The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 81

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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 81
“Good to see you, Minister An.”
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
Minister An responded to Eun-sung’s greeting with a bright smile.
“You’ve grown even more handsome since we last met.”
Ahn Guk-seon extended his hand for a handshake as he spoke.
“…That’s not true.”
Eun-sung grasped Ahn Guk-seon’s hand.
A faint tingle ran through his palm.
A subtle electric current coursed between them.
“How does one grow more handsome by the day? As you can see, I’ve only gained more gray hair and wrinkles.”
A compliment disguised as self-deprecation.
Words with substance behind them.
“Not at all. You still look quite youthful. Truly, you look at least twenty years younger.”
Eun-sung held his ground without backing down.
“Come now, Minister. Don’t say such things. It becomes a bad habit. What’s so handsome about being handsome anyway? Haha.”
“Modesty, is it? Don’t pretend you don’t know when you clearly do. During your active service days… hmm. Let’s leave it at that. I’ve said too much.”
Minister An noticed Cha Geun-woo’s expression turning ashen and chose to hold his tongue.
“In any case, it’s wonderful to see you after so long. It feels like just yesterday we were conducting operations together.”
“I feel the same way.”
“Do you remember? Swimming from Goseong to Songdowon during that joint operation?”
“That was truly harrowing. Haha.”
It seemed to be a story about a covert operation against the North—apparently, there had been an infiltration from Goseong in Gangwon Province all the way to Songdowon in Wonsan, a tourist city in North Korea.
‘Insane. They infiltrated all the way there?’
Eun-sung was momentarily taken aback.
Songdowon was where the ultra-luxurious villa of the Kim family, North Korea’s dictatorial rulers, was located. The very thought of infiltrating such a place was evidence of extraordinary audacity.
“If we continue, the story will grow too long. Let’s properly catch up over drinks another time. What do you say?”
“Anytime would be fine.”
“Then, might I have a brief word with your son?”
“Please, speak freely.”
As Cha Geun-woo nodded readily, Minister An turned to face Eun-sung.
“I’ll head to the garden first. Could you join me there? Time is pressing—I need to board the helicopter soon.”
“I’ll be right up.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
After Minister An left, Cha Geun-woo approached Eun-sung and whispered.
“The Minister seems to hold you in high regard. He was nothing but praise.”
“Really…?”
“Still, don’t become overconfident or careless. He’s far more meticulous and formidable than you can imagine.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
A subtle smile played at the corners of Eun-sung’s lips.
Father is truly Father, the thought flashed through Eun-sung’s mind.
“Watch your words.”
“Yes, sir.”
Of course.
Eun-sung had no intention whatsoever of lowering his guard around Minister An.
* * *
Minister An was waiting for Eun-sung in the garden, smoking a cigarette.
“You’re here.”
“Yes, but… this is a non-smoking area.”
Eun-sung said carefully.
“Oh, my apologies.”
Despite his words, Minister An did not extinguish his cigarette.
“Bear with me. I’ll just finish this one.”
“….”
“There’s been a lot on my mind lately. I have to head straight to the National Assembly for an emergency standing committee session. It’s about the Golden Sun Gate incident.”
“…Smoke as much as you need.”
Eun-sung felt a pang of conscience and stepped back.
“I won’t belabor the point. Please, I’m begging you—if you’re going to cause trouble, at least give me a heads-up.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, sir. Haha.”
“Sigh…”
Minister An exhaled something between cigarette smoke and a weary sigh.
“Do you think we let the Nine-Tail Crew off easy because we like them? In times like these, if we needlessly create friction with the Incheon Alliance, we’d only be helping our enemies. Never mind, forget you heard that.”
“So it’s about sacrificing the small for the greater good.”
“Something like that.”
Eun-sung understood what Minister An was saying, and he grasped his position as well.
To put it in perspective, the Defense Strategy Department was in a situation where there were hundreds, thousands of tasks to handle but only two hands to do them.
With the threat of a hunter-led coup and the danger of dimensional rifts looming, they couldn’t afford to concentrate their forces carelessly on any single point.
Manpower and resources were finite.
“I understand what you’re saying, sir.”
“Good.”
“But…”
“Yes?”
“Sacrificing the small for the greater good is all well and good, but what will you do when there’s nothing small left to sacrifice?”
“….”
Minister An fell silent.
He knew it too.
It was merely a stopgap measure.
If cases like Bucheon continued to multiply under the guise of sacrificing the small for the greater good, South Korea itself would eventually crumble.
“…For now, there’s no other way but to endure.”
It wasn’t a statement befitting the Defense Strategy Department Minister, but that was the reality.
As time passed, the Gate phenomenon would only accelerate, and Hunters with dangerous ideologies would grow increasingly influential.
“Perhaps you could become the solution to this. I’m willing to place my hopes in you—what do you think?”
“Me?”
“You’re the only Hunter in the entire world who awakened with a unique job class. You’ve become a monster who reached 4-star rank in just two months.”
“I’d rather not hear that. It feels like too much expectation for someone like me.”
“…I see. Sigh.”
Minister An pulled a portable ashtray from his pocket and stubbed out his cigarette as he spoke.
“Well, we’ll see how things unfold. In any case, please just focus quietly on your growth. Do you have any idea how much trouble I’ve gone through hiding your existence?”
“I’m grateful for that.”
“As I said before, if you’re going to cause trouble, at least give me advance notice. That way I can handle the aftermath….”
“Incidents happen when you act without warning. If you announce it beforehand, it’s not an incident—it’s an operation.”
“…That sounds like you’re saying you’ll keep causing incidents.”
“Surely not.”
Minister An closed his eyes tightly, looking exhausted.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
The sound of helicopter rotors echoed in the distance.
“I should be going now.”
“Take care.”
“One last question. What is it that you want?”
“An ordinary life.”
“An ordinary life…?”
“Just to live normally.”
“…I see. I’ve heard your answer.”
Minister An nodded with a slightly stiffened expression, then turned toward the helipad.
On the way to the National Assembly.
“An ordinary life… an ordinary life, he says.”
Minister An continued to turn over Eun-sung’s words in his mind.
In a world like this, pursuing an ordinary life was nearly impossible.
Such things weren’t given freely.
They had to be protected and seized.
A throne of the strong devouring the weak, built upon my blood and the blood of my enemies.
A privilege granted only to those who stood atop it.
“He’ll become a monster after all. Perhaps… he already is one.”
A low murmur escaped from Minister An’s lips.
* * *
Screech!
Kim Doo-hyun’s BMW came to a stop in front of the ruins of Electronics Land.
Bullet marks were still visible on the front bumper.
“Ugh.”
Kim Doo-hyun, holding a carbine rifle, glanced nervously at his surroundings.
It seemed he was still thinking about how Wi Tae-woong and his group had fired warning shots.
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”
“B-but….”
“It’s fine. Let’s go.”
“I’m scared because I’m not a Hunter.”
“You say you’re scared, yet you gunned down Nine-Tail Crew members just fine.”
“Haha….”
“And those were warning shots anyway.”
“That’s true.”
“We have an appointment today, so there won’t be any trouble like that. Put the gun away.”
“Yes, hyung.”
Returning to Electronics Land this time, I navigated the path with ease even without Lumos.
Since this was a pre-arranged visit as I’d told Doo-hyun, Yongpal Trading Company had sent me the coordinates in advance.
“You came early.”
Wang Yong-sik, as always, lay on a sun bed beneath a parasol, enjoying a cigar and whiskey.
“The sooner you repay a debt, the better.”
“Well said. How much was your outstanding balance again?”
Wang Hyo-eun, as if she’d been waiting, flipped through the ledger and found my name.
“7 billion, 860 million won, Grandfather.”
“So that’s what it was.”
Wang Yong-sik turned to look at me.
“Including what I’m purchasing today, I’ll settle it all at once.”
“What else do you need?”
Wang Yong-sik slid his sunglasses down and glared at me with bare eyes.
Just the items I’d taken last time were enough to supply most Hunters for two or three years….
“Could you procure things like a Little Bird helicopter and military ATVs? Oh, of course, ones coated with Etherium batteries and Etherium paint.”
“Huh.”
Wang Yong-sik was so taken aback by my request that he couldn’t speak for a long moment.
Military ATVs were one thing, but a helicopter was a different story entirely.
The Little Bird helicopter I mentioned would cost over 2 billion won even if purchased secondhand, and with Etherium battery tuning, it would be at least 5 billion won or more.
Add Etherium stealth coating to that, and the price would easily exceed 20 billion won.
“Are you seriously asking me that?”
“Can’t you procure it?”
“Procurement is one thing, but just the helicopter alone would cost well over 20 billion won?”
“I don’t mind.”
“You’re asking me to procure a helicopter while claiming you can pilot one? Are you insane?”
“Yes.”
“…What?”
“I can also operate trains and ships.”
“You should at least keep your lies reasonable. How old are you to claim you can do all that?”
“I’m just asking whether you can help or not. I don’t have any obligation to prove anything to you.”
“First, settle those outstanding debts you owe me.”
“Shall we?”
Eun-sung pulled out a card from his deck with a swift motion.
Glitter and gleam!
Hundreds of one-kilogram gold bars made of pure gold were stacked neatly before them.
“Gold is more convenient than cash, isn’t it? I also have Etherium if you’d prefer to settle with that instead.”
“…!”
Wang Yong-sik and Wang Hyo-eun’s jaws dropped in shock.
“Well, how quickly do you need it?”
“The faster, the better.”
“Give me a week. It’s not like I keep helicopters lying around in my shop.”
“Understood.”
“Say, you wouldn’t possibly….”
“Don’t worry—I won’t be asking you to procure nuclear submarines or anything like that.”
“Th-that’s a relief.”
“That’s ancient history from the 90s. Why bring up something so old….”
The early 1990s—now a distant memory of the past.
There was a time when the Soviet Union collapsed and the Russian Federation was established, when military equipment flooded the black market.
It was so rampant that rumors circulated of Russian mafia acquiring nuclear submarines and nuclear weapons.
Of course, given that Hunters seizing political power had become commonplace in this era, one couldn’t simply dismiss it as ancient history.
“Instead….”
Eun-sung parted his lips to speak.
Gulp.
Wang Yong-sik swallowed involuntarily.
What else could he possibly be asking for….
“Could you procure a few appraisal certificates? It doesn’t matter if they’re for Runes or items.”
“Ugh.”
Wang Yong-sik clutched the back of his neck and groaned.

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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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