On the outskirts of Beijing, there was a restaurant that was deserted with visitors. The tables seemed empty, and the chairs were not occupied. A musty smell wafted through the room. The fans hanging on the ceilings of the sky seemed to spin, even though they weren't blowing wind.
In this restaurant, there were only three customers sitting at the very end of the table.
One of them was an old man in his 40s with a dapper appearance, in a blue suit complete with a black tie. His white hair was slicked to the back. He had a distinctly European face.
"I hope this meeting is not a waste of time," said the old man.
Across the worn out table was an oriental woman wearing an elegant green dress. Her face was white like pearls with short black hair. Her expression looked displeased. "Why do we have to eat at this place? Can you find a worse place?" the woman said sarcastically.
"Miss Wang and Mr Leonid, I know you don't like this kind of place. But I think local restaurants are far away from the media's eyes." The person who mediated between the two of them was Park Jisung, a young man with a military shortcut hair.
Although they were from different nations, the three of them could communicate well. Of course, not all of them could master other people's languages. Only Park Jisung could speak three languages.
"Mister Jisung, tell me what you need to make me fly from Moscow to this small restaurant. Don't tell me you want to set me up with this woman?"
Leonid glanced at the beautiful woman across the table with a predatory look. Meanwhile, Wang Mei, who felt herself being looked at with a perverted gaze, was displeased.
"I don't care who this old man is. Tell him I will slit his throat if he can't stop staring at me," said Wang Mei.
"What is this woman saying, Mister Park? Does he want to marry me?"
Jisung, as the mediator in this meeting, had to make wise decisions. "Miss Wang said you reminded her of her deceased father."
After hearing Park Jisung's answer, Leonid nodded.
"As you know, when the Dungeon first landed on Earth, the entire country had a dungeon break. Except for one dungeon which was on the border of North Korea, Russia, and China." Jisung said in two languages alternately, so that both of them understood.
"Then?" Wang Mei asked in a skeptical tone. Her index finger twirled in her hair.
"Sooner or later, there will be a dungeon break. Considering that lately the frequency of dungeon breaks is increasing in every country. It's good for us to do a Clearance in the Dungeon that is on the border of our country."
After the first dungeon break happened, the entire world was safe again. However, it did not last long. While every country was trying to recover, some Dungeons were still releasing hundreds of monsters.
In Germany, there was a dungeon break for the second time. Over 10,000 people died. This number was smaller than before. Then, in Australia, there were seven Dungeons break, the two of them happened at the same time.
To prevent a dungeon break from occurring again, it was necessary to take action to reduce the number of monsters in the Dungeon.
That was Clearance.
If the raid was to enter a Dungeon to look for Power Crystals, then Clearance focused more on destroying monsters, both those that come out and those inside.
Few Hunters were willing to do the Clearance because it brought no profit. Unless they got a direct mission from the government.
Of course, Wang Mei and Leonid, as the leaders of a fairly large Guild in their countries, rejected Park Jisung's offer. There was nothing to gain from this. Even if they were rewarded with large sums of money. If a lot of Hunters were killed in the Clearance, they would have to spend more money to recruit Hunters.
"Your idea is very noble, Mr Park Jisung, but the Clearance needs to deploy many Hunters. The more people that are deployed, the more likely our members will be killed," Leonid said.
The same response was said by Wang Mei. "I will be frank, Mr Park Jisung. Our guild has no time for that. We are currently focused on competing for the remaining 8 Dungeons. For humanity's issues, it is better to leave it to the government." The woman then folded her arms and leaned back in the chair.
Humans adapted quickly. In the past three months, there had been a change in the view of the Dungeon. Now, the Dungeon was not seen as a den of monsters, but a gold mine.
Many Hunters entered the Dungeon, but they ended up dead. To reduce the death rate, the government cooperated with the guild.
The government would give a Guild the exclusive right to manage Dungeons on the condition that they would take the inexperienced Hunters and train them in combat. The guild that signed the contract had the right to use the resources in the Dungeon, with a note they had to give some of the loot of Power Crystals to the government.
However, Park Jisung was the Military Commander, as well as the sole Guild leader in North Korea. He must have known about this.
"I didn't say this was for the benefit of mankind, but for the three of us."
Instantly, the eyebrows of the two Guild leaders arched. They were intrigued by Park Jisung's plan. As the proverb said, nothing was free in this world.
After seeing Wang Mei and Leonid's reactions, Park Jisung smiled.
"Okay, can you tell me the details, Mr Park Jisung?" Leonid said.
"I'm sure you already know that the Dungeons landed on the territory of a country will become the property of that country. However, it's a little different from those on the border."
Wang Mei's eyes stared intently at Park Jisung. "Since the Dungeon hasn't been claimed yet, it doesn't belong to anyone."
Park Jisung snapped his fingers. Meanwhile, Leonid only arched an eyebrow. He didn't understand what the two of them were saying, because Jisung had not yet spoken in Russian.
"Since China is currently busy managing 10 Dungeons and Russia 8 Dungeons, North Korea will claim the Dungeon," Jisung explained in two languages.
The two great Guild leaders nodded at Park Jisung's explanation. They both knew that North Korea had no Dungeons at all.
The North Korean government was aware that there was great potential stored in the Dungeon. Thus, North Korea wanted to claim the Dungeon on the tripoint border.
However, there were one problem faced by North Korea.
The number who experienced an awakening was still small. Based on the latest survey results, the areas that experienced a lot of awakening were those around the dungeon. Researchers theorize that awakening had something to do with the dungeon.
Thus, North Korea needed the help of these two great guild masters to carry out the Raid, without being discovered by the two higher up of the neighbouring countries.
"We know where this conversation is going. You will definitely need our help, right? So what do we get?" Leonid smiled as he rubbed his hands together.
"I, Park Jisung, as the representative of North Korea, will allow the two guilds to raid as much as they want on our Dungeon. Of course, you should give up 25% of the profits from mining the Power Crystal."
After hearing Park Jisung's offer, Wang Mei and Leonid's lips broke into a wide smile. The rations they had to give were lesser than usual.
Although it was not comparable to having the sole right of the dungeon, it was still a tempting offer.
With a bright face, Wang Mei said, "As long as you don't involve me in politics, it's not a problem. I, the Nine Sky Guild Master, accept this offer."
Then followed by Leonid. "Hm, it's interesting to have an exclusive raid right in another country's Dungeon. The Siberian Knights Guild accepts the offer."
Park Jisung squeezed the glass tightly. It almost broke if he didn't hold back himself.
"Alright, let's discuss the plan of the Dungeon Clearance at the China–North Korea–Russia tripoint."