Chapter 044
Lee Se-eun was utterly exhausted.
An enormous crowd had gathered for the distribution of relief supplies.
People who had already received aid tried to get it again. Others cut in line, and fights broke out that looked like they might turn deadly at any moment.
In the midst of it all, the South Korean soldiers assigned to guard the relief supplies were firing salt rounds at the packed slums.
They were riot-control rounds designed to be less lethal, but for people whose bodies were already weakened to the extreme, even that was enough to leave them critically injured—or dead.
"Thirty-seven injured and eight confirmed dead."
People were being injured and killed, either by fighting among themselves or during suppression.
"We've also discovered twenty-four cases of forged relief distribution vouchers."
The poor were pitiful, but pity and goodness were not the same thing.
"It seems the stress on the distribution staff is considerable."
Of course it was. People brought dying children, begging them to please make an exception just once, then hurling accusations that you killed them if the child died.
Some even dragged in the corpses of dead children. They clung to pant legs, wailed, and struggled desperately to squeeze out even a handful more relief supplies.
"We can't make exceptions to the distribution standards just because we sympathize."
Lee Se-eun wasn't unaware of how hard the distributors had it. Then, at the words We've received contact from the Kaiser faction, the eyes of everyone gathered in the situation room turned toward her.
"Put them through."
Even so, the fact that the Kaiser faction had reached out was a relief. For the first time in a while, Lee Se-eun's expression softened slightly.
Yoo Chan-seok had opened the door to negotiations. Judging by the methods, they were probably extremely violent—but that wasn't something they could afford to take issue with right now.
—This is Daniel of the Kaiser faction. I'm calling to negotiate cooperation regarding the transport of the barrier generators.
"This is Lee Se-eun of Jannabi. Thank you for contacting us first."
Lee Se-eun began with a formal expression of thanks.
"I imagine there may have been some damage caused by Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. I regret that."
—You're saying that was Yoo Chan-seok acting on his own.
"Yes. I didn't ask him to do it. Though, in the end, it was helpful."
Lee Se-eun readily agreed. Whatever Yoo Chan-seok had done in Hamburg was his own independent action.
—So even the famous Candy Lady has hunters she can't control.
"If they're hunters belonging to Jannabi, maybe. But I've never once tried to dominate other hunters with authority or force."
Lee Se-eun had no reason to apologize for the damage Daniel had suffered because of Yoo Chan-seok.
"Let's put that aside for now. Shall we talk about cooperation on transporting the barrier generators?"
—…Fine. Given how things turned out, we'll cooperate. But we can't do it for free.
At Daniel's words, Lee Se-eun's gaze shifted to the Embargo Tower personnel present, including those carrying amethyst insignia. Continuing negotiations here was fine, but the intentions of Embargo Tower mattered as well.
"As long as it doesn't cause damage to Embargo Tower, we'll delegate full authority for negotiations to Hunter Lee Se-eun."
After receiving confirmation, Lee Se-eun nodded and spoke.
"Two days from now, after the scheduled relief delivery in Warsaw, we'll pass through Berlin and Hamburg, then depart for the Netherlands."
She also conveyed the volume of relief supplies to be delivered to Berlin and Hamburg, as well as the length of their stay, to Daniel.
—In return for our cooperation, the Kaiser faction would like a dispatch contract for hunters belonging to Jannabi.
Lee Se-eun clicked her tongue softly and reached to the side, rifling through documents.
"Seven hunters dispatched to Bahía Blanca, Argentina are scheduled to return after handling a Grade-2 corruption zone."
—Seven? …It would be better if we could contract for a larger number.
Lee Se-eun answered immediately.
"We can't spare any more personnel than that. Instead—if you'll allow it—I can introduce other hunter companies."
With Jannabi's recommendation, few companies would refuse as long as the contract terms were reasonable.
Daniel's goal was simply to reinforce the hunters guarding the border, and in that sense, Lee Se-eun's alternative wasn't a bad option.
—Then please do that as well.
If they couldn't obtain the barrier generators, Daniel wanted at least a path to recruit more hunters—and Lee Se-eun resolved that cleanly.
"If we'd just talked it out sooner, we could've both gotten what we needed, right?"
At Lee Se-eun's words, Daniel replied,
—The only one who got what they needed was your side.
What Daniel truly wanted, no matter what anyone said, was the barrier generator. With it, he could ease the pressure from the encroaching monsters—and later use the equipment as leverage to squeeze out money.
But given how things had turned out, it was better not to pick a fight and instead take what he could get, so Daniel agreed to Lee Se-eun's conditions.
"Anyway. We're counting on your active cooperation."
Lee Se-eun ended the transmission. In her case, there was nothing she needed to provide immediately.
For Daniel to sign contracts with Jannabi later and receive introductions to other hunter companies, he would have no choice but to give it his all.
"How's the relief distribution coming along?"
"About 70% has been distributed. If we speed things up slightly, we should arrive within the time we notified the Kaiser faction."
"Hunter Yoo Chan-seok really did something big for us."
As things were going smoothly and the situation room was filled with warm conversation, a massive report suddenly came in.
"At Zankovy Square… Hunter Lee Se-eun. I think you need to see this personally."
"Huh?"
At those words, Lee Se-eun let out a small sound. Soon, a photo appeared on the situation room projector—a picture of Zankovy Square in Warsaw.
"Whoa…"
From Lee Se-eun's mouth came a strange sound, somewhere between a sigh and an exclamation.
In the center of the square, eight severed human heads were on display. Beneath them, the following words were written in Polish:
Crime: Theft and trafficking of relief supplies
Executor: Han Sang-ah
After confirming the words, Lee Se-eun shuddered slightly and spoke.
"Recall Hunter Han Sang-ah immediately."
No matter what, cutting off people's heads…!
There was a sharp edge to Lee Se-eun's order, and the hunters immediately summoned Han Sang-ah.
"You called for me."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Clear anger and coldness churned in Lee Se-eun's voice. For ordinary people, the sheer pressure would've been enough to make their legs give out the moment they met her gaze—but Han Sang-ah, the one facing it directly, remained calm.
"While on patrol, I discovered a scene in a back alley where distributed relief supplies were being trafficked."
It seemed she had confiscated the supplies and, through the traffickers, located their base.
"Oh, and in the process of extracting information, I damaged the trafficker's Achilles tendon."
"That's—!"
Just as Lee Se-eun was about to say something, Han Sang-ah continued in an even, composed tone.
"The purpose of relief supplies is to distribute them free of charge to those in need. They weren't transported all the way from Vladivostok to Warsaw so a handful of people could monopolize and sell them."
Her words weren't wrong. But that wasn't the real issue.
"There were eight of them. Hunter Han Sang-ah—eight people! We're hunters. We're supposed to cut down monsters, not people."
At Lee Se-eun's words, Han Sang-ah shook her head.
"That's Hunter Lee Se-eun's policy. I have my own."
Everyone in the situation room gaped. Someone with the guts to say that straight to Lee Se-eun's face?
But she wasn't finished. After checking the photo displayed on the situation room screen, Han Sang-ah spoke again.
"And there's a charge I deliberately left out from what's written there."
"And what would that be?"
Instead of answering, Han Sang-ah opened her smartphone and showed Lee Se-eun a video she had recorded.
"They forced minors into sexual acts in exchange for relief supplies."
Lee Se-eun looked away from the phone. From the footage and the conversations captured in it, it was clear this hadn't happened just once or twice.
These people deserve to die.
One might say no individual has the right to take another person's life… but in cases like this, it felt justified.
The fury that had been raging inside Lee Se-eun moments ago subsided in an instant.
"I get the reason. But why leave that charge out?"
Since she'd said it was intentional, there had to be a reason.
"I wanted to send a message that if you're caught stealing and trafficking relief supplies, the punishment is death."
Han Sang-ah answered while slipping her phone back into her rear pocket.
"Making an example, huh. We can't stop all the supplies that've already been shipped to the provinces by truck anyway. To them, we're outsiders."
They might see it as outsiders holding relief supplies hostage and lording it over them by chopping off heads.
"Why don't you realize that people might be angrier at you than at those who forced themselves on minors?"
People can feel more outrage at an outsider's report than at a neighbor's crime.
"I'm aware. I simply don't care, because it's something I can handle."
"What do you mean, you can handle it?"
In response to Lee Se-eun, Han Sang-ah made an astonishingly bold statement.
"If this becomes a problem, the Geumyang Group will cover it up."
She declared—without the slightest hesitation—that her backing would bury the fallout.
"You're seriously saying that right now—"
"I don't think I said anything incorrect."
Incorrect? Absolutely not. The Geumyang Group stood at the pinnacle among the countless conglomerates concentrated in Korea.
Han Sang-ah cutting off a few heads in Poland wouldn't even require the Geumyang Group to take action—media, governments, and all kinds of organizations would fall over themselves to sweep it under the rug.
"Aren't you being a bit… too confident?"
At Lee Se-eun's words, Han Sang-ah looked genuinely puzzled.
"Talent and background—both are things you're born with. You can tell just by looking at Yoo Chan-seok."
Strictly speaking, Yoo Chan-seok's talent was built through effort and experience, but there was no way Han Sang-ah could know that.
"If he was born with exceptional talent, then I was born with backing."
After finishing her sentence, Han Sang-ah scratched her head briefly.
"Honestly, isn't this no different from chaebol kids using their status to curse at their drivers, beat subordinates, grope their secretaries, or do drugs?"
"There's a huge difference!"
Lee Se-eun shot back immediately. Compared to those examples, Han Sang-ah was using her background far more constructively.
"Is there?"
What on earth was wrong with this girl? How did her mind even work? Lee Se-eun stared at Han Sang-ah, thinking that to herself.
"So you can clean it up?"
"Yes. The Geumyang family wants a successful hunter among its members anyway, and I've completely stepped away from the succession struggle. Unless I plant a bomb in the Blue House, there won't be any issues."
And just like that, Lee Se-eun's anger over the shocking incident at Zankovy Square faded away.
"…Honestly, it doesn't sound entirely wrong."
After Han Sang-ah saluted and left, Lee Se-eun rested her chin on her hand, pondered for a moment, and came to a conclusion.
Abuse of power was an invisible force that let someone do whatever they wanted while others couldn't even open their mouths.
Most people who possessed that kind of power used it for their own comfort. But what if it were used the way Han Sang-ah did?
For example, the might of a chaebol was such that even beating an innocent driver into the hospital could go unpunished.
If you could beat someone without going to prison, then instead of your driver, couldn't you go find a rapist or a serial killer and beat them half to death?
"Damn it… am I losing my mind just listening to her talk?"
Muttering to herself, Lee Se-eun scratched her head roughly and flopped down onto the bed.