Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Avoiding the Madman is the Best Policy (1)
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The entire country was in an uproar.
The ranker system had updated once again.
[Association Investigation Team Launches Probe! Ranking Change Attributed to the Death of 720th Place, Shadow Walker from France!]
It had happened before.
After the death of The Diamond.
Another ranker had fallen.
And the location of the death was the same.
The world's second-ranked hunter powerhouse, South Korea.
As a result, the internet erupted like a volcano.
- Crazy, Korea again? Other countries are quiet, so why is it always stormy here?
- Hmm, does that mean there's a huge influx of overseas rankers?
- So what happened this time? Last time it was a terrorist group. No way it's the same again?
- From what I know, Shadow Walker was with the Oseong Group. If it's an unjust death, won't Oseong step up?
- Oh! Yeah! Oseong, hurry up and make a statement! I'm dying to know!
Attention briefly turned to the Oseong Group.
But there was no need.
Right at that moment, Gi So-yul issued her statement.
[Dark Emperor Gi So-yul's Shocking Declaration! "I Killed the Shadow Walker!"]
Gi So-yul quickly explained the situation through an article.
She also expressed her regrets toward the Oseong Group, suspected of ordering the assassination.
- Kek.
- Crazy. ㅠㅠ
- Fuck, those Oseong Group bastards... I always knew they'd pull something like this. What kind of 21st-century conglomerate orders assassinations on civilians?
- Fucking scum. They've always been known as a thug company.
- Ha, I was gonna stay neutral, but this... They've even got evidence dumped right there. Overseas rankers are the problem, right? They should stay in their own countries instead of coming here for terrorism and draining national wealth...
- Unnie Gi So-yul, you're so pretty.
The absurd act of assassination.
Netizens exploded in rage.
Countless malicious comments poured in, and speculative articles spread like spiderwebs.
- Not using Oseong Group stuff anymore. Scary company.
- ㅠㅠ I once gave a low rating in an Oseong Group review and got terrorized... Am I gonna get assassinated now?
- Boycott products from shady companies.
- Oseong Workshop? I wouldn't use it even if they gave it to me lololol.
- The higher-ups are all gonna get into "accidents" soon. ㅠㅠ.
- Unnie Gi So-yul, you're so cool.
People clung on even more.
Information was edited and shared via SNS and YouTube.
Public ill will toward the Oseong Group swelled like seaweed in the sea.
BAM!
Finally, Oseong Group Chairman Shin Ju-yong slammed his desk hard.
The conference room was filled with the group's executives and presidents, and Shin Ju-yong's wrinkled right hand trembled.
"What the hell is this? How could one of our group's rankers pull off something like that without me knowing!"
"Th-that! We don't know either... We're investigating right now."
Shin Ju-yong was dumbfounded.
Demir Workshop?
He'd heard the name a few times, but that was it.
It was a workshop he hadn't paid any attention to, busy with other businesses.
'What?'
A ranker?
The Shadow Walker he'd hired had attacked?
And the target was Gi So-yul, of all people.
"What kind of idiot in this world attempts to assassinate the Dark Emperor!"
"Exactly. None of us here would do something that idiotic... But there is one person we suspect."
"What? Who!"
"Th-that..."
One executive hesitated to answer.
Only when Shin Ju-yong glared at him sternly did he finally speak.
"It... It's Director Shin Jong-oh."
"Jong-oh?"
At his grandson's name, Shin Ju-yong's lips twisted.
"...Ahem, we've heard recently that he's on bad terms with the Demir Workshop."
"Is that so...?"
Shin Ju-yong's eyebrows twitched.
Tap! Tap!
At the same time, his two fingers danced on the table.
It was his gesture when deep in thought.
'Jong-oh, huh.'
Like a sore pinky finger...
He knew the kid had grown up like a thug.
But he couldn't touch him carelessly.
'My sons.'
His personality had been as cold as ice, enough to be called cold-blooded.
In the past, he had disowned all his sons from the family register.
For the slightest mistakes.
For the slightest weakness of will.
There was no forgiveness in his evaluations.
He thought it was natural.
'This company I built is like my own child.'
A company is a legal person.
Doesn't it get a legal registration number when incorporated?
He couldn't entrust something so precious to a fool.
Not until he regretted it in his old age.
Not until his body aged and he realized the value of family.
So even when his grandchildren went astray, he just watched without interfering.
He even handed over projects and treated them preciously.
"Are you sure Jong-oh did it?"
"We don't have solid evidence, but circumstantially, it's highly likely."
"Hmm."
Truthfully, it was obvious without looking.
As the head of a massive conglomerate, some things were visible even without direct sight.
Moreover, if he was on bad terms with the Demir Workshop?
It was plain as day.
"Anyway, no concrete evidence, right?"
"Yes. There's no record of the Shadow Walker at his hotel residence, and he has an alibi of sorts."
"...I see."
Records can be erased anytime.
Alibis can be fabricated anytime.
In this world, anything is possible.
If you have the money.
"Then, let's hurry and issue our statement."
"What should we say?"
"We express our injustice. And if it's slander without evidence... we demand compensation, don't we? No matter who the opponent is, even a ranker."
"I-is that okay?"
"You have to push hard when you need to. That's how they won't dare touch you easily."
Probably.
He'd gotten old.
Pride overriding practicality was a sign.
Normally, he'd just apologize and be done.
"Call all the group-affiliated rankers who are resting to headquarters. We'll counter with a show of force."
"Understood...!"
He chose defiance.
* * *[Breaking News! Silent Oseong Group Finally Issues Statement!]
[Chairman Shin Ju-yong Denies Assassination Order, Threatens Lawsuit for Defamation and Spreading False Information?]
[Regrets to Demir Workshop and Blue Guild. Will Respond Strongly Without Apology!]
The hunter boards erupted once more.
- What? Who's telling the truth?
- Lololol, who do you think? Honestly, poking Oseong Group or Gi So-yul or Demir Workshop—what good comes from it? They did it because it's true.
- Then why is Oseong acting like that?
- They're just trying to flex with power. Who fights with laws these days? Fists, baby. Those in the know already get it. Oseong rankers are gathering at headquarters one by one.
- For real? They're crazy.
- ㅠㅠㅠ Scary. Is Korea a lawless zone now?
- Not lawless—call it the Hunter Romantic Era lololol.
- Kyaa, passion and romance blowing like the wind~
- Unnie Gi So-yul, you're adorable.
Oseong Group refused to admit it.
The incident grew more heated.
The problem was.
Things weren't going exactly as Oseong Group wanted.
"Ch-Chairman!"
One company president came rushing breathlessly into the Oseong Group chairman's office.
"What is it."
"Have you seen the article?"
"Hmm?"
Shin Ju-yong frowned and turned on his smartphone.
There, plastered on the portal site front page, was the article.
[Heavenly Demon Cult's Black Sword Squad Leader Lee Seon-ah: "Gi So-yul Isn't the Type to Lie."]
"Lee Seon-ah?"
Ranked 509th, Black Sword Lee Seon-ah's defense of Gi So-yul.
Below it, countless comments.
- Kyaa, even Heavenly Demon Cult steps in?
- Heavenly Demon Cult is our country's top, right...? Oseong's screwed.
- But the cult leader Ha Sera hasn't stepped up personally.
- Honestly, if Ha Sera comes out, game over lololol. World rank 3 and Korea's top dog. Anyway... even just Black Sword is a burden for Oseong, no?
- Agreed. They're getting isolated.
The articles didn't stop there.
[Ranker Yoo Sang-don: "Shocked by Oseong's Assassination Order! Rotten Roots in the Sacred Marketplace Must Be Uprooted."]
- Whoa, even White Money steps up?
- Our Oseong Group... domestic outcast company.
- Hey, White Money changes everything. He's vice chairman of the Merchant Association. That's what Oseong fears most.
- But aren't they all Seoul's Five Stars? Five Stars bashing Oseong Group is kinda bittersweet.
- Unnie Gi So-yul, you're so popular.
- Where's that Gi So-yul villain fan again?
BAM!
Shin Ju-yong slammed the desk again.
"White Money, that bastard...!"
He was flabbergasted.
Lee Seon-ah aside, White Money's words were absurd.
"Outrageous. If anyone's dirtier, it's them—not some clean money ghost. Uproot rotten roots? Please."
He could see the scheme.
Trying to take out a rival in this chaos.
"Ch-Chairman."
"What!"
"Actually, those two aren't the problem."
"Then what is!"
Shin Ju-yong was getting anxious now.
Was there something bigger?
Cold sweat beaded on his skin.
Had he pushed too hard?
Should he have punished internally and apologized?
The thought flashed by, but he shook his head.
With pride on the line, he had to steel himself.
Apologizing now would be the end.
He'd burned the bridges.
"Th-that... We got a call from Jang Dae-woong at headquarters contact."
"Jang Dae-woong... So that guy's moving too."
Shin Ju-yong ground his teeth.
If Seoul's Five Stars were truly conspiring, at the end would be Jang Dae-woong... the Berserker.
Jang Dae-woong was tough.
But even as one of Seoul's Five Stars, would he step into an unrelated matter?
High rankers tended to sit heavy.
Plus, there was public opinion.
If top rankers ganged up on a group without justification, tongues would wag.
"What does Gold Horse say?"
"That's... He commissioned 30 billion won worth of weapons from Demir Workshop, and says he almost lost it because of us, so we have to pay the price."
"What? Price?"
"Yes... He says he's blowing up headquarters in one hour, so evacuate all civilians?"
"...What?"
Shin Ju-yong was stunned.
Even for a ranker, that was declaring war.
Moreover, the Association Laws existed in Korea.
Rankers could settle via agreed duels, but wanton property destruction was forbidden.
Especially when civilians could be harmed.
"The building's worth about 30 billion, he said..."
"Of course it's worth more than that!"
"But... he's not the type to reason with."
"Is that bastard insane?"
Shin Ju-yong bellowed.
"Insane... yeah, he is..."
The president briefing him muttered like an ant crawling.
"...President Kim?"
Shin Ju-yong glared at President Kim with stern eyes.
"Yes, Chairman."
"In this situation. Are you joking with me? Can't read the room?"
"S-sorry."
"Hoo."
Tremble.
Shin Ju-yong couldn't stop his shaking hand.
His anger wouldn't subside.
"First, evacuate everyone! We'll assess after!"
There was no choice for now.
The opponent was a Berserker.
A true madman.
And the rule was, you avoid madmen.