Chapter 66 – Unexpected Loot (2)
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Woojin walked out of the underground tunnel.
“Please stop!”
Somehow, Che-haesol had found Woojin. She ran towards him, and she blocked his path. She was still grimacing as if the pain hadn’t subsided yet.
“Please stop. It isn’t too late. We can still mend this.”
Che-haesol meant what she said. A war would erupt if events continued to progress like this. She had to prevent such an event from happening. Che-haesol spoke with utmost sincerity.
𝔫oѵ𝑒𝙡.com
“This isn’t the way. Please stop.”
She really felt that way. A war meant tens of thousands of people would have to sacrifice their lives. She wanted to stop such an appalling tragedy from happening at all cost.
Woojin looked at her with a non-committal expression.
Haesol studied Woojin’s expression, and the light in her eyes shook.
“N…no way!”
He had already made a mess. Kim-jungun was dead.
Strength left her legs. Ah, another blood storm will rage.
She had made a mistake. She shouldn’t have asked Guild Alandal to clear Pyongyang’s 6 star Dungeon.
Haesol was in a daze as she flopped down on the floor. Woojin secretly smiled when he saw this.
“He isn’t dead yet.”
“Really? You did well… Yet? Are you still planning on killing him?”
Haesol swallowed her saliva.
“Well, I’ll see what happens.”
Woojin wanted to see how they took care of the person, who ordered the suicide bombing.
“Please hold yourself back. If you anger isn’t quelled, then I’ll give you my life instead. I mean it.”
From her sitting position, she got on her knees.
“Really?”
“The war of the Korean Peninsula may never end. It has been less than 100 years since the last war. This land shouldn’t have to go through such a tragedy again. If you would be satisfied from just taking my life…”
No. She wasn’t worried about the conflict turning into a world war, but this war would be held on the Korean peninsula. Her beloved country would be ruined, so wouldn’t giving up her own life be well worth the price of stopping this war?
Woojin narrowed his eyes as he looked at Haesol. She didn’t have a blemish-free soul. It wasn’t like Jiwon’s clear and innocent soul. However, this was the first time he had seen such a shiny soul on earth.
It meant her will was filled with sincerity. She wasn’t lying when she said she’ll offer up her life.
“Lieutenant Che-haesol.”
“Yes.”
“You really are forfeiting your life to me?”
“Of course. If I could stop this disaster from spreading, I will.”
If Kim-jungun was still alive then they could still cover this up. Woojin shrugged when he saw Haesol’s sincerity.
“It would be wasteful to just kill you… Discharge from the military.”
“Did I hear you wrong?”
“After your discharge, come work under me. If you do that, I’ll spare Jungun.”
“…….”
Haesol’s face was filled with conflict. Didn’t she dream about becoming a genuine soldier?
At that moment, Woojin felt the presence of people approaching him. A group of people came out of the passageway.
“Hurry up and clean this up. Find where Ri-pyunggahn went.”
Woojin grinned when he heard Kim-jungun’s voice.
“Should I go catch that pig?”
“…I’ll join your guild.”
Woojin’s grin widened.
It was rare to find someone with Che-haesol’s will and conviction. He had found an unexpected loot here. Woojin grinned as he walked away.
He knew where everything was inside the Memorial Palace, because of Ggaebi’s memories. Now it was time to go rob Kim-jungun’s collection.
“Then you should go talk to patch up this situation.”
“…….”
What the hell? He had made such a mess yet he was able to easily ask her to patch this up….
Before the chaotic atmosphere settled down, Woojin quickly headed toward Kim-jungun’s hobby room.
*
The next three days passed like a storm.
Ri-pyunggahn, and any one related to him were all captured. There were even some innocent people who were lumped in with them. The delegation from South Korea left as they let Kim-jungun take care of those men.
Kim-jungun was shaking from anger.
“You are a dead man! How dare you steal the treasures soaked in our people’s blood and sweat? You took the future of our republic? Bastard!”
“Chairman… I really don’t know… I really don’t know anything about it….”
“You still dare to lie? Punish them until they speak.”
“Understood.”
Ri-pyunggahn was suspended by his arms like a piece of meat at a butcher’s shop. The interrogators approached him, and they started whipping him. Kim-jungun looked on with cold eyes as he tried to quell his anger.
The treasures he had gathered with the blood and sweat of his people were all gone. The only thing left was the picture he took with Kahng-woojin, and his signature… Kim-jungun’s wrath was great since someone robbed him of everything.
He had gathered his collection for the past 5 years.
The only person he suspected was Ri-pyunggahn. He was probably planning his betrayal for a long time. He was probably planning on blaming it on the visiting South Korean delegation…
‘If it wasn’t for comrade Kahng-woojin, I might have been in big trouble.’
He hadn’t died. Kahng-woojin had survived, and Ri-pyunggahn’s betrayal came out into the open.
‘They had nothing to do with it.’
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t suspected the people from South Korea. However, they traveled here sharing just two cars. He didn’t think that massive amount of treasure could be stolen by them.
The only Roused in the party was Rank AA Kahng-woojin, and Rank F Che-haesol.
Just in case they were using Artifacts, they were searched. They didn’t find any sub-dimension Artifact. Even if they did find one, the Artifact could only hold a limited amount of items.
The best sub-dimension Artifact was owned by a Middle Eastern royal family, and it could only hold a 300 litre refrigerator. Massive amounts of treasure had disappeared, and it wouldn’t fit inside a sub-dimensions.
So the only people who could pull this off was on the North Korean side.
“Bastard. He is quite tenacious.”
Kim-jungun gritted his teeth as Ri-pyunggahn failed to confess.
*
“We’ve arrived at the Pahnmunjum.”
“Ooh ooh. We are finally here.”
Haesol saved her words as Woojin stretched.
For the past 3 days, Woojin just lazed around as he slept. The negotiation team had to renegotiate the deal for the past 3 days.
After the betrayal within North Korea was resolved, South Korea’s Kahng-woojin was reported to have taken an active role in all of the events.
It didn’t matter what the truth was. South Korea’s situation had improved.
Woojin had taken care of all the high ranked Roused in North Korea. North Korea didn’t have enough force to even attempt the 6 star Dungeon.
They had removed China from the equation, so the relationship between the two nations turned for the worse. Russia wasn’t an option either. Eventually, it was agreed that South Korea would run the Dungeon, and North Korea would share in the profit.
If one excluded the violence that erupted within Pyungyang, the end result was very good for South Korea. Woojin, the person in question, slept lazily inside the Memorial palace even though he was the one who had caused all the ruckus.
He even slept through the sounds of the firing squad for Ri-pyunggahn and his accomplices that erupted early in the morning.
Che-haesol didn’t have a strong heart like Woojin, so she was nervous the whole time she stayed in North Korea. The angry atmosphere made the negotiations strenuous.
They passed the Panmunjum, so she was on South Korean soil. However, she couldn’t relax yet.
“I have something I want to ask you.”
“Speak.”
Che-haesol didn’t know when it happened, but Kahg-woojin spoke to her naturally in an informal manner.
“Why did you hold back after giving the condition that I join Alandal?”
Woojin was bold enough to slap Hwarang’s guild master on live tv. If she took his brute personality into consideration, it made her wonder about something. She knew if Woojin wanted to do something, then we wouldn’t easily be deterred from his action.
“What do you want to hear from me?”
“What?”
At Woojin’s response, Che-haesol scratched the back of her head. She was embarrassed to say what was on her mind now.
Did she want to hear praise from him? Did she want to hear about the worth of her ability?
Did she want him to talk about how she stopped him from killing North Korea’s ultimate dictator?
Now that she thought about it in her head, she basically wanted to ask questions when she already knew the answers.
Woojin was looking out the window. Haesol watched the back of his head, and her face turned red from embarrassment.
“It’s nothing.”
Che-haesol cleared her throat in embarrassment. Woojin grinned.
“If you fill an organization with people with ability and worth, then the organization will run itself.”
“…….”
He didn’t want back-biting in his guild.
He didn’t want to supervise his underlings. He wanted people who will take care of the annoying and difficult works for him. This idea was very appealing to Woojin.
“You have worth. You are an outstanding individual with a lot of appeal..”
“…….”
It made him want her as an underling, so he could order her around
Woojin retracted his gaze from the scenery outside the window, then he turned his head. He saw the young soldier’s face, whose eyes were shaking from being moved by his words. She didn’t cry, but her eyes were moist.
“I will find you immediately after I am discharged.”
“Uh. You do that.”
Woojin decided not to tell her that he wasn’t going to kill Kim-jongun in the first place.
*
Guild Alandal’s Office.
The only large tv in the office was located inside the president’s room, so the founding members were all gathered there. They were watching a tv special with the edited version of the breaking news that had occurred for the past three days.
They had turned the show on so much that they almost memorized the content of the news special.
They saw Woojin so much on tv that it didn’t feel like he was absent from the office.
[Yes. If we compile all the new until now, it seems Ri-pyunggahn was the main figure who had staged a coup d’etat. He was the commander of Supernatural Force of North Korea. What is your opinion on this?]
[The Roused abilities are like a double edged sword. The Roused transcends the human limitation, and they protect our country from the monsters. On the flip side, there are those who would participate in crimes. The Roused could be very dangerous to a regime like North Korea. The betrayal of a commander of the Supernatural Force puts the North Korean regime in a very dangerous situation.]
[Yes. It was Alandal’s guild master who had cleared the the 6 star Dungeon. If it wasn’t for President Kahng-wooojin, the coup d’etat might have brought Kim-jungun’s reign to an end. What are your opinions on this?]
[If a new figurehead with radical ideas had seized power in the North, then we would be in much more danger. President Kahng-woojin did a meritorious deed by helping keep the status quo of the relationship between the North and the South.]
[Will he receive a medal for this?]
[He’ll get it. President Kahng-woojin’s exploit rapidly mended the relationship between the North and the South…]
[President Kahg-woojin’s assault scandal hasn’t been resolved yet. What do you think about….]
Ddi-rick.
When the members of the panel started repeating the same points again, Jung-minchan turned off the TV. Everyone faced each other with serious expressions on their faces.
“They are 100% right. Don’t you all know about president’s personality?”
“…….”
At Woo-soonghoon’s words, everyone silently agreed.
“The story is coming into focus. Maybe our president threatened Kim-jungun? It was said that Ri-pyunggahn stole all the Artifacts gathered by North Korea. It sounds like something our president would do.”
Kim-haemin questioned Woo-soonghoon’s sharp conjecture.
“Eh-ee. No way. Even if our president bends the rule a little bit, do you really think he will resort to stealing?”
“You are being kind by saying he bends the rule a little bit. He is reckless.”
Sunggoo spoke with a dissatisfied expression when he saw them bicker.
“Well, this is the story of when I met president for the first time…”
He told them about Woojin killing Bae-dohsooh’s party. The faces of the founding members darkened when Sunggoo described how Woojin had emptied the pockets of the dead people. Woo-soonghoon spoke with a smug expression on his face.
“Wa. What did I tell you? I’m really on to something here. We can’t believe everything said in the media..”
“Now that I think about it, he did say he wanted to assassinate Kim-jungun before the guild was formed…”
“Wah. See! What did I tell you? My arms has goosebumps. Ooh-wah.”
At Sunggoo’s words, Woo-soonghoon spoke more forcefully.
“Maybe president has already killed Kim-jungun.”
“Eh-ee. No way.”
“Didn’t you say our president wanted to go kill him? He might have planned this visit to Pyungyang. Maybe he is from a patriotic household? I’m sure he has bad feelings towards North Korea.”
“Eh-ee. President was just angry, because his conscription letter came…”
Woo-sunghoon’s eyebrows curved as he heard Sunggoo’s words.
“He said such words from receiving a mere conscription letter? Wa. What does that have to do with…”
Why would he want to assassinate Kim-jungun just from receiving a conscription letter?
“He didn’t want to join the army….”
“Wa. Look at the scale the president thinks in. Isn’t this giving you guys goosebumps?”
He had wanted to kill a nation’s dictator, because he didn’t want to enlist in the army.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, since I don’t hold a grudge. It isn’t in my personality. However, this was when I used to sell hand phones….”
Click.
Soonghoon’s words ended when the door to the president’s room opened.
“How have you guys been?”
“…….”
Everyone froze when Woojin appeared. Woojin hadn’t seen them for awhile, so he had a bright smile on his face.
“What? What is it?”
“I thought president was having a banquet with the President?”
“What am I going to do at such an event? I wanted to have some soju with you guys.”
Ah. How could he so easily break a promise made with the President?
“Ah-oh. Why is my ears so itchy? Did someone speak badly behind my back?”
At Woojin’s word, everyone’s head reflexively turned towards Woo-soonghon. Woo-soonghoon’s pupils shrank in a microsecond, and it shook. Woo-soonghoon suddenly stood up, and he started clapping his hand as he looked towards Woojin.
Zzahk, Zzahk, Zzahk!
“Let’s clap for our president. He went through a lot of hardship, and he has returned as a hero. Thank you for your efforts! We are proud of you.”
The reaction of the other people in the room was a bit slow. Woojin laughed. He narrowed his eyes as he watched Woo-soonghoon, who had spoken in an exaggerated manner.
“I did. Didn’t I?”
Sweat started to perspire on Woo-soonghoon’s forehead.