How to Live as an Immortal Chapter 101

Chapter 101

The split had begun

***

District 3 of the Seed Colony was an area lined with stock exchanges and financial institutions. It was a place that had grown to support District 2, where major infrastructure was concentrated.

Living up to the na of a gacorp, Baekdu owned several ultra-luxury hotels even on such pri land.

Among them, the venue where the private party was being held was famous for its Grand Hall.

The space, where modern engineering and aesthetics blended together, felt as though simply breathing within it elevated one’s sense of beauty.

Seated in my assigned seat, I looked around. When I had first entered, there had been quite a few empty seats, but not anymore. Those who couldn’t attend in person had taken their places through holograms.

“They’re coming.”

No sooner had Damian spoken than the Baek family appeared, drawing everyone’s attention. It was only natural that heads turned reflexively.

Baek Ryang—

‘Just as expected, he looked like a bratty three-year-old.’

Baek Geum-do had a face that revealed seasoned experience. The very notion of being a veteran seed etched into his wrinkles.

Baek Seol quietly followed behind the two from the rear. I was careful in case our eyes might et, but she didn’t seem to have the composure to look around.

She had grown that thin in just a few sols. She must have gone through considerable ntal anguish.

‘And lastly.’

Baek Seok-do.

The real Baek Ga-on’s father and the Chairman of the gacorp Baekdu.

His face was already widely known online, so there was nothing new to observe.

Rumor had it that he relied on life-sustaining treatnt and was confined to a wheelchair.

However, the Baek Seok-do who appeared in the Grand Hall walked firmly, as if casting aside such concerns. One could montarily forget that he was even using a cane.

Of course, it was all rely an act.

With the help of an exoskeleton.

Tap.

Striking the floor with his cane, Baek Seok-do opened his mouth.

“I will first express my gratitude to those who have graced this occasion. You must have waited long enough, so I won’t waste ti with needless words. Now then, let the party begin.”

Soon, the Grand Hall was swallowed by darkness.

Leaving only the light on the stage.

***

As he listened to Baek Seok-do’s speech, Baek Ryang recalled the past. To him, Baek Seol had been an excellent pace-maker. Despite their eight-year age gap, he had always seen her as a rival.

In modern society, there was no more aningless tric than age.

Talent was granted through Slots, and performance was selected through Units.

That gap was even more pronounced in a gacorp, if not in the lower classes.

The sa went for lifespan.

It was a long life that exceeded the natural span. A reversal of positions could happen in an instant.

That was why he was always wary and kept her in check.

Baek Seol in her childhood had been a genius sufficient to provoke Baek Ryang’s impatience. Her unusually superior learning ability and flashes of brilliance—bordering on sothing chilling—still left a strong impression.

Though after that day, she had disappeared, perhaps due to trauma.

“It was decided rather anticlimactically.”

Just as it had been 20 years ago.

He whispered into Baek Seol’s ear.

“To be honest, I had hoped you would resist a bit more fiercely. I thought you might stake Snow Apparel’s shares, summon a PMC, gather fixers, form a large-scale force, and storm the castle I built.”

“…….”

Baek Seol bit her lip hard.

It wasn’t as if she had never imagined such a scenario.

Even now, she was being tempted by it. But she hadn’t put it into action. It would have only ant forcing aningless sacrifices onto those who followed her.

Just to gain the comfort of saying she had done her best.

More than anything—

“Father wouldn’t allow that, anyway.”

There was no way Baek Seok-do would tolerate that level of loss. He was the kind of man who cared more about corporate rankings than blood ties. He would never sit by and watch Baekdu’s scale diminish.

“Not ‘yet.’ And even in this situation, you hesitate over sothing so trivial. Well, I suppose you can’t easily abandon your nature now. But what should we do?”

With a sly smile, Baek Ryang added,

“After this, I intend to swallow Snow Apparel completely.”

As Baek Seol’s shoulders trembled slightly, his satisfaction doubled.

“Who knows, though. If it’s you—the wise one—you might co up with sothing. Right. For example, you could beco a link for an alliance with a competitor. You’re soft-hearted and cling to affection, but still, you’ve got looks worth making use of.”

Fwoong— the lid of a DuPont lighter opened and closed smoothly.

“If it cos to that, I can just throw myself at a competitor first. Why do you think I’d hand you the advantage, brother?”

The diligent younger sister never knew how to give up.

It had been her way of life for a long ti. It wasn’t about resolve or conviction, but closer to habit and ingrained behavior.

“Ah, I see.”

Losing interest, Baek Ryang turned his head.

As always, she would waste her efforts on sothing inefficient.

Unfortunately, what was needed to win wasn’t persistence.

It was ruthlessness.

A ruthlessness that could easily crush miracles with one hand, that could place family and livestock on the sa level.

“If you can manage that until I die, I’ll gladly wait.”

***

“…Lastly, I will introduce my son. I hope you will welco him with warm applause. It is his first ti at such an occasion.”

No sooner had Baek Seok-do called him than a man—Baek Gi—appeared from behind the stage. Watching him slowly approach Baek Seok-do, I rose from my seat as well.

“I’ll be back.”

“Are you going to the restroom or sothing?”

“In the sense that I’m taking care of sothing I’ve been putting off, it might be the sa.”

I strode across the Grand Hall. Fixing my gaze only on the distant light, I kept walking until I finally crossed the line permitted for guests.

Perhaps they hadn’t expected anyone to co up onto the stage—the guards reacted a beat too late. But that didn’t an they were unskilled or incompetent.

Each one of them was highly trained.

Whether sooner or later, any uninvited guest was bound to be stopped.

That would have been the case—if the one they faced hadn’t been .

Whoosh.

Ignoring every warning directed at , I stepped in front of Baek Gi.

“So, you are….”

At this point, Baek Gi’s identity was shrouded in mystery. But there was one consistent conclusion—he was a being created to replace the real Baek Ga-on.

The fact that he didn’t have a device would be an important clue.

‘But before that, this cos first.’

I swiftly snatched the microphone that was being held out to Baek Gi.

Even from afar, I could clearly see Damian’s stunned expression as he realized what that ant. And it wasn’t just him—large or small, the crowd began to stir.

“Everyone’s been curious about , so I had no choice but to co out.”

In truth, the one receiving attention wasn’t .

These gazes belonged to the real Baek Ga-on. The future that should have been his.

“Who am I?”

The greatest tribute I could offer to the real Baek Ga-on, whose life I had borrowed—

“Baek Ga-on.”

—was to return everything to its rightful place.

“I’m also the son that Chairman Baek Seok-do lost.”

Yes, the mont I stepped forward like this, there was no longer any future where I could retreat.

***

The unexpected incident pushed the private party into an entirely different phase.

Baek Seok-do did not admire Ga-on’s declaration, Baek Ryang did not regret it, and Baek Geum-do did not bow his head.

However, the welcoming ceremony was halted before it could even begin. A sudden suspicion had been raised. As a result, those who had harbored doubts about Baek Gi’s existence were forced to surface, and in such a chaotic atmosphere, the event could not continue.

Ga-on, who had caused the disturbance, was imdiately taken into custody and transported to Baekdu’s headquarters. Damian, who had accompanied him, shook his head and left.

Deep underground, the ones who greeted Ga-on were not Baek Seok-do, but personnel dispatched from an organization directly under the board of directors.

Everything was to determine whether his claim was true.

After signing a contract stating that he consented to opening the genetic information recorded in his citizen ID, Ga-on waited leisurely for the results.

A paternity test required Baek Seok-do’s approval, but that would co soon enough. It was sothing that had to be addressed eventually. There were far too many witnesses to simply ignore it.

And then, waiting for Ga-on—who had passed through a storm—was a rat-like middle-aged man.

“I hear you’re a fixer?”

A tone that made it obvious he intended to interrogate .

The way his thick nostrils twitched was irritating enough that I didn’t bother hiding my discomfort.

“Obviously, you must have heard about Baekdu’s situation and thought there was so clever angle to exploit. But you’ve made a big mistake. I don’t know whose orders you’re following… or maybe there is one person?”

I wasn’t being particularly polite.

His smug attitude was especially grating.

So naturally, no kind words ca out.

“And you—are you on Baek Ryang’s side? What’s your na? Judging by the fact you’re handling sothing like this, your rank can’t be low. So… hmm, Mr. Mickey.”

I didn’t add “Mouse.” To be honest, the middle-aged man wasn’t cute enough to deserve a complete nickna.

“Call whatever you want. I won’t fall for such trivial provocation.”

That was a sha. If I had known his na, I planned to grind him down for the rest of his life once the situation turned around.

What should I say.

He wasn’t even a professional, and his behavior was so shallow that I couldn’t take him seriously. Or was this entire setup ant to lower my guard?

Hmm.

I let out a low murmur, but my contemplation didn’t last long. The door burst open, and Baek Seol appeared.

The middle-aged man, who had been about to shout angrily, lowered his head and exited at Im Sol’s gesture. Truly the type who was weak to the strong and strong to the weak. Such a typical petty man that it didn’t even make angry.

Thud—Baek Seol sat down across from .

“Baek Ga-on.”

“Yeah.”

She pretended to be calm, but in reality, her mind had long been overloaded.

Perhaps “confused” was the right word.

“Are you really my half-sibling?”

After a long deliberation, that was the question she ca up with—one that even she must have thought sounded foolish.

Rolling her question over in my mind, I casually presented the answer I had prepared.

“I didn’t know at first either. I realized it while carrying out a request.”

“So… you were confident in the investigation you conducted yourself.”

It was none other than my own history. What I needed was the process, not the result.

Because for , that was the truth.

“Then what about Baek Gi?”

“A stand-in Baek Ryang brought in, probably.”

Her face flushed for no reason. Co to think of it, last ti she had just said what she wanted and left. If she had approached the conversation more calmly, she might have uncovered these circumstances back then.

“Why did you pretend not to know?”

It wasn’t a persistent interrogation, but closer to a pure question.

Wasn’t it a perfect opportunity to beco a mber of a gacorp? Of course, there were many downsides piled up along the way.

“I thought that way would be less burdenso for both of us.”

“You must have seen how the family operates while carrying out the request… I asked a pointless question.”

Baek Seol sighed, recalling the previous night.

“But barging into the Grand Hall was a foolish decision. If you had told in advance, I could have arranged a quiet eting.”

That wouldn’t have worked.

“I needed to make sure the welcoming ceremony never happened. That’s why I made that kind of impact.”

“You did it on purpose?”

“Yeah. Baek Gi’s flashy debut got completely ruined, didn’t it?”

“Is that related to you changing your mind midway and deciding to reveal your identity?”

“I can’t say it’s unrelated.”

Glancing briefly at the magic mirror covering one wall of the interrogation room, I spoke quietly.

“I’m going to make you the Chairman of Baekdu.”

Pfft. Im Sol reacted first. Having witnessed my true nature during the request, even she found it hard to believe such an undertaking.

Baek Seol also agreed it was an absurd ambition.

And yet, she couldn’t stop herself from imagining it.

If I truly was real, and Baek Gi was fake, then Baek Ryang’s position would beco unstable.

He would lose Baek Seok-do’s trust.

But even so—

It didn’t feel like we would win.

The opponent was a madman who had once kidnapped his own younger sister to break her, backed by a cold-blooded man who had condoned it. A man who believed that endless competition contributed to Baekdu’s growth.

So—

“We’re overwhelmingly at a disadvantage.”

“We’re overwhelmingly at an advantage.”

Two completely different conclusions drawn from the sa situation.

Even though Baek Seol showed no sign of being convinced, I declared with confidence.

“The split has already begun—from the mont I appeared.”