Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 174

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The surroundings were pitch black. Trapped under a pile of security personnel, feeling like he was buried alive, Beom-seok struggled to breathe, unable to move. The Chairman’s office door was just a few feet away. His heart sank in despair, forced to give up when his goal was so close.

‘Ugh. Was this too ambitious after all?’

Beom-seok knew his fate was sealed. Without a miracle, he’d be handed over to the police, go to jail, and Rainbow Group would collapse.

Yet, he hadn’t lost all hope. He was pinned down right in front of the Chairman’s office. If the guards showed even the slightest lapse in vigilance, he could break free and secure Chairman Valbar. The problem was the sheer number of security guards surrounding him. It was unrealistic to expect all hundred or so to be careless. Some would be watching him closely, anticipating his every move. It was too much to hope for a lucky break.

‘How do I break through and get to Chairman Valbar?’

He racked his brain, but no solution emerged. He couldn’t possibly get past so many guards, no matter how short the distance.

Gradually, the pressure on his body lessened.

“Alright, alright. Slowly, everyone get off. Aula wants to see his face.”

The security guards began to move, and he could hear voices from outside. When an elf guard who had been covering his eyes stood up, the bright LED ceiling lights flooded his vision.

Beom-seok frowned, looking at the guards still pinning him down.

“Hey. Move a little. You’re crushing me. Your masters would be thrilled if you were this passionate with a strange man like me.”

His complaints were ignored. They didn’t budge. He was a dangerous individual who had seriously injured nearly thirty of their colleagues, and no one knew what might happen if they let him go.

Beom-seok clicked his tongue and glanced around. He looked at the door to the Chairman’s office again, a wave of regret washing over him.

‘Ah, damn it. I was so close. Crap.’

Just then, a woman approached. She was silver-haired, wore unusual glasses, and could be considered beautiful, if not for the slightly sharp upturn of her eyes.

She crouched down and tapped Beom-seok’s helmet as if knocking, then asked, “Who are you?”

Beom-seok immediately recognized her voice. It was the one he’d heard when entering from the rooftop.

“That’s none of your business. Are you the bitch called Aula?”

Aula smiled mockingly, her face full of scorn as she stared at him.

“Hohoho. Look at him. He has no idea what situation he’s in. You’re finished. How dare you target my grandfather, the Chairman of LHN Group? Do you think I’ll let that slide?”

“We’ll see. Is it up to you?”

“Hmph. We’ll see about that. Alright, I’ll ask you one question. Who the hell sent you?”

“Hmm. I wonder. Maybe Aula sent me, I think.”

Aula’s face turned red and purple. She believed he was mocking her.

In reality, she suspected someone was behind Beom-seok. At first, she thought he was a desperate fool or a madman, but when she learned his target was her grandfather, the Chairman, certain faces came to mind: her relatives, who, like her, were vying for the succession.

Aula was currently in charge of security within the LHN headquarters. If her grandfather, who was staying here, suffered a major incident due to an attack, she would bear significant responsibility. That would hurt her chances of succeeding him, giving her relatives an advantage.

Enraged, she shouted, her expression sharp. “You. Are you kidding me? If you don’t tell me the truth, you won’t leave here alive today. You may not know this, but we haven’t called the police yet. If you don’t talk, you’ll face considerable hardship before being handed over. Who is behind you!”

“Oh. Are you going to torture me in this democratic society? Do you think the police will stand by?”

“Hmph. There’s nothing we can’t do. No matter how much of a cop you are, they won’t confront our LHN for the likes of you. If we say it happened during the arrest, they won’t be able to say anything.”

Beom-seok feigned a whimper. “Oh dear. How scary. Alright, I’ll tell you. I came here alone because I wanted to. To see the face of the Chairman of the great LHN Group and maybe get some money on the side. Are you satisfied now?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Suddenly, Aula’s angry hand struck his helmet. The impact wasn’t significant, but Beom-seok didn’t like it.

“You. Did you just hit me?”

“Yes. So what are you going to do about it? Wriggle around like a bug?”

Beom-seok glanced at the security guards holding him down and replied, “Well. It would be difficult because of them. I can’t move at all.”

“If you know, tell me the truth! Who is behind you! If you confess honestly, I’ll reward you handsomely. With more money than you can imagine.”

Beom-seok, pretending not to understand, shouted in annoyance, “Hey. You stupid bitch! I told you the truth!”

“Who would believe that! There’s definitely someone behind you. It doesn’t make sense that you fought alone, came up to the 80th floor where the Chairman is, and even infiltrated and shut down our CCTV system! And that aerial movement suit you’re wearing is an expensive piece of equipment that ordinary people can never afford! There’s no way someone like you could wear it unless someone was supporting you!”

Aula’s words weren’t wrong. It was nearly impossible for Beom-seok to have done all those things alone. The suit he was wearing, which emitted high-temperature plasma particles allowing the wearer to fly, cost about 5 million krang [currency], far beyond the reach of an ordinary person.

However, her words gave Beom-seok an idea. He quickly assessed the distance to the Chairman’s room and the position of the security guards, then smiled.

‘Hehe. The door is right above my head. And since the security guards are holding me so tightly, their pressure will give me a lot of propulsion.’

Beom-seok, wearing a nonchalant expression, struggled to move his right arm towards the propulsion button on his waist.

“Alright. How much will you give me if I tell you who’s behind me?”

Aula smiled brightly and leaned close. “I’ll give you as much as you want. How much do you want?”

“Well. I’ll tell you after I meet the Chairman. Then, take care.”

With that, Beom-seok boldly pressed the propulsion button. A deafening roar erupted, and blue flames burst out in all directions. As the output increased, the security guards were thrown into the air, and Beom-seok was propelled violently upwards.

Thwack. Bang.

Beom-seok crashed into the Chairman’s residence, the door falling off its hinges as if in a dream. He quickly turned off the propulsion, tumbled to a stop near the window, and got to his feet. He looked around, searching for Chairman Valbar.

“Who the hell are you!”

Beom-seok smiled, spotting the old man shouting from behind the desk. Short, with thinning hair. It was Chairman Valbar, just like in the pictures. He ran to the desk, preventing the guards from entering, and sat cross-legged on it with a thud.

“Hey. How do you do? Chairman Valbar. I really wanted to meet you.”

Aula and her security guards rushed in, bewildered.

“Grandfather!”

Valbar stopped them with a gesture. The stranger was close, while they were far away. Any reckless move could provoke a dangerous reaction.

He glared at Beom-seok. “What the hell do you want! Did you come here to kill me!”

Beom-seok waved his hand. “Of course not. If I hurt an old man, I’ll have nightmares. Hahaha.”

His voice was calm, without murderous intent, and Valbar found himself believing him. He calmed his nerves and looked at Beom-seok.

“Then why did you come all the way here?”

“It’s nothing much. I came to get some money.”

“Money?”

“Yes. To put it simply, I came to steal the money in your wallet.”

Valbar tilted his head, confused. Even as the head of a giant bank, his wallet wasn’t a vault and couldn’t contain a fortune. He couldn’t believe someone would fight through so many guards for a few pennies.

“Are you kidding me? You broke in here to steal the money in my wallet?”

“Hahaha. To be honest, I’m embarrassed to do this. But life is unpredictable. I really need the money in the Chairman’s wallet.”

“Alright. What’s the reason?”

Beom-seok crossed his arms and shook his head, looking troubled. “I can’t tell you that. It wasn’t a big deal, but I couldn’t find a way to see the Chairman, so I made the incident too big. I can’t just drag other people into it.”

“So, someone is being unfairly harmed because of the incident you caused today. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, that’s right. But don’t ask for details. I can’t say more than this. I owe them a favor.”

Valbar watched him intently, then said, “Good. How much do you want?”

Beom-seok rolled his eyes. He had planned today’s operation thoroughly, but hadn’t considered how much to ask for. Since Chairman Wilkins hadn’t specified an amount, he held up three fingers.

“Do you want 30,000 krang?”

“Well. I don’t need that much.”

“Then 3,000 krang?”

“It’s less than that.”

“Ugh. 300 krang?”

Beom-seok smiled and lowered his thumb.

“Ugh. 30 krang?”

“No. It’s 3 krang.”

Valbar flushed red and slammed the desk. He was furious that he had to endure such humiliation for just 3 krang.

“What are you going to do with just 3 krang!”

“Well? I’ll buy you a cup of coffee from the vending machine. What else.”

Valbar glared at Beom-seok. This was a battle of pride instigated by someone else. Otherwise, such a ridiculous thing couldn’t have happened. He gritted his teeth, thinking of the old men he suspected were behind it.

‘It must be one of those old geezers. Have they gone senile? Resorting to such petty games!’

Valbar turned away. “I’ll never give it to you. I’ve never opened my wallet for no reason, even with a knife to my throat. Why should I let a thief like you take my hard-earned money?”

“Hehe. But now it’s checkmate. Unless the Chairman doesn’t have a wallet. If you do, I can forcibly take it.”

Valbar, feeling the wallet in his inside pocket, pouted. “I have a wallet, but no coins. Go get 7 krang. Then I’ll give you a 10 krang bill.”

Beom-seok shook his head. “Hehe. It’s okay to have coins on the desk or in your pocket, so hand them over.”

“Well. I told you I don’t have any, so stop nitpicking!”

“Really? If I find any, it’s 10 punches in the face for every 1 krang.”

Valbar cleared his throat and rummaged through the drawer, placing a 5 krang coin on the desk. There were also two 1 krang coins.

“This is all I have. Hurry up and bring 2 krang.”

Beom-seok picked up the 5 krang coin, opened the drawer again, took out the 2 krang, and handed it to Valbar.

“Here’s 2 krang.”

“Isn’t that my money!”

“No. Have you ever seen a thief distinguish between my money and your money?”

He wasn’t wrong, but Valbar felt wronged.

“Still, that’s not right! You only wanted 3 krang!”

“Ah. That’s right. Then I’ll pay you back 2 krang when I see you again. Then, take care.”

Beom-seok jumped up, leaped off the desk, broke the window, and threw himself out. He still wanted to avenge himself on Aula, but couldn’t risk any more right now.

Aula, seeing this, ran to Valbar. “Grandfather, are you okay!”

Valbar, staring at the broken window, said, “Aula. I have something for you to do.”

“Yes, yes. Just tell me.”

“Find out who that guy is and who is behind him as soon as possible, and report to me. And no matter how much it costs, search the world and bring me martial artists or gladiators better than him.”

Aula, surprised, asked, “Grandfather. Don’t worry about your safety. I’ll double the security guards and protect your residence securely.”

Valbar smiled brightly like a child. “Hehe. My friends want to have a great time before they die, so I have to respond. Just do as I tell you.”

“Yes, yes. I understand. I will do my best.”

She still didn’t understand, but Aula bowed. Her grandfather hated repeating himself. He only tolerated questions from her; others would have faced his anger.

She immediately ordered the security guards to send the injured to the hospital and clean up the mess.

============================ Author’s words ============================

Christmas is only a few weeks away. Have you all prepared your side warmers? If you don’t have them, it’s not too late, so please prepare diligently.

Then have a good winter day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.