Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Diverging Paths and Shadowy Deals
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Sa Seung-hee popped a small piece of dried persimmon into her mouth and continued.
"Lee Se-eun the Hunter and Yoo Chan-seok the Hunter have different goals in mind."
Sure, they could cooperate like now, but if they fully joined forces, they were bound to clash—that was Sa Seung-hee's judgment.
"Even if your goals aligned, the two of you have very different temperaments. Working in the same organization would create friction, and that could even shorten the organization's lifespan. Plus..."
Sa Seung-hee peeled off a slice of apple and offered it to Lee Se-eun as she went on.
"Your biggest asset is your reputation, Lee Se-eun Hunter. Leaving Zanabi means giving that up."
She ran one of the few truly reputable charities, with no personal scandals. Most hunters respected her and rarely turned down her requests, no matter the situation.
And on top of that, she was Zanabi's partner hunter.
"If you leave Zanabi, you'll lose a huge chunk of your merits. It's like cutting off the kind of help a headhunter can get."
Sa Seung-hee had no intention of just standing by. She was already helping the headhunter in many ways and planned to provide even more full-throated support going forward.
"I see."
As Lee Se-eun pondered this, Sa Seung-hee smiled.
"Well, it's just advice from someone who runs a teahouse. No need to take it too seriously, right?"
She said that, but Lee Se-eun didn't think Sa Seung-hee was wrong. Even back when they'd worked together in Siberia, Yoo Chan-seok had made choices she never would have.
They'd gotten through it without much friction because the situations left no choice, but if they were truly together—not just on a joint front—there'd be plenty of clashes, just as Sa Seung-hee said.
"No need to force mint chocolate on someone who hates it, right?"
"It's not quite that simple, Oduak owner."
Sa Seung-hee nodded at Lee Se-eun's simple rebuttal.
"See? You're already at odds with Yoo Chan-seok Hunter on that point."
Yoo Chan-seok didn't put much weight on minor sacrifices in pursuit of a goal. To him, it was as trivial as whether someone liked or hated mint chocolate.
Headhunter's Han Sang-ah and Jeong Oh-hoon were the same way.
But Lee Se-eun wasn't like that. She had no intention of judging who was right or wrong, but their temperaments differed—that was a fact.
"If you teamed up with the headhunter, these little things would start causing friction one by one. So..."
"Stay on as a sponsor?"
"Yes, like me. Of course, you could provide far more help than someone like me."
Lee Se-eun nodded slightly.
"That's a fair point. I'll keep it in mind."
"Thanks. So... about that hunter gear smuggling you mentioned earlier."
Clapping once, Sa Seung-hee narrowed her eyes and looked at Lee Se-eun.
"Blue Wrench is involved."
"Blue Wrench... the scrap dealers?"
They boasted the top spot in the scrap industry. Sa Seung-hee nodded.
"Lately, Daebak Scrap Dealers have been hot on their heels. Guess they were stressing out. Thanks to Yoo Chan-seok Hunter."
The moment word spread that Yoo Chan-seok had contracted with Daebak Scrap Dealers, hunters' attention flooded there. And Choi Seung-gi, the owner, wasn't one to let an opportunity slip.
In the end, Blue Wrench dove deeper into illegal waters to shake off Daebak's fierce pursuit.
"Collecting this kind of info isn't that hard."
A good number of hunters frequented Oduak. They ate, hung out, and swapped stories with other hunters.
And smugglers never operated without hunters involved. Hunters had to secure the goods first for smuggling to even be possible.
"But they won't open up easily, will they?"
"You start with hunches. We track weekly spending for every hunter who visits Oduak."
Pinpoint those whose spending spikes suddenly, watch them closely, and eventually, you overhear things.
"Blue Wrench, huh."
Lee Se-eun's expression grew complicated. That was the scrap dealer she'd contracted with. She'd never imagined they'd stoop to this.
"You sure?"
"If you need more than rumors, go confirm it with your own eyes."
If she couldn't trust it, she should check herself. At Sa Seung-hee's words, Lee Se-eun rose slowly.
"Yeah, that's the surest way. Thanks for the help."
With that, Sa Seung-hee and Lee Se-eun's meeting wrapped up.
While they talked, Yoo Chan-seok—the one who'd arranged it—was resting in his room.
Han Sang-ah had finished her Marble Run and spent hours watching the beads zip along the track.
And Jeong Oh-hoon? He was meeting an old acquaintance.
It was a rundown hardware store. A rusty sign hung precariously on the crumbling building, its faded paint spelling out "Wara Hardware."
The middle-aged man sitting on a tiny bathhouse stool looked at Jeong Oh-hoon and repeatedly flicked the grinder in his hand on and off.
The blade whirred loudly each time.
"Hey, cut it out. You're being so damn noisy."
Jeong Oh-hoon grimaced and rubbed his ear.
"Heard you've become a big shot lately. Noon-hoon."
"I told you, I've always been destined for greatness."
Jeong Oh-hoon said that, then opened a bag in the corner. It was full of peanuts.
They smelled stale, like they'd been sitting forever. He plunged his hand in and pulled something out.
"Business must be booming."
Jeong Oh-hoon held up a small knife from the peanut bag. It was a dagger faintly imbued with mana.
"Hey, put it back."
"Man, with balls the size of these peanuts, I don't know how you stay in business. Fine, fine."
Jeong Oh-hoon shoved the knife back into the peanuts and squatted across from him, handful of stinky nuts in hand.
"So, why'd you call me?"
"Got time for some side work?"
Jeong Oh-hoon cracked a peanut and tossed it in his mouth, grinning.
"Side gigs are great. If it's you asking, I can guess. Smuggling?"
"Goods headed to China."
Jeong Oh-hoon scowled.
"Weren't you Korea distribution only? Smuggling to China doesn't pay shit anyway."
The gear was low-quality. And China didn't have the rich folks to buy high-end stuff.
The man nodded at Jeong Oh-hoon's words.
"Volume makes it profitable."
"Switching from quality to quantity? Hilarious."
Another peanut went into Jeong Oh-hoon's mouth.
"More like trying for both."
Jeong Oh-hoon leaned back against a wall of crudely stacked rusty plates.
"You know I don't take jobs without seeing the goods first."
The man nodded and showed him something.
"150 of these are headed to China."
Jeong Oh-hoon inspected it and fell silent. A dull black stone fragment with a glossy sheen.
"Damn, where'd you get something like this?"
He turned it in the sunlight, genuinely curious.
"Noon-hoon always checks the goods but never the client. Did I misjudge you?"
"Don't wanna answer? Then don't. Why nitpick and bitch?"
Jeong Oh-hoon handed the stone back.
"Talk about coincidence... I was planning a quick break then a trip to China anyway."
The man let out an impressed "Oh ho?"
"I was just gonna ask for domestic transport."
Jeong Oh-hoon stroked the rusty plate with a smile.
"A hunter who wrecked two rank-1 erosion cores under the headhunter? He could deliver this to China without even getting searched."
His knuckles rapped the plate—tang tang.
"How much?"
"3 billion."
Jeong Oh-hoon nodded, then smacked the plate hard for a loud bang.
"Perfect, my friend. We'll hash out details later. You have my number?"
"Yeah, let's talk later. Friend."
With that, Jeong Oh-hoon whistled and left the hardware store.
The moment he entered the association dorm, he made a call.
"Hey, Chan-seok. Come to my room. It's pretty urgent. Hurry up."
I headed to Jeong Oh-hoon's room, puzzled by his call.
A faint but intensely impure mana clung to him. What the hell?
My expression hardened as I faced him.
"Hey."
Before I could say more, he held something out. Black powder.
"...Where'd you get this?"
It carried faint mana.
"You said you had a job for me outta nowhere, so I met an old contact. Guy specializes in hunter gear smuggling."
What he'd brought wasn't the cargo—it was a bit scraped off and ground into powder.
I stared at the powder for a moment, then looked at Jeong Oh-hoon.
"What?"
"You could've just kept quiet and pocketed some easy cash."
He shook his head vigorously at my words.
"I've got good instincts. Figured it'd slip past others, but not you."
True enough. I'd sensed it before he even opened his mouth. His instincts had proven themselves.
"Saved on hospital bills. Congrats."
"Hospital bills? What bills?"
He shot back.
"You were this close to breaking something just now."
If he hadn't spoken up first, or if he'd dragged his feet while I pressed him, he'd be in the hospital.
"Whoa, choices really do shape your life, huh."
He dumped the black powder from his hand into a bowl.
"But does selling this even make money?"
"You call that a question?"
Take it, and even a normie gets hunter-level mana in one go. Sure, the price is a blank check on your life—terminal, die-any-day existence.
China had no homegrown hunters. From the government's view, feeding this to people to make hunters made perfect sense.
"We gotta track this down."
Fine if it went elsewhere, but China-bound? My nape itched like crazy.
Dealing with Gonzalo Rock was burden enough. Knowing these users could turn monster anytime? Headache on headache.
"Good news, though. I'm a great actor—they handed me a big chunk of the China-bound stones."
So, at least we'd intercepted some of the smuggled stones to China. Yeah, just some.
He rubbed his thumb and index finger together with a grin.
"And I'll still collect my pay for the job."
"You cool with that? Piss off the wrong people, and bad uncles come knocking."
Jeong Oh-hoon tapped the pistol at his waist.
"If it's you coming, maybe. The rest? I'll ventilate their skulls."
Fair. Most hunters would get pummeled and need a doctor against him now.
To dig deeper... I scratched my head. Didn't expect to call Sa Seung-hee this soon.