The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 142

141

“…What happened?”

I visited the site after belatedly hearing about the accident.

It was already a day later, so the other employees were not around. Chief Choi and a few other officials and firefighters were cleaning up the aftermath.

“It seems gas built up inside the caterpillar-type monster. It suddenly expanded and exploded…”

Chief Choi Yong-gu explained in a subdued voice.

I had heard a rough account before coming, but seeing it in person, the situation seemed even more serious.

The facility looked fine on the outside, but the inside was a complete mess.

Most of the equipment had melted beyond recognition, and a pungent odor filled the air.

‘A bodily fluid that melts even steel burst in the middle of the facility…’

It hasn’t been long since the headquarters support team had an incident, and now this again…

Just my luck.

I tried to calm my troubled mind and assess the situation.

“Were there any injuries?”

“No. We’ve been conducting evacuation drills every month.”

“That’s a relief, at least.”

“Well, there’s something…”

Chief Choi hesitated before cautiously speaking.

“Executive Director Kang Sang-woo hasn’t been in contact since the accident. Given the nature of the accident, it seems he was shocked and went into hiding…”

“…Is that so?”

Amidst the unfortunate accident, this was welcome news.

However, I couldn’t show it at the accident site.

I made an effort to speak calmly.

“Anyway, he didn’t last the promised week and ran away, so I guess the lawsuit will be dropped. I’m sure you’re heartbroken because of the accident, but at least you can think of it as fortunate…”

“No.”

At that moment, Director Lee Ah-young, who had just arrived at the scene, cut me off.

“…What do you mean, no?”

“The lawsuit against the subcontractor at GT Dungeon went ahead.”

“What are you talking about? According to the agreement, it should have been withdrawn…”

At that moment, I felt a chill down my spine, and my words trailed off.

He couldn’t last a week and ran away, but they’re still suing?

There’s only one way to explain this.

They’re just openly trying to stab me in the back.

‘These bastards…’

I unconsciously gritted my teeth.

“Are you saying Executive Director Kang did this?”

“I don’t think so. When I checked, he was transferred to the Gangwon branch of GT Livestock yesterday.”

“Then it must be someone higher up who made the decision.”

“Probably… I think it might be Vice President Go Taek-soo.”

Are they really going to play it this way?

We used a loophole, but they’re overturning the table because things aren’t going their way?

“That’s absurd. I thought they were at least somewhat trustworthy since they’re a large corporation’s affiliate…”

“Well, they probably didn’t expect this to happen either. With the company’s survival at stake, GT Dungeon probably had no choice.”

“Haa…”

Of course, I expected them to stab me in the back… but I never thought they’d be this brazen.

An unexpected accident occurred, Executive Director Kang was demoted in one fell swoop, and GT Dungeon is proceeding with the lawsuit, ignoring the agreement.

This is a complete mess.

“Mr. President…”

As I was staring at the melted facility, Chief Choi cautiously called out to me again.

“What is it?”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to meet the schedule you mentioned. The equipment is all broken… And most importantly, the monster carcasses and byproducts that Karma Corporation entrusted to us have all melted.”

“…”

“B-But don’t worry too much. We’ll somehow compensate for that part…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“…Pardon?”

“I don’t really care about the schedule or compensation, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Chief Choi looked like he couldn’t understand.

Director Lee Ah-young, who was next to me, also widened her eyes and raised her voice.

“W-Wait a minute! How can you not care?! How much are all the byproducts we entrusted here worth?!”

“What can we do about what’s already happened? It’s not like calculating profits and losses will restore the melted byproducts.”

Since the facility is like this, even if we receive compensation, it won’t be adequate.

“In the first place, what does it matter if we’re short on those byproducts or if it’s late? As long as the people working are okay. Well, we can just buy new equipment.”

What’s important is to continuously receive byproducts after the research center is completed.

Even if the work is delayed right now, it doesn’t matter much.

“…I see. You’re right.”

Director Lee Ah-young, who seemed a little flustered, soon smiled and nodded.

“First, let’s think about what to do with the GT Dungeon guys who openly stabbed us in the back. If this continues, all the byproduct processing facilities nationwide will be forced to fulfill their contracts with GT Dungeon.”

“…Should we support the legal team?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“Seeing them come out this brazenly, they must have made thorough preparations. Doesn’t that mean they’re confident in a legal battle?”

Director Lee Ah-young’s expression darkened.

Yes, that’s what I’m worried about.

No matter what else, I can’t do as I please in a legal battle.

“Honestly, I don’t even know if we can win. No, regardless of winning or losing, it’s a fight where they automatically win just by dragging it out.”

It could last at least a year, or even five years or more.

Of course, the facility won’t be operating properly during that time.

Even if the research center is completed, we might not be able to monopolize byproducts, and processing itself might become difficult.

And no matter what else, I don’t have time.

I don’t have much time left.

[Hidden Skill: Karma]

[Time Limit: Approximately 3 years and 11 months]

About 4 years.

Within that time, I have to grow the Korean Association, devour the International Association, and become the Secretary-General.

Considering the other tasks I have to do later, I can’t waste time here.

I need to finish this quickly somehow.

Of course, cleanly and without problems.

“Let’s go with a more certain and faster method.”

“…What is it?”

“Emotional appeal.”

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Since they went with a dirty fight, there’s no need for us to be gentlemen.

“Let’s gather some allies too.”

They say companies fear their image more than the law.

They can’t possibly think they’ll be safe after stabbing me in the back.

***

“What do we do now…?”

After CEO Kim and his group left, Chief Choi Yong-gu met with CEO Kwak Cheol-soo to ask for his opinion.

CEO Kwak had a rather complicated expression.

The council was held, and Executive Director Kang ran away in the middle, so he thought it was really resolved now…

He never imagined they would ignore the agreement and proceed with the lawsuit.

“I don’t know either…”

He even thought that he shouldn’t have provoked GT Dungeon from the beginning.

But it was already water under the bridge.

Instead of regretting, he had to think about what to do from now on.

But there’s only so much a subcontractor can do.

‘In the end, it’s either bowing down to GT Dungeon or going with Karma Corporation, even if it means closing down…’

CEO Kwak hesitated for a moment between the two, then asked Chief Choi.

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Karma Corporation.”

CEO Kwak’s voice became quite serious.

“If we trust them, do you think they’ll help us until the end?”

“…”

Chief Choi paused for a moment.

Then, he carefully reflected on the events of the past few days.

It was unusual from the moment they brought the contract.

How many companies have offered such an amount so far?

What’s more, the cleaning team does the groundwork in advance for dangerous tasks, and they understand our schedule and workload and adjust the delivery deadline.

Above all, when the accident happened, GT Dungeon immediately thought of stabbing us in the back, while CEO Kim checked on the safety of the employees first.

The difference between the two was already clear.

Besides, CEO Kim casually said a moment ago.

‘As long as the people are okay, nothing else matters…’

Chief Choi’s mind was already made up.

“Yes.”

He answered with a confident voice.

“If it’s Karma Corporation, they will definitely help us until the end.”

“…Has there ever been such a company before?”

“There hasn’t been one so far, so isn’t it time for one to come out now?”

Chief Choi smiled.

But CEO Kwak was still worried.

As an employee, it’s natural to side with the guy you like, but from the CEO’s perspective, it wasn’t a matter to be decided so easily.

Of course, the hesitation was only temporary.

“Yeah, screw it. What’s worse than dying?”

There’s nowhere to retreat anymore anyway.

In a situation where he’s lost a lot, what’s there to lose even if he loses more?

“We’re going with Karma Corporation until the end. Contact all the national facility representatives right now. Let’s not accept any GT Dungeon orders from now on, regardless of lawsuits or anything else.”

“Understood.”

“Ah, and…”

He asked, suddenly thinking of something.

“Do you happen to be good at things like the internet?”

“Why do you ask?”

“They say the impact is enormous if you write an article on the internet these days. People all over the world see it in just one day.”

“Is that so…?”

“Let’s try to sway public opinion a bit too.”

Unusually for CEO Kwak, it was quite a new-generation idea.

Chief Choi nodded with a smile.

Yes, if we’re going to bite their necks, we have to do it properly.

***

“How’s it going?”

At GT Dungeon, Vice President Go Taek-soo asked, and the chief of staff handed him the documents.

“Lawsuits against Kangan Logistics and 42 other companies have all been filed. They will be referred to the prosecution as early as this week.”

“Okay.”

President Go snapped his fingers.

But the chief of staff had an uneasy expression.

“Um… but is this okay?”

“What is it?”

“Isn’t this completely ignoring the existing agreement? Karma Corporation won’t stay still either.”

“What are they going to do if they don’t stay still?”

“If they join hands with Hanbyul Corporation and engage in a legal battle…”

“Let them. The outcome of the trial doesn’t really matter anyway. We’re guaranteed to be at an advantage just by dragging it out.”

Vice President Go waved his hand as if it were nothing.

During the trial, subcontractors have no decision-making power. Until the results come out, they have to continue to fulfill their contracts with us, whether they like it or not.

That alone can perfectly check Karma Corporation’s monopoly on byproducts, and if luck is on our side, we might even be able to get them out of this industry altogether.

They say the ultimate winner is the one who endures.

There’s no way ants can withstand a huge wind.

The smile never left Vice President Go’s face.

‘I should have just gone this way from the beginning.’

I wasted time with the council and everything else for nothing.

Regretting the missed opportunity, he opened his mouth to the chief of staff.

“Anyway, ignore all the reactions from their side. If we respond to them one by one, we might give them a weakness.”

“Understood.”

Just as the chief of staff was about to leave the office with a bow.

“V-Vice President!”

A member of the management team burst into the office.

“Karma Corporation is now…!”

“Oh, I thought it was something. Ignore it, ignore it.”

“N-No! We can’t ignore it!”

“…?”

His eyebrows twitched.

“Karma Corporation has gathered the national subcontractor representatives contracted with us and is holding a press conference! Articles from subcontractor employees continue to be posted on the internet!”

“…?!!”

“In addition, Hanbyul Corporation and the Korean Association are also continuously reporting us…”

Before the report was even finished, the chief of staff opened his phone and checked the internet.

He looked at Vice President Go with a face that had turned ashen.

“Vice President…”

Finally, he opened his mouth.

“The petition to the Blue House to confiscate GT Dungeon’s subjugation rights… has exceeded 200,000 signatures…”

“…”

Vice President Go Taek-soo’s vision began to darken.