I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 316
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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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Episode 316
Ep. 316
Hanryeol rose to prominence as the hero of Aegis with just a single dungeon conquest.
And no wonder—when receiving even a single decent item from Ilgyeok would cause an uproar, he had casually brought back the Yeouiju.
Moreover, S-rank items were so common that Ihyeon and he didn’t even need them, freely gifting them to others.
Truth be told, not a single S-rank item had ever been publicly unveiled in Korea until now.
Even Suyeon, ranked first, had been using an A-rank hero’s bow until recently—that said everything.
Considering the S-rank items Ihyeon had distributed thus far—rings and orbs to the Spirits, a staff to Frontier, and a bow to Suyeon—their sense of reality regarding such matters had grown considerably dulled.
When Hanryeol grinned widely and brought back the Yeouiju, the upper echelon of the Aegis Guild erupted as if a bomb had dropped.
The same reality applied to Ungdo as well.
Bang—!
“An S-rank item? Are you serious? You should at least lie convincingly!”
No matter how renowned Ilgyeok was, would he really hand out such precious S-rank items to hunters who hadn’t even contributed properly?
Even though that was exactly what had happened.
Yurim shrugged her shoulders once more.
“We’ve never met Ilgyeok ourselves, so we can’t speak to the details of his intentions.”
Her composure ended there.
Yurim struck back at Ungdo with an intense gaze and presence that warned him not to cross the line.
“Surely neither I nor the Aegis Guild lack credibility in Korea to that degree.”
Flinch—
No matter how aggressive Ungdo’s demeanor was, his opponent was a Hunter.
Regardless of the aftermath, it meant that crushing Ungdo’s skull right here would require nothing more than a single finger.
Ungdo rarely entertained such thoughts when facing a Hunter.
But because his opponent was Lee Yulim, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat overwhelmed.
Confirming that Ungdo had quieted down, Yurim smiled again and continued.
“We didn’t give it expecting compensation, and according to Hanryeol Hunter, Ilgyeok… or rather, if one stays close to Ilgyeok’s side, it seems one could gather several more items like this. What can we do?”
Yurim paused, as if inviting Ungdo to provide an answer.
As an excellent merchant himself, Ungdo knew the answer all too well.
“…I suppose we must find an appropriate price.”
He had no choice but to concede.
It was an S-rank item, after all.
To receive such a thing and say, “Well, since it was a gift, I’ll just accept it,” would paradoxically make Yurim unsuitable as a business partner.
Moreover, from Ungdo’s perspective, it meant he would need to prepare something exceeding an S-rank item to win over the Aegis Guild’s favor.
‘Impossible.’
Ungdo had to acknowledge that Deokhuun’s dagger had struck a particularly vulnerable spot.
He never imagined Deokhuun would resort to such a scheme using Ilgyeok.
Even with all of Tower Association’s resources, one couldn’t procure S-rank items that didn’t exist.
Abroad?
They too kept such items locked away in secret vaults and rarely brought them out—how could he obtain them without theft?
Sensing that the negotiation, or protest visit, would end without any results, Ungdo rose from his seat without a word and left.
“I meant no ill will, Chairman. I sincerely hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
From behind him, Yurim spoke.
Yurim was known for her distinctly low and husky voice among women.
It was the first time her voice had sounded so cutting to him.
Though the fault lay not with her, but with Ungdo’s state of mind.
Bang—!
With a door-closing sound similar to when he’d entered but somehow lacking in force, the tempest that had descended upon the Aegis Guild quietly retreated.
* * *
Following the Aegis Guild’s shocking announcement.
The very concerns Ungdo harbored began materializing one by one.
[ Dia Guild also partners with One-Strike Materials! First major move after Aegis Guild. ]
[ Legend Guild adds One-Strike Materials to supply chain. ]
[ Rose Guild also One-Strike Materials…. ]
The massive guilds that had merely been watching and waiting began severing ties with One-Strike Materials one after another.
Behind the scenes, naturally, the influence of Rankers like Duseok and Yuna, who maintained close relationships with Ihyeon, played a significant role.
From the start, Duseok, Yuna, and Juhyeon had even taken on roles as promotional ambassadors for the One-Strike Service Corps, so the delay in trading with One-Strike Materials was somewhat surprising.
Ungdo had attempted to stem the tide in every way possible.
“How much money have I given to those people, and they’re just slipping away?! Do you have any conscience?!”
– Well now, Chairman, those are all legally received sponsorship funds. And you know what happens when a congressman recklessly requests investigations, right?
“This man…!”
– If we carelessly touch One-Strike now, we’ll go down together, Chairman. Watch yourself, and just protect your own rice bowl. I’ll hang up now.
Click—
Politicians and high-ranking civil servants who would normally stammer at Ungdo’s calls now uniformly waved him off when he asked them to deal with One-Strike Materials and Deokhuun.
No one wanted to touch those two, who had become like a tiger with wings.
While Ungdo’s sponsorship money was precious, the public’s gaze was far more terrifying—a situation that made such refusals possible.
Ultimately, One-Strike Materials, far faster than Ungdo had anticipated.
[ One-Strike Materials finally breaks through 30% market share! How far will growth go? ]
Achieved a remarkable feat approaching the threshold Ungdo had mentally drawn.
It was already an excessively high market share for a single company.
Yet because sponsorship expenditures were always transparently disclosed, and thanks to notably higher purchase prices and lower selling prices compared to competitors, no one dared touch One-Strike Materials.
Though the advance was somewhat bewildering, Deokhuun responded with swift action.
[ (Breaking) One-Strike Materials launches gratitude sale with transparent accounting… Jia’s autographed signature for sponsors donating 1 million won or more. ]
└ Reporters, even with typos, the article gets corrected right away.
Haha, those two are cut.
└ Did the reporter seriously not mention it’s first-come-first-served?
He’s too busy going to support them himself, so typos are a legend lolololol
└ Is there anyone who hasn’t donated 1 million won yet? ]
A textbook example of rowing when the tide comes in!
As a result, influential figures who subsequently received calls from Ungdo became increasingly dismissive.
– Ah, if we mess with One-Strike now, there’ll be riots across the nation, my friend!
– Why are you blaming us? You should have managed your business better and enforced industry regulations properly from the start.
* * *
Meanwhile, rewinding briefly to the past—the morning of the day Ihyeon left home to head to Hanryeol and Wimundo.
At Incheon Airport, among the hundreds of American-bound flights that came and went daily, a woman entered the country on one of them.
“Phew… So this is the land of One-Strike?”
“That person looks Korean, but why is she saying that?”
“Leave her be. She probably lived abroad for a long time and just came back.”
“Ah~ But is she a celebrity? She’s incredibly beautiful.”
“….”
Tap tap tap—
“Huh? She’s running away.”
Dark sunglasses and flashy attire.
At first glance, she appeared to be a traveler with refined features, but her true identity was unexpected.
‘One-Strike’s headquarters is in Inju City, I heard. Travel time from the airport is roughly three hours.’
She was an American spy sent on orders from the U.S. President and the Minister of Tower Conquest!
Her background was equally impressive.
Her name was Han Yunjeong.
A fourth-generation Korean-American.
After awakening upon reaching adulthood, she had passed through America’s top-tier special forces and performed various missions across intelligence agencies, becoming a top-tier black operative rather than pursuing tower conquest.
Of course, she was still a skilled operative who had conquered the considerable heights of the 70s floors.
Subsequently, leveraging her East Asian appearance, she had operated as a black operative while posing as embassy staff at the U.S. embassies in Korea, Japan, China, and various other locations across Asia.
The promising hunters she had recruited to America alone numbered enough to fill a sports field, and she also had an extensive record of dismantling international villain organizations.
She was truly the perfect operative to execute the unprecedented operation known as “One-Strike Recruitment.”
‘This is my first time back in Korea since One-Strike appeared. Well, not much has changed, I suppose.’
Yunjeong pleasantly enjoyed the glances directed at her as she headed out of the airport.
Typically, intelligence operatives working covertly in foreign countries were required to have unremarkable appearances that didn’t draw attention, but Yunjeong was an exception.
Her skills were simply too exceptional, and she frequently employed a somewhat ruthless strategy of leveraging her refined beauty.
She would make her recruitment target develop favorable feelings toward her, and once the relationship had grown sufficiently close, instead of regrettably rejecting their love, she would enter negotiations backed by America’s material incentives.
It was a strategy that was bound to succeed ten times out of ten.
The targeted nation might beat their chests and call it cowardly trickery, but in the cold world of intelligence warfare, such excuses held no weight.
And Yunjeong had no doubt that One-Strike would fall victim to such a strategy as well.
Furthermore, what made Yunjeong unique as a black operative was this:
‘The most important thing is my own life. If One-Strike turns out to be some crazy murderer who kills everyone he sees, I’ll need to find a different approach.’
Rather than unwavering patriotism toward her nation, she operated entirely in accordance with her own preferences and aptitudes.
As a result, she never sacrificed her own safety beyond what was naturally expected as a matter of professional ethics.
The reason Yunjeong worked under the American government was simple.
America compensated her generously—to the point of valuing her life—and paid special attention to ensuring her safety.
Unlike other nations, they wouldn’t discard her like a worn-out rag the moment she became entangled in something slightly troublesome.
It wasn’t as though Yunjeong had never received romantic overtures from other nations’ intelligence agencies.
Each time, America’s response was simple.
‘Twice that amount.’
If you want to leave, then go ahead.
If you’re confident you can find better treatment elsewhere.
The contract terms were essentially close to freelance work, which was why Yunjung had followed America’s orders and moved according to their direction until now.
However, even America naturally had its exceptions.
If exposure becomes irreversible, no assistance can be provided.
This operation to recruit Ilgyeok fell into that same category.
Since the operation itself began with illegal information gathering, if her identity was exposed, she couldn’t expect America’s help and would have to navigate through it alone.
It was like signing a consent form stating you could die even during wisdom tooth extraction—Yunjung had long since accepted it without hesitation.
However, this “no assistance” clause carried two meanings.
The first was the same as other cases: exposure to the Korean government.
The second was… exposure to Ilgyeok himself.
The Minister of Tower Conquest who had given Yunjung direct orders had said this:
‘If you get caught anyway, you won’t escape death, so there’s no need to worry too much about it.’
She had received an advance payment that was far from meager, and they had added a stipulation that if she was discovered due to unavoidable circumstances, prioritizing Yunjung’s life was acceptable.
It was evidence that the American government also considered Ilgyeok a formidable opponent.
But Yunjung was naturally confident.
If she had lacked confidence from the start, would she have accepted the mission even for a fortune?
Yunjung recalled the photograph of Ihyeon she had seen in the information provided to her.
‘He was quite a handsome man, but precisely because of that, he’ll fall even more easily for this kind of tactic.’
Stepping outside the airport, Yunjung boarded the sports car that had been prepared in advance.
Vroooom——!!
Automobiles made from mana stones prided themselves on their quietness, producing no particular sound.
Yet there would always be enthusiasts who enjoyed the nostalgia of old internal combustion engines.
Recently, sports cars had been released with powerful modules attached to their mana stone engines that deliberately created virtual engine sounds and body vibrations.
Yunjung was one of those people.
Real internal combustion engine cars had become ancient history, but she knew their appeal well enough from videos and media.
With a roaring sound, Yunjung’s car glided out of the Incheon Airport grounds.
“Wow… that really is cool.”
The people watching marveled at the cinematic sight, but soon turned their attention away and began focusing on their own business.
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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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