Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 120

120. Expansion and Alliance (2)

Jeong Woo-hyeon, who ran a small factory in Gyeonggi Province, left home earlier than usual that day because he had a scheduled meeting with a visitor.

The visitor was none other than the head of the Gangbuk branch of the Seoul division of the Omnipotent League, to which Jeong Woo-hyeon belonged. He had never met the branch head in person, but he’d heard the man was incredibly famous and practically a key figure within the Omnipotent League.

‘Well, is he here to ask for kickbacks?’ Jeong Woo-hyeon wondered.

He knew the man was a Hunter, but there seemed to be no reason for such a person to visit his factory. If it was about deliveries, they could easily be handled through an agent.

Jeong Woo-hyeon had always avoided the factions and political infighting within the Omnipotent League, and he’d never met anyone decent who was actively involved in the League.

He had only joined the Omnipotent League to secure a stable supply line, leveraging his Level 3 experience from his younger days.

‘I’m glad I quit and retired back then,’ he thought.

Even now, thinking about that day made the area below his right rib ache.

In a moment of carelessness, a goblin’s dagger had stabbed him in the stomach, and he only realized what happened when he saw the blood gushing out. *Ah, I’m not cut out to be a Hunter*, he’d thought.

In any case, thanks to that experience, he was able to join the Omnipotent League and run his factory stably. He steadily worked hard and developed technology that could be exported overseas.

He couldn’t make a fortune, but he could at least provide for his employees. These days, with the increased difficulty of obtaining materials, the unit price had also increased, improving his margins.

‘I hope things will change a bit when this Kang Hyeon-mu guy shows up,’ he mused.

While driving, Jeong Woo-hyeon suddenly noticed a car following closely behind him. It was a black van that had been tailing him since he left his house.

Curious, he slowed down and moved out of the left lane to let it pass, but it silently matched his speed and continued to follow him.

Jeong Woo-hyeon then spotted the same van in front of him. Black vans were flanking a limousine, as if escorting it.

Now, with Jeong Woo-hyeon joining them, they formed a procession. Sensing that something was wrong, he tried to overtake them, but the black van behind him stuck to him like a ghost.

He accelerated and overtook the limousine, but the van followed him all the way to the factory parking lot.

As soon as Jeong Woo-hyeon parked his car, he immediately confronted them.

“Who are you guys? Are you gangsters? Driving like that…”

Although he had retired from hunting, he was still a capable individual, physically superior to ordinary people.

However, Jeong Woo-hyeon stopped short as soon as he saw the people getting out of the cars. They were men and women in suits of various ages, though none were particularly large in stature.

Jeong Woo-hyeon immediately realized that they were Hunters.

“Are you Omnipotent League’s CEO Jeong Woo-hyeon?”

“Y-yes, I am.”

“Branch Manager Kang Hyeon-mu is waiting for you.”

*Branch Manager Kang Hyeon-mu? Already?*

Jeong Woo-hyeon was flustered, but he followed their instructions for now. The atmosphere wasn’t overtly coercive, but the heavy aura they exuded was impossible to ignore.

‘Did the Omnipotent League have Hunters like this?’ he wondered.

They had the aura of professionals who had faced death multiple times. Jeong Woo-hyeon had only felt that kind of atmosphere when he occasionally encountered Hunters like Taesung.

Even running low-level dungeons hundreds of times wouldn’t give you that kind of presence.

When he arrived at his factory, he saw a foreign car he had never seen before parked in front.

Leaning against the trunk of the car was a man whose face he seemed to have seen on the news a few times.

The man was only wearing a shirt and dress pants, even though it was a chilly January day.

“CEO Jeong Woo-hyeon!”

The man waved cheerfully, approached, and shook his hand. Jeong Woo-hyeon tried to remain calm and greeted him.

“Branch Manager Kang Hyeon-mu. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine. Am I a little early for the appointment? Actually, I wanted to see the factory before it was cleaned up. One of my agents is a bit sensitive about hygiene…”

Kang Hyeon-mu winked at one of the Hunters who had escorted Jeong Woo-hyeon.

“He often says that bad hygiene indicates everything is deteriorating. Especially in fields that require precision processing like the mana industry, it goes without saying, right?”

Jeong Woo-hyeon was relieved. He ensured the factory was cleaned every day. In particular, Jeong Woo-hyeon personally checked the equipment to make sure it was in good condition.

“Fortunately, the score is passing. And I have someone who advises me on technical matters. He’s inspecting it now, with the permission of the person who was here before…”

“Hey, Hyeon-mu! The equipment is a bit old, but it’s usable. But if you want to do what you said, you’ll need a bigger scale. You’ll have to order new equipment, and more than that, this place is too small. You’re not planning on just playing house, are you?”

A stern-looking elderly woman wearing a mask and gloves walked out of the factory and said.

The moment the woman took off her mask, Jeong Woo-hyeon couldn’t believe his eyes.

If he wasn’t mistaken, it was Do Won-gyeong, the director of the Sejong Research Institute, who had been caught up in a scandal a while ago.

Hyeon-mu nodded lightly and turned back to Jeong Woo-hyeon.

“She says this place also passes. It’s probably thanks to your good management of the machines and people. The drainage system is also well-maintained. The employees say you’ve been running it conscientiously.”

Jeong Woo-hyeon couldn’t take it anymore.

Considering Kang Hyeon-mu’s position, the Hunters who had accompanied him, and the fact that someone like Professor Do Won-gyeong had come to inspect the factory, these were not people he could casually talk to.

“What, what are you trying to do? This factory is small. There’s nothing special here.”

“It is now. But we’re going to make it special soon.”

Hyeon-mu smiled and looked at Jeong Woo-hyeon.

“You probably don’t know me, but I remember you. I know you’re a pretty decent guy. Believe it or not, I used to work around here.”

“Y-you worked here?!”

That couldn’t be. Jeong Woo-hyeon remembered the contact information and faces of all the employees who had worked under him. But Hyeon-mu was someone he had never encountered.

Kang Hyeon-mu turned his head and looked at the sign indicating the factory’s location.

Hwaseong Mana Specialization Industrial Complex.

Just a few months ago, it was the place where Hyeon-mu had been rummaging through sewage.

“To be precise, I should say that I worked *with* you and in this industrial complex. You wouldn’t know because our paths didn’t cross. I’m planning to invest heavily in a business this time, and I thought it would be nice if it was a place I knew.”

“What are you trying to do…”

“Ah, the last person has arrived.”

Just then, a procession of limousines and vans entered the parking lot. They were the cars he had encountered on the road earlier.

After the limousine stopped, an Indian man in a suit got out of the car. The man approached Hyeon-mu with a serious expression.

Jeong Woo-hyeon simply watched the two of them talking in English.

After exchanging greetings, Kang Hyeon-mu pointed at Jeong Woo-hyeon and said something, and the Indian man took out a business card and handed it to Jeong Woo-hyeon.

Jeong Woo-hyeon’s English was poor, but he could read the letters on the business card.

“D-D&W?”

The letters on the business card read ‘Dickson & Willson.’ It was the most famous technology company, commonly known as D&W.

Ordinary people might think of global companies like Taesung, but those large corporations only reassembled and sold parts from companies subcontracted by D&W. Core technology was held by companies like D&W.

“W-why these people?”

“Why would I bring technicians to the factory?”

Hyeon-mu smiled and replied.

“I’ve come to make something.”

***

Hyeon-mu looked around as if he was amazed.

Hwaseong Mana Specialization Industrial Complex, also known as Hwaseong Special Industrial Complex, was where all mana-related industries in Korea gathered.

It was created with tax benefits as the mana industry using crystal moss flourished in the early days of dungeon outbreaks. Most of the factories made products to be supplied to Taesung, but there were also quite a few factories belonging to the Omnipotent League.

Hyeon-mu walked between the machinery and equipment, looking around the factory.

‘Just a few months ago, I couldn’t even set foot inside a factory like this,’ he thought.

Coming to a familiar place made it feel a bit more real. But that didn’t mean he felt anything new. Rather, he was surprisingly calm.

Next to him, CEO Jeong Woo-hyeon was fidgeting and following him.

“Branch Manager Kang Hyeon-mu, I’m sorry, but our factory doesn’t have the equipment and manpower to meet D&W’s technical standards. I think it would be better to go to a place with more advanced equipment.”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. I’m planning to give CEO Jeong Woo-hyeon other work. Seo Ji-hoo, how many companies in the Hwaseong Industrial Complex have returned their assets to the Omnipotent League?”

“About 3 places. 6 places are scheduled to be cleared up soon.”

“You will soon be operating 9 factories under the name of the Omnipotent League. Not factories scattered here and there like now, but a brand integrated into one called the Omnipotent League. Capital, manpower, technology, and materials will come in, and you just need to manage that. Of course, we’ll also attach a management consultant separately. Just do what you’ve been doing without any pressure.”

Hyeon-mu added, realizing he had left something out.

“I forgot about the factory to be built on the empty lot. Then it’ll be about 15? We’ll have to hire quite a few people. Don’t worry, the government will provide subsidies.”

Jeong Woo-hyeon’s face turned pale. He had no idea how big the scale Hyeon-mu was talking about was.

He had only been running a small factory his whole life, and suddenly someone appeared and said they would pour money into it?

“I, I can’t do it. I can’t handle that kind of burden.”

“Would an annual salary of 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD] be enough?”

“Even if I can’t do it, I have to try. Sigh.”

An annual salary of 1 billion won. The revenue Jeong Woo-hyeon earned from running the factory was just over 1 billion won.

After taxes, salaries, and everything else, Jeong Woo-hyeon was left with less than 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD]. His annual salary would increase tenfold in an instant.

“B-but why me for this position…”

When Jeong Woo-hyeon asked, Hyeon-mu smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

“CEO, I don’t have a great eye for people, or the power to predict the future. I’m not entrusting you with this because I noticed your hidden talents and want you to do a great job. I’m just entrusting you with this because I know you’re a good person and I want you to do well. At least I know you’re not someone who would ruin it without taking responsibility.”

That was enough for Hyeon-mu.

He didn’t expect him to manage the factory incredibly well and create a masterpiece that would sweep the market.

What Hyeon-mu wanted was to properly create a virtuous cycle structure that consumed the vast amount of accumulated crystal moss and created new assets.

And in the mana industry, the core material was crystal moss. Hyeon-mu had an almost infinite amount of that top-quality crystal moss accumulated.

If he used D&W’s technology to create something with this crystal moss, it would be above average even if he made it with his butt. Not to mention the reduction in production costs.

“Just do average. Just average. I’ll support you with whatever you need.”

Hyeon-mu finished the conversation there and passed on the remaining trivial questions to Seo Ji-hoo.

Either way, the preparation period would inevitably be quite long. It would take at least a year to connect and run all the factories.

Until then, he was planning to produce on a small scale and extract the supplies needed for the Hunter team. The performance would be much worse than what Hyeon-mu could make himself.

‘It would look strange if I carried around items with excessively high performance by myself,’ he reasoned.

It was necessary to have appropriate camouflage items.

Above all, the reason why the factory was needed was because of the ‘alliance’ that Park Hwi-so was talking about.

He was currently too dependent on the alliance.

When he didn’t know their intentions, he sold crystal moss to them at a high price because he was in desperate need of money, but now that they had even talked about eliminating him, he couldn’t just keep supplying them.

He was planning to gradually reduce the supply and cut it off completely once his income became stable.

‘Then another guy will have no choice but to step up directly,’ he thought.

Hyeon-mu approached Arun, the chief engineer of D&W, who was walking ahead of him.

The technician seemed more excited about meeting Dr. Do Won-gyeong than about the factory.

“Mr. Arun, did you have a fun conversation?”

“Ah, Mr. Kang Hyeon-mu! I didn’t expect to meet Dr. Do Won-gyeong here. Really, what should I say? Actually, my doctoral dissertation was about the Do Won-gyeong effect. If you’re a technician who has entered the item manufacturing industry, Dr. Do Won-gyeong is a legend among legends.”

Arun seemed quite excited.

Do Won-gyeong was showing off with an expression that seemed to say to Hyeon-mu, ‘Look, I’m such a great person. Praise and acknowledge me a little more, okay?’

Hyeon-mu had no choice but to indulge Do Won-gyeong’s pretense. In any case, Arun seemed to have a very good first impression.

“Then let’s move on to business matters. We want D&W’s technology. We expect that our collaboration with the Omnipotent League will create a pretty good synergy.”

“Can you tell me specifically what kind of technology you want?”

When Hyeon-mu winked at Do Won-gyeong, she whispered something in Arun’s ear. Arun’s eyes widened as he listened quietly.

“H-how did you know that…?”

Do Won-gyeong smiled knowingly and continued.

“If you look at the recently published papers, you can guess which direction D&W is going. I thought you’d come about this far.”

Arun looked troubled. But it was also difficult for him to refuse sharply in front of Do Won-gyeong. Still, Hyeon-mu could sense that he would refuse with some excuse.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Do Won-gyeong. The technology you mentioned has not yet been proven to be practical or marketable. Only a very small number of prototypes have been made, but it’s impossible to sell them because the unit price is too high.”

Hyeon-mu opened his mouth.

“Why is the unit price so high?”

“Because it uses too much crystal moss. Even if you save and save the right mid- to low-priced crystal moss, you can barely make one or two. It would be better to hit them with money than to use that as a weapon. There are plenty of other efficient weapons.”

The corners of Hyeon-mu’s mouth turned up.

“So all you need is crystal moss?”