Ch.156156. Hot Potato

In the end, Yongin’s downtown area was completely devastated.

The petrified gargoyles crashed into buildings as they flew around, shattering on impact. But the greatest damage occurred during the hours-long battle between hunters and ground monsters.

For me, it was just a matter of slicing gargoyles’ necks with my sword, with the falling creatures merely damaging building exteriors or breaking windows when they hit.

Other hunters couldn’t hunt monsters as cleanly as I could.

The ground monsters fought viciously too, smashing through anything in their way. By the time the battle ended, the city looked like an apocalypse had struck—buildings collapsed and destroyed everywhere.

Well, it’s still cheaper than letting the area become a dungeon through backflow.

But for the people who lived here, the damage must be quite painful.

Still, you have to survive before you can complain.

Those who successfully evacuated should be relieved they at least saved their lives. These days, many people have dungeon backflow insurance, and there are rumors you can actually make good money if you’re properly insured. Since actual dungeon backflow damage is quite rare in reality, insurance companies offer quite comprehensive coverage.

Either way, those who survived are incredibly fortunate.

The cheering was short-lived.

As they began rescuing survivors and recovering bodies from the destroyed city, everyone saw firsthand how much damage this backflow had caused.

– Current death toll in Yongin City: 15,148

– Bodies still being recovered…

– Seems like there were really a lot of people hiding in buildings.

– Wow… hunters are definitely going to get serious PTSD from this.

– For real, I heard so many people died crushed under buildings that collapsed during fights with ground monsters.

A painful reality for both observers and those at the scene.

No one dared offer words of comfort to the hunters.

Nor could anyone blame the hunters.

After all, if the hunters hadn’t stepped up, the monsters would have spread beyond Yongin and caused even greater damage.

– At least thanks to Farmer Hunter saving everyone, there were apparently no casualties among the hunters.

– With hunters surviving, it ended at this level… if an S-rank dungeon had reached Seoul, it would have been a true catastrophe.

– Should we call this… fortunate?

The living must go on living.

After personnel were deployed to check for any remaining monsters and hunters eliminated the monsters outside, Korean rankers formed a team to enter the dungeon that was still open from the backflow. Only after confirming there were no monsters left inside could they finally conclude the backflow incident.

A party of 20 members, including myself, entered the open S-rank dungeon in the early morning hours.

There wasn’t anything special.

Almost all monsters had already flowed out, and the few remaining ones weren’t particularly strong, so they were quickly dealt with even without my intervention.

Still, being an S-rank dungeon, there were quite valuable resources, and despite the somber mood, the hunters’ eyes gleamed at the promising dungeon.

And finally, while thoroughly exploring the dungeon, we found a box.

“It’s a hero-grade.”

By my standards, there weren’t many good rewards despite it being an S-rank dungeon.

When we finished and came out, the sun was high in the sky.

“Good work, everyone.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

Everyone looked disheveled and exhausted as they exchanged greetings.

It was fascinating how people who normally compete and remain wary of each other could act with one mind during such a disaster.

Moreover, everyone thanked me as they left.

“If it weren’t for Farmer, I would have died. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely repay you.”

“Thank you, Farmer Hunter.”

“I survived thanks to you.”

Despite the heavy hearts from knowing so many people died, some caught in their own attacks, the relief of survival was undeniably good.

I also met Seo Hyoju.

“Thanks to you, we were able to save many people. If we had waited for support to arrive, many more would have died.”

Seo Hyoju, who usually greeted me with a bright smile, now wore quite a gloomy expression.

No words of comfort would help much.

Even I felt uncomfortable seeing so many dead people.

Only after a full day passed could I finally return home, watching as they continued to manage the situation.

“Phew—good work.”

“You’re the one who worked hard. Wow… you really were amazing. That fan is the one you got this time, right?”

“Yeah. Good thing I took that unidentified item. I almost used a farming point to increase my magic power.”

If it hadn’t been for the fan, I would have used farming ability points somehow to activate the Light Magic Sword’s option to deal damage.

The gargoyles’ evasion would have meant nothing once my mana skills’ effects doubled, tearing through wings or bodies with greater power.

Whether it took one hit or two might have given the gargoyles a slight time advantage, but the outcome wouldn’t have changed.

I just almost used my farming points at an unwanted moment.

The fan solved that problem.

Thanks to it, I also got some solid promotion.

Despite the heavy heart from the disaster, the promotion for the auction worked well—as soon as I got home, I heard that VIP membership inquiries were pouring into Gwangjin Distribution.

“Dad says he’ll take care of purchasing the land for Farming Company and handling all the paperwork.”

“…Is that okay?”

“I don’t know. It seems like Gwangjin Distribution was planning to join our Farming Company anyway?”

To create the large-scale Farming Company shopping complex I had only conceptualized in my head, I needed someone who could make those ideas concrete.

Various legal issues. Paperwork. And so on.

Someone who could research and resolve these matters.

It would be too much for Kim Sujung to handle.

She already had plenty to do at the farm, and even when she was out, her time was fully occupied figuring out where and how to sell the items we brought.

So I needed someone trustworthy, and I had been considering asking Dad for help, given his long experience running a distribution company.

I was planning to bring in Gwangjin Distribution through a merger and acquisition for product purchasing and sales distribution after establishing everything.

But that would only happen after proposing attractive terms and ensuring mutual agreement, so it was still just at the thinking stage. I was surprised that Dad volunteered first.

I was going to look for someone else if it didn’t work out.

“Suhyun. It doesn’t have to be Gwangjin Distribution. How about Suhyun Company? I’m ready to seize any good opportunity if it means taking care of our company’s people and making more money.”

“…It’s not Suhyun Company though?”

“Oh, is that so? Farming Company, was it? Anyway, leave it to me, and I’ll do a good job in a management position. On the condition that all our company people are hired…”

“You can handle that as you see fit.”

“Kuhup.”

“….?”

“Finally, I can put down this heavy log from my shoulders and live comfortably in an honorary position.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Son. Trust your dad. I’ll work hard while receiving a salary!”

It’s good that things are working out.

For now, we decided to hold the auction at Gwangjin Distribution.

After returning home and getting a good night’s sleep, I woke up to find something strange with my YouTube.

“Huh?”

As I came into the living room and noticed the strange numbers on YouTube, Kim Sujung, lying on the sofa, excitedly called out to me.

“Oppa. Oppa. Did you see? Your YouTube subscribers passed 10 million.”

“What’s going on with this?”

I clearly remember having just over 7 million subscribers when I checked right after coming home yesterday.

Now it was not just 10 million but over 15 million.

“People kept coming to watch yesterday’s live video and subscribing like crazy. The news also used your live footage, and people from overseas are watching too. So many people are asking what a ‘Farmer Hunter’ is.”

“I really did attract attention well.”

“It was the perfect stage for you. Many people died, but you saved so many. People are practically calling you a miraculous saint!”

“Better than being called evil.”

Looking it up, I found several nicknames had already emerged in just one day.

Miraculous Saint

Gargoyle Slayer

Savior of Yongin

And so on.

It’s childish, but those nicknames brought in many new viewers, more than doubling my subscribers in a single day.

“This is crazy. Come to think of it, we haven’t applied for the Silver Button yet. Oppa, should we apply all the way to Diamond at once?”

“Sure. But is it okay to upload an unboxing video now?”

“What does it matter? Public opinion is good. Or we can upload it later. Oh, and I was thinking of making a donation in your name—how much should we give? I was thinking about 3 billion won.”

3 billion… Well, we’re already making donations from Farming Company for tax purposes, but given the scale of this disaster, making an additional donation wouldn’t be bad.

To think I’d reach a position where I could donate to such disasters.

“Since we’re going for the angel image, let’s go big with 100 billion won.”

“….100 billion?”

“Let’s go all out with 100 billion plus 5% of the fan’s auction price as an additional donation, and promote it properly.”

I thought I might actually have a talent for spending money.