Chapter 394

As expected, the mainland was on an entirely different scale.

I’d been told this was a small city, but its size and population far exceeded anything I had imagined once we entered it.

That also meant quite a few buildings had survived the monster army’s rampage intact.

This one included.

At the entrance to the municipal hospital, which was currently serving as a temporary headquarters, a tall white Hunter spotted Team Leader Choi and me and approached.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Did Magic Johnson send you…?”

“Yes. My name is Michael Johnson. Feel free to call me Michael.”

“Ah, sure.”

Is everyone over there named Johnson? Is there some kind of Johnson family reunion in L.A.?

Still wondering, I shook Michael’s hand.

He beamed at me.

“What?”

“I’m a huge fan of yours. Lord Fuck.”

“……I’d appreciate it if you called me Jin instead of Lord Fuck.”

“Why? I’d love a nickname like that.”

“Then should I call you Little Johnson?”

Michael’s face turned dead serious.

“Nope.”

Look how firm he is.

I stared at him in disbelief.

“It’s the same principle. So please call me Jin.”

“Ah, okay.”

That Lord Fuck nickname is really spreading to every corner of the globe.

Cheon Taemin had defeated the Demon King, been hailed as the savior of the twenty-first century, and earned the incredibly badass title Slayer. Even if I killed a Demon God instead of a Demon King, I’d probably still be Lord Fuck.

At best, I might evolve into Lord Fuuuck.

“Don’t take it too hard. Lord Fuck has a certain warmth and charm to it, don’t you think?”

“Team Leader, are you making fun of me?”

“Of course not.”

Team Leader Choi let out a quiet laugh, and Michael called out to him.

“Choi. You came too.”

“You know me?”

“Of course. Word of how much Johnson likes you has already spread throughout the Guild.”

“……”

I jabbed Team Leader Choi in the ribs as his expression darkened.

“Don’t take it too hard. Johnson’s Johnson likes you, Team Leader.”

“…Mr. Jin. You just said Johnson twice.”

“Did I? Must’ve slipped out.”

Pretending not to notice Team Leader Choi’s sharp glare, I asked Michael, “Where’s Johnson?”

“Ah, I’ll show you.”

We followed him inside. The moment we entered the lobby, the murmuring abruptly died away, and every eye in the room swung toward us.

I’d heard that a few civilians rescued during the night were here, but since this was a temporary headquarters, the place seemed to be filled almost entirely with soldiers.

“The whole atmosphere changes when Jin shows up.”

“I was already famous, but I’m probably a little more famous after yesterday.”

“Oh, did you kill a Named Monster or something?”

I shrugged at Michael’s question.

“Something like that.”

Considering General Liao’s position within the military, he was a Named Monster in his own right.

His side had issued a gag order, but somehow the rumor had spread everywhere. Everywhere I went, I could hear soldiers whispering under their breath.

“Did you hear? Yesterday, Mr. Jin did something to the commander…”

“I heard the story, but wasn’t it just a rumor?”

“They say it’s true. The Hunters confirmed it, and apparently so did one of the headquarters operations staff. Rao Yang heard the whole thing loud and clear.”

“Huh. If that’s true, I’m disappointed in Mr. Jin.”

“Me too. I thought he was a hero of the people.”

The reaction was exactly what I’d expected.

Birds of a feather flock together, and people always side with their own.

Naturally, the soldiers wouldn’t be too happy about me mauling their direct superior…

“He shouldn’t have stopped at breaking the man’s limbs. He should’ve ripped his head off.”

“Exactly. How many people died because of that pig bastard?”

“I heard he took a huge cut from the latest defense procurement scandal too. That’s why he’s keeping quiet and letting this slide even after getting his arms and legs broken. Following Mr. Jin around is the only way he can pick up a few scraps of military glory and save his own skin.”

“That thieving son of a bitch. A bastard like him should be hanged in Tiananmen Square.”

……What? They seem to like me quite a lot.

It wasn’t just the enlisted soldiers. Even the officers were whispering among themselves.

They called General Liao an incompetent pig who had sacrificed his troops. Some said they finally understood why they were still using canteens manufactured during the Chinese Civil War.

Combined with General Liao’s existing reputation, everything that had recently come to light opened the floodgates. Remarks that could have gotten them arrested for insulting a superior poured out one after another.

“The mood is favorable. At this rate, we shouldn’t have to worry about the consequences.”

Team Leader Choi spoke as he walked beside me. Still dazed, I answered, “Yeah. If I’d known, I would’ve hit him a few more times.”

“Hmm. I do still have a few high-grade potions left.”

“Look at you, Team Leader. You’re getting good at jokes.”

“I wouldn’t say I was entirely joking.”

“Huh?”

What’s gotten into this guy all of a sudden?

Team Leader Choi stared straight at me as I struggled to process his unexpected response.

“Mr. Jin, you are indisputably an S-rank Hunter. You’re the dream and symbol of ordinary citizens, as well as a celebrity with enormous public support. General Liao, on the other hand, is the embodiment of the corrupt establishment. Anyone who tries to come after you will have to be prepared to pay an enormous price.”

“So you’re saying it wouldn’t matter if I hit him a little harder?”

“There would still be consequences, but someone like General Liao, who is already on the verge of ruin, won’t be able to drag you down with him.”

“Seriously? Just a few hours ago, you were telling me not to cause trouble.”

“Even the best sports car will crash if all you do is step on the accelerator. You need someone beside you to hit the brakes, like me. And…”

Team Leader Choi continued in a low voice.

“Sometimes you also need to maintain the track so the sports car can run properly. Like now.”

“…?”

“Too many people witnessed what happened yesterday. If the gag order was bound to fail anyway, I thought it would be better to spread the story as quickly as possible.”

It didn’t take long for the question mark in my head to turn into an exclamation point.

“Team Leader, did you…?”

Team Leader Choi smiled at my slack-jawed expression.

“Getting ahead of the story and spreading the version most favorable to us. It’s a method Vice Guild Master Lee Jungryong often uses.”

“…Huh.”

Now everything fit together.

I’d wondered how the rumor had spread so quickly that the gag order was already meaningless. Team Leader Choi had clearly laid the groundwork in advance.

The Hunters from the Public Security Armed Forces Department already despised General Liao, so getting them to cooperate must have been easy. As for the soldiers…

He paid them.

In the end, it always came down to money. Team Leader Choi had paid people to talk, and they had spread the rumor in whatever way was most favorable to us.

Besides, wasn’t the military a place crawling with microphones and loudspeakers?

Rumors spread fast.

Ten people opened their mouths, a hundred people heard them, and those hundred passed the story on to a thousand more. Add a generous sprinkling of MSG along the way, and before long the inflated rumor became accepted as fact.

But he thought of all that and pulled it off overnight?

I gazed at Team Leader Choi with newfound respect.

“Team Leader Choi, are you Zhuge Kongming? Zhang Liang?”¹

“This was nothing special.”

“Team Leader Come, I think I’m about to Choi.”

“…Stop it.”

While we talked, Michael, who had been walking ahead of us, came to a stop.

Knock, knock.

“Johnson. It’s Michael.”

Two auras, one large and one small, stirred beyond the door marked VIP Private Room. Then a deep, cheerful voice called from inside.

“Oh, come on in.”

“You heard him. My job ends here, so I’ll be going.”

Michael shrugged at us and stepped aside.

Team Leader Choi’s butt had already clenched tight, so I opened the sliding door for him.

Rattle.

Two people came into view.

“Haha! So we meet again, charming young men!”

The first was a huge Black man who strode toward us and extended a hand as large as a pot lid—Magic Johnson.

And then…

“Eek!”

A plump pig recoiled in horror the moment he saw me.

I glanced at General Liao, whose double chin was quivering, then took Magic Johnson’s hand and whispered, “When did you get here?”

“About… thirty minutes ago?”

“What about the southern front you’re in charge of? And why didn’t you come find us right away? Why are you sitting around with this guy?”

“Hold on. I’ll answer your questions one at a time. But first, I need to say hello to Choi.”

Snatch.

Like a hawk swooping down on its prey, Magic Johnson seized Team Leader Choi’s hand and greeted him warmly.

“How have you been? Did you think about me a lot?”

“…Yes.”

Team Leader Choi’s answer was one hundred percent sincere. He must have thought about all kinds of things on the way here.

But since Magic Johnson had no idea what the answer meant, it was more than enough to set his heart aflutter.

“Oh! Then you’re just like me. We have so much in common, don’t we?”

“……”

We’re probably very different when it comes to which gender we like.

“Anyway, it’s good to see you again.”

His gaze dripping with lingering affection, Magic Johnson finally ended his reunion with Team Leader Choi and answered my earlier question.

“And Jin, if you’re worried about the southern front I’m in charge of, don’t be. Nothing will go wrong just because I stepped away for a little while.”

“It sounds like the war is going quite well.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure about that. Still, it is encouraging that the monster armies are retreating from every front.”

“Oh, the monster armies are retreating… What?”

Team Leader Choi and I turned to each other and blinked as though we’d rehearsed it.

What the hell was he talking about?

Team Leader Choi recovered before I did and asked Magic Johnson, “This is the first we’ve heard of it. Mr. Johnson, could you tell us what happened?”

“It’s exactly as I said. The monster armies turned tail during the night. When we looked into it, the same thing had happened on every front.”

“But we didn’t detect any movement on our side.”

“Ah, let me correct myself. The western front is the exception.”

“Why is that?”

“What? Hahaha!”

Magic Johnson let out a booming laugh and clapped me on the shoulder.

“Because this western front has penetrated deeper into enemy territory than any other. I don’t know what kind of scheme the Arch Lich is plotting, but the western front is already an open highway. The monsters here have already retreated as far as they can.”

“Oh.”

I’d momentarily forgotten.

Unlike the other fronts, which were advancing little by little under Army and Air Force cover, I had simply killed and smashed everything in my path as I pushed forward.

I did tear through them with unstoppable momentum, but did we really get that far?

Magic Johnson laughed loudly at my bewildered expression.

“That doesn’t sound like the Genghis Khan of the twenty-first century. You’ve accomplished an incredible military feat. Why not smile a little?”

“It’s far too early to relax and smile. But never mind the monster armies pulling back. Why are you here?”

“I came to see Choi.”

“……!”

“……!”

“I’m kidding.”

Look how pale Team Leader Choi’s gotten. One more joke and his sphincter might rupture.

“I’m taking some personnel away temporarily, so I had to deliver the written orders to the commander.”

“You’re taking people away? Where?”

“Chengdu. A military conference has been convened.”