Chapter 64. The Best Way to Blow Money Is Charity
Chapter 64. The Best Way to Blow Money Is Charity
What did I just hear?
That he could go in peace?
Don't tell me he intends to finish his revenge and then...
"What do you mean? You still have a long life ahead of you."
"Huh...?"
"You have to keep living—for your wife and son, too."
Esteban stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
Then my words clicked, and he burst out laughing.
"Gahahaha!!! My friend, that's not it."
"Huh?"
"Kuhuhu... I think you've watched too many movies."
"???"
He made a show of wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
"My friend, I intend to live until I'm an old man smearing shit on the walls. Only then can I hold my head high when I meet my family in heaven someday."
"Then what did you mean by going in peace...?"
"Kuhuhu... I applied for asylum in the United States. Once this is over, I plan to leave for the U.S."
My face burned hot.
My overactive imagination had turned him into a suicide waiting to happen.
'Ah, damn... so embarrassing.'
"Esteban, how about going back into politics in Mexico?"
He shook his head over and over.
A slightly bitter look crossed his face.
"No matter what I say about the past, in the end, I'm still a corrupt politician who took bribes."
"...Esteban, then what will you do in the U.S.?"
"I'm thinking about maybe running a quiet little café."
"A café?"
"Yes. Back in the day, I often helped my wife when she ran a café."
"That sounds nice. Come visit me in Korea sometime."
After everything was settled, other agents handcuffed the unconscious Santiago and dragged him off somewhere.
"Hunter, we raided the resort disguised as Santiago's training compound... but we found nothing except ledgers."
I spread my hands in an 'I didn’t know anything' gesture.
The officer in charge just chuckled.
"That's fine. There was probably 'nothing' there from the start."
He was pretending not to know about my illicit acquisitions.
Santiago's arrest alone was already a huge win for them.
"Still... even if you used it openly, it wouldn't be much of a problem. Valuables obtained during the elimination of a villain go to the hunter who made the biggest contribution."
"There was such a rule...?"
"Anyway... things will be pretty noisy when you return to Korea."
"?"
"It's already all over the global news. You arrested the boss of the Mexican cartel, after all."
The boss of a cartel that even the Mexican government couldn't touch.
On top of that, a foreign hunter had single-handedly dismantled the organization of a boss rumored to be S-rank.
"If I may ask a personal question... what do you intend to do with the assets you've acquired?"
Laila and I had already talked about this.
Money held little meaning for us anyway.
"I just... plan to try doing some charity work."
"Charity work?"
"Yes, I'm thinking about helping people who were directly or indirectly harmed by the cartel."
"Oh... that's quite meaningful."
"It's money we took from them anyway. Better than frittering it away on pointless things."
I'd heard there were so many companies embezzling funds these days, so I planned to be pretty damn intrusive if I did charity work. Or maybe I'd just create a charity organization myself.
"Anyway, thanks to you, Hunter, we were able to arrest the bastard without a fight."
"Well, it just sort of happened that way."
"Thank you."
I shook his hand and we headed outside.
We'd stayed in Mexico long enough. It was about time to go back to Korea.
---
[ Author: Anon ]
[ Title: What's this bastard been up to lately? ]
[ Content: (News screenshot) He didn't go to sightsee, he went to make an arrest lololol ]
└ WTF LOLOLOLOLOL
└ Seriously, every single thing this guy did was legendary
└ No but for real lololol wasn't he just on a trip?
The news of the arrest of Santiago, the boss of Mexico's Del Norte, caused a massive stir.
Cartels, gangs, yakuza, and organized crime rings were a problem worldwide.
So the news that a cartel of practically national scale had collapsed overnight was enormous.
[ Author: Anon ]
[ Title: The reason Santiago was arrested ]
[ Content: (Stream clip) Entire cartel dismantled because of drone theft ]
└ LMAO LOLOLOL If it were me I would've politely handed over the drone plus compensation money
└ The butterfly effect caused by Good Luck lololol
└ A whole organization collapsed because of one word from Good Luck lololol
Unaware that the online communities were on fire, Laila and I leisurely finished moving all our luggage into the new house.
"Shall we start up the stream soon?"
In the new house, in the new studio, I turned on the broadcast for the first time.
[ World's Strongest Hero : I've been through so much stuff, seriously, I'm wiped out ]
[ hihihihihihi ]
[ YOU BASTARD!!!! THE HIATUS WAS TOO DAMN LONG! ]
[ The ice age is over... ]
"Good to see you all."
As soon as the stream started, viewers swarmed me with questions about what happened in Mexico.
As a streamer, telling these kinds of stories was very important, so I calmly explained everything to them.
Leaving out the provocative parts.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has charged 30,000 won! ]
- Isn't it like in the movies where those guys have loads of money and drugs and shit?
"That's right. There were several tons of drugs, and even a submarine."
[ A submarine WTF LOLOLOL ]
[ Wow but them having a tank too is just insane ]
[ Overflowing Holy-Power Pouch has charged 30,000 won! ]
- So did you take the money? What're you gonna use it for?
"..."
Originally, I'd planned to pretend I didn't know.
But my lips were itching to say it.
Seeing myself feel this way, I've really become a full-blown attention whore.
"I'm planning to try my hand at charity work with this money later."
Everyone looked puzzled.
Charity work instead of spending it on private things...
"The ultimate flex is charity, after all."
[ Yeah, no one can really say anything about that... ]
[ But haven't companies been embezzling like crazy these days? ]
[ All of that just goes into the employees' back pockets lolol ]
"No, I'm going to set it up myself."
I called out one of the longtime viewers I'd always seen, from the early days.
Into the Room of Truth, for the first time in a while.
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket : ...? ]
"Hey, you said you quit your job and were going to volunteer last time."
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket : No, but that was clearly a bet... ]
"Anyway, you said you would."
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket : That was clearly about the Saintess getting married... ]
"Did you say it, or didn't you?"
I moved the mouse cursor over the ban button.
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket : I said it... ]
That's right.
Isn't it so much better when you just tell the truth from the start.
"You wanna give it a shot?"
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket : Huh? Me? ]
"Yeah, I'll set up a company for you, so give it a try."
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket : ??? I'm just an ordinary office worker at a company? ]
"Still, you've got experience working in a company."
[ This dude's seriously crazy ]
[ You be the CEO lol ]
I didn’t have many connections anyway, and it's easier just to ask someone I already know.
No matter how much you call them a CEO, they're just someone who did the annoying work for me.
"Oh, of course..."
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket : ...Of course? ]
"If you ever take kickbacks or embezzle... you'll really die..."
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket : Yes... ]
Still, I wasn't going to work him like a dog.
If he's the CEO, then I'll make sure he's treated like one—that he never felt small anywhere.
"I'll take care of you well. If you do a good job, I'll even match you to the level of a major corporation's CEO."
[ Hero's Foot Wiper : I will seriously work like a dog... ]
"Hmm, very good."
[ Damn let me do it too ]
[ I can bark like a dog too ]
[ Don't discriminate against viewers!!! ]
I thought about it while reading the viewers' chat messages.
I could actually use these people when hiring real staff.
Choosing the right people was a sure thing anyway, as long as Laila took a look at them.
'There was no need for credentials when it came to volunteering.'
I just need to see whether a person was decent and works hard.
---
After the stream ended, every time we went outside, it got a little more annoying.
As soon as word got out that I was doing charity work, people I'd never seen before started showing up.
Thanks to the building's security, they could never get in, but they always waited outside.
"Poor children can't even afford menstrual products..."
"If you could spare a thought for abandoned dogs..."
"Children on the other side of the globe walk miles just to get water..."
"Our foundation executes funds transparently and is dedicated to the relief of victimized women..."
'This was really annoying as hell.'
Pristine clothes, smiles devoid of sincerity.
One bastard kept scanning my attire with his eyes.
'You could just tell they're all dying to make a quick buck off this...'
Laila also wore an uncomfortable expression, which probably meant I was right.
"I intend to set up and run the company myself anyway."
Their expressions subtly twisted.
Then they immediately smiled, as if they had never made such a face.
It was because if I ran it myself, there was no way for them to skim anything off the top.
"Hunter, running a company by yourself is no small task..."
"As a business partner, together..."
"There is a company that provides relief supplies at a low cost..."
"Ah, just get lost. I'll handle it myself."
I snapped that one line with an exhausted expression, and Laila and I kept walking.
As we passed them, someone in the crowd muttered quietly.
"Tch, he just does image marketing with his stream and only pockets the money..."
My footsteps halted for a moment.
But I soon passed them by without a second thought.
I couldn't care less.
"Pathetic assholes... being so damn annoying."
I felt a mixture of their envy and jealousy on my back.
And I could hear them making phone calls somewhere.
---
[ Famous hunter streamer 'Song Hoon', allegations of past school violence raised... ]