Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 130

130. To My Old Self (4)

[Ryu Sua Spotted at Red Serpent Appearance!]

[Shocking Announcement: Distribution of Leaked Monster Sightings!]

[Monsters Appearing Centered Around Candidate Ryu Sua’s Home?]

[Leaked Monsters Still at Large… Civilian Casualties Soaring]

The rumors spreading on YouTube and social media mostly involved conspiracy theories linking the monster leaks to Ryu Sua. They claimed she had the ability to summon monsters or was deliberately releasing them.

Some even went as far as to suggest that Ryu Sua was a new type of monster plotting to overthrow humanity, which was absurd.

[Calm down and answer me calmly.]

Ryu Sua took a breath, hearing the voice on the other end of the phone: Chief Secretary Park Gyu.

She wanted to smash his head with an ashtray if he were in front of her, but he was still the chief secretary. She had to remain calm.

“The source of the rumors is Kang Hyun-moo. You’ll probably find clues if you just investigate the Almighty Cult a little. Or raid the Ghost Mansion. He’s a murder suspect anyway!”

[There’s still doubt about whether Kang Hyun-moo actually stabbed a living person. Besides, according to video analysis, the victim was likely already dead. It would be certain if we had a body, but we haven’t found one. We can’t raid in this situation. And Kang Hyun-moo isn’t just an ordinary murder suspect.]

Park Gyu whispered in a low voice.

[He’s a murder suspect I’m backing and sponsoring. At the same time, he’s one of Korea’s top Hunters and a rising power receiving full support from the Almighty Cult. No rookie is as closely watched as Kang Hyun-moo. Do you really want to antagonize him?]

“It’s not a matter of me antagonizing him; I’m the one being attacked first!”

[Why?]

Park Gyu asked sharply.

“Excuse me?”

[I don’t think this is Kang Hyun-moo’s style, but let’s say you’re right. Why would Kang Hyun-moo antagonize you? Is there something you’re guilty of towards Kang Hyun-moo?]

Ryu Sua gritted her teeth.

“Are you saying you’re going to abandon me to embrace Kang Hyun-moo? Seriously?]

[Watch your mouth, Ryu Sua. I’m the one who pressured them to nominate you. And you think I’d abandon you? Do you think I’d do something that would damage my political standing? I’m telling you to focus on your election. Don’t waste your energy on useless rumors. No one believes that kind of nonsense anyway, right?]

The rumors were still just a laughing matter, but too many parts of them aligned with the truth, so Ryu Sua couldn’t help but react sensitively.

“I can win the election without worrying about it. I just want you to make sure I don’t get involved in any troublesome matters later. It could be troublesome for you too.”

[Ryu Sua.]

Park Gyu said again, his voice laced with suppressed anger.

[The reason I keep telling you to be patient is because I care about you. You don’t know how much I value you. Kang Hyun-moo is someone you shouldn’t antagonize. Not kidding, if you’ve done anything to provoke Kang Hyun-moo, apologize cleanly, and if not, lie low and wait for the storm to pass.]

Ryu Sua was dumbfounded.

“Are you serious? I’m Ryu Sua. My approval rating is over 55% right now. Other candidates are hovering around half of that. You’re telling me to lie low when I’m about to become the mayor of Seoul?”

[It won’t matter if you become mayor.]

Park Gyu muttered with a sigh.

[If you lose the election, you might have to prepare for serious consequences. So please, be careful.]

Ryu Sua hung up the phone. Park Gyu was no help. She had already provoked Kang Hyun-moo, and Kang Hyun-moo had declared war on her.

She couldn’t lie low as Park Gyu said. If she did, it would only put her in a position where Hyun-moo could easily cut her throat.

‘Damn it.’

The situation became difficult as the prosecution card was unexpectedly blocked by Park Gyu. The rumors circulating on the internet were nonsense, but they weren’t good in a practical sense either.

「Hunter Regulation Advocate, Candidate Ryu Sua Cornered.」

Ryu Sua was commonly known as a hunter regulation advocate, but in reality, she was closer to a control advocate. [Someone who advocates for stricter oversight of Hunters.]

Ryu Sua’s policy was to tie hunters to a more controlled group and treat them as quasi-civil servants, rather than letting them roam freely as they do now.

But it was easy to ridicule as a nationalistic nationalization policy.

If public authority seems incompetent, people will rely on private violence.

Then power will be concentrated in private clans, and the nationalization movement will be blurred.

The appearance of goblins could shake her political standing itself.

‘I thought he would just barge in, beat me up, and threaten me, but he’s resorting to these kinds of tricks.’

Ryu Sua bit her lip.

Her support base wouldn’t be shaken by this much, but she needed a more definite method.

Ryu Sua gestured to her secretary.

“Contact Team Leader Lee Ji-tae. I need to ask for help.”

***

“Councilwoman Ryu Sua. I didn’t expect you to contact me first.”

Ryu Sua tried to stand up with a welcoming expression but froze when she saw the person who entered. She wanted to meet Lee Ji-tae, but it was Tae Min-soo, the administrative team leader, who was second-in-command.

“Mr. Tae Min-soo. Nice to see you. How is Team Leader Lee Ji-tae doing?”

“He’s doing well. He’s also busy. We both don’t seem to have much time, so I’d like to get straight to the point.”

Ryu Sua, who was a control advocate, didn’t have a good relationship with Tae Min-soo either.

Of course, Taesung [Likely refers to a powerful organization or company] was very active in government affairs, but that didn’t mean she had to have personal liking for him. After all, the real power in the government was Park Gyu.

“Let’s have a cup of tea first…….”

“Councilwoman Ryu Sua.”

Tae Min-soo cut off Ryu Sua’s words with a calm attitude and bowed. Ryu Sua felt uncomfortable with his piercing gaze.

“To be honest, the reason Team Leader Lee Ji-tae didn’t come is because he doesn’t want to be seen associating with a candidate during the election period. The reason I came myself is because the team leader sent me, worried that you might make a fuss and bring reporters. Considering Chief Secretary Park Gyu’s position, I will cooperate as much as possible with whatever you need, so I would appreciate it if you could just tell me what you need.”

Ryu Sua was puzzled instead of angry at Tae Min-soo’s colder-than-expected reaction.

Any conflict she had with him was due to business interests.

There was no reason to show such open hostility.

‘Was there a reason to be angry?’

Tae Min-soo was only acting on behalf of Lee Ji-tae. Ryu Sua wondered if Tae Min-soo had received any instructions from Lee Ji-tae.

But Ryu Sua couldn’t pry into it. In the end, she had no choice but to get to the point as he wanted.

“You know about the monster rampage that happened in Seoul, right? I heard that Taesung is ignoring it.”

“They’re just goblins. They’re monsters that even non-awakened [People without special abilities] can catch. There’s no reason for Taesung to get involved.”

“They’re not ordinary goblins.”

Tae Min-soo stared at Ryu Sua. Ryu Sua unfolded a map and pointed out the circles marked in red one by one.

“If they were ordinary goblins, they would have attacked humans or been caught already. But they’ve only caused minor injuries or startled people, and there haven’t been any deaths yet. Moreover, they’re even evading the police. Shouldn’t Taesung step in before there are any victims?”

Tae Min-soo scanned the map. He knew about the monster appearances.

His feeling that there was no need to step in hadn’t changed. But he could see at a glance that all the points Ryu Sua marked with red circles were areas related to her.

“It’s not a difficult request. But… I would appreciate it if you could tell me one thing for sure.”

Tae Min-soo pressed down on the map with his hand and said.

“I heard you have a problem with Mr. Kang Hyun-moo.”

“Ha.”

Ryu Sua waved her hand.

“I don’t even want to get involved with that frivolous human. I have no interest or curiosity in him. I don’t know where those rumors came from.”

The basis of the rumors was just a YouTube video claiming that ‘the Red Serpent was a monster controlled by Ryu Sua and tried to kill Kang Hyun-moo.’

It was absurd, but Ryu Sua skillfully brushed it off with a lie that aligned with the truth. At the same time, she made exaggerated gestures and used her skill.

Bewitchment.

This rare-grade skill was the ability that brought her to this position.

People listened to her opinions and became fond of her.

But because the atmosphere and the other person’s concentration were important, Ryu Sua preferred indoor speeches where she could get attention.

She was able to build a solid support base based on this ability.

Regardless of the opponent’s level, they were affected unless they were hostile to her or aware that they were being bewitched.

There was no need to use it on Tae Min-soo, who was already cooperative, but in the long run, she needed Tae Min-soo’s favor as well.

“But I heard that Kang Hyun-moo rejected your offer and joined the Almighty Cult. And he even lost his position as Korea’s best Awakened [People with special abilities], so you must feel a little disappointed, right?”

Tae Min-soo’s expression changed slightly subtly. Ryu Sua was sure that he was definitely listening to her opinion.

“I don’t care about Kang Hyun-moo. But if this situation is related to Kang Hyun-moo… shouldn’t you give him a warning as a senior?”

“I see.”

Tae Min-soo nodded as if her words were reasonable.

“Okay. Taesung will help.”

***

Hyun-moo carefully touched the scarecrow.

But the scarecrow didn’t move. Hyun-moo examined the scarecrow and realized that its shape was slightly different from the one in the gym.

It had the same white shell like a mannequin, but it looked more like a real human than a standard mannequin model.

“…It looks like it was made to resemble a human.”

It was a little creepy, but there was no other way to explain it. Dozens of such dolls, each with a different appearance, were standing, filling the hallway densely.

Hyun-moo unknowingly thought of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum [The tomb complex of the first emperor of China]. Tens of thousands of terracotta dolls buried with the tomb.

‘Surely, if I accidentally attack this, they won’t all attack at the same time.’

Even if Hyun-moo was used to fighting scarecrows, it seemed like he would have to die and come back several times with this many scarecrows.

Then, a thud echoed.

Hyun-moo turned around in shock, and Yerddan was sitting with his tail between his legs.

A scarecrow was lying on the floor.

Hyun-moo looked at the scarecrows with tension, but none of them moved.

Yerddan, who was large, didn’t seem to be able to squeeze through the many scarecrow dolls.

“Wait there.”

He could follow if he turned into a human, but he couldn’t turn him into a human in a situation where these scarecrows might suddenly attack.

Hyun-moo was thinking of going as far as he could alone and then coming back if it didn’t work.

Hyun-moo continued to walk down the hallway filled with scarecrows. He walked, bending and turning several times, but he couldn’t see the end.

It was bizarre and unsettling to keep passing between scarecrows filled with different faces.

It was like walking through a room filled with corpses.

Then, Hyun-moo suddenly noticed something strange.

“Huh?”

He definitely saw that face again. He remembered it because he thought it was funny because it was a bald head with a strangely bent nose.

‘Was the modeling determined?’

But was there a need to set a bald head with a bent nose as a model? Was that the best?

Maybe they wanted to promote a human figure where bald people are not discriminated against because of political correctness… While he was thinking such useless thoughts, a clanging sound echoed.

And Hyun-moo felt goosebumps all over his body.

All the scarecrows in the hallway were looking at Hyun-moo.

Hyun-moo sweated coldly and activated Battle Helper [An ability or tool that assists in combat]. To be ready to jump at any time.

But none of the scarecrows showed any sign of rushing at him. Footsteps came from the front.

The scarecrows cleared the way, and Hyun-moo finally faced the scarecrow that appeared.

“…What the hell is this place?”

A scarecrow with the same face as Hyun-moo was standing in front of him.