Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 914

“Come in.”

“Yes.”

The one who opened the door and entered was Lee Hyun-soo. Lee Hyun-soo glanced briefly at Lee Hyun-joo before bowing his head towards Kang Jin-ho.

“Good morning, Assembly Head.”

“Aren’t you busy this morning?”

“I am busy, but there’s a priority in work.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face was slightly flushed. He had rushed up after hearing that Lee Hyun-joo had gone to the Assembly Head’s office.

“I unintentionally overheard the last part of your conversation. I’d like to suggest we be a bit more cautious.”

“Cautious?”

Lee Hyun-joo’s voice was also sharp, unlike when she spoke to Kang Jin-ho.

“Was the word ‘cautious’ such a trigger?”

“Every word has a different meaning depending on the situation. Right now, ‘cautious’ only sounds negative.”

Sparks flew from the eyes of the two.

“Assembly Head.”

Lee Hyun-soo ignored Lee Hyun-joo’s reaction and spoke as he sat down.

“We need to be cautious. Haven’t we just experienced something? Going public means our activities will be restricted.”

“That’s…”

“The situation is different from before. Previously, we could decide our own actions. But now, the situation has changed. If we disclose information and our actions are restricted, we might not be able to properly defend against external enemies.”

“That’s a strange thing to say.”

Of course, Lee Hyun-joo didn’t stay silent.

“Going public doesn’t reduce our room to maneuver. In fact, what can most members do even if the company becomes a corporation? All they know how to do is train and fight.”

“…That’s a bit harsh.”

“It’s the truth.”

Lee Hyun-joo cut off Lee Hyun-soo’s reaction with a firm face.

“Ordinary members won’t be involved in running the company. Rather, it will increase their standing. And the reason I’m advocating for incorporation isn’t just for systematic management. It’s because we need to make a living.”

“Make a living?”

“…Where do we make money?”

“Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo tilted his head.

Where do we make money, well….

“The situation is different from before. We used to make money through illegal activities. But the world has changed. There’s a limit to that. Besides, Korea has one of the best public safety records in the world. Even countries with less public safety have already incorporated to legalize their income. We’re too late.”

“I admit that part. But there’s no need to be so hasty.”

“It’s urgent.”

Lee Hyun-joo shook her head.

“If we continue like this, this year’s general meeting will be in the red.”

“In the red? How much property did we seize?”

“That’s not income. The General Assembly is getting bigger every day. We need money to maintain all those people. But the General Assembly’s source of funds is blocked. There’s a limit to living off what’s piled up in the warehouse.”

Lee Hyun-joo turned to Kang Jin-ho.

“Assembly Head, we have a lot of assets right now. But the number of members in the General Assembly isn’t small either. Moreover, we’ve taken in ten thousand freeloaders who don’t generate income. Even a decent country would struggle with that. If we continue like this, we’ll go bankrupt soon.”

The gap was too big.

How could we go bankrupt when the visible amount was so large?

‘Come to think of it, she’s not wrong.’

The Demonic Cult was literally a burden.

It meant they weren’t doing their part.

As martial artists, they would soon do their part. Kang Jin-ho would make sure of that. But could they generate anything economically? No, they couldn’t.

Everything in the world revolves around making a living.

In the end, the General Assembly could only be maintained if they made money.

When Kang Jin-ho nodded, Lee Hyun-joo spoke cheerfully, as if she was excited.

“Now is the best opportunity. We need to make the transition while we still have money, while we still have funds to operate. And we need to use this money to create new sources of income. Please allow it.”

“You’re going to take charge of that?”

“No. The Chief of Staff should do it, not me.”

“Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo stepped back.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-joo stared at Lee Hyun-soo.

“Isn’t that why we created the Operations Department?”

“Well, yes, but…”

No.

The reason Lee Hyun-soo created the Operations Department was to make internal operations easier, not for this kind of thing. But it would be too embarrassing to say no here.

“The accounting department is already at its limit just managing funds. It’s not that I want to do it, but someone has to. We might be rich right now, but if we don’t start now, we might be sucking our fingers [a Korean idiom meaning to be in a state of poverty] in ten years.”

At this point, Lee Hyun-soo’s expression became serious.

“Is it that bad?”

“You can see it for yourself.”

Lee Hyun-joo handed the report to Lee Hyun-soo as well. After carefully reviewing the documents, Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

“Indeed… there is a problem.”

“The sooner, the better.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed and looked at Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho, realizing that the choice had been passed to him, asked Lee Hyun-joo.

“You’re not just giving me a report, so what do you need me to do?”

“We need power.”

“Power?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-joo cleared her throat. This was a sensitive topic.

“As I said before, it’s beyond my ability to gather this much wealth in one place and consolidate it as assets. This is absolutely impossible without implicit approval.”

“It can’t be done legally?”

“It’s possible. But that would have to be in the form of a transfer or sale. 20% of the assets would be lost to taxes.”

20% of the assets….

Kang Jin-ho wasn’t one to prefer illegal methods. Of course, Kang Jin-ho was someone who lived by breaking the law. It was ridiculous for a man who casually sliced people to talk about the law.

That’s why he didn’t want to break the law in the open. Living outside the law was enough in the shadows.

If it was a small amount, he would just say to proceed legally, but 20%….

‘That’s astronomical.’

It wasn’t his money, but it felt like a knife was being shoved into his side.

“And it’s not just about the legality of the amount. If a company with this much assets suddenly appears, there will definitely be problems. The higher-ups need to stop it in advance.”

“That’s…”

Lee Hyun-joo sighed slightly.

“You need to meet someone with power. Someone with the power to smooth over this situation and handle it quietly.”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his face in frustration and said to Kang Jin-ho.

“Assembly Head, let’s have a smoke before we start.”

“Okay.”

Lee Hyun-soo took out a cigarette and handed it to Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho took the cigarette from Lee Hyun-soo and lit it.

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled the smoke and tilted his head.

“I’m asking because I don’t know, but is this something that can be done with the cooperation of just a couple of people?”

“No one will oppose it since it increases tax revenue.”

At Lee Hyun-joo’s answer, Lee Hyun-soo shook his head.

“It’s not that simple.”

“Why? It’s a good thing for everyone.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled bitterly and explained to Kang Jin-ho, not Lee Hyun-joo. It wasn’t that he was ignoring Lee Hyun-joo, but he thought Kang Jin-ho was the one who needed to hear the situation.

“We can try. Because the guys who are taking money from the General Assembly aren’t just on one side. They’re taking it equally from both the ruling and opposition parties.”

“That’s…”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head as if he had a headache.

“Logically, it’s something that would increase tax revenue and make the country richer, so both the ruling and opposition parties should agree, but as you know, politicians are sensitive to profit.”

“Why is being sensitive to profit a problem?”

“They’re more sensitive to the 10 won [Korean currency] someone else earns than the 100 won they earn.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Huh?”

“That’s… well, to put it simply, when doing something, even if I benefit from the result, if someone else benefits more, politicians will try to stop it. The opposition party won’t cooperate easily.”

“So…”

Lee Hyun-joo said in disbelief.

“There are people who will oppose it because the General Assembly becoming a corporation and increasing tax revenue will benefit the current ruling party?”

“That’s right.”

“…What’s wrong with them?”

“They’re monsters.”

“No, if they were people, they would calculate it…”

“No. They’re doing that because they’re calculating.”

“Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged.

“If tax revenue increases, various policies can be implemented based on that revenue. Naturally, favorable public opinion towards the current ruling party will increase. Then what will happen in the next election?”

“…Wow!”

Lee Hyun-joo shook her head as if she couldn’t understand.

It was something that would make the country richer. But she couldn’t understand that there were people in politics who would block it for their own benefit.

“In conclusion…”

Kang Jin-ho cut off their conversation.

“Incorporating is necessary for the future, but there are practical problems?”

“Yes, that’s right. The money needed to smooth over those practical problems might be more than solving the problem legally.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

If it could be solved with money, he would just give money. But Kang Jin-ho thought this wasn’t just a matter of giving money.

‘I don’t like it.’

Human relationships are determined by what they have done together.

If he had to bow his head to bring the relationship from the shadows to the light, it meant he would have to keep bowing his head to them for a while.

He didn’t like it.

This didn’t fit Kang Jin-ho’s style.

“We need a different approach.”

“Huh?”

“Before that…”

Kang Jin-ho said firmly.

“There’s something we need to address. Call all the directors. We’re having a meeting.”

“Yes!”

“Okay.”

Lee Hyun-soo and Lee Hyun-joo stood up. Kang Jin-ho watched the two of them leave and slowly took a drag of his cigarette.

The smoke dissipated into the air.

‘This is a field I don’t know.’

He had left it to those who knew best. But that didn’t seem to be the right answer either. In the end, the position of Assembly Head was that of a helmsman. The direction of the General Assembly was determined by the direction he chose.

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes slightly, organized his thoughts, and then opened them again.

A colder gaze than before was revealed.

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Shall we try something a bit unconventional?”

While the process of talking and empathizing together was necessary, this time Kang Jin-ho wanted to take the lead himself.

Then it would be a bit more interesting.

“They’ll all be up here right away.”

“Okay.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded, listening to Lee Hyun-soo’s report from the door.

A hint of playfulness was revealed in his expression.