Chapter 131 - Chapter 131 (2/2)

Nod.

Matsumoto Shigeo readily admitted to it.

Japan lost ten of her top-ranked Hunters through this incident.

In the current situation where Japan needed to import top-ranked Hunters quite urgently, her Association was blessed with ample cash reserve to pay out the compensation meant for the victims of the raid.

Indeed, they had so much money that it was practically rotting away in the bank right now. So, if Matsumoto could get his hands on a Hunter of Seong Jin-Woo's calibre, then he didn't give a rat's a*s about those magic crystals anymore.

Unfortunately....

"I refuse."

The reply Matsumoto Shigeo got was different from what he expected.

"What do you mean, you refuse?"

The Japanese man was stunned by that answer.

He was deeply confident of winning Hunter Seong Jin-Woo over to Japan's side, but just in case, he told Goh Gun-Hui that he only wanted an opportunity to negotiate with that young man.

But, to think, his counterpart would say no to the offer first.

"Are you turning down an opportunity like this because you're afraid of losing Hunter Seong Jin-Woo to Japan?"

"Not at all."

Goh Gun-Hui slowly shook his head.

"No, I'm saying that, from the beginning, you people have no right to claim even a single magic crystal from us."

The Japanese interpreter quickly looked at Goh Gun-Hui after he made that bombshell of a declaration packed full of hidden implications.

"Sir, should I relay that in full?"

"Of course. Don't miss out on a single word and translate them in full."

Matsumoto Shigeo's complexion reddened considerably the moment he heard the interpreter.

"President Goh Gun-Hui! What nonsense are you spewing now?"

His voice naturally rose up higher. But then, Japanese unhurriedly flowed out from Goh Gun-Hui's mouth.

"I wish to speak to you without the presence of the interpreters."

Matsumoto flinched and gasped in surprise.

"You... know how to speak Japanese?"

"My father used to run a small company in Japan when I was a young lad. It's been a long time so it'd be difficult to hold a conversation, but...."

The two interpreters left the office soon after Matsumoto agreed to the suggestion. And he fired the opening shot first.

"We lost over ten of our rank S Hunters for you people."

Japan's top Hunter, Goto Ryuji, was also included in that list.

"If you do not wish to accept my suggestion, then there's nothing we can do. Not only will we demand the agreed-upon half of the magic crystal haul, but we will also claim compensation from the Korean government, too."

Goh Gun-Hui simply snorted in derision.

"President Matsumoto.... Looks like you still mistakenly believe that you hold an upper hand here."

"President Goh!"

Matsumoto shot up from his seat, his glare getting fiercer.

"Is that something you're supposed to say to someone who fought for your people?"

Unlike the agitated Matsumoto, though, Goh Gun-Hui remained collected throughout.

"I couldn't understand this one thing."

Goh Gun-Hui's calm demeanour managed to cool Matsumoto's own rage, and the latter slowly settled back down on his couch. Waiting until he was completely seated. Goh Gun-Hui carried on.

"And that would be – why did your people, who enjoyed showing off in front of the world, decide to entrust us with what was arguably the core part of this raid, the hunting of the ant queen."

"That's obviously because the Koreans lacked the means to buy the necessary time from the ant army...."

"If that's what you were thinking of, then wouldn't it have been better for you to insert the Koreans as a part of the distraction, like how you had split up yours into four different groups? And then, hunt the ant queen with some of your top elite Hunters, instead?"

'He is as I expected...'

The light in Matsumoto's eyes changed.

".....So, what is it that you want to say to me, President Goh Gun-Hui?"

For some reason, he was enunciating Goh Gun-Hui's name as clearly as he could.

"And the timing of your people withdrawing.... It looked as if it was your plan all along, regardless of the mutated ant monster or not."

"You have gone crazy."

"It's you who have gone crazy. Just what were you planning to do after driving the Korean Hunters to death?"

Goh Gun-Hui's eyes narrowed to a slit.

It was then, Matsumoto burst into a fit of loud cackles.

"Hahahaha!!"

He then pulled out a voice recorder from his pocket. He slowly shook his head and continued on.

"Everything you said just now, it's been captured in full. Your sins of insulting the Japanese Hunters without proof, and using that as an excuse to back out of the earlier agreement, everything is here!"

An odious smile formed on Matsumoto's lips.

"You shall be judged by the international community."

Just this little sound file containing Goh Gun-Hui's voice was more than enough to cover up the fact the Japanese Hunters withdrew in the middle of the operation. As for the public opinion, that would come around soon enough.

This was clearly a slip-up on Goh Gun-Hui's part, because he doggedly pursued his conviction and nothing else. What if he lost his cool completely and laid a hand on Matsumoto right now?

Now that would be seen as even more irrefutable proof.

The sound file was already transmitted to the computers in the Japanese situation room by now.

Too bad for him, though.

"Proof? Of course, I have it."

Goh Gun-Hui pulled out a black-coloured object the size of a stamp from his inner pocket and left it on the table.

"...?"

"Hunter Seong Jin-Woo found it on the location."

Sensing something ominous was about to go down, Matsumoto's attitude had softened a tad.

"What... is this?"

Goh Gun-Hui smirked at the sight of the puzzled Matsumoto Shigeo.

"It's a black box attached to your communication equipment, the one Goto's team was using."

Right away, the colour of Matsumoto's complexion changed to ash. Not missing out on this opening, Goh Gun-Hui also brought out an MP3 player and proceeded to play the sound file extracted from this black box.

Click.

- "How long has it been since the Koreans went inside?"

- "Hold on. They say it has been less than 10 minutes."

- "Ten minutes, is it...."

- "Time to start the withdrawal process."

The voice of Goto Ryuji, one of the most famous Japanese in the world, could be heard clearly from the recording.

Goh Gun-Hui switched the player off and continued on.

"Do you know why I didn't reveal the existence of this file to the rest of the world, President of Japanese Hunter Association, Matsumoto Shigeo?"

Matsumoto slowly shook his head. The ashen complexion of his was now getting paler than a sheet of white paper now.

"It's simply because I didn't want to dampen the joy of my fellow countrymen basking in the glow of a hard-fought victory with this bullsh*t you people managed to cook up. Do you get it now? I've only delayed its release for the sake of our people, not you."

The recorder fell from Matsumoto's hand with a thud. Meanwhile, Goh Gun-Hui relentlessly pressed on.

"I'm sure that you get what I'm saying to you, President Matsumoto."

Goh Gun-Hui then crushed the player in his hand to pieces with his physical strength of a rank S Hunter.

"Get the f*ck out of this office. Now."

***

After Jin-Woo had left, the deputy director found himself alone with Madam Selner in the hotel's suite.

"Madam. What happened back there?"

They had worked with many Hunters before, and this wasn't Madam Selner's first rodeo either. Meaning, this would be the first time something like this happened.

She suppressed her pounding heart and managed to squeeze out her trembling voice.

"He is a 'king'. A very powerful 'king'."

The deputy director's eyes grew wider and wider.

Those who knew how her power worked were the director of the Hunter Bureau, the deputy, and of course, Madam Selner herself. Only these three. And she confirmed that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was a 'king'.

Ba-dump, ba-dump.

The deputy director sensed his heartbeat pick up pace.

"Which means.... he's on the same level as the Special Authority-rank Hunters?"

Shake, shake.

She shook her head.

"No, I don't.... This was my first time experiencing such a phenomenon, so I can't be sure at all. He is definitely a 'king', but he's also different from the other 'kings'."

"Excuse me? Please, explain it in simpler terms...."

"When I looked into him, 'it' too was looking back at me."

"But, other Hunters also...."

"No!! Not Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, but the endless darkness hiding within him was staring back at me!"

Madam Selner hysterically cried out. Her complexion paled again and her body shuddered greatly. This was the display of an instinctual fear all living organisms possessed: the fear of death.

But, that wasn't important at the moment. No, the truly important thing was, even though her entire body continued to shiver in terror, she still managed to recall one more thing.

"And he...."

The deputy director focused on her words again.

Her lips parted with so much difficulty.

"He doesn't have any limits."

< Chapter 131 > Fin.