Chapter 413: Special (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 413: Special (4)
Perhaps she never imagined I would refuse so decisively.
A faint ripple passed through her eyes as she looked at me.
But it was only for a moment.
“Are you acting like this because you don’t understand why I’m going so far as to reveal classified information to persuade you?”
“I know. It’s because of Seo-yeon Sunbae.”
“That’s right.”
A small spark ignited in her eyes.
“Right now, I’m not on anyone’s side. I’m advising you as Seo-yeon’s mother. I am taking a risk to keep my daughter and her friends safe.”
The alliance with Lu Bu was the most powerful card held by Hexagram, which operated in the shadows within China.
Revealing such a card to an opposing faction was an incredibly risky move.
The moment she was discovered, she would undoubtedly be branded a traitor.
I didn’t know her standing within the organization, but they wouldn’t let a traitor who leaked key information go unpunished.
Considering that, she certainly looked like a mother risking it all to save her daughter, but…
“I appreciate your concern.”
Was there any reason or obligation for me to consider her position?
“I’ll handle it myself.”
My second firm refusal.
As if displeased, Han Ju-hee bit down on her red-painted lower lip.
“I seem to have misjudged you.”
A cynical sneer formed on her lips.
“You were calm and didn’t show your temper, which is unusual for your age, so I thought you were a rational person… but I was wrong.”
Her expression and tone were condescending.
Her long-winded speech could be summed up in a single word.
Brat.
She must have intended to provoke me by calling me a brat who’s so full of himself he can’t see straight. Not a chance.
I smiled and replied to her.
“Wow… so you finally see me for who I really am?”
The insults she’d just thrown at me were, in fact, correct.
“I’ve been pretending to be rational to hide my true intentions from you, Hunter Han Ju-hee, but the truth is, I’m a person whose instincts far outweigh his reason.”
Never mind the life I’d lived in this body; I wasn’t particularly rational when I was Son Si-woo, either.
I was the kind of person who had to taste it to know if it was shit or bean paste.
That was me.
Experiencing something once with my body had a much greater impact than hearing about it a hundred or a thousand times.
Wasn’t that too dangerous for a job where you put your life on the line?
It was dangerous.
Very much so.
If you were to ask why I did it… well.
All I can say is that I was quietly losing my mind back then.
It was a time when the death rate for rookie Hunters was much higher than it is now.
I think it was also because the poverty closing in on me moment by moment was scarier than the threat of a death I had yet to experience.
Anyway.
“Perhaps that’s why your efforts don’t really resonate with me, Hunter Han Ju-hee.”
Was it because I didn’t acknowledge her efforts?
Or was it because she disliked me for defying her?
Just as she began to radiate a menacing aura, as if she were about to cause trouble…
“Ah, we’re here.”
With perfect timing, the car stopped in front of a hotel in downtown Beijing.
The bodyguard in the passenger seat, who seemed to have learned his lines from a translator, spoke in halting Korean.
“This is… the lodging for Hunter Kim Do-jin. If you go inside… you will be guided.”
What the hell.
Was I the only one staying here?
If so, why did they put me in the same car as that woman?
Shaking my head at the incomprehensible arrangement, I opened the car door and stepped outside.
Then, a clear picture of what Han Ju-hee would do next formed in my mind. I let out a small sigh, turned back, and spoke to her through the still-open door.
“Since you gave me some good information, I’ll give you a piece of advice, too.”
“I don’t need it.”
Whatever.
Ignoring her as she turned her gaze away, as if she didn’t want to listen, I continued.
“Don’t assume that all actions done with good intentions lead to good outcomes.”
At that, Han Ju-hee, belying her claim that she wouldn’t listen, turned her head to glare at me.
Before her pursed lips could form words, I beat her to it.
“Remember that no matter how righteous your intentions and actions are, the moment you ignore the other person’s will, it becomes nothing more than violence and oppression.”
Having said my piece, I immediately closed the door and turned away.
She wouldn’t change just because she heard my advice.
It wasn’t as if I’d said it hoping she would change in the first place.
I just hoped that, in the distant future, it would suddenly surface in her mind.
When she had lost everything she’d ever dreamed of—people, honor, and her future—and was forced to seriously reflect on what went wrong in her life.
I hoped that today’s advice, when she remembered it, would be the final dagger that pierced her heart.
That was all.
* * *
When a group of strangers gathers all at once, it’s bound to attract attention.
To prevent this, the Hunters from the three nations were lodged in separate hotels scattered throughout Beijing.
The same went for the strategy meeting.
They utilized perception-hindering artifacts and even disguises to gather at the designated meeting place.
A total of five people were gathered here.
Japan’s Association President, Tanaka Masayoshi; the Vatican’s Saintess, Sophia; and China’s Minister of National Defense, Chen Lao.
And from Korea, in an unusual move, both Son Si-woo and Han Ju-hee were in attendance.
Realizing that these two would be the ones leading the Hunters during the operation, Moon Cheol-jun had stepped back. The plan was for one of them to attend the meeting in his place, but a slight friction had occurred in the process.
Both had expressed a strong desire to attend the meeting.
Thanks to them, Moon Cheol-jun was caught in an awkward position.
Both individuals were far too influential for him to side with one over the other.
In the end, he spoke with the Minister of National Defense and arranged for both of them to attend.
Fortunately, Chen Lao, who was deeply grateful to Korea for sending not one, but two S-rank Hunters, readily agreed. Thus, the meeting began without any hurt feelings on either side.
“What is the current situation with the Black Market?”
At the question from Japan’s Hunter Association President, Tanaka Masayoshi, the Minister of National Defense replied with a grim expression.
“Not good. They are consolidating their forces at an accelerating rate, as if they anticipated something.”
“Hmm… then does that mean our information has been leaked…”
“They must have expected the government to make a move soon, but they couldn’t have known about all of us.”
“A silver lining in a dark cloud, then.”
Various topics were discussed.
How to approach and attack the massive Black Market.
The scope of the forces that needed to be subdued.
Infiltration routes and team compositions.
By putting their heads together, the complex issues were sorted out one by one. As the meeting was drawing to a close…
Sophia raised her hand.
“There is one more thing I would like to discuss.”
“And what is that?”
“The God-Serving Society.”
A massive Chinese faction formed by those who worshipped Lu Bu as a god.
“I believe we must prepare a contingency plan in case they join forces with the Black Market.”
“……”
“……”
The moment she finished speaking, the atmosphere grew heavy.
That was how unimaginably heavy the name Lu Bu was.
To break the oppressive silence, the Minister of National Defense waved his hands dismissively, as if the idea was absurd.
“That is an excessive leap in logic. While Lu Bu is a political rival of the current government, he has consistently opposed the growth of the Black Market in China from the very beginning.”
Therefore, there was no way he would join hands with the Black Market.
That was what he was implying, but…
“My thoughts are a little different.”
Sophia directly refuted his opinion.
“There’s a four-character idiom, Yi Yi Zhi Yi.”
To use barbarians to control other barbarians.
In other words, it meant using one enemy to subdue and control another.
To Lu Bu, the Black Market and the government were such entities.
“What do you think will happen if Lu Bu lends his power to the Black Market, and as a result, the government is defeated?”
“That’s…”
Chen Lao, his face pale, couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Sophia answered for him.
“I can’t say for sure, but there will be enormous consequences. Am I wrong?”
“……”
His silence was an affirmation.
She continued.
“When public condemnation against the government is stronger than ever… Lu Bu will absolutely not miss that opportunity.”
With the tide of fierce public criticism at his back, Lu Bu would adopt an even more coercive stance than before.
A failure in this operation could effectively be seen as a change of government in China.
“China has another such idiom.”
“Which is…?”
“Tu Si Gou Peng.”
To boil and eat the hunting dog once the hunt is over and it’s no longer useful.
“If Lu Bu, having seized power, were to crush the very Black Market that helped him… the people would think…”
Sophia continued, looking at Chen Lao, who was sweating profusely.
“‘Ah, this new government is different from the start,’ they would say.”
By then, it would be all over.
The new government would ride a wave of nationwide support onto a smooth path, while those who were on the sinking ship would go down with it.
As he repeatedly wiped his deathly pale face with a handkerchief clutched in his trembling hand…
“We must prepare… don’t you think?”
Her gentle voice crashed down on him like a tidal wave.