Climbing the Mythic Tower as a Cheating Administrator - Chapter 64

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Cheating Administrator Climbing the Mythic Tower (64)
Around the time Moo-saeng had defeated the Blue Dragon and was catching his breath.
Outside the Tower, the news cycle was in chaos—television broadcasts and internet headlines cascading one after another with breaking updates.
[Breaking News] – Rebelle Grandes Ecoles Rector Departs Korea; Academy Faculty Partially Remain
[Urgent Column] – What Did the Geumseong-Hosted Conference Leave Behind for Every Awakener?
[Breaking News] – Eight Seconds Members Who Visited Korea Complete Departure
[Breaking News] – Mysterious Explosions Occur Across Multiple Locations in Seoul
[Breaking News] – Road Closures Continue Due to Fire Near Dungeon 55
.
.
The emergency conference that Geum Byeong-chul had hastily convened was over.
At least officially—every member of Eight Seconds except Geum Byeong-chul had boarded aircraft.
“Where else now!?”
“Incidents are unfolding at three locations—Dungeon 39, Dungeon 49, and Dungeon 51! We’ve reported everything to the police, but they say they can’t deploy riot units because recent security operations for the conference emergency have depleted their personnel—”
That very night, incidents erupted near the dungeons under Geumseong’s management.
The perpetrators?
“Those Korea One-Way bastards really—”
There was no need to guess.
It was the evening of the very next day after Geum Byeong-chul had issued orders to prepare for war.
Geumseong’s personnel had made preparations as best they could, but their movements came with a speed beyond anything they could have imagined.
“Which location is most urgent? Where did the Dungeon Management Department request assistance?”
“For now, it’s the area near Dungeon 51. Director Yoon said he’d head there personally, but—”
“Director Yoon is at Dungeon 37 right now, isn’t he? Tell him to go straight to Dungeon 39 after he’s done there. He probably doesn’t know an incident has occurred there yet. I’ll head to Dungeon 51.”
This was the strategy of the head of the Korea One-Way Group.
The cunning calculus of Lee Jeong-gi.
“Understood.”
Secretary Choi Ji-hye nodded, her eyes wide.
Even as Geum Su-ah hurried out to prepare to assist, she didn’t forget.
“Father—what about Chairman Geum?”
Protecting Geum Byeong-chul.
If it was inside a dungeon, it didn’t matter.
No—in a worst-case scenario, her father would use his abilities even outside the Tower and dungeon.
But how much damage would that cause.
Especially now that the conference had ended, and police resources had been mobilized to host and maintain order at that very emergency conference—there was nothing to gain from causing trouble.
Rival guilds like Mirae, Hana, JK—wherever they stood in competition—would be sure to condemn them……
“We’ve tripled the security detail. All of the awakening ability detection equipment the headquarters possesses is running at full capacity.”
In the end, protection for Geum Byeong-chul had to resort to outdated methods.
“Got it. I’ll handle the Dungeon 51 situation, so call me immediately if anything comes up, Secretary Choi!”
“Yes! Please be careful!”
Geum Su-ah picked up a small firearm loaded with rubber rounds and headed out.
Live ammunition was naturally out of the question; once she arrived at the scene, she’d need to issue instructions for containment operations and capture at least one perpetrator.
‘…They moved in less than a day—not even a day. I have to admit, their execution is impressive. They’ve clearly done this kind of thing before.’
If she could capture even a single Korea One-Way operative alive.
It might be possible to bring down Lee Jeong-gi himself, or even the Korea One-Way Group entirely.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz……
Geum Su-ah’s smartphone vibrated as she headed toward the parking lot.
“Hmm?”
Caller: Robert K.
It was a number she knew. But why would he be calling now of all times?
“What is it?”
Geum Su-ah answered quickly and asked what the call was about.
Her large eyes grew even wider.
“…Fine. But I have one condition of my own.”
She spoke.
A brief back-and-forth followed.
* * *
Crackling flames—whoosh!
Tires blown flat, cars frozen in the burning blaze.
Abandoned vehicles on a road where drivers had already escaped, causing traffic congestion; fire trucks unable to enter and blaring their horns.
“Please—move to one side, sir!”
“Move! Make way! The fire trucks can’t get through!”
The Geumseong personnel tried to control the chaotic situation however they could, but it was overwhelming.
What to do first, where to block first.
And beneath it all, the dread that this wasn’t a natural disaster, the fear of whoever could orchestrate terrorism at this scale in South Korea.
Somewhere in the crowd holding smartphones, an assassin might be watching.
Even a passing stranger could turn at any moment—this thought made them defensive, passive.
“This is Geum Su-ah, Deputy Director of the Strategy Division!”
“Ah, Deputy Director Geum!”
“Thank goodness….”
How fortunate her arrival was to them.
Though not officially with the Dungeon Management Department, there was no one in Geumseong who didn’t know of Su-ah.
It made perfect sense that the division chief from the Dungeon Management Department—who oversaw Dungeon 51—would immediately hand command to her.
“I’ll handle the main road closure and guide the fire trucks in! The rest of you, secure the perimeter! Clear those spikes from the road in teams of three! Reinforcements are coming from headquarters, just hold on a bit longer!”
Under Geum Su-ah’s direct orders, the response became swift and coordinated.
Detailed when details were needed.
Broad strokes when direction was all that mattered.
“We still haven’t identified the suspect, correct? I heard you’d already provided the CCTV footage.”
“Well… the analysis takes some time. We’ve narrowed down the suspect for the Geumseong Hotel arson to a degree, but—”
“But?”
She was handling the police liaison herself, right there in the field.
Her commanding presence was so imposing that even the officers seemed a touch intimidated.
“It looks like they may have already left the country. Probably someone from the Southeast Asia branch, and the conference brought such a massive influx of international arrivals and departures. If we can’t get a detailed list from the Immigration Office…”
Above all, tracking One-Way’s methodical movements was proving impossible anyway.
Given more time, perhaps, but less than forty-eight hours had passed since the incident.
“…Understood. Thank you.”
Geum Su-ah glanced toward something, gave the officers a polite nod, then began moving.
Toward the crowd still gathered at a distance.
As she approached, the onlookers wondered what was happening and turned to watch her, but—
One figure with a cap pulled low turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.
“You there.”
That inconsistency didn’t escape Geum Su-ah.
One-Way operative.
“Stop. Wait—”
In a flash, a man of average build spun around and bolted.
If she lost sight of him now, there’d be no catching him again—no distinguishing features.
“There!”
But she’d changed into running shoes at the scene.
Running? Even if it was just a supporting skill, she was an Awakener who’d cleared Floor 66 and was preparing for Floor 67.
Those enhanced Stats could bury even the Olympic records of the old era!
Thud-thud-thud-thud. She kicked at the asphalt like sand, accelerating her pace.
It was already decided at this point.
The gap was closing, but not as fast as her speed.
In other words, the one fleeing was no ordinary person.
An Awakener—at least in the Forties range.
‘Not Korea One-Way. Southeast Asia One-Way. If I catch him, I can flip this whole thing.’
Even Lee Jeong-gi was from a Korean Licensed Guild.
Once she placed responsibility on Southeast Asia, this crisis would surely be resolved.
Responsibility and rage surged through her, her muscles tensing to the breaking point.
“Stop right there! If you surrender now, we’ll handle this legally, but if you’re caught—I’m dragging you into the nearest dungeon!”
She shouted.
A threat? No—dead serious.
If she caught him, she’d drag him into a nearby dungeon by force and make him spill everything.
How long had she been chasing him?
The distance had closed considerably, but they were now well away from Dungeon 51.
The suspect moved expertly through the alleys.
At that point, Geum Su-ah caught on.
He’d already secured an escape route.
“Hah, hah, hah, hah.”
She burst into a dead-end alley.
There was only one reason for that.
“…A lure?”
It was an operation designed to draw Geum Su-ah out.
Before long, armed men equipped with electric shock devices blocked the path behind her.
“So Geum Byeong-chul’s daughter has some spine.”
And among them, Lee Jeong-gi stepped forward.
* * *
Geum Su-ah steadied her breathing and spoke sharply.
“The Korea One-Way Group could lose its license—”
“I’d rather not waste words on Geum Byeong-chul’s brat of a daughter. Keep your mouth shut and come here. If you do it now, you’ll be exchanged for my grandchild with all your limbs intact.”
Or so he meant to say.
But as Lee Jeong-gi stepped closer, his bearing so overbearing that it crushed any room for dialogue, she found herself forced into silence.
An attitude that wouldn’t even acknowledge her as someone worth talking to.
Geum Su-ah knew the phrase “with all your limbs intact” was no mere bluff or empty threat.
‘The habits from when he awakened before the Nevada Treaty still cling to him…’
Lee Jeong-gi, wielder of the Oni skill.
His rank was certainly the same as her Luminous, both SR-grade.
But in a proper fight inside a dungeon, it would be an even match at best—and outside the tower or dungeon, things would be far worse.
“So you could have just pocketed some money and released my grandchild. I even arranged a scapegoat for you.”
“Please don’t do this. You’re only adding kidnapping charges. Without proper compensation for the damage Lee Eun-woo caused—Wait!?”
Whoosh!
Something flew toward her ear.
Even braced for it, the ambush came dangerously close to landing, and in the moment she raised her hand to block, it seized her fingers.
Crack.
Torn.
Or so she thought.
The severed finger dissolved into light, vanishing into the air.
A fake made of light—one of Geum Su-ah’s techniques, deployable like a phantom clone.
An exchange of blows in a fraction of a second, too swift even for the Awakeners in the forty and fifty-floor ranges with Lee Jeong-gi to properly follow.
He had used his awakening ability in an instant.
And she had barely managed to counter with her own.
“No need to prattle on about tedious rules, is there?”
Lee Jeong-gi smiled wickedly as he spoke.
Since they’d both used their awakening abilities, he meant to brush aside talk of the Nevada Treaty.
But Geum Su-ah was acting in self-defense.
If in that instant she hadn’t deceived his vision, if he’d actually seized her real fingers, she would have been truly torn.
Lee Jeong-gi advanced another step and spoke.
“Just break a few limbs to start with.”
And the moment he took another stride forward.
The chairman of the Korea One-Way Group froze.
The other members of the Southeast Asia One-Way Group hadn’t noticed.
But Lee Jeong-gi felt it.
“…There’s no way to predict something like this with just ordinary thinking.”
The air around them had changed.
And he knew who had changed it.
A figure removing sunglasses in a smooth motion, approaching from behind Lee Jeong-gi and his group.
“Heh, what an old man does is always predictable.”
Geum Byeong-chul.
With him came the elite of Geumseong, including Yoon Pyo.
Frown lines creased Lee Jeong-gi’s brow as he turned back.
“Still that foul mouth of yours, Geum Byeong-chul. Hand over my grandchild. If I get my grandchild, I’ll leave.”
“Leave? You should leave—for the next world. There’s nothing more pathetic than an old man clinging to his shame when he’s already lived long enough.”
Geum Byeong-chul’s pale eyes flashed.
And Geum Su-ah exhaled in relief.
The reason all of this had been possible.
She quickly manipulated her smartphone and sent a message.
[Situation concluded.]
The recipient of that message was the person she’d called when leaving Geumseong headquarters.
―There’s something we need to find in Korea. I’m asking for your cooperation.
“Something to find? What might that be?”
―…It’s highly classified, so I can’t provide details. But—using the Orin-an should give you some idea of how serious it is.
In that moment, Geum Su-ah understood.
The recent matter involving the Orin-an.
Korea.
It was only natural that someone came to mind—not certain, but with sufficient possibility.
So she was, in effect, making a request of the World Awakener Association.
“…All right. But I have one condition of my own.”
—A condition?
“Real-time transmission of Awakener Lee Jeong-gi’s location—his Awakening ability, Oni (SR)—to both me and my father. Using the Orin-an’s ability.”
Find Lee Jeong-gi.
And whatever he does, draw him out.
She hadn’t known he’d dig a trap first and wait this way, but…a reverse encirclement in a sparsely populated place was the perfect lockdown!
Geum Su-ah smiled thinly, thinking it through.
The person who made all of this possible.
‘Thank you, Kim Moo-saeng. I won’t forget this debt.’
Thanks to Kim Moo-saeng, whom the Orin-an was tracking.
In just one day after the war began, she had Lee Jeong-gi.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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