Chapter 71
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Final-Year Corporal Kim Yo-han [8]
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Through this demonstration, we'd secured quite a few promises.
First off, the Hunter Association Chairman would be replaced. The new chairman wouldn't be some bureaucrat like the current one; they'd be elected from candidates put forward by us Awakener Hunters.
And regarding the "Awakener Discrimination Prohibition Act" that I'd proposed, we'd gotten more than just a vague hint. It wasn't a flat-out "We'll pass it no matter what," but it was far stronger than a mere "We'll think about it." Specifically, they'd push it in the upcoming session.
Those promises had a high chance of being kept. After all, Kang Jun-chi had seen the faces of the politicians who made them.
Finally, things had gone our way with the Special Task Force as well.
Task Force Leader Han Hee-seok wouldn't just be dismissed—he'd face punishment. The bigwigs there had implied he might even stand trial and end up behind bars, not just some slap-on-the-wrist discipline.
And all the Task Force members involved in this incident would be discharged, regardless of their remaining mandatory service time. The laws allowing the Task Force to mobilize Awakener Hunters would be scrapped, and even before that happened, they wouldn't be pulling any of us into service.
"They agreed to all that a bit too readily, don't you think? The Task Force is a key government organization for dealing with Awakeners, but they promised to gut its power without batting an eye. It had me scratching my head."
Park Mi-hyeong snorted over the phone at my words.
"Whether it's a government agency or whatever, to the higher-ups, they're all just Awakeners in the end, right?"
"What's that mean?"
"If powerful Awakener Hunters might stage a coup at any moment, isn't the Task Force strutting around like military police in Seoul just as much of a threat? That's why the government's always stingy with their budget. They pump in just enough to keep them afloat, scared that if they give too much, guys like you, Kim Geuk, would flock to them. No one wants them getting too strong."
Due to that chronic underfunding, the Task Force could barely fill half its recruitment quota, and even those they got weren't exactly famous or powerhouse Awakeners.
Han Hee-seok had apparently been dissatisfied with that.
According to Park Mi-hyeong's guess, he'd wanted to expand the Task Force. Not just operate in Seoul, but across the entire capital region.
That's why they'd run an op in Bucheon to catch Kim Seok-hee, and why they'd swarmed Incheon to nab a Teleporter they had no hope of catching. Same goal, she claimed.
"If they couldn't catch you, Kim Geuk, it wouldn't have been bad for that Han Hee-seok guy. He could've scattered his Task Force guys all over Incheon, claiming you were hiding out somewhere with a criminal. That would've naturally expanded their operational area, letting him grow the organization... The president's his college senior, after all, and put him in that seat personally, so everyone was just watching. But even they wouldn't let that scheming slide forever."
"So he pissed them off, screwed up, and got the boot?"
"Roughly my take. Anyway, great job, Kim Geuk! See? I knew I picked the right guy. An ex-Korean Awakener Alliance member pulling this off? Unbelievable..."
Park Mi-hyeong was an Awakener herself, and she seemed pretty satisfied with what we'd wrangled. Especially the Awakener Discrimination Prohibition Act I'd suggested.
I basked in her praise for a while before ending the call, then picked up the next one that came in right away.
"Yeah, Kang Jun-man?"
"Yes, Kang Jun-man speaking! Thank you so much, Kim Geuk!"
HuntWeb's Justice1994, the ex-cop Kang Jun-man, had benefited from this too.
To be precise, he'd gained his freedom. He'd been discharged from the Task Force, even with six years of mandatory service left.
With all the Task Force members from that op getting axed en masse, he'd been let go as well.
Actually, he'd only been on standby as reserves back then, not actively involved, so he wasn't up for punishment. But the old man had called me, begging to be listed for discharge too.
Thanks to me doing that, he'd been cut loose. And by his own words, "liberated."
"No need to thank me. So, you gonna Hunter it up now?"
"Have to, right? Planning to operate in Gyeongsang if possible! Plenty of monsters there needing my attention, but I spent all my time in Seoul swinging a sword instead of hunting. Felt guilty as hell. Time to make real money while taking those bastards out..."
One of our own had come out ahead. Made me pretty happy too.
Smiling, I slipped in a casual question.
"By the way, there's still a rock ability user in the Task Force, right?"
"Huh? Who?"
"The Task Force rock ability guy. Han Hee-seok had him hide bugs in those marble walls, remember? Would've been nice if he'd gotten cut too."
And then Kang Jun-man said something.
"Nah, no idea where you heard that, but there's no rock ability user in the Task Force."
"Uh... really?"
"Pretty sure. We weren't that big an outfit; I'd remember someone that unique. Maybe someone who left before I joined?"
I ended the call and let out a sigh. Leaning back in the taxi seat, I sank into thought for a moment.
Everything had gone pretty well overall, but there was one regrettable loose end.
That day on the bus, we could've done more—but we didn't.
We could've held those politicians hostage and demanded something bigger, even attempted a full overthrow. But we held back.
Because Kang Jun-chi didn't want that.
Even without him, we were strong enough back then. The rest of us could've pulled off the show of force alone, but we settled for those modest demands.
In the end, the core order hadn't changed. All us Awakeners gathered there had been watching Kang Jun-chi's lead.
As that shows, Kang Jun-chi was both king of the Awakeners and guardian of the status quo.
Even if some Awakener wanted to topple the nation, seeing him sit quietly would make them think, "If that guy's not moving, who am I to try..." and back off.
I couldn't help suspecting that's why hallucination-terrorist me had targeted him. No matter how much he hated Korea, maybe he figured his presence kept the whole order intact... and acted accordingly.
Whatever. You can only ride a tiger so far. We'd gotten this far on Kang Jun-chi's back; we couldn't push for what he didn't want.
If I really wanted to change things, I'd have to do it with my own power.
So, by keep hunting and reaching S-rank, I'd stand equal to that guy as an Awakener. Only then could I actually make real change. This whole mess drove that home again.
The taxi carrying me pulled to a stop.
I got out and headed into the prison.
The one holding my little sister.
I wasn't there to see her. I wanted to meet the warden.
He agreed and let me into his office.
"Honored to meet you like this, Kim Geuk! What brings you here...?"
I didn't know how he treated inmates normally, but to me, he was all smiles.
I knew why he was being so nice. He'd seen me on TV or in the news.
And without smiling back, I said,
"You've got a Kim Seon here, right? Used to be fat, now a scrawny bitch."
"Ah, your sister? Of course I know her!"
Naturally, he'd checked before I even asked to meet.
How could he not? I was one of the key figures in that incident, flagged by overseas media as a person of interest.
HuntWeb had shown some outlets covering me more than even Kang Jun-chi.
This warden, this non-Awakener scum, was definitely sweating it.
"I'd appreciate it if you took extra good care of her. And as a little token of my sincerity, I brought this..."
He peeked into the bag I offered, and his eyes went wide. He hurriedly closed it and grinned obsequiously.
"No need for that, but... well..."
Watching him promise no worries, full privileges, my guilt eased a bit. When the other guy's a crooked official taking bribes, you could be as ruthless as you wanted.
I said,
"By the way, Warden? I looked you up before coming. You've got two sons, right?"
It was so out of left field his smile turned awkward.
"Y-yes..."
"Meanwhile, that Kim Seon bitch keeps whining. Says prison life's hell, begs to get out... Every time she whines, one of your boys vanishes."
"Pardon?"
"Cops don't even investigate missing persons these days. Could be decades before they're found in some 800-meter-deep cavern. Your sons too, probably."
The smile vanished from his face. Lips clamped shut, he just listened as I kept going.
"Got it? Don't even think about censoring her mail. I'll be back for visits, and if I'm denied, I'll Teleport into her cell to check things myself."
He froze as I stood up.
Walking out of the prison, a wave of humiliation hit me.
Damn, made me want to puke. Me, begging scum like that? Even shelling out good money...
Truly disgusting. Normally, I wouldn't dream of asking a favor like that. But this mess had shifted my thinking a bit.
Seeing how they treat wanted Awakener criminals made me worry more about my sister locked up there. I'd decided even bowing to non-Awakener trash was worth it for extra care.
And if the bigwigs kept their word—if my proposed law passed—those unfairly jailed Ice Ability users would get retrials. The ones convicted without evidence would walk free, including my sister.
Until then, I could only hope her prison life got a little easier.