Chapter 292 – Drama, Protest, Suppression, And (3)
President Kim once again slammed his fist on the table in anger.
"..."
Everyone lowered their heads and waited for the president\'s anger to subside.
It was at that moment.
"What do you think if we use that method, Mr. President?"
"Who was that?"
"It\'s me, Mr. President."
Everyone turned their heads and saw the Minister of Hunter Technology with his hand raised. He was the president\'s nephew-in-law. In other words, he had reached his position thanks to his personal relationship with the president.
The Ministry of Hunter Technology might sound like an important branch of the government, but it was, in fact, a redundant department. Why? Because the technology used by Hunters was not under their jurisdiction in the first place. Instead, anything related to the Hunters was managed by the Hunters\' Association.
However, this redundant department still received hundreds of billions of won in budget every year. In other words, the department served as a large machine responsible for laundering the president\'s slush funds.
"So, what\'s your idea?"
"Why don\'t we deploy the Hunters to suppress the protests?"
"The Hunters?"
"Yes, the police can\'t handle all of the protesters, as the police commissioner mentioned. If we deploy the Hunters, the ordinary people won\'t have a choice but to disperse since they can\'t go up against the Hunters, right?"
"Hmm…" President Kim muttered, clearly liking the idea.
"B-But, sir… If we use the Hunters to suppress the protesters, then…" the police commissioner tried to voice his concerns, but...
"Silence!" President Kim lashed out at him, silencing him.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
However, deep down, the police commissioner knew that this was wrong.
‘T-This is going to be disastrous…’
He was a corrupt commissioner who didn\'t care about the citizens, but even he recognized that mobilizing the Hunters to suppress the protestors was not the right decision.
"Minister Lee," President Kim called his nephew-in-law.
"Yes, Mr. President?"
"I want you in charge of this plan. Make sure to try to resolve this as quickly as possible with the police commissioner. I\'ll reconsider my opinion of you if you manage to clean up this mess."
"Yes, Mr. President! Thank you!" Minister Lee exclaimed.
\'Alright! This is my opportunity to gain the president\'s support and make my way to Congress! If I play my cards right, I could even become the next president. Hohoho!\'
Minister Lee was already formulating his future plans as he left the meeting room with the police commissioner.
***
"The president should resign!"
"Resign!"
"The incompetent government should back off!"
"Back off!"
"We will no longer tolerate this!"
"Resign!"
It was a Saturday, yet the protest continued to rage. Tents were pitched all over the place, demonstrating the protestors\' determination to continue their demonstration over the weekend.
In the police commissioner\'s office, a man leisurely sat, sipping tea.
"So, I just have to get rid of that crowd for you?" the man asked.
"Y-Yes, that is correct," the police commissioner replied.
‘But saying \'get rid\' is a bit…’ the police commissioner thought, but he decided to suppress those words.
The Hunter in front of him at this moment was the infamous leader of the Death Snake raid party, known for being the worst kind out there.
The police commissioner might be an officer commanding the respect of more than one hundred thousand policemen, but he was just another employee at the end of the day. Compared to him, a Hunter occupied a completely different social class, and this was especially true for the leader of the Death Snake raid party.
"Haha! I never imagined I would be involved in dispersing protestors. Well, I don\'t mind as long as I get paid. Keke!" The leader of the Death Snake raid party, Viper Dokgo Jincheon, licked his lips while gazing at the protestors outside.
\'Haa... Is this really the right call...?\' the police commissioner wondered, unable to shake off his concern after seeing the expression on Viper\'s face.
An ominous feeling continued to warn him that things were going to take a turn for the worse, but there was nothing he could do about it.
\'Why did that damn brat have to be the one in charge of suppressing the protestors?!\'
The police commissioner had eyes and ears in the Blue House, so he knew very well that the Minister of Hunter Technology had obtained his job solely due to his personal connection to the president.
Ironically, the person responsible for suppressing the protestors was currently AWOL.
‘That brat is probably out getting drunk and frolicking with women somewhere!’ the police commissioner grumbled inwardly.
After all, people who only advanced through personal connections were likely to behave similarly.
"Haa..." the police commissioner let out a sigh and could only hope that this whole situation would come to an end soon.
“The president should resign!”
“Resign!”
“The incompetent government should back off!”
“Back off!”
“We will no longer tolerate this!”
“Resign!”
The protest showed no signs of stopping as the crowd raised their voices, but the organizers noticed that the riot police were suddenly scurrying around for some reason.
Pssshhht!
"We see some strange movements from the riot police. I think something\'s about to happen."
The response was almost immediate.
Psshht!
[No way, we\'re peacefully protesting right now. What can they do to us?]
They had plans to advance toward the Blue House later on, but at the moment, they were engaged in a peaceful protest, which meant the police didn\'t have the justification to use force against them.
Psshht!
"Well, I guess you\'re right."
The organizers responsible for monitoring the police\'s movements chose to dismiss their gut feeling, but...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Tak! Tak!
Around two hundred men suddenly jumped over the police buses.
"Hoho! Look at all of these insects gathered!"
"Kekeke! They\'re just insects no matter how many of them there are!"
"Just stomp them to death!"
"Hahaha!"
The men burst into laughter, eyeing the protestors as if they were prey.
Even the most notorious raid parties refrained from abducting, raping, or committing inhumane crimes against ordinary people in this day and age. Such actions would make them targets of other raid parties, regardless of how atrocious their personalities were.
However, the Death Snake raid party consisted of gangsters who had awakened as Hunters and was supported by numerous criminal organizations.
Fwooo…!
Their leader puffed out a cloud of cigarette smoke before saying, "Hey, you guys talk too much before even getting to work."
Viper Dokgo Jincheon looked quite serious for some reason.
“I apologize, hyung-nim!”
His lackeys apologized and bowed their heads, but…
“Heh.”
Viper Dokgo Jincheon smirked and said, “Make sure you don’t accidentally kill anyone.”
“Yes, hyung-nim!”
***
“Waaaaah!”
The protest continued, even as the sun began to set late in the afternoon. Most of the protestors held LED candles, and they began to switch them on one by one as the skies darkened.
The atmosphere was finally evolving into a genuine candlelight vigil protest.
Psshht!
[Hey, Tae-Yang. What’s your status?]
Psshht!
[Tae-Yang? Are you sleeping on watch?]
Psshht!
[Hey! Kim Tae-Yang!]
A walkie-talkie on the ground noisily rang, but its owner, who was responsible for keeping an eye on the riot police, was nowhere to be found.
The protest continued as the celebrity invited by the organizers took center stage.
"Oppa, do you want to grab a drink later?"
"Sure, sounds good to me."
"Hihi! This is my first time protesting!"
"Really? I tried protesting last time when they refused to expand our dorms. I think protesting these days is quite peaceful, so it\'s a good experience."
"Ah, but I wish it would finish soon."
"I agree. It\'s good that people could come together, but I really hope our country will stabilize soon."
"Yeah, me too."
About one hundred people, mostly couples, were protesting peacefully at a distance from the main protest.
After sunset, around one hundred men approached this small group of protestors, and they all appeared to be quite rough.
"Hey, protestors. The show\'s over, so go home."
"H-Huh?"
The protestors couldn\'t help but flinch and feel scared as the intimidating men approached them.
"What do you mean by \'huh\'? Didn\'t you hear me, you bastards? The protest is over, so hurry up and go home."
"Who are you to tell us what to do?!"
A few brave young men stood up against the thugs. It wasn\'t that they were particularly brave or believed they could win against the thugs; their courage stemmed from an entirely different reason.
‘There are so many people watching. I’m sure there’s nothing they can do to us.’
South Korea was one of the safest countries in the world. Even though the sun had set, it was impossible for anyone to take action in such a crowded environment.
“Ha! Look at these punks! I suggest you disperse while we’re still being nice.”
“You can’t tell us what to do!”
Whoosh! Pukeok!
“Kuheok!”
The man standing in front of the thugs was punched in the stomach.
"Ku...heok...!"
He attempted to get up a few times but eventually collapsed and lost consciousness.
“…”
Everyone who witnessed the violence was absolutely speechless. It was growing dark, but it made no sense that they would attack an innocent civilian when there were so many people watching.
Regrettably, the crowd missed their opportunity to escape due to this incident.
“Go clean them up, boys.”
“Yes, hyung-nim!”
Whoosh! Puuk! Bam!
“Kuheook…!”
The crowd attempted to run away upon hearing Viper Dokgo Jincheon give the command, but they were unable to escape. These thugs were no ordinary individuals; they were powerful Hunters hired by the government to disperse the crowd, and they moved much faster than ordinary people.
The thugs suddenly materialized in front of the crowd, incapacitating them one by one.
Ironically, the main group of protestors failed to notice what was happening, despite it taking place relatively close to them. The famous celebrities invited by the organizers had stolen everyone\'s attention, and the riot police had strategically positioned themselves to conceal the atrocities being committed.
The shield wall formed by the riot police completely obstructed the view of the protestors being assaulted, and it also blocked all access to the streets, making it impossible for pedestrians to inadvertently stumble upon the beatings.
Boink!
One of the thugs fondled the breast of the beautiful woman he just knocked unconscious.
“Wow! This bitch is amazing! She’s probably an E cup at least!”
Kwak!
He even went as far as violently grabbing her breast, but the unconscious woman could not react.
“Tsk… It’s boring if I can’t see their reaction.”
“Haha! That guy’s a huge pervert!”
The Death Snake raid party had successfully suppressed the group of one hundred protestors, consisting of both men and women. Now, they were helping themselves to molest the unconscious women.
"Hey, you\'re acting like virgins who have never touched a woman before. Hurry up and hand them over to the police! We still have work to do!"
"Yes, hyung-nim!"
The Death Snake raid party, despite the fact that the protestors were still alive, referred to them as "corpses."
With the sun having fully set and the sky dark, the Death Snake raid party lived up to their namesake, slithering across the street in search of their next potential victims.