Chapter 443 — Returning Home (2)
China’s military was in utter chaos because of the zombie outbreak, but that didn’t mean it had lost all of its strength. And even if the Hunters were busy, modern weapons were still modern weapons. Missiles that could casually shoot down a plane and the like.
Director Song’s group had slipped out quickly while the confusion inside the military was at its peak, but now that a full day had already passed, things seemed to have calmed down somewhat. And so I ended up standing in front of a camera.
“It’s embarrassing, ending up on screen again after being dragged off somewhere every other time.”
I was dressed neatly in Chinese clothes and even had a little makeup put on me so I’d look lively. We had already contacted Korea, so the broadcast was supposed to go straight onto TV. The camera turned on, and with a bright smile, I gave a polite greeting.
“I have been safely rescued. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal their names, but I would like to thank every member of the rescue team.”
The S-rank Hunters are not all here right now. Yoohyun is currently in the middle of a dungeon raid, Yerim is in Japan, and the Seseong Guild Leader is under suspension.
So the people who rescued me were someone who did not actually exist.
There would be many more people targeting me in the future. Those drawn in by Chatterbox, and people from that cult as well, would definitely come approaching. So I decided to use this opportunity to create a fictional rescue team. A highly capable Hunter team, good enough to come save me, whose identities remained veiled.
It was a kind of scarecrow. Something that would make flocks of sparrows go, Huh, the guard is stricter than we thought, and keep them from charging in too easily.
“Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude for the cooperation of the Chinese government. Because they provided detailed information on the kidnappers who passed through China, I was able to be rescued before it was too late. Even now, I’m waiting for a plane here in Xi’an.”
Chinese government, xie xie~ I really am grateful for the items.
“It seems that Seseong Guild’s private jet is scheduled to arrive at Xi’an Xianyang Airport shortly. I want to return to Korea as quickly as possible. I miss my younger brother very much as well.”
My beloved Korea, my beloved home. With a broadcast this blatant saying, I’m returning safely with the Chinese government’s cooperation~, there was no way they were going to shoot down the plane. In truth, even if they attacked, it wouldn’t be that big a problem. No one here was the sort who’d get hurt just because a plane blew up, and if Peace and Noah put in a little effort, we could make it all the way to Korea easily enough. Even the private jet currently on its way had not only a pilot but cabin crew who were all mid-rank Hunters. Apparently they were personnel specially assigned to dangerous zones.
Still, it would be better to go back safely if possible. More importantly than that, though—
‘Teacher Hoyeon and his family should be able to get out safely.’
While I was drawing attention like this, Teacher Hoyeon, his family, and several Hunters hoping to defect to Korea were escaping China. With the military in its current state, it would be difficult for them to spread a surveillance net too widely. If I made enough of a racket as bait, they wouldn’t have the focus to spare elsewhere.
At first, I had considered moving together with them, but the number of unAwakened people and low-rank Awakened people had been higher than I expected. That was why it seemed safer to let them slip out separately and quietly.
“I hope that this incident can become a chance for more active exchange with China’s tightly concealed Hunter world as well. There are many excellent Hunters there.”
Even if quite a few of them did end up dead thanks to us. Still, that was better than letting it keep rotting from within until it collapsed in the end. It wasn’t something I could just ignore as someone else’s country’s problem! because Dungeon Breaks were the issue. If they piled up, then in the end some other country would have no choice but to clean up after it.
I also praised the Chinese Hunters for quite a while. General Chohwaun, I hope you’re doing well. I really did owe you quite a lot.
“And I’d also like to thank everyone for the interest you’ve shown in the kiseungsu rearing facility.”
Shouldn’t the broadcast be ending soon? I’d already said pretty much everything I needed to. Did I have to drag this out longer?
“Mm, I heard there have been many inquiries because the planned release date for the Peace doll has already passed. After returning to Korea, I’ll come see you again together with an event. Please also show plenty of love to the baby monsters that will soon be joining the kiseungsu rearing facility.”
We were preparing various dolls and all kinds of collaborations too. What else did we have?
“Also, we are planning to hold a special kiseungsu gathering for Hunters in the near future. The details will be announced after I return home, so I hope for your great interest.”
If I talked any longer, I’d have to start taking calls from viewers or something. It wasn’t like I could start talking about my private life. Though if it was bragging about my kids, I could ramble on for hours.
Thankfully, the signal to end the broadcast came in. After once again expressing my thanks to various people and saying that I’d see everyone in Korea, I got up from my seat.
While I was eating lunch and passing the time leisurely as I waited for news,
“They’ve departed safely, and there is no sign of pursuit.”
Eun Seseon came over and told me. Good, they had made it out. Unlike us, who had gone inland, Teacher Hoyeon’s group had headed toward a port. It took longer, but ships were watched less and were far safer than airplanes. Korea had also agreed to send a vessel to escort them from partway onward.
“Then let’s get going too.”
We packed everything up already, right? There wasn’t anything we’d forgotten, was there?
The airport was empty because of the undead. Officially, a curfew had been imposed on the grounds that a dungeon had burst open and monsters had appeared. There were soldiers guarding the airport, but the security wasn’t as strict as I’d expected.
“Officially speaking, the military did not kidnap Director Han.”
Dressed in completely ordinary everyday clothes, Eun Seseon looked out the window as she spoke.
“Now that the broadcast has already gone out, they can’t openly stop you, and even inside the military there are many people who don’t know the details behind this incident. The ones with real power are the Awakened, but in terms of numbers, low-rank Awakened and unAwakened people are far more numerous.”
On top of that, she said that because of this incident, the balance of power inside both the military and the government was expected to tilt more toward the unAwakened side. The Murim Alliance was openly hoping for the Hunter world and the government to become separate. Like the officials and the Murim world in martial arts stories, where each side stayed out of the other’s affairs.
When I had first seen Sa Mokwol, I’d thought, What kind of clown show is this supposed to be, but maybe it really was better to pull in a familiar cultural framework than to create a completely new structure for the Hunter world from scratch.
“From here on, only Koreans may enter.”
Just before we entered the airfield where the private jet was waiting, the soldiers blocked our way. They had given up on capturing me, but it seemed they still intended to stop Chinese Hunters from being taken out of the country. Well, the news that an A-rank healer had escaped must have already gotten out. If they were still inside China, they could be caught again, but once they got overseas, that would be impossible.
“I left my ID behind.”
I didn’t have my passport either. After I got out of the car, a soldier who looked fairly high-ranking stared at me with a frown.
“I don’t have mine either.”
“Yerim, you don’t even have an ID yet in the first place.”
“I don’t have one either.”
“I also don’t have any identification. Normally, when doing this kind of work, the basics are to avoid carrying anything that could prove your identity…”
Lastly, Sung Hyunjae pulled out a wallet. When he opened it, it wasn’t an ID card that appeared, but his Hunter license. From the one person who looked least likely to carry one around.
“Even the Seseong Guild Leader can’t do anything about ID photos, huh.”
He looked handsome in it too, but compared to the real thing, it still fell short.
“I guess they didn’t retouch it at all. Though considering that, it still came out pretty well, didn’t it?”
Yerim leaned her head out and peered at Sung Hyunjae’s Hunter license as she spoke. Well, it wasn’t like there was really anywhere to touch up.
“How did your wallet survive after all that?”
“I entrusted it somewhere else before I went to meet Han Yoojin-gun.”
“Was there something valuable in it?”
“It saves me the trouble of having to get my Hunter license reissued.”
Well, that was a pain. You had to show up in person to apply for it and collect it, and for B-rank and above, you even had to take a new photo.
The faces of the soldiers twisted even further when they saw S-rank Hunters who were, officially, supposed to be in Korea. But perhaps they had sent someone who already knew the situation, because they didn’t voice any doubts.
“We will verify your identities. Please state your body measurements.”
On top of that, we had to go through thermal camera scans and even direct height measurement with a tape measure. Transformation skills or items usually fooled other people’s eyes; they did not actually alter the body itself. There were exceptions like Noah and Yoon Yoon, but high-rank skills like that were rare.
“My height still hasn’t changed…”
I’d raised my level quite a bit inside the Nightmare Dungeon, but I hadn’t gotten any new skills either. The only thing that had changed was a slight rise in stats. Seriously, where had all the skills gone that I was supposed to get every ten levels? Just like with the teacher skill, it seemed there was some special condition involved, but unless I knew what it was, I couldn’t even try.
After getting through inspection, we entered the airfield. The moment she saw the private jet, Yerim flew straight inside ahead of us—
and then immediately came running back out.
“I don’t think this is the plane!”
“Huh?”
“This is, like, a kindergarten plane or something!”
What kind of nonsense was that? It wasn’t like it was a kindergarten bus. But the English Seseong logo was clearly printed on the side of the aircraft.
“It is Seseong’s private jet.”
None of the other planes were even preparing for departure. I asked Yerim what she meant and climbed the stairs into the plane—
…Was this really Seseong’s private jet?
“What the…?”
It was pink. Pink walls, pink sofas, pink tables, everything was pink. Even the paintings on the wall were full of fairy-tale-style unicorns, colorful balloons, rainbows, and cotton-candy clouds… Hm. There was even a Peace doll on the table.
“It’s… distinctive.”
Even Noah looked taken aback. Yoohyun, on the other hand, didn’t react much.
“Seriously. Ah, Mr. Sung Hyunjae. You have unusual taste.”
I had never once imagined this. No, wait. Was that why he had been knitting so diligently with hot-pink yarn? Come to think of it…
“I had this specially prepared for Han Yoojin-gun.”
Sung Hyunjae said it like he’d been wronged. What?
“No, this is your private jet.”
“I had it newly redecorated for the purpose of kidnapping the Director of the kiseungsu rearing facility. I thought perhaps seeing a color you liked might improve your mood.”
Setting aside the attempted kidnapping for the moment—
“I do not like it!”
“Really?”
It wasn’t Sung Hyunjae but Yerim who asked me that.
“Of course. I’ve never once said I liked it.”
“I thought you were just saying that. You know, when people go, no, I hate it, I hate it, but inside they don’t really mean it. Adults do that a lot. Ahjussi, you used that hot-pink yarn item really well. And it’s not like pink is a bad color. It’s okay if you just say it honestly.”
“I only used it because it was there!”
“I thought hyung liked it too.”
“…What? Yoohyun?”
I could understand everyone else maybe, but why you?
“I’ve never bought pink things, have I?”
“People’s tastes change. And pink suits you too.”
“…Really?”
“Ahjussi, don’t believe him. Ahjussi is only a little lovestruck, but Han Yoohyun’s problem is with his eyeballs themselves. If you dressed up like a three-tier traffic light, he’d definitely say the exact same thing.”
“A-anyway, I don’t like pink. I don’t. I don’t especially hate it, but I don’t like it either.”
The only thing in there that was at least tolerable was the Peace doll. It hadn’t even been released yet, so how on earth had he gotten one? When I picked up the doll, Peace came over.
“Peace, it’s a doll of you.”
- Kkiang.
Peace wagged his tail and held out a forepaw. Did he want it? When I handed the doll to him, he bit down on it and immediately started tearing into it happily. Well, dogs and cats did play by biting dolls apart, so I guess that wasn’t strange. White stuffing drifted down over the pink carpet.
“I appreciate the thought you put into this, but honestly, it’s overstimulating.”
“Song Taewon seemed to like it.”
“…You rode this here when you came to China?”
“Of course.”
Dear God. I moved closer to Sung Hyunjae and quietly asked,
“Do you happen to have any photos or videos?”
“Unfortunately, for security reasons filming is prohibited.”
So Director Song had sat here. Honestly, I really wanted to see that. And apparently he’d even liked it. Did Director Song secretly like pink? Should I knit him a pink sweater for Christmas? If it was handmade, it should be fine, right?
Just in case, I checked the rest of the plane too, and as expected, it was pink everywhere. Even the bathroom had been covered top to bottom in pink.
“…Why is there a bathtub inside a plane? And isn’t that a whirlpool bath?”
And dark pink, at that. The bed was pink too, and beside it stood a flamingo ornament. The cups, the plates, the forks too.
What a ridiculous, extravagant waste of money.
By the time I had gone all the way around the plane, preparations for departure were finished. I went back to the first reception room and sat down on a pink sofa. If I really had been kidnapped into this, I’d have been too dumbfounded to even get properly angry. What even was this.
“Well, first let’s finish sorting out the items.”
I handed all three blades over to Yoohyun without even looking at them closely. He could keep them for the Sword Devourer or lend them out to guild members if he wanted. And as for the wire, how exactly was I supposed to pass that on?
“Does anyone know a way to get this wire to Director Song?”
No one raised a hand.
Aside from the four weapons, there were eight S-rank items left. I took out an S-rank outer garment from among them. Autumn Wildgrass Jacket, a khaki windbreaker.
“Look at this, Yerim. What do you think!”
Yerim still didn’t have any S-rank outerwear besides her shawl. And it was hard to call a shawl real clothing.
“Not bad, right?”
“It’s fine these days, but once summer comes, I think it’ll look funny.”
“It’s an item, so who cares. The options are good too. It has defense plus a temporary agility increase. And for an outer garment, the mana option is high.”
Yerim slipped the windbreaker on. It suited her perfectly well.
“How is it?”
“It really is perfect for you, absolutely perfect! Cute! There’s a half coat too. The options suit you less than the windbreaker, but it’s still not bad.”
Both of them were S-rank.
“Until you get an SS-rank, just rotate through some decent S-rank pieces. And here, gloves.”
“Can I wear rings with gloves?”
“That’s fine. On gloves, the fingers are basically decorative. The palm or back of the hand doesn’t stack, though.”
The options were more suited to close-combat types, so they weren’t really a good fit for Yerim. Still, an S-rank was an S-rank. I really did need to get her more SS-rank gear.
‘Read only on MugenCodex’
While I was having her try on one thing after another and matching the options for her, the plane finally arrived in Korea.
