WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 73: 073
──────
Morning.
I woke up later than usual.
The commotion last night had kept me up later than usual.
Sitting up in bed, I muttered blankly.
“Should I check Hunter Gallery?”
Was it because I had been mentioned so often on Hunter Gallery lately?
The first thing I did after waking up was check it.
There were countless posts mentioning me, so I made a point of checking them.
This must be the life of a community addict.
Anyway.
I picked up my smartphone and logged into Hunter Gallery.
What greeted me was a chaotic forum.
[Breaking: Government announces Point reserves]
[@@@The country's doomed, giving away gear@@@]
[We held on pretty well considering Kim Taeseok is stranded, right?]
[Going to write my will]
[These fucking inactive bastards are useless. They only earn four Points each???]
[I want to immigrate too. I don't want to die.]
Hunter Gallery was burning with discussions about Points.
I muttered quietly.
“Hmm... Is it already the first? Looks like the government announced its Point reserves.”
The first day of every month was when the government announced its Point reserves.
Back when the Climber Management Department did not exist, anyone could see the Tower's Points.
But after the Climber Management Department was established and the area beneath the Tower was surrounded by its building, the government's announcement had become the only way to check the Point supply.
Anyway.
I slowly read through the posts.
[Post Title: Breaking: Government announces Point reserves]
It's the first, so the government announced its Tower Point reserves.
They say 26 million Points remain.
Last month, the country had 40 million Points.
That's down 14 million Points.
In other words, the monthly Point deficit is still 14 million Points.
Still, we can barely hold on for another two months.
Let's spend those two months making memories with family, friends, and people we know.
And meet our end without regrets...
└The Point deficit is still the same? Why the fuck is it still the same? They deployed ten thousand inactive Hunters, damn it.
└└Inactive Hunters are fucking useless lol. Those bastards only earn an average of four Points a day. Even with ten thousand of them, that's only 1.2 million Points a month.
└└Then shouldn't the Point deficit have dropped by 1.2 million Points? Why is it still the same?
└Kim Taeseok Hunter is stranded, remember? One Highest Floors Hunter who earned at least two million Points every month disappeared. Considering that, we're actually doing pretty well.
└└Oh right, Kim Taeseok Hunter is stranded. It really makes you realize how insane Highest Floors Hunters are. One person earns as many Points as tens of thousands of cash-farmers...
[Post Title: These fucking inactive bastards are useless. They only earn four Points each???]
You fucking pieces of shit.
Risk your lives and climb higher, you fucking bastards.
Are you all just staying on Floor 4 and cash-farming because you're scared of going to Floor 5?
Can you even call yourselves Hunters?
The country's doomed because of these inactive bastards, fuck.
└Being forced to climb the Tower is already shitty enough. How am I supposed to risk my life? Goblin Warriors start appearing from Floor 5, and they're fucking scary.
└└So what, you inactive bastard? If you haven't climbed the Tower all this time, climb more to make up for it. You're just wasting a climber slot, you fucking piece of shit.
[Post Title: Anyway, I think the country's fucked.]
There are no Points, Extreme Lunatic Hell Power Plant or not.
We're doomed.
Is this as far as the Republic of Korea goes?
Going to write my will...
└You still haven't written your will?
└Lol, I already immigrated.
└└Lucky...
[Post Title: We held on pretty well considering Kim Taeseok is stranded, right?]
Kim Taeseok is gone, so monthly Point income dropped by two to three million Points.
And the ten thousand inactive Hunters forcibly deployed under the Hunter General Mobilization Order only earned 1.2 million Points.
Yet the Point income stayed the same.
Wouldn't it normally make sense for the deficit to rise by another 1.3 to 1.5 million Points?
If things stayed the same even after Kim Taeseok disappeared, then aren't we actually holding on pretty well?
└True lol. If we're doing this well even without Kim Taeseok, we're holding on decently enough...
└Did Point income increase because cash-farming floor Hunters are desperately climbing the Tower to immigrate?
└Isn't it because of Blue Dot?
└└If you gather up all the posts he made and calculate it, it looks like he earned over 1.3 million Points in a month.
└└Blue Dot earns that much?
└└He made posts saying he earned hundreds and thousands of Points every day since the Lower Floors, and lately he's been saying he earns hundreds of thousands a day.
└└Is that possible in the Middle Floors?
└Isn't Blue Dot just a Highest Floors Hunter hiding his identity? He's actually active above Floor 42 and pretending to be in the Middle Floors.
└└That does seem more likely... Earning hundreds of thousands a day in the Middle Floors makes no sense.
└└He even got hold of a Magic Stone Reactor, which only appears in the Highest Floors.
└└As expected of the great Blue Dot! That bastard's completely devoted to his persona.
└└Still, things are a little better because Blue Dot exists... I thought the country would collapse in two months instead of three after Kim Taeseok disappeared.
...
Hunter Gallery's atmosphere was complete chaos.
People despairing that the Point deficit had stayed the same.
People relieved that things were better than expected.
People cursing cash-farmers and inactive Hunters.
There were even people looking for this body...
It was a complete mess.
I clicked my tongue.
“The common rabble is trembling with anxiety. I should put them at ease.”
They really did require so much care.
This body was still only in the Middle Floors, yet I was earning hundreds of thousands of Points every day.
Why were they trembling with anxiety...?
Honestly, I would save this country, so they could just relax and live their lives.
With that, I quickly wrote a post.
[Post Title: Hey, I'm going to save this country, so stop being scared]
[Author: Blue Dot]
I'll earn all those Points myself.
So stop freaking out...
The country's Point deficit is 14 million Points, right?
I'm earning over 200,000 Points a day in the Middle Floors.
And I'll be reaching the High Floors soon.
Considering how much my Point income will increase,
I think I can earn 14 million in a month...
I can cover the entire deficit.
So don't worry too much and keep working.
A beef restaurant I visit often might close down, and then I won't be able to eat meat.
As long as this body, the Extreme Lunatic Hell Power Plant Director Hunter, exists, this country will never collapse.
Anyway, common rabble, relax.
Entrust King Korea's security to me!
Oh, and.
A Japanese agent came to make a move on me recently.
She came in the middle of the night wearing a bikini and tried to kidnap me with a Mind Control Artifact and a beauty trap.
But she didn't do the Zero Two dance, so I was offended and smashed her over the head.
Pretty good, right?
└I believe in you, great Blue Dot. Please save the Republic of Korea...
└Thank you, Extreme Lunatic Hell Power Plant Director, for supplying us with cheap electricity.
└Hello, Blue Dot! This is V Daily. We would like to request an interview.
└Do you really earn over 200,000 Points every day? Is the country really not going to collapse?
└└Blue Dot: Yep. I reached Floor 29 yesterday and earned 240,000 Points. I earned 210,000 on Floor 28. So don't worry.
└└What? 200,000 a day means six million Points a month. Isn't that a top-tier Highest Floors Hunter level? Is that possible in the Middle Floors?
└└Blue Dot: I'm an Extreme Lunatic Hell Hunter, so it's completely possible... It would be hard for Hard-rank common rabble, though.
└└What the hell is a Hard-rank common rabble?
└└Aren't you Hard-rank?
└└Blue Dot: I said I'm not Hard-rank, I'm Extreme Lunatic Hell! I'm different from Hard-rank! Different!
└└???
└What's this about a Japanese operation?
└└Blue Dot: I was browsing the gallery last night and about to sleep peacefully when a Japanese agent suddenly showed up in a bikini and tried to kidnap me with a hypnosis app... But she wore a bikini and still didn't do the Zero Two dance, so I got offended and smashed her over the head... She's probably being interrogated in the National Intelligence Service basement by now.
└└??? Is that real?
└└What is this, is it real or a joke? The Zero Two part is so absurd that I can't tell if it's true or bullshit.
└└Blue Dot: It's real. It'll probably be in the news soon.
└└????
└└Wouldn't this be a huge scoop if it's real?
└Japan used a Mind Control Artifact? Isn't that a banned artifact? I thought mental manipulation artifacts were prohibited under the London Convention.
└└Blue Dot: That's right, it's banned. But those Japanese bastards were secretly using it to hypnotize, brainwash, and train Hunters before kidnapping them... I bet all our Normal-rank common rabble who went to Japan got brainwashed too...
└└What the fuck?
└└What the fuck is Japan doing now?
└Those insane Japanese bastards tried to kidnap Blue Dot??? I can't forgive this. From today on, I'm boycotting Japanese anime and figures.
└└Read this post and threw out my PlayStation. Bye.
└└I should throw out all the Uniqlo underwear in my house.
└└Blue Dot: Don't throw out Uniqlo underwear. I wear Uniqlo underwear, and it's good.
└└Blue Dot, you traitorous bastard. How dare you wear Japanese underwear instead of Korean underwear???
└└I'm disappointed, Blue Dot. Please support domestic products.
└Was the Japanese agent pretty?
└└Blue Dot: She was kind of pretty.
└└Fuck, why do you get to see beautiful women in bikinis? That's unfair. I want to see beautiful women in bikinis too.
└└Blue Dot: What's the point when she doesn't do the Zero Two dance?
└└This bastard's just obsessed with Zero Two lol. What's so good about that outdated dance? lol
...
Comments streamed in.
After leaving a few replies, I looked over Hunter Gallery's mood again.
I smirked.
“The mood has finally changed a little.”
Right after I wrote my post, Hunter Gallery's atmosphere had changed completely.
[Breaking: Blue Dot reveals he frequently wears Japanese underwear... Hunter Gallery users condemn him as a traitor.]
[Wearing a bikini but not doing the Zero Two dance is crossing the line, yeah.]
[But if he's talking about the National Intelligence Service, is the country actually doing something?]
[Hypnosis apps really existed in the Tower... I've decided on my dream. I'm going to become a Hunter!]
[Japan is so stupid. If she did the Zero Two dance in front of Blue Dot, he really would have gone to Japan. Tsk tsk.]
[What is Zero Two? I'll go look it up first.]
The gloomy, chaotic atmosphere from before had disappeared.
The topic had shifted to my statements before I knew it.
This was what Hunter Gallery was supposed to be like, with a screw or two loose.
A gloomy atmosphere full of people worrying about reality was not Hunter Gallery at all.
Anyway...
“After today, I'll be a High Floor Hunter right away.”
Today was the day I would climb Floor 30.
Once I passed Floor 30, I would leave the ranks of the Middle Floors common rabble and enter the High Floors.
I would become a proud High Floor Hunter, fully worthy of serving as the Republic of Korea's savior!
“It would be a little disappointing for this body, the Extreme Lunatic Hell Hunter destined to save the Republic of Korea, to reveal itself while still stuck in the Middle Floors.”
I had decided that I would not reveal myself until I reached the High Floors.
And once I cleared Floor 30 today, I would become one of the only sixty High Floor Hunters in the country.
It was not a Floor worthy of the noble and great Extreme Lunatic Hell Hunter...
But at least it would not be embarrassing.
So.
I would clear Floor 30, receive my High Floor Hunter registration card, and proceed with a formal contract.
“Should I get going?”
I waited for Hyeji and Iing Iing.
A little later,
[Entering Tower Floor 30.]
The Floor 30 raid began.
* * *
While Baek Jiho was in the middle of clearing Floor 30, China and Russia began to move on the Korean Peninsula.
Russia moved first.
Russia's SVR Zaslon Group had completed its infiltration into Seoul.
Three teams, thirty-three people in total.
Dmitry Andreyevich Sokolov, their overall commander, gave the order.
“Team Granite will infiltrate and secure the target. Team Sokol will provide fire support and secure our escape route. Team Grom will neutralize the air defense network.”
Zaslon Group personnel spread out across the villa district in Seoul's Jungnang-gu.
Entry teams slipped into the alleys.
Snipers took up positions on the rooftops.
Operatives moved out to neutralize the air defense network.
Their movements were extremely discreet and quiet.
Once all preparations were complete, they would raid Baek Jiho's home around midnight tonight.
China moved next.
“So this is Korea?”
“Hmph. A vassal state has an airport this large?”
“Well, this will soon be a place we rule. We should thank them for developing it so diligently on our behalf.”
A Chinese private jet landed at Incheon International Airport, and four men stepped out.
They were Committee Members, China's highest-ranking Hunters.
They were not soldiers.
But they possessed strength greater than that of soldiers.
And with overwhelming force, there was no need for grand or elaborate operations.
“Let's deal with that Korean bitch, Choi Yejin, first. But... I'll have enough time to enjoy myself, right?”
“...Don't waste too much time. Choi Yejin isn't the only enemy we need to kill.”
“Don't worry. It won't take long.”
China's Committee Members were targeting Choi Yejin and Baek Jiho.
Choi Yejin would be their first target.
Their relaxed steps headed out of the airport.
As Baek Jiho cleared Floor 30, China and Russia's time to act drew closer by the minute.
But unexpectedly, they were not the only ones projecting force onto the Korean Peninsula.
* * *
Tokyo, Japan.
Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office headquarters.
The Cabinet Intelligence Director's office.
-Bang!
Yaguchi Takashi, the Cabinet Intelligence Director, slammed his desk.
“You've lost contact with Aide Shizuku? What does that mean?!”
“...”
“Don't tell me the operation failed?!”
The deputy director and department heads could not bring themselves to deny it before the intelligence director's furious shout.
Deep down, they too sensed that the operation had failed.
Bang!
Takashi slammed his desk again.
“Damn it! Did it really fail?! And we couldn't even recover the Grade 1 artifact we deployed?”
“My apologies, Director.”
“You goddamn idiots!”
Recently, they had been carrying out an operation.
It was a plan to abduct Baek Jiho, the Hard-rank Hunter recently discovered in Korea.
They believed it would succeed without difficulty.
After all, it was something Japan's Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office had carried out many times before.
“With a Grade 1 Mind Control Artifact, we should have been able to take a mere Middle Floors Hunter easily. Why...!”
Japan possessed a Grade 1 mental manipulation artifact.
It was an artifact that could brainwash a person and turn them into a puppet.
Japan had used the Mind Control Artifact to bring more than a hundred Korean Normal Hunters to Japan and force them to settle there.
So they believed this operation would succeed too.
No matter how Baek Jiho had originated from Hard-rank, he was still only in the Middle Floors.
They believed he would not be able to resist the Mind Control Artifact.
But apparently, that was not the case.
“The last contact was just before she infiltrated Baek Jiho's home. Perhaps the brainwashing failed, and she was subdued as a result...”
“Did he have some kind of mental defense artifact?”
“That is unlikely. Korea currently has no mental-type artifacts. As you know, Director... Mental-type artifacts only begin appearing from Floor 44. Korea's highest cleared Floor is 41, so it cannot possess a mental defense artifact.”
“Then why did it fail! Are you trying to say that bastard's mental strength is on the same level as a Highest Floors Hunter?!”
“...The possibility cannot be ruled out.”
“Bullshit. He's not in his forties or fifties, he's a twenty-something kid in the prime of his sex drive. His mental strength could be low, but there's no way it could be high!”
“...”
“According to our intelligence, the Americans have been actively approaching Baek Jiho. Those Yankee bastards must have helped him. Those fucking long-nosed idiots...!”
A man's twenties.
Physically, it was the peak of his life, but mentally, he had not yet matured.
It was also the period when a man was most ruled by sexual desire.
And Baek Jiho was a healthy man in his twenties.
He was at the age when a beauty trap worked best.
Yet it had failed...
The Americans must have helped him.
With a grave expression, Takashi spoke quietly.
“We can't help the failure. But... we must recover the Grade 1 Mind Control Artifact we lost. If the artifact's existence is exposed, the operations we have conducted so far could be revealed.”
It was an artifact Japan had used in secret.
A Grade 1 Mind Control Artifact.
It was also an artifact prohibited under the London Convention.
If its existence came to light, Japan's past abductions of Hunters from other countries would be exposed.
Japan was not China or Russia.
It was a first-world nation bound by the London Convention.
If this came to light, the diplomatic and political repercussions would be enormous.
It had to be prevented.
Therefore,
“Dispatch the Hunter special operations unit to Seoul immediately.”
“Immediately...?”
“Yes. We don't have time. If they reveal the existence of the Mind Control Artifact to the London Convention, this will become a major problem. We need to stop them right now!”
“...”
“Send the special operations unit, now!”
Takashi decided to use force.
The Republic of Korea was already expecting the deployment of force by great powers like Russia and China.
Now the military strength of Japan, a weaker country, intruded upon it as well.
A shrimp had wedged itself between battling whales.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
