Chapter 35: Big News (2)
“Damn it… Soo-ho, do I really have to live like this?”
President Jeong had just finished recounting everything that happened to him last night at the hands of that lunatic.
Yoon Soo-ho, who had listened quietly, spoke with an indifferent face.
“It’s hard to believe.”
“Of course it’s hard to believe. If I heard this story, I’d call it bullshit too. But just look at my condition.”
President Jeong lay in bed, his entire body wrapped tightly in bandages.
He had converted the entire lounge into a private hospital room, receiving treatment from his personal physician.
He had received basic healing from a healing-type Hunter within the Black Society, but even that ability couldn’t fully restore him.
“No matter how vicious that bastard was, even a 4th-grade healing skill can’t fix this.”
He didn’t know if a 3rd-grade or higher healer could do it, but calling one in the first place was the problem.
It wasn’t just about money—information about an incident in the Black Society could leak.
That’s why he hadn’t gone to a hospital and was lying here like this.
“So… you still don’t know which organization he belongs to?”
“It feels like Dark Horse, yet somehow not. I thought maybe National Intelligence Service, but I’m not sure. Or it could be a third faction.”
“GODS…”
Yoon Soo-ho muttered under his breath.
A faint trace of anger seeped into his usually emotionless voice.
Sensing that emotion, President Jeong swallowed hard and spoke cautiously.
“But isn’t there usually only one kind of Korean who operates with this level of information blackout? A secret agent.”
“It’s probably not a secret agent. They don’t handle things this way. Unless the Intelligence Department Director has suddenly gone insane, there’s no reason for them to touch you, hyung-nim.”
“…That makes sense.”
President Jeong nodded in agreement.
But the question still wasn’t fully resolved.
After a brief moment of silence, Yoon Soo-ho spoke.
“Anyway, perfect timing. I actually needed your help with something, hyung-nim.”
“Me? Help you?”
“I’ll have to announce the full death of the SP Guild soon, but the current situation is problematic. I need a few news stories to drop at the same time.”
President Jeong’s expression darkened as if he had already guessed what was coming.
“You’re planning to use our guys?”
“They can get some rest and recovery while they’re inside for a short stint. Once things calm down, I’ll request a special pardon from the President.”
“Hmm…”
After a moment of hesitation, President Jeong made up his mind and spoke.
“Fine. In exchange, can you find that lunatic and get revenge for me? If I can’t find Ma Du-hwan, he might come back to kill me.”
“I can get revenge. As long as I know where he’s hiding.”
The moment Yoon Soo-ho finished speaking—
Ring ring—
The phone rang from President Jeong’s pocket.
He flinched violently.
The unpleasant memory from last night flashed back.
He steadied himself, took out the smartphone, and checked the caller ID.
“…Lee Ju-hong?”
Just like last night, a call from Lee Ju-hong.
But as far as President Jeong knew, Lee Ju-hong had been taken out by that lunatic.
He hadn’t seen exactly what happened because the man had his head slammed into the ground, but he had clearly felt Lee Ju-hong’s mana vanish entirely.
“Didn’t you say Lee Ju-hong got taken out by that lunatic too?”
“Let’s find out when I answer…”
President Jeong swallowed hard and picked up the call.
“Lee Ju-hong?”
—President Jeong, how’s the body?
It was the lunatic.
The casual tone made President Jeong’s entire body throb with phantom pain.
—You’re with Yoon Soo-ho, right? Put him on.
Goosebumps rose across President Jeong’s skin. His eyes darted around suspiciously.
He wondered if there were hidden cameras or bugs.
—President Jeong, did you already forget what I said yesterday?
“N-No, I didn’t. I’ll put him on right away.”
President Jeong hurriedly handed the smartphone to Yoon Soo-ho.
Even then, Yoon Soo-ho’s expression showed little change.
With visible annoyance, he took the phone and reluctantly brought it to his ear.
—Soo-ho, nice to talk to you.
“…”
—Why so quiet again?
Even in the face of the lunatic’s provocation, Yoon Soo-ho simply ignored him.
His eyes were tinged with boredom.
And then—
—Aren’t you curious how Min Hae-joon died in the contaminated zone? Or what GODS was planning to do in Hongcheon?
For the first time, a spark flickered in Yoon Soo-ho’s lifeless eyes.
“You… are you from GODS?”
—I can arrange a meeting. Come to the Hongcheon Contaminated Zone.
“Don’t run away.”
Swoosh—
Leaving behind a blue afterimage, Yoon Soo-ho vanished.
He even took the smartphone with him. President Jeong muttered under his breath.
“…Guess I should change my phone after this.”
***
Kwa-tz-tz-tz—
Chae So-young was pushed back, scraping across the Creep-covered ground.
Biting her lip tightly, she scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.
A strange energy flow, a mix of blue and red.
She had finally reached the stage where she could visually perceive the psionic energy Chae Jin-young was emitting.
At this point, if she could simply awaken the faint energy inherent in her mind, she would have completed the first stage.
“Try releasing the energy the way you release mana.”
“…”
Chae So-young closed her eyes and focused her mind.
While she concentrated, Chae Jin-young received a report from the tentacle.
It was the parasite he had implanted in President Jeong’s body.
『President Jeong met someone. For a human, the amount of mana is quite substantial.』
‘More than the GODS guys?’
『Similar, but slightly higher.』
There was only one possibility—Yoon Soo-ho.
Chae Jin-young took out Lee Ju-hong’s phone and immediately dialed President Jeong.
In areas thick with toxic fog, signals didn’t work, but this was the mid-zone, so it was fine.
“You’re with Yoon Soo-ho, right? Put him on.”
Chae Jin-young recalled what he knew about Yoon Soo-ho from the pre-regression timeline.
He had awakened the unique ability ‘Rupture’ and reached 1st-grade in less than four years.
For one year after becoming 1st-grade, he had roamed not only domestically but across the world, making his mark.
Then suddenly, he returned to Korea, stayed shut in for several months, and entered politics.
He joined the ruling Peace Party and simultaneously took on the role of Association President.
That was the current point in time.
‘Two years later, he was elected Mayor of Seoul and enjoyed a successful political career… until he was suddenly assassinated.’
Yoon Soo-ho had been a talent so exceptional that he was considered one of the few in the world who could become a Zero-grade Hunter.
No one knew exactly why he had entered politics.
He wasn’t a freshly minted 1st-grade Hunter—he had been hailed as Korea’s future Zero-grade.
Even after taking a long break, assassinating someone of his caliber wasn’t something ordinary 1st-grade Hunters could manage.
‘There were rumors that China’s Zero-grade Hunter was involved.’
But at the time, China had been preoccupied with a disaster-grade dungeon that appeared in Nanjing and had no room to care about anything else.
The most likely suspect was GODS.
—You… are you from GODS?
Even though Yoon Soo-ho’s voice sounded normal, Chae Jin-young detected the faint tremor.
The man was furious.
The speculation that something must have happened with GODS during that one year of global activity was starting to prove correct.
—Don’t run away.
Yoon Soo-ho’s chilling warning came through.
The plan to draw him out had succeeded.
He had probably used his lightning-fast ability to reach the Hongcheon Contaminated Zone in an instant.
Now all that remained was finding each other in this vast area.
Tzzzt-tz-tz-tz—
Chae Jin-young released a massive amount of psionic energy from his body, spreading it wide.
Then he spoke to Chae So-young, who was still deeply focused.
“Let’s go, little sister.”
“…Huh? Go where?”
“We’re going to treat Yoon Soo-ho’s lethargy. You watch the scene with your own eyes. It’ll help you to some extent.”
“Yoon Soo-ho…?”
Chae So-young wondered if she had misheard.
The Yoon Soo-ho who was called the strongest in Korea and served as Association President?
She knew her brother was strong, but she had never seen him fight in person.
So the idea of him fighting Yoon Soo-ho didn’t quite register.
“Is this really okay?”
“Hmm… I think it’s that direction.”
Chae Jin-young, sensing the wave of psionic energy, changed direction.
After moving a short distance, a single unfamiliar figure appeared in the distance.
“Oh, there he is.”
The moment Chae Jin-young spoke—
The figure in the distance vanished in an instant.
Swoosh—
Yoon Soo-ho appeared behind Chae Jin-young and unleashed a massive surge of mana.
Right before that, Chae So-young’s body was lifted into the air by psychokinesis.
With a tremendous tearing sound, the space ripped apart in all directions.
Tskwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The Creep-covered ground split and overturned, sending up thick clouds of dust mixed with the toxic Creep fog.
The next instant—
Kwaaaaaang!
With an earth-shaking roar, Chae Jin-young’s figure shot upward into the air.
***
Chae So-young knew exactly how incredible a Hunter Yoon Soo-ho was.
If not for the Guardian Guild he led, Gwangju would likely have become a second Hongcheon.
Thanks to his successful clearance of a 1st-grade dungeon, Yoon Soo-ho and the Guardian Guild’s reputation had spread worldwide.
He had been invited to high-risk dungeon raids all over the globe and led many of them to success.
The key figure in every victory was none other than Yoon Soo-ho.
Physical prowess, mana capacity, mastery of his unique ability, and skill proficiency—nothing was lacking. He was called the perfect Hunter.
His signature ability, ‘Rupture,’ destroyed everything in every direction.
Combined with his lightning-fast movement, he was infamous for charging in like a thunderbolt and sweeping everything away.
The moment her brother Chae Jin-young spotted Yoon Soo-ho, Chae So-young felt a sudden wave of anxiety.
And sure enough—
Swoosh—
The instant Yoon Soo-ho appeared behind Chae Jin-young, her body rocketed upward like a missile.
The next moment—
Tskwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
The entire area was instantly destroyed, thick fog obscuring everything.
But having awakened to psionic energy, Chae So-young could clearly feel her brother’s energy.
If he could die this easily, he wouldn’t have been so confident.
Just as she started to feel relieved—
‘The mana…!’
She sensed Yoon Soo-ho unleashing another massive surge of mana.
At least 1.5 times more than when he used Rupture earlier.
Kwaaaaaang!
A ground-shaking roar pierced Chae So-young’s ears, leaving them ringing.
‘Destroyer…’
Yoon Soo-ho’s beloved weapon, Destroyer.
A massive warhammer that amplified the power of his unique ability ‘Rupture’ many times over.
A direct hit would leave not even a corpse behind.
In the moment the roar echoed, her brother’s figure burst through the fog and soared into the sky.
“A-are you okay?”
Chae So-young asked, looking at Chae Jin-young wrapped in psionic energy.
Not a speck of dust on him—he looked perfectly fine, which only made her stammer more.
“Still got some fight left in him. This is going to be fun to break.”
Chae Jin-young released even more energy to fly.
Moving others was easy, but moving his own body required far more power.
Swoosh—
With psychokinesis, Chae Jin-young cleared the fog.
Yoon Soo-ho stared upward with a ferocious glare.
He yanked the massive warhammer out of the ground and spoke.
“So there was another traitor from GODS hiding in Korea. How’s that bastard who defected three years ago doing these days?”
Yoon Soo-ho was convinced Chae Jin-young belonged to GODS.
“He’s probably living just fine on his own. Shouldn’t you worry about yourself first?”
Kwa-tz-tz-tz-tz…
Blue sparks began crackling across Yoon Soo-ho’s body.
The released mana swirled violently like a raging current.
Chae Jin-young nodded in satisfaction.
“Definitely better than Min Hae-joon.”
The moment he finished speaking, Yoon Soo-ho kicked off the ground and launched himself upward.
Kwa-jijik! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
The mana bursting from Yoon Soo-ho’s body tore cracks through the air.
And right before Destroyer could reach Chae Jin-young’s body—
Kwa-deudeudeuk—
As if blocked by an invisible force, the hammer stopped dead.
Yoon Soo-ho’s face flushed red as he strained with all his might, but all he could manage was trembling.
Chae Jin-young, eyes calm and lowered, spoke quietly.
“How long has it been since you last trained?”
“…”
Yoon Soo-ho didn’t react to the sudden question.
He simply gritted his teeth, determined to move the hammer somehow.
But instead, the hammer began to be pushed backward.
Yoon Soo-ho, Korea’s strongest Hunter, who had once dominated the world as a 1st-grade.
This was only the second time in his life someone had completely prevented him from even making contact.
The first was about three years ago—the overwhelming being known as ‘Godfather.’
And now.
Armed with an unknown power, Chae Jin-young flicked his finger and said,
“Starting today, you die.”
Swoooosh— Kwaaaaaang!
Yoon Soo-ho’s body was driven straight down through the Creep-covered ground, deep into the earth.
Swoosh—
Chae Jin-young dragged him back up just as quickly and spoke.
“And then you are reborn.”
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