Chapter 513: Chapter 513

“Aaaahh!”

“?!?”

The association’s chairman turned his head in surprise. The executive director was suddenly screaming like a madman.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! The chairman...”

“What are you saying, you crazy bastard?!”

“Sure, keep fighting. But you only have eight seconds left.”

“Forgive me! Please forgive me!” the executive director cried out repeatedly as he walked out the door.

Choi Yeonseung had said that he would spare their lives if they left the room, but the chairman and the general secretary weren’t that naive. Of course, he could bury the lower-ranking members of the association, but he couldn’t act the same with those at the top, who were billionaires.

And even if he tried to bury them, the chairman wouldn’t let it go.

“Th-the clans are supporting you, Hunter Choi Yeonseung! This might affect your reputation...”

“Enough, Mr. Chairman! Stop it!”

The general secretary ran to the chairman of the association and covered his mouth before trying to drag him outside. Bringing up the clans could be advantageous in certain scenarios, but certainly not against Choi Yeonseung in this situation.

All the major clans and companies in Korea were lying low and monitoring the situation. What would happen if they were caught up in this mess and used against Choi Yeonseung? They would all be ruined, and if that happened, they would most certainly resent the chairman and the general secretary of the Hunter Association.

“Five seconds.”

“You know I won’t let this go! If you can’t solve the misunderstanding, we will...”

“I know what you’re saying, but please stop it!” the general secretary shouted as he tried to drag away the chairman. Of course, he knew that if they didn’t fix this, his assets and reputation would go down the drain as soon as he left the room.

But his life was more important than that.

Instead of doing something stupid and risking falling from the 37th floor, the general secretary would just save his life.

“Did everyone leave?”

“...Y-yes...” A staff member gulped and nodded.

The chief executives, such as those from the power analysis office and the technical training office, who were close friends with the chairman, had also left. The only people who hadn’t been caught in this mess were the team leaders below them.

“Wh-what’s going on here? What happened?” Director Kang Seongik ran in after hearing the news late and looked around with a puzzled expression.

It hadn’t been long since he joined the association, but he knew that the current situation was strange.

“Why did you come late?”

“Uh... Well...”

“Stop thinking and answer immediately if you don’t wanna go through the window.”

One of the staff members nodded hastily at Choi Yeonseung’s words. Given that the chairman had left with the others, he could say this without being punished...

“It’s because the chairman... isn’t fond of Director Kang Seongik...”

“Why are you telling this to the guest? It will disgrace the associa-!”

Choi Yeonseung released some of his power to silence the director.

“It seems to me that they didn’t bother calling you this time because you always find fault with what they’re doing...”

“Mphff! Nnngg!”

“That’s right.” Choi Yeonseung stood up with a nod. He approached the director and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You will be the new chairman of the association.”

“NNNGGG?!!”

“I look forward to your cooperation. Ah, right.”

Choi Yeonseung looked at the staff member who had spoken to him earlier.

“Get a list of all the clans related to the people who went out earlier and contact them. Tell the clan leaders to come over as soon as possible, even if they’re currently in the Abyss. If they don’t come to me, I’ll come to them.”

“...”

The employee felt his heart, which had already sunken into his stomach, fall all the way underground.

...There would be bloodshed!

***

“Hey, Hunter Choi Yeonseung...!”

“Why is he the director of this competition?”

“Isn’t it because of the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor?”

“Most likely.”

The reporters made their way to the press conference of the association with excitement.

The position of director was great, but given South Korea’s consecutive losses over the years, Choi Yeonseung was essentially drinking from a poisoned chalice. He had achieved everything a hunter could possibly achieve, so he had no reason to enter this mud pit.

As such, the reporters were understandably intrigued.

Why on earth had he done this?

“In any case, we’ll get some great articles out of this. The mere mention of Hunter Choi Yeonseung’s name is enough to create a buzz these days.”

“Honestly, it’s great.”

There were many powerful countries out there that didn’t have an S-grade hunter, and yet South Korea had two (it didn’t matter that one of them had changed his nationality). Moreover, they even belonged to the same clan.

Therefore, the people of South Korea couldn’t help being proud. Besides, given that most veteran hunters were unpleasant people, Choi Yeonseung stood out as an exemplary hunter.

-Even the people of South Korea are surprised by their hunters...! South Korea has hunters who can succeed in an Abyss raid!

-No other country has such exemplary hunters!

Such headlines were made by reporters who were crazy about views, but it had come to the point where one couldn’t tell whether headlines were made by reporters or by random people who craved attention.

“What...? Why is it such a mess today? Aren’t you going to offer me something to drink?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“This is so disappointing. They should know how these things are organized... Why are they doing this?”

The reporters lining up in front of the conference hall complained to the staff members.

Normally, a staff member of the association would open the door right away. Once the reporters were seated, they would say thanks, show some gratitude, and then hold the press conference.

But this day, rather than greeting the reporters at the entrance, the organizers seemed to be busy somewhere else. After hearing that the reporters had arrived, they rushed to open the door to the hall and told the reporters to find their seats on their own.

“This is a real letdown. The other day, I had a meal with the chairman of the association...”

“I apologize... I am all over the place today...”

The staff members bowed to the indignant reporters.

The reporters in the rear murmured to each other.

“What? Did something happen?”

“What happened to the association?”

“I tried contacting them, but there was no answer...?”

The shrewd reporters tried to use their connections to find out what had happened, but they didn’t manage to get a response. In fact, no one picked up their calls.

What was going on...?

“...?”

“Reporter Choi? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, nothing. I just thought I saw the leaders of the Jangjamari and the Bamboo Leaf Army clans.”

Jangjamari and the Bamboo Leaf Army—although they weren’t part of the three major clans, they were nonetheless among the largest clans in South Korea.

The reporters were surprised by their presence at this event.

“That can’t be right. Why would the clan leaders be here? What were they doing?”

“I think they were kneeling in the parking lot.”

“Reporter Choi, have you been drinking?”

“N-no... I’m sorry.”

“If you plan to ask Hunter Choi Yeonseung a question, you better wake up. Of course, it’s not like you can get an exclusive interview with him, but...”

Getting an exclusive interview with an S-grade hunter, and especially with someone like Choi Yeonseung, was more unlikely than winning the lottery.

“You might get kicked out of here if you ask the wrong question. You know that hunters have a nasty temper.”

“Y-yes!”

“Why are you scaring him? Hunters have a nasty temper, but not Choi Yeonseung. He’s known for his great personality.”

“Aish... Senior, what nonsense is that? No matter how good a person he is, a hunter is a hunter. In addition, Hunter Choi Yeonseung isn’t that soft-hearted.”

“Of course, but compared to other hunters...”

The reporters proceeded to have a debate about whether Choi Yeonseung was actually a pushover or not.

It wasn’t long before the person in question appeared before them.

“Hunter Choi Yeonseung is out! Hunter Choi Yeonseung is out! What are you doing? Aren’t you taking photos?”

“Wait.”

“??”

Choi Yeonseung raised his hand before they could say anything else. His motion contained a power that forced everyone to go quiet.

The cameramen paused right when they were about to press the shutter.

“Thank you for coming, but before we proceed with the conference, I have to make sure of one thing.”

“???”

“Those of you who have written articles criticizing the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor, I will give one minute to get out of here. If you do so, I will spare your lives.”

“...”

All the reporters froze.

“What... What...?”

“What kind of joke is that?”

“Fifty-five seconds.”

“Hunter Choi Yeonseung! Of course, you might not like the articles, but this is the media’s...”

“Fifty seconds.”

Several reporters protested loudly, but Choi Yeonseung pretended not to hear them.

“Hey, I think they’re the ones who have written articles about the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor!”

“That’s right! They’re the ones who wrote about a baseless bribery rumor last time and only published corrective information after they received death threats from the fans of the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor.”

“I heard that in situations like this, the ones who make a lot of noise are usually the ones who get stabbed.”

“No, but what does Hunter Choi Yeonseung think he’s doing? Can he handle the repercussions of his actions? It’s not just the people of the association but also the related clans...”

“That’s right.”

“It seems like it has a lot to do with the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor...”

With this, one thing had become clear—the hunter in front of them was no pushover. Now, the reporters were curious about something else.

‘What will actually happen after the one minute passes? Will he drag us out?’

‘I don’t think he’s actually going to kill us... Actually, he can probably get away with it...’

The reporters kept protesting and murmuring among themselves while Choi Yeonseung kept counting with an expressionless face.

Bang!

“???”

“???”

But then, the door of the conference hall was slammed open, and the leader of a clan rushed in. He was the leader of the Pearl-Spitting Turtle, a large Korean clan. He was known for his nasty temper and stubbornness; he never did anything himself, always sending his subordinates to take care of his work.

“I told you it was a misunderstanding, Hunter Choi Yeonseung! It’s just a misunderstanding! Why are you doing this? Our clan supported you during the last invasion! It’s very disappointing to see you act like this! Hunters from our clan made mistakes, but we did our best. You’re crossing the line with this...”

Choi Yeonseung grabbed the clan leader by the collar.

At that moment, the reporters thought to themselves, ‘No way...’

Swish!

Shatter!

“...”

“...”

Everyone was horrified to see the clan leader fly out the window of the 36th floor. Of course, he was a hunter in his own right, so he could survive falling from this height, but these reporters were ordinary people...

They would surely die!

A gust of wind blew through the broken window, piercing the stifling silence.

The reporters hesitated before creeping to the side.

“Thirty seconds.”

“I was wrong! I’m sorry, Hunter Choi Yeonseung! The higher-ups pressured me into writing it...!”

“Twenty-five seconds.”

The reporters jumped to their feet; they all apologized to Choi Yeonseung and ran outside. The conference hall quickly became quiet with less than ten people left.

Choi Yeonseung spoke to the employee of the association next to him.

“Contact the companies of those who left and ask their bosses to come and apologize in person. Tell them to use the entire front page to post an apology. If they don’t come, tell them I’ll find them myself.”

“...Yes... I-I understand.”

The remaining reporters seemed to understand why the staff members of the association were so pale.

They had to go to the chairmen of those companies and say something along the lines of “H-hello... If you... Uh... if you don’t come and... a-a-apologize... Hunter Choi Yeonseung... will kill you... No... he isn’t crazy... He’s a member o-of... of the association... It’s true! I’m going crazy too... Please listen to me!”

Anyone in their position would be stressed out of their mind.

Choi Yeonseung looked around at the remaining reporters, his expression loosening up. They could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Well then, as someone in charge of this international competition, what is your determination?” asked a reporter.

“...”

***

-A Daily sincerely apologizes for the rumors about the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor...

-B Daily... The inaccurate reporting... In the future, accurately and fairly...

-The leader of the Pearl Spitting Turtle, a large Korean clan, declares, “Me being thrown out the window is a ridiculous rumor... Nobody saw such a ridiculous thing. If you keep spreading false rumors, we will take legal action...