205. Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth (3)
205. Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth (3)
"Well, look how this one turned out......"
On the way back to the operation headquarters after finishing the strategy.
I looked at my phone and let out a dry laugh.
"Is this... real? She really was a total psycho, wasn't she?"
Lee Yu-ri must have seen what I was looking at, her eyes going round as she showed it to the rest of the party.
"......Ha. I was planning to go find her and straighten her out myself......"
"Right, after what she said to my hoobae. I had a 5,700-character comment all ready to spam......"
"She went down so utterly and completely that there's nothing left for us to do......"
"Agreed. Withdraw the shadow."
Kang Do-hee, Im Ga-eul, Sofia, and Ichika all wore subtle expressions.
Seemed like each of them had been itching to take care of it personally once their respective tasks were finished.
However.
Ling Xiao was already burning bright with no need for any further intervention.
『 Ling Xiao Was Behind the Jiangsu Province Gate Explosion! And What About All the Other Gate Explosions Before This!? 』
『 Ling Xiao's Power Base Jiangsu Province Erupts in Riots! 』
『 Ling Xiao's Past Atrocities! She's Been Notorious All Along! 』
『 [ Global Pick! ] Ling Xiao's Residence Goes Up in Flames. 』
『 CGHA: "Ling Xiao to Be Expelled from the Hunter Registry and Taken Into Custody" 』
All her past statements and actions were surfacing one after another, getting archived across every online community, and that wasn't even the worst of it.
The recordings of her personal broadcasts were filling up with expletives in all the different languages of the world, and the large house she'd been living in was currently being enthusiastically set on fire.
By now, she was being treated as a hunter even lower than a Demonized Human. The fury within China in particular seemed beyond imagining.
'Well... she fucked her own life up.'
When we returned to the operation headquarters with that somewhat odd feeling,
"Everyone, you've all worked so hard."
Shin Se-hee, smiling more brightly than usual, handed out towels and cold drinks.
'It was definitely her...... right?'
Gulp, gulp.
Accepting the drink, I stole a sidelong glance at Shin Se-hee. Taking a single person out completely, on this scale—it'd be tough for anyone except Shin Se-hee to pull off.
"I'll wipe the sweat for you..."
But she just wiped my sweat with a pure expression, as if she knew absolutely nothing about it.
'I really, really must never get on this girl's bad side......'
I was once again steeling that resolution when it happened.
"Hahahahahaha! You've arrived!"
Sky-high tension, completely different from the first time he'd seen us.
A foreigner with his blond hair slicked back with pomade. Richard welcomed us with open arms.
*
"You've truly done remarkable work! Utopia, all of you!!"
Once we'd moved from the operation headquarters to the reception room, Richard praised us with a broad smile.
"It was nothing."
"Nothing, you say! This time, you didn't just show them why it had to be Korea! Why it had to be Velvet Academy! Why it had to be Utopia!"
When I shook my head and offered a light show of modesty, Richard made a grand fuss, talking us up.
"In any case, thanks to this commission, our side in the U.S. stands to gain quite a lot. Once again, thank you."
I stared squarely at him with a look that said, 'But isn't this treatment a little too different from the first time around?'
A bit embarrassed, Richard cleared his throat with a dry cough.
Ahem—
"First, the commission completion payment will be delivered as is. However, paying you the same amount as the other parties raised an issue of fairness, so......"
I adjusted my posture where I sat.
The real topic started from here. Shin Se-hee had taken the lead in the earlier negotiations, but when it came to settling the completed commission, I had to step forward. I was Utopia's representative, after all.
"For each village you cleared today, we'll pay an additional 100 million won."
"......!?"
100 million per village.
We'd taken down roughly twenty villages today, so that was 2 billion won. And on top of that, as a bonus.
'Isn't this insane?'
"Furthermore, in my earlier negotiations with Cheonhwa, I offered 10% of the net profit we earned from Utopia's broadcast exposure, but I'll raise it to 15%."
"......!?"
'What the... Is this right?'
From the start, Richard had approached us in a deferential posture, as if he had no intention of negotiating at all. And the eyes he flicked toward Shin Se-hee were trembling.
'Ah, so you know?'
They say the U.S. is recognized for its intelligence network—seems he'd figured out that the destruction of Ling Xiao was Shin Se-hee's handiwork. Having seen so vividly what happens when you get on the wrong side of her, it'd be strange if he wasn't shitting himself.
'No, knowing Shin Se-hee, she probably leaked it on purpose.'
To which Richard added, as if he had no ulterior motive whatsoever,
"This is purely goodwill. You can see it as a gesture of our desire to maintain a good relationship with Utopia going forward. Would you be willing to accept commissions from the U.S. from time to time in the future?"
"Ah, yes. Of course."
"Excellent."
He nodded, looking satisfied.
Just when the conversation seemed to be wrapping up, Richard handed each party member his personal card.
US Hunter Association, Operations Officer.
— Richard Parkers.
"Hmm, and while this may be a bit forward...... Should your path remain undecided after graduation, please, just give this number a single call......"
"No. We're good."
I shot down Richard's offer with razor-edged decisiveness.
'Is he insane? Surely none of them think getting naturalized in the U.S. sounds great, right?'
I quietly checked my party members' reactions. If you keep neglecting one of them, if you hit rock bottom with someone, they sometimes accept the U.S. offer. And then eventually, the character just vanishes from your roster.
'When you spent money pulling them, that honestly pisses you right off.'
Anyway, none of the party members had a particularly tempted expression. I delivered the clean rejection.
"Yes, understood."
Richard, too, backed off as if it had been a casual offer thrown out lightly.
"Still, should your hearts ever change, please reach out to us anytime. We'll always have the best possible terms prepared. It's never a bad thing to keep your options open."
Well, it didn't look like he'd fully given up, though.
* * *
Clank— Clank—
Just as the negotiations finished and we were about to head back to the academy, the sound of chains clinking reached us from a distance.
'That's...... Ling Xiao, isn't it?'
The people gripping both her arms looked like China's public security hunters. Ling Xiao, being dragged along by them, was a wretched sight beyond words.
It seemed she'd been hauled straight from the commission for interrogation or something—her face was streaked with grime and her eyes were haggard, utterly lifeless.
That was the moment they were passing us by.
Swish—!
Abruptly, as she was being dragged along, Ling Xiao's eyes flashed open and she whipped her head around.
"Ling Xiao! What do you think you're doing!"
The Chinese public security hunters frantically tried to grab hold of her, but she shook them off first.
But.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Smack—!
"Gkk-ugh!"
Kang Do-hee shot forward like a bullet, kicking Ling Xiao's foot out from under her and sending her sprawling. And then—
Crash-thud-thud—!
"How dare you!"
Press!
Lee Yu-ri, her face hardened, mounted Ling Xiao from above and wrenched her arms behind her back, restraining her.
Crunch—
Flat on the ground, Ling Xiao ground her teeth and glared up at me, her eyes burning with hatred.
"You son of a bitch! Was it you!? Was it you!!!"
She erupted, screaming curses.
"What bullshit are you spouting?"
"Did you—did you do this to me!!!!!"
I tilted my head at her words.
"That was you, wasn't it?"
"......What?"
"No, I'm asking because I honestly find it ridiculous. Did I intentionally cause a gate explosion? Or did I deliberately stand by and let monsters massacre civilians? Or maybe I showed up late like some hero and duped everyone?"
Ling Xiao's eyes flew wide open.
"You did all of that yourself. So I really can't figure out why you're coming at me over it."
"Shut up...... Shut up, shut up! Shut uuuuup! You—you thought I wouldn't know you set this whole thing up—"
"No. It's all your own karma."
She tried to lash out at me again, but I cut her off and spoke.
"Well, I suppose you could say our pissing match got you even more famous, and that made all your past shit blow up."
"......."
Ling Xiao bit down hard on her lip and trembled.
"But here's the funny part. Didn't you want to be famous from the start? That's why you picked a fight with me in the first place. So... you seriously never once thought that if you got famous, your dirty past would blow up in your face someday?"
At that moment, one of the Chinese public security hunters, who'd been watching for an opening, stepped in and restrained her again.
"Ling Xiao, one more impulsive action and you will be executed on the spot."
"To Utopia—our apologies. This was our negligence."
"Ah, it's fine. Take her away."
"Thank you."
And so Ling Xiao was dragged off again by the Chinese public security hunters.
"Uwaaaaaaahhhhh—!!!!!"
Her horrible scream rang out.
"Pfft—"
And then suddenly, from behind me, a laugh burst out.
"Fufufufufufu......."
Behind me, Shin Se-hee was quietly covering her mouth and laughing. I pretended not to see and turned my head.
'I seriously need to stay on this girl's good side......'
That was already the third time I'd resolved that today alone.