Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 265

265. Skyfall (2)

Russia, St. Petersburg.

The South Korean presidential plane touched down at Pulkovo Airport, located on the city’s outskirts.

As the plane landed, reporters and Russian security personnel converged on the tarmac.

Many customary formalities were waived, as this wasn’t an official state visit.

Even now, Pulkovo Airport was bustling with dignitaries from around the globe—prime ministers, presidents, monarchs, or their representatives—all drawn by Russia’s urgent summons.

The reporters eagerly awaited the South Korean president’s arrival.

After the security team completed their sweep, a figure finally emerged. A confused murmur rippled through the press corps.

“Who’s that? Looks like a Hunter?”

“Oh… hey, idiot. That’s Kang Hyun-woo! Guess he tagged along?”

The first to appear wasn’t the president but Hunter Kang Hyun-woo.

Some reporters who specialized in dungeon and Hunter coverage quickly recognized him.

The South Korean president appeared behind Kang Hyun-woo.

It was an unusual sight, but they surmised the president was prioritizing security, with the strongest Hunter leading the way after completing the initial check. They snapped photos of the president.

Soon, the South Korean Hunters followed.

“Branch Manager, you look so strange in a suit.”

Song Yeo-un whispered, sticking close to Hyun-woo.

“I think I look pretty good, don’t I?”

“No, of course, it suits you. It’s a custom-made suit, after all. I just mean, it’s very… different. The fact that you, Branch Manager, actually know how to dress appropriately for the occasion.”

“I like wearing suits.”

“That’s surprising. I thought you hated restrictive clothing since you’re always half-naked in dungeons.”

Hyun-woo touched his tie and grinned.

“It’s like the main character hiding his strength, you know? When a beastly side is revealed beneath an intellectual facade, the contrast is explosive, right?”

“……Ah, typical Branch Manager. I don’t know about the contrast, but the cringe is definitely exploding.”

“Aren’t you a little too nervous for someone who claims it doesn’t suit them?”

“Huh? What about me?”

Hyun-woo looked at Song Yeo-un.

She, along with all the other Hunters, was also wearing a suit like Hyun-woo.

Song Yeo-un was dressed the same, but her face was flushed with excitement, and she fidgeted nervously.

“If you don’t feel awkward, then it’s fine.”

“Ha, really. Why would I be nervous? Are you looking down on me because this is my first trip abroad? You even told me to take off my shoes on the plane earlier.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

“No, I know that much. But I thought there might be an exception since it’s the presidential plane……”

Song Yeo-un rambled, making excuses.

Hyun-woo nodded, looking around.

The president’s condition wasn’t great, to put it nicely, but it was sufficient as long as he played the figurehead role.

The actual duties would be handled by the aides Min So-ha had assigned.

It would have been better if Min So-ha had come, but it didn’t seem right for the martial law commander to leave the country during martial law.

Min So-ha bore the responsibility of protecting Korea.

“Okay. Just don’t freak out.”

“Who’s f-freaking……”

Song Yeo-un, flustered, bit her tongue and trailed behind.

Hyun-woo looked up at the sky.

The Russian sky was a gloomy gray. Hyun-woo thought of his partner, who had left for this place a day earlier.

‘They must be making contact by now.’

***

The reason why the international conference was held in St. Petersburg instead of Moscow was simple.

Moscow was in a state of chaos.

The cause of the disaster that struck Ulaanbaatar had not yet been disclosed to the public.

However, rumors spread among the families of the missing Koreans, and soon survivors of the disaster appeared.

They all testified that the sky suddenly darkened, monsters appeared, and the city was destroyed in an instant.

Testimonies differed on the specifics of the monsters and the nature of the destruction, but one element remained consistent.

The monsters moved with a chilling sense of purpose, like soldiers carrying out an occupation.

As these survivors continued to come forward, the governments had no choice but to disclose the information.

The disaster’s trajectory originated in Ulaanbaatar and was progressing westward—toward Moscow.

It was currently estimated to be slowly traversing the remote, frozen mountain range in eastern Kazakhstan.

The fact that the disaster was approaching slowly but steadily and silently fueled the pervasive sense of dread.

St. Petersburg wasn’t entirely free of disturbances either. Still, it was relatively calm compared to Moscow, which was directly in the path of the impending doom.

Yumin watched an ambulance speed by, its siren wailing, before stepping into a phone booth. She began dialing a number.

The ringing tone persisted for a long time. Yumin waited patiently. Finally, someone answered the phone and spoke in Russian.

[Hello?]

“A landline isn’t safer. Give me a secure number.”

[Who is this?]

“The monster that eats stars.”

Click.

The call was disconnected.

Yumin leaned against the phone booth and waited for a moment.

Before a minute had passed, the public phone rang again.

Yumin waited exactly twice as long as she had been made to wait before answering.

[……Yumin, we know each other’s numbers, so you didn’t have to use such a spy-like method, right?]

Yumin and Lee Seo-yeon were business partners. Of course, they knew each other’s personal numbers.

“How can I trust that number when you were so thoroughly prepared to stab me in the back?”

[You were deceiving me as well. Can you trust this number now?]

Yumin sighed.

“You were the one who wanted to contact me first. So, I thought you would have realized by now that plotting behind the scenes is meaningless. I trust my brother’s judgment more than I trust you. Didn’t he already tell you what price you would pay if you betrayed us again?”

[Brother.]

Lee Seo-yeon chuckled softly, devoid of any tension.

[You’re using sweet expressions, Yumin. I don’t think you two are that close.]

“Should I hang up?”

[But on the other hand, I’m envious. That the person you can trust so much is such a strong person. I had someone like that too.]

Yumin hung up the phone.

She wasn’t the one who was desperate. Lee Seo-yeon had contacted her first, claiming she would provide useful information.

‘If she’s desperate, she’ll contact me again.’

As Yumin was about to leave the phone booth, she was startled to see someone standing outside.

A woman in a beige coat and brown long hair, partially concealed by a deeply pulled hat, Lee Seo-yeon was waiting for Yumin outside.

Lee Seo-yeon put the phone, which she seemed to have just hung up, into her pocket and handed a bag to Yumin.

“Take it.”

“What is it?”

“A list of our people and those who have been won over.”

“Our people?”

Yumin frowned at Lee Seo-yeon’s words but accepted the bag for now.

“If you mean ‘our people,’ are you referring to the South Chinese government? I know it’s not officially recognized as a country yet, but it seems like you’re already participating?”

“It’s already recognized as a country in the international community. The old China is desperately trying to stop it, but we have many friends, so it’s only a matter of time. In modern capitalist society, there’s nothing more powerful than greed.”

Lee Seo-yeon’s words were true.

The old Chinese government was already being treated as a separate country called North China.

Even Xinjiang Uyghur and Tibet had separated as independent countries, making it a complete mess.

In comparison, South China was showing a much more stable and united front. The trend was accelerating as Taiwan declared unification with the South Chinese government.

That’s why Yumin couldn’t understand Lee Seo-yeon’s attitude even more.

“Why are you stabbing such a powerful group in the back? Is betrayal a hobby of yours?”

Lee Seo-yeon chuckled softly.

“To be honest, I’m using you.”

“Ha.”

Yumin raised the corner of her lips.

As soon as Lee Seo-yeon mentioned the word ‘using,’ she immediately understood her intention.

“The list won’t be complete. Maybe it’s just your competitors?”

“All the key figures are there. You’re smart, so you’ll be able to quickly verify whether the list is real or not. Once you eliminate them and I do my part, the organization won’t be able to deny me.”

“You seem confident?”

“Opportunity comes in times of crisis. I will give the starving star a crisis. And it’s my job to prove my worth in that opportunity.”

Yumin crossed her arms. Lee Seo-yeon’s words weren’t wrong, but a subtle unpleasantness remained.

“My brother doesn’t like being used, no matter the intention.”

“Anyway, Kang Hyun-woo told me to go as high as I can.”

Lee Seo-yeon said, her eyes gleaming behind her sunglasses.

“So, it wouldn’t matter if I used you a little, right? It’s for our mutual benefit. You have nothing to lose either. If there’s someone who can communicate in an organization that might become a future obstacle.”

Yumin smirked.

Lee Seo-yeon’s words were true. A transaction where both sides benefit was more trustworthy than simply helping out of goodwill.

Lee Seo-yeon’s position would also be precarious as it became difficult for her to set foot in Korea.

“Okay. I’ll pass it on to my brother.”

“Thank you. And……”

Lee Seo-yeon raised the corner of her lips and said.

“I wish you good luck too.”

***

Hyun-woo ended up staying in the president’s room under the pretext of guarding him.

As soon as he entered the room, Hyun-woo politely asked the president.

“I’ll take the bed, so please sleep on the sofa, Your Excellency.”

“Alright.”

The president, who had become Hyun-woo’s subordinate… or rather, something similar to a servant, obediently listened and placed his luggage at the bottom of the sofa, settling in.

He felt a slight pang of conscience for harshly exploiting the elderly man. But it wasn’t enough to bother him for more than 3 seconds.

Hyun-woo immediately forgot about the president and checked the schedule.

The meeting was scheduled to be held tomorrow morning because there were still ability users and national leaders who had not arrived.

There would also be countries that wouldn’t participate until the end. Not many state guests would want to visit a country where a disaster was occurring.

Even now, something unidentified was approaching Moscow every moment.

Whatever they did, time was of the essence.

‘Considering the impending disaster, we should be pouring all our forces as soon as possible instead of holding meetings.’

But Russia wasn’t making the wrong decision.

Skyfall was not a crisis that a country could handle alone.

If the ability users didn’t unite and commit their forces early, the world could suffer irreparable damage.

‘I wonder what Russia’s position is.’

Perhaps the positions of each country would be clearly divided at tomorrow’s meeting.

And Hyun-woo would be able to gauge which country was being infiltrated by which star and which ability user based on their reactions.

The most important reaction was, of course, Russia’s.

Depending on Russia’s actions, the future development would be completely different.

Hyun-woo lay down on the sofa.

It was right to think about tomorrow’s work tomorrow. As of now, there was nothing he could know except for the broad outline.

At that moment, Hyun-woo discovered the president, who was frozen in an awkward pose next to the sofa.

Hyun-woo belatedly remembered that he had yielded the sofa to the president.

“Come to think of it, the carpet looks soft and fluffy. Please sleep on the carpet.”

“……I will.”

***

The next morning, Hyun-woo dressed in a suit again and attended the international conference with the president.

The venue was the Winter Palace, which resembled a snowy winter field but also possessed splendor.

It was currently a space used as an art museum, but it had been freshly renovated for this conference.

It was quite a plausible ceremony for an international conference that had been hastily convened.

The conference hall was filled with a tense atmosphere due to the strict security personnel everywhere.

Before the meeting started, Hyun-woo casually looked around. He also saw Hunters who exuded a strong aura.

Hyun-woo happily examined their abilities and levels with Admiral Ren’s monocle [a specialized tool for assessing power levels].

‘They’re all quite capable.’

But there were none among them that he needed to pay special attention to.

The ones that he was slightly concerned about were covering their faces.

Hyun-woo scanned the room and suddenly spotted someone.

A woman with a stern expression was entering the conference hall with an elderly woman in a wheelchair.

Hyun-woo immediately muttered her name without realizing it.

“Adam Fault.”

A powerful ability user who had tried to eliminate Hyun-woo with the Chepesh Case [a specific operation or plan] when things went wrong during the Pyongyang Reclamation War [a past conflict or event].

She was here.