seems to be an item. Where did you get it?”

“…I received it from the Starving Star. Why?”

“Ah, I see.”

Hyun-woo didn’t ask further.

There was no need to verify the truth. He already knew where the hand came from.

The question was why Lee Seoyeon had it.

But Hyun-woo waved his hand.

“Never mind, go back. I don’t want to bother with you anymore.”

Lee Seoyeon’s face twisted at the humiliating treatment. But she also knew that getting entangled with Kang Hyun-woo wouldn’t be good for her.

All she had to do now was return to Helen with her achievements.

At least Helen wouldn’t treat her as badly as Kang Hyun-woo did.

As if taking over from Lee Seoyeon, the next person appeared.

It was the bald man who survived thanks to Lee Jitae.

“…Hunter Kang Hyun-woo.”

“Welcome, baldy. Or was it Ivan Cherenkov?”

Ivan nodded.

Hyun-woo glanced at his severed arm.

The potion had healed his broken knee, but too much time had passed to reattach his severed arm. Now, it would be difficult for him to work as a Hunter again.

But it wasn’t as if there was nothing he could do.

Hyun-woo smiled and said,

“President Petrovich is dead, and Baba Yaga [a powerful and influential figure], who was the top of the Russian Hunter world, died horribly. And Cheonru is gone, and your top-tier Hunters are completely crushed.”

Ivan bit his lip tightly.

Everything Hyun-woo said was true.

The Hunters who were with Petrovich and Baba Yaga were all top-tier Hunters representing the civilians and the military.

In a world where the number of Hunters was becoming national power, the damage they suffered was critical. They had only two options left.

Be swallowed by other forces, or be annihilated by monsters.

“That’s right. All that’s left is ruin. So, are you happy?”

“Happy? You think I’m some kind of devil.”

Hyun-woo approached Ivan with a broad smile.

Lee Jitae said that bringing the best future comes from everyone doing their part in their respective places.

Maybe he was right.

Hyun-woo had a role to give to Ivan, who survived thanks to Lee Jitae.

“I’m going to make you a very generous and irresistible offer. After you hear it, you’ll think of me as an angel.”

***

Kremlin Palace, Senate Security Council Chamber.

Russia was ruled by a two-headed chariot of absolute power, Petrovich, and a powerful figure, Baba Yaga, and the meetings were always heavy and serious.

Petrovich had already decided everything in the organization behind the scenes, made up only of the kin of the Wailing Star, and handed it down to the cabinet.

All the cabinet, including the Secretary-General, did was to vote on and proceed with the decided matters.

However, the meeting hall was heated and noisy, reflecting the chaotic situation in Russia.

“Where is the President? Is it certain that Baba Yaga is out of contact? Has the organization behind the scenes been completely wiped out?”

“We must advance into Europe right now! Why move the army to the west! The weak European army will break like reeds in front of our army anyway!”

“Crazy talk! How can we wage war when there’s a big gap in ability users? We’ll be finished if a Flood breaks out somewhere. When the power is weak, we need cooperation, not war…”

“Let’s launch a nuclear strike!”

“Where exactly?”

“Let’s just shoot anywhere! What’s important now is to show that we are not vulnerable!”

“If I could, I’d shove it into your crazy head and blow it up.”

The meeting hall became even more chaotic.

The Russian Vice President, Mikhail Stasova, held his head and let the meeting roll on haphazardly.

It was all nonsense anyway. There was no need to listen.

The reason Vice President Mikhail called them to the meeting hall was just to keep them from thinking differently out of sight.

In fact, generals on the border with quick information were showing signs of becoming warlords.

At that moment, the door burst open and someone entered.

Seeing the person who entered, the military generals and ministers closed their mouths at the same time.

Vice President Mikhail jumped up and welcomed the man who entered.

“Ivan Cherenkov. Welcome.”

Ivan silently bowed his head.

Ivan was an ability user counted as Petrovich’s right-hand man, and he had always assisted Petrovich when he performed dungeon-related work.

He could be an alternative to Petrovich and Baba Yaga.

A general jumped up and shouted.

“Ivan! What exactly is going on! We’ve been trusting only you ability users…”

“I’m sorry, but Vice President Mikhail, I would like you to dismiss the other ministers.”

Ivan cut off the general’s words and suggested to Mikhail.

The generals were furious, but Mikhail ordered everyone to leave the meeting hall.

Ivan was higher than the mediocre Saints in level, but he had not yet risen to the ranks of the Saints due to a lack of faith. But within the organization, he was treated as a quasi-Saint.

The fact that he was still alive gave the expectation that the organization behind the scenes might still be somewhat intact.

As the chaotic meeting hall became quiet, Mikhail wiped his forehead with a tearful expression.

“Please let it be good news. Of course, I’ve dreamed of becoming president, but I don’t want to be the captain of a sinking ship like now.”

“I have brought a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

Ivan took out a piece of paper from his pocket. It was a note that seemed to have been torn from a notebook at random.

But Mikhail, who took it and read it, had an absurd expression. It was not something to write on a piece of paper at random.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“Do I look like I have the luxury to joke in this situation?”

“But… but a military agreement? With a single individual?”

The content of the note was a military agreement similar to a mutual defense treaty.

If one side is attacked, the other side cooperates in defense.

However, if you look at the details of the content, it was unilaterally disadvantageous to Russia.

Russia was still a powerful country with a strong military force, even though it had lost its ability users, and the contents of the note included the mobilization of nuclear weapons.

On the other hand, the other party is an individual named Kang Hyun-woo.

Just one person.

“…To be exact, Kang Hyun-woo and his affiliated group will also be mobilized. Still, he is the head of an organization and the actual ruler who dominates South Korea.”

“Even so!”

Mikhail slammed the table and shouted.

“It’s just a small country on the outskirts! And such an absurd agreement with the ability users of an unheard-of organization? Are you crazy?”

Ivan sighed deeply at his words.

“Mikhail, if we don’t make this agreement, this country will either be torn to pieces, merged, or completely destroyed. There is not a single Saint of the Wailing Star left in Russia now.”

“Nonsense…!”

“So shut up and sign.”

Whoosh. The cold air that blew in swept through the conference room in an instant.

Mikhail staggered back.

It wasn’t just a feeling. There was a faint frost on the table.

Ivan picked up the fountain pen on the desk and handed it to Mikhail.

Mikhail hesitantly took the fountain pen and drew his signature on the note.

It felt like he was joking.

As Ivan carefully put the note back in his pocket, Mikhail was finally able to breathe. He glared at Ivan and said.

“Do you believe that just one Hunter has the same value as the country’s army and nuclear weapons?”

“I want to say that my patriotism is not like that… but looking at the current situation, it will be a choice that keeps our lifeline.”

“This…”

Mikhail leaned back in his chair as if collapsing. He couldn’t understand how Russia had fallen to this point.

In just over two days.

Mikhail lashed out at Ivan as if to show his last bit of pride.

“…But it would be difficult to believe that a single piece of paper has deterrent power, Ivan. That kind of treaty is established only after a certain amount of mutual trust has been built up. What if we just ignore it?”

“If Kang Hyun-woo needs this agreement and we ignore it.”

Ivan said calmly.

“When we fall into hell, we will fall without a lifeline. No, at that time, Kang Hyun-woo will be the guy who kicks our butts and tramples on our fingers.”

***

“The Lin Huimin purge seems to have gone well. Lee Seoyeon.”

Helen said, pouring tea into the teacup placed in front of Lee Seoyeon.

“With this, the South China Union has completely entered our faction. It’s a pity that we lost several capable Hunters, but we finished the purge well without the big losses we expected. Seeing that you have absorbed that faction well, should I say that you are worthy of being a leader, you have done it very competently.”

“Thank you. Helen. I was lucky.”

“Luck.”

Helen smiled softly.

“No. You have something more than luck. I think I know why Kang Hyun-woo is paying attention to you. And the Starving Star too.”

Lee Seoyeon flinched.

Helen’s last words were a kind of check.

‘Too fast.’

Of course, success is better the faster it is, but if you stand out before building a sufficient foundation, you may end up like Lin Huimin.

Revealing ambition while stopping at an appropriate level. That was the way to survive within the Starving Star’s forces.

Or have only low-level desires that will never be checked.

“What did the Starving Star say…”

“The Starving Star wants to give you a trial.”

A trial.

It was an opportunity to rise to the ranks of the Saints.

But Lee Seoyeon was just as anxious. It is difficult to overcome the ordeal and survive as it is now.

Then Helen tapped the sofa and said.

“But it’s impossible now. You still have little experience as an ability user.”

Lee Seoyeon just bowed her head deeply.

“Hurry up and get stronger. Soon, an era will come when individual power becomes important. Of course, the best thing is to end this game before that… Oh, come to think of it, I had another mission for you.”

“Yes.”

Lee Seoyeon took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“I have found out about some of the alliance members. The alliance seems to have infiltrated the US central government. Perhaps with a high probability, they are already dominating the United States, as well as… the UN.”