Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 30

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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 30

A crisis unlike any before.
China had survived an S-Class Dungeon Break.
What remained?

The answer.
Nothing but wounds.
Materials, Magic Stones, Spirit Elixirs—everything.
The warehouses had been picked clean.
The emergency evacuation order issued to Beijing, a precaution against the worst possible outcome, had cost them something more precious still: the people’s trust.

They’d barely scraped by with their lives.
Now that the crisis had passed, could they simply sit idle?
Of course not.
They had to act—had to find strength by any means necessary.
To that end, China began erasing the truth.

[Premier Zhang Zian saves the nation from crisis through heroic power.]
[Premier Zhang Zian protects all citizens—the combined effort of him and China’s own Awakeners.]
[The international community responds to China’s crisis with silence.]
……
…

The crisis was overcome by China’s strength.
The foreigners?
They did nothing. They stood by and watched.
Like this.

– Is that really true?
– Probably not….
– What did the Premier even do?
– Evacuate faster than anyone else?
– Wasn’t it actually the Personnel Management Office director who did all the real work?
– But his name doesn’t appear anywhere in the press release.

The name of the Personnel Management Office director—kept tightly hidden.
But then again….
Could the truth really be buried?
Those who need to know, know.
Especially the Awakeners in China who use Awakener Net.
The authorities can’t control it, can’t stop it….
But the word spreads anyway. Damn near faster than lightning.
Even beyond the networks, out into the streets.

“See, I was on the front lines fighting monsters under government orders that day, right?”
“Oh….”
“But it was genuinely hopeless. They wouldn’t have issued a full evacuation order for the entire Beijing region otherwise.”
“The person who cleared that S-Class Dungeon….”
“Yeah—a Korean. Goes by the Personnel Management Office director.”
“A real hero.”

Word of mouth. And more word of mouth.
It spread.
It carried forward.
And very quickly at that.

“Wait? The S-Class Dungeon—you’re saying we didn’t clear it…?”
“Nonsense. My friend was there, and before the Personnel Manager showed up, everyone was just looking for a way to bolt.”
“So what about Zhu Xi’s heroic strength, then?”
“Well, I mean…”
“The Personnel Manager. It’s an unusual title.”
“That’s how heroes are, though.”

As a result, every citizen of Beijing came to know it.
The Personnel Manager.
That name—the one who had saved them all.

* * *

The information spread beyond Beijing, rippling across all of China.
And it reached the person directly involved just as quickly.

“People are calling you a hero, sir.”
“What? Me?”
“Yes, that’s what the Chinese citizens are saying.”

Todd, a high-tier worker whose specialty was commerce.
His current main position?
Ranie’s beloved plush toy.

“Todd!”

He’d get scooped up several times a day like that.
And all the while, he’d be bringing in real-time information, smooth as silk.
A true high-tier worker.
The man did his job perfectly, no question.
But a hero? That felt strange.

“I’m a little embarrassed, honestly.”

I didn’t do anything.
My workers did.
Arthur and Robin handled it all.
Oh.
And Ranie deserves credit too—for making the weapons.

“That’s right! Ranie and Robin! They made it all!”
“Sir?”
“Yes?”
“I…”

Okay.
Todd conceded the point.
After all, we’d gotten the Robin Hood’s Bow Fragment and a Potential Leap out of it.

“Ha, don’t mention it. Thank you instead.”

Especially.
Turning down that one request and getting the Potential Leap had been jackpot.
Thanks to it, Ranie’s smithing got faster.
Another month and…
Whew.

“Hehe.”

But why was she still holding a hammer?
A hammer in one hand.
In his other hand, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade Fragment and Young Fasa’s Scales.
Looks like she’s starting another round of research.
Ranie really is something.
She’s been working all week straight—doesn’t she ever get tired of it?

“Mmm! Ranie loves this! It’s the most fun thing in the whole world!”
“Yeah….”

So that’s her hobby.
Playing with good materials, thinking through how to use them.
Honestly, I don’t quite get it….
But if Ranie likes it, what can I say?
Go ahead.
You can use up all the materials.

“Oh! This time it’s a sword for Arthur?”
“Arthur… that one doesn’t suit you, remember?”
“Doesn’t suit…? But the swooshing sounds….”
“Ranie will make you something else next time!”
“You hear that?”
“Arthur hears it….”

Well, what can you do?
His shoulders are slumped, but there’s no helping it.
The Green Dragon Crescent Blade Fragment.
No matter how much we research it, there’s just no way around it.
We’d have to get it from another S-Class Dungeon eventually….
But we don’t have access to one right now.
So, what can we do?
For now, we do what we can.
Which is to say.

“Let’s head to our tower first.”
“Arthur, we’re going to the tower?”
“Yeah.”

I mean….
Taking commissions and clearing dungeons is fine too.
But.

“Right now, I’m more curious about the tower.”

Or more precisely, the Chaos Box.
What’s going to come out next, I wonder?
If I’m curious, I’ve just got to gather the keys and open it.

“Isn’t that right?”
“Right! Ranie’s curious too!”
“Arthur curious too.”

Ranie and Arthur both agree.
Robin, the way he’s handling his bow, looks ready to go.
Okay.
That’s unanimous then. Let’s head out right now.

[Dispatch Worker]
– Tower

[Chaos Tower – Floor 21. Proceed with entry?]

Let’s start from the twenty-first floor.
I hear Robin is at the sixtieth floor now.
Arthur gets through the forties without much trouble, or so they say.
No point dragging this out.
Two floors a day.
Full sprint. Let’s go.

* * *

Beijing, China. Recently emerged from crisis.
The mood was festive enough, yet still somehow insufficient.
The director of the Central Awakener Management Bureau felt as though he were dying.

“So… what you’re saying is… I should send a naturalization proposal to the Personnel Management Office director?”

[That’s right.]

What the hell was this?
He’d asked to confirm.
The voice on the other end of the line insisted it was exactly that.

“Do you think he’ll accept?”

He ventured the question carefully.
Praying with all his might that a sensible answer would come back.

[What? Why wouldn’t he accept? This glorious opportunity?]

Ridiculous.
Nothing but nonsense, repeated over and over.

[In any case, see that it’s completed as soon as possible.]

Then the line went dead.

“Sigh.”
“Director, what’s wrong?”

What’s wrong?

“Orders came down from above. Naturalize the Personnel Management Office director.”
“I… what…?”

That’s right.
You don’t believe it either, do you?
Want to hear the even more shocking part?

“If he refuses naturalization, I’m to send agents to bring him in by force.”
“That’s… I… no…”

See?
There.
That’s the normal reaction.
What—

“Sigh.”

Maybe I should just quit.
This position of bureau director.
It’s usually hard to give up, but…
These days, I find myself wrestling with this question more and more.
Especially whenever orders come down from upstairs.

“If we could’ve caught him, we’d have caught him long ago.”
“Yes, sir….”

Does the man just appear because they keep pestering us to find him?
How are we supposed to catch someone who moves without leaving a trace?

The Personnel Management Office director. That bastard.
The more we investigate, the more it feels like chasing a ghost.
We dig and we dig.
And find nothing.
We even called in a Hunter with a Tracking Skill….

“There’s nothing here?”

And what’s worse?
Recruit him for naturalization?
Why would the Personnel Management Office director come here?
What does he lack? Why China and not the United States?

“Same story every time. We watched an A-Class Dungeon, and he cleared it without a soul knowing….”
“It’s exactly what happened to us.”
“I apologize….”
“Sigh.”

By this point, I’m getting a clear picture.
The Personnel Management Office director. That man.
We’re not going to find him. Not easily.
And that’s the problem — we don’t have time for this now….

“I’m swamped raising Chen Wei, and upstairs doesn’t understand how dire things have become?”
“Surely not….”

The Five Great Powers.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia.
Do you really think that order still holds now?
No.
It can’t.
With Wei Jin dead, China losing its Great Power status is inevitable.
Korea will take its place, I’d wager.
They reached the 61st floor not long ago, after all.

“Damn, I’m jealous of them.”

The Tower keeps rising.
And they have that monster of a Personnel Management Office director.
Wait.
Didn’t they say the Tower climbs because of the Personnel Management Office director?
In any case.

“If it ends with losing Great Power status, we’d be lucky….”
“That’s what I mean.”

But what else is there?
There is.
No — there’s plenty.
The Tower. And the Dungeons.
These ghastly things won’t cut him any slack just because Wei Jin isn’t here.

“When did Wei Jin make it to the 62nd floor?”
“About a year ago, sir.”
“So we have a year left.”

The deadline for clearing the Chaos Tower is two years from the moment the final floor is conquered.
If we can’t clear it within that window?
Chaos breaks loose.
The tower manifests in densely populated areas.
Monsters pour out in waves.

“If we’re not careful, we could end up like India….”
“That’s not going to happen. We can’t let it.”

There actually is a country that fell into ruin that way.
India—once climbing faster than the United States, riding a wave of growth.
To avoid meeting the same fate….
We need to develop Chen Wei.

“One year….”

Chen Wei’s at the 55th floor now, which means he needs to climb eight more floors.
Is that even possible in a year….

“Ugh….”
“Still, the tower’s better than dungeons, isn’t it?”
“True. The real problem is the dungeons.”

Right.
The tower’s nothing compared to that.
At least with the tower, there’s a deadline—some kind of timeline.
But dungeons?
They appear without warning or portent.

“If another S-Class Dungeon breaks out….”
“We’ll have to ask the international community for aid immediately.”
“Right, and given the situation… they’re staying silent on the whole national hero thing, and they’re telling us not to award the medals we promised. Does that even make sense…?”
“Well, I hear there’s already talk of confiscating materials we’ve already given him—so I suppose this is better than that.”
“Are they in their right minds…, ah.”

Partway through speaking, he caught himself.
How could he let such words escape?
If word got out….

“It’s all right. I think the same thing anyway.”
“Sigh… we can’t afford to make enemies of the international community until Chen Wei’s grown stronger….”

They both knew.
What would happen if things continued down this path.
The upper levels?
They surely couldn’t be ignorant.
And yet….

“Seems like they don’t see it.”

Still, what choice did they have.
Orders from above were orders to obey.
Right.
Surely nothing else would go wrong…?
An S-Class Dungeon has only appeared twice so far.
Surely not….

“Sigh….”

The major crisis of an S-Class Dungeon Break had been overcome.
Yet why did it feel
as though an even greater wall loomed ahead? The Awakener Management Bureau director’s sigh only deepened.

* * *

The Korean Awakener Management Bureau was no less exhausted.

Ring-ring-ring!

“Ugh, these calls just keep coming, don’t they?”
“I’m honestly about to lose my mind.”
“All for the same reason?”
“Yeah. Obviously every single one is looking for the Personnel Management Office director.”

That wretched Personnel Management Office director.
People everywhere were searching for him so relentlessly, we were on the verge of neurosis.
Through phone calls, through visits in person.
No.
They were even pestering the higher-ups about it.

“Especially the United States, China, Russia, Germany…. Oh, and the United Kingdom too. Those countries are being especially persistent.”
“The Five Great Powers are already comfortable enough. What’s their deal?”

That’s right.
And other nations were just as bad.
The reason?
Well….
There wasn’t just one or two.
Some wanted to commission equipment, for starters.
Others wanted to meet and discuss.
But if there was one common thread to all of it—

“Every single one is looking for the Personnel Management Office director.”

Put me through to him.
Arrange a meeting.
Or at least pass along a request.
But when—

“We can’t do that either….”

If you answer that way, they always ask the same thing.
Isn’t he a Korean hunter?
Yeah, he is.
That’s true.
But the only way we can contact him is through Awakener Net anyway.
And even that—
he’s been silent lately.
He’s closed off all requests entirely.
He’s not accepting anything at all….

[If you have any S-Class Dungeon-related commissions, please leave a comment.]

That was the only post he’d left on Awakener Net.

“That Personnel Management Office director is a real piece of work. Who hands over an S-Class Dungeon to someone else unless it’s a special case like China?”
“Right? Isn’t it just a roundabout way of saying don’t take any commissions from them?”
“Hmm, maybe so.”

Beep-beep-beep—!
Ugh.
Another call.
Must be the Personnel Management Office director again.
I was about to answer and refuse right away—

“Yes, yes, you’re talking about the Dungeon Break in India? The S-Class with all those knight monsters overrunning it?”

Wait.
This is actually a commission coming through?

—————
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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