The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 200

199

Gensagui, near Jordan Station.

The Chinese Association’s dispatched team was still stuck there.

“Goddamn it…”

Team Leader Zhang Xian muttered under his breath.

Monsters that had begun to escape from other dungeons were closing in on their position, but they were still unable to move.

The leader of the Flame Lizard pack was the problem.

It was impossible to know when or where that invisible monster would attack again.

“T, Team Leader…”

“W, what should we do?”

“When will the reinforcements arrive…”

The team members were completely terrified, asking in trembling voices.

If they moved, they would die.

But if they didn’t move, they would become food for those dozens of monsters.

A situation where they could neither advance nor retreat.

Even for elites, it was natural to panic.

Krrr―!

Kieeeek―!

While they hesitated, unsure of what to do, dozens of monsters surrounded them.

As the ferocious Flame Lizards bared their teeth, Team Leader Zhang Xian and the team members squeezed their eyes shut.

‘Shit…’

Sensing death, Team Leader Zhang couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

To think he would lose his life in an operation planned by his own side from beginning to end.

Where did it all go wrong?

He barely had time to think with his eyes closed.

Soon, a hungry shadow loomed over their heads.

[Unique Skill: Thousand-Armed Guanyin – Awakening]

[Four of the Six Guanyin]

[4th Form – Eleven-Faced Guanyin]

Swish―.

Swish, swish, swish―!

In an instant, something sharp swept around them.

At the sensation, Team Leader Zhang slowly opened his eyes.

“…What?”

The sight of dozens of monsters sliced in half and scattered on the ground came into view.

A woman stood at the center of it all.

“Y, you’re the one from earlier…?”

“As of this moment, Karma Corporation has taken over command of this operation.”

The woman who had gone to rescue them at the airport earlier.

Kim Min-ju, the operations director of Karma Corporation.

“W, what are you talking about! I told you clearly not to interfere…!”

“No time to argue. Get out of here unless you’re going to fight with us.”

“…!”

Her gaze pierced through Team Leader Zhang.

She was so different from when they had met earlier that he wondered if she was the same person.

He was momentarily intimidated by her overwhelming presence, but then Team Leader Zhang urgently shouted, remembering something he had forgotten.

“B, Boss…! There’s a Red-grade boss nearby!”

“… ?”

“The leader of the Flame Lizards. It uses stealth skills. It detects movement and attacks, but it’s invisible, so we can’t respond! Don’t move…!”

Despite the extremely dangerous situation, Kim Min-ju calmly picked up the radio.

“A Red-grade monster has appeared near Jordan Station in Gensagui. It’s a Lizard-type with an invisible ability, so we need support from the mage class.”

Kim Min-ju finished the transmission and gripped her sword again, ready to attack.

Seeing this, Team Leader Zhang opened his mouth in an agitated voice.

“W, what are you doing! Didn’t you hear me?! If you move, your head will be…!”

Shooooo―!

At that moment, magic bullets began to rain down on their heads.

“Wh, what is it…!”

“D, defense skills! Defense skills!”

The dispatched team members hurriedly activated their defense skills, but Kim Min-ju still held her sword with an unwavering stance.

And soon.

Bang! Kwaaaang―!!

The bullets struck the ground directly around them.

Thick dust covered the area.

Inside, Kim Min-ju focused on the dust swirling in the air.

Eventually, an invisible form briefly revealed itself.

[Unique Skill: Thousand-Armed Guanyin – Awakening]

[Six of the Six Guanyin]

[6th Form – Cintamani Chakra Guanyin]

Swoosh―.

A single strike severed the invisible monster’s neck.

Kieeeeeek―!!

The Lizard began to writhe in pain.

Of course, it couldn’t be defeated with a single attack, but…

“B, blood…!”

“It’s visible!”

The blood gushing from the monster’s neck drenched its body, completely revealing its form.

Confirming this, Kim Min-ju picked up the radio again.

“Visualization complete. The area is confirmed to be safe, so everyone, proceed. I will continue to search other areas.”

“Yes!”

“Understood.”

Other personnel appeared from afar.

‘Just what is that woman…’

Team Leader Zhang muttered, watching the scene.

The operations director taking the lead in searching the field? Alone?

He was unknowingly staring at her back when.

“What are you doing!”

Her gaze turned to Team Leader Zhang.

“If you’re not dead yet, get up and help out.”

“…If we help you, the headquarters won’t leave us alone.”

“Seriously, are you still worried about retaking the branch even in this situation?”

Kim Min-ju clicked her tongue and continued.

“If you’re not going to help, at least evacuate the citizens out of Hong Kong. If you’re an operations team, you can at least do that much, right?”

“…”

“If you don’t even want to do that, don’t go around calling yourselves an operations team. It’s embarrassing.”

A sharp glint flashed in her eyes as she looked at Team Leader Zhang.

“T, Team Leader Kim Min-ju!”

At that moment, an urgent transmission came from Jo, who was in charge of searching the outskirts of Hong Kong.

“What’s wrong?”

“The Public Security Forces are blockading Hong Kong!”

“…What?”

“They’ve blocked off all land and sea routes! We can’t get out of Hong Kong! Those bastards… they’ve given up on Hong Kong!”

“Goddamn it…”

Kim Min-ju bit her lip.

If they couldn’t have it, they were going to bury it so no one else could have it.

“Th, that can’t be…”

It was none other than Team Leader Zhang who reacted to the shocking news.

“A blockade?! The headquarters promised to send additional troops! Besides, we’re still here, there’s no way the authorities would abandon us…!”

His voice trailed off.

He said there was no way, but in his mind, he knew they were capable of doing just that.

“Goddamn it…! Goddamn it!!”

While Team Leader Zhang was shouting in despair, Kim Min-ju’s radio rang again.

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Where are you now?”

“I’ve completed the search near Jordan Station and was about to move to the next area…”

“No. As of this moment, the containment operation is postponed. You and Han Yu-bin should join up and proceed with the dungeon subjugation first.”

“Y, yes… ?”

“Something’s come up. If we don’t deal with all the dungeons that have been created, they’ll keep appearing.”

“B, but if we’re all 投入 [invested] to subjugation, the citizens will be in danger! Besides, Hong Kong is blockaded now, so we can’t get out! It’s only a matter of time before they reach the shelters. We need at least a minimum number of people to handle the containment…”

At that moment, Kim Min-ju’s gaze turned back to Team Leader Zhang.

Team Leader Zhang immediately understood the meaning of her gaze.

He clenched his fist tightly and hesitated for a long time before answering.

“We’ll… take care of the containment.”

He stood up, gritting his teeth.

“Are you sure? You said the headquarters wouldn’t leave you alone if you helped us.”

“Shit! Screw it all. They stabbed us in the back first!”

He shouted.

“I’ll help you, so make sure you succeed!”

“Now you sound more like an operations team.”

Kim Min-ju picked up the radio and said.

“Team 1, all members assemble at the dungeon. As of this moment, we will join Team 2 and proceed with the dungeon subjugation. There will be no breaks until we clear them all, so be prepared.”

“Yes!”

“Of course!”

Soon, the overwhelming presence she had shown earlier began to flow through her entire body again.

***

Hong Kong Branch, Central Control Room.

“Tsk…”

I clicked my tongue without realizing it at the current situation.

If even Chloe was requesting assistance, then the situation was definitely more serious than I thought.

And with the Hong Kong blockade in place, we couldn’t evacuate the citizens.

‘To think they would abandon Hong Kong.’

Since the plan was already ruined, were they just going to bury everything?

It was fortunate that the Chinese Association headquarters’ forces were handling the containment, or else something truly terrible could have happened.

I organized my thoughts and checked the monitor again.

There were currently 56 dungeons that had appeared throughout Hong Kong.

All of them were Yellow-grade or higher.

The minimum number of personnel required for subjugation was 20 B-grade Hunters.

If we organized the current total forces according to the minimum subjugation personnel, we could create a total of 5 teams.

That meant each team would have to subjugate 11 dungeons.

‘Will it work…’

An operation of this scale would require thorough preparation for three months.

But right now, we were far from prepared, and our equipment and support were overwhelmingly lacking.

Director Lee Ah-young had formed a temporary support team, but that alone was not enough.

In this situation, subjugating 11 dungeons in a row was tantamount to suicide.

‘This won’t work…’

Realizing this, I turned my head and opened my mouth.

“Branch Manager Hwang.”

“Y, yes?”

“Please take command for a moment. I need to go to the field as well.”

“Y, yes?! J, just a moment…!”

Branch Manager Hwang called out urgently, but I didn’t look back and hurriedly left the control room.

The scene that greeted me as soon as I stepped outside the building was utter chaos.

The buildings and roads were completely collapsed, and the place was teeming with creatures that were not human.

Kaaaaaak―!

At that moment, the monsters that happened to spot me immediately rushed towards me.

[Acquired Skill: Atomic Sphere]

Chwaak―!

I calmly pierced the monster’s stomach with the spear I had immediately drawn.

I adjusted my stance in front of dozens of boss-level monsters.

The only thought that came to my mind when I faced the monsters was…

‘How am I ever going to clean all this up?’

That was all.

***

“A blockade…”

Right after CEO Kim Jun-woo left the control room.

Team Leader Lai kept repeating the same words, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Th, that can’t be. There’s no way the authorities would abandon us…”

“What, did you think the headquarters would risk their lives to protect you?”

Branch Manager Hwang said, as if he was dumbfounded.

“They’re the ones who destroyed an entire city to take over a branch. Do you think they’d bat an eye at abandoning a few operations teams?”

“…No, there’s no way the headquarters would do that!”

“Hey, Team Leader Lai. Didn’t you feel anything from watching that man?”

Branch Manager Hwang pointed in the direction Kim Jun-woo had run off to and continued.

“That man… the first thing he did after taking command was to order us not to overdo it. He didn’t say to succeed even if it meant risking our lives, but to retreat whenever it was dangerous.”

“…”

“He even went straight to the field himself when the situation got worse. He told his subordinates not to overdo it, but he risked his own life for them.”

Branch Manager Hwang shook his head.

“That’s what a responsible leader of an organization is. Was the headquarters you’ve seen so far a responsible leader, or just a powerful figure giving orders from behind!”

“…”

Team Leader Lai couldn’t say anything.

He already knew the answer.

“If you understand, then stop giving up and help us.”

“…”

But Team Leader Lai still didn’t move, his head lowered.

Branch Manager Hwang clicked his tongue.

That’s right, how could a person change so easily?

Just as he was about to stop paying attention.

“…There’s an underground road connecting to the mainland northwest of Cheung Sha Wan.”

He cautiously opened his mouth.

“It’s a secret passage that the authorities created 20 years ago during the suppression of the independence movement to deploy the Public Security Forces. The entrance is blocked now, but if we clear that, we can escape out of Hong Kong.”

“…Yes?”

“Tell our people to evacuate the citizens to that place.”

Team Leader Lai said in a trembling voice.

“I’ll take responsibility for this.”

His eyes had an expression as if he was prepared for everything that would follow.