The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 150

149

“He went into the dungeon…”

Wesley, the Secretary-General, who was monitoring the transaction status on a small monitor, spoke in a rather bewildered voice.

He soon burst into laughter.

‘To think he’d choose the inside of a dungeon as the transaction location…’

It was truly unimaginable.

I couldn’t help but wonder how far he had planned everything out.

Wesley immediately turned to his aide and said,

“Quickly find out what dungeon those guys went into.”

“Yes, yes?”

“We don’t know what preparations they might have made based on the dungeon’s characteristics.”

“Well, wouldn’t they just have chosen the dungeon because of security concerns…? No matter how capable Kim Jun-woo is, it’s impossible to figure out what kind of dungeon will appear and prepare for it in advance…”

At that moment, Wesley’s eyes sharpened.

“So, are you refusing my orders?”

“Ah, no, that’s not…”

She didn’t respond further and immediately took out her phone. The recipient was the headquarters control team.

“Please identify the dungeon that appeared at Incheon Port in Korea.”

“It’s the Secretary-General’s order. Yes, yes. Please do it as quickly as possible.”

Only after finishing the call did the murderous intent in Wesley’s eyes subside.

He fixed his gaze back on the monitor.

“What on earth is he trying to do…”

There might be some suspicious signs.

He couldn’t take his eyes off it for even a second, but other thoughts kept popping into his head.

‘…The more I think about it, the stranger it seems.’

He predicted the dungeon’s appearance and set the transaction date and location?

Okay, let’s say he received help from the Korean Association to predict the dungeon’s appearance.

But predicting the exact time of appearance is impossible even for the international headquarters, which has the best detection system.

From the start, it’s not something that can be done with human ability.

No matter how brilliant and insightful he is, unless he’s experienced the same dungeon before…

‘…Wait a minute.’

At that moment, Kim Jun-woo’s words from the previous call came to mind.

-I’ve been holding the knife ever since I came back from the dead.

Wesley folded his hands and brought them to his mouth.

He was lost in thought when his aide opened her mouth with a pale face.

“The information has been confirmed. But this is…”

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no. It’s just…”

She hesitated for a moment, unsure how to put it.

Then, she stammered,

“Strictly speaking, it’s not a dungeon…”

“…What?”

The Secretary-General’s eyes narrowed.

***

As soon as they entered the dungeon, the scenery of a dark, medieval underground prison was revealed.

A dimensional dungeon created in a space different from reality.

Chloe and Noah carefully examined the inside of the dungeon as they moved.

It was only natural.

They needed to gather as much information about the dungeon as possible in case of any unforeseen situations.

As they reached the middle of the narrow, long passage, I stopped and spoke.

“It’s far enough now. Let’s proceed.”

“Let’s see the goods first.”

At Chloe’s request, I nodded to Director Lee Ah-young, who handed over two suitcases.

She carefully opened the bags in front of them.

Yellow and blue ores were revealed.

Chloe’s eyes sparkled with the same colors as she saw them.

“…Would it be alright to check them?”

“Of course.”

Chloe put on gloves and took out a device she had brought.

She was using the device to verify whether the items were genuine.

“The goods are authentic.”

“Then you should pay the price. Revoke the designation of the Korean subjugation organization as a cartel.”

“That’s not something we can do here, so after we return, we’ll discuss it later…”

“No. You have to do it right now.”

Who are you trying to fool?

You’re trying to take the goods and run.

“It’s not something that can be done by being stubborn. We have a few things to prepare on our end as well…”

“Oh, I’m sure you do. But… you won’t have time for that.”

I said, looking at the lens attached to her bag.

“You’ve probably confirmed the dungeon information by now, right?”

“…”

“Well, if you have, you’ll know that I’m not being stubborn. There’s not much time left, Secretary-General. You need to hold a press conference right now and revoke the cartel designation.”

Even if it’s impossible, you’ll have to make it possible, right?

“Because this is an ‘instance dungeon’ that hasn’t been activated yet.”

“…!”

As soon as I finished speaking, Chloe’s expression stiffened.

Most dungeons have a single space with a single completion.

That means that each dungeon has no connection to each other and does not affect each other.

But instance dungeons are different.

This is the only dungeon that interacts with other dungeons.

‘Originally, it’s not that dangerous of a dungeon…’

In fact, instance dungeons have no meaning on their own.

It’s basically an unactivated dungeon without a boss, and it disappears over time without causing any harm.

So, if it occurred normally, the Association wouldn’t bother trying to subjugate it.

However, if you’ve entered, things change.

It’s easy to enter, but you can’t leave as you please.

An instance dungeon is more like an empty space in another dimension than a dungeon itself.

Therefore, if you go outside before the subjugation is complete, you could be trapped in the cracks of dimensions.

Therefore, once we’ve entered this place, we must activate the dungeon to get out.

And the way to activate an instance dungeon is…

“You have to subjugate all the specific dungeons that interact with the instance dungeon…”

“You know it well. However, the real problem isn’t that.”

If you have enough time, it’s not difficult to find out the specific dungeons.

The real problem is that the instance dungeon can only remain inactive for an hour.

If you don’t activate it within that time, this space will completely disappear.

In other words, if you don’t subjugate all the interacting dungeons within an hour, everyone here will be trapped here forever with the bank items.

“A suicide mission? It’s not much to risk your life for. We can find out and subjugate the specific dungeons before you do.”

Noah said nonchalantly, but Chloe shook her head.

“It takes at least a day to find out all the specific dungeons. An hour is not enough.”

“What? So, we can’t get out of here in the first place?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Our people are already waiting in front of all the specific dungeons. If you pay the price properly, we’ll proceed with the subjugation immediately.”

Chloe let out a scoff.

“Don’t lie. There’s no way you could have known all that before the dungeon appeared.”

“Then assume I’m lying and find another way to do it yourself. Of course, you’ll have to do whatever you do within an hour.”

“…”

A shadow began to fall on Chloe and Noah’s faces.

Of course, they don’t believe my words, but there’s not enough time to find another way now.

Besides, my life is on the line here.

They can’t help but think that I have something to believe in.

No one would bet their life on a crazy deal, no matter how desperate they are.

So, they have no choice.

If they want to live, they have to believe it, even if they don’t want to.

Chloe, who had been lost in thought for a moment, asked a question.

“But is it possible to subjugate as soon as we express our position? They’ll be at least yellow rank or higher.”

“Of course. We’ve recently increased the necessary forces. But… as you know, we can’t subjugate because we’re a cartel. So, we need to express our position in order to proceed with the subjugation.”

I spoke to the lens again.

“The later the expression of position, the later the subjugation, and if that happens, you might lose your bank items here.”

I tapped the lens with my finger as if knocking.

I don’t know if you’re listening well.

It’s a pretty important story.

“If we don’t step in until the end, you’ll also…”

“What else would there be? We all die together.”

“I don’t understand… What is it about this that you’re risking your life for?”

“How can you trade with the International Association without that kind of determination?”

“Your subordinates won’t just stand by and watch.”

“My subordinates listen to me very well. I told them not to move until I say so.”

I answered with a smile.

She’s trying not to show it, but she’s right.

Given the personalities of Kim Min-joo and Han Yu-bin, who are waiting outside, they’ll obviously proceed with the subjugation independently as a last resort to save me.

If that happens, the current deal will obviously fall through.

So, from now on, it’s a chicken race [a reckless and dangerous game where the participants try to outdo each other].

Either I hold out, believing that my employees will eventually subjugate to save me.

Or they accept the deal before that.

If we hold out until the very end…

‘Kim Min-joo will take care of it.’

She’s not the type to leave me alone until I die.

***

Outside the dungeon, Incheon Port.

“…”

“…”

Kim Min-joo and Han Yu-bin had been silent since Kim Jun-woo entered the dungeon.

They were just staring at the dungeon entrance with anxious eyes, feeling uneasy.

“…Will he be okay?”

Kim Min-joo broke the long silence first.

Then, Han Yu-bin nodded, trying to appear relaxed.

Of course, Han Yu-bin wasn’t sure either.

It was only natural.

Who could be sure in this situation?

They were just believing and waiting.

‘He’s really reckless to an extreme…’

When Kim Jun-woo first explained the plan, everyone, including her, naturally tried to dissuade him.

If the plan goes wrong, they’ll be trapped in the dungeon forever, so who would agree to such a crazy plan?

But Kim Jun-woo didn’t back down.

‘If I don’t come out this strong, the International Association will definitely stab me in the back.’

Since he was so firm, no one could object.

Then Kim Min-joo said that she would accompany him, but Kim Jun-woo refused outright.

The reason was that having subjugation personnel go in together would be a loss of power.

Han Yu-bin was rejected for the same reason.

That’s how Director Lee Ah-young was naturally chosen as the companion.

Lee Ah-young willingly participated in the plan that could kill her.

‘To think that she would really risk her life for us…’

She was expressing deep respect in her heart.

Han Yu-bin carefully opened her mouth.

“Hey, but you know. If, just if. If they don’t accept the request until the end… what are we going to do then?”

“…”

“No matter how I think about it, life is more important than a deal. If it doesn’t look like it’s going to work, let’s just subjugate first on our side…”

“No.”

Kim Min-joo answered firmly.

“The teacher is risking his life for us right now. If we step in on our own, what does that make his determination?”

“…”

“So… no matter what happens, we will never subjugate first.”

Kim Min-joo’s eyes were firm and reverent, as if she had resolved something.

She had no intention of saving Kim Jun-woo.