Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 263

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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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263
Violet gritted her teeth, fighting back tears as she looked at the meal Mother-in-law had prepared. It was a cherished memory—food her own mother used to make for her.
“Tsk. Why hold it back? If you want to cry, just cry.”
“Shut up….”
At Bae Na-young’s jab, Violet clenched her teeth for an entirely different reason.
“Na-young, a young lady shouldn’t speak like that.”
Mother-in-law took Violet’s hand and spoke gently.
“Okay….”
In truth, Violet was ages older than Mother-in-law. But Mother-in-law resembled Violet’s own mother, who had passed away from illness when Violet was in her twenties. Against such tenderness, Violet could not resist.
“Eat more. You’re skin and bones, absolutely skeletal.”
Watching Mother-in-law fuss over Violet, Bae Na-young pouted, then picked up a thick short rib for herself.
“Na-young, aren’t you eating too much these days?”
Since traveling with me, her appetite had grown considerably. Even professional food competitors couldn’t match Bae Na-young’s consumption.
“Mom!”
Yet Bae Na-young hadn’t gained weight. She only appeared heavier by comparison to Violet’s gaunt frame—in reality, she was quite lean herself. As a Hunter, no amount of eating would add pounds to her frame.
Still, Bae Na-young glanced at the emaciated Violet, sighed, and set down her chopsticks.
* * *
Recently, Bae Na-young had grown somewhat melancholy, feeling as though Mother-in-law had been stolen away by Violet.
“Na-young, let’s go to the beach.”
“The beach?”
“Yeah. We’ve finally got some free time, right? Summer means the sea.”
“Sounds good.”
Bae Na-young, catching my intention immediately, smiled.
“Perfect. I’ll make a reservation right away.”
One of the perks of becoming the world’s richest person is that anything I want to do becomes remarkably easy and swift.
There was no need to research which places were best or affordable. I simply had to ask my secretary, and we could depart for a luxury resort immediately.
“Chairman. I sincerely apologize. There are no available rooms.”
Hours after my request, Rigen’s chairman’s office secretary arrived, sweating profusely and bowing deeply.
“Even my older brother, a conglomerate commander, can’t secure a vacation spot during peak season, it seems.”
“No, I mean—despite the improved economy, and even with the Administrator’s arrival bringing more Gates and some setbacks, how is there no availability at resorts?”
I’d only just proposed a vacation to Bae Na-young, and now this lack of availability felt deeply embarrassing.
“Well… the newly emerged Gates were contained by dispatching World Tree Academy Hunters, and you personally handled all the setbacks, Chairman. Most citizens don’t even realize a major crisis occurred.”
“My brother did his job too well.”
Moreover, Rigen poured massive funds into this race, so people’s pockets are overflowing with money. Consumer spending, including vacations, has hit an all-time high.”
“…Still, I’m the chairman of Rigen, aren’t I?”
“We couldn’t find anything matching your requirements. We could force cancellations on those who’ve already booked, but you dislike such methods, Chairman.”
“That’s true.”
“It may be small consolation, but Rigen’s stock price and revenue are at record highs, and our brand ranking is first. It’s all thanks to you, Chairman.”
“That’s fortunate.”
The secretary’s flattery wouldn’t conjure up new resort vacancies.
“But Chairman, if you had simply spent all that money from the race and made people happy, wouldn’t that have been enough to gather sufficient will?”
Since gathering will through the race had been conducted in absolute secrecy, the secretary only learned the truth later.
Bae Na-young and I exchanged blank stares before looking at each other.
“Well, it all worked out, so that’s what matters, right?”
It was an ingenious idea, but there was no guarantee it would have succeeded.
“We could prepare accommodations on the Uninhabited Island, but it will take some time, so I’m afraid we won’t be able to meet your requested date. My apologies.”
“That’s fine. You’ve just given me the solution.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ll just renovate an Uninhabited Island. That’s all.”
“Then I’ll assign the construction team.”
“No, don’t do that. They have plenty of other work, don’t they? I’ll handle it myself.”
The construction team had other projects waiting. I didn’t want to tie them up for long just because I felt like taking a break.
After sending the secretary away, I went to find Gaia.
She was sitting at the very top of the World Tree, gazing down at Earth.
“You came?”
“Yeah. I need a favor.”
“A favor? If it’s something I can do, anything.”
Gaia turned her body to face me. Her large, blue eyes and lush blue hair fluttered against gravity in an ethereal manner. The word “dreamlike” suited her perfectly.
“Is there a decent island somewhere in the vast ocean?”
“An island?”
“Somewhere uninhabited. I want to take a vacation.”
“…A vacation?”
Gaia looked disappointed, as if I’d been asking for something far more significant.
“Yeah. Besides, there’s nothing to do right now anyway, is there?”
Jae-in’s research team was trying to connect a Gate to the Administrator’s world, but they hadn’t found any leads yet.
“You’re asking the incarnation of Earth for just that?”
“What else could you do for me?”
I had excess power right now. While I couldn’t transfer Green’s power to another body, Green alone on Earth could stop anyone who came.
“…Nothing. I just gained strength and the ability to talk, and you’ve already become stronger than me.”
“No. I need your help. You’d know this better than anyone, wouldn’t you?”
“The island, right? Got it. I’ll take you there.”
Following Gaia’s somewhat melancholic guidance, we arrived in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
“There’s nothing here?”
There was no island in sight—only ocean in all directions.
“Wait.”
Gaia extended her hand toward the sea, then pulled it upward.
As her hand moved, the seawater trembled, and an island rose to the surface.
She kneaded the air with her hands as if molding clay, and fine sand and soil rising from the sea covered the island.
Once the foundation was complete, fruit trees like palm trees sprouted and grew rapidly across the island.
I could make the World Tree grow, but I couldn’t cultivate such a diverse variety of plant species like she could.
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
“It’s happening on my body, so this much is nothing. It’s a gift of gratitude for protecting me.”
“I’ll accept it gratefully. Thank you.”
I’d received the island, but since it was in a wild state, there was still work to be done.
I opened a Gate and summoned everyone.
“Listen up, everyone. We’re transforming this place into a resort.”
“Brother… didn’t you say you were going to rest?”
Bae Na-young’s jaw dropped as she stood there in work clothes.
“I will rest. After we finish all this.”
I called not just Bae Na-young and Violet, but also Yang Sang-heon and Akiko, who had finally gotten time off, along with Hyung-bin and Ye-seul, Jae-in and Ji-hae, Si-hwan and his younger siblings, Alice, Smith, and Hee-chul.
“Chairman, you’ve gathered quite a crowd.”
“Right? I only called close acquaintances, but somehow it grew like this. Anyway, the Gate is open—let’s level the land and build structures.”
Everyone sighed, thinking they’d come for a vacation only to find themselves working, but once the work began, they rolled up their sleeves and dove in.
Violet used magic to kill all the weeds, then scraped the ground with her violet aura, flattening it in an instant.
“Remarkable. Truly remarkable.”
I’m skilled at destroying things, but creating something this level and perfectly flat is difficult.
Meanwhile, the male Hunters took on the heavy lifting.
“Yang Sang-heon, there’s a ridge behind you. Be careful.”
Since Hyung-bin and Yang Sang-heon were superhuman, they carried prefabricated buildings over ten meters tall as easily as empty cardboard boxes.
“Just set it down where the lines are drawn on the ground.”
Jae-in was the one designing and giving orders.
I spread the branches of the World Tree and created leaves to form natural shade, and beneath it on the sandy beach, Akiko, Ye-seul, Ji-hae, and Alice watched over the children.
“Complete!”
The people’s gazes turned cold when they saw the building completed according to Jae-in’s design.
The finished building was a white, boxy block with small windows. It was hardly different from the Research Facility where Jae-in worked.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”
Jae-in noticed the cold stares from everyone.
“It’s a building that can withstand not only basic living conditions like temperature and humidity, but also attacks from S-rank monsters!”
“Jae-in, you really seem to have no aesthetic sense.”
“Ugh…”
Jae-in, who was always criticized for being a design disaster due to prioritizing function over form, was deeply hurt by Bae Na-young’s words.
“Um… would it be okay if I decorated it a bit?”
Akiko carefully raised her hand.
“How would you do it?”
“The framework is good, so I think it would look beautiful with just a little touch.”
“That sounds fun. Then let’s make it a competition.”
I suggested it.
“A competition? What are we betting?”
“Last place watches the children for a day. How about it?”
“…Fine.”
Akiko’s eyes lit up with excitement.
While vacations with children—those precious beings worth any pain—were enjoyable, for exhausted mothers, a vacation free from childcare was the greatest prize imaginable.
The four teams of Akiko, Bae Na-young, Violet, and Ye-seul divided the area among themselves, draping square cloths to conceal their work.
Hee-chul and Alice decided to use the same building as Bae Na-young and me, so they helped us.
The single men’s team liked their current dormitory so much that they decided to build recreational equipment for everyone to enjoy together.
“How could anyone without children possibly live without misery?!”
Si-hwan shouted as he carried exterior stones.
“Hyung, this is fun too.”
“How is this labor fun?!”
Thud!
Si-hwan’s strength had grown considerably in the meantime, and he lifted and moved the heavy boulder with ease.
“I agree. They’re completely excluding us just because we don’t have partners….”
Smith’s gaze was fixed on the three children and Ji-hae playing on the sandy beach.
“Smith hyung. That’s infidelity. Stop it.”
“Ahem….”
At Si-hwan’s casual remark—spoken with the familiarity of close friends—Smith snapped back to attention and turned his head toward the floating blueprint.
“But are you really going to do it like this?”
“Why wouldn’t it work?”
“It’s not impossible, but it’s not conventional either. It’s dangerous too.”
“Hyung. Look at the people gathered here. Dangerous? You couldn’t kill us even if you tried.”
“That’s true.”
“Krhehe, since it’s come to this, let’s have some real fun with it.”
Si-hwan drew frantically on the holographic blueprint that Smith had conjured.
“That hyung seems to be getting more twisted as time goes on….”
“No. He’s just expressing his gratitude for the invitation in a strange way.”
Jin-woo and Min-woo analyzed Si-hwan’s outburst.
“Alright, time’s up!”
The artistic endeavors of the top-tier Hunters didn’t take long at all.
“We’ll reveal them in order and announce only the last place through voting. First, Akiko!”
Akiko struck down the massive white cloth covering all four sides of the building with an Adamant weapon, and a Japanese inn appeared within.
“Ooh, Japanese style?”
“There’s a hot spring in the back too. I removed the interior and exterior and replaced them with wood.”
Akiko had used her Adamant weapon as a saw and carving tool to create countless roof tiles and decorative elements.
“We don’t even need to take a separate trip to Japan?”
“It’s beautiful~”
The reception was positive. Korea and Japan constantly bickered and fought, but when you told Koreans to travel, Japan was the most popular destination—a relationship of love and hate.
“Next is Ye-seul noona.”
Akiko passed the baton to Ye-seul.
The building created by Hyung-bin and Ye-seul was revealed. It resembled a high-end hotel or resort.
“I don’t know much about design…. I just brought materials from the warehouse and made it exactly like the Rigen Resort design.”
Ye-seul spoke with a somewhat expressionless tone. I’d thought her expressions had returned, but that was limited to Hyung-bin.
“It’s prettily done, without any issues.”
“It looks like a high-end resort.”
The evaluations were indeed favorable.
“Next is Bae Na-young.”
Behind the section that Bae Na-young and I had worked on, a modernly constructed building emerged. It was the kind of design that looked like it belonged in an architecture magazine.
“As expected, when it comes to design, it’s Bae Na-young.”
I was just as hopeless at design as Jae-in, but even I could see this was well-built.
“And finally, Violet.”
Violet’s building, which had been entrusted with the construction of the last section among the four dormitories, was revealed.
“Um….”
“The design is…. quite unique….”
Everyone’s words tangled as they struggled to find how to praise it.

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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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