The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 69

068

Somewhere in Seoul, a shabby office in an old building.

A desk and a chair. A torn-up sofa. That was all there was in Yang Min-ho’s office.

*Ting-!*

Half-sprawled on the sofa, reading a newspaper, Yang Min-ho received an email on his phone.

It was the operation plan that the Balance Adjustment Team had promised to send.

“They’re really taking their time.”

With a rather annoyed expression, Yang Min-ho began to skim through the PDF file. But he soon put his phone down without even reading half of it.

It wasn’t interesting.

‘How bland.’

Yang Min-ho frowned.

He thought they were going to start an all-out war to crush the Korean Association, but all they were doing was a hostile takeover.

Even that method was incredibly uninspired.

‘This is why plans made by office workers are like this……’

Yang Min-ho clicked his tongue.

Then he leaned back in his chair again.

Ranked 1st in Korea. A mage class.

A freelance hunter and fixer.

This was the information known about him in this field.

Everyone from the Association to guilds and other freelancers knew Yang Min-ho’s name, but not a single one of them knew his true affiliation.

Affiliated with PB Corporation, an organization under the International Hunter Association.

In charge of the Hunter Balance Adjustment Team, Korea.

Yang Min-ho held a position commonly referred to as ‘field operative.’

The job of a field operative was to deal with individuals who could pose a threat to the International Association, unregistered hunters, and hunters who disrupt the balance.

He heard that there were a few other field operatives in Korea besides him… but he didn’t know who they were. He had only been scouted as a field operative for PB Corporation relatively recently, so that was even more so.

About a year ago. Not long after achieving the rank of 1st in Korea.

While he was working as a fixer and the nickname ‘Cleaner’ began to spread in the industry, a middle-aged man with a thick beard came to find Yang Min-ho.

He introduced himself as Marc, the team leader of the Hunter Balance Adjustment Team at PB Corporation.

Yang Min-ho naturally scoffed.

He had heard similar stories before.

A secret organization that tries to eliminate elements that could threaten the International Association and control all subjugation rights around the world.

It was a fairly famous urban legend among hunters.

-Do you know who first spread that fact?

That day, Team Leader Marc said.

-Probably no one in the world knows. Their existence itself has been deleted. Well… if you reveal what I’m saying now, you might end up like that too.

It was a tone that couldn’t be mistaken for bluffing or joking.

At that point, Yang Min-ho had no choice but to believe the man.

The reason PB Corporation scouted him was simpler than he thought.

They had been watching his fixer activities closely and wanted him to use his skills for them in the future.

In addition, the fact that he was a top-ranked hunter who was not affiliated with any organization and had freedom of activity was also seen as a positive.

After a moment of consideration, Yang Min-ho accepted Marc’s offer.

It wasn’t much different from his fixer work, and it seemed quite interesting. Besides, the amount he offered was quite substantial.

He had been working as a field operative for a year, receiving several missions… but the results were not as satisfactory as he had initially expected.

He believed that something different was waiting for him, but in reality, it wasn’t much different from before.

Receive money and handle the work.

That was all.

Of course, it was the same now.

‘Chief Kim Jun-woo……’

He had a feeling that he would meet that guy again someday.

He was quite looking forward to the thought of that guy, who was always full of justice and uprightness, kneeling before him and begging for his life…

‘The Balance Adjustment Team beat me to it.’

Since it had become a job, he couldn’t handle it with personal desires. The company wouldn’t like it if things got messy.

‘If he wanted to live, he should have just kept a low profile, why did he have to be so extra……’

They say don’t stand out if you don’t want to die, but he ended up standing out even more. To PB Corporation, no less.

‘It’s his fate.’

Yang Min-ho clicked his tongue.

It was a shame that he couldn’t deal with it personally… but there was nothing he could do.

He had no choice but to keep it simple.

***

Ares Guild office, which I visited for this operation cooperation request.

“Of course, it’s an okay from us.”

Guild Leader Cha Seok-hyun answered immediately.

I turned my gaze to the woman sitting next to him.

“What about Ms. Yoo Ji-woo? I repeat, you don’t have to participate. We also consider it a very dangerous operation.”

“We should definitely participate too.”

Yoo Ji-woo, the representative of the Aphrodite Guild, also smiled brightly as she replied.

She accepted so readily that I was rather taken aback.

Did these people really understand?

I felt uneasy for some reason…….

“I’m glad everyone is available. We will provide the necessary equipment. Roughly how many people can each guild deploy?”

Cha Seok-hyun tapped his forehead and opened his mouth.

“If we only pick the ones who are at least somewhat skilled…… it’ll be about ten people. Including me, of course!”

“Same here for us.”

“I understand. Then please contact me as soon as the specific list is out. I’ll put the names on the subjugation team list.”

Just as I was about to get up from my seat, thinking that the conversation was roughly over, Guild Leader Cha Seok-hyun casually asked.

“By the way, is the Chief also participating in this operation?”

“I wanted to, but one of the operation team leaders vehemently opposed it.”

Saying that it didn’t make sense for someone who was even a Chief to take risks again.

I wanted to tell him to worry about himself before worrying about others, but I couldn’t be bothered.

“That’s a shame. I really wanted to go on an operation with the Chief at least once!”

“Well, this isn’t the only operation.”

“That’s right. I hope we can work together next time.”

Cha Seok-hyun laughed loudly as he replied.

Then, as if something suddenly came to mind, he clapped his hands and continued.

“Ah! Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Of course.”

“By any chance, Chief… are you a hunter?”

“…….”

My eyebrows twitched for a moment.

I wasn’t trying to hide it, but I wasn’t revealing it either.

But I wondered how that guy, who had never been on an operation with me, knew that.

“When I first heard that you were from the cleaning service, I naturally thought you were a regular person…… But the moment I saw your face on the news, I couldn’t help but think that you weren’t a regular person. How should I put it, your eyes were a bit beast-like.”

…Is he picking a fight?

“But when I heard that you were personally leading this rescue operation, I had a hunch. What kind of cleaner would willingly enter an orange-grade dungeon? No matter how brave you are. Hahaha!”

Putting aside his impressions of me, he was a surprisingly perceptive guy for his size.

“Well, I am an ability user.”

“As expected! Then, what’s your ranking?”

“I’m not a hunter. I haven’t registered my rank.”

Cha Seok-hyun looked surprised.

“……Is there a special reason?”

“There was no need to. It’s not urgent, and I plan to do it later if necessary.”

“If that’s the case… well, wouldn’t it be better to do it as soon as possible?”

“Is there a reason?”

“Well, isn’t there a story like that? That there’s a secret organization in the International Association that finds and kills people who are considered threats or unregistered hunters……”

“Hahaha…….”

I couldn’t help but laugh sincerely.

Han Yu-bin had mentioned it before, and above all, it was a story that was quite popular in my past life.

But wasn’t that just an urban legend?

“I didn’t expect you to believe in such things.”

“Well…….”

Cha Seok-hyun trailed off, then lowered his voice and continued.

“There’s no such thing as an urban legend without a reason.”

Then he immediately made a playful expression.

“Well… thanks for the advice.”

I didn’t know how to react, so I answered appropriately.

“Then I’ll get up first. We’ll contact you as soon as we’re ready.”

“Yes, we’ll be waiting. Please go safely!”

I took a deep breath as I left the building.

The operation preparation is going smoothly without any major problems.

Enough personnel, enough support.

The support team’s equipment has also improved significantly, and the control team is analyzing more enthusiastically than ever.

The operation team hunters had gained confidence after experiencing several large-scale operations, and above all, Kim Min-joo was sharpening her knife as if to make up for her previous mistakes.

The first red-grade operation since my regression.

But as long as I have the operation rights, there will be no problems.

While I was thinking about this and that, my phone rang.

It was Chief Secretary Lee Ah-young.

「Is the meeting over?」

“Yes, it’s over. I plan to have lunch and return.”

「Is that so? Then stop by the management office when you get back. The equipment you requested and the underwater combat suit are all ready.」

“You’ve already completed it? It was made quite quickly than I thought.”

「Hmm? We didn’t make it. We fixed a few that were left over from before, and urgently brought in what was missing from overseas.」

“…So it’s secondhand.”

「You’re not going to complain about that, are you? If we don’t do this, we’ll never be able to meet the operation schedule?」

Chief Secretary Lee Ah-young retorted.

I have no intention of complaining either.

It was enough that she had prepared the equipment according to the schedule.

「Oh, and the suit is also limited in terms of schedule and quantity, so we prepared it exactly for the number of operation participants. There are no extras, so don’t even think about it.」

“…? What does that mean.”

「It means don’t even think about participating in the operation later. You rush in without hesitation if your subordinates are even slightly in danger.」

“……?”

Me?

When did I ever do that?

Is she being sarcastic?

「Anyway, stay out of dangerous things. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? No one will say anything if you slack off a little.」

“I understand. By the way, is there any progress in the time stone research?”

I quickly changed the subject because it seemed like the nagging wouldn’t stop.

「Well, to some extent?」

“What kind of answer is that.”

Chief Secretary Lee Ah-young let out a vague groan and continued.

「As you know better than anyone, loop dungeons loop time until certain conditions are met. It seems that the power comes from the time stone.」

“That’s quite a discovery…….”

Isn’t that something anyone could guess? You spent 50 billion won just to find that out?

「But one peculiar thing is… it seems that this doesn’t only apply to dungeons.」

“Then where else does it apply?”

「I don’t know. We need to do more research, but for now, we’re speculating that it might apply not only to space but also to objects or the human body.」

We’re speculating.

In the end, that means you haven’t found out anything.

Just as I was about to say something, a spark suddenly flashed in my head.

“Lee Ah-young.”

「Yes?」

“Do you happen to believe in urban legends?”

It was the moment when a hypothesis was formed in my head.