Murim Login - Chapter 227

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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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Chapter 227
“You’ve worked hard.”
A man in a wrinkled suit extended his hand.
Dull, ashen skin and hollow eyes. The Investigator’s claim about not going home for a week appeared to be true.
“You’re the one who’s worked hard, Prosecutor. I didn’t do much.”
I grasped the Prosecutor in Charge’s extended hand and glanced around the room.
The spacious room was furnished with a plush bed, sofa, and even a state-of-the-art wall-mounted television.
When I first received the summons from the prosecution, I had imagined a cold, dark interrogation room, but the place I was actually guided to was a hotel guest room.
“I never expected to receive such treatment.”
“The higher-ups are very interested in this case. By the way, do you mind if I sit for a moment?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
The Prosecutor in Charge, his voice weary, collapsed onto the sofa.
“There was actually some debate on our end about whether Jin Tae-kyung’s actions constituted self-defense or excessive force.”
I had been bothered by that point as well.
A killing in a situation where I could have subdued him sufficiently. Eliminating Won Myung-hun had gone beyond what self-defense justified.
Of course, even if I could go back a week, my choice would be the same.
“It seems the conclusion on that matter turned out favorably?”
“Absolutely. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come alone. I would have brought Hunters from the Ministry of Justice with me.”
The Prosecutor in Charge’s gaze, speaking in a joking tone, skimmed over the morning newspaper lying on the table.
Upon confirming the corpse of the Black Wyvern plastered across the front page, he smacked his lips.
“…Well, even if they had come, it wouldn’t have helped much.”
“I’m a model citizen. The kind of person who can live without laws.”
“There was a movie with that title, and the protagonist of that film killed both a prosecutor and a judge.”
“….”
What is this? Is he asking me to hit him?
The Prosecutor in Charge, smirking at my expression, rose from his seat.
“I should be going. I have a mountain of work piling up.”
“I’m glad I could lend a hand.”
“It’s not just lending a hand—you created the whole thing. Once we started digging, evidence kept pouring out endlessly, like pulling on a sweet potato vine.”
I had suspected that Won Myung-hun was a man with a dirty past.
But once the full-scale investigation began, such ugly secrets came pouring out that I found myself wondering how such a person could exist.
Among the countless crimes he had committed were several identical to the one that had occurred a week ago.
‘The incident from eight years ago was the same.’
Won Myung-hun was a monster created by the media.
When his glittering popularity faded and the spotlight dimmed, he sought to create issues himself to draw public attention.
However, in that process, the most popular Star Hunter at the time died, and Won Myung-hun quietly faded from memory amid the Hunter Association’s suspicion and the public’s lingering doubts.
“He covered it up thoroughly. With money, with power, and sometimes by disguising it as Gate accidents, he eliminated those involved.”
Naturally, there had been numerous lobbying activities to minimize the incidents in the process.
In the end, political and business figures connected to him had to stand before cameras in wheelchairs and wearing masks.
Along with their standard refrain.
‘I will conduct the investigation with utmost sincerity.’
Whether the investigation would be thorough or conducted with genuine sincerity remained uncertain, but one thing was certain.
The Prosecutor in Charge opened his mouth with conviction.
“At least half of them will lose their heads.”
The wildfire had already spread beyond control. Stopping this inferno would require far more than pulling up a weed or two.
Won Myung-hun’s death was merely the beginning.
“I certainly hope so.”
“It must be. Absolutely.”
After offering what felt like a parting word, he grasped the door handle, then paused and turned back.
“I was so caught up in everything that I forgot to say this.”
“…?”
His rigid posture bent deeply in a bow.
“Thank you. All of this is thanks to Jin Tae-kyung.”
I’m a simple man. I hunted the Raid Monster because I had a grudge to settle, and I killed Won Myung-hun because he was my enemy.
Yet the world calls me a hero who prevented catastrophe and realized justice.
It’s burdensome, but….
‘Well, this isn’t so bad either.’
I nodded with a smile. A faint smile crossed the weary face of the Prosecutor in Charge.
* * *
I followed the Investigator, whose face I had grown quite familiar with over the past week, down to the basement.
“Security has been thoroughly handled, so you needn’t worry.”
True to his word, not a single reporter or camera was visible in the Underground Parking Lot. Instead, familiar faces waited for me.
“Son!”
“Brother!”
I embraced the two figures who rushed toward me with cries of joy.
No, let me correct that. I embraced Mother, but pushed Ha-yeon away with my palm.
“Son! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. Just a few scrapes.”
Mother, her expression suggesting she’d aged ten years, ran her hands over my entire body and let out a shaky breath.
“S-scrapes? Where? Are you hurt, son?”
“No, I misspoke.”
“You said you had scrapes!”
“I meant I wanted Mom’s seasoned raw vegetable side dish. My words just came out wrong.”
“Tae-kyung, are you lying again? You fought such a terrifying monster and don’t have a single wound? That doesn’t make sense.”
“It was just big, but the thing was docile.”
“Son, are you going to keep joking around? Mom is serious right now—take off your clothes and let me see.”
“…How am I supposed to do that here? This is ridiculous.”
With reflexes fast enough to dodge bullets, somehow I cannot escape Mother’s touch.
‘Have I mastered some kind of golden ratio technique?’
As I stammered, my sister Ha-yeon—born under a different chromosome—asked with a shocked expression on her face.
“…What? Why are you pushing me away?”
“You don’t know?”
“I’m asking because I don’t know!”
“If you don’t know, you deserve a hit.”
Smack!
“Ow! Mom! My brother’s hitting me!”
“Both of you, settle down!”
Ha-yeon clutching her forehead with a tearful expression, and Mom shrieking in protest.
In the midst of the chaos, I noticed one person watching this scene with an amused smile.
“Stop laughing and help break this up, would you?”
“Isn’t a harmonious family a sign of a healthy home? I actually find it rather enviable.”
With legs stretched out like a model’s, as if he’d just stepped out of a magazine spread, he gripped my shoulder firmly.
“You’ve been through quite an ordeal, Jin Tae-kyung.”
“You as well, Choi Team Leader.”
But where had everyone else gone?
Noticing my gaze sweep across the surroundings, Choi Team Leader spoke up.
“Everyone wanted to come, but I discouraged them. There are simply too many eyes watching.”
“I see.”
“Reporters are stationed everywhere. Let me drive you home first, and we can talk on the way.”
The Underground Parking Lot wasn’t exactly the ideal place for a candid conversation. Especially not with a Prosecutor in Charge observing.
We settled into a luxury sedan with darkly tinted windows. The vehicle glided smoothly through the Building District with a pleasant hum.
“While you were under investigation, quite a lot has transpired… I trust you’re aware of most of it.”
“I saw it all on TV. I turned off my phone though—too many calls coming in.”
Broadcast networks, cable channels, radio.
No matter where I turned, my name and Won Myung-hun’s were inescapable.
And beyond that—politics, economics, the Hunter industry. All of South Korea was in an uproar.
‘I’ve heard it so much I’m sick of it.’
Even the national anthem becomes a struggle past the second verse.
Choi Team Leader caught a glimpse of my expression and smiled faintly.
“There’s one crucial matter I must inform you of.”
“It’s not about dinner plans, is it?”
“No. It’s related to this entire situation.”
“Team Leader, please. I’m begging you.”
“It concerns the disposal of Named Monster byproducts.”
“Please tell me. I’m asking you.”
….
I straightened up from the passenger seat, my eyes gleaming with keen interest as I fixed them on Choi Team Leader.
Mom and Ha-yeon, seated in the back, also perked up their ears attentively.
“Byproducts? Is that really that important?”
“Mom, what are you, someone from the Daehan Empire? This is incredibly important!”
“You. Your mom knows that much. It’s just that I can’t get a sense of how much it really is….”
Even though many products made from monster byproducts have been commercialized, they ultimately remain the exclusive domain of the wealthy.
For a mother who had spent her entire life tightening her belt, it could only be a distant story.
Choi Team Leader explained in a gentle voice to my mother, whose words were trailing off.
“It depends on what kind of monster it is. And in the case of the Named Monster that Jin Tae-kyung caught this time, its value is astronomical.”
“Really? I’ve only seen it in photographs, but it certainly looked terrifying.”
“Just as you saw, it’s an extremely powerful monster. That’s why a price of 300 billion has been set.”
“Ah, I see.”
After my mother’s response, a brief silence fell.
A complete stillness without even the sound of breathing. I, who had been blinking silently, finally managed to open my mouth.
“How much?”
“300 billion.”
Choi Team Leader, who answered calmly, added one more thing.
“Ah, what I mentioned is the opening bid for the auction.”
“The, the opening bid?”
“Yes. The byproduct processing was completed four days ago, and Christie’s has already….”
“Wait. Who is Christie’s?”
Ha-yeon looked at me with an expression of disbelief.
“Who? You don’t know Christie’s?”
That this idiot is my older brother.
That’s exactly what Ha-yeon’s expression says right now.
I wracked my brain to maintain my authority as an older brother, but the only thing that came to mind at the name Christie’s was a blonde beauty.
“A, an American tycoon’s second-generation heir?”
“….”
“Or, is it from Hong Kong? Or maybe European royalty or a Hollywood actress….”
It was Choi Team Leader who rescued me from my cold sweat.
“It’s a famous auction house. It competes with Sotheby’s as the best in the industry.”
“Ah.”
It sounds like I’ve heard of it, and yet I haven’t.
When I was young, I only exercised, and as an adult, I’ve done nothing but work like an ox, so how could I possibly know about such things?
Choi Team Leader, who is well-versed in such matters, continued smoothly.
“Christie’s made the first proposal. They said they would set their auction commission much lower than Sotheby’s and asked us to entrust it to them.”
“So, what happened?”
“Appraisers from Christie’s assessed the value of the byproducts. Currently, the opening bid is 300 billion. Since this is a matter requiring Jin Tae-kyung’s consent, the final decision has been held in abeyance.”
Is this really happening in reality?
I stood there with my mouth hanging open, then smacked Ha-yeon’s forehead as she poked her head between the driver’s seat and the passenger seat.
Smack!
“Ow!”
“So it’s real.”
“Why did you hit me!”
“Because I’m precious.”
Hearing his scream, it finally became real to me.
The fact that I would soon become an enormously wealthy man.
“Ah, son. What are you saying? 300 billion won?”
“Please calm down. That’s not all mine.”
I didn’t know what the final auction price would be, but the Hunter industry clearly had distribution ratios. Raids were conducted through cooperation among team members, after all.
Even if I had caught it with my strength alone, it would be the same.
But the words that followed from Choi Team Leader in the next moment were nothing short of astonishing.
“It’s all Jin Tae-kyung’s share. Every last bit of it.”
“…Pardon?”
“Everyone else has agreed to this as well. So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything more about this matter.”
“Everyone agreed?”
It was an opportunity to receive tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions of won at most.
For an ordinary person, it would be an irresistible temptation and undoubtedly a right.
Choi Team Leader gently turned the steering wheel and replied to my astonishment.
“I’m not shameless enough to take money just for watching. Neither I nor the others lack that much conscience and conviction.”
“Still, there’s no need to go that far…”
“It wasn’t a problem worth deliberating over. That much consideration is sufficient, so just think about what to do with the money.”
At Choi Team Leader’s firm words, I fell silent like a fool with honey in his mouth.
300 billion won. Christie’s auction.
The words that came to mind made my head complicated. Mother and Ha-yeon, who had been frozen like statues since earlier, must feel even more so.
‘This is surreal.’
I wiped my stiffly hardened face with my palm.
An unimaginable enormous sum would soon roll into my hands. What should I do with this?
All sorts of imaginations followed one after another. Private jets and luxury yachts, stacks of cash piled high like mountains and a leopard wearing a leash…
And not long after, all those imaginations dispersed like fog.
Only then could I think clearly about what I should do with this money and look at the world.
“Choi Team Leader.”
“Yes?”
“May I ask you for a favor?”
The corners of Choi Team Leader’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Anything.”

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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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