A Korean S-rank, presumed to be a defensive-type Hunter.
China already had one S-rank whose body was as tough and resilient as a tortoise, but honestly, having another powerful Hunter was hardly a bad thing.
"If the proposal succeeds, perhaps I'll assign him one of the neglected regions."
After Russia, China was one of the countries with relatively few S-rank Hunters compared to the sheer size of its territory.
Within its borders were so-called "dead zones"—monster-infested wastelands that had effectively been abandoned. With China's current number of S-rank Hunters, resolving such problems on their own was difficult.
So accepting a suitably talented naturalized Hunter would certainly be beneficial.
"I-I understand. I'll arrange both the car and the food exactly as you instructed."
Deeply impressed by Kim Giryeo's performance, Zhan had decided to offer him special naturalization.
Still, even if the proposal failed, it would not change much.
No matter how impressive the Korean's abilities might be, the winner of this tournament had already been decided.
"Defensive-type Hunters are relatively slow, and their attacks lack sharpness. That's their chronic weakness."
If the special match necklace was secretly adjusted to alter its durability, Zhan could afford to take several direct hits from Kim Giryeo.
And with the Chinese government supporting him, that was hardly the only measure available.
"To wear him down... Before the final match, I'll make sure he faces S-rank opponents one after another."
The announcement that matchups would be determined by lottery had been a lie.
The better Kim Giryeo performed, the more spectacular China's future hero would look when he eventually defeated him.
That Korean was the perfect stepping stone for elevating China's prestige.
With complete confidence and not the slightest hint of concern, Zhan prepared to leave and meet Kim Giryeo.
BANG!
"Hm?"
But at that very moment, someone suddenly burst into the room, throwing the door open as though trying to tear it from its hinges.
Sweat streamed down his face, and his complexion was as pale as a corpse left outside in winter.
He was a senior Awakened member of the Unbeaten Guild.
"Z-Zhan! I... I have something urgent to report...!"
He was one of Zhan's subordinates.
But seeing the man barge in with such urgency naturally made Zhan wonder what could possibly have happened.
What could be serious enough to make him rush in like this?
"I-I contacted the Korean side at the airport, like you said, to arrange the meal, and that—that yellow-haired lunatic..."
"What about Kim Giryeo?"
"He left the arena! There's nobody in the waiting room!"
Hmm?
Zhan and the Chinese officials gathered in the hotel room all looked bewildered.
This was supposed to be the official lunch break arranged by the event organizers.
Yet when they went to look for Kim Giryeo, he was nowhere to be found in the waiting area.
In other words...
He had left?
"Did he go somewhere else to eat because he didn't like the lunch we prepared?"
"Well, we did cut the budget on that side..."
Mutter, mutter.
For a moment, the event organizers exchanged uncertain glances.
However, the venue had deliberately been built far from the city center for safety reasons.
Finding an outside restaurant from there would take quite some time.
"Then have you figured out which restaurant Kim Giryeo went to...?"
All sorts of possibilities passed through their minds.
"That's not it!"
The pale-faced subordinate widened his eyes and shouted again.
"It looks like he's seriously planning to abandon the tournament and leave the country! His phone is turned off, and more importantly, a citizen in Tianjin witnessed a Korean using a dungeon artifact to teleport!"
At those words, the Chinese officials all shot to their feet.
"Abandon the tournament?"
"Did you say he's giving up?"
"You mean he's forfeiting all of his remaining matches?"
It was an absurd situation.
There was no penalty for withdrawing from the tournament.
After all, the organizers had gone so far as to offer generous rewards just to entice participants into coming. Charging a cancellation fee on top of that would have been ridiculous.
Even so...
Things were different when the participant forfeiting was an S-rank Hunter.
"What the hell is he thinking?!"
One of the Yellow Dragon Battle judges shouted furiously, veins bulging in disbelief.
This tournament offered considerable prize money and increasingly valuable rewards depending on final placement.
And since Kim Giryeo was an S-rank Hunter, all he needed to do was defeat a few A-ranks and he could easily secure a substantial prize.
Of course, rewards from the lower placements were less valuable than a [Rare Item Box].
So, strictly speaking, if one calculated purely in terms of profit per hour, winning a single match and then immediately forfeiting might actually be more efficient.
But still!
How could an S-rank Hunter behave like this?
How could someone at that level possibly act so shamelessly?
"Is he really that desperate to hide his abilities? Ha! That's it. He's refusing to reveal even a single one of his skills!"
No one in the room could have known the truth.
In reality, the blond man possessed such a pitifully shallow foundation that one might almost feel sorry for him as a fake S-rank.
His entire strategy had consisted of enduring attacks like before.
Even the [Sacred Tree Seedling] had limits. Once it accumulated a certain amount of damage, its protective effect would immediately disappear.
The instant news spread that Kim Giryeo had left the arena, the entire room descended into chaos.
"Enough."
And yet, one person remained calm.
"Everyone, settle down."
Zhan, China's representative Hunter, continued speaking with the same relaxed smile he always wore.
"Well, considering Zhan is standing firmly in the Yellow Dragon Battle, I suppose I can understand why he would flee in fear."
"Ha, ha... That may be true, but..."
"Still, this is hardly proper behavior. We rarely get opportunities to meet one another on occasions like this, and he simply leaves without a word... Isn't that rather heartless?"
What followed was a chilling declaration spoken by a powerful man wearing a warm expression.
"Let's prevent him from leaving the country for now."
Zhan's subordinates stared at him in surprise.
But his decision did not change.
"If we take measures to stop him from leaving China, he'll have nowhere else to go."
"Ah...!"
"Once he's trapped here, we only need to bring him back to the arena somehow. Arrange the afternoon A-rank matches as quickly as possible."
"Understood!"
"Use my name if necessary. Start immediately."
For a foreigner, Kim Giryeo had seemed like a fairly capable Awakened.
And yet he had somehow created such a ridiculous situation.
Even after hearing that one of the participants had fled, Zhan did not panic.
As China's representative Hunter, practically a national symbol, he wielded tremendous influence within the country.
And when the success of an international event was at stake, he possessed enough authority to pull off something as extraordinary as shutting down every airport and port in Tianjin with a single phone call.
"Z-Zhan..."
But then—
What was this?
The face of the Awakened who had contacted the National Bureau of Public Security on Zhan's orders gradually drained of all color.
He looked almost corpse-like.
"That's..."
His next report came in a trembling voice.
"They just confirmed it on their end... Kim Giryeo didn't use the regular airport facilities..."
"Hmm?"
"He used Kang Changho's private jet... Apparently, he departed through the Business Aviation Center..."
The Business Aviation Center was a newly constructed facility designed specifically for private aircraft owned by corporate executives and individuals of comparable wealth.
Since its primary users were VIPs whose assets existed on a completely different scale from ordinary citizens, it differed greatly from standard airport facilities in several respects.
One of its greatest advantages was the speed of its customs and immigration procedures.
Unlike regular passengers, who often had to arrive three hours in advance for screening, travelers using the Business Aviation Center could complete the entire departure process in as little as ten minutes.
"Ah, right. That..."
Zhan gave a small exclamation and tapped his forehead.
After several seconds of silence, he spoke again.
"...Wait."
The more carefully he considered what his subordinate had just said, the stranger something seemed.
"Did you just say 'Kang Changho's private jet'?"
"Y-Yes."
"...Then does that mean Kang Changho left China too?"
Now that he thought about it, they had said earlier that the Korean waiting room had been empty.
Wait.
"Let me make sure I understand. Are you saying both Kim Giryeo and Kang Changho left the country? That both of them withdrew from the tournament at the same time?"
Under Zhan's increasingly urgent questioning, the lower-ranking Hunter finally confirmed the truth, sweat pouring down his face.
"Yes..."
And so, the shocking truth was finally revealed.
That's right.
From the very beginning, what Kang Changho wanted from this tournament was a [Rare Item Box].
What I want is something completely different.
That particular item is practically essential for illegal black-market trading, so it rarely appears for sale.
A magic bag containing a hidden spatial compartment was as indispensable to shady merchants as a shower.
We probably won't meet during the tournament... but...
That was why, when Kang Changho first entered China, he had told Kim Giryeo that there was little chance the two of them would face one another.
Why?
Because an event like this would never match its strongest participants against one another in the opening round.
The organizers would naturally want to keep the S-rank Hunters visible for as long as possible.
From the very beginning, Kang Changho had planned to withdraw after the first round.
After using [Dragon's Eye] to observe the participants and determining that there were no noteworthy opponents in the IHT arena, he immediately began preparing to leave.
In fact, Kang Changho had expected to encounter resistance at this stage.
But contrary to his concerns, the middle-aged Chinese official responsible for customs processing swiftly allowed them through.
Oh my, what's all this about...
Koreans really are impatient. They hate waiting.
But since everything was handled so quickly, I'm personally quite grateful.
These trivial entertainment events for Awakened people have nothing to do with ordinary citizens anyway.
And right in front of me, a VIP is casually waving around a tip worth thousands of yuan.
Anyway.
"..."
A devastating silence followed.
This entire disaster had occurred because China had never imagined that an S-rank Hunter might participate for barely an hour, take only the basic rewards, and then simply run away.
They had never prepared for such a possibility.
After finally understanding what had happened, Zhan opened his mouth.
"These damn Korean b*stards—how can people like this be so utterly low————!"
Profanities poured from his twisted face, a complete contrast to the polished, composed expression he had worn only moments earlier.
But it was already too late.
The plane had taken off.
By the time South Korea's S-rank Hunters returned home, Zhan attempted to hold them accountable for ruining the event.
It was somewhat late for that, though.
So you're saying that because I left the tournament without permission, you won't give me the item box?
China had no desire to hand the runaway offenders the rewards they wanted.
Unfortunately, once Zhan's blood pressure had risen that far, there was little chance of it returning to normal within the week.
When China attempted to pressure them, Korea's S-rank Hunter Kang Changho sent a response through his interpreter.
Fine.
If you don't want to give it to us, then don't.
We haven't violated a single rule you established for this event, but if that's your decision, I suppose we'll have to accept it.
"---..."
Of course, starting from the second IHT, China will probably earn a reputation as a ruthless country that invents new rules after the fact and withholds promised rewards without prior notice.
But what can we do?
"---..."
You want it.
"---..."
It's fine.
Do whatever you want.
We don't mind not receiving the item box.
And so, China's first superpower tournament descended into an unprecedented crisis.
For the first time since his Awakening, Zhan took three days of sick leave.