Chapter 456: Infiltration (3) |
Chapter 456: Infiltration (3)
He wonders if observing the world through the [Dragon's Eye] lets you see something different.
"Oh, right."
Soon, a certain practitioner began a conversation with Kang Changho. The elderly figure didn't point out that the man in his thirties remained silent. On the contrary, he even took the initiative to bring up a new topic.
"Come to think of it, did I mention this before? Thank you for bringing people along yesterday."
After that, he saw someone pointing toward the northern part of the dungeon with their fingertip.
"If it weren't for Mr. Kang, we wouldn't have met a single Korean in five years."
For reference, in the direction where the practitioner's fingernail had stopped, two people were lying on the ground. From their appearance alone, it was clear they had some experience as hunters. Yet, they were in a shabby state, resting their shoulders or foreheads flat on the floor without any awareness. These were the figures lying on the ground, and upon mentioning them, the one holding the flask finally spoke.
"Was there a particular reason you specifically wanted someone from South Korea?"
"Well, I heard it was needed, so I just went ahead and picked someone suitable..."
"Hoho."
"I don't know why you set your sights on South Korea of all countries, leaving the prominent nations aside."
The practitioner responded to this.
"I wanted to verify it."
The first remark was vague and ambiguous.
"Whether it's simply luck, some genetic peculiarity, or an environmental factor."
"Hmm?"
"Strangely, South Korea has had a high number of S-rank Awakened relative to its population, enough to draw the attention of every other country."
"Ah."
"We were curious about the factors that influenced that mysterious ratio."
As the sentence continued, the practitioner's objective became increasingly clear.
"Anyway, the most likely answer is just luck."
But the moment Kang Changho heard the practitioner's words, he let his smile fade, as if uninterested. The topic being discussed held no significance for him.
"You speak quite easily, don't you?"
"From living through it myself, I have my own impressions."
"Hmm."
"South Korea is just a small, insignificant place."
The person with blue-purple hair spoke indifferently.
"My goodness, Mr. Kang. How can you say South Korea is insignificant?"
However, the practitioner across from him wore an expression that even seemed kind, and then said the following.
"South Korea is a Kakotopia that registers every citizen's unique number in a computer network, but..."
"My country isn't really deserving of that much criticism."
"Traditionally, family ties are strong, there are CCTV's all over the country, and on top of that, the internet is highly developed."
"._."
"It's one of the most unique places. Above all, it was really difficult to find people there."
Of course, he said "find," but what someone actually did was, in fact, a kidnapping.
"So, I'd like to express my gratitude to you, Kang Changho."
"You flatter me."
"Thanks to your help, things went smoothly."
A Korean. Handing over another Korean to the organization.
"I... have a history of personally dealing with a human trafficking ring in Korea."
Clang.
Kang Changho, who had been examining the empty flask for a long while, set the item down. In that state, he began to speak a few words.
"Why would I go out of my way to do the police's work? I only kept South Korean personnel around for times like this, as part of a calculation."
The person's reaction to this remark was sharp and cutting.
"As the rumors said, you truly have no conscience, sir."
For reference, the cliché rebuttal of "Does morality put food on the table?" didn't even surface. All that echoed was the practitioner's joking tone.
"Now there's a university that no longer exists because it was destroyed by dungeon monsters. Back when I attended, I used to take Korean history lectures as a hobby."
"So?"
"That's why I'm saying this—you would've left a mark in history if you had been born a few years earlier."
The 30-something man was hearing a blatant accusation of being a traitor to his country.
"Then what, did you expect patriotism from someone like me?"
Kang Changho, a mixed-race man, spread his arms wide as he said this, but the grin on his face made it obvious he was joking.
"That country has been taking tens of millions in inheritance taxes from me since I was crawling around."
"Hahaha."
"My parents' generation already paid all their income taxes, so isn't this double taxation?"
"So I was wondering what you'd say, but it's not even a complaint about the hardships of growing up in a multicultural family—just that kind of thing..."
"On top of that, I just awakened, and yet everyone insists on forcing someone who's already completed military service to guard a place that isn't even a wartime situation."
"Were you originally a soldier?"
Kang Changho disregarded part of the foreigner's comment, which seemed poorly informed about Korea. He simply voiced a different opinion immediately.
"Anyway, I don't care if my country fails."
The blue-haired awakener completely dominated the conversation.
"You have to be at least part of an organization like this to make me want to protect you."
Kang Changho said that and pointed his finger accusingly at the practitioner.
"At first, I was just curious about which kid had successfully achieved artificial awakening, so I approached them purely to find out the secret."
"I heard, Mr. Kang, that you took down our branch operating in a rural village."
"Now that I think about it, there's really no reason for me to be at odds with you guys, is there?"
The Korean S-rank hunter withdrew the finger he had been jabbing and instead pointed it at himself.
"(Improvement)."
Before long, the rare skill mentioned was a concept that might seem somewhat unfamiliar to outsiders.
"To think that an organization pushing humanity's mutations would show up right in front of someone with a skill like this."
"._."
"If it weren't for you guys, I would've died waiting for humanity to evolve."
"._."
"Anyway, the side effects aren't something I'll suffer from, so the faster the development, the better. Imagine how fun it would be to cherry-pick other people's powerful skills. The specs of a skill stolen by [Improvement] still depend somewhat on the power of the original Awakened."
South Korea's third S-rank hunter spoke confidently, as if entrusting someone with an important task.
"So, I hope we get good results with the Koreans we captured this time."
"I'll do my best."
"The immediate goal was to somehow increase the probability of creating an S-rank, right?"
Nodding.
At the last remark, the old man nodded in response.
"Once stability is verified, the next step is to generate power that surpasses the limits of an S-rank."
"Hmm."
"Even if an incredible superpowered individual is created, early artificial Awakened tend to have short lifespans, so Mr. Kang could freely play the role of a hyena. Or not—should I compare it to a crocodile and a crocodile bird in this case?"
At this point, Kang Changho shifted his posture. He sat down like a thug on a nearby laboratory equipment table and asked a question.
"But you know what?"
The practitioner seemed slightly uncomfortable with his actions, which could potentially damage the experimental table. Yet, such minor feelings didn't affect the flow of the conversation.
"First of all, the artificial awakening project itself is excellent. I'm also really pleased with the pace at which the plan is progressing..."
"Yes."
"But when such a valuable technology is released too widely into the market, from an outsider's perspective, the organization's true purpose starts to seem..."
"Start to get suspicious?"
"It starts to make me worry."
"Uhm."
"If the goal was purely money, couldn't you have just sold the procedure to the world's richest people from the start!?"
"Hmm."
"Why did you have to make such a big move?"
A remark from old money, who seemed to value money above all else in this world. In response, the person wearing the ruby ring immediately spoke up.
"Well, I don't really know the true meaning of 'young man' myself, to be honest..."
"By the way, the boss's nickname in this organization sounds cheap every time I hear it."
Midway through the conversation, a piece of noteworthy information briefly came up—but it was passed over.
"From what I've heard before, the organization's stated purpose seemed quite admirable."
"Admirable?"
"Hahaha. He says he wants to create a country where the elderly are respected."
A human whose fingernails had thickened with age, and whose hands bore wrinkled skin and liver spots, continued speaking.
"As you know, in this world... there are many cases where people get judged just for getting old."
"Even if someone was once a pillar supporting the country, they end up being criticized later for skimming on taxes."
"Moreover, ever since the awakening phenomenon occurred, the elderly are practically 'already holding a winning lottery ticket,' so they're treated with even more disrespect."
"Is this the age of superpowers where even seasoned veterans can no longer play an active role..."
Kang Changho gave a sharp retort to the elderly practitioner's words.
"But honestly, most developed countries don't have children, so you can't really build a society by completely excluding the elderly, can you?"
"Here comes a boring story."
"The median age in our country has already reached 40."
"I know."
"There are just too few super mutants overall."
The practitioner tilted his head.
"Anyway, this evolution has to be attempted, if only to preserve all age groups."
At that moment, Kang Changho pointed at his conversation partner and delivered a tremendous insult, saying, "You're going to die soon anyway, so you don't have to worry about aging." But the practitioner didn't seem to care.
"If we work hard and... find a way for even the weak to awaken safely, will things become a bit more equal?"
"Hmm."
"But anyway, the primary reason this organization is making a such big move is to broker deals for the evolution of the elderly."
"How righteous of you."
"Whether this is true or not, a worker like me just cares about gaining some benefit in the process."
Despite the one-sided bickering, the conversation flowed smoothly.
"That's a good point."
The Korean, dressed simply in a short-sleeved T-shirt, spoke up.
"Then, shall we take this opportunity to make that 'benefit' a bit more concrete?"
Ssshe.
As Kang Changho muttered the words, he grabbed a black storage case nearby. It was as if he were foreshadowing that he was about to see a blinding light—he retrieved a pair of sunglasses and put them on.
"What do you mean exactly?"
"You called yourself a worker, but still, someone like you is a fairly high-ranking member of the organization."
"A position?"
Through the sunglasses, the man eventually saw this scene. Awakened bodyguards filled the dungeon room so densely that the white walls appeared faintly blotchy. For reference, today he didn't feel like using the lenses at all—he observed with his bare eyes. Thus, Kang Changho smiled as usual, satisfied with the neatly concealed mana signals of the Awakened.
"Anyway, keep your promise. Once you create an S-rank or higher, hand over their personal information to me."
"Yes."
"And since I'm helping your organization, you'll share information about the artificial awakening procedure itself. I'm going to make sure this matter is secured with a Knight's Oath contract with your organization's top brass."
His smile was accompanied by the revelation of an illegal conspiracy.
"._. Understood"
The elderly man with curly, permed hair nodded at those words. But the conversation wasn't over yet.
"Mr. Kang, now that you mentioned the symbolic rank of 'S-rank or higher,' something I've been meaning to ask just came to mind."
Kang Changho remained silent with his arms lightly crossed. It was an unspoken signal for the other to continue speaking.
"The Korean articles about you being beaten by someone named Kim Giryeo and being rehabilitated."
"Yeah."
"Wasn't that true?"
But he hadn't expected a topic like this to come up.
"Haha."
Kang Changho immediately raised an eyebrow, as if to ask what nonsense he was talking about.
"I'm sorry, but that's... well, as you could easily guess, just media play?"
"Is that so?"
"If I had really been rehabilitated, I wouldn't logically be teaming up with you like this."
"The word in the middle wasn't translated by the machine."
"By the way, why did the name of the South Korean Awakened suddenly come up?"
The South Korean Awakened Kang Changho just mentioned must refer to the fourth S-rank hunter, Kim Giryeo. The foreigner, understanding the Korean's question, soon spoke up.
"I have a message from the boss."
The woman's voice was calm.
"Mr. Kang, do you remember someone named Brooklyn Morgan?"
"Ah, that person. That one."