The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 134

133

It had been a week since the International Association was exposed in the media.

I met with Branch Manager Bruce at the Kinshasa Branch, which was now officially the second branch of the Korean Association.

It was to discuss the resolution of this incident and future plans.

“…Therefore, you only need to periodically report the subjugation status to the Korean Association. The profit distribution is an 8:2 contract, and the byproducts are, in principle, owned by the branch, but please note that Fractal has an exclusive contract with Hanbyul Corporation.”

“Understood.”

“And… the branch manager can directly manage the internal team, but deploying them to war like before is absolutely unacceptable.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

After confirming all the detailed contract terms, he continued.

“By the way, I had heard that you were quite influential in the Korean Association… I didn’t know you would still have full authority even after resigning.”

“No, please just think of me as an agent.”

But thinking about it, I really am doing everything myself.

“Haha, how many branches have you acquired in just a week? Such modesty.”

“…….”

I refrained from answering.

Regardless of the outcome, I felt like I was the only one working my tail off, which made me feel bitter.

As soon as the news spread that the Korean Association had acquired the Congo and Zambia branches after the International Association was exposed in the media, numerous countries in Central Africa flooded us with acquisition requests.

Uganda, Rwanda, Angola, and others, all of whom had their subjugation rights taken away due to the construction of the International Association’s integrated branch.

All of them were struggling after losing their subjugation rights.

The news that the integrated branch had withdrawn from the International Association must have been the best news for them.

They must have wanted to establish an independent association again, thinking this was their chance, but it wasn’t easy in reality because they were already struggling internally due to long-standing conflicts.

In the end, the only option left for them was to receive support from an external association, and everyone chose the Korean Association without exception.

Well, it was like getting something for nothing for me, so I gladly accepted all the acquisition requests.

Of course, that doubled my workload, but I’m not stupid enough to kick away the good fortune that came my way.

Chairman Lee Doo-shik expressed concerns about the budget shortage, but he ultimately sided with me, saying that we couldn’t miss such a good opportunity, even if it meant running a deficit.

As a result, the Korean Association achieved the feat of establishing branches in every country in Central Africa in just one week.

That was significant not only because the number of branches increased but also because we could obtain rare African items and byproducts.

“I still can’t believe it. To think that the headquarters was inducing conflicts from the beginning for the sake of African integration…”

Branch Manager Bruce still seemed bewildered.

“It’s just an allegation for now, though.”

“But now that they’ve been caught, we don’t have to worry anymore, right?”

“Who knows? We can’t impose sanctions until the allegations are officially proven, and they’re such meticulous guys that they may have already prepared countermeasures. Well, we can only hope that Interpol does a good job.”

It was frustrating, but that was the reality.

The reason we were able to target the International Association this time was that the Zambia branch personnel had witnessed my conversation with CEO Emma.

But other than temporarily removing them from Africa, there were no significant achievements.

There were circumstances and testimonies, but above all, there was no concrete evidence.

Moreover, one of the Balance Team members who was barely saved hasn’t said a word even after being handed over to Interpol.

In the end, the important thing is whether we can prove that the International Association was trying to conduct weapons transactions with the Zambia Association…….

If they’re willing to replace even the team leader level of PB Corporation without hesitation, it’s reasonable to assume that they’ve already cut off all ties.

‘But at least they won’t be able to do anything reckless while the investigation is ongoing…….’

No matter how long it takes, we’ve bought ourselves time to grow in size during that period, so it’s not all bad.

Above all, we’ve achieved half of our goal just by the fact that the International Association, which was an inviolable territory, has been put on the table.

Whether the allegations are proven or not, the international community is watching with suspicion, so they won’t be able to move as easily as before.

“I hope it gets proven. Considering how much we’ve suffered because of them…”

“Well… it’s not entirely impossible.”

“Yes?”

“President Romana is there, isn’t she?”

Branch Manager Bruce was slightly impressed.

“President Romana was also included in the investigation this time for allegedly ordering the dispatch of hunters. Judging from her actions so far, she’s probably circumstantially…”

“You’re saying there’s a possibility that she’s involved with the International Association.”

“It’s highly likely that she was instructed by the headquarters to induce conflicts.”

They couldn’t have moved without an internal accomplice.

She’s probably the most suspicious person.

“If we investigate President Romana well, we might be able to prove that the International Association led this.”

“That won’t happen.”

As soon as I said that, Assemblyman Cedric came into the office and immediately poured cold water on it.

“You never know. If we investigate well…”

“The investigation itself is impossible. She just passed away.”

“What do you mean…?”

What the hell is this nonsense?

“She was found hanged in her residence. There was also a suicide note.”

“…….”

I was speechless at the shocking news.

***

“Currently, we are receiving a flood of withdrawal requests from our affiliated branches.”

International Hunter Association Headquarters, Secretary-General’s Office.

The executive secretary carefully continued.

“We have rejected all requests without special reasons, but there are some branches that meet the withdrawal conditions…”

She trailed off, watching Secretary-General Wesley’s reaction.

It was hard to deliver the news that more than five branches had already withdrawn.

“…….”

“…….”

Secretary-General Wesley and CEO Emma were sitting across from each other.

They were silent for a long time.

The executive secretary felt suffocated in the heavy atmosphere.

After a long silence, Wesley spoke first.

“Weren’t you supposed to send the Balance Team to silence the Zambia Association?”

“I did.”

“I heard that Team Leader Marc was also involved.”

“That’s right.”

Emma replied calmly.

Secretary-General Wesley’s eyes sharpened.

“Then why did it fail?”

“…Because Kim Jun-woo was there.”

“Don’t make excuses. I’m not asking you to fight Kim Jun-woo, just to kill a few small fries [insignificant people].”

“…….”

“Even after the replacement, one person survived and was handed over to Interpol. Emma, I trusted you and entrusted you with this, but what is this result?”

CEO Emma was silent.

“What’s the point of calling it the Balance Team if the team leader himself can’t even carry out such a simple mission?”

Wesley sighed and muttered as if he wanted everyone to hear.

Currently, the International Association is facing an unprecedented crisis.

The plan to secretly integrate the world’s subjugation rights, which had been in progress, was exposed to the world in this incident.

For the first time since its establishment, it has received unfavorable attention from all over the world.

Interpol was also conducting an investigation.

The only fortunate thing was that the tails that could be caught had been cut off in advance.

If it had been any later, the existence of PB Corporation and its past actions would have been revealed.

Somehow, the immediate fire was put out… but it was a bit disappointing that the last target was President Romana.

It would have been difficult to find someone as easy to manipulate as her.

‘The Balance Team member who was handed over to Interpol…….’

He’s not a big problem either.

He knows better than anyone what will happen to him the moment he says anything.

“Have you recovered all the bodies of the employees?”

“We have recovered all the members of the subjugation rights recovery team, and we are still in the process of recovering the Balance Team. But…….”

“What else is there?”

“Two people are missing. Well, one is the guy that Kim Jun-woo saved and handed over to Interpol.”

“Then what about the other one?”

Secretary-General Wesley snapped sharply, but CEO Emma replied without showing any signs of shrinking back.

“Team Leader Marc’s body has not been found yet.”

“…….”

Secretary-General Wesley’s face turned cold.

His gaze turned to his aide.

“Contact each department and suspend all activities within the headquarters for the time being. Silence the board members. Take care of any guys who say anything out of line.”

“……Understood.”

He then turned to CEO Emma.

“Let’s replace all of PB Corporation with new people. Everything from the name to the personnel.”

“It will take some time to refill the personnel from now on.”

“There’s a good guy in America. Contact him first.”

“Who?”

“The world’s number one ranked hunter.”

Emma’s eyebrows twitched.

If it was him, hadn’t he been told to eliminate him just a few months ago because he was a person of interest?

But the situation has already changed.

CEO Emma accepted the decision without questioning it.

As she nodded and got up from her seat, Wesley’s voice immediately followed.

“Ah, Emma.”

“…What?”

“If something like this happens again… it will be difficult to remain friends.”

“…….”

CEO Emma turned her back instead of answering.

‘Yeah, right.’

She muttered, but Secretary-General Wesley didn’t hear her.

***

A dark space.

Team Leader Marc opened his eyes in a place with only one flickering light.

“Wh-where am I…….”

Where is this?

More than that… am I alive?

Team Leader Marc tried to get up, but his whole body was bound by chains.

Do they think they can hold me with something like this?

Team Leader Marc scoffed.

[Acquired Skill: Hercules]

[Skill Unavailable]

“……?”

[Acquired Skill: Up Fire]

[Skill Unavailable]

He tried to use several skills several times, but the result was the same.

As he was panicking because he couldn’t figure out the reason, he belatedly noticed the IV drip connected to his arm.

“It’s a Mana Stone solution, so you won’t be able to use your skills for a while.”

A familiar voice came from the darkness.

It was none other than Kim Jun-woo.

“Mana Stone? How did you get that…….”

“You guys left a lot of it scattered in the middle of Seoul.”

Kim Jun-woo showed the empty bullet casing.

“A skilled researcher extracted it, so don’t worry too much. Well, the amount isn’t much, so the effect will only last a few hours at best…….”

A chilling look flew at him.

“That’s enough for us to have a conversation.”

“What do you think you can get out of me?”

“You’re already a dead man anyway. Even if you go back alive from here, PB Corporation has already been replaced, do you think they’ll let you live?”

“…….”

That’s right.

The fact that the chip implanted in his body was activated meant that the emergency protocol had been initiated.

That meant he was no longer affiliated with PB Corporation.

“There’s no need to talk for long. I’m only going to ask you two things.”

“…….”

He was silent, but Kim Jun-woo continued as if he didn’t care.

“When you guys are doing the work of eliminating dangerous people, do you ever use Time Stones to do the job?”

“Hehehe…… I don’t know what you’re talking about. The Time Stone is what you have…!”

Bang—!

“Kkeuaaak!!”

A bullet was lodged in his thigh.

Before he could react, the gun was pointed at his other thigh.

“Why are you being like this between people who know each other? That’s not what I’m asking. I’m saying, is there a time when you have to use a Time Stone according to the manual?”

“……I, I don’t know.”

Bang—!

Without fail, the bullet pierced through his opposite thigh.

As he clenched his teeth in excruciating pain and raised his head, he saw Kim Jun-woo’s eyes.

A look with no mercy whatsoever.

“……We examine the rank, skills, and abilities, and use a Time Stone on targets that we judge we can’t kill.”

“Why?”

“Because their existence itself disappears.”

I don’t know why he’s curious about this, but it wasn’t a very important story.

In the first place, the cause and mechanism were unknown.

It was just a fact that he knew because it was like that in the experiment.

“Then, could it be that you guys were trying to recover the Time Stone because there was a target you needed to use it on?”

“…….”

“Were you perhaps trying to use it on me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

He let out a burst of laughter.

In the first place, the target to use the Time Stone on was already decided.

“The world’s number one ranked hunter.”

“……?”

“We needed the Time Stone to eliminate that guy.”

Kim Jun-woo’s expression became strange.

Is it because it’s different from what he expected?

“Okay. Then next question. Why is the Secretary-General trying to integrate the world’s subjugation rights?”

“……I don’t know.”

“Haa……. You never answer in one go.”

“I, I really don’t know! Do you think the Secretary-General would have told us such a story?! You know that too!”

“I know.”

He pouted and nodded.

But his gun had no intention of going down.

“I just asked in case.”

What?

Bang—!