The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 204

203

Chinese Association Headquarters.

Unlike the Hong Kong branch, this place, which I visited to finalize the current matter, was magnificent in every aspect, from the building’s exterior to the office’s interior.

‘They must have skimmed off quite a bit…….’

Thinking that, I waited for the man sitting across from me, engrossed in reading the contract.

I wasn’t fully recovered yet, and I ached here and there, but what could I do?

I couldn’t keep postponing the matter that even the President of South Korea had intervened to resolve.

“So…….”

Finally, the middle-aged man spoke after examining the contract for a long time.

The man’s name was Wang Xian.

He was none other than China’s Minister of National Defense and the acting chairman of the Chinese Association for this negotiation.

“As a condition for the merger, Karma Corporation will have the right to govern China, not the Chinese government?”

“Yes. That includes the clause that the Chinese government will not interfere in any internal affairs of the branch.”

“I see…….”

He stroked his chin.

Naturally, he wouldn’t like the condition.

Especially not the Chinese Minister of National Defense.

The Chinese government currently utilizes the Chinese Association extensively.

Controlling special autonomous regions is one of their key activities.

But if the Chinese Association is taken over by a Korean company, and they can no longer interfere, they will lose significant influence.

To put it bluntly, it’s like giving away a substantial portion of China.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can accept this condition.”

It was a reasonable stance for him to take.

“I anticipated you would say that.”

I calmly continued.

“By the way, this isn’t my concern, but may I ask what your plans are for subjugation [the act of bringing an area or people under control] in the future?”

“…….”

“As you know, the grace period for joining the International Association has ended. Now the International Association has the sole right to authorize subjugation globally, and permits will only be issued to affiliated organizations.”

Of course, except for Karma Corporation.

“The Chinese Association withdrew from the International Association, correct? If you don’t partner with us, you won’t be able to conduct subjugation activities in the future.”

This is a threat.

A threat that China will be at a disadvantage if they don’t collaborate with us now.

Minister Wang seemed to understand, and he smirked.

“We are the world’s second-largest economic power and the center of Asia. We can exert sufficient influence even without joining either faction.”

“Are you suggesting creating a third power bloc?”

“It’s certainly possible…….”

“It’s impossible.”

I interrupted him and answered immediately.

“What…?”

The State Councilor raised his eyebrows as if I had offended him.

“I said creating a third power bloc is impossible.”

“On what basis?”

“There’s no specific basis. It’s simply the prevailing international sentiment.”

“…….”

He fell silent at my firm response.

Seizing the opportunity, I presented newspapers from various countries, placing them in front of him.

“As you can see, global public opinion widely condemns China for conducting airstrikes to absorb special autonomous regions, endangering civilians. I understand you’re attempting to cover it up, but that alone won’t suffice. Moreover…….”

I stared directly into Minister Wang’s eyes and continued in a low voice.

“This isn’t the first instance, is it?”

“…….”

Instead of answering, he silently stared at the newspaper.

“China has already become the world’s public enemy. Perhaps it’s presumptuous of me to say, but your past actions have contributed to this perception. In this situation, can China genuinely be recognized as an independent subjugation force?”

“……Ha!”

Minister Wang let out a hollow laugh.

“Since when have we sought recognition from the international community? We don’t require their approval. We’ll manage our own affairs!”

“Do you believe that approach will succeed?”

“Of course…!”

“The system isn’t that flexible.”

Frankly, I dislike the International Association holding the right to subjugate.

No, it’s more than dislike; I want to dismantle it.

That’s why I’m going through all this trouble.

It’s not just me; every country in the world likely feels the same way.

Nevertheless, why do they so obediently follow the International Association?

Because they still control the system.

If we rashly disregard them simply because they’re flawed, all the systems built upon that foundation will collapse.

No matter how absurd it may seem, we must adhere to the International Association until we re-establish the underlying framework.

Even countries that dislike the International Association understand this.

The world recognizes that fact, and they won’t tolerate anyone who ignores this rule.

The collapse of order leads to chaos, and that chaos directly impacts all our lives.

In other words, if China, which has been completely ostracized by the international community, recklessly proposes a third force or self-subjugation…….

“The entire world will unite to stop China with all its might. To put it bluntly… it would mean war.”

“……!”

“Minister Wang, are you prepared to wage war against the entire world?”

Minister Wang Xian’s face darkened momentarily.

It’s understandable.

No matter how powerful a country is, it wouldn’t willingly make the entire world its enemy.

“If not, simply sign the agreement obediently.”

“You, you son of a bitch…!”

He crumpled the contract and glared at me.

Of course, it’s just empty bluster.

Because the outcome is already decided.

In the first place, China, now isolated, has no other option.

Either remain alone and become irrelevant, or abandon your pride and submit to someone else’s authority.

That’s it.

“……Okay, fine. I’ll accept it.”

Minister Wang seemed to understand this well, and he finally relented.

“The government simply can’t interfere with the branch’s affairs, correct?”

“Ah, one more thing. Please exclude officials from the Party and all national government officials from senior positions within the branch.”

“What, what?! Why are you bringing that up now…!”

“What’s the point of non-interference if you fill all the management positions with government officials?”

His brow furrowed even more.

He was clearly unhappy, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Okay, like that…….”

“Ah, one more thing. Pay 10% of the annual subjugation sales and 15% of the total by-products to the headquarters every year.”

“What, what…?”

“Finally, promise to provide assistance in any case when the headquarters requests…….”

“What are you doing now! Are you trying to swindle us!”

“Swindle?”

At that word, which I couldn’t ignore, I stared silently into his eyes.

“Are you complaining about this much trickery when you’ve played tricks with people’s lives?”

“……!”

Minister Wang closed his mouth, seemingly speechless.

It seemed like the discussion was concluding, so I stood up from my seat.

“You must remember everything I said without missing a single detail. If you don’t want to be abandoned by us as well.”

“Keuk…!”

“Then, I’ll be on my way.”

I heard him grinding his teeth behind me, but I left without paying attention.

As I exited the building and stepped onto the road, my cell phone rang.

As expected, it was Director Lee Ah-young.

「How did it go?」

“It went well. Well, it was a predetermined outcome from the start.”

「If that’s the case, I could have gone… You’re not even in good shape.」

“What are you talking about now? Who insisted that I go in person for the sake of preparation?”

「…….」

She’s silent, probably feeling guilty.

But that was only for a moment, as she quickly changed the subject and spoke.

「Anyway! This acquisition is quite significant for us as well.」

“Is that so?”

「Of course. With this, all of East Asia belongs to Karma Corporation. Conquering the continent also means that we are now on par with the International Association.」

“Hmm.”

Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?

After all, the Chinese Association is the only branch directly operated by the headquarters.

The rest are only affiliated with Korea but operate independently.

「You’ll be busier in the future.」

“Is there anything more to be busy with?”

「Isn’t it obvious? The end of the International Association’s grace period means that we can now exercise the authority to manage hunters.」

“Ah.”

I groaned softly.

Come to think of it, that’s right.

The International Association has the right to authorize subjugation, and we have the right to manage hunters.

「From now on, we have to manage everything from the hunter registration test to the rank, promotion test, operation input, and support dispatch.」

“……It’s going to be a hassle.”

「Actually… there was a discussion among the board of directors about that this time…….」

“What is it now?”

She paused for a moment before continuing.

「They suggested reorganizing the hunter rank system this time.」

“……Yes?”

Suddenly, what kind of nonsense is that?

“Reorganizing the rank system? I don’t understand. Is that really necessary?”

「The current rank system was based on the International Association’s standards. Naturally, hunters from the same organization received additional points. The position is that we should exclude that from the score as much as possible.」

“Well, if that’s the reason, it’s not urgent right now, is it?”

「We need to prepare the system in advance from now on so that there are no side effects when we dismantle the International Association later…….」

Well, if that’s the case, I can understand.

As I said, if we dismantle the International Association, which controls the system, without any preparation, the existing order will be disrupted.

Okay, I understand.

If it’s not something I have to do.

“You’re not suggesting that I be the judge, are you?”

「Nothing has been decided yet. But you probably won’t be in charge. You have your own work, and your physical condition is like that……. Well, I’ll discuss it with them thoroughly.」

Hmm, if that’s the case.

“Then, I’ll keep that in mind.”

「When are you going back?」

“There’s nothing more to do. I’ll head straight back.”

「Okay. Then I’ll book a flight.」

“Yes. Thank you.”

I hung up the phone and sighed deeply.

‘Reorganizing the rank system…….’

It’s a hassle just thinking about it…….

Well, it doesn’t matter as long as I’m not involved.

***

“Reorganizing the rank system?”

Karma Corporation headquarters, reception room.

Former Chairman Park In-beom asked, repeating the question.

Director Lee Doo-shik sipped his coffee and nodded.

“Yes. The International Association has officially taken control of the world’s subjugation rights. We should start exercising our authority.”

“That’s true… but is it really necessary? It could create confusion.”

That was a valid point.

If a rank that has already been registered is changed now, it could cause backlash and create confusion regarding salary and position.

But even considering that, we had no choice but to push for reorganization.

“Do you remember a hunter named Kim Min-joo? He used to be the leader of Operation Team 2…….”

“Oh, of course, I remember. He was a pretty good guy, even though he was young.”

“He’s the one who grew tremendously while working with Kim Jun-woo. No matter how you look at it, he’s qualified for S rank… but strangely, he fails the promotion test every time.”

“……Are you suggesting the International Association is interfering with the rank?”

“Do you know how many hunters who are not affiliated with the International Association are in the world’s top 100 ranking?”

“As far as I know…….”

He lowered his head and thought for a moment.

“……There aren’t any.”

“That’s right.”

Director Lee Doo-shik snapped his fingers.

“Okay, I understand that. But what does reorganizing the rank system mean for us? If it’s just about changing the unreasonable system, we don’t have to proceed right now, do we?”

“It has significant implications. If hunters who are not affiliated with the International Association enter the world ranking due to the reorganization, it means that the number of talents who can challenge the International Association will increase.”

“Hoo…….”

Former Chairman Park In-beom admired softly.

But Director Lee Doo-shik didn’t seem to want to stop there.

“Well, the biggest purpose is that, and the other purpose is…….”

Director Lee Doo-shik’s eyes flashed.

“I’m going to eliminate all the guys who are just relying on the title of hunter and acting without any real ability this time.”

“……Haha, hahahahaha!”

Park In-beom started laughing heartily at that.

“That’s exactly what I wanted. You’re still doing a great job!”

“What have I done? I’m simply adding a spoon to the table that Jun-woo has set.”

“So?”

Park In-beom asked.

“Who are you going to put in charge of the judging?”

“Of course, who else would it be besides that guy?”

“That’s right… that’s right.”

At that moment, a smile spread across the faces of the two men.