<Episode 105>
The whole story went like this.
I went through the list of new products I could purchase with my available points dozens of times, but none of them seemed suitable.
More than anything, the conditions were demanding.
We needed to heal thousands of hunters, so it had to be easy to mass-produce. It also had to be delivered all across the country, so it couldn’t spoil easily.
“And as a result…”
“It ended up being Gongjindan?”
Ari shook her head as if she couldn’t believe this reality.
“…Just hearing the name makes it sound like it tastes bad.”
“If you think of it as medicine, it’s not so bad. We need to heal the hunters quickly and reopen the shop, right?”
I soothed Ari and stood up.
That very morning, I’d heard that a new machine had been installed at the Side Effect Treatment Center.
“Come on, should we get moving? The other staff has already arrived at the center.”
“The other… staff?”
In front of the treatment center were several familiar faces gathered together.
The managers of Branches No. 2 and No. 3, and Kim Chasa.
“Mr. Kim Chasa, it’s been a while!”
“It has been a while.”
“Please take good care of us today. Of course, I’ll be paying plenty of points too, so don’t worry!”
After promising generous wages, I greeted Gong Juwon and Suchan in turn.
“What? Jung Haneul! Am I invisible or something?”
“Gong Juhee. Your headband is flashy as ever today.”
“…That’s a compliment, right? Thanks.”
After joking with Juhee, who had come straight from clearing a gate, I entered the center.
“Wow!”
The moment we stepped inside, the newcomers’ jaws dropped.
Shiny stainless-steel kitchen facilities.
A spacious dining hall capable of serving hundreds of people at once.
And even a neatly designed order counter.
“What is this place? It’s practically a hotel lounge.”
“Seriously. The Director said it was okay to get our hopes up, but…”
Juhee discreetly pulled out her phone and began filming the interior.
Suchan, whose eyes were sparkling, asked me,
“This place is amazing! This is where the side-effect treatment items are produced, right?”
“That’s right. Though production has been temporarily halted because we need to make something even more urgent.”
I lightly clapped my hands to gather everyone’s attention.
“Alright, save the admiration for later and come inside first. We’ve got a long way to go!”
I led everyone to the production room.
Now we had to manufacture the miracle medicine that would end the hunters’ addiction crisis.
“First, that large mixer over there will handle the ingredient blending. It’s a brand-new machine we received this morning. Once the machine produces the dough, all we have to do is shape it into balls. Easy, right?”
“…There’s no machine that shapes them for us, is there?”
Suchan cautiously raised his hand.
Even the great ace seemed intimidated when faced with a mountain of dough.
“Unfortunately not. Besides, for the special effect to apply, it has to pass through our hands at least once anyway.”
Stretching his shoulders, Gong Juwon tilted his head.
“By the way, how many do we need to make per day?”
“Hmm. The more the better, but… shouldn’t we make at least ten thousand? If we want to finish as quickly as possible.”
The Director had given me an approximate number of hunters requiring treatment.
There were currently around 300,000 awakened individuals in South Korea.
Among them, approximately 30,000 D-rank-or-higher hunters relied on supplements.
‘Not all of them will be addicted… but we still need to put out the immediate fire.’
Hearing that, Gong Juwon shuddered in horror.
“Ten… ten thousand by hand? Don’t tell me we’re making all of those ourselves?”
“Come on, sis… right?”
I shook my head and wagged my finger.
There was no way I’d brought everyone to this huge center just to work with a mere eight employees.
“Of course I called reinforcements. You can look forward to it.”
I raised my voice toward the outside.
“Alright, everyone, come in!”
Rattle!
The center’s massive double doors swung open, and dozens of people poured in.
Most were rookie hunters who had only recently awakened or had just entered training camp.
They weren’t ready for combat deployment yet, but their physical stamina was exceptional.
In other words, they were perfectly suited for simple labor.
Wearing aprons, headscarves, and latex gloves, the hunters stood before me in perfect formation like soldiers.
“…Who are those people?”
“Are they from some special forces unit?”
“They must be newly trained hunters. I was like that back when I was a trainee.”
Juhee murmured nostalgically.
Looking at my reliable reinforcements, I began assigning tasks.
“The woman standing in front. And the gentleman behind them. Ah, the person next to him too. Could you step forward for a moment?”
Using my Talent Detection Skill, I carefully selected those with particularly good dexterity.
Then I used the employee recruitment tickets I’d saved and hired them as temporary employees.
“You’ll be making Gongjindan alongside us.”
Then I turned toward the rest.
“The remaining half of you will handle packaging, and the other half will take care of deliveries!”
“Yes, ma’am! Understood!”
Everyone shouted enthusiastically and dispersed to their assigned positions.
The moment I flipped the switch, the enormous mixer began turning with the roar of a heavy motor.
“Alright then, let’s begin!”
The full-scale production of Gongjindan had begun.
***
“Bed 17 is having a major seizure! Vitals are dropping!”
“Administer a sedative immediately!”
“We already did! It’s not working at all, Chief!”
The Medical Bureau was in complete chaos.
Screams, machine alarms, and the frantic shouts of medical personnel assaulted the ears.
Hunters suffering from acute drug addiction filled every bed, while new patients continued pouring in from outside without end.
‘Damn it. There’s no end to this.’
Gong Jaehyuk, head of the Medical Bureau, wiped away his cold sweat and clenched his teeth.
The one fortunate thing amidst all this misfortune was that they had quickly identified the causative substance.
The Nutrafil ingredient analysis report left behind by Hunter Jung Haneul.
Without that data, the medical staff would still be wasting precious golden hours trying to determine the cause.
But knowing the cause didn’t mean having a solution.
“W-water! I’m thirsty! It feels like my throat is burning up…!”
Healing skills, once considered universal solutions, were completely useless.
In the end, the medical staff had been forced to rely on old-fashioned methods like stomach pumping and dialysis.
But even those approaches had reached the limits of manpower.
There were simply too many incoming patients.
“What about reinforcements? Are they still not here?”
“We keep requesting assistance, but other hospitals are dealing with similar situations. The medical staff from the Hunter Association are tied up as well… It doesn’t look easy.”
“…Fine. Understood.”
Gong Jaehyuk let out a deep sigh and leaned against a metal cabinet.
For the first time in a long while, he felt powerless.
Powerless because there was nothing he could do.
Then…
Ding.
The cheerful sound of an elevator arriving echoed through the chaotic lobby.
The moment the doors opened, people pushing carts piled high with boxes poured out.
“Hello! We’re delivering the first batch of completed Gongjindan. Can we leave them here?”
Without hesitation, they began stacking boxes in one corner of the hallway.
Gong Jaehyuk pushed through the crowd of patients and hurried toward them.
“What is this?”
“Medicine produced by the center. We brought a thousand units first as an emergency shipment.”
When he opened the box on top, individually wrapped golden pills inside luxurious packaging were revealed.
A subtle herbal fragrance spread through the air.
‘So this is… the new item that SS-rank production hunter created?’
Ordinarily, Gong Jaehyuk would have exploded in protest.
Feeding an unidentified food-shaped item to critically ill patients?
It would have been unthinkable.
But this was no time to be picky.
‘The effects have already been verified. If I hesitate now, their condition will only worsen.’
“Everyone, start distributing the items from these boxes immediately! Give one to each patient!”
“Chief? But this is…”
“I’ll take responsibility! Do it now!”
Gong Jaehyuk personally carried boxes and helped distribute the items.
At his sharp command, the medical staff moved into action.
He rushed toward Patient Number 17, who was in the most critical condition.
Forcing open the mouth of the convulsing patient foaming at the mouth, he shoved the pill inside.
‘Please… please let this work.’
He rubbed the patient’s throat, praying that the medicine would go down.
Gulp.
The Adam’s apple moved.
And three seconds later…
“……!”
Color instantly returned to the face of the patient who had looked as though death itself was consuming him.
The violent convulsions stopped completely.
The ragged breathing calmed as though it had all been a lie.
“V-vitals have returned to normal range! Oxygen saturation is at 99 percent!”
“Spontaneous breathing has resumed!”
At the nurse’s shout, Gong Jaehyuk quickly lifted the patient’s eyelid.
When he shone a penlight into the eye, the pupil contracted in response to the light.
A perfectly normal reaction.
“Ha…”
Gong Jaehyuk stared blankly at the empty wrapper left in his hand.
A shiver ran down his spine.
‘So this… is what an SS-rank production class hunter is capable of.’
“New patient incoming! We need assistance!”
Still immersed in awe, Gong Jaehyuk abruptly raised his head.
Now that he had witnessed the effect with his own eyes, there was no longer any time for hesitation.
He immediately ran toward the next patient.
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