The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 297

296

“What, what did you say…?”

WDSO Korean Headquarters.

A phone call came in to Secretary-General Park In-beom, who was waiting for the situation to end.

“Eden… has been found…?”

At the same time, Park In-beom’s eyes twitched at the sudden news that made him doubt his ears.

“No, what on earth are you talking about? Weren’t you stopping the Berlin raid? Suddenly, Eden has been found!”

「We had been requesting the Noah Guild to continue searching for Eden… During the battle, an ability wave exceeding the standard was detected on the Russian side.」

However, unlike Secretary-General Park In-beom, who couldn’t escape from the shock, Kim Jun-woo’s voice was quite calm.

“So?! Don’t tell me you’re running to Russia in the middle of the fight?”

「It seems that the International Association has also acquired the information. Just as the battle was about to end, they retreated first. Now that the situation has ended, they have returned to the local association.」

“Haa….”

Secretary-General Park In-beom sighed deeply.

Of course, finding Eden was also his top priority.

Team 3 was also organized for that purpose, and it was a project planned from the beginning to freely travel to overseas branches.

Kim Jun-woo’s first role was also to search for Eden by traveling to associations in various countries under various pretexts.

‘But I never thought it would be discovered at this timing….’

Should I call this fortunate, or should I call it adding insult to injury?

Secretary-General Park In-beom frowned at the unpredictable situation and clicked his tongue.

“What is the exact location?”

「It has been confirmed that it is currently in a dungeon near the Ural Mountains in Russia.」

“Can we get there in time?”

「Just in case, I have requested Minister Vladimir to block it. And the Noah Guild is going to move right away, so I think we can somehow make it.」

“Okay….”

Secretary-General Park In-beom trailed off in frustration.

“Are the kids okay?”

He asked in a serious voice.

「Yes, well… Chloe was injured, but her life is not in danger. Everyone else is fine too.」

“What about you?”

「…Yes?」

A moment of bewildered voice.

“I’m asking how are you.”

「…….」

Kim Jun-woo hesitated for a moment.

「I’m not sure.」

“……?”

He threw a vague answer.

If you’re okay, you’re okay, and if you’re not okay, you’re not okay, but what does it mean to not know?

「I don’t have any injuries for now, but there are some things I need to check later…….」

He added an additional explanation, but it was still difficult to understand.

What happened in the battle?

I vaguely guessed, but I didn’t bother to ask.

There must be a reason why he didn’t say it.

“Are you going to Russia right away? It’s a bit dangerous to carry out the operation right away without properly assessing your physical condition…….”

「No. I’m not going to Russia.」

“What…?”

「We are going to take advantage of the gap where all the forces of the International Association have moved to strike their headquarters.」

“……!”

At those words, Secretary-General Park In-beom’s eyebrows twitched.

「The goal is to collapse the command system by occupying HQ and recover all remaining bank items.」

“Isn’t it dangerous? Is it really necessary?”

「It’s insurance in case we fail to secure Eden.」

“…….”

Secretary-General Park In-beom held back his answer.

The situation had completely changed in just a few hours.

It was only 30 minutes ago that they were fighting to stop the raid, but suddenly Eden appeared, and now they’re going to attack the International Association headquarters.

What the hell is going on…….

“To be honest, I thought everything would be settled there, but it’s back to square one.”

「No. That’s not true. The International Association would have retreated even if Eden hadn’t been discovered.」

“Hmm…?”

It was an incomprehensible statement.

But Kim Jun-woo continued to speak instead of explaining.

「This is the last chance for the International Association. If even this is blocked…….」

“……Is it finally over?”

「Yes.」

He replied in a rather heavy voice.

「We will be able to destroy the International Association and completely eliminate the otherworld dimension.」

“…….”

Secretary-General Park In-beom became thoughtful.

Completely eliminating the otherworld dimension.

What that meant was obvious.

It was a time when there were no dungeons, no monsters, and no hunters.

It wasn’t peaceful, but at least it meant that they could return to a time when they didn’t lose their lives because of monsters.

“I don’t know if other countries will cooperate. Now that subjugation has become an industry, there will definitely be forces that don’t like it.”

「Well, isn’t that a problem to worry about later?」

Kim Jun-woo chuckled and continued.

「This is the last time. Secretary-General.」

“…….”

Secretary-General Park In-beom swallowed without realizing it.

“I’m counting on you.”

「…Yes.」

He ended the call with that short answer.

Secretary-General Park In-beom sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair.

‘It’s over…….’

He slowly savored the decades of time he had spent crossing the line between life and death, and watching someone else’s life with his own eyes.

***

German Berlin Association, Hunter Support Office.

A place where all the members of WDSO gathered immediately after the battle.

“Priest class people, please gather! Bring all the potions and recovery item stock! And those who can move, please help the support team staff!”

“Yes!”

“I understand!”

Director Lee Ah-young was identifying the injured and providing simple treatment there.

“……Roughly, the big picture is going to proceed like this.”

And Kim Min-joo, Director Han Yu-bin, Noah, and I were reviewing the operation in detail next to her.

“Even if all the forces have moved, there will be at least a minimum of troops left.”

Kim Min-joo gave her opinion first after a brief briefing on the operation.

“Of course, it’s not the best force. We don’t have many people who can fight right away either.”

“Hmm.”

I nodded at her words.

“Then, well… we have no choice but to do it ourselves.”

I said that and looked at Kim Min-joo and Han Yu-bin alternately.

They nodded without any objection, as if they had the same thought.

“Okay, then… we’ll move right away as soon as we’re ready. The operation personnel are me, Kim Min-joo, Han Yu-bin, Lee Ah-young. And…….”

I turned my gaze and continued.

“Chloe, you’ll have to go with us.”

“……?”

At the same time, Chloe’s eyebrows furrowed.

“What are you talking about? Why am I going with you? I’m also injured?”

She said, raising her right arm with a rather absurd expression.

Of course, I want to avoid involving people with serious injuries in the operation as much as possible, but…….

“We need to recover the bank items, so of course an expert in the field must accompany us. Above all, Chloe is the only one who knows the location of the laboratory in the headquarters. We’ll protect you, so please help us with the recovery.”

“…….”

Chloe narrows her eyes and glares at me.

I didn’t think she would come over easily, so I threw in one more word.

“Anyway, this is the last time. When this operation is over, one of the two organizations will collapse.”

“…….”

“We want to succeed if possible. And I think we can increase the probability if Chloe helps us.”

“Haa…….”

She sighed once.

“I think I’ll only be a hindrance with this arm.”

“…….”

She, who had never shown her emotions, said with a very sad expression this time.

A solemn atmosphere in an instant.

At that time, I was quietly glancing at her half right arm.

“You have a lot of excuses. Anyway, you’ve already died once when you joined our company, so can’t you just go?”

Director Lee Ah-young snapped at her.

At the same time, a cold tension lingered.

We were about to stop it right away in case there was another fight.

Click―.

Director Lee Ah-young nonchalantly attached something to Chloe’s right arm.

“It’s a bio-device prosthetic. It’s not perfect because I made it in a hurry with the materials I have, but it’ll be useful for now.”

“……?”

When did you make that again?

More than that…….

Were they originally close…?

“What are you doing? Move it.”

“…….”

Clink, clink―.

Chloe also seemed to have lost her words at her sudden gift, and followed her words obediently with a dumbfounded expression.

Bio-device prosthetic.

It was a technology often used for injured hunters.

To think that she would make it here in such a short time.

“Tsk, the range of motion of the joints is narrower than I thought. Well, I’ll make it properly when I go back to headquarters later, so bear with it for now even if it’s uncomfortable.”

“…….”

Chloe still looked at her with an absurd expression.

And that was the same for us.

“……What are you looking at? Is there something to see?”

She snapped, as if she was quite embarrassed when she noticed our gaze late.

And then.

“……You made it terribly.”

Chloe finally opened her mouth.

“If I had made it, it would have been a hundred times better than this.”

“What, what did you say?! No, I made it thinking of you…!”

“Thank you.”

A thank you greeting thrown as if throwing it.

When Chloe smiled slightly, Director Lee Ah-young also snorted once, and then smiled.

‘…….’

Of course, I’m still not used to the atmosphere between the two.

Well, that’s not important now.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

I asked Chloe again.

“……Okay. I’ll go.”

She answered as if she had no choice.

Tsk, you should have done that sooner.

“Okay, let’s check again. Mr. Noah, please come too.”

After gathering everyone, I checked the operation one more time.

“Our first goal is to recover the dimension stone and the time stone, and if we have time, we’re going to destroy the command system.”

“Yes.”

“I understand.”

“Mr. Noah, please go to Russia right away and identify the Eden dungeon. Please contact us as soon as you confirm it.”

“I will.”

“As you know, even if the International Association’s power has weakened due to the battle, they are by no means an easy opponent. Avoid fighting as much as possible and only disrupt them from finding the Eden dungeon.”

He nodded.

I thought the explanation was roughly over, so I straightened my back and asked.

“Then… do you have any questions?”

“I…….”

Then Han Yu-bin raised her hand carefully.

“I feel a bit bad to ask now… but what’s the point of recovering the bank items? In the end, if Eden goes into the hands of the International Association, it’s all for nothing.”

“Ah, that’s…….”

I hesitated for a moment, wondering what to explain.

“Eden is not a control item.”

Chloe opened her mouth instead.

“If the bank item is a remote control that can partially control the otherworld dimension phenomenon, Eden is the power button.”

“……?”

“……?”

Not many people understood the story at once.

Chloe sighed at the ambiguous reaction.

“In the past, many scientists conducted research to find out the cause of this strange phenomenon.”

She began to explain slowly.

“Of course, nothing has been clearly revealed. But one strong hypothesis emerged. The hypothesis was that a special substance constantly emits otherworld waves, causing dungeons to appear on Earth and creating ability users.”

“Ah, could that be…….”

“Yes. That’s the core of Cinea, Eden.”

Chloe answered Kim Min-joo’s question immediately.

“According to the hypothesis, Eden is not an object that can control something, but a power source and power source that maintains the otherworld dimension phenomenon. It is believed that if Eden is destroyed, this phenomenon will disappear, but conversely…….”

She looked at me and continued.

“Unless Eden is destroyed, nothing will change. And Secretary-General Wesley will never destroy Eden.”

I nodded and added an explanation.

“It’s the only key for us to destroy the International Association and end the otherworld dimension phenomenon, but it has a different meaning for the International Association. They don’t have anything to use even if they have it, but it’s a nuisance that they have to prevent from falling into the hands of others.”

I looked around at everyone there and continued.

“Even if you get Eden, you still need bank items to control the international community. Even if you have Eden without bank items, it doesn’t mean anything. That’s why we’re trying to recover the bank items.”

“…….”

“…….”

Everyone nodded as if they finally understood.

“Well, if you don’t have anything else to say, everyone pack your equipment and prepare.”

And finally.

“Let’s go see the end.”

The final operation began.