The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 103

102

Late evening, after everyone had left work.

Karma Corporation office.

With all the lights off, only the monitor’s glow faintly illuminated the surroundings.

‘Shit…’

Lim Dong-bin, solely focused on the monitor screen, clicked his tongue.

The security system hadn’t been installed in the office yet, as they hadn’t been there long.

Because of that, sneaking in wasn’t difficult, but… the problem was elsewhere.

‘There’s nothing here…’

He was looking through Director Lee Ah-young’s computer for records of external support funds, but nothing significant was visible.

At best, there were a few pieces of equipment supported by cleaning equipment companies and some startup support from mid-sized companies.

‘This can’t be…’

Lim Dong-bin bit his nails in frustration.

Could it be that Choi Ho-sung told him to dig based only on suspicion?

There’s nothing, so he asked for confirmation?

No… at least Choi Ho-sung isn’t one to gamble. He must have found something, so he asked for it.

Lim Dong-bin gritted his teeth.

If he doesn’t find anything here, his return is out of the question. He’ll have to wander the bottom again.

So… no matter what, he must find it.

‘I’ll have to entrust it to someone else.’

He plugged the USB he had brought just in case into the computer.

After a few minutes, he took the backed-up USB and left the office.

***

When Director Lee Ah-young and I arrived at work, the building security guard urgently sought us out.

An employee had stayed late in the office last night, but their behavior was suspicious.

Along with that report, he showed us the CCTV footage.

Lim Dong-bin’s actions from last night were vividly captured.

Director Lee Ah-young immediately checked her computer.

“How is it?”

“He took it very cleanly.”

Well, it’s not a big surprise.

From the start, we didn’t install a security system for him to take it.

“With this, can we definitely find evidence?”

“Well, the external support fund records are manipulated, so there’s nothing there, but the account details can’t be manipulated. If he can get to that, the evidence is irrefutable.”

“How can he get the account details? Doesn’t he need a warrant?”

“Do you know what mistake people make the most?”

Director Lee Ah-young said with a smirk.

“Using public computers for banking. Well, in my case, I did it on purpose.”

“…You deliberately left a record?”

“Of course. If you give it to an expert, they’ll steal everything, including the ID, password, and certificate. Then what…”

“Getting the account details is just a matter of time.”

She nodded.

“Now that the file is in Team Leader Lim Dong-bin’s hands, it’s really out of our hands.”

“I know. Well, we have to hope they move as expected. Have you told our employees?”

“Yes. I told them there will be construction next month, so take a few days off. They all like it, of course.”

“Good job.”

With a faint sigh, I leaned back in my chair.

To be honest, I felt strange.

Of course, it wasn’t intentional, but as a result, I’m bringing down the headquarters that I’ve worked so hard to build with my own hands.

Perhaps when this scandal breaks out, the anti-Chairman forces, who have been quietly watching, will seize the opportunity and rise up.

People from each branch, including Seo Min-cheol, might move.

If that happens, everyone who had a close relationship with me, including the Chairman, will fall away.

Of course, Kim Min-joo too.

Perhaps they’ll use various pretexts to send her to a branch.

Then the association will be an empty box for a while.

At that time, even if a Lizen Dungeon appears, the damage to the entire association can be reduced.

“…Excuse me.”

Director Lee Ah-young cautiously opened her mouth.

“Can I ask you something?”

“…What is it?”

A very strange atmosphere, a strange voice rushed in.

“That… you, I mean.”

She seemed particularly cautious about bringing it up.

“How do you know all this?”

“…Pardon?”

“I mean, about the dungeon appearing in a month. Honestly, it goes beyond insight or guesswork… at this point, it’s just precognition.”

“…”

She suddenly came in hard.

“I haven’t said it until now, but it was the same when I was at headquarters. There were often things that made me wonder how you knew all this.”

Just like someone who had experienced it once before.

She murmured in a voice barely audible.

I was killed in my past life and returned to 10 years ago.

And I have to unlock the Karma skill to go back.

Honestly, it’s a story that’s hard for even me to believe, but what about her?

I can’t be sure if she’ll believe it or not, but she’ll probably listen seriously.

Even with all this, she’s been with me for a while, and she’s as quick-witted as she is skilled.

But leaving all that aside…

Is there a need to know something you don’t need to know?

If she gets into danger because of it, it might be harder to get help.

“Well…”

After hesitating for a moment, I.

“It’s my karma.”

I just gave that answer.

She seemed to think it was a joke and let out a chuckle.

“What karma could someone like you have?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Certainly, the past and present aren’t that different…

Is this really karma?

“But well… I understand it these days.”

***

Green Dungeon near Samsung-dong, Seoul.

Lim Dong-bin, who came on his first dispatch with Task Force 1, was lost in other thoughts until the moment he entered the dungeon.

The data backed up last night was entrusted to a skilled guy.

He used to work in the control team until a few years ago, but he was caught trying to hack the internal system and sell it to a private guild, and now he’s unemployed.

‘He’s definitely skilled, so he’ll find something. If even a clue comes out, immediately to Choi Ho-sung…’

No, no.

Why trust that human and hand it over right away?

It’s right to hold onto it for now and give it to him when he’s definitely reinstated.

As he was organizing his thoughts, then.

“Dong-bin! Please concentrate!”

Task Force 1 Leader Moon So-yeon raised her voice.

Before he knew it, they had entered the boss room.

“Hee-young, adjust the drug concentration.”

“Yes!”

“Sang-ho, manage the outer walls.”

“Understood.”

“Dong-bin, you take care of the dismantling. You can do it, right?”

“Yes, well…”

“Then dismantle it and put the byproducts in well. Don’t forget to take them out later.”

Lim Dong-bin only nodded slightly instead of answering.

And he glared at her, who gave him the instructions, a few times.

Moon So-yeon.

The youngest of the cleaning team when he was the task force leader.

He was the site manager during the joint project, but now it’s completely the opposite.

Powerlessness and humiliation.

Those who haven’t felt this feeling will never understand.

Lim Dong-bin gritted his teeth and trudged toward the monster’s corpse.

A slime-type monster.

It wasn’t big, but the byproducts were scattered everywhere, perhaps because it had taken a lot of damage during the subjugation.

‘If it’s a slime… single dismantling will be difficult. Then I said to divide and dismantle and pack it…?’

The contents he had been taught unknowingly came to mind, and at the same time, his body naturally began to move.

‘If it’s a slime type, it’s highly toxic… Ah, damn it, how did I say to handle highly toxic monsters? …Ah, that’s right.’

As the work progressed, the feelings he had felt a little while ago and the miscellaneous thoughts such as evidence gradually disappeared from Lim Dong-bin’s mind.

Instead, he focused only on how to handle the monster in front of him.

“Hoo… It seems like it’s roughly finished.”

When he came to his senses, the work was already over.

“Shall we all pack up our equipment and go out now?”

Moon So-yeon said, wiping sweat with her sleeve.

Despite the hard work, she still had a smiling face.

To Lim Dong-bin, that smile looked like a sneer mocking his miserable situation.

Yes, how good would it feel to be able to use him, who was once the task force leader, with just one finger?

‘Or maybe, it’s a feeling of revenge for what happened back then.’

This world is a thorough jungle.

He had known that from before, but rolling around at the bottom made it feel even more real.

The weak are him now, and the strong are that woman.

That woman probably knows that too.

Lim Dong-bin’s uncomfortable mood continued until he finished the work and left the dungeon.

That’s when everyone came out of the dungeon and was doing the final work settlement.

“…Dong-bin.”

“Yes?”

Moon So-yeon opened her mouth with a very stiff face.

“Where are the byproducts…?”

“Ah, here…”

He turned his head and looked back, but only saw an empty floor.

Lim Dong-bin’s heart sank at that moment.

Only then did he realize that he had left the bag containing the byproducts in the dungeon.

“Let’s go back quickly and collect it.”

Following her, who was quickly moving, all the team members headed back to the dungeon.

But when they reached the dungeon entrance…

“Haa…”

A deep sigh came from Moon So-yeon’s mouth.

***

“What did you say?”

Moon So-yeon and Lim Dong-bin reported what had just happened to Task Force 4 Leader.

“There was a mistake in collecting the byproducts. I tried to collect it again, but the dungeon has already… closed.”

“No, I trusted you because you were a famous company, but what is this…”

Task Force 4 Leader, Choo Ji-yeon, trailed off as if she was dumbfounded.

“Did you make a mistake?”

“…”

Lim Dong-bin avoided answering.

If there are people who came to report with the team leader, it can only be the person who caused the problem.

Above all, she knows Lim Dong-bin well.

She worked as a headquarters hunter when he was flying high at headquarters.

The worst team leader who was obsessed with performance and committed gangster acts.

He was a very unpleasant person, but at the time, he was the Task Force 2 leader, so he couldn’t openly say anything…

Not now.

“Are you kidding me? How can someone who used to be a task force leader make such a mistake?”

“…”

“What kind of mind are you working with? Huh? Don’t just stand there, say something!”

There was a strange sense of pleasure mixed in with the sharp emotions.

Lim Dong-bin vaguely felt it.

But there was no justification for opening his mouth.

Whatever the past, the other side was the boss and he was the subordinate. Besides, it was this side that caused the problem.

All he can do now is endure.

“Anyway, you’ve been like that since before. You only coveted performance without ability. It was good when you were a team leader and swaggered around without doing anything properly, right? How are you going to take responsibility for this! If an uncleaned dungeon comes out, you’ll do a solo subjugation or…”

“I made a mistake.”

A voice cut off the insults that had been going on forever, even mentioning the past.

Moon So-yeon, who was listening next to him, stepped forward.

“He’s a person who came on his first dispatch today. As the site manager, I didn’t pay attention to the fact that he could naturally make a mistake. If you have anything to say, please say it to me, the team leader.”

Choo Ji-yeon, who had been agitated, was a little embarrassed.

Because the other party was Lim Dong-bin, she had become emotionally agitated without realizing it.

She also knew that criticizing in this way, no matter how wrong it was, was wrong.

On the other hand, there was someone who was more embarrassed than her.

‘…What is that.’

It was Lim Dong-bin.

He couldn’t understand why she was protecting her subordinate.

“We will refund this dispatch fee. If you need it, we will also support subjugation when an uncleaned dungeon appears in the future.”

“…Is that kind of thing possible on your side?”

“Yes! We have recently recruited quite a few skilled guilds.”

As the other party came out like this, Task Force Leader Choo Ji-yeon had no choice but to back down.

In fact, aside from the emotional part, it wasn’t something to be angry about.

Anyway, the cleaning was completed, and they simply failed to collect the stored byproducts.

Above all, if it is packaged, there is no need to worry about gas leaks.

If you exercise maximum flexibility, you can just skip it.

However, since the other side promised a refund and subjugation support, there was no justification for being angry anymore.

But Moon So-yeon didn’t stop there and went one step further.

“I’m sorry again. This kind of mistake will never happen again. I will report this matter to the CEO without exception. If you have to report to the higher-ups, please say it’s my responsibility.”

“…”

Task Force Leader Choo Ji-yeon let out a faint sigh.

“Since you’re talking like that, I’ll let this matter go unmentioned. If the same mistake is repeated next time, I’ll report it to the headquarters manager and terminate the contract, so keep that in mind.”

“Of course.”

With those words behind them, the two left Task Force 4’s office.

“Haa…”

Moon So-yeon let out a trembling sigh as if all the tension had come at once.

She looked far from the confident attitude she had shown earlier.

“Don’t be too discouraged.”

She comforted Lim Dong-bin first.

“Don’t take the story from earlier too seriously. The old days are the old days, and you can make mistakes while working.”

“…”

It was a situation where a much younger guy was comforting him.

It was a big blow to his pride, but Lim Dong-bin couldn’t say anything.