abcnovels
Chapter 466
Chapter 466
Chapter 466
Huntsman seemed to have noticed the awkward atmosphere, so he hurriedly spoke again.
“Uh, I mean... It’s because I’m unbiased.”
In fact, Huntsman actually had an excuse for his misunderstanding.
Choi Yeonseung had done many things for the United States.
He evacuated the citizens at his own expense and personally took care of the S-grade hunter that appeared in the country. And when the household members of the evil god constellations went on a rampage on that stadium, Choi Yeonseung was the first one to face them.
Besides, Choi Yeonseung was always praised in the news and articles, which had convinced Huntsman that America also had useful hunters.
But he had just found out that Choi Yeonseung wasn’t American...
“Wait. Why would Hunter Choi Yeonseung help the country so much if he’s not American?”
“That’s his trick. He’s gathering all sorts of power, and that includes his reputation. He has many hunters under him and also a lot of support from the people. Think about it. This man can do anything if he puts his mind to it. He’s more powerful than the most powerful American in the country.”
Of course, anyone who personally knew Choi Yeonseung would think that this was a crazy conspiracy and get angry.
Surprisingly, Choi Yeonseung had never abused that type of power, and Alex Parker was well aware of that. However, Choi Yeonseung was getting in the way of his plans.
As long as Alex Parker managed to cut off Choi Yeonseung’s hands and feet and take him down from his position of power, he could do anything in the US.
Of course, Choi Yeonseung would’ve been surprised if he had heard this conversation.
-What? How did he find out?
Alex Parker was trying to exaggerate everything in order to sway Huntsman, but in fact, he was mostly right. As a constellation, Choi Yeonseung’s evil ambition was to obtain people’s faith!
“It’s ridiculous!” Huntsman cried out in anger. It seemed that he bought into Alex Parker’s words. “I can’t believe such a nefarious foreigner is allowed to run rampant in the United States! What are the other politicians doing?”
“They most likely turned a blind eye after getting bribes from him.”
“That’s why politicians can’t be trusted! The reason I got into politics in the first place was to get rid of corrupt politicians!”
“I know. That’s why I’m backing you up. The future of this country is in your hands.”
‘Hah, you filthy clown! Get riled up even more! You’ll startle all the politicians, and they’ll come to me begging to help!’
“Thank you. If I manage to get a few more supporters like you, the future of the United States will truly shine!”
‘Given how greedy this old man is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried rummaging through our drawers for money... You’re just talk, and you’ll be the first one to be expelled.’
The two of them shook hands, their eyes glinting with greed and ambition.
***
Aine Lawrence had no choice but to admit it—the position really made a person.
She hadn’t expected much from Choi Yeonseung when he had first taken over Dragon Industry.
As a chairman, Hwang Gyeongryong wasn’t great at handling work, and Dragon Industry would’ve been in deep trouble multiple times if it hadn’t been for his status as S-grade hunter.
But Choi Yeonseung was different. Even though she didn’t show it, Aine was deeply impressed by his improvement. Every time they met, he was doing better than before.
It was already amazing that he had become a top hunter, but it was absolutely incredible how quickly he had gotten used to being the chairman of Dragon Industry.
“The factories that have come to a standstill due to the disturbance...”
“There are factories in the realm of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training, whom I serve. I’m thinking of putting those factories into operation. That way, we’ll be able to ignore the chaos on Earth and sort it out quickly.”
“There are too many people who have been evacuated to this city. There is a shortage of food and medical supplies...”
“I have obtained food from the realm of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training, whom I serve. There are also experts in magical medicine, so they’ll take care of the refugees.”
“...”
The genius analysts of the strategy team, including Aine, had their jaws hit the floor.
‘Is he a god?’
They knew Choi Yeonseung was considered one of the most highly-rated A-grade hunters, but his problem-solving skills were truly out of this world.
The entire team had been struggling to find solutions to those problems for days on end, and Hunter Choi Yeonseung had solved everything in a few seconds...
“The nearby core storage and core energy extraction facilities have been destroyed, so there’s a significant power shortage...”
Aine glanced at Choi Yeonseung as she asked questions. Was he going to solve this with the power of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training?
“I’ve collected quite a few cores from the last raid. Don’t worry. Even if the storage facilities are gone, I have enough cores to ensure that we have enough power.”
“...”
“...”
[The power of existence has increased due to strong faith!]
‘Wha...? Why did it increase like this?’
Choi Yeonseung was puzzled.
However, this was just the beginning.
***
@NewYork_Arenas
-Hunters like Choi Yeonseung only appear once every hundred years. It’s a pity that there are such hunters here in the east.
@Schreiber_Lane
-I won’t say who it is, but an A-grade hunter from the Western Shields, whose name starts with ‘Gil’ and ends with ‘t’, came to New York City to offer support but suddenly turned around and flew back. You know what happened? On the way there, he doubled the amount of money he wanted in exchange for his help, and New York City didn’t have enough money.
?Don’t slander other people.
?You’re talking like you’re the one being slandered. Fuck you, Gilbert Gerrity. A half-baked A-grade hunter who can’t do anything without other hunters!
?You want to die?
?If you’re mad, do something about it!
@Seha_Han
-In the western parts of America, poll results show that if Hunter Choi Yeonseung decides to run for president, his approval rating would be a staggering 80%!
?Foreigners can’t run for president, right?
?Who asked? Get lost.
In such a chaotic situation, even those who did the bare minimum of their duties would be praised.
Choi Yeonseung poured in a large amount of money to protect Dragon Industry’s factories and facilities.
At a time when most A-grade hunters and clans were busy protecting their own areas, Choi Yeonseung was defending the areas where ordinary people worked, so the public naturally praised him for this.
[The power of existence has increased due to strong faith!]
[The power of existence has increased due to strong faith!]
As Choi Yeonseung was enjoying the increased power of existence, Aine came to him with a serious expression.
“Are you interested in the presidential election?”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung smiled at Aine as if he were looking at an immature Han Seha.
“Aine, foreigners can’t run for president.”
“...You think I don’t know that?!” Aine exclaimed in a bewildered manner. Who in the world didn’t know that?
“Uh, yeah, I know you know...”
“...”
“So why bring it up?”
“The presidential election is this year, and all candidates will want to get your support.”
It was easy to think it would be a good idea to have the support of a popular hunter, but in reality, candidates running for president avoided being closely associated with hunters.
Hunters were generally seen as ticking time bombs, and politicians were always anxious about what they would do or say.
On that note, a presidential candidate would most likely be stigmatized if they had strong ties with a clan, with people saying things like “Won’t they give money to the clan after they become president?”
However, despite this general perception of hunters, Choi Yeonseung was so popular that various important politicians had called him and tried to curry favor with him even before the invasion.
And now that the invasion was in full effect, Choi Yeonseung’s popularity was sky-high. The fact he would dictate the presidential elections as a foreigner proved that.
Some of the politicians Aine had contacted last time had stepped down because they were satisfied that Choi Yeonseung was neutral, but things were different now.
They were very confident that they could win the presidential election as long as Choi Yeonseung was on their side!
“They’ll even give up half their organs to join forces with you.”
“But like I said last time, I don’t want anything. Bribing both parties... No, this isn’t considered a bribe in the United States, right? Let’s call it patronage.”
“...”
“Whatever. If I give donations to both sides, there is nothing for them to be disappointed about, right?”
“Listen, I’m telling you all of this for a reason.”
With that, Aine reluctantly played a video of a politician, whom Choi Yeonseung had never seen before, shouting at other people.
-Foreigners are the reason evil god constellations are going on a rampage in our country! America is falling apart because foreigners keep coming over!
-Our hunters are losing money! Other countries around the world are using the superior combat power of our hunters for free!
-Clans in our country are stealing your money! If I become president, I’ll make sure to return your money from those unscrupulous clans!
“???”
Choi Yeonseung was baffled.
‘Is he crazy?’
That guy was saying that hunters were losing money, but at the same time, he was also saying that clans were stealing money. Besides, saying the evil god constellations were going wild because of foreigners?
No sane person would ever say that.
However, the man from the video didn’t really seem crazy. His demeanor and the way he was dressed certainly didn’t suggest that. He was spewing nonsense in a passionate way, making it sound plausible, which meant that too many people were listening to him.
“Who is he?”
“Mitt Huntsman. He’s recently joined the Liberal Federalist Party and is making a big fuss.”
Choi Yeonseung smiled at Aine’s words.
“Aine, this isn’t South Korea or Japan... Or France or Russia...or China...”
“Huh?”
“Sorry, I wanted to give you an example of a crazy country but the list just kept going in my head. In any case, the US isn’t like those countries.”
“Huntsman is currently the number one candidate for the Liberal Federalists.”
“...America is ruined.”
Choi Yeonseung was quickly convinced, and Aine nodded as well.
“Well, it’s been a while since we were last ruined. I’m glad you at least recognize the severity of the situation. In any case, you understand why I brought this up, right? With that lunatic, you can’t stay neutral.”
Certainly, Aine made a very good point.
Experienced politicians knew what they had to give back for any bribes they received. On the other hand, a lunatic who suddenly popped in out of nowhere and screamed about foreigners ruining the country obviously didn’t have the slightest idea what he was doing.
In this situation, compromise was impossible.
If an S-grade monster appeared out of nowhere and Choi Yeonseung asked for help, that Huntsman guy would snort and say, “Just go away, you foreigner bastard!”
“I don’t even want to imagine...”
“He must be stopped,” Adaquaniel said in a grave tone. “If that man becomes president, the stock market will collapse and there will be various economic crises.”
“...Is it to that extent?”
Choi Yeonseung was taken aback. Would he cause that much chaos?
‘But judging from the lunatics I’ve seen so far, it’s not impossible.’
It was rather common for crazy politicians to rise to positions of power, and it happened in every country. However, Choi Yeonseung was still getting used to that fact, either because he hadn’t been paying enough attention to the political sphere or because there had been an unusual surge of demented politicians in recent years.
France, Japan, and now the United States...
‘The evil god constellations are ruining Earth.’
-I don’t think it’s because of the evil god constellations... right? Is it really because of them?
“Aine, since you’ve brought this to my attention, you must have a plan, right?”
“Oh, you noticed? Yes, I do. The best thing we can do is to pick a side and push a candidate. It’d be perfect if we could find someone who would do exactly as we say.”
“That’s a good idea. Honestly, it’d be great if we could shape the United States to our liking.”
‘If anyone heard us, they’d think we’re crazy.’
It felt surreal to Choi Yeonseung to sit in the meeting room of a skyscraper in the middle of Los Angeles and talk about picking a president that would be their right hand.
However, he had to admit it.
With how much support he had, Aine’s plan was actually doable.
“So who should we pick?”
Knock knock knock.
“Can I come in?”
“Come in.”
Then, a man who seemed to be middle-aged walked through the door. Choi Yeonseung’s heart almost stopped, as he had seen this man many times before.
Surprisingly, it was Hwang Gyeongryong.
‘Wait... Taking a closer look at him, he looks too young to be Gyeongryong hyung.’
“It’s an honor to meet you, Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”
Choi Yeonseung’s heart skipped a beat once again. How could he look like Hwang Gyeongryong yet be so polite?
-...Is it that surprising?
“Are you one of... cough... Gyeongryong hyung’s children?”
“Yes. My name is Mike Hwang.”
“You really look like Gyeongryong hyung.”
“I hear that a lot. It’s honestly embarrassing...”
Seeing Mike Hwang scratching his head in an embarrassed manner, Choi Yeonseung had to resist the urge to ask him if he really was Hwang Gyeongryong’s child.