Chapter 383

The jet Wei Penghu had prepared looked nothing like what I’d expected.

It’s spacious. And fancy.

Through the slightly open door, I could see a luxurious table and the kind of chair people called a chairman’s chair.

Team Leader Choi, who was standing beside me, informed me that this was a business jet costing close to one hundred billion won per aircraft, then added,

“I never thought I’d see an aircraft normally reserved for state guests here.”

Wei Penghu replied calmly.

“Of course. The two of you are state guests of our country.”

“Oh.”

“Thanks to you, we were able to save countless soldiers and Hunters. No one—including me—will ever forget the help you gave us today.”

“…Ah, yes.”

I’d appreciate it if you dealt with the fine dust and historical distortions first.

Hoping China was a more conscientious country than I knew it to be, I boarded the aircraft.

The waiting pilot gave us a crisp salute—or, more precisely, gave Wei Penghu a crisp salute.

“Welcome, Comrade Minister of Defense.”

“Are we ready?”

“All escort aircraft, including this one, have completed their preparations. We await only your command.”

I wondered what he meant by “escort,” then looked out the window and saw five fighter jets with sleek, elegant curves blinking their lights as if signaling us.

What the hell?

I’d only ever seen things like that in war movies. Were we heading straight into a fight?

Seeing my eyes widen, Wei Penghu spoke.

“The exact situation has not yet been made public, but as you know, Sichuan Province is currently in a state of war. Magical interference with communications and attacks by flying monsters are both frequent. Escorts are essential for our safety.”

“Are you serious?”

The situation was worse than I’d imagined.

The wyverns had come to attack Chengdu International Airport and only attacked us while they were at it. But if the same thing was happening throughout Sichuan Province, that was an entirely different story.

“If only I were lying. How wonderful that would be.”

Perhaps merely recalling the current situation was exhausting him. Wei Penghu, who had aged considerably, leaned back into the plush seat.

“It seems we must part ways here. I hope we meet again soon, Senior Colonel Shao Shen.”

Unlike us, one man had not boarded the aircraft. Shao Shen stood rigidly at attention and saluted.

“Yes. I will complete my mission as quickly as possible and rejoin you, Comrade Minister of Defense. And you as well, Teachers.”

“Yes. I have high hopes for you.”

Perhaps because Shao Shen had distinguished himself in battle, a pleased smile briefly touched Wei Penghu’s lips as he regarded the promising young Hunter.

Team Leader Choi offered a polite bow in place of a farewell, while I waved.

“See you next time. You fought really well today.”

It was only one sentence.

But Shao Shen’s eyes grew as large as serving trays when he heard me. His entire body trembled as though he’d been electrocuted, and he shouted in a booming voice,

“Th-Thank you! I will devote every ounce of my humble strength to every task so that Teacher Jin is never disappointed!”

“…No need to go that far.”

“I pray that your august person remains safe! Loya-alty!”

“Your august person? What does that even—”

Smack!

“Ngh!”

“…”

That looked like a textbook example of poor judgment.

He’d saluted so forcefully that the edge of his hand had struck his own eyebrow.

As I stared dumbfounded at Shao Shen clenching his teeth against the pain, the door closed and our business jet slowly began to take off.

“That guy is, how should I put it… quite a character.”

Wei Penghu let out a quiet laugh at my dubious comment.

“He heard praise from his idol. Can you blame him?”

“Pardon?”

“There are many young Hunters in our country who admire Teacher Jin. He is no exception.”

What? Was I a Korean Wave star now?

Come to think of it, this man seemed unusually interested in those beneath him for a four-star general who was powerful enough to make birds fall from the sky.

Or perhaps Shao Shen was simply a young man who inspired that much expectation.

Ah, but…

• Team Leader, how high up is the Minister of Defense at the Central Military Commission, exactly? I’m not familiar with how things are structured here.

Team Leader Choi flinched at my Sound Transmission, then answered through message magic.

• In our country, he would be the Minister of Defense. Of course, this is China, and Wei Penghu is the current chairman’s right-hand man, so his power is far greater.

• Ah.

We’re similar. I’m the Minister of Soup and Rice, myself.

One extra-large bowl of sundae-guk¹ is enough for me to polish off three bowls of rice.

Of course, Wei Penghu could probably erase three cities with a single point of his finger.

And now, that immensely powerful official of the People’s Republic of China leaned his upper body toward us and asked,

“It seems we have much to discuss on the way. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Team Leader Choi and I solemnly nodded and began to speak.

“Of course. First, we would like to ask exactly what is happening in Sichuan Province—”

“By the way, do you happen to have any boiled eggs and soda? I’m hungry after fighting so hard.”

“…”

“…”

Apparently, they didn’t.

“We do.”

“…?”

“…?”

They did.

The People’s Republic of China.

As its official name suggested, the majestic people of this vast continent still embraced socialism as their national ideology.

About twenty years ago, the chairman at the time—who had cemented the foundations of his dictatorship by securing lifelong rule—died during the Great Cataclysm, and power passed to a much more moderate regime.

But the core of the system remained unchanged.

• What was the dead chairman’s name again? Pingping? Pengpeng?

Team Leader Choi, who had been responding to Wei Penghu, silently moved his lips. His poker face was astonishing.

• …I’m only saying this in case you didn’t know, but you’ll be in serious trouble if you bring up something like that here.

• That’s why I’m using Sound Transmission—or rather, message magic.

• I’m telling you to be careful. Some outstanding mages of A-rank or above can eavesdrop on message magic.

• Anyway, what was his name? Pingping or Pengpeng? I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t find out.

• …Pingping.

He was going to answer in the end anyway. Why make such a fuss?

Finally relieved, I listened to Wei Penghu’s words.

“No one could have anticipated it.”

Sichuan Province was a massive province with a vast area and a population of tens of millions.

And all of this had begun in Gaoping District, Nanchong City—one of the more than twenty administrative districts in Sichuan Province.

“As you know, our country has more than ten times as many Gates as other nations. Because of that, we were one of the countries hit hardest during the Great Cataclysm, and we have managed them with corresponding rigor ever since.”

But humans could not control even natural disasters, and the monster wave was a calamity worse than any natural disaster.

“Exactly thirteen minutes after the first sign appeared, we received word that the mana levels in Gaoping District had skyrocketed. And by the time Lei Fei, commander of the Public Security Armed Forces stationed in Sichuan Province, arrived at the scene with the Hunters under his command… everything was already too late.”

“Lei Fei?”

An unfamiliar name. And yet, for some reason, a memory suddenly surfaced.

The video Team Leader Choi showed me at the Guild house before we left.

It was still vivid: the city plunged into pandemonium beneath the hologram’s light, and a man at the head of the Hunters cutting down monsters one after another.

His weapon had been wreathed in aura brilliant enough to dazzle the eyes.

“I think I’ve seen him before. Is he the man who appeared in the video you sent us…?”

“That’s right.”

Wei Penghu hesitated briefly, then continued with a faint sigh.

“He was one of our country’s S-rank Hunters. Of course, the two of you would not have known that.”

We wouldn’t have known?

There were only twenty S-rank Hunters in the entire world. They were absolute powerhouses.

The fame and status they enjoyed were far greater and more formidable than those of even a Supreme Peak master in the Murim.

The internet, the news, and social media were their platforms, while microphones and cameras followed them like shadows.

If ordinary people regarded martial artists with equal parts wariness and curiosity, modern people saw Hunters as objects of pure admiration.

They were celebrities known throughout the world.

But we didn’t know about an S-rank Hunter like that?

Wei Penghu had spoken indirectly, but the meaning behind his words was clear enough.

Team Leader Choi and I locked eyes in midair. At that moment, we were thinking the same thing.

An undisclosed S-rank Hunter.

No. More precisely, an S-rank Hunter deliberately concealed by the Chinese government.

I’d only heard rumors about things like this. So it was true?

An S-rank Hunter was practically the face of a nation.

But unlike the weak, who struggled desperately not to be looked down on, the strong hid their claws.

China was already known to possess two S-rank Hunters. Clearly, it had not wanted to reveal all its strength.

Perhaps the same was true of the world’s other great powers.

Seriously. Even after going through the Great Cataclysm, they’re still jockeying for advantage like this.

It was pathetic. At the same time, I could almost understand it.

Diplomacy. Politics.

I felt as though I’d caught a glimpse of the truth of a world I’d never understood, and it left me with a strange feeling.

Unlike me, however, Team Leader Choi was much sharper.

“When you say Lei Fei ‘was’ one of your country’s S-rank Hunters, that sounds like the past tense.”

Wei Penghu answered with a grim expression.

“…A week ago, when the first monster wave occurred, Lei Fei disappeared. Along with the Hunters from the Public Security Armed Forces under his command.”

“Are you certain he’s missing? Could he perhaps…”

“We have not confirmed his death. After that video, the monster called the Lich—no, the Arch Lich—used mana to cut off all communications and surveillance.”

Team Leader Choi and I groaned at the same time.

Hearing our reaction, Wei Penghu asked in a hoarse voice,

“Do you two also think Lei Fei is dead?”

“Hmm.”

“Uh…”

Missing. And if someone had gone missing in that hell a week ago, the ending was practically a foregone conclusion.

At Team Leader Choi’s signal, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“Well, you never know how things will turn out, but…”

“Other experts said he was one hundred percent dead. Useless blowhards, every last one of them.”

What’s wrong with you? They sound like real experts.

If anyone guaranteed he was alive under those circumstances, they should be fired immediately.

That was simply a fact.

“But I disagree. Lei Fei—that boy must still be alive.”

“I hope so too, but realistically speaking…”

“He is my only nephew. My sister was sickly from childhood and died in childbirth. I raised that tiny, unweaned infant as if he were my own son.”

“What?”

A nephew? You raised him as your own son? What the hell is this?

I froze like a statue. Wei Penghu looked at me with tear-filled eyes.

“But what were you going to say? After ‘realistically speaking,’ I mean.”

Fuck. This is the biggest crisis I’ve ever faced.

The words caught in my throat. I barely managed to squeeze out a reply.

“Well, realistically speaking, I was going to say that there’s still some chance he might be alive.”

“Is that so? Is that true?”

“Yes. But that chance is extremely slim…”

“Thank you, Teacher Jin!”

“No, General. Commander. Great Leader. Just hold on a second and let me finish—”

Grab!

It was too late. Wei Penghu was no longer listening.

Instead, he clasped my hand in both of his, his eyes brimming with tears.

“May I ask you for one favor?”

I wish you wouldn’t.

Despite my desperate hopes, the words I’d been dreading pierced my heart a few seconds later.

“If you happen to meet that boy someday, would you bring him back to me?”

“…”

“I beg you.”

Over his desperately pleading shoulder, I saw Team Leader Choi shaking his head.

What if I’d just given him a firm answer from the beginning?

I regretted it, but it was already too late.

In the end, there was only one answer I could give.

“I will. But…”

“Teacher Jin.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have to say it. I’m already prepared for that.”

“…!”

Wei Penghu wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.

He was no longer a middle-aged man worrying about the safety of his blood relative. He had returned to being the Minister of Defense at the Central Military Commission.

“This is enough. No one was willing to step forward, but you promised me. I can rest easy now.”

“I can’t guarantee anything.”

“What I needed was not someone’s bombastic guarantee. It was a thread of hope.”

Just as Wei Penghu murmured those words, the aircraft glided toward the ground with a weightless sensation.

Outside the window, amid the deep darkness, I could see rugged mountain terrain, lights moving ceaselessly, and military vehicles.

“It looks like we’ve arrived.”

I had been staring fixedly out the window as though possessed by something. Now I asked,

“Where are we?”

“The temporary operations headquarters.”

“No. That’s not what I asked.”

“Hmm?”

“The mountain. That mountain feels strangely familiar.”

“That’s impossible. As far as I know, you have never entered our country before… Ah, perhaps you saw it in a photograph?”

“A photograph?”

“It is a UNESCO-designated World Cultural Heritage Site, so that is entirely possible.”

With a faint smile, Wei Penghu continued,

“The temporary operations headquarters. Welcome to Mount Qingcheng.”