Chapter 520: Chapter 520

After several more refusals—Choi Yeonseung didn’t necessarily deny it when the goddess of sloth asked him if he was doing this for fun—the diplomats were finally allowed inside.

The Chinese diplomats shuddered at the sight of the panda bear lounging in the garden. Dragon Hwang had essentially stolen it from the Chinese government, which made this panda a symbol of shame for the Chinese.

He dared...!

“That panda!”

“?”

Adaquaniel was confused as she watched the diplomats come in. What was wrong with this black and white bear race?

“Is there a problem?”

“That panda was stolen by the owner of this mansion!”

“...”

Adaquaniel’s expression instantly turned somber, which naturally caused the diplomats to flinch. In the midst of their breathless shock, one diplomat managed to ask, “Why... What’s wrong...?”

“You can’t continue to stay here after insulting Hunter Choi Yeonseung’s honor.”

“It wasn’t... Hunter Choi Yeonseung... Dragon... Dragon Hwang...”

“Ah.”

Realizing she had misunderstood, Adaquaniel’s demeanor softened, and the diplomats sighed in relief and gasped for air.

“I’m glad.”

‘This is why angels...!’

The diplomats cursed the Abyssal races that had invaded Earth. As household members of constellations, they were arrogant and caused various problems and incidents on Earth.

Some hunters worshiped or admired angels and elves because of their beauty, and they were incredibly foolish for that.

“Let’s go inside quickly.”

The diplomats hurried away from Adaquaniel. They had to negotiate for a long time anyway, so they didn’t want to waste their energy on angels.

“Hunters are really... They aren’t helpful to humanity...”

“In any case, those hunters...”

The diplomats kept grumbling as they made their way into the mansion.

Illaphael, who was in the garden in front of them, became angry when she heard them.

“Why are you insulting hunters now?”

“???”

“How dare you insult the hunters who are fighting so hard?? You should be ashamed of yourselves as human beings!”

“N-no... We didn’t mean to insult Hunter Choi Yeonseung...”

“Shut up and get out! I’ll cut you down if you don’t get out right now!”

The diplomats fled in a hurry as if lightning suddenly struck at them.

Illaphael nodded with a content expression. Hunter Choi Yeonseung should be satisfied with this.

“Illaphael, did you chase them out of here?” Choi Yeonseung, who was inside, asked in a puzzled manner.

Illaphael was taken aback. “Sh-should I have not kicked them out...?”

“No, it’s fine to kick them out. Don’t worry.”

“I-I’m sorry... I’ll bring them back.”

“It’s fine, really.”

Despite Choi Yeonseung’s reassurance, Illaphael was completely sullen.

In the end, Choi Yeonseung had to call back the diplomats and kick them out once again to prove to her that it was fine.

“Do you believe it’s okay now?”

Illaphael nodded.

Outside, the diplomats shouted angrily.

-Isn’t this too much?!

***

After numerous disturbances, the envoys were finally able to meet Choi Yeonseung. They felt like swearing, cursing, and throwing threats left and right. In fact, that was what they were best at. But obviously, they couldn’t do that.

The advantage of being an unofficial diplomat was that there were far fewer eyes watching, meaning that they could unleash flamboyant profanity that wasn’t bound by diplomatic rhetoric rules.

The downside was that they could be beaten up if they did that.

For diplomats who had always engaged in high-stakes conversations with the strength of China, a powerful country, to back them up, such a disadvantageous position felt awkward.

“Give us back the A-grade hunters, Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”

“I think there’s a misunderstanding. I have nothing to do with the exiled hunters.”

“...Can you please stop with these ridiculous lies and be honest? They borrowed your private jet and flew to seek asylum. What nonsense are you saying?”

“Ah, you mean that? The A-grade hunters took it and flew away on their own. It’s such a shame.”

“...”

“...”

The diplomats really wanted to grab him by the collar. They would rather deal with other senior hunters that were openly greedy. This hunter named Choi Yeonseung had become incredibly skilled both in politics and in business, and he had never slipped so far, not even once.

It was difficult to figure out who was the diplomat here.

“What can I do when they ignored my protests?” said Choi Yeonseung after letting the envoys simmer with anger for a bit.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want anything. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have let the envoys come inside in the first place.

“But...”

“!”

The diplomats were nervous as Choi Yeonseung seemed to be finally getting to the point. Everything prior to this had been a kind of greeting.

Now it was time for the real deal.

“I think I can somehow persuade that hunter called Wei Chang to return to China. Now, I’m curious to see what you can offer me in exchange for that.”

“...?”

“???”

The Chinese diplomats couldn’t believe their ears.

There were dozens of hunters who had defected. Choi Yeonseung didn’t even mention Gao Rong and Yu Zilin, the new A-grade hunters, or even Ma Jun... Instead, he would only return Wei Chang?

...Only a despicable bastard could make such a ridiculous suggestion with a straight face.

“Wei Chang... One person... You mean that...?”

The reason the diplomats didn’t burst in anger wasn’t just their experience, but also the fact that Choi Yeonseung was an S-grade hunter. If they exploded emotionally, he would physically explode their heads.

“It looks like I can only persuade Wei Chang to return. Wait... Are you blaming me? I’m the one who was wronged. I had my private jet hijacked, was attacked by Chinese hunters, and criticized for ridiculous rumors.”

-Successor, you have really... You’ve become a true villain...

The goddess of sloth admired Choi Yeonseung. Once a pure-hearted warrior upon his return to Earth, he had now become a cunning king.

“You don’t think so, do you? Are you truly blaming me?”

“N-no... Of course not...”

The diplomats nodded while swallowing down the sorrow induced by their powerlessness.

“Our higher-ups... Can we have a moment to contact them?”

“Do so.”

The diplomats left for a moment and attempted to contact their superiors. Their minds were most likely racing.

At the very least, Ma Jun and Wei Chang had to be returned unconditionally. The diplomats also wanted to somehow take back the A-grade hunters, but... They just hadn’t expected Choi Yeonseung to negotiate in such a brazen manner, especially given his reputation!

-I don’t know what you’re talking about! You crazy &@#@^!*&...

‘Oh, they’re awfully loud.’

It seemed like the superiors of the diplomats were absolutely seething, given that Choi Yeonseung could hear their voices despite the soundproofing of the room. But what could they do? This was the way the world worked!

After all the swearing, shouting, threats, and tears from the diplomats, the conversation concluded that they should give up and take back Wei Chang first.

When they returned, the diplomats looked a few decades older.

“Please... persuade Hunter Wei Chang.”

“So what will I get in return?”

As a greedy entrepreneur running an infinite undead factory in the Abyss, Choi Yeonseung looked at the diplomats with expectant eyes.

The diplomats were thinking to themselves, ‘Be grateful that we’re not trying to kill you right now,’ but instead they said, “First of all, we will retract our accusations and make sure you won’t be held responsible...”

“Are you telling me, the victim, that this is the only thing I will receive in exchange?” Choi Yeonseung asked indignantly.

At that, the diplomats quickly clarified their offer. “Of course, it’s the first and utmost basic thing to do in this situation! It’s something that must be done. Please don’t misunderstand!”

“Thank you. I almost got offended.”

“Unconditional preferential treatment for future business in China...”

“Eh... Who knows. I’m not sure if I wanna go through with this deal. After all, I suffered so much damage from monsters last time...”

“...Reparations for that...”

Choi Yeonseung kept pulling and pulling very subtly.

The goddess of sloth watched the negotiations with excitement. The fight of words between these humans was just as exciting as a fight between top hunters.

***

“I’ll never let him get away with this!”

Zheng Zhiyun’s anger pierced the skies.

It was unfair that he had once been a member of the committee that governed all of China, only to be ousted in a political power struggle. Thus, it was only natural to feel anger in his bones after being humiliated in this negotiation.

Zheng Zhiyun had taken all the responsibility and was now the embodiment of vengeance.

“I will do everything in my power to get my revenge! I’ll tear apart that guy’s assets!”

Even though he had lost a lot, Zheng Zhiyun still had plenty of power to wield. If he mobilized the connections he had made while on the committee, as well as those who sympathized with this situation, he would be able to take advantage of any number of Chinese companies and clans.

“But Zheng Zhiyun... Choi Yeonseung’s corporate factories have already been withdrawn. In that regard, secret agreements have already been made...”

Wei Chang had returned, but Ma Jun was still being held.

Breaking promises was the hobby of Chinese diplomats, but they had to do it at the right time and the right place. Choi Yeonseung clearly knew that, which was why he hadn’t returned Ma Jun.

“I’m not talking about messing with the factories. Do something with the other areas! Lock up their exports! Order the companies that supply them to lock up the exports!”

In the raid era, no country developed an industry solely on its own. Given its size, China was exporting enormous quantities of supplies to the world. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

First...

“Cores! The cores...”

Zheng Zhiyun realized his mistake.

China might be the dominant seller of the low-end monster core market, but the opponent was an S-grade hunter who had succeeded in several raids recently. In terms of energy production, Choi Yeonseung’s side most likely had an advantage even against China’s big national companies!

After all, the value of pure and powerful cores was astronomical.

“Artifacts...”

“...”

The subordinate was sweating profusely. Low-cost artifacts were also exported a lot from the Chinese side and were a key commodity needed by all industries.

...Dragon Industry was currently manufacturing like crazy, maintaining a steady production volume while factories around the world were being destroyed or shut down.

If the Chinese side was cut off, they would simply say, “Oh, really? Alright, let’s find another company.”

“Rare earth elements! What about rare earth elements?”

“Uhm, we might have a small chance with rare earth elements!”

The rare earth elements used in various advanced technologies were valuable strategic materials that hadn’t lost their value even in the raid era. Oil and gas had lost their value due to monster cores, but the utilization of the rare earth elements had actually increased due to core refining and processing.

China had a considerable amount of supplies thanks to its large mines and lack of concern for environmental pollution.

Blocking and tightening the export of these rare earth elements would hurt anyone, no matter how big they were.

“But if you do that, the problem will get bigger...”

“Shut up. At most, I’m telling them what happens when a hunter resists a world superpower! Get ready for work. We’ll start as soon as we get permission!”

However, Zheng Zhiyun didn’t manage to implement his plan.

A new crisis had occurred, not caused by Choi Yeonseung, but by the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House.