Murim Login - Chapter 427

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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 427
It was a December winter night when snow fell in thick, relentless sheets.
People hurrying through the streets, trusting the weather forecast that promised clearer skies than usual, were bewildered, and the meteorological agency was thrown into chaos.
“What is this? What’s the problem?”
“We’re analyzing it. This shouldn’t be happening.”
“Snow the size of hail is pouring down—don’t give me that nonsense. Bring me the data. You should have real-time observation reports!”
“W-we’re checking now… Ah, it appears an anomaly has occurred due to a mana surge in the Sichuan Province region of China. The predicted snowfall is enormous.”
“Sichuan? Damn it. Is that Arch Lich bastard controlling the weather now?”
The meteorological agency had been issuing weather forecasts approaching prophecy by incorporating various forms of magic since the Great Cataclysm.
An hour after hastily resuming observations, the agency issued a heavy snow advisory across the nation. Their conclusion was that a record-breaking blizzard would strike for the first time in approximately thirty years.
But people hurrying toward their homes soon found themselves forced to stop.
A bustling district like any other. It was a single statement flowing from the massive screen installed at its center that halted them.
– On a day such as this, I am honored and deeply moved to bring you this news.
The figure appearing on the screen was an elderly East Asian man.
Behind him sat leaders of various nations belonging to the UN Security Council, and the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, with reddened eyes and a trembling voice, parted his lips toward numerous microphones.
– The Arch Lich has been annihilated. We have… achieved victory.
Victory.
That single word sufficed. Approximately one month. Precisely thirty-four days of an unprecedented monster wave.
At the news that the great war, which had shaken the world beyond Sichuan Province, had come to an end, people stood dumbfounded with gaping mouths, then erupted in thunderous cheers.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Wait! Wait a moment. I didn’t hear that. What did he just say?”
“…it’s gone!”
“What?”
“Look at the subtitles! Look at the subtitles!”
“Arch Lich annihilated… really? Really?! Damn it! I thought I was being dragged into the reserves!”
Neither Chairman Xiao Yang’s thirty-minute address nor the subsequent additional explanation from the UN Security Council spokesperson who took the microphone reached their ears.
With the Arch Lich’s annihilation, the vast Undead Legion had also lost its power and been utterly destroyed, and at last, the peace everyone had yearned for had arrived.
“Mom, it’s me. Hey. Did you see the news? You didn’t? Watch it quick. Yeah, yeah!”
“This won’t do. Driver Kim, let’s go for round three!”
“Round three? Tomorrow’s the server update day. Manager No will throw a fit.”
“Manager No’s coming too. He’s bringing his corporate card.”
“Ugh, I hate seeing that guy’s face. Fine. Let’s go then.”
“Unity. Yes, Battalion Commander. I’m Captain Lee Jun-beom. I was hoping to extend my leave just one more day… No, I’m sorry.”
People who had been going about their business, deliberately ignoring their anxiety, rushed to bars with cheers, while those who had remained indoors anticipating a second Great Cataclysm poured into the streets to join the festive atmosphere.
Even past midnight, the cheers did not subside.
The next day, and the day after that as well….
The entire world boiled like a cauldron over hot coals at this momentous victory, and each day poured forth new articles in the languages of every nation.
So much so that people said there were more news reports and articles about this victory than the blizzard that had fallen on Korea for four consecutive days.
And… there was one name that appeared without fail in every single one of these articles.
[New York Times, United States: ‘A Great Victory, A New Hero.’]
[The Times of Britain, “The Rising Star of the East. A Connection with Prince Felix?”]
[Asahi Shimbun of Japan, “Jin Tae-kyung is Asia’s pride. But Japan’s top-tier Hunters could surpass him!”]
[People’s Daily of China, “Korea’s young chivalrous hero who saved countless citizens. And the tragic death of Wu Hei-xing, a genius born of China.”]
[China Youth News, “Jin Tae-kyung is a descendant of General Chen Lin of the Ming Dynasty. Chinese blood undoubtedly flows through him, so he will surely naturalize soon.”]
[Korea’s Goryeo Ilbo, “Ares Branch Guild Master, Lee Jung-yong Hunter (68 years old). Death presumed….”]
[Korea Das Patch Official, “We conducted an all-out investigation into Jin Tae-kyung several months ago but couldn’t uncover anything. His romantic relationships were remarkably clean.” When a Reporter asked if he had many relationships but ended them cleanly, he dismissed it: “No. That’s not it—he’s been single his whole life.” ]
To the various media outlets, Jin Tae-kyung’s existence was nothing short of a Christmas gift.
All spotlights converged upon him, and countless stories about him flooded the airwaves.
The material was inexhaustible. Needless to say, everything related to this Monster Wave, which had been dubbed the “Winter War,” became news, as did his past deeds in rising to his current position and even trivial details of his private life.
Sensationalist articles that would normally have drawn curses of “tabloid trash” also captured interest.
The world’s attention was so thoroughly fixed upon this new hero who had led the way to this magnificent victory.
Yet not all of that attention was positive.
Information that had slowly leaked from ironclad internal security gave rise to those who questioned the narrative.
[Four days after the war’s end. That day, what lay hidden behind the facade of this great victory? The mysteries surrounding Jin Tae-kyung.]
[Lee Jung-yong presumed dead. Wu Hei-xing’s suspicious demise. The deaths of two S-rank Hunters and the rise of a new hero.]
[Secret testimony from Allied Forces command present at the scene: “For a battle described as fierce, Jin Tae-kyung’s body showed remarkably few wounds when discovered. We are investigating whether potions were used. If he regains consciousness, all circumstances will become clear.”]
Though only a tiny minority, conspiracy theories began to surface, and the internet erupted into fierce debate.
Such sensationalist articles could not withstand the barrage of malicious comments and reports, disappearing quickly, yet they had planted seeds of doubt in certain minds. Finally, public attention converged on a single question.
Jin Tae-kyung.
When exactly would he make his appearance?
* * *
Beep. Beep.
State-of-the-art medical equipment emitted its mechanical sounds.
Those gathered in the hospital room—accessible only to a select few—gazed with concern at Jin Tae-kyung, who lay motionless with an oxygen mask affixed to his face.
“How is Jin’s condition?”
At Chairman Xiao Yang’s question, Choi Min-woo replied.
“It remains unchanged. Everything is perfectly normal, yet he simply refuses to regain consciousness, they say.”
“Both of them said the same thing?”
“Yes. They say the cause is unknown.”
“Hmm. Then it must be certain… but why won’t he regain consciousness?”
Chairman Xiao Yang exhaled a long sigh.
The two people he had just mentioned were among the finest in the field of treatment.
One was a private physician known as the reincarnation of Hua Tuo, and the other was a top-tier Healer counted among the world’s best.
If these two, whom he had summoned as Jin Tae-kyung’s temporary physicians, said such a thing, it had to be true.
“I heard his family has come to visit.”
“We at the Peace Guild are caring for them well. Fortunately, they are finding stability.”
“I see. Would it be possible to meet them, even briefly?”
“I will ask, but the family’s wishes are of paramount importance… ”
“I understand. When blood relatives cannot regain consciousness, who could blame them? Please think of it as merely the foolishness of an old man.”
“Not at all, Chairman. I am grateful that you think of us in such a way.”
「Please, don’t mention it. If it weren’t for Jin, a far greater catastrophe would have befallen us. Though I’m an old man with little time left, I’ll carry this gratitude to my grave.」
Chairman Xiao Yang’s words rang with sincerity.
Four days had passed since that fateful night, and in the interim, an investigative team comprising countless experts from across the globe had meticulously combed through the city that had served as the Arch Lich’s stronghold, uncovering traces of the Gate’s emergence.
And when coupled with the staggering residual magical energy, the estimated scale of the Gate they reconstructed was nothing short of catastrophic.
「Had Jin not stopped the Arch Lich that day, not only would our nation have become a war zone, but all of Asia—perhaps even the entire world—would have been consumed by it.」
「Entirely plausible, I’d say.」
Though there was some exaggeration, most of it held truth.
So Choi Min-woo didn’t bother denying it and simply nodded in acknowledgment.
After all, the praise wasn’t directed at himself, so there was no shame in accepting it, nor did he feel compelled to diminish the gratitude of a leader governing a nation of over a billion people.
The debt of the heart owed by another always returns as a greater gift.
「But Chairman, I’ve been hearing some rather troubling rumors about Jin Tae-kyung lately. Are you aware of them?」
「Are they internal matters, or external ones?」
「Internal. More precisely, from the Communist Party’s upper echelon—or rather, the Crown Prince Faction, to be exact.」
Chairman Xiao Yang nodded.
「I’m fully aware of those matters.」
It concerned the death of Wu Hei-xing.
His corpse, discovered by the investigative team, had been severely mutilated, and conspiracy theories surrounding it were gradually spreading both within and outside official channels.
「Some suspect Jin Tae-kyung. There was a minor altercation during the initial meeting with Wu Hei-xing, and when Jin Tae-kyung was first discovered, he bore virtually no injuries.」
Opinions on this negative speculation split into two camps.
First, that Jin Tae-kyung, who harbored ill feelings toward Wu Hei-xing, had killed him and then disguised it as the Arch Lich’s doing.
Second, that Jin Tae-kyung, together with Lee Jung-yong—who was presumed missing or dead—had used Wu Hei-xing as a shield, seizing the opportunity to eliminate the Arch Lich.
Chairman Xiao Yang was aware of these theories as well, and had already reached his own conclusion.
The elderly statesman spoke to Choi Min-woo with unwavering conviction.
「Baseless slander and conspiracy theories, nothing more.」
「I appreciate your faith, but…」
His response was favorable, yet it wasn’t enough.
Choi Min-woo continued slowly.
「The leader of the Crown Prince Faction seems to hold a different view than you, Chairman.」
Though it was a conspiracy theory even domestic critics dismissed as embarrassing to the nation, to a father who had lost his son, it carried the weight of plausibility.
Wu Hei-xing’s father was the supreme leader of the Crown Prince Faction, which controlled half of the Chinese Communist Party.
This political heavyweight, comparable to the Chairman himself, had begun actively spreading rumors and had even assembled an independent investigative team to dig deeper.
「Once Jin Tae-kyung regains consciousness, the truth will come to light. But for a high-ranking politician to spearhead the dissemination of such absurd conspiracy theories…」
Choi Min-woo’s words trailed off, and Chairman Xiao Yang smiled faintly.
‘Quite bold.’
No matter how great his achievements, this young man had lived a different life and occupied a different position than himself.
Yet the youth before him was actively expressing his intentions with careful modulation of tone and pace.
‘So that rumor was true after all.’
As Chairman Xiao Yang recalled Choi Min-woo’s personal background, he tapped the armrest of his chair.
「Very well. It seems my explanation was insufficient. Allow me to elaborate.」
「I’m listening.」
“My comrades and I are already aware of everything concerning him, and we have made all necessary preparations.”
“All necessary preparations, you say…?”
“Before he can appeal his son’s death, he will face trial.”
The Arch Lich was not the only casualty in this war.
Astronomical sums of corruption and embezzlement had been exposed, and to contain it, the Crown Prince Faction would need to uproot itself entirely.
Choi Min-woo finally allowed a serene smile to grace his lips.
“Does that answer your question?”
“Sufficiently.”
Today’s conversation had served its purpose.
Moments later, after Chairman Xiao Yang exchanged a few final words and departed, Choi Min-woo—now alone—suddenly spoke aloud.
“So that’s how it is.”
And someone’s eyes snapped open.
“Phew, damn. I thought I’d suffocate from the tension.”

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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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