Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 161

A few days later, Bum-suk, having received a call, traveled with Gloria to Ellington City in Silonia. It was a major city within the Deloy Metropolitan Government, a sprawling administrative center boasting a population of 10.4 million. His purpose was to visit the headquarters of Windhouse Corporation, managed by Chairman Lucas. Today, he was set to conduct negotiations crucial for the Rainbow Group’s survival.

Bum-suk and Gloria ascended to the 107th floor in the elevator and walked towards the door marked with the chairman’s office sign.

“Gloria, please try to relax. Any sign of nervousness could give Chairman Lucas a negative impression and potentially jeopardize today’s briefing.”

However, this briefing was a critical turning point, determining whether the company she had dedicated her life to would survive or collapse. As the person most directly affected, Gloria couldn’t help but feel anxious.

She took a deep breath and responded,

“Yes, I understand. I also know this is our last chance.”

“Hehe. Don’t think of it that way; just relax. If you clearly explain the Rainbow Group’s current situation, you should be able to secure the investment.”

“I certainly hope so.”

As they approached the chairman’s office, Gloria’s pace slowed. Had she ever experienced such a nerve-wracking moment? The Rainbow Group had weathered numerous crises, but she had never faced a situation where the company’s fate hinged on a single briefing.

Finally, reaching the door, she squeezed her eyes shut and allowed Bum-suk to knock.

Knock, knock.

“Yes, come in.”

At the sound of the clear female voice, Bum-suk opened the door and entered. Several elves were present, bowing politely as he entered.

“Welcome, Bum-suk. Chairman Lucas has been expecting you.”

“Okay. Where is Chairman Lucas?”

A blonde elf, impeccably dressed in a tailored women’s suit, approached the central door and gestured with both hands.

“Please proceed to the chairman’s office through here.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Bum-suk gave a slight nod and led Gloria into the chairman’s office.

“Bum-suk, welcome.”

As always, Chairman Lucas was excessively jovial. From his affable expression to the welcoming gesture of his open arms, Bum-suk felt a sense of ease and greeted him with a relaxed demeanor.

“It’s been a while, Chairman Lucas. How have you been?”

“Hahaha, I’ve been well. And is this lovely lady beside you the chairwoman of Rainbow Group?”

Lucas looked at Gloria and smiled, prompting Bum-suk to nod immediately.

“Yes, that’s correct. Please treat her well. Gloria, please introduce yourself.”

“Hello, I’m Gloria.”

Lucas scrutinized her intently without a word, then quietly spoke.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Lucas.”

“Yes, I know. It’s an honor to meet you, Chairman Lucas.”

Lucas gestured them towards the reception sofa.

“Alright, everyone, please sit down. We likely have much to discuss.”

“Hehe. Yes, I’m going to impose on you quite a bit today, so be prepared.”

“Oh, how intimidating. You may or may not know, but I dislike being bothered. If I sense anything of the sort, I’ll make a quick escape.”

Once everyone was seated, Bum-suk smiled and winked at Gloria, signaling her to begin the briefing. She promptly retrieved her electronic notepad from her bag and placed it on the table.

“Are you starting already? I’m going to be out of breath. Why don’t we have some tea and relax a bit?”

Lucas used the intercom to instruct his elf secretaries to prepare tea and refreshments. Bum-suk saw no particular reason to rush, so he enjoyed the light refreshments that were brought in and continued the conversation.

“As you’ll see in the briefing, Rainbow Group is a remarkably solid company. If we can overcome this current crisis, we’ll quickly return to normal and regain our former glory.”

“Hehe. That’s how companies operate. They grow by navigating through cycles of crises and booms. By the way, how are your God Knights team’s recent results? When I last checked, they seemed to be performing quite well.”

He tilted his head slightly, puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Lucas was inquiring about the God Knights’ team performance when the focus should be on the Rainbow Group. However, it could be a gesture to ease the tension before a formal investment presentation, so he decided to answer willingly.

Currently, the God Knights had recently achieved 4 wins and 1 draw, holding 4th place in the league with a record of 18 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses. However, they were only 1 point behind the Fire Phoenixes and Peace Griffins, who were tied with 18 wins, 6 draws, and 6 losses. They were scheduled to play each of these teams once in the second half of the season, giving them a chance to climb to 2nd place at any time. The challenge was that there were only 8 league games remaining. If the God Knights lost or drew against either of these teams, and that team won all their remaining games, their ambition for 2nd place would be crushed.

“The main concern is the Peace Griffins.”

“Oh, why is that?”

Although the Peace Griffins were tied with the Fire Phoenixes, their recent slump was due to their main gladiator’s injury. Their fundamental strength remained far superior. Now that all the injured gladiators had returned to the team and were playing their roles, the team’s win rate was likely to increase significantly. Moreover, they had already faced most of the strong teams, except for the away game against the God Knights, and 6 of their remaining 8 games were home games. It was highly probable that they would win the majority of their remaining games.

“I see. So what are your team’s prospects for 2nd place?”

“It’s likely that 2nd place will be decided in the final game of the league, the 38th game, because we’ll be facing the Peace Griffins in that last game.”

Lucas rested his chin on his hand and stared at him intently.

“Oh, that’s a lot of confidence. So that means your team can achieve almost the same results as the Peace Griffins in the remaining games?”

“Of course. The Peace Griffins are formidable, but we have the advantage in terms of actual strength. If we had Oscar and Rafine, the God Knights would be strong enough to beat your Black Cats team.”

Lucas nodded. He had heard the same assessment from Robs, the coach of his team. He said that the Black Cats’ biggest stroke of luck this year was that the God Knights had given up on promotion in the first half to focus on the GA Cup [Galactic Arena Cup], and that Oscar and Rafine had been loaned to the Dragon Knights.

Since everyone acknowledged it, he couldn’t deny it.

“I see. That’s understandable.”

Bum-suk, thinking he had finished the casual explanation, glanced at Gloria. Although it was a lighthearted conversation to ease the tension, he felt sorry for her, who was eager to begin, for rambling on.

“Well then, Chairman Lucas, let’s start the briefing. Today’s main event is the Rainbow Group’s investment presentation.”

As soon as those words were spoken, Lucas waved his hand.

“There’s no need for that. I already know most of the details.”

“What? You already know?”

“A few days ago, I received a request from you regarding the Rainbow Group and conducted a separate investigation. I likely know most of what Chairwoman Gloria is going to present.”

Bum-suk spoke with a hopeful expression.

“Then that makes things faster. You must also know that Rainbow Group’s financial condition is very sound, right?”

“That’s right. From what I’ve learned, it’s very sound, almost conservative. Sales are consistent, and they’re making a profit of over 1 billion krang [currency] every year. And for a real estate company, their debt situation is also favorable.”

“So you’ll invest?”

Lucas sighed deeply and shook his head.

In fact, the Black Society [powerful organization] had anticipated that Bum-suk would approach them about this issue long before the Rainbow Group crisis surfaced. They had detected through their informants that Julian had visited LHN Financial Holdings and met someone in secret. So, after investigating, they confirmed that Aula, the granddaughter of the chairman of LHN Financial Holdings, was his classmate and closely monitored her actions. Then, they noticed unusual activity from her. One of Aula’s associates, a director named Ride, was visiting banks and engaging in suspicious activities. Eventually, he boldly visited the vice president of Unique Bank, who had strong ties with the Black Society, and demanded that he put pressure on the Rainbow Group with a substantial bribe.

The Black Society’s leadership was deeply troubled. Aula clearly knew that the vice president of Unique Bank had connections with the Black Society, so making this request was a veiled threat, signaling them not to interfere in the future if they wished to maintain a good relationship with her. Anyone else would have been ignored, but she was the leading candidate to succeed the chairman of LHN Financial Holdings. Considering that the chairman, Balbar, was elderly and in poor health, she could soon become the head of LHN Financial Holdings.

Of course, considering their relationship with Bum-suk, they should have retaliated, but there were times in life when they had to act rationally, unburdened by morality.

Aula was known to be a ruthless individual who never forgot a grudge. If that were the case, LHN Financial Holdings, which had been neutral, might side with the Economic Organizations [rival organization] in the future. This would be a significant blow to the Black Society. Moreover, the Economic Organizations had conceded in the fight over the free medical procedure system, so Bum-suk’s importance had diminished considerably. Emma had gained substantial experience as a professional, so there would be no issue in justifying her departure from the God Knights. And according to Aula’s message, if they cooperated with this matter, LHN would continue to remain neutral. For the future of the Black Society, it was better to feign ignorance this time.

“Well, that might be a bit difficult.”

At his negative statement, Bum-suk’s eyes widened.

“W-what do you mean? As you know, Rainbow Group’s financial soundness is as strong as any top-tier company.”

“As I mentioned earlier, I am aware of that. But this Rainbow Group situation is something that LHN Bank is intentionally trying to sabotage with hostility. Moreover, they recently threatened us that if we helped the Rainbow Group, we would pay a heavy price. Of course, our Black Society is not inferior to them, but if LHN aligns with the Economic Organizations, we will be unilaterally pushed back in our ongoing struggle with them, which we are currently managing closely. And many of the Black Society members, including myself, are business owners, so they don’t want to be at odds with the world’s largest financial company.”

He had anticipated this, but he hadn’t realized that LHN would attack the Rainbow Group with such animosity. The Black Society, the world’s largest economic and political organization, was taking a risk by threatening them, indicating their determination to attack.

He looked at Gloria, whose face was turning pale, and asked,

“Gloria, did you have any negative experiences with LHN?”

“N-no. Not at all. Would a company based in a local government like ours dare to antagonize such a large financial company?”

Indeed, he seemed correct. From LHN Financial Holdings’ perspective, the Rainbow Group was insignificant. Gloria, who had spent her entire life in management, would not have done anything to offend them.

Just in case, Bum-suk looked at Lucas. He suddenly wondered if the Economic Organizations might be behind this incident. They were hostile enough to orchestrate something like this against them.

“Chairman Lucas, could this be an attack from the Economic Organizations directed at us?”

“We suspected that as well, but after investigating, it turned out to be no.”

Lucas shook his head without any change in expression. As he said, this Rainbow Group situation was initiated by Julian, a member of the Economic Organizations, but it was an attack limited to Bum-suk’s acquaintances, not themselves. Of course, denying it wasn’t inaccurate.

Bum-suk was completely misled. Considering the relationship between the Black Society and those guys, he assumed they wouldn’t exhibit such a nonchalant attitude.

“Sigh~ Then why is LHN doing this?”

“That’s a question for later consideration. Now, at this point when the Rainbow Group’s bankruptcy is virtually certain, I believe it’s crucial to discuss what action Chairwoman Gloria should take. The Rainbow Group seems to have accumulated approximately 2 billion krang in cash assets, so I think it’s best to withdraw this money before it’s too late and use it as a foundation for future recovery. In fact, the reason I wanted to meet you and Chairwoman Gloria today was to discuss this very point. If you wish, we can handle this discreetly to avoid any repercussions…”

At that moment, Gloria stood up with an indignant expression. The Rainbow Group was like a child she had nurtured her entire life, and it was a workplace where many women with limited options earned a living. She couldn’t embezzle funds to save herself while simultaneously destroying their livelihoods.

“Don’t say such outrageous things! You’re suggesting I destroy the Rainbow Group with my own hands! If I were going to do that, I wouldn’t have come here!”

Lucas looked at her with a cold expression.

“Then there’s nothing I can do to assist Chairwoman Gloria. Our Black Society has no intention of being at odds with LHN.”

“I understand. I won’t ask any further.”

Gloria carefully placed the electronic notepad, which had remained unused on the table, back into her bag and left the chairman’s office. Bum-suk, feeling embarrassed, quickly bid farewell to Chairman Lucas and hurried after her. The Black Society was the last hope for the Rainbow Group, so Gloria couldn’t help but be deeply shaken.