Chapter 61
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Conditions.
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Conditions.
The next day, in the basement of AHB headquarters.
The air in the First Strategy Conference Room hung heavy.
In the center of the room, a hologram screen floated, playing footage so gruesome it was hard to keep one's eyes open.
[Uwaaaagh!!]
The scene was a massive underground chamber.
Endless rows of experimental tables stretched out, far too many to count.
All the figures were clad in identical lab suits.
Some among them looked far too grotesque to be called human.
One had parts of his body covered in crocodile-like scales.
Another had muscles swollen to abnormal sizes.
The injuries varied wildly as well.
"This footage was recovered from data left in the lab."
"No way... all of them are..."
"Yes, all test subjects."
"All of them Awakeners?"
"No. What you're seeing is our estimate of the process where they forcibly inject the Varkas gene into non-Awakeners to induce mutations."
[Kwaaaagh!!]
"We call this the hatching phase. It looks like they're experimenting with injecting the Varkas gene into non-Awakeners to force an awakening."
"Force an awakening?"
"Yes. If you look at the next part..."
[Uwaaaagh!! Ah, no!!]
[S-save me!!! Uwaaagh!!]
In the video, one test subject convulsed and rolled on the floor.
He clawed at his own throat in agony until his body swelled like a balloon and exploded.
The researchers impassively cleared away the remains as if it were nothing.
Click.
James Miller pressed the remote, stopping the video.
Silence filled the conference room, and Miller's face had darkened to the color of dirt.
"This footage... it's what they're doing with the Varkas gene."
Miller continued in a trembling voice.
"They're so short on Awakeners that they've started experimenting on non-Awakeners. The success of these experiments isn't the issue. The problem is that the harm is spreading to civilians."
"They're crossing the line."
"Yes, exactly. If this continues, not just America, but civilians worldwide will become their guinea pigs."
Miller's gaze turned to Si-woo, seated across from him.
He was more desperate than anyone.
Why wouldn't he be?
The harm was spreading to his own nation's citizens.
Solving it on their own was now nearly impossible.
He had two options left.
One: Publicly disclose all the damage and beg for help from America's S-Rank Hunters.
This would certainly force their participation.
No matter how individualistic S-Rank Hunters were, they couldn't refuse in that situation.
Unless they wanted to live as villains, they'd have to care about public opinion and join in.
So why hadn't they used that surefire method?
'Because of the government's credibility.'
It was the most reliable option, but it would also reliably tank their trust.
Of course, they could make excuses by claiming they'd asked the S-Ranks first and been refused.
But that would raise another problem.
Does that mean the government can't solve a national crisis without S-Rank Hunters?
Once that question arose, doubts would snowball.
As the world's strongest nation, they had plenty of enemies.
Some would accuse them of overreacting and exaggerating the threat.
Yet those accusers couldn't answer whether such exaggeration was impossible.
No one knew the future.
"CEO Han. I believe you've grasped the situation, so I'll say it plainly."
Miller stared straight through Si-woo.
'They'd die before choosing the first option.'
Si-woo knew what they wanted from him.
They'd seen the power of Miracle Management's Hunters.
How could they not know?
Especially how lethal Kim Ye-eun was to modified humans.
"Speak."
"We need your power."
Miller pleaded desperately.
Standing Colonel Michael stared into space with steely resolve.
Any more delays, and America would fall.
They had no more backs to turn to.
But.
"I see."
Si-woo's response was utterly dry.
He lifted his teacup to wet his lips, then slowly set it down.
"That's a pity."
"...A pity?"
"Truly inhumane and brutal. It shouldn't be allowed. However."
Si-woo leaned back in his chair.
"I don't see what that has to do with me."
"...What?"
Miller's eyes widened.
What did he mean, what did it have to do with him?
Was this man sane?
America could collapse any moment.
And if America fell, it would spread worldwide—that much was obvious.
Did that have nothing to do with him?
"Miracle Management is a for-profit company that manages our Hunters' schedules, boosts their value, and generates revenue."
"..."
"We're a business chasing profit, not a mercenary group waving the banner of justice."
"H-ha, but...! This is a matter of humanity's survival. If the Villain Alliance takes over the world, do you think business will matter?"
"Sure, there'd be damage. But that's only if America falls, right?"
"...CEO Han!"
"America still has countless S-Rank Hunters. And military might befitting the world's strongest superpower."
Si-woo regarded Miller with the same impassive face.
"America wants to resolve this without taking any losses, doesn't it? Want to know what's going through my head right now? That the business expansion AHB proposed feels meaningless."
Si-woo stood, straightening his clothes.
"If things stay like this, America will descend into chaos, and without resolving it, business won't progress. That would force Miracle to step in and fix it. I'm not idiot enough to shoulder all that risk."
"W-wait, CEO Han!"
Miller jumped up in a panic, blocking Si-woo's path.
Sweat poured down his forehead like rain.
If he let Han Si-woo leave now, it was over.
"At least... hear out our full proposal."
"Director, it's already too late."
Si-woo strode toward the door without hesitation.
Kim Ye-eun yawned with a bored expression, while Baek Chang-gi shrugged as if uninterested.
"We'll split ownership of the Varkas corpse!"
"...?"
Si-woo's hand paused on the doorknob at Miller's near-screamed offer.
He slowly turned to face him.
"Those words just now... you mean them?"
"The Varkas corpse is an asset of astronomical value. Don't worry about the procedures."
"..."
"CEO Han. Please..."
"But here's the thing."
Si-woo said with a puzzled look.
"What would I even do with Varkas ownership? Yes, I know it has astronomical value. But that value only matters if it can be utilized. For someone running a management agency, there's no merit."
"......"
"Start a trading company? I'd have to shove aside established firms for that. Is it bait big enough to risk? I don't think so. And dispatch our Hunters for it? That's an even worse deal."
"...Then how about this? Exceptionally, Hunters contracted with Miracle can enter term-limited contracts in America without separate approval."
"......"
"What do you think? 'No restrictions on activities in America.' Isn't that bait enough?"
He was right.
Si-woo's eyes gleamed differently now.
Hunters from a foreign management agency freely coming and going between Korea and America for contracts?
Even Si-woo hadn't considered it.
It was no different from America's superpower status guaranteeing trust in Miracle's Hunters.
"...Whew."
"CEO Han."
"Wow, that was tough. But I'll decline this offer too. For the reason I just stated. I won't dispatch our Hunters for an uncertain future. Anything else, and I'd consider positively."
Miller bowed his head at Si-woo's words.
Even the condition he'd thought was his masterstroke was rejected.
"Then..."
Miller continued without lifting his head.
"Would you contract under the condition of not dispatching Miracle Management Hunters?"
"...Yes?"
Miller's bowed shoulders trembled faintly.
Defeat?
No, it didn't look like defeat.
"You did say..."
'This is actually...'
"...that you'd consider any contract positively, as long as no dispatch."
'...No way.'
Si-woo stared piercingly at Miller.
He still had his head down.
His shoulders still shook.
"In that case. A contract to scout S-Rank Hunters for America's future..."
'I got played.'
Si-woo finally realized he was caught in a web.
This negotiation, starting with America in the inferior position, had revealed its true colors the moment Si-woo gave the answer they wanted.
Miller slowly raised his head to meet Si-woo's eyes.
A chillingly bright smile spread across his face.
"You said you'd consider it positively, right?"
"......"
"Isn't that so?"
A positive response was only positive in a positive direction.
There was no need for unconditional acceptance of Miller's proposal.
But they'd conceded Si-woo's condition regardless.
The safety of his Hunters.
They'd even dangled their national crisis as a bargaining chip.
Refusing now meant truly making an enemy of America.
"Now it's your choice, CEO Han."
"......"
'This sly fox.'
This had been the plan from the start.
Since when?
He held a key position in the world's superpower government.
Could he really have laid no groundwork?
Were all those idiotic blunders truly unplanned?
Would an American figure be that sloppy?
It was suspicious.
No matter how arrogant the world's strongest nation, this was too sloppy.
In the end, things had gone Si-woo's way, and he'd taken it as natural.
He'd thought they had no choices.
But it was all a trap woven from an old spider's intricate web.
The rudely ignorant start, deploying Elena, then instantly switching to a servile attitude.
All calculated.
For this exact moment.
"......"
For this situation where Han Si-woo couldn't decide easily.
"Let's discuss a contract staking our fates."
"...Haha."