novel
| ← Ch.124 | Ch.126 → |
"What are we supposed to do about this?"
"At this rate, China will take over the world."
"Damn it. I can't believe we fell for the item trap with such horrible side effects."
"It's our fault for falling for it."
"Since we already fell for Samchunkyo's trap, we have no other choice."
The vibe inside the meeting room was so heavy it was suffocating.
At that moment, a shadow appeared with the sound of the tent flapping.
All eyes moved toward the person who entered through the door.
At that entrance was one woman.
It was Ji Yoo Kim of Korea's Central Institute.
As soon as the world hunters saw her, they felt complicated emotions.
Ji Yoo Kim allowed the world hunters to stare as she walked inside.
She then sat at the end seat of the meeting room.
"As long as Samchunkyo is trying to take over the world, we mustn't get dragged along with it. From now on, we have to find a way to avoid this problem."
In response to Ji Yoo Kim, the South American commander sighed.
"It's impossible to find a way..."
Ji Yoo Kim stared at the South American commander with piercing eyes.
"Even if it is, we have to try."
The South American commander covered his eyes with clenched teeth before looking back at Ji Yoo Kim.
"Do you have an idea?"
Ji Yoo Kim scanned the world hunters with stable eyes.
She then began the meeting with the topic that she prepared.
"Most of the world hunters are poisoned by the item and have no choice but to receive the sedative from Samchunkyo. It's Samchunkyo's plan to use this as a way for them to take control over the world."
Ji Yoo Kim continued with a strong gaze fixed on the world hunters.
"We'll have to analyze Samchunkyo's sedative and make it ourselves."
"We only took the sedative while the person from Samchunkyo was watching. I'm sure that'll be the case for all of them. So how are we supposed to get our hands on it?"
Following a short silence, Ji Yoo Kim continued,
"Samchunkyo will provide the world hunters with the sedatives. Just like how he handed it out to Ethan and the American hunters. When he hands them out to the world hunters, the Central Institute will secure the sedative."
In response to Ji Yoo Kim's bold decision, the commanders gulped.
"If Samchunkyo finds out, we're done for..."
"We need to put our lives at risk. We must secure the pill and analyze it before Samchunkyo finds out."
"Isn't that too dangerous? There's no way Samchunkyo will fall for it..."
"The choice is up to all of you."
In response, the hunters showed troubled looks on their faces.
After a long meeting, the hunters agreed to do as Ji Yoo Kim suggested.
"But there's one problem, " Ji Yoo Kim added.
"Samchunkyo will prepare just enough pills for the number of hunters we have. If we do secure a pill, that means one hunter won't get one..."
"Oh, don't worry about that. Some hunters didn't ingest the item."
Ji Yoo Kim's face brightened up.
"That's good. Then let's proceed."
***
Min Sung, who was focused on the scenery of Seoul from his helicopter, jolted awake because of a sound.
Zap!
This is Ho Sung!
Min Sung picked up the walkie talkie.
"What is it?"
A moment later, Ho Sung Lee responded.
This is urgent. It's information regarding China's Samchunkyo. Should I just tell you right now?
Min Sung knitted his brows and responded,
"I'm going back. Wait for me."
Yes, Sir!
The pilot turned back even before Min Sung said so.
Min Sung's helicopter turned around and went back toward the World Tower.
***
Du, du, du, du, du, du, du!
The propellers spun at a very high speed as the helicopter landed on the landing pad.
The wind blown by the propellers made Ho Sung Lee cover his face as he waited for Min Sung.
A moment later, the propellers stopped and Min Sung got off.
Ho Sung Lee fixed his hair while pressing the elevator button for Min Sung.
"I'll tell you now."
As soon as Min Sung got on the elevator, Ho Sung Lee continued,
"You know how Samchunkyo handed out items? Well, the side effect started to kick in. If Samchunkyo doesn't give them a sedative pill, they'll die."
"Who told you that? Ji Yoo Kim?"
"Yes, Sir."
Min Sung got off the elevator. He walked into the living room and then tilted his head.
"If Samchunkyo is giving them sedatives..."
"That's right. They're trying to control the world hunters, Sir. You said you wanted to control them. It looks like Samchunkyo beat you to it. What are you going to do?"
"It's not even worth my energy."
Ho Sung Lee dropped his head with a surprised face.
"Oh... I see. Then what about us... ?"
At that moment, the doorbell rang.
Ho Sung Lee checked the interphone.
"General, Ji Yoo Kim is here."
"Let her in, " Min Sung replied while enjoying the view.
A moment later, Ji Yoo Kim came up to the penthouse floor via elevator.
She stood behind Min Sung, who was still enjoying the view.
She then explained her plan to secure a pill, which she previously shared with the world hunters.
"... And Ethan has already given his permission. That means that from now on, you're in charge of what happens with the world hunters."
Min Sung nodded.
"Good."
Ji Yoo Kim smiled. She bowed and then excused herself from the penthouse.
As soon as Ji Yoo Kim left, Min Sung looked around him.
"Where's Bowl?"
In response, Ho Sung Lee shrugged.
"I'll look for him."
Ho Sung Lee looked around the penthouse before ending up in the washroom.
Clack.
Ho Sung Lee opened the door and stared into the bathtub in surprise.
Bowl was swimming inside the big tub.
"Sir, Bowl is in here."
In response, Min Sung looked into the tub.
"Huff! Huff!"
Min Sung knitted his brows at Bowl, who was swimming hard inside the tub.
"What are you doing in there?"
In response to Min Sung's question, Bowl lifted his head from the pool.
"Oh! Master! I'm practicing swimming."
"But why?"
"What if I'm low on mana and fall into the water?"
Min Sung stared at Bowl before letting out a sigh.
"Keep at it."
Once Min Sung disappeared, Ho Sung Lee laughed at Bowl.
"You're trying hard for a beer bottle."
At that moment, a clear flame could be seen within Bowl's eyes.
Bowl casted a spell, causing for a dark smoke to wrap around Ho Sung Lee's body.
The dark smoke lifted his body into the air and brought him in front of Bowl.
Bowl crawled out of his pool and stared at Ho Sung Lee with his darkened eyes.
"Hey, hey. What's wrong with you?"
Ho Sung Lee asked in fear.
"Son of a bitch. Let's play together."
"What are you talking about? Let me down!"
Bowl snickered.
Ho Sung Lee felt horrified.
"Huh? Huh? Hey! Ugh!"
Splash!
The dark smoke threw Ho Sung Lee into the pool.
Bowl put both of his hands to his waist in a dance. He smickered and then dove into the pool.
"S-save me... ! Argh!"
"Snicker!"
The sound of Bowl's laughter rang through the washroom.
***
While Ho Sung Lee suffered a life-and-death situation, Min Sung opened the fridge and looked through the ingredients.
The fridge was full of ingredients that could make just about anything.
'I'm sure practice will make me better. '
'It's worth a shot. '
'What should I make as a simple snack?'
'It needs to be relatively easy. '
Min Sung contemplated it before making a decision.
He decided to start off with something easy and gain more experience.
Min Sung closed the fridge.
His snack was decided.
It had been a long time since he had eaten it, and he wondered why it took him so long.
That dish was ramen.
Min Sung already knew that if he used too much water, it would turn bland and not delicious whatsoever.
For that reason, he filled the pot with only 500 milliliters of water and put it to a boil.
A moment later, the water started boiling.
Min Sung added the soup base, and once the water turned red, he added the noodles.
The boiling water cooked the noodles.
It felt good.
He didn't particularly like ramen as a kid, but he did remember that it tasted good.
Min Sung smiled and watched the noodles cook.
The spicy scent of the soup base ticked the inside of his nose.
As soon as it was fully cooked, he turned off the stove and placed the noodles inside a luxury bowl.
He sat in front of the steaming ramen and picked up his chopsticks.
'This has to be good. '
Just before he tasted the ramen.
"Maybe I should've added an egg."
Min Sung shook his head.
It was best that he enjoyed the ramen without an egg since it had been such a long time.
Min Sung reassured himself of his decision and tasted the ramen.
"Slurp!"
The curly ramen noodles got sucked into his mouth.
Just as he thought, the ramen had to be good.
No matter how bad he was at cooking, he could still make ramen.
That was the advantage of ramen.
He liked the feeling of the ramen's steam on his face, as well as the feeling of the hot noodles against his lips and the scent that spread throughout his mouth.
'Nice!'
He suddenly got the idea to enjoy ramen in a cold country such as Russia.
Next time, he would certainly try it with an egg.
With that thought, Min Sung drank the broth.
"Slurp!"
The sound of the soup entering his mouth sounded just like an orchestra.
The deep and rich flavor heated up his throat.
"Ha..."
He was in awe as his body heated up.
His first ramen after a long time.
The taste of ramen in the morning was so satisfying that he couldn't begin to explain it.
'I bet Woong Jang's ramen would be much more delicious. '
'I wonder how it tastes. '
'With his talent, wouldn't it be absolutely mindblowing?'
'I should try it one day. '
Min Sung smiled. He finished his ramen and chewed on the crispy pieces of Kimchi.
The flavor of the ripened Kimchi went perfectly with the ramen.
Ramen was definitely the definition of 'magical flavor'.
| ← Ch. 124 | Ch. 126 → |