The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 285

284

* * *

Tang!

A single gunshot that felt like it was tearing my ears apart.

It wasn’t just a figure of speech; it was literally happening.

The bullet grazed my ear, and blood was flowing from the tear.

“…….”

“…….”

I remained motionless, staring intently at Secretary Monaghan.

He, too, still had his gun trained on my head.

Soon, everyone’s attention, except for those engaged in combat, was focused on us.

Lieutenant Denver also seemed greatly taken aback by the sudden gunfire, freezing in place, his eyes darting back and forth between us.

“…You just fired at an employee of an international organization dispatched to support the conflict.”

I said calmly.

Secretary Monaghan scoffed.

“So what?”

“Can you take responsibility for this action?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. You’re the one who acted unilaterally, disobeying the Secretary of Defense’s orders. Why would I be responsible?”

“…….”

A pointless argument.

I didn’t even want to continue the conversation.

“And frankly, it doesn’t seem like there’s much need to support them anymore, does it?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Look. Aren’t they already retreating?”

Secretary Monaghan pointed straight ahead.

As he said, the International Association forces had been steadily retreating for some time, rather than advancing.

But I couldn’t be sure if that was good news.

“It might not be a retreat, but rather an attempt to avoid a meaningless war of attrition and concentrate their firepower elsewhere. This is actually a dangerous situation…”

“Hey, you little punk, what do you know?”

“……Haha.”

I finally let out a burst of laughter at the dead-end conversation and shook my head.

“Understood. If that’s what you want, Secretary…”

I looked straight at Secretary Monaghan and continued.

“I’ll give you what you want.”

At the same time, I turned my back and raised my voice to the entire combat team.

“Combat team, everyone withdraw.”

“Yes, yes?!”

“Withdrawal…?!”

“If we withdraw, the defense line…!”

“Withdraw.”

As expected, the combat team immediately objected, but I spoke firmly nonetheless.

Eventually, all the combat team members stopped fighting and stood up.

“Let’s go.”

“…….”

“…….”

I started to lead them away.

That’s it.

I have no reason to help anymore.

Why would I help a guy who’s demanding I get lost when he should be begging on his knees?

Let him handle it himself…

「Emergency situation at the 52nd Street, Third Defense Line!」

「Secretary Monaghan!!」

It was the moment we turned our backs on each other.

My radio and Secretary Monaghan’s radio went off simultaneously.

「International Association forces are continuing to gather at the 3rd Defense Line!」

「A total of 11 Skoll units have been deployed!」

The moment each of our situations was relayed, Secretary Monaghan smiled, and my expression hardened.

“It’s over.”

“We’re screwed…….”

The situations we each perceived were completely opposite.

* * *

52nd Street, Third Defense Line.

“…….”

“…….”

The combat team, along with the platoon, had all stopped fighting and were simply staring blankly ahead.

The International Association forces, which had numbered only a few hundred, had somehow swelled to thousands.

‘This is bad…….’

Chloe, who was in charge of the 3rd Defense Line, also sighed deeply at the situation.

It seemed they had decided that breaking through all five defense lines simultaneously would be too costly in terms of time and energy.

Therefore, they changed their plan and were trying to break through by concentrating their forces on one point.

‘Why here…….’

Of all places.

They should have gone to the defense line where Kim Junwoo, that guy, was.

Chloe cursed her luck for being chosen out of five.

But there was an even greater disaster than the gathering of troops.

“So, we meet again.”

A familiar silhouette and voice.

“It’s been a while, Team Leader Chloe.”

None other than Secretary-General Wesley himself had arrived with the reinforced troops.

“Ha…….”

We’re screwed.

Chloe muttered with a hollow laugh as she made eye contact with him.

“You worked with us for so long, and then you stab us in the back overnight. I’m quite disappointed.”

“I’m just an ordinary office worker. Please think of it as just moving to a better job.”

“Then why didn’t you just leave quietly? Why did you leak information to the other side?”

“…….”

Chloe clicked her tongue.

Then Secretary-General Wesley spoke again.

“And… are you sure it’s a better deal? I heard you’re working in the cleaning team?”

“…It’s just a probationary period.”

“If we offer you a better deal here, would you consider coming back?”

Secretary-General Wesley took a step forward and asked.

Was that a persuasion or a threat?

Or just a meaningless joke?

Having encountered the man she had to avoid at all costs, she would never die peacefully.

But if she accepted that offer here… could she survive?

‘Or maybe he’s just testing me…….’

All sorts of thoughts swirled in Chloe’s head.

But it was only for a moment.

Right.

She had expected to die from the moment she ran away from the International Association anyway.

The reason she took the gamble, risking her life, was because she judged that turning that man into an enemy was less dangerous than having Kim Junwoo as an enemy.

And that’s still the case now.

If it were Kim Junwoo, the one she had seen so far…….

He’s worth betting her life on.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, her head began to cool as if cold water had been poured on it.

Soon, Chloe, who had regained her composure, smirked.

“Fuck off.”

She raised her middle finger at Secretary-General Wesley.

And at that moment.

[Unique Skill: Genesis]

[Creates an 11th-dimensional unique space.]

Swish—.

Her right arm disappeared.

“Hic… Kaaaaaack!!”

A terrible scream echoed at the same time.

Pain that made her mind go blank swept through her entire body.

“Even if you hate me, is that any way to treat your former boss?”

“Kkeuek, hic…!!”

She couldn’t hear anything anymore.

Massive bleeding and hyperventilation.

At the same time, her vision gradually faded, and her consciousness began to blur.

As she struggled to hold on to her mind and barely managed to let out a pain-filled groan, she heard a word.

“Advance.”

With Secretary-General Wesley’s order, the all-out attack began.

“Kkeueuk…….”

But Chloe eventually lost her balance and collapsed on the spot.

Is this karma?

That thought suddenly occurred to her in her fading consciousness.

Well, even if she only did what she was told, her past mistakes don’t disappear.

‘Still…….’

In the end, it was all to survive.

But wouldn’t it be too unfair to die like this?

Even with that thought, she couldn’t help but close her eyes.

At that moment when she was losing consciousness.

“Is everyone okay?”

A man’s voice was heard.

At the same time, consciousness returned momentarily.

She strained to lift her head.

The silhouettes of many people were faintly visible in the distance.

A man at the head of them.

Is Kim Junwoo here?

A smile appeared on her face without her knowing it.

Chloe forced her eyes open and looked up, and what came into her eyes was…….

“Not even that many. Why the fuss?”

“…….”

None other than Secretary Monaghan.

“Everyone, don’t worry now that I’m here. From now on, I’ll be in command.”

“Sh…it…….”

She felt like her blood was running backwards.

“Why… why you…….”

She struggled to speak, but couldn’t finish her sentence and lost consciousness.

* * *

“Withdrawal?! What are you talking about!”

Immediately after the withdrawal order was issued.

The local task forces guarding each defense line all gathered at the assembly point.

At the same time, Director Lee Ah-young approached me with an agitated voice.

“Didn’t you hear the radio?! Forces are gathering at the defense line that Chloe is in charge of! And since there’s no contact, it seems like she couldn’t even withdraw. If we don’t help now, something really bad could happen…!”

“Secretary Monaghan has gone there.”

“Yes…?”

Director Lee Ah-young’s eyebrows twitched.

I said calmly.

“He said he deployed some new missile called Skoll and was all puffed up. Well, seeing as he even threatened to kill me if I didn’t withdraw, I guess he’s confident. He’ll handle it.”

“…….”

Her eyes narrowed at my words.

I felt like I knew what she was going to say next.

“You don’t really think he can solve it with those missiles, do you…?”

“I know. It’s ridiculous.”

Have we been together for too long?

Her tone seems to be getting similar to mine.

“Then why are you trying to withdraw?”

“There’s no way.”

I sighed deeply and said to her sharp question.

“In the current situation, we should naturally ignore the withdrawal order and continue fighting. That way, we can buy at least some time until the headquarters forces arrive.”

“That’s right.”

“But… Secretary Monaghan wouldn’t just stand by and watch that, would he?”

“…….”

“He’s the kind of guy who even pointed a gun at me because he couldn’t control his anger. If we continue to ignore his orders, it could even lead to internal strife. That would cause even greater damage.”

As I spoke, Director Lee Ah-young’s gaze fell downwards.

“Then, just rather…….”

“You’re not suggesting we kill the Secretary of Defense, are you?”

“……Never mind if it doesn’t work.”

You have to say something that makes sense.

Are we going to start a war trying to stop a war?

“Then what are you going to do now? Are you really going to withdraw like this? Chloe hasn’t even been able to retreat yet, and you’re just going to leave her there?”

“Haa…….”

I sighed deeply and scratched my head.

If we really withdraw like this, all the forces will be annihilated.

I know that very well.

But if the Secretary of Defense is blocking our intervention to this extent… stubbornly holding out might actually worsen the situation.

We’re in a situation where we can’t do either.

Even as we’re worrying like this, the International Association is continuing to advance.

If the defense line is breached and Berlin falls, the whole world will be in chaos.

The citizens will fall into chaos, and a vague fear of the International Association will spread deep throughout the world.

Everything will flow as the International Association wants.

Then we’ll lose the justification to fight against the International Association anymore.

‘Damn it, really…….’

I gnashed my teeth.

What the hell should we do?

What can we do in this situation?

What should we choose?

At that moment when my head was throbbing.

Ring—.

My phone rang.

It was a call from Secretary-General Park In-beom.

「It’s me. Is the situation okay?」

“……It’s the worst.”

As I opened my mouth with difficulty, I heard a burst of laughter.

「I thought so. Secretary Monaghan is interfering, isn’t he?」

“How did you know that?”

「I’ve been the chairman of the association for nearly 30 years. I know the circumstances of most bureaucrats.」

“…….”

I replaced my answer with silence.

Because I couldn’t figure out what he was trying to say.

I wondered if he was just trying to brag about his connections in a situation where every minute was critical, but…….

「In other words, I also know the guy who’s colluding with Secretary Monaghan.」

“……Yes?”

「Minister Vladimir. The Russian Minister of Defense. As far as I know, he’s been sticking with that guy for almost 10 years…….」

Secretary-General Park In-beom, who paused for a moment, then continued.

「At that point, wouldn’t it be time to switch to someone else?」

“……What are you trying to say?”

「If I connect you with Minister Vladimir… are you saying you can try to persuade him?」

I felt like sparks were flying in my head.

「Let’s ditch him here. Secretary Monaghan.」

“…….”

Only then did a smile begin to spread across my face.

“That sounds good.”