WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 93: Beijing on the Brink of Explosion!
──────
One day, two days, three days, four...
Special One stayed shut inside his house.
His family was no different.
Even his nieces and nephews were missing school and staying shut inside.
The only person who came out of that castle-like home was Special Two, Kim Remi.
Late at night, after closing time, the shop managers of the Hansan 2-dong Merchants' Association gathered.
The United States, Thailand, Australia, France, Italy, China, Japan, Vietnam...
People from all sorts of countries were there.
The association had one unspoken rule.
They knew they were all intelligence agents from different countries, but they never let it show or questioned one another about it.
You knew, and I knew, but we both pretended not to.
On the surface, they were simply a merchants' association.
“I'm jealous. The hot dog shop's been doing very well lately.”
“...Hahaha. The pho shop seems rather quiet these days.”
“Indeed it does. Hahaha!”
The owner of the busy hot dog shop looked miserable, while the owner of the empty pho shop was all smiles.
Their real jobs were in intelligence. What was so good about having a busy shop?
It only meant more work.
“Hahahaha. It's fucking wonderful.”
“Oh, I'm so jealous.”
“Shouldn't you adapt the pho shop to local tastes a little?”
“Oh, no. We'd be perfectly happy doing no better or worse than Emperor Lamb Skewers.”
“...”
The hot dog shop owner, Hendrick Kuma, scowled.
Emperor Lamb Skewers was decorated in blazing red, in a thoroughly Chinese style, and only Chinese people went there.
The staff and customers were all Chinese intelligence agents.
In any case, Emperor Lamb Skewers had the least business on the street.
It was even open twenty-four hours a day, yet business was still terrible.
Everyone in the association envied it.
“Ahem.”
Zhang Jungeol, the owner of Emperor Lamb Skewers, looked smug.
This proved their strategy was working.
Hendrick Kuma, the owner of American Crazy Hot Dog, lamented to himself.
‘Fuck. We should've sold something like cockroaches too.’
Then they could have sat around without serving customers and used the place solely as an intelligence base.
“Why the long face, Mango?”
“Pardon?”
Wichai jumped at the sudden attention.
“Why are you so startled? It's almost as if you're hiding something.”
“Haha. N-no, not at all.”
Wichai tried to smile casually, but there was no fooling this gathering of sharp-eyed intelligence agents.
“Come now. If you've got something good, share it.”
“Exactly. Aren't we all struggling here together?”
“Hmm.”
Wichai debated whether to tell them, then decided to share for the sake of world peace.
“I suggest you all stop being so tightfisted with your customers.”
“Hmm? What's that supposed to mean?”
“Hahaha. I-isn't that obvious? We're all here because we want our businesses to do well.”
The association members laughed, but Wichai was serious.
“The beauty living in that mansion is a regular at my shop.”
“Oh, everyone knows that already.”
“She bought twelve cups yesterday, didn't she?”
Their questions were half envious and half mocking.
“You're very generous, Wichai. I hear she's run up quite a tab.”
“Heh. Will you actually be able to ask her to pay it?”
“...”
Wichai nodded.
“That's why I'm bringing this up.”
“...?”
Earlier that afternoon, when Special Two bought mango juice on credit, a local standing nearby had scolded her.
‘Now, a pretty young lady like you should know when to stop. I've been watching. If you buy things on credit, you should pay for them eventually, but you haven't paid even once.’
Perhaps that had struck a nerve, because Special Two had turned to Wichai.
‘How much?’
‘Y-you don't need to worry about it.’
‘Then I'll pay you later.’
‘Oh, please don't concern yourself. It's not as if I'm doing this for the money. I'm happy as long as my customers enjoy their drinks.’
‘I like you. Anyone you want dead?’
‘Pardon? D-d-dead?’
‘Don't play innocent. Tell me later. I'll take care of one for you.’
‘Gasp!’
Recalling their conversation that afternoon, Wichai was still flushed with excitement.
“Don't be so stingy about unpaid tabs. You might receive something far more valuable than money in return.”
“...What does that mean?”
“Tell us more.”
Wichai held back.
“I've told you enough. I'll be going now.”
Once Wichai left, everyone hurried to work out what that meant.
“What could she pay a tab with, other than money?”
“Could it mean she'll deal with a dungeon for us, like in Japan or France?”
“Is Special Two capable of that?”
“She must be! At our hot dog shop, we rate her as being on a similar level to One.”
“Why would a hot dog shop be rating something like that?”
“Ah.”
“Oops.”
An awkward silence fell for a moment before everyone hurried to their feet.
“Oh dear. I wonder if we have any bread left.”
“I just remembered I haven't cleaned the kitchen.”
As everyone rushed off, Zhang Jungeol also hurried away with a serious expression.
“Big Brother! Did you enjoy the meeting?”
“Everyone, gather here right now!”
“Pardon?”
The man smoking in the kitchen, the men playing mahjong at a customer table, and the people eating hamburgers at another table all wandered over.
Customers and staff alike, they were all intelligence agents dispatched from China.
“Starting tomorrow, we're completely renovating Emperor Lamb Skewers.”
“What? All of a sudden?”
“With the place looking like this, Koreans would run away even if they came inside! Redecorate everything to suit local tastes, make it stylish, and get us a new chef!”
“Boss! What if business picks up?”
Smack!
How could an intelligence agent be this slow?
Zhang Jungeol smacked the subordinate on the back of the head.
“That's the whole point! We're going to become the number one restaurant in this alley!”
Only then would Special One or Two visit.
Using this place solely as an intelligence outpost was a waste.
If they could form a connection with the Specials and spend time with them, then of course they should.
“Any word from back home?”
“Oh, they're on our backs constantly! They want us to secure a promise of support right away, but how are we supposed to do that? I can't take this anymore!”
“Things are urgent back home, so the orders will only get tougher. For now, we'll start by making Emperor Lamb Skewers a success!”
“Yes, Boss!”
An A-rank dungeon had appeared in China.
They seemed to be trying to handle it themselves, but if they failed, they would have to seek help abroad.
Right now, South Korea was the closest and easiest option.
The Chinese intelligence agents stationed in South Korea began renovating with desperate determination.
* * *
The A-rank dungeons that had appeared recently had lasted very little time.
The dungeon in Japan had vanished as soon as it appeared, and the one in France had been no different.
Only two uncleared dungeons remained in the world.
One in China, and one in the United States.
In the United States, the G-rank hunter Vikram had almost finished his exploration and was reportedly going to begin the full raid within a day or two.
Meanwhile, in Beijing, China, at the site of an A-rank dungeon...
The city, already under evacuation orders, was filled with silence.
A black mass stood in the middle of the city, which had the air of a world on the brink of collapse.
The A-rank dungeon's remaining break time was nine days and seventeen hours.
“Soldiers!”
The director of special operations, who headed the Third Bureau of the Central Special Department (中央特殊部), had come in person to give a speech.
Wang Weijie, usually called the Third Bureau Director, looked at the twenty warriors lined up before them.
“The comforts you enjoy are paid for with the people's blood, sweat, and tears. The people can maintain their peaceful lives because you have fought that black disaster before it could descend upon them!”
The hunters listening to Special Operations Director Wang Weijie's speech tried to keep their expressions neutral, but a few looked utterly sour.
Whether they were unhappy or not, the director continued the speech.
“Repay them! In the name of the people! With loyalty to the Party, destroy those wicked forces of evil and return!”
Twenty warriors.
No fewer than five of them were SR-rank hunters.
Based on the results of roughly six days of exploration, the Chinese Communist Party had decided that its own hunters could clear the dungeon.
After all, hadn't a party made up entirely of Grade 1 hunters once succeeded in Britain?
They had left the job to G-rank hunters since then only because the casualties had been too high. Now, in this crisis, it was time to attempt it with their own strength.
Every SR-rank hunter except Zhang Sun had gathered.
Five out of six in total.
China was truly staking everything on this decision.
‘Fuck. Should I make a run for it?’
Among them was Yang Minchan, a hunter who had become a naturalized Chinese citizen after leaving South Korea.
‘What's this sudden bullshit about raiding an A-rank dungeon? And they left out Zhang Sun, of all people!’
Zhang Sun was their insurance.
Unlike the naturalized citizens, he was Chinese by birth, and his father was a high-ranking Party official.
‘Ah, fuck.’
Irritation and anger rose inside Yang Minchan.
‘Fuck. I should've stayed in Korea.’
He had boldly changed his citizenship and since enjoyed a life that even an emperor might envy.
He had three wives, all former Chinese celebrities, and seven children.
He had settled down in China for good, but faced with an overwhelming fear, the option of “emigration” flickered before him once more.
‘I escaped Hell Joseon, only to end up in Hell China.’
Or had China always been hell?
If he'd known it would come to this, he would've gone to the United States...
There was no point regretting it now.
“Comrades! Let us repay the people!”
“Raaaaah!”
Yeah, fuck it. Let's do this!
How long was he going to keep running away?
My dear wives, I'll make it home alive!
As part of the twenty-person do-or-die squad, Yang Minchan entered the A-rank dungeon.
* * *
South Korean Presidential Office
“No, I'm telling you, we can't reach him either!”
[Please, don't be like that. Help us just this once.]
On the other end was the president of the People's Republic of China.
China's most powerful person.
Until now, the calls had only come from China's foreign minister. Today, for the first time, the president had called directly. Kim Seungtae couldn't refuse to speak to a fellow head of state, but they had been going in circles for several minutes.
[Are you dissatisfied with the terms we've offered?]
“No, it's not about the terms. We don't know where the Special Adviser is right now either.”
[Come now. Must you really do this?]
“Do what? What do you expect me to do when he's not here?”
[Are you losing your temper with me?]
“Well, wouldn't you lose your temper if someone kept arguing after you told them he wasn't here?”
At President Kim Seungtae's outburst, his aides clutched their heads, looking faint.
This was the head of a neighboring country.
[...Very well. If you just send support, we will sever diplomatic relations with North Korea tomorrow. Whether you drive tanks into North Korea or blow up the presidential palace, China will pretend to know nothing.]
“Oh, for fuck's sake. Forget the terms. North Korea isn't even Chinese territory to begin with, so why are you acting like you're doing us a favor?”
“M-Mr. President. It translates the swearing too. Please restrain yourself...”
The AI interpreter translated everything without holding back.
[Fuck? President Kim, did you just say fuck?]
President Kim Seungtae's heart sank, but...
‘For fuck's sake, how am I supposed to have a conversation with someone who won't listen?’
“Yes, I did.”
At Kim Seungtae's bold reply, his aides turned their heads away.
The minister heading the Ministry of National Defense was already tense, wondering whether to prepare to raise the DEFCON level.
[...]
Apparently stunned, the Chinese president remained silent for a long time.
‘Are we heading for war?’
Kim Seungtae, who had blurted it out, and all the ministers and other officials watching felt their hearts pound.
[Very well. So there was something you actually wanted after all. What is it?]
“...Haa.”
There was no getting through.
The Adviser hadn't come out of the Demon Realm for a week!
Just then, Park Taejun, director of the Hunter Management Bureau, who had been staring at his phone during the meeting, clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Gasp!”
Everyone turned at the commotion, and he quickly showed them the messages on his phone.
[Teukgoji Group Chat]
Team Leader Lee - It looks like the Adviser will be returning to Earth soon.
Team Leader Lee - I casually asked him about the A-rank dungeon, and he said all right.
Team Leader Lee - However, former Team Leader Cheon Yubeom intends to negotiate suitable compensation on the Adviser's behalf.
President Kim Seungtae broke into a broad smile.
What did money matter?
They could get it from China and pass it on.
“Ahem. Very well. Let's begin negotiations.”
[Hah. So that was it all along...]
Listening to the Chinese president's defeated voice, Kim Seungtae wondered what outrageous demand he should make.
Footnotes:
“Hell Joseon” is a Korean slang name for South Korea that expresses frustration with harsh living conditions and limited opportunities. Joseon was the name of Korea's last dynasty.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
