Chapter 87
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 087
Chapter Title: The Soldiers - [1]
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The biggest shock from this latest hallucination was just how far the government's actions in it deviated from my expectations.
Up until now, the government had committed all sorts of illegal acts through their Special Task Force—wiretapping, spying on Awakener gatherings, summary executions of wanted Awakeners, and all manner of dirty tricks to monitor and control us...
But those were all done discreetly, at least.
A public beheading spectacle, blatantly announcing who was behind it? That was nothing like the government's usual playbook. Neither the method nor the brutality.
This led to a few deductions.
First off, assuming the futures I see in these hallucinations aren't extensions of our current reality but glimpses from parallel worlds (since I clearly stopped Baek Dam-bi from being kidnapped by Somwol, yet later visions showed her getting nabbed early on anyway)...
In that parallel world, Kang Jun-chi must have hated the government far less than he does here. Without my help, that world's version of him would've hopped into the ambulance they sent and gotten treated at the hospital. His paranoia about them wanting him dead would've dialed way back.
He probably wouldn't have been close to me either. When the Special Task Force swarmed my place, he wouldn't have had my back. He wouldn't have joined the Awakener bus protests.
In the end, that Kang Jun-chi never took the Awakeners' side. He just stood by while the government cracked down on us.
And me? That parallel world's version would've been pathetically weak compared to who I am now, nowhere near my level as a Hunter. Whether it was Hallucination Kim Hyeong-man or Hallucination Kim Geuk, neither would've rallied the Awakeners.
So even if the Special Task Force lopped off Kim Hyeong-man's head right then, the rest would've just cowered in fear, too scared to protest or retaliate as a group.
But in this reality? With my help pulling him back from the brink—and after surviving their wiretap attempt—Kang Jun-chi's resentment toward the government has only grown fiercer.
Plus, Awakener Hunters have already mobilized twice and gotten what they wanted through collective action.
At this point, the government knows chopping off Kim Hyeong-man's head won't solve a damn thing.
Not unless they went after my head... or Kang Jun-chi's...
Damn it all. Now I get why that guy holed up eight hundred meters underground.
My head was swimming with paranoia now—was that guy sidling up to me a Special Task Force agent pulling a force-field-wrapped knife from his pocket? How the hell do I secure my sleep against infiltrators? That kind of crap.
How am I supposed to live normally like this?
And on top of that, since these hallucinations might or might not become reality, I had no clue how seriously to take them—which only made my head hurt worse.
Talk about a mental illness-level obsession.
To dial back that psychotic worrying, I took a few measures.
Military exemption perks if you join the Special Task Force! DM for friendly consultation!
Sudden mare
This was the usual HuntWeb scenery. Han Hui promoting the Special Task Force on her senior's orders, getting flamed in the replies.
Back in the day, that would've snowballed into a pile-on of mockery. But not anymore.
The A-badge holders mobilized en masse to shower Han Hui with support.
Daring to curse an Awakener, you non-Awakener trash? Wanna turn into soap or something?
Don't badmouth this kid. Didn't you hear she helped Kim Geuk save citizens?
And she got tons of hate from the Special Task Force too. Poor kid's been through it. Can't wait to see her shine in the Hunter scene after her mandatory service.
I'd roped in big names like Kim Hyeong-man, Kang Jun-chi, cyberMagneto, and other influencers to drop supportive comments on every post Han Hui made.
The goal? Make her feel welcome and stress-free on HuntWeb every time she posted, fostering a sense of belonging in this Hunter community.
Of course, it wasn't just pretty comments. Later, I'd pool money through the association and secretly slip some cash to Han Hui and a few other Special Task Force recruits.
Plant our people firmly inside to spy on their operations.
I also suggested bodyguards for Kim Hyeong-man. He might not be their top assassination target right now, but you never know.
Naturally, I just got treated like Kang Jun-chi.
Kim Geuk, why worry about assassinations... Did you catch it from Jun-chi or what?
I had a bunch of other countermeasures in mind too.
Ask Kang Jun-chi to carve out living quarters hundreds of meters underground and seal off the access to cut assassination risks. Or cast a subtle mental net on anyone approaching as a "fan."
Real Kang Jun-chi-style paranoia...
Too busy to implement them all, though.
I'm an Incheon Hunter, and today, like always, I focused on the hunt.
This Incheon Reclamation Project's target was Ganghwa County.
We planned to retake lost Incheon territories like Gimpo and Bucheon eventually, but right now, Ganghwa was the only wild monster hotspot left in Incheon proper.
As I boarded the vehicle with the other Hunters, cheers erupted from behind us.
"Kim Geuk! Kim Geuk!"
"Stay in Incheon even after the reclamation's done! Got it?"
Incheon citizens there to cheer me on.
These aunties and uncles had gotten even more intense since I jumped into the Seoul Gate incident. Now that I'd made waves in Seoul and caught the eye of the capital's elites, they were scared I'd get poached—hence the fervor.
Hey, I wasn't complaining. Bask in that enthusiasm all you want. I left Incheon mainland satisfied.
Crossing Ganghwa Bridge onto the island, Naito went live.
"Everyone, can you see this? Here's the secret behind Korea's stable rice prices—and even ramen made from it—holding steady in these tough times!"
Naito's cameraman panned out the window to young men hard at work planting cabbage seedlings.
"See most of them in ROK Army fatigues? Nearly all the young folks farming Ganghwa Island are active-duty soldiers!"
"What about the original farmers? As you know, remote spots like islands and countryside get hit by monsters more often. Easier prey for them, right?"
"So post-Gates, tons of rural fields got abandoned. In Korea, the government's buying them up and farming directly!"
Disgusting prick. Acting like overworking soldiers is some grand achievement.
"Countries worldwide are fighting food price spikes, but few succeed like Korea! Japan's rice prices, on the other hand..."
My already furrowed brow creased deeper.
Now he's on a nationalist high. Tailoring it for Korean ears, constantly comparing to Japan...
"Japan's got more land, so they can't manage it as systematically as Korea. That's why they've got even more abandoned fields."
"What do they do with empty rural paddies in Japan? Yakuza squat them illegally, use the land, machinery, and fertilizer without permission to grow rice and sell it on the market! Why rice over weed? Safer and more profitable, duh."
"Sure, soldier labor keeps costs low, and government production/distribution caps prices. But it undercuts farmers who pay minimum wage, so plenty of complaints..."
"Still, it's impressive and tough. Other countries try national food control, but few nail it like Korea! They set low prices, but black markets jack them up anyway. Compare that to Korea, where you can grab cheap rice at convenience stores..."
That fucking nationalist drivel ended when we piled out of the vehicles.
Baek Dam-bi headed straight for the beach. Not for a swim, obviously.
She gestured, and seawater froze solid, shaping into a beast. One ice beast lumbered ashore.
A bear. An ice bear.
Just like the ice spirit bear we'd caught rescuing Shin Mi-rae last time.
Baek Dam-bi had captured it, relived its memories, and now successfully recreated it for the hunt.
"Baek Dam-bi, look how amazingly you've leveled up! Who'd dare call her a pushover now?"
Seong Mun-yeong, Lee Jong-ho, Jeong Jin-yeong, and Jang Byeong-gon grunted as they hauled over Hunter rifles.
The four of them loaded the rifles onto the ice bear's arms.
The 55kg Hunter rifle I'd used until recently, now obsolete since I upgraded to a 78kg model. She'd snagged it cheap and armed her ice sculpture with it.
"Viewers who saw the last broadcast know: this bear actually fires that Hunter rifle. And hits the mark! A-rank criteria include heavy weapons firepower, and Dam-bi here's nailing it perfectly—firing real heavy ordnance!"
That ice bear showed Baek Dam-bi's hard work everywhere.
Its body was redesigned for bipedal walking like a human, fingers just like ours—not mere duplication, but a whole new creature created from scratch.
Still fundamentally a bear, so no fine work like mag swaps. But that was minor; the Hunter team could handle reloads.
And just like that, my round girl had officially made A-rank Hunter.
Dunno if other ice Awakeners could pull this off. No mentions in testimonies from Somwol refugees.
Maybe she's the first? Hope it's not unique, and others can follow. Proving growth potential for all would spark better treatment than a thousand rights marches.
Lost in proud admiration of the bear and its creator, I spotted her turning to follow the camera.
I blinked wide.
"Wait, are you posing for the camera on purpose? To show your face?"
I sidled up and asked. She flinched, then nodded.
"Yeah... that's right."
"You used to hate Naito's guts. Now you're hamming it up for his broadcast?"
"Yep. I caved to broadcast fame. I'm a real sleazy woman."
Her frank admission left me speechless.
"Is this part of your Golden Arrow Award push too?"
"Yes. Gotta advertise my progress somehow..."
"Why are you so desperate for that guy's award?"
She answered my baffled question dead seriously.
"It's on national broadcast TV."
I waited for more, but she clammed up.
Finally, I prodded again.
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"What's so special about national TV? Entertainers raking in millions daily pre-Gates can't even make half now. You're out-earning most celebs these days, right?"
"Still. It matters to me. You pop up on news all the time, so you wouldn't get it..."
She glanced around, confirmed no eavesdroppers, then continued.
"...It's like I need that to let go of my regrets and move on. Appear proudly on national TV..."
I shut my mouth instead of teasing.
Couldn't fully grasp it, but I knew she'd been half-forced out of her idol gig.
Easy to guess this tied to her unfinished idol dreams.
The awkward silence hung, so I changed the subject.
"Anyway, Dam-bi? Saw you signed that Hunter Academy petition. Good job! Was it from that HuntWeb post?"
"No? Never heard of HuntWeb. Got an official request letter."
"Your signature was already there before the letter dropped, though?"
"Was it? Can't remember... Must've misread?"
Shame she quit idols. With that shameless acting, she'd ace dramas—no "idol can't act" scandals. Tone-deaf rumors, maybe.
Short chat over, we passed the soldiers' fields toward the old tourist spots.
Mani Mountain tourist area. Now barricaded against monsters, foot traffic long gone...
Sentry posts lined the barricades, soldiers stationed throughout.
Passing one, a guard waved us to halt.
His CO wanted to meet us.
"Why?"
"Not sure exactly..."