Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 83

83. The Almighty League (1)

“You don’t have to be so wary. Everyone has bad habits from their youth. Who would say anything about trying to suppress tremors in your hands because of expeditions?”

Add one more piece of information about Johan.

Johan is a drug user. I don’t know when it started. Nor do I care.

It’s not a serious level, but it was clear that he wasn’t mentally healthy.

From the start, I didn’t think that a Hunter who only sought out dungeons where Floods had occurred would be in his right mind. But it wasn’t a significant problem for Hyun-woo.

As long as Johan reliably demonstrates his abilities.

“I hope you’ll accept my sincerity.”

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

“It’s nothing much.”

Hyun-woo smiled faintly.

“I just want to become friends with Priest Johan, like Lee Ji-tae. I would appreciate it if you would consider attending a dinner invitation later, out of respect for my sincerity.”

He didn’t give a specific answer, but Hyun-woo knew he would accept.

It’s not because of the item. A danger addict like Johan can’t just ignore an unknown entity like Hyun-woo.

He is unconsciously drawn to death.

“I’ll contact you later.”

Johan answered briefly and turned away. Hyun-woo smiled as he watched him leave.

Johan said he didn’t belong to any organization, but Hyun-woo thought differently.

Lee Ji-tae is already making full use of Johan. Johan was either lying or likely unaware that he belonged to one.

Someone with strong convictions might not realize they are being used.

‘You’ll only be used and then commit suicide if you stay under Lee Ji-tae.’

But Hyun-woo had no intention of letting Johan run away like that.

‘I can’t let such a valuable talent be wasted like that.’

In the vicious cycle of increasing difficulty where every resource must be conserved for an all-out war, valuable talents cannot be wasted.

He must monopolize everything of value.

He won’t waste a single thing and will use them preciously, down to their bones.

‘To do that, before…’

Hyun-woo leaned back deeply into his chair and thought.

‘I need to separate him from Lee Ji-tae.’

***

The next day, Lee Ji-tae returned after ending the Flood in the Chuncheon Dungeon.

The media, as with the Severed Head Dungeon, rushed to put it on the front page. It was not a time when scoops were lacking.

[Lee Ji-tae, Leader of Taesung Clan, Returns!]

[Chuncheon Dungeon Flood Completely Ended]

[Amazing Consecutive Floods, A Prelude to Disaster?]

Lee Ji-tae wasn’t particularly surprised to hear that the Severed Head Dungeon had been cleared before his. He focused solely on the aftermath, saying that he would compile all the other information and announce it later.

There were numerous interview requests, but the first thing Lee Ji-tae did was to meet with the bereaved families of the Severed Head Dungeon Flood expedition members.

People were amazed to see Lee Ji-tae, who had just returned from a dungeon expedition, immediately going to meet the bereaved families.

[Even if they’re in the same class, Lee Ji-tae’s character is still a cut above, right?]

[ㄴ Yeah, Lee Ji-tae is top-notch not only in character but also in skill~]

[Chuncheon Dungeon is 2-star and Severed Head Dungeon is 3-star, where are you comparing?]

[ㄴ Yeah, next hamster personality theorist~]

“Oppa, I’m here!”

Yumin’s voice was heard as she opened the door after leaving the lab.

Hyun-woo was typing [If you honestly think Kang Hyun-woo is better than Lee Ji-tae, give this a thumbs up] in the internet news comment section, but quickly deleted it.

Yumin looked at Hyun-woo with a suspicious expression as he hurriedly tapped on the keyboard.

“What are you doing? You don’t have to hide if you’re watching adult videos. Was it a bit much?”

“I was leaving malicious comments on internet news.”

“Wow… that’s a bit much.”

Yumin smiled and took off her coat. A delicious smell wafted in.

“Do you want some bungeoppang [fish-shaped pastry filled with sweet red bean paste]? They’re starting to sell them.”

After Park Hwi-soo took charge of converting the Sujeong Moss into cash, and Do Won-kyung took charge of the physical examinations, Yumin seemed relatively free.

But Yumin was always busy with work at the lab, besides those tasks. Helping Hyun-woo was just something she did in her spare time. Now that she had some time, it seemed she had started working on her thesis in earnest.

Yumin rested her chin on Hyun-woo’s head and looked at the monitor.

Hyun-woo was looking at internet news not just to leave malicious comments, but for another reason.

It was to buy back the stocks he had liquidated after the Severed Head Dungeon.

“What, stocks as soon as you get out of the dungeon? Have you gotten addicted to gambling?”

“No. I had to sell everything I had to get in. The rest is just to see how it goes.”

“Then why that company? I heard D&W is quite weak these days.”

Only then did Hyun-woo focus on the monitor again.

D&W Industries. It was a company that developed items for Hunters and military supplies.

Hyun-woo was unknowingly buying it. Hyun-woo couldn’t understand Yumin’s words.

“Weak? It’s a very strong company, isn’t it…?”

Only then did Hyun-woo see all the blue numbers in the graph showing the company’s financial status. He wondered why he hadn’t seen it before.

Hyun-woo rubbed his eyes for a moment and looked at the other stocks he had bought so far. Most of them were dungeon-related industries, and all of them were faltering companies.

But in Hyun-woo’s eyes, they seemed to be ridiculously undervalued companies.

‘Huh? Why?’

Hyun-woo knows almost nothing about stocks. What he earned this time using the Flood was just based on his common sense.

He hadn’t studied the company’s asset value or soundness at all.

But now, for some reason, he was convinced that these companies were being ridiculously undervalued.

‘I feel like I’ve had a similar experience before.’

When entering the top floor of the Severed Head Dungeon. At that time, the dungeon structure changed drastically, but Hyun-woo could predict how the structure would change.

He thought it was because he was used to it, but something had definitely changed. Since killing Yanok Marx and seeing that bizarre monster.

“Oppa? You did buy the wrong thing, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t buy the wrong thing.”

Hyun-woo said firmly. He could be sure. His eyes were quickly scanning the news section again.

The news was still full of Lee Ji-tae’s Chuncheon Dungeon Flood termination. But he sensed that there would be changes soon. He felt that the media was holding its breath about something.

And before long, the news he had been waiting for appeared.

[Leader Oh Dae-sung Returns with the Remains of Branch Manager Seo Tae-kyung!]

[Leader Oh Dae-sung Announces Emergency Statement.]

[Leader Oh Dae-sung, “I Will Hold Taesung Accountable.”]

[Full Disclosure of Bodycam Footage Left by the Deceased Branch Manager Seo Tae-kyung]

[Was the Deceased Branch Manager Seo Tae-kyung Abandoned Instead of Fleeing?]

Hyun-woo smiled faintly.

It was time to move on to the next stage.

***

A narrow gap in the dungeon.

Inside a barricade made of monsters’ corpses and roughly piled bricks are nine men. They look around nervously, wary, but all around is quiet.

Then someone approaches a man. The man who raises his head is Branch Manager Seo Tae-kyung.

The Hunters suggest something to him, but Seo Tae-kyung checks his watch and shakes his head.

In the innermost part of the gap, the bodies of Hunters who died in the dungeon were in body bags. They were the bodies that were to be taken out instead of using return scrolls.

It was about time they started to smell rotten, but Seo Tae-kyung seemed to be planning to fill the promised two days, exactly 48 hours.

Then, at some point, a Hunter sitting on the barricade, guarding the surroundings, sends a signal.

Hunters rush over and look in the direction the guarding Hunter pointed. Someone can be seen far away, beyond the faint darkness.

They are watching them.

It is definitely not a Ratman. It was likely a person.

Among the Hunters, an excited atmosphere spreads, saying that the other expedition members who had finally scattered have returned. Seo Tae-kyung also waits for them to approach, but for some reason, the other party does not move.

Seo Tae-kyung seemed to realize that there was only one opponent.

Then, suddenly, the opponent disappeared.

Signs of panic spread. Two Hunters head towards that direction, asking if they need help.

Before long, the Hunters jump up. It sounded like a scream was heard. Seo Tae-kyung stops the Hunters who are trying to run out again. Ratmen begin to rush in suddenly.

It is a large-scale attack that is different from the small-scale attacks that have occurred so far. The Hunters, panicked by the number, shout something at Seo Tae-kyung while fighting back.

Seo Tae-kyung still hesitates to use the return scroll. If he uses the return scroll, the other expedition members who have been separated will really be abandoned in the dungeon.

But as the barricade begins to overflow with monsters like a dam collapsing, there is no choice. The Hunters quickly begin to retreat.

The Hunters urge Seo Tae-kyung to quickly use the return scroll, and Seo Tae-kyung takes out the scroll as if he doesn’t have one.

But at that moment, something pierces Seo Tae-kyung’s hand. It is a large dagger.

The return scroll falls between his severed fingers. The Hunters shout something and try to pick up the return scroll again, but it is already too late.

The wave of Ratmen covers them. One of the Ratmen steps on the bodycam, and the screen goes black.

***

The reporters watched the video with bated breath. There was no sound, but it was a shocking video.

Oh Dae-sung opened his mouth with a stiff expression.

“The video is up to here. The camera was damaged, but the video could be restored except for the audio.”

It had been a day since he returned from the Severed Head Dungeon, but Oh Dae-sung was still wearing equipment stained with monster blood.

His large frame, a head taller than others, combined with his muscular body, made the platform feel cramped.

“As you can see in the video, unlike what Taesung had misrepresented, Branch Manager Seo Tae-kyung tried to hold out responsibly until the end. If he had used the return scroll immediately when he realized that the monsters were at an unmanageable level, the Almighty League team could have returned safely.”

“Isn’t that Team Leader Seo Tae-kyung’s misjudgment?”

When a reporter asked without tact, Oh Dae-sung glared at him. But it was a question he had already expected.

“That may be the case. But we call a situation where 30% of a normal unit is incapacitated a total annihilation. However, nearly half of the Severed Head Dungeon expedition team was dead or missing, and in a situation with an unexpected variable of dungeon transformation, they should have retreated. Branch Manager Seo Tae-kyung decided to retreat as the chief officer. But Taesung ignored the command and opposed it.”

Oh Dae-sung then glanced at the reporters.

“I know that some of you here are influenced by Taesung. But think about it. In a war situation, if soldiers ignore the command and act independently due to personal feelings, using their connections, how would the military be?”

Of course, Hunters are not soldiers, but reporters who are not ability users were sympathetic. Most of them were veterans.

“You might say that the result was good, so it’s okay. But as you all know, it was an expedition that would have been difficult to clear without Hunter Kang Hyun-woo. And we didn’t know how strong Hunter Kang Hyun-woo was at the time. In this situation, I don’t want to say that Seo Tae-kyung’s hesitation to return was a misjudgment, but rather an expression of his responsibility to take responsibility for the expedition members until the end.”

The reporter who asked the first question slightly averted his gaze at Oh Dae-sung’s words.

But it was not a simple matter.

In the end, it was the Taesung team that brought out the result of completely ending the Severed Head Dungeon Flood, and it was the Almighty League team that retreated, abandoning the other team, resulting in the worst outcome of the team’s annihilation.

In a society that values only results, Oh Dae-sung’s words were difficult to gain traction.

“What do you mean by holding Taesung accountable?”

Then another reporter asked a question.

The reporters, who thought it was just something he said out of anger, looked at Oh Dae-sung with curious expressions.

Oh Dae-sung distorted his face and took out an item he had brought in a transparent plastic bag.

It was the dagger that Seo Tae-kyung had dropped when he tried to use the return scroll.

The Taesung Group’s mark was clearly stamped on it.

It was made by the Taesung Group, and all of Taesung’s Hunters were given it as a secondary weapon.

“I don’t think the strange movements of the monsters that led to Team Leader Seo Tae-kyung’s death were natural. After repeatedly analyzing the video, I suspect that Taesung deliberately drove the monsters in to facilitate their expedition.”

***

Hyun-woo, who was watching the live press conference, felt complicated.

Everything was going according to plan.

‘If there’s a problem, it’s that it’s going too well…’