Suho’s special recruitment as a Grade 5 civil servant had been in the works for a while, but it happened much faster than anyone expected.

    And for good reason.

    After the thank-you award ceremony, three installments of articles were uploaded, causing the already growing view counts to explode.

    "Where is Justice in Yeongdeungpo? Part 1."

    Views: 7,488,486

    "Hunter Ahn Suho Appears in Yeongdeungpo! Part 2."

    Views: 7,345,845

    "The Changshik Gang and Their Victims. Part 3."

    Views: 6,812,877

    The numbers were insane.

    The view count for Part 1, which had barely hit 500,000 initially, was now averaging over 7 million.

    Jo Jin-hwi looked at the explosive stats with a satisfied smile.@@@@

    “This is why I do journalism.”

    View counts are my power.

    Comments are my power!

    The rise in viewership was due to several factors.

    For example, articles from other reporters who attended the ceremony played a role.

    But the biggest driver was undoubtedly the addition of one keyword that had been missing in Part 1: Ahn Suho.

    Jo Jin-hwi scrolled through the comments, checking them one by one.

    "Wow... The only light to appear in the forsaken Yeongdeungpo..."

    "I always believed in you, Sword God."

    "Absolutely badass. How can anyone even do that?"

    "But isn’t it kind of hilarious? Why is a private citizen doing what the police, prosecutors, or Hunter Association should be doing?"

    "Isn’t Nexus behind this?"

    └ "Why would a guild waste their time ordering someone to beat up gangsters? Use your brain."

    "I caught a glimpse of him at the ceremony. The man is ridiculously handsome."

    "I’d love to be cut by the Sword God just once."

    "Mom! When I grow up, I want to be the Sword God!"

    There was no shortage of praise.

    Of course, not all the comments were positive.

    "Isn’t this just vigilante justice?"

    "He’s not a cop or a judge. Isn’t this going to get him in trouble if someone files a complaint?"

    "Why is he acting all high and mighty? Ahn Suho seems like a bit of an attention seeker, don’t you think?"

    Some raised valid concerns.

    Others, however, simply disguised their insults as criticisms.

    Whenever such comments appeared, Suho’s supporters were quick to retaliate:

    "Isn’t this just vigilante justice?"

    └ "And? What’s your point?"

    └ "At least he’s doing something while you’re sitting in your room scratching your belly and hammering away on your keyboard."

    └ "What can you do?"

    └ "So what’s your solution?"

    "He’s not a cop or a judge. Isn’t this going to get him in trouble?"

    └ "Are you dumb? Do you really think the gangsters are going to make Suho’s life hard? Or will it be the other way around?"

    └ "Maybe the one with the problem isn’t Suho’s head but yours."

    "Nexus: Blessings on Hunter Ahn Suho’s Path.""Nexus: A Heartfelt Farewell with Ahn Suho!""Nexus: Doing What Needed to Be Done.""Nexus: We Never Even Took an Advance Payment.""Accusations of Contract Breach? Baseless, Nexus Official Statement.""Wow... Nexus delivers once again.""As expected of the best!""5252, I always believed in you!""From now on, the industry’s number one is ‘Nexus.’""Just call them ‘Golden Nexus.’""Pure brilliance.""It couldn’t have been an easy decision. How did they so coolly terminate the contract? Even if they cared about public opinion, long-term gains usually matter more than short-term image."

    The sudden rise of Nexus inevitably cast a dark shadow over their competitors, Hexagon and Prime, who held the industry’s top two positions.

    "Tsk tsk, compared to Nexus, Hexagon and Prime are...""No need to even mention them. They’re just money-hungry exploitative guilds.""Aren’t they notorious for overworking their Hunters and pulling power trips?"

    └ "Don’t you remember that incident? They delayed giving potions to a struggling Hunter, and he ended up dying in a gate."

    └ "That’s not all. How about the Mage who collapsed from mana depletion because they forced him to keep pushing?"

    └ "Amazing, Hexagon. Just pure garbage."

    └ "Apologize to literal garbage for comparing it to Hexagon!"

    └ "Trash, I’m sorry! Humanity apologizes to you!"

    The officials at Hexagon and Prime quietly fumed as they read these comments. However, they couldn’t refute them. Every accusation was based on real incidents, and suing for defamation of character over factual statements wasn’t an option.

    Nexus followed up with an interview with their CEO, Bae Dong-hyuk, strategically releasing it as the next step in their PR campaign.

    Q: "Was the sudden termination of Ahn Suho’s contract influenced by public opinion?"

    A: "No, not at all. This was something we had discussed with Hunter Ahn Suho from the start. His dream was to join Daehyeonhyup. Until the annual recruitment process at the end of the year, he wanted to gain practical experience wherever conditions were right, and our guild happened to fit the bill."

    Q: "Do you have any regrets?"

    A: "It would be a lie to say we don’t. But we believe that Hunter Ahn Suho can contribute far more to humanity by working at a national institution like Daehyeonhyup than he could with us at Nexus."

    The interview was standard but exuded humility and selflessness, the type of message the general public loves.

    People cheered once again, and CEO Bae Dong-hyuk earned nicknames like "Father" and "Light" for his inspiring remarks.

    To seal the deal, Nexus released one final piece—a report on their "Yeongdeungpo Relief Efforts." This move cemented their new title as the "Nation’s Favorite Guild."

    Watching the flood of comments and soaring follower counts, Jo Jin-hwi remarked, “The response over the past few days has been incredible.”

    “It’s all thanks to you, journalist Jo.”

    “Come on now, all I did was add some seasoning. The foundation was all provided by you, Pro Ahn.”

    “You’re amazing, Team Leader!”

    At Suho’s safe house in Cheongdam-dong, the atmosphere was cozy.

    The next day, Suho would officially start his first day at Daehyeonhyup. To celebrate, he invited Jo Jin-hwi over for a small afterparty.

    The Banshees had already met earlier to reconnect, but this gathering had a special purpose: to formally announce Nam Hae-won’s induction into the team.

    Nam Hae-won’s joining was a natural outcome of their relief efforts and aligned perfectly with Suho’s goals.

    From now on, Suho wasn’t just "Mr. Suho" or "Hunter Ahn Suho." He was Team Leader Suho.

    Jo Jin-hwi asked, “So, does this mean the victims’ treatments will soon be completed?”

    “Yes, according to the latest data from Nexus, it looks that way. And it’s all thanks to Hae-won’s Hammer 2,” Suho replied.

    “Haha, thank you,” Hae-won said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment at the praise.

    Nam Hae-won was still living in the Cheongdam safe house and planned to stay there indefinitely. He wasn’t the only one; other Banshees were welcome to live there, but only Seo Gi-won accepted the offer.

    Seo Gi-won, meanwhile, was busy leveling up and undergoing rigorous training at Nexus Academy.

    “Looks like we can wrap up the special report with Part 4, focusing on the victims’ recovery,” Jo Jin-hwi said with a smile. “You’ve done an incredible job. Let’s toast to that.”

    “Sounds good to me.”

    “Here’s to your first day tomorrow. Don’t forget about us when you’re there!”

    “Haha, of course not. We’re partners for life.”

    Clink!

    The sound of their glasses meeting rang clearly in the room.

    The next day, as planned, Suho officially started his first day at Daehyeonhyup.