The All-Master of Cyberpunk-Chapter 26

Ha-an moved to the opposite seat, and I finally understood why she had called me over.

The back seat of the car was equipped with a small screen and various electronic devices.

"…Wiretapping!"

"Shh, close the door quickly. We can't afford to be seen."

It made sense now.

The interior of the district office, where the meeting was being held, was off-limits to anyone except A-rank hunters and guild leaders.

In the game, players had no choice but to rely on reports from Choi Hyun-soo or Ha-an for updates, but now I understood how Ha-an had such detailed information.

She was wiretapping in real-time.

It was a moment when a minor mystery from the game was resolved.

"Put this on. It was hard finding an old-fashioned connector for someone without even basic tech body parts."

"Thank you for the consideration."

I smiled as I accepted the electronic device from Ha-an.

It was time to witness the behind-the-scenes of Seoul 2056, something a player could never see.

The old Suseong District Office, now used as the Southeast Garrison for the Daegu Green Zone Defense Forces, was packed with security personnel from the military, police, and hunter guilds.

The assembly of hunter guilds, ranging from the top-ranked to the 28th in Daegu, was arguably a stronger force than the Daegu Defense Forces themselves.

This gathering naturally required heightened security, but the problem was the animosity between the hunter guilds.

Though they were forced to unite due to the unprecedented discovery of a special-grade mutant, no one knew what might happen in the meeting room.

The law enforcement in Daegu was scrambling to prevent any conflicts between the hunter guilds, despite their limited manpower.

However, the guild leader of Dongseong, the top-ranked guild in Daegu, found all this rather ridiculous. He looked around the meeting room with a disinterested expression and spoke up.

"Shall we start the meeting if everyone’s here?"

"The ‘Seo-gu Resident Alliance,’ ranked 25th, hasn’t arrived yet."

"The guilds ranked below the top 10 are irrelevant anyway, aren’t they?"

The silver-haired man, more noticeable than anyone else in the room, waved off City Management Bureau Director Seo Ik-gyeong’s words dismissively.

Ryu Jin, the guild leader of Dongseong.

A supernova who appeared like a comet five years ago and seized the top spot in Daegu within a few months.

Of course, Ryu Jin's rapid rise to the top wasn't just due to his overwhelming skills.

He was a former idol.

To him, the world of hunters was no different from the entertainment industry he came from.

After the Great Chaos, the profession of hunters had transformed into a mercenary role, akin to celebrities.

People were fascinated by hunters equipped with tech bodies and using flashy superpowers to defeat mutants and androids.

Ryu Jin quickly capitalized on this market, understanding that people were thrilled by the spectacle of hunters.

As the Daegu Green Zone was stabilizing, it was natural for a hunter guild led by a former idol to gain rapid popularity.

As a result,

Dongseong Guild became the 'strongest in Daegu,' boasting the only S-rank hunter in Daegu and over half of the A-rank hunters in Daegu.

However, this didn't mean Ryu Jin was just an entertainer.

He was an A-rank hunter with skills that could rival any S-rank hunter.

Had he not refused additional tech body surgeries, he would have already reached S-rank.

Thus, the guild leaders in the middle and lower ranks could only remain silent in the face of his blatant disregard.

In Daegu, the words of Dongseong Guild and its leader Ryu Jin were practically law.

And, in truth, they weren’t entirely wrong.

"Everyone’s just here to pick up scraps, aren’t they? Let’s be honest. With that kind of talent pool, you can’t even handle a single raid, let alone reclaim Suseong-gu."

"Ryu Jin, keep it reasonable. No one’s here to play around."

At that moment, Jeong Dae-ho, the guild leader of Namjin Front, stepped in. He had maintained a silent demeanor since arriving but finally spoke up.

His commanding voice quickly subdued the room. Ryu Jin’s brows furrowed for a moment, but Seo Ik-gyeong deftly intervened to smooth things over.

"Yes, it’s a critical situation where we need every bit of help, so please refrain from divisive remarks."

"You’re still a stickler, Colonel Dae-ho."

"Hahaha…"

It was a visible provocation.

Seo Ik-gyeong closed her eyes in frustration, but Jeong Dae-ho decided it wasn’t worth responding and remained silent.

Dongseong’s guild leader was always like this.

Ryu Jin was a difficult person for even Seo Ik-gyeong, effectively the second-in-command in Daegu, to deal with.

He was a young guild leader who freely expressed his opinions, which was good in theory, but in practice, it was just a power-hungry brat.

And Seo Ik-gyeong's evaluation leaned more towards the latter.

She disliked how a young upstart was wielding the authority of the top guild leader as if it were a toy.

Of course,

His time of unchecked authority was running out.

"So, what is this special-grade mutant exactly? Has it been identified properly?"

Yu Jae-sung, the guild leader of Daegu Industrial Union, the third-ranked guild, broke the silence. Wearing his trademark navy work vest and the ‘Guild Leader’ armband on his arm, he spoke up.

Seo Ik-gyeong glanced appreciatively at Jae-sung for the timely intervention and then activated a holographic screen showing a 3D map of Suseong-gu.

"This is the Suseong-gu area beyond the wall. And here is the sports complex where the special-grade mutant is presumed to be located."

All eyes in the room focused on the sports complex. Before the Great Chaos, it was the largest stadium in Gyeongbuk.

"If you look here, you’ll see part of the stadium has collapsed. This was observed a week ago, and the buildings along this path have also been recently destroyed."

The view zoomed out from the stadium, showing a path of destruction leading toward the city wall.

"Is that true?"

"Yes, it is. A mechanized company dispatched for investigation was wiped out by mutants. Based on the survivors' testimonies…"

Seo Ik-gyeong added with a somber expression.

"It’s the creeping disaster."

The guild leaders’ faces changed dramatically.

The lower-ranked guild leaders were filled with despair, while the mid-to-upper-ranked guild leaders began strategizing seriously.

However, the top-ranked guild leaders each had different expressions—Yu Jae-sung from the third-ranked guild had a complex expression, not necessarily fearing the creeping disaster but lost in deep thought.

Jeong Dae-ho, the second-ranked guild leader, remained stoic, but his clenched fists and slightly trembling eyes betrayed his intense emotion—perhaps closer to gratitude than anger, as he finally had a chance to destroy the monster that had devastated everything 15 years ago.

And finally,

Ryu Jin, the guild leader of Dongseong, stroked his chin, intrigued.

"So, it’s true the National Security Council in Shinsoo has convened…"

"Yes, it’s true. However, the situation isn’t as severe as 15 years ago. Please look at this footage."

An analysis of the mutant nesting in the stadium based on the size of the collapsed hole.

The giant, curled up there, was about 40 meters wide and 100 meters tall.

Murmurs filled the room.

The scene was clearly different from 15 years ago, causing a stir among the guild leaders.

Director Seo raised her hand to silence the room and continued the conversation.

"It’s a smaller entity. While it still possesses all the characteristics of a special-grade giant mutant, it isn’t large enough to cause the same level of catastrophe as 15 years ago."

A few guild leaders sighed in relief. It wasn’t 350 meters but only 100 meters. Not even half the size.

"Now, let’s outline the operation."

The holographic screen shifted, displaying a map of the front line. Three arrows extended from the gate at the wall into Suseong-gu.

"First, deploy the main forces simultaneously in three directions to quickly secure Suseong-gu and establish a temporary defense line."

The arrows quickly covered Suseong-gu, forming a circular shape around the stadium.

"While eliminating mutants roaming the area, we will send a strike team composed of A-rank hunters and elite Defense Forces to the stadium to neutralize the creeping disaster."

Operation Nephilim Hunt.

"The objective of this operation is to eliminate the special-grade mutant."

A heavy tension filled the meeting room.

"…."

Ha-an quietly closed the screen. The live view of the meeting room in front of me cut off simultaneously.

"So, it’s true."

I nodded silently and removed the connector.

"So, Ha-an, I need you to prepare something."

"What is it…?"

"Nanomachine vaccines."

"…!"

Ha-an's pupils widened. Having realized the full extent of what had happened at the Catholic Hospital, she grasped the significance of my request.

"Do you think the Daegu Industrial Union Guild Leader will release a nanomachine virus during the operation?"

"It’s not a thought; it’s a certainty."

One thing needs to be clear.

The failure of the Suseong-gu reclamation operation in the story was entirely separate from the success of Operation Nephilim Hunt.

Nephilim Hunt will succeed.

The 'operation' itself.

The creature nesting in the stadium will be neutralized by the strike team composed of A-rank hunters without causing significant damage to the city.

But the real problem is that the accumulated dissatisfaction within the Daegu Green Zone will explode, using this operation as a catalyst.

"And the creeping disaster is not just one-"

But I couldn’t finish my explanation.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone began tapping on the car window from outside.

"I know you’re both in there."

"Hey, come out and talk."

The silhouettes of six people were visible through the tinted windows.

They were hunters from Chilgok.