Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 152
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (152)
Shut Up
Not everyone can like you.
Even if most people show goodwill, some among them might despise you to the extreme.
In Lee Si-hyeok’s case, Hunter Im Jae-hwi was like that.
“You’d better be certain. It shouldn’t be a lie.”
He glared at Professor Bae Young-min.
However, the professor still answered with a confident attitude.
“Haven’t you heard the news? Public opinion has already turned. If we just wait a few more days like this, Lee Si-hyeok’s downfall will happen in an instant, and then both your position and mine will be guaranteed, won’t they?”
“That’s your position, not mine.”
“Ah, of course. You already hold a position, Hunter. Anyway, you already know there’s nothing to lose by trusting my words, right?”
Hunter Im Jae-hwi.
He was someone who held a quite special position even within the Korea Awakener Association.
Chief Inspector of the ‘Special Inspection Department,’ a department that even the upper management couldn’t easily touch, and even the Association President had to be careful around.
He performed a role like a hunting dog, catching hunters who violated hunter laws and disrupted the country.
Even the secret prison located in the headquarters basement was under their jurisdiction, with all control rights held by the inspection department.
And the Chief Inspector was the top official in such a department.
It was fair to say he commanded all the inspectors who were like fierce dogs.
“There should be no lies in what you said today.”
These were words spoken by such a person.
Naturally, they carried weight.
Professor Bae Young-min, who flinched and shrugged his shoulders, asked while reading the mood.
“Hunter, you seem to be in a particularly bad mood today?”
“My mood is always bad.”
“I know that, but today especially…”
“Don’t you have ears to hear?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked if you don’t have ears to hear.”
At the sudden question, Professor Bae Young-min tilted his head.
Ears to hear, what does he mean by…
‘Ah.’
“Hey, you guys. Go out and have a cup of coffee each.”
“What? We just got to work though?”
“We did?”
When he pointed at the teaching assistants who had just arrived and were unpacking their things, they asked back in confusion.
“Didn’t you understand?! Go have a cup of coffee each. Or go eat breakfast, all of you!”
“Eek.”
“Yes, yes sir.”
When he shouted loudly, the teaching assistants hurriedly ran out.
Bae Young-min’s usual image was the very model of a kind and gentle professor. However, since they had already been completely gaslighted, there shouldn’t be any particular problem.
“Good.”
Only then did Hunter Im Jae-hwi open his mouth as if he had been waiting, and Bae Young-min’s ears perked up.
What on earth is he trying to talk about?
He roughly knew how Hunter Im Jae-hwi’s current situation was going. That was precisely why they had joined hands to bring down Lee Si-hyeok.
Wasn’t it that the S-rank hunter Guardian of Light was recently caught colluding with China?
And he heard that the person who discovered this was Lee Si-hyeok.
He wondered how someone who wasn’t even a combat-type awakener managed to do it, but that wasn’t the problem.
‘Who would have thought that Hunter Im Jae-hwi was actually the one backing the Guardian of Light.’
The route through which the Guardian of Light could communicate with spies and even reach the Absolute Dream Guild headquarters came from none other than Hunter Im Jae-hwi.
Of course, he understood that he didn’t directly collude.
He just provided secret communication channels, and Hunter Im Jae-hwi took all the profits that came from there.
Since both the Absolute Dream Guild and the Guardian of Light were forces with tremendous power, the scraps that fell off would have been considerable.
But…
“I told you before. The Guardian of Light was handed over to the inspection department by Lee Si-hyeok.”
That Guardian was arrested by Lee Si-hyeok.
Originally, it had been overlooked by Im Jae-hwi, who was the Chief Inspector, but now most of the Association knew about the Guardian’s treason.
“It was already too late for me to intervene.”
“I understand. Was it called the Nari Basin Gate? You couldn’t have known he would be suddenly arrested there, Hunter.”
“…”
“So what happened? I only heard that interrogation had started and haven’t heard any news for the past few days.”
“The interrogation continued. Until a few days ago.”
“Until a few days ago means…?”
Interrogation. Bae Young-min frowned as if just imagining how that process would proceed was disgusting and asked. But unexpected words came out of Hunter Im Jae-hwi’s mouth.
“He’s dead. Yesterday, to be exact.”
“Dead, you say?”
That means.
“The interrogation is over. Other inspectors extracted the entire truth of the incident from the Guardian’s head, and his brain was probably destroyed and died from the aftermath. Being hunted is now just a matter of time.”
“Whew.”
“As soon as the information is organized, my existence will be exposed. Then a pursuit team will be immediately attached. We must succeed with the plan before that.”
“It’s urgent…”
Professor Bae Young-min gulped.
From what he heard, Hunter Im Jae-hwi’s behind-the-scenes work was done independently.
So it meant that other inspectors were only now figuring out that fact.
If that were to be discovered, the arrow would turn to Hunter Im Jae-hwi without any consideration, and then wouldn’t Bae Young-min, who was involved, also be helplessly entangled?
Even knowing this, he couldn’t abandon his ambition for success and joined hands with him. His failure to be included among the 11 stars of the research world in his childhood remained like a lifelong regret.
Even now, he ground his teeth thinking of Yoon Seo-jin, who would be leading Eterion’s repairs.
“The plan will succeed. However, time is important, so how much time is left before a pursuit team is formed?”
“A week. Is that enough?”
“It seems just right. Once we bring down Lee Si-hyeok, everything will be resolved smoothly, so let’s set aside our worries for now.”
“I’ll try.”
They sought their way out through Lee Si-hyeok.
Currently the most influential person in the world, drawing attention from people of all ages and genders. He had even directly prevented a terrorist incident recently.
So, they thought that if they made him appear to be the hidden mastermind behind all these incidents, the current situation would be resolved.
It seemed absurd, but thinking about it, it was surprisingly convincing.
“If Lee Si-hyeok’s terrorist conspiracy is completely accepted as fact through this incident, we can make it seem like Lee Si-hyeok was behind the Guardian too. After all, Lee Si-hyeok was the only one alone with the Guardian at the Gate, wasn’t he?”
“That’s right.”
“Then we can push the narrative that he manipulated the brain information. Even though it’s an impossible technology to implement, only he can understand his own technology anyway, so once the puzzle fits, it won’t be easy to refute.”
When Professor Bae Young-min went over the plan once more, Hunter Im Jae-hwi finally seemed relieved and showed a comfortable smile.
“Next, we’ll tie it to the Eterion terrorist incident. The Eterion incident was actually connected to Yoon Seo-jin when investigated, and coincidentally, Lee Si-hyeok is from Termion transport driver background, right? The connection between the two. If we create appropriate new evidence, that puzzle will also fit.”
“…”
“The point is that all of Lee Si-hyeok’s achievements so far were staged. Honestly, it doesn’t make sense. No matter how EX-rank he is, to pull off such things when not even a year has passed.”
“Is that what you think, Professor?”
“Absolutely.”
“I see. That’s fine. We just need the plan to succeed within the set timeframe. I hope you don’t forget that duty.”
Im Jae-hwi actually liked that attitude full of inferiority complex.
That arrogant attitude of being above others was exactly the kind of nature he could easily manipulate.
“You don’t need to worry. In the end, I will rise to a higher position, and you’ll be able to return to your usual daily life, Hunter.”
“Yes. Then I’ll get up and leave now.”
“Should I see you out?”
“It’s fine.”
Though he said that, Professor Bae Young-min hurriedly followed behind Hunter Im Jae-hwi. When Hunter Im Jae-hwi narrowed his eyes and looked at him, he made an excuse.
“I was originally going to go out anyway. I need to bring back those guys I kicked out earlier.”
“I see.”
After a while, they left the research building and walked along the path made of high-quality stone.
The Magical Engineering Academy has many paths, but the peculiar thing is that all paths connect to the central plaza.
Since the elevator going down to ground level was past the plaza, Hunter Im Jae-hwi walked straight ahead, and Professor Bae Young-min, who was looking for the other teaching assistants, also followed behind him.
“Ah, there they are.”
Professor Bae Young-min muttered.
At the end of his gaze, the teaching assistants he had kicked out earlier were standing huddled together.
But the atmosphere was somewhat strange.
“Why are so many people gathered here?”
“…What is that?”
The central plaza is always crowded with people.
That said, today it was particularly crowded.
Even though there were many freshmen and visitors coming to see Lee Si-hyeok’s rift, which was a hot topic these days, even that had been gradually decreasing day by day.
But for some reason, there was now a crowd several times larger than that.
“For now… let’s go take a look too.”
“Yes.”
They walked over, tilting their heads in confusion.
As they reached the edge of the crowd, the murmuring of people could be heard more clearly. The two pricked up their ears and focused on those voices.
“Wow, it’s really just like what I saw on ArtiNet?”
“Crazy.”
“Awesome.”
“…”
Hunter Im Jae-hwi’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Do all students talk like that these days?”
“Well, not necessarily all of them… anyway, let’s go further inside.”
Soon, murmuring could be heard again.
“Look at that rift over there. The mana really disappeared.”
“Oh, you’re right? Wasn’t mana continuously coming out until last night?”
“But now there’s none at all. What suddenly happened?”
Professor Bae Young-min’s eyes widened greatly.
Wondering if he had heard wrong, he looked back at Hunter Im Jae-hwi, but his expression was the same.
Without saying a word, both simultaneously began to move.
They pushed through the packed crowd with their shoulders and rushed forward. Since both were big in stature, people’s gazes focused on them every time they bumped into someone.
“Huh?”
“Professor Bae Young-min?”
“Oh, it’s the professor! Who’s that person next to him?”
Thud, thud thud, thud.
However, no sound reached their ears.
They just looked ahead and pushed through.
They stopped at the end of the crowd they had reached.
The center of the plaza.
Where the rift Lee Si-hyeok had created was located.
“…”
“…”
Their trembling pupils looked at the stabilized rift.
No mana was flowing out whatsoever, and it even contained such a stable energy that one could feel the illusion of warmth. The surface that had been wildly undulating had calmed down as if nothing had happened.
Even the pitch-black color covering the rift only looked as serene as the night sky.
“What is this…?”
“Wh-what the hell…”
Professor Bae Young-min gasped and turned his head.
What, what the hell is this? He rolled his eyes quickly, scanning the crowd. Among them, he noticed a freshman who was at the very front, close to him.
The smartphone held in those small hands.
“Uh, Professor, why are you staring at me…?”
Smack! Without a moment’s hesitation, he snatched that phone.
“Huh? P-Professor?”
“Shut up.”
He muttered lowly to the flustered student and checked the portal site. Where are the news articles…
[Eterion Magical Engineering Academy, it has been revealed that the mana rift installed by Awakener Lee Si-hyeok was stabilized during the early morning hours, currently causing an uproar…]
[…It was determined that the mana rift was stabilized during the early morning hours, and the CCTV during that time period was identified as malfunctioning. The hunters who were on guard duty stated that they ‘fell asleep as if they had drunk sleeping pills’…]
People’s gazes gradually focused on him.
Hunter Im Jae-hwi, noticing this, poked his side repeatedly, but Professor Bae Young-min didn’t care. Forgetting even his usual image, he ignored the student asking for his phone back and entered ArtiNet.
Then an even more shocking scene unfolded.
[Breaking News) Dashihyeok’s comeback ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[I thought I wouldn’t be in danger from the start ㅇㅇ]
[God Si-hyeok is just GOAT. Has he come back to life again]
[But only the mana calmed down, we still don’t know if it’s safe or not, right?]
[Nah, just enjoy it lol]
“Wh-what is this…”
Public opinion had completely reversed in an instant.
Among the countless posts, only a few expressed doubt. Of course, given the community’s tendency to follow sensational news, their opinions might not be sincere, but it was certain that cracks had appeared in Bae Young-min’s plan.
He could no longer guarantee the future that had seemed certain.
“P-Professor! Please give me back my phone!”
Only then did the student’s voice reach Bae Young-min’s ears.
When he took his eyes off the screen and looked to the side, the student whose phone had been snatched was jumping up and down, making a fuss.
“Eeek! My phoooone!”
“…”
The moment he looked up, thinking “oh no,” everyone’s gazes were focused on him.
“Isn’t that person Professor Bae Young-min?”
“Why is he suddenly acting like that? That kid looks so pitiful.”
“Wait, isn’t he usually a very kind person? The kid is asking for it back like that but he keeps ignoring him, it’s kind of trashy…”
People’s murmuring was no longer directed toward Lee Si-hyeok’s rift.
The situation unfolding right before their eyes.
A new incident that had caught their interest.
Everyone was murmuring about the shocking fact that a usually caring professor had snatched a freshman’s phone.
As those voices grew louder, Bae Young-min belatedly realized his mistake.
Forget the plan and everything else, at this rate, things might collapse from a different direction first…
He gritted his teeth and hurriedly left the plaza.
Still holding the student’s phone in his hand.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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