The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 362

361. After Story 18

Nearly a month had passed since the commotion at the American Association.

During that time, I had to consistently attend the national dungeon reduction monitoring in Seoul, leaving me with no time to focus on anything else.

Fortunately, the Dimensional Stone operated stably during the monitoring period, and the dungeon reduction proceeded without any major issues.

…Or so they say it went without issues.

In truth, my mind was elsewhere for that entire month.

Because of this, I received summaries of the briefings from Kim Min-joo and other staff members.

It’s a secret (not really) that Kim Min-joo nagged me for not working.

And why wouldn’t she? After all that chaos at the American Association, how could I just sit still and focus on briefings?

During most of the meeting times, I exchanged messages with Lee Ah-young, discussing the investigation, the handling of the American Association, and its future management.

If it were just an issue with the American Association alone, I could have delegated full authority to Lee Ah-young, but unfortunately, as the investigation progressed, the groups involved were quite unsettling, making it nearly impossible for her to handle everything alone.

That’s why, only after a month had passed and the final monitoring was over….

“‘Semi-Permanent Body Enhancement Soldier Cultivation Project’ through ability implantation experiments. That’s the real name of the American Association’s F-Zone Project.”

“…That’s quite a grim title.”

I was finally able to directly take over the current case from Lee Ah-young, who had safely returned home.

“First, you can look through the data for the details….”

“……”

Lee Ah-young placed a considerable amount of reports on the desk, including the data she had gathered over the month.

At the same time, my eyes widened involuntarily at the sheer volume.

I was wondering if they should have given it to me as an electronic document instead of paper when.

“Well, I was horrified when I first heard the title during the investigation process. Usually, keywords like body enhancement and soldier cultivation can’t mean anything good. It’s either unethical human experimentation or….”

“…Don’t tell me it isn’t?”

“Nope.”

Lee Ah-young nodded, answering immediately.

“Surprisingly, it wasn’t as terrible an experiment as I thought.”

“That’s quite the twist.”

“It wasn’t an experiment that could be officially conducted, so they recruited participants from surrounding gangs and the homeless, but still, they made sure to get proper consent forms?”

Lee Ah-young shrugged and continued.

“They said they explained the details of the experiment to those who consented… and the experiment itself wasn’t that dangerous.”

“So, what kind of experiment was it?”

“To summarize roughly….”

At my question, Lee Ah-young trailed off, resting her chin on her hand.

And then, the office door burst open, and someone came in.

“Analyzing specific genes that create ability waves in hunters with abilities, and implanting artificially created ‘cores’ based on that data into the test subjects.”

That someone recited the information in place of Lee Ah-young.

The one who entered the room, listing words that were difficult to understand at once, was none other than….

“Ultimately, it’s an experiment that aims to cause partial changes in the body in response to the corresponding wave by continuously interfering with ability waves inside the test subjects’ bodies.”

“…How did you know we were talking about that?”

“I heard the Association President returned. Of course, we’d be talking about this case, not choosing a lunch menu, right?”

Chloe, the head of the Eclipse Research Institute under the WDSO [World Dungeon Suppression Organization] Headquarters Support Team, who was in charge of bank item management and ability dimension research.

“It’s just a headache if two non-experts talk about it. I came because I didn’t think you’d be able to grasp it properly.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.”

I paused my sarcastic remarks, unsure whether she came to ignore us or genuinely out of concern.

I rested my chin on the desk and asked her.

“Continue with what you were saying. So, why does continuous interference with ability waves enhance the body?”

“Strictly speaking, the effect varies depending on which wave you interfere with. The ability wave used in this experiment was that of the Berserker class, and since most of them are classes with main body enhancement skills, they were able to receive similar effects.”

“……”

“Actually, up to this point, it’s just an extension of existing theories, so there’s nothing too surprising. The key is that it only enhances the body through indirect influence, so the effect can be maintained even after the ability dimension situation is over.”

“I see. They certainly put some thought into it.”

“Exactly. Of course, since it’s an indirect influence, they won’t have extraordinary abilities or superhuman strength like actual ability users… but they’ll still be significantly different from ordinary people.”

“Yes, well, that’s beside the point….”

I continued, watching Chloe, who was spouting out unsolicited information and theories like a fish in water.

“How do you know so much about this?”

“……”

The information about this experiment is only known to Lee Ah-young, Han Yu-bin, and myself.

Even I only just received the detailed data.

I can’t understand how she knows everything when she should only know that there was an experiment at the American Association….

“……Wait.”

Could it be….

“Did you plan this experiment…?”

“……Excuse me?”

“……”

At that question, Lee Ah-young’s eyes widened, and Chloe avoided eye contact.

“R, really? You planned this experiment?!”

“……Ugh, I should have just pretended not to know.”

Chloe scratched her head with an annoyed expression.

“That’s right. I was originally in charge of the F-Zone Project.”

“No, what does that mean…? Do you know how much I suffered there for a month because of this?! And it was all because of you?”

“What are you talking about? Don’t you know I was kicked out of the American Association over three years ago? The project was first planned ten years ago, and I was in charge eight years ago. Why are you bringing this up now….”

“So what, you’re saying you’re not responsible?! Don’t you know you could be fired for this?!”

“Oh, fire me if you want. Geez, you’re getting really worked up.”

“Wh, what did you say?”

For some reason, the conversation suddenly turned into a fight between the two women.

It became awkward to intervene, so I quietly watched.

“I said, fire me if you want. You’re still using me as much as you can with old stuff.”

“Wh, who’s using who? It’s just the work you’re supposed to be doing…!”

“Hunter support, weapon management, ability research…, and these days, I’m working 15 hours a day because of the dungeon reduction. If you fire me, who do you think will do this work?”

“……”

Lee Ah-young had no choice but to shut her mouth at Chloe’s short and impactful words.

“……The past is the past. I’m sorry. I got a little excited.”

It seems like a decision has finally been made.

“Alright, alright, calm down, and let’s get back to work.”

I was about to prepare popcorn, but I was disappointed that the fight ended more blandly than I thought, so I spoke up.

“Anyway, the significance of this F-Zone experiment is that it was a project that could create the only ability soldiers without any side effects in a world where abilities have disappeared, right?”

“Yeah, well, that’s right.”

“The reason they restarted a project that’s over ten years old now is that we declared the end of the ability dimension situation, and they were trying to prepare for what comes next.”

As I summarized the main points, Lee Ah-young and Chloe nodded simultaneously.

“Even though it turned out not to be a particularly inhumane experiment, the problem is that the intention of the project was the complete opposite of the direction WDSO is ultimately pursuing, right?”

“That’s right. No matter the process, the intention itself was quite dangerous.”

Lee Ah-young carefully continued.

“And the thing about those siblings….”

“……”

I also hesitated to answer for a moment at that story.

Children who were sold to a gang because of their parents, and inadvertently participated in the experiment when the entire gang was投入 [thrown] into the project.

Of course, if we only consider the results, there weren’t any major problems with them either.

“I found out that the two children were the highest compatibility specimens, but fortunately, the experiment hasn’t succeeded yet, so they’ll return to normal in a few days.”

“That’s a real relief.”

“It wasn’t intentional to use the children as test subjects, but the fact remains that they committed an act that deserves criticism, regardless of the outcome.”

I nodded at Lee Ah-young’s words.

Of course, since there was coercive experimentation and confinement, punishment will naturally be carried out.

But excluding that, fortunately, there will be no significant physical harm left on the children.

There will be some mental issues left, but that’s a problem that the Association needs to solve.

The experiment wasn’t high-intensity, and the aftereffects of the experiment will disappear over time.

So, normally, it should be a story about children who were confined being freed and returning to their loving families. But….

‘Those children can’t do that.’

East Asian siblings adopted to America.

Drug-addict adoptive parents murdered by a gang.

Even if they were rescued, there’s no one waiting for them, and no place for them to return to.

And that part seemed to have pressed Han Yu-bin’s berserk button.

‘She usually wouldn’t have accepted a branch manager proposal like this, but….’

It was surprising to me that she accepted the absurd proposal of becoming a branch manager during a business trip quite readily, even after hesitating for a moment.

Well, I understand that she couldn’t just let it go because something similar happened in the past….

“But she wasn’t usually such a motivated person.”

Lee Ah-young answered, as if she had heard me muttering to myself.

I raised my eyebrows and looked at her.

“Actually, it’s not just satisfied, she actually likes it.”

“Why? She wasn’t someone who liked titles?”

“Well….”

Lee Ah-young smiled meaningfully.

“She said it’s because she doesn’t have to be with Han Sang-hyuk.”

“……”

I heard an answer I couldn’t have imagined.

***

The former American Association.

The current American Branch belonging to WDSO Headquarters.

“Haa.”

Han Yu-bin, who had taken office as the new branch manager there, was regretting it belatedly.

‘Is being a branch manager this boring?’

She had lived in America for a long time and had quite a bit of experience in the American Association, so she thought she could just do it like before, but….

‘Prohibition of violence among employees, prohibition of swearing, prohibition of hazing…. If everything is prohibited, what’s the fun in working?’

As the American Association’s affiliation was changed to directly under WDSO Headquarters, the same rules as WDSO Headquarters began to apply.

Thanks to this, Han Yu-bin had no choice but to continue a dull, boring, and peaceful work life that was completely different from what she had imagined.

In fact, even the work hasn’t started yet because the investigation into the F-Zone Project hasn’t been completed yet.

Therefore, Han Yu-bin’s daily routine consisted of nothing more than going to work and staring out the window for nine hours like now.

“Haa….”

Her sigh echoed deeply once more in the office.

The streets of Long Island, with countless people coming and going, came into view through the window.

A man running somewhere urgently, a woman jogging with earphones in.

And children following their parents.

Han Yu-bin was lost in thought for a moment, looking at the leisurely scenery.

Around the age when she was about to enter kindergarten, Han Yu-bin was adopted to America with Han Sang-hyuk.

She didn’t know the reason.

Now, she just assumes that there were circumstances among the adults.

After coming to America like that.

It was a series of events that she didn’t want to think about.

The days she was beaten by her drug-addict adoptive father.

The days she was afraid every night, hiding in the closet and trembling.

The days she had to suppress it inside because there was no place to ask for help.

Then one day, her ability manifested.

The back alley life she continued after barely escaping from home.

The hunter association she entered by chance.

There were countless things in between, but Han Yu-bin decided not to recall them.

She closed her eyes for a moment and cleared the fragments of memories floating in her head one by one.

“……”

Han Yu-bin took out her cell phone and, after hesitating for a moment, pressed a familiar number.

Beep, beep—

After a brief ringing tone.

“…Oh, it’s me.”

“No, just… I was wondering if you’re doing well.”

She spoke those words into the phone with an awkward tone and looked at the window again.

The warm sunlight was added to the leisurely scenery she had seen earlier, and the world felt so peaceful.

“The weather is really nice.”