No. 74
Lee Hwi-min did not hand over the microphone right away. He first needed to organize his thoughts.
However, Yoo-seong directly grabbed it from him.
“Excuse me, I need it,” Yoo-seong told him.
Tuk-!
Yoo-seong tapped the mic as if to check if it was working. No one cared about the annoying sound that reverberated in the hall.
Even Lee Hwi-min, who was biting his lips as he watched Yoo-seong. Everyone was thinking about what Yoo-seong did to reach the stage.
‘He walked in the air.’ Lee Hwi-min couldn’t make sense of it.
‘He walked in the air as if it was nothing.’
‘What kind of Tech…’
Even him, who was part of the Moon Faction, couldn’t fathom the Tech’s identity.
For a moment, his legs were covered in some kind of a fog.
‘Could it be… the Jahan Gong?’
Impossible, he convinced itself.
If it was, it should have a vivid purple color. That was the characteristic of the Volcanic Martial Arts.
Besides, it had only been three days since Ha Yuk-il gave the originals to him. No one could have learned a Gong in three days, even if someone taught him.
‘But if it isn’t the Jahan Gong,’ Lee Hwi-min was confused, ’then what is it?’
“Excuse me,” Yoo-seong caught his attention.
He spoke casually, as if Lee Hwi-min didn’t attack him a few days before.
“Can I ask for an interpreter?”
“What?”
“Is there anyone else here who can speak Korean?” Yoo-seong asked.
Yoo-seong considered this,
Could he entrust Lee Hwi-min with interpreting his words?
Certainly not.
However, they were surrounded by reporters and cameras, as well as numerous officials.
If Lee Hwi-min distorted his words, there would be evidence on record. Yoo-seong decided that he had the upper hand.
He began talking.
Lee Hwi-min, who had no other choice, translated after him.
“I apologize for not responding to the Dive invitation that came two days ago. I was cut-off from everyone and immersed myself with training after the Shanghai Shock. As soon as I heard the news, I ran right away.”
Numerous simulations ran in Lee Hwi-min’s head.
‘No matter what he says,’ Lee Hwi-min thought, ’I must twist them somehow.’
He had to do it in a way that even a person fluent in both Korean and Chinese wouldn’t think that he had distorted Yoo-seong’s meaning.
It was very tricky, but it still had to be done.
‘You are trying to provoke me by delegating me as your interpreter,’ he thought.
‘However, your arrogance will be your biggest mistake.’
Lee Hwi-min waited for Yoo-seong’s next words. However, the foreigner went quiet for a while.
Then, he looked at Lee Hwi-min.
“Thank you,” Yoo-seong told him.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t need your help anymore. The longest part is over.”
Yoo-seong was one step ahead of him.
He took a deep breath before he began speaking. He spoke a simple and easy Chinese sentence that he memorized prior to coming.
His accent was also very clumsy, but everyone in the hall understood what he said.
“I will participate in the Dive.”
Yoo-seong’s firm words echoed in the silent hall.
A groan escaped from Lee Hwi-min’s mouth. Things weren’t going his way.
However, Yoo-seong’s cheekiness did not end there.
He glanced over the other hunters on the platform as a predator looks at its prey.
“When the hunt is over, it will be proven,” he declared.
His tone was not boastful. Rather, it was as if he was stating a fact.
“Of these… I am the best.”
The hall exploded in anger.
“What the hell is with that attitude!”
“You think too much of yourself!”
The reporters, seemingly forgetting their duties, raised their voices.
Yoo-seong remained calm amidst the audience’s outburst. From the time he memorized this phrase, he had already thought about the crazy consequences.
He was taking on the Doryongbang and Jinchung.
More than that, he was daring Ha Yuk-il and Won Yeong-cheon, members of the Ship Zone.
However, it was true.
He was literally the most powerful among the hunters under Lee Hwi-min, and he was prepared to prove it.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I have nothing to be afraid of.”
Swish-!
As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the microphone towards Lee Hwi-min.
The microphone soared into Lee Hwi-min’s hands.
Now, it was his turn.
However, he couldn’t think of what to say.
‘He shouldn’t have come here,’ Lee Hwi-min seethed.
Excluding Biyeon, all the other hunters present here were under his control.
Everyone was a Ship Zone member or a competent person who could qualify if a position was empty. It was a challenge to Lee Hwi-min more than anyone else.
The audience was clamoring for him.
“CEO Lee!”
“Please respond to him!”
Everyone in the hall was excited. They were surprised that Lee Hwi-min seemed to be at a loss after being such remarks.
It was as if he had allowed Yoo-seong to walk away unscathed.
With that, the atmosphere was instantly reversed.
“I was surprised because he suddenly appeared…” Lee Hwi-min began to speak.
There was no other option, even if it was not in the plan.
“But as the head of the operation, we have no choice but to accept Mr. Oh Yoo-seong’s…”
“No way!”
A voice rang out.
It was Ha Yuk-il.
“As a member of the Dive team, I object to it! This person did not respond in time to the Party’s notice. To put such a disrespectful person…”
Ha Yuk-il couldn’t afford to be as calm as Lee Hwi-min.
He was going in with him, in the world beyond the cracks. Lee Hwi-min promised him that Yoo-seong wouldn’t come.
‘But what happened?’ Ha Yuk-il seethed. ’That damn guy showed up!’
Not only that, he announced his arrival with an unprecedented Tech, in front of all the press!
The most important thing for Ha Yuk-il was his position in the Ship Zone. He had been pushed out, but the Dive was supposed to bring him back.
He couldn’t afford Yoo-seong stealing his glory.
Woosh-!
Yoo-seong suddenly leaped off the platform.
The place where he landed was just in front of Ha Yuk-il.
Ha Yuk-il felt startled.
He watched Yoo-seong, who stood in front of him without speaking. Yoo-seong had his arms on his waist, and his fingers were tapping at his belt.
Tuk-!
Tuk-!
It was as if he was waiting for something. At this point, Ha Yuk-il’s arms went to his sword’s hilt.
“If you have a complaint,” Yoo-seong spoke in broken Chinese. “Settle it.”
“No!” Lee Hwi-min yelled, but Ha Yuk-il was in too deep to hear anything.
He pulled his sword out.
He had no intention of killing or hurting Yoo-seong. He just wanted to show him his pride and identity.
The spirit of the Volcano.
In front of all the officials.
Go-oh-!
With an Aura that was elevated with excitement, he unfolded his Magnetic Sword.
Visible bolts of electricity ran through it, mesmerizing the crowd.
The crowd was mesmerized.
“Whoa…”
It was an amazing sight.
Everyone couldn’t take their eyes off Ha Yuk-il’s sword.
Ha Yuk-il enjoyed their reaction. Then, he stared at Yoo-seong.
‘If I only had this sword back then…’
He raised his sword and aimed its tip towards Yoo-seong.
The bolts of electricity concentrated on the tip of the sword.
He did not intend to hurt him, just threaten him.
No matter how strong he was, there was no way he couldn’t help but step back in the face of such a fierce weapon.
However, what happened next surprised everyone.
Yoo-seong took a step. Not backward, but forward, towards the sword.
What?! Ha Yuk-il was flustered.
No matter how amazing the sword looked, if it injured an unarmed man, the story would change a hundred and eighty degrees.
“You’re insane!” Ha Yuk-il exclaimed and immediately pulled the sword away.
However, it was too late.
The bolts left the blade and rushed violently toward Yoo-seong.
Go-oh-oh!
The hall was filled with a blue light.
When the glare subsided, they saw Yoo-seong with a blue sword on his left hand.
The sword shone brightly.
As everyone’s eyes adjusted, they could see the blade more clearly.
“Are those…” Someone gasped.
The sword was surrounded by shapes that looked like plum blossoms. It was not a hallucination or an optical illusion.
They could clearly make out the shape of perfect plums around Yoo-seong’s left hand.
This was a Tech that the world had not seen in over two centuries. At some point, the blue Aura and the plums dissolved into thin air.
Ha Yuk-il, who wasn’t hurt at all, fell backward as his legs lost their strength.
His eyes were staring blankly. Yoo-seong looked around and picked up a microphone nearby.
“I think I’ve shown everyone enough proof.”
He also had these lines prepared and memorized.
“I hold the true Volcano.”
The hall was hushed.
It was well-known that Goryong Company had the original Volcano documents. Lee Hwi-min had been using it for countless studies.
After ten years, he had finally developed it into something that Ha Yuk-il learned.
But now…
Everything was meaningless.
What they had just seen… was the original, not a reprint. No one could deny it after seeing those plum blossoms.
When Yoo-seong finished speaking, he fixed his stare at Lee Hwi-min.
“Continue what you were saying.”
No matter how Lee Hwi-min wanted to control the situation, it was already decided. Oh Yoo-seong would participate in the Dive.
Lee Hwi-min’s fists clenched as he realized that his plan completely backfired.
He had even invited the largest media outlets.
Now, it turned out that he had just given Yoo-seong free PR.
Click-!
Click-!
Countless camera shutters began flashing at Yoo-seong.
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