The 7th-Run Regressor Collects Calamities - Chapter 37

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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 37. Lim Jae-hyeok (1)
[The man who refused one hundred billion dollars.]
Song Ji-hu lay deep in the living room sofa, scrolling lightly through his phone screen.
The front pages of major media outlets around the world were plastered with his face and sensational headlines.
“You’ve certainly made quite a stir.”
Even though a full day had passed, Song Ji-hu laughed at the articles about Rick Wesley that continued to be endlessly reproduced.
[USAA’s 13 Trillion Won Offer Rejected by Korea’s C-Rank Hunter.]
[Hunter Song Ji-hu’s “Conviction Comes First” Statement Shocks America.]
[Mental Corruption Healing—The Beginning of a New Global Power Structure?]
ㄴ They’re offering 13 trillion won, so if they said go to America, I’d seriously swim across the Pacific right now
ㄴ This guy’s insane, what kind of brain structure does a person who refuses 13 trillion won have
ㄴ Hey, read the article properly. He says his convictions come before money. It’s so romantic I can’t even
ㄴ So how much does mental corruption healing cost exactly?
“Conviction… it’s not a wrong word.”
Only the direction of that conviction differed from what the public imagined.
‘Besides, money will roll in of its own accord without me having to scrape and claw for it.’
Even before the mana concentration phenomenon began in earnest, the land prices around the Zero Point Guild site had already quintupled from their purchase value.
When the mana concentration phenomenon fully manifested in a few months, that value would skyrocket so high that a fivefold increase would seem laughable.
And if the mental corruption treatment fees came in on top of that, he might have to add another two or three zeros to the figure.
Hundreds of billions, trillions in assets waiting to be seized while sitting still.
But none of it mattered. If he couldn’t dispose of the Lord of the Abyss, that money would be nothing but scraps of paper.
And gathering money now, securing information and people—it was all for that one single purpose.
“Mmgh….”
Song Ji-hu slowly pushed himself up. His shoulders felt heavy, but his head was clear thanks to a good night’s sleep.
[Name: Song Ji-hu]
[Level: 12]
[Classification: Mental Type (-)]
[Skill 1: Mental Detection – C-Rank] – 59.5%
[Skill 2: Mental Barrier – C-Rank] – 75.7%
[Skill 3: Residual Thought – C-Rank] – 48.9%
[Skill 4: Thought Projection – C-Rank] – 63.3%
[Skill 5: Mental Dive – EX-Rank]
[Skill 6: Mental Link – C-Rank] – 59.9%
Level 12. His leveling speed was certainly rapid, probably from tackling dungeons above his rank.
‘The skill proficiency has risen quite a bit too.’
To an ordinary person, his growth rate would have seemed abnormal, but for Song Ji-hu, it was a soul worn and weathered from six previous lives that was now stretching its stride wider to match the vessel of his body.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn brass compass. Then he drew out the black cloth he’d received as a dungeon reward.
The compass—that item which had trembled finely with longing—trembled faintly in his hand even now, as if demanding he give it to him.
Song Ji-hu set the compass on the table and brought a piece of cloth close beside it.
Whoooong—!
The compass began to cry out greedily, as if it had found food.
“Why do you want this….”
Song Ji-hu brought the Gardener’s Fragment close to the compass.
Whoosh—
The Gardener’s Fragment was sucked into the compass’s surface.
The brass surface of the compass turned dark red for an instant, then returned to its original color.
And a new marking appeared on the compass.
[Tracking Target]
ㄴ The Gardener (NEW)
This meant that from now on, he could track the Gardener’s location through this compass.
‘If that’s the case….’
Song Ji-hu’s eyes hardened.
If this compass wasn’t merely a conduit for Mental Dive, but a tool capable of tracking all those under the Lord of the Abyss….
That meant it was the kind of card he had never held in his hand during his six previous lives.
“How interesting.”
It felt as if the entire universe was telling him to finish things properly in this life.
Song Ji-hu organized his items and then sorted through his remaining schedule.
Ollie Barkley’s second treatment, Lim Jae-hyeok’s recovery and recruitment, building the guild office.
There was a mountain of work ahead.
***
Late afternoon.
Knock, knock, knock—
Yoon Young-soo burst into the living room with an urgent rap on the door.
His normally crisp suit was wrinkled, beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his breathing came in ragged gasps.
“Guild Master!”
Yoon Young-soo’s hands trembled visibly.
“What’s happened?”
“Just now, the White House requested a direct video call connection.”
Eun Seo-jin, who had been maintaining his sword across the sofa, stopped and tilted his head curiously.
Song Ji-hu, meanwhile, lifted the corner of his mouth slightly—a reaction so utterly composed it seemed to say, inevitably, he’d come.
“Is that so? Connect it.”
Yoon Young-soo opened a notebook with trembling hands and pulled up a video call window. A notice on the screen indicated the connection would begin in five minutes.
“The White House calling directly….”
Whatever the cause of his anxiety, Yoon Young-soo paced the living room endlessly until the screen changed.
– The Awakened Strategy Advisor will be connected shortly. Please stand by.
A calm English voice flowed from the laptop’s speaker.
“The Awakened Strategy Advisor….”
Yoon Young-soo collapsed onto the sofa. The sound of him swallowing hard echoed loudly.
“Is it a high position?”
At Eun Seo-jin’s question, Yoon Young-soo looked at him as if wondering whether he truly didn’t know.
“Beyond what you’d imagine. If the traditional National Security Advisor handles America’s military and diplomatic domains, this position involves itself in every single aspect related to American hunters. Think of it that way.”
A position that shared the Oval Office with the NSA, that spoke one-on-one with the American president, and wielded direct control over hunter-related policy.
“That kind of person… contacting the Guild Master directly….”
Eun Seo-jin’s observation hung in the air, and Yoon Young-soo nodded.
“It’s sending a message. That they’re viewing him not as a mere allied nation’s hunter, but as a phenomenon—a strategic asset.”
Yoon Young-soo’s shirt back dampened with cold sweat.
‘How am I supposed to report this….’
This was a type of pressure the Hunter Association could never generate. Worse, he had no idea how to report this to Park Jung-ho.
Beep—
With the signal tone, the upper half of a middle-aged man appeared on screen.
Late fifties, short, neatly groomed hair salt-and-pepper gray.
‘Anthony Rice.’
Deep, cold eyes. He wore a crisp suit, but his bearing was closer to that of a soldier.
Yet Anthony Rice was one of America’s most seasoned cards.
– Mr. Song. It’s an honor. I’m Anthony Rice, Awakened Strategy Advisor.
The Awakened Strategy Advisor spoke. His English was measured and courteous.
“The honor is mine.”
– I’ll be direct. The ten billion dollars you declined was part of America’s security budget. I wanted to verify with my own eyes whether your refusal stems from youthful, headstrong pride, or whether you’re playing a board we haven’t yet seen.
This was the White House directly testing and evaluating what kind of man Song Ji-hu was.
– I can issue full U.S. citizenship to you and your entire team right now. Guild operations funding comes as a blank check—unlimited support. Security assurance falls directly under the President’s personal authority. This is the official second proposal the American government extends to you.
The air in the living room grew heavy and cold, yet Song Ji-hu’s expression showed no change whatsoever.
“I’ll remain in Korea.”
A single, very short sentence—offering no embellishment or room for negotiation.
“Hah—!”
At that answer, Yoon Young-soo drew in a sharp breath, his eyelids clamping shut. A man from the innermost circles of the White House had just extended national-level sponsorship, and Song Ji-hu had rejected it without even a second of hesitation.
Eun Seo-jin, by contrast, gave a faint nod as if he’d expected exactly that.
– …….
The advisor on screen fell silent, his gaze piercing through the monitor straight into Song Ji-hu’s eyes.
And then, a deep smile spread across his firmly closed lips.
– Just as I thought. Exactly as I suspected.
Yoon Young-soo’s eyes snapped open, his pupils shaking violently.
Anthony Rice on the monitor was actually laughing. A smile close to satisfaction.
‘What on earth…?’
Yoon Young-soo could not follow the thread of this conversation at all.
– We simply wanted to see how a man worth more than ten billion dollars would refuse. That’s all we wanted to know.
The corner of Song Ji-hu’s mouth curved upward in a slant.
“The reason is what you’ve already guessed it to be.”
Unless America were fools, they would have already anticipated Song Ji-hu’s refusal through Rick Wesley’s report.
– So it’s we who’ve been completely read, then.
What America had wanted to see was how Song Ji-hu would refuse.
In other words, it was a test to determine whether he could be bought, whether he could be swayed politically, or whether he was the kind of man who moved by his own convictions and principles alone.
Of course, Song Ji-hu was reading every layer of it.
– Thank you for taking the time. Let me offer you one last piece of information as a parting gift.
Just before ending the call, the chief of staff dangled the bait.
– The Japanese Yakumo Guild will be visiting Korea soon. They’re not as civilized as we are, so things will get rather complicated for you.
Anthony Rice’s eyes narrowed to slits.
“Ah, no problem. I’ve dealt with plenty of mad dogs before.”
– Heh… In any case, if you were to make appropriate use of USAA’s channels, the situation could unfold quite differently. Good luck, Mr. Song.
With a click, the screen went black.
But no one spoke.
Zing—zing—
Yun Young-su’s phone broke the silence with a notification chime.
[Breaking: Official announcement of Japanese Yakumo Guild chief’s visit to Korea. Emergency meeting with Korean Association scheduled.]
“It seems the Japanese Yakumo Guild will be visiting.”
“So Matsumoto Leo will be coming as well….”
The corners of Song Ji-hu’s mouth rose.
‘He’ll be itching with anticipation.’
In the past, Matsumoto Leo, Japan’s puppet master, had always waited until the last moment to reveal his hand.
He was the kind who emerged playing the savior only when Korea’s defensive lines began to crumble and the hunter society was drowning in blood.
Of course, while he wore the mask of savior on the surface, behind the scenes he picked the Korean hunter industry clean like a vulture.
‘But if I can bring him into our camp, he’d certainly be useful.’
And he certainly had the leverage to keep him on a leash.
Moreover, Anthony Rice’s final words were not kind advice. It was a card America had dealt.
‘If you want to negotiate with Yakumo from a position of strength, use USAA.’
Using USAA would create a debt to America. That debt would become yet another leverage card for America. A picture where America checks Yakumo’s ambitions while suffering no losses themselves.
‘This is a card I’ve already decided to use. I should use it properly.’
Song Ji-hu intended to wield the USAA card judiciously.
After all, even if they mistakenly believed they held the leash, the real leash—the longest one—remained firmly in his own hands.
A 7th Return Regressor Collects Calamities
Author
: Song Tan
Production Date
: July 13, 2026
Publisher
: ACESMEDIA Co., Ltd.
Editor
: ACESMEDIA Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by ACESMEDIA Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder.
No part of this work may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
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UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260709064

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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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