Chapter 305
‘...Um. He’s also a constellation...’ thought Lee Changsik as he tried to wrap his head around it.
“Welcome. I was expecting you.”
The chairman of Hwangryong High School came to greet the group personally. He couldn’t sit still when he heard that people from Hanseong Group were coming.
The school was meant to train hunters, but in the end, what mattered the most was how much investment they received. Thus, top investment groups like Hanseong Group were valuable guests that the school couldn’t afford to neglect.
“How much did Hanseong Group pay?”
“I think it was the biggest or the second biggest investment…?”
“...!”
Hearing that, Choi Yeonseung understood why the chairman bowed at a 90-degree angle.
“Okay, let’s go inside.”
The chairman wondered, “By the way, are you perhaps new?” He had been in contact with a lot of hunters, so he could instinctively feel that these weren’t the usual people from Hanseong Group.
‘They’re not ordinary people.’
“Indeed.”
Han Seha lowered her mask, and the chairman was stunned to see the familiar face.
“Hunter Han Seha!”
“This isn’t the only surprise.”
The other two people next to her also revealed their faces, causing the chairman to almost faint.
“W-Why are these shabby people in such a precious place...?”
“Didn’t you mean to say the opposite?”
The chairman picked up a cup with trembling hands. He didn’t even seem to notice that he had mixed up his words.
“I see...! I understand!”
“?”
“Are you here because of Go Cheonsik? Is his potential that great?”
“Uh, no. That’s not it.”
“!?”
What had they come here for if not for Go Cheonsik?
“Ah, right. Go Cheonsik is currently on drugs. Make sure to look into him carefully and quietly. Who knows what he might do?”
“Huh?!”
“I want to recruit a certain hunter using the nomination right of Hanseong Group...”
Before Choi Yeonseung could finish speaking, he was interrupted by someone knocking at the door and then entering the chairman’s office.
“This is rather unpleasant, Chairman. I’m not one to be petty about the order, but how much did Namhyeong Group invest in you? Why should I take the backseat?”
Nam Hakgi ignored Choi Yeonseung and the others and only looked at the chairman. Even though this seemed petty, it was within his right. It was only fair that the one who had invested the most should have priority when it came to discussing and recruiting a prospective hunter.
That was how capitalism worked.
Despite all that, he had found out that someone else had a meeting with the chairman before him. He couldn’t accept something like that.
“Actually, Hanseong Group doubled your investment amount,” explained the chairman. Initially, Namhyeong Group had been the top investor, but then Han Seha had invested her own money before coming to the high school.
-This is enough to be first, right? I’m bringing a guest with me, so if you embarrass me, Hwangryong High School is done for. Get the right amount of money!
-U-Understood!
“...”
Nam Hakgi looked very embarrassed. Who could’ve predicted this?
Namhyeong Group had invested quite a lot, so he had never expected that someone would double their sum in such a short amount of time!
‘Why did Hanseong Group double it? Is Go Cheonsik that valuable?’
“...No?!”
He only realized what was going on when he saw Han Seha sneer at him.
‘Hunter Han Seha...!’
She had doubled the investment to humiliate him. Han Seha was an A-grade hunter with tons of money, so she had the means to do something like that. She was so eccentric that she couldn’t even be considered an A-grade hunter. She only cared about herself!
“That’s so pathetic. You wasted your money like that just to keep me in check.”
“...What the hell are you saying, you asshole?! This has nothing to do with you!”
“Sure thing. You expect me to believe that?”
“You... Do you want there to be a post all over social media about the successor of Namhyeong Group bungee jumping naked from the rooftop of Hwangryong High School?!” growled Han Seha, threatening him as though she were about to kill him.
Nam Hakgi flinched and stepped back. He had bodyguards, but they were no match for an A-grade hunter.
Choi Yeonseung suddenly asked, “Are you Seha’s friend?”
“No?!”
“This is Nam Hakgi from Namhyeong Group.”
“Who are you…? Gasp. Hunter Lee Changsik! It is an honor to see you!”
Nam Hakgi straightened his posture and bowed as he greeted Lee Changsik. Even though he had retired as a hunter, Lee Changsik had once represented South Korea as an A-grade hunter. No matter how powerful Nam Hakgi was, he couldn’t be careless when dealing with a big shot like Lee Changsik.
“I saw you at the banquet hall last time. I’m happy to see you well and healthy.”
“Yes, you don’t seem to be doing too bad yourself.”
“The person next to you...”
‘Choi Yeonseung!’
Nam Hakgi immediately recognized his face.
Three A-grade hunters!
Nam Hakgi felt lightheaded.
Was Go Cheonsik really that talented? Everyone had given him a great evaluation, but Nam Hakgi hadn’t expected three A-grade hunters to come and recruit him...
‘If I raise my investment now... No. It’s impossible. Trying to outbid three A-grade hunters would be insane.’
“Then can I nominate a person first?”
“Yes. Whoever it is, just tell me. If the student refuses, I’ll make them accept.”
“Hey, if you keep talking like that, you might just lose your position as the chairman. Be careful.” Choi Yeonseung’s words caused the chairman to freeze.
“I-I’m joking! I’m joking…”
“Uh-huh… Then I’ll take Wi Seongu with me.”
“Yes... Huh? Who’s that??”
Choi Yeonseung walked away without explaining.
Nam Hakgi and the chairman remained behind and looked at each other with puzzled expressions. Who was Wi Seongu...?
***
“Maybe you should’ve explained it a bit more.”
“To the chairman, or to your friend?”
“He really isn’t...!” Han Seha was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes
Seeing her expression, Choi Yeonseung said in a panic, “I’m sorry! I won’t say that again.”
“Really... He’s not...! Shit...”
Han Seha held back her tears and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. They weren’t tears of sorrow, but tears of anger. However, she couldn’t be mad at Choi Yeonseung, so...
‘Hunter Han Seha seems to have some problems,’ Lee Changsik thought to himself.
“Our good friend Wi Seongu… He’s probably confused right now.”
Wi Seongu was just told out of nowhere that Hanseong Group would recruit him, so he had to be baffled. It wasn’t even some small no-name clan, but the famous group in South Korea, Hanseong Group.
Winning the lottery seemed more realistic than that.
“In any case, we’ll have the chance to explain everything to him when we meet him later.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
After that, the three of them went to other schools as well. They had made an unexpected profit at the first high school they went to, so they were hoping to find decent hunters in other places as well.
...Yet surprisingly, talents were rather difficult to find.
“Umm...”
“Are my standards too high?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Lee Changsik shook his head. Choi Yeonseung’s standards were strict but not high. He only wanted the prospective hunters to have potential and the right values. Those were his only requirements.
Nevertheless, there was a reason why they had trouble finding people.
“First of all, the really talented students are scouted from abroad before they even turn ten.”
It wasn’t as hard to hunt in South Korea as it used to be, but overseas countries were still very attractive to prospective hunters. Moreover, the overseas agencies scouted the students by offering money to their families.
“And... the talents are usually nurtured from a young age...”
“To me, they seem very cheap and shallow...” Han Seha nodded in understanding.
Lee Changsik looked puzzled for a moment.
‘No...’
She really said that...?
In any case, the prospective hunters who had grown up with excessive expectations never wanted to do hard work. Choi Yeonseung didn’t mean to criticize those kinds of hunters, but they weren’t what he and Lee Changsik were looking for.
What they both wanted was a hunter who was hungry for strength like the clan members they were used to!
In any case, it was more difficult to find talents than they had expected.
“Anyway, you can look forward to the next place,” said Lee Changsik confidently.
They were going to a stadium.
Schools that specialized in hunters didn’t train the students quietly. They consistently sent them to competitions in order to gain results, train them, and advertise them to the outside world.
The Iron-Blooded National High School Hunter Competition was one of those competitions. Countless young hopefuls competed fiercely in this competition for an entire day! Because of that, the general public was highly interested in this competition, and many scouts gathered here.
“By the way, why is the name ‘Iron-Blooded’? Shouldn’t it be something like ‘the presidential’ or ‘national competition’?”
“...Ah, you think so?”
Lee Changsik ducked the question, but Han Seha went out of her way to reply, “It was probably named after the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor.”
“Oh.”
“...!”
Lee Changsik cast a resentful look at Han Seha, but she wasn’t the type of person to care about things like that.
***
“Shit...”
Yang Haifeng, a Chinese hunter of the Shaolin Temple clan, let out a disgruntled sound. Those that had come with Yang Haifeng realized he was in a bad mood and avoided looking at him.
“No matter how unreasonable the party is, they should say something that at least makes some sense. If you were Korean, would you come to China? The party would take everything away from them and then throw them away!”
“...”
“...”
There was a reason why Yang Haifeng was stressed out. They had received an order from the Chinese Communist Party.
-Go to South Korea and scout for prospective hunters.
...If the party acted, then the clans below them had to act as well.
Yang Haifeng worked as a scout within the clan and had no choice but to follow the order. The problem was that the task was virtually impossible.
Twenty or thirty years prior, he might’ve been able to lure people with things like “It’s a land of opportunity! Come to China! It’s a vast land that welcomes you!” In fact, many Korean hunters went to China during that time, as the Chinese would lure them with huge rewards and promises of good treatment. However, the results weren’t exactly good.
Whenever the hunters risked their lives in a raid, the Chinese government would use all sorts of excuses to reduce the compensation. Moreover, they would also postpone the promised rewards by sharing it in small portions, and if there was a dangerous area, they would send the hunters first.
Evidently, rumors had spread to South Korea, deterring hunters from going to China. They preferred other countries.
“We need to manage our image. Why don’t the party executives use their brains like I do?”
“A-aren’t you looking forward to this competition?”
This year’s Iron-Blooded Competition didn’t only feature Korean hunters. Prospective hunters from China had also been invited to participate.
They were still young, but they were talented and extremely popular! If they managed to secure a win, it was obvious that the Chinese media would talk about it for a long time.
-As expected, small countries can’t beat a big country...
-The power of the Chinese...
“I’m looking forward to it, but if I can’t get the job done, they’ll rip into me. How can I focus on the competition?”
“Where is Gu Guowu?”
His subordinate changed the topic. He realized that continuing to talk about the competition would only cause Yang Haifeng to swear at him.
“I don’t know. He stayed in his room the whole time, and I honestly don't care. All the better if he doesn’t come out!”
Gu Guowu was the party official supposed to deliver a congratulatory speech as a guest invited to this competition. However, he hadn’t yet left his room, which bothered Yang Haifeng. He should’ve come out to talk to them or give them some kind of help...
“T-the competition is starting.”
“Yes. Let’s watch the competition. We better win.”
Yang Haifeng sighed as he looked away from his subordinate. He could see the young hunters enter the large stadium and greet each other. He was honestly not that interested in the competition itself. He only wanted their hunters to win in order to avoid trouble.
‘Well, we’ll win as long as nothing weird happens.’
The Korean hopefuls might think of this as just a competition, but China’s team had gone through a grueling training session before arriving at the stadium. They were ten times more prepared.
No one could beat them unless something out of the ordinary happened.
“Why are there other people in the VIP seats? Don’t you know that I’ve paid a lot of money for these seats?”
“I-I’m sorry. It was supposed to be a private seat, but an unexpected VIP came...”
“???”
Hearing that, Yang Haifeng turned his head.
What was this ominous feeling?
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