Unexpected Karma Translator: Xzy ***
His mind was extremely chaotic until he arrived at and entered his one-room apartment.
All sorts of imaginations swirled wildly, and Han Yu-jin had to move through the night streets, which should have felt peaceful, in a state of slight nervousness.
'This is reality.'
Thinking that he couldn't start over and wouldn't wake up in bed if he died naturally made him more cautious. It was the same even after he entered the one-room apartment.
He drew the curtains and, with the lights off, turned on the computer. The email inbox he checked was still empty, which only added to the ominous feeling.
'The possibility of simple negligence or a dine-and-dash is almost nonexistent.'
It was a place that had a respectable office in the bustling downtown area of central Seoul.
When he had checked the reviews, it hadn't been in business for just a year or two, the reviews were good for it to be simple negligence, and the quantity and quality of the reports they had sent until now were also very excellent.
And it wasn't as if he had entrusted them with a case of such a large amount that he had to worry about a dine-and-dash.
Something had definitely happened.
Of course, it might not be that they had been harmed by that pseudo-religion, as he was worried.
For example, a family member might have had a sudden accident, and they might be at the hospital without even having the presence of mind to make a call.
'No.'
If it had been something like that, they would have at least contacted their clients. Three days had already passed.
'What if he himself had an accident?'
Thinking about it, that didn't seem right either. Unless all the detective agency's employees had the same accident at the same time, if the team leader became absent, some other employee would have definitely handled the aftermath.
'Were they really kidnapped by those pseudo-religion bastards? All of the agency's personnel?'
The more he tried to think about it logically, the more strange points were highlighted.
However, to say that those pseudo-religion bastards had really done something, that too didn't fit with common sense.
No one knew how big the repercussions would be if they laid a hand on not just one person, but several.
This wasn't some third-world country in South America where gangs roamed freely, and no matter how ignorant those pseudo-religion bastards were, it was impossible that they couldn't even make such a calculation.
'If they really did lay a hand on them despite that, there must be a reason for it…'
Inevitably, the image of that ghost, Won-hee, came to mind again.
She would be less than ten years old now. So, she might have no connection at all with Yeongwon High School and the pseudo-religion.
Even if she did have a connection, considering her age, she would be unrelated to this incident.
'Am I being too wary of that pseudo-religion right now?'
Objectively speaking, it was just an unknown, minor pseudo-religion. And on the Earth After the Apocalypse, there was just a powerful ghost at that school.
But subjectively, he couldn't just think of it that way and move on.
That Won-hee was an existence that was very difficult to dismiss as just a powerful ghost being there.
'That's why I hired them to investigate. Because I thought I could get Karma with money.'
Because he would earn a lot of money in the future, because there was a high probability that there was something at a place where such a powerful ghost would appear in the future, and because the backer of that school happened to be a pseudo-religion that was perfect for suspicion.
That's why he hired them to investigate.
The thought that it might be related to the occurrence and progression of the ghost apocalypse, a worldwide apocalypse… was really just on the level of a maybe.
But a problem like this had occurred.
There were too many uncertain parts, and it wasn't a situation where he could get other information, so the more he thought about it, the more complicated his mind felt.
'Let's just, think about it as simply as possible. What's the most important thing right now?'
No matter what anyone said, it was his own safety.
'Does the possibility that I am in danger exist?'
If those pseudo-religion bastards were so irrational and reckless as to touch all the employees of the detective agency, he couldn't say that he, who had requested the investigation from that detective agency, was safe.
This was because, for one, the contract would be left at that agency. A contract with Han Yu-jin's own name, contact information, and even address written on it.
'Is this worry of mine at the level of a delusion?'
The situation was just that the daily reports from the detective agency had stopped, and the target of the investigation was just a pseudo-religion, not some gang of thugs.
But he knew a fact that others didn't.
How powerful a ghost would come to be at a place related to that religion on the future, post-apocalyptic Earth. So, there was at least one reason to be this wary.
Perhaps, in the time he was worrying like this, the people from the detective agency were suffering from harsh treatment. It was possible that they were hovering between life and death, beyond the level of simple harsh treatment.
Han Yu-jin picked up his smartphone.
It was already around midnight, a very late hour, but after a moment of thought, he brought up the dedicated officer's number from the Ability Management Bureau on the screen, ready to call.
"Hoo…"
Metaphorically, it was something like that feeling.
He suddenly felt a severe chest pain, he didn't know if it was a precursor to that dangerous myocardial infarction or not, he felt like it would be a hassle and embarrassing to call 119 for no reason, thinking about it rationally, the probability of it being a real myocardial infarction seemed low, but to just let it pass, he felt uneasy.
'I'd rather just become a foolish and strange person.'
He boldly pressed the call button.
'Even if this turns out to be a foolish act, it's okay. I can just kick myself in bed a few times later.'
As he was thinking, the call connected, despite the late hour and contrary to his slight concern.
- Yes, this is Officer Kang Min-ah.
"This is Han Yu-jin. I'm sorry for calling so late. It's just that…"
Han Yu-jin paused for a moment to choose his words and then began to explain the situation.
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He glossed over how he came to know about the pseudo-religion and why he had even requested an investigation, vaguely stating it was for personal reasons related to an acquaintance.
He also had no choice but to almost mumble through why he considered the pseudo-religion to be dangerous.
However, fortunately, the dedicated officer did not press Han Yu-jin on it.
And she did not react as if it was absurd, as he had worried.
- First of all, it would be best to refrain from going out. While paying attention to your safety.
"Yes, I plan to."
- If you send the materials you mentioned via messenger or email, I will check them immediately.
"I'm really sorry for the late hour."
- Not at all. There must be a reason why you are so worried, Han Yu-jin-ssi. And even if it's nothing, there's no harm in being careful.
Hearing those words, it felt as if the heavy and complicated feeling in his heart from worrying alone earlier was completely lifted.
Han Yu-jin expressed his gratitude a few more times, then ended the call and sent the materials he had received from the detective agency so far online.
After that, time passed as he waited quietly in his one-room apartment. He was waiting for news from the dedicated officer, who had said she would contact him soon.
And so, when a little less than an hour had passed.
The awaited contact from the dedicated officer arrived via messenger.
- According to the police confirmation, two emergency calls were received from the religious building in the materials you sent. At the time, it seems it was dismissed as a smartphone malfunction, but hearing your story, Han Yu-jin-ssi, it seems it wasn't something to be dismissed.
Goosebumps rose on his skin.
Han Yu-jin felt a sense of relief that his judgment was correct, and on the other hand, he asked, worried about what had happened to the people from the detective agency.
"Is there any other news? Whose phone was it that made the emergency call, and what is that person's current condition?"
- The owner of the smartphone was Kang Tae-hyeok-ssi from that Owl Private Investigation agency, but there is no other information yet. A SWAT team is being dispatched.
"What? A SWAT team?"
- Because the circumstances that a person has gone missing there are clear. Considering the scale, the possibility of it being an ability-related crime cannot be ignored either.
It was a slightly bewildering story.
No matter how you looked at it, if a public official from the Ability Management Bureau hadn't intervened, such a swift and bold move would have been impossible.
In fact, even considering that, he couldn't quite believe it. Was the Republic of Korea's police originally this fast?
- I will contact you again when additional information comes in.
"Yes, please do."
In any case, with a SWAT team being dispatched, he felt more at ease.
Now, the thing to be careful of was the possibility that a few crazy bastards from that pseudo-religion might already be approaching Han Yu-jin himself.
Although he possessed the power of an A-rank Hunter, he couldn't let his guard down at all, as he had had many experiences through his awakened ability.
'An A-rank Hunter is such a trivial existence in the cultivation world, it's always better to be safe than sorry.'
He felt a little nervous, yet also felt like the protagonist of a spy movie as he observed the situation outside.
If he used his Spirit Eye Spell well, he could observe the scenery outside without lifting the curtains, and he could even see through walls to some extent.
Fortunately, there were no signs of anything unusual in the vicinity. And so, when about thirty more minutes had passed.
- A large-scale drug manufacturing facility that hadn't been fully cleared out has been discovered in the basement of the building!
At the news that came via messenger, Han Yu-jin could only stare with wide eyes.
'Drugs of all things…?'
What suddenly came to mind was the story he had seen on a community site before about a healer hunter being arrested for doing drugs, and the thought he had briefly had due to the blood test when he was getting his awakening test. That it was someone else's business anyway.
At that very moment.
"Uh, uh…?"
Han Yu-jin reflexively made such a sound as he felt a sensation that was extremely profound and at the same time felt very overwhelming.
It was Karma.
And it was an enormous amount of Karma, at least three or four times the amount he had originally had, flowing in from some unknown place.
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Accumulating an unexpected large amount of Karma was definitely a good thing.
And arresting the bastards who were operating a drug manufacturing facility large enough to be called 'large-scale' in the Republic of Korea was also definitely a good thing.
With this, the drug cases that had been rampant recently might quiet down significantly.
However,
Unfortunately, the people from the detective agency were never found. It was said that there were no traces at all, as if they had evaporated.
It seemed that it wasn't just those people, but the high-ranking core members of that pseudo-religion had also all disappeared like ghosts.
'Did they get caught by the detective agency people about the drugs, and after dealing with them all as a way to silence them… they ran away knowing the problem would get bigger? And the manufacturing facility was caught while they were trying to move it.'
That was the only way it could be interpreted.
As a few days passed, more facts were revealed.
The dedicated officer also shared important information with Han Yu-jin.
It was an attitude of considering him a key party in this case, and the information was much more detailed and accurate than what he encountered through the news and such.
The official name of that pseudo-religion was the 'Church of the Eternal Goddess'. Also, it seemed that it had not originated in Korea but had flowed in from China.
Therefore, it was said that there were plans to hand over information to the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and customs, and request cooperation at the government agency level, such as the Korean National Police Agency and the Narcotics Investigation Unit.
If they were manufacturing drugs here, it was clear that they would be doing so in China as well.
These were measures that should naturally be taken against an international drug crime organization.
In the meantime, there was still no danger around Han Yu-jin.
It seemed that those pseudo-religion bastards, no, those bastards who had now been revealed to be an international drug crime organization, had no intention of carrying out any pointless revenge.
And with all the high-ranking core members having fled, it didn't seem like they would have the leisure to do so.
Even while not stopping his daily life, such as the Hunter pre-training, Han Yu-jin did not feel very at ease.
He was doubtful whether he would really be safe in the future, he had no idea how the ghost Won-hee's power was possible if that pseudo-religion was a drug crime organization, and his heart was heavy because, judging by the circumstances, it seemed that all the people from the detective agency were dead.
The dedicated officer's words that he would receive a considerable reward as a sort of informant were not particularly comforting.
'That Yeongwon High School might have to change its name.'
On his way home late in the evening today as well.
Han Yu-jin, who was having such idle thoughts, eventually realized anew what he had to do.
If he was anxious about whether he could continue to be safe in the future, he just had to grow stronger.
If he wanted to know the true identity of that ghost Won-hee, he just had to grow stronger.
If he wanted to at least avenge the people from the detective agency, he just had to grow stronger.
In the end, he just had to grow stronger.
And for the time being, he would not be short of Karma.
It was time to resume the cultivation that had been suspended in the primeval forest.
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