Chapter 194 - Chapter 194 (1/2)

Next day.

Almost every TV station and newspaper under the sun was talking about the Hunters arriving in the United States before the International Guild Conference began. However, only one newspaper from the east of the country dared to carry a rather different sort of headline on its front page.

[Thomas Andre loses consciousness!]

There was not one American who didn't know the name of Thomas Andre. So, they couldn't quite believe that their Special Authority-rank Hunter had lost consciousness.

Did he contract some kind of illness?

The passersby were immediately drawn in by that simple-yet-attention-grabbing headline. They reached out to grab their copies of the paper and gladly paid the asking price.

But then, steps of the curious buyers came to a stuttering halt after they unfurled their papers and read the article within. That rather boring headline didn't prepare the readers adequately enough for the bombshell hiding within the article itself.

It was unknown why the fight happened, but regardless, the article went to detail the event of a lone Hunter clashing against Thomas Andre and his Scavenger Guild the night before.

And the aftermath was laid bare for all to see with several pages' worth of large photographs.

They showed bloodied and battered Thomas Andre, as well as many injured Hunters being carried out from a disused factory.

If someone who didn't know any of these people saw the images, that person might have said that they were victims of a terror attack. That's how severe the scenes depicted were.

However, weren't these people all top-ranked Hunters in this nation?

Especially for Thomas Andre – he was the Special Authority-rank Hunter who survived the 'Kamish' raid, referred to as the worst calamity in human history.

Every single person reading the article couldn't hide how shocked they felt. Their breathing became rough and heavy, just like the editor back when he first laid his eyes on these images.

And when the identity of the man who drove the Hunters of the Scavenger Guild to this wretched state was revealed, the readers focusing on the article cried out in pure shock and astonishment.

"What in the world...."

"Jesus Christ!"

Why was there an image of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo in this article? Wasn't he the current darling of the international media after he stopped a massive-scale crisis taking place in Japan not too long ago?

The contrast between Thomas Andre lying sprawled on the ground, and Jin-Woo turning around to leave with an emotionless face, was so great that it left the readers with an indescribable level of mental shock.

As almost all of the mass media was focused on the International Guild Conference, the ripple caused by the article was even greater than it might have been otherwise.

Rather than traditional media outlets breaking the news, though, the story first gained traction in South Korea through social media, instead.

[ROFLOL. Thomas Andre beaten to a pulp by Seong Jin-Woo was real? Link to the article.]

[Holy cow, it's real. LOL Thomas Andre showed up with Guild members and still got ransacked like nobody's business?]

[Bullsh*t. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Makes no sense. One guy wrecked a Special Authority-rank Hunter + super-top-number one Guild?]

└ [Go read the linked article. All true.]

└ [Why did they fight, tho?]

└ [No one knows. No reason provided.]

[LOLOL Yankee bros yapping on about Special Authority this and that, but now, boom! Maybe, these fools were nothing but hot air?]

[It's not Thomas Andre being useless, it's Seong Jin-Woo being incredible.]

[Yup, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim is the pride of South Korea.]

└ [Kyah~! Barmaid! Time to get drunk! Bring me a tall glass of patriotism!]

Most of the Korean commenters expressed their surprise at this event, but on the other hand, the comments filled with pride quickly appeared on various Japanese social media accounts.

[It's only obvious that even Thomas Andre was no match for Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim.]

[Maybe the U.S. didn't help us because they were afraid of exposing the truth behind their Special Authority-ranked Hunters...]

[We need to be grateful that such a Hunter came to lend us his aid.]

[I've been trying to send a thank you gift to Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim for a little while now. Where should I send it so he can receive it?]

[You can send it here. The address is....]

└ [Hey, dude, why U writing your own address?]

└ [bed through his memories briefly just then, but he failed to recall any moments that warranted a thank-you from the Hunter Bureau.

All he did yesterday was – he lost Kamish's shadow, wandered around searching for the kidnapped Yu Jin-Ho, encountered Thomas Andre coincidentally and beat his a*s down to the ground. That was all.

'…....'

Recalling the events of yesterday managed to sour his mood by a notch.

The American agent probably wasn't expressing his gratitude to Jin-Woo for showing him the process of extracting a shadow. So, why was he saying his thanks for?

Fortunately enough, Adam White opened his mouth just in time, right before Jin-Woo's confusion had the chance to grow any bigger.

"If you hadn't stopped right then, the United States of America would have lost both of her Special Authority-rank Hunters."

'Ahh, so that's what he was talking about.'

Jin-Woo nodded his head as he recalled the scene of Adam White crying out and trying to dissuade him the night before.

For sure, yesterday's result might have been entirely different if the American agent didn't show up and Thomas Andre remained stubborn right until the end.

The U.S. had already lost one of her Special Authority-rank Hunters. So, the government would've done everything in order to prevent the loss of her second, regardless of the cost.

Jin-Woo could more or less understand now where Adam White and his bowed head was coming from.

Meanwhile, the American agent carried on.

"We at the Hunter Bureau will do our best to ensure that you're not unduly troubled by this incident, Seong Hunter-nim."

With those words, Adam White stood upright again. He looked dead tired, though.

The Hunter Bureau held a night-long emergency meeting on how to deal with this event. Naturally, Adam White had to attend the meeting, seeing that he was in charge of chaperoning Jin-Woo around.

The conclusion of that meeting was….

- Do not provoke him.

The higher-ups decided to do everything in their power to make Jin-Woo's stay in the country that much more comfortable. His feat of defeating Thomas Andre only served to improve the Hunter Bureau's evaluation of him.

The organisation definitely didn't want to see their relationship with Jin-Woo souring because of the Scavenger Guild's wrongdoings. Most importantly, Thomas Andre wasn't dead, now was he?

Adam White was ordered to carry on as scheduled and so, he came here to escort Jin-Woo. He stared at his charge for a little while before swallowing dry saliva.

Gulp.

'This man alone managed to defeat the Scavenger Guild....'