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.

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...