The Late Game Healer Is Way Too Strong – Chapter 180

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖𝟎: 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐤 3

━When do you plan on coming to America?

Siwoo showed an indifferent reaction to his friend’s voice that he hadn’t heard in a long time.

“Well. . . I have a lot to do here. Do I really need to go?”

━Of course you do, you goblin turd! Didn’t you know there’s a presidential election at the headquarters a few days from now?

“I know, but it’s not related to me, is it?”

━Hahaha. If I ripped your skeletal femur out and beat you to death with it, it still wouldn’t vent my anger. How can you say it has nothing to do with you when your brother is in trouble?

Edward burst into hearty laughter and swore at Siwoo’s unreasonable words.

Originally, it was supposed to be just a slightly bigger meeting, but Cargill Juan’s side suggested a presidential election, saying it would not be good for HSIU to leave the president’s position vacant for too long.

Although there were only two candidates, Edward and Cargill Juan, it was like the final showdown between the two major factions of HSIU.

Therefore, Edward was trying to rally his supporters one last time and get them to attend the meeting that day.

━I can list around 200 reasons why you should come, but I’ll just shorten it to two to save you and me some time. The first is that I have to be president if you want smooth political activity in the future, and the second is that I’ll kill you if you don’t come. Understand?

“Hmm. . . I don’t really get it. But I might go if you ask me earnestly.”

━This. Is. My. Earnest. Request. If you don’t come, I’ll really kill you.

Siwoo chuckled at his friend’s words.

It seemed like it had been a long time since he had laughed lightly without deep worries.

“Okay, since you’ve asked like that, I’ll make sure to go. Are the election preparations going well?”

━Well, thanks to you, some supporters have gathered. At a place where meritocracy is the principle, people cheer when a decent rookie like you appears.

“I’m being called a rookie. . . but I don’t think it’s because of my experience.”

━What’s important to them is your activity since joining HSIU. Even though it’s not public yet, the fact that you brought in the half-demons has had quite an impact.

Half-demons are a group who, after their existence became known, have never sided with anyone until now.

They are beings who didn’t side with either the demons or the humans, instead staying alone at the boundary, but now, for the first time, they have chosen a side.

Only a few national leaders and executives on Edward’s side in HSIU headquarters know about this for now, but once it’s officially announced, Siwoo’s stock will go up tremendously.

“Do you have any information on the opposing Cargill Juan?”

━No. Their information wall seems thicker than I thought. I guess the people who gave us the information knew that things wouldn’t end well for them if Cargill Juan became president, so nobody’s talking.

“Didn’t you have moles planted on their side? What about the information they brought?”

━Don’t act like I’m some secret agent that can just plant spies.

That’s right, in that regard, he was a rather old-fashioned guy. His methods were clumsy too.

Edward was a gentleman with an upright character and noble disposition as a member of a noble family.

After meeting Siwoo, he was influenced by him and became a bit crude in speech and flexible in his way of life, but his essence did not change.

However, Cargill Juan was different.

He grew up in an immigrant family that moved from Mexico to the United States and learned how to survive in the slums from a young age, spending each day there.

As crime and corruption piled up, his reputation grew, and Cargill Juan started a money laundering business, achieving enormous success in that underworld.

In the midst of this, he awakened his abilities and happened to join the early members of HSIU, which led him to his current position.

However, these facts were not made public due to Cargill Juan’s thorough identity laundering.

It was something that Siwoo had found out thanks to his underlings in the ‘underworld’, so it was only natural that Edward, who lived honestly, wouldn’t know.

‘Just because I belong to the vice-president faction, he sent an assassin after me right away. How foolish. Would Edwin really be able to win a political fight against someone like that?’

Considering Edward’s upright character, Cargill Juan seemed to be a formidable opponent.

However, if Cargill Juan couldn’t be defeated, there would be no righteous future for HSIU, and even the ‘Blackwood’ family would have difficulty maintaining its position.

“Hang in there, I’ll help you in my own way.”

━What’s this? You’re saying you’ll help? I’m supposed to feel happy about that? Something feels off.

“The HSIU badge turned out to be more useful than I thought. It’ll be easier for me to operate if you become the president, won’t it?”

━Oh, my dear friend whose panties are stained with ape dung, I’m moved to tears by your pursuit of self-interest over friendship.

“That’s all you need to know. Are Marco and Martinez doing well?”

Those guys are working hard. They’re much more diligent than you, and they listen to my orders well. I’m thinking about making them my close aides while I’m at it.

“Do as you please. Anyway, let’s see each other at the meeting.”

After hanging up, Siwoo thought about Cargill Juan.

He was a man with a dirty past, so he would surely be using dirty tactics even now to beat Edward.

‘𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢.’

In fact, it didn’t really matter to Siwoo who became the president.

But if Cargill Juan became president, it was obvious that he would create more trouble for Siwoo in order to cover up the past assassination attempt.

In that case, it would be better for his friend Edwin to become president so that Siwoo could comfortably continue his activities while selling out HSIUs name.

‘𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘭.’

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“You seem free these days.”

“. . .Excuse me? What did you say?”

Siwoo had come to visit the 〈HSIU Gangbuk Branch〉 and was spending time in Hwang Jeong-gu’s office.

This was the first time he had visited since he had been transferred to the HSIU headquarters.

Hwang Jeong-gu was working on paperwork when he looked up at Siwoo’s words with a bewildered expression.

There were more than two boxes of documents piled up on one side of the table, and he was saying he had extra time?

Siwoo took a sip of his coffee.

Hwang Jeong-gu’s resentful gaze poured in from across the table, but he paid no attention to it.

“When I was there, I was buried in paperwork and working. I couldn’t even think about going home, so I slept on the sofa.”

“Senior? When I worked with you, I did most of the paperwork, didn’t I?”

“If you’re free, would you like to go to a cafe with me? The air here is a bit stuffy.”

“. . .You can see me working, right?”

Hwang Jeong-gu sighed as if he had no patience for this pointless back-and-forth.

Lately, the gates had been opening frequently, and the monsters that came through were causing a lot of incidents and accidents.

The large guilds had said they would increase their patrols and security, but that alone was not enough.

In the end, HSIU had decided to increase its staff, but they were still short-handed.

“Jeong-gu.”

“Yes, senior.”

“I’m bored. Is there anything fun to do?”

【𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭. 𝐏𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐨.】

━Hee-hee.

Pre crawled out of Siwoo’s pocket and let out a plaintive cry.

Next to him, Pumirmir, who was the size of a pinky finger, lay sprawled out like a puppy, looking weak.

“If you’re hungry, take the kids out to eat.”

“Oh. Are you paying?”

“. . .Do you know how much difference there is between your salary and mine, senior?”

Seeing Hwang Jeong-gu’s aggrieved expression, Siwoo chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry. They don’t eat as much as you think.”

“Are you really going to take advantage of me?”

【𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭! 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐧!】

“. . .Senior?”

Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep.

At that moment, the alarm in the office corridor began to blare.

“Team Leader! A monster has appeared in the city! The gate level is unknown, but the monsters that have appeared appear to be a group of ogres!”

“What the hell, if they’re ogres, they’re ogres, what do you mean a group of ogres?! Are they traveling in a group?”

“I don’t know. . . . The hunter who discovered them reported it that way. They couldn’t have mistaken them for a group of orcs. . . Should I ask again?”

“Haahㅡ Leave it. Ask him again later. Send me the coordinates or a photo on your phone.”

Hwang Jeong-gu grumbled as he hurriedly packed his gear.

“Oh, senior. Are you going to eat first? After you’re done. . . Can I go? Sigh. . . Another late night at work.”

“Okay, you devil. You’ve taken advantage of me enough.”

Siwoo got up from the sofa and stretched.

“Then what will you do? Weren’t you saying that you were going to the States tomorrow or the day after. . .?”

“Hm. I’ll take a late flight tomorrow. There probably won’t be many combat hunters there, right? I’ll go and help.”

“Wow. . . What’s gotten into you? I was going to ask you anyway.”

“It’s okay. If I send this kind of activity report to the headquarters, they’ll give me a bonus. I’ll have to squeeze it out of Edwin later.”

“Is that okay. . . I wonder?”

Hwang Jeong-gu thought to himself that the hunters at headquarters were strange as they walked out together.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The city where the group of monsters had appeared was shrouded in a thick fog, perhaps due to the influence of magic.

It was not just a simple fog, but a mixture of magic, so that ordinary people could collapse from shock if they were exposed to it for a long time.

Kuuung! Kwaaaang!

Beyond the fog, where it could not be seen, the sound of buildings collapsing and vehicles being crushed could be heard.

“Has the evacuation warning been issued?”

“Yes, it has been confirmed. However, because of the fog and the sudden appearance, there are probably many people who have not been able to evacuate in time. Teams of hunters with detection abilities have been dispatched in other directions.”

“I see. . . . In that case, I will focus on eliminating the gate rather than rescuing people. You do what you have to.”

“I didn’t expect anything else. Please be safe.”

After parting ways with Hwang Jeong-gu, Siwoo entered the fog in a different direction from him.

【𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭! 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐳𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠!】

“Why is it annoying?”

【𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧.】

Pre pinched his nose with his wings.

Demons.

Siwoo opened his dantian and circulated his magical power throughout his body.

He also erected a magical shield to prepare for a sudden attack by a monster.

Of course, he was not doing this just to deal with ‘ogres’.

To other hunters, they might be a formidable opponent, but to Siwoo, they were not a very impressive monster.

But call it a hunch.

Siwoo opened his senses wide to the strangely ‘dirty’ gaze he felt in this fog, along with Pre’s reaction.

If it was a naturally occurring gate, it would not matter, but if it was caused by 〈Pandemonium〉, it would mean that they were there.

That was when it happened.

━This is Group 4. The target is approaching.

Someone’s muttering voice in the fog reached Siwoo’s ears.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦?’

Siwoo put strength into his toes and reached the spot where the voice had come from in one go.

“Who are you?”

At the sudden appearance of Siwoo beside him, the other person seemed to panic and stumbled backward.

“You need to answer me.”

Siwoo kicked the leg of the fleeing man.

It was a gentle kick, but the other person’s leg was bent at a 90-degree angle from Siwoo’s kick.

“Keuheuk!”

“I’m asking you, are you targeting me?”

At Siwoo’s indifferent interrogation, the other person grimaced in pain and smashed the bottle he was holding on the ground.

“This. . . .”

A hallucinogenic herb that drove monsters wild.

“Heuk heuk heuk. You’re going to be ogre food now.”

With those words, the other person plunged the small dagger he was holding into his own neck and killed himself.

“Hmm.”

Siwoo was curious about this incomprehensible situation, but there were more pressing matters to deal with.

━Kwoo-ooooh!

It was the group of ogres approaching him.

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