HDAAD Chapter 110

A hunter’s rank never increased after awakening.

That was because rank and abilities were blessings bestowed by the gods. But they wanted to re-examine me? On what grounds?

“The Hunter Association and Association believe there’s a possibility your rank was measured incorrectly, since you entered the tower as a D-rank and obtained the egg of purification.”

“Can the measuring device given by the gods malfunction?”

Taeju shrugged his shoulders.

As Hanseong said, the device that measured ranks and attributes was literally a holy relic, bestowed upon each nation by the gods.

How could it possibly break down? They were just making up an excuse to see my face again and threaten me.

‘What do I do about this?’

I had escaped using the teleportation item, but I knew the government wouldn’t give up on Salt. I expected them to either meddle with Hanseong’s trial as they threatened or apply pressure through other means, but suddenly a re-examination?

“But you seem pretty chill about it? You were bouncing off the walls when you had to meet the president before.”

“That’s ’cause Hyung had to go alone that time.”

“Oppa, aren’t you going to the Hunter Association alone too?”

“Yeah. They say a broadcasting station is coming to cover it that day. What the hell are they thinking? They told me and No-eul noona to attend as well.”

Broadcasting station? Cameras? Could these bastards be trying to make it seem like I signed a contract with them? So they can paint me as a traitor if I deny it later?

‘In the novel, they drove an awakened healer to ruin like that and forced them into the Hunter Association.’

“Hyung?”

I waved my hand, signaling them to be quiet.

How to handle this? I can’t just let them screw me over now that I know, but I don’t wanna let this slide either.

“What’s Oppa thinking about with that smile on his face?”

“No clue. But I can tell it’s not good. Every time he makes that expression, he ends up causing trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

Ignoring their whispered gossip, I woke up the sleeping Haegeum.

“Haegeum, just a sec.”

“Yes, Master.”

Haegeum’s eyes fluttered open as her tail twitched in her sleep. But she was still half-asleep.

“Haegeum. Is it possible to transfer a pet’s ownership?”

“Yaaawn. It’s possible…if the owner dies. But it doesn’t apply to me or Senior Salt.”

“Why?”

“Because Senior Salt and I were created using ————.”

In the middle of Haegeum’s words, a sharp beep sounded and a headache struck.

“What the?”

“What was that just now?”

Seeing Taeju and Hanseong’s startled expressions, it seemed I wasn’t the only one affected.

“What did you say just now?”

“I said we were pets created using ————.”

Sure enough, as Haegeum opened her mouth, a piercing tinnitus and a headache that felt like a sharp blade churning my brain followed.

“Ugh. Seriously, what is this?”

Noticing people’s strange reactions, Haegeum, her previously drowsy eyes now wide open, stood up on my palm.

“Master?”

“Haegeum. You know that thing you said earlier.”

“Yes?”

“Every time I hear the word before ‘pets created using,’ I get tinnitus and a headache.”

“Oh…”

Haegeum shrank back. That gesture seemed to signify she had messed up.

“I misspoke in my half-asleep state.”

“Misspoke?”

“What do you mean, misspoke?”

At Taeju and Hanseong’s questions, as they had also experienced the tinnitus and headache, Haegeum sighed.

“…I can’t elaborate.”

“Then can you give us a rough idea, if not in detail?”

After pondering my question for a moment, Haegeum moved her long snout this way and that. Seeing her troubled expression, a thought occurred to me.

“Is it something like ‘revealing the secrets of heaven’?”

“Ah! That’s right! That’s it!”

So I, who knows the ending of the novel, can’t hear Haegeum’s words because it would be revealing heavenly secrets? Then why the hell did you regress me here? Should’ve picked some clueless kid instead.

‘What the hell is that damned god thinking?’

“What’s that supposed to mean? Revealing heavenly secrets?”

“What else could it mean? They just blocked what Haegeum was saying from up there.”

I pointed at the ceiling with my finger.

“The sky? You mean God?”

“Yup.”

That bastard calling himself a god won’t die, so when I meet him, I’m gonna punch him for sure. Let’s see how you like getting hit by a creation from another world.

“Haegeum, what’s your connection to God? Can you hear his words?”

“No. I simply know things because I am the Wise Seahorse. But Master. Why do you ask?”

“I wanna feed shit to some bastards.”

That’s right. What matters now isn’t that divine son of a bitch, but the crazy bastards in front of me. I underestimated that mad dog Kim Hae-ah way too much. This time, I need to make sure they never look down on me again… Huh?

“Hanseong, what’s wrong?”

I tilted my head at Hanseong’s pale face.

I get why Taeju would react that way since he directly experienced Seo Go-woon’s past, but Hanseong shouldn’t know about Seo Go-woon. Why does she look so shocked?

“O-Oppa. You’re not planning to wreak havoc at the Hunter Association, are you?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“No way! That’s a government building! If you destroy a government building, you could end up in prison!”

I let out an empty laugh.

So that’s why she turned pale. She thought I was gonna demolish the building. What the hell, I’m not some thug who goes around smashing buildings for no reason.

“I won’t break anything.”

“No hitting either!”

“I won’t hit anyone! Do I look like some punk who beats people up?”

“B-but. On the internet…”

Internet? What’s written on the internet? Why is she suddenly bringing up the internet?

“What does it say?”

“That Oppa beat someone to death, but Taeju covered it up…”

“What bullshit is that?! When did Hyung ever kill anyone?! And how would I have the power to cover up a crime?!”

“It’s not true?”

“Of course not! And Hyung may have been a delinquent, but he never hit people!”

The hell? I saw in the novel how you bribed officials to cover up Seo Go-woon beating someone, and now you lie through your teeth without even blinking. No wonder Seo Go-woon never got his act together and kept being a piece of shit. If my older brother were a bastard like Seo Go-woon, I would’ve broken his leg and confined him to the house if I had to. I wouldn’t enable him like that.

“Then what are you planning to do?”

“It’s no fun if I tell you in advance.”

I grinned. Let’s see these fuckers get a taste of their own medicine.

***

As always, the Hunter Association was crowded with people, but today the crowd was exceptionally large.

“Is it true Seo Go-woon is coming today?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Look, even the broadcasting stations are here.”

“You think I can receive that purification too?”

“They say anyone below S-rank has no contamination and can’t even feel it. So what’s with this purification nonsense?”

“You never know. Maybe the high-rank hunters are lying to keep it all to themselves.”

At the man’s words, the woman’s eyes widened.

Come to think of it, that made sense. They knew better than anyone how greedy high-rank hunters could be.

Wasn’t it typical of high-rank hunters to hog all the money, fame, and popularity just because they were highly ranked, never sharing any of it?

“Wanna look into it?”

“How?”

The man’s eyes lit up at the woman’s suggestion. As he listened to her explanation, the man nodded.

“What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Then I’ll go get ready.”

As the woman, a former member of the Hunter Association, eagerly headed inside, the man walked toward the parking lot behind the building. Approaching a car with much darker tinted windows than the others, the passenger side window rolled down.

A burly man with silvery-gray hair glared at the man.

“It’s true that Seo Go-woon is coming to the Hunter Association. And…”

After hearing everything, the man in the car nodded and pulled an envelope from inside his jacket, handing it to the other man.

“Thank you. If you need anything else…”

Without a reply, the man in the car rolled up the window. The other man bowed and hurried away from the parking lot, while the man inside moved to the backseat.

In the rear seat sat a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes, a faint smile on her lips.

“Idiots.”

“No one will risk their life when money is involved.”

“Are the preparations complete?”

“Everything is ready.”

“What a pity. I haven’t finished sightseeing here yet.”

Despite her words, there was no trace of regret in the woman’s voice. Rather, it was filled with joy.

“I hope Seryozha likes my gift.”

“When has Seryozha ever refused a gift from Czarina?”

The woman snorted at the man’s remark.

“He may not refuse, but he’s never been happy or pleased to receive one.”

Sergei Dragunov.

As Russia’s first underage and SS-rank hunter, he never rejected gifts from Yekaterina Alekseyevna, the mafia boss who held sway over all of Russia. However, not once had he ever been delighted or pleased by them.

No, he was repulsed by them. Because the moment he was rendered powerless was when he received Yekaterina’s gifts.

“How should I wrap it up to make our Seryozha smile at me?”

“First, it would be wise to sever the arms and legs.”

“Indeed.”

With a nickname like ‘Berserker,’ he must be quite the feisty kitten.

If Seryozha’s face were to be marred even slightly, she would want to tear apart the culprit regardless of their usefulness to her.

“What’s the situation in China?”

“They entered the country yesterday. The United States, United Kingdom, and France have also arrived and are headed this way.”

The man answered as he lit Yekaterina’s cigarette.

“A child with seven nannies will end up neglected.”

“Yes.”

“Why are those fools unaware of that? Is it because they obtained him by chance?”

If Seo Go-woon had been hers from the start, she would have kept him hidden away, never letting anyone else lay eyes on him.

Just like her Seryozha now.

Yekaterina smiled faintly as she thought of Sergei, secluded deep in the Russian forests at their dacha.

“You don’t plan to inform the Chinese?”

“Why bother?”

Even if China and Russia maintained good relations, that was a matter between governments, not them.

“The Triads may raise a fuss about it.”

“Since when do we care about the Triads’ opinion?”

Yekaterina fixed her gaze on the man. Under her glare, as if looking at a cockroach, the man lowered his head. However, Yekaterina’s stare did not relent. Instead, it intensified, as if gripping the man’s throat.

Sweat beaded on the man’s forehead, dripping to the floor, and his body began to tremble slightly.

Yekaterina drew a gun from inside her jacket.

With a soft click, a bullet pierced the man’s forehead. Blood and gore splattered inside the heavily tinted car, and the stench of blood replaced the acrid cigarette smoke permeating the air.

“I thought he was quite useful, but I suppose not. I should’ve brought Viktor instead.”

Clicking her tongue in disapproval, Yekaterina tossed the gun toward the dead man and leaned back in her seat.

“Drive.”

“Yes, Czarina.”

As the car pulled away smoothly, Yekaterina’s phone vibrated on the seat beside her.

Yekaterina stared at the buzzing phone for a moment before pressing the answer button.

-Katyusha.

A man’s voice, filled with affection, resonated inside the car.

“Why did you assign this piece of shit to me?”

-Isn’t he adequate as a bullet sponge?

“No. He just put me in a bad mood.”

As the man chuckled, Yekaterina furrowed her brow.

“Are you laughing when I say I’m in a foul mood?”

-Of course. Didn’t I just prove my necessity to Katyusha once again?

Sighing, Yekaterina called the man’s name.

“Viktor. I’m going now. Get ready.”

-I thought you were selecting the gift personally?

“Seeing that stupid bastard made me too tired to bother. I’m going to see Seryozha.”

-Haha. Understood. I’ll make the arrangements immediately.

After hanging up, Yekaterina dropped her phone on the floor and crushed it under her sharp stiletto heel.