The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 177

176

After a period of agonizing, Oliver opened the door.

The man standing before him looked utterly worn.

His hair and beard were unkempt.

His eyes were hollow, with dark circles stretching down towards his chin.

He was so thin that his very existence seemed questionable; he looked as though he hadn’t seen daylight in months.

“Is two the end of the line? There aren’t any more of you?”

“Yes. This is our operations director…”

“I don’t care. Shut up and come in.”

Oliver cut me off and gestured for us to enter.

Even after stepping inside, he meticulously checked the surroundings several times before finally closing the door.

‘Oh, dear…’

I shook my head as I took in the interior of the house.

The living room was shrouded in darkness, even in broad daylight, due to the blackout curtains covering all the windows.

The place was a mess, as if cleaning were an alien concept, and firearms were strewn carelessly in plain sight.

Most strikingly, every door was fitted with multiple locks.

‘I’m starting to get a picture of how he lives.’

After a quick scan of the house, I turned to Oliver and asked,

“Do you live alone? I heard you had a wife and children.”

“What kind of woman would stick around in a house like this? I got divorced a long time ago.”

“…I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Save your empty words.”

Oliver slumped onto the sofa, which was littered with empty liquor bottles.

“Is it the International Association?”

“…What?”

“I’m asking if the reason you’re living in such fear is because of them.”

“…”

Oliver’s face clouded over for a moment.

But he quickly sighed deeply and nodded.

“…That’s right. The constant fear that they might come and kill me at any moment has made it impossible to live a normal life.”

“Kill you? Are you being threatened?”

“…”

He hesitated before answering.

“Before we get to that, tell me your story first. I almost laughed when you said you were going to get rid of the International Association. Are you serious about that?”

He countered with a question of his own.

‘Is he trying to gauge whether I’m trustworthy…?’

How irritating.

“Of course.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“My plan is to acquire all the independent associations, including the International Association branches worldwide.”

“Is that all? What if the branches refuse the acquisition offer?”

“Then I will buy the local subjugation rights for the country and carry out the subjugation myself. I can weaken their influence without necessarily acquiring the branches. That’s why I need a lot of experienced people who can be put to work right away. The reason I came to you is because of that… or at least, that’s the reason on the surface.”

“Hmm.”

His reaction was unreadable.

Perhaps he didn’t care about the details from the start.

“What’s your real reason for wanting to get rid of the International Association? Is it a business ambition or something?”

“It’s a bit more personal than that.”

“What is it?”

“I want to be the Secretary-General before I die. But I’m not on good terms with the existing International Association… so I figured it would be faster to create a new one myself.”

“…Ha! I’ve seen all kinds of crazy bastards.”

“I hear that often.”

Oliver offered a slight smile for the first time.

I seized the opportunity and pressed on.

“But I heard that the International Association recently got their hands on something very important.”

“…What?”

“If they have that, it might be impossible for me to get rid of the International Association. So I made a deal with an employee of the International Association. In exchange for handing over that item to us, I would look into the incident from three years ago.”

“…!”

“That’s the real reason I came to see you.”

I leaned forward towards Oliver.

“What exactly happened in that dungeon three years ago?”

Oliver clamped his mouth shut again.

He looked deeply troubled.

“…Okay, damn it, I’ll tell you. But you have to keep your word and get rid of the International Association.”

“Of course.”

After glancing at me and Kim Min-ju with a worried expression, he finally spoke.

“Eden.”

“…Yes?”

“Three years ago, I found Eden in that dungeon.”

“…”

Damn it, what is he talking about?

***

“You need Lee Neung-seok and the Time Stone?”

International Association headquarters, Secretary-General’s office.

Secretary-General Wesley asked Team Leader Noah Balance.

“Yes.”

“Why do you need them?”

“I’m going to kill Kim Jun-woo.”

“…”

Secretary-General Wesley looked at him with a curious expression.

“I don’t think there’s any need to do that now. We’ve already gotten everything we needed, haven’t we?”

“I sensed he was dangerous when I met him last time. I’ve been preparing a plan ever since. If we leave him alone, he’ll bring even greater disaster.”

“…”

Secretary-General Wesley stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Indeed, even with all the Bank Items in our possession, Kim Jun-woo remains a concern, as Team Leader Noah pointed out.

The only being we can’t control.

An unpredictable variable.

If he truly is a knight who traveled to the past to stop me, he will undoubtedly launch another desperate attack before long.

It would be ideal if he killed him…

“Are you aware that even before you, there were several attempts to kill Kim Jun-woo, and they all failed? Those failures led to a major reshuffle within PB Corporation.”

“I know.”

“Can you kill him for sure?”

“If my plan goes as expected, I can definitely kill him.”

“And you absolutely need Lee Neung-seok and the Time Stone for that plan?”

“Yes.”

“Haha, hahaha!”

Secretary-General Wesley suddenly burst into laughter.

The timing is too convenient.

“Did you make a deal with Kim Jun-woo?”

“…!”

“What? Did Kim Jun-woo tell you the reason your sister died? And in return, he asked you to bring back the Bank Items?”

At that moment, Team Leader Noah lunged at Wesley.

He grabbed him by the collar.

“…Did you know?”

“What are you talking about? That the cleaner who died at the US branch three years ago was your sister? Or that you’ve been digging into us ever since?”

“You hired me knowing that? What, were you planning to monitor me from the side?”

“Of course not. I genuinely hired you because I needed your strength. Even if you suspect us… I have nothing to hide.”

“What?”

Noah’s grip on the collar loosened.

Secretary-General Wesley straightened his collar and began to speak.

“We didn’t kill your sister.”

Team Leader Noah’s eyebrows twitched violently.

“Eden was found in that dungeon three years ago. The cleaning team accidentally stumbled upon it while cleaning the dungeon after the operation team failed to locate it.”

Wesley continued.

“Of course, the proper procedure would have been to report it to the branch… but what do they know? If it’s truly Eden, it would fetch a high price on the black market. And if they kept their mouths shut, there would be no reason to report it.”

“Sophia wouldn’t do that…”

“Yes. She seemed to be against it.”

Team Leader Noah swallowed hard.

“I heard she said she would report everything to the branch. Then there was an argument, during which one man pushed her, and an accident occurred.”

“Wh-what…?”

“The man who killed your sister wasn’t us, but her colleague.”

His hands began to tremble.

“The Balance Team, which detects Eden’s ability, arrived at the dungeon late and encountered them as they were leaving. But suddenly, they threw Eden back into the dungeon.”

“…”

“They must have mistaken the Balance Team for the police and tried to destroy the evidence. After that, they made a deal with everyone. They would cover up what they did, and in return, they wouldn’t tell anyone about Eden.”

Secretary-General Wesley shrugged.

“Anyway, Eden is still trapped in the dungeon with your sister. It needs to reappear soon… but there’s no news.”

“…”

“How does that sound? Now that we’ve cleared up the misunderstanding, I don’t think you need to make a deal with Kim Jun-woo.”

“In my eyes, the guy who killed my sister and the guy who covered it up are one and the same.”

Noah’s eyes flashed with anger for a moment.

But it didn’t last long.

They are definitely the same, but he had already decided who to deal with first.

“The man who killed Sophia… what’s his name?”

“What was it…”

Secretary-General Wesley stroked his chin, searching his memory.

“Oliver!”

He snapped his fingers and said.

“I think his name was Oliver Johnson.”

“…”

As soon as he heard the name, Team Leader Noah turned and left the office without a word.

Watching him go, Secretary-General Wesley gave a faint smile.

***

“…”

“…”

Oliver finished his story, but we remained frozen, speechless.

‘Damn it, Eden actually exists…?’

More than that…

This bastard killed Noah’s sister?

I felt dizzy from the unexpected revelation.

‘I’m glad I sent Han Yu-bin somewhere else…’

If he had been here, he would have beaten Oliver to a pulp while listening to the story.

Damn it.

Things are more complicated than I thought.

Is it right to pass this information on to Noah as it is?

Knowing him, he’ll probably say that the killer and the cover-up are the same and try to wipe them all out…

‘Damn it, I don’t know.’

Anyway, recovering the Bank Items is the priority.

Whether he can accept it or not is a problem for later.

“I told you not to talk, but I told you because you said you would get rid of the International Association. I’m so anxious that you’ll come. Look at this! How can anyone live like this!”

“Then, were you planning to live comfortably after killing someone because of your greed?”

“…What?”

“Apart from me getting rid of the International Association, you’ll have to pay the price for your actions.”

“I, I knew it! Are you going to report me to the police?! Do you think the International Association will leave me alone?! There’s no evidence anyway, so I won’t be indicted!”

Oliver’s voice grew increasingly frantic.

“There’s no way to put me in jail legally! So don’t do anything stupid and get rid of the International Association quickly…”

“When did I say I would handle it legally?”

“…Wh-what?”

“It won’t be that easy.”

Just as I was contemplating how to use the man in front of me…

[Unique Skill: Apocalypse]

Bang—!!!

Half of the house exploded with a sudden roar.