Chapter 52

Episode 52

“Wow…” Yoo-seong took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “This is amazing.”

He was on the top floor of the Qinghae Hotel, which had a whopping 120 floors in total. It was the accommodation that had been provided by Tenz.

While definitely luxurious, it was by no means too much for someone with Yoo-seong’s stature.

He was an accomplished ranked hunter whose net worth was in the billions range. However, he never really had a chance to fully enjoy that wealth and fame.

He couldn’t help but feel awed by the view and the deluxe facilities in his room. As he stood by the window with his mouth open, he heard the bell rang.

‘Who could be visiting me here’, he thought as he opened the door.

It was a woman. Rather, it would be more fitting to call her a ‘girl’. She looked like a teenager, probably no older than twenty.

“Is the accommodation comfortable?” she asked.

“Yes,” Yoo-seong nodded. “It’s really great.”

“My name is Seoyu. I’ll be in charge of Mr. Oh Yoo-seong during your stay in China.”

“Nice to meet you,” Yoo-seong shook her hand. He wanted to ask her how old she was but stopped himself.

She was quite tall, but the professional suit she wore did not seem to fit her childlike face.

“If you need anything, please tell me. This is the cellphone that Mr. Oh Yoo-seong will use. The first number stored is mine,” she explained.

“Thank you, Ms. Seoyu. I have something to ask…”

“You can speak comfortably to me. Even though I look this way, I am younger than you, and I serve as your agent.”

Yoo-seong couldn’t help but smile at that. ‘How old does she think she looks like?’

“I see,” he said. He liked her already. It was like watching a younger cousin working part-time.

“Anyway, I wanted to ask if you’re Korean? Your accent… it sounds Korean.”

“No,” Seoyu replied politely.

“I want to meet with Wei-baek. I have not seen him in person since I arrived here.”

“What?!” she exclaimed. Seoyu’s attitude instantly changed. Her face turned red.

“Are you talking about the Master?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

“How dare you… Is he your friend? How dare you talk about him so casually??!”

There were tears in Seoyu’s eyes as she screamed at Yoo-seong. Yoo-seong found the reaction absurd. It was as if he had insulted her parents.

“I just call him the way I want to call him,” he responded nonchalantly.

However, Seoyu wasn’t taking it. “Damn you!”

Aura rose from her body as she rolled up her sleeves.

“I cannot allow this disrespect,” she growled.

Yoo-seong tilted his head. Looking at her form, she appeared to be a hunter as well.

He sighed. The friendliness he felt with the young girl was gone instantly.

“What? Are you going to run?” she taunted him.

“Know one thing,” he said in a serious tone. “I do not tolerate this kind of behavior.”

He didn’t use Aura, but Seoyu felt the change in the atmosphere instantly. She had trained to some extent and recognized the threat she was facing.

Yoo-seong increased his will and concentration, and it affected his surroundings. He had learned it by watching someone do it.

At the park, Jin Wei-baek made everyone nearby tremble without releasing his power. Yoo-seong recreated the technique unconsciously.

Seoyu froze. ‘I have to say something’, she thought. However, her throat turned dry. The Aura she had around her body began to dissolve.

Yoo-seong simply stared at her.

“The only reason I’m holding back now…” he said, as he relaxed his concentration.

“It’s not because you’re a woman and a child. It’s simply because you’re from a company I have a business relationship with. If I crush you, it may be difficult for me…”

Seoyu gulped as she listened.

“Of course, it would be more difficult for you,” Yoo-seong continued. “You caused a problem with your Master’s guest.”

Seoyu kept silent and stared at the floor in embarrassment.

“The moment you raise your hand against me… No, the moment you raise Aura like you just did. I’ll treat you as a threat, not as my agent. Got it?”

“Y-Yes, yes,” Seoyu mumbled.

“Louder.” Yoo-seong’s voice was stern.

“Yes,” she trembled.

His expression remained cold. “I won’t let this pass.”

He lifted three fingers and folded one down.

“Three strikes. As you said earlier, you are my subordinate by age and position.”

“…”

“If you continue to bother me, I will somehow contact Jin Wei-baek directly and tell him that the temporary secretary he assigned me is a mess. Because of that secretary, I’m ending my contract with you.”

Seoyu’s body shivered uncontrollably, not because of anger at how Yoo-seong had said her Master’s name so casually once more. It was because she realized that the man in front of him was sincere.

“Look at me,” Yoo-seong told her, who still had her eyes fixed on the ground. “Do you understand?”

Seoyu hesitated.

“Answer me!”

She was startled and opened her mouth too late.

“Strike two,” he said, folding another finger.

Seoyu was near tears and spoke Chinese without realizing it.

“I’m sorry… I’m truly sorry.”

She closed her eyes tightly.

Yoo-seong watched her calmly.

He didn’t have to go this far. He wouldn’t have done it in Korea.

However, he was in China now.

The way Chinese hunters operated and treated each other was different from what he was used to.

Even before the appearance of cracks, they had been divided by groups or by martial arts schools. Confrontations between them were active until modern times.

Thus, a Chinese hunter’s disposition was more emotional, more confrontational.

On top of that, the weak always deferred to the strong.

Of course, even in Korea, the strong ones were always respected, but there was a definite difference.

No matter how intense one’s emotions were, no matter how much difference there was in positions, verbal and physical violence never happened.

A platinum seal hunter abusing another hunter with a low seasonal rank?

It would surely cause a disturbance. The media and public opinion would criticize the senior hunter.

However, it was different in this place, Yoo-seong recognized.

He had no detailed information about their culture, but based on his previous experiences with Chinese hunters, they seemed to be more accepting of confrontation.

He had faced Chulyeop and even Jin Wei-baek in public spaces. Once he appeared to be weak, it would be over for him.

He had proven his theory with Seoyu.

Even if she was supposed to be her subordinate, she didn’t hesitate to challenge him when her pride was hurt. However, when Yoo-seong showed her that he was superior in strength, she immediately bowed her head and accepted his authority.

‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’, Yoo-seong decided.

“If you have anything else to say, do it,” he told her.

She shook her head.

“Then, find me a crack as soon as possible. I want to finish the contract right away.”

…

Six hours later.,,

“What’s this?” Yoo-seong said as he stood in a public square near the crack location.

He felt the overwhelming cultural difference. The square was infested with hunters barking at each other.

At the corner of the square were public security agents who seem to be protecting a makeshift reception desk.

“You just have to sign up through that desk,” Seoyu explained.

“Oh… don’t we go through prior registration and processing?”

In Korea, the Special Defense Agency assigns hunters and teams to a crack.

However, in here…

“No. The party doesn’t intervene with us. You have to sign up to your preferred location.”

No hunters had approached the reception area yet.

Closest to the reception desk were groups who appeared to be the big-shot ones, based on how no one was bothering them.

“The strong groups,” Seoyu looked at where Yoo-seong was staring at. “In the case of strong groups, there is no need to make concessions. However, for hunters and teams of equal levels, they can make an agreement.”

“Agreement?” Yoo-seong was amazed at the term she used.

The ‘agreement’ she was talking about was obviously a brawl.

Hunters and teams looked like opposing gangs trying to secure a position in the operation. Apart from the difference in zoning, Yoo-seong also observed a significant difference in terms of information dissemination.

In Korea, the Special Defense Agency sent through briefings and various essential information through an app.

Here, however… there was no observational support, no briefings, no prior operational consultations.

Just a loud voice from the desk announcing the crack opening time every 30 minutes.

‘Is it… confidence?’ Yoo-seong wondered.

The strength of organization in the Korean hunting industry was something that Yoo-seong had frequently heard. It was spoken of so commonly in local and foreign news that he had taken it for granted.

However, faced with this strange environment, he began to appreciate what they had at home.

No matter how strong these hunters were, given how they fought to secure a zone, it was unlikely that they could work together in the actual operation.

“It’s disorderly,” Yoo-seong couldn’t help but remark.

Seoyu, however, seemed unfazed.

“It’s a way to separate the weak from the strong,” she responded, with her face filled with pride.

“Well,” Yoo-seong sighed. “Okay then.”

He opened his suitcase.

The Queen’s Hug was still in Korea. It had to be re-assembled to fit his new physique.

Therefore, the suit that Yoo-seong would wear in China would be supplied by Tenz.

“I heard that the Master himself chose this for you,” Seoyu whispered with envy.

Click-!

Yoo-seong’s jaw dropped when he saw what was inside the case.

It was a basic 2-star type suit used by rookies in Korea.

The armband it had on the left was plain white. Since Yoo-seong had no experience hunting in this country, he accepted it.

However, on the other arm…

Since he was on a contract with Tenz, the Tenz seal should have been displayed.

But instead, it had the Korean flag on it.

“The Korean national flag?” Seoyu said as if it was interesting.

There was a light smile on her mouth. “Did you ask the Master for this?”

“No…” Yoo-seong considered his level of patriotism as average.

He was proud of his country, but to walk around carrying the Korean flag on one arm while participating in a Chinese operation…

It was like asking for trouble.

It must be Jin Wei-baek’s idea of a joke. As soon as he put it on, eyes began to gather in his direction.

Even if he couldn’t understand their language, he knew they were talking about him. All the Chinese hunters recognized him.

Oh Yoo-seong.

He was the foreigner who signed a free contract with Tenz.

He was the hunter who brought down Goryong and initiated the talks to restrict Chinese hunters from South Korea.

He was the notorious Oh Yoo-seong.

Suddenly, a huge man walked out of the crowd to approach him.

The others began to follow suit. Yoo-seong knew it was trouble brewing, and grabbed Seoyu.

“Oh!” she was startled.

The huge man tried to grab Yoo-seong, but he dodged it by sliding under the man’s arm.

Then, from a crouching position, he flipped his body by 90 degrees and placed a foot on the man’s arm.

He had no intention of dealing with him. He only needed a foothold for the Spider Walk.

“Hey you!”

“Sorry!” Yoo-seong yelled behind him as he bounced upon the structures in the square towards the reception desk.

The security agents were stunned as he landed gently in front of the table, with Seoyu in his arms.

“Translate what I say,” Yoo-seong told her.

“What, what?”

“Oh Yoo-seong. Rush team. Enrollment.”

As Seoyu explained, the authorities did not intervene with the hunters. No one could stop him from registering.

“Right. There was only one spot left,” Seoyu remarked.

After a few seconds, Yoo-seong’s name popped up on a large monitor installed above the reception desk.

Then, an announcement rang out through the square. He thought it would be announcing that the rush team spots have been completed.

“Good,” he said.

Then, he turned towards the hunters in the square who had watched what just happened.

“This time, please translate this to them,” he told Seoyu.

“To anyone who has complains about it, come forward. One by one.”