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Chapter 273

Instead of creating a separate department for raid-related matters, the US had established several new bureaus and agencies under the Department of Homeland Security.

There had been various reports in relation to hunters: dungeons ranked A-grade and higher had been discovered; a former hunter was on the run after committing serial murder; a clan had been researching suspicious magic, which had eventually led to a disaster, destroying a large area...

From the perspective of those from the Department of Homeland Security, who already had to take care of a vast area, it was understandable that they urgently wanted to take care of all the hunter-related cases that had accumulated since the emergence of the gate.

But this had nothing to do with those cases.

Hwang Gyeongryong had come forward to take care of an S-grade dungeon, but the minister hadn’t even bothered to show up himself and instead sent a vice minister to do the work. Hwang Gyeongryong was seething.

“Dragon Hwang! Let go of his hand!’

“...Deputy minister. Are these guys new?”

Hwang Gyeongryong was dumbfounded by the way the bodyguards of the deputy minister addressed him. From the looks of it, they were C-grade or B-grade hunters at most. They also knew very well that Hwang Gyeongryong was an S-grade hunter. Perhaps that was the reason why they looked so nervous.

“I guess you believe in your artifacts. Kids, is it a taser gun with magic interference?”

“!”

The bodyguards were baffled by how quickly Hwang Gyeongryong figured out what artifacts they used. The equipment used by the employees of the Department of Homeland Security were state-of-the-art magic engineering equipment developed in a secret government laboratory. It was only natural to use such equipment because they did a lot of hunter-related work.

Nevertheless, Hwang Gyeongryong had figured it out without even a glance. He clicked his tongue, thinking they were pathetic. “So stupid... Do you think only government laboratories study such things? I guess you’re unaware that corporate laboratories are ten years ahead of the times.”

Raid-related companies had grown to a tremendous level. In addition to the technology they put on the market, they were also researching other technologies in secrecy.

They were researching new various kinds of magic and artifacts, which were mainly given to the top hunters in the clan and to a few wealthy people who had invested large sums of money.

“That kind of technology came out a few years ago. If you want to shoot, then shoot. It won’t work.”

“...”

“So you won’t shoot? Well, you made the right call. How much money do they give you? Two million dollars? Three million? No matter what your salary is, I don’t think it’s ever going to surpass that. If you aim those taser guns at the deputy minister right now, I’ll give you double that and scout you.”

“...”

“Make that triple!”

Hearing that, the bodyguards instantly shifted their guns and aimed them at the deputy minister. Hwang Gyeongryong was already holding the deputy by the collar, choking him. Now that the bodyguards also turned against the deputy by pointing their guns at him, he couldn’t help but whimper.

Hwang Gyeongryong sneered.

“D-Dragon Hwang.”

“Hey. Give me a taser.”

“P-Please!”

“It was a joke. Lower your guns. What’s wrong with you?”

The deputy minister was the most influential person, in charge of a department that was at the top of the country’s executive branch. He had nothing to fear except the minister. Furthermore, that organization wasn’t full of clueless people. He was the deputy minister of the Department of Homeland Security, an organization with actual power and influence. But rather than explaining how great of a person he was, the deputy minister simply tried to gain Hwang Gyeongryong’s sympathy by shedding tears.

“Cough, cough...” Thank you.”

“Call the minister. If you don’t call him, I’ll slam you through one of the floors of this building.”

“T-The minister is currently attending a meeting hosted by the president.”

“Bring him here when it’s over. You also have to explain why you’re only allocating this much money for the S-grade dungeon raid.”

“Dragon Hwang, you know the reason! You don’t know how important public opinion is these days... W-We can’t allocate more money than the standard.”

Taking care of dungeons had always been an unprofitable business. If they sealed it off well, they were criticized for spending an exorbitant amount of money. If they didn’t properly seal it, they were criticized for not doing it right.

However, it was foolish not to properly prepare for this dungeon because of such worries. Moreover, hadn’t Choi Yeonseung told Hwang Gyeongryong about his foreboding vision?

Hwang Gyeongryong told the deputy minister, “You have to invest three times as much. We need to estimate the damage being double the usual and evacuate everyone.”

“They’re going to curse us into oblivion if we do that! You know that the elections are right around the corner. The Congress will never allow it. P-Please...”

“...”

Hwang Gyeongryong frowned. Both the Democrat-Republican Party, which was now in power, and the Liberal Federalist Party, the opposing party seeking to take control, had very good relations with Hwang Gyeongryong. No person that did business in the United States was foolish enough to side with only one political party.

However, Hwang Gyeongryong preferred the Democrat-Republican Party that was now in power. Given that he was close with George, the current president, it was convenient in many ways.

‘Should I back off?’

The budget itself wasn’t small. However, in order to make the whole operation safer, he wanted to widen the evacuation area and further reinforce the encirclement. If they started the operation with the current allocated budget, any monster that unexpectedly broke through the siege would cause a catastrophic number of civilian casualties.

Rutherford, where the dungeon was located, was relatively close to New York and Washington...

However, seeing the deputy minister talk like this, Hwang Gyeongryong clicked his tongue as he realized it couldn’t be helped. “Okay. I’ll take a step back.”

“Thank you!”

***

“...So you didn’t get the required budget?” said Choi Yeonseung with a contemptuous look.

Hwang Gyeongryong was quite embarrassed.

“T-This... It’s not like I can threaten them with violence. It has to be passed by Congress...”

“Didn’t you say that you go to the sauna with the president?”

“That’s not enough!”

“Well, then it can’t be helped,” replied Choi Yeonseung, accepting the situation surprisingly easily.

Hwang Gyeongryong was surprised by his reaction.

“You’re not mad?”

“Well, when I was in South Korea a long time ago, it was way worse than this.”

‘This guy...!’

Hwang Gyeongryong was tearing up.

Choi Yeonseung even compared the current situation with the hardships of that time!

“It’s a lot better now...”

“How could you know that when you don’t even go to South Korea?”

Hwang Gyeongryong asked, “So where are you going now?”

“I’m going to go around the evacuation area and evacuate people.”

“Those people won’t just leave... How will you...?”

“They’ll leave if I offer them money.”

“Are you going to pay them out of your own pockets?”

“Should I use someone else’s money?”

“Hey...”

“What is it?”

“That’s... That’s too much...!”

Hwang Gyeongryong felt ashamed that he couldn’t even raise his head. He had stayed in the United States for several decades longer than Choi Yeonseung and had reached a position where he could proudly declare himself the best, and yet he had bumped into a wall at a moment like this. To be more precise, it wasn’t a wall.

‘I had the ability to do it, but I didn’t.’

He could’ve increased their budget by lobbying or bribing the lawmakers and their opponents. However, he hadn’t done so. He didn’t want to sacrifice that much for people he didn’t even know.

Meanwhile, Choi Yeonseung was taking money out of his own bank account to try and get people out of the evacuation zone...

Hwang Gyeongryong felt so much shame and regret that he couldn’t even look at Choi Yeonseung. He cried out, “Hey. Stop it. I’ll just lobby the people in power!”

“It’s going to take a lot of time. I think it’s better if I just give my money to the people rather than bribe lawmakers to increase the budget.”

“Is that so...?”

“In addition, you should save your money. I know what to do with them later.”

Hwang Gyeongryong snorted at Choi Yeonseung’s words. Putting everything else aside, he couldn’t help remembering the good old days of talking to Choi Yeonseung. Choi Yeonseung had always thought that Hwang Gyeongryong, even though he, too, was corrupted by desire, could accomplish things.

Hwang Gyeongryong suggested, “Well, I also have money, so let’s evacuate the people together.”

“Ah. I’m sorry, but the faith will be divided if you pay as well. I’ll just do it myself. I have to gain people’s faith.”

“...Hey, but I felt touched...”

Hwang Gyeongryong felt cold. Wasn’t Choi Yeonseung worried about people’s lives?

“That’s something else and you know it.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

***

There was a large city east of Rutherford full of high-rise buildings like those in New York. However, aside from that, there were many poor towns around Rutherford.

“Are you surprised?”

"What do you mean?"

“Are you surprised that there are places like this in the United States? I myself was surprised when I first came to the United States.”

“If there are rich people in the world, it’s natural that there are also poor people.”

Choi Yeonseung had seen everything in the Abyss, so he wasn’t surprised to see this. Hwang Gyeongryong had come to the United States full of dreams and ended up being shocked...

“That’s true. There’s just one thing to watch out for. People in these places don’t like hunters.”

“?”

“There are industries that have thrived since the gate opened, but there are also many industries that have failed because of that. The oil industry is somehow still holding out, but the coal business has completely died...”

The cores extracted from monsters, which exuded a tremendous amount of energy without any pollution, had put an end to many industries. Villages that depended on such industries for their livelihoods had been hit the hardest

“Why doesn’t the government do anything?”

“The US government? Yeonseung, the US government likes rich people.”

“So?”

“I’m saying that they only like rich people. Why should they take care of the people who live here? They won’t even be able to see it.”

The moment Choi Yeonseung and Hwang Gyeongryong walked in with several escort hunters, the people hanging around the town cast them looks of disdain. The only difference between Korean gangsters and US gangsters was that the latter would take out their guns and pull the trigger.

However, the people who came here weren’t ordinary people either.

“Lower your eyes. If you don’t, I’ll rip your head off and stick it up your butt.”

“...”

“...”

Perhaps they felt Hwang Gyeongryong’s blatant killing intent, but the gangsters wandering around avoided their gazes.

Choi Yeonseung said with a weary expression, “Isn’t it a bit weird to say that?”

“Why? It worked out well.”

“Those words would’ve worked in South Korea thirty years ago...”

Choi Yeonseung decided to stop talking and get to work. He went to the nearest house and knocked on the door. The house looked dilapidated, but there were signs of life inside.

“Who is it?”

“In case you don’t know, an S-grade dungeon has been discovered and there’s an evacuation order...”

Spit!

The old man on the other side spat. It was quite a stubborn attitude.

“Bah. I’ll start here.”

Choi Yeonseung flicked his fingers. Then the bodyguards behind him pulled out their bags.

The old man was frightened and flinched.

‘Don’t... don’t tell me... Are they going to kill me?’

However, the hunters took out something unexpected from the bags. It was a bundle of money.Choi Yeonseung placed the bundle of money into the man’s hand.

“Are you going to follow the evacuation order now?”

“...Right. If the government tells us to evacuate then I shall comply. I’m a patriot!”

"That’s what I thought. Hey, I’ll help you pack your things.”

The power of money was great. Even these people, who grumbled at the sight of hunters, became patriots when they received stacks of cash.

“Is this really money? There’s no way the government would give us money to evacuate!”

“That’s why I’m the one giving you the money.”

“...Are you crazy?!”

“Will you shut up and take the money, or do you want this ‘crazy’ guy to knock you out and take the money away?”

“N-No. I’m going. I’m going.”

Older people were relatively easy to persuade, but the youth were money-hungry bastards.

"Get lost,” spat a gangster-looking guy as he declined the money.

“Don’t you want the money?”

“I’m sure it’s counterfeit.”

“You can check it.”

“Nonsense. I won’t know even if I check it. Get lost. There must be some shady plot going on. Remove those people and get the hell out of here.”

Bam.

Choi Yeonseung knocked him out cold with a punch.

“Hey, drag him out of here and put a bundle of money in his pocket.”

“Why give them money if you were just going to do this?”

“He would’ve received the money had he played nice.”

Choi Yeonseung walked around the village, pulled people out of their houses, and beat them up. In less than an hour, he had caught and evicted everyone. The gangsters, who had been knocked out and tied with ropes, were shocked when they woke up.

What was this guy doing??

“I-Isn’t that an A-grade hunter?”

“What are you saying? What could an A-grade hunter be doing here?”

“The one next to him looks like an S-grade hunter...”

“You’re out of your mind… What, are you going to tell me next that there’s a constellation among them?”