Murim Login - Chapter 383

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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 383
The jet that Wei Penghu had prepared looked considerably different from what I’d imagined.
‘Spacious. Luxurious.’
Through the partially open cabin door, I could see an elegant table and what one might call an executive’s chair.
Choi Team Leader beside me explained that what we were looking at was a business jet worth nearly a hundred billion won per unit.
「I never expected to see an aircraft reserved for state guests here.」
Wei Penghu replied calmly.
「It’s only natural. You two gentlemen are state guests of your home country.」
“Ah.”
「Thanks to your assistance, we were able to save countless soldiers and hunters. All of us, myself included, will never forget today’s help.」
“…Yes, of course.”
I just wished they’d handle the fine dust pollution and historical revisionism first.
Secretly hoping China was a more conscientious nation than I knew it to be, I boarded the aircraft.
The pilot who had been waiting saluted us with precise, measured movements—or rather, Wei Penghu specifically.
「Welcome, Minister of National Defense.」
「Are we ready?」
「This aircraft and all escort fighters are prepared. We await your command.」
When he mentioned escorts, I glanced out the window at the runway and saw five sleek fighter jets flashing their lights as if signaling.
‘What is this?’
I was seeing something I’d only witnessed in war movies. Were we heading straight into combat?
Noticing my wide-eyed expression, Wei Penghu spoke.
「It hasn’t been made public yet, but as you know, Sichuan Province is currently in a state of war. With magical interference disrupting communications and frequent attacks by flying monsters, escort is essential for safety.」
“Is that so?”
The situation was more serious than I’d thought.
We’d been attacked almost incidentally by the Wyvern that assaulted Chengdu International Airport, but if this was happening across all of Sichuan Province, that changed everything.
「I wish I were lying.」
Visibly aged from merely recalling the current situation, Wei Penghu leaned back against the plush seat.
「We must part ways here. Let’s meet again soon, Colonel Shao Shen.」
Unlike us, Shao Shen—who hadn’t boarded the aircraft—stood at attention and saluted.
「Yes. I will complete my duties promptly and rejoin you, Minister of National Defense. And thank you both, sirs.」
「Good. I have high hopes for you.」
Perhaps because he’d accomplished considerable feats, Wei Penghu’s lips curved into a satisfied smile as he regarded the promising young hunter.
Choi Team Leader offered a respectful silent bow in greeting, while I waved.
“See you next time. You fought really well today.”
It was just a single sentence.
But Shao Shen’s eyes widened like saucers upon hearing my words. His body trembled as if struck by lightning, and he cried out resoundingly.
「Th-thank you so much! I swear I will devote myself entirely to your service, Jin sir, and never disappoint you!」
“…No, there’s no need for such devotion.”
「I pray for your good health and fortune! Cheers! Victory!」
“Good health? What does that even….”
Smack!
「Gasp!」
“….”
That looked like a textbook example of poor judgment.
He’d saluted with such force that he’d struck his own eyebrow with the edge of his hand.
As I watched Shao Shen grimace and endure the pain, the cabin door sealed shut and our business jet began its slow ascent into the sky.
“That guy’s got quite the… unique character, doesn’t he?”
Wei Penghu chuckled softly at my lukewarm comment.
「Well, receiving praise from an idol—one would expect nothing less, wouldn’t you say?」
“Huh?”
「Back home, there are many young hunters who admire Jin. That fellow is no exception.」
What, was I some kind of Korean Wave celebrity?
Anyway, this man—despite being a top-tier hunter who could knock birds from the sky—seemed remarkably attentive to his subordinates.
Or perhaps Shao Shen was simply someone with exceptionally high expectations placed upon him.
Ah, but….
– Team Leader. What exactly is the rank of Director of the Central Military Commission’s Defense Ministry? I’m not familiar with your organizational structure.
Choi Team Leader flinched at my telepathic message, then responded via message magic.
– In our country, he’d be equivalent to the Minister of National Defense. Of course, this is China, and Wei Penghu is the current President’s right hand, so his actual power is considerably greater.
– Ah.
That’s similar to me then. I’m the Minister of Soup.
One special bowl of oxtail soup is enough to handle three bowls of rice.
Though Wei Penghu could probably erase three cities with just a gesture.
And now, this powerful figure of the People’s Republic of China leaned forward toward us with his upper body and asked a question.
「It seems we have much to discuss during the flight. Wouldn’t you agree?」
Choi Team Leader and I nodded seriously and opened our mouths to speak.
「Of course. First, I’d like to ask about the current situation in Sichuan Province—exactly how things stand…」
“By the way, do you have any boiled eggs and soda? I fought hard out there and I’m getting hungry.”
“….”
“….”
Apparently not.
「We do.」
“…?”
“…?”
So we do have them.
* * *
The People’s Republic of China.
As the official name of the nation suggested, these dignified continental people still upheld socialism as their state ideology.
About twenty years ago, the then-president who had solidified the foundation of dictatorship through lifetime rule died during a great upheaval, and power transferred to a considerably more moderate regime, yet the core essence remained unchanged.
– What was the name of the dead president? Ping-ping? Peng-peng?
Choi Team Leader, who had been going along with Wei Penghu’s words, smacked his lips. His poker face was impressively remarkable.
– I’m just mentioning this as a precaution, but if you bring up such matters here, you’ll face serious consequences.
– That’s why we’re using message magic instead of voice transmission, right?
– I’m warning you. Among exceptional mages of A-rank and above, there are those who can eavesdrop on message magic.
– Anyway, what was the name? Pingping, or Paengpaeng? I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t hear this.
– …Pingping.
So you were going to answer anyway. What’s the point?
Finally relieved, I turned my attention to Wei Penghu’s words.
「It was something no one could have anticipated.」
Sichuan Province was a vast region with an enormous area and tens of millions of inhabitants.
And all of this began in Gaoping District, one of roughly twenty administrative divisions within Nanchong City in Sichuan Province.
「As you know, the number of Gates in our homeland is more than ten times greater than in other nations. Because of this, we suffered among the greatest losses during the Cataclysm, and we’ve been managing them with meticulous care.」
Yet human power could not control natural disasters, and monster waves were calamities far worse than any natural phenomenon.
「We received word that mana levels had surged in Gaoping District exactly thirteen minutes after the first signs appeared. And when Lei Fei, the commander of the Public Security Armed Forces stationed in Sichuan Province, arrived at the scene leading his hunters… it was already too late.」
“Lei Fei?”
An unfamiliar name. Yet why did a memory suddenly surface?
‘That video Choi Team Leader showed me at the Guild House before we departed.’
It remained vivid still—the holographic projection of a city in absolute chaos, and a man at the forefront of the hunters, cutting down monsters with his blade.
His weapon was bound with an aura so brilliant it hurt to look at.
“I feel like I’ve seen him before. Could he be the one from the video you sent us?”
「Indeed.」
Wei Penghu, who had hesitated for a moment, opened his mouth with a faint sigh.
「He was one of our nation’s S-rank hunters. Of course, you two would have no way of knowing.」
No way of knowing?
S-rank hunters were absolute powerhouses—fewer than twenty existed across the entire world.
The fame and status they enjoyed far surpassed even that of the supreme masters of the Murim.
The internet, news, and social media were their platforms, and microphones and cameras followed them like shadows.
While ordinary people viewed Murim practitioners with half caution and half curiosity, hunters were nothing but objects of admiration to modern society. They were truly celebrities of the world.
‘Yet we’re supposed to not know of such an S-rank hunter?’
Wei Penghu had spoken indirectly, but his meaning was clear enough to grasp.
My gaze and Choi Team Leader’s met in the air. In that moment, we were thinking the same thing.
‘An unrevealed S-rank hunter.’
Or more precisely, an S-rank hunter deliberately concealed by the Chinese government.
‘I’ve only heard rumors of such things. So it was real?’
An S-rank hunter was essentially the face of a nation.
Yet unlike the weak who struggle desperately not to be underestimated, the strong conceal their claws.
China, already known to possess two S-rank hunters, clearly had no desire to reveal all its strength.
Perhaps not only China, but the world’s great powers as well harbored similar intentions.
‘Remarkable. Even after the Cataclysm, such political maneuvering persists.’
It was contemptible in one sense, yet comprehensible in another. I felt oddly about glimpsing, even briefly, truths of a world I could not fully understand—diplomacy, politics.
And unlike me, Choi Team Leader was a far more perceptive man.
「It sounds like you’re using the past tense when you say he ‘was’ one of your nation’s S-rank Hunters.」
Wei Penghu answered with a devastated expression.
「…Lei Fei went missing a week ago, when the first Monster Wave occurred. He disappeared along with the Hunters under his command from the Public Security Armed Forces.」
「Are you certain he’s missing? Could it be…?」
「We couldn’t confirm his death. After that final footage, the Lich—no, the creature called the Arch Lich—severed all communications and surveillance with its magical power.」
Choi Team Leader and I both let out a heavy sigh simultaneously. Wei Penghu asked us in a cracked voice, reacting to our response.
「Do you both think Lei Fei is dead?」
“Mm.”
“Well….”
Missing. And if he vanished a week ago in that absolute chaos, the outcome was essentially already decided.
At Choi Team Leader’s glance, I carefully opened my mouth.
“Well, you know. It’s hard to say what might happen to people, but….”
「Other experts said he was definitely dead. Useless blowhards, the lot of them.」
Why’s that? He actually sounds like a real expert.
If someone claimed with certainty that he survived in those circumstances, I’d have to fire them on the spot. Because that would be objectively absurd.
「But I believe differently. Lei Fei—that boy must still be alive.」
“I hope so as well, but realistically speaking….”
「He’s my only nephew. My sister, who was sickly since childhood, couldn’t survive childbirth and left this world. I’ve raised that helpless infant like my own son ever since.」
“Pardon?”
Wait, his nephew? Raised him like his own son? What is he talking about?
Wei Penghu, seeing me freeze like a statue, asked with glistening eyes.
「What were you about to say? Realistically speaking, and then what?」
Damn it, this is a crisis of epic proportions.
My words caught in my throat for a moment before I managed to squeeze out a response.
“Well, realistically speaking. There’s still a chance—however slim—that he could be alive.”
「Is that so? Is that truly the case?」
“Ah, yes. Though I must say, that probability is extremely remote….”
「Thank you, Jin!」
“No, General. Commander. Your Excellency. Please wait a moment and let me finish what I was——”
Grab!
I was wrong. Wei Penghu was no longer listening to me. Instead, his eyes glistening with tears, he clasped my hand firmly.
「May I ask one favor?」
I wish he hadn’t asked.
Contrary to my desperate hope, the words I’d anticipated pierced my chest just seconds later.
「If you happen to meet that boy later, would you be able to bring him back to me?」
“….”
「I’m begging you.」
Over his shoulder as he pleaded earnestly, I could see Choi Team Leader shaking his head.
If only I’d answered firmly from the start. I regretted it, but it was already too late.
In the end, there was only one answer I could give.
“I’ll do as you ask. However….”
「Jin.」
“Yes?”
「There’s no need to speak of it. I’ve already made my peace with what must be done.」
“…!”
Wei Penghu wiped his eyes with his sleeve, and in that moment transformed from a middle-aged man fretting over his family’s safety into the Director of National Defense of the Central Military Commission.
「This is enough for me. No one else stepped forward willingly, yet you’ve made me this promise. That alone brings me peace.」
“I can’t guarantee anything.”
「What I needed wasn’t someone’s bold boast. It was a thread of hope.」
As Wei Penghu spoke those quiet words, the aircraft descended toward the ground with a gentle floating sensation.
Beyond the window, shrouded in deep darkness, I could see the jagged contours of mountains, lights flickering ceaselessly, and military vehicles.
「We’ve arrived, it seems.」
I, transfixed by the landscape beyond the window, asked my question.
“Where is this place?”
「A temporary Operations Headquarters.」
“No, that’s not what I meant to ask.”
「Hmm?」
“That mountain. Somehow it feels familiar.”
「That shouldn’t be possible. As far as I know, you’ve never entered the country before… Ah, could you have seen it in photographs?」
“Photographs?”
「It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so that’s certainly plausible.」
Wei Penghu continued with a faint smile.
「Welcome to the temporary Operations Headquarters. You’ve arrived at Cheongseong Mountain.」

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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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