I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 1

The Hidden Kingpin of the British Empire (1)

A Scumbag Eating Scumbags

“Then the collateral will be the SH Soft headquarters building. The review went smoothly, so we’ll proceed with the 10 billion won loan as is.”

“Thank you.”

As I picked up the documents on the desk, the branch manager smiled ingratiatingly and bowed.

It was amusing to see him smiling as he led someone into the depths of hell, but I didn’t show it and smiled back.

Probably the same expression he had when he pushed countless victims into the flames of purgatory.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Please be careful going back!”

I leisurely walked away, receiving the farewells of those who came out to see me off outside the branch.

This time, the profit was quite good.

Even after deducting the funds used for information gathering, various operations, and the money given to buy off collaborators, I’d still have about 7 billion won left.

Of course, I’ve made this much profit several times before, so I’m not overjoyed to the point of flying away.

I wasn’t a newbie anymore, getting excited or depressed over every single deal.

I went outside, confirmed three times that I wasn’t being followed, and took out my burner phone.

As always, I called the broker who laundered the money, and I heard a very cheerful voice.

“Oh, I was just thinking you’d be calling soon. Did it go well?”

“About 7 billion won. Take your cut as usual and handle it well.”

“Wow, you’re really talented. How can you squeeze money out of them without raising any suspicion?”

“That’s just how those guys are. They’ve only ever lived by ripping off someone else’s money, so they can’t even imagine being ripped off themselves.”

The simple but straightforward truth has never betrayed me.

Why hide it? It’s been ten years since I started this job, which can only be called fraud no matter how nicely you package it.

Except for the first few years when I was still a novice, I’ve never missed a single one of my prey.

And every single one of those marked as my prey shared a common trait without exception.

That is, they were all scammers with greed overflowing to their throats.

In simple terms, it’s cannibalism. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that trash eats the same trash and grows in size.

“I’ll do it as always, so check it out later. It’ll go into the designated burner account, so make sure to withdraw it on time.”

“Do you think I’m doing this for the first time? Do you think I’d make a mistake with that?”

I don’t specifically target scammers or those close to scammers for any grand reason.

I’ve been an orphan since birth, so it’s not like my parents were scammed, nor is it out of a sense of justice to make the world a better place.

I know they’re all scammers anyway, so I don’t want to rationalize it by calling myself a dark knight or a Robin Hood.

The reason I make money this way is not complicated.

First of all, as I said before, if you just dangle the bait like a suitable prey, they won’t hesitate to try to fleece me.

So I can fleece them in return without any hesitation.

Besides, even if they get their money stolen, they can’t complain to anyone.

How can they get help from the law when they’ve been scammed out of money they made by scamming in the first place, which would only land them in jail?

I’m worried about private sanctions [retaliation outside of the legal system], but there’s no problem since I’m using various methods to hide my identity and face.

It’s no exaggeration to say that there are almost no people who can contact me other than this guy I’m talking to on the phone.

“So, who’s the next target? Do you have anyone in mind?”

“I have someone in mind. I heard he’s the chairman of some academic foundation, and he’s been collecting money in a pretty vicious way.”

“So you’re going to deliver justice?”

“Justice my ass. Maybe mirror therapy [making someone experience what they inflict on others].”

“I think the way you do things is much more innovative than mirror therapy.”

I won’t deny that.

In fact, even if scammers are greedy, they don’t even try to prey on someone who looks suspicious from the start.

To make them see you as the perfect sucker, you have to be completely versed in scams, which is impossible if you haven’t completely mastered it.

It’s nothing to brag about, but I know everything and have done everything in this field.

From card sharp-like sleight of hand to major areas such as phishing, Ponzi schemes [fraudulent investment operations], and market manipulation, I’ve reached the level of a master in everything.

I’ve had to disguise myself as a professional who only studied and didn’t know the ways of the world, so I’ve accumulated quite a bit of knowledge in accounting, law, and finance.

I even had to pretend to be a history professor before, so I memorized modern history.

Fortunately, I have a memory that doesn’t easily forget things I’ve seen once, so memorizing itself wasn’t difficult.

If I had these abilities, I could have made a good living doing something other than scamming, but unfortunately, once I took the first step wrong, there’s no way out and I don’t feel like it.

I hung up the phone and was about to go to my favorite cocktail bar to celebrate my success when I heard a voice from my smartphone.

“Hey, hey, that’s good too, but if you’re interested, how about looking at a deal I brought in? It’s a guy causing trouble in China, and I think you can really rip him off big time? Just give me 10% for the information.”

“How much are you expecting? At least.”

“At least 20 billion won or more. You speak Chinese and English like a native, so there won’t be any problem pretending to be a local.”

Is it just Chinese and English? I can also speak French or Spanish for simple communication.

Even if you dig deep, the bottom will come out, but at least on the surface, scammers are the kind of people who look more luxurious than anyone else.

Anyway, I’ve done overseas work several times, so there’s no reason to refuse such a big deal.

I hung up the phone, reviewed the materials he sent, and didn’t find anything suspicious, so I immediately sent back a reply saying I’d take the job.

And three days later, unaware of what was to come, I bought a ticket to China and set off.

* * *

The biggest reason why successful people fall is carelessness.

They say that even people who pay close attention at first can’t help but become a little lax as they become more successful.

But who would have thought that would be my story?

“Yoon Sun-woo. Is that right?”

Three men approached me as soon as I came out of the airport.

As soon as I heard the voice, I tried to run without looking back, but their response was faster.

Just by looking at their calm voices and cold eyes, I could easily guess what their purpose was.

Who the hell sent these guys?

Even so, I don’t remember ripping off anyone who could pull off something this big, so then…

I could have figured it out if I had thought a little more, but before that, my body lost all strength and my consciousness faded.

I’ve never experienced it myself, but is this what it feels like to be under general anesthesia?

I felt like I had fallen asleep for a moment, but when I opened my eyes, there was no trace of the airport, and I saw a creepy abandoned mine.

I reflexively tried to get up and run away, but unfortunately, my body wouldn’t listen.

I struggled to put even a little strength into my legs when I heard familiar Korean.

“Oh, this bastard’s awake?”

It’s the voice of that bastard who called my name earlier.

They must have been determined to drag me to a remote place, so what they’re going to do from now on… Oh, shit.

“I don’t know who you are, but I think you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not Yoon Sun-woo, I’m Lee Hyun-woo…”

“Do you think we’re idiots who didn’t even check your passport?”

“Then I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding. Let’s talk it out. Who sent you? Let me talk to that person on the phone.”

“You? Don’t bother. If you piss off the Vice Chairman, it’s not just you, but we’ll get caught in the crossfire.”

Vice Chairman? I swear I’ve never touched anyone called that, so what the hell is this?

I thought there might really be a misunderstanding, but there’s no way someone with the ability to do this would simply misunderstand.

“Did I accidentally touch the money of that Vice Chairman without knowing it?”

“Wow, you’re quick to catch on. I heard that’s right? The 15 billion won you ripped off last time. That was money the Vice Chairman had entrusted to someone, and it caused a real mess.”

“I didn’t know that was the money of someone called the Vice Chairman! Wait. Then I can return the 15 billion won with interest, making it 20 billion won. So let me make a phone call…”

“You only know one thing and not the other. Think about it. Do you think the problem is just 20 billion won? Do you know how big the problem has become because of that? Because of that idiot, even the paper company was exposed, and all the slush funds [illegally obtained money] entrusted there are about to evaporate. Can you pay all that back?”

No. How would I know that the guy I thought was just the president of a scammer company had such a background?

I can guess what fate the idiot who had his money stolen by me met without even asking.

The problem is that the shit splashed on me.

The man looked at my bug-chewed expression and continued.

“But you hid your identity very thoroughly. If we hadn’t caught the guy who laundered your money and squeezed him, we wouldn’t have even seen your face, right? Do you know how much we got chewed out for being slow to handle things because of that?”

What do I care if you guys get chewed out, you bastards? I wanted to pour it out, but I held back for now.

From what I heard, it wasn’t that they traced my trail, but that the guy I was dealing with got caught, so I should have paid enough attention to this side as well.

Of course, how could I have guessed that the sucker I thought was just a pushover was a poisoned chalice, but I can’t deny that this is my carelessness.

That’s why people should check if their foundations are solid as they get better, but I’m a pathetic bastard who only realizes it after ending up like this.

“Wait. Let’s calm down and talk. I can’t pay back all the money, but there’s a better way, right? Do you know how much money I’ve saved up? I’ve laundered it all, so I have hundreds of millions of won that aren’t tagged. I’ll give you all that, so can’t you report that I handled it properly?”

“Hey, hey, do you think we don’t want to do that? But what do you think will happen next if we accept your offer? We’ll be kneeling in your place right now, begging the other guy who’s in this place to give us all the money and spare us, right?”

“You idiot… No, no. So I’ll take care of everything so that doesn’t happen, right? I know a way to launder identities and money, so why can’t you recognize the opportunity! This is your chance to turn your life around! Don’t you understand that all this money will be gone if I die?”

“Well, we can collect it if we squeeze the guy who laundered your money too. The Vice Chairman is very angry, so we can’t help it. Sorry.”

Who the hell is that Vice Chairman, you goddamn sons of bitches, I tried to shout out loud, but even that wasn’t possible with my consciousness suddenly fading.

“But we have at least a minimum of conscience, so we’ll anesthetize you and take care of you. You won’t open your eyes next time, so live a good life in the next life.”

I really never imagined that I would have to listen to such bullshit from the world’s worst people killers at the last moment.

It’s said to be the karma of stealing money from other scammers, but those guys are still living well.

To be honest, even if I were handed over to trial, I wouldn’t have committed a crime worthy of death, but do I have to die like this because I had all the slush funds of a chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] bastard I don’t even know where he lives stolen? This is so fucked up…

Even if I try to maintain consciousness by biting my tongue, I can’t catch the fading consciousness.

Without even leaving a proper will, my last thought in this world was cut off.