Chapter 16
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 016
Chapter Title: You Can't Stop a Tidal Wave with Your Hands (2)
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The news swept through the public like a storm.
"Shocking news. A document posted on an authenticated hunter community online..."
"It clearly outlines evidence of corruption in the Hunter Management Bureau."
"No official statement from the Bureau yet..."
"Breaking! The Bupyeong Gate Shock from five years ago, which plunged the nation into grief, was reportedly ordered by the Bureau...!"
Major media outlets jumped on the story, all covering the evidence of corruption in the Hunter Management Bureau that had surfaced on hunter communities.
Under normal circumstances, it would've been dismissed as conspiracy theory nonsense.
But this time was different.
For one simple reason: recent mishaps like the poor gate management in Seoul and the S-Rank gate mutation had already cracked public trust in the Bureau.
Whoa, crazy. Saw the upload online—super detailed breakdown. Looks like they went all out on this.
Holy shit lol, they took down the doc from online already lmao.
???? Is this legit??????
What the fuck, does that even make sense?
These bastards acted like they owned the place, but this shit behind the scenes?
Victory Blood Guild for real? Knew they were tight with politics since they're right by the National Assembly, but this level?
Yeah, fucking crazy???
Once the fire was lit, the issue refused to die down easily.
Of course, some outlets ignored it entirely, and others pulled their articles—but that only backfired spectacularly.
Fuck, no one to trust anymore lololol.
The frame was set, and public sentiment was turning.
More than anything, this wasn't some trivial matter—it tied directly to national security and the country's future.
You can't cover the sky with the palm of your hand. Once the public knew, any cover-up just poured fuel on the flames.
The uproar dragged on both inside and out.
Then came the punctuation mark.
"Heavenly Fire Guild will not tolerate crimes using gates..."
"Black Moon Guild will not treat this lightly."
"Athena Guild declares no ties to the Bureau's misdeeds and will prove it through actions from now on."
The three major guilds officially declared war on the Hunter Management Bureau.
It was essentially the stance of entire guild corporations.
Even before becoming the Bureau's scapegoat, they'd harbored frustrations with the gate assignment system.
This was just the accumulated grudge exploding.
With justification on their side, the guilds' full entry would obviously shift the landscape.
The situation turned even more against the Bureau.
Jeong-woo pondered why, in his previous life, dismantling the Bureau had been such a slog—and pinpointed the root cause.
'The environment wasn't right. Everyone knew deep down it was corrupt, but there was no justification to attack. No reason.'
Lee Cheon-woo, the whistleblower, had no allies.
He had solid evidence and a noble cause, but the pragmatic powers that move the world had no incentive to back it.
What Jeong-woo did was create that incentive.
When the time is right, even fools step up.
Guilds weren't all pure heroes, but that made them hypersensitive to interests.
The Bureau's power was waning.
And now, as its dumping ground, they'd suffered massive losses—so stepping up was a win for the guilds.
That was the setup.
Not Bureau vs. Agency, but the Agency's board where the Bureau was surrounded and gnawed at by guilds and the public.
'Just a matter of time.'
The Bureau would be stripped bare and dissolved.
At the critical moment, it'd need a replacement—and in this game, that role was his.
Knowing the future made it a breeze from the start.
With his abilities backing it up, even easier.
Not something to celebrate prematurely.
Especially when it wasn't over yet.
In the Director's office, Jin Ho-jong spoke.
"You know they're not the type to go down easy, right?"
Jeong-woo nodded.
"They'll lash out somehow. Or maybe go full mutual destruction."
"Latter's more likely. Those old timers are vicious enough to reach this point."
He was certain.
Not baseless either.
'In a way, they're his old comrades.'
Ho-jong was a first-gen hunter and one of the architects of the public hunter system alongside the inaugural Director.
Now isolated as Agency Director, he'd once been closer to the current political hunters than anyone.
So his words carried weight.
Beyond that, Jeong-woo already knew their moves.
"I have a guess."
"Yeah?"
History repeating.
Even if he'd twisted it more radically, the fundamentals remained.
Cornered foes, similar plays.
So,
"Bury one issue with another. Pretty classic."
The disaster would hit just like before.
'Problem is, butterfly effect means I can't pin down when or how...'
He was mulling it over.
"Mr. Jeong-woo, visitor for you?"
"Huh? A visitor?"
Who'd come all the way here?
Jeong-woo headed to the reception room, puzzled.
When he saw the face, he gasped.
"Long time no see. Hunter Shin Jeong-woo."
An unexpected figure stood there.
A sturdy build, a mask of righteousness with a smile that won anyone over—a middle-aged man.
"Director Kim Sin-uk?"
Nowon-gu Hunter Management Bureau Director Kim Sin-uk was there.
He extended a hand.
"Straight to the point."
"What?"
"How about a deal with me?"
As Jeong-woo furrowed his brow,
"It'll be a great offer for you, Hunter Shin Jeong-woo."
Sin-uk's smile deepened.
The Patriot Party council was once the most powerful bloc in the country.
Right up until the scandal broke.
"My gut's rotting. Can't remember the last time I felt this crushed."
The atmosphere sank at the old man's lament from the head seat, like a gnarled tree.
Not one of the suited elders dared meet his eyes.
"Speak up, someone."
But who could?
A thorn in your own finger hurts more than a spear in someone else's guts.
All here had taken massive hits from the exposé.
Just thinking of cleanup split their heads—let alone the party's future.
What more could they do in a doomed group?
But—
"No one? Then we all die together?"
The old man said chillingly.
Then it hit: amid all this, he was the biggest victim.
Even setting aside the rest, there was something he never spoke of.
A reverse scale that forbade even hints of it.
The North Korea reclamation plan.
The trap he'd set to oust the inaugural Director.
Now the whole truth was out.
Exposing that he'd killed the nation's hero—what did that mean?
Regardless, for him, it meant death penalty or worse beyond party, Bureau, or Victory Blood survival.
They were barely holding with past gains, but that wouldn't last.
Public, guilds, media, authorities—all turning hostile.
Especially the opposition, baring teeth now.
This was such a gathering.
The elders felt it.
"You gonna let those mongrel pigs squeal without doing shit?"
Former inaugural Bureau Deputy Director.
Current Patriot Party leader.
First-gen hunter Han Dae-hyeong.
He was in a state to unleash horrors to bury this.
"Elder..."
"Too long in peace. Forgot who protected them while they slept easy."
A chill laced Han Dae-hyeong's voice.
"Those swine only bark at what's in front. Justice, greater good—bullshit. Before their necks snap, they'll beg for mercy. That's them. Why fear now?"
The order dropped.
"Forgot? Fine, remind them who let them stretch out safe."
He growled.
"Open the gates."
Reimprint the forgotten terror.
Intent clear.
If you can't bury it, make resistance impossible even knowing.
Command to mobilize hunter forces.
Gates as surreal disasters threatening humanity were history.
Now gates were part of life.
Density meant even outside Seoul, every city had a Third Gate at its core.
Thus, gate collapse was daily life collapsing.
Those planners' recklessness was issue enough for worldwide outrage.
Daejeon was no different.
"Seen the news? Weird if you haven't. Everyone's talking. Yeah."
"Why solo drum solo? Of course. Insane? Bureau bastards really..."
"Worse than the rest—the inaugural Director thing had that behind it. How..."
Since the Bureau's takeover—no, before, ongoing atrocities all exposed.
From petty pre-power grabs, shoving the era's top hero—the inaugural Director—into gate-corroded North Korea, to murders for political monopoly after.
Every detail out, it dominated every conversation everywhere.
In busy streets, it buzzed in ears.
Beyond talk, phones blared related news.
Public fury peaked then.
Wheeeeeen—!
Disaster hit with sirens.
Level 1 Disaster!
Citizens, evacuate to shelters! This is not a drill! Gate Shock! Gate Shock...
The city erupted in sirens and alerts.
All looked skyward in chills.
A red-swollen gate expanding.
Third Gate mutation from density overflow—Gate Shock.
Something burst from it.
The 21st century's visceral terror: magic beasts.
"Kyaaaahhh!!!"
"Aaaah!!!"
Citizens screamed in terror, shoving, trampling, fleeing from the gate.
Kwaaang—!
Beast hit ground.
They reached for the peaceful city.
That moment.
Pew pew pew pew pew pew—!
Something childish effect sound sliced air.
Kuoooong!!!
A kids' cartoon monster roar halted people.
They sensed oddity, turned.
Saw it.
Clack.
Clack.
Steady, calm dress shoes.
Followed by.
Pop!
Pop!
Cute, huge footsteps.
Gaze led to familiar face.
Tall, gentle features, suited.
Flanked by fierce teddy bear and sea otter dolls.
The hunter world's hot topic, dragging every issue: Shin Jeong-woo and his summons.
Humans aren't quick to process sudden shifts.
From city collapse doom to plushie monster battle—citizens just gawked blankly.
Then dinosaur plush beasts waddled toward them.
Jeong-woo spoke into radio.
"Anomalous Disaster Response Agency Hunter Shin Jeong-woo, on site."
Crisp voice stuck in ears.
"Gate Shock confirmed. A-Rank. Three Champion units."
Why?
"Executing on site."
Did that sound like no one dies here today?
"Kids, handle it."
Paaang—!
Kwarung—!
Plush summons rampaged.
A massive accident struck suddenly.
Unforeseen surge—shocks hit gates in major cities nationwide simultaneously.
National crisis.
It seemed inevitable.
But coincidentally.
"Breaking! Busan Gate Shock—Heavenly Fire Guild Master Ha Kwon-seung..."
"Gwangju Gate Shock site! Black Moon owner Park Tae-woon taking down beasts..."
"Daegu Shock site! Athena Chair Jin Han-seo just smashed a Champion's head!"
"Emergency hunter guilds containing Shock! Wonju Gate—Marang's Baek Geun-ho called core forces to protect homes... Wait! Hold on! Mic..."
"Citizens! Watch! This is Marang's Baek Geun-ho! Gonna show you something—aaack!!!"
"Hey! Give back the mic!!!"
Korea's core forces, who should've been in Seoul, appeared nationwide.
As if someone had tipped them off.