Chapter 69: I'll Take Over (2)
[Two days later, Red Dragon Gate Headquarters]
All the Elders had been summoned to the conference hall on the 22nd floor of Red Dragon Gate Headquarters.
A full assembly of those who called themselves powerful.
The Red Dragon Gate conference hall was thick with cigarette smoke billowing from ten tattooed Elders.
"Why did the Gate Master suddenly call us all together?"
"I have no idea. I was on my way to the sauna this morning when they dragged here."
"Ha, lucky you. I was actually in the sauna when they grabbed . I was stark naked sweating it out when a bunch of young punks ca bursting in."
The Elders grumbled amongst themselves, none of them knowing the reason.
"Well, what can you do. The Gate Master calls, you co."
"Would the Deputy Gate Master know the situation?"
"Judging by his expression, it seems he doesn't."
The lower-ranking Elders glanced over at Deputy Gate Master Hwang Mu-yeol, who was sunk deep into his chair beside the Gate Master's seat.
Hwang Mu-yeol, now in his fifties.
He had been the boss of Oseong Faction, a criminal organization that had dominated the Jeolla and Gyeongsang regions.
After the Tower appeared, Oseong Faction had been the last one absorbed by Lee Won-ryong, who went on to found Red Dragon Gate.
Like Lee Won-ryong, he had been quick to choose the path of a climber — but moving up from the provinces to Seoul where Murim Tower stood had co with all manner of complications.
By the ti he had sorted all of that out, the gap between him and Lee Won-ryong's Red Dragon Gate forces had already widened considerably.
And so, five years ago, he had been absorbed.
Yet Hwang Mu-yeol still commanded a formidable power base.
Lee Won-ryong ruled with an iron fist, beating his gate mbers whenever he pleased — but at the very least, he never treated Hwang Mu-yeol's faction carelessly.
Even by underworld standards of lineage, Hwang Mu-yeol was the purer bloodline and a vastly more senior figure.
Dressed in a grey suit, he brought a thick cigar to his lips and lit it.
Puff.
The scar at the corner of his mouth twitched as smoke curled out.
Beside Hwang Mu-yeol.
The man who served as Oseong Faction's second-in-command and currently held an Elder position in Red Dragon Gate quietly asked him,
"Deputy Gate Master. Why do you think Lee Won-ryong called this assembly?"
"Don't know."
"Could it be…… That business from last ti?"
"Keep quiet."
"Yes."
Hwang Mu-yeol frowned and shot him a warning look.
Though Hwang Mu-yeol had been absorbed into Red Dragon Gate, his Oseong Faction's foundation remained in Busan.
He had handed over most of Oseong Faction's assets upon joining Red Dragon Gate — but significant wealth still remained in the Busan-Gyeongnam region.
Of late, Red Dragon Gate had been under pressure from Gukmubon, and revenues had plumted, leaving the organization in financial straits.
And so, roughly two months ago.
Lee Won-ryong had made a demand of Hwang Mu-yeol.
"Hand over the assets of Oseong Faction that have not yet been transferred. Deputy Gate Master."
"I'm not sure what you an."
Hwang Mu-yeol flatly denied it.
"Deputy Gate Master. I know that you have embezzled an enormous amount of Red Dragon Gate's assets through personal dealings in the Black Market."
"……"
"I won't hold that cri against you. But the Oseong Faction assets — you pledged from the very beginning that they would be handed over to Red Dragon Gate."
"Ha…… I thought I handed everything over."
"I won't mince words. I'll give you two months. Hand it all over."
The deadline was now drawing near.
Hwang Mu-yeol smoked his cigar and surveyed the elders seated in the room.
Elder in na only — most of them were gangsters by trade.
They had climber qualifications, but many of them had barely made it past the lower twenties in the Tower.
'These bastards will be in the sa boat.'
If Lee Won-ryong had made demands of him, Hwang Mu-yeol, then it stood to reason he'd have demanded the Elders — all far below him in standing — to hand over their assets as well.
But.
'As far as I know, they're all still sitting on the fence.'
Sssp— Fuuu……
His cigar glowed red as it drew in, then breathed out a haze of grey smoke.
Through the haze, Hwang Mu-yeol turned things over in his mind.
'Perhaps now is exactly the right mont.'
Gukmubon was pressing Red Dragon Gate, but surely they had no desire to see a major organization of this scale collapse entirely.
So then — if he simply handed Lee Won-ryong over to them, this Red Dragon Gate would fall into his own hands.
Fuuu……
A pale, drifting haze.
Hazy as smoke right now, but sohow — it felt like sothing he could almost grasp?
"The Gate Master is entering."
A subordinate's announcent heralded Lee Won-ryong's arrival, and the conference hall doors swung wide open.
Swish.
Hwang Mu-yeol rose from his seat, his eyes going wide.
"……!"
Lee Won-ryong and his personal guard ca pouring through the conference hall doors.
But the one at the head of the procession was not Lee Won-ryong.
* * *
I wore a suit and put on the Human Skin Mask I used when playing the role of the Naless Hero.
I walked at the very front.
Lee Won-ryong stood behind .
"Please take a seat, My Lord."
Lee Won-ryong pulled out a chair for to sit comfortably.
I sat in Lee Won-ryong's Gate Master seat, while the elders all stared at with sour expressions.
'Just who on earth is this person……?'
I gave a light wave of my hand.
Lee Won-ryong called out loudly:
"Everyone, please be seated."
The elders took their seats.
The personal guards, their complexions sowhat pale, lined up behind the Elders and pressed against the wall in an intimidating formation.
Lee Won-ryong introduced .
"This person is my Lord."
"……!"
"Which ans, from today, he is the true Gate Master of our Red Dragon Gate."
"What?"
"What are you talking about right now?"
"Gate Master! What in the world!"
The elders clamored over one another.
"Quiet."
Lee Won-ryong raised his hand and explained.
"I have passed the Gate Master position to my Lord. Everyone should understand it as—"
"That's not quite right."
I cut him off mid-sentence.
The Elders' eyes went wide.
Daring to cut off Gate Master Lee Won-ryong's words?
They looked like n witnessing a sight they had never seen before in their lives!
It was a famous anecdote — the last ti soone had cut Lee Won-ryong off, he had smashed that person's skull in with the phone he was holding.
"Listen carefully."
I addressed them.
"Lee Won-ryong is still Gate Master. However—"
I tapped the naplate in front of my seat.
"He's more of a figurehead Gate Master, you could say."
Swish.
I turned my head to look at Lee Won-ryong.
Lee Won-ryong nodded vigorously.
Even at the ‘humiliating term figurehead Gate Master’, he showed no anger.
As expected.
Well-trained indeed. I had fed him Gu Poison, but the command itself was nothing special.
Obey.
I had to implant a command within the limits that wouldn't drive Lee Won-ryong mad — and at the ti, he had already made up his mind to submit to .
So it amounted to little more than insurance.
This is why experienced demonic path practitioners are so convenient.
Unless their heads are completely broken, once they recognize a stronger power they bow on their own.
The martial world of the strong above all.
That law was upheld most rigorously among the demonic path.
I turned my gaze back to the Elders.
No one of Lee Won-ryong's caliber was visible.
Just one person.
The man smoking the cigar is worth keeping an eye on.
……This one is Hwang Mu-yeol.
A master who wouldn't fall short even compared to Lee Won-ryong.
To be frank, the weight he carries is a cut above Lee Won-ryong.
I spoke to Lee Won-ryong.
"Before we begin the eting, open the windows first. Good grief. The cigarette sll…… Everyone's lungs must be rotting."
Lee Won-ryong gestured, and a subordinate opened the windows.
A cool breeze swept through the conference hall.
At that, the Elders, reading the mood, ground out their cigarettes in the ashtrays.
But four of them, including Hwang Mu-yeol, still hadn't put out their cigars and cigarettes.
Oh my.
They ignored the first warning.
"You there — why don't you put out those cigarettes."
The elders glanced at . After so hesitation, two of them put out their cigarettes.
Two remained.
Hwang Mu-yeol and the Elder beside him.
They ignored the second warning too.
"……I said put them out."
The elder beside him put his out.
Only Hwang Mu-yeol remained.
I looked at him.
Hwang Mu-yeol smiled and said to ,
"This cigar is Cuban — if you cut it in the middle, the flavor—"
Pat—!
In an instant, his cigar was sliced in two.
A few strands of Hwang Mu-yeol's fringe were also cut clean, fluttering down onto the table, while behind him, a sheet of A4 paper fluttered to the floor.
"……"
I had flung a sheet of A4 paper like a throwing star, slicing his cigar in half.
Hwang Mu-yeol's expression hardened at once.
"If you talk back one more ti."
I fixed my gaze on him.
"I'll cut sothing else."
Hwang Mu-yeol stared at — then lowered the cigar from his mouth into the ashtray.
"Let's begin."
"Yes, My Lord."
Lee Won-ryong raised his voice.
"You all rember what I told each of the elders two months ago. It was an order to restore to their proper place the assets each of you pledged upon entering under Red Dragon Gate's banner — as well as the assets each elder has individually embezzled."
"……"
The Elders' expressions stiffened.
"The deadline is almost upon us. Yet not a single elder has completed the transfer. I'd very much like to know what on earth has happened."
The elders pressed their lips together and stared at the table. While doing so, they kept glancing sideways — and what they were looking at was Hwang Mu-yeol, whose face had already flushed a deep red.
Lee Won-ryong's ultimatum continued.
His personal guard placed a clean sheet of paper in front of each Elder, one by one.
"I have already gotten a full picture of the assets everyone has misappropriated. Our Red Dragon Gate is in a state of crisis right now. It is more desperately necessary than ever for everyone to unite their strength as one. So right now, everyone please write on the paper in front of you — the assets to be transferred, the embezzled assets, and a detailed account of the thods and sources of that embezzlent—"
"What exactly do you think you're doing right now!"
Bang!
Unable to take any more, Hwang Mu-yeol slamd the table and shot to his feet.
Wow……
This bastard — he's exactly that type.
A demonic path practitioner whose head is broken.
"Ever since this person calling himself the Naless Hero showed up, Murim Tower and the martial world have been in complete disarray! Not long ago, when Gukmubon distributed the Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine, Red Dragon Gate was excluded. Who do you think is to bla for that!"
Hwang Mu-yeol jabbed a finger at Lee Won-ryong.
Every Elder's gaze turned to Lee Won-ryong in unison.
"And that's not all! Bell Tower Sect is a group that none of our sects should ever get close to! And yet you, Gate Master, went and joined hands with Bell Tower Sect. That is precisely why Red Dragon Gate's morale has hit rock bottom!"
Hwang Mu-yeol cried out loudly.
His voice, laced with a subtle undercurrent of internal energy, reverberated through the conference hall.
"The one who created this situation is none other than you, Gate Master! So it is we who want to ask you this!"
Thud!
He struck the table again and shouted at Lee Won-ryong:
"Gate Master Lee Won-ryong…… Have you lost your mind?"
The Elders murmured amongst themselves.
They had sensed that the mont was coming — Lee Won-ryong's iron-fisted rule was about to crumble.
A few of the Elders, emboldened by Hwang Mu-yeol's words, opened their mouths to join in condemning him.
But Lee Won-ryong showed no change at all. He simply looked at .
I opened my mouth.
"Hwang Mu-yeol."
I looked at him.
"Are you finished with your complaints?"
Hwang Mu-yeol glared at .
'Who the hell are you to dare interfere?' — that was the look in his eyes.
I rose from my seat and approached him.
"Anything more to say?"
"I've said it all."
His attitude, brimming with confidence.
Even under my gaze, his spirit didn't waver.
He squared his shoulders and looked back at .
Good.
I like this very much.
I gave a light smile and said to him,
"Then die."
Snap.
I grabbed Hwang Mu-yeol by the collar and hurled him straight at the window.
Crash! Shatter!
The window burst as Hwang Mu-yeol plumted from the 22nd floor.
"Keuaaaaah—!"
His single scream grew distant, and—
Thud—!
The sound of a waterlon splitting ca drifting up from far below.
Honestly, dealing with types like these was more familiar and comfortable than dealing with ordinary criminals.
These are the kind where the answer is already written, you could say.
I'd run into them countless tis in the old martial world.
"Heok!"
"R-right now—!"
The nine remaining Elders leapt to their feet, and I said to them quietly,
"Is there anyone else with complaints?"
"……"
The Elders, white with terror, could not say a single word.
Slip. Thud.
The Elders sank back into their chairs one by one.
A fierce wind howled in through the shattered window.
Thud, thud.
Returning to my seat, I pointed to the paper placed before each Elder.
"Write."
This ti, the Elders scrambled over one another to begin.
While I waited for them, I picked up a single sheet of paper from in front of and folded it in half.
……Gulp.
The Elders had just witnessed the technique with which I had sliced Hwang Mu-yeol's cigar using only a sheet of paper — so the speed at which they wrote grew even faster.
Trembling hands.
Before long, nine sheets densely filled with writing were placed on my desk.
"Check them."
"Yes."
Lee Won-ryong and his subordinate reviewed what the Elders had written and nodded.
It ant they had recorded everything truthfully.
"It's accurate. Frankly…… It's more detailed than the information I had."
"Good work."
The Elders sat in their seats.
Every one of them wore a hollow, dazed expression.
They were n who had lived their lives alongside violence as gangsters.
Since Murim Tower appeared, a disregard for human life had beco rampant — but even so, they could never have imagined soone killing a person like this, and not just anyone, but the Deputy Gate Master of a major sect.
They shuddered as they asked :
"Now…… What's going to happen to us?"
I extended my hand, and Hwang Mu-yeol's cigar drifted through the air and landed in my grasp, drawn by Telekinesis.
I rubbed my thumb and index finger together, lighting the cigar.
Witnessing the technique, the Elders' mouths fell open and wouldn't close.
"Fuuuuuu—"
I exhaled a long stream of cigar smoke and spoke.
"I won't throw you."
Whooooosh—
A fierce wind swept in through the window Hwang Mu-yeol had smashed, storming through the conference hall.
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