The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 205

204

[International Hunter Association Begins ‘Centralized Subjugation Management’]

[The Changing Subjugation Market: What Experts Predict for the Future?]

[From Now On, Organizations Outside the International Association Cannot Conduct Independent Subjugations. ‘Karma Corporation’ is the Only Exception]

[Karma Corporation Absorbs Associations from Vietnam, Central Africa, Japan, and Now China. Now Taking Charge of Hunter Management Worldwide.]

[Karma Corporation, Shoulder to Shoulder with the International Association Just One Year After Establishment. What Are Their Future Goals?]

[Controversy Over the Position of ‘International Subjugation Organization,’ Raising the Possibility of a Second International Association]

“……”

Headquarters, CEO’s Office.

I had barely returned home, but the sheer volume of articles already pouring out gave me a headache.

Well, the only guy who would leak this kind of information is him.

Reporter Gu Sang-chan.

‘Seriously… why is he always so restless when it comes to this kind of thing?’

At this point, I’m not sure if he’s a reporter or a *sasaeng* fan [an obsessive fan who stalks or engages in other intrusive behavior].

“I heard he was promoted to team leader of the social affairs subjugation department. He’s been even more active since then, so you’ll probably be seeing the same articles for a few more days,” Ha Seong-il, the head of headquarters, said with a smile as he faced me.

“Tsk, he was already reckless, but now that he’s got a position, he’ll be even more out of control.”

“Well, isn’t it good for us to have someone writing favorable articles?”

“It’s beyond favorable; it’s almost like he’s trying to sabotage me.”

“Hahaha!”

He laughed heartily, as if it was very funny, for a moment.

Soon, he asked, “By the way, I never imagined you’d bring the Chinese Association along with you when you went to acquire the Hong Kong branch. How did you do it?”

“They dug their own graves.”

I answered indifferently.

If they had actively supported the operation instead of blockading Hong Kong, they would have at least had the justification of trying to protect their own country.

If they had, international public opinion wouldn’t have deteriorated this much, and they could have even created the third force they wanted.

Trying to cover up their mistakes ended up strangling them.

“Overseas business is my responsibility, but I’m grateful that you’re taking the lead, CEO. Thanks to you, I’ve been practically doing nothing for the past few days.”

“In that case, how about you only get paid that much this month?”

“Hahaha! Just kidding.”

……I’m not kidding.

“Anyway, thanks to this acquisition, Korea has gained an advantage not only in the subjugation business but also in diplomacy. The government is quite pleased as well.”

“If they got something for nothing, shouldn’t they give us a gift?”

“It’s not really a gift, but they said they’ll actively support us in the future.”

“……”

That’s not very satisfying.

If they’re going to give something, they should give money.

Seeing me looking so indifferent, Ha Seong-il chuckled and opened his mouth. “Well, you’ve handled big cases one after another, so take it easy for a while. I heard your health isn’t good either.”

“I was planning to do that anyway.”

I said, leaning back in my chair.

The American branch issue hadn’t been resolved yet, and I had acquired the Chinese Association, so there was a mountain of things to deal with…….

Thanks to Lee Ah-young and Ha Seong-il working hard, I had some free time.

Well, isn’t that why I put them in the position of headquarters manager, to work at times like this?

I took care of the field, so they should take care of the rest.

‘Then, maybe I should go on vacation for a few days…….’

At that moment, I met the eyes of Ha Seong-il, who was still hesitating in front of me.

“……Is there anything else you wanted to say?”

When I asked, he spoke in a way that was uncharacteristically awkward. “Well…… the thing is, the board of directors has decided to reorganize the global hunter rank system with the hunter management authority we have…….”

“Ah, I heard. Has the screening manager been decided? It’s going to be quite a troublesome task, so it would be good to have someone responsible for it.”

“That’s…… you, CEO.”

“……?”

“……You have been appointed as the manager.”

“…….”

“The board of directors said there’s no one but you…….”

“Ha, haha…….”

Shit.

Are you kidding me?

“I’m sure Lee Ah-young said she would talk to them…….”

“She couldn’t say a word.”

“Does that mean… Lee Ah-young knew about this too?”

“Yes.”

Son of a bitch.

There’s no one to help me.

‘Could it be that they feel sorry for me working so hard lately…?’

I wondered why they were working so silently without showing off…….

‘Haa.’

How am I supposed to re-examine the ranks of hunters all over the world? There are tens of millions of them!

And if I think about creating screening items and evaluating performance and experience…….

By the time I’m done, the remaining three years will be gone?

As I sighed in frustration and annoyance, Ha Seong-il carefully opened his mouth again. “The details and schedule will be announced as soon as the board of directors decides. Until then, you should go on vacation…….”

“How can I get a proper rest? This is like giving me a disease and then giving me medicine…….”

He laughed awkwardly, looking quite embarrassed.

“Tsk, I understand. I can’t help it. I’ll notify all the associations around the world.”

I said indifferently, lacing my fingers behind my head.

***

“Karma Corporation will soon be reorganizing the hunter rank system.”

International Hunter Association Headquarters.

The secretary to Secretary-General Wesley delivered the report that had just come in.

“A notice has already been sent to associations around the world…….”

“Rank reorganization?”

“Yes. It seems they’re going to redo everything from the ranking criteria to the screening.”

“I don’t understand. What’s the point of doing that now?”

“Didn’t we only put our hunters in the world rankings all this time? I think they’re trying to distribute that as much as possible to keep us in check.”

“Hmm…….”

Secretary-General Wesley twirled his pen.

He couldn’t understand why they would carry out such a troublesome task for that reason alone.

There must be another reason.

‘Whatever it is, it’s not good for us…….’

As he was showing his discomfort, the secretary spoke again. “By the way, Karma has officially acquired the Chinese Association, using the Hong Kong situation as an excuse. Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s not okay. The Chinese Association was quite necessary for us too.”

He clicked his tongue and answered.

Indeed, wasn’t the reason for contacting the Chinese Association in the first place to keep them in the International Association?

The intention was to use their overwhelming military power to keep Karma Corporation in check.

No, to be more precise, the plan was to destroy them.

They currently have too much and know too much.

He now had to admit that as long as they existed, the International Association would not be able to achieve what he wanted.

That’s why he was even considering war, and the Chinese Association was essential to have in hand for this.

‘I never thought they would show their teeth to us…….’

Was it a mistake to try to set an example? The thought briefly crossed his mind, but it was too late to regret it now.

In any case, he couldn’t keep holding on to those who had shown their teeth, so he kicked them out. But as expected, Kim Jun-woo immediately swallowed them whole.

Hunter management authority, the ability to control both ability and non-ability users.

And it was too obvious how those who had acquired the Chinese Association would come out in the future.

“They’re going to start swallowing us whole.”

“…….”

The secretary couldn’t answer the heavy voice.

“If they hadn’t found Eden, things wouldn’t have come to this…….”

“Um… I have something to tell you about that…….”

After hesitating for a long time, she carefully opened her mouth. “There have been no special ability waves detected since the American branch incident.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“The Bank Item Management Team believes that if they had dealt with Eden, an ability wave equivalent to that should have been detected.”

“So, they haven’t dealt with Eden yet…?”

“Rather, the fact that they haven’t detected any ability waves from the time of discovery until now means…….”

She constantly watched the Secretary-General’s reaction and slowly continued. “There’s a possibility that the discovery was a lie…….”

“…….”

She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence, so she vaguely trailed off and watched his reaction.

But unlike expected, Secretary-General Wesley didn’t show any particular reaction.

“Is that so…….”

He didn’t get angry, nor did he seem shocked, but rather looked quite calm.

“Well, I was expecting it to some extent. I only agreed to the negotiation for the sake of one in a million, but the result would have been the same anyway.”

“I, is that so.”

“The important thing is…… that it’s become clear that they don’t have Eden now.”

His eyes flashed.

“So, let’s slowly prepare to take back what’s ours.”

***

One month after the notice was sent to associations around the world.

The first screening day for the rank system reorganization had finally arrived.

Of course, it was practically impossible to simultaneously screen hunters all over the world and classify their ranks.

So, they decided to conduct the screening in Korea first and gradually expand the scope overseas based on this.

Thus, the first screening target was decided to be the operation team belonging to the Seoul headquarters.

“I’m already getting drained.”

Seoul Headquarters, Operation Seminar Room, which I visited after a long time.

The memory of the joint operation briefing between the cleaning team and the operation team flashed through my mind, but it was only for a moment.

“How can you say that when it’s just starting?”

Before going on stage, Lee Ah-young checked my attire.

Then, she adjusted my tie and said, “You know that you have to get the first button right to avoid problems later, right?”

“I know, but it’s easier said than done…….”

“Then do well.”

I was pushed onto the stage.

At the same time, all the operation teams of the Seoul headquarters came into view.

“Everyone must be busy, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

After taking a breath, I stood in front of the microphone and opened my mouth. “As I announced earlier, the rank screening will be held for a week. You can receive ranks from E to A as before, and ranks above S will be given through individual screening.”

There was nothing special to say, as if everyone knew the contents.

“The first round will be a written test to screen subjugation and field identification skills. The second round will be a practical test to screen skills, positions, and classes. In addition, the screening will be conducted by comprehensively judging performance and career evaluations.”

The process itself is not much different from the existing one.

But the really important thing was from now on.

“However, one more item has been added to the screening criteria from this time.”

The evaluation item that Director Lee Doo-shik had repeatedly emphasized.

That is none other than.

“It’s the personality assessment.”

“……Personality assessment?”

“We all got it when we joined the company.”

“What does that have to do with rank screening?”

They muttered something to each other.

I cleared my throat to silence them and continued. “Please note that those who do not pass the standard in the personality assessment will be disqualified regardless of other screening scores. Disqualification here means…….”

I glanced over the hunters and said quite seriously, “It means permanent revocation of hunter qualifications.”

“……What, what?”

“Wait a minute!”

“Revocation of qualifications! Isn’t that too much?!”

As expected, the seminar room instantly became noisy.

It’s a natural reaction, but I can’t help it.

This rank system reorganization has an important purpose in addition to keeping the International Association in check.

That is, to weed out all the unqualified hunters.

This is the first step to re-establishing the existing system that the International Association has tailored to its own advantage.

“Well, you don’t have to worry too much. The personality test is only a supplementary evaluation. It won’t be very meaningful for those who have been living without any problems so far.”

I said that and quickly scanned the hunters’ reactions.

Most of them showed a relieved reaction to that.

“…….”

“…….”

Some couldn’t.

Some were making quite anxious expressions, as if advertising that they had something to hide.

I smiled as I looked at them.

“Then, let’s start the rank screening now.”