The Crazy Villain Regains His Sanity - Chapter 53

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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 53

The President wouldn’t speak like that without reason. And there was a name that flickered through my mind.
The fact that I remembered it meant it was someone who deserved to die. Someone who actually had died by my hand.
Was that when I started running wild?

“Is the Awakened One coming from China named Zhang Zidong?”
“That’s right, Zhang Zidong. Do you know of him?”
“I’ve only heard the name in passing.”

Just as I suspected. Zhang Zidong was someone I could kill without hesitation. That bastard had given me trouble even in my previous life.
The President assumed I didn’t know the detailed circumstances, so he continued his explanation.

“A young Awakened One recognized by China two years ago. He’s thirty-seven years old, the youngest among China’s Awakened Ones, with abundant practical experience and excellent leadership. I hear he’s coming as the representative of the Chinese delegation this time.”

China currently possessed seven Awakened Ones, making it the nation with the second-highest number in the world. Zhang Zidong was China’s youngest Awakened One and the person in charge of the Northeast region.
In terms of sheer numbers, China had three more Awakened Ones than South Korea, but Chinese territory was vast and there was much to defend. They were struggling continuously against monsters pouring in from all directions day after day.
Zhang Zidong had emerged as an exceptional Awakened One in that chaos, and China’s government held great expectations for him. But there was a significant problem with him.

“Zhang Zidong harbors an excessive Chinese Supremacy Ideology. He’s openly advocating that North Korean territory should be swallowed up.”

North Korea had been unable to respond properly after monsters appeared and had vanished. More than ten million people died from the monsters at that time. Two-thirds of the survivors fled to South Korea, and the remaining third crossed into China.
This naturally gave South Korea authority over North Korean territory, and China was the only nation to object to this. Japan and Russia were watching carefully, while the United States recognized South Korea’s rights.
But in circumstances where even one’s own territory was difficult to defend against the monster catastrophe, South Korea barely managed to hold on, using Gaeseong and several northern cities in Gangwon Province as strongholds.
China couldn’t even muster the courage to reach the vicinity of the Yalu River, much less cross it.
And then Zhang Zidong emerged, pushing forward an aggressive Chinese Supremacy Ideology and making the government uneasy.

“That’s not all. Unofficially, Zhang Zidong is working to drive even more monsters into North Korean territory so that we can’t recover it. Since China doesn’t have enough power right now, he’s trying to make sure we can’t recover either.”
“An efficient method.”
“For us, it’s a nightmare.”

The government had lodged protests, but China maintained plausible deniability.
Is this what they call the Scorched Earth Two-Front Strategy? Like in my previous life, this life too had given me reason to kill him.
I had history with Zhang Zidong from when I was a Blood Demon.
It was connected to Cheon Myeong-guk as well—when I was a Blood Demon, we achieved the Grand Compromise and government Hunters and guild Hunters joined forces to push me northward.
At that time, South Korea had advanced as far as Pyongyang, and as I fled north to evade pursuit, China lay in my path. But before I could cross the border, Zhang Zidong appeared.
He dumped a horde of monsters on me as a “gift” and fled.
Already exhausted from the relentless chase, I suffered considerably from the monster assault.
After that, I tried to break his neck, but the bastard was slippery as a ghost—it took work to catch and kill him. The Gift I obtained from killing Zhang Zidong was Teleportation.
In this life, that bitter history was repeating itself.
But in my previous life, Zhang Zidong never left the Northeast Three Provinces before dying by my hand.
For someone who should be hunting monsters up north to be coming here—it must be because of me.
As if reading my thoughts, Cheon Myeong-guk spoke.

“Zhang Zidong is coming after you, Awakened One Choi Jun-ho.”
“After me? Why?”
“If you grow further, South Korea’s Awakened One forces will strengthen and aid in reclaiming our territory, which Zhang Zidong would view as a threat to Chinese security. If he comes, there’s a high probability he’ll request a duel in the Exchange Match.”

Ah, so that’s it.
So it’s not just that he’s dangerous to the country and I’m being asked to kill him—he’s coming to kill me from the start?
Wondering if I’d misunderstood, I asked for clarification.

“Zhang Zidong is coming specifically to kill me?”
“That’s correct.”

Did I really look that easy to kill?
The feeling wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, it was rather good. The fact that he looked down on me was proof that I’d been living peacefully. I’d stirred up a few incidents over the years, but they were the kind ordinary people could make sense of.
I could kill Zhang Zidong with genuine satisfaction.

“Awakened One Choi Jun-ho, can you kill Zhang Zidong? If elimination is difficult, even severe injury would be fine.”

An Awakened One attacks, and he wants me to leave him with merely severe injuries? That’s actually the harder request.
The moment I heard Zhang Zidong’s name, his fate was already sealed.

“That day, I’ll make sure I can’t control my strength.”
“Good. I trust you. Is there anything you want?”
“A meal prepared by the First Lady?”
“I’ll have her prepare something lavish!”
“Mr. President, if you do that, you might get fired…….”
“Hmph. Something lavish, but not quite enough to get me fired.”
“Understood.”

I’d promised Zhang Zidong an “unfortunate accident.”

* * *

Among the foreign delegations, the United States was scheduled to visit first.
After the United States came China and Japan, then the European Union, followed by delegations from Southeast Asia and Mexico, Australia, then South American nations, and finally South Africa.
It was essentially a tour of every nation with the means to send a delegation.
The interest in the Nuri Hunting process was far greater than I’d anticipated.
Among these, the countries that would include Awakened Ones and hold Exchange Matches were the United States and China.
The United States would likely conduct things in a genteel atmosphere, but China seemed as though it would be quite rough.
Before the delegation arrived, I spent my days as an Awakened One. During that time, I accepted an invitation from Go Myeong-hak to give another special lecture.
But something strange happened.

“What did he eat the wrong way?”

Ma Hwang-gi and Yu Mi-sun were still defiant, but Yang Ju-hyeok was strangely docile. He didn’t resist even when I treated him roughly, and he accepted it readily even when I needled him.
The kid used to kick and thrash like an unbroke colt—had something changed? There’s a certain satisfaction in having them struggle and defy you. In my previous life, he’d committed every kind of reckless atrocity before the Howol Guild stopped protecting him and he became a Villain. Was redemption really that simple?
I felt a twinge of regret that maybe I’d hit too hard during that first lecture.
When it came to reactions, no one could match Yun-hee. The screams just keep getting bigger the more you tease her. Once I get home, I’ll have to corner Yun-hee and really wind her up.
While giving special lectures, I also visited the Shinseong Guild and taught Heartwalker the processing technique, and I was quite surprised by her compliant attitude. Even accounting for my previous life, I’d never seen her like this.

How had she managed it? I found myself impressed by Lee Se-hee’s training abilities.
During this time, I also met with a charitable organization. The meeting with the director, who’d devoted his entire life to serving the less fortunate, was profoundly moving.
We were different kinds of beings entirely. I experienced humility for the first time. When I offered a donation amount, he even said it was too generous and asked me to reduce it—that shock was substantial.
Even I, who have no greed for money, don’t refuse large sums. It was a series of surprises.
Then, one day before the American delegation’s visit, Berserker suddenly flooded me with messages.

Berserker—Looks like you’re the only one having fun.
Berserker—[Photo attached][Photo attached][Photo attached][Photo attached][Photo attached]
Berserker—I’m out here hunting monsters since I can’t do what you do.
Berserker—If I bring these in, shouldn’t they fetch a decent price?
Berserker—We’re partners, after all.
Berserker—I need to raise funds to buy decent weapons.
Berserker—That way I can actually stand a chance against you.
Berserker—I’m out here traveling the whole country grinding away.
Berserker—Meanwhile you’re meeting all kinds of strong people from around the world.
Berserker—I’m jealous.

He dragged the camper van along, indulging himself fully, speaking as though there were nothing in the world he couldn’t do.
If you ask me, that guy couldn’t cut it as a Hunter even if you handed him the position. From the start, the punk treats doing whatever he pleases as life’s greatest pleasure—how’s he supposed to be a Hunter?
If his hunt goes sideways and he doesn’t start rounding up his teammates like catching rats, that would be the real miracle.
And what—he’s going to catch me?
I fired off a text right away.

Me: I can make you a Government Hunter if you want.
Me: But you’d have to come under me.
Me: I’ll let you fight all you want. Come to Seoul.
Me: So, are we partners or what?
Me: By the way, have you unlocked Complete Poison Immunity?
Me: Let me know once you do.
Me: I’ve got a good method for Gift Copying, you see?
Me: It’s not about crushing the heart.
Me: Just cracking the chest open a little bit?
Me: Hey, why aren’t you answering?
Me: I saw the read receipt. Answer me.
Me: ——You’re really not going to answer till the end.

But Berserker never replied.
The guy’s instincts were uncanny.
Is this bastard seriously sitting on Complete Poison Immunity without unlocking it?

* * *

After Monsters appeared, sea routes and flight paths around the world had been cut off. There was nowhere on land or sea or sky where the threat of Monsters didn’t reach.
As a result, the global logistics market fell into extreme chaos.
Eventually routes were pioneered that avoided oceanic and aerial Monsters, but they resembled a labyrinth. Distances doubled, and trade became severely restricted.
This made international diplomacy all the more delicate. Humanity’s shared crisis became the prevailing justification for nations to join forces.
During this period, the alliance between South Korea and the United States remained solid.
The reason lay in the principle of Distant Alliance Near Attack—since Monsters appeared, not a single pair of neighboring nations had improved their relations.
As countries lost vast portions of their territory to Monsters, border tensions escalated into bitter conflicts, each nation trying to push Monsters across into its neighbor’s lands.
Several wars nearly broke out as a result, and through international agreement, nations agreed not to provoke Monsters at their borders. Yet such skirmishes continued below the surface constantly.
South Korea was experiencing exactly this with China right now.
China was sparing no effort to recover Manchuria and the Dongbei Plain, and one element of that effort was the Dongbei Plain Purification Operation, launched under the banner of complete Monster eradication.
For this, massive numbers of Awakened Ones were deployed, with Zhang Zidong as the commanding officer, driving Monsters in all four directions.
From the government’s perspective, which viewed North Korea as territory that must one day be recovered, pushing Monsters down into North Korean lands was far from welcome.
The closer the threats pressed, the tighter South Korea and the United States drew together. They shared hunting intelligence and pursued mutual benefit through active exchange.
Even diminished in stature, the United States remained the United States.
It possessed the most Awakened Ones and had constructed a Smart Hunting System to minimize Hunter casualties while accumulating diverse hunting experience that elevated the overall level of Awakened Ones.
South Korea was currently receiving assistance in this regard as well.
And then.
This time, the United States sent a delegation seeking South Korea’s help.

* * *

The American delegation that arrived was substantial in size.
Led by Level 8 Awakened One James Reed, along with the Succubus Anna Christine and accompanied by the Vice President, senators, and promising American talent, a large contingent entered the country.
It testified to America’s keen interest in Nuri Hunting.
The President came out personally to greet the American delegation. I’d been planning to slip in only at the banquet, but I found myself attending by accident.
The President stepped forward first to shake hands with the Vice President and exchange pleasantries. Standing behind him, I then came face to face with a blonde woman who emerged from the ranks.
A woman with a lovely appearance and sensual figure—it was Anna Christine.
She looked in my direction and broke into a brilliant smile. I glanced around wondering if there was someone else nearby, but saw she’d come right up in front of me.

“It’s been so long! Jun-ho! I missed you so much.”

She reacted as though greeting a long-parted lover. I wondered what was going on, but hearing her speak in familiar Korean, I welcomed her warmly.
Indeed, if you’re in Korea, you should speak Korean.
Anna Christine, her eyes now level with mine in heels, embraced me more tightly than necessary. Why was she rubbing against me like that? A sweet fragrance suddenly washed over me.
But her accent sounded like a Korean’s.

“Looks like you’ve been practicing Korean.”
“I’ve been studying, waiting for the day we’d meet again. Perfect, right?”
“Quite good.”
“If I couldn’t speak Korean, we wouldn’t be able to talk at all. I even learned to eat doenjang-jjigae. I ate it every day when I went to Koreatown. Sundubu is delicious too!”
“That’s commendable effort.”
“You’re right. I worked hard.”

Conversing in Korean was surprisingly comfortable.
Anna Christine, glancing around, leaned against me and whispered.

“Today isn’t the right moment, but next time we should talk more. Have a deeper conversation.”

What deeper conversation could we possibly have?
As Anna Christine and I were talking, a towering figure approached.
He was a middle-aged white man over 210 centimeters tall, his entire body rippling with muscle.

“Yo, bro! Ah! You won’t even associate with people who don’t speak Korean, right? Hello! I’m James Reed! I’m so damn glad to meet you! I studied Korean like crazy just to meet you!”

James Reed, known as the guardian spirit of California, was a veteran Hunter who had carried out more Monster subjugation operations than anyone else in the United States.
He was the type who shouted “A well-forged body is the greatest Gift!” and was known to pour enormous effort into physical training.
And now he was approaching with both arms spread wide.
Was he seriously trying to embrace me right now? This guy’s insane. Why are his arm muscles rippling like that?
I held up a hand to stop him.

“Stop. Come any closer and I’ll take it as a challenge.”
“What? Why?”
“No reason.”
“Why do you reject my embrace but hugged Anna just fine?”

For the record, I have no interest in embracing men.
Muscle-bound ones especially.

“Are you comparing her to you? If you don’t like it, go get pretty and come back as a woman.”
“What? That’s discrimination! Total discrimination!”
“So what.”
“Damn.”

At my firm refusal, James Reed’s face fell.

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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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