The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 220

219

The National Forensic Service, autopsy room.

Present were the chief medical examiner, the investigator, and Detective Go Bae-soo, the chief of Violent Crimes Unit 2 at the Pohang Southern Police Station, who was in charge of the case.

“Then… let’s begin.”

The medical examiner pulled open the door of the storage unit in front of Team Leader Lee Sang-woo, who had accompanied him, and soon the body of a man was revealed.

“Fortunately, the body wasn’t damaged, so we were able to identify him right away. But I still felt I should confirm with you.”

“Yes… that’s definitely him, our CEO,”

Team Leader Lee Sang-woo replied in a choked voice as he looked at the body.

Then, he asked the investigator,

“Where was he found?”

“Some wild ginseng diggers found him in the mountains. He was hanging by the neck. The direct cause of death appears to be asphyxiation.”

The medical examiner nodded in agreement.

Then, he added a few words.

“Considering the cause of death and the circumstances, the probability of suicide is high……”

“No!”

But before he could finish, Team Leader Lee Sang-woo shouted.

“He was encouraging us to hang in there just the day before he went missing. There’s no way he would take his own life! Someone must have done something to him……”

“Haa…….”

The chief medical examiner sighed deeply and shook his head.

He didn’t seem to accept Team Leader Lee Sang-woo’s opinion.

“I understand how you feel… but there’s no evidence to suspect foul play.”

“But, there’s a bruise on his chest!”

“I heard he was protesting for weeks before he went missing. And he apparently enjoyed exercising regularly. That alone isn’t enough to conclude it was murder……”

“No.”

At that moment, Headquarters Manager Lee Ah-young, who had been quietly observing the situation from behind, stepped forward, unable to watch any longer.

“That’s not the kind of bruise you get from those things.”

“…Pardon?”

“That’s an ability scar. It’s a wound caused by being hit by a Skill [supernatural power]. The color, and the way it looks like it went through from front to back.”

As she spoke, everyone in the room looked bewildered.

The investigator cautiously asked her,

“Excuse me, but who…?”

“I’m Lee Ah-young, the Headquarters Manager of Karma Corporation’s Support Division. I’m also the chief of Eclipse.”

Lee Ah-young introduced herself, handing over her business card.

The investigator, after receiving the card, stared at her with wide eyes.

“S, Support Division Manager…?”

“Why is a Karma executive here…….”

The chief medical examiner also seemed quite surprised.

Naturally, the chief medical examiner was in charge here, and his autopsy was the official result.

So, no one here dared to argue with him.

However, the situation was a bit different now.

When it came to abilities, she was the best expert in Korea.

“While investigating someone related to the International Association, it seemed like it was connected to CEO Jo’s case, so I was checking it out.”

“What do you mean…?”

“We suspect that the person we’re looking for sent someone to deal with CEO Jo. Well……”

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

“Looking at the state of the body, I’m pretty sure. Can I take a closer look?”

“Yes? Ah, of course. The autopsy is already finished, so…….”

She got permission from the medical examiner and put on gloves.

Then, she began to examine the body directly.

“The body is generally clean, but there’s a bruise only on the chest, right? That means he was subdued in one hit. Judging from the wound, it’s a magic-type Skill… but not the commonly used explosive or projectile type. It’s either an impact or debuff type.”

*Well, if they had used such a powerful Skill on a regular person, they would have died instantly.*

Lee Ah-young muttered inwardly and continued.

“Based on the size and depth, it’s about C-rank to B-rank. If it’s a magician class using an impact-type Skill in that rank……”

“Wh, who is it?”

“……”

Choi Jong-hyuk.

It could only be him.

But Headquarters Manager Lee Ah-young didn’t say it out loud.

“I don’t know that far.”

“……I, I see.”

“Well, that’s that. If a regular person was hit by a Skill, fainted, and then found dead… I think this could become a pretty big deal.”

She took off her gloves and continued.

“It would be great if you could keep that in mind and investigate.”

“That… might be difficult.”

“Pardon?”

Detective Go Bae-soo from Violent Crimes Unit 2, who had been quietly listening, spoke up instead.

“The order to close the investigation has already come down from above. We plan to hand over the body to the family as soon as the autopsy is done.”

“……What do you mean?”

Headquarters Manager Lee Ah-young’s eyebrows twitched.

“Who gave that order?”

“Well, I don’t know that far……”

Detective Go Bae-soo shrugged.

Headquarters Manager Lee Ah-young stepped forward with a determined expression.

“A perfectly healthy person was hit by a Skill and found hanging. I don’t see how that could be suicide due to despair… What do you think, Detective?”

“…….”

He remained silent.

Finally, he reluctantly uttered,

“There’s nothing more we can do.”

“Haa…….”

Lee Ah-young messed up her hair with a frustrated sigh.

Then, she spoke again.

“Okay. Let’s say we’re ending CEO Jo’s case like this……”

She pointed to the wound on the body and continued.

“A regular person was harmed by a Skill. There are no Hunters [individuals with supernatural abilities] who can move around without being noticed by our headquarters, so it’s not someone from Karma… It must be a former Hunter.”

“A former Hunter…?”

“Yes. A former Hunter harmed a regular person? Isn’t that enough to warrant an investigation?”

Whether they were former or not, if a Hunter used a Skill to exert force against a regular person, it was something that couldn’t be overlooked.

“More than that, there’s no way a former Hunter would do something like this for no reason, so they must have been hired by someone. This seems like a completely different issue from CEO Jo’s case, right?”

“Hired… who would do such a thing……”

“I don’t know. However, it would be good to investigate the person who benefited the most from this incident first. Assemblyman Kang Jong-gu from the Future Democratic Party, representing the Pohang district. I heard he’s up for re-election?”

“…….”

“…….”

After a long silence, Detective Go Bae-soo finally picked up his phone.

Headquarters Manager Lee Ah-young smiled as she watched.

Kim Jun-woo would investigate the organization, she would investigate GT Construction… and the police would investigate Assemblyman Kang Jong-gu.

Attacking all related parties simultaneously.

If they narrowed the siege, they would definitely find someone.

Whoever it was, if they were left alone, there was no telling what they would do next.

And by the time they found them, it would be too late.

No matter what, she would catch them before her vacation ended.

***

“Did you take care of it well?”

“Yes.”

In a street stall located in Seoul, Choi Jong-hyuk bowed stiffly to a middle-aged man drinking in the corner.

“I disguised it to look like a suicide. I did use a Skill during the suppression process… but unless they’re an expert in abilities, it’ll be hard to tell.”

“I see.”

The man sipped his drink and continued.

“I heard that the Kim Min-joo case was also your idea? Park Jang-mok just passed it on.”

“…That’s right. I should have proceeded more thoroughly. I’m sorry.”

“Well, it was bad luck. Kim Jun-woo is the type who has to see everything through once he sets his eyes on it.”

He adjusted his posture and continued.

“Anyway, keep up the good work so I don’t regret bringing you in. You can use the guys below you as you wish.”

“I won’t let you down.”

The man nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

Then, he poured another drink and opened his mouth.

“That’s why I like organizations. There’s a limit to what you can ask an individual to do.”

“Individual… are you referring to?”

“You know, that guy who used to be ranked number one in Korea. Yang Min-ho. He was quite a famous fixer in this industry… but it was all talk. In the end, he didn’t do anything properly.”

“Is that so…….”

“And he’s been out of touch since last year. Who knows, maybe he’s living the high life with the money he made, or maybe he died somewhere unknown. Not just him. The eldest son of Hanbyul Group was the same. Tsk, I still get angry when I think about getting caught because of that bastard.”

The man clicked his tongue.

But only for a moment.

“Well, thanks to that, I got to work with the International Association, so it wasn’t all bad in the end.”

“…….”

He smiled and raised his glass.

The man’s identity was none other than Assemblyman Jung-hoon of the Future Democratic Party.

He was the one who was caught up in bribery charges in the case with Ha Sung-tae, the eldest son of Hanbyul Group, a few months ago and went to trial.

After that, he waited for the trial results, assuming that his political career was over… but opportunity comes in the midst of crisis.

The International Association contacted him.

They offered to help him return to politics and give him everything he wanted if he helped them.

Assemblyman Jung-hoon, who was already hanging on the edge of a cliff, had no reason to refuse.

Afterwards, Assemblyman Jung-hoon learned from his past failures and first created an organization made up of former Hunters.

Of course, he received help from the International Association, but the result was satisfactory.

After being acquitted in the trial, he immediately returned to politics.

He couldn’t understand how the international Hunter organization was interfering in the politics of other countries.

Apparently, there were already people related to them all over the place, besides himself.

Well, it probably wasn’t just in Korea.

Anyway, Assemblyman Jung-hoon was currently in charge of helping the International Association to keep Karma Corporation in check.

Secretly and meticulously.

“Um… can I ask you something?”

At that moment, Choi Jong-hyuk, who had been watching for a while, carefully opened his mouth.

“Go ahead.”

“What is the relationship between helping with this resort project and Karma Corporation…….”

“Ah, I haven’t told you that story yet.”

Assemblyman Jung-hoon leaned forward and continued.

“Do you know what’s most important in the current subjugation system [system for managing supernatural threats]?”

“Yes? Well, that’s the operation team’s strength……”

“No.”

He interrupted and answered immediately.

“The most important thing is to grasp the dungeon appearance status. You have to find out the location, grade, and other special features quickly and accurately before moving on to the next step.”

“…….”

Choi Jong-hyuk refrained from answering.

That part was the responsibility of the control team, so he, who belonged to the operation team, didn’t know much about it.

“Korea is small and has good roads, but the detection system is quite good.”

“…I see.”

“Where do you think the largest detection facility is located?”

“……Could it be in Pohang?”

“That’s right.”

Assemblyman Jung-hoon snapped his fingers and answered.

“It’s not far from the resort. No, it’s almost right next to it. And the goal of the International Association is to get rid of that facility.”

“But…… just because we’re promoting the resort project doesn’t mean we can do anything about the detection facility.”

“Of course not. If we directly touched the detection facility, Kim Jun-woo would notice right away.”

“Then how…….”

“We need to have people who have nothing to do with us take care of it.”

At that moment, Assemblyman Jung-hoon’s eyes flashed.

“This resort project is quite big. The largest CC [likely refers to a large construction company] will be coming in, and we’re planning to set up horseback riding and other amenities. Of course, the target is VIPs.”

He paused for a moment before continuing.

“But think about it. You’ve spent a fortune on a golden vacation to relax, but right in front of you, there are huge antennas moving noisily 24 hours a day… how would you feel?”

“It would be quite annoying.”

“That’s right.”

Choi Jong-hyuk finally realized what he was planning and what he was aiming for.

“We don’t touch the detection facility. That’s the job of the VIPs who visit the resort. If not just one person, but many people with power attack at the same time, Kim Jun-woo won’t be able to do anything about it.”

“So that’s why you’re helping Kang Jong-gu, that rookie assemblyman.”

“That’s right. The reason we chose that site was because it was close to the detection facility.”

Choi Jong-hyuk couldn’t help but admire him.

As he said, if they had tried to shut down the detection facility directly, Kim Jun-woo would have used everything he had to stop them.

But with the current plan, an unspecified number of people will surround Kim Jun-woo with one mind.

Of course, the methods of attack will be varied.

Some will attack politically, and others will attack economically.

Then Kim Jun-woo will no longer be able to do anything.

It wouldn’t be a problem that could be solved by catching just one person, and he couldn’t afford to turn so many VIPs living in Korea into enemies.

“Kim Jun-woo will never find me. No, even if he does find me, he can’t hold me responsible. I’m not directly touching him.”

Assemblyman Jung-hoon handed him a glass of alcohol.

After a light toast, the two men emptied their glasses.

“This time, we have no choice but to win.”

A smile spread across Assemblyman Jung-hoon’s face.