Machine God with EX-rank talent (Deus ex machina)

Although Bayets made a reluctant face when told he wanted to meet the General, he didn’t provoke them any further.

Honestly, it was unexpected.

No matter how much they had saved these people from a crisis, he hadn’t thought he would be able to meet the General so easily.

The General was a mysterious figure, with nothing known about him publicly.

Even Nova, and even Tang clan, had failed to uncover the General's identity.

Naturally, Hyun Suho had expected significant resistance.

However, surprisingly, these people were willingly guiding him to the General.

‘Does that mean their situation is that bad?’

The General's army, which Hyun Suho had seen with his own eyes, looked quite different from how they were perceived externally.

He had studied them in advance before coming to Vladivostok.

They were a powerful military organization that had won fierce territorial battles and secured autonomy over Vladivostok.

They would stop at nothing to take what they wanted and ruthlessly dealt with those who stood in their way, earning a reputation as savage villains.

Publicly, they were seen as a violent group, combining the worst traits of Vikings and the mafia—a borderline anti-state force.

But the sight of them in the city was…

‘They look more like refugees.’

They were all dressed in angular, old-fashioned military uniforms.

Outwardly, they looked impressive, but it wasn’t a practical choice.

The armor hunters wore was all made from monster materials.

Because it was made of hard shells or leather, no matter how processed, it was never as thin or comfortable as fabric.

Most of them wore mismatched tops and bottoms, and their colors weren’t unified either.

The uniforms these soldiers wore were made of ordinary cloth.

The fabric made by tailors, using reinforced materials, had a defense level as high as monster materials, but the General’s troops' uniforms had none of that.

Their weapons were simple rifles.

The bullets were special. But the guns themselves were old-fashioned models that no one used anymore.

The equipment was one thing, but the soldiers' condition was even worse.

‘Is Bayets the only real hunter here?’

There really was only Bayets.

The rest of the soldiers were mostly untrained, young, and inexperienced child soldiers.

Only the guards at the gates seemed to have been selected for their rough appearance.

Naturally, their levels were extremely low overall.

Except for Bayets, almost none of them were over level 3.

In other words, they were a ragtag group.

If it weren’t for their special bullets, they wouldn’t even dare to show up in the Red Zone.

‘It’s a wonder they managed to take over Vladivostok with this kind of force.’

Of course, they could suddenly turn on him at any moment.

They might be pretending to take him to the General, only to inject him with some strange substance and lock him up somewhere.

Hyun Suho wouldn’t fall for such a trick so easily, but he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

Although this was a clumsy and insufficient army, there was one thing he had to remain wary of—their drugs were exceptional, even Hyun Suho had to admit.

Engrossed in these thoughts, they finally arrived at City Hall.

Though it was called City Hall, it wasn’t an ordinary building.

In the ongoing civil war, it had long been transformed into a fortress to protect the lord.

In front of the City Hall stood a tightly packed, fully armed unit.

When Bayets stuck his head out of the car, the soldiers saluted crisply.

“Loyalty!”

“No issues on duty?”

“No abnormalities during our watch!”

“We’ve come to see the General. Open the way.”

“Understood.”

At last, Hyun Suho entered the City Hall.

He still didn’t let his guard down, not knowing what tricks they might have up their sleeves, but surprisingly, they quietly led him to a reception room.

Everyone else left the room, leaving only Bayets behind, who eyed Hyun Suho up and down with displeasure.

Seeing this, Hyun Suho chuckled and said:

“I don’t expect to hear a thank you or anything, but… I did save your life. Isn’t it a bit too obvious to show such hostility?”

If it weren’t for Hyun Suho, Bayets would have slowly died from heart failure caused by paralysis poison.

Of course, the clan had been planning to take them hostage and negotiate, but that would have ended terribly for them, too.

Despite this, Bayets didn’t let down his guard.

“The problem was it was too timely. Am I supposed to believe it’s just a coincidence that a great magician like you just fell from the sky?”

“As if it were a coincidence. You’re the ones who captured me and threw me in that prison.”

“What? What did you say?”

At those words, Bayets’ eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“You were in that prison too?”

“Yes. Didn’t you come into the prison earlier and check all the faces?”

“All you Asians look the same.”

“…I guess it could seem that way from your perspective.”

He didn’t expect him to say it so bluntly right in front of him.

What an ignorant bunch.

“Anyway, how were you able to survive? How did you use magic after getting hit by the special bullets?”

Ah, so that’s what bothered him?

Well, thinking about it, the only thing they could rely on were the special bullets that temporarily prevented hunters from using mana.

Even the powerful warriors of the clan must have been wary of them, which is why they didn’t dare enter through the main gate.

Now that someone who could ignore that had appeared, it made sense they were this flustered.

“How could you be fine even after getting hit by the General’s bullets?”

So the special bullets were made by the General, after all?

Indeed, with such abilities, it makes sense that they were able to seize Vladivostok with this ragtag group.

Of course, since he hadn’t actually been hit by the bullets, he was unharmed, but there was no need to flaunt that fact.

The more cards you have in negotiations, the better.

There was a good answer for situations like this.

“Well… because I’m a great magician.”

Bayets' expression twisted even more at Hyun Suho’s words, but he couldn’t say anything in response.

After a moment, the door opened, and a well-built man in a military uniform entered, accompanied by Tatiana.

‘Is that the General?’

He was a man in his late fifties, yet his whole body seemed to radiate energy.

His impressive silver hair and beard shone brightly.

He wore dark sunglasses that surprisingly suited him well.

While Hyun Suho was distracted by these trivial thoughts, the General suddenly shouted loudly.

“Colonel Bayets!”

“Yes, sir! General, sir!”

“What kind of operation is this?! How did the Tang Clan bastards catch wind of this?!”

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t expect them to have implanted a tracking device in the brain.”

“I’ve told you over and over! Those guys are a merciless group of killers. You can’t treat them like ordinary people!”

“I will correct my actions!”

Though Bayets was second-in-command, he was clearly stiff and on edge in front of the General.

As Hyun Suho curiously watched this exchange, the General turned his head toward him.

“So, you helped us out? I’ve heard a rough explanation from the lieutenant.”

At those words, Tatiana, who had been standing behind the General, made brief eye contact with Hyun Suho.

Though called a lieutenant, it seemed Tatiana held more authority than the title suggested. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be attending such an important meeting.

‘She also seems to have a relatively high level.’

Surprisingly, Tatiana seemed to be the highest level after Bayets.

She was a valuable healer class and had likely been leveling up whenever she could.

As for the General…

‘He doesn’t seem that high level.’

The energy he exuded wasn’t particularly strong.

It felt similar to Bayets.

Of course, being around level 6 wasn’t something to be taken lightly, but it seemed insufficient for battling a powerful group like the Tang Clan.

‘Maybe it’s because he’s an alchemist?’

Since it’s a support role, perhaps his energy feels weaker.

Or it could be due to the unique nature of the alchemist class.

The General spoke up.

“I’m grateful for your help, but I need to know why you’re here. You’re not going to claim you just got caught up in all of this by accident, are you?”

“Of course not, General.”

“Then I assume you can explain your situation.”

Hyun Suho had planned to adjust his approach depending on how they treated him once inside City Hall.

If they had pointed guns and threatened him, he wouldn’t have stayed polite.

However, unexpectedly, they were genuinely trying to have a calm conversation.

Of course, they had stationed soldiers around to deal with any emergencies, but that was understandable, especially since the General had shown himself.

‘I suppose…’

Thinking they were more reasonable than expected, Hyun Suho decided to speak honestly.

“The reason I came here is…”

After Hyun Suho roughly explained, the General responded in a somewhat surprised tone.

“You came to stop the distribution of Halo?”

“It’s an extremely dangerous drug. I came to investigate.”

“Hmm! So, the Korean government is involved?”

“Technically, it’s at the request of the Hunter Bureau Chief. If you go higher up, there’s likely some government involvement.”

“Hmm!”

Perhaps finding Hyun Suho’s words truthful, the General seemed to visibly relax.

The General stroked his beard for a moment, thinking, and then gestured to Tatiana.

“This kid is better at explaining than I am. Lieutenant Tatiana.”

“Yes, sir!”

“You brief him.”

“Understood.”

Tatiana saluted sharply, then turned to Hyun Suho and began to speak.

“I will explain our situation as well.”

As expected, Tatiana skillfully summarized the events for Hyun Suho to understand.

It seemed she hadn’t been brought into this meeting without reason.

Hyun Suho already knew most of the general information from interrogating a Tang Clan warrior who had been dosed with truth serum.

However, naturally, Tatiana provided even more details.

“So, Tang Clan smuggled the drug of the Drug King and sold it overseas?”

“We aren’t sure of the exact method of acquisition, but yes.”

“And Vladivostok tried to pull out once they found out?”

“It’s not just any drug; it's directly managed by the Drug King himself. We judged that it would definitely cause problems.”

They didn’t seem particularly concerned about the fact that they had been distributing drugs.

To them, it was probably no different than selling toilet paper.

Having grown up in South Korea, where public order was strict, Hyun Suho had an entirely different moral framework.

To these people, drugs were simply one of the revenue streams that provided the city with funds.

‘Is this just a means of survival in a harsh environment?’

Not that Hyun Suho had any intention of condoning the drug trade, but now wasn’t the time to argue about it.

“For all that, Tang Clan has been really persistent. Didn’t you pay them?”

“That’s not the issue. The problem is the drugs they produced…”

As Tatiana spoke, she glanced at the General and Bayets, as if she was about to say something sensitive.

And then, after lightly biting her lip, she continued.

“The core issue is that the drug, completed through General’s alchemy, is too exceptional.”

“In what way exactly?”

“In every way. Halo is the perfect drug.”

Thinking about it, even Nova couldn’t detect the drug. No wonder they thought it had to be created by someone with abilities above the rank of a regular Hunter.

He had already known it was no ordinary drug.

But hearing Tatiana’s explanation, it seemed even more remarkable.

“No matter how much you take, it’s not harmful to the body, and it doesn’t lead to addiction. On the contrary, if you take it regularly, it fills your body with vitality. While it has hallucinogenic effects, it only makes you feel happiness without any negative thoughts.”

It sounded less like a drug and more like a newly developed wonder drug.

Hyun Suho, taken aback, asked, “...Is that even possible? A drug that doesn’t cause addiction or harm to the body?”

“There’s a reason it’s called Halo.”

With those words, Hyun Suho realized why Tang Clan was so persistently targeting this place.

“If you mass-produce this, you could make an enormous amount of money.”

“Of course. Halo has already gained immense popularity not only in Russia and China but also in Korea and Japan. Even the elites are paying extra to get their hands on it.”

Drugs that were already expensive could be sold for even more.

If what Tatiana said was true, every other drug aside from Halo would become obsolete.

Hyun Suho proposed a simple solution.

“Why don’t you just sell the production method for a high price? It might be a bit of a loss, but it’s better than fighting Tang Clan.”

People are more important than money.

Losing a lucrative business would be unfortunate, but it’s better than fighting a war you can’t win.

“We think the same. However, there’s a critical issue.”

“What kind of issue?”

“Halo can only be completed using the General’s alchemy skill.”

“That... is a problem.”

In the end, the issue was simple.

Tang Clan wanted to take control of the General, an exceptional alchemist.

Since Halo was such an extraordinary drug, simply supplying the raw materials wouldn’t satisfy them.

They likely intended to imprison the General in a factory and force him to continuously produce Halo.

Naturally, the General didn’t want to become a slave.

After some thought, Hyun Suho offered the General another solution.

“If you wish, I can arrange for you to take refuge in Korea. No matter how powerful Tang Clan is, they can’t invade Korea.”

He was suggesting setting up a safe house in Wonsan City.

No matter how great Tang Clan’s influence was, they wouldn’t be able to pursue him into Korea.

Although Hyun Suho thought it was a good idea, their response was still unfavorable.

Tatiana shook her head and replied, “If we leave, this city will once again fall under the control of thugs. Vladivostok has only just become livable.”

The reason the people’s expressions were bright despite the dilapidated facilities.

It was because the General’s soldiers were governing the city properly.

Up until now, the lords who had ruled this place were too busy fulfilling their own desires.

They took people’s wealth, forced them into labor, and seized beautiful women for themselves.

Most of the citizens were poor and had no choice but to stay in the city.

Some had tried to flee from the tyranny, but most of them ended up as food for monsters.

The General’s soldiers were residents who had risen up against such oppression.

Thanks to the special bullets created through the General’s alchemy, they had been able to seize control of the city.

The reason they had agreed to manufacture drugs for Tang Clan was to revive the city.

For those who couldn’t even feed themselves, feeling guilty about drug trafficking was a luxury.

But they probably hadn’t expected that it would end up shackling them like this.

“Hmm!”

Now he had heard their situation in full.

To be honest, the matter was far bigger than he had anticipated.

When he first came to Vladivostok, he thought he just needed to blow up one or two drug factories.

“But now we’re dealing with the Drug King and Tang Clan...”

Hyun Suho sighed and asked the General.

“What is it that you want from me?”

There was no way they had revealed all these sensitive secrets for free.

No matter how cornered they were, it was too risky to share this with an outsider.

The General, without beating around the bush, answered honestly.

“Help us. Help this city.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to help? You’re not seriously asking me to fight Tang Clan, are you?”

Tang Clan was one of the most powerful factions in China.

Whether or not he could do it wasn’t the issue. If he fought them in a foreign country, it could escalate into a diplomatic problem.

The General shook his head as if to say that wasn’t the case.

And then, he said something unexpected.

“Sell me—my location and information—to Tg Clan.”

“What?”

Hyun Suho blinked in disbelief.