Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Scheme (1)
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Drops of medication fell one by one from the IV bag hanging on the stand. Following Trevor's orders to lie still until it was fully administered, Su-ho remained motionless as he spoke to Jin Seong-hyeok.
"Hyung."
"No matter how I think about it, your regenerative ability is truly monstrous. Surviving even after your heart exploded."
Jin Seong-hyeok stuck out his tongue in amazement at Su-ho's regeneration, which had even repaired his burst heart.
"Is it because your regeneration fused with my Helper ability, hyung?"
"Even so, this is on another level. It's practically Clot-tier."
"Clot?"
"There's this thing. Oh, and..."
Jin Seong-hyeok's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Sorry."
Su-ho blinked in confusion at the sudden apology.
"Huh? Sorry about what?"
"I should have body-swapped with you before your heart got pierced."
Jin Seong-hyeok was consumed by guilt. If Su-ho's heart hadn't regenerated, he would have died on the spot.
"I was careless. Didn't even anticipate Deadlock's ambush."
Su-ho responded to Jin Seong-hyeok, who was berating himself for not preparing in advance.
"Why are you feeling guilty, hyung? I don't get it."
Su-ho continued with a laugh.
"If you hadn't been there from the start, I'd have died a dozen times over. You've revived me that many times."
He infused his voice with emphasis, as if telling him not to blame himself.
"It's not like you to get all sentimental, Jin Seong-hyeok Hunter."
Jin Seong-hyeok let out an incredulous chuckle.
"Never thought I'd hear that from you."
"Who else would say it if not me? Everyone else just sings your praises."
"Praise is a good sign."
Su-ho shook his head with a wry smile, then spoke up as something occurred to him.
"Oh, hyung. I've got a question."
"What is it?"
"Deadlock was already dead, right?"
"Yeah."
Every time Jin Seong-hyeok cleared a Dead Zone, Deadlock must have died by his hand multiple times.
"But..."
It was puzzling.
"How does Deadlock remember you?"
Deadlock recognizing Jin Seong-hyeok implied it retained memories from before death, and Su-ho was curious how that was possible.
"Boss-grade monsters originate from the Last Zone, the primary source. Even after resets. Regular monsters reset in their respective zones."
"So boss monsters like Deadlock spawn in the Last Zone and come down from there?"
"Exactly."
Jin Seong-hyeok continued calmly.
"There's a separate entity that manages the boss-grade monsters' memories."
"...Wait, manages their memories?"
"Yeah. It manages memories and spies on us through the monsters' eyes."
"No way... Is it human?"
Jin Seong-hyeok let out a small chuckle at Su-ho's question.
"Human? Well, something human-like."
He continued with a note of warning.
"Remember? I told you the Last Zone is full of insanely powerful beings."
Su-ho recalled his words: monsters that were mentally and physically overwhelming even for him.
"Yeah."
"So you need to get stronger. It probably knows about you by now."
Not content with mere awareness, it would soon start meddling. Waiting for Su-ho, who had slain even Deadlock, to show up.
"This might get even more dangerous."
"After surviving a burst heart? What's there to worry about?"
"Your head gets cut off, and it probably won't regenerate."
Su-ho flinched at the response, then shuddered visibly.
"I don't want to die by decapitation."
"Lucky if it's just your head. Could be sliced from top to bottom."
"Stop, that's enough. I get it."
"If you don't want to die like that, you'll have to get stronger. Looks like the IV's done anyway..."
Jin Seong-hyeok grinned as he delivered his final words.
"Get up. Time to train."
The news that Su-ho had single-handedly cleared a Dead Zone and slain its boss, Deadlock, had already spread through the Association and its branches.
When word got out that the comatose Su-ho had awakened, the Association and branches buzzed with excitement.
World Hunter & Helper Association. The emergency meeting room, convened over Su-ho's awakening, thrummed with a strangely charged atmosphere. Despite the good news, Association President Endres and the representatives from the seven branches struggled to mask their expressions.
It was the first perfect Dead Zone clearance since Jin Seong-hyeok's death. Everyone acknowledged it. Cha Su-ho was the one to succeed him in holding back the monsters.
Every branch—and even the president—believed they needed to pull Su-ho to their side, by any means necessary.
But they couldn't scheme openly. It would be a declaration of war against the other branches and the Association.
They had to move covertly, letting Su-ho choose freely.
"Branch 5 Representative."
The Branch 5 rep flinched at the president's subdued tone.
"Y-yes, President!"
"I'm curious if it's true."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
With rumors already out that Branch 5 had colluded with their government to snag Su-ho first, the rep played dumb.
The president narrowed his eyes and raised his voice slightly.
"Did you really summon Cha Su-ho Hunter separately and propose he stay with Branch 5?"
"Me? No way. He's in our branch right now, so I just met him to offer encouragement, haha."
The others shot displeased glances at the brazen rep's lip service.
"Is that so?"
The Branch 3 rep, who had been watching with arms crossed, chimed in.
"We nearly went to war over Jin Seong-hyeok Hunter. Who would dare pull strings now?"
His feral eyes fixed on the Branch 5 rep.
"Am I wrong? Branch 5 Representative?"
The Branch 2 rep snorted derisively.
"Encouragement? What a blatant lie! Who here doesn't know how shady Branch 5 is? The moment they learned Cha Su-ho Hunter was SSS-grade, they ran to the US government to scheme!"
Branch 5 flinched at the spot-on accusation but quickly feigned composure.
"Enough, what are you all talking about? Are you jealous because I met Cha Su-ho Hunter privately first?"
The Branch 5 rep smirked provocatively.
"Looks like you're all worried since our Cha Su-ho Hunter is staying in our branch long-term...!"
"What? Since when is he your Cha Su-ho Hunter?!"
Ignoring the furious Branch 2 rep, Branch 5 pressed on.
"Well, I get the concern. Our branch has the money, the tech. Even your Hunters and Helpers are clamoring to join us. If Cha Su-ho Hunter comes too..."
His sly eyes gleamed with smugness.
"We're on fire, haha."
The other reps glared as if itching to silence him, but Branch 5 maintained a relaxed facade.
Inside, though, he was tense. He had already tried convincing Su-ho to stay during their last meeting—and been flatly rejected.
Still, he held an edge over the others and the Association. Su-ho lingering in Branch 5 longer than expected had the reps fidgeting, wondering if he favored them.
Branch 5 planned to exploit that. Su-ho was there now; a quick turnaround would seal it.
Dae-gun, coldly staring at the smirking rep, turned away.
"The mood's getting too heated."
He continued in a leisurely tone.
"In any case, Cha Su-ho Hunter is currently with Branch 1. Whatever happens next, I have one request: let's avoid a repeat of the Jin Seong-hyeok Hunter fiasco. To that end, it might be best if he experiences each branch and chooses for himself."
Dae-gun flashed a perfectly insincere smile.
"What do you think, President? Give each branch a chance to host Cha Su-ho Hunter. No schemes, of course. Let him decide based purely on his own experiences."
The president nodded in approval. It wasn't a bad proposal. Branch 2 rep snapped it up first.
"Mr. Cha finally makes a good suggestion!"
"I've always thought I did."
"Anyway, great! But we should exclude Branch 1 and Branch 5 from this round, right?"
Branch 5 rep shot to his feet in outrage, jostling his desk with his protruding belly.
"What nonsense! Start over from scratch!"
"Oh? But hasn't Cha Su-ho Hunter already experienced Branch 5 plenty? Isn't that right, Mr. Cha?"
Dae-gun nodded as if it made perfect sense.
"In that case, Branch 1 and Branch 5 will sit this one out."
"Hey! Who decided—"
"Branch 4 will pass."
The Branch 4 rep cut in. Africa was embroiled in internal conflicts and lacked the bandwidth for hosting, desirable as Su-ho was.
Besides, no desire to get caught in the crossfire of stronger branches. Then Branch 6 and 7 reps, who had stayed quiet, spoke up.
"Branch 6 passes too. Wherever Cha Su-ho Hunter goes, he's Association family."
"Agreed. In that spirit, Branch 7 passes as well."
Branches 6 and 7 bowed out smoothly. Their peace-loving natures, plus past retaliation from Branches 5 and 2 after pursuing Jin Seong-hyeok, made them wary of controversy.
Branches 1, 2, 3, and 5 would vie for Su-ho.
And one more: the president, watching the fray while intent on keeping Su-ho from any branch.
"Then let's end the meeting here."
They rose one by one. As they hurried out, Dae-gun remained seated.
Once the footsteps faded completely, he stood, closed the door, turned to the president, and spoke.
"President."
Lips curling upward, Dae-gun continued.
"Shall we discuss the rest?"