The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 113

112

Following the mysterious bombing at the Administration Headquarters, the Association and the entire city of Seoul were thrown into panic.

Despite this, the blockade operation continued, and a temporary command center was set up at Seocho Station, which had been successfully recaptured.

Three days had passed since Chief Director Choi Ho-sung handed over the operational command to me.

He flattered me, saying that I was the only one who could successfully lead this operation, but…….

His true intentions were obvious.

‘He doesn’t want to take responsibility himself, so he’s passing it on to me.’

Seriously, worrying about his position even in this situation.

Truly, he has the capabilities of my mentor from my past life.

Damn it, thanks to him, I can’t even rest. What am I even doing?

「This is Gangneung Branch. It’s about time for our internal shift change, requesting permission.」

The radio crackled at the perfect time.

I checked the monitor and replied indifferently.

“Monster activity has decreased significantly in your area, so it should be fine. Change shifts quickly and maintain your current position.”

「Yes, understood!」

“Incheon Branch, do your best to prevent monsters from crossing into other areas, using Bangbae Station as the boundary.”

「Yes!」

“Overall, the situation is good. Everyone, please hang in there a little longer, and if anything unusual happens, report it immediately.”

With that radio call finished, I leaned back in my chair again.

Of course, I never intended to jump into the field myself from the start.

With the operation team assembled, there was no need to strain my tired body.

So, my job was just to make radio calls from the command center.

Sitting and talking is easy, but the scale of the operation was so large that even though my body was comfortable, my head was about to explode.

Dozens of operation teams and guilds participated in the operation.

Each branch was assigned its own detailed area, and they rotated within it to conduct extermination 24 hours a day.

Guilds were placed between areas to prevent monsters from concentrating in any one area.

The extermination that began in this way continued without a single second of pause.

The first day was quite difficult as we had to break through hundreds of already regenerated monsters to reclaim the minimum operation area… but that was the extent of the difficulty.

From the second day, support teams from all over the country volunteered to participate in the operation, and we were able to accelerate the extermination.

As the number of monsters decreased, we gradually entered a stable phase.

Today, the fifth day since the dungeon appeared and the third day since the operation began.

The time remaining until the dungeon disappears is only 3 hours.

Many were exhausted from the operation that had continued for three days and nights. Some were panicking from the fear of not knowing when it would end.

‘I can’t tell them there are only 3 hours left…….’

Not only could I not explain it, but it could also lead to complacency.

Fortunately, there have been no casualties so far.

If we can hold out like this, we can finish without any losses.

I was stretching, taking a breather, when suddenly—.

Thump―.

“How is it going?”

It was Chief Director Lee Ah-young.

She had also been supporting the operation for three days and nights, following me.

Even though I told her to go back and rest because of what happened, she stubbornly stayed.

I think her stubbornness is the best in the world.

“Well, it’s going smoothly. Everyone is tired, but… there haven’t been any major problems yet.”

“The thing you were worried about isn’t going to happen, then.”

“Yes. Fortunately.”

“If this operation is completed without any damage, it’ll be a huge deal. The International Association might even send you a love call?”

“……That’s the most horrifying thing I’ve heard.”

When I recoiled, Lee Ah-young smiled, as if she had expected that reaction.

When I didn’t know, I thought nothing of it, but now that I know everything, I wondered if she could still make jokes like that.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have told her…….’

In fact, I ended up telling her everything I had learned about the International Association.

After Yang Min-ho’s attack, there was no way to avoid her pressing me to explain what was going on.

Above all, I couldn’t hide it any longer since she had witnessed the attack right in front of her eyes.

The International Association, PB Corporation, Hunter Balancing, Korean field staff.

Lee Ah-young couldn’t say anything, as the story was much more shocking than she had imagined.

After being lost in thought for a while, she asked.

-Is the reason you founded the company also related to that?

As expected, her intuition was extraordinary.

The top-secret project with the Association President.

Building a second International Association.

Overseas branch business.

A disguised business for that purpose.

Lee Ah-young knew everything about me.

Except that I had regressed.

“By the way…….”

Lee Ah-young looked around and spoke in a small voice.

“What are you planning to do now?”

“Is there anything to think about? I have to start the overseas branch business.”

Her expression darkened at my firm answer.

“The International Association has been moving to integrate the rights to subjugate monsters all over the world for a long time. Well… most of it is being done legally, so everyone doesn’t seem to care much…….

“That’s nonsense.”

In any case, they committed an act of terrorism against an association in one country. There was no guarantee that they wouldn’t do worse.

“If we start the overseas acquisition business, we will naturally face the International Association head-on. The same goes for PB Corporation. You could be in more danger than before.”

“Aren’t we already facing them head-on?”

“That’s why I’m saying this.”

She hesitated for a moment, trailing off.

“Can’t you just not do it?”

“……?”

“Can’t you just not do the second International Association or the Secretary-General thing?”

She advised seriously.

“Isn’t it enough for us to just work together in a small way? There’s no need to do anything dangerous.”

“I told you, it’s a personal goal.”

“…….”

“If you don’t like it, you can stop here. I’ve received enough help so far.”

“…….”

Lee Ah-young’s gaze turned to the floor.

Well, no matter how crazy she is, she’s still a civilian.

I may be willing to risk my life, but there’s no reason for a third party to do so.

So, I can understand if she says she can’t do it anymore.

Of course, even if I understand, I don’t intend to let her go easily.

“Well, I was just saying.”

Then, Lee Ah-young chuckled and nudged my shoulder.

“Did you think I would quit because of something like that? I didn’t come because I liked your business, I came because of you, so it would be funny to leave now. Now that it’s come to this, let’s see it through to the end.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“What else can I do but die?”

She shrugged.

I guess I underestimated her.

She’s really out of her mind.

“Oh, and by the way… there’s something I’d like to ask you to do.”

“What is it?”

“Could you investigate this?”

I handed her a few bullets.

“I heard it’s something made by processing Banreung Stone [a rare and powerful mineral].”

“…….”

Lee Ah-young’s eyes narrowed.

“……Is it from PB Corporation?”

“That’s the circumstantial evidence. Anyway, we need to confirm it first. How about it, can you do it?”

“Well, it’s not hard to confirm…….”

She looked around again.

“It’s something made by processing Bank Items [items stored in a secure, often magical, vault]… if I get caught, I’ll go straight to jail.”

“Then please make sure you don’t get caught.”

“……That’s easier said than done.”

She grumbled.

Well, jail or whatever, she was the only one I could entrust it to anyway.

Lee Ah-young carefully took the bullets with a reluctant expression.

“D, Director Kim Jun-woo! Something terrible has happened!!”

At that moment, one of the headquarters staff members rushed into the command center.

“What is it? Is there a problem with the operation?”

“N, no! There’s a problem at headquarters!”

“……Headquarters?”

The staff member said with a pale face.

“Chief, Chief Director Choi Ho-sung…… has been attacked.”

“……What?”

It was very shocking news.

***

Chief Director Choi Ho-sung was attacked and died.

As soon as we heard the shocking news, Lee Ah-young and I immediately headed to the Seoul headquarters.

When we arrived at the headquarters, the police and investigators who had already been dispatched were controlling the scene.

“What happened?”

I approached the police officer guarding the entrance and asked.

The young police officer scanned me up and down and frowned.

“Are you a headquarters official?”

“Not anymore.”

“Then I can’t tell you the details.”

“If you could at least tell me what happened…….”

“I’m sorry. We’re currently investigating.”

The young police officer repeatedly stopped me with a firm expression.

Ah, this is someone I can’t reason with.

“Hey, you! What are you doing?”

Suddenly, a police officer who appeared to be a senior officer intervened, looking startled.

The police officer, who looked to be about my father’s age, lowered his posture for some reason and opened his mouth.

“Hahaha, I’m sorry. This guy is new, so he doesn’t even know the former Chief Director…….”

“F, former Chief Director?!”

The young police officer’s eyes widened belatedly. Then he quickly bowed his head to me.

“I, I’m sorry! I made a big mistake…….”

“No, you don’t need to apologize. Please tell me what the situation is.”

The young police officer opened his mouth with an embarrassed expression.

“Last night, an aide named Yoo Young-soo first discovered the body and reported it… I heard that he hadn’t been receiving calls since yesterday afternoon. So he went to the office and found him collapsed on the floor, bleeding.”

“What’s the cause of death?”

“It’s an external wound caused by a weapon, but…….”

The young police officer looked around at the reporters and citizens who had gathered and lowered his voice.

“It seems to be a gun incident.”

“A gun?”

“Yes. One shot to the heart, to be exact. There were no signs of resistance, and there was only one wound, so our side thinks he was attacked by someone close to him…….”

Before he could even finish speaking, I ran my hand through my hair.

Even after hearing only that much, I could fully guess who the culprit was.

Someone who knew Chief Director Choi Ho-sung and was crazy enough to openly attack the operation commander inside the headquarters.

Moreover, an expert who could use a gun to aim for the heart in a single shot.

‘Assistant Manager Hwang Dong-hui…….’

No, should I call him Team Leader now?

I never thought he would be this crazy.

‘Is he trying to set an example for me before running away?’

Since the attack and threat both failed, is he trying to kill Choi Ho-sung to warn me?

No, now that he’s already been caught by me, there’s no need to make a fuss.

It would be better for him to disappear as quietly as possible.

But the fact that he went out of his way to do something so noticeable means…….

‘Did Choi Ho-sung catch his tail?’

Yes, it’s most reasonable to think that way now.

Damn bastards…….

They’ve gone beyond being bold and crossed the line.

Now that they’ve been caught, they don’t have to worry about anything anymore.

I gritted my teeth when the radio crackled.

「Director! The dungeon has disappeared!」

「Gangneung Branch C-1 area has completed monster extermination!」

「A-3 area has also completed extermination!」

「A-2, B-1… It seems that all areas have been exterminated.」

「Total of 231 injured, zero deaths.」

「I will end the operation!」

The excited voices announcing the end of the operation.

They, who had no idea what was happening outside, were cheering with pure joy.

But I couldn’t enjoy the joy.

Although the operation was completed without major damage… in the end, damage did occur.

“The operation commander was attacked inside the headquarters… What on earth is going on?”

“……That’s what I’m saying.”

I muttered, looking up at the headquarters building with a bitter look.