The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 195

194

“Wh-What did you say…?”

Karma Corporation, headquarters.

Kim Min-ju, having belatedly heard the news, jumped up from her seat.

“Monsters have escaped in Hong Kong! Dungeons are constantly appearing as well. The downtown area has been completely devastated!”

Chief Ha Seong-il delivered the news once again in an agitated voice.

“Teacher… is Teacher alright?”

“The last contact was at the airport, but now that airport has collapsed…”

“……!”

Kim Min-ju’s pupils shook violently.

At the same time, her gaze wandered, unable to find a place to settle.

But only for a moment, Kim Min-ju quickly bit her trembling lip and regained her composure.

That’s right, it’s Kim Jun-woo, the one and only.

There’s no way that man would die just because an airport collapsed.

He must have escaped in advance, or even if he couldn’t evacuate in time, he would have survived somehow.

In any case, the important thing is that Kim Jun-woo is currently unreachable.

In such a situation, nothing will be accomplished if she loses her composure as well.

‘First, let’s start with what I can do…….’

She muttered to herself for a moment.

“…When was the accident?”

Soon regaining her composure, she asked Chief Ha Seong-il.

“5 hours ago.”

“It will be difficult for the Hong Kong branch to handle this situation on its own. If it’s been 5 hours, they would have already requested support from headquarters. Teacher is stuck, so he can’t do anything…”

Kim Min-ju calmly assessed the situation.

But the more she organized her thoughts, the more uneasy she felt.

Doesn’t everything fit together too perfectly, as if planned?

The accident suddenly occurred as soon as they went to Hong Kong for the acquisition.

The first place to be attacked was exactly the airport where Kim Jun-woo was.

Is this really a coincidence?

‘Unless they deliberately tied up Teacher’s feet and are trying to recapture the Hong Kong branch in the midst of the chaos…….’

Reaching that point, Kim Min-ju couldn’t stay still any longer.

She immediately took out her phone and called Han Yu-bin.

“Yu-bin, where are you right now?”

「I’m in Uijeongbu. More importantly, did you hear the news? Right now in Hong Kong…!」

“I heard.”

A firm voice.

“Gather all available personnel right now.”

「Are you planning to go there yourself?」

“If we stay like this, the Hong Kong branch will be taken over before we can even do anything.”

「Is this Jun-woo’s order?」

“No. I can’t reach Teacher.”

「Yes, yes?! Did something happen?! Then we need to save Jun-woo first!」

“Teacher will be fine.”

「What do you mean…!」

“Yu-bin, Teacher is fine.”

Kim Min-ju stated firmly.

Han Yu-bin couldn’t argue any further with that firmness.

“Right now, Teacher is doing what he can. So we need to do what we can too.”

「They said the airport was destroyed. How are you going to get there?」

“…….”

That was the crux of the matter.

With the airport collapsed, how would they get to Hong Kong?

In the first place, given the situation, there’s no way they would get landing permission.

More than anything…….

「During the US branch incident, we were able to dispatch personnel easily because they lent us an aircraft, but it’s not the case now. There’s no way to dispatch over 100 people at once. The Chinese Association wouldn’t welcome a third party getting involved either.」

“…….”

Kim Min-ju bit her lip.

They can’t expect China to send a transport plane.

If that’s the case, there’s no way to get to Hong Kong at all…….

“You can go to Guangzhou Airport. It’s the closest place to Hong Kong.”

It was then.

A man burst into the office with his entourage.

Kim Min-ju and Chief Ha Seong-il’s eyes widened.

“P-President… ?”

The unexpected guest was none other than President Jo Hyun-min.

“Landing permission has already been obtained. Prepare immediately.”

“But, there aren’t any flights to carry the personnel and equipment…….”

“The Presidential plane is on standby.”

“……!”

President Jo Hyun-min continued with a determined look.

“It will be sufficient to carry not only the dispatch team but also the equipment.”

“…Thank you.”

“It’s a project that I personally approved. Of course, I should help as much as I can.”

President Jo Hyun-min smiled.

But soon, he continued seriously.

“However, the problem is after arriving in Guangzhou. According to what we’ve found out, all roads leading into Hong Kong have already been blocked. You’ll have to use helicopters…….”

“There’s a Hanbyul Construction branch in Guangzhou.”

At that moment, Chief Ha Seong-il stepped forward.

“You can use transport helicopters there. I’ll talk to my sister. She’ll help if it’s related to the CEO.”

President Jo Hyun-min nodded instead of answering.

Soon, Kim Min-ju smiled and picked up her phone again.

“Did you hear that? Form the dispatch team right now and have them on standby.”

She said.

“Let’s go to Hong Kong.”

***

“This is the Headquarters Control Team.”

Hong Kong branch.

The mainland’s support troops finally arrived.

Lai Bi-woo, the control team leader at the forefront, approached Branch Manager Hwang and said.

“As of now, we will take over the operational command of the Hong Kong branch.”

“……I’m in your care.”

Branch Manager Hwang bowed his head and answered to the one who was much younger than him.

Team Leader Lai straightened his back and asked.

“So, what’s the current situation?”

“Civilian evacuation is almost complete, but the escaped monsters have invaded the downtown area.”

“Hmm, I understand. From now on, we’ll take care of it, so you can rest assured, Branch Manager.”

Soon, as he gestured, the control team members belonging to the headquarters plugged in their radios and moved to their respective positions in an orderly manner.

Branch Manager Hwang frowned as he watched the scene.

‘Rest assured…?’

What a load of crap [nonsense].

Even if this incident is handled well, they’ll continue to hold onto the command under the pretext of follow-up measures and future preparations.

Having come this far, the branch is as good as handed over to the headquarters.

“Ah, is the airport rescue operation still in progress?”

At that time, Team Leader Lai asked Branch Manager Hwang.

“Yes? Yes, it is…….”

“Please withdraw everyone immediately. If you continue the operation in the current situation, the rescue team will be in danger.”

“Wh-What are you talking about! There might be survivors…!”

“There might be, but it hasn’t been confirmed, has it?”

“……!”

Branch Manager Hwang was speechless at the absurd answer.

“Frankly, if it’s been destroyed to that extent, there’s no way there will be any survivors. Shouldn’t we avoid endangering the branch personnel because of a slim chance?”

“Still…!”

“Branch Manager.”

Team Leader Lai continued in a firm voice.

“This is an order. You haven’t forgotten that I’m the chief in charge right now, have you?”

“…….”

In the end, Branch Manager Hwang lowered his head.

‘It’s over…….’

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the reality that the branch had really left his hands.

“Then please leave now.”

“……Yes.”

Branch Manager Hwang turned away with a painful expression, leaving those words behind.

And soon.

“Ah… Can I ask you just one thing?”

He turned his head again and opened his mouth towards Team Leader Lai.

“Go ahead.”

“About the airport. It wasn’t in a situation to be attacked by monsters in terms of time or location…….”

Branch Manager Hwang’s sharp gaze turned to Team Leader Lai.

“Do you happen to know what it was attacked by?”

“…….”

At that moment, Team Leader Lai’s face suddenly stiffened.

But only for a moment.

He shrugged his shoulders with a smirk.

“Well, how would I know that? I’m just someone who came out to support after hearing the news.”

“……I see.”

Branch Manager Hwang nodded at the answer, as if it had been decided from the beginning, and left the control room.

Team Leader Ryu, who belonged to the branch and was waiting outside, approached immediately.

“How did it go?”

“How did it go? It’s obvious. From now on, the branch will be commanded by the authorities.”

“Did you ask about the airport incident?”

“……He doesn’t know.”

Team Leader Ryu shook his head.

“That can’t be. I’ve checked several times, but the airport was definitely not in a situation to be attacked.”

“…….”

“Could it be that the authorities deliberately attacked to recapture the branch…….”

“Shh!”

Branch Manager Hwang urgently stopped him.

Then, he glanced at the door of the control room and continued in a low voice.

“I know what you want to say… but not here.”

“…….”

“First, gather only a few trustworthy guys.”

Branch Manager Hwang continued in a sharp voice.

“Let’s search around the airport.”

Team Leader Ryu nodded and immediately left the spot.

***

“Wh-What…….”

“It wasn’t the rescue team?!”

“Wait! Th-That, could it be…?”

Several repeated vibrations.

Soon, the ceiling collapsed once more, and the entrance to the dungeon that had just been created appeared.

“D-Dungeon…?”

“Why is a dungeon here…….”

“Why is this happening!”

The survivors began to stir.

Their faces were a mixture of despair that it wasn’t the rescue team and fear that a dungeon had appeared before their eyes.

But.

“…It’s rather fortunate.”

After staring at the dungeon entrance for a moment, I opened my mouth with a smile.

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“Rather than waiting in a place that could collapse at any moment, the inside of the dungeon will be safer.”

At those words, the survivors’ gazes were drawn to me at once.

I also turned to them and said loudly.

“First, let’s all go into the dungeon. From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem to be a very dangerous grade.”

“G-Go into the dungeon…?”

“Is it really okay…?”

“What if we encounter monsters!”

As expected, there were restless reactions.

But it didn’t last long.

“Ah, screw it, I don’t care! It’s better than staying here and dying!”

Someone shouted, jumping up.

Soon, he headed to the dungeon entrance without hesitation.

“Y-Yeah! Dying here or dying there is the same!”

“The dungeon might be safer!”

Some people got up, following him.

Starting with them, those who had been watching also got up.

The survivors began to enter the dungeon in a line.

“Then let’s go too.”

Branch Manager Lee Ah-young pulled me.

But I shook my head.

“Go in first.”

“……Yes?”

“I’m going to find a way to contact the outside from here for a while.”

“What do you……?”

She trailed off, then nodded as if she knew what it meant.

“Okay. But you have to follow right away. If anything happens, you’re the only one who can protect those people here.”

“I know.”

Only after hearing that answer did Lee Ah-young move towards the dungeon.

After all the survivors entered the dungeon.

I was left alone and took a deep breath.

Since there’s no one around, I could use my skill to blow away the debris altogether…….

But there might still be other survivors somewhere.

If I’m careless, the secondary collapse could endanger others.

I still can’t try to escape.

But at least I can make a hole.

I need a very powerful and sharp blow to prevent a secondary collapse.

“Hoo…….”

[Unique Skill: Demon King – Dictator]

[Creates a disposable skill according to the caster’s thoughts.]

[Skill creation in progress.]

[Skill creation complete.]

[Created Skill: Single Point]

I made the shape of a gun with my fingers and aimed at the ceiling.

[Acquired Skill: Destroyer]

[Due to the Single Point skill, the impact point of the skill is compressed to the maximum.]

The moment I closed one eye and focused all my nerves on the tip of my index finger.

Pyoong―!

The skill, with a thin but sharp power, penetrated the ceiling as it was.

A hole about the thickness of an arm.

Outside air slowly began to enter through it.

But it was still not enough to receive a signal.

I slowly crawled up the space created by the appearance of the dungeon.

As I continued to climb up and catch the signal.

Beep―.

Finally, the phone rang.

At the same time, dozens of missed calls and texts began to pour in like crazy [incessantly].

‘I got a lot…….’

I was slowly checking the texts when.

“Wh-What!”

“Is anyone there?!”

“Hey! Answer me!”

People’s voices were heard from above through the hole.

I immediately raised my voice at the rather welcome sound.

“Yes! There’s someone here! Are you a rescue team from the branch?”

“Ah, no. The rescue teams have all been withdrawn.”

What…?

The rescue teams have been withdrawn?

Even if the work is difficult, how can they do that when there might be survivors left?

‘Tsk…….’

No matter how I think about it, it’s definitely not an order that the branch would issue.

It seems the authorities have finally taken command.

“We are a search team that came out to search under the orders of the branch manager.”

“Excuse me, can you tell me your name?”

“Are there any more survivors inside?”

Their voices were heard again through the hole.

“I’m Kim Jun-woo, the CEO of Karma Corporation. There are more survivors, but a dungeon appeared inside, so I evacuated them there first. There may be more besides us.”

“C-CEO Kim?”

“Are you really CEO Kim?!”

A startled voice.

And then immediately continues.

“P-Please wait a moment. I’ll contact the branch manager right now to resume the rescue operation…….”

“No. Now that the authorities have taken command, it’s dangerous for you, who belong to the branch, to move.”

“H-How did you know…?”

What do you mean how.

It’s obvious.

“Then… what should we do?”

“First, return and just tell the branch manager that there are survivors. And from now on…….”

Saying that, I checked the text I was reading one more time.

「The headquarters dispatch team has arrived at Guangzhou Airport! We’re getting helicopter support from Hanbyul Construction and going to Hong Kong. If you can get in touch, please call right away.」

“A third party will move.”

I put my phone away and smiled.