Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Chaos in Beijing
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I unleashed my Presence once and stood like a gatekeeper, glaring at the Chinese troops beyond the border.
Barbed wire fences stretched across the border, but to Hunters, they might as well not exist.
After regressing, I had kept a low profile for a while. Without the strength to protect myself, any reckless actions could land me in prison or get me killed—not to mention failing to prevent future events. In the worst case, people around me could get hurt. But now that I had power, I could afford to act boldly to some extent.
The standoff continued in silence. This situation favored us more. China couldn't keep deploying that many troops here indefinitely. On our side, just me standing here was threat enough.
"How long do we have to keep this up?"
Hunter Jeong Min-gi asked.
"Who knows. Until those guys back off?"
"I don't think China will give up on the World Tree."
A valid deduction. There's no way the cash-strapped Chinese government would abandon a tree that spits out money.
"They'll do it eventually."
"Why do you think that?"
I wanted to say, 'Because the next Legion Commander will show up in China in a few months,' but I had no way to explain it.
When the Legion Commander arrives, China will suffer collapse-level damage. They won't have the bandwidth to worry about the World Tree. The problem is that I killed the first Legion Commander-level monster, the Ice Dragon, so it's uncertain if the second one will appear in the same place on the same day.
"Just a hunch."
Even without a Legion Commander, as long as I exist like a nuclear weapon, China won't dare touch us easily.
The nerve-wracking standoff dragged on. The soldiers already hit by my Presence were on the verge of passing out from terror.
Bang!
A bullet suddenly flew in and ricocheted off my head.
"Uh... uh..."
The Chinese soldier who fired looked back and forth between his finger and me. All eyes turned to him in an instant.
"Wait! It was a mistake! Hold on!"
Hong Rong stepped forward and shouted in Korean. He must have memorized a few words.
"Grab that bastard!"
At Hong Rong's words, the Chinese troops seized the shooter and pinned him to the ground.
The Chinese soldiers glanced warily at me.
"Hunter Lee Ji-seok."
Worried I might charge, Hunter Jeong Min-gi called my name quietly.
"I'm not going. I'm not."
I replied to Hunter Jeong Min-gi almost without opening my mouth, keeping my voice low.
"That was an accident!"
"Does an accident mean shooting at someone's head?! Back off!"
The Chinese commander and Director Baek Young-shin raised their voices.
"Isn't a mere gun useless against an S-Rank Hunter?!"
"That's not the point! China just fired on Korean soil! Take responsibility for this!"
* * *
"Ugh..."
The commander couldn't help agonizing over how to handle the situation. Retreating meant death in Beijing. Charging in also meant death. And in this mess, one idiot soldier had fired his gun. With the Koreans recording everything, this put them at a disadvantage.
"Just charge."
As Huang Bao hesitated, Tian Pei spoke up.
"What?"
"They can't beat us anyway. While Hong Rong and I tie down those two S-Ranks over there, we push through with the remaining Korean forces and attack at full strength. Even S-Ranks can't hold out forever."
"..."
"Beijing. Are you really going back like this?"
"Damn it... Pass down the order. Attack on my signal."
"For the Chinese people!"
Tian Pei saluted and withdrew.
* * *
"Hmm..."
I couldn't understand the commander and Tian Pei's conversation, but the commander's resolve showed on his face.
"What's wrong?"
"Looks like they're going to attack."
"What?"
"The commander's face says he's ready to attack. This won't do. I'll go lop off his head."
"Wa... Wait... We can't strike first."
"If we sit still, all our soldiers die?"
"Urgh...!"
A powder keg ready to blow.
One of the Chinese communication officers rushed up to the commander.
"What... What?!"
I couldn't make out what he was saying from this distance, and it was in Chinese anyway. I should make time later to learn Chinese and Spanish.
"We won't forget this! We will return to reclaim lawful Chinese territory!"
The Chinese commander spat out a line like a third-rate villain and withdrew his troops.
"What the hell?"
"Who knows... Well, that's a relief."
It could've turned into all-out war, but thankfully it didn't. Still, the question of why they retreated lingered.
And that question was answered just a few hours later.
"My God..."
Everyone watching the TV screen felt the same shock. Beijing was burning.
"Civil war?"
Chinese troops and Chinese Hunters were fighting each other. Monsters were rampaging here and there too.
That's definitely the second Legion Commander, the Succubus Queen.
The Chinese troops fighting each other weren't under threats like Franklin's—they were under the Succubus Queen's powerful brainwashing. Once affected, they don't even realize they've been brainwashed. Threats prevent full performance and allow resistance, but this brainwashing has no such flaws.
The Succubus Queen herself wasn't appearing on screen. Even in my previous life, the monster behind the incident wasn't identified for a while after it started.
Foreign media kept reporting on Beijing's situation nonstop.
To make matters worse, Taiwan and Tibet rose up proclaiming independence, sparking battles everywhere.
With the Succubus Queen appearing, China's countless Gates weren't going to wait, so many Hunters were deployed there too.
With incidents breaking out in all directions, Beijing was crumbling, but they couldn't commit troops to restoration.
I wanted to just watch the well-deserved spectacle, but the Chinese people were innocent. If China collapsed or took excessive damage, Gate Breaks would happen, and the fallout would reach Korea too.
That said, I couldn't just charge in to save them with our current strained relations. Unlike Mexico where the government had collapsed, China's government was still functioning. Even if I helped, they'd find any excuse later to pick a fight.
"Shamelessly, they requested reinforcements."
Director Baek Young-shin said after hanging up the phone.
"What did they say?"
"They asked to send Hunter Lee Ji-seok and Hunter Jeong Min-gi. First time I've seen China act so humbly."
"What's the price?"
"They offered magic stones. Basically free labor."
"Director. If we hunt the monster causing this, demand land. If we fail, they give nothing. And I'll go alone."
"Land?"
"Make sure they can't mess with us near Baekdu Mountain again. Demand Liaoning Province and Jilin Province."
Combining those two provinces would match the size of a unified Korea.
"Hmm... I doubt they'll cooperate..."
Director Baek Young-shin worried the terms were too steep, but I was certain they'd accept.
In my previous life, tens of thousands of brainwashed people suddenly emerged in the densely populated Beijing area. Deploying troops to suppress them only got those troops taken over too, leading to total loss of control.
Not every S-Rank Hunter has mental barriers like mine, so one went in and got brainwashed, never returning. That was Hong Rong.
The World Hunter Association couldn't recklessly send Hunters without knowing what monster was there. By wasting time, it reached a point where they couldn't send anyone even if they wanted to.
In the end, they caught it. Cornered, China dropped a nuke, wiping out the monster and their brainwashed citizens. Then an S-Rank Hunter went in to clean up the near-dead Succubus Queen and monsters. That set China on the path to ruin. Not just China—every country followed in a few years.
"Hyungnim, you're going to help China?"
"Yeah, I have to."
I answered while lying down watching TV.
"Uh... When? It's chaos there right now."
"I'll help, but they don't need me yet. They're offering magic stones if we help."
"But people are getting hurt..."
Sang-hun had faced off against Chinese troops at Baekdu Mountain and held grudges, yet he worried about Chinese civilians. Some might call him a pushover, but I liked that Sang-hun was a good person. When Nayoung and I leaned extreme, his views acted as a brake.
I sat up straight and looked at Sang-hun.
"Sang-hun, I get how you feel. If they were stateless people suffering, I'd go help. But setting that precedent means China will keep demanding free help from Korea, and we'll get dragged around more and more."
With China constantly picking fights, I couldn't operate freely. I needed to weaken them this time and gain the upper hand in Korea-China relations.
"Don't worry. It won't take long."
Beijing was China's capital and a symbol of its long history. The Communist Party wouldn't let it fall without a fight.
Sure enough, contact came soon.
"They changed it to sharing the area around the World Tree."
"Looks like they still have leeway. Tell them the terms stand."
Exactly one more day passed before the reply.
"Hunter Lee Ji-seok was right. China accepted. But they specified it's only if you solo the monster causing it."
Director Baek Young-shin brought the agreement. It even had the World Hunter Association's seal.
"Fine. In the monster extermination process, immunity for attacking brainwashed Chinese troops—is that agreed?"
"Yes. They don't have the capacity to save the brainwashed now. The Korean government is also coordinating with the World Hunter Association to recruit troops for evacuating civilians from the outskirts."
"Then I'll head out first."
"Wait, do you even know what's going on there?"
"It'll work out somehow."
* * *
"You're going to Beijing, right?"
Nayoung asked as I prepared to depart.
"I'll go alone this time. I'll just lop off the head of the monster brainwashing people inside. It won't work on me."
"What do you think is in Beijing?"
"Huh? The news said a brainwashing monster..."
"No. What exact monster does oppa's hunch say is there? Take a guess."
Nayoung had already sensed I was hiding something.
"A Succubus, and an unprecedentedly powerful Succubus Queen?"
No need to hide it in this situation.
"Heh... Stronger mind control than mine?"
"Probably."
"Your hunch again?"
"Yeah... Sorry."
"It's fine. But oppa, what if I go with you and do this?"
Nayoung thought for a moment and proposed an idea.
"What? Would that even work?"
"Nothing to lose. Let's go together."
Nayoung looked straight into my eyes and said. Now that mana flowed through her body, even without casting spells, purple flecks mixed into her irises.
She'd sensed something before Mexico too but followed silently and suffered immensely. This time, without questioning my actions, she just wanted to help.
"Alright. Let's go. But it won't be comfortable."
"Huh? Then how?"
Nayoung tilted her head.