The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 354

353. After Story 10

“So…”

WDSO Seoul Headquarters, Secretary-General’s office.

In the end, Han Yubin, summoned on her day off, opened her mouth with a truly disgruntled expression.

“You’re telling me to go and persuade the US branch?”

“No. Lee Ayung will do the persuading, and you just need to accompany her.”

“Seriously.”

She burst into a hollow laugh.

“You think I don’t know you’re preparing for when the persuasion doesn’t go well?”

“…….”

After several years as a team leader, she’s developed a knack for reading the room.

Well… personally, it’s quite unfortunate.

She would have been perfect to sweet-talk and pawn off the work to.

“Well, persuading them is Lee Ayung’s responsibility. But as you know, there’s a high probability it will fail. From the start, I didn’t expect words alone to be enough. So…”

“While Ayung is stalling for time, I should investigate internally to see if there’s anything to exploit?”

“Yes.”

I answered curtly.

Han Yubin accurately grasped her task.

We guarantee the autonomy of each association, so even if they belong to the WDSO [World Dungeon Strategy Organization], we don’t know the detailed internal affairs.

In other words, all we know about the American association is the number of monthly dungeon appearances and profits.

In fact, after Michael stepped down as branch manager a few months ago and another association president took power, we only hear formal reports about their operations.

‘They say they’ve done a lot of internal reorganization over the past year…’

There must be something shady going on behind the scenes.

Even if persuasion fails, finding that weakness could change the course of negotiations.

The problem is… I have no idea what the American association is doing or how they’re doing it.

If there’s anyone who can figure that out, it’s Han Yubin, the former operations team leader of the American branch.

Of course, sending her to a place with bad blood is a bit unsettling, but…

“In the end, you’re going to force persuasion by exploiting their weaknesses.”

“You could say that.”

“And you’re going to dump all of that on me.”

“…If you put it that way, I sound like a bad guy. It’s all for the best.”

When I said that, Han Yubin scoffed.

It was so blatant that I felt quite uncomfortable…

Well, what can I do?

It’s my fault for calling her out on her day off.

“Anyway… it doesn’t have to be something big like embezzlement or manipulation. You have to dig up every speck of dust. Can you do it?”

“…….”

Han Yubin sighed.

“It’s not impossible. It’s pretty obvious where those guys are doing what.”

“That’s a relief.”

“The problem is less about that and more about…”

Her eyes became serious.

“Should I investigate in the Secretary-General’s way, or…”

“…….”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but I knew exactly what she meant.

She is currently the head of the Planning Division and the team leader of the unofficial post-mission handling organization, also known as Cleanup.

An organization created to operate even in situations where it’s difficult to move officially.

In that the team doesn’t care about methods to solve problems, it can be said to play a similar role to PB Corporation in the past.

Well, it’s not like they’re a team that moves with such vicious purposes…

Anyway, it was clear that it wasn’t a cultured method.

Anyway, mentioning a method other than the Secretary-General’s method also meant that she would handle things unofficially if necessary.

‘She’s saying harsh things to the American association…’

I felt anew that her mental state wasn’t normal.

“Please do it in the Secretary-General’s way.”

“…….”

Han Yubin made a sullen expression instead of answering.

Was she really thinking of going and causing a ruckus?

“Anyway, the departure date is the day after tomorrow. Go home and prepare today.”

“What do you mean go home? Today was originally my day off!”

“…….”

She must have been very dissatisfied, as she shouted and turned around.

As Han Yubin left the office, I opened my mouth again.

“Um…”

When she turned around, I carefully continued.

“Try not to cause any accidents.”

“I’ll see.”

“…….”

What do you mean, ‘I’ll see,’ damn it…

Is she really okay?

Even after Han Yubin left, I was suffering from a headache for a long time when.

“Is the talk over?”

Lee Ayung came into the office.

“Yeah. We decided to leave the day after tomorrow.”

“Still, she accepted quite readily. I thought Yubin would get angry first, given her personality.”

“…That’s accurate.”

I answered with a light sigh.

But as if there was no time to complain, Lee Ayung slammed a thick stack of documents in front of me.

“This is a list of associations to be merged. Check it out.”

I picked up the documents and slowly looked through the list.

Venezuela, India, Somalia, etc.

As expected, countries that rely on subjugation [dungeon clearing and resource extraction] for more than 80% of their national economy were included in the list.

“Have you contacted each association?”

“Yeah. Well, they weren’t particularly negative. I was worried that they would reject us before America did.”

“Subjugation itself is already an industry that requires a huge investment. Even though the profit margin is high, most of it goes back into investment. If you think about it, it’s like being stuck in a swamp.”

I continued, keeping my eyes fixed on the documents.

“So they probably have no reason to refuse. It’s like we’re solving a situation where subjugation is a loss whether they do it or not.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“Now we have to fight it out in America.”

When I stretched and said that, Lee Ayung asked with a worried tone.

“By the way… are you going to be okay?”

There was no subject, but I could tell what she was talking about right away.

Well, who else could it be?

It must be our crazy head of the Planning Division.

“Of course, I’ve visited the American association before, but the situation is different from then. Back then, I didn’t even stay at the association for very long.”

“Well, I’m uneasy. I have no idea where that human will bounce.”

I also let out a deep sigh.

“But well… Shin’s secretary isn’t wrong. Right now, that person is the most suitable. Above all, she’s not going alone, so you can keep an eye on her from time to time.”

“How about sending Minju with her?”

“I’ve thought about that too…”

At Lee Ayung’s words, I put my hands behind my head.

In fact, that’s the most reassuring method.

Kim Minju, who judges everything rationally, always acted as a brake on Han Yubin, who acts emotionally.

The problem is… that guy is too busy to send with Han Yubin.

Sometimes, she’s busier than me, so it goes without saying.

Well, she’s the head of the operations division who works directly in the field, so it can’t be helped.

“She wouldn’t cause any problems, would she? She’s the head of the division.”

“…….”

“From the start, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything big enough to cause problems.”

It was a word I said to hide my anxiety, but somehow Lee Ayung didn’t answer.

When I looked at her with a puzzled expression, she carefully opened her mouth.

“This is just a guess…”

Then she continued in a small voice.

“The American association… I think there’s something going on.”

“What are you talking about?”

“While preparing for this meeting, I did some research on the recent subjugation status, and there’s something that doesn’t match the subjugation settlement report from the last quarter.”

At those words, my eyebrows twitched.

“The last quarter’s settlement was 1,232 subjugations out of 1,302 dungeons based in the West, with a total profit margin of $448.12 million. And the recent subjugation status is 460 subjugations out of 581 dungeons based in the West, with a profit margin of $111.2 million.”

“…So?”

I tilted my head.

There was nothing strange about that explanation.

The quarterly settlement report is a report on all the circumstances regarding the subjugation carried out by all associations around the world for three months.

In the case of the United States, that level of subjugation and that level of profit is sufficiently possible.

The recent subjugation status is about a month, so even if you simply calculate it, it’s roughly correct.

There’s nothing particularly problematic…

“The number of people is different.”

“…What?”

“The last settlement said there were a total of 3,401 people, but the recent status says there are 5,823 people.”

“…….”

“The amount of subjugation and profits are similar to the last quarter, and the subjugation industry is gradually shrinking.”

Lee Ayung looked at me with sharp eyes.

“But why did the number of people suddenly increase by 1.5 times?”

“…….”

At the same time, I also began to think a lot.

I didn’t receive any news that they would be filling that many people.

From the start, there’s no reason to increase the number of people so much when they’re shrinking.

‘No, putting everything else aside…’

The fact that the number of people has increased, but the amount of subjugation remains the same, doesn’t make sense.

Something smells fishy, but unfortunately, this alone is not enough to suspect anything.

“Let’s watch a little more for now.”

I said.

“When you go to America, find out more. Which department has been mainly increased, and what is the actual subjugation status other than what is written in the report.”

“Okay.”

“Be as careful as possible. I’ll tell Yubin about this too.”

Lee Ayung nodded and left the office.

After everyone left, I was still sitting at my desk, reviewing all possible situations in my head.

***

New York, Long Island, USA.

American Western Association under WDSO.

“The WDSO headquarters requested a meeting?”

The man who took over the total power of the American association after Michael retired as president.

At the report that came to President Tom, his eyebrows twitched.

“Yes, and they say they will be entering the country the day after tomorrow.”

“Why all of a sudden? There’s still a long way to go before the regular report.”

“I don’t know exactly, but it seems like they’re coming for something else.”

Assistant Joseph answered carefully.

Then President Tom stroked his chin and muttered.

“What’s going on that they’re in such a hurry…”

“I asked, but they only said they have something to talk about regarding the future of the international subjugation industry…”

“International subjugation industry?”

President Tom raised his voice slightly.

It was a topic he couldn’t understand.

“Are they really going to come all the way here to talk about that? The Korean side is going to be very busy now that they’re even reducing dungeons?”

“Are you saying they have other intentions?”

“Who knows.”

President Tom turned his chair and looked out the window.

Then he muttered in a voice that could barely be heard.

“Or maybe they smelled something.”

“…That’s impossible.”

Secretary Joseph answered that word.

“Isn’t this something that only a very small number of people know about here? Above all, there’s no one at headquarters who knows our situation well. There’s no way they would have noticed.”

“Yeah. That’s true.”

President Tom nodded.

“But just in case, close Area F for the time being and don’t let anyone in.”

“What about the people involved?”

“What do you mean, what about them?”

President Tom snapped as if he was asking something obvious.

“Have them all return to their original positions until the meeting is over.”

“Are you talking about the cleaning team?”

“Yes.”

At President Tom’s answer, Assistant Joseph nodded once and turned around.

And then.

“Ah, one more thing.”

President Tom added a word.

“If there’s anyone who leaks information about this project… be sure to tell them that all contracts will be terminated.”