Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 177

By evening, the media monitoring continued, and the public’s obsession with the junket room scandal showed no signs of dying down.

"Hey, they’re saying actress A is really Lee Eun-ah? F*ck."

└ "Damn, I was really looking forward to her upcoming movie. This is f*cking ridiculous."

"One of the idols involved is from SuperBoys—it's TenTen."

└ "What the hell, TenTen? Your comeback is literally around the corner!"

"It's confirmed—Bang Ja-wook is involved. F*ck, that idiot just ruined his whole season."

└ "Sh*t, without Bang Ja-wook, who's gonna carry the Blue Dragons? There goes our autumn baseball hopes. ㅠ"

"Wait, if Hwang Ga-on is out, what happens to Prime Guild’s Hallasan Gate operation?"

└ "What do you mean? It’s f*cked."

└ (Insert meme of something crashing and burning.)

"I always thought Hwang Ga-on had bad energy around him. His face just gave me that vibe."

└ "Oh great, another one of those face-reading geniuses."

└ "But for real, sometimes you can just tell. LOL."

Among all the discussions, two topics burned the hottest.

The first was the junket rooms themselves.

"What the hell is a junket room?"

└ "Dude, just Google it. Are your fingers just for decoration?"

└ "It’s basically a VIP gambling den for high-rollers, mostly for overseas gamblers. But now people just use the term for any illegal high-stakes gambling operation."

"Damn, no matter how f*cked up things get, rich people always find a way to party."

└ "Yeah, it's always the same—the poor stay poor, the rich keep getting richer."

The second was White Gold and Baekgeum-pa.

"Apparently this junket room was run by Baekgeum-pa?"

"The place is literally called White Gold. Of course it’s them. No doubt about it."

"Baekgeum-pa is the biggest gang in Gangnam. How did they let this slip?"

└ "Maybe they ran out of money."

"This could be the government distracting us from something bigger. Look at how many people got caught—it’s a whole f*cking parade of celebrities."

└ "Wait, is there some political scandal going on right now?"

"Baekgeum-pa is smart with their VIP list. All their clients are filthy rich."

└ "Yeah, no randoms in that mix. LOL."

Jo Jin-hwi, keeping an eye on the discussions, commented:

"Everyone’s attention is locked on Baekgeum-pa and the junket rooms."

Su-ho nodded.

"Because everything else has already been exposed. The only mystery left is this. People won’t stop speculating until the prosecution makes an official statement."

"What about Son Baek-geum?"

"He’ll show up when the prosecution calls him in."

That meant he’d have to go to the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office.

This entire case had originated in Suwon, so it had to be handled there.

That way, Kim Seung-hwan could keep things under control.

Once Son Baek-geum was dragged into the spotlight, it would be the perfect moment to reveal the redevelopment cartel scandal alongside Park Gyu-min’s involvement.

Jo Jin-hwi nodded.

"Should we publish the Park Gyu-min article now?"

Su-ho smirked.

"Let’s do it."

At this point, everything had been sufficiently warmed up.

When Su-ho gave the signal, Jo Jin-hwi began publishing the article.

Breaking News: Grand Hunter Association Vice President Park Gyu-min Listed in the Junket Room Scandal!

A simple title, yet the "Exclusive" tag at the front made it irresistible clickbait.

This was, after all, the biggest ongoing scandal in the country right now.

The internet exploded.

"Holy sh*t! Another one bites the dust!""F*ck! Someone close the bar—I can’t even lift my head in shame!""Is this idiot brain-dead? He literally just held a press conference, and now he’s caught in another scandal?!""Breaking news: The Sword Saint sheds tears of grief.""Gyu-min, my guy, you’re not going far. Say your goodbyes now.""Honestly, Park Gyu-min has always been trash, but gambling? This is new.""What next? Did he do drugs too?"The usual wave of outrage.

Not surprising.

It was a cultural norm at this point—yell first, analyze later.

But the real reactions would come next.

"Wait a second... Park Gyu-min is on that list?"

└ "Why not? He’s a high-ranking figure."

└ "Don’t underestimate him. He’s a four-term National Assembly member."

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└ "Dude, just because he’s a politician doesn’t mean he’s rich. He’s not some corporate mogul. Where would he even get that kind of money? Even if his net worth is high, this place runs on cold hard cash."

"Yeah, and I heard the cheapest betting chips at this junket room were worth 20 million won each. How the f*ck is he affording that?"

└ "Probably bribery money. Use your brain. He’s been in politics for ages—there’s no way he hasn’t been pocketing cash."

"Actually, politicians are rich, but not that rich. Especially when it comes to having that much liquid cash."

└ "So what’s the deal with this guy?"

└ "No idea."

Doubt was creeping in.

Just as planned.

Seeing the conversation shift, Su-ho smiled.

But Jo Jin-hwi frowned.

"It’s moving in the right direction, but it’s still a bit weak."

Su-ho nodded.

"Because all we did was reveal a name. We need to follow up at the right moment with another article."

Exactly.

Right now, people were questioning rather than reacting emotionally.

To drive the nail in, they needed a final push.

And they had just the thing prepared.

After letting the discussion simmer for another two to three hours, Su-ho spoke.

"Alright. Time to drop the next article."

Jo Jin-hwi grinned.

"On it."

[EXCLUSIVE] Junket Room Scandal – Park Gyu-min: "I Was Just Invited for a Night."Park Gyu-min Claims: "It Was Just an Invitation from an Acquaintance."Park Gyu-min: "This is Unfair. I Was Just There to Hang Out."With the new wave of reports, public reactions went from simmering to an inferno.

"F*cking liar. At least make your excuses believable."

└ "Joke’s on you."

└ "Joke’s on all of us."

└ "God, this is so not funny."

"Isn’t White Gold supposed to be ultra-exclusive? You can’t just randomly waltz in there.""Even as Vice President, he wouldn’t have had that much pull.""Was he blackmailed?"

└ "Dumbass, you think Baekgeum-pa wastes time on blackmail? If they had leverage on him, they’d just bury him in cement—it’s cheaper."

└ ???: "Bring the saw. Bring the saw. Vice President-nim, why the hell are you doing things we didn’t ask for?"

"The way Park Gyu-min # Nоvеlight # is talking to the prosecutors, he doesn’t seem scared of Baekgeum-pa at all. If he was, he’d just shut the hell up and wait for his lawyer."

└ "That’s true. So what’s the deal?"

"Listen up, kids. The real takeaway here is that Park Gyu-min wasn’t supposed to be there. Even if he was an existing member, why suddenly frame it as an ‘invitation’? The fact that he’s not panicking means he’s the one holding the power here."

└ "Yeah, no sh*t, genius. But the real question is—why was he there?"

"This looks like VIP-level gambling. He wasn’t a regular, but they still let him into a multi-billion-won table. Now that they got caught, they’re trying to sever ties. Is Baekgeum-pa working on some big business deal?"

└ "Oh, sh*t. That theory actually makes sense."

Speculation ran wild.

And every new theory pushed things exactly where Su-ho wanted them to go.

Seeing the discussion unfold, Su-ho smirked.

"This should be enough for today’s work."

Jo Jin-hwi sighed in relief.

"So... can I finally go to sleep now? I’m seriously about to drop dead."

"Yeah, go ahead. Rest up and we’ll continue after you wake up."

Healing and Recovery weren’t miracle cures, but they were still better than any energy drink.

Still, no matter how much he spammed healing spells, nothing could replace proper sleep.

Just as Jo Jin-hwi messaged his team and collapsed into bed—

Bzzzz!

Su-ho’s phone buzzed.

The caller ID read: Kim Seung-hwan.

Answering the call, Su-ho spoke.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

"Yes, Prosecutor?"

– "Hunter-nim, pressure just came in from above."

"Pressure?"

– "Yes. Orders to transfer the entire Baekgeum-pa case—including Park Gyu-min—to Seoul."

Already?

Su-ho had expected this eventually, but he hadn’t thought it would come this fast.

Letting out a scoff, he asked:

"Whose orders?"

– "No specifics. Just that it’s ‘too much of a burden.’ The powers that be don’t want to deal with this. The people involved are too big, so they want us to toss it up the chain."

"Oh, please. Since when did the prosecution worry about a case being ‘too big’? If anything, a high-profile case like this should be a golden opportunity for them to boost their records."

– "Exactly. That’s why I called it ‘pressure.’"

"Did they say when to transfer the case?"

– "By morning."

Su-ho checked the time.

Evening.

There were still several hours before dawn.

More than enough.

"If the case moves to Seoul, we’ll lose control. That means we need to blow this up right now."

"But if you suddenly leak the story right after getting those transfer orders, it’ll look suspicious. I’ll handle the release instead."

– "No, I’ll do it."

"What?"

– "We both know this needs to come out. And I trust you, Hunter-nim. So I’ll personally drop the bomb. I’ve got my own trusted reporters."

Kim Seung-hwan paused before adding:

– "Besides, I already preemptively summoned Son Baek-geum. He’s nearly here."

"You what?"

– "I’ll take his statement on the redevelopment cartel and release the articles immediately."

"You realize this means you’re going to get some serious flak, right?"

– "Hunter-nim, we both know who’s behind this pressure. It’s Pi Seong-yeol. He’s panicking."

– "And let’s not pretend you didn’t orchestrate this whole thing just to get me into a special investigation unit once the independent counsel bill passes."

– "If I let fear stop me now, I don’t deserve to be a prosecutor."

Hearing Kim Seung-hwan’s bold declaration, Su-ho couldn’t help but smile.

"Damn, Prosecutor. You’re more of a ‘man’s man’ than I expected."

– "What can I say? I was born for this sh*t. A true gambler at heart."

"Alright then. Do your thing. I’ll be ready on my end."

The call ended.

Su-ho glanced at the time, then turned to the bed where Jo Jin-hwi lay passed out.

"Reporter-nim?"

"......"

"Reporter-nim?"

"Hngh... huh... wha—?"

"Kim Prosecutor just called. Pressure came in from above, so we’re dropping the redevelopment scandal as soon as Son Baek-geum arrives."

Jo Jin-hwi, eyes bloodshot, stared at Su-ho—then at the clock.

"...Right now?"

"Right now."

"F*ck."

He buried his face in his hands.

"So much for sleep... fine. I’ll just nap in front of my laptop."

"Good call. Meanwhile, I’m heading to Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office—just in case."

"Haa... got it."

As Su-ho turned to leave, he paused.

Raising a hand, he cast another healing spell.

A warm golden glow enveloped Jo Jin-hwi once again.