Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 78

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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 78

The Turtle Ship.
For any Korean, it was a ship hard not to know.
There had been hints all along.
When Yeohae finished her Cannon.
Rani had said it clearly.
This Cannon was still incomplete.
A great ship was needed to complete it.
So.
I’d thought back then that I’d need to find Turtle Ship fragments eventually to see it….
You can summon it?

“Yes, sir. I have the feeling I might be able to summon it, though on a small scale.”

Ah.
What’s size got to do with it anyway?
If the shape just comes through, even small….
That’s the Turtle Ship, isn’t it?
Of course I’ll be firing cannons from it too.

“Wow…. This is getting me really excited?”

Admiral Yi Sun-sin dragging the Turtle Ship around and firing cannons.
Just thinking about it sent a thrill through me.

“Yeohae, I have a quest for you.”
“Yes! Please tell me! I’ll accept any quest you command, Manager!”

Wow.
Look at that salute stance.
A true soldier if I’ve ever seen one.
She’s solid, really solid.

“For now, let’s focus your training on how to overcome that trauma.”
“Understood, Manager! For glory!”
“Wasser helps too!”
“Good.”
“Then, Manager! Could you open the passage north for me?!”

Huh?
Just like that?

“North? There’s nothing for you there right now — we’re still stabilizing that region.”
“The subcontractor Park Mubpal told me — go west a bit from Pyongyang and you’ll reach the sea! I’ll overcome it through direct confrontation and return!”
“Nice! Yeohae, that’s the spirit! Now that’s determination!”
“No… I….”

In other words.
She wants to go to the sea right now?
And all the way to North Korea to do it?

“That’s not happening.”

Right.
Immediate rejection.
Listen here.
I’m not going to teach her that kind of recklessness.
Fighting the sea head-on like that….

“How do you expect to overcome Trauma instantly? I said we should train gradually, so don’t be impatient.”

Honestly, that’s the reality of it.
Right now, immediately.
You, overcome your Trauma!
Is it going to solve itself just like that?
No, it isn’t.
It’s not like clearing a Dungeon….

“For now, let’s set it as a goal and gradually work our way up through the stages.”
“Still….”
“No, I’m vetoing that.”

You can talk all you want.
I’m not opening it today, not for anything.
But instead—

“Let’s just have some dinner.”
“Right! Today we’re having noodles and Tangsuyuk like you said!”
“Noodles? Tangsuyuk? What are those?”
“Yeohae, you’ve never had noodles and Tangsuyuk?”
“It’s Tangsuyuk, not that. And Yeohae, you’ve never even had noodles before. Never eaten meat….”

There was a lot that happened.
Especially since the moment she was summoned.
So that’s why.

“Overcoming Trauma and all that—today it’s all off-limits.”

A rare chance to have a team dinner.
I’m planning to order every variety.
Let’s eat until we’re stuffed.

* * *

“Delivery’s here!”

Ding-dong!

“Delivery!”

Ding-dong!

“Manager, Manager. The delivery’s arrived!”
“Arthur, you must be starving.”
“How’d you know?”

How would I know.
You’re using formal speech for the first time in a while, so I just noticed.
You, man.
You only use formal speech when you need something.

“Still, just hold on a moment. Not everything’s arrived yet.”

Since we’re going to move it all anyway, might as well do it once.
If we set things up and then the doorbell rings again, it breaks the mood.
Looking at the delivery app, it should be here soon….

Ding-dong!

Okay, all deliveries complete.
So?
Time to eat.

“Arthur, go tell everyone to get ready for food. I’ll bring it right over.”
“Understood, sir!”

Arthur left.
Now let’s bring out the food.
I crack open the door carefully, peeking through.
Phew.
How many bags is this anyway?
A lot.
Well.

“Chinese food, pizza, fried chicken, mapo tofu broth…”

Since I ordered one of everything by category, it’s no wonder there’s so much.
Still, it’s been a while since we’ve had a team meal together, and—
This much is worth ordering.

“Wow! So much food…”
“…Meat!”
“Oh, you even ordered mapo tofu broth? This place’s broth seems fancier than usual, doesn’t it, Manager?”
“Indeed. I looked around and ordered from the best place in the neighborhood.”
“Ha, much obliged. It looks promising. I’ll enjoy every bite.”

But looking at the workers’ reactions, it seems like I didn’t order too much after all.
Look at them already gathering and swallowing hard.

“Team meals are the best, yeehah!”

And even—
The orc guys are here too.
So what.
No need to worry about leftovers.
The other workers are the same way.
Our orcs really do eat well.

“Manager, get over here! Yeehah!”

You can see they’ve changed a lot, actually.
At the first team meal, those orcs were all nervous, drooling.
Now?
Everyone’s grabbed their spoons and taken their seats.
It’s the new recruits who look awkward instead.

“Yeohae, what are you doing? Come sit down quickly. We should eat together.”
“Yes, got it!”
“Look, look! This is black bean sauce noodles! This is tangsuyuk! Got it?”
“My goodness… the smell is incredible!”
“Think the smell’s intense? The taste is going to be even more intense!”

So come on, just try a bite.
I want to see your reaction.

“That’s right! Go on, try it!”
“Heh! Rani, come watch me eat!”
“Well then, if that is everyone’s inclination, this humble mage shall follow suit.”

People really do think alike.
The other Workers.
Hungry as they are, they’re all eyes, swallowing hard.
Gulp.
Hey, Robin.
You’re drooling….

“Then, let us eat with gratitude!”

Always so proper, our Advanced Rank Worker Yeohae.
She bows first, and then—
She takes one bite of the noodles glistening with sauce, and?

“My goodness….”

Her eyes go wide, and immediately she reaches for another bite.
You can read it all from her expression.
See? I told you the taste was extraordinary.

“Now let’s eat too, shall we?”
“Thank you so much! I’m digging in!”
“Let’s eat!”

Our Workers move in perfect rhythm at moments like this.
All reaching for their chosen dishes at once.

“Wow….”
“Whoa! This is delicious! Incredibly delicious!”

Exclamations follow one after another.
Is it really that good?
Let me try a bite….

“Wow, this place really is excellent.”
“It sure is! Wasser has to say this is the best tangsuyuk I’ve ever eaten!”

I was hesitant because the place was supposed to be pricey.
But ordering was the right call.
Ah.
Yes.
This is what you earn money for.

“Everyone eat as much as you’d like, whatever suits your taste. If it’s not enough, we can order more, so don’t hold back.”
“Right?”
“Of course. Obviously. And Arthur, have some coffee with it too.”
“Oh! Manager, thanks! The coffee smells wonderful!”

The others feel the same way.
There’s alcohol and beverages here, and snacks too.
Eat your fill.
Today we all enjoy ourselves together.
Tomorrow we’ll get back to working hard.

* * *

[Denmark becomes the first nation in Europe to successfully conquer the Highest Floor! Behind this achievement stands the Manager of the Personnel Management Office.]
[Turkey also succeeds in conquering the Highest Floor! With this, they join the ranks of Safe Countries—]
[Canada also achieves conquest! Now we can sleep easy!]
……
…

The world after Ralph Carter’s ascent to the 70th floor.

Tower difficulty had risen across the board.
All clearance deadlines were cut down to three months.
Climbing had already been grueling.
And now the difficulty was going up.
Most thought it was impossible.
Most actually did hit dead ends.
But now.
Nations that had succeeded in conquering the highest floor were appearing one after another.
What was the common thread?

– Countries that got weapons from the Manager, naturally.
– So how many people does that add up to saving?
└ At minimum, over a billion.
└ Insane lmao literally humanity’s salvation at this point
└ For real. If the Manager disappears right now, every other country is finished.
– So what about those dense ones? Couldn’t the Five Great Powers just naturalize temporarily and clear it for them?
└ The Great Powers? They’re struggling because they can’t even clear their own highest floors.
– It really doesn’t make sense. The consensus was that all nations were doomed
– And apparently they’re still supplying weapons even now
└ Wow…….

Just the nations saved so far numbered in the dozens.
Going forward?
There’d be more.
It was hardly an exaggeration to call him the hope of humanity itself.
But.
Even amidst all this, there were those who harbored resentment.

“Why won’t they accept our commission?”

The Central Awakener Management Bureau of China.
Li Wei, the bureau chief, let out a heavy sigh as he stared at the monitor.

[Weapon Manufacturing Commission – China / Result: Rejected]

How many times was this now?
No.
He’d matched the terms the same way other nations had—the ones who’d submitted commissions and actually received weapons….
So why…?

“It’s because of what happened back then, isn’t it.”

Zhang Zhi’an. Liu Hao.
Those damned bastards.
If only they’d never laid a hand on the Manager.
No.
What were they thinking, touching that in the first place?

“Already dead, but nowadays I’d like to kill them again.”

Still, it wasn’t over yet.
Why?

“Because supposedly the ones called the Five Great Powers are in a similar bind….”

The Five Great Powers, currently.
United States, Korea, England, Germany, Russia.
China isn’t counted among them.
No Hunter has climbed past the 61st floor there.
And now they need to clear the 62nd floor—it’s dizzying, but still.
There’s hope.

– But Manager, why don’t you make weapons for the Five Great Powers?
└ You did make them for the United States.
└ Yeah, but that was ages ago, and we got paid for it….
└ There’s a rumor they completely lowballed their specifications.
└ No way??
– If he doesn’t make them now, it’ll be an international embarrassment
└ Damn thugs;;;;
└ Still, I mean…. eventually he’ll make them anyway, right?

That’s right.
He’s humanity’s hope, after all.
He wouldn’t just let them die, would he?
I suppose….
God, I hope so.

* * *

The internet response.
The Manager saw it too.

“That seems to be the case, Manager.”

Todd was showing him earlier.
But….
Everyone’s got it wrong.

“I have no intention of making anything unless the terms are proper.”

It’s obvious they’re trying to cheat me—why bother?

“Exactly, Manager. With other nations, perhaps—but the Five Great Powers especially have no reason to be made weapons for.”

Agreed.
Why did I make weapons for other countries?
Nothing special.
That much, Rani can handle without breaking a sweat….
If the terms are fair, I make them. Simple as that.
Something on that level?

“Besides, Commission Points were the real main draw.”

But the Five Great Powers?
You’re different.
No matter how Highest Rank Rani is.
Working with materials from the 61st floor and beyond takes considerable time.

“Todd, let me see the commission requests from the Five Great Powers.”
“Yes, sir.”

[Weapon Fabrication Commission Request]

England, Germany, Russia.
No United States.
Take it right away and look.

“Sigh…”

At this level, it’s comparable to what the countries in the 50th floor range are dealing with.
And they want me to make this?

“They’ve got some nerve.”
“I suspect they’ve gathered intelligence on other nations and tailored their proposal accordingly.”
“Probably. Those bastards have always been frighteningly skilled at information gathering.”

A global crisis.
As the Manager, I’d have no choice but to help them, even if it meant taking losses.
Why?
Because people are watching.
Or so they think.
They read me wrong.

“I don’t care about any of that.”

Why did I live anonymously in the first place?
So what if my identity gets exposed someday?
I can hold my head high.
I’ve done enough to justify it.
I’ve helped several nations so far.

“Todd, pass a message to the Central Awakener Management Bureau.”
“What should I tell them?”
“Tell the Five Great Powers to stop playing games that won’t fly. Present proper conditions. Then I’ll think about it.”
“Understood.”
“And tell them this is their last chance to get it right.”

If they come back with nothing to offer again?
Then I’m done with them.
I’ll just climb my own tower.
So go ahead and make them an offer.
Let’s see how sweet a deal they can bring me.

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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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