When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 144
Only Krnovel
144. This is not a joke
Again, again, again.
Han Su-yeon, dressed in a neat suit, came down the stairs.
A large sedan was waiting in front of it.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
She nodded slightly at the words of the aide who approached her and got into the official vehicle.
She sat in the backseat, pressing the area under her eyes to relieve the pain.
Even from the outside, it looks like the area under the eyes is hollow.
“…Are you okay?”
“Does it look that bad?”
“That’s not true… but there are scheduling issues and these kinds of events happen more often.”
In the past few weeks, I have been summoned to the State Council and the NSC, and have had several one-on-one reports with the President.
This is not a typical case.
“I can’t help it. It’s that time.”
Recently, Han Su-yeon has been busy.
The biggest reason is the large-scale theft that occurred at the morgue.
A major incident where all the corpses of various named monsters that had been kept by the country disappeared.
Although it was an incident completely unknown to the public, the shock it gave to government officials was truly enormous.
Even the president, who was on an overseas trip, was surprised and contacted Han Su-yeon directly.
It was they, the Disaster Management Agency, who were in charge of investigating the incident.
Of course, if the investigation had gone smoothly, the situation could have been resolved more quickly, but unfortunately that was not the case.
The ringleader, the director of the management office, was subjected to intensive interrogation, but before any results could be obtained, he was found dead.
There was nothing recorded on the CCTV inside the building, and the cause of death was unknown with no signs of trauma.
Even those within the agency who were suspected of colluding with the director of the management office died one after another.
As a result, the whereabouts of the corpses inside the storage facility became unknown, and the motive for the crime and who was involved were never discovered.
In the end, all that remains is a plan for afterlife.
The National Mortuary Repository, which had been maintained independently until then, was placed completely under the authority of the administrative office.
The existing facility was completely closed and demolished, and a new facility was built.
In fact, Han Su-yeon had doubts about whether it was right to continue to keep the corpses of named monsters.
It’s something that’s already happened once.
It’s not like the background has been completely revealed, and I think the same thing could happen again at any time.
Still, she could not express an opposing opinion.
‘Even if there is a risk, it would be difficult to completely give up on the corpse of a named monster.’
The utility of the repository was too obvious for her to think about.
A representative example of this is the magic bullet.
A power on a completely different level from that of ordinary shells that simply rely on the power of gunpowder.
It is an indispensable weapon on the front lines around the world where large groups of monsters are fought, melting away monsters that would not even budge with regular firearms and shells.
Moreover, since it is used without exception in human warfare, the global demand is endless.
But that magic bullet was actually something developed while dissecting a monster’s corpse.
A high-powered explosive created by directly applying the principles of how a monster’s core works.
South Korea has become the world’s leading producer of high-quality magic bullets thanks to the massive amount of corpse samples it has secured as a nation on the front lines from China.
Korea, one of the countries that benefited the most from this, could not help but know how important this field is.
Of course, the higher-ups would not give up, and even Han Su-yeon could not object.
‘So we have no choice but to find a compromise.’
The best decision she can make now is to prevent a relapse.
From the facilities to the organizational structure of the new morgue.
Han Su-yeon personally supervised everything from start to finish, and even now that the system has been completely completed, she periodically stops by to check on the site.
Moreover, Han Soo-yeon has become extremely busy because there are several other issues that the management office needs to control.
“What about the data I asked for earlier?”
“Ah…! Here it is.”
The aide, who had hurriedly turned around in the passenger seat, handed me some documents.
She accepted the heavy bundle of documents, leaned back slightly, and mechanically read the letters and numbers.
Among them were statistics on the number of deaths at the scene, but, ironically, I felt no emotion at all.
Unlike the deaths seen on the scene, the numbers on the papers felt like just numbers.
“There’s a lot of traffic.”
“There’s no way there won’t be traffic jams in Seoul.”
With a short sigh, she glanced out the window.
The worst traffic jam since Dangun in the 2040s has already kept them on the road for an hour.
A city landscape densely packed with people and cars.
Buildings lined up on both sides blocked the view.
She felt short of breath and unbuttoned one button.
“I’m a little tired.”
I don’t want to hear old politicians bickering.
It is also tiring to persuade a president who weighs practical judgments against political calculations.
It would be the same for any politician.
That’s why I felt even more discouraged.
“… When I have some time, I’ll stop by Changyeong-ri.”
Han Su-yeon muttered softly.
Oh Hyeon-seong’s words, which told me to come to him whenever I was tired, came to mind without fail.
It’s almost a blur to remember when the last time I went down there was.
But since it was an impossible story at the moment, her eyes became clouded as she silently looked at the forest of buildings.
Jiiing!
At that moment, a vibration sound came from her pocket.
Han Su-yeon reflexively took out her cell phone and checked it.
There was a text message, and a faint smile appeared on her lips as she checked it.
“at las…”
A moment when the suffocating feeling from just a moment ago flies away.
After a long wait, the bait was finally taken.
*
“Um… why aren’t you answering my calls?”
Oh Hyun-seong muttered while holding his cell phone.
I tried to contact Lee Gil-sang to discuss the relics, but he didn’t answer at all.
This is already the third time I haven’t even looked at your text.
Originally, Lee Gil-sang would always answer his phone calls in less than a second.
He would apologize for being even a little late in seeing my texts, so I told him not to worry about it.
But I can’t believe I haven’t heard from you in so long.
Since it was Gil-Sang Lee who volunteered to be the bait for the operation, I wondered if something was going on.
“No, it’s not like there was anything special going on. I’m just really busy with the reorganization. Don’t worry about it.”
I called Han Su-yeon to check, but she only replied that it was nothing serious.
“hmm…”
Oh Hyun-seong’s eyes grew long.
But soon he shook his head.
This guy’s occupational disease is to be suspicious of everything.
I thought he had healed to some extent since coming to Changyeong-ri, but he raised his head and looked at me without fail.
As for the care of Gil-Sang Lee, who is the head of the four major organizations, there won’t be any problems since I left it up to her and the management office.
‘Well, there aren’t many national treasures left in the country anyway. Most of them have their own owners and belong to the country.’
The reason he wanted to contact Lee Gil-sang.
The purpose was to obtain national treasure-level relics that could be used for farming.
However, some time ago, they had swept up the relics on the black market to use as materials for replicating the cube, and asking Gil-Sang would be impossible to obtain information about national treasures.
“Then… should I open my eyes a little wider?”
Oh Hyun-seong, who was scrolling down the contact list, found a familiar name.
A person who is just right for the current situation.
I woke up to an old contact that felt like it was covered in dust, even though it was on the screen of a cell phone.
*
Going abroad.
For some, it may be a cumbersome process that requires a lot of preparation and a lot of work.
Whether it’s simple tourism or other business.
Since you will be going out to a new environment and being away for a long time, it would be common sense to have sufficient planning and preparation.
But for him, who had to travel abroad for business trips as often as he wanted in the past, it was a process that involved just packing a bag.
Thud thud.
Oh Hyun-seong walked out of the terminal carrying a duffel bag.
Arriving at the Paris airport without even the usual carrier, he left the building after completing a very simple procedure.
Then, at the meeting place, there was someone waiting to meet me with a vehicle.
“Arthur.”
“Hyunseong!”
The man approached me with a bright smile and brisk strides.
Arthur Ward.
He was a European source with whom I had a long-standing relationship.
“I don’t know if it’s okay to welcome a hunter of your caliber in such a small way. It’s a good thing this isn’t London.”
“I’m just a retired hunter who retired a long time ago.”
“We call those who were too great to be called trash legends.”
Arthur chuckled, tapped me on the shoulder, and handed me the bag.
He nodded and told me to get in after putting my luggage in the trunk.
“Do you know how surprised I am to hear from you? There were rumors going around among the first generation Hunters that you were dead.”
“I guess there were similar rumors going around this neighborhood too.”
Oh Hyeon-seong is the last hunter to disappear after the Queen’s Subjugation War.
It is impossible for the Korean government to make an official statement about members of a unit that does not officially exist.
The other juniors who survived at the scene at the time are actively working in both the government and private sectors, but Oh Hyeon-seong’s whereabouts are unknown along with the other deceased members.
Of course, such misunderstandings could have occurred.
Even within the hospital where he was indebted to, only a few people knew about Oh Hyeon-seong’s existence.
It was a hospital directly managed by the management office, and the government also paid a lot of attention to it.
“As you know, Korea is famous for keeping its secrets tightly shut. There’s no way a small business owner like me could find out anything by going into a place called the Agent’s Graveyard. I just thought he was dead.”
From what Arthur had said, it seemed that, at least within Europe, it was known that Oh Hyeon-seong had a relationship with the queen.
Of course, that alone was a tremendous achievement.
Enough to be remembered in the Hunters’ History.
Even among the first generation of hunters, there were only a few who knew his name to begin with, and even fewer of them are still alive today.
“Well, it’ll be better if you think of me as dead. Don’t go around saying I’m still alive.”
“That’s obvious. Just tell me, what kind of accident did you have?”
“No worries. I’ll just quietly get what I need and then go back right away.”
Oh Hyun-seong shrugged his shoulders and said.
What you came here to get has already been discussed.
But Arthur asked, finding his answer, that his only goal was the relics, quite surprising.
“You wouldn’t be trying to acquire the relics to make money, would you? Since you’re already retired, what do you plan to do with the national treasures?”
“Because I need it for farming.”
“Haha, that’s a funny joke.”
Even the major powers risk their lives to secure national treasures, but they are trying to use them for farming.
He may be the only one who can spit out such an ingenious idea, even as a joke.
But his misunderstanding was short-lived.
“It’s true. I became a farmer.”
“… what?”
Arthur was dumbfounded for a moment by his expression, which was too serious to be a joke.