The Academy’s Unrivaled Professor - Chapter 113

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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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Academy Absolute Professor Episode 113
I Am Not an Asset; I Am a Person
Shortly after Kang Hyun disappeared, the Management Bureau’s Special Forces Team descended into what could only be called a wartime state.
The top brass who knew of Black’s existence had been summoned in emergency, and Kim Hyung-seok was tearing at his hair in the situation room.
“Seriously! Every time that bastard causes trouble, why does he never give me a chance to explain what’s happening!”
“Director.”
Lee Se-ah answered.
She too had come in to work after a long absence, breathing the air of the Management Bureau once more.
“If he gave you time, wouldn’t it be a plan rather than an incident?”
“Did those words really just come out of your mouth? You’re the one dedicated to Black!”
Kim Hyung-seok grabbed the back of his neck.
Just like that—snap!
He couldn’t simply reassign her position, either……!
‘If I did that, things would really go south.’
Still, he supposed he should be grateful that at least he’d been given time to mentally prepare before departure.
“Director Kim! Is this really the time for jokes?”
At that moment, a stern voice came from across the situation room table.
It was the First Deputy Director of the Blue House National Security Office.
“The VIP demands immediate confirmation. One of our Hunters has illegally invaded mainland China! Are we trying to sever Korean-Chinese diplomatic relations right now?”
The Deputy Director for Foreign Security of the National Intelligence Service, seated beside him, added with an ashen face.
“The Director of the National Intelligence Service just took blood pressure medication and is on the verge of collapse! An illegal entry via the West Sea, no less—and it’s Black! If discovered, it’s a clear military provocation.”
Under the pressure from the highest levels responsible for national security, Kim Hyung-seok felt an ulcer coming on.
“Team Leader Hwang!”
“Yes, sir!”
“What about the satellite tracking? Have we locked onto Black’s trajectory?”
Special Forces Team Leader Hwang had his nose practically glued to the monitor, his face flushed with strain.
“We haven’t locked on.”
“What?”
“How are we supposed to track a person the size of an ant in real time with a satellite! And they’re moving incredibly fast—we’re just staring intently at the one phone location coordinate this agent gave us.”
The main screen displayed footage relayed from the Defense Space Operations Squadron.
It showed the State Security Bureau Secret Research Institute, located in a mountain range on the outskirts of Chongqing, China.
Every eye in the situation room fixed on that spot.
“Please…… please, just quietly extract the person…….”
Kim Hyung-seok clasped his hands in prayer.
The people from the Blue House and the National Intelligence Service also swallowed dryly, glaring at the screen.
Then it happened.
Flash!
The satellite image on screen flashed brilliantly white for an instant.
“Huh?”
“What!”
When the screen regained its proper color moments later, everyone had to doubt their own eyes.
A pillar of light shot up from where the building had been, and a mushroom cloud bloomed in its wake.
“……Insane, did a missile just drop there?”
“Surely…… Black didn’t do that, did they?”
“No matter how strong Black is, such destructive force couldn’t possibly come from a person’s hands!”
Someone tried to deny it, but the same question soon flickered through everyone’s mind.
‘Could it be? Could Black really do something like that?’
Come to think of it, they’d defeated Leviathan and disposed of the monster that brought down the Paris Academy building.
And even Ariana Ashford, despite being human, had immolated a Demon Human without flinching.
“……It’s all over.”
Kim Hyung-seok muttered with a vacant expression.
If it ended at just severance of Korean-Chinese diplomatic relations, he’d be lucky.
If mishandled, this could spark a world war—an unprecedented catastrophe.
“D-Director! Please don’t worry too much! Kang Hyun wore a disguise before leaving!”
“A disguise?”
“Yes, a mask and a cap pulled low. And I heard they can speak Chinese like a local native.”
“This agent…….”
The light had already drained from Kim Hyung-seok’s eyes.
“What good is a mask when the building’s reduced to rubble…….”
Kim Hyung-seok covered his face with both hands.
A long, agonizing stretch of time passed.
They waited for word from the National Intelligence Service’s human intelligence channels, or for China’s position to crystallize.
How much time had elapsed this way?
Buzz, buzz-buzz!
Lee Se-ah’s pocket vibrated. The caller was Kang Hyun.
“Director, sir! It’s Black!”
“Put it on speaker right now!”
Gulp.
Lee Se-ah swallowed hard and hit the answer button.
– Chick.
Black’s voice came through the speaker in that familiar, detached tone, though it carried an odd note of exhaustion.
“Kang Hyun! What on earth have you done? We saw a pillar of light shoot up on satellite! Was that—did you actually—?”
– Yeah, it happened that way.
At Kang Hyun’s reply, Kim Hyung-seok grabbed the communication microphone urgently.
“Professor Kang! How did this happen? You really did blow up that building?”
– There was a Demon Human.
Kang Hyun explained the situation methodically.
Brief, but hitting all the essential points.
As the account unfolded, the atmosphere in the situation room shifted to alarm.
“So you’re telling me this Chinese State Security Bureau vice-director was actually a Demon Human, and they were running a project to kidnap children across China and create some kind of Thousand-Kill Demon Human bioweapon? And you had no choice but to destroy the research facility to dispose of the ritual site and the deadly toxin?”
– Yes, please don’t worry too much. They have no way of knowing my identity, so staying silent will work fine. I’ve already returned to South Korea.
“Hah.”
Kim Hyung-seok exhaled deeply.
“…You said there was someone on the Chinese side you’d be bringing back, didn’t you?”
– A girl named Dang So-yu. She’s still in China for now, but if she does make it to South Korea, I’d appreciate it if the Management Bureau could keep a close eye on her.
“What? She’s just going to make it over on her own? Why didn’t you bring her with you—”
– You want me to carry another person across the West Sea? Don’t say strange things. Besides, I pushed myself pretty hard, and I’m quite tired now. I need some sleep.
“Wait, Professor Kang? Professor Kang!”
Click.
The line went dead.
The Deputy Director of the National Security Office wiped cold sweat from his brow.
“Good heavens, if Black really did this—”
“There won’t be any problems.”
Kim Hyung-seok leaned back deeply in his chair and continued.
“Or rather, problems will become no-problems.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Do you think the Chinese government can officially lodge a complaint over this matter? To announce that a Korean Hunter destroyed our secret facility, they’d first have to expose to the entire world what was going on inside that facility.”
“…Ah.”
“Demon Human or not, if word got out that they conducted human experimentation? The Communist regime itself could be shaken. I doubt the world would believe it was the Demon Human’s doing anyway, the moment they made any statement.”
“True, their image is already what it is.”
“Black has actually handed us a diplomatic weapon. We know the truth about that Thousand-Kill Demon Human project.”
“Hm, I suppose you could look at it that way.”
The leadership shared a hollow laugh.
Black was always like this.
Every time he made their hearts sink, yet in the end he’d never once harmed South Korea’s security.
“Agent.”
“Yes, Director.”
“Open up a VIP code with the Ministry of Justice and Immigration Service. When a Chinese national named Dang So-yu applies for entry, have them fast-track her as a VIP guest—full diplomatic courtesy.”
“Understood, sir!”
Kim Hyung-seok felt some of the tension ease from his shoulders as he continued.
“…And get a good bottle of liquor for Black out of the Management Bureau budget. Have it delivered to him.”
“Excellent idea, sir!”
Lee Se-ah found herself growing more and more exasperated with how they kept fussing over Black.

* * *
Chongqing, China.
Six people sat facing each other in a makeshift joint investigation room.
On one side: Dang So-yu and her parents.
Across from them: Inspection Director Liu Chen, the chief of the central joint investigation team, and an S-Class Hunter standing as bodyguard.
Three victims and three representatives of the Chinese government.
Tension hung thick in the interrogation room.
“First.”
The team leader, dispatched with temporary authority delegated from the State Council and State Security Bureau, broke the silence.
“The government regards the ordeal that Dang So-yu and her family have suffered with deep regret.”
His tone was courteous, but his demeanor was oppressive.
A trait typical of Chinese bureaucrats.
“However, the danger inherent in Dang So-yu’s constitution has not disappeared. She claims she can control it now, but the Formless Toxic is a biochemical weapon-grade hazard that could potentially claim tens of thousands of lives.”
Dang So-yu’s eyes narrowed.
“And?”
“We will shut down the existing inhumane research facilities entirely. In exchange, the central government will provide you with a top-tier protected facility under direct management. Family visits will be permitted, of course, and any conveniences you desire——”
“That’s revolting.”
The team leader’s brow furrowed at Dang So-yu’s blunt response.
“What did you just say?”
“I’ve spent my entire life in what you call a protected facility. Do you have any idea how sickening that word is?”
She fixed the team leader with an unwavering gaze.
“You imprisoned me in the name of protection. You extracted poison from my body in the name of treatment. You stole my life in the name of the nation. And now you want me to walk back into a facility? I can’t go abroad?”
“Dang So-yu. That was done by the Demon Human.”
“Didn’t you just say moments ago that you regret it? Was that a lie?”
In truth, the Chinese government was reluctant to let her leave the country.
She knew far too many state secrets.
“……Team Leader.”
Liu Chen, seated beside her, interjected.
“May I borrow your ear for a moment?”
Liu Chen leaned close and whispered into the team leader’s ear.
“Didn’t I report this earlier? Don’t provoke her. Behind that girl stands a monster capable of vaporizing an entire building with a sword stroke. This isn’t the time to be greedy.”
“Ahem.”
The team leader was at his wit’s end.
‘It’s awkward to detain her, and if we let her go, we lose control.’
What in heaven’s name was he supposed to do?
“……Very well. So where would you like to go?”
A smile bloomed at the corners of Dang So-yu’s mouth.
She delivered a response she had prepared in advance to conceal her true intentions.
“There are several candidates. Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom…… and South Korea.”
“Which of these is your most desired destination?”
“South Korea.”
“Do you have a particular reason?”
“I’d like to continue an academic exchange with a Student I met at the Paris competition exchange not long ago. And……”
Dang So-yu added, her cheeks flushing slightly.
“I’ve seen so many Korean dramas that I’ve always wanted to visit.”
The team leader and Liu Chen exchanged glances of sheer disbelief.
This strategic national asset was proposing to cross borders for the sake of television dramas?
“……You’re not saying you’d naturalize as a Korean citizen, are you?”
At the team leader’s sharp question, Dang So-yu shook her head.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“My parents have lived their entire lives in China. I have no intention of forcing them to naturalize in a foreign land, nor do I wish to deny my own roots.”
Dang So-yu’s voice grew firm.
“I’m not trying to betray China. I simply want China to stop treating me as an asset. I’m a person, not property.”
The team leader’s gaze softened slightly.
“Tell the government what you want. We’ll listen again.”
The moment the initiative shifted to her side, Dang So-yu laid out her prepared demands.
“Remove me from the State Security Bureau’s roster. Issue normal passports for me and my parents, and lift the travel ban. Grant my parents and me permission for extended overseas residence, and promise in writing that you will not exercise forced repatriation orders under any circumstances.”
“That’s……”
“In exchange.”
When the team leader hesitated, Dang So-yu drove home her point.
“So long as my freedom is guaranteed, my parents and I will remain silent forever about the horrors that occurred in the underground research facility with the Demon Humans.”
Silence fell.
The team leader sensed his opponent was formidable.
The fact that she already understood what the authorities truly feared made that clear.
“How are we to trust that?”
“Isn’t China the world’s greatest Hunter nation?”
“Yes.”
If word got out, they could come for her then.
The team leader deliberated, then nodded slowly.
“Very well. I’ll approve it.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll process it as long-term overseas medical treatment and martial medicine exchange.”
“Understood.”
Dang So-yu rose from her seat and bowed her head.
In that same moment, a thought bloomed within her.
‘Master.’
Her heart felt suddenly light.
‘I passed the second test! I’ll be coming to see you soon!’
And then.
‘Baek Yu-yeon.’
My first real friend in all my life!
‘I can finally talk to you freely now!’
Without surveillance! Unrestricted! All night long if we want!

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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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