Chapter 83

Chapter 83.

‘…What am I looking at right now?’

When I saw the “flyer” Lee Hyeong-je had brought over, saying he would send it to every country, I was left speechless.

Beside me, Min Ji-hee, who had been reviewing the document with me, already had her mouth hanging open in shock.

“Team Leader Lee Hyeong-je, have you lost your mind? You are not even selling entry tickets. You are saying you will sell ‘the right to sit at the negotiation table’ through gacha?! And it is non-refundable? This is not diplomacy. This is an international scam targeting the entire world……!”

“Haha. If they do not like it, they do not have to buy it.”

Lee Hyeong-je chuckled and wore an icy smile befitting a merchant.

“But what can they do? We are the only ones in the world monopolizing this product. What happens if the United States acts stubborn and refuses to buy? China will roll 1,000 pulls from the side and draw the guaranteed ticket. Then the United States will also go mad and swipe for the VVIP Ultimate Edition. That is capitalism, and that is the terror of monopoly.”

He was a demon.

A demon had appeared!

“Team Leader Lee.”

“Yes, Apostle. Should I revise it?”

“No. This is excellent.”

Maybe this man was an even more terrifying monster than the Dregs of an Outer God on the 94th Floor.

“Send it to the email addresses of every country’s association president immediately. And add just one more line at the end.”

“What content should I add?”

“This great monetization… no, the auction party opens immediately. The earlier they arrive, the more advantageous it will be, and there will be benefits if the association president comes in person.”

Min Ji-hee cried out in horror.

“What?! You are calling all the association presidents in the world to Seoul? They are jackals desperate to devour us as it is! What will you do if they commit terrorism?”

Thinking of my final weapon, the “Sword Saint,” which I had unlocked, I chuckled.

“Do not worry. I will personally stand guard.”

“You, Apostle…?”

“I would actually like it if they tried to commit terrorism. I could strip an entire country bare under the pretext of penalty fees.”

Whether it was the United States or Pandemonium.

It did not matter who the bastards setting off the Aggro Radar like mad were.

I had a freshly drawn sharp blade, and now I also had the perfect stage Lee Hyeong-je had prepared for me.

***

“Cash? We do not accept that.”

“P-Please have mercy…! I have no more points to pay!”

“No Points? Then you are no longer a customer. Throw him out.”

“Please! Team Leader! Just this once…!”

Hanam Fortress.

Until a few days ago, the fortress had been noisy from stopping a monster wave. Now, it was filled with the wailing of high-ranking officials from various countries.

“Mm. I am not sure if this is all right.”

Jin Cheon-jin, who had just thrown the French Hunter Association President out of the negotiation venue, looked deeply uncomfortable.

“What are you worried about?”

“I am wondering whether you are being too vicious.”

Jin Cheon-jin continued while looking at the door.

“Ji-hee’s plan was excellent. Using the Saintess’s help as justification to bring Italy to our side, while moderately appeasing the great powers and using them as a reliable shield for the 95th Floor strategy. Was that not a rational diplomatic plan? We know better than anyone how harsh the isolation of having no one help you during a crisis can be.”

Jin Cheon-jin sympathized with Min Ji-hee’s greater cause.

Her plan to build justification and friendly relations in preparation for the next crisis was, in his view, the perfect answer.

“I acknowledge that it was an excellent plan, but it was naive thinking.”

However, Lee Hyeong-je cut down Jin Cheon-jin’s impression in a single stroke.

“She is still too soft. Ji-hee is fighting within the ‘common sense’ of politics and diplomacy. A greater cause? Gratitude? Friendly relations? Those are merely illusions that only hold when both sides have similar cards and can communicate on equal terms.”

“…”

“Think about it. Did they refuse to help us because we had not shown them kindness? Not at all. It was simply because we were the ‘weak,’ and because we were an opponent they were ‘allowed to treat that way.’ That is how this world works.”

“Mm.”

“If we show kindness to such people, they will help us in the next crisis? Absolutely not.”

Lee Hyeong-je tapped the device in his hand.

On the screen, astronomical amounts of Points and Gold he had squeezed and torn out of the association presidents until just moments ago were piling up.

“Cheon-jin, my friend. Change the paradigm. If you monopolized the only oasis in the middle of a desert, would you need to distribute water to thirsty people, form alliances with them, and beg them to help you later?”

“…!”

“In any case, from the 71st Floor to the 94th Floor, we are the only ones in the entire world who can open those golden doors. Throw away pretty justifications like alliances and gratitude. We must squeeze their wallets dry until the very moment before their blood runs out.”

Lee Hyeong-je’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“That is how we create ‘a reason they absolutely must obey us.’”

Jin Cheon-jin felt a chill run down his spine. This greedy merchant had lightly trampled the tactician’s perfectly rational and flawless diplomatic plan with the crude violence known as “monopoly capitalism.”

“…Hyeong-je.”

“Cheon-jin. Help is not something you beg for. It is something you force by grabbing them by the collar. With this money and……”

Lee Hyeong-je glanced toward the waiting room in the corner of the fortress, where the deepest darkness had gathered, and continued.

“With the power of the person over there.”

Jin Cheon-jin, who also thought of “him” sitting in the corner of the fortress, nodded.

‘That is what the Republic of Korea has lacked until now.’

“Mm.”

“Well, you are idealistic, naive, and foolish, but that is the true face of the hero Jin Cheon-jin. Is that not why everyone followed you?”

“…Is that praise, or an insult?”

Jin Cheon-jin coughed awkwardly and scratched his cheek.

“Hehe. The parts you cannot fill, I will fill instead. That is why the Apostle placed me in this position. Trust me.”

Lee Hyeong-je gave him a firm thumbs-up.

“I am the Golden Mine. There is no one on this Earth better at business than me. I will suck every drop of marrow out of those easy marks.”

“Mm. Understood. I will focus on my mission. Next is…… the Italian side.”

“Ahh. I know them well. That frightened old rooster. Toy with him moderately, then lose your temper and throw him out.”

***

“Wow… This is hell.”

Inside the waiting room prepared for me in the corner of the fortress.

The scene visible below through the glass window was quite a spectacle.

Some people who had been immediately kicked out by Lee Hyeong-je were rolling on the floor and wailing, while I could also see association presidents desperately trying to scrape together additional funds somehow.

With veins standing out on their faces, they kept making calls somewhere.

[Agent, I am currently wiretapping the entire communication network inside the fortress.]

Through the watch, Snowy displayed voice files translated in real time.

— Secure cash immediately, even if you have to empty the national treasury!

— You are short on Points right now? Borrow money if you have to and bring them!

— Damn it, I said a few wrong words and got kicked out! Does anyone know Lee Hyeong-je personally?

Those were the association presidents of countries prosperous enough to be classified as “great powers.”

To put it another way.

They were also the rich people who had bought the [Limited Edition] product, the one-on-one exclusive rights.

After spending so much to meet Lee Hyeong-je, being kicked out in an instant must have made the money they had lost flash before their eyes until they were driven half-mad.

But what could they do? They had already spent a huge amount of money.

If they failed to obtain farming rights to the unexplored territory after all this, it would simply be a loss.

If they succeeded, it would be an investment.

‘The problem is that this is a product where “success” does not exist.’

Why would I care?

As long as we made sweet money, that was enough.

‘If you are upset, do not buy it, you bastards.’

But you cannot afford not to buy it, can you?

Serves you right. Hehehe.

These were the bastards who had treated the Republic of Korea like easy prey and sucked our blood until now.

I would make them cough up even more than what they had taken.

On the other hand, beside them.

The association presidents of “poor” countries were calm.

Ultimate Edition? They already knew it was a tree they could never climb.

However, they were waiting to gather all the strength they had and purchase the [General] grade product… the “draw.”

And since Gold and Points were strategic assets, they were probably calculating meticulously how much they could invest.

Rich countries. Poor countries.

A floor that was hell equally for all of them.

And the demon ruling over this place, the Golden Mine Lee Hyeong-je…

“His business tactics are almost frightening.”

To me, the wails of the association presidents driven to the edge of a cliff sounded like the melody of money being made.

Using that melody as background music.

I was checking the Aggro Radar from this dark, secluded corner.

‘Snowy, what about movement on the West Sea side?’

[Agent, I turned the satellite camera to the coordinates you pointed out, but nothing can be identified in the footage. Should I continue running a precise search?]

‘No, stand by for now.’

The red dot marked above the West Sea had not moved at all for some time.

Whether it was hiding from the satellite, or whether some kind of barrier had been placed there.

If I went closer and examined it personally, I would surely catch its tail, but…

Right now, dealing with the red dot that had come to this “Hanam Fortress” was more urgent.

‘The United States.’

The identity of the red dot that had been marked on the continent across the Pacific was Richard, the U.S. Hunter Association President.

After arriving in Korea in grand fashion, Richard had immediately purchased the Ultimate Edition despite the absurdly harsh conditions, and was now waiting for his meeting with Lee Hyeong-je.

[For reference, a special EMP field has been deployed within a ten-meter radius of the U.S. Association President’s VIP waiting room. It blocks not only ordinary electronic devices, but also my access.]

‘Thorough.’

He was disabling electronic devices with EMP and cutting off communication with the outside?

A perfect closed room with no emergency communication network.

It was an ideal environment for quietly handling matters without worrying about anyone else’s eyes.

Holding Nopi, I clicked.

I released Synchronization.

“Hoo.”

My body returned to that of a pathetic Awakening Failure.

It was a weak, feeble body that would die tragically if someone so much as tapped it, but…

It had exactly one absolute advantage.

It had no Mana.

Even Han Seol-ah, now an EX-rank Hunter, could not find me when I entered Awakening Failure mode.

Of course, if someone sharpened their five senses and listened for signs of a presence or breathing, they could discover me.

But Hunters were human bats who naturally performed detection through Mana twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

It was safe to assume that almost no eccentric kept their mind alert by investing Mana into their five senses.

In other words.

Now that I had entered Awakening Failure mode…

I became the person capable of moving the most stealthily in the world.

The reason I had ordered Richard’s turn to be pushed to the very end was an extension of that.

Anxiety and impatience gnawed away at a person’s concentration.

No matter how sharp the five senses of an S-rank were, in an unstable psychological state, one could fail to notice even the shadow behind one’s back.

I gripped Nopi tightly in my left hand.

I walked out the door and took exactly twenty steps.

I arrived before the waiting room into which Richard had been placed.

‘Your big brother is here, you bastard.’

***

Richard Sterling, the U.S. Hunter Association President, leaned back on the plush sofa in the VIP waiting room, stroking the Mana Stone hidden inside his clothes.

‘Stupid Koreans.’

It had been rather pleasant when they prepared a separate VIP waiting room for him and grovelled, saying that the Team Leader, Golden Mine himself, would come personally to meet him.

They had cleared the 94th Floor, but in the end, the Republic of Korea was still in a precarious state, like a candle before the wind.

If they wanted to take flight using this piece of good fortune, they would desperately need the help of “my America,” a superpower.

Their desperate attitude made that painfully clear.

‘I told them to bring Min Ji-hee along, so she will come with him. Hehe. I must show them clearly who stands above whom.’

Just as Richard smiled, his thoughts reached the Mana Stone he had placed inside his clothes.

Tch.

Richard clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

Although he was very much looking forward to the main event that would soon unfold, the fact that this situation had been created by someone’s “coercion” suddenly displeased him.

The Guild Master had given him a mission to reveal this Mana Stone “where many people were present.”

Along with a warning that if he disobeyed, “one time” would be deducted.

‘…I have already failed Master’s missions twice. If I fail one more time… I die.’

What happened if someone broke their promise with the Guild Master three times?

No one knew.

Because they had all died.

Richard wanted to live a long life without dying, and enjoy “my America” forever.

Therefore, Master’s mission was the highest-priority objective.

‘In any case, if I want to make them submit, there is no bait better than this Mana Stone. I simply need to enjoy my entertainment and complete the mission.’

After forcibly settling his unpleasant mood, Richard returned to the face of an arrogant predator.

‘At any rate, this is boring.’

Since he had to bring his precious self to another country, Richard had prepared every possible means of ensuring his safety at the highest level.

As an S-rank Hunter, the densely spread Mana Detection Net he had laid out was basic.

If it was a living being with Mana, then no matter what stealth skill it used, it could not escape his sensitive detection network.

On top of that, he had brought a top-grade protective Artifact inside his clothes to block surprise attacks.

As if that were not enough, he had even established a special EMP zone that fundamentally blocked the use of electronic devices.

Because of that, even Richard could not use electronic devices and had to simply lounge around killing time.

But that also meant there were no variables that could threaten him.

A predator inside a fortress.

That was how Richard currently viewed his position.

‘?’

But then, the fine hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end.

There was no ripple of Mana.

No sound of the door opening, no footsteps, not even the faintest sign of air being disturbed.

And yet his animal instinct, the most primal intuition for survival, was blaring an alarm.

Run.

A predator is targeting you.

At that eerie sensation, Richard reflexively turned his head.

Then his body froze.

The waiting room door, which should have been firmly closed, had opened silently.

And a man was standing there.

‘Wh-What? When did that bastard get in here?!’

Richard’s blue eyes trembled with confusion.

Even though the man was visible, Richard’s Mana Detection Net was still reporting that “nothing” was there.

A perfect state of “nothingness,” without even a single handful of Mana, more harmless than a pebble rolling around outside.

‘A ghost…? Am I seeing things right now?’

Within Richard’s confused vision, that unidentified something lifted the device in his hand.

‘A laptop?’

The EMP was definitely active.

Electronic devices should have been impossible to use…

Click.

The moment he thought that, “it” clicked the touchpad of the laptop.

“……Hurk!”

“It” transformed in an instant into a colossal mountain pressing down upon the sky.

The pressure felt as though his lungs were being crushed, choking off Richard’s breath.

The sharp energy that burst explosively from the man’s entire body seemed to carve out his heart with an invisible blade.

‘Haaagh! Haaaaagh!’

Richard screamed soundlessly and instinctively groped inside his clothes.

He desperately prayed that his protective Artifact would activate.

‘Why, why will my body not move…….’

FLASH—!

In the brief instant when Richard could not even blink.

The man, approaching like a ghost, drove his fingers into the nape of Richard’s neck.