Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 293 – Drama, Protest, Suppression, And (4)

Psshht!

"Kim Tae-Sung, Park Han-Byul, Choi Han-Ul, and Lee Tae-Sung can't be reached."

"What? How did this happen?"

"Was there anything on social media?"

“No.”

“…”

The organizers were in a state of extreme confusion when their field personnel could not be reached.

Many of these organizers were still university students who had arranged this protest out of personal conviction and love for their country. In other words, they lacked the experience to handle the sudden unexpected turn of events, and the problem they were currently facing was well beyond their capacity to manage.

Pshhht!

It was then.

[Ah… This is G-Gwanghwamun… Huff… Huff… Area C… Damn it… We’re in trouble… Hunters! The Hunters are… The protesters!]

Puk!

[Ack!]

Beep…

That marked the end of the situation, as nothing further could be heard.

“…”

"What was that just now?"

"Hunter? Did he just say 'Hunters'?"

"Damn! No wonder we've been losing contact with the smaller protesting groups! Did the government send Hunters to suppress our protest?"

"Have they gone mad?"

"H-How can they do that?"

"Oppa… I'm scared."

"What should we do?"

All eyes were on Jae-Hyung, the organizer of the protest.

He was in his fourth year, majoring in political science at Hanguk University, the country's most prestigious university. Additionally, he served as the student representative of his department and was considered an academic elite, having earned a full scholarship at the university. If anyone could find a solution to this problem, it was him.

Jae-Hyung pondered for a moment before saying, "It's difficult. There's nothing we can do in this situation since we're not up against the police or ordinary people but Hunters."

"Yeah."

"Hold on! Shouldn't we post this on social media? Let the media know what's happening?"

"He's right! We were peacefully protesting here, but they're using force on innocent civilians right now!"

The other members of the organizing committee chimed in as well.

Jae-Hyung continued to ponder for a while before he stood up from his seat.

"Yes, let's do what we can for now," he said.

"Okay!"

"Call your uncle and inform him of what's happening here."

"Yes!"

"Ji-Hwan."

"Yes?"

"Tell our smaller groups to come to the main square. We need to protect those we can still protect."

"Okay!"

"Alright, listen up! The situation might seem dire, but we can't let it defeat us! Let's give our best effort to ensure this protest doesn't disband. We must fight for the future we dream of!"

"Oh! I agree!"

“Let’s do our best!”

“Yes!”

Jae-Hyung's speech revitalized the organizers, and they departed to their respective positions.

Meanwhile, Jae-Hyung found himself alone in the meeting tent. He brushed back his hair and let out a sigh. “Haa… They even resorted to hiring Hunters now? What the hell is this crazy government thinking?”

Numerous thoughts raced through his mind upon witnessing the large turnout for the protest and the involvement of the Hunters.

The Hunters typically kept their distance from the affairs of ordinary people, which was why he had never imagined that the government would consider hiring them. After all, even the most oppressive government would likely not resort to using Hunters to disband a peaceful protest.

However, the unexpected was unfolding before his eyes.

‘Are we in some third-world country for this to happen...?’

There had been instances of Hunters being deployed to disperse protests before.

‘But those protests were violent, almost on par with a coup. We're just peacefully demonstrating here…’

“Ughh…” Jae-Hyung groaned as a migraine struck him.

He couldn't think of any way to minimize the damage.

"It can't be helped... I was trying to handle this on my own, but..."

He took out his phone and made a lengthy call to someone.

***

"Oh? These punks are quite something."

The Death Snake raid party positioned themselves at a vantage point overlooking the main square. Their task was to disperse the protesters, and the government had provided them with various information, including details about the organizers.

"These young kids seem to have a knack for coming up with ideas."

"Yeah, they're quite impressive for a group of young misfits."

"It appears they've already organized themselves using their radios."

Hunters were far superior to ordinary people, especially in combat. Could they really slip up and let one of the organizers communicate over the radio about what was happening? Not a chance.

The Death Snake raid party pretended to make mistakes to intensify the pressure on the organizers, hoping to undermine them from within. However, the young students were performing much better than expected, so the raid party didn't achieve the desired results.

"Hyung-nim, what should we do now? We'll have to head to the main square to make them disperse... I mean, defeating them isn't that hard, but don't you think there will be too many onlookers?"

Things had been relatively easy thus far, as they operated under the cover of darkness. However, the main square was sure to attract considerable attention, no matter how quickly they acted.

"Eh? Are you scared?"

"What did you just say?"

Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon's right-hand man and left-hand man bickered, as they often did.

These two were quick to bicker over the smallest opportunities.

"Do you think we're doing this because we want to?" Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon asked.

"N-No, hyung-nim."

"We're doing this because the government asked us to, right?"

"Yes, hyung-nim!"

"Then all blame will fall on the government. We did what we had to do and got paid for it. Our reputation is already bad enough, so this won't change anything for us, will it?"

"Yes, hyung-nim!"

"Alright, shall we start this show with the police?"

"Yes, hyung-nim!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Yeah~”

“Kyaaaah!”

The protesters were completely absorbed in the celebrity performing on stage.

It was at that moment.

Whiiiiiiing! Whiiiiiiiing!

A police car approached the main square, blaring its siren.

"Hmm?"

"What's that?"

"Hey! It's too noisy!"

The singing on stage came to a halt, and everyone turned their attention to the police car. But...

"H-Huh?"

"The riot police?!"

"When did they get so close?!"

It was already dark, and the protesters had been so engrossed in the performance that they failed to notice the riot police creeping up on them. A few had noticed, but most didn't pay much attention.

"W-What's going on?"

[This is an order from the police commissioner. All protests and gatherings are hereby prohibited from this time, starting at twenty-o-five. Everyone is asked to gather their belongings and return home.]

"What did they just say?"

"What nonsense is this?!"

People took out their phones and began recording to post on their social media, but...

Bzzt!

"H-Huh?"

"What's wrong with my phone?"

"Eh?"

Their smartphones emitted a surge of static that damaged them. This didn't happen to just a few people; it affected everyone in the main square.

A man stood atop the K-Books Building, which offered a wide-open view of the entire Gwanghwamun Square.

"Keke! I never imagined I'd get to use this skill like this!" The man snickered before emitting strange pulse waves toward the main square. "Have a taste of my Mini-EMP! Every single electronic device in the vicinity will be fried by it! Of course, it's a shame that I can't use this on monsters... Keke!"

This man was not a member of the Death Snake raid party, but he was a Civil Servant Hunter hired by the government due to his unique skill.

Civil Servant Hunters were a special type of Hunter that followed government orders, typically deployed for various missions assigned by the government. In this man's case, his EMP ability was mostly useless against monsters, making him ineligible for raid parties or guilds. He also couldn't find employment with companies since his ability wasn't related to crafting.

He had aimlessly wandered for quite some time, unable to find a use for his ability until now. He became the worst nightmare for the protesters, quickly disabling their smartphones and even frying the cameras of the news broadcasters covering the event. In other words, nothing that transpired that night would be known to the world.

"W-What?!"

Everyone was surprised by this sudden turn of events, but the police commissioner paid no heed as he continued with his warnings.

[I repeat. This is the order of the police commissioner. All protests and gatherings are hereby banned from this time, starting at twenty-o-five. Everyone is requested to gather their belongings and return home.]

However, the police commissioner was far from calm despite his efforts to appear so.

‘Is it really alright to do this?’

There was no way to prevent the truth from emerging unless they resorted to massacring everyone in the square, regardless of whether the Hunters were used to suppress all recording devices in the vicinity. This was not the Joseon period, where the government could easily control the spread of information.

‘But why are they going all out just to suppress the protesters?’ the police commissioner couldn't help but wonder.

It wouldn't be too challenging to handle the protesters with just the police.

‘Well, I guess having Hunters against ordinary people makes the job easier…’

"Haa... I suppose it will unfold on its own," he sighed.

He was well aware that things could spiral out of control if they mishandled this situation.

‘Something far more significant than the previous scandal will erupt if things go wrong here, and everyone will demand that this administration be held accountable.’

The worst-case scenario would be the current president suffering the shame of becoming the second president in South Korea's history to be impeached.

‘I really hope for a peaceful resolution where they just disperse peacefully,’ he thought, knowing that the backlash would be less severe than he feared in such a scenario.

But…

“Cut the crap!”

A student stood on the stage erected in front of General Yi Sun Shin's statue and spoke into the microphone, catching both the police and the protesters off guard.

"We are conducting a lawful and peaceful protest right now, and we have informed the relevant government agencies of our intent to protest! Who are you to tell us to disperse and go home?! This is our freedom and our right to gather and have our voices heard!"

"S-She's right!"

"The president seems to have put you up to this, but we're not falling for that!"

"Yes! We have our voice!"

The student's courage ignited a fire in all the protesters. The police might have authority, but they lacked the justification to oppress innocent civilians in this day and age. After all, South Korea was no longer a military dictatorship, and such a thing happening was something nobody could have ever imagined.

However, President Kim was determined to quell the situation.

"Hahaha... I guess the saying that these Joseon bastards have to get beaten for them to listen was true," Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon said, licking his lips.

"I agree, hyung-nim!"

All of his henchmen chimed in.