Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 104
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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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Episode 104
Baek Cheonhyeong, who had been traveling overseas for over a week handling his schedule, was conducting business as usual today.
A boringly ordinary routine, no different from usual.
The only differences were that meetings had more than doubled and the location was overseas, but there was no way he could feel any special excitement about it.
Meetings with officials from hunter companies operating globally, contracts, meetings, contracts.
Work, work, and more work.
‘Though I didn’t want this kind of surprise event.’
It was late at night, when he was processing a seemingly endless pile of documents in his hotel room.
An urgent contact from his personal secretary who remained at the company for smooth communication with Korea.
Over the weekend, classified data under the jurisdiction of the Research Department, including the Potion Crafting team, had disappeared.
There were no traces of leakage, but they still couldn’t find traces of the missing data or catch the criminal who stole it.
‘But the fact that this news only reached me after the entire weekend had passed…’
Someone must have intentionally blocked communication between him and his secretary.
Baek Cheonhyeong immediately set off on his return journey.
However, rather than waste several hours in the sky traveling by plane, he chose to pour out an absurd amount of money to make an A-grade Teleportation Awakener work multiple times.
Only after the Teleportation Awakener had completely exhausted their mana and collapsed on the floor could Baek Cheonhyeong arrive in front of the BOND Headquarters Building.
And upon arrival, he heard additional news that made him frown.
“There was a fire in the Item Storage Warehouse. Fortunately, as you previously instructed, everything was stored in specially manufactured cases so there were no major problems, but…”
Looking down at the Item Storage Warehouse Staff who was sweating profusely while continuing his explanation, Baek Cheonhyeong thought while becoming aware of his throbbing head.
‘This is shit.’
…Why is BOND in this state?
Even if a spy had infiltrated, it was something that could have been sufficiently handled if they had established a systematic response system in advance.
At least, was it right that the CEO overseas had to immediately return home and request help from the government while enduring unpleasant situations?
‘How messed up must the upper management be that they can’t handle something like this without me?’
He couldn’t get a sense of where to start fixing things.
Recently, he had been able to get rid of several directors by connecting them to the kindergarten whistleblowing incident… but there was no meaningful change in the company as a result.
Just a few useless people had disappeared.
And this concern returned again to resentment toward his father, who was the beginning of BOND.
Baek Gwang-hyeon.
The founder of BOND and father of Baek Cheonhyeong and Baek Cheonji.
Although he had now stepped down from the CEO position and was no different from an ordinary grandfather enjoying his remaining years lovingly with his wife whom he remarried seven years ago…
Many people respected and looked up to his father who had grown a shabby security company in a rural village into BOND, the number one hunter company today.
However, his son Baek Cheonhyeong was not among them.
He was someone who had watched BOND’s growth from right beside it as it grew alongside him.
And to that extent, he knew there had been his father’s fatal ‘mistakes’ and ‘blunders’ in that growth process.
BOND.
A company that 30-year-old Baek Gwang-hyeon established by gathering big guys from the neighborhood with funds he had prepared by grinding through his twenties.
A security company established by taking the name from a certain action movie that was popular domestically at the time.
However, since he had neither proper ‘connections’ nor ‘funds’ or ‘skills’, the company quickly ran into difficulties.
One day while barely keeping the company going.
Exactly 30 years ago.
Gates appeared in the world.
Gates.
Dungeons.
The monsters inside them.
At first, everyone was confused. They couldn’t respond properly and many people died from monsters that burst out of gates.
However, after ‘Awakeners’ with ‘special powers’ capable of confronting the monsters suddenly appeared one day, the world faced another phase.
Humans gave the ‘Awakeners’ the name ‘Hunters’ and made them into reliable shields, finally succeeding.
After countless research.
The method to clear and eliminate ‘Dungeons’.
They found a way to prevent ‘monsters’ from bursting out of ‘gates’.
Thus, the world quickly found stability.
And the world that found stability was completely different from before.
The ‘power’, ‘economy’, and ‘power structure’ that ruled the world had changed.
From a simple capitalist world, with the inclusion of beings called ‘Awakeners’ and unknown resources from ‘Dungeons’.
Baek Gwang-hyeon responded quickly to this change.
As a security guard for BOND, he aggressively recruited Awakeners.
In the process, he grew the company by receiving investments from unverified relatives and friends.
Using Awakeners to take on any job that came their way, from a rural security company, to a small-medium enterprise Awakener request center, and finally to the nation’s number one Hunter company.
A complete success story.
‘He just got lucky.’
Baek Cheonhyeong sneered.
For the company to succeed this much with his father’s terrible management skills was truly nothing short of a curse.
Thanks to that, the company’s stocks scattered in all directions and the early investors’ meddling continued, with their relatives’ parachute appointments still remaining in the company as evidence.
“…Tsk.”
The Item Storage Warehouse manager who had been holding his breath while reporting flinched his shoulders.
Regardless, Baek Cheonhyeong moved his steps while ignoring the headache pounding in his head.
Thus, the destination of the employees’ endless reports was….
The underground parking garage.
And Na Hwi-yeon, soaking wet just like last time.
‘They say this person caught a spy that even the field team and security team couldn’t catch.’
Ridiculously, the next thought that came to mind was ‘Again?’
Repeated suspicious activities.
The existence of this man who appeared at every crime scene without fail was irritating.
The mental overload continued until Baek Cheonhyeong finally lost his rationality for a moment.
Na Hwi-yeon might have deliberately let the spy escape. Na Hwi-yeon might have set fire to the Item Storage Warehouse. It might be different from what was reported. There might have been collusion among the directors during the reporting process…. But.
‘What does all that… matter?’
He could just use his ability to check.
As soon as he made the decision, he immediately tried to use his Sub Skill to read his thoughts.
However, the result was….
“What the hell did you do to me?”
He experienced it again.
The exact same situation as before, when he visited Na Hwi-yeon who was caught up in the EX-grade Dungeon and used his Sub Skill on him as a patient.
His ability bounced back with burning, stinging pain.
‘No, more than that…. What the hell was that earlier.’
Baek Cheonhyeong asked Na Hwi-yeon for an answer about this phenomenon.
However, the answer came from an unexpected person.
“Hyung, why are you making such a scary face at Teacher right now?”
“…Baek Cheonji.”
His younger brother, whom he didn’t even know was there, was standing right next to Na Hwi-yeon, looking up at him.
With quite an angry face.
“What’s with this habit of interrupting when adults are talking?”
“…Ah, no, Brother Cheonji….”
Baek Cheonhyeong stared coldly at Baek Cheonji. At this point, he should quietly… as usual.
“…Why!”
“…?”
“!”
Baek Cheonji thrust his face forward and shouted.
‘Did he just yell at me?’
You? To me?
“Baek Cheonji.”
Baek Cheonhyeong was flustered, but deliberately didn’t show it. He just called out the name coldly as usual to give a warning.
“Why, why?! Are you getting angry at Teacher?! Teacher was fighting to protect us earlier and that’s why he’s having a hard time now!”
“Where do you get off talking back to me.”
“But hyung is talking back right now too…”
“What?”
Meanwhile, Baek Cheonji, who had never once defied an adult in his entire life, was now seeing red.
So much so that he was talking back to his most respected hyung!
The freedom he felt while running through the hallway and the rebellious spirit that had been slowly blooming had completely exploded!
‘I have to say what needs to be said! This isn’t even bad words!’
However, seeing his suddenly changed younger brother, Baek Cheonhyeong was stunned, forgetting even his heated head.
So much so that he instantly forgot the suspicions about Na Hwi-yeon that had been rising like crazy.
“…Are you going through puberty?”
Does puberty come at age 7?
He asked his younger brother seriously, forgetting that there were numerous employees around them.
And Baek Cheonji…
“…Probably.”
He didn’t know what puberty was, but he mumbled this for now. It was an answer that came out because he couldn’t completely abandon his model student habit of saying “yes, yes,” even if weakly.
“…”
After that, no one easily opened their mouth.
But everyone felt it.
The tremendous pressure that had surrounded them until just moments ago had greatly subsided.
Only when the secretary called Baek Cheonhyeong again, unable to watch any longer, did he slowly nod and barely manage to look back at Na Hwi-yeon.
And he spoke roughly as thoughts came to mind.
“For now… get treated, and go home for today.”
“…Yes.”
“Baek Cheonji, you… I’ll see you at home.”
Baek Cheonhyeong turned around and walked away.
His expression management wasn’t working properly.
…Actually, his younger brother’s sudden rebellion was surprising, but there was something else that bothered him more.
His Sub Skill that he had used on Na Hwi-yeon but was deflected.
He didn’t know if it was the result of that rebound, but he was able to recall something he had forgotten.
The item report for soon-to-be-released items that he had hastily processed this morning.
However, that report looked different from usual with the thoughts he had just recalled.
The source marking of the item written at the bottom of the report.
[ S-Grade Unreleased Item ]
-Made by extracting the frequency of S-Grade Spatial Movement Awakener H.
‘…Since when did we start marking dead people’s names with alphabets?’
No, before that, what was H’s original name?
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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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