The bartender presented an original cocktail, the recipe of which he had created himself.
However, instead of introducing the cocktail, the bartender discreetly excused himself from the table.
As a result, neither Su-ho nor Ion paid attention to the cocktail, focusing solely on each other’s eyes.
After a brief silence, Ion was the first to break it.
“Alright.”
Hmm?
He agreed so quickly?
Su-ho found himself curious as Ion accepted the proposal without asking any further questions.
Only then did Su-ho take the cocktail glass in his hand and speak.
“Aren’t you going to ask why?”
“As I said earlier, a good custor only asks about the price and buys the goods.”
“Haha, that’s true for a good custor. But for a close custor, wouldn’t the conversation be different?”
“A close custor? Who calls a close custor a servant?”
“Ah, a servant? I never called you a servant, I just asked you to back up.”
“It’s fine. Even if a single word could hurt feelings, I’m not that petty. Anyway, it seems like you want to be supported from behind, and since you’re the country’s top hero, it’s only natural to do so. And I believe in you. I trust that you’re a reasonable person.”
Ion was surprisingly cool-headed.
No, more precisely, he was soone who saw through the essence of things.
Although he didn’t know Su-ho completely, he had worked with him on a few matters and, based on his public image, he was confident that what Su-ho wanted wasn’t the selfish desires of an ordinary person.
But what if it was?
The Union currently split the underground guild market with Raid, and if Raid disappeared, the profit for the Union would more than double.
This was because, once Raid was gone, the Union would almost monopolize the market.
Moreover...
‘Could the Union be the one to eliminate Raid, considering that we’re offering to do so?’
Ion had a keen nose for money.
He was soone who valued profit over honor, a born businessman, and he wasn’t soone who would hesitate to bend for massive profits.
His pride?
If it made money, he could sell it without a second thought.
Especially if the other party was the country’s most popular hero.
Was that why?
Su-ho smiled at Ion’s attitude.
‘His approach hasn’t changed, as always.’
This wasn’t the first ti eting with Ion.
As the leader of the country’s leading underground guild, Ion had been a help in Su-ho’s previous life as well.
And back then, Ion had always been humble and generously offered his assistance to Su-ho.
Of course, Su-ho had reciprocated the benefits he had received, as expected.
So, Su-ho believed that he could maintain a good relationship with him in this life too, as long as he didn’t get overly greedy.
Su-ho spoke.
“Understood. I’ll go prepare the goods for the transaction now.”
“Right now?”
“Ti is money, after all.”
“...Haha.”
Ion was left speechless, stunned.
And at the sa ti, he felt a chill run down his spine.
How confident must Su-ho be to say he would dismantle the second-place guild right away?
Su-ho finished the cocktail in one shot, then handed the empty glass back to the bartender.
“Delicious. I enjoyed it.”
“Thank you.”
The bartender replied.
And then, Su-ho left the building.
***
Su-ho headed to Euljiro, where the Raid headquarters was located.
Upon arriving at Euljiro, Su-ho quickly parked his car at the entrance and entered the building.
A front desk employee stood up to greet him chanically, but upon recognizing Su-ho, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Ah, An Su-ho?”
“Yes, An Su-ho. Is the Vice President upstairs?”
“Well, yes, but...”
“I heard one of my employees was greatly helped here last ti. Please give the elevator card.”
Certain floors of the Raid headquarters, like the ones where the president and vice president worked, required an access card.
As Su-ho extended his hand, the employee hesitated, unsure of what to do.
Seeing this, Su-ho spoke calmly.
“I’m here on official business. Please don’t obstruct my work.”
“Ah, yes, yes! I’m sorry!”
The employee, startled by Su-ho’s calm voice, quickly handed him the access card.
Su-ho took the card and said, “Don’t make any noise. I’ll quietly et with the Vice President.”
“...Yes.”
The employee, now stiff as a board, nodded.
Su-ho gave a slight nod of his head and imdiately entered the elevator to head to the office of Vice President Song Kang-chul.
When the elevator doors opened to the office, Song Kang-chul narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“What’s this? I clearly said when I’d send soone up... huh, huh?”
But his words never finished.
As soon as Song Kang-chul saw who had stepped out of the elevator, his mouth hung open in shock.
He had been smoking a cigar in his office, and hastily dropped it into his cup of water before quickly standing up.
“Ah, An Su-ho, isn’t it?”
“You recognize now?”
“Y-yes?”
“I’ve heard about how you treated my employee the other day. I heard you hit them with a hamr as soon as you arrived?”
“Th-that’s...!”
Song Kang-chul’s expression darkened in real ti.
No, it didn’t just darken—it turned to complete darkness.
Su-ho quickly scanned Song Kang-chul’s body.
He looked fine considering how hard he had been hit.
As expected, Song Kang-chul seed to have quick recovery, probably because he was on the verge of reaching the second-level realm.
When Song Kang-chul struggled to respond, Su-ho slowly approached him.
Song Kang-chul recoiled in terror.
His subordinate, too, was filled with dread, seeing Su-ho himself approach them.
He instinctively tried to step back but realized his desk was at the farthest point of the office.
As Su-ho closed the distance, he asked, “Where’s the President?”
“W-well...”
“Isn’t he here? Today’s the day the Japanese Yakuza are supposed to make a deal, right?”
“...!”
At Su-ho’s words, Song Kang-chul’s eyes widened.
The look in his eyes said, “How do you know?”
“Your eyes are quite honest.”
With that, Su-ho raised his hand and slapped Song Kang-chul across the face.
Slap! – Bang!!
The sound was the slap.
But after that, Song Kang-chul’s head whipped around, and his entire body flew into the wall.
Various hamrs fell to the floor.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
They were hamrs that Song Kang-chul collected as a hobby.
Su-ho moved closer, and Song Kang-chul, still disoriented from the slap, barely managed to stay upright.
“Heal, Recovery.”
Su-ho activated the skills, and Song Kang-chul quickly regained his composure.
Su-ho grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up.
Then, Su-ho casually threw him into a nearby sofa and sat down across from him.
“I ca across sothing interesting while investigating the Japanese Yakuza. I found out that one of Japan’s major guilds, the Inagawa Guild, has been trading cultural relics with Korean guilds for a long ti.”
The Inagawa Guild.
Originally, they were a large Yakuza organization called Inagawa-kai, but over ti they transford into a guild.
Shortly after the great upheaval, they succeeded in changing their structure and quickly beca one of the largest guilds in Japan.
Su-ho continued.
“So, I was curious about what kind of guild it was, and I started investigating the dostic guilds. What did I find? I didn’t realize it was the underground guild Raid.”
“Th-that’s...”
“Even in the underground guilds, where money is everything, are you insane? Exporting cultural relics is one thing, but selling them to Japan?”
“I-I’m sorry! I can explain everything! Here’s what happened...!”
“What happened?”
“It’s...”
Song Kang-chul avoided Su-ho’s gaze.
Haha.
That’s how it should be.
It wouldn’t have been as fun if he had answered right away.
Maybe Song Kang-chul wasn’t the type to think on his feet... Maybe he just didn’t have the intelligence for it.
How did soone like him end up as the Vice President of Raid?
Su-ho raised his hand again.
“I heard this directly from my subordinate. How is soone like you in charge of a guild like this?”
“Ah, no, that’s not it, please, wait!”
“No.”
Su-ho raised his hand again.
And with a swift motion, he slapped the top of Song Kang-chul's head with his palm.
Smack! – Crash!!
As soon as his hand struck, Song Kang-chul's neck seed to cave in, and the sofa he was sitting on sank down.
He didn’t kill him.
But it wasn’t like he had controlled his strength either.
After all, Song Kang-chul wasn’t a worthy opponent to begin with.
He was a warrior player aiming for the second-tier rank.
Su-ho, removing his wristwatch, spoke.
“I guess I can hit him without holding back since he's a high-level warrior.”
“Ugh...”
But Su-ho was still Su-ho.
With his orange-colored strength stat, along with his physical abilities, Song Kang-chul couldn't even think straight.
From that mont on, Su-ho began to relentlessly strike Song Kang-chul.
There were no personal emotions involved.
Any resentnt he had from the previous encounter regarding the materials had already been resolved at that ti.
Right now, the strikes were purely part of his duties as a mber of the Grand Hunter Association.
Smack!
“Gurk!”
Bang!
“Gahh...”
Blood spurted, and teeth flew out.
Every ti, Su-ho made sure to apply Heal and Recovery to keep him alive.
After a while of relentless beating, Su-ho finally took a breath.
He applied another round of healing and recovery.
Then, Song Kang-chul’s consciousness slowly began to return, and Su-ho grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to a nearby desk, forcing him to sit.
Su-ho stood in front of him and spoke.
“Lift your head up if you don’t want to be hit again.”
“Y-yes... Yes...!”
With his barely functional mind, he sohow gathered the strength to answer.
Once he regained his senses, Su-ho asked.
“Where’s the president now?”
“Well...”
His lips trembled /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ in fear.
Su-ho could tell that Song Kang-chul wasn’t being entirely cooperative, though he hadn’t gone so far as to betray him. Still, not keeping his word was just as bad.
But what loyalty was there?
Were they independence fighters?
Su-ho couldn’t believe Song Kang-chul was still hesitating after all that. He was incredulous.
“You still think of him as a brother, don’t you?”
Su-ho grabbed Song Kang-chul’s front teeth and spoke.
“Loyalty has its limits. Because of your useless loyalty, you’ll live your whole life without your front teeth. Don’t even dream about getting implants. I’ll make sure you can’t get them.”
“No, no, wait! I’ll tell you!”
“It’s too late.”
Snap!
Su-ho pulled out both of Song Kang-chul’s front teeth at once.
***
“Phew.”
Eventually, Song Kang-chul passed out.
Su-ho didn’t wake him up.
After tossing him into his spatial house, Su-ho used an item to erase the bloodstains and then left the building.
He returned the elevator card to the employee.
“Thanks for your help. But don’t let anyone into the Vice President’s office before I return. If the scene is disturbed, you’ll be implicated too.”
“Ah, yes, yes!”
After giving the employee a firm warning, Su-ho returned to the car he had carelessly parked at the entrance.
Vroom!
He started the car and set off.
He was heading to et the Yakuza involved in the cultural relic trade and the representative of Raid.
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