Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 108

108. Monster and Prey (3)

Among the conscripted ability users, some far exceeded the average level expected by the All-Mighty Union. These individuals were brought in regardless of their actual aptitude.

“You’re being quite greedy.”

“I’m not saying I’ll take them all. I’m just picking out a few.”

Park Gyu considered this. The attempt to create a state-run clan using conscripts had failed, but perhaps entrusting the task to a private organization was viable.

If Hyun-mu was envisioning a grander scheme beyond a state-run clan, then acquiring ability users who had received military training was a worthwhile endeavor.

If his ambition was to reach the pinnacle of military power…

If an army composed of ability users were created, the All-Mighty Union would undoubtedly serve as its foundation, with Hyun-mu naturally assuming leadership.

Of course, this could be a risky move, but that was a concern for the distant future. Even if the worst-case scenario unfolded, there were individuals who would keep Hyun-mu in check.

Tae-sung and Lee Ji-tae wouldn’t stand idly by.

‘This is getting interesting.’

Besides, the ability user army was still a long way off.

Park Gyu found himself liking Hyun-mu.

He seemed overly ambitious, but he offered a reasonable quid pro quo [something given or received in exchange for something else], making it seem like a sound investment in his future.

“With such a proposal, you didn’t need to be so rude.”

“Chief of Staff, you seem to be mistaken.”

Hyun-mu smiled coldly.

“It’s just a proposal for now, but who knows what the future holds? The decision rests with you, Chief of Staff.”

Park Gyu wanted to scoff at the audacity, but his lips remained unsmiling.

Hyun-mu’s offer was generous enough. If Hyun-mu refused to listen, he could be pressured by cutting off funding.

When that time came, he wouldn’t be as easily defeated as he was now.

“…Okay. It’s a difficult request, but I’ll accept it.”

Park Gyu extended his hand to Hyun-mu. Hyun-mu stared blankly at the offered hand before speaking.

“Thank you for accepting my proposal. Then, I’ll see you again soon.”

At that moment, the lights flickered once more. In the instant the lights went out, Hyun-mu vanished.

Park Gyu stared at his outstretched hand, a dazed expression on his face.

Awkwardly clenching and unclenching his fist, Park Gyu cautiously exited the sauna. The secretary and the Tae-sung Clan hunters who had collapsed appeared unconscious, but they were alive.

‘In any case, I think I made the right choice in joining forces.’

***

Hyun-mu, emerging from the sauna, removed his mask and inhaled the cold air.

‘That went easier than I expected.’

It was a potentially threatening situation, but it seemed the favor had been granted.

He felt a moment of awkwardness when Park Gyu offered his hand at the end, though.

‘Difficulty: I’ve touched and eaten all sorts of disgusting things in hell, but I can’t bring myself to shake that dirty hand.’

With this, he could now influence Park Gyu to divert government funds and invest them in the All-Mighty Union.

There was a limit to how much Hyun-mu could expand the All-Mighty Union using his personal assets.

The money earned by the All-Mighty Union was barely enough to maintain its current size.

But with government funding, things would become much easier.

Simply threatening or forcing them into subordination increased the likelihood of mistakes. Intelligence diminished when forced into submission. And he had no desire to keep someone like Park Gyu as a subordinate.

‘It’s easy to manipulate a corrupt guy.’

Park Gyu would believe he was controlling the All-Mighty Union, but the reality would be the opposite.

Park Gyu would be preoccupied with trying to control the All-Mighty Union and would be led along, eventually having his resources drained and becoming obsolete. He was someone who would be naturally discarded as Hyun-mu moved on to the next stage.

The most successful aspect of this plan was that Park Gyu didn’t seem to suspect Hyun-mu had reported Do Won-kyung.

‘Well, the original goal was to remove Do Won-kyung from the government agency anyway.’

If he hadn’t removed Do Won-kyung, she would have been monitored by the government and ultimately achieved only modest results, retiring as in the original timeline.

And she would suffer from the increased difficulty and die. Hyun-mu had no intention of allowing that to happen.

“Director Do Won-kyung, I’m sorry, but…”

Hyun-mu apologized to Do Won-kyung, knowing she would likely never hear it.

Even though he believed it was an unavoidable choice, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

“You’ll be far more effective working under me than in public office.”

***

“Yumin, wake up for a second.”

Late at night, Yumin woke up, rubbing her eyes, as Hyun-mu abruptly shook her. Hyun-mu’s expression was serious, and Yumin felt the last vestiges of sleep vanish.

“…Huh? Oppa?”

“Don’t you hear anything?”

When Yumin listened intently, she detected a faint sobbing sound coming from deep within the complex. It was a sound she had never heard before.

Since it was a modified underground bunker, many areas were sealed off because there were no immediate plans for their use. It wouldn’t be unusual to hear a strange sound emanating from one of those areas.

But this sound was different.

“Someone’s… inside?”

Yumin didn’t suspect an intruder.

Yumin had personally designed the bunker’s security system. It was virtually impossible for someone to sneak in.

Hyun-mu, his expression grave, got out of bed and helped Yumin up.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? Am I going too?”

“Usually, in situations like this, if you go alone, you’ll hear screams and end up isolated.”

Yumin swallowed the words, ‘But that only happens in the movies.’

She wasn’t much help in a fight, but if Hyun-mu thought it was better to stick together, it was best to follow his lead.

Hyun-mu was the expert here.

Yumin grabbed a cupcake from her desk and offered it to Hyun-mu.

“At a time like this?”

“You can’t use your strength on an empty stomach.”

That was true. Besides, this was a cake baked by Yumin.

Although baked in a heat-resistant beaker, Yumin, who followed recipes with the precision of a chemical formula, was actually a good cook.

“It would be nice if there was something you weren’t good at.”

“I can’t do filial piety [respect and care for one’s parents and ancestors] and dancing no matter what.”

Hyun-mu started walking ahead, and Yumin followed, picking up a club just in case.

The sound was coming from inside. Hyun-mu and Yumin exchanged embarrassed glances.

It was the staircase leading to the lower, sealed-off area, where partition walls had been erected because there was no immediate need to access it. Yumin carefully pressed her ear against the partition wall.

The sounds of sobbing and someone whispering were mixed together.

“It sounds like a person’s voice.”

Hyun-mu began tearing down the partition wall. Soon, a dark and damp space was revealed beyond the wall.

A chilling wind flowed out.

Yumin suddenly recalled a story she had heard from the real estate agent before moving into the bunker.

The previous owners who had gone mad with delusions for generations, and the owner who was eventually murdered by something unknown.

Who was he eventually murdered by? Yumin felt a chill, mixed with the excitement of a scholar.

“Oppa, let’s go in quickly.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Shall I take the lead?”

Hyun-mu hesitated and nodded. It was unusual for him to relinquish the lead, but she assumed Hyun-mu oppa must be scared of something too, and took a step forward.

As her feet crunched on the rough stone dust on the floor, Hyun-mu handed her slippers.

The air was damp and cold.

Yumin walked ahead, using the lantern she had brought to light the way. The sound grew louder as they advanced.

Yumin’s heart beat faster as the mixed sounds intensified.

The sound was coming from downstairs.

Yumin, entering the room after turning a corner, shined the lantern in the direction of the sound.

Something became visible in the lantern light.

It was a huge monster.

“It’s a troll.”

It was a troll taxidermy [the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals].

Yumin passed by, wondering why there was a troll taxidermy in a place like this. Behind the troll, a computer was running with the monitor turned off.

The sound was coming from the speaker attached to it. When Yumin turned on the monitor, a current affairs channel was playing on an infinite loop.

Click.

Then someone turned on the light.

Hyun-mu was standing there with an embarrassed expression.

“Um, I was going to turn on the light if you screamed.”

Trying to scare Yumin with a monster corpse was pointless to her, who had dissected and handled all sorts of monsters in the laboratory.

“If you wanted to scare me, you should have brought a person instead of a troll…”

But Yumin looked surprised only after seeing the surroundings after Hyun-mu turned on the light.

The entire room, the size of an auditorium, was filled with experimental tools and materials. Hyun-mu patted Yumin’s shoulder, seeing her wide-eyed expression, and said.

“Happy birthday.”

“My birthday is in March?”

“Let’s just say it was because I didn’t have a good excuse.”

Hyun-mu led Yumin around the laboratory.

The machines were all brand new and had never been used before, far superior to those at Kwanak University, and filled with equipment unavailable in Korea.

In addition, the freezer, which occupied half of the lecture room, was filled with monster corpses and accessories.

And there was a large quantity of the highest quality crystal moss that only Hyun-mu brought.

“With this level of facilities… it’s almost the same as the Sejong Research Institute. Oppa!”

“Uh, huh? Yeah. Well, I guess so.”

“It’s amazing! Oh my gosh, when did you install all this? How long have you been preparing? The movement lines and layout of the equipment are perfect, did you know this too, Oppa?”

“I had the idea from the beginning and I’ve been preparing for quite a while. I got some help from an expert recently.”

Hyun-mu hugged Yumin and patted her.

“I didn’t feel good seeing you so down. So I hurried a bit.”

“Oppa…”

“What if you fail the thesis review? You can do the research you want here. Don’t worry about the cost or making a living, just focus on your research. In the end, I’m doing it for my own good, so don’t feel pressured.”

“Yes? Oppa, wait a minute. Thesis review?”

Yumin’s expression gradually became strange as she listened to Hyun-mu’s consolation. Eventually, she couldn’t stand it and asked back. Hyun-mu sensed something was wrong when he saw Yumin’s expression.

“Huh? Oh. Weren’t you down because of your thesis? You burned all your theses and data. And you didn’t go to school.”

“Yes? No. Why would I be down because of that? It’s not like that stupid professor is like that for a day or two. I was also preparing to screw him over when the time was right.”

“…Then why did you burn your thesis? You were working so hard on it all night.”

“Ah, that’s…”

Yumin had a troubled expression.

“I was going to tell you when the time was right… but I couldn’t continue my research. So I thought it was a shame, but I should just give up.”

Hyun-mu had a feeling at that moment. His head became complicated in an instant, but there was only one thought that came to mind.

He thought he was careful enough, but he couldn’t ignore the probability. Hyun-mu opened his mouth with trembling lips.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Preg…”

“I’ve awakened as an ability user.”

Hyun-mu’s jaw snapped shut. A puzzled expression appeared on Yumin’s face.

“Huh? Oppa, what were you trying to say just now?”

“Ah? Ah, ah! I was going to say I knew it. Of course. What else could it be?”

“I knew you had a feeling too, Oppa. That’s right. I was writing my thesis at night when I suddenly heard a system message and I was able to check my level. I was writing about awakening and grade promotion samples in my thesis, but suddenly I had the experience of ruining my own data. Not someone else, but me!”

“Ugh, uh.”

“I thought the world was trying to screw me over. When that time came, I didn’t care about research anymore. The world is just flowing as it pleases, and what’s the point of me trying to understand it? I thought it would be easier to quit when I thought about the professor’s expression, who would be happy that another lab rat had appeared.”

Yumin looked relieved after telling the truth.

“Ah, I should have just told you from the beginning and consulted with you. I don’t know why I didn’t feel a sense of reality, and I didn’t say anything because you seemed busy these days… I guess you were worried too, Oppa. I’m sorry.”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’m glad you’re not heartbroken.”

Yumin looked around the lab with a cool expression.

She had given up on research, but it was also because she was desperate because she thought about the longer she would have to face the professor.

It would be okay if she could do the research she wanted without worrying about making a living, even if she didn’t get a degree.

“But you planned this event well. I think I won’t be able to do research alone because I’ll think about the sobbing sound sometimes. I need to hire a researcher…”

“Huh? What sobbing sound?”

“Yes?”

“I didn’t hear any sobbing.”

“Hey, don’t joke around.”

“No, you saw the computer too. It only had a current affairs channel on. There’s no way you could hear sobbing from there. Aren’t you joking?”

That’s also true. The two looked at each other in silence for a while.

“…Maybe I misheard the sound of the wind?”

“…Maybe?”

“Oh, then let’s go up for today… since I’m tired?”

“…Shall we?”