When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 32



Only Krnovel

32. Works

“ask?”

Oh Hyeon-seong asked back as if he found it absurd.

What favor could a big shot at the security agency possibly ask of a retired hunter?

But Baek Ji-soo nodded without even blinking.

“Yes, please.”

He was speechless for a moment.

This guy is still as shameless as ever.

“What would you ask of a retired hunter recuperating in the countryside?”

“An ordinary scum hunter wouldn’t usually say such things to himself. He’s the only one who can protect his petty pride. Besides, wouldn’t it be better to talk inside when it’s cold outside?”

“…Okay, let’s talk inside.”

Oh Hyun-seong nodded at Baek Ji-soo’s glance at Joo Ji-hye.

I guess it’s not something you should talk about with her.

Joo Ji-hye hesitated, looking worried, but Oh Hyeon-seong calmed her down and sent her into the annex.

And then the two people sat facing each other in the living room. Baek Ji-soo was the first to speak.

“Do you live here? It looks really big for a single person to live here.”

“That’s why I think my family is growing.”

“It’s amazing. That senior Oh came down to the countryside and lived like this.”

“Does it look too shabby to you?”

“No way. Have you forgotten what kind of environment we used to live in? If it had a roof, it was a five-star hotel.”

Oh Hyeon-seong burst into laughter at her words.

Certainly, that was true.

Because while I was on numerous operations at the time, I saw a lot of really ugly things.

It wasn’t an environment where you could discriminate between men and women.

“What happened to that scar on your face?”

Oh Hyun-seong said, looking at her left cheek.

A long scar remains that wasn’t there before.

The bodies of high-ranking hunters, who have excellent healing powers, rarely have scars.

Because the wounds heal quickly.

But if you think about it the other way around, the fact that you still have a scar means that you were really wounded so close to death.

“It’s a wound I received during the battle to subdue the Queen. Although not as bad as my senior, I had a pretty rough time back then.”

Baek Ji-soo said with a cold smile.

She also participated in the operation at the time, but was not part of Oh Hyeon-seong’s attack team that directly dealt with the queen entity, but was at a different site.

But the mission situation at the time was not all about the queen’s conquest.

It was an extremely vicious operation, with the survival rate for the entire operation in the single digits, even though the best forces in Korea at the time were gathered.

Baek Ji-soo was also one of the survivors of that operation.

After all, she was also a comrade who had gone through life and death together.

Just like Han Su-yeon and Choi Jeong-il.

But just that fact doesn’t solve everything.

Even though we are all comrades who have fought together through life and death, some become lifelong friends, some become enemies, and some become the objects of intense love and hate.

“I’d like to get to the main point about what I asked you earlier.”

Oh Hyun-seong said.

Then she nodded.

“A while ago, an S-rank wave was detected in this town. During the investigation, a latent monster was discovered. You know about it, Senpai, right?”

“I was also moving to evacuate, so there’s no way I wouldn’t know.”

“We solved the latent monster problem without a single fatality, so it wasn’t for nothing that the media kept talking about it. Thanks to that, the president’s approval rating went up and everyone was smiling, saying it was a victory for the initial response. But… there was one strange thing.”

She tilted her head and continued speaking.

“The observed wavelength has nothing to do with the latent monster.”

The lurking monsters had the characteristic of hiding in other gates and sneaking out while avoiding the hunters’ eyes.

After that, he became the type to thoroughly hide his existence and grow in strength.

It is impossible for the observation equipment of the Management Bureau to detect the wavelength of the gate.

“When I read the report, it seems like they just brushed it off without even trying to figure out if the observed waves were just a simple equipment malfunction. They were sneaking around with the lurking monsters. Even Han Soo-yeon personally confirmed the issue, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to handle things so sloppily under normal circumstances.”

Baek Ji-soo said.

“In principle, I should have confirmed that what was caught by the observation equipment was ‘something huge’ on par with an S-rank gate… But it just so happens that my senior lives here.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“Grim Hell, you were the one who killed him. Did you regain your strength?”

Her words are straight to the point.

Oh Hyun-seong chuckled at the sight, which was no different from before.

It seems like you already know everything.

Well, if the security bureau had planned and investigated such a large-scale incident, it could not have escaped exposure.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s a need to give a definitive answer.

“So, is that request you made earlier that I return to the field? Now that you’ve regained your strength, you want me to work for the country again?”

“No, my senior retired at that time. Even so, did I look like a bitch who got eaten up like that?”

Baek Ji-soo shrugged and said.

“I just want to borrow the three letters of your name.”

“Name…? What does that mean?”

“You do know that the Management Bureau and the Security Bureau, which are supposedly under civilian control, have civilians as their leaders, not Hunters, right?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know that.”

Although various political systems still coexisted in the world, there were quite a few countries where ‘hunters seized power’, a type that can only be seen now.

The most powerful and influential hunter in the country rises to the position of head of state and becomes a dictator who wields an iron fist.

Moreover, Korea was a country with an unusually high percentage of high-level awakened people relative to its population, as if it had inherited a long tradition of developing by grinding people without resources.

That is why it would have been even more of a threat to the existing vested interests.

Those powerful Awakened ones could have turned non-Awakened ones, including themselves, into second-class citizens.

“It’s a ridiculous and obvious thing, but it’s necessary. However, as these policies continue to happen, internal discontent is building up. We’re skilled hunters who risk our lives fighting by entering the gate, so why do we have to receive interference and take orders from the unawakened at every turn? It’s something like that.”

“I see… you have the opposite opinion, don’t you?”

“Putting my personal opinion aside. It’s my job to catch and reform subversive elements within the country. The problem is that among those subversive elements, there are also juniors to my seniors.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Kang Seok. That Torai.”

Baek Ji-soo said with a cynical smile.

“It’s a mess, with some criminal groups and radical terrorists running wild and even spreading assassination threats, but the real problem is not those scoundrels, but the enemy within.”

“Wait a minute, so you’re saying Kang Seok is the enemy within?”

“You know the special agent is already in his hands, right? The hunters at the front are dissatisfied. They’re so dissatisfied that they’re about to stage a coup d’état.”

“Ha, don’t exaggerate. I’m not the type of guy to do that.”

“Have you forgotten what you taught me, senior? That there is no such thing as absolute.”

Baek Ji-soo said.

But Oh Hyun-seong wasn’t naive enough to believe her words at face value.

He shook his head and jumped up from his seat.

“Senior, come into the security office.”

“…what?”

“I’m not telling you to go back to work or do politics. I’ll give you a position for external relations, so just put your name on it. It’s a dream job where you don’t have to go to work and your salary is paid regularly. How about that?”

“I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

“Those who know their senior’s name won’t think of doing anything stupid just because of that.”

“If anyone really knows me, they’ll know that I’m a cripple who came back from the dead.”

“Even so, it will be effective. The symbolism of the three letters of your name. Ironically, you are the only one who does not fully understand its value. At least among the first generation Hunters.”

Baek Ji-soo looked at him intently and said.

But Oh Hyun-seong frowned and replied.

“I’m retired. Don’t get me involved in political fights. Just eat and go.”

Oh Hyun-seong turned his back and headed to the kitchen.

But I stopped at her next words.

“If that doesn’t work out, how about a deal?”

***

Thud thud.

Choi Jeong-il came down the street.

He loaded all the samples he had moved in advance onto the researcher’s vehicle that had arrived a little while ago.

As soon as we arrive at the lab, we will begin studying the samples.

But right now he had something more on his mind.

‘What happened all of a sudden?’

Oh Hyun-seong suddenly received a text message and headed home.

He said he received a strange text message from Joo Ji-hye.

If I had headed here right after finishing my schedule, it would have been enough time to get back, but there’s no way something could happen in such a remote place.

“hmm?”

Choi Jeong-il, who had almost reached home, stopped for a moment.

On the road a little way from the main gate.

There was a black car parked there that I had never seen before.

A suspicious vehicle with very dark tinted windows.

Even from a distance, the people inside didn’t look like villagers.

Thump thump!

“Who are you to park your car here?”

Choi Jeong-il approached and knocked on the window.

The two men were startled by his appearance without any sign of life, but soon they were startled when they saw his face.

It was none other than Choi Jeong-il, the representative of Aegis, who stood out.

The man in the passenger seat quickly rolled down the window halfway and nodded.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. Please just pass by.”

“Answer before I drag you out.”

Choi Jeong-il asked in a cold voice.

Then, the two startled men exchanged glances for a moment and then nodded.

I decided that it would be better to cooperate moderately rather than make a fuss here.

“We are from the National Security Agency.”

“Security? Why is a Security Service agent here?”

Choi Jeong-il was momentarily taken aback by their appearance, even taking out their agent ID cards.

Their sudden appearance was completely unexpected.

He tried to ask them a few more questions about the purpose of their visit, but the men kept their mouths shut.

From here on out, I was determined not to tell anyone, no matter what I did.

‘If there’s a reason to suddenly come to your senior’s house… Could it be Senior Baek?’

Choi Jeong-il looked back as Baek Ji-soo came to mind.

Given her personality, it’s unlikely she would have come to see my face.

If she really came here, there must be something going on.

And at that moment.

Kkwadduk!

The entire vehicle was distorted.

The surprised agents reflexively got out of the vehicle, but at the same time, they felt an enormous pressure and fell to the ground.

Kookookookook!

“Ugh… Ugh!”

A situation where one’s whole body is crushed and cannot move.

In front of them, Han Su-yeon appeared, full of life energy.

“Where is Baek Ji-soo?”

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