The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 335

334. Side Story – Episode 12

“It looks like we need to proceed with this operation tomorrow.”

At the emergency operation meeting called by the Control Team, Pyeon Chang-hyeon, the Chief of the Control Team, announced as soon as all the subjugation team members were seated.

The subjugation team members immediately exchanged bewildered glances.

I shared their surprise.

“Tomorrow? Is there a specific reason for the rush?” I asked.

Instead of answering directly, Team Leader Pyeon displayed a screen.

It showed a complex chart of intertwined graphs and gauges.

Team Leader Pyeon pointed to the beginning of the graph and explained, “This section represents the emanation of magical energy for approximately two weeks after the dungeon appeared. As you can see, it remained at the Yellow rank level. And this… this is the magical energy reading from three days ago when it was upgraded to Orange rank.”

“The increase is definitely significant,” I acknowledged, my voice serious.

Team Leader Pyeon nodded. “After sending drone reconnaissance into the dungeon, we believe there has been some kind of change in the boss monster. As previously mentioned, it’s a creature that lays eggs and rapidly increases its numbers, so the population within the dungeon has likely exploded.”

That much was already understood.

But the real problem began after that.

“And this is… the magical energy observed again this morning at dawn.”

Team Leader Pyeon switched the screen once more.

“W-What…?” someone gasped.

“Crazy…” another muttered.

The subjugation team members were visibly stunned.

And with good reason.

“As of 3 AM today… the magical energy has increased approximately fivefold sharply.”

“……”

The graph shot upwards, far exceeding the previous values, practically vertical.

“In numerical terms, it’s already approaching the Red rank. But the more concerning issue is that the magical energy continues to climb. At this rate, by the day after tomorrow, which was the original planned operation start date…”

Team Leader Pyeon paused, taking a moment to compose himself.

Then, he slowly delivered the grim assessment: “We estimate that it will enter the Omega rank.”

“……!”

“……!”

Everyone’s face froze, mine included. I adopted a grave expression.

Omega rank: practically impossible to subjugate.

Six months ago, the Association, including Seoul, teetered on the brink of collapse because of one.

That dungeon where countless Hunters and citizens perished.

The Regen Dungeon, which plunged the entire Republic of Korea into fear, was also Omega rank.

For a dungeon of the same rank to potentially emerge again now was enough to reignite the trauma of that day in everyone present.

No, this time it wouldn’t just be trauma.

The Seoul headquarters hadn’t fully recovered from the aftermath of the Regen Dungeon.

Both personnel and equipment were still lacking.

If an Omega-rank dungeon were to appear again in this situation…

‘Shit…’

Then Seoul might truly fall.

“Still, proceeding with the subjugation tomorrow seems to be the better option. Of course, even now that it has been upgraded to Red rank, it won’t be easy…”

Team Leader Pyeon’s voice trailed off.

Fear and dread were now clearly etched on the faces of the subjugation team members.

But the bad news didn’t stop there.

“There’s one more problem. Given that this is an emergency subjugation… adding additional personnel to the team is impossible due to scheduling constraints.”

“…….”

“…….”

Silence descended upon the conference room.

That meant we had to proceed with the Red rank subjugation with the ten people who had been organized when it was still a Yellow rank dungeon.

The subjugation team members exchanged uneasy glances, remaining silent.

I scanned their faces.

“…I understand,” I said quietly, speaking on their behalf.

Team Leader Pyeon responded with a serious expression. “…Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“We don’t have a choice anyway. We can’t just leave it until it becomes Omega rank.”

“We are planning to request cooperation from private guilds… but I wouldn’t expect too much help.”

“Well, the relationship with the Association has been extremely strained since the Regen Dungeon incident.”

Team Leader Pyeon nodded in agreement.

Then, he turned to the other members and asked the same question. “Are the others okay with this?”

“…….”

“…….”

The subjugation team members continued to look at each other, their faces grim.

They seemed to be solely focused on finding a way to avoid this mission.

I frowned at the sight, but I also understood their feelings.

I, too, had lost many colleagues in the Regen Dungeon.

That hellish day. I knew too well the fear and shock they had experienced, even without them saying a word.

In fact, if I could, I would prefer to exclude them all and undertake the subjugation alone.

But… Yellow rank was manageable solo, but subjugating a Red rank dungeon alone was impossible.

While I wrestled with this dilemma…

“I’m okay with it,” someone said, breaking the silence.

Everyone’s eyes turned towards the speaker, finding a Hunter looking straight ahead with a calm expression.

It was none other than Kim Min-joo.

As always, her expression and voice were devoid of emotion.

Her rank was the highest in the team except for mine, but she was the least experienced among them.

Some of the others were seniors with more than ten years of experience than her.

For her to voice her opinion first, surpassing her seniors, was a blow to their pride.

And thanks to that…

“…I will do it.”

“Well, it’s not like we haven’t subjugated Red ranks before.”

“Hunter Kim Jun-woo is in charge of the overall planning, so it will probably work out somehow.”

One or two people nodded in agreement.

I scanned all of them, including Kim Min-joo, one by one, before looking back at Team Leader Pyeon.

We made eye contact and nodded without a word.

“Then, I will set the operation time for 8 AM tomorrow. And today, I will coordinate the schedule with other teams to clear all remaining operations for you. Everyone, please go home and get some rest.”

“…Yes.”

“I understand.”

Heavy voices.

The members then rose from their seats, their eyes reflecting a stark contrast to their demeanor upon entering the conference room.

One or two people began to leave, and I slowly got up and followed.

‘Red rank…’

I might be the ace of the team, but in terms of experience, I couldn’t claim to have much.

It was a rank I only encountered once every two years, so I lacked extensive experience in participating in such subjugations.

And to treat this dungeon as mere ‘experience’… the risk was far too great.

A transforming dungeon that had risen two ranks in a week.

Woefully insufficient personnel.

Team members gripped by fear and trauma.

And the looming threat of another Omega-rank dungeon potentially emerging in six months.

‘……’

The memories of that time, memories I desperately wanted to suppress, began to resurface in my mind.

But I shook my head, trying to regain control of my thoughts.

Yes.

I just needed to prepare more thoroughly to ensure success.

No…

I *must* succeed, no matter what.

At that moment, someone I had momentarily forgotten came to mind.

Employee Ha Eun-hye.

Hadn’t she said she would follow me?

I didn’t know if she would come to work tomorrow while on sick leave, but given the current situation, it would be best to inform her in advance.

With that thought, I took out my cell phone and made a call.

Ring, ring―.

“…….”

After a while, the ringing continued.

「The other party is unable to answer the phone and has been directed to voicemail…」

It went to voicemail.

Assuming she was resting due to her illness, I opened the messenger app instead of calling again.

「This is Kim Jun-woo. The subjugation has been moved to tomorrow. The rank has been upgraded, so it seems dangerous. Even if you come to work tomorrow, it would be better not to participate in the subjugation…」

I paused, my fingers hovering over the keyboard.

‘Is it a bit insensitive to only talk about work when she’s sick…?’

After a moment of contemplation, I erased the text and started again from the beginning.

「Are you feeling better? The thing is, this subjugation has been moved to tomorrow…」

I was slowly typing when…

Ring―.

A phone call came.

It was none other than employee Ha Eun-hye.

“Ah, uh… are you, uh, resting? I was going to leave a message anyway. The thing is…”

「…….」

I stopped talking and closed my mouth.

Because I heard a loud, unidentifiable noise coming from the other end.

“Ah, were you sleeping? I’m sorry. I’ll leave a message, so if you come to work tomorrow…”

「Hu, Hunter-nim.」

Her first words.

The moment I heard her voice, my face hardened.

Because her voice was trembling so much.

“…What’s wrong?” I asked quietly, a sense of foreboding washing over me.

「……Help me.」

A voice barely audible.

But that single word, clearly heard in my ear, made my body move before any further thought.

***

“Hoo……”

Late at night, in a dingy one-room apartment.

Men in black suits had found the place.

One of them sighed deeply.

Kim Bae-soo, the leader of the Dowon gang, who controlled Gangdong, Seoul.

A man particularly notorious for his cruelty.

“It’s a bit difficult to go hard on ordinary people…”

Kim Bae-soo’s gaze shifted forward.

There, a man with a bloodied face was trembling on his knees.

It was none other than Ha Eun-hye’s university classmate and company colleague.

It was Eom Gyeong-hoon, who belonged to the control team.

“Okay, I’ll ask again.”

Kim Bae-soo pushed back his bangs and spoke again.

“Who did you open the data storage room door for?”

“I, I told you. I went in for a while because I had something to do…”

Puck―!

A fist struck him before he could finish his sentence.

As Eom Gyeong-hoon collapsed to the ground, Kim Bae-soo grabbed his hair.

“Hey, you bastard. I checked that you were in the situation room at that time, so where are you lying? Or what, do you have two bodies?”

“Th, that’s…”

Eom Gyeong-hoon trailed off, his mouth clamped shut.

Kim Bae-soo stared at him and burst into laughter.

“Hey, do you know what my nickname was back in the day?”

“Ye, yes…?”

“It was ‘Refrigerator.’”

He raised the corners of his mouth and continued. “I cut off all the fingers of guys like you who don’t understand and put them in my office refrigerator.”

“……”

“Okay, now you have ten chances. From now on, if your mouth doesn’t answer, you’ll get the answer with your fingers instead. Okay?”

“Sa, save me…”

“Hahahaha! What are you talking about? When did I say I was going to kill you?”

Kim Bae-soo and his gang members erupted in laughter, as if it were the funniest thing they’d ever heard.

But it was only for a moment.

He stared straight at Eom Gyeong-hoon, his eyes flickering with murderous intent.

“Don’t worry. You won’t die even if you don’t have a few fingers.”

Kim Bae-soo gestured to his subordinates behind him, and the gang members rushed in and grabbed Eom Gyeong-hoon.

With Eom Gyeong-hoon’s wrist pinned forward, Kim Bae-soo repeated his question.

“Who went into the data storage room?”

“……”

Eom Gyeong-hoon’s lips began to tremble.

Even so, he still didn’t seem willing to talk, and Kim Bae-soo nodded in confirmation.

“You missed one chance.”

He raised the hammer he was holding.

The moment he was about to bring it down on Eom Gyeong-hoon’s thumb…

“Wait!”

A voice came from behind.

Kim Bae-soo’s movements stopped.

He got up from his seat and turned around.

“…Why are you doing this?” he asked politely.

The man who had been hiding behind him stepped forward.

Eom Gyeong-hoon’s pupils widened as he saw the face slowly emerging from the shadows.

The man’s appearance was fully revealed.

Eom Gyeong-hoon turned pale at the sight.

And with good reason.

“Ch, Chief…?”

The man was none other than the head of the operation headquarters of the Seoul headquarters.

It was Seo Min-cheol.