The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 100

099

“……Junwoo? Junwoo!”

“Yes, yes?”

I was momentarily lost in old memories I didn’t particularly want to recall.

When I came to my senses, Lee Ah-young was right in front of me, looking worried.

“What’s wrong with you? If something’s wrong, say something.”

“No, I was just thinking about the past.”

“What happened to make you look like that…….”

I turned my head slightly and saw my face reflected in the monitor.

I was taken aback by my rather fierce expression.

Anyone would think something terrible had already happened…….

“Haha, it’s nothing.”

I said, forcing a smile.

Even so, my gaze kept drifting towards the calendar.

The fact that the disaster that had struck so suddenly before my regression was only a month away began to complicate my thoughts.

Regen Dungeon.

The official name is Unstable Dimension Generation Dungeon.

Unlike regular dungeons, where fixed monsters reside in a confined space, this special dungeon has dimensions splitting open, constantly pouring out monsters.

It’s a dungeon that has only appeared twice in the history of dungeons worldwide. The first time was 40 years ago in South America, and because the subjugation system wasn’t established at the time, little information remains.

In fact, special dungeon or not, this dungeon is very special to me.

Because it was the only dungeon I failed to subjugate during my active duty.

‘I was too busy stopping the monsters from escaping, let alone entering the dungeon…….’

I later learned through analysis that Regen Dungeons don’t have a boss in the first place.

It doesn’t have the typical structure where the dungeon closes once the boss is dealt with. You can only stop the endless stream of monsters.

In other words, it was a dungeon that was impossible to subjugate from the start, and it received the ‘Omega’ rating, the first practically impossible subjugation rating in the world.

In fact, the dungeon itself was dimensionally unstable, so it naturally disappeared in just five days… but the damage caused by that dungeon during those five days was enormous.

It was a disaster of unprecedented proportions, with 40% of the entire operation team from headquarters, as well as ordinary citizens, dying.

Ironically, before my regression, I started to rise sharply from that incident.

Nicknames like ‘the front line’ and ‘the ultimate weapon’ started to follow me, and I was promoted to S-rank soon after.

From then on, I was pretty much on a winning streak.

However, unlike my rise, the Association began to decline significantly from that incident.

Well, it couldn’t have remained intact after experiencing such an event.

It was barely breathing, and normal operations were difficult.

And taking advantage of that gap, the International Association began to interfere with the internal affairs.

In fact, I received a lot of help at the time.

The reason they scouted me, even though they never scouted hunters from other associations, was because of that.

They hadn’t officially taken over, but I was practically a puppet of the International Association.

‘Well, I thought that was okay back then…….’

The situation has changed a lot now.

Even though I’m running a cleaning team dispatch business, my real purpose is something else.

Now that I’m suspicious of everything about the International Association, I have to avoid anything that could get me caught.

‘I need to get through this somehow…….’

The problem is… there’s no way to prevent the upcoming situation right now.

To stop the Regen Dungeon, you need to mobilize at least 30 or more operation teams.

However, legally, you can only mobilize that many operation teams when the government officially declares a state of emergency.

In the end, you can only issue a mobilization order after the Regen Dungeon appears… but that would be too late.

Enormous damage will occur in just a day or two.

I bit my lip.

As I was racking my brain about what to do.

Knock, knock—

Someone knocked on the office door.

“……Do we have an interview scheduled today?”

“No. I haven’t heard anything like that.”

Just as Lee Ah-young was speaking in a puzzled voice, the office door opened with a click.

“Um…….”

As soon as we saw the man who cautiously entered, our eyes widened without exception.

“Can I still apply to be a cleaner…?”

“…….”

“…….”

We were speechless and couldn’t answer right away.

The unexpected applicant was none other than the former leader of Operation Team 2 of the Seoul Headquarters.

It was Im Dong-bin.

***

Seoul Operations Headquarters Office.

‘I’m screwed. Shit.’

Chief Choi Ho-sung tore at his hair.

In the end, the training center was established in the Suncheon branch.

Thanks to Shim Hyun-soo, that bastard, not being able to use his power and being pushed out, the construction that had been set up for days had become useless.

As the news of the training center construction hit the media, calls poured in like crazy from the construction company that had a pre-contract with the Seongnam branch manager and all sorts of companies that had been given advance notice.

He calmed them down by saying he would return what he had received… but the important thing wasn’t really that.

The important thing was that each company had already started the project, believing only in Choi Ho-sung.

And as soon as the project was dropped, each company billed Choi Ho-sung for all the penalties.

In fact, it couldn’t be said that it was all Choi Ho-sung’s responsibility, but unless he paid them back, they threatened to expose the bribes he had taken, so Choi Ho-sung had no choice.

The problem was that the amount was not something he could handle alone.

‘Shit…….’

Chief Choi Ho-sung’s fist clenched tightly.

What the hell is this because of that bastard Shim Hyun-soo?

He shouldn’t at least be throwing dirt on his own work, even if he can’t be of any help.

He ran a hand over his face in frustration.

‘What do I do now…….’

Well, he said that, but the options were actually set.

Either pay with his own money or shut his mouth and endure until his corruption is exposed, either way, he’ll end up on the streets.

Then there’s only one way.

To tamper with the budget.

‘If I get caught with this, it’s really over…….’

There’s no choice.

He might as well do something since he’s going to be screwed either way.

Of course, he can’t openly embezzle the budget, he has to find a project that’s hard to check and that internal people don’t know much about…….

Choi Ho-sung turned on the computer and started checking various documents on the internal network.

And soon after, something interesting caught his eye in the recent budget allocation details.

‘…External business support?’

He had heard of it vaguely before.

It was an agenda directly promoted by the Association President recently, a support project with the aim of promoting the development of various fields by supporting external companies related to the Association.

Well, he didn’t really care much at the time and it wasn’t very important, so he just thought so.

‘Why is the allocated budget so large…?’

Now that he sees it again, something is strange.

How much support are they going to give to allocate a budget of several billion won?

Choi Ho-sung began to look at the list of companies being supported by the budget.

A byproduct treatment facility in Yeoju.

A equipment and material processing subcontractor in Incheon.

An item import and export transportation company in Suwon.

And a cleaning team dispatch company in Seoul.

‘Karma Corporation…….’

His eyes narrowed.

As a matter of fact, the subsidy for Karma Corporation was almost three times higher than that of other companies.

At that moment, a spark flashed in his head.

When a conflict arose between the company and Shim Hyun-soo at the Suncheon branch, the construction of the training center was suddenly not promoted.

As if some big shot had given direct instructions to the higher-ups.

In conjunction with that, the dispatch order for Operation Team 1 suddenly came down from above…… and less than a month later, the guild that had a firm grip on the Suncheon area was entirely absorbed into Karma Corporation.

Should this be seen as a coincidence?

‘Or is there a collusive relationship between the company and the higher-ups of the Association…….’

Chief Choi Ho-sung searched for Karma Corporation.

He checked the articles and searched the official website, but for some reason, he couldn’t find any information about the company’s representative.

He also contacted branch managers who were friends with him, but they said that a manager named ‘Chief’ was in charge of the contract, so they didn’t know who the representative was either.

It was as if they were deliberately trying to hide their identity.

As he continued his investigation for a long time.

“Huh…….”

He was finally able to find the representative’s name on the National Tax Service website.

“Look at this…?”

Chief Choi Ho-sung let out a hollow laugh.

Kim Junwoo.

As the familiar three characters came into view, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place in Choi Ho-sung’s mind.

It’s clear.

The current Association President is secretly pushing Kim Junwoo using his position.

They say there’s a way out even if the sky falls.

He’s caught a big one unintentionally.

‘If I do this well…….’

The corruption of former Chief Kim Junwoo, who is being deified in the media, and the current Association President.

This won’t end with just the Association President’s head flying off.

The entire headquarters will be devastated.

So if he makes a deal with the Association President with this…….

He can fix it.

Beyond fixing it, he can take over the headquarters if he does well.

A faint smile spread across Chief Choi Ho-sung’s lips.

But in order to make a deal, he needs more solid evidence.

It’s not enough that the subsidy paid to Karma Corporation is higher than that of other companies.

Of course, if he’s really pushing him, there won’t be just this. There will definitely be more leaking out without him knowing.

He needs more solid and more evidence.

But there’s a limit to finding out about it within the Association… so he’ll have to find out from that company’s side.

“I need an insider…….”

Should he seduce those employees?

No. That’s meaningless.

Didn’t all the cleaners who were recently laid off go to that company?

Those guys who benefited from Kim Junwoo at one time won’t try to move just because he gives them a few bucks.

Above all, he might get caught.

If he gets caught in the preparation stage, he won’t be able to start and will end up making a mess.

‘Then…….’

Choi Ho-sung picked up his phone.

“Oh, it’s been a while. How are you doing?”

「…What’s wrong, Senior?」

It was former Operation Team 2 Leader, Im Dong-bin.

“It’s not that, I was wondering if you could help me with one thing.”

「……I’ve been living hand to mouth since I left the Association. What power do I have to help you, Senior?」

“I guess so. I was going to help you somehow, but I was in a difficult situation at the time…… I’m sorry. But hey, if you do well, you might be able to return.”

「…….」

Silence continued for a while.

「What is it?」

“It’s not difficult. You know about the cleaning team dispatch company that’s popular these days, right?”

「I’ve heard of it.」

“Go in there and just take out a few documents.”

Choi Ho-sung’s eyes were gradually coming to life.