Chapter 89
Hunter Association
S-Class Hunter Seo Jiyeon, the Death Photographer of the Hunter Association, met with a man wearing tattered clothes and a topknot.
The man was Lee Heung-boo, a Hunter from the Blue House.
Jiyeon's face twisted as soon as she saw Heung-boo.
Just how long is this bastard going to stick with that broke-ass look? Jiyeon forced herself to control her expression.
"Yo, old man. What's up?"
"Tch, your attitude's really gone to shit since I last saw you."
"Well, if you're gonna be Ha Jeongseok's lapdog, you better be ready for this kind of treatment, right?"
Given her bad blood with the Hunters who served as Ha Jeongseok's dogs, this level of insult was actually being nice.
"Listen here, Jiyeon. The President is still the head of state. The Hunter Association can't replace the government."
"Ha! You calling that fucker in the Blue House a President? You talking shit?"
Jiyeon sneered as if to say 'isn't he just another dog?' while Heung-boo shook his head.
"Sigh. What am I doing arguing with a kid?"
"I don't particularly want to waste more words on an old fart either, so we should figure out our search route."
"Fine. What did Divine Sword say?"
At Heung-boo's question, Jiyeon recalled what Jinseok had told her recently.
'Heung-boo's a complete blockhead except for being Blue House affiliated. He has zero flexibility, so you're better off moving separately.'
'What do you want me to do?'
'You can handle it alone anyway, right? When I went, White Flower seemed to have cleaned up most of the surrounding area.'
'Isn't it too much sending a woman alone?'
'Don't say that when you're the Association's #2.'
'Take me on a date after this is done'
Even without Jinseok's words, there was no reason to tell anything to someone from the Blue House. From the start, since Heung-boo was just a simple-minded extremist, they wouldn't agree on how to search for Baekhwa.
Better to just give a vague explanation.
"South of Incheon is my guess. But the demonic power is too thick to enter easily."
"Hmm. They said she could be reasoned with?"
"Is the ignorant old man just gonna use force again?"
"That's how you deal with Mutants."
I knew it.
This is why he's just the President's dog with that simple-minded attitude.
"Ugh. This is why people call you old. Such a boomer. Ever heard of dialogue? Even Jinseok who could cut down your Nim Brothers in 10 seconds said to try talking first?"
She meant compromise, not strength.
"That kid's past his prime now."
"You're talking shit about Jinseok who's in his 20s when you're retirement age? Tsk tsk, making your wife and kids starve just to be strong."
Jiyeon clicked her tongue and shrugged.
Heung-boo's ability was 'Power of Poverty'.
His unique ability was that the less he had, the stronger he became.
So back in his student days, he went around wearing just underwear, and against the worst enemies, he even fought naked.
Because of that, he was labeled a pervert and got taken to the police station who knows how many times. If his older brother Nolbu hadn't always bailed him out with money, he would've been living on the streets long ago.
He's developed his ability enough to at least cover clothes now, but because of that, his wife and kids live in poverty too.
"Ahem! But it can't be helped for the sake of this country!"
"Ugh. Cut the bullshit already. How come all you Blue House lackeys are like this?"
Association Hunters weren't as shady as the Blue House Hunters.
If it weren't for Kim Jae-soo's rebellion, the Association would still be thriving.
"What?"
"Am I wrong? Even your stuck-up brother Nolbu gets stronger the more he has with his 'Power of Greed', right?"
The brothers really had a matching set of annoying abilities.
Jiyeon couldn't understand how she ended up partnered with someone like this.
"Fine, fine, I give up. Let's try talking it out reasonably."
"Should've done that from the start. And just so you know, I'm watching the broadcast first."
Heung-boo clicked his tongue at Jiyeon's sneering words, having planned to head out without listening to the Association.
* * *
Before broadcasting to show the survivors, I did a quick check of Songdo.
Songdo New City. This neighborhood that was abandoned during the Great Cataclysm has changed a lot since I occupied it.
First, with support from the Cheonsan Group and Yoo-jeong's golems, we rebuilt the collapsed buildings into decent houses, if not quite apartment level.
I had the survivors rescued from the demonic power stay here and used Kate to get support from Cheonsan Group so there were no issues with food and living.
"Maybe I'll just show some buildings that don't look too much like Songdo."
Showing intact buildings might make people suspect this is Songdo. That would be troublesome.
The issue is that while people who avoided the demonic power areas are fine, those deeply stained by it are already half-Mutant.
I wonder how the media will react when they see it on broadcast.
"Come to think of it, how are people reacting on my community?"
When I checked the Hunter community, sure enough, mentions of me were the most common.
Yeah. For example, clicking any post on page 1.
Title: Isn't Baekhwa sexy as fuck though?
Aren't Mutants and villain chicks always sexier than normal Hunters or civilians?
Plus when she fought Jinseok you could see she was wearing a fucking T-back.
-You're single aren't you? Getting horny over a villain chick.
-Honestly wanna bang her so bad.
-Lily Guild chick arrested at home
-Didn't you see what she did to Firebat? She wears T-backs to seduce men anytime. What a slutty bitch
-She's trying to get that dick ㅅㅂ
Just from a quick look there's this much. And besides this, there's lots of talk about how I'm even sexier because I'm a Mutant and whatnot.
But in the end a pretty girl is justice. Even though I'm a Mutant, there are more people simping for me.
Come to think of it, they even made a fan club for a woman with a bounty on her head before. In the end, being pretty is all that matters.
"Seriously these looks and T-back nonsense. I'm not wearing any panties."
It's not like I took them off to be ready to fuck anywhere anytime.
I left them in front of the bath as a decoy because Rachel would nag if I came back late again.
It's definitely not because the nun outfit is more comfortable without panties or because I enjoy the exposure.
As proof, I'm wearing panties right now.
"Well this seems fine enough, shall we get started?"
I was planning to emphasize the survivors more today anyway, so I don't really care if people curse at me for being a Mutant or jerk off.
That was kind of the point of White Flower TV too.
It was time to properly introduce the villain Baekhwa to the world.
I turned on the broadcast with the redeveloped Songdo area as the stage.
"Hello everyone~! This is your eternal idol Baekhwa!"
-Baekhwa
-What idol, you Mutant villain bitch lol
-Did the guy above live under a rock?
-Stop simping for a chick who won't even give it to you. She's a Mutant who fought Jinseok, what else would she be but a villain?
-lol what idiot would just stand there and take hits lol
The chat is pretty heated too.
Should I get a manager? But I wasn't planning to use White Flower TV for long anyway.
"Well, first let's remove those who are ruder than this Mutant villain."
-ㄷㄷ Are you showing what you promised today?
"Of course. I don't lie, right? Now watch!"
Songdo is already active with quite a few people living here.
I showed this through a live broadcast.
-People are really living there?
-How are people living in a quarantine zone?
-Don't villains attack?
"We have vigilante groups of Mutants here. There are some former villains too, and they can handle most attacks."
-Well Baekhwa fought evenly with Jinseok even if he went easy
-ㅈㄹㄴ Jinseok's washed up now.
"Well Jinseok is stronger than me. I ran away first that time right? I was just out of stamina."
And this isn't the time to discuss who's stronger anyway.
"Hello, Miss Baekhwa."
"Yes, hello."
"Thanks to you, my daughter and I didn't die. Thank you."
"It's nothing. Here kiddo, have some candy."
I gave candy I had to the daughter of a mother-daughter pair I rescued recently.
This is what image management is all about.
Unlike politicians' fake appearances, I was sincerely earning the trust of survivors as the Mutant villain Baekhwa.
-So where exactly is this place?
"Hunters will have to find that out themselves!"
-Is it true Firebat took your first kiss?
-We couldn't see clearly then, explain explain
-Explain the T-back too
Do I need to explain that? Not like those mouths that'll never kiss anyone in their lives need to know I just gave them some spit.
"Well, being a virgin she was really bad at kissing. And underwear is so rare in quarantine zones this is all we have."
-lol Firebat was cursing Baekhwa hard in the gallery from dawn till morning.
-All Songdo survivors in T-backs? ㅜㅑ
-Fuck suddenly pissed thinking the guys would be like that too.
Oh looks like Firebat got triggered.
"Anyway, I can't show more if the Association finds out. Just think of it as thousands living here."
That should be enough, so I turned off the broadcast.
Who will come next? Probably one man and two women.
Jinseok must have told the Association, so they'll send women to try diplomacy, plus a power character just in case.
Probably the Baek Cheong-gang and Seo Jiyeon duo.
They're the Association's strongest after Jinseok. Or maybe someone from the Guild could come too. But the Guild would need Blue House permission through the Association.
Oh? Wait.
"Maybe Heung-boo will come?"
Heung-boo would be a bit annoying.
Wasn't Heung-boo's ability poverty? Right, 'Power of Poverty' - the less he has, the stronger Heung-boo becomes. That's why Heung-boo always wears just enough clothes to not get arrested by police officer uncles.
In other words, his outfit is eye cancer from the start which is a big hit to me.
And it's not like he's good looking either. Just a rugged manly face? You know those uncles in BL stuff? Exactly like that.
Heung-boo is the only man in this world whose mere existence deals damage to me.
Plus if he uses his ultimate and rips off all his clothes, I'll have to give up my vision from then on.
Weirdly, Writer Yoo Eunha drew really high quality illustrations for Heung-boo.
That pisses me off even more.
"He did make female villains kneel before him naked in the previous work."
I'll get caught if I cover my eyes in disgust.
But it's too early to jump to conclusions. Let me check the situation?
"Um, Eunha. Someone came near Songdo."
Rosemary, who was patrolling outside Songdo with 4 doll clones, came to report urgently.
"Oh? Who is it?"
"One is Death Photographer Seo Jiyeon. The other is God of Poverty Lee Heung-boo."
Speak of the devil.
Right. As expected. At least Jiyeon being there is fortunate.
I'll definitely fuck Jiyeon hard in the future but right now compromise is needed.
Elise is probably impossible. Even though she's gotten stronger, it's different when facing two of Korea's S-Class.
Elise can't catch Heung-boo, and if something goes wrong it could cause diplomatic issues with America.
"The combination I expected. Shia."
"Yes yes, Master."
"I'll fill your mouth with magic stones later so take care of Heung-boo. Can you do it?"
You're a Constellation after all, you should be able to handle this much right?
"A fight to the death would be tough with this body right now."
Choi Shia is using some Constellation power too. But the issue is Choi Siwoo inside.
It's hard to properly use power while trying to control Siwoo who became Lust inside.
"No, that would wake up Lust too. Better to keep Heung-boo alive."
That guy is stubborn and might be a nuisance and makes me extremely uncomfortable visually. But his power is useful.
Excluding Jinseok's generation of Hunters, Heung-boo along with his brother Nolbu can be called Korea's best fighters.
He uses a weird technique called 'Poverty Fist Style', which they say made even a Hunter with sumo abilities from Japan surrender.
Well, it's mostly because you take visual damage from him being naked from the start.
It would be good to drive them away for now. The problem is they could keep coming back even if repelled once. Eventually Songdo's location will be discovered.
Should I try making Jiyeon an ally instead?
* * *