When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 59



Only Krnovel

59. Mr. President

I, a man named Oh Hyeon-seong.

It’s embarrassing to say this myself, but I think he’s a living fossil of this industry.

For better or for worse.

Like me, there are only a few people left who remember the early days of the hunter industry and are still alive today.

The actual, if unofficial, start of the Gate incident was almost 20 years ago.

However, at that time, the existence of the Awakened was barely known.

The number of Awakened who suddenly gained unknown powers was extremely small, and the number of Gates was even smaller.

At that time, the frequency of gates appearing around the world was about several dozen times a year.

The first time the number of annual gate incidents exceeded three digits, government officials from around the world gathered for a serious meeting to discuss countermeasures.

Thinking about it now, it’s truly a laughable number.

At its peak, one hunter from the special forces would have to clear that many gates.

Anyway, the government at the time thoroughly hid the existence of the gate under the pretext of preventing social unrest.

The number of hunters and gates that had to be hidden was significantly smaller, so it was a very feasible choice at the time.

Then, each government created its own secret military units to operate in secret.

Where would you find fools who would sit idle and let the wonderful asymmetrical power of the Awakened Ones play?

As it was completely unknown to the outside world, it was perfect for operating in the shadows, and it boasted overwhelming efficiency and performance compared to any other special forces organized so far.

As such effects were proven, governments around the world began to desperately select and summon Awakened individuals in order not to fall behind in the competition.

In such a time, I was taken to the Awakening Training Center.

When I was a teenager, buying bread at the convenience store, I was drafted as a third-generation student and officially became a member of the special mission force.

But now that I think about it, the internal system at that time was a total mess.

Until then, they had only been operating in a fist-fighting manner, and the Awakened had never properly gathered together to conduct operations.

The upper class was full of old farts with a sense of superiority, and they set up a lot of strange rules that didn’t fit with Hunters.

The biggest problem of all was lack of ability.

Compared to the status that the word ‘special force’ would later have, it showed an unbelievably shabby competitiveness.

Occasionally, when we encountered a stage for the Awakened from another country, we were busy either abandoning the operation or withdrawing.

Of course, even in all that, I never had a failed operation.

Until some crazy senior misdirected his powers during an operation and put a huge hole in my foot.

Two years later.

The newly incoming 5th generation was evaluated as the ‘golden generation’.

Following their extraordinary performance at the training camp, their performance was also dazzling after they were deployed on the field.

Even now, when I think about it, it was a generation filled with outstanding talents.

Han Su-yeon from the Disaster Management Agency, Baek Ji-soo from the National Security Agency, and Kang Seok from the Special Operations Command.

The key figures of the 5th generation have now become big shots, each leading key government agencies.

Indeed, it can be said that the evaluation at that time was accurate.

From this point on, the special forces began to operate based on ability rather than mettle.

It was also the year that I officially began taking on the role of leader of the special forces.

Two years later.

While the 6th generation, who were only compared to the previous golden generation, were living a miserable life, the 7th generation came in as replacements.

At this time, the organizational structure has already been established under the leadership of those who have gone before.

However, unfortunately for the 6th batch, it was also a time when a deep-rooted jinx arose that odd-numbered batches were aces.

Although not as good as the Golden Generation, the 7th generation was unanimously praised for its excellence.

At the center of this were Choi Jeong-il, the current representative of Aegis, and Yoon Seol-ha.

Both of them were noticed from the beginning as possessors of unique and special constitutions, and they performed well according to their characteristics.

They were also juniors that I cared about quite a bit.

Unlike the 5th generation trio who had strong egos, these two were cooperative and followed along without complaint from the beginning.

From the perspective of leading a team, I remember trusting him and entrusting him with tasks, as there were no other successors as good as him.

But after an incident broke out one day, Yun Seol-ha’s name became taboo and could not be mentioned.

Until the last moment when the unit was disbanded.

But that taboo suddenly came to me at an unexpected time.

***

“That… what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“It’s true, Yun Seol-ha is back.”

Han Su-yeon said.

But saying it like that only makes it even more incomprehensible.

Why and how did Yun Seol-ha, who was supposed to be dead, come back?

“A few days ago, a high-ranking Hunter named Han Ki-young was murdered in his home. Since Hunters above Level 10 are managed at a national level, we directly investigated the case. Up until then, we suspected that it was the work of a radical group. Han Ki-young was a Hunter with excellent detective skills and had cooperated with government agencies on several occasions, so he was a reasonable target. However, the results of the investigation were different.”

Han Su-yeon handed over the photos she had taken out of her bosom.

Then Oh Hyeon-seong, who had accepted it, narrowed his eyebrows slightly.

“Is this a CCTV recording from near your house? But the image quality isn’t very good.”

There was a picture of a woman walking down a dark street at night, but it was not enough to properly identify her.

Of course, it was an odd match to the silhouette of Yun Seol-ha he remembered, but it was not enough to be certain with just this much evidence.

It was much more convincing that it was a coincidence than the name of someone who had died a long time ago coming up again.

“It wasn’t just that photo that made us so sure. There were other crucial pieces of evidence found at the scene.”

Yun Seol-ha was a single ability user with the only ability in the entire world.

Like Oh Hyeon-seong, who has the unique constitution of being friendly with spirits.

However, traces of her unique power were clearly visible at the murder scene.

Although others didn’t notice it at all, Han Su-yeon could tell the traces as soon as she saw them.

“Han Ki-young had top-notch detection abilities. He could read the movements of even a single ant from several kilometers away. That’s why he collaborated with us several times. However, a person with such abilities died before he could do anything.”

There was no trace of resistance at the scene of Han Ki-young’s murder.

No matter how bad a surprise attack is, this case was different.

He was a person with such a high level of sensitivity that he usually suffered from headaches due to excessive senses, and killing him so cleanly was nearly impossible.

Unless you are someone with the same level of ability as Yun Seol-ha in the past.

“This can’t be all, what other clues are there? Do you have any idea where that guy is?”

“Sorry, that’s all I can tell you.”

“If that’s the case, then why did you call me here?”

“I thought you might have gotten a call from Baek Ji-soo or someone else. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case, but in any case, don’t even think about showing up at this scene, senior. This is a whole other level of issue than just clearing one or two gates.”

Han Su-yeon spoke quite firmly.

Oh Hyun-seong, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth.

“If what you said is true, then let me just ask what you would do.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll try to capture them alive.”

“Do you think you can subdue Yun Seol-ha with such a resigned mindset? If you do, you will die too.”

Oh Hyun-seong said with a cold look in his eyes.

If she really is, then her opponent is no amateur.

If you had left something like a slack in your hands, even Han Su-yeon could have lost her life at any time.

Because real combat isn’t about lining up hunter ranks and fighting.

“How did he come back alive? What motivated him to kill the Hunter? Whether he came out of his psychic state. We still don’t know anything about him. I can’t just kill him in this situation. Like… last time.”

Han Su-yeon’s voice trembled slightly.

Just like Oh Hyeon-seong, she also witnessed Yoon Seol-ha’s death right before her eyes.

It seemed as if the scent of blood from that time, buried in time and unable to be washed away, was blooming again.

“You look a bit dangerous.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m in great shape thanks to the help I get from your crops.”

“… That’s not what I meant.”

Oh Hyeon-seong was silent for a moment and then continued speaking.

“Okay, you go and show your face to Choi Jeong-il. Don’t come all the way here and rush out, saying you’re busy.”

“Okay, senior, don’t stay in Seoul for no reason. You might get caught up in it.”

Han Soo-yeon left the rooftop first.

Even in the midst of all this, when Oh Hyeon-seong was repeatedly tried to send him back to Changyeong-ri, he simply responded that he understood.

“Phew.”

Leaning against the railing, he let out a heavy sigh and went down the hospital stairs and out the main door.

I told Choi Jeong-il that I would return soon, but unfortunately, it seemed like my visit would end here.

“Uh…! Master?”

At that moment, Joo Ji-hye appeared in front of him.

With a strange fur hat, and a face that was all red.

***

‘I was lucky in many ways.’

It was a chance encounter with Joo Ji-hye, who had come to visit me in the hospital.

But Oh Hyun-seong heard an interesting story from her.

On my way here, I met a scary woman.

She was a rank 11 hunter, so strong that she was momentarily overwhelmed by him, but she said she couldn’t recognize his face at all.

This might seem strange, since it would be natural for someone that strong to have a well-known face.

Oh Hyun-seong, who had a strong intuition and heard the general impression, headed alone to the alley where Joo Ji-hye had met the unidentified woman.

“Is this it…”

Oh Hyeon-seong, standing in the alley, looked around.

Joo Ji-hye’s testimony that the snow fell so heavily that it disappeared without leaving a single footprint.

Oh Hyeon-seong also looked around carefully, but couldn’t find any traces.

There is no physical trace or trace of any power.

It’s like a ghost or something.

‘But it’s not the work of a ghost.’

bruise!

Melts, who had been sniffing nearby, jumped.

It is a reading of the traces of the land that were left behind.

Melts started running after the long trail, and Oh Hyeonseong followed closely behind.

As he got closer to the traces, he had a strong intuition that these traces belonged to his old junior.

‘But then why…’

Percussion!

Oh Hyun-seong finally reached the end of the trail.

The end of the trail leading to the fancy building across the street.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like there had been any accidents, but there were a lot of people and the atmosphere felt ominous.

‘Why does this feel so strong?’

He bypassed the crowd and approached the opposite entrance of the building.

As he approached the back entrance, where there were many dark-tinted black cars parked, a man in a suit quickly blocked his way.

They already block it before you even get near any building.

“Entry is not possible right now, so please go back.”

“Is there some important event happening here?”

“Are you not even watching the news? There’s a summit meeting going on over there right now.”

“Um, the summit? No, so the president is here now?”

The man nodded with a smirk.

Then, Oh Hyeon-seong felt dizzy for a moment.

“… I’m going to go back.”

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