Chapter 53: The Seven Prophets (2)
“Stalker! How could you do this to me? I gave you my body—everything!”
Zhu Meiling screamed at Dmitri Petrov with a face twisted in fury.
But Dmitri merely shrugged.
“So what? Should I give it back? Too bad there’s no way.”
He looked at the outrageously indignant Zhu Meiling in utter disbelief.
Who exactly had pushed him to the brink of death? And now she was spouting nonsense like this?
“Ah, no—my friend will pay it back with interest.”
Dmitri grinned brightly, as if he could already see Zhu Meiling’s grim future laid out before him.
“……”
At his shameless attitude, Zhu Meiling’s eyes widened in shock; her mouth opened and closed wordlessly.
Watching the two exchange incomprehensible babble, Jin-young pulled a professional interpreter out of his subspace.
The summoned Jacob Harrison looked around and spoke.
“Where are we?”
“Zhu Meiling’s secret hideout.”
At Jin-young’s reply, Jacob spotted Zhu Meiling and nodded.
“I’ve heard the name Zhu Meiling. Not much, though.”
“What? And who the hell are you? When did you get in here?”
Bound by Jin-young’s psychokinesis, Zhu Meiling could only hear Jacob’s voice—she couldn’t see him.
“Zhu Meiling. You said you know one of GODS’s prophets pretty well. Is that true?”
Jacob translated Jin-young’s words directly into English.
In that brief instant, Zhu Meiling’s mind raced.
The greatest assassin in GODS—the Stalker—had submitted.
The protective barrier of black mana she had wrapped around herself was utterly useless.
She couldn’t even twitch a finger.
In other words, physical resistance was meaningless.
That left only one option.
Cooperate for now—and deploy her specialty: the beauty trap.
If only she could move her body, it would be perfect, but she was confident she could bewitch men worldwide with her voice alone.
It wasn’t mere arrogance.
Zhu Meiling possessed a unique ability: ‘Enchantment.’
She had kept it hidden all this time, saving it for a crisis exactly like this.
Even without using the ability, so many men fell for her charm that it had naturally stayed concealed.
But once activated, no man had ever resisted.
Except the Godfather.
“Yes, that’s right. I know one of GODS’s prophets very well. But there’s just one thing I’d like to ask—may I?”
She spoke in the most seductive, honeyed tone imaginable—like jade beads rolling across silk.
The moment Jin-young heard the translation, without a flicker of hesitation, he snapped her fingers one by one.
Crack— crack— crack-crack!
“Ughhhk!”
Thanks to Sensory Manipulation amplifying the pain exponentially, the mere breaking of fingers was enough to make her mind reel.
“Where do you get off trying to drug me? Do you think you’re in a position to make requests?”
She had never imagined her Enchantment would fail against this lunatic.
Was he impotent or something?
“That request—should I grant it? You’d do it for me, right?”
Meanwhile, Dmitri—already caught in Zhu Meiling’s Enchantment—approached with a greasy, lustful voice.
Zhu Meiling shot him a look of pure contempt.
Crack—
“Aaah! That wasn’t me—I didn’t mean to!”
Dmitri’s fingers snapped under psychokinesis; he snapped back to his senses and shouted.
Jin-young clicked his tongue in disapproval and stuffed Dmitri back into subspace.
Zhu Meiling’s Enchantment was practically poison to almost every hunter.
Of course, against something as abnormal as a Zero-grade, it would be detected and neutralized before it could take effect.
But against Jin-young, the ability didn’t work at all.
Her Enchantment couldn’t even scratch the surface of his abnormally vast mental world—not even as much as dirt under a fingernail.
“Tch. How the hell did the Stalker end up this broken…?”
Jacob, watching the scene, clicked his tongue.
Perhaps because he was completely dominated by Jin-young’s mental domain, he too remained unaffected by Zhu Meiling’s Enchantment.
Dmitri clearly hadn’t been fully brainwashed yet.
“I was presumptuous. I’ll tell you everything I know about the prophets, so please—calm your anger.”
Her brother Zhu Yinchang had risen from the lowest ranks of the People’s Liberation Army all the way to commander.
She herself had started as a prostitute in the underworld and climbed to become the Dragon Head of the Red Flower Society.
She had struggled, flailed, and survived dozens—hundreds—of life-or-death situations.
Switching survival strategies was as easy as flipping her hand.
This time, the tactic was to cooperate while sounding as pitiful as possible.
Any human would have at least some pity, sympathy, or compassion.
“Should’ve done that from the start. Why do all of you only come to your senses after getting beaten?”
Jin-young shook his head in exasperation.
“I dared to disrespect someone so great. I apologize for my rudeness.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Aren’t you the secret agent who operates in the shadows of Korea?”
Zhu Meiling was certain.
A Korean speaker, an overwhelmingly powerful hunter whose identity remained hidden, and someone who treated the Stalker like a slave.
Every piece of evidence pointed to the secret agent.
Jin-young, who had been standing behind her, stepped forward and looked down at her.
“Nope.”
“……”
It was an utterly shameless denial, but Zhu Meiling didn’t bother pointing it out.
Once she seemed ready to talk, Jin-young asked his question.
“The prophet you personally know—is it the old Japanese pervert?”
“Yes, yes. Yoshida Satoru. I don’t know his exact age, but he’s in his late 60s—a total pervert.”
Yoshida Satoru, a 1st-grade hunter from Japan. One of GODS’s Seven Prophets.
The Seven Prophets referred to the original seven hunters who first received the Godfather’s grace.
Jin-young didn’t have much information on the prophets, but he had gathered details from Dmitri and Kwak Jeong-min.
Normally, they stayed out of the front lines, managing GODS branches around the world and issuing orders on the Godfather’s behalf.
Occasionally, they moved directly on the Godfather’s command.
“I already know the name and the pervert part. What I want to know is where he is right now and what he’s doing.”
Jin-young had heard the basics about Yoshida Satoru from Kwak Jeong-min.
“That old geezer is in Taiwan right now. He’s staying there temporarily for the Great Purification.”
If it was a “Great Purification” operation being carried out by GODS in Taiwan, Jin-young had one immediate guess.
“Taiwan’s demonic transformation.”
“What’s that?”
Jacob asked without translating, turning to Jin-young.
“Exactly what it sounds like. Just like the North Korean contaminated zones once called demonic realms, most of Taiwan’s territory is being turned into contaminated zones.”
“I’ve never heard of GODS planning something like that.”
The longer Jacob stayed in Jin-young’s subspace, the more outdated his information naturally became.
But there was a reason he wouldn’t know.
‘In the original timeline, this wasn’t supposed to happen this year. They must have been in a real hurry.’
Jin-young grew curious about the deeper motive behind Taiwan’s demonic transformation.
Before the regression, GODS’s involvement hadn’t been exposed, and with incidents erupting simultaneously across the world—not just Taiwan—the event hadn’t received proper attention.
From the perspective of China’s GODS faction—like Zhu Yinchang—there was no reason to turn Taiwan into unusable land.
After China became a hunter superpower, Taiwan had already been on the verge of forced incorporation; independence was practically impossible.
‘If a prophet is involved, that means it’s under the Godfather’s direct orders…’
This was likely just one piece of a much larger plan.
An event that would unfold three years from now—one Jin-young didn’t yet know about.
“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
When Jin-young fell silent in thought, Zhu Meiling—growing anxious—spoke first.
“Is there a smuggling route to Taiwan?”
“Of course. You can take a light aircraft from the outskirts, or there’s a slower but more reliable boat route.”
“Good. Let’s go by plane.”
At Jin-young’s words, Zhu Meiling’s pupils trembled violently. Her face filled with panic.
“N-Now?”
“Why? Should I have booked tickets in advance?”
“No, it’s just… right now Liu Qinglong has his eyes wide open, hunting down GODS members. If I get caught by public security while going out, I’ll…”
She looked up at Jin-young with pleading, tearful eyes.
Her strategy to evoke pity seemed to be working—she prepared to deliver the finishing blow.
Jin-young dug in his ear and said casually,
“I’m not GODS, though.”
“……”
Despair washed over Zhu Meiling’s face.
***
“Getting thrown into something this big on your very first day… I’m really sorry.”
Korea Awakened Association Secretary General Myung Ji-yoon gave an awkward smile.
Today was the day the Chair of the International Awakener Federation would arrive in Korea.
Since the Association was hosting the meeting, the staff were inevitably busy.
Moreover, Secretary General Myung Ji-yoon and her subordinate Chae So-young would be attending the meeting in person.
Normally a new hire on their first day would be exempt, but Association President Yoon Soo-ho had personally insisted on including her, leaving no choice.
Chae So-young waved her hands dismissively.
“No, no! It’s actually an amazing opportunity to see world-famous hunters up close. I’m nervous, but also really excited.”
She genuinely considered attending this meeting a stroke of luck.
A chance like this might never come again in her lifetime.
“That’s a relief, then. They’ll be arriving soon, so shall we head over?”
“Yes!”
Chae So-young followed Myung Ji-yoon toward the Association’s first-floor lobby.
The lobby walls were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with reporters holding cameras, and even hunters who rarely visited the Association had turned out in force.
Chae So-young joined the Association staff who had come down ahead of time.
Soon the doors opened, and Association President Yoon Soo-ho appeared alongside Vice President Cha Se-hyeon—and a blonde Caucasian woman.
Hannah Adams, Chair of the International Awakener Federation and the world’s number-one-ranked hunter, a transcendent being.
The moment she stepped in, camera flashes erupted from every direction.
With a graceful smile, she waved lightly to the reporters and walked forward with effortless poise.
“Wow…”
Chae So-young couldn’t tear her eyes away from Hannah Adams’s commanding presence.
She almost forgot her duties and nearly followed the woman’s back like a starstruck fan.
Following behind were hunters of various races—a Black man, an Asian man, and more—all from the International Awakener Federation.
Chae So-young had hoped Shin Soo-jeong from the World Dungeon Control Organization would appear too, but unfortunately she was absent.
She was probably busy leading the Crystal Guild’s elite teams clearing dungeons around the world.
“This way, please.”
Secretary General Myung Ji-yoon gave a light smile and naturally guided everyone toward the conference room.
The hunters found their seats with practiced discipline.
In the beginning, light banter and greetings were exchanged.
“Soo-ho, are you finally returning to your prime?”
A Black hunter asked Yoon Soo-ho in a friendly tone.
Marc Diaby, France’s Zero-grade hunter.
He not only represented French hunters but was also Europe’s top hunter.
In the past, he had raided alongside Yoon Soo-ho.
“Returning to my prime?”
Yoon Soo-ho shook his head.
Marc tilted his head in confusion.
“I’m going to surpass it.”
Yoon Soo-ho raised a finger skyward, his expression resolute.
Marc grinned widely.
“I look forward to the day you join the Zero Club, Soo-ho.”
The casual chatter among the hunters paused for a moment.
Myung Ji-yoon spoke up.
“Then we will now begin the International Awakener Federation meeting.”
The first to speak was none other than Chair Hannah Adams.
“First, on behalf of the Federation, I would like to express our gratitude for eliminating the villain Layla Piper, who had a bounty placed on her by the Federation.”
She turned her gaze toward Yoon Soo-ho and continued.
She spoke about the GODS-related incidents that had occurred in Korea and discussed countermeasures.
“If any GODS-related incidents occur in Korea, Japan will provide full support.”
Japan’s Zero-grade hunter, Tachibana Yutaro, offered.
He had already mentioned earlier that the threat of GODS was growing in Japan as well.
Receiving help from a hunter superpower would be welcome—but the problem was that the helper was Japan.
The secret agent had explicitly warned not to trust Tachibana Yutaro.
“We do not need Japan’s assistance.”
At Yoon Soo-ho’s words, Yutaro looked visibly shaken.
Not only him—the majority of the Federation members in the room were stunned.
“May I ask the reason for the refusal?”
“Instinct.”
“……”
Yutaro was left speechless by the completely illogical response.
The atmosphere in the room turned icy.
Knock knock.
Suddenly someone knocked on the conference room door. A man entered and approached Hannah Adams.
After listening to the man’s whispered report, Hannah furrowed her brow and asked,
“Is that confirmed?”
“Yes.”
She pondered something with a grave expression.
Every eye in the room was fixed on her.
Finally, Hannah spoke.
“Hundreds of Chinese hunters have reportedly been ambushed by an unidentified villain.”
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