Laborer Mr. Kim Reaps Sweet Rewards with Auto-Hunting - Chapter 87

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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 087

“Top-tier Worker Yeohae! Bombardment complete!”
“Confirmed.”
“Yes, sir!”

Bombardment complete.
And the result?
What more is there to say.

Boom! Booooom—!

I glance at the monitor showing the broadcast feed.
A perfect hit, every shot.
So this is what a top-tier Worker can do.
The precision is absolutely flawless.
The distance alone looked impossible, yet she struck every target dead-on.

“That Meiji Shrine looks quite similar to the Yasukuni Shrine we saw earlier, Manager.”
“I suppose it does.”
“You haven’t seen it before?”

Todd, really.
What a question.

“Of course not. I’ve only ever traveled on a school trip to Jeju Island.”

Travel?
That’s a luxury.
Better to spend the time resting at home watching TV.
I don’t even go to mountain valleys, so Japan is….
Literally another world entirely.
I’ve only ever seen it on TV.

“Well, I do know about Yasukuni. It’s famous enough in South Korea.”

Though not for any good reason.

“Now that I think about it, you picked that one first from the list the subcontractor sent. So there was a reason.”

Was there?
Hmm….
Maybe I did it without thinking.
This is why early conditioning is so terrifying.

Yun Ha-jun, twenty-three years old.
Wait.
I’m twenty-four now.
Never was one for studying.
Books?
Not a fan.
History holds no interest for me.
Yasukuni Shrine—it’s….
Just the bare minimum I know about it?
But why, then.

“When I saw that name ‘Yasukuni Shrine,’ it just felt right. Like that’s the one I should obliterate first.”

It’s probably because they’ve heard it since childhood.
Well, I can see why—there’s a refreshing honesty to it.

“Then that works, doesn’t it?”
“Exactly.”

He’s actually playing along with that?
That’s Todd for you.
A ghost when it comes to social graces.

“Next target: Prime Minister’s Official Residence! We’ll begin preparations at once! Estimated time to readiness is approximately ten minutes!”

Okay.
Finally the main event.
Yasukuni Shrine, Meiji Shrine.
Those two were really just bonus.
The original target was the Prime Minister all along.
Actually, no.
It was also a warning to other nations, so maybe it’s not entirely bonus?
Well, in any case.

“What was it I said earlier? That if they stopped the terror attacks on Meiji Shrine and the Prime Minister’s Official Residence, I’d cancel the press conference?”

Hmm….
But Meiji Shrine just went up.
I wonder how they’ll react now.
Curious.

* * *

Boom! Boooom—!

One shot, then another.
With each shell that struck, the Shrine’s edifice crumbled and collapsed.
Miyamoto Hayato stared, dumbfounded, his mouth falling open.

“This… what on earth….”

Why was Meiji Shrine being destroyed?
By the plan, it should have stopped.
Why…?

“Prime Minister, are you all right?”

No.
How could he be all right?
He knew better.
This wasn’t the picture he’d expected.

“The Manpower Management Office director…. Wasn’t he trying to conceal his identity?”

That couldn’t be it.
If he meant to hide his identity, he’d have stayed hidden all this time, not made a move.
This situation makes no sense at all….

“Hah.”

What was he supposed to do now?
He needed to think this through.

“Deputy.”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
“Tell me—did I hear the name Arthur Brant when you suggested I grovel to the Manpower Management Office Director at this late hour?”
“That’s correct.”
“Arthur Brant, Arthur Brant…”

A Hunter and member of the House of Representatives.
What reason would he have to leak useless intelligence to us?
None.
No reason to mock us with riddles either.
Which means—

“Could it be that was genuinely the only way?”
“Prime Minister?”

What?
Why are my hands shaking?
No, that’s not it.
My whole body is trembling.

“Deputy.”
“Yes, Prime Minister. What is it?”
“What on earth have I been dreaming all this time?”
“Sir?”

Why did Miyamoto come forward so boldly?
There was only one reason.
Because he believed the Manpower Management Office Director would want to conceal his identity.

“Ah… it was a warning.”

Why had the great powers—America, the UK, Russia—remained silent?
Now I understand perfectly.
They saw it in China and grasped it long ago.
Approval ratings?
I don’t even care anymore.
Why was I ever worried about approval ratings in the first place?
I never imagined the target would be me.
But then—

“The enemy isn’t the ghost of Yi Sun-sin from the past, but the Manpower Management Office Director?”

Everything changes with that.
Why did they come all this way?
The answer is simple.
They came to punish directly.
Like Zhang Zhian, the Chinese President.

Whoosh—!

On the screen.
The Meiji Shrine burns brilliantly.
Yasukuni is already reduced to ash.
The shrine will follow soon enough.

Next will be the Prime Minister’s Official Residence.
Will it stop after that place is destroyed?
I can’t be certain.
Perhaps they’ll follow me until they kill me.
This won’t do.
Before that, I need to move first.

“Adjutant, prepare for a press conference immediately.”

* * *

“Manager, the Japanese Prime Minister’s press conference is about to begin.”
“Yes.”

So it finally starts.

“Hah….”
“Will you be all right?”
“I thought I’d be fine by now, but I’m a bit nervous.”
“I was wondering if sending Unjang or Yeohae to shut down the press conference might be an option, but….”
“No, that won’t do.”

Let them have their try at it.
We can’t hide this forever anyway.

“It’s not like my face or name is being immortalized, after all.”

The Manager of the Manpower Management Office is behind it all?
To this extent, well….
We can spin it if we need to.
Honestly, everyone who matters already knows, don’t they?

“There’s a chance the blame could come back to you, sir.”
“That’s a risk we have to accept. We didn’t exactly do nothing, after all.”

Right.
Some people will curse my name.
So what?
What can they possibly do?
Hurl insults online?
Yes.
Go ahead and do your worst.

“Better to take some abuse than be used as blackmail material and puppeteered like this.”
“Hm….”
“Besides, you know how I feel about it. I was never planning to hide things as thoroughly as before.”

If I’d wanted to keep my identity completely secret?
I wouldn’t have targeted the Prime Minister’s Official Residence.

“I could have simply demolished Yasukuni Shrine and Meiji Shrine alone, and no one would’ve known a thing.”

Why?
Because I’m General Yi Sun-sin.
There’s nothing strange about destroying the symbols of imperialism.
It makes perfect sense.
Everyone would’ve accepted it, probably.

“You’re right about that, sir.”

So why did I throw it in anyway?
Simple.
The other nations.
Especially the great powers.
A warning sent their way—be careful.
I hear it often enough as it is.
People saying someone’s trying to pull something.
But what if they’re caught stirring up trouble?
Then they get a meeting with our top-tier Workers.

“From what I’ve seen, whenever they hide their identity so tightly, they’re clearly trying to exploit it somehow.”
“Exactly. Isn’t that the context for why Japan targeted the Awakening Management Bureau staff in the first place?”
“Precisely.”

Taking commissions and crafting items?
I can do that.
What’s the point of thriving alone anyway?
It’s better when everyone prospers together.
Besides, I can rack up commission points in the process.
But here’s the thing.
I have no intention of being anyone’s fool.
If I were powerless, that’d be one story.
But when I have power, should I just sit back and take it?
No.
That’s absurd.

“There’s no need to volunteer information that the Manpower Management Office sent me, but if it comes out publicly, so be it.”

In fact, it’s better.
This is a chance to make something crystal clear.
To the Manpower Management Office director.
Meaning: what happens when you touch me.

[Good afternoon, Prime Minister. This is Miyamoto Hayato.]

“And so it begins.”

Go on then. Let’s hear it loud and clear.
That Yi Sun-sin has the Manpower Management Office director behind him.
That the Manpower Management Office director is a bad man!

[First, I would like to sincerely apologize for the actions we have committed thus far.]

What?
All of a sudden?

* * *

Click! Click!

“This is Fujita Ryosuke from Maiuri! I’d like to ask you to clarify exactly what you meant by that statement!”

The question came flying the moment he finished speaking.
Prime Minister Miyamoto swallowed hard.
Spotlights exploding in rapid succession.
Cameras rolling constantly.
It was a scene he’d witnessed countless times at every press conference…
But today, he trembled.
Why?
Because he could see perfectly clearly what would happen after this press conference.

“Sigh…”

Still, one must survive.
Approval ratings.
The Prime Minister’s seat.
I don’t want to lose it now.
I’d be willing to hold it until the day I die.
But.
Still, survival comes first.
One wrong move here?
Approval ratings or whatever.
The Prime Minister’s Official Residence could blow up along with me.
I need to survive, no matter what.
If I’m alive, another chance will come.
So, this is the right answer now.

Gulp.

One last time.
Miyamoto swallowed hard and opened his mouth.

* * *

“You’ve had a long day, Prime Minister.”
“Ah, long is putting it mildly….”

He read through the prepared script and the press conference was over.
The journalists kept pressing for more—
But he barely managed to shake them off and returned to the safe house.

“How’s the reaction?”
“As you might expect, public opinion is in an uproar, sir.”
“I figured as much.”

He’d anticipated this.
Would it be just an uproar?
He was probably already receiving every curse imaginable.
Especially from the right wing.
They’d be calling for his head.
The Yasukuni Shrine is demolished, the Meiji Shrine has collapsed, and he’s apologizing to South Korea?
There’s no way this plays well.
But.

“What choice do I have? I need to survive first. If I try to appease them now, I might drop dead any day.”

So, is it safe now?
To be honest, I can’t guarantee that either.
The Manager of the Manpower Management Office.
He’s a monster completely beyond prediction.
Still, there is hope.

“The Yasukuni Shrine, the Meiji Shrine. Both completely destroyed, but you said there were no casualties?”
“Yes, sir. According to the survivors, they were definitely inside the shrine, but when they opened their eyes, they were unconscious and lying outside in a safe location.”
“So someone saved them all….”

And it wasn’t just one or two.
They said at least dozens, if not more.
Could this be the work of an ordinary person?
Of course not.

“It appears a specific organization was involved, though we haven’t yet confirmed which organization it is.”

A specific organization?
He had a feeling he knew exactly who.
It’s probably the Manager of the Manpower Management Office.
If that’s true, then at least he’s not some bloodthirsty maniac who’d slaughter anyone indiscriminately.
So there’s hope, isn’t there?

“Since we’ve already bent the knee, we might as well walk the right path. Contact the South Korean Awakening Management Bureau and find out what conditions they’d need to accept a manufacturing commission.”
“Understood.”

Perhaps this was the last chance.
If we could just secure one proper weapon?
We could overcome whatever damage this blow to our approval ratings inflicts.

“Those people cursing us now? The moment our Hunters update just the highest floors with a weapon from the Manager, they’ll be singing our praises.”
“True enough…”
“Though, of course, we’d have to exclude the extreme right-wingers.”

Those people.
Their eyes have gone mad.

“We’ll need to strengthen security for a while.”

At least I need to survive.
Well, assuming the Manager lets me live.
After bowing like this, he’ll let me live, won’t he?
Please…

* * *

“That’s what he said, Manager.”

Security reinforcements, of all things…
As if Unjang didn’t overhear the whole thing.
And then he simply disappeared without a trace.
Of course.

“I think you can return today, sir. Thank you for your hard work, Unjang.”
“Don’t mention it. I’ll be heading back then.”
“Yes, sir.”

Hmm…
How should I put it.

“It feels like a storm just swept through.”
“I share that sentiment, Manager.”

What on earth was all this commotion.

“I never expected him to confess like that.”

Because of it, the whole world has turned upside down.

[Breaking News] Japan’s Prime Minister reveals Japan’s atrocities at a press conference!]
[Reasons revealed: Why the Manager of the Manpower Management Office rejected Japan’s commission! Will the tyranny of great powers never end?]
……
…

But it makes sense.
The schemes they pulled in North Korea.
The manipulations in the commissions the Awakening Management Bureau received.
Even.
The kidnapping of Management Bureau employees this time—they exposed it all.

“Never imagined he’d confess so completely, with no hesitation….”

What was my first thought?
That he was pulling another stunt.
So I even sent Unjang to check—

“He wants to live. That’s all it is, Manager.”

Agreed.
That’s exactly it.

“What do you think, Todd?”
“In my opinion, sir, giving him a chance might not be such a bad idea.”
“Right?”
“Yes, sir. Once broken in like this, he’ll listen much better.”

Whoa, whoa.
Todd, ease up.
He’s not a beast—he’s a person.
But you’re right.
After a beating like that, he won’t be any more trouble.
Okay.
I’m satisfied with that.
So then.

“Let’s call it here and everyone head back. Something more urgent’s come up in South Korea.”

Just got word.
An S-rank Dungeon appeared in the middle of Seoul.

[Chaos Key]
– S-rank Chaos Key. Can open something.

Come on, everyone.
Let’s go take it down.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————