Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Heads on Display
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Lee Se-eun was utterly exhausted right now. An enormous crowd had swarmed the relief supplies that needed to be distributed.
People who had already received their share but tried to grab more, those cutting in line, and the fights breaking out with murderous intent...
In the midst of it all, the Korean military tasked with securing the relief goods was even firing salt rounds at the desperate poor.
They were non-lethal suppression rounds designed to minimize harm, but for people already weakened to the brink, even that could send them into critical condition—or kill them outright.
"Thirty-seven injuries and eight confirmed deaths."
People were getting hurt and dying either in fights among themselves or during the crackdowns.
"We've already uncovered twenty-four cases of forged distribution vouchers."
The poor were pitiful, but pity and goodness were two different things.
"The distribution staff seem pretty stressed out."
No surprise there. Parents begging for just one look at their dying child, then cursing them as murderers when the kid died anyway.
Some even dragged in the corpses of dead children. They'd cling to pant legs, wailing and thrashing to squeeze out even a handful more of aid.
"We can't make exceptions to the distribution rules out of sympathy."
She knew the staff were suffering too. Then came the words: "We've received contact from the Kaiser Warlord." Every eye in the situation room turned to Lee Se-eun.
"Put it through."
Still, contact from the Kaiser Warlord was a relief at least. Lee Se-eun's expression softened a bit for the first time in a while.
Yoo Chan-seok had opened the door to dialogue. The methods were probably brutally violent, but she couldn't complain about that right now.
—This is Daniel from the Kaiser Warlord. I'm calling to negotiate on the shield generator transport.
"This is Lee Se-eun of Zanabi LLC. Thanks for reaching out first."
She started with a formal expression of gratitude.
"I'm sure Hunter Yoo Chan-seok caused some damage on your end. My regrets on that."
—Meaning it was his solo act.
"Yes. I didn't ask him to do it. Though it did end up helping in the end."
Lee Se-eun agreed simply with Daniel's words. Whatever Yoo Chan-seok had done in Hamburg, it was his independent action.
—Even the world-famous Candy Lady can't control every hunter, huh.
"If it were a Zanabi hunter, maybe. But I've never once pressured other hunters with authority or force."
There was no reason for her to apologize to Daniel for damages from Yoo Chan-seok.
"Let's set that aside. Shall we talk about cooperating on the shield generator transport first?"
—...Fine. We'll cooperate since it's come to this, but it won't be for free.
At Daniel's words, Lee Se-eun glanced at the Embargo Tower members, including the amethyst one. She could negotiate right here, but their input mattered too.
"We delegate full negotiation authority to Hunter Lee Se-eun, as long as it doesn't harm Embargo Tower."
With confirmation, Lee Se-eun nodded and spoke.
"We're scheduled to finish the relief delivery in Warsaw in two days, then head through Berlin and Hamburg before departing for the Netherlands."
She detailed the aid volumes for Berlin and Hamburg, along with stay durations, to Daniel.
—In return for cooperating this time, the Kaiser Warlord wants a dispatch contract for Zanabi hunters.
Lee Se-eun clicked her tongue softly at that, extending a hand to rummage through documents.
"The seven hunters we dispatched to Bahia Blanca, Argentina, are set to return after clearing a Rank-2 Erosion Core."
—Seven? ...It'd be nice if we could contract a few more.
Lee Se-eun replied immediately.
"We can't spare more than that. Not ideal as a substitute, but I can introduce you to other hunter companies."
Zanabi referrals were rarely turned down, assuming fair terms.
Daniel just wanted more hunters to guard the border anyway—her alternative wasn't a bad option.
—Then I'll take that too, as a favor.
Daniel was asking her to pave the way for hunter reinforcements since he couldn't hand over the generator. Lee Se-eun handled it cleanly.
"We could've achieved what we both needed if we'd just talked from the start, right?"
Daniel responded to Lee Se-eun's words.
—Only you got what you wanted.
What Daniel truly craved was the shield generator, no matter what anyone said. It would've given them breathing room against the monster hordes, and they could've extorted cash by holding the device hostage.
But with things as they were, better to grab what he could without picking fights. That's why he'd agreed to her terms.
"Anyway. Looking forward to your full cooperation."
Lee Se-eun ended the call. She wasn't on the hook to pay anything upfront anyway.
Daniel would have to hustle to contract with Zanabi and the other companies she'd introduce.
"How's the relief distribution going?"
"About 70% issued. If we speed up a bit, we can hit the Kaiser Warlord's notified window without issues."
"Hunter Yoo Chan-seok pulled off something big."
The mood in the situation room was warm with things going smoothly—until a massive report came in.
"Zamkovi Square... Hunter Lee Se-eun. You need to see this yourself."
Lee Se-eun let out a puzzled "Hm?" Then a photo projected on the situation room screen: Zamkovi Square in Warsaw.
"Hwah..."
A strange groan escaped Lee Se-eun's lips—part sigh, part awe.
Eight severed human heads were on display in the square's center. Below them, in Polish, read the words:
Crime: Looting and black-market sales of relief supplies
Executor: Han Sang-ah
Lee Se-eun shuddered slightly after reading it and spoke.
"Hunter Han Sang-ah—recall her immediately."
Chopping off heads? Her command cut sharp. The hunters called Han Sang-ah at once.
"I heard you called for me."
"What the hell is this?"
Lee Se-eun's voice swirled with clear fury and ice. It was the kind of intimidation that would've made an ordinary person's groin squirt lemon juice on eye contact alone. But Han Sang-ah, receiving it directly, remained calm.
"On patrol, I found a back alley where distributed relief goods were being sold on the black market."
She'd recovered the goods and traced their base through the sellers, apparently.
"Ah, I damaged the sellers' Achilles tendons while locating the base."
"That's...!"
As Lee Se-eun started to retort, Han Sang-ah continued calmly.
"Relief supplies are meant to be distributed free to those in need. We didn't haul them all the way from Vladivostok to Warsaw for a few people to hoard and sell."
She wasn't wrong. But that wasn't the issue.
"Eight people, Hunter Han Sang-ah. Eight! We're hunters. We cut monster heads, not human ones."
Han Sang-ah shook her head at Lee Se-eun's words.
"That's your policy, Hunter Lee Se-eun. I have my own."
The entire situation room gaped at her words. Someone daring to say that to Lee Se-eun's face?
But she wasn't done. Looking at the photo on the screen, Han Sang-ah spoke.
"Also, there's a crime I intentionally omitted from that inscription."
"What's that?"
Instead of answering, Han Sang-ah opened her smartphone and showed Lee Se-eun the footage she'd taken.
"They forced minors into sexual acts in exchange for rations."
Lee Se-eun looked away from the phone. The scenes and dialogue made it clear this wasn't a one-off.
They deserve to die. No one had the right to take lives arbitrarily... but cases like this? Maybe.
Her boiling rage subsided in an instant.
"I get the reason. But why leave it off the crimes listed?"
She'd said intentionally, so there must be cause.
"I wanted to send the message: Get caught looting or black-marketing relief goods, and it's the death penalty."
Han Sang-ah pocketed her returned phone and replied.
"Kill one to scare a hundred. We can't stop every truck hauling aid to the provinces anyway. To them, we're outsiders."
Outsiders lopping heads for relief supplies could look like flexing power.
"Don't you get it? Their anger at you could outweigh fury over those forcing sex on kids for food?"
People could rage more at an outsider's report than a neighbor's rape.
"I do. But it's something I can handle, so I don't care."
"Handle? What does that mean?"
Han Sang-ah made a stunningly bold claim with utter confidence.
"If today's mess becomes an issue, Geumyang Group will cover it."
She declared it so brazenly, leaning on her backing.
"You can't just... "
"I don't think I said anything wrong."
Wrong? Not at all. Geumyang Group was the pinnacle among Korea's conglomerates.
Before they even acted on Han Sang-ah chopping a few heads in Poland, media, government, and every group would scramble to bury it.
"Aren't you a bit too cocky?"
Han Sang-ah looked genuinely puzzled at Lee Se-eun's words.
"Talent and backing. Both are things you're born with. Just look at Yoo Chan-seok."
Strictly speaking, Yoo Chan-seok's talent was built from effort and experience—but she couldn't know that.
"If he was born with exceptional talent, I was born with backing."
Finishing, Han Sang-ah scratched her head briefly.
"Honestly, isn't it no different from chaebol kids cursing out drivers, beating subordinates, groping secretaries, or doing drugs—all using their status?"
"Big difference!"
Lee Se-eun shot back. Compared to those examples, Han Sang-ah was using her privilege for good.
"Is there?"
What was wrong with this girl? What went on in that head? Lee Se-eun stared, thinking it silently.
"So, you can clean this up?"
"Yes. Geumyang wants top hunters among its ranks, and I've fully bowed out of the succession fight. Unless I bomb the Blue House, no issue."
And just like that, Lee Se-eun's anger over the sudden Zamkovi Square fiasco faded.
"Honestly, she's not entirely off-base."
After Han Sang-ah bowed and left, Lee Se-eun propped her chin, pondered, and concluded.
Privilege was that invisible force letting you do as you pleased without a peep from others.
Most wielded it for personal ease. But what if like Han Sang-ah?
For instance, chaebol power let you beat an innocent driver bloody without punishment.
If you could beat people without jail, why not hunt down rapists or serial killers instead?
"Damn, am I going crazy listening to her?"
Lee Se-eun scratched her head furiously, muttering that before flopping onto the bed.