How to Live as an Immortal Chapter 84

Chapter 84

That’s My Conclusion

***

***

“hyungnim set such a condition?”

“Yes, uncle.”

After returning from the main house, Baek Ryang faced a middle-aged man.

His na was Baek Geum-do.

He was the younger brother of Baek Seok-do, the chairman of Baekdu, and to Baek Ryang, he was his uncle.

Of course, before being tied by blood, they were business partners.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to call him a reliable supporter.

Baek Geum-do was the president of Baekdu Heavy Industries, a key branch of the gacorp Baekdu, and it showed a scale entirely different from the other affiliates.

It was a defense industry company that supplied military goods according to the intentions of the Mars Defense Force. From firearms to small nuclear warheads, there was no field it did not cover.

Its capability as an arsenal was unparalleled.

To Baek Ryang, it was nothing less than a basket of candy he could pick from at will.

There was no way he could not feel fond of Baek Geum-do.

Asking for his opinion was simply an extension of that.

“What do you think?”

“It is a rather sudden demand. But the succession might end more easily than expected.”

“What do you an by that?”

Baek Geum-do’s gaze drifted toward the distant mountains.

“Do you know what kind of place the Hyphen Colony is?”

“I heard it beca ruins after the Black Shower occurred.”

“Contrary to what is publicly known, the Black Shower was not a man-made disaster caused by a group of shuttles crashing.”

When thought about logically, there were too many inconsistencies.

The Mars Defense Force stationed in space was not made up of fools, and for shuttles capable of atmospheric descent to explode midair was an absurd chanical failure.

Everything had rely been a smokescreen to conceal the truth.

“It was a catastrophe caused by a war.”

“In the Hyphen Colony? Isn’t it a place with nothing to gain?”

It was hard for Baek Ryang to accept.

“It is classified information known to very few. Even the Mars Defense Force keeps it under strict control, so it would be best not to ntion it carelessly.”

“How do you know about it, uncle?”

“That is because I—”

Just before Baek Geum-do could continue, the secretary entered the president’s office ahead of him.

Grinding his molars without anyone noticing, Baek Ryang hurled his teacup at the wall.

Crash!

“I told you not to enter without permission, didn’t I?”

“I-I’m sorry. It seed urgent, so I thought it would be better to inform you as soon as possible.”

“You could have contacted through the device.”

“Did you not instruct that important matters be reported only verbally?”

That was indeed the case. With cybercri rampant these days, even a gacorp could not be considered safe.

Given that it was a place where hundreds of millions, even trillions of Pia could change hands with a single decision, one had to be extrely cautious.

Of course, that did not serve as an excuse.

“If it is not, you should be prepared.”

Baek Ryang flicked his finger.

The secretary slowly approached him and transmitted the information via short-range communication.

As the secretary who delivered the news left, and Baek Ryang ford a peculiar expression, it happened almost at the sa ti.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Baek Geum-do gestured with his chin.

“What is it?”

“It seems Seol is going around trying to find a fixer.”

“A pointless thing to do.”

With Baek Seok-do having stepped down from the front lines, the ones ruling the gacorp Baekdu were Baek Ryang and Baek Geum-do.

A flawless dual power structure.

As long as the two held real authority, there was no room for Baek Seol to intervene.

“No, is she planning to find that child before us and bring them to the negotiation table?”

Baek Ryang shared the sa opinion.

However, while what Baek Geum-do felt was amusent, what Baek Ryang felt was humiliation.

“I truly cannot tolerate this.”

There was a gap between the two that could never be bridged. To put it bluntly, it was like throwing an egg against a rock. And yet, the fact that she thought it was worth trying ant she doubted his authority.

It was all Baek Ryang’s responsibility.

Because he found his younger sister cute and only ever showed her rcy. Wasn’t Snow Apparel’s growth also the result of his negligence?

Co to think of it, the last ti he properly established the hierarchy was when they were still students.

Muttering quietly, Baek Ryang steeled his resolve.

“They say humans are creatures of forgetfulness—despite all my lectures, it seems she has forgotten. As her elder brother, I have no choice but to teach her a new lesson.”

***

The next day, having received Im Sol’s summons, Ga-on ca out to the streets and, from early morning, rode the Hyperloop across the entire Seed Colony.

District 5, District 12, then District 4, and District 31. At this point, it felt like he was being put through pointless drills, given how many demands there were.

Even if they wanted to et in secrecy, the wasted travel routes were excessive.

After sitting on a bench by the roadside, idly passing ti for a few minutes,

before long, a passenger car ca to a stop in front of him.

It had such a common design that similar vehicles could be seen just by turning one’s head.

It was, perhaps, fitting for the model most preferred by citizens. It was also a choice that clearly showed the intent to avoid standing out at all costs.

As expected, the mont the front door window rolled down, a familiar face ca into view.

“Are you sulking over what happened yesterday? Your instructions seed a bit personal—more than necessary……”

“Please get in. The young lady is waiting.”

“Well, this is sothing.”

Watching Im Sol raise the window without even listening to the rest, Ga-on shrugged. It seed he had left quite a strong first impression.

In her eyes, he probably ca off as a miser.

It was his own doing. After hooking a big catch for the first ti in a while, he had pushed too hard.

What could he do?

As the older one, he had no choice but to be patient.

Click.

As Ga-on quietly entered through the back door, the first thing he noticed was a scent.

A sweet fragrance, like ripened fruit. It was an intoxicating sll that continuously stimulated the senses, but with a few waves of his hand, Ga-on brushed away all temptation.

There was no reason for to have my mind taken away.

What I needed to pay attention to was the woman at the end of it, sculpted with a golden ratio.

“Nice to et you.”

Skin as white as snow. And hair even whiter than that softly settled over her dress. It even felt as if she was emitting light on her own, as though she had no pignt in her body at all.

Only her eyes shone red.

From head to toe, she looked anything but human.

A figure that absolutely did not suit such a shabby vehicle.

Well, that was true of her origins as well.

The president of Snow Apparel and the rightful heir to the gacorp Baekdu, Baek Seol.

After sweetly introducing herself, she spoke.

“I even went through the trouble of introducing myself, and you’re not responding? That’s a bit embarrassing.”

Her attitude, overflowing from beginning to end, could be seen as either composure or cunning.

“Baek Ga-on.”

“Baek Ga-on?”

It wasn’t strange for Baek Seol to ask back. Coincidentally, we shared the sa surna.

However—

“That’s nothing to be surprised about. It’s not that rare.”

“Hehe. You’re not nervous even in front of —I like that.”

For a fixer taking on a request, boldness was a plus. However, there was also sothing that couldn’t be overlooked.

“I heard you demanded 20 billion Pia?”

“I thought it was worth that much.”

“There’s nothing in this world that’s ‘worth that much.’ That’s my conclusion.”

Of course, Baek Seol had heard from Im Sol that I was an advisor. However—

“You know that if you get greedy, you’ll have to pay the price for it, right?”

“Greedy, huh.”

It wasn’t unreasonable.

Just as I didn’t know how desperate Baek Seol was, she also didn’t know how capable I was.

An imbalance of information naturally led to a difference in perception—if she didn’t know, then I just had to let her know.

“You probably consider this request important.”

“That’s a conclusion anyone could draw just from the amount. You’re not seriously trying to persuade with that, are you?”

“If you are, I’ll be disappointed.” Though she spoke as if joking or not, Baek Seol let out that remark, but I didn’t budge.

“You can tell just by looking at this car. You deliberately chose sothing ordinary to hide your identity.”

“That’s—”

Not giving her a chance to argue, I continued laying out my thoughts.

“And District 4, District 5, District 12, District 31. Every place I passed through—none of them are areas where Baekdu can exert deep influence.”

They were territories of other gacorps. If the eldest son, Baek Ryang, had sent people, they would have stood out. And the fact that she paid attention even to such minor routes in her daily movents ant—

“You can feel the pressure closing in from all sides, right?”

“That’s such an accurate observation I can’t even think of a rebuttal.”

“So you’re not denying it.”

“I’m not so vile as to deceive soone who has already reached the correct answer.”

Pretending not to know out of stubbornness was not a dignified action. One who stood above others had to take responsibility for their actions.

Seeing how Baek Seol differed from the other chaebol heirs of the 24th century, I found myself intrigued.

Alright, I understood the cause and the process. But—

“One thing I don’t get is how simply finding a person is supposed to turn this situation around.”

As if pleased by the question, Baek Seol smiled aningfully.

“Do you want to hear it? But what should I do? I can’t tell a fixer who demands 20 billion Pia as compensation.”

As if she had never approached warmly, Baek Seol suddenly created distance. But realizing that this was a tactic, I could only shake my head.

We had already spoken this openly.

A situation where it was only natural to develop a favorable impression. She must have realized I could no longer push as aggressively as before and decided to play her hand.

It was a mont that gave insight into how Baek Seol had built Snow Apparel. She was a woman who knew how to fully utilize the weapons she had.

“So you’re suggesting a negotiation?”

“I trust you’ll understand. Just because my position isn’t favorable doesn’t an I can let myself be dragged around. It wouldn’t be right for the people who support either.”

“It’s a resolve that could bring tears to one’s eyes, but it’s not like I’m in a position comfortable enough to worry about soone else.”

As if she had expected that, Baek Seol proposed a new condition without a mont’s delay.

“Then how about this? If you find them before my older brother, I’ll pay you 20 billion Pia. But if you’re late, there will be no compensation. What do you think?”

A typical high risk, high return.

This was likely the final line Baek Seol could concede. Perhaps it was a condition she had already decided on before coming here.

Either way—

“Not bad. So, who am I supposed to find?”

“My half-sibling, whose face I don’t even know.”

Though she only revealed the target’s identity, the full situation was perfectly drawn in my mind.

Most likely, it was at the behest of Chairman Baek Seok-do.

“What’s their na?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

At my sowhat reproachful gaze, Baek Seol hurriedly made an excuse.

“Even if I knew their real na, there’s no guarantee they’re still using it!”

“Well, if it were easy to find, there wouldn’t be any competition in the first place.”

“It’s certain they’re from the Hyphen Colony.”

The stage where the Black Shower occurred. Already reduced to ruins, it was an unknown space where nothing could be uncovered through records.

In the end, there was no choice but to go there and investigate directly.

And that too, without a single clue.

It was no different from finding a needle in a desert.

“Anything else?”

“That they were born 22 years ago?”

“22 years ago?”

At the subtle sense of incongruity, I frowned, and Baek Seol tilted her head.

“What is it?”

“No, it’s nothing—”

I was about to say it was nothing, but my eyes widened. In that instant, my senses heightened, and an ominous premonition brushed past my spine.

Sothing was rushing toward us.

My instincts scread at nearly the sa mont the vehicle’s internal sensors went off.

Sensing the anomaly, Im Sol turned the steering wheel, but it was already too late.

Boom!

A dump truck that ca without warning slamd into the passenger car in an instant.