The Dungeon Cleaning Life of a Once Genius Hunter - Chapter 360

361

361. Side Story After Episode 18

Nearly a month has passed since the uproar occurred at the American Association.

Meanwhile, I had to constantly attend the national dungeon reduction monitoring in Seoul without having time to worry about anything else.

Fortunately, the dimension stone was operating stably during the monitoring period, and the dungeon reduction was able to proceed without major problems.

…No, they say it went without a problem.

Actually, my mind was elsewhere during that month.

Therefore, I received a three-line summary of the briefing from Kim Min-ju and other employees.

The fact that Kim Min-ju nagged me about not going to work was a secret, not a secret.

That’s right. How can one sit still and focus on the briefing when there is so much commotion at the American Association?

During most of the meeting, I had to exchange messages with Ayoung Lee and talk a lot about the investigation and disposition of the American association and its future management.

If it was simply a matter for the American Association, she could have delegated full authority to Lee Ah-young, but unfortunately, as the investigation into this case progressed, the groups involved became quite unusual, making it nearly impossible for her to handle it all on her own.

Therefore, only after a month has passed and the last monitoring is over….

“The ‘semi-permanent body enhancement soldier training project’ through an experiment in transplanting special abilities.” “That is the real name of the American Association’s Zone F project.”

“…the title is really scary.”

Only from Lee Ah-young, who returned safely to Korea, was he able to directly take over the current case.

“First of all, you can figure out the details by looking at the data…”

“….”

Lee Ah-young placed a considerable amount of reports on her desk, including the data she had researched for a month.

At the same time, my eyes widened involuntarily at the enormous amount.

At that time, I thought that if it was this much, it should be given as an electronic document rather than paper.

“Well, I was shocked when I first heard the title during the research process. Normally, keywords like physical strengthening, soldier training, etc. can’t be good content. It’s either inhumane human experimentation or something…”

“…No way?”

“huh.”

Lee Ah-young answered immediately and nodded.

“Surprisingly, the experiment wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

“That’s a real twist.”

“It wasn’t an experiment that could be conducted officially, so we recruited participants from nearby gangs and the homeless, but they said they all filled out the consent forms properly?”

Lee Ah-young shrugged her shoulders and continued.

“For those who consented, the details of the experiment were explained in detail… The contents of the experiment were not that dangerous.”

“So what kind of experiment was this?”

“To summarize…”

Lee Ah-young rested her chin and trailed off in response to my question.

And then the office door burst open and someone came in.

“Analyzing the specific gene that creates the abnormality wave of a hunter with a special ability, and transplanting an artificially created ‘core’ to the test subjects based on the data.”

Someone recited the contents on Lee Ah-young’s behalf.

The person who entered the room listing words that were difficult to understand at once was none other than…

“As a result, it was an experiment aimed at continuously interfering with the supernatural waves in the test subjects’ bodies and partially changing the body in response to the waves. .”

“…How did you come to know that I was talking about that?”

“I heard that the president of the association returned to Korea. “Then, of course, we’ll talk about this incident. Would you like to choose a lunch menu?”

A research institute under the WDSO Headquarters Support Team.

As the head of Eclipse Research Institute, Chloe was in charge of bank item management and ability level research.

“I came here because I thought talking to two non-experts would only give me a headache and give me a clear understanding.”

“That’s such thoughtful consideration.”

There was a moment of sarcasm, not knowing if he was here to ignore me or if he was really thinking about it.

I rested my chin on the desk and asked her back.

“Please continue talking. So, why do you say that if you continuously interfere with the supernatural power wave, your body will become stronger?”

“Strictly speaking, the effect varies depending on which wave it interferes with. “The supernatural power used in this experiment was that of the Berserker class, and since it is a class that mainly uses body strengthening skills, it was able to have a similar effect.”

“….”

“Actually, up to this point, it’s an extension of an already existing theory, so it’s not that surprising. “The key is to strengthen the body through indirect influence, so the effect can be maintained even after the supernatural situation is over.”

“okay. “I definitely used my brain a bit.”

“That’s right. Of course, since it is an indirect effect, it is unlikely that they will have abilities or superpowers that are beyond common sense like people with real special abilities…. Still, compared to ordinary people, it will be significantly different.”

“Okay, that aside…”

I continued, looking at Chloe, who was pouring out unasked information and theories like a fish out of water.

“How does he know this so well?”

“….”

The data related to this experiment are known only to me, Lee Ah-young, and Han Yu-bin.

Even I just received detailed information.

I understand how she knows everything, even though she only knows about the experiment at the American Association.

“…Wait a minute.”

No way…

“Did you plan this experiment…?”

“…yes?”

“….”

Lee Ah-young’s eyes widened at that question, and Chloe avoided her eyes.

“Really? “Is this an experiment you planned?!”

“…You should have just pretended not to notice.”

Chloe scratched her head in an annoyed voice.

“that’s right. “I was originally in charge of the Area F project.”

“No, what is that…. Do you know what kind of trouble I went through there for a month because of this?! But this was all because of you?”

“What do you mean by that? Don’t you know that it’s already been more than three years since I was kicked out of the American Association? The project was first planned 10 years ago, and I took charge of it 8 years ago. Now that you’ve come….”

“So, you’re saying you’re not responsible?!” “Don’t you know that you have nothing to say even if you get fired?!”

“Oh, if you’re going to squeeze it, you should squeeze it. “You’re so temperamental.”

“What?”

I don’t know why, but the story suddenly turned into a fight between two women.

It became difficult to intervene so I just watched with bated breath for a while.

“If you’re going to squeeze it, just squeeze it.” To put it bluntly, you’re still making a living with what you had in the past.”

“Oh no, who’s pampering me? Of course, that’s what you have to do…!”

“Hunter support weapon management and special abilities research… Plus, I’m working 15 hours a day these days because of the dungeon reduction project. If I were to hire you, who do you think this work would go to?”

“….”

Lee Ah-young had no choice but to keep her mouth shut at Chloe’s short, bold words.

“…Let bygones be bygones. sorry. “I’m a little excited.”

It looks like the decision has finally been made.

“Now, calm down and let’s just talk about work.”

I was wondering if I should prepare popcorn, but I spoke up, feeling disappointed that the fight ended more smoothly than I expected.

“Anyway, the significance of this Area F experiment was a project that could create the only soldier with special abilities without any side effects in a world where special abilities have disappeared, right?”

“Yeah, whatever. Yes.”

“The reason we have now restarted a project that was more than 10 years old is because we declared the end of the supernatural dimension situation and were trying to prepare for the future.”

After summarizing the point, Lee Ah-young and Chloe nodded at the same time.

“When you think about it, it wasn’t a particularly inhumane experiment, but the problem is that the intention of the project was completely opposite to the direction WDSO ultimately pursues.”

“that’s right. No matter the process, the intention itself was quite dangerous.”

Soon, Lee Ah-young spoke carefully.

“And that brother and sister….”

“….”

I also hesitated to answer that story for a while.

Children who were sold into a gang by their parents and then accidentally participate in an experiment when the entire gang is invested in the project.

Of course, if you just look at the results, they didn’t have any major problems.

“It turned out that the two children were the highest fitness samples, but fortunately, the experiment was not successful yet, and it will return to normal in a few days.”

“That’s really fortunate.”

“It was not our intention to use children as test subjects, and in any case, there will be no change in the fact that we committed something reprehensible in the end.”

I nodded at Lee Ah-young’s words.

Of course, since there was coercive experimentation and confinement, punishment for that will naturally be meted out.

But other than that, fortunately, there are no significant negative physical effects on children.

Mental issues will remain to some extent, but that is a problem that must be resolved at the association level.

It wasn’t a high-intensity experiment, and the aftereffects of the experiment will disappear over time.

So, normally, children who were incarcerated were liberated and returned to their loving families. It should be about that level, but…

‘Those kids can’t do that.’

Asian siblings adopted to the United States.

A drug addict’s adoptive parents were murdered by a gang.

Even if the children were rescued, there was no one waiting for them and no place for them to return.

And that part seemed to have pushed Han Yu-bin’s seizure button.

‘If it were normal, I would never have accepted an offer like that of branch manager…’ It

was surprising to me that even after worrying for a while about the ridiculous offer of becoming a branch manager while on a business trip, I quite willingly accepted it.

Well, I understand that something similar happened a long time ago so I couldn’t just ignore it…

“But he wasn’t that motivated of a person.”

“Well, Yubin, you seem to be somewhat satisfied, right?”

Lee Ah-young answered as if she heard him muttering to himself.

I raise my eyebrows and look at her.

“Actually, it’s not that they’re satisfied, but it’s actually good.”

“why? “I wasn’t originally a person who liked gamtu, right?”

“What…”

Lee Ah-young smiled meaningfully.

“I heard it’s okay if I don’t have to be with Han Sang-hyuk?”

“….”

An unexpected answer came.

***

All American Association.

Current U.S. branch of WDSO headquarters.

“ha.”

Han Yu-bin, who had been inaugurated as the new branch manager there, was having belated regrets.

‘Was the branch manager’s job this boring?’

I have lived in the United States for a long time and have quite a bit of experience in American associations, so I thought I could just do it the same way as before….

‘No use of violence between executives and employees, no swearing, no fighting….’ ‘If everything is forbidden, what fun can you have at work?’

As the American Association changed its affiliation to be directly under the WDSO Headquarters, the same rules as the WDSO Headquarters began to apply.

Thanks to this, Yubin Han had no choice but to continue living a boring, boring, and peaceful work life that was completely different from what she had imagined.

In fact, even if it is a job, the actual work has not even started because the investigation into the Zone F project has not yet been completed.

Therefore, Yubin Han’s daily routine consisted of going to work and doing nothing special for 9 hours other than staring out the window and zoning out.

“Haa….”

Her sigh echoed deep in the office once more.

Outside the window, I could see countless people walking up and down the streets of Long Island.

A man running somewhere in a hurry, a woman jogging while wearing earphones.

And children who follow in their parents’ footsteps.

Han Yu-bin was lost in thought for a moment while looking at the leisurely scenery.

When Han Yu-bin reached the age of entering kindergarten, she and Han Sang-hyuk were adopted to the United States.

I didn’t know why.

Now, all I can think about is that there must have been some adult circumstances.

After coming to America like that.

It was a series of things I didn’t want to think about.

The days when I was beaten by my father as if I was a drug addict.

The days when I was afraid every night, hiding in the closet and shivering.

Days when I had no place to ask for help and had to keep it to myself.

Then one day, this ability manifested itself.

After barely escaping from home, I continued to live in the back alleys.

The Hunters Association that I joined by chance.

There were countless things that happened in the meantime, but Han Yu-bin tried not to think about them.

Close your eyes for a moment and let go of the pieces of memory floating in your mind one by one.

“….”

Han Yu-bin took out her cell phone, hesitated for a moment, and then dialed a familiar number.

Tooruru-

Let the short beep continue for a moment.

“…Uh, it’s me.”

“No, I was just wondering if you were okay.”

I spoke those words sheepishly into my cell phone and looked at the window again.

The world felt very peaceful as warm sunlight added to the leisurely scenery I had seen earlier.

“The weather is really nice.”