Chapter 43: China’s Loss, Our Gain

[Dispatch Worker]

Office (Jinsil’s Eye)

I can already tell without even trying it out.

It clearly says “Dispatch Worker.”

“The destination is the Jinsil’s Eye office.”

‘Why did this suddenly appear?’

No matter the reason, it’s good news.

New features are always a good thing.

The problem is…

“It means I have to accept a subcontractor.”

No.

You have to know who they are before accepting.

[Jinsil’s Eye]

‘What on earth is this?’

I asked just in case.

“Jinsil’s Eye? What, you don’t know?”

“Rani’s never heard of it either!”

Our two pure-hearted workers just tilted their heads in confusion, as always.

Yeah…

This is just like them.

“What about Todd?”

“He’s tapping away on the pad, probably turned it on at some point.”

“Look at that energy.”

“But what’s going to come out of it?”

“Jinsil’s Eye is a private detective guild.”

Oh?

There it is.

The name made me doubt, but it really is just a guild.

And more than that…

“A private detective guild? Then why did they send a subcontracting request…?”

I tilted my head, then it hit me.

“Could Woonjang have done something?”

A new feature added to the Labor Management Office.

These things don’t just appear out of nowhere.

Usually, something has to happen first…

“What did Yoon Hajun do today?”

“Escape room with the workers, café, meat.”

“He didn’t even go to any dungeon or tower.”

“He promised to just relax and have fun for the day.”

“If something changed, it’s more likely because someone else went somewhere separately.”

“Let’s ask tomorrow.”

“That’s a good idea.”

[Subcontractor Registration Request Received.]

[Approval will unlock the new feature.]

Still, this is…

Hmm.

Whether to accept or not…

I’m putting the choice on hold for now.

It shows up in a search, but since I don’t know what’s going on, I can’t accept blindly.

“If it’s a private detective guild, their info must be fast. Heh, if used well…”

‘Why is Todd laughing like that?’

That laugh…

It’s just like when I first met him.

What’s caught his interest this time?

Geez…

I really don’t get those guys sometimes.

So complicated.

***

The next morning.

“Ahh…”

‘Did I have too much fun yesterday?’

My whole body aches as soon as I wake up.

Even my eyes won’t open properly.

I want to sleep more, but…

If I sleep too much because I don’t have work, it’ll become a habit.

I have to get up somehow.

At times like this, a lively atmosphere is the best.

[Fixed Team Summon]

If I call my workers right now—

***

“Sajang, I’m here! Came for morning coffee!”

“Rani too! Rani wants some!”

“Rani workers shouldn’t drink coffee.”

“Good morning, Sohjang.”

Yeah, this is it.

Ah, my sleep is instantly gone.

“Hal Buji, Hal Buji! The meat yesterday was seriously delicious. Where did you go?”

“Hehe.”

“No worries! Sajang packed some up for us! Newbies can eat too!”

“Right! Beef is the best!”

“What?”

“Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Sajang-nim, are you going to call the Orc bastards over to eat?”

“Eating?”

“This early in the morning?”

Churp.

Eheh.

Robin swallowed his saliva.

Not eating right now.

Let’s first hear what our Great Mage was up to yesterday.

First, the question.

“Woonjang-nim, do you know about this place called Jinsil’s Eye? They suddenly sent a subcontractor registration request yesterday.”

Showing the message as I spoke, he nodded.

“Hehe, that’s quick. I was going to mention it if you called today.”

See? It was this side after all.

I had a feeling.

‘But how did it end up linked to subcontractors?’

Listening eagerly, I got shocked.

“What? Surveillance…? All day, every day?”

The summary was quite shocking.

In short, the Chinese special operations unit attached people to monitor my every move.

“Even before I quit laboring…?”

“That’s right.”

“Wow…”

Good thing I moved.

If they had seen me summoning workers on the rooftop…

I’d have been caught for sure.

“How did they find out? I was trying to hide it.”

I did my best.

I didn’t even change magic stones all at once.

Sometimes, just a little bit.

So even though I had a stack saved up, I couldn’t use it.

Suddenly, I feel cheated.

“Oh, they didn’t pinpoint me specifically. They were monitoring all recently awakened Awakeners.”

‘What the heck is the Awakened Management Bureau doing?’

Letting personal info leak like that.

“Hey?”

That can’t happen!

Anyway, the info is already out.

“How do we move then?”

“Hmm… even if Sohjang moves residence, won’t it still be recorded? It might be better to use that subcontractor place.”

“You mean Jinsil’s Eye? How would we use them?”

“They deal with information, and since they’re all Hunters, they could help with money laundering.”

Our teddy bear Todd, resting his chin on his tiny hands, gave his advice.

‘Hmm.’

‘Not bad.’

‘First, we need to check if we can trust them.’

‘If so, that method might work.’

‘Okay.’

‘Let’s approach them first.’

***

While organizing my thoughts—

“For now, it should be fine. The Great Mage has handled it.”

“Oh…”

What a relief.

I sighed in relief but then paused.

“Handled…?”

“What do you mean?”

“Surely not.”

I looked at him carefully.

He slowly nodded.

“There’s no point in hiding. It’s exactly how Sohjang thought.”

It’s true?

Hearing “handled,” the first thing that came to mind was killing.

“Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Shocking news.

The workers I summoned killed people.

Not just one or two.

“How many…?”

“Eleven.”

Yeah.

Eleven.

No…

“Sajang, are you okay?”

“Your face looks like an owl…”

“Sohjang-nim, are you alright? You look pale.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine…”

Honestly, I’m not fine.

I was shocked.

Murder.

Eleven people?

‘Why do they look so calm?’

I knew the workers’ values differ from mine.

But…

No matter how different, still.

Sigh…

Confused, but barely holding my sanity.

Yeah.

Woonjang is a worker too.

***

They’re workers as well.

The workers I’ve seen so far—

Though sometimes their values felt different, they never behaved excessively strangely.

There must be a reason.

“I want to hear the full story.”

Let’s listen first…

“They said they have a list of Awakeners. Since I wasn’t on it, they decided to take care of all of them.”

‘What?’

‘They’re taking care of them too?’

‘Why do people like to ‘take care’ of others so much?’

“Wow, I think the newbie did well.”

“That’s right, Sohjang-nim. If Woonjang hadn’t stepped up, the damage would have been worse.”

Sigh…

[Yoon Hajun, 23 years old.]

A young man who knows reality.

Murder.

A word far from an ordinary life.

‘But?’

Better than being the victim myself.

And I’m not the only one suffering.

All the recently registered Awakeners are probably dead.

The problem is…

“But will it end here?”

In this situation, I realize anew—

The ability of the Labor Management Office Head.

It’s convenient but not invincible.

I’m just an ordinary person.

Even if I put out the urgent fires, if China moves again, it could get dangerous.

While thinking, our brain—the teddy bear—raised his hand again.

“Sohjang-nim, how about this method?”

Korea.

***

In a dark corner of Chinatown, 11 deaths occurred.

Before Korean police even noticed, china found out first.

“Agents have lost contact?”

The man receiving the report was Liu Hao, head of the Chinese special operations unit.

He frowned as he heard the next report.

“Yes, their scheduled report time has passed with no word. Probably…”

“They’re dead.”

If they were alive, there would have been some report by now.

Ten trained agents.

All raised by Liu Hao.

Thrown into intense training far beyond human limits.

Even if they lost limbs, as long as they were breathing, they would have had a way to send messages.

No news at all?

Only one possibility.

All ten dead.

And…

Maybe at the same time.

“Unbelievable.”

‘Who could be the culprit?’

No need to think.

It must be the Labor Management Office Head.

It would be impossible otherwise.

These ten agents were all monsters.

They even bragged that together they could kill former rank one, Wei Jin.

The current number one, Chen Yu?

He’s about to reach the 60th floor.

Liu Hao is sure.

Chen Yu could be taken down by just five of these agents.

They were specialized weapons for dealing with humans…

And now, all gone?

Without even a chance to report back.

“Two possibilities.”

There’s a high chance the Labor Management Office Head is on the list.

And.

“His ability is far better than expected.”

Not just dungeon clearing, but human hunting as well.

“A true monster…”

Ten all dying.

I hadn’t ruled it out completely, but reality hitting like this is terrifying.

“Sigh… Prepare the report and send it.”

An order from above.

Locate the Labor Management Office Head.

Once found, they would do whatever necessary—naturalization or something else.

Yeah.

That’s how it should have gone.

But the result was failure.

First, report it.

Then?

Follow incoming orders.

That’s the mission given to Liu Hao, head of the special operations unit.

“Even if the order leads to death.”

Whatever order comes,

He can predict it clearly.

[There is a high chance the Labor Management Office Head is on that list. Send agents again to identify him precisely.]

The lives of agents?

They’re expendable.

Now that they have a lead on the Labor Management Office Head, that’s okay.

Liu Hao doesn’t care for those nameless agents.

But still, “How do you face a monster capable of easily handling those guys…”

Of course, there are still more agents.

But in such operations, quality over quantity matters.

Elite troops of ten?

Almost none left.

They’ll do as ordered for now.

Hopefully, a reasonable order will come back…

The same news reached the Central Awakened Administration Bureau in China.

***

“Director, what do you think?”

“Yeah. I was suspicious from the start… but I didn’t expect even they would fail.”

The special operations unit and the Central Awakened Administration Bureau are rivals.

If one side fails repeatedly, the other gains strength.

Just like after Wei Jin’s death, when power shifted there.

But now, that’s not important.

“This doesn’t seem like it will end here.”

In fact, the line has already gotten quite strange.

The original goal?

To get weapons from the Labor Management Office Head.

Now?

It’s a total mess.

They’re dead in the front yard—do you think they’ll just hand over weapons?

No sane person would.

The problem is…

“But the higher-ups don’t seem likely to give up.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem.”

The top powers, including the Chairman, still believe China is the center of the world.

‘Will they give up after one failure?’

Never.

They’re dangerous.

No matter how talented the Labor Management Office Head is, he wouldn’t be crazy enough to openly oppose China.

Yeah.

No way…

Jinsil’s Eye.

The place that was just an ordinary private detective guild.

Now?

“We’re ordering you to open a branch in China?”

They received a sudden order.

‘From whom?’

From a strange teddy bear.

***

“Yeah. Just open one under the pretext of expanding the Jinsil’s Eye Guild.”

“Uh… why China…?”

The teddy bear Todd shook Jinsil’s Eye upside down.

‘Why?’

If they open a branch in Beijing, our workers can go anytime.

‘China?’

Try pulling any nonsense.

You’ll be hit with the full force of top-grade workers, including Woonjang’s bombing runs.