Chapter 130 - Chapter 130 (1/2)

Jin-Woo locked his gaze on the young American man named Adam White, who turned out to be an agent of the Hunter Bureau.

'…....'

Judging from the glint in that man's eyes, he obviously had no ill intentions towards Jin-Woo whatsoever.

The Americans spending an exorbitant sum of money to bring in top Hunters from all over the globe was already a well-known fact. So, Jin-Woo figured that the guy would start extolling the virtues of coming to America soon after making his introduction.

However, what Adam White said next went wildly against his expectations.

"There is a piece of information we'd like to share with you, Hunter-nim."

"Information, is it....?"

"Yes. And you won't ever hear about this information from any other existing country or organisation in the world. Except ours, of course."

Jin-Woo tilted his head slightly. What would be their reason for revealing such highly-classified information to a foreign Hunter like him, a complete stranger?

"Why are you willing to share such information with me?"

Jin-Woo's probing question only managed to elicit another round of a refreshing smile from Adam White.

"We certainly will get something in return by revealing this information to an exclusive group of a specially chosen few."

"Specially chosen few", he said.

Which meant that the Americans considered Jin-Woo to be eligible to enter that category now. Sure enough, that roused his curiosity rather greatly.

"Okay, let's hear it."

"That is as far as I'm permitted to tell you, Hunter-nim. As for the rest, you'll have to hear it from our deputy director."

The deputy director of the mighty Hunter Bureau? A man who possessed more political clout than a minister of some government actually was in South Korea, right now?

'Sounds like it can't be some run-of-the-mill info, then.'

Adam White must've thought that he was successful in stoking the flames of Jin-Woo's curiosity, because he finally delved into the main topic at hand.

"We have a car ready nearby. How about accompanying me to meet up with the deputy director?"

Unfortunately for him, though – it was Jin-Woo who had the final say in the matter.

'Information, is it....'

It could only be one of two things. Either it was info that would benefit him in some way after learning of it, or a tip of someone coming after his life. Funnily enough, he didn't feel all that compelled to get to the bottom of this matter at the moment.

For the time being, he wanted to focus on the preparations for the 'black key', even if this info proved to be beneficial to him. If it was the latter and someone indeed wanted to take him out, then he was pretty confident of emerging victorious from that, too.

Also, most importantly....

'It's not like I can fully trust the information these guys will furnish me with, in the first place....'

This whole thing about sharing information could be just a ruse, too.

He wasn't even sure of the opponent's hands being useful to him, or for that matter, if the opponent held any useful hands at all. So, was there a reason for him to be lead around by the nose here?

He quickly arrived at his decision.

"I'll sleep on it, and give you a call later."

"...!!"

Adam felt like someone had just punched him in the back of his head as this unexpected turn of the conversation left him reeling in shock.

'What? The deputy director of the Hunter Bureau came all this way to share information, yet he's ignoring that and wants to go on his way??'

Jin-Woo didn't look like he was bluffing here, because he was already opening the driver's door of the van. Cold perspiration immediately coated Adam White's forehead.

If Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was allowed to slip through his fingers now, then who knew when he'd get another chance like this? No, there was even a distinct possibility that this could be the very last time.

It was unknown whether the Korean intended for this reaction or not, but without a doubt, the ones ruing the missed opportunity would be them, not him.

"Well, have a nice day."

Just as Jin-Woo was about to climb into the van, the restless Adam White urgently cried out.

"P-please, hold on!"

Jin-Woo shifted his disinterested gaze over to Adam White. Hoping to rouse Jin-Woo's curiosity further, even if it was only by a fraction, Adam White hurriedly continued on.

"Upgrader...."

"An Upgrader?"

Adam formed an expression of a defeated man and explained the meaning behind the word he just spat out.

"Did you know that there is an Awakened who can enhance the abilities of other Awakened?"

'Yup, you should've started with that from the beginning.'

Right away, Jin-Woo realised that the stuff being shared by Agent Adam White, no, the deputy director of the Hunter Bureau, was actually of far greater importance than mere 'information'.

'An Awakened who can enhance other Awakened, is it...?'

Finally, Jin-Woo felt compelled enough now. He pulled the half-entered leg out of the van and closed the door. Adam could sigh a sigh of relief after seeing that.

"Whew..."

When he raised his head, though, Jin-Woo was already standing a couple of inches away from him.

"Jesus H. Christ?!"

The startled Adam White took a step back in fright, but Jin-Woo didn't care about that and simply asked the man.

"Where am I supposed to go?"

***

Screech-

The black saloon carrying the two men came to a stop in front of a famous luxury hotel.

"We're here."

Jin-Woo noted that the name of the hotel was the same as the one from the memo Yu Jin-Ho handed over to him not too long ago.

'Wait, that English-speaking foreigner Yu Jin-Ho was talking about, could it have been one of these guys?'

Jin-Woo followed after Adam White and climbed up to the suite where the deputy director was waiting for him.

The deputy director of the Hunter Bureau, Michael Connor, failed to disguise his excitement at the sight of a certain Oriental man standing behind his subordinate.

'Very good!'

One of the more difficult aspects of negotiation was bringing the other party to the negotiating table. One could even declare that half the battle was won already by doing so.

The deputy director smiled brightly and extended his hand to Jin-Woo for a cordial handshake.

"My name is Michael Connor. I'm the deputy director of the Hunter Bureau."

His self-introduction was translated into fluent Korean with the speed of lightning by Adam White. Jin-Woo took the deputy director's hand and lightly shook it.

"I'm Hunter Seong Jin-Woo."

Now that their brief introductions were over, they settled down on the opposing sides of a table. Adam remained standing next to his deputy director.

"Before we start, have anyone claiming to be from foreign Hunter-related organisations tried to make contact with you before us?"

The deputy director directly fired the opening salvo.

"No one, so far."

Once that anticipated answer was given, the deputy director formed a smile of pure satisfaction.

'But, of course. There shouldn't be anyone else on Earth quicker than the United States of America.'

Only the striker a step ahead of everyone else could score the winning goal, indeed.

The deputy director didn't plan on wasting this golden chance that no one else had the luxury to enjoy yet – especially when his target was someone his superior officer ordered to reel over to their side, no matter the cost or the method.

He didn't even try to beat around the bush and went straight to the topic at hand.

"Allow me to be frank with you, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim.

With a solemn, determined face, the deputy director pushed a rather sizeable mountain of files towards Jin-Woo and continued on.

"We, at the United States of America, want you, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

"These are....?"

"These are all the documents needed to emigrate to America. Now normally, you'd need at least one or two years for these papers to be processed. However, it'll be a different story for you, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

The deputy director then raised his index finger.

"Just a single second."

He declared in a very confident voice.

"If you agree to immigrate, then you'll become an American citizen in one second. And not as a simple, regular citizen, either – no, you become eligible to receive the equal treatment as the nation's existing top-ranked Hunters."

"..."

Everything so far had been what Jin-Woo expected to hear from this man. However, what he wanted to find out about was the information related to this Awakened called 'Upgrader'. He shifted his gaze over to Adam, causing the American agent to flinch slightly and avert his eyes away.

Jin-Woo looked back at the deputy director.

"But, I only came here because Adam said something about some 'information'."

The deputy director let out a burst of genial laughter when he heard that.

"That isn't entirely unrelated to what I was talking about."