The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 64

063

Near Jamsil.

Rushing to the location, I found that the control team, support team, medical unit, and most of the operation team had already arrived.

The Chilseong Guild, who had followed me, looked more serious than ever. Guild Leader Son Jong-hyun, in particular, was almost in a state of panic.

His wife was said to be a member of the ‘Earl Grey’ Guild, which had the accident in that dungeon.

Leaving the distraught man behind, I approached Team Leader Pyeon and quietly asked,

“What exactly happened?”

“The dungeon is an Orange-grade dimensional dungeon. It’s such a dangerous place that we were planning to gather as much information as possible and launch a subjugation operation within the next week… It seems they entered to intercept.”

Team Leader Pyeon replied while checking his tablet PC.

Orange-grade dungeons are places where even the operation team barely enters after thorough preparation.

It meant that it was definitely not a dungeon that a private guild without a systematic system would enter to intercept.

‘They don’t know their place and are making a fuss, so they end up like this.’

I gritted my teeth.

“Are you sure there was an accident? What about the internal situation?”

“The control team’s monitor confirmed their entry into the dungeon an hour ago, and since then, the boss monster’s movement has stopped. We urgently checked with a drone and found the boss room was closed.”

It was devastating news.

There are only two possibilities when the boss room is closed.

First, they didn’t enter the boss room.

Or, they entered the boss room, but a long battle didn’t take place.

If it’s the former, it’s fortunate, but if the current situation is the latter…….

“We believe they were… annihilated.”

“Aaaaaaah!!”

As if he had heard Team Leader Pyeon’s words, Guild Leader Son Jong-hyun’s scream echoed. Then, he lost his mind and rushed towards the dungeon entrance.

“What are you doing! Grab him!”

“Let go! Let go of me, damn it!!”

“What do you think you’re going to do by going in there! It’s Orange-grade! It’s a dangerous place even if you plan an operation and go in!”

“C, calm down for now…!”

The operation team hunters tried to stop him, but he was already completely out of it.

Thwack!

In the end, I went over and punched him in the face.

Even though I tried to control my strength, he seemed to have lost all his strength and collapsed to the floor.

“Calm down. You’ll only increase the damage if you go in there now.”

“…….”

He looked up at me with a blank expression.

“So, you’re saying I should just leave them like that? What, is this their just desserts [deserved fate]?”

“Yes. It’s their just desserts. Why did you fall for that thug’s words and do something presumptuous?”

“You, is that what you should be saying…!”

“And I didn’t say I’d leave them.”

“……?”

Son Jong-hyun’s eyes widened.

I let out a faint sigh and continued.

“We’ll go in. So please, don’t make things worse.”

Son Jong-hyun didn’t move any further. Instead, he just stared at me with a bewildered expression.

“D, Director…….”

At that moment, Team Leader Pyeon approached and whispered cautiously.

“What is it?”

“No matter how I think about it, there’s no reason for us to step in. We don’t have much information either, and we could end up harming the operation team if we try to rescue them. It’s hard to say this… but it’s their just desserts. And even if we go in now, it might be too late……”

I nodded without realizing it.

He was right.

There’s no need for the association to step in when they cause an accident among themselves.

That’s how it is from a cold perspective.

A rescue operation is several times more difficult than a normal subjugation operation. The budget required is enormous, but even if the operation is successful, it’s not a profitable one.

Financially, it’s a complete loss.

However, right now, a no-accident retirement was more important to me than a few hundred million.

Someone else can worry about the costs later.

“Operation Team.”

“Yes!”

“Immediately seal off all areas near the dungeon. If guilds start rushing in after hearing about the accident, nothing will work. Stop anyone from entering, even if you have to use force.”

“Understood.”

“Control Team, report the situation inside the dungeon in real-time.”

“Yes.”

“And Operation Team 1. You’re coming with me.”

Operation Team 1, who was behind me, nodded.

Then, I said to Kim Min-ju.

“Given the nature of the situation, I don’t intend to be lenient. I’ll be in command, so stay focused and follow me.”

“Of course.”

A reply without a hint of a smile.

The members of Team 1 were also more serious than ever.

“Good, everyone, get your gear ready.”

I declared the start of the operation.

***

“An accident?”

The news had just reached Yang Min-ho, who was drinking at a bar.

「Yeah. I have a contact in the police department who just told me. It seems the guild members mistook the dungeon and mistakenly entered an Orange-grade one.」

“Ah, they didn’t mistake it.”

Yang Min-ho replied nonchalantly, holding the phone to his shoulder.

Assemblyman Jeong-hun was quite taken aback by the unexpected answer.

「W, what? If it wasn’t a mistake, then what?」

“When I first gave the guild members the information about the dungeon to intercept, I told them it was a Blue-grade dungeon. Well, they must have believed it wholeheartedly and went in.”

「Why, why would you……?」

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Yang Min-ho retorted in a light tone.

“What better justification for causing conflict than someone dying?”

Assemblyman Jeong-hun couldn’t answer immediately.

He had told him to take care of everything, but he never thought he would be such a madman.

「Well, well, that’s true… but I heard that the association has already started a rescue operation.」

At that moment, Yang Min-ho’s eyebrows twitched.

“……What?”

「Team Leader Kim Min-ju, Operation Team 1, and Director Kim Jun-woo are personally leading the operation.」

“Why the hell is the association doing that? The guild caused that mess. Instead of stopping the interception, they’re rescuing the guild?”

「How would I know? Well… I just heard it, so I’m not sure.」

Yang Min-ho’s mind raced.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand it at all.

An interception rescue operation? What benefit does the association get from that?

Far from benefiting, they’re bound to suffer enormous losses if things go wrong…….

‘Kim Jun-woo… what the hell are you up to, you bastard.’

Yang Min-ho’s eyes flashed.

As he didn’t answer, Assemblyman Jeong-hun spoke again.

「Anyway, since the elite team has stepped in, I think they’ll be rescued. And if they’re rescued, the guild won’t touch the association anymore. Could this… cause problems with the request?”

“Who knows.”

Yang Min-ho tilted his head.

“That’s not a dungeon that an inexperienced operation team leader and a janitor-turned-director can handle.”

「Really?」

“Yes. Rather, they might just make things worse by trying to rescue them.”

Yang Min-ho said, trying to maintain his composure.

Then Assemblyman Jeong-hun seemed a little relieved.

「Okay. Well, you wouldn’t make a mistake. I’ll trust you and wait.」

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

After hanging up, Yang Min-ho sighed deeply. Then, he swirled his glass and organized his thoughts.

He certainly didn’t expect the association to conduct a rescue operation themselves. It was an absurd story from a logical point of view.

However, even if a variable had occurred, he couldn’t change his plan now.

He had no choice but to continue as planned and just hope that the rescue operation would fail.

‘But just in case, I should prepare to cut my tail [sever ties and escape consequences].’

Yang Min-ho’s eyes narrowed.

***

The inside of the dungeon was a dark castle. It was like being transported to the Middle Ages.

Something similar to bats flew around on the all-black exterior walls, and the scenery outside the window was struck by lightning.

“We don’t have much information, so we’ll proceed slowly.”

“Yes.”

I carefully advanced along the large corridor with Operation Team 1.

If it were a dungeon I had subjugated before, I would have rushed straight to the boss room without looking around, but unfortunately, this dungeon was also new to me.

There were too many rooms, and above all, it was too dark, making it difficult to secure visibility. I couldn’t let my guard down because I didn’t know what would pop out from where.

The only fortunate thing was that I knew what the boss was.

In fact, it wasn’t fortunate at all, because all I knew was that its name was Black Tiger Dragon.

Well, even so, since it had the word Dragon in it, I could roughly guess what kind of monster it was.

‘Tsk, flying guys are always tricky.’

As I was muttering to myself, the radio rang.

It was Team Leader Pyeon.

「What is your current location?」

“We just entered and are advancing along the corridor.”

「Ah, if you continue straight, there will be a staircase on your right. If you go up to the top of the stairs, there will be a large door, which is presumed to be the boss room.」

“Understood.”

I replied briefly and then increased my walking speed. Fortunately, no monsters popped out along the way.

Thanks to that, we managed to reach the location Team Leader Pyeon had told us without much difficulty, and we took a moment to catch our breath in front of the large door.

Please just be alive, I repeated to myself, and opened the door.

“…….”

The inside of the room was so dark that you couldn’t see an inch in front of you. It seemed that we had no choice but to go inside to check.

Everyone held their breath and slowly stepped into the room when it happened.

Rustle―.

“……!”

With the sound, a red light flashed from the front.

“D, duck!!”

Pshew―!

Something thin and sharp brushed over my head.

An attack that would have pierced my forehead if I had been a little late.

Everyone was greatly taken aback by the situation where they almost died as soon as they entered, but I quickly raised my hand and ordered them to stop moving.

“Don’t move. It reacts to sound.”

I gave the order in a voice that could barely be heard.

Fortunately, it seemed to have been conveyed, and everyone froze in place.

A situation where even breathing was impossible.

We didn’t know what kind of space it was, where the boss was… and we couldn’t use a powerful skill with a large range because there might be survivors.

‘It’s become more troublesome than I thought…….’

How many minutes had passed without moving even a finger?

As my eyes became accustomed to the darkness, the shape of the space gradually began to appear.

It seemed to be about 100 pyeong [approximately 330 square meters].

The first thing that caught my eye was the silhouettes of many people crouching in the corner on the opposite side. They were the survivors.

‘They’re alive.’

I was truly relieved.

Of course, I couldn’t move rashly. Because I hadn’t found the boss yet.

I looked around the space again, scrutinizing every inch. Before long, I was able to find the boss on the ceiling.

Black Tiger Dragon.

Indeed, true to its name, it had a huge black body, eight red eyes, and eight legs.

‘Shit. Why is that a dragon…?’