Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 300

300. The Worst Person in the World (9)

Hyun-woo was initially taken aback by Adam’s lack of hostility, and then he understood her words.

“A child? What child is inside this shadow?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Adam herself sounded incredulous. However, there was no child visible to Hyun-woo right now. She must have hidden it somewhere, anticipating a battle soon.

Hyun-woo deactivated his ultimate skill since Adam didn’t seem ready to fight.

“It seems not everything inside the shadow gets chosen by a Star.”

Hyun-woo’s mind went to those who fought with their humanity intact even in Difficulty: Nightmare.

It was understandable in Difficulty: Hell, where survival was impossible without becoming a subordinate, but there were definitely people who hadn’t been chosen by any Star even by the time Difficulty: Nightmare arrived.

And that was already after ‘Leviathan’ had ended.

“Kill if they’re not human, and if they are… I don’t know. It would be nice if they could take care of themselves, but if you can’t find a place to manage them, send them to Chrome. We’ll ask Professor Keller.”

“Didn’t seem like you were particularly selective about who you killed.”

Hyun-woo said, looking around at the ruins. He didn’t know where this was, but it was probably one of the cities Adam Fault had destroyed.

The city, shrouded in hazy dust, was a ruin that looked uninhabitable for the next hundred years.

“I wouldn’t have been if I didn’t know.”

Adam replied calmly.

“But I can’t pretend not to know and kill. That’s the only thing bothering me right now, so I’m going to hand over the child and get back to work.”

Adam said without a hint of emotion that she would kill every living thing and bury civilization underground.

Just with the same calm tone as someone knocking down a sandcastle.

Then, her gaze turned to the sky. Other Hunters were starting to descend with their parachutes.

“Hmm, I thought you’d come alone.”

Adam frowned.

“Didn’t you realize how dangerous the shadow is? It’ll be hard to survive unless you’re already a subordinate. Those who aren’t subordinates might be forced to choose one.”

“They are my subordinates, Adam.”

“Your subordinates?”

Adam asked, puzzled.

“Yes. I am a Star. Skipping the Apostle and Agent steps, I became a Star all on my own.”

To be precise, he was a Star candidate, a small-to-medium-sized company preparing to devour the world.

But no matter how small, the boss is the boss, and a Star is a Star.

Adam stared in bewilderment for a while, then nodded as if she understood.

“Ah, I see. Indeed. That could be possible. There was such a method… I was mistaken.”

Adam didn’t have a degree, but she had been watching and assisting Professor Keller’s research for decades, so she had a certain level of basic knowledge.

Including confidential knowledge that others couldn’t easily access, she might even be better than most master’s and doctoral students.

“It won’t change much, though.”

That didn’t change Adam’s gaze towards Hyun-woo.

Basically indifferent.

The reason Adam didn’t kill Hyun-woo was partly because he wasn’t hostile, but also because she had nowhere to leave the child right now.

“Whether you’re a Star or not, it’s still dangerous. Besides your subordinates, there are subordinates of other Stars swarming around. It’ll be even more dangerous if you have a fragment. Why did you even come here?”

Adam Fault seemed to have no idea why Hyun-woo had come. Hyun-woo was surprised that Adam was so clueless.

Did she really think there was no reason for anyone other than the U.S. to attack him after he killed Victor?

“Adam, I didn’t come here for fun.”

“Then?”

“I came to eliminate ‘The Worst Person in the World’.”

The ultimate goal of the Leviathan Mission. Adam’s eyes wavered as that goal was mentioned.

If it was possible to eliminate ‘The Worst Person in the World’ early, and that person was nearby, there would be no need to devastate everything inside the shadow.

“If that’s the case, I’ll do it. Where is he?”

Hyun-woo silently pointed at Adam.

“It’s you. Adam Fault. Maria Keller made you ‘The Worst Person in the World’.”

***

Adam isn’t stupid. She’s actually quite intelligent.

She just bases all her decisions on Maria Keller.

Since Maria Keller gave her reason in the first place, it was only natural.

As soon as Hyun-woo finished speaking, she realized that his words were true, that Maria Keller had made that judgment, and why the shadow wasn’t disappearing from above her head.

In fact, she realized it too late. Partly because she hadn’t seen the news.

However, there was no change in Adam’s expression.

Hyun-woo wondered if Adam Fault had even heard him properly.

“Adam, Maria Keller thought that humanity would destroy itself if ‘The Worst Person in the World’ remained ambiguous. So, she pushed you into the swamp to quickly deal with the overflowing subordinates. You were chosen as a sacrifice for humanity.”

“…….”

Adam didn’t answer. She didn’t burst out in anger or dismiss it as a lie.

“Maria Keller sent Chrome agents to kill you. To kill you and end the Leviathan Mission before the shadow grows any larger. That’s the way to minimize the damage.”

“I get the gist. You can stop talking.”

Adam replied with a cold expression.

“So, are you going to kill me now, Kang Hyun-woo?”

Hyun-woo grinned at that question.

“No, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that. Because I like you.”

Hyun-woo also answered in advance about the worries Adam might have.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to let the whole world be covered in shadow. I’m going to kill ‘The Worst Person in the World’, but at least it won’t be you.”

Adam looked tired. Hyun-woo felt like her figure was wavering slightly.

Like when he saw her in Difficulty: Hell.

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, a red flare shot up. While Hyun-woo and Adam were facing off, Hunters had surrounded Adam and formed a perimeter.

But even as the red flare illuminated Adam’s face, she didn’t move.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter, Kang Hyun-woo. Professor gave me a job to do. Even if other orders were given without my knowledge, the orders Professor gave me are still valid. I’m just carrying them out.”

Kugugugugu. The ground trembled and began to shake.

Soon, Hyun-woo realized that the floor he had thought was the ground was actually the collapsed remains of some massive structure.

Adam sighed deeply and gestured in the air.

“Whatever. Just take the child and get out.”

Hyun-woo’s gaze turned to Adam’s side. Adam pushed the still whimpering child towards Hyun-woo.

The child didn’t want to move, but once she left, Hyun-woo would have no choice but to protect the child.

“I can take care of my own work. For now, the only order I received is to thoroughly destroy the inside of the shadow for 72 hours. I don’t want to be disturbed until then. Don’t worry about me and take that child outside.”

“Yeah, about that, Adam.”

Hyun-woo calmly said, though he was slightly suspicious of whether he was the strange one.

“Where exactly is the child?”

Bang.

Adam didn’t even have a chance to ask what he meant.

A flash of light poured down from the sky. U.S. snipers’ invisible beams were targeting Adam Fault, and guided by them, ballistic missiles were raining down. As if to leave not even dust behind.

“They have too much money to spare.”

Adam frowned, stretched her hand towards the sky, and spread them wide to the sides.

Instantly, the missiles split apart in all directions, shattered, and crashed.

However, some missiles drastically adjusted their trajectory just before crashing and flew towards Adam.

Hyun-woo quickly realized that the missiles were moving according to the snipers’ invisible beams.

Adam belatedly realized this and deflected the missiles, but they exploded right next to her.

Hyun-woo immediately sent a message to the Almighty hunter.

‘Song Yeo-un, find and suppress the U.S. snipers.’

Song Yeo-un understood Hyun-woo’s will on an almost instinctive level. It was hard to tell whether it was her will or Hyun-woo’s.

She quickly found the U.S. sniper squad.

Hyun-woo heard the sound of a building collapsing from quite a distance. Soon, he saw the erratic movement of the missiles and realized that the sniper squad had been suppressed.

‘The bond between subordinates is getting much stronger as we enter the shadow’s domain.’

Their strength and the will to support him had increased significantly compared to before. The bond strengthens, and the power amplifies.

Hyun-woo thought that the Hunters might be a greater force than he had expected.

But Adam had no subordinates.

Kwagagagagak.

As soon as the missile problem was resolved, Adam clashed with other ability users.

The first to appear were the ability users from the South China Union.

Among them was Helen, an Agent-level ability user of the Starving Star, whom he had heard about through Lee Seo-yeon.

“Leviathan, Adam. Or beast, monster, demon. What should I call you? I need to know so I can put a name tag on you when I stuff you.”

Helen quickly rushed towards Adam.

Adam tried to push her away with an annoyed glance, but an eerie aura enveloped Helen’s body.

Hyun-woo felt his body leaning towards Helen for a moment.

Adam also noticed the anomaly.

Jjeo-eok.

A black trail tearing through space narrowly separated Adam and Helen.

By a hair’s breadth, Adam avoided being caught in the trail. But at the same time, a painful groan erupted.

“Keuek…!”

Seeing her in pain without a single scratch, Helen and Hyun-woo both looked puzzled.

But Helen continued her attack, thinking that her attack was working anyway.

Adam quickly recoiled and stepped back. She didn’t even attack to restrain Helen.

‘What is that black trail?’

Hyun-woo tried to figure out the skill Helen was using.

It was different from Aura. The black trail etched in the air didn’t disappear easily, like a wave had swept through.

Only after some time did the black trail slowly erase its traces, as if a wound was healing.

It was still unclear, but one thing was certain: Helen had a skill that could sufficiently damage Adam. It was the moment Hyun-woo was about to step in himself.

Jjeong.

With a sharp sound, Helen was thrown backward.

It wasn’t Adam’s attack. One of the ability users forming the perimeter had sniped Helen.

Helen spat out angrily, but the other side pulled back the bowstring, preventing Helen from approaching Adam.

‘Who?’

Hyun-woo looked at the other side in confusion, but they didn’t have a single mark that could identify them. But Hyun-woo recognized them by their strength and skill.

There was only one force among those who came by helicopter that had that level of skill.

“Chrome.”

***

Meanwhile, Adam collected herself and looked around. Her hands trembled with pain.

Helen’s skill was the opposite of her skill. It was just a coincidental result, but it seemed better to strike a surprise blow. Or to collapse this entire area.

[Adam.]

Then, there was a voice whispering to her. It was the radio that had been silent for a while due to the Chepesh Case’s jamming.

[I’ve come to deliver Professor Keller’s message.]

Adam recognized the voice. It was one of the Chrome agents. That meant an agent was nearby.

“Professor? What did she say?”

[The order to kill all those inside the shadow is still valid.]

Adam nodded, not knowing if the other person could see her or not.

Adam was going to do that anyway. But Adam couldn’t help but return one question.

“What if there are humans who haven’t been affected? Does that include them too?”

She was thinking of asking about the child while she was at it. Most likely, the order to kill would come back. But the agent’s answer was different.

[That order includes you too, Adam.]

Adam closed her mouth.

While she was silent, the Chrome agent continued to speak.

[All the evils of the world are gathering inside this shadow. Your job is to embrace them all for the sake of humanity and sink to the other side. That’s what Professor Keller ordered. We will help you too.]

The Chrome agents were also prepared to die.

They hadn’t come to harm Adam.

Rather, they had come to help her. And also to prevent any resistance from Adam that might occur.

[All of them are seeds of a future that shouldn’t exist for humanity. Swallow all that poison, Adam Fault. And die here.]