WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 55: 055

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China. Beijing.

Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China.

Minister's Office.

-Bang!

Feng Tianxia, the Minister of the MSS and a Commissioner General, slammed his desk hard.

He had received a truly shocking report.

"What?! Our Hunter special operations unit was completely wiped out? What kind of bullshit is that?!"

Thirty-six members of the Hunter special operations unit had been dispatched to Korea.

Now he had received word that they had all died for nothing.

It was impossible to believe.

"How could those Korean National Intelligence Service bastards kill our people?!"

Korea's National Intelligence Service only had a handful of Middle Floors Hunters in its own Hunter special operations unit.

There was no way their forces could have stopped them.

Our Hunter special operations unit had been wiped out?

How?

Deputy Commissioner General Yan Zihe spoke quietly.

"That is not all. A Type 039C submarine from the Northern Fleet, which had been deployed as their escape route, was destroyed."

"What? Why was the submarine destroyed too?!"

"Please look at this, Commissioner General."

Rustle.

Yan Zihe pulled out several photographs.

They had been taken by reconnaissance satellites over the Yellow Sea.

Commissioner General Feng Tianxia frowned.

"This is..."

"There was a massive explosion. The submarine was sunk by the blast."

"Those insane Korean bastards! Was it a missile? Are they actually trying to start a war?!"

"I don't believe so. There are no signs whatsoever that a missile was used. Even Hyunmoo-5, Korea's most powerful current missile, could not produce this level of destructive force."

"Then what the hell happened?"

"...Our current intelligence network cannot obtain any more information. I request additional field operatives."

"Approved. Deploy more agents to the peninsula immediately."

China sent additional operatives into the Korean Peninsula.

That evening, numerous suspicious figures crossed the Yalu River, while others slipped into Korea by plane and ship.

At the same time, in the United States.

Langley, Virginia.

Office of the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

"Thirty-six members of China's MSS Hunter special operations unit have been wiped out."

"Wiped out? How? That should be impossible with the Korean Hunter special operations unit's capabilities."

James Wilson, the director of the CIA, looked puzzled.

This was unexpected news.

His subordinate continued.

"According to data the National Security Agency extracted from the National Intelligence Service's network... they received help from a certain 'Hunter.'"

"Who was this Hunter? If they killed thirty-six High Floor Hunters, they must be a Highest Floors Hunter. Was it Choi Yejin?"

"That is... we don't know yet. The National Intelligence Service recently purged the Fourth Deputy Director's office, so most of our previous channels have become unusable. We need some time to rebuild our network."

The National Intelligence Service's internal information had once been so full of holes that they could plunder it as though it were their own home.

Now, access had become restricted.

Recently, the First Deputy Director's office had begun a purge within the National Intelligence Service.

As a result, the only information they could currently obtain was the extremely limited data accessible through National Security Agency hacking.

Tsk.

Director Wilson clicked his tongue.

"The days of gathering information easily are over. It was convenient when there were people willing to spill everything in exchange for immigration... Even a country on the brink of destruction struggles until the very end."

"We will secure new collaborators as soon as possible."

"Good. More importantly, have you looked into that explosion in the Yellow Sea? I heard a Chinese submarine was sunk."

"It was not a missile, at the very least. Reconnaissance satellites detected no signs of a missile launch."

"What the hell is going on in Korea...? Mobilize the CIA Seoul Station agents and gather as much information as possible."

"Understood."

The CIA mobilized its local operatives.

The CIA Seoul Station's field agents began working through the night.

Similar events unfolded in intelligence agencies around the world.

"China's MSS Tier 1 Hunter special operations unit was wiped out?"

"Weren't those guys veterans? They spent years operating in India and Southeast Asia."

"An explosion in the Yellow Sea? Is Korea at war with China?!"

"A Chinese submarine was sunk!"

"Deploy additional operatives immediately."

The world's attention began turning toward the Korean Peninsula.

China was enraged.

The United States was on high alert.

Japan was tense.

Europe and Russia were intrigued.

Something abnormal had begun happening in the Republic of Korea, a nation on the brink of destruction.

Whether this was a simple incident...

Or the seed of greater changes to come...

Only time would tell.

* * *

I sent Iing Iing back and returned home.

The first thing I saw when I arrived was...

"Thank goodness. You're safe, Mr. Baek Jiho."

Han Seonga spoke with a relieved expression.

And...

"Hey! Baek Jiho! What the hell were you doing outside?!"

"Sis."

My sister was glaring at me, tears in her eyes as she huffed furiously.

Hmm.

She had woken up after all.

Well, it would have been stranger if she hadn't woken up with all that commotion nearby.

It had happened only a few hundred meters from here.

Fireballs exploding everywhere, electricity flying around, Railgun shots being fired nonstop.

'Every resident of Jungnang-gu must have woken up.'

Wouldn't they have been startled, thinking war had broken out?

Sorry, neighbors of Jungnang-gu.

I'm kind of a noisy person.

Please be understanding.

I'll save the country in return.

While I was thinking such nonsense...

Smack!

My sister grabbed my cheeks and asked.

"Jiho! Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay? I heard Chinese Hunters attacked...!"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I dealt with them all. Who am I? The Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter. Chinese bastards are easy prey for me."

"Jihooo...!"

My sister burst into tears.

She must have been terribly worried after hearing that I had fought Chinese Hunters.

And not just any Chinese Hunters, but dozens of High Floor Hunters.

But there was really no reason to worry.

I think I'm pretty strong.

There had been a few moments when I needed to stay alert, but overall, it had been an easy fight.

At this point, even if a few High Floor Hunters came at me together, I didn't feel scared at all.

Then my sister said something that left me no choice but to fall silent.

"Mom and Dad are both gone... If something happened to you too..."

"..."

She had used the ultimate cheat code.

Seriously.

Why bring up Mom and Dad?

Now I had no choice but to apologize properly.

"I'm sorry, sis. I won't make you worry anymore."

"Sniff... Sob..."

"Sis, look at this. Bleh, bleh, bleh. Funny face."

"You crazy bastard...!"

I tried making my ultimate funny face to cheer her up.

-Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Instead, she got even more furious and began punching my chest repeatedly.

For someone who was crying while hitting me...

There was a lot of force behind those fists.

My sister treated me like a punching bag just because Hunters had tough bodies.

I wished she would cherish her little brother a little more.

Anyway...

"Sis, I'm really okay."

"Really?"

"Really. Sorry for making you worry. Go get some sleep. You probably woke up because of me."

I soothed and coaxed my sister back into her room.

After worrying herself sick, she must have relaxed when she saw that I was fine, because fatigue seemed to hit her all at once.

Her eyes were unfocused as she stumbled into her room.

Once I had sent her inside...

"That was reckless, Mr. Baek Jiho. Facing China's Hunter special operations unit alone."

Han Seonga, who had watched the little scene between my sister and me, spoke up.

I turned to look at her.

She continued.

"Mr. Baek Jiho is the hope of the Republic of Korea. You must not take such risks. I know you do not find our National Intelligence Service reliable... but please, trust us."

"If I hadn't stepped in, many National Intelligence Service agents would have died."

"That is a risk we can accept. I can accept it. So can my colleagues. To protect you, Mr. Baek Jiho, we would gladly give our lives."

Han Seonga spoke with determined conviction.

Honestly, though, it was a little burdensome.

She was seriously saying she would sacrifice her life to protect me.

It felt a little unhinged.

As I made a put-off expression, Han Seonga relaxed her stiff expression and smiled.

"...But I forgot to say this first. Thank you, Mr. Baek Jiho."

Bow.

Han Seonga lowered her head to me.

It was different from her previous stiff, bureaucratic bow. This one was more natural, more heartfelt.

She continued.

"If you had not stepped in, Mr. Baek Jiho... many people would have been sacrificed. My colleagues and I, perhaps even civilians, could have been caught up in it."

"..."

"As Han Seonga the person, not as an official of the Republic of Korea... I sincerely thank you."

I snickered.

I roughly understood.

Han Seonga, the National Intelligence Service agent and government official, had no choice but to stop me from doing something dangerous.

But Han Seonga the person, who had nearly lost colleagues she had grown attached to, was grateful to me.

I shrugged.

"It's nothing. If you can do something, you have to do it. My hero Peter said so. With great power comes great responsibility!"

"Peter? That name was not in our existing files... It seems you have recently made a foreign friend. Please be careful. He may be an overseas operative, like Rachel from the CIA."

"Peter is American, but he's not an operative."

Peter wasn't an operative. He was a hero!

Oh, right.

Hearing Rachel's name reminded me of something I had forgotten.

I took the pocket watch out of my pocket.

"Han Seonga, please return this to Rachel. Tell her I used it well too."

"This is... an invisibility artifact."

I was returning the invisibility artifact I had taken from Rachel.

A pocket watch-type invisibility artifact.

It was a truly incredible item.

Its fuel consumption was insane, devouring one Point per second, but it was incredibly useful for that price.

Thanks to this, I had been able to fire magic outside without worrying about people noticing. Even stealth flying with Iing Iing had gone smoothly.

Ah, I really want it.

I want to keep it!

If I followed my heart, I would swallow it up for myself.

But I gave up.

If I took an artifact worth at least a trillion won, it would definitely cause a diplomatic dispute.

It was unfortunate, but returning it was the right thing to do.

"Understood. I will deliver it to Rachel. But... Mr. Baek Jiho?"

"Yes?"

"You need to loosen your grip for me to take it..."

Oh.

I must have been gripping it too tightly because I didn't want to give it up.

When I loosened my hand, Han Seonga took the pocket watch.

I watched it leave my grasp with longing eyes.

'Bye-bye, my beautiful invisibility artifact...'

Someday, I'll make enough money and buy one.

It's impossible now.

But if I make a lot of money later, couldn't I buy at least one?

Speaking of money...

I had probably made quite a lot today.

"Um, those spoils from the Chinese Hunters I killed. Did you collect them all?"

"Yes. The cleanup is complete. We collected twelve Grade 2 combat artifacts and some equipment. After the investigation confirms that they are safe, we will send them to you, Mr. Baek Jiho."

"Oh."

It seemed they had found twelve Grade 2 combat artifacts at the scene.

I felt better immediately.

Grade 2 artifacts were worth at least ten billion won each.

And there were twelve of them...

Had I made at least 120 billion won?

'I can buy that Hannam-dong mansion right away...!'

Those Chinese Hunter special operations unit bastards.

They had been annoying and troublesome...

But I liked this.

I could grind through hundreds or thousands of Orcs and only make a few hundred million won.

Yet I killed only a few dozen Chinese bastards and earned more than 100 billion won!

I could feel my favorability toward China suddenly soaring.

The endless waters of the Yangtze flow onward!

Was this what they called China money?

"...You have worked hard today, Mr. Baek Jiho. Please get some rest."

"Get home safely too, Han Seonga."

"Yes. Then..."

Click.

Han Seonga left.

The living room became quiet.

I muttered softly.

"Should I sleep soon?"

After that, I prepared for bed normally.

I showered quickly, changed clothes, and dove onto my bed.

I pulled up the blanket and closed my eyes.

Just as I was about to fall asleep...

"..."

Sleep wouldn't come at all.

Whenever I closed my eyes...

I saw them.

The Chinese Hunters whose heads had exploded from Railgun shots.

Those who had been torn apart by high-pressure water.

Those who had been blown into pieces by explosions.

They passed through the darkness behind my closed eyelids like a panorama.

My heart pounded.

Cold sweat ran down my body, and my fingertips turned chilly.

I thought I could smell blood at the tip of my nose.

Even though I had washed thoroughly.

I opened my eyes again.

"Ah, fuck..."

It seemed killing people had shocked me more than I expected.

When I was killing them, I had only felt disgusted. But after I calmed down, my mind felt unsettled.

Ah, I was screwed for sleep tonight.

"I'll check Hunter Gallery."

Hunter Gallery was the best place to change my mood quickly and easily.

I picked up my smartphone and opened Hunter Gallery.

What I saw was...

[Breaking News) President's Emergency Statement]

[I'm waiting for a plane at Incheon International Airport, but what the hell? The western sea suddenly turned red and there was thunder.]

[I woke up because of a disaster alert...]

[Isn't this going to turn into a war?]

[I live in Jungnang-gu, and there were gunshots and explosions going off like crazy.]

[The president's announcement says there was a clash with a Chinese Hunter special operations unit.]

[Let's have one satisfying war before the country collapses.]

...

Hunter Gallery was complete chaos.

It looked like the midnight commotion had turned into quite a big deal.

So disaster alerts had gone out too.

Well, with that much chaos in Seoul and off the coast of Incheon, it was only natural that a disaster alert would be issued.

I scratched my cheek.

'Hmm. So I didn't just wake up the residents of Jungnang-gu. I woke up the entire population of the Republic of Korea.'

I had unintentionally rung a wake-up alarm for the whole nation.

Sorry, citizens of the Republic of Korea.

I'm kind of a noisy person.

Please be understanding.

I'll save the country in return.

Anyway, as I browsed Hunter Gallery...

'I want to stir things up.'

I was Hunter Gallery's Extreme Lunatic Hell beloved regular.

If there was bait, I couldn't resist trolling.

I wrote a post.

[Post Title: I'm an insider, and I'll tell you what really happened.]

[Author: Blue Dot]

I actually did all that...

This newbie Hunter...

Was sleeping peacefully at night...

But there was a Chinese Hunter special operations unit in Jungnang-gu.

They were keeping me from sleeping.

So I just killed them all...

Then I went to the Yellow Sea and blew up a Chinese ship that had invaded our territorial waters, sinking it.

It was a really fulfilling day.

So today's earnings!

A bunch of artifacts dropped by the Chinese Hunter Special Task Force!

I haven't calculated everything properly yet.

But I think this is going to be a huge profit...?

This is China money, huh? Nice!

You guys should attack China too. Money comes out.

Anyway.

This raccoon guy dealt with the Chinese people causing trouble in our country, so rest easy!

└You crazy bastard, is this really the time for that?

└Wow, this guy is the real deal.

└Ah, I just noticed the username, fuck. This bastard is doing this shit at dawn now too...

└You woke up because of a disaster alert, and the first thing you do is troll on Hunter Gallery? Is this real, Blue Dot?

└China's Hunter special operations unit is made up of High Floor Hunters. They're fucking strong. How would you kill them, idiot?

└└Blue Dot: Why can't I kill them? You just do this and that, and then you kill them. Don't tell me you can't kill High Floor Hunters? Disappointing.

└└Bullshit.

└Hunter Gallery's beloved regular, Blue Dot, displays exceptional trolling skills today as well. I have learned much.

└└Blue Dot: Blush, blush.

└└That wasn't praise, you crazy bastard.

...

"Hehehe."

Seeing the Hunter Gallery users' reactions made me laugh.

As expected, no one believed me.

Seriously, this was why commoners were commoners!

No one understood even when I told them the truth!

How tragic!

Still, I felt a little better.

Mindlessly posting nonsense on the community and stirring things up had refreshed my mood.

Now I could sleep peacefully.

I closed Hunter Gallery and shut my eyes.

Sleep quickly swept over me.

My late-night stroll was over.

* * *

National Intelligence Service.

Office of the First Deputy Director.

"Deputy Director, the intelligence agencies of the entire world are focusing their attention on this incident."

"..."

Han Seonga spoke quietly.

The person listening to her was none other than Han Jiwon, the First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service.

Han Jiwon was currently emerging as the true power within the National Intelligence Service.

Han Seonga continued.

"The purge in the Fourth Deputy Director's office is complete, so we have blocked information leaks as much as possible... but other countries' interest is too high. It is impossible to completely conceal Mr. Baek Jiho's information. The more information leaks, the fiercer the competition to recruit Mr. Baek Jiho will become."

"It can't be helped. The United States, China, Europe, and Russia are all watching us now. The United States and China have already noticed Baek Jiho's existence too... So?"

"Therefore, I propose that we proceed with a formal contract with Mr. Baek Jiho."

Han Seonga brought up Baek Jiho's "formal contract."

A formal contract.

A contract establishing a Hunter's national affiliation.

Under the London Convention, any country that wished to recruit a Hunter with a formal contract had to negotiate with that Hunter's country.

China and Russia might be difficult to stop.

But they could at least block recruitment attempts from the United States and Europe.

Han Seonga continued.

"We should announce to the world that the Republic of Korea has a sixth Hunter who came from Hard-rank."

Footnotes:

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