Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: The Live Broadcast Recruitment Exam
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The Mutant Management Bureau was holding a public recruitment exam!
And that exam was being broadcast live on terrestrial TV.
This fact couldn't help but draw everyone's attention.
Mutants' abilities had always been a hot topic of public interest anyway.
But now, those mutant abilities were going to be shown live?
On terrestrial TV, no less?
It was the kind of thing that anyone even remotely interested would go crazy over, and sure enough, TV viewership ratings—which had been steadily declining since smartphones became widespread—skyrocketed like mad at that moment.
[Today's gonna be insane lol]
No way any other country does stuff like this, right?
What other nation holds a civil service exam with mutants? lololol
- Fr real lol
- Gotta be the Director's grace at work
- If mutants had a terrible rep, no one would show up even if they begged lol
[? Isn't that the Director's little sister?]
The one who just greeted the shark-tailed girl with the tail wrapped around her waist.
Looks like the Director's sister from that fashion magazine spread with the Director?
- ???
- No way both sisters are mutants?
- Wtf;;
[Wonder what kind of mutant the Director's sister is]
The Director gives off Western dragon vibes, so maybe her sister's got an Azure Dragon feel?
- As if...
When Seo-ah appeared, more people recognized her than expected.
She was Seo-hyun's blood relative, and they'd been featured together in a fashion magazine, so it was only natural.
But... interest in Seo-ah was short-lived.
Because Seo-hyun had just stepped out in front of a crowd of mutants.
[Whoa, Director's here]
Wonder what she'll show us today
-But isn't that space kinda cramped?
-Honestly, for testing mutant abilities, shouldn't it be a dome stadium at least?
-Did they not cooperate or something?
[No cap lolololol]
Dome stadium? Yeah right lol, who needs that~
Just snap some magic~ barrier snap~
And boom, a space bigger than a dome appears~
-What the hell am I even watching rn;;
-That person's just on another level
-She straight-up said she could conquer the world
[Now she's even using clone techniques lol]
But what's up with those grading criteria?
S-rank if you even scratch it with a fingernail? lololol
-Even 20% of her main body's durability, she said?
-fml, even a direct nuke hit wouldn't leave a mark?
-Why the hell is someone like that working as a civil servant in Korea? No sense ㅇㅇ
-Agreed...
-Maybe she just does it cuz she wants to?
As soon as the recruitment exam started, viewership ratings spiked instantly.
Interest in Seo-hyun quickly shifted to the other mutants.
[The other mutants are no joke either]
That shark-tailed mutant's strength is insane? No flashy techniques, but fins suddenly sprout from her arms and she scratches up the Director's clone right away
-Shark's one thing, but the ground suddenly erupting lol
-What kind of mutant is that?
Amid mutants leaving strong impressions one after another, a burst of light suddenly exploded.
[Ah fml eye candy overload]
Who is that?
Screen got so bright I jumped
-That's the Director's sister?
-No, why does she have so many arms on her back?
[Isn't that Thousand-Armed Kannon?]
Looks exactly like Thousand-Armed Kannon?
Christians get angels, and here we get straight-up Thousand-Armed Kannon lololol
-She's beating the crap outta her big sis lololol
-Pent-up grudges or what?
[Wait, her fight wasn't even the main event?]
She's a healer type?
-Hea?ler?
-Does eliminating the source of damage count as healing or something?
-Wow, the Director's clone just turned super grotesque, but sis clasps her hands, shoots light, and it's back to normal
[World's so damn unfair]
Big sis is the presumed world's strongest mutant
Lil sis is an incarnation of a major bodhisattva in Buddhism?
What even lol
-S-rank locked in
-So what's the Director's rank?
-SSS?
-Just call it EX since she's off the charts?
Reactions to the mutant recruitment exam were explosive.
Mutants who had kept their abilities under wraps were all gathered, showing off—and it was only natural.
Seo-hyun's intent to convey that Korea was safe to the public hit the mark perfectly.
Even just her abilities alone were enough to reassure people.
But people knew.
How quickly the Management Bureau agents had responded to the rapidly changing world, minimizing damage.
How many lives they had saved.
That trust, built from there, massively influenced this recruitment.
People started cheering for mutants who showed real potential, the mutants drew strength from that support and protected people even more diligently.
Of course, deranged folks occasionally badmouthed mutants, but those reactions didn't last.
They got lynched online by people whose lives mutants had saved.
Plus, with the bureau bolstered by new recruits from this exam.
Existing agents could finally catch a breath, and Korea became even safer.
On top of that, standout mutants started getting picked as ad models more often.
Mutants were gradually edging into spots once reserved for celebrities.
High-rank mutants were raking in serious cash.
Civil servants normally couldn't do side gigs... but a new law passed allowing it for mutants, so they dove in aggressively, scooping up money.
Regular civil servants might gripe about perks only for mutants... but no one dared.
Plenty of them owed their lives to bureau agents.
In this social climate, complaining like that wouldn't end with just a beating.
Public opinion overwhelmingly supported: they're risking their lives fighting those damn monsters—can't we give them that much?
If it was just a few lives saved, sure, "what makes you think you can side-hustle as civil servants?" But mutants had saved lives nationwide, urban or remote—no one cared much.
Still, some voiced concerns.
About mutants turning into a new nobility.
A headache, but in this situation, no way to stop it.
Lose even one mutant, and keeping an area safe gets tough.
But Seo-hyun weighed in on that.
If reports came of any mutant abusing power, she'd handle it personally as Director.
That shut down the worries instantly.
Who'd dare abuse power if Seo-hyun herself was stepping in?
* * *
[Han Tae-hoon: Busy as hell lately]
[Yoo Han-gyeol: Same]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Han-gyeol, aren't you on a world tour?]
[Yoo Han-gyeol: Don't remind me]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Damn, you'll save up idol money in no time]
[Yoo Han-gyeol: I'll drop dead from overwork first]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: An angel dying of overwork... funny but sad]
[Heo Ji-hoon: Watching you guys makes me think mutation ain't all upside]
[Jo Min-hyuk: Fr, and how's gender swap so common? All three of you changed sexes]
[Heo Ji-hoon: Dunno about Yoon Seo-hyun, but exes seeing Han Tae-hoon and Yoo Han-gyeol would flip]
[Yoo Han-gyeol: Lol whatever, they won't recognize us anyway ㅋㅋ]
[Han Tae-hoon: Might get recognized tho;; But hey, next mutation beam hits, why not join in?]
[Heo Ji-hoon: Things are good with my gf, why gamble like that?]
[Han Tae-hoon: Come on come on]
[Heo Ji-hoon: Come on my ass, you're nuts]
[Han Tae-hoon: That's cuz you're a loser lol]
[Jo Min-hyuk: Kinda tempted tho]
[Heo Ji-hoon: ? What about your gf?]
[Jo Min-hyuk: Dumped]
[Heo Ji-hoon: Drinks?]
[Jo Min-hyuk: Yeah;;
[Yoo Han-gyeol: Lucky you can meet up for drinks. Jealous]
[Han Tae-hoon: Fr lol, some of us are slicing cockroaches the size of human arms right now. Ugh so gross af]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Where are you?]
[Han Tae-hoon: Some remote mountain village ㅇㅇ Volunteered like an idiot;;
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Gained fans tho, right? Next project's guaranteed 10 mil viewers]
[Han Tae-hoon: 10 mil easy? Lol Blood and Blade only hit it cuz of your firepower support]
Tae-hoon was voluntarily teaming up with the bureau to slice monsters.
Her fire abilities let her burn overgrown vegetation just right without sparking wildfires, so places kept calling her.
Han-gyeol was... straight-up showcasing Ark Angels' might worldwide.
Really living up to the angel name.
"Sis, what're you staring at?"
"Just chatting with friends real quick."
Meanwhile, what was I doing?
Rushed out when I heard a remote temple was isolated, wiping out all the monsters around it.
"Then why not just let me handle it solo and wrap up quick?"
"You're watching me for a sec. Abilities or not, surprises happen. And you're not as tough as me physically."
"...Fine."
"By the way, the monks here freaked when they saw you."
"I'm an incarnation of who? No wonder they were shocked."
"Not gonna end up giving sermons on Buddhist TV or something?"
"Pretty high chance... but kinda daunting."
Fair enough—no scripture study despite the Buddhist ties. Awkward if they asked.
Still... if it came to that, maybe Thousand-Armed Kannon would help out.