Chapter 97 – Insurance Fraud (3)
The next morning.
As I headed back to the hospital with Yeriel, I calmly organized my thoughts.
I still don’t know what the truth Yeriel is talking about is, but there is one unchanging fact.
This incident is by no means a premeditated crime.
Even if it is a crime, it is very likely that it was an accidental crime.
If it had been a premeditated crime, the deceased Song Joong-il’s colleagues would not have been so injured, and the body itself may not have been found at all.
The dungeon that collapses as soon as the clearing is completed is the perfect place for a perfect crime.
Entering the hospital in a nervous mood, I participated in the donation delivery event with Yeriel.
It was a very sudden event, but no one suspected it because this was what Yeriel usually did.
After meeting the children still in the hospital, we faced the Taesan Guild members again.
Yeriel smiled warmly and greeted them with surprised faces.
“Hello.”
“Yeriel?”
“You worked really hard on the last attack. But, it seems that there is something you haven’t told the West yet.”
“Sir, it’s the West… “
“You’re running out of honey.”
The Taesan guild members muttered in bewildered voices even while they were very nervous.
I closed my eyes feeling like everything was over.
As Alice looked at the distant mountains, Yeriel’s voice continued.
The Taesan guild members tried to take them off, but their faces showed no confidence.
“The fact that I haven’t told you yet… Is there anything more to explain?”
“Of course. Even if there was a grade measurement error, it would have been easy to clear a dungeon that was only one grade higher, right?”
“That’s true. In the last dungeon, there were a lot of unexpected, tricky monsters…”
It is true that the monsters actually appeared in the dungeon.
It is a fact confirmed through the booty they brought.
However, Yeriel pointed out a different place.
“Aren’t there too many reported numbers? According to the report, it wouldn’t be strange if you were really annihilated, let alone attack. The rating would have come out much higher.”
“…”
Now, the guild members only looked at each other.
If I had been inquiring like this, I would have been cursed at once…
Yeriel is an exception.
The treatment itself is completely different, perhaps because it is a hunter who has risen to the top.
She comforted her opponent at the right time.
“I already know that it was an accident. Could you please tell me the truth?”
“Can I really talk to you?”
“If my predictions are correct, nothing will harm you.”
“…”
The team members who exchanged glances eagerly nodded very slowly.
Soon after, the team leader meekly admitted the lie.
“Certainly… We misreported something.”
“What specifically?”
“First, the number of monsters that appeared. It’s true that tricky monsters appeared, but in fact, there weren’t that many.”
“…”
Even if they cheated on the number of monsters that appeared, it wouldn’t have been to get the reward money.
The video data was lost anyway, and the loot was not properly retrieved, so the reward was not received as much.
Yeriel asked as if encouraging them, not at all surprised.
“Why did you inflate the number of monsters that appear?”
“That, that’s…”
“If you can’t tell, I’ll tell you.”
In this case, it is best to explain in chronological order.
In a calm voice like Yeriel, he began to reason.
“I looked at the strategy report, and I didn’t feel any discomfort at all from entering the dungeon to the first engagement. The problem started after that.”
Realizing that there was an error in the preliminary scouting results, the guild members decided to continue the attack without hesitation.
It was equally dangerous to go back blindly, and the dungeons at the top of the 1st grade were still within the expected range.
However, the deceased, Song Joong-il, showed considerable anxiety.
As he was married and had a child, he naturally had no choice but to save himself.
The problem arose in the next engagement.
“It is the basic of basics not to be surrounded during a battle with monsters. So, hunters proceed with the attack based on the areas that have already been secured.”
“… You’re right.”
“Even if high-level monsters appear, you can survive if you stay in formation. But Song Joong-il is a healer hunter, so he has little combat experience.”
During the fierce battle, the deceased Song Joong-il broke away from formation for some reason.
That was Yariel’s conclusion after looking closely at the incident.
Or that the hunter in charge of healing dies first, and her teammates come out with injuries one after another, which is close to impossible.
Hunters in charge of healing are inevitably given higher priority in desperate situations.
The leader of the Taesan Guild’s strategy team couldn’t stand it any longer and opened his mouth.
He decided that it would be better for him to tell his own story than to be misunderstood.
“It’s my fault.”
“Oh, no, chief!”
“During the second engagement, a monster infiltrated into the ranks. The monster was dealt with immediately, but Song Joong-il panicked.”
Frightened, Song Joong-il left his teammates alone and threw himself toward the retreat in the back.
Healers were not very helpful in the middle of a battle anyway, so I couldn’t say it was a completely wrong decision.
But unfortunately… The road they passed through was ambushed by monsters who had heard the noise of battle.
The team leader immediately went to pick up Song Joong-il, but it was already too late.
In the end, Song Joong-il was ambushed by monsters and died.
The formation collapsed while trying to deal with him, and the rest of the team suffered major and minor injuries.
That was the truth of the incident in the dungeon.
Song Joong-il was eventually killed by the monster.
‘Did he get fatally wounded in the back while running away like that…’
The team members who barely completed the attack were given two options.
First. Revealing the mistake of a dead colleague as it is, greatly reducing the honor and morale of the guild.
Second. Discard the video material and protect the honor of Song Joong-il.
The decision was easy because they didn’t have any financial gains anyway.
At least, that was until I found out that Song Joong-il had life insurance.
According to the regulations of the life insurance product, leaving the operation area without permission during an attack can be a reason for refusal to pay compensation.
In the end, they unintentionally ran into insurance fraud.
Moreover, the amount is a whopping 1.5 billion!
This is a formidable amount even for active A-rank hunters.
While the guild members finished talking, they fell into deep silence.
I finally thought the front and back matched.
‘As expected, it was an accidental crime… In fact, there was no awareness of committing a crime.’
The report was not completely false, so this can be treated as a simple reporting mistake.
I didn’t even bother to prosecute them.
The team leader revealed the whereabouts of the video material, which was thought to be lost.
“I’ve kept the recording here. I’m sorry I lied to you. Whatever you do, I’ll gladly accept it.”
“Well, that’s out of my jurisdiction.”
Yeriel smiled lightly and looked at me.
I shook my head without hesitation.
“We treat it as a simple report omission.”
“Go, thank you.”
“Then… What should I do with the insurance money?”
One of the team members asked nervously, but I didn’t worry too much.
“You shouldn’t worry too much about that. It’s true that you should inform your insurance company about this, but as long as you get the timing right…”
“Timing?”
“Well, if you see it, you’ll know. Thank you all for your hard work. You should get enough rest now.”
We left the hospital feeling bitter.
Back at the office, I took out my smartphone while looking at the news on the Internet.
Seo Ji-yu, who was watching from a distance, asked me cautiously.
“Are you going to notify the insurance company?”
“Of course.”
“Yesterday you told me I didn’t have to worry about insurance companies…”
“That’s that, and this is this. If you can’t say that you’re wrong is wrong, you’re done.”
Besides… Nothing will change much anyway.
Unfortunately, the power of truth isn’t that great.
After conveying all the facts to the insurance company, I put down my smartphone and turned on the TV in the corner of the office.
A new advertisement for XX Life was playing on TV just in time.
“Are you paddling when the water comes in… You made it really fast.”
“Ah? I-that’s…”
A woman in mourning clothes and her son her in silence.
An annoyingly calm narration rang out.
This is how the new advertisement of XX Life began.
[I received 2 billion.]
“Eh, Eek…”
Seo Ji-yu, who was shocked by the contents of the advertisement, was overbearing for a while.
I thought with a bitter smile.
‘From 1.5 billion to 500 million. Did the insurance company arrange it neatly?’
If the truth of the incident had been known from the beginning, I wouldn’t know again.
I already have a feeling that the timing is too late.
The XX life side has already completed the delivery of the insurance money and has even been approved for marketing using this case.
2 billion is definitely a lot of money… But it’s too cumbersome to turn it over again now.
Even the wife of the deceased Song Joong-il played her own role in her commercial her.
After watching the ad, I clicked my tongue and stood up.
Seo Ji-yu had a very uncomfortable face, but I thought so.
Even if the truth won’t change anything, it’s my job to uncover the truth.
“Let’s go to work.”
“Ah, yes.”
Tia, who was waiting in the back seat, ran to the elevator with Kerr and pressed the button repeatedly.
We fed him honey chestnuts and went home.
