Chapter 175. If I Kill You, Will I Be Punished?
Chapter 175. If I Kill You, Will I Be Punished?
"Whoa... What is this place?"
"The debt ratio has already passed 300%."
Employee Han's voice was tinged with a sigh.
A colleague sitting next to him shook his head and handed over a different document.
"Ministry of Labor complaint records, Employment and Labor dispute mediation results, unpaid wage history..."
The table where they were meeting was buried in a chaotic mess of documents.
Sensitive internal data obtained through cooperation with the government.
Under normal circumstances, information that should never be disclosed to the private sector, but...
"Ha... This company had a worker's finger amputation accident?"
"And they settled it for barely this much money."
They were meticulously carrying out Song Hoon's orders.
They combed through press releases and news archives one by one, narrowing down the list of companies with a scrutiny that bordered on excessive.
"This should be enough, right?"
"I think we can report to the chairman like this. He said the chairman himself would announce the companies participating in the auction."
After receiving their report, Song Hoon immediately displayed it on a slide during his stream.
As if that wasn't enough, he posted a detailed list on his Nutube channel.
Naturally, it was impossible to satisfy everyone.
The companies deprived of the opportunity to participate in the auction were, of course, dissatisfied.
And they wielded the power of anonymity to vent their frustrations.
[ Author: Anonymous ]
[ Title: F*ck, why was I disqualified? ]
[ Content: He said it would be fair, but didn't he just pick whoever he wanted?
It's just absurd lol ]
↳ Didn't Song Hoon explain the disqualification criteria up front? Didn't you get caught by that?
↳ Author: Well, but I don't think I was at that level?
↳ Wow;; Doesn't that mean you did it anyway??
↳ Author: This is just standard practice in our industry?
↳ You commit a crime and then act like it's nothing, what a joke lol
↳ Are you saying I was the same as these bastards? lol
↳ Author: Still, I'm better than you guys pounding your keyboards in your rooms, yeah
Minor problems that occurred under the guise of 'industry practice.'
Young CEOs who used this particular community were all disqualified.
And then there were the middle-aged CEOs who weren't familiar with the community.
"No, how does this make sense?"
"Sigh... I had a deal lined up to get a kickback just as big if they won the bid for us..."
"Huh, don't you realize that companies like ours have to survive for the country to survive? Do you know how much tax we pay...!"
It wasn't even an auction conducted with tax money, but an auction conducted with Song Hoon's personal funds...
But that wasn't the important issue for them.
"If they keep pushing only the companies that Unknown Hunter likes like this..."
"The country's future is really dark, so dark... Controlled by a single word from one individual?"
They had already tried slipping money to the press and offering them entertainment.
But the press were terrified of touching 'Unknown Hunter.'
In fact, the reporters who learned what kind of entertainment it was even returned the shares they had taken.
'The corpse of an S-rank Monster... An opportunity like this might never come again for a company like ours, not a major corporation...!'
The thoughts of the disqualified were all the same.
'If we just make a little noise, he'll sell some to us too...'
Song Hoon's image as the Unknown Hunter was quite friendly.
It felt halfway between a celebrity and an influencer.
Completely different from the image of other lofty, untouchable S-rank Hunters.
'That Unknown Hunter guy... There must be a lot of eyes watching him, so would he actually harm us?'
People strangely regard 'celebrities' as separate beings.
A shallow calculation that they couldn't possibly respond to every single thing.
They believe the celebrity had already succeeded, had plenty of money, and was busy... so they wouldn't care about a lower being like themselves.
So this time, they figured it wouldn't be any different.
---
"What on earth was the selection criteria? Why was a company with lower sales and fewer employees than us chosen!!!"
The man was already out of control.
Just as I was getting annoyed and about to step in to quiet him down, government agents in black suits quietly approached and bowed their heads.
"Hunter, we apologize. We will resolve this quickly."
I nodded with a blank expression, then let out a deep sigh.
"Forget it. If I respond, he'll throw an even bigger fit."
My tone was sharp and cynical.
The agents gave a bitter smile at my scathing remark.
To be honest, the agents knew it too.
They couldn't forcibly drag that man out.
This hotel wasn't a space Song Hoon had rented in its entirety; only the banquet hall was leased.
The man hadn't brought a protest group with him; outwardly, he had entered the hotel grounds acting like an ordinary guest, so the legal grounds to force him out were weak.
While the agents' gazes were wavering, I made eye contact with the man.
"Uh!? You!"
He stared at me with a startled expression and thrust his finger at me.
"Why on earth was our company dropped!!!"
"...?"
He was screaming at the top of his lungs, jabbing a finger at me even though we'd never met before.
The agents standing quietly beside me glanced at my expression and spoke urgently.
"Huh, Hunter... this is our fault..."
"That person. Let's talk privately later."
With firm words, I slowly stepped into the hotel with Laila.
He kept yelling from behind, but I ignored it.
---
There was still time left until the auction.
I was sitting in a quiet hotel suite, looking over the evaluation documents for the companies.
"Was that guy earlier the Jay Tech CEO?"
The problems listed under every item for that company were practically a 'total catastrophe.'
"Unpaid overtime, withheld wages... even sexual harassment reports filed... seriously, how can a garbage company like this even exist...?"
Laila, who had been glancing over from the side, shook her head too.
─ Knock, knock.
"?"
"Hunter, that person you mentioned earlier... we have brought him."
The door opened and the government agents entered, bowing their heads. Behind them, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his mid-50s appeared.
With his combed-over hair and suit, he walked in without a trace of intimidation and plopped down boldly into a chair.
"Hunter, please call us whenever you need us."
The government agent bowed his head once more and quietly left the room.
As the door closed, an eerie silence settled over the room again.
"Ha..."
I leaned back in my chair and let out a sigh.
The Jay Tech CEO, on the other hand, folded his arms and spoke leisurely.
"No, just why was our company disqualified?"
I stared at him silently for a moment, then tossed the pile of documents over softly.
"I explained the disqualification criteria, didn't I?"
But the CEO didn't spare a single glance at the documents, tilting his head back as he laughed.
"That's just standard practice in this industry going way back. You seem like a young fellow, so I suppose you don't know much..."
I didn't even want to hear it.
I waved my hand sharply and cut him off.
"Practice, my ass. I don't care. A disqualification is a disqualification."
The CEO rose from his seat, his face deeply creased.
"Hah, don't tell me it's because of that sexual harassment thing? That was all just a misunderstanding by a female employee..."
"Ha..."
I let out another deep sigh.
Then I frowned and spoke coldly.
"Don't make this more annoying. Piss off, will you?"
The air froze.
The CEO's face flushed bright red, on the verge of exploding.
"Wh, what... What did you just say? Right now!"
"Why? If you can't leave on your own..."
I slowly rose from my seat.
Then I walked steadily behind him, grabbed his shoulder, and forced him back down into the seat.
"Shall I kick you out?"
"Wh, what is this... Is a Hunter threatening a civilian!? You bastard, I'll report you to the press and get your Hunter license revoked...!!"
"Hey."
A single, very short word.
The air in the room was crushed beneath that brief sound.
"People are so strange. Why do they think a Hunter who can beat monsters to death with their bare hands can't kill them?"
"...!!!"
The CEO's face contorted.
He tried to muster an objection, but his mouth only opened and closed uselessly.
"No, I'm serious. I really don't get it."
"Th, that's... what on earth..."
A chuckle escaped me.
"You know, sometimes on the news you see people acting out in front of the police. Are they thinking, 'They won't really shoot. Would they really shoot?'"
My voice was low, without any emotional fluctuation.
If anything, it was this emotionless tone that made the Jay Tech CEO's shoulders tremble.
Even his breathing went quiet.
"If I, the 'Unknown Hunter,' killed you, would I be punished?"
"..."
"You'd probably just be processed as a missing person, and things would go on as if nothing happened."
The CEO's eyes shook.
His lips moved slightly, but no words came out.
"Well, at most, a small article would run on the back page of the news saying 'Jay Tech CEO Missing.'"
"...!"
Silence.
I turned back around and sat in my original seat.
Then I stared right at him and smiled.
"If I killed you, declared I was moving to another country, and grabbed the country by the leash, there'd be nothing they could do, right?"
"..."
I leaned back against the chair again and swept the documents in front of me with my hand.
Then I turned my gaze out the window as if I had no interest whatsoever.
The Jay Tech CEO, on the other hand, was frozen in place, gasping for breath.
"Th, that... I, I... this matter..."
His tongue was tied, his voice trembling.
"Jay Tech CEO."
A short, dry address.
The temperature of the room seemed to drop several degrees with just those few words.
"Don't act and then think. Think and then act."
The sound of him swallowing traveled through the deep silence of the room.
There was no cynicism, no anger.
Just a composed tone.
"So... are the reasons for your disqualification clear to you now?"
"Yes, yes... They are clear... I, I was being stubborn and was wrong..."
"Then leave. I'm getting a bit busy now, since the auction is starting soon."
The Jay Tech CEO barely managed to rise on his trembling legs.
Staggering, he bowed his head and carefully made his way toward the door.
"Oh, right."
His footsteps, just as his hand was about to touch the doorknob, stopped dead.
"The road out front has been really jammed lately. You could get into a car accident... so drive carefully. All sorts of strange accidents have been happening these days, you know?"
"...!!!!"
A petty act of revenge for making me waste my valuable time.
But to the listener, it must have sounded like a tremendous threat.
"Go carefully."
Unable to even answer, he opened the door and left the room.
After he left, the government agent who had been waiting outside came in.
"Hunter, we apologize... We should have managed things properly beforehand..."
"It's fine."
"Ah... that car accident you mentioned earlier..."
"?"
"If you wish, we can process it as an accidental death due to brake failure, sudden acceleration, etc."
"???"
Why were these guys so serious?
I mean, I had only said it as a joke to mess with him because he had irritated me...