Chapter 93
“... How does it make any sense?”
“I don't know either, you idiot.”
... Does this make any sense?
I only voiced a few complaints because I thought the government had leaked information...
Why is Mr. Zephyros becoming Director of the NIS?
“... Was the NIS director's job always this easy to get?”
“Anyone? Want to die?”
“Heh-heh.”
Senior Choi Kang was laughing heartily beside him, too.
That's true, honestly.
“They're going to overhaul the NIS to put Awakened people front and center. President Kang Min-guk must be furious about this whole incident.”
“Then his first mission after taking office is...”
“Right, ferret out the spies.”
“Good grief.”
Just hearing it, it sounds like it'll be anything but easy.
“So, are you going to do it?”
“What can I do when they told me to?”
“You could refuse.”
Had he wanted the position?
Well, as you get older, the desire for honor and power...
“If I refuse, you'll be in that much more danger. What do you take this master's noble sacrifice for?”
... I feel kind of sorry for him.
“All this because of me...”
“I told you. I said I'd spend the rest of my life supporting you. I just thought Director of the NIS would be a decent position for that.”
My master was doing all this for me. I couldn't just sit there dumbfounded.
“I do have one decent idea.”
“... All of a sudden?”
“Maybe we can identify them all at once... at least a lot of them.”
I can't go north with the feeling that someone's watching my back.
I need to deal with this first, then either sneak over or negotiate my way in.
**
[Kang Min-guk Administration Abruptly Dismisses NIS Director Han Gil-hyeong! No Reason Given.]
[(Exclusive) Was Director Han Gil-hyeong Dismissed Over the Defection Incident?]
Up to this point, it had flown under the public's radar.
It wasn't the president changing, just one NIS director...
It wasn't common, but it wasn't exactly something that would attract public attention, either.
Of course, if the reason for the director's dismissal had been properly disclosed, public opinion probably would've boiled over...
But it hadn't.
But the news that followed...
[Zephyros Ryu Hyeonsu, Currently South Korea's Number One Hunter, Takes Office as New NIS Director.]
[President Kang Min-guk's Surprise NIS Appointment: What's Behind It?]
[New Director Ryu Hyeonsu Declares in His Inaugural Address That He Will Raise South Korea's Intelligence Capabilities to a Global Level.]
It was more than enough to turn the world upside down.
─Hey, Zephyros hyung, is this for real?
└They didn't appoint a retired Hunter but the current number one as NIS director. I have to wonder if that's right.
─Zephyros is getting on in years, and he'd already retired once before coming back. It wouldn't be strange if he retired again.
└Bullshit. That comeback Hunter is number one in the rankings right now.
─LOL, if the NIS were still at Namsan, this would make sense. Zephyros's main Gate is Namsan, right?
└Our director goes hiking every morning, and when he gets back, he reeks of monster blood!
└That's hilarious LOL
└Are they seriously going to move the headquarters back to Namsan?
└Where is it now?
└Somewhere in Seocho-gu?
└Aw, that's a little far. What a shame.
Given Zephyros's fame and popularity, the reaction online was mostly positive.
It was only natural, perhaps, since he was such an upstanding man that he hadn't caused a single scandal, to the point that people called him the ‘People's Hunter.’
And then...
People suddenly realized.
─Wait, so... is Germ Man now Korea's number one?
Kim Segyun had risen to become Korea's number two before anyone knew it.
With Zephyros stepping back from active duty, Kim Segyun had taken the top spot in Korea.
Of course, most people already thought he'd surpassed Zephyros in practice, but Zephyros's number-one ranking carried a certain symbolic meaning.
─Number one in the rankings before even reaching Level 40... S-C-A-R-Y!
└Germ Man's on fire!
─I wonder if he'll do a livestream to celebrate becoming number one.
└I'm in favor if Kkyu-kkyu appears on the livestream.
└Athena has to appear, too.
└I'm in favor if Germ Man's face doesn't show up.
└Seconded22222
└Seconded333333
And so.
While people reacted noisily both online and offline to Zephyros taking office as NIS director and Kim Segyun reaching number one in the rankings...
A major operation was underway inside the NIS.
**
“... So you can detect suspicious activity throughout this entire building?”
“Yes.”
“You're sure? If we turn the place upside down and find nothing, I'll be starting my tenure in disgrace.”
Being embarrassed would've been one thing, but his standing itself would take a hit.
Then his influence and the power he could wield internally would weaken along with it.
That's what it meant to be at the top.
Unless he showed people what a convincing leader looked like, the authority and power he could wield simply by virtue of his position would inevitably be weak.
He had no long career in intelligence, nor any experience in diplomacy or politics.
Zephyros was a Hunter through and through.
Public perception was entirely favorable thanks to his image, but there was plenty of discontent within the agency.
If he failed right at the start, the likely outcome was that he'd be called a lame-duck director and eventually forced out.
President Kang Min-guk would suffer political damage, too.
“Don't worry.”
So I said it even more firmly.
I was confident.
“All right. I'll trust you. We'll start as soon as you're ready.”
“Yes, just a moment.”
I gently closed my eyes.
I sent my legion into the NIS headquarters.
Bacteria invisible to the naked eye settled around people throughout the building, one by one, as if keeping them under surveillance.
Through Mision, I could see the layout of the NIS headquarters and every single person inside it.
“Let's start now.”
“Okay. Let's all get in there.”
At Zephyros's signal, dozens of Hunters, including Senior Choi Kang, rose from their seats.
They'd rented a building near the NIS and had all been waiting there.
Dozens of Hunters charged toward the NIS's main entrance at tremendous speed.
“Th-This is a key national security facility...!”
The sentries tried to stop them, but Zephyros held up some papers.
“I'm the new director! On the director's orders, we're conducting a surprise search of the building!”
Every one of them was a top-ranked Hunter.
That was only natural, since SG Group had now brought nearly all of South Korea's leading dungeon development companies together...
If it wanted, SG Group could summon as many top-ranked Hunters as it liked.
And right now, there was even an order to refrain from traveling abroad...
So all the Hunters who'd been hanging around Korea had been called in.
Ah, of course, for a hefty daily rate...
Just like that, dozens of top-ranked Hunters overran the NIS headquarters in an instant.
Of course, I didn't think that alone would be enough to catch anyone.
In this sudden, bewildering situation, we just had to weed out those who acted strangely first.
My eyes, reaching throughout the building, caught several people moving in a panic.
First, I spotted someone in Overseas Operations Division 2 glancing around nervously before hurrying to shred some documents.
The Pride organism monitoring him immediately made his body go rigid.
It was Botulinus.
I couldn't kill him, so I avoided his heart and respiratory muscles, paralyzing only the muscles in his limbs for now.
When I focused on another area...
I spotted someone hurrying to find a place without CCTV, then taking something out from the sole of his shoe.
That looked suspicious no matter how you sliced it.
“... An earring?”
It seemed like an item such as an Ansible Earring.
To prevent information from being taken outside, Awakened people at the NIS were ordered to empty their entire inventories and undergo a security check every day when entering the building.
So he'd hidden it in his shoe sole instead of in his inventory.
He put the earring on and began saying something.
Mision couldn't pick up the sound itself, but...
That didn't mean there was no way to hear it.
Sound was ultimately a wave with a unique frequency.
Using the information gathered by the bacteria monitoring him, which had received those vibrations in full...
“Recreate the sound.”
When I made the request to the bacteria around me...
─Eagle's Nest, this is Eagle Chick. We're at risk of exposure. Requesting immediate execution of escape plan.
They reproduced the frequency exactly and rendered the sound.
It was one of the ways I was putting my newly formed legion to use.
It's not like I've just been sitting around, either.
“... This one's definitely a sure thing.”
After that, I found suspicious activity from nearly five more people and immediately reported them to Zephyros.
Seven people were arrested inside the NIS headquarters in an instant, then escorted outside, shouting angrily.
“What kind of procedure is this!”
“You Hunters can't do this! Do you know where you are?!”
“Even if it was the director's order, this is unacceptable! What is this, without a warrant?!”
After listening from hiding for a while, I suddenly appeared in front of them.
“.,....!”
“K-Kim...”
“Kim Segyun...!”
“Hunter Kim Segyun...”
I smiled warmly at them.
“You're all pretty shameless.”
“... Pardon?”
“What do you mean...”
“Evidence, do you have evidence?!”
Let's start with the first one who got caught.
I'd removed the toxin, so he could move now...
“What, did you have some kind of seizure and suddenly couldn't move?”
“Y-You mean...”
“Of course I did it. And those documents you were about to shred... they were meant for China, weren't they?”
“I-It's a misunderstanding. That...”
“Whether it's a misunderstanding or a whole lot of nonsense, the trial will sort it out.”
Next...
“You know bringing a communications item into the building is a serious crime. What did you say into the one you brought in hidden in your shoe sole?”
I made a small gesture.
─Eagle's Nest, this is Eagle Chick. We're at risk of exposure. Requesting immediate execution of escape plan.
The sound of that person's voice rang out in the air.
The second suspect's mouth dropped open in shock.
“Th-This is...”
After that, I told them what evidence I had against each of them...
None of them could argue. They just bowed their heads.
“Take them all to the police.”
The NIS could make arrests at the scene under its authority, but investigations had to be handled by the police and prosecutors, so they began transporting the seven detainees to nearby Seocho Police Station.
After they were gone, Zephyros patted my shoulder and said,
“Good work.”
“It was nothing.”
I hadn't done any work.
“That probably wasn't the end of it.”
“Probably not. Some could be outside... and more cautious ones may still be around.”
“I'll help with anything I can, anytime, so just let me know.”
“Sure. I'll help, too. We'll get our Germ Man to North Korea.”
... Is it just me, or did that sound ominous?
“Just wait a little. Once I get the NIS properly under control, I'll mobilize our human intelligence (HUMINT) assets in North Korea and find out what options we have. Wait until things settle down.”
“Yes, yes, I believe you.”
They say it's good to have a lawyer, a doctor, or a high-ranking public official in the family.
A high-ranking public official really is reassuring.
**
Before the news about Zephyros's appointment as NIS director had even died down, the media was hit with another wave of shocking news.
[(Breaking News) New NIS Director Ryu Hyeonsu Conducts Raid on NIS Headquarters on His First Day, Accompanied by Hunter Kim Segyun and Numerous Top-Ranked Hunters!]
[Hunters Seize NIS Headquarters and Arrest 7 Employees.]
[Suspects Believed to Be Double Agents for the U.S., China, Japan, and Other Countries.]
[Arrested Suspects Strongly Deny Charges of Spying.]
[NIS: “We Have Conclusive Evidence.”]
[Police: “It's Not Circumstantial Evidence.”]
[Director Ryu: Kang Min-guk Administration's Hidden Card? Will He Become the Best NIS Director in History?]
[President Kang Min-guk: “I Have 100% Confidence in Director Ryu.”]
[President Kang Min-guk's Approval Rating Surpasses 90%!]
The reactions on the news and online forums were just as intense.
─Fuck, what am I looking at? They caught seven spies on his first day in office?
└No, catching them is one thing, but it's even more shocking that there were seven spies at NIS headquarters.
─ (Photo of the former NIS director) <<< ‘Idiot’
└How badly did they run the place for there to be seven spies?
─Wow, President Kang Min-guk doesn't usually fire people, so I wondered why he suddenly did it. Turns out it was a masterstroke.
└The firing was one thing, but appointing Ryu Hyeonsu in his place? I never would've imagined Zephyros becoming NIS director.
└Absolutely true.
And then there was an anonymous Hunter forum.
A post appeared there.
─My older brother was one of the Hunters who took part in the NIS operation. It's top secret, so I can't say much, but I'll tell you one thing... Kim Segyun hard-carried the whole thing. They say he deserves over 90% of the credit.
That short post was screenshotted and spread to other forums.
Then it spread from one forum to another...
Before even a day had passed, every active online community in South Korea was covered with screenshots of that post.
The reactions were...
─ (Photo of Kim Segyun) <<< ‘God’
└Where's Kim Segyun? All I can see is light.
└They put a light up there and are insisting it's Kim Segyun.
─ (Photo of James Bond) (Photo of Jason Bourne) <<< ‘Morons’
└Yeah, that's our guy. He catches spies with a click. That's right, that's actually true.
─Yi Sun-sin vs. Kim Segyun
└Hey, compare things that make sense. Obviously...
└Obviously what?
└... Let me think about it.
└One thing's certain: Germ Man's uglier.
└I saw the restored portrait of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and he wasn't exactly easy on the eyes, either.
─Long live Kim Segyun, the Protector of the Nation! (Day 1)
└Is this the start of a daily post? Keep it up.
At first, the posts were just playful praise.
But then, at some point...
─But you know what? I have absolutely nothing to do with Kim Segyun, but somehow I feel reassured.
└LOL, I know that feeling. For some reason, I'm proud of him.
└Those French and American bastards LOL. Were you guys the only ones who got to feel this way?
Kaiser, America's guardian deity.
Ahmad, France's guardian deity, and others...
The image of a ‘guardian deity of the nation’...
was beginning to take shape in earnest.