The Weight of Absolute Power
It was all well and good that we had successfully cleared the Dark Elf Forest, the Great Forest, and made it out alive... but we couldn't return home right away. For some reason, we were placed under confinement once again, under the custody of the Public Security. They claimed it was so we could "take a brief rest," but anyone with eyes could see we were being detained.
Although there was something resembling a window, we couldn't wash up properly, and we weren't even in the place where our belongings had been kept. We had been moved somewhere else entirely... and with Public Security officers and hunters stationed at the entrance, we couldn't even wander around.
"What is the meaning of this treatment?!"
The guild members were understandably furious. We hadn't expected a hero's welcome, but to be treated like this... it was a real load of shit. Still, we waited quietly. After all, with our leader, the Guild Master, remaining calm, no one else could afford to make a scene.
"Let us wait for now," Namgung Min said, soothing the guild members. He spoke as if they wouldn't dare pull any cheap tricks... but a chilling sensation lingered in the air.
"Well, if they do try anything, we will simply resist with everything we have."
He was also in contact with our government using a hidden cell phone, reporting that the raid was over but China was acting suspicious. He was making sure that even if China wanted to bury us, the diplomatic risk would be too high for them to bear...
As for me, if they chose to trample over our goodwill, I fully intended to retaliate. I would slaughter every last one of them, level the entire area, and exact my revenge. If they wanted to kill me, they had better have at least a few nuclear warheads ready.
Ddaengjung tried to calm everyone down, insisting it probably wasn't what it looked like... but he was clearly the most suspicious of them all. Having lived in China before, he knew how things worked here, which only made him understand the gravity of the situation better. His deep knowledge was exactly why he looked so worried.
"Come on, everyone, just rest and recover your strength. If those bastards try anything funny, we'll have to fight our way out, won't we?"
We had contacted the government, but they didn't have any real solutions. If you can make it to the embassy, we can help. But getting to the embassy was the hard part. Should we prepare a ship for your escape? Reaching the coast was the problem. They told us to contact them immediately if anything happened and promised to lodge a formal protest through official channels... but if China were the type of country to care about formal protests, we wouldn't be locked up in here in the first place.
Still, my words seemed to have shifted their mindset, and everyone began to cautiously settle down to rest.
"At least we still have our weapons. That is a mercy," someone muttered.
If they had pulled something after we had stripped off our gear and changed into casual clothes—while our equipment was loaded onto their vehicles—it would have been much harder to respond. Thinking about it that way... the Chinese were incredibly foolish.
At any rate, we rested quietly and waited to be released. But before long, it started getting stuffy. The room wasn't very large, and with twenty people crammed inside, the heat was...
"Ugh." Unable to take it anymore, I pulled the zipper of my top all the way down and slipped my arms out.
"U-Unni!" my sister gasped in horror... and the men's eyes darted toward me before they hurriedly whipped their heads away.
"You must be hot too. Loosen up a bit."
"Unni!" My sister snapped, clearly annoyed by my playful tone.
"But it's so stuffy..."
My breasts were already so large that they caused plenty of discomfort on a normal day. Forcing them into a tight, restrictive suit only made it worse.
"Let's just loosen it for a bit." Ignoring my sister's protests, I peeled off the tight suit.
Underneath, I was wearing nothing but a single undergarment. Since it was a compression bra meant to minimize my chest, there was no cleavage visible at all. It looked just like a sleeveless tank top... so I shouldn't have felt embarrassed... but I did. Feeling a sudden flush of shyness, I turned away to avoid their gaze.
"Ugh, if you're going to act like that, you shouldn't have taken it off in the first place," my sister nagged from beside me.
"Are you going to keep nagging me?"
"What?"
"I-If you keep this up, I'll strip you too!"
At my threat, my sister shut her mouth tight and backed away.
In any case, I felt much more comfortable with my top off. Perhaps because of my state of undress, the men were all keeping their backs turned. Still, we were managing to rest in our own way. Surely, nothing would actually happen, right? There was no food here, but at least we had water and a restroom, so we could wash up a bit.
The Gate had been successfully cleared. It had been a brute-force raid that defied all common sense. At first, when they heard a woman would be taking command, everyone had dismissed it as utter nonsense... but her abilities as an S-class hunter were the real deal. In fact, her power was so overwhelming that it made one wonder if the S-class rank was actually a shackle holding her back.
If the world ever learned of this power, nations would line up to scout her. After all, it was nothing short of a cheat! In Yang Yenlung's eyes, her buffs were completely broken. Even as an S-class himself, his physical capabilities had increased by more than 1.5 times under her influence. With that buff, even an A-class could wield power comparable to an S-class. And what about an S-class? They became absurdly strong. He knew this because he had experienced it firsthand.
"What did you just say?"
"I suggested we win over the Korean hunters, and if that fails, we dispose of them."
Yang Yenlung was utterly dumbfounded by the words of the Public Security official.
"Dispose of the hunters who helped us out of pure goodwill? Is that what you are saying right now?!"
Yang Yenlung recoiled at such blatant immorality, but...
"First, we attempt to win them over. I am sure they would prefer to be hunters of a great nation rather than remain in a small, insignificant country."
It was absolute nonsense. The country the man dismissed as a "small nation"—Korea—might have a small territory, but it was a land that had always possessed incredible resilience. Though positioned almost like a vassal state to China since ancient times, it was a nation that had always stood proud on its own feet... And he wanted to do what to them? Yang Yenlung shook his head, thinking of the Sinocentrism that had grown so rampant lately. Foolish. Utterly foolish. Thinking in such a manner made them no better than the ignorant masses.
As one of the few rational minds left, Yang Yenlung pointed out that such a thing was impossible.
"Then we must eliminate them."
"And why is that?"
The reason was even more absurd. It simply rubbed them the wrong way that a small nation possessed a force capable of surpassing China's own hunters.
"We can simply tell their country that they perished during the raid."
He added that they had already confined them for this very purpose. It was truly mind-boggling. Yang Yenlung felt a massive headache coming on at the sheer stupidity of the Public Security, who went ahead and made moves without consulting the hunters first.
"Release them immediately."
"Are you opposing the Party's decision right now?"
"The Party? Don't make me laugh. I belong to the Party's Military Commission!"
As a hunter belonging directly to the state rather than a corporate guild, he fired back.
"And did such a distinguished hunter fail to clear the Gate?"
They had attempted to clear it several times, but all had ended in failure. There were many reasons, but in the end, it boiled down to a lack of combat power.
"Even so, this is out of the question."
"Why? That hunter is dangerous."
On that point, he agreed completely. She... that S-class woman was dangerous. What if a squad of hunters buffed by her appeared as enemies? Even if they deployed their own hunters to counter them, they wouldn't be able to stop them. That was the kind of power she possessed.
"Even if our hunters step forward, we cannot win."
"What on earth do you mean by that?!"
The Public Security official seemed unable to comprehend. But the other hunters in the room knew.
"With her power, even B-class and A-class hunters can wield strength comparable to an S-class."
He had consulted other hunters and confirmed it after witnessing their movements firsthand. With her support, they could perform on par with S-class hunters.
"Then isn't she all the more dangerous? Shouldn't we eliminate her right here?"
Perhaps that question was natural from his perspective.
"There are twenty Korean hunters. What do you think happens if all twenty of them receive her buffs and effectively become S-class?"
In all of China, there were only twelve S-class hunters... and with one recently deceased, only eleven remained. It was deeply regrettable that a nation with such a massive population lacked talent, but twelve was their limit. Yet, they would be facing twenty individuals who could fight like S-classes. Even if they scraped together every single hunter they had, victory was far from guaranteed.
Furthermore, her abilities weren't limited to buffs. Her power to rapidly heal wounds from a distance... with her around, they were practically immortal. Twenty S-class-level threats that couldn't be killed by ordinary means.
"Even if we deploy every single Party hunter, we cannot guarantee victory."
The Public Security official looked absolutely flabbergasted.
"Are you seriously afraid of hunters from a small nation?"
It was a blatant jab at his pride, but...
"Yes. I cannot even defeat the Sword Saint who was with them."
The Sword Saint, Korea's strongest S-class. Having witnessed his combat during this raid, Yang Yenlung knew. They were in completely different leagues. Even if he and two other S-class hunters here teamed up against him, victory would still be uncertain. The gap in sheer skill was too vast. And if you added her buffs to the equation? Even three S-class hunters wouldn't stand a chance. That was the disparity... He was judging the situation as objectively as possible.
"Then what if we use bombs?"
The Public Security official was relentless.
"As you said, she is dangerous because her power is on an entirely different level. And that transcendent power includes a formidable barrier."
She could deploy a barrier capable of easily deflecting high-tier magic. A barrier like that would easily withstand an airstrike. Even if they launched a surprise attack, if they failed to vaporize them instantly, her healing powers would bring them right back. To succeed, they would have to obliterate them in a single blow...
"If we are prepared to reduce this entire region to ashes, then yes, we could eliminate them. A few nuclear warheads should do the trick."
One might think it was an absurd exaggeration... but none of the surrounding hunters protested. Instead, they silently agreed with Yang Yenlung's assessment.
"Haha... does such power really exist?"
"Yes. Her existence is a literal cheat code."
As long as she existed, their neighboring country would remain safe from Gates. No matter what kind of Gate appeared, they could clear it with her help... It was an incredibly enviable power, and he felt a pang of regret that no one with such abilities had awakened in China. It was truly a shame that out of 1.5 billion people, not a single soul had been born with such immense power.
As the other hunters added their testimonies, the Public Security official's face drained of color, replaced by a look of utter defeat.
"Then... do we have no choice but to let them go?"
"We can try to win them over... but they seem incredibly tight-knit. I doubt any of them will turn."
Although their neighboring country had experienced issues regarding the treatment of hunters a few months ago... they likely wouldn't be swayed. Regrettable as it was...
"It is far better to maintain good relations. That way, we can ask for their help again if a similar crisis occurs in the future."
"Do you have no pride?!"
Yang Yenlung looked with pity at the man who was so obsessed with saving face. Sinocentrism... perhaps it was a core part of their national identity. But those in high positions needed to look at the bigger picture. And with that broader perspective... as a hunter sworn to protect China, he made his decision. They had to remain on good terms with her. Only then could they rely on her aid when a truly catastrophic event occurred.
"Now, if the meeting is adjourned, release them at once."
Yang Yenlung looked down with disdain at the man, who slammed his fist on the desk in frustration. He had been a nuisance when bringing the Korean hunters here, and he remained an utterly foolish man. Yang Yenlung resolved to speak with the Chairman upon his return to the Party to have this man dismissed. Leaving such a pathetic incompetent in his position was a disaster waiting to happen.
"Hmm, but we should still make a proper attempt to win them over."
The chances of success were slim, but one could never be too sure. Leaving the rest to the others, he quietly made his way back to his quarters.