Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Shield Generator Escort Briefing
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General Ahn Hoon-seo burst into laughter upon hearing Lee Se-eun's response.
"Ahaha! A joke, huh..."
The general trailed off as he met Lee Se-eun's eyes, stopping mid-sentence.
"Do I look like I'm joking right now?"
"Listen here, Hunter Lee Se-eun. Even so, I've got age on my side, and beyond that, I'm with the Korean military..."
Lee Se-eun cut General Ahn Hoon-seo off.
"Respect for one's elders is about honoring the life they've lived. Deference to your rank as a major general is about admiration for soldiers who endure personal pain and suffering to protect our citizens from foreign threats."
With that, Lee Se-eun brought the pipe to her lips, her cool gaze unwavering. The sound of tobacco burning filled the air, and as she exhaled smoke once more, she stated firmly,
"And you don't qualify on either count."
He didn't seem worthy of respect for his years, nor did he merit the regard due a soldier.
"If the shield generator works properly and we secure meaningful data from it, it'll be a huge help."
With a limited number of hunters available, it was impossible to protect every region threatened by erosion cores. But shield devices were machines, not people.
Once mass production succeeded after some time, they could provide at least a bit of breathing room in areas hunters couldn't reach. And this man was trying to interfere with that?
General Ahn Hoon-seo, staring at Lee Se-eun, clenched his fist and spoke.
"Korea's position could be shaken because of it. And if you don't cooperate this time, the Korean government's view of Zanabi LLC will change."
Lee Se-eun glanced down at the pipe in her hand in response to his words, then said,
"Fine. What exactly can the Korean government do?"
As Lee Se-eun slightly raised her mana, General Ahn Hoon-seo's face paled, and he stumbled back a few steps.
"Cancel our contracts with Korea and set up shop in another country? We've got plenty of Zanabi hunters dispatched overseas anyway.
We could just pick one of those spots for our new HQ. If we pull out, Korea won't have any way to fill the gap left behind.
Of course, Lee Se-eun had no intention of doing that. Korea was humanity's last bastion. If Korea fell, all hope would vanish.
She and the rest of Zanabi carried the duty and pride of hunters. No matter how much pressure the Korean government applied, Zanabi had no plans to leave.
But... these fools have no way of knowing that.
Because if they were in Zanabi's shoes and heard threats like the one from moments ago, they'd naturally consider it a viable option. It's the delusion that everyone else is just like them.
"I'm dumbfounded for two reasons. First, has the Korean government become so great that it can threaten Zanabi?"
Lee Se-eun shoved her empty hand into her pocket and continued.
"Second, knowing full well what a mess the world outside Korea is in, they still dare spout such nonsense."
On the way here with Yoo Chan-seok, the kid had said there was nothing about what Dangun's descendants did that he couldn't understand.
That, she could accept. He was skilled, but newly minted as a hunter with no overseas experience.
If you didn't know the situation outside Korea, you could say things like that. Calling it a misjudgment born of ignorance would just make her side seem overly sensitive.
But the general before her was different. He couldn't possibly be ignorant of the world beyond Korea. And yet he spouted this crap. That was something Lee Se-eun couldn't tolerate.
"If you're done talking, you should head out. You've got plenty to do, I'm sure."
Lee Se-eun reverted to a polite tone. But her eyes were completely different from when she'd first faced General Ahn Hoon-seo.
"I'm only prioritizing national interests."
"Even that has its limits. Limits."
The reason Lee Se-eun decided not to make this conversation public was simple.
There was no point in repeating it anywhere. Embargo Tower? Their HQ was in Korea anyway.
Aside from a hunter company on Zanabi's scale, no organization—regardless of form—could ignore the Korean government right now.
Lee Se-eun watched General Ahn Hoon-seo walk away, finished the last of her pipe's tobacco, then headed to the main command room herself.
While waiting in the conference room seats before the meeting began, the equipment borrowed from Daebak Scrap Dealers arrived.
"Enough to turn a fatal blow into a half-dead scrape."
That was her assessment of the protective gear received. Being able to survive at all was useful enough. And on top of that...
"What's this now?"
It was a metal bracelet. Instructions for use were included. Aiming it at the wall and channeling mana sent a capsule whistling through the air to embed itself in the wall.
Then, aiming elsewhere and channeling mana again created a mark at the target spot, and the wall-embedded capsule fired a small anchor that lodged right there.
The capsule and anchor were connected by a thin metal wire. A light tug revealed excellent elasticity.
The instructions noted it could support up to 200kg max weight. Plenty of uses came to mind. Approaching the embedded capsule, grabbing it, and channeling mana retracted the anchor and wire with a whir, pulling the capsule free from the wall.
Reusable, too. Tempted to just buy it outright instead of renting.
"Yoo Chan-seok."
While I examined the gear, Han Sang-ah must have arrived. She spotted me right as she entered the bunker command room and approached.
"I was worried you'd forgotten our deal."
"As if."
It was a hugely favorable deal for me too—I wouldn't forget.
"Once this job's done, I'll provide everything we agreed on right away."
Considering Han Sang-ah's personality, she wouldn't lie about something like this.
"The meeting will now begin. Anyone not authorized to be here, please leave the command room."
Han Sang-ah stood and exited without protest upon hearing that. The other hunters chatting idly followed suit.
With all the hunters responding to Embargo Tower's request, the accompanying Operating Corporation staff, and the Korean military brass seated, one soldier stood and spoke.
"I'll explain the operation overview."
The train we were handling was an 80-car Mile Train departing from Vladivostok. The briefing continued smoothly: objectives, personnel deployed, projected timeline to completion, all projected via slides.
The most important part was probably the accommodations.
"We'll use 65 cars for cargo and other purposes. The remaining 15 will be for rest accommodations for the participating hunters and Korean military."
Regular soldiers and other personnel got third class. Military officers, participating freelancers, minor company hunters, and Han Sang-ah got second class. Zanabi-affiliated hunters and I got first class.
Finally, Lee Se-eun had half a train car to herself. They'd apparently gutted and rebuilt an entire car for her.
And the other half of her train car was converted into a command room.
"..."
The soldiers and others must feel pretty down. The disparity in treatment was glaring. But it would be awkward for Lee Se-eun to step up and say she didn't need such luxury quarters.
So who would take her spot if she vacated it? You couldn't just slot in a few third-class soldiers.
Besides, thinking about it, Lee Se-eun was ranked 10th among countless hunters. No one had the guts to shove third-class quarters on someone like that.
Why invite that kind of backlash?
"What threats are expected along the route?"
Lee Se-eun's question got an immediate answer.
"We'll pass through many erosion zones, but only seven have erosion cores close enough to pose a serious threat."
Not as many as I'd feared.
"Additionally, bandit groups roaming Siberia could be a threat factor."
Apparently, gangs that smuggled hunter gear and then robbed others were rampant. The kind of bandits that naturally emerge when law and order collapse and food runs short.
"Train robbers, huh? Feels like we're filming a 21st-century Western."
Lee Se-eun gave her succinct evaluation.
"The Hunter Association in the UK sent official notices to eight warlords in Europe, but only three responded properly."
The other five didn't reply—meaning no cooperation.
"Hard to be confident the shield generator will arrive safely in this situation."
One seated hunter spoke up, and Lee Se-eun replied instantly.
"The shield generator will arrive safely."
The hunter who'd just spoken shuddered as if strapped to an electric chair.
"Y-yes! Sorry!"
Didn't seem like something warranting an apology. Definitely a request with plenty to consider, though.
"That's all."
Afterward, people exchanged various opinions.
"Considering the Zanabi hunters' fatigue..."
"No. Embargo Tower requested protection for the train car holding that equipment from Zanabi, Yoo Chan-seok, and Han Sang-ah. We have no intention of arbitrarily changing roles."
Lee Se-eun's stance was firm, and after her flat refusal, no one dared repeat similar suggestions.
And I naturally agreed. Why pass my assigned job to someone else? If that guy screwed up, it'd be on me.
"Why not air transport?"
I raised my hand with the question, getting an immediate response.
"We've confirmed several European warlords operate Patriot or Aster systems and similar anti-air missiles."
Damn, I hadn't known that. Not surprising they had the gear—surprising they could operate it.
Many European warlords weren't cooperating with this request. With conflict almost certain, sending planes against anti-air foes was too risky.
Hunters were mostly restricted in the air anyway.
"But couldn't they just shell the train?"
"Rail lines are a vital transport lifeline for the European warlords too. Shelling would wreck their own rails, so we've assessed artillery threats as low."
If not shells, it'd likely come down to close-quarters fights. Unlike planes, hunters could move freely on the ground.
"Got it."
That covered all my questions.
After the meeting, personnel heading to Vladivostok quickly packed and boarded transport planes.
Hours of flight later, we landed at Vladivostok Airport. From there, another hour by vehicle finally got us to the station, where we boarded the train.
"Isn't this a bit too conspicuous?"
Among the linked train cars, one stood out starkly. It looked indestructible—not a train car, more like a custom mega-vault.
"It's made from depleted uranium composite armor ripped off tanks."
Ja Su-jeong, standing beside me, answered my mutter.
"They've been preparing for this a long time, then."
"Yes. That's why it has to succeed. Embargo Tower's invested this much because they're very interested in the data we'll get."
I got that—the expectations were high.
"Train's departing. Hurry up and board."
As I eyed the car holding the shield generator, Han Sang-ah poked her upper body out the boarding gate and urged me on.
"Well, then. See you."
Ja Su-jeong gave a greeting and boarded first. I followed, heading to my assigned cabin.