Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 208

208. New Orders (5)

“What is it? What happened?”

“We’ve lost contact with the squadron that took off for Pyongyang.”

“I can see that myself, you idiot! Do you have any reports?”

“Well…”

Despite the Chinese officer’s roar, the situation officers looked bewildered and helpless.

Just then, a voice rang out, saving them. A signalman jumped up and shouted.

“We’ve got a signal from a bomber returning! It’s the squadron leader’s signal!”

The situation officers looked pleased, but the officer’s expression remained stern.

“Thirty took off, and only one is coming back?”

Only then did the soldiers realize the situation and quickly lower their heads again. But there was no time to scold them.

If even one returned, they could at least hear what had happened.

The officer immediately prepared to receive a report from the squadron leader while looking out the window.

He saw a bomber flying in from the eastern sky, leaving a long trail of smoke. It didn’t look to be in good condition.

‘I hope it lands safely,’ he thought, and as he was about to contact the emergency services, the officer couldn’t believe his eyes.

The officer spoke to his adjutant.

“Hey, that one.”

“Yes?”

“That one… it doesn’t look like it’s heading for the runway?”

“Yes? Oh, you’re right. The angle looks like…”

“More signals are coming in!”

Before the adjutant could finish, the radar operator shouted again.

The officer approached the radar operator, sensing that something was wrong. The radar operator said with a bright expression.

“Including the squadron leader, 15 are returning!”

It was better to have half of them return alive than to think all thirty had been wiped out, with only one left. But the officer couldn’t relax and put on a bright face.

His suspicious mind made even the newly caught radar signals look strange.

“…Where are these guys going?”

The squadron was scattered, flying in all directions. Not to the base they had taken off from, but to various parts of China.

“Well, could it be that they’re making emergency landings because their condition is bad?”

But they were scattered like scattered grains of wheat. Besides, it was strange that fifteen fighters were all returning with similar damage.

In an instant, the officer felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the direction the squadrons were flying.

“Fighters! Launch the fighters! Order them to intercept the entire returning squadron! Contact the air defense forces!”

“Yes?”

“Immediately…”

“Aaaaaaah!”

The officer’s command was drowned out by a scream. The soldier who screamed was pointing out the window. At that moment, a shadow fell over the base along with the roar of a bomber.

The last thing the officer saw was a burning bomber crashing into the base and a skinned skeleton in the cockpit.

At the moment of impact, the bombs exploded all at once. The airbase was engulfed in a giant sea of fire.

***

“…It’s clear that they are dealing with an extraordinary opponent.”

The head of Chrome [a fictional organization, likely a powerful corporation or government agency], Maria Keller, said with a displeased expression as she watched TV.

The TV was showing images of burning Chinese cities. Fifteen bombers had suddenly carried out simultaneous suicide attacks on major facilities throughout China.

“The Presidential Palace, the Ministry of National Defense, the National Assembly, various military bases… What is this? The Forbidden City? That’s a tourist attraction, isn’t it? I don’t know why they targeted this place.”

“It seems the monster thought it was a plausible place.”

Adam Folt muttered, standing next to her.

“Is the Great Wall safe?”

Professor Keller said sarcastically, but it seemed plausible.

The channel was reporting that a civil war had broken out in China.

China, which had already been hit hard by the North Korean expedition, was experiencing rising discontent due to excessive purges and internal crackdowns.

To make matters worse, the Presidential Palace was blown away without a trace by the bomber terror, and the whereabouts of the current Chinese President became unknown.

The party representative himself came forward and said that the president was safe and directing the situation from a bunker, but not many people believed him.

Immediately, subtle tensions began to arise in southern China, the Uyghur region, and the Tibetan Autonomous Region, which had been resisting the current president.

“It seems people don’t take seriously the idea that bombers went to bomb Pyongyang, came back, and then committed suicide attacks on their own country’s important facilities.”

“The general public is more likely to accept conspiracy theories and internal divisions than to believe that the pilots were attacked by monsters and attacked their own country. Looking at the current situation alone, it really could look that way.”

If Hans Kruger hadn’t told Keller in advance that China was going to launch bombers into North Korea, Professor Keller wouldn’t have believed it so easily.

Professor Keller looked at the TV with a tired expression and opened her mouth.

“Adam, was that monster who stopped the Cepes case Kazat?”

“No.”

Adam Folt said firmly, emphasizing his words.

Adam Folt and Professor Keller also confirmed Kazat’s appearance in the memorial hall dedication video.

However, Adam Folt was certain that Kazat was different from what he had seen in Pyongyang. He couldn’t see it clearly because of the fog, but even just looking at the momentum and the power he showed, it was completely different.

Of course, if that monster named Kazat demonstrated an unidentified ability or used his powers, his appearance might change.

But no matter how much Adam Folt thought about it, he couldn’t feel that strange power and energy from Kazat.

“Well, I guess not.”

Professor Keller said as if it were obvious. She seemed to know it too.

“He mentioned something about an owner. The monster you saw might be the one behind him.”

Professor Keller muttered with an unpleasant expression.

“But in the first place, that guy Kazat isn’t someone who can appear at the current difficulty level. If he has this kind of ability, he must be a being related to the stars…”

Professor Keller muttered with a troubled expression.

“I don’t know what’s going on at all. What a mess this is.”

“How about asking the priests for advice?”

At Adam Folt’s suggestion, Professor Keller made an uncomfortable expression.

“That won’t work.”

Adam Folt didn’t ask why. If Professor Keller said so, then that was that. However, Professor Keller continued to mutter to herself without being asked.

“It’s better for the priests to be indifferent to our situation except for dungeon management. I remember how happy they were when the anomaly occurred last time. They’re not interested in the well-being of humanity. If there’s a problem with this situation, they’ll definitely step in on their own. But there’s no need for us to bring it to them first.”

Professor Keller frowned and focused on the being who had a foot in all these strange changes in Pyongyang, China, and South Korea.

“We need to observe Kang Hyun-woo more closely. First, promote Kang Hyun-woo as much as possible. And give him one important position after another. Don’t just settle for honorary special inspection officer.”

“Even that far?”

“The more eyes there are, the higher the probability that Kang Hyun-woo will reveal his weaknesses or things he’s hiding. It’ll be harder for him to move recklessly. While we’re at it, let’s put him in an important position in Chrome. Since Xiaojie is dead, the head of Chrome’s East Asia branch might be enough.”

“Kang Hyun-woo… feels a bit dangerous.”

Adam Folt, who had seen Kang Hyun-woo in person, offered an unusually cautious opinion.

Of course, he was prepared to have Professor Keller pull his tie, pinch him, and hit him.

But Professor Keller didn’t move. Instead, she sighed and nodded.

“You’re right.”

She circled Kang Hyun-woo’s name several times in red.

“There might be something about him. But it’s clear that he has unusual power. Until we find something, let’s make him a hope for humanity while being as careful as possible.”

Professor Keller muttered in a voice that was hard to tell whether it was a wish or a prayer.

“There’s also a saying that a position makes a person.”

***

Squeak.

The steel door opened, revealing a dark interior. A musty smell mixed with the faint smell of blood.

Hyun-woo slowly stepped into the room. Dust scattered with each echoing footstep.

In the center of the huge underground space, a woman was crouching on the floor.

“Ms. Noh Ha-eul.”

Hyun-woo squatted on the floor and tapped the shoulder of the fallen woman to wake her up.

It was Noh Ha-eul, an inspector from Hwanmamama [likely a powerful organization or company] who accompanied him when Hyun-woo first entered the dungeon.

Noh Ha-eul shuddered and stepped back when she saw Hyun-woo. Hyun-woo looked embarrassed at her nervous face.

“Song Yeo-un, what the hell did you do? Why is she so scared?”

“I gave her food, drinks, and a bathroom as she asked.”

“What’s that blood smell? Did you torture her?”

“No. I didn’t lay a finger on Ms. Noh Ha-eul. Oh, I did torture other hunters in this room. Over there.”

Song Yeo-un was pointing to a spot less than 5 meters away from Noh Ha-eul. There were black, dried blood and pieces of flesh.

Noh Ha-eul was looking at Hyun-woo with eyes mixed with wariness and fear.

Originally, there were five hunters from Hwanmamama in this room. All of them were mobilized to ambush Jeonneungryeon [likely a group or organization] hunters in Pyongyang and were captured.

Noh Ha-eul didn’t like it because of her personal relationship with Kang Hyun-woo, but she couldn’t refuse Park Do-ryeong’s words.

But what they encountered when they faced the Jeonneungryeon hunters was unexpected power.

4-star ability user Oh Dae-sung Hunter, famous for his iron wall defense, and Priest Johann, who was unmatched in the healing field.

The result was a one-sided defeat for the Hwanmamama ability users.

Even though they were 4-star ability users, the skills of the hunters belonging to Song Yeo-un’s team were beyond imagination.

Most of them died on the spot, except for the five who were barely saved by Priest Johann.

This was because the Jeonneungryeon hunters had only learned how to kill their opponents at the risk of their lives.

Noh Ha-eul was one of the five who barely survived. Now she was just one.

“Why did you kill them? Did you get any information?”

“Well, to be honest, they were very tough. They kept insisting that they didn’t know anything until the end, but I couldn’t be sure until they died whether they really didn’t know or were hiding it even though they knew…”

“…Are you even human?”

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m hearing that from the branch manager, even if it was someone else…”

Hyun-woo slapped Song Yeo-un on the back of the head and chased her away. Hyun-woo’s gaze turned back to Noh Ha-eul.

“Ms. Noh Ha-eul. Personally, I want to apologize, but I know you deserve this treatment. Because I know what you came to our team members for.”

Noh Ha-eul flinched and nodded.

“I think you might be slow on information because you’ve only been here, but a lot has happened in the meantime. First of all, Park Do-ryeong is dead. And Lee Ji-tae is missing. Hwanmamama has been disbanded.”

Noh Ha-eul had a blank expression.

It was shocking that the group she had been a part of until now had disappeared, but she didn’t seem too surprised.

She had been guessing inwardly, hearing the Song Yeo-un team say things in passing, and that there had been no movement from Hwanmamama until now.

“And I was appointed as an honorary special inspector of the Special Inspection Department, and I was appointed as the head of Chrome’s East Asia branch. And I was also appointed as the temporary general manager of the North Korean territory.”

Hyun-woo continued to rattle off information that Noh Ha-eul didn’t even ask for.

“What this means is that I’m in charge of the entire North Korean region, a kind of lifetime governor and lifetime governor-general, and it’s a crazy position that entrusts me with everything in the military, judicial, and administrative fields. I guess they wanted to give the king a complicated name.”

Hyun-woo glared at Song Yeo-un, who was chuckling behind him. Song Yeo-un looked wronged.

“Why? I gave her water and food on time. She just became like that.”

“…You didn’t give her alcohol.”

Noh Ha-eul muttered after drinking a bottle of beer in one gulp.

Her face was flushed as the alcohol filled her body after a long time. A deep breath brought a strong smell of alcohol.

“I’m ready.”

“Yes? What?”

“You’re going to kill me, right? You’ve become such an important person, so you’re going to kill me now to silence me because I know your old self and your evil deeds, Kang Hyun-woo? Still, thank you for giving me a bottle of beer as a last gift.”

Noh Ha-eul straightened her body and closed her eyes.

“I wanted to see this season’s baseball game before I left…”

She waited for the cold death that would come soon. It was a great generosity to die comfortably compared to the other colleagues who died painfully.

But even after waiting for a long time with her eyes closed, the pain of death did not come. Did they kill me without even feeling the pain?

When she carefully opened her eyes, she saw Kang Hyun-woo smiling in front of her.

“You’re misunderstanding, Ms. Noh Ha-eul.”