Read 12 Hours After - Chapter 171 - All-out War, Part VII online free - Light Novel Full
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
"There is no need to greet each other; let's talk about our business." Tak Mun-su sat in front of me and looked at me with his hands together.
"Our business? What do you mean?"
"The business between you and me."
"… What happened to Mr. Tak and me?" I pretended not to know.
"Wasn't the tax investigation by the independent counsel all your intended work?" he challenged me directly.
'… Was he notified? No, the president wouldn't have opened his mouth, so… it's a guess, or maybe he's sounding me out.'
Thinking that, I stared at him and said, "The intended work? Isn't that government's job? What authority would I have as CEO of an investment firm to plan a tax investigation or an independent counsel?"
He also gazed at my face and replied, "I was surprised, too. How did you make the VIP move…" To his surprise, he seemed to think of me as the mastermind behind the regime. There was no evidence, but he made such a conclusion with the circumstances alone. It was so amazing.
'But if I say no, what can he do?'
I shook my head and said, "I can't believe I made the VIP move. It's nonsense. Of course, I've been hoping for that a little bit. I hoped Suyeon Group would get into a bit of trouble."
He stared at me. I also stared at him.
"It was natural. Your Suyeon Group cut off advertising to our subsidiary, and cut off our distribution business, right? How would I like such a company? I told you. If Suyeon Group has Invictus Investment as an enemy, we have no choice but to have Suyeon Group as an enemy, as well. Therefore, I…" I blurred my words. "I had that wish. I want the government to step out and hold the ring on the big companies. But it happened BY ACCIDENT." I deliberately cut off the word 'by accident'. I never said, 'I'm controlling the president,' but I showed my real intentions a little bit.
Tak Mun-su listened to me and said, holding hands together, "I apologize for that."
I was quite surprised to hear that. 'Is this guy apologizing?' It was not like him.
'He must have been scared of the special prosecutor.' I thought, as he kept talking.
"I just ordered my employees to press you to get the upper hand in the bid to take over Ullim Electronics. By the way, the lower ones were so loyal that… That's how it turned out. When I finished acquiring Ullim Electronics, I was going to let it go."
He looked like he was dropping his tail slightly. To be sure, even if he was the vice chairman of a large company, the prosecution and the National Tax Service seemed to be something he feared. But I didn't like his words much, either.
'Aha, he insists that he didn't do anything wrong, but it was his followers' fault, and he was going to let us go after the acquisition? Bah! How do I know if it's true or not?' I looked at him with sharp eyes.
"As I said before, Ullim Electronics has a good synergy with our Suyeon Electronics. It's something we're dealing with right now."
I laughed inwardly at the words. 'Yes, I know. So, I decided to buy Suyeon Electronics as a whole.' But that was still a secret…
"The growth potential of Ullim Electronics was something that we couldn't miss, either. Wouldn't it be natural for an investment company to seek profit?" I replied to him.
Although we didn't intend to take over Ullim Electronics anyway, our company had yet to pull out of the acquisition race, by all appearances. We called 1.7 billion dollars, two hundred million dollars lower than the 1.9 billion-dollar-bid made by Suyeon Electronics, and it meant that we were already out of the deal since I knew the result, but I was trying to keep the eyes of Tak Mun-su while remaining tense until the end.
Tak Mun-su said with a slight tone down, "Yes, I understand that, but CEO Han Sang-hoon, think about it. Did we have to be blush like this? I just wanted to get along with you, and buy the company cheap. Then, wouldn't it be nice if I put more ads in your company? If you'd been on my side, our group would have been able to help your company in its entirety."
'Bah! He is funny. He can't help me. I'm richer than he is, son of a bitch.'
While I thought that, he continued, "I've heard that you've become a rich man worth thirty billion dollars. You didn't invest directly in China, but you put a short-sale in assets. That's great. Now that you're officially the richest man in Korea, you need to get help from the Korean business community to run the money."
I opened my eyes slightly. Although there was a difference of fifteen billion dollars, he knew that I had become the richest person in Korea.
'… He knew it.'
In fact, it was unstoppable. The number of people who knew that I had become a rich man with forty-five billion dollars had gradually increased. Besides the last four directors, I showed the other directors the data myself. In addition, I had recently converted foreign currency into Korean money after realizing the profits. It was not a dime or two, but big money, billions of dollars. This was why rumors, even if not accurate data, had been circulating.
'It's only a month and a half before it's published. It was fast, so he apologized… and did he come in with a little bend of the knee?'
No matter how much I thought about it, he was not a character who would say 'I apologize for that.'
As long as I was found out, I said without any further notice. "So, now that I'm stronger, you'll come out cooperative. Is that it? Even though you're strong on the weak and weak on the strong, this is very awkward, Vice Chairman."
When I made a public accusation against him, he opened his eyes wide and came back to his true face. "You've become stronger? That's not true. Of course, I know you have a lot of cash. But that's not all. You're still young, so you don't know, but the power of our Suyeon Group is not just what you see."
"Aha, is that so?"
He told me when I was sarcastic. "Okay, I was going to say good things, but I can't help it. I don't know how you persuaded the VIP, but we're not afraid of the VIP in the first place. The independent counsel and the tax investigation will both end up in the right line. I know you tried to hold me back with it, but Suyeon Group isn't that easy. That's it, okay?"
I already knew that because I'd been searching the future news under the name 'Tak Mun-su'. The independent counsel and tax investigation bombs poured into Suyeon Group would be delayed for several months before paying a few million dollars in fines. I didn't know the details, but all of them on stage, whether they were prosecutors, judges, lawmakers or NTS chief, would be directly or indirectly influenced by the Suyeon Group.
No matter who the president was, he seemed to have been unable to take it out. Suyeon Group's illegal succession had smelled very awful, but it had already been concluded under the previous administration as "legitimate."
'The law of our country is extremely difficult to bring back and overturn once again, if I don't use my hands.'
I spoke to him, "Vice Chairman Tak seems to know the outcome of the prosecution's investigation…"
He lifted his chin slightly and gave a pompous look, as if the prosecutor was in his hands. I said another word to that face, "Anything can change, according to my instructions."
Then, his eyes changed slightly. Secretary Park had already done the body search, and now I spoke to his face. "I'm going to be honest. Suyeon Group is great. There's a lot of connections in the political and business circles, like a cancer cell. But I have the power to cut it off. The prosecutor? They are scary. But you know what? Why is the prosecutor so scared? It's because no one comes out with fault. On the contrary, if I investigate them, will there be nothing? Who's up there? The chief prosecutor? Something like that? Even when the president comes, he can't stop me. Do you understand?"
He was staring at me, overwhelmed by my words.
"Didn't your beloved cousin tell you, 'Don't fight with Han Sang-hoon?'"
When the mention of his cousin came out, his face changed instantly.
I said, looking at his face like that, "You should have listened. At least you should have avoided me. No matter what I was, you couldn't just stand still after declaring a war."
"No… I didn't mean to make you an enemy."
"I didn't want to make an enemy of you, either."
"No, then why? Is it because of Ullim Electronics? I'll give it up."
"No, it's not because of the Ullim Electronics. I have forty-five billion dollars, and there are lots of things to invest in all over the world."
"Then why? Why would you do that?"
Then I opened my one hand and said, tapping on the other wrist with it. "Don't try to fool me, because I hate it a lot."
He looked as if he had seen a ghost. "How do you know…"
'He only showed me once in reality.'
Recalling the Crow's dream, Tak Joon-gi even said to Tak Mun-su: "He's hiding something. How did he cook the prosecution and the reporters? He knew all the information I thought I was in perfect control of."
If he had taken that remark a bit more seriously, he wouldn't have had to turn me into an enemy like this. But with that remark, Tak Mun-soo said so at that time: "Huh? Han Sang-hoon… he's a funny guy. I'll have to meet him too."
'I'm a funny guy? But he doesn't know I'm using magical powers.'
Tak Mun-su gave me a wild excuse. "It's just a habit of my hand. It's just…"
I shook my head and said, "If you're not being honest with me, I don't need to talk about it." I turned my head and said, "Secretary Park. I think I'm done talking to the Vice Chairman, so… take him outside."
But then, he interrupted us, "Wait, I'm not finished yet!"
'What else do you have to say?' I looked at him.
Then he went on, "I know you're buying a stake of Suyeon Construction and Suyeon Electronics. That's why you spread the rumor of my father, right?"
I thought as I listened to him. '… He knows this, too. Does he have a firm belief or is there any evidence? It doesn't matter either way.'
"Let's say yes. Then, what can you do as my enemy?"
"I don't know why you're eyeing our company, but it's stupid, I assure you."
"… why?"
"Our company will never give the largest shareholder's position to you. National Pension Service? Good. It wouldn't happen even if they took your side. All right? Let's not lose steam in this useless fight, and if you want to fight to the end, I have no choice but to show you the true power of Suyeon Group. Understand?"
I paused for a while after hearing his words, not because I was scared of his threats, but because the words "the true power of Suyeon Group" were interesting.
"… Okay. Let's see," I said, my arms crossed.
"Okay, that's how you're going to end it, right?"
I said bluntly, "I will decide depending on what you do." It was a very honest answer. The fate of Tak Mun-su was going to be decided upon by my decision. If he did well, he'd pay inheritance taxes, run the company again with half of the Suyeon Group, and if he didn't do well, I'd send him to jail with the maximum murder charge.
Tak Mun-su glanced at me, then opened the door and left the president's office.
Even after I said "I will decide depending on what you do", it was a bad start. I grinned behind him as I watched him leave.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
Shortly after Tak Mun-su left the president's office, I sat for a moment with my arms crossed and lost in thought. 'Did he realize his situation a little bit now?'
The arrogant next chairman of Suyeon Group was a mouse in front of me. I grinned to think of how flustered he was in front of me. Abruptly, I picked up my cell phone right away and called Vice President Jang.
Tiriri tiriri tiriri… He soon answered the phone.
"Vice President, it's me."
"Why did you call me, sir?"
"I think we need to speed up the purchase of Suyeon Group a little faster. He knows that our company is buying shares in Suyeon Group."
"Who are you talking about?
"Tak Mun-su, vice president of Suyeon Group."
"Ah… I see. You finally met him today."
"Yes."
"Hmm… He knows that… then we'll have to buy more quickly, before he gets ready for something."
"Let's buy them up to 4.99%, and then we'll talk to Red Moss Investment."
"Yes, boss."
'When a hostile MA starts, the stock price has the same meaning as the height of a castle wall. The lower the price, the better the offense, but the higher the price, the better the defense. Just as it is difficult for an attacker to attack from beyond a high wall, it is difficult to build a stake by buying high-priced stocks.'
After the phone call, I thought of what Tak Mun-su had just said: 'If you say you'll fight to the end, I have no choice but to show you the true power of Suyeon Group.'
"The true power… What the fuck?"
'I have forty-five billion dollars. If he collects cash from all of the affiliates of Suyeon Group, would it amount to that? I don't know. What's certain is that he can't stop me. Whatever he does, I can look into his future, as well as mine. It means that no matter what defense he's using, I can know in advance and block it. This is like an unfair chess game. I know what my opponent will do, and he doesn't know what I'm going to do. It can't become a fight from the beginning.
'Then, let's see how he will act cute.'
I leaned back in my chair, thinking about it.This week, Suyeon Construction rose six percent and Suyeon Electronics rose eight percent range. It was an unusual rise in the Chinese financial crisis, as Vice President Jang, as instructed by me, bought shares in large quantities. After I bought the tight stake of 4.99%, I moved on to the next phase; this was the deal with a global investment company, Red Moss Investment.June second, 2021…
I had a meeting with the Red Moss Investment at a hotel in Seoul. As it was a big deal, worth over two billion dollars at market price, seven percent of a company with the market capital of thirty billion dollars, key members came from Red Moss Investment's U.S. headquarters.
"In the U.S., we have heard of Han Sang-hoon's great fame."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
The negotiation, which was made up of translations, was beautiful in the language itself, but was fierce in the contents to such an extent we complained during the break.
"They're really terrible."
"They know that the management rights of Suyeon Electronics will go over to us if we get their stake, and they raised the price."
"Well, we tried to pay a good price anyway."
"They are specialists at this kind of negotiation. Let's be patient and talk more."
In the end, however, the first round of the negotiations ended with big differences. Red Moss Investment made a huge price hike, knowing that I was really looking for the management rights of Suyeon Electronics. Even I, who had forty-five billion dollars, was reluctant.
'After all, they will sell it, but they are being nasty.' I grumbled and wondered if there was anything I could do.
'How can I fuck them? In fact, strictly speaking, they weren't even Americans. It was a multinational company whose CEO was Indian and CTO was Swiss.
'Do I have to explode another one to take down the stock price of Suyeon Electronics? But I've already done everything I could: the independent counsel, the tax investigation, and even the news that a major shareholder is dead; so, what else could I do? Ha… It's hard to bring it down further from here. It has been down a lot because of the Chinese financial crisis in the first place.'
Now the stock price of Suyeon Electronics was going to rise, even if it stayed still. The world's economy was getting better little by little after the crisis. In addition, Tak Mun-su could do something; a buy-in to boost its stock price. In that sense, it was a little strange. For a week after the meeting with me, he remained silent, without a peep. It was a very strange thing.
If he had really known that our company was buying shares, if he had even found out that we had set up a negotiating table with Red Moss Investment, he should have done something more, but nothing happened. If I were Tak Mun-su, I would at least have been shouting loudly at the media friendly to Suyeon Group, 'Han Sang-hoon of Invictus Investment is going to buy Suyeon Electronics!
'He has to do anything he can to raise the stock price… but why is he doing that? If there is a possibility, I can guess that he is now secretly securing a stake. Is he going to race with me, who has forty-five billion dollars? Is that it? Really?'
The exact circumstances were not known, but it was only drawn out of that scenario at this point.June fourth…
A guest with ripped eyes, a hawk nose, and a red face, visited me. As old as he was, he looked like Kaiji. He was CEO Lee Won-jae.
"How are you, CEO Han?"
"How have you been?"
"I'm fine."
He had a pretty bright face. It seemed that the article that revealed Tak Woo-kyung's death last time became the special edition of the year, as it was finally confirmed to be true. He handed me the small bag he had brought to me and said, "It's a small gift."
I said as I received the bag, "What's this…?"
"Open it and you'll find out."
"Wow!" I exclaimed. It was a DVD collection of all my favorite movies: Big Fish, From Hell, and Bird Man! It wasn't just a regular DVD collection, but they were all signed.
"These are the autographs of director Tim Button, Johnny Depp, and Michael Keaton. In the old days, you told me about your favorite movies. I chose them from our affiliate, the film magazine company, and I brought them to you."
I lifted the DVD collection and looked at it. It was just the kind of gift I liked.
"It's a little weird to buy expensive things for the richest man in our country, so I thought you'd prefer this." He told me the truth, knowing that I had become the richest man in our country. It was not unusual for him to know that, given the information power of Daewon Daily News.
I nodded, "Oh, I really like it. Really!"
"I'm glad you like it."
"It's very kind of you to give me a gift considering my tastes, CEO Lee."
He spoke with his head down. "Thank you. I'd appreciate it more. Thanks to my last job, my father gave me an implicit response. It seems almost certain that I will be the next CEO of the Daewon Daily News."
I said, gathering my mouth a little, "Oh, I see! Congratulations!"
He said, half folded up, almost as if he were bowing. "It's all thanks to CEO Han. Thank you!"
"Not at all. It was all because you trusted me and followed me."
Come to think of it, he too would have taken quite the burden to publish the article. If he had written the article, but Tak Woo-kyung had walked out of his bed alive, it would have been a disaster for him. The Daewon Daily News would have faced a massive attack from Suyeon Group, or a massive lawsuit, and CEO Lee Won-jae would have ended his career there.
I knew the future, so I pressed him to choose with the verse of the Bible, but it was a matter of whether he really lived or died. Having made such a bold bet, he deserved recognition from his father.
"If you are the next CEO of the Daewon Daily News, I would feel much better. I'll be able to go with you when I do this or that."
"Anytime, please call me. I'll do what you want right away."
When I heard that, I thought for a moment what I wanted. 'What I want? What's there?'
There was no such thing as that. I let it out without much thought, as if I wanted Red Moss Investment to be a little obedient.
"There's nothing special… but Red Moss Investment's guys in the negotiation are terrible, and I would like to see the problem solved."
"Ah, Red Moss Investment? It is probably the second largest shareholder of Suyeon Electronics, right?"
"Yes. You know that well, don't you?"
"Red Moss Investment is famous for hunting for a company in our country."
"I see."
"Red Moss Investment… But I don't think we can help you, either. Eight years ago, they ate the Shinheung Bank and ran away. If we bring up the controversy, or even if we attack them morally, it won't work."
"Yes, they only look at money in the first place. They're not ones who would blink at what the nation's media say."
"They only look at money… Then, do you have any method to lower the price further?"
"I've thought about that, too, but I've already used all my cards. So I decided to pay for it even if it was a little bit expensive."
"… I see. Well, I'll send an email to reporters and have them bring anything if anyone knows about Suyeon Group's weakness. I owe you a favor, and I have to pay you back somehow."
I looked at him. To be honest, I was not sure what more he could do for me. But nevertheless, I nodded. The more cards, the better.
"I'd appreciate it."
"Yes, CEO Han."
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
The negotiation with RMI, which had begun in early June, rapidly progressed as it entered mid-June.
'If we try to negotiate too cheaply, RMI may turn towards the Suyeon Group.' Vice President Jang, who had been usually stingy, came out like that, and I agreed.
'Yes, then. Let's buy it for 2.7 billion dollars.'
'The premium is nearly five hundred million dollars. If this financial crisis is over and I put my hands on it, I'll be able to bridge the gap in no time. The combined stake of 4.99 percent and the RMI stake of 7.3 percent is more than twelve percent. That's more than eleven percent of Suyeon Construction, the majority shareholder. Suyeon Electronics, one of the cores of the Suyeon Group, is in my hands.
'Everything's going smoothly. And when that happens… I'm going to have to fire Tak Mun-su, right?'
I'd already thought about who would succeed Tak Mun-su.
'Shall I pick one of the directors of Suyeon Electronics? No, they're all under the power of Tak Mun-su, so they're not going to listen to me. So, shall I scout around in the other group? Well… maybe it's better to bring in someone neatly from abroad…'
However, it happened that my plan was twisted.On the eighteenth of June…
When I was in the office, I glanced at the future news as usual. It had been almost a year now since the financial crisis originating from China took place. Now, hopeful things had come out of the news of 12 Months After.
[The international economy, which has been staggering since the Chinese financial crisis, has moderate recovery.]
[KOSPI retakes the 2,300-point line. Does the financial crisis nightmare end?]
[This will also pass. The credit crunch of rising nations is unraveling. Korea also has a won rally.]
I looked at it and thought, 'Well, I'd better use forty-five billion dollars if I can in a year. First of all, I'm going to buy Suyeon Electronics and Suyeon Construction. Then, I'll swallow other companies I find, one by one.'
After seeing the future news, I went on to do People Search in my name. [CEO Han Sang-hoon of Invictus Investment bought a seven percent stake in Suyeon Electronics for 2.6 billion dollars and became the largest shareholder of Suyeon Electronics.]
I nodded at it. There was not much to see the content. As I had my will, it was natural that it would be realized as it was.
'All right, well, that's what happens.'
I was thinking about what to put in the next name, but I put in Tak Mun-su. I didn't know what the cornered mouse might do.
[Tak Mun-su, with the help of Deep Blue Corporation, managed to keep the management rights. Suyeon Electronics' management battle goes into the second round.]
There was such news. I frowned.
"Deep Blue Corporation?"
It was a company I'd never heard of. I read it. [Invictus Investment, which has emerged as the largest shareholder, has proposed dismissing CEO Tak Mun-su, but he managed to stay in the position. Suyeon Construction, which owns an eleven percent stake, and Deep Blue Corporation, which owns a five percent stake, expressed rejection. Tak Mun-su and Deep Blue Corporation vowed to wage a showdown on CEO Han's hostile MA in the future, heralding a prolonged management dispute over Suyeon Electronics.]
I thought as I watched the news.
'What happens if this is like… If I want to push it all the way… I need to buy shares from the public by increasing the share price, or I need to finish the purchase of Suyeon Construction… However, it is difficult to attack Suyeon Construction immediately. In any case, Tak Woo-kyung has a twenty percent stake in Suyeon Construction… If they drag it on for years to pay the inheritance tax in installments …
'This makes it very complicated. The period of global bargain sales in the financial crisis is only a year away. I can't hold it that long. I can shorten the time by giving them money, but then I will be giving Tak Mun-su a large sum of money. There would be no harm in Tak Mun-su's eyes. Suyeon Electronics and Suyeon Construction were major companies in his father's generation anyway. It's not a bad thing for him to play defense against me here, and then spend a lot of money to build up Suyeon Chemical.'
"Deep Blue Corporation? What the hell is this?"
I searched 'Deep Blue Corporation' on the portal site. Nothing came up. I searched overseas portal just in case. By the way, nothing came out of it. Only the news related to Jaws movies, tuna catching fish came out.
'How is this possible? I can't find anything about the company on the portal site. However, the company bought a 5% stake in Suyeon Electronics, right? Besides, it threw a friendly vote for Tak Mun-su…?
I thought it over. 'Tak Mun-su knew that I was doing a hostile MA, but he didn't defend the share price, and he didn't get involved in negotiations with the Red Moss Investment. In the meantime, a secret company bought shares and votes in favor of Tak Mun-su… It may be…'
There was only one thing that came to mind: a paper company. It was made of foreign assets of Tak Woo-kyung's hidden money. Rumors circulated that the nation's chaebol would mostly hide their black money in tax havens such as Liechtenstein, the Bahamas, Monaco, and the Cayman Islands. So far, it had been nothing more than a conspiracy theory.
'… in such an urgent situation, did he take out a bundle of money from the wardrobe? Then, it is roughly in line with the true power of Suyeon Group, like Tak said.'
"Is the true power the money which has been put in tax havens?"
'That could be right, but that's all that explains it when I put together the puzzles. Then I think I'll have to dig up Deep Blue Corporation…'
I thought I'd send Crow. However, the existence of Deep Blue Corporation could not be found at all now. I didn't know if Crow would accept this mission. I needed a little more specific data to assign Crow to the task.
'Well… what shall I do?' I was thinking about it and suddenly I remembered Lee Won-jae, who had visited the other day. He had given me a pledge of loyalty, and had said, "I will look into the weaknesses of Suyeon Group in my own way."
I called him right away. He answered my call before the telephone finished ringing. It was faster than Secretary Park outside the door.
"CEO Han."
"Can you speak with me now?"
"Yes, of course. I'll take your call twenty-four/seven."
"Last time we talked about Suyeon Group, right?"
"Yes."
"The… the paper company, the tax evasion, do you have any data on a company called Deep Blue Corporation, including a ghost company?"
"Oh, I'll check it out right away and get back to you."
"Yes, please."
After the call, I wondered if it'd been ten minutes. I got a call from Lee Won-jae again.
"CEO Han, I found it."
"What did you find?"
"Deep Blue Corporation is based in Gibraltar, England. In the past, I heard it made a deal with Suyeon Construction. There was an article on our side."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, I'll send it to you now."
"Oh, yes… By the way, isn't that on the Internet?"
"Ah, this was a 2009 article that came out at the time and went down a while later. Do you know what this means?"
That meant Suyeon Group had put some pressure on it. There was something fishy about it. Lee Won-jae sent me two articles. The first article was entitled Suyeon Construction withdrew its copper mining business in Chile and sold mining rights to Deep Blue Corporation for two hundred forty million dollars.
The second article was entitled Suyeon Construction has been sucking its fingers after the bus left; the mine has been exposed to a massive vein of copper, valued at 3.2 billion dollars.
I read two lines of articles, and the story fit perfectly, if this Deep Blue Corporation here was Tak Wook-kyung's paper company.
"So, Suyeon Construction sold it cheaply even though they knew a vein of copper was going to come out."
"Maybe that's right."
For Tak Woo-kyung, this might be a huge benefit. That was because Tak Woo-kyung only had a 20% stake in Suyeon Construction, but he owned 100% of Deep Blue Corporation. If Suyeon Construction found the copper vein valued at 3.2 billion dollars, the share of Tak Woo-kyung would be six hundred forty million dollars, but if Deep Blue Corporation found it, his share would be 100%.
I said, scratching my forehead. "Ha… this is a total ant-fucking thing… It's a breach of trust. Did the prosecution remain motionless at that time?"
"There was a commotion at the time, but… as you can see, all the articles went down… They said that an independent counsel would be held, but it seems to have failed."
"It's really dirty."
'At any rate, there are more dirty stories if we dig them up. If the copper mine had really been found by Suyeon Construction, the ants with the shares would probably have tasted the upper limit price once or twice. They never do anything that gives money to ants.'
However, Lee Won-jae spoke as if it was not a big deal. "I've heard there's a lot of this going on in the construction industry. Our construction companies build a lot of buildings overseas. For example, if they build a building with three hundred stories, if the list price is ten billion dollars, they pretend to bid at eight billion dollars, and they deposit one billion dollars into the owner's account secretly. From the standpoint of the builders, they made a successful bid at one billion dollars cheaper, and the owner gets one billion dollars back; it is good for one another."
'Those who lose out here are good ant investors. They pay to the national pension, and they buy blue-chip stocks in our country. Even if they invest in large companies, it is no different from being swindled. It is a good thing for only the major shareholders. The financial statements are neat, so no one can say anything.'
Lee Won-jae spoke as if he were talking to himself. "I heard there's a lot of stuff on the shipbuilding, too… The shipbuilding cost a few billion dollars."
I replied, shaking my head, "I see." I didn't want to hear any more dirty stories. "Thank you anyway, CEO Lee Won-jae."
"I'm glad I helped you. If you have any questions, please contact me anytime."
"Yes."
After I finished my phone call with CEO Lee Won-jae, I leaned back in the chair for a moment. 'I thought I'd get it done in moderation, but… they are all the trash, aren't they? If this is true, Tak Woo-kyung and Tak Mun-su are parasites that completely suck up the Korean people. They turn a deaf ear to the roar of the ants with breaches of trust, and they do not pay taxes, using tax evasion. Doing business in Korea, they are just chasing after their own interests.
I changed my mind. 'I'm going to take the root out.'
I calmed my anger for a moment and thought coolly of my next move. First, I turned on my email and called Crow. It was a paper company, but since the article contained more information besides being in Gibraltar, it would be worth searching for.
'If Deep Blue Corporation turns out to be the paper company of Suyeon Group, it's the end of Tak Mun-su. If Oracle news publishes the special edition, President Joo Sung-won will handle it, because it's a matter for the country.'
Indeed, in a corner, Tak Mun-su had used the worst method. He was in crisis, and he had exposed his own illegal activities.
'… maybe he thought he'd never get caught.'
The best thing he could do last time was to give up the game and leave. But he resisted and did more dirty work, not knowing that I was controlling the chessboard.
'… with this, there is the only thing left to do. I will have to capture all the cards perfectly.'
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
July fourth, 2022…
Invictus Investment ended the negotiations with RMI; the final price was 2.72 billion dollars. It was rather expensive, but I decided to pay for it. Time was more precious to me. At the same time, I continued to pursue Tak Mun-su persistently with the help of Crow and Lee Won-jae. 'It's easy to catch a rat if I know where it's going to run.'July twentieth, 2022…
"This is what you asked for." Eventually, Crow came back again, with a very thick report.
'Interpol can't handle this. Did he go all the way to Gibraltar on the other side of the world?', I thought so, but I didn't bother to ask. The way Crow worked was not something I should ask. I took it and read it.
"Hmm… it is as expected." There were some expected results written. The representative's Deep Blue Corporation's representative was Han Sung-jin. His family name was Han, like me. He was Korean, and it was a sure proof, which they couldn't get rid of, and I searched the name 'Han Sung-jin' on the portal site. There was a lot more news than I thought.
'Sung-jin is common.'
I changed the search name after considering that to 'Han Sung-jin, Suyeon.'
"Bingo."
I saw an old article that had been published in 2005. [Suyeon Life Insurance appoints new executives and directors. The financial director is Han Sung-jin.]
However, the name had never been mentioned since 2005. It seemed that he left the company in the meantime.
'The former financial director of Suyeon Life Insurance suddenly left the company and set up an investment company with some money that nobody knew where from, and just in time, Suyeon Construction sold the copper mine. So he bought it, and he found that the mine had the enormous vein of copper. So he made a lot of money from the profit margin and set up Deep Blue Corporation. Then, because the old owner was in crisis, he bought a lot of shares to help him. He spent nearly two billion dollars to keep his loyalty… If he said that in front of a judge, he would naturally go to jail.'
'All right, then…' I read more of Crow's report. By the way, there was something different than I expected: the amount. 'Huh?'
"Tak Mun-su has seven billion dollars, does he?" It was more than I thought. This was definitely an amount that I had to feel burdened by. Even though Tak Mun-su knew I was the richest man in the country, it was enough for him to shout out that what I was doing was a waste of time.
Crow said bluntly, "Looking at the money coming and going… Maybe that's not all. If you look at page seventy-nine, you'll see more details."
It was now apparent that he had been exchanging money with other companies several times. He had been exchanging money with Heschbra, Tinkerbello, and other companies I had never heard of, like Deep Blue Corporation.
'… this is deeper than I thought.'
But it was rather good. This was all a result of criminal dealings. The deeper the root, the more painful it would be when extracted. Now that I'd figured out all the cards that Tak Mun-su had, I'd looked at what the best benefit would be for our company.
'Shall I explode it now? No. Tak Mun-su must be buying shares of Suyeon Electronics right now. When he's done… Let's burst it at that time. If the redemption on Deep Blue Corporation's assets is done, the shares could come out cheap. If I buy it at a lower price, our company's position will become stronger.'
All the information was collected, and all their cards were predicted. According to my plan, I slowly moved Vice President Jang and our company directors; Chairman Lee Won-jae; the media companies affiliated with the Daewon Daily News and Oracle News; as well as President Joo Sung-won, who was receiving it directly.And on July thirtieth, we completed the contract with RMI. At the same time, prominent articles came out.
[Invictus Investment bought a 7% stake in Suyeon Electronics from RMI. It is on the rise to the position of a major shareholder.]
[Han Sang-hoon, a genius investor, purchased shares in Suyeon Electronics. Is it a simple investment, or a hostile MA?]
[CEO Han Sang-hoon, who threatens the status of the chaebols, takes over Suyeon Electronics.]
At the same time, the share price of Suyeon Electronics surged. People's reactions were largely like this:
– Han Sang Hoon became a big man. Is he aiming for Suyeon Electrons?-
– The recent death of Tak Woo-kyung has made the management rights unstable. I think that's a good shot.-
– But didn't they say Han Sang-hoon was ruined by his investments in China? Where did he get the money to buy it?-
– I'm curious, too. It seems that he was not ruined like the rumors said.-
Some of the public believed that I had collapsed after investing in China. But that was where it went. After August, several media outlets published articles.
[It is known that Invictus Investment made forty-five billion dollars after investing in China.]
[Invictus Investment didn't buy, but sold. They had a big hit during last year's financial crisis. They earned forty-five billion dollars.]
[A dramatic reversal; CEOHan Sang-hoon rises to Korea's richest position.]
When the news came out, there was a complete commotion. I was placed at the top of the list of rich people in Korea, where only the chaebols had been lined up.
– Wow, that's amazing. In his thirties, did he earn forty-five billion dollars by himself?-
– I heard that he knows the future, but I'd do it if I had that ability.-
– I've never heard of Han Sang-hoon before. Is he famous?-
– He's been a big man in the investment area for years.-
My name, Han Sang-hoon, did not come down from the top of the search word list all day long. Now I had become, in name and reality, the richest and most famous businessman in Korea. Seeing all the communities, bulletin boards, and chat rooms on the Internet all over my name, I realized that power. If Rep. Han Sang-hoon hadn't lost his seat, he still wouldn't have been able to beat me.Then on August tenth, there was a general meeting of major shareholders on the same day. It was a general meeting of major shareholders, which was expected to announce the results of the first half of the year. I participated there as the biggest shareholder. That was where Tak Mun-su still held his post as vice chairman."It's a nice building," I looked up and said. Up above I could see the red logo of Suyeon.
Vice President Jang, who was seat beside me, looked at me and said, "By the way, what are you going to call the company?"
"What?"
"I am talking about Suyeon. Are you going to keep the name?"
I thought when I saw the Suyeon logo. "Huh, it's a chicken rib."
That was what it was. Suyeon Electronics, however, had maintained its fame for nearly forty years after it started its business. Even in global markets, they had recognized electronic products, so it was a little bit too much to throw away the brand name. However, maintaining Suyeon naturally reminded me of the Tak family. It was not a good name for me as I'd been putting up with them all this time through thick and thin, high and low, ever since Tak Joon-gi.
I looked at the logo and said, "I'll think about it a little bit more, and I'll make a decision. Let's take over the management first."
"Sure."
I entered Suyeon Electronics building with Vice President Jang and Secretary Park. In the hall, which we were guided into, there was a general meeting of major shareholders.
"The results of the first half are generally in recovery… We are expecting to see a faster recovery after the Chinese financial crisis."
It seemed like we were here in time, not too early or not too late. I stormed into the place with a deep breath. When I entered, everyone in the room was looking at me. So was Tak Mun-su at the same. I spewed out what I had to say right there. "How are you, Vice Chairman Tak, other major shareholders, directors, and investors of Suyeon Electronics? As you've all seen in the article, I became the largest shareholder of this company by buying a 7% stake in RMI and a 5% stake in the market. I don't have much to say because this assembly was planned when I wasn't here, but as one of the largest shareholders, I'd like to have a special shareholders' meeting in the near future."
The man who hosted asked me, "For what purpose?"
"This is for a large-scale change in personnel accompanied by the dismissal of representative Tak Mun-su."
I turned my head and glanced over the name tags. Except Tak Mun-su, there were more people with names that started with "Tak." "If you have the last name Tak, please be prepared. Blood is thicker than water. Some chaebols seem to value money more than blood…"
As I said that, I looked at Tak Mun-su on purpose, who had killed his cousin. His eyes went wide, but I turned my gaze and said, "I still believe in blood ties. I hope you know that and resign yourself so that you won't have to make any noise. Don't you think it's better to quit on your own than to be fired?"
After I said that, Tak Mun-su, who couldn't bear it, stood up and shouted, "Do you think that's going to work?" However, it was just an empty echo.
The people around went along with me. This meant that everyone knew who was stronger. I looked at him and said bluntly, "Yes. It'll be done by my will." Then, I looked at the people beside him and said, "Unlike Tak Mun-su over there, if you don't have the last name, I'll give you a choice. It's a choice that you should be loyal to me. Everyone read the article that I have forty-five billion dollars."
Everyone's eyes were on what I was saying. Generally, anyone sitting at a shareholders' meeting knew the weight of money, and the meaning of money.
"Let's go back to the past here. How much was it four years ago? Four years ago, when I was an ordinary office worker, I had negative total assets. I'd been saving a small salary, but… I had a student loan left."
As I said that, I had a slight laugh in the memory of the past. But soon, I stopped laughing.
"But now, I am the richest man in Korea. This is all a fact. Unlike anyone, I've all told the truth. Go home and… no, please pick up your phone and search. I've been interviewed several times since I founded Invictus Investment in 2019, so you'll find all the records."
But at my words, no one looked down to see their cell phones. Everyone was focusing on how my lips moved and what the echoes in my vocal cords were.
"I'm a self-made man who has risen from empty hands to the top. It's different from someone who was born with a golden spoon and kept it. Then think about it. Who's more likely to own this company? Who will maximize the interests of shareholders? Who's going to lead Suyeon Electronics to greater success?"
Even the directors with the last name Tak were keeping their eyes on me.
"So, I suggest holding an extraordinary shareholders' meeting. As I said before, this is for a large-scale change in personnel accompanied by the dismissal of representative Tak Mun-su."
Then someone shouted, "That's great! If CEO Han Sang-hoon leads our company, it would be much better."
After the shouting, the other raised his hand and said, "I, too, will leave my shares to Han Sang-hoon for voting rights. Please lead us, CEO Han!"
After the two of them came out, there was a flood of noise.
"Me too!."
"Me too!"
"I'll join you, too!"
The general meeting of shareholders quickly turned into a concert hall in a flash. This was a concert by popular singer Han Sang-hoon. Tak Mun-su and his family were bewildered.
I thought as I looked at the commotion, 'Well, with this much… Even if he has a friendly stake from the paper company… I think I can beat him.'
By the time the roar subsided, I said with my head down, "Then, everyone, I'll see you at the next extraordinary shareholders' meeting."
I turned my head, leaving the words behind. People in the room shouted after me as if they were fans shouting for an encore after the performance.
"Thank you, Mr. CEO!"
"I'd like to join you, too. Mr. CEO!"
"I'll see you then. Mr. CEO!"
I walked out of the main hall listening to their shouts.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
Returning from the shareholders' meeting, I set out on the very next project.
What Tak Mun-su should unveil next, when he had been given a fatal blow during the general meeting of shareholders, was the emergence of Deep Blue Corporation. 'You didn't expect this, did you?' He must be thinking that, but it would also be mistaken.
I collected Crow's research and made two more articles.
The first version was focused on "How Deep Blue Corporation has hurt Suyeon Construction shareholders' profits and funneled money into Tak Woo-kyung's pockets." The targets were the stock investors of Suyeon Construction. This would incur investors' anger, as it was a clear breach of trust, in which the CEO had extorted money that was meant to go to shareholders. In addition, it was enough to create distrust in the whole Suyeon Group.
The second version was focused on "How Tak Woo-kyung evaded taxes while establishing Deep Blue Corporation." The targets were ordinary people who lived faithfully paying taxes, and current government officials and President Joo Sung-won, who were struggling with insufficient tax revenues.
The first version was scheduled to appear in the economic media, including the Daewon Daily News, while the second version was to be released on Internet news by Oracle News. When this went out, there would be a lot of repercussions on both sides.
I sent Crow to the Cayman Islands to add heat to the fire, as I didn't know how far the potato vines were connected. As soon as it came out, I would write follow-up articles and make the people feel that Suyeon Group was a hub of corruption.August fifteenth, 2022, the Liberation Day…
Before the extraordinary shareholders' meeting, the media, including the Daewon Daily News and Oracle News, once again hit Suyeon Group. The reactions blew up like fire.
– Wow, Suyeon Group is a real scumbag. Huh, Tak Woo-kyung…-
– Tak Woo-kyung is a very meticulous man. He does tax evasion both when he lives and dies.-
– Is Suyeon Group a company in our country? Let's dismantle it this time and send it abroad. Why are they doing business in Korea without paying taxes?-
– We should not blame a food truck. I can't believe a big company has been doing tax evasion for billions of dollars.-
Deep Blue Corporation had already purchased a considerable stake in Suyeon Electronics, but less than 5%. However, it was now impossible to come to the fore. If they raised their hand at a shareholders' meeting, a crowd of reporters would rush in.
I laughed and thought, blocking the last hole of the fleeing mouse. 'If Deep Blue Corporation is blocked… how will Tak Mun-su react? Now that he's lost his hands and feet, there's nothing more he can do, right?'
But that was my illusion. A mouse with all the holes blocked eventually chose to run directly to a cat. That evening, I searched the news under my name as usual, but I got a strange piece of news. [CEO Hang Sang-hoon of Invictus Investment was attacked by an unidentified man.]
I opened my mouth wide, "Huh…really?" But I soon came to my senses. 'Isn't this also one of his methods, as expected? If anyone who plays baduk together and realizes he can't win, the only method he can nullify the game is to dump the baduk board upside down.
'It was supposed to happen… It is now impossible to block my MA with the normal methods; of course, protecting their equity with a paper company is not the normal way to do it, either. However, when I die, there is no one to run the company instead of me, since Invictus Investment is 100% owned by me.
'My property will also be scattered to my family like Tak Woo-kyung's, and the MA will come to nothing. Without me, President Joo Sung-won or CEO Lee Won-jae can't defend our company. So, even if it is risky, Tak Mun-su decided the last means, after which the reward is certain.
'… the vice chairman of a large corporation, after everything, did this.'
After all his methods were blocked, he finally crossed the line. He did what he shouldn't do. It was probably because he couldn't accept his defeat. If he had suffered one or two defeats so far, he would have known how to step back from unavoidable circumstances. However, he did not. Having never lost before now became his weakness.
'All right, well, let's see where and how he will attack.'
I read the article. [CEO Han Sang-hoon of Invictus Investment is in critical condition after being attacked by an unidentified man. August twenty-fourth, Han Sang-hoon, who had returned from a pediatric cancer charity event at a hospital in Gangnam, was ambushed by an unidentified man who was waiting with a knife while waiting for an elevator in his own Invictus Investment building.]
August twenty-fourth was about a week from now. I thought about the schedule for that day. 'Apparently, there is a pediatric cancer charity event. Getting out of the Invictus building these days… He picked a good day because I have few external events.'
I held a regular pediatric cancer charity event twice a year; once in the first half and once in the second half. I wasn't a charity worker like Jesus who told them, 'Don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing,' so a single search was enough to let the public know my schedule.
'Dinner schedule: when I finish there, I come back to the parking lot of the Invictus building. It's just that far that Secretary Park accompanies me. He does not follow me to the elevator. If I take the elevator up, it's the house where Ah-young is waiting. The criminal seems to be aiming for that, too.'
'By the way, who is the killer?'
I scrolled down a little more. [… after confirming CCTV, it is known that the killer is a giant, about 190-centimeter-tall… Based on this, the police will investigate…]
That was roughly right. The height of the guy who had been escorting Tak Joon-gi was 190 cm. I hadn't seen him since the Crow's dream, but he probably was resting with a proper reward from Tak Mun-su. It was not easy for a person to kill. If I thought about in that context, no one except him was as qualified for the job. He already had blood on his hands. I didn't know how Tak Mun-su talked him into doing this.
'… I'll have to catch him and have him confess everything. With that, Tak Mun-su will be completely out of society as an attempted murderer, and if I do well, I can make the guy talk about the murder of Tak Joon-gi, also a successful murder. With two, Tak Mun-su will have to live in a cell until he is old and dead. In this case, no matter how much he whines in a wheelchair, the judge won't let it go.
'It's the worst scenario for Tak Mun-su… I wouldn't have done this much either… but I can't help it now. I'll have him eat his meals in a cell for the rest of his life.'
Tak Mun-su didn't know he was in a trap. The more he tried to escape, the more the snare tightened. If he had cut off one foot and run away, he could have lived. However, he tried to destroy the trap, and he would be finished.
I called in Secretary Park the next day, after I knew Tak Mun-su's plan.
"Secretary Park. Do you remember what my father used to say?"
"What do you mean?"
"Never fight an enemy with a weapon."
"Oh, I remember." He grinned as he thought of the old days.
"What do you think of that?"
"That's very true. No matter how strong you are, it's not good to fight with someone who uses a weapon. Even if it's a weak old man or a slim woman with a knife, the basic rule is to not fight. Well, I'll win somehow, but if I'm unlucky, if I get hit in the wrong spot… I could lose my life. If he is a trained expert, it's 100% better to run away."
"Well, I suppose so."
I recalled my old memory for a moment, after I saved Oh Hyun-joo, four years ago. At the time, I shoulder threw a man with a deadly weapon, but if I was told to do it again, I didn't know whether I could.
"How about you?" I asked Secretary Park again.
"What?"
"What about you, if you are facing an enemy with a deadly weapon?"
"If I have a long handkerchief, I can safely subdue an ordinary man."
"Well, what if he's an expert? What if he is a giant like you and a man using a knife?"
"Well… I think it's not easy either. It depends on how good the expert is, but it's going to be a life-threatening fight."
I stroked my chin. "I see…"
Perhaps because I suddenly brought up a weapon story and my father's words, Secretary Park asked me with his head tilted. "By the way… why are you asking me that?"On August twenty-fourth, 2020, it eventually became D-Day. The Bentley, carrying me, entered the underground parking lot of Invictus Investment building. Secretary Park pulled over the Bentley to the spot where it was supposed to be. I walked out of the car and Secretary Park bowed to me, handing me the Bentley key with both hands.
"Thanks for your work." I took the Bentley key and raised my hand slightly to say goodbye to him. I then stood in front of the elevator, throwing the key into the air a couple of times.
I pressed the up button and waited for the elevator to come down for a second. At that moment, I turned my head at the sound of someone running towards me. There was a giant in a black mask charging with a shiny weapon. If I was an ordinary man, I couldn't move properly being surprised, but I took out a taser gun I had hidden without a moment's hesitation and shot him. The taser gun fired and hit his chest, and the giant collapsed on the spot with a flop.
Looking down at him, the policeman who had been playing me, lifted my suit slightly, and said,
"Cleared, senior superintendent."
'Cleared, senior superintendent."
When I heard the radio, I turned my head and saw the man standing next to me. Senior superintendent Shin Hyun-chul spoke to me in a soft voice. "As you can see, it's cleared, Mr. CEO."
I had been looking at the situation, and I pointed to the CCTV screen. "That guy should not die. He might try to kill himself."
When he heard me, he reassured me, "Oh, don't worry, sir. He can't bite his tongue because of the effect of getting hit by a taser. Plus, I think my men are doing a good job cleaning up."
As he said that, Seo Joon-sik, the detective who had played my part (his age and physique were similar to me, but his voice was so different that he had decided not to speak) took off the giant's mask, sealed his mouth with the gag he had prepared, and carefully handcuffed him.
I asked senior superintendent Shin Hyun-chul, "Then, can I go down and see him?"
He looked a bit embarrassed, but soon nodded. "Let's go together, then."I went down to the parking lot with him on that elevator that the detective had called down. I found that the unidentified man who had been trying to attack me was still struggling on the floor. I glanced at his face; he was the very one I had seen in the Crow's dream, the same man who had killed Tak Joon-gi.
'… surely.'
I only glanced at him, and then nodded slightly at senior superintendent Shin Hyun-chul. As he had done a good job, an article praising him would be in the Oracle News. I didn't know the ranks of police officers, but if there was anything to be promoted, the top position would be his. Several police cars were coming into our company's parking lot. I looked over and gestured at Secretary Park standing next to him. He came over to me at once.
I said, pointing to the assailant still struggling on the floor. "What do you think about what would have happened?"
"I saw him charging with a knife… I think I'd have won, even if I'd had to fight."
"Hmm. You told me it'd be better not to deal with even an old man or a woman with a weapon."
He spoke with a shrug of his shoulders. "There's a class difference, though."
I replied after listening to his confident voice. "Hmm… I didn't expect to tell you the same story as my father. Don't fight with a knife guy, either. You have to stay with me for a few more years, and just in case, you should not be stabbed."
Secretary Park replied, smiling bashfully, "Yes, boss!"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
I answered the phone, "Yes?"
"Boss, I have a call from senior superintendent Shin Hyun-chul."
"Put him through to me."
"Yes."
While Secretary Park was connecting him, I cleared my voice for a moment. Shin Hyun-chul, who had a thick voice, greeted me, "Hello? CEO Han, this is Shin Hyun-chul."
"Ah, yes. What is this regarding? While you're busy, you call me like this."
"No, please don't say that." The more he talked to me on the phone, the more he took a submissive attitude. I didn't know if it was simply because I was the richest person in Korea or because of pressure from the Blue House, but somehow, I could see more and more of him trying to be nice to me. "I'm fine. Rather, I am afraid of taking your time."
"No, I'm fine. But for what?"
"I'm calling to report on the progress of the investigation. As you said, I've looked for connection points with Suyeon Group and I found that he had the experience working there. He's keeping his mouth shut right now, but I'll work hard and get him talking."
Although it hadn't spread to the media yet, this was quite a surprise case for the police, as well. It was a murder case aimed at the head of a company, who was in a fight for a stake with another company.
"That's what I thought, too… Suyeon Group… All right. Please keep digging."
"Yes, sir, keep taking care of yourself. Since it's an attempted murder case, I'll take responsibility for making him confess."
"Please do your best."
After finishing the call, I looked at the phone for a moment. 'Let's see how competent the Korean police are.'
Anyway, he would say everything, since right after the incident, I put Crow, who came back from the Cayman Islands, on this case. It would be better for the police to do it, but if they couldn't get him to confess, I would.On September twelfth, Suyeon Electronics' extraordinary shareholders' meeting was held. I was there, accompanied by Vice President Jang. However, Tak Mun-su, the current president and the main character of the dismissal of the CEO, did not attend the meeting. It was somewhat foreseen. Now that Deep Blue Corporation turned out to be Tak Woo-kyung's paper company, the outcome of this vote was no different than what was already obvious.
Tak Mun-su seemed to have decided to concentrate on forming his own defense team rather than coming here and getting fired. He was accused of illegal inheritance, tax evasion, and even attempted murder. The extraordinary shareholders' meeting went on. Because of the Tak family, there was no unanimous vote, but the suggestion to dismiss the CEO was overwhelmingly passed.
After this, Tak Mun-su was completely out of Suyeon Electronics. The person who took the seat was Kim Jang-hoon, who was a little further away from the center of Suyeon Electronics. According to the story, he had spoken directly to Tak Mun-su and incurred his hatred, so he was close to losing his position. I rather highly valued that and decided to appoint him as temporary president. His life was part of the irony of fate. After a little more time, I thought I'd bring in a professional manager from the outside and put him in the position.
With this, anyway, I got what I wanted. It was one of the top companies in Korea, and had global competitiveness. The process was quite rough and complicated, but it paid off. Finally, Invictus Investment had set the stage for a leap into the world.On September twentieth…
In the end, Tak Mun-su was arrested. Police eventually obtained three letters of the name "Tak Mun-su" from the criminal, although they did not say exactly how, according to police chief Shin Hyun-chul. Now he had a fight in court over the sentence, which was for the maximum of life imprisonment. Of course, he hired a top judge-turned-lawyer. So I wrote an article on the Oracle news: 'We should show the strictness of the law; we should not accept one law for the rich and another for the poor.'
'Even if Korea is divided into three powers, it is true that the president is the most influential person in general. Even if the National Assembly is not currently an opposition party, it is widely believed that the ruling party has no choice but to give in to the president's power, and that the court and the case law have come to the president's attention.'
A few months ago, I kept shouting to President Joo Sung-won, 'I will attack Suyeon Group. Hit it and arrest Tak Mun-su1'; he would understand my intentions. If he joined me on to this point, I would keep him in the presidency for another four years.Two days after Tak Mun-su was arrested, on September twenty-second, Secretary Park called me. "Boss… There's another person on the phone."
But his words were a little strange because there were a variety of people calling me.
"Another person?"
"He's called Tak Woo-sung, but he is from the Tak family…" It made sense. The other Mr. Tak had called me.
'Tak Woo-sung… If it's him, he must be…' I quickly move my keyboard to search for him. 'As might be expected.'
I recalled some old memories. Tak Woo-sung, as I roughly guessed from his name, was Tak Woo-kyung's brother, Tak Mun-su's uncle, and Tak Joon-gi's father. After Tak Mun-su's arrest, he seemed to be the head of the family, or its spokesman.
Holding the phone, I wondered what he was going to do…
"Okay, put him through."
Before long, a heavy voice flowed into my ear. "Ah. Are you CEO Han Sang-hoon?"
I was wary of him for a moment. 'Is this old man trying to play the second round in a nasty way?' Fortunately, however, such concerns were soon resolved.
"… We think there was a mistake on the part of our family. I'd like to negotiate with CEO Han Sang-hoon."
"What kind of negotiation?"
"A kind of… surrender negotiation? We no longer intend to fight with CEO Han. Who's stronger… has already been revealed. Just let us take care of some of our work."
What he brought was the surrender document of the Tak family. At the same time Tak Mun-su was arrested, the Tak family seemed to realize that the game of power was all over except for the shouting.
I asked him, "What are the specific conditions?"
"I'll email it to you right away. Please look it over and review it. Can I get a reply?"
"… yes, I will."I received an email from him. The contents were long, but to sum up, I could say it said, 'The Tak family will sell all of its stakes in Suyeon Electronics, Suyeon Construction, and its affiliates, and withdraw from its authority. Please leave the insurance and chemical lines to us.'
Now that Tak Mun-su had been arrested, they no longer had the heart to resist me, and they seemed to have decided to split the remaining shares between the two. I thought they might be covering their faces right now. It was a big crack in the status of Suyeon Group to lose Suyeon Electronics, but it was no exaggeration to say that Suyeon Group without Tak Mun-su was a completely new place of opportunity.
I consulted with Vice President Jang for a few days and then accepted the offer. It was necessary for the Tak family to leave without any noise to run Suyeon Electronics and Suyeon Construction smoothly in the future. No matter how the fight ended, an enemy could not live in the same house.
I wrote back to Tak Woo-sung and sent him back a roadmap for the settlement of the shares. With my stamping them, the long and fierce fight between me and Tak Mun-su lasting for nearly half a year ended with me buying Suyeon Electronics and Suyeon Construction.I searched Tak Mun-su in the news in 12 Months After. His trial began shortly after, and after a year's preview of the news, it was unlikely that he would be able to look outside while he was alive.
'This time justice was implemented, though it was justice with a little pressure behind it.' I closed the future news email after reading it. After doing that, I breathed a long sigh, because there was a mountain of reports next to me. The financial crisis from China was gradually coming to an end, and there was a need to quickly normalize Suyeon Electronics, which had gained a new owner.
'Let's work hard then.' While I was reading those reports, Vice President Jang came in to see me.
"Vice President Jang is here."
"Please let him in."
Vice President Jang came in and greeted me, "You have a lot to review, boss."
"Well, I should do at least this much work. Isn't it Vice President Jang and the directors who are busier than me?"
Vice President Jang smiled and nodded. The remark was true. Suyeon Electronics and Suyeon Construction were both dinosaur companies with a market capital of thirty billion dollars. There was a lot of work to do after the war.
"We are looking for key personnel for Suyeon Electronics. Suyeon Construction is in the process of acquisition; the two sisters of Tak Mun-su, Tak Jin-hee and Tak Sun-young, agreed to pay off the inheritance tax with the stake in Suyeon Construction. We can buy the shares from the government. We're going to get the status of a major shareholder right away."
I asked him when I heard that, "When will that be?"
"It should be early in November."
"Oh, I see. Please proceed as quickly as possible."
"Yes, boss."
I hastened him because of the Grandmaster Class. The conditions for attaching the Grandmaster Class were "ten billion dollars in equity value, and ten listed companies." The condition of ten billion dollars in equity value was easily exceeded when I acquired Suyeon Electronics, but as for the ten listed companies, the number of companies I owned was short, since Suyeon Electronics had only one listed subsidiary.
That was seven companies. Suyeon Construction was the parent company of typical octopuses, so there were a lot of subsidiaries, such as Suyeon Fashion, a clothing brand; and Dream Box, which was in the movie theater business, as listed companies. If I put those three together, the total number became ten. As soon as the acquisition of Suyeon Construction was completed, I would be given the Grandmaster Class.
'I wonder what kind of skills there will be when I become Grandmaster Class…'
Come to think of it, there was only one thing I knew, what I had seen last time: the news of 12 Years After.
So far, there had been no need to do so because of the idea of "a year at a time of investing," but there was a need to move looking five or ten years ahead to run a large group like Suyeon Electronics.
'And besides… I'm curious about what will happen ten years from now. At that time, there may be things such as electric cars becoming mainstream, the smoke disappears, general space travel becomes possible, VR technology develops, and the game is passed on to later generations.'
I sat on the chair and imagined for a moment about what would happen ten years from now with joy.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
A man with horn-rimmed glasses, white skin, and neat hair asked me, "Why did you keep it a secret?"
"I didn't mean to keep it a secret, but other investors except me were in a very difficult situation back then. I thought it was not good manners to let our success out."
"So, you kept the profits secret in order to respect other investors."
"Yes, I did."
He mumbled over what I said and put something in the notepad. "I see. You kept the profits secret in order to be considerate of others."
'Forbes is one of the economic magazines that started in the U.S. If we look at the characteristics of this economic magazine, they are good at ranking things; "The World's Most Valuable Sports Club" or "The World's Highest Profit-Grossing Company."'
The theme of the interview now was 'Korea's 100 richest people.' And I was the one at the apex of the ranking table.
"Did you have any other reason to take over Suyeon Electronics?"
"After I finished investing in China, I looked everywhere to acquire a local company. Along the way, I noticed Suyeon Electronics. I tried a hostile MA because I judged that the shares were undervalued and that the equity structure was weak compared to the future potential. The result was successful."
"By the way, many things happened to Suyeon Group in the process? There was news of the owner's death, the issue of tax evasion, the arrest of the next chairman, and so on. What do you think of those things?"
I looked at the interviewer with my arms crossed and said, "… I thought I was lucky; they made the stock price very cheap."
"But the timing was so exquisite that some say it was all done by CEO Han Sang-hoon… What do you think about this?"
I said with a smile, "That's ridiculous. Of course, I made a lot of money, but I was the owner of an investment company, and Suyeon Group was a chaebol company for over fifty years. How can an investment company owner do such a thing against a chaebol? I'm sure dilettantes made it up."
"I see." He nodded and typed something more into the notebook.
"And what's your next plan?"
"I'm going to do more MA for a while. Although the whole world was staggered by the Chinese financial crisis, it is gradually getting better. If there's a good company, I'd like to buy some more and try to build things together."
"You intend to grow your company."
"Of course. I've become the richest man in Korea, but I'm still a young chick in the global market. I'm going to challenge the global market, starting with Suyeon Electronics."
"Oh, I see. You became the richest person in Korea, but you are still hungry. You want more money."
I said there, with a slight gesture. "No, the nuance is something wrong… I don't think that's right."
He asked me instead of teasing with the pen. "What…?
"… that part, 'I want more money.' I'm actually more obsessed with success than with money."
"Success?"
"Yes… doing something well, anticipating things, acting in line with them, finally getting the results I want. Money is just a result. Actually, since three years ago, I've not been so obsessed with money since I had more than ten million dollars in my account. Since then, I've never been able to do anything because I couldn't afford it."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, I have hundreds of times more assets now than I did then, but… I don't really live a luxury life. So 'I want more money' is not really right; I want to be a little more successful. I think that's a more appropriate expression. I do not think it's a matter of money, but I would like to say that… just as much as making money from now on, I want to succeed in spending it."
"That means… are you talking about a charitable business?"
"Yes, well, Bill Gates would be my role model. I'd like to try to solve hunger, cure incurable diseases, and so on."
"Oh, I see. That's a great idea. So here's the end of the official interview. Is there anything else you want to say?"
"Not really."
"Yes, then I'll stop here. Thank you for your interview, Mr. CEO."
I stood up with a nod. Secretary Park came up, handed me my overcoat and said, "Boss, during the interview, there was a call from Vice President Jang."
"Yes." I received the phone right away and made a call. Vice President Jang answered the phone right away.
"Boss, did you do well in your interview?"
"Yes, what made you call?"
"It's nothing special, but I was going to report the progress of the two deals in motion."
"Oh, say it."
"First of all, as soon as the inheritance tax is paid, we will take Suyeon Construction, adding to the existing shares of 4.99%. In the case of Tak Mun-su… well, we should have seen the result of the trial. It seems that his relatives are talking about disposing of him, too. His lawyers are the best, but it is not a good story out there."
'It is an open fact, but judges are not always neutral. They look after whether the accused is a person with a lot of money, a person with little power, or a person with power. They also consider the president and the public.'
Tak Mun-su had money, but he had lost favor with a person in power and was considered the third generation of an evil conglomerate to the public; therefore, a judge could not even lighten his sentence from their point of view.
"They think it will not be easy for Tak Mun-su because of his overlapping cases and strong public opinion. So there's talk of the Tak family making him give up his inheritance rights. If a major shareholder is put in prison for more than twenty years, that will be a problem."
When Tak Mun-su's downfall was confirmed, the remaining heirs of the Suyeon Group began to bite him, like a group of sharks attacking an injured colleague. Although they did not seem eager to take control of Suyeon Group openly like Tak Joon-gi, it seemed to be the best time for them when Tak Mun-su went to prison.
Except for Suyeon Electronics and Suyeon Construction, the other parts of Suyeon Group were in danger of being torn apart again from a fight between the Taks. I didn't mean it to go that far, either.
"… Well, I see. Anyway, let's leave it to them and just do our job. How's the CEO selection process going?"
Maverick Turner, former vice president of Intel, and Shin Jae-chul, former CTO of Susung Electronics, both of them said they were interested in the position of CEO of Suyeon Electronics. I think it would be nice if both of them were brought to our company, talked with us, and we could make a decision."
"Oh, that's a good idea. Let me know when the meeting schedule is fixed."
"Yes. The next is about FC Sejong."
"Ah, yes," I said, my eyes gleaming.
"Needless to say, they welcome your investment and would like to meet with you and talk to you as soon as possible."
"Good, then I'll go down to Sejong City, and talk about the stadium, too."
"Yes, please."
Soon after the acquisition of Suyeon Electronics was completed, I was going to pick a car as a reward, but I chose a soccer club, FC Sejong, instead. FC Sejong was the first professional sports club to be created since the inauguration of Sejong City, but it had not been able to find a sponsor for a while, so Sejong City was acting as the owner of the club.
Sejong City grew bigger and bigger, and now it was a big city with a population of eight hundred thousand people, but it was still difficult to operate the club with the taxpayers' money. FC Sejong was short of staff and players, and it was in a position where it had to borrow other players' ballparks, so it was in the lower division even in the lower leagues. In the meantime, I decided to be the main sponsor of FC Sejong. It was a kind of expensive hobby.
'Why isn't there a computer game that makes a club grow by taking over as a manager?'
I was going to spend my money on building a stadium, and bringing in a coach and staff.
'Three years? No, I have to bring in talented prospects, and in about five years, it will be the top club in Korea. Of course, I know who will and how they become outstanding players in the future, so it will be easy to run. I am an owner who sees the future of the team.'
After I finished talking to Vice President Jang, I smiled and put my cell phone in my pocket. 'It sounds like fun.'
"Shall we go then?" Secretary Park approached me and asked.
I nodded.On my way home in the car driven by Secretary Park, I looked out of the window with my arms folded as usual. Along the way, a large electronic display of a building was showing a series of fashion ads of Suyeon Fashion, a subsidiary of Suyeon Construction. It was a company that would end up in my possession.
I looked at it and thought. '… in the future news, what's the news for the clothing business? The bigger the company, the more work I would have to do. Whether it's electronics, construction, or fashion, there will be more places that need my insight. I can even see the movie box office in advance.'
In the past, it was a way to buy and sell stocks in line with a successful movie, but now I would be the owner of the distributor. '… I'll have to watch the news more closely.'
I now had to do some work as a manager as well as an investor, because I had more companies to run.
'It's easy to manage. I'm going to make a decision anyway. If I know the future, I can always make the right decision. Now, I will soon get the Grandmaster Class, and receive the news for 12 Years After… Whatever the news is, it can't escape my hands.'
I thought about it when I got in the back of the car that Secretary Park was driving. But that was my arrogance. When I got home, there was news waiting for me, something I had never imagined."Are you sure?"
Ah-young nodded. I did not know what to do and scratched my head for a moment. She gave me an additional explanation.
"I haven't had a period in two months… But sometimes I do. So I wasn't quite sure, but the doctor told me it's real."
Ah-young was pregnant. This was the most shocking news I'd heard recently, since the future news didn't warn me. But coming down from the shock, I realized that it wasn't bad news. On the contrary, it was very good news!
I said, holding her hand, "Yes. That's great. These days, there are a lot of couples who are worried about getting married and having problems, but we're starting with no such problems, right?"
"Yes, I've heard of that lately…"
I looked into her eyes and said, "I was so busy with my work that it was delayed. Let's set the wedding date as soon as possible. You don't want to wear a dress with your belly out because of a baby, do you?"
Ah-young nodded and gave me a subtle look.
"Don't you like?"
"No."
"I want you to make the proposal right again."
I said with a smile. "Oh, yes, yes."
I was going to become a father. Maybe it was bigger news than me buying Suyeon Electronics this year!
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 178: Grandmaster Class
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
November, 2022…
It was almost a month and a half after I heard of the pregnancy. It would be quick, but it was rather late considering that it was originally planned at the time I had decided to live together. The wedding ceremony was held modestly in the company building, with only relatives and close acquaintances, because I didn't want my family exposed to outsiders.
"Congratulations, Mr. CEO!"
"Congratulations, son!"
"Congratulations, brother!"
"Congratulations, boss!"
Ah-young and I finished the wedding ceremony safely after receiving congratulations from those present. The honeymoon was scheduled to travel to Australia and New Zealand over fifteen days. I wanted to go there for three to four months, but this time, things got in my way again. There was the acquisition of Suyeon Construction and the rebranding of Suyeon Group to deal with.
"Vice President Jang, please take good care of the company while I'm away."
"Yes, sir. I'll arrange for you to proceed as soon as you get back."The acquisition of Suyeon Construction went very smoothly. The negotiations did not last long, as the Tak sisters tried to prepare for the upcoming second round, a dispute over management control of another company, by disposing of the shares quickly. Suyeon Construction was going to become my company in December, just in time for the end of the honeymoon. The real problem after the acquisition of Suyeon Construction was rebranding.
There were big problems in managing the Suyeon Group companies that had come under my wing. The first problem was that the name Suyeon had become a byword of corruption (though I had bought it cheaply due to that), and the second problem was that I had to differentiate my companies from the companies of the Tak family, half of the severed Suyeon Group.
Like the brand view box of movie theater, where a company did not have the name Suyeon, even though it was a subsidiary of Suyeon Group, was fine, but there was a need to change its name elsewhere. With a completely new name, I thought for a bit about using our company name of Invictus, but the arrogant, absolute, and competitive nature was only appropriate for the name of the investment company. "Invictus Electronics" and "Invictus Construction" didn't really fit.
"I'll think about the name of the new company in Australia."
"Sure. You might come up with something when you are walking through Mother Nature.'
With so few things left, I left for Australia with Ah-young. To be exact, three of us left, as I didn't know whether my child was a son or a daughter. On the plane to Australia, on my first class seat, I listened to Ah-young's belly for a moment.
"How about? Can you hear something?"
"No. Not yet.
Ah-young's slim belly was slightly rounder than usual. It made me feel more and more like a father.
"My doctor said I will be able to hear it in a month or two."
"Really? I'm a little sad."
"Don't be sad. It'll be out in a few months anyway."
I listened to Ah-young's belly and thought to myself as I looked out of the window at the sky.
'My baby, please come out healthy. Then I'll bring all the world for you.'December 2022…
After the honeymoon, Vice President Jang finished the acquisition process so that I could sign off, just as I had instructed.
"So did you think of a name?"
"Ah… To be honest, some came up during my trip, but there was absolutely nothing I wanted to use. So I could not decide. "
"I see. Well, let us think about a little more time. If it is difficult for the boss to decide, we can organize a team of expert advisers and set a new name. "
"… okay. Let's finish the acquisition at once. "
"Yes, boss…"
I signed a contract to buy Tak Mun-su's sisters' and relatives' shares. As a result of that, Invictus Investment had ten listed companies worth sixty-three billion dollars in total, including companies in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ.
The evening when the contract was concluded and the announcement was made, I got an email, 'Grandmaster Class Guide', which I had waited for a very long time.I was sitting in my seat with my arms folded, after telling Secretary Park not to let anyone in.
'Hoo… come to think of it… It took me a really long time to get up to Grandmaster Class.'
I seemed to have easily reached to Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Master, but it took a lot of time to attain the Grandmaster Class. It was probably because there were so many people who I had to deal with in the process of growing. On the political side, there was Rep. Han Sang-hoon and President Joo Sung-won. On the economic front, there was the Tak family.
'But… wouldn't it be easier to do so next time? I still have over thirty billion dollars left. With that money, I can take over a global company. It will be easier if it goes through a little light ironing process, like Suyeon Electronics and Suyeon Construction.'
At 8:50 a.m., I got the email, 'Grandmaster Class Skill Guidance.' I clicked on it right away and the old familiar phrase welcomed me. [Congratulations, Han Sang-hoon, for being promoted to the Grandmaster Class. The Grandmaster Class can be used and enhanced by investing points in each skill.]
I scrolled down. [There are currently five skills available in the Grandmaster Class. There are twenty-one skill points not currently allocated.]
The score given this time was twenty-one. 'Twenty-one points… It's a blackjack number. If there are five skills, by the way, I think there's one more point added.'
I looked further down the scroll, remembering the number.
[People Search Lv2 (Active skill – four points required)
One more slot for searching for people. It will be available with other passive skills applied.
Ranking News Lv2 (Active Skill – two points required)
In a specific category out of the news in 12 Hours After, you can receive first and second place news with the highest cumulative view counts in an hour. It's available twice. It will be available with other passive skills applied.
Future News Lv5 (Passive skill – five points required)
You are going to receive another news item 12 Years After, along with the existing news. Its format is the same as the existing news, and active skills are also available the same way. This passive skill is overlaid with other passive skills.
Infiltration Report Lv2 (Active Skill – ten points required)
We will send a reporter to a specific target. The reporter will conduct a 15-day intensive
investigation into the target and bring in one article that will not be reported to the established
press after fifteen days. When you are sending a reporter, you can specify what to
Investigate.]
So far, this was exactly what they had distributed before. But, there was one more section.
[Global News Lv1 (Active Skill – ten points required)
We send the version of the news in another country than your home country of 'Korea.' The setting can be changed within twelve hours, and after making the change, the country's news will be available starting with the next email. The news format is the same, and the content is translated automatically. Skills can be used in the same way. However, if you use People Search, you have to write it in the language of that country for accuracy.]
'Oho… Global News…' Just in time, it was the skill I needed most. In order to enter the global markets, news from the 'World' category was not enough. I read it in detail. 'It's turning the news into the news of other countries… If I switch to America, the next news will be completely about American politics, economy, world, culture… and People Search will be changed like that, too. Then, can I search for Donald Trump or something?
'Every time my rating goes up, the new skill is very good. Now with this, I can search for people like the U.S. President and the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, who is often called the president of the world economy. These are people who can rattle the world economy with a single word, or a choice of words. If I keep watching these people's news, global investment and company management will be easy.
'… wait a minute, then…' But now that I thought about it, I had a sudden idea. 'In the global news… I need to search for my name.'
The benefits of making my name appear on the news had been verified. Just by searching my name, I could gain a lot of foresight, but it was currently still limited to the Korean press.
'Let's make the foreign press think of me when they hear Han Sang-hoon. That would be easier than working abroad. On the other hand, how can I let spread my name? What is the best way to make my name known in foreign countries?'
Come to think of it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to name a company after myself at all.
'When the company grows up, it will naturally remind them of my name, too. That's right. It wouldn't be bad if I used my name Han Sang-hoon as it was… Sang-hoon Han in English… SHH Group.'
I decided my company name, SHH, that simply.
'There aren't many companies in Korea that use their own names, but it happens often overseas. HP, one of the dinosaurs in the IT industry, is a company created after the last names of its founders William Hewlett and David Packard, while Nestle, which is famous for chocolate milk in Korea, is also named after its Swiss founder. Cargill, the world's largest grain company, is also named after the founding family. Let's do SHH Company then. Then, as the company grows, my name will be recognized by people around the world.'
I decided to name my company more simply than I thought. Now, the Suyeon Group under Invictus Investment would be changed to SHH.
'Then I'll have to allocate the points.' I thought about how to allocate twenty-one points. For now, five points for the fifth stage of future news and ten points for global news must be used unconditionally. These two should be the meaning of this level-up. What was left was six points. The six points were perfect for People Search and Ranking News.
'Then all twenty-one points will be completely used.
'Reducing Crow's time may also mean something, but not right now. And in my experience, I felt sorry for a month when Crow was in full use, but when I was not using him, I had nowhere to send him. If I raise it up during the next level-up, I can use him intensively when I need him in full use, but I think it's right to hold off right now, because there are other better skills.
'Then let's go like this.'
I checked four sections and pressed the 'OK' button. A familiar congratulatory message appeared.
[Congratulations! You have been promoted to the Grandmaster Class. Upgrade your news to an Exxxxx Class! What is needed to be promoted to the Exxxxx Class is a ten million dollar subscription fee and, in qualifying terms, control of more than twenty listed companies in your country with a combined market capital of more than four hundred billion dollars.]
I read it with great care. What first stood out was that the class names, such as "xxx," has been changed to the one letter, "E."
'What is it? E? E.T.? Alien? Are they saying that aliens are moving in, or what?'
But that alone was not enough to know. I concentrated on the next condition.
'Twenty listed companies… Total market capital of four hundred billion dollars. Currently, our nation's largest conglomerate, Susung Group, is about to reach a market capital of four hundred billion dollars. So, in order to become that "E" class, I have to raise our company to the largest conglomerate in the country. Hmm… Okay, it's not a bad goal.'I finished my promotion to the Grandmaster Class with that thought. It was 8:35 when I finished the promotion. Now, in fifteen minutes, the upgraded "Grandmaster Class" news would come. I waited for it with my hands folded together.
'I wonder what a global newspaper is like, but for the news 12 Years After I am more curious about what will happen after twelve years…'
I was very curious, both as an investor and as an individual. I waited for the email to come at 8:50 like a child waiting for a sci-fi movie.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
At 8:50 in the morning…
Ever since I had received a strange fate four years ago, I'd always been in front of my computer at this time, but I didn't think I'd ever been as excited as I was today.
'I remember the old days, when I was at work, and I first got this email.'
I opened the email box thinking about it. There were five emails in all in the mailbox: Gm 12 Hours After, Gm 12 Days After, Gm 12 Weeks After, Gm 12 Months After, and Gm 12 Years After.
When I saw the five emails, I clapped and pulled my hands apart.
'I have more work to do.'
I grabbed the mouse and moved the cursor to Gm 12 Years After. However, I thought, 'No, I'll see the best one last time,' and I pulled the cursor back up, and I took it to Gm 12 Hours After, and clicked. In 12 Hours After, the news didn't change much, except that it said, 'State Setting: Korea. Change?' at the bottom.
'This is the new active skill… the state setting window. If I keep this, Korean news will come out… I can change the country by pressing the change button next to it?'
I pressed the change button. The names quickly listed out in the order of the major countries, 'U.S.A., China, Germany, England, France, Japan…'
If I changed the setting here, it seemed like there would be future news for the country in the next news.
'I see… it's simpler than I thought. Apparently, if there's urgent news, I just have to change it right away.'
Having learned how to use the new active skill, I nodded and checked the articles one by one. If there was anything important, I took notes. And finally, I brought the cursor over to the news Gm 12 Years After.
'What's it going to say?' I clicked it with anticipation. The contents immediately flowed out.
[Politics – There was a violent struggle between the ruling and opposition parties in the National Assembly, and some wounded men were brought out.
Economy – Now, ordinary people can also travel by train from Busan to Lisbon.
Society – VR games causing low birth rate?
Life/Culture – The next work of the writer of 'From Hell' will probably be a fantasy game.
World – A man with a fifty-year-old beard in Turkey is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.
IT/Science – NVIDIA's GTX 6080Ti launch. What's the initial price?
Entertainment – Actor Shin Seung-joo wins the Baeksang Cultural Prize.
Sports – LG Twins win 2024 Professional Baseball League!]
I looked through the articles one by one, starting from Politics first. To be honest, the title was very boring. Nevertheless, I clicked on it.
'There's no reversal, either.'
The contents of the article were the same; only the name of the legislator that was struggling had changed. Someone pushed someone, someone ran off with the gavel.
'… Politics haven't changed. After a few years, they'll have a physical fight.'
I closed the article while reading it. Fortunately, the economic news was a pretty good one. I clicked on it.
'Oh… at last… we can cross Siberia by train across North Korea.
Inter-Korean relations had been good and bad in recent years, depending on political situations; they continued to do so every time, but it looked like they would gradually improve. The railway to North Korea had been laid quite a while ago, but for some time, civilians were not allowed to enter, only imports from Russia and China, and exports from our country.
'However, in the near future, it seems that the ride will be changed for civilians. In a word, it means that civilians can also cross North Korea. They can't go around North Korea at will there, but they can pass by rail. But what year is this?'
I checked the date.
[It will be in service from June, 2024.]
If it was 2024, it would be an article two years later. It was positive news, not too far away.
'June 2024… If I invest in economic cooperation stocks by then, I'll see a strong return. But isn't unification possible by then? I know that's really hard work. If we go back and forth like this, we'll be able to do it some day. Our country will have land twice as large and a population 1.5 times as large as South Korea's, if the two Koreas are unified. It means that our country will have a basic physique that can compete properly with such countries as Germany, France, Britain, and Japan.'
Not yet done, I clicked on the following article, [VR games cause low birth rates?]
It was news I could guess roughly. When I clicked, it revealed the simulations of cyber model men and women, similar to real life. Needless to say, they were great looking. '… I think they've made a copy of a celebrity…'
These days, as this developed, free love gradually disappeared and more and more people were becoming immersed in VR. 'It seems to be getting worse in the near future when technology is developed. Should I invest in VR technology? Well, that's not exactly good news for society, though.'
Next was Life/Culture news, and it was a Web novel-related one.
'It seems that they see a fantasy game in the future… It was popular when I was a kid, and it seems to still be popular in the future. However, any genre novel depends on which writer is writing, just as the flavor of any dish depends on which cook is cooking. No matter how old a genre is, every time a new writer comes out, a new piece can be born.
'Umm…'
I glanced at the remaining articles.
'GTX6080? Well, I'll have to change my computer when this comes out. LG eventually won the game. Congratulations. Shin Seung-joo? Who is he? Is he a future celebrity? I'll write that down and let President Kwon know.'
I went through all the articles like that. However, did I have high expectations? Aside from the news, "Increasing economic cooperation with North Korea," there was no other news that said, "Wow, this is the future world." I pursed my lips slightly and thought, 'Well… if I look at it further, I'll find something interesting. Maybe it's because there's no particularly catchy news today in 12 Years After.'
As I thought of it, I looked down into People Search. Seeing that, there was nothing to be disappointed about.
'I have this. What am I doing twelve years later?'
I wrote the three letters of my name, Han Sang-hoon there. A strike came immediately this time. [Chairman Han Sang-hoon of SHH Group ranks first in the chaebol rankings.]
'Finally… I got good news. It is the news that the name "SHH" which I just set after receiving the Grandmaster Class Guide, will top the list of chaebol rankings. In other words, our company will take the top position, beating all the chaebols that are now in existence, such as the Susung, Mirae, LC, and Hanhak groups. It is saying that SHH, which now has only sixty billion dollars, will have over three hundred billion dollars, and it will crush the Susung Group.
'Hmm… as expected.
'In a way, it is natural. With the ability to know the future, Crow that can learn things like a ghost if it is present information, People Search through which I can search for people and know everything, and Ranking News which can report only the hottest news, it is only a matter of time before I rank first.
'Yes, it's only a matter of time. Let's see when this article is…'
It was an article dated January 2025. It was about two years and three months from now. It meant that if I would not do anything weird, that was what would happen.
'Hmm. All right. Two years and three months.' I tried to lower my gaze further by thinking about it. But then, the phone rang. I looked at it.
'… I absolutely told him not to call unless it's a real emergency.'
I picked up the phone while closing the email window I was looking at.
"Why?"
"Boss, your wife says she has a little fever since this morning, but the boss's cell phone is off."
Ah-young was sick. I jumped up from my seat.A large obstetrician near the house…
"Please say ahh~'"
"Ah~"
Standing behind Ah-young, I shivered nervously with my arms folded. Then, finally, I couldn't bear it any longer and asked the doctor, "How is she, doctor?"
"Well, looking at the patient's symptoms and the weather these days… I think it's just a cold."
I came up with the next question. But before I said it, my wife spoke first, "Is everything all right with the baby?"
"Yes, it's fine. Your wife is in the stabilized period. The baby will not have any problem. You just have to think about the prescription… Take a few days off at home, and then I'll give you a prescription if your symptoms are getting worse."
That was a relief. I swept away my surprised heart. The same seemed to be true of Ah-young.
"Thank you, doctor."
"Thank you, doctor."
As I was about to leave the doctor's office, suddenly I said to the doctor who examined Ah-young.
"Doctor."
"Yes?"
"Could you be my wife's dedicated doctor during her pregnancy?"
"A dedicated doctor?"
"Yes. I hope you could accompany Ah-young until she gives birth, and take care of her health."
The female doctor made a rather obnoxious expression on my words. "But I'm employed in this hospital…"
"Yes, I know, but as you know, I'm quite rich. So… instead of this hospital, I'd like to give you more than that and monopolize your time."
The doctor's eyes were shaken when I talked about the pay.
I thought, 'She'll come over to us if I tell her the amount.'
"Now that she's three months pregnant, she has seven months left, right? I'll give you one million dollars if you help my wife give birth safely as a dedicated doctor for seven months. What do you think?"
My words brightened her face. "Yes. I'll do it. I will."
One million dollars in seven months was surely a little too much for her, but it was no different than just cent for me. I gave that amount on purpose so she could not turn it down. And I added one more option. "If you help my wife have a healthy birth… I will continue to hire you. For your information, I'm going to have about three children."
She recognized my words right away, and bowed deeply to me. "Ah, I see. I'll do my best to take care of Madam's health."
My wife, who had been looking at the whole process, gave me a slightly odd look, but I looked at her and shrugged my shoulders slightly.
'If I want to take care of my family's health, this is a small amount of money.'
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
From the hospital, on the way home, I said, holding my wife's hand. "It's just as well that it is a simple cold."
"Yes."
"You have to be careful, though. Just like the doctor said, don't go anywhere today and get some rest. Okay?"
My wife nodded twice.
"If you're sick again, call me right away."
"Yes, by the way, why did you turn off your cell phone? I kept in touch."
"Oh, I had something important this morning."
"Uh… really? Is it on now?"
I lifted my cell phone and showed it to her. There were still 'three missed calls' on it. "Yes. Sorry."
"It's okay. But I called your secretary and it was connected right away."
"I'm glad it was." I nodded and said to Secretary Park, who was driving in the front seat. "Good job, Secretary Park. Thank you."
With a slight nod to the rearview mirror, he answered, "Not at all."Park continued to drive. Soon the car carrying us arrived at the company building. Then, as soon as we got out of the parking lot, he said, "Ah, boss. Well… this is a very ambiguous time to go, but I think we'll have to go out again. The next meeting is up."
"Ah, we have a schedule, right?"
"Yes. Time is up. You can go up and down, but you have to come down almost immediately."
"Then I'll just send my wife up, and return."
"Yes, boss."
My wife looked at me and asked, "What's going on? Is there anything you need to do?"
"Yes, you know the new companies? I need to go and say, 'I'm your master.' I should show them my face, and receive a vow of loyalty."
I had an important job today, the meeting with representatives of the newly acquired Suyeon Construction. My wife was so sick that I forgot for a moment. I said, pushing the elevator's up button.
"Well, everybody will be nervous."
"That's right. By the way, we will have a company dinner tonight."
"A company dinner?"
"Yes. A big deal is done and I decided to buy a good meal for Vice President Jang and the directors…"
Today, I was determined to get drunk after a long time. However, I was sorry to have to leave my sick wife alone.
"Shall I just eat dinner and come back? You're sick."
"It's okay. It's a light cold. A company dinner is a job, too. Don't drink yourself unconscious."
At the words, I said with a big smile, "Hmm. Don't worry. I'm a pretty strong drinker, as I'm different from anyone. To come back, being drunk and riding on someone's back…"
My wife slapped me on the arm and said, "That's enough. All of a sudden, you're telling the old story…"
"Why? It's all our memories. Well, if it weren't for those things, we wouldn't have been married like this."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
She seemed to think of the old days when she had been drunk and carried by me; she smiled and laughed. Soon the elevator arrived and stood in front of us.
"Anyway, I'll be back before ten. Take good care of yourself."
"Yes."After sending my wife home, I came back to the parking lot where Secretary Park was waiting.
"If we go now, will we be late?"
"We're not going to be late, but I think we need to drive a little faster."
"Then let's go a little faster. Let's go."
"Yes, boss."At the Suyeon Electronics building, not too far from the Invictus Investment building…
As soon as I entered the parking lot and got out of the car, Vice President Jang came out to greet me.
"Are you here, boss?"
"Yes. Have you all met?"
"Yes."
"How was it?"
"They are all nervous. I think they are worried about what kind of person the boss is like and how they can look good."
"Aha. What about the Tak family?"
"Most of them were fired. There are a few people left in bookkeeping, but they're practically gone. The people who came today were either chosen as substitutes or only those who will be chosen."
"Well, that's great."
I headed for the elevator with him. In front of the elevator stood the loyal men of Invictus Investment; Director Kim, Director Jung, Director Kang, and so on. They looked at me and bowed.
"Are you here, boss?" They held an elevator for me.
"Yes, let's go," I replied, gesturing for them to go. While we were going up to our destination in the elevator, I told Vice President Jang, "I've been thinking about the name of this company this morning."
"What is it?"
I brought up a story that I had made up. "I was reading the newspaper this morning, and my name appeared in the article, as a genius investor."
"It is common, isn't it?"
"Yes, but… it wouldn't be bad to just name it using my name. There's a brand we've built up, so far, Sang-hoon Han. I thought about naming it the SHH group. Vice President Jang, what do you think?"
At my words, Vice President Jang said, "It's a little simple, but it's not bad. To name it after the founder… is not too common for Korean companies, but…"
His assessment was, in fact, "just so." I agreed with that. It was just so. It was not good, it was not bad, except for having the company named after me would be helpful in People Search.
'But if it wasn't for People Search, I wouldn't have named it SHH.' I told him, thinking about it. "Well, I see."
Then, slightly turning my head, I asked the other three directors, "Directors, what do you think?"
"I think it's good. If it's your opinion, there's no other opinion."
"I like it, too. Even the boss has a lot of fame overseas."
"It's a good idea to name it after the boss."
The three spoke to me in rather flattering voices. And as I heard them, I thought, 'How many of these people think it's actually good? One? Two?'
There weren't many people who could say 'I don't think that's a good idea, boss.'
'… of course, even if there were different opinions, I would have pushed ahead with it. Anyway… SHH is good.'
Then, the elevator door opened. The directors went out first and beckoned me. "This way, boss."
I asked as I walked along with them, "So, how many people did you say I would meet today? Seventeen people?"
"Yes, exactly seventeen people."
Including Suyeon Electronics, Suyeon Construction, and its subsidiaries, the total number was seventeen. This was due to the chaebol's unique octopus-style expansion, which ranged from toy companies for children to companies that supplied popcorn, nachos, and baked squid to the view-box theaters. Usually, these companies were distributed to the relatives of Tak family, in such a way, 'You're one of Tak family, take this.' Among them, there were also many companies that were used for tax evasion.
In other words, it was the legacy of Tak Woo-kyung.
"I think it's inefficient to keep everything together… I think we should combine them in a proper way."
"Yes, I think so, too. Once all the remaining Taks are out, we are going to sort out the equity relationship."
"That's good." I walked down the hall nodding my head.
Director Chung, who was walking ahead, opened the door of the hall as he said, "This way, boss."
I walked in that direction. Inside, a total of seventeen people stood, waiting for me tensely. They said, lowering their heads in unison as I walked forward at a moderate pace, "I've seen you for the first time, boss."
I stopped at the top seat and studied them. As Vice President Jang said, they were looking at me with tense eyes. I grinned at them. I would be a little nervous if I was normal, but I knew my future. I would not fail. The soon-to-be SHH Group companies would see tremendous growth in the coming years. I opened my mouth with a confident tone of voice, "Nice to meet you all."The elevator door opened, and I entered the house with care. A voice came from the inside.
"You're early?"
Soon, my wife in her pajamas came to see me.
"Didn't you sleep?"
"No. What about the company dinner? Didn't you have that?"
"No, I did, but… I didn't drink much."
My wife sniffed the air around me for a second, and she nodded. "Hmm. That's true."
I said with a wave of hands. "Don't take the smell. The baby in your belly will smell the liquor, too."
It was ten past nine. As soon as the dinner began at 7:30 p.m., I quickly made progress, drank only moderately, and came back home to see if my wife was okay.
"What about the fever? Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm much better. I think a day's sleep will make me feel better."
"It sounds great. Go get some rest. I'll take a shower."
After taking a shower, my wife was already sleeping in bed. She might have waited for me even though she had been sleepy. I lay quietly beside her, lest I wake her up. Then, I picked up my cell phone. '… It's 9:20…'
At 8:50 p.m., an email would have arrived. I was going to read it, but being mildly drunk, I gave it up. I didn't think it would work out well even if I would look at the news.
'I'll have to read the two emails together tomorrow morning.'
I fell asleep thinking about it.The next morning…
When I woke up, I found that there was no wife beside me. I went out of the bedroom and went to the living room. There was a noise in the kitchen.
"Ah-young, are you cooking?"
"Yes."
I went there. I could smell something tasty.
"It's yukgaejang, hot spicy meat stew. Eat and go."
"How about your cold? Are you okay?"
"Yes, it's still a little chilly, but I think the fever's almost gone. I don't have a headache."
I approached my wife and touched her head. Apparently, the fever had gone down.
"Good."
"It must have been a simple cold."
"Good. When the doctor comes next week, listen carefully. You are pregnant. You should be careful every time."
"I get it. I get it."I went to work after eating the yukgaejang that my wife had cooked for me.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, boss."
After saying hello to Secretary Park after I arrived, I turned on the computer and opened the email box. There was still the email which had arrived at 8:50 p.m. yesterday; 'Gm 12 Hours After, Gm 12 Days After, Gm 12 Weeks After, Gm 12 Months After, Gm 12 Years After.' I quickly read it. Then, at 8:50 a.m., five more emails came in again. By the way, in these future news that I read in a series, I found something strange.
'Wait a minute…' What is this?'
The more I read the email, the bigger the idea grew. With the email open, I mumbled, holding my hand on my chin.
"What the Hell is wrong with this?"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
I mumbled, with my arms crossed. "It's so strange to see…"
In my mind, watching the news over and over, a hypothesis floated up. Such a hypothesis was unlikely, but not entirely impossible. "No way…"
I touched my lower lip at the articles before me. But in the meantime, the telephone rang.
"Yes."
"Boss, twenty minutes from now, we have an interview for the next president of Suyeon Electronics in the conference room. Shin Jae-chul, former CTO of Susung Electronics, and Maverick Turner, former vice president of Intel, both came early and are waiting now."
"Okay. We're also seeing someone in the afternoon, aren't we?"
"Yes, he is the interim president of Suyeon Construction. Vice President Jang wants you to move on to greet him right away."
"… Okay. I'll get out of here."
"Yes, boss."
After the call, I looked at the mailbox with the future news and closed it. Right now, right after the acquisition of Suyeon Group, there was too much work to do.
'… my hypothesis is not sure yet. After work… let's get the news one more time in the evening and think again. Maybe… it's a coincidence.'
I got up from my seat after thinking that.I asked with my hands together. "Yes, I heard you well. Lastly, do you have anything you want to say?"
"I first joined Susung Electronics in 1992, just thirty years ago. I've been in this industry for a long time, and I've got some insights."
I thought as I listened to him, 'Hmm… really? Insight? Perhaps it's more important to listen to me than that. No matter how insightful he is, he can't be better than me, because I look at the future.'
"If CEO Han Sang-hoon and other directors of Invictus Investment choose me as president…"
A middle-aged man with half his hair going white spoke in front of me like a politician shouting for pledges. Shin Jae-chul, former CTO of Susung Electronics, and a graduate of Seoul National University's Department of Electronic Engineering, joined Susung Electronics as a mere worker without a particular background, and climbed to the company's top rank. But he, too, was caught up in a fight inside the group and was known to be not very good at finishing with the group.
"I will use my experience and try to run the company wisely, so that next year's operating profit is up twenty percent from now on."
I looked at him with great care. It was not a company worth just a penny or two, but thirty billion dollars. I could not leave it to just anyone.
"… I'll do it."
At the end of his speech, I nodded to him. "I heard your speech well. Then, I'll discuss it with the board and let you know as soon as we make a decision. As you know, it hasn't been long since our company acquired Suyeon Electronics, so it'll take a while."
He replied quickly, "It's okay. I'll wait. Mr. CEO."
As expected, he had the sense to quickly tell me the answer I wanted because he had been in the Susung Group for a long time.
"Yes, I'll let you know the result in two months."
The reason was that there were two candidates for the next president. It would take two months for Crow to dig in the backgrounds of two people.
"Yes, sir." He nodded to me and left the interview room.
I asked Vice President Jang, who was sitting next to me. "How do you think of him?"
"I thought he'd be a little speechless as he has a Ph.D. in engineering, but he is a good speaker. Should I say he has charisma?"
I lifted the profile before me and replied, "In addition, he went to the U.S. to get an MBA at the expense of the company."
"It's like someone from Susung Group was making efforts to raise him to president or vice president."
"But he was pushed out in the middle?"
"Yes, the company is… a jungle."
In fact, Vice President Jang was a man who had been forced out of the company after being embroiled in a political fight. 'An evil may sometimes turn out to be a blessing in disguise.' Now he would get ten times the salary he had used to get, I thought as I shifted the profile of Shin Jae-chul, former CTO of Susung Electronics, to the side.
'Well, he's a victim of offitics… I don't think he was in the same situation.'
The next profile had a picture of a typical Caucasian blond man.
"Next… he's Maverick Turner from the United States." Director Kwon said, sitting apart a little bit. "He is a former vice president of Intel, and everybody knows him in the electronics industry."
I'd heard of him quite a few times. I gestured, "Please let him in.""I'll go then."
"Yes, sir. Please go up. Thank you for your hard work today."
"You too."
I broke up with Secretary Park in front of the elevator, rubbed my eyes and sighed. Today was quite a tiring day. In the morning, I made a series of interviews for one and a half hours per person, and in the afternoon, I called in Suyeon Construction's interim president to talk about short-term management policies and the spin-off of subsidiaries.
After dinner, I even discussed with the directors the idea of renaming the companies I had just acquired to SHH. I'd been working hard all day, but I would continue this hard schedule for a few more days. It was not normal to take over Sooyeon Electronics, worth thirty billion dollars, Suyeon Construction, also worth thirty billion dollars, and dinosaur companies worth sixty billion dollars in total.
The elevator door opened, and Ah-young, who was waiting at the front door, said to me, "You're late?"
"I worked overtime a long time."
"Are you tired?"
"Yes, but it's fine. It's nothing compared to the overtime I used to work in the old days."
That was true. Even this overtime was different from the one that had been at "the level of squeezing people." First of all, the intensity of work and the length of time were different, but now I did not have to notify anyone, because I was the owner.
"Hmm, then? When you were a low man in the old days?"
"Yes."
Ah-young accepted my jacket from me and asked, "Can you tell me more, then?"
I shook my head. "I don't want to tell."
I really didn't want to talk about it. Even now that I was the richest man in Korea, I didn't want to recall the hardships I had experienced at that time. I changed the subject right away.
"How are you feeling, anyway?"
"I've had a good rest for two days and I think I'm almost well."
"Good to hear that. But you should rest until tomorrow. Don't go anywhere else, okay?"
"Okay, oppa."
I took off my pants and picked up the phone that was in there. It was just 8:42 p.m. 'It's time for the evening news to come.'
I was drunk yesterday, so I put off watching until this morning, but today I didn't want to delay for a moment. I had a theory to verify. I went into the shower and said, "Don't worry about me and rest. I'm going to take a shower and do some more work in the study."
"Huh? You have more to do?"
"Yes. Work never ends."After taking a shower, listening to the sound of the TV in the bedroom, I headed to my study. I turned on the computer and opened the email box. There was five news from '12 Hours After' to '12 Years After.' I clicked the news 12 Years After this time, before any other news.
'No way, this time again?' Thinking about it, I read the news.
[Politics – Is there any variable to President Joo Sung-won, who is likely to be reelected?
Economy – The global stock market stretches itself. Is the Chinese nightmare over?
Society – Where is a teacher going to stand in the holographic age?
Life/Culture – A VR aquarium, walk into the sea.
World – Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano explodes again after six years.
IT/Science – Space travel costs could be lowered to $50,000 within this year.
Sports – FIFA's 24/25 season best eleven.
Entertainment – 2025 Grammy Awards, the star's glittering figures.]
And, looking around at the news that came out, I thought. 'This time again? That's right, isn't it?'
This time, there was no news to deviate from. I went over it from the top, one by one.
'Politics – Joo Sung-won's re-election story… Since he was elected last year, this is the 2025 news.
Economy – Is the Chinese nightmare over? This is news that could come out this year. This year or next…
Society – Holograms will be commercialized around next year. Then this is news that will be released in two or three years.
Life/Culture – A VR aquarium can still be built today. It's just a level difference.
World – The volcano erupted in 2018… It exploded again after six years, which will be 2024.
IT/Science – $50,000 for space travel? Now it costs $200,000, so it won't be long.
Sports – 24/25 season best eleven.
Entertainment – 2025 Grammy Awards.'
All of them were all the same. I got the Grandmaster Class yesterday and until this afternoon, the four "12 Years After" news I received were all without exception. Obviously, it was news until twelve years from now, but there was no news coming out after 2026. I stroked my chin and thought. 'What the hell? Errors?'
But it could never be an error. Future news such as a knife clearly showed what was specified.
'At first, I thought I was just unlucky and they didn't come up with a science fiction story.'
There was only one possibility in this situation. 'Since 2026… Did something happen where there's no news coming out?'
That was the hypothesis I'd been thinking about since this morning. I searched 'Han Sang-hoon' in the People Search.
[Han Sang-hoon, CEO of Invictus Investment, is Korea's richest man in 2025, too.]
As expected, my news was not available after 2025. The same went for searching for President Joo Sung-won or actress Oh Hyun-joo. Every news was talking about what they did until 2025. No news had come out since 2026.
'What would have happened?'
But then, there was something that came into my eyes: Ranking News, which was below the People Search, and would show the most viewed news during the designated period, first and second place.
'… First and second place in the news that they've seen the most in 12 years…'
Cooldown time was once a month, anyway. I pushed the Ranking News and activated the active skill. Then, two lines of news came out. I saw it and swore loudly in spite of myself, "Goddamnit all…"
Within twelve years, the first and second biggest news stories in our country were as follows:
[The Chinese nuclear bomb hit Washington, leaving the U.S. capital in ashes.]
[The U.S. nuclear bomb hit Beijing, estimated ten million civilians dead.]
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
I rubbed my eyes and looked at the monitor again. However, nothing changed. What I saw was clear. Four years from now, exactly on February sixteenth, 2026, the U.S. and China would fire nuclear missiles at each other. It didn't say who shot it first, or anything like that, but it was a fact that the two countries shot nuclear missiles, which flew to their capitals and caused tens of millions of deaths.
And then the news was cut off.
'Washington and Beijing… where both have core political leadership… But that's the beginning. Nuclear weapons are indeed the last means. They prepare for the extinction of human civilization as soon as they used. So there's no way they would have fired only one shot. Washington and Beijing were just the beginning. They must have shot dozens or hundreds of missiles at major cities, including New York, Shanghai, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong.
'And there is a high possibility that our country is also caught up in it. Our country is an ally of the United States, and North Korea is an ally of China. Although there has been a stage of harmony and exchange between nations since 2018, neither side could have refused to participate at a time when the U.S. and China were at war. If the U.S. and China go to war, it is a foregone conclusion that the Korean Peninsula will become a sea of fire, and the news could no longer come out.
'Perhaps nuclear bombs would have been fired at big cities like Seoul, Busan, and Incheon in South Korea, and places like Pyongyang, Hamhung and Chongjin in North Korea.
'… this is how it's going to be. No, maybe…it might have been destined to be like this.
Conflicts with the United States and China had continued since 2018. The two countries had begun with a trade war, followed by a currency war, resulting in the economic crisis in China last year. As a result, the U.S. took some of the cards it wanted, such as opening up its markets in China, resolving trade imbalances and blocking the Chinese government's intervention, but it earned the strong antipathy of the proud Chinese people. So, recently, the relationship between the United States and China was actually in the process of entering a Cold War, as the American-Soviet Union did in the 20th century.
'I heard that an American and a Chinese warship just passed in the South China Sea, right?
The occurrence of military tensions in the South China Sea had been so frequent since 2018 that it was no longer even news, yet they had avoided head-on collisions every time.
'But… I guess some day in 2026, they won't do that anymore.'
Come to think of it, it seemed to be a recurring axis of history. Such things were common in modern and contemporary history, given the birth of a new and fast-growing nation, conflicts, trade wars, economic crises, and wars following the global economic crisis. But the different thing about the last war and the upcoming war is that it is a war that was going to wipe out civilization, so badly that it would not even bring out the general news.
'February sixteenth, 2026… is doomsday. Everything breaks down, everyone dies.'
As I thought about that, I stood up from the seat, closed all open windows above the monitor, and turned off the computer. I came out of the study and into the living room, from the living room to the bedroom where my wife was. She sat in bed watching the television on the wall, turning to me and said to me, "Are you done?"
I sat next to her, speaking in a quivering voice, "Haw… Yes."
My wife stared at me and said to me, "What's wrong? This job must be really difficult."
"Hmm?" I tilted my head.
"Oppa, you are a little weird."
I said, touching my face, "Am I?"
"Yes. Usually, you have a bright, confident look on your face no matter what the difficult task is. But your face looks a bit dark today."
My wife knew me well. "… I can't always be confident." In front of World War III, where nuclear weapons come and go. I took the hands of my wife, Ah-young, with the latter words omitted.
My wife looked at me and said, "It's okay, oppa. You've been doing a good job. You'll be able to do your next job well."
"Ah… Yes."
My wife put my hands over her belly. "Baby, did you hear that? Your dad is working hard for you, worrying about you. When you come out into the world, you have to be filial to your dad. Okay?"
At my wife's words, I smiled on the outside, but I couldn't laugh on the inside. A pregnant wife and the baby that would come out soon… but in a few years, the end of the world would come. My child might see the end of the world, two years after seeing light in the world. With that thought, I could never laugh easily.
"You must be tired and go to sleep, oppa. Think about your work tomorrow."
"Ah… Okay."
We turned off the TV and the lights of the living room, and tried to sleep. However, I couldn't sleep at all.
'What shall I do? If there's a nuclear war… Is Jeju Island a safe place? No. Jeju Island also has a naval base. I have to leave our country. If China and the U.S. go to war, the entire Korean Peninsula will be in flames. So where should we go? Europe? I don't know what will happen to Europe. Most of them are allies of the United States, so how will Russia react? No, a safe place, regardless of that… is Switzerland, New Zealand, or Canada? No, why don't I just buy an uninhabited island on the Atlantic side?'
I mapped out some scenarios. "From now on, I will make a private land and a private villa while pretending to invest in a safe place overseas. No matter how I decorate it on the outside, I will dig up to ten stories below the ground to create a shelter for nuclear war. I will prepare guns, bullets for emergency situations, and to be self-sufficient in clean air, food, and water for decades. Then, we can live under any circumstances. My child may not know what the sun is or what a friend is, but he or she will survive anyway."
'Yes… then… Let's get ready from now on. Northern Canada… or the Pacific Islands… No, the Atlantic Ocean is better than the Pacific Ocean. Let's search there first.'
I thought about it one way or another. Starting tomorrow, I would prepare for it secretly. While I was thinking about it, my wife was fast asleep. But I couldn't seem to fall asleep today. I got out of bed, leaving my sleeping wife alone.
Out of the bedroom, through the living room, I walked out into the garden outside the house, located in the middle of the city center. It was November and the wind was quite strong, but I walked across the garden without regard to it. At the end of the garden, where I could see the night view of Seoul, I stood watching. '… I thought it wouldn't be a problem for me anymore…'
I had become the richest man in Korea, had stronger connections than anyone else in Korea, and had the power to know the future, which had reached its highest point. So, I had been thinking not so long ago that I wouldn't have any difficulties in my life. But World War III with nuclear weapons was coming!
It was terrible that the future would be gone, even though I could know all the future. I looked at the night lights of Seoul for a moment. If I looked from here, I could see the Suyeon Electronics building in the distance, which had become mine.
'I was going to build step by step here, and I was going to have the emperor's territory, but…
'I am sad to learn that all of this that I can see now will be burned to ashes, that my assets will be blown away, and that this beautiful landscape will disappear. All the people who live with tears and smiles in this huge forest of buildings will die, too. This civilization, which has been built for hundreds of years, will disappear in a moment.' I was thinking about it, but I bit my teeth.
'How can I stop the war? I cannot sit down quietly like this. I can build a shelter somewhere on an uninhabited island to keep me and my family alive, but that won't end well, either. When the civilized world is destroyed, my money, and my ability to see the future will surely be useless. Yes, I can't let that happen. I can't just run away.'
I thought about a few things that I could do specifically. 'I'm going to have President Joo Sung-won… No, no. The alliance between our country and the United States is unbreakable by President Joo Sung-won. If he breaks it by force, he will be impeached. Then, what shall I do now?
'Realistically, our nation cannot be saved by tampering with Korean politics. It's a miserable situation as a sovereign state, but that's the reality. After reunification, we can say like Switzerland which did during World War II, 'We are neutral. Do it among yourselves, whether it is a nuclear war or whatever.' Now, our country and North Korea are standing like vanguards of the U.S. and China. Neither country has a choice yet.
'Well, why don't I go to America and lobby actively? Whether the Senate or the House of Commons… If I can, I have to target even the president. If I send Crow over there… How about China? I may have a chance in China. Although it used to be really hard, after the economic crisis, the Chinese political community has become a bit more flexible.
'If I dig that way, there will be a chance.
'Then, let's enter the U.S. and Chinese markets, and dig into political connections. And then, whatever I'm lobbying for, whatever I'm doing, I will try to stop the U.S.-China war. If I use Crow to do something there, I'll find something out.
I concluded so. The power I had now was great. Though the U.S. and Chinese governments were tough, if I went all out, I could stop the war. Of course, it would not easy, but…
Suddenly I remembered what my wife had just told me. 'It's okay, oppa. You've been doing a good job. You'll be able to do your next job well.'
I clenched my fist. 'Yes, I can't let this place, where my family and many friends live, be destroyed. Let's do it whether it's working or not. Try it and then think about the next best thing.'
I turned around after thinking about it. Then I returned from the garden to the living room, from the living room to the bedroom, and next to my sleeping wife, laid down my cold body, and warmed myself with a blanket. My wife and the child in her womb knew nothing about this and were asleep.
I looked at her for a moment, then closed my eyes, and slept. I had to sleep, no matter how disturbed I was, I had to sleep well and wake up to do my job properly tomorrow.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
"Good morning."
"Good morning, boss."
I greeted Secretary Park vigorously and told him, "Please tell Vice President Jang to come to the president's office around 9:10."
"Yes, boss."
I came into the president's office and turned on the computer. It was 8:50 a.m. I read the future news and did People Search in my name, and I wrote down what would be helpful in the news. 12 Years After still showed just the news of three years later. It might be by February sixteenth, 2026 that the news would normally come out. It was three years and three months from now.
'… that's not going to be easy, but it's a fight worth trying. I will expand my market dominance in the global market, earn money, expand my influence in the United States and China over the next three years and three months, and then change the future catastrophe to come.'
I thought the crash of China was a disaster, a catastrophe. It was just nothing compared to what would happen in the future.
Last year's crash was largely part of the U.S.-China trade war. At that time, some investors killed themselves and the media screamed as if there were a war going on, 'China will collapse and our country will be ruined, too.' But here, the U.S.-China war without the letter "trade" would become a disaster. Not just a few investors who had chosen to kill themselves after losing money, but ordinary people who lived their normal lives would die. At that time, the press wouldn't even be able to talk. Most of them would be dead or run away.
'After World War II, it has been a safe world. If I talk about a disaster, THIS is a real disaster. Whoo… I should build an underground bunker, too. Of course, I will try my best to prevent the war, but at the same time, I will have to build an underground bunker in a safe third country. There should also be a so-called 'Plan B.' If I can't stop the nuclear war by February sixteenth, 2026, I'll move there with my family and acquaintances and some talented people needed for survival. Then, at least we can survive.
'As the richest man in Korea as I am now, I may not enjoy a luxurious life, but there is a saying, "As long as there is life, there is hope." If I hide there and spend a few years, I may be able to set foot in the civilized world again. But I don't know if it's going to be inhabitable because of radiation.
'There are many movies and games about dystopia, such as Waterworld, Mad Max, and Fallout. What's common there is about radioactivity; animals, plants, and even humans are strangely deformed by radioactivity. As the bombs are going off right now, the fallout will be a problem. In addition, there are nuclear power plants. In fact, radioactive contamination is possible without a nuclear bomb. If a missile is fired at the other's nuclear power plants, it will be contaminated by radioactivity. As we can see from Chernobyl far away and Fukushima close by, if it becomes contaminated by radioactivity, it becomes completely uninhabitable.
'The U.S. and China also have huge amounts of nuclear power plants. China has about two hundred and thirty nuclear power plants, but most of them are on the east coast. As fine dust is coming from the west wind, Korea is also doomed when radiation is released. Japan, and even Australia or New Zealand may be a land where life does not exist, if we look far away. Nuclear war and radioactivity are scary. Extreme destruction can occur even if we don't get hit by a single bomb.
'… is there really no way to escape?'
With that in mind, I went to the new 'State Setting' option at the bottom, now reading 'State Setting: Korea.'
'Come to think of it, news may come out in the U.S., China or a third country, twelve years later. Our country is small, but it is still big. Even in the United States alone, there are islands in many places around the world, such as Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands… if it is going well, I can hear the news of the island.'
I changed the setting to 'US' while thinking about it.
– The change in state settings is completed. The next news will be from the United States.-
I nodded, looking at it.
'Okay, let's see what the future news of the United States is like.'
As I thought about it, there was a call. Looking at the clock, it was 9:10. It was Secretary Park. I picked up the phone and said right away, "Please let him come in."
Soon, Vice President Jang came into the room and bowed his head. "Did you call me, boss?"
I went to the main point right away. "I thought a little bit about the interview for president of Suyeon Electronics yesterday."
"Yes."
"If we want to keep up with the global era, we'd better hire a global talented person… That's what I thought."
Vice President Jang understood who I was talking about as soon as possible. "Then we'd better pick Maverick Turner rather than Shin Jae-chul… Is that what you're saying?"
"Yes."
Maverick Turner was a successful engineer at Intel, a man who had built a reputation in the global market for years as a manager. Vice President Jang and other directors recommended that to me, citing it as his strong point.
"I see. Maverick Turner will make a splendid debut of SHH Electronics on the global stage. He's very well known in the market."
Jang once again talked about his reputation in the market. But the reason I picked him wasn't the point. It was because of his background. He was a man born and raised in a prestigious family in the United States. He graduated from Harvard, and his father was also from Harvard, and his mother was from Yale; he was from a typically wealthy American family.
The highlight was his brother, William Turner, who was a member of the Democratic Party and a member of the Senate. So, if I appointed him to the position of president and talked to him, I could naturally extend my influence to the political world of the USA!
I spoke to Vice President Jang, keeping it a secret. "If you have no objection, I'd like to do so."
"Yes, sir. I will know that's what you do. But then… They were supposed to be notified in two months? What should I do?"
"In two months… Well… I was trying to think a little bit. I've made a quick decision and it's good to let him know quickly. Needless to say, it's better for Mr. Turner as well as Mr. Shin Jae-chul. Then, Mr. Shin can get another job sooner."
"Oh, I see. Then, I'll speak to him before Mr. Turner returns home."
"Yes. And… there is something else."
"Yes."
"If you know anyone who is acquainted with a Chinese person in power, please check it out. I want such a person who has a special relationship with the Chinese side somehow."
"Pardon me?"
"No, it's nothing special; I'm trying to invest in China."
"Well, didn't you say you wouldn't touch China because of the political situation?"
Jang had been very sorry about that since the Chinese financial crisis. It was a direct investment in China. Actually, I used to think like that. I had earned forty-five billion dollars with the selling position for China. It would have been better to reinvest in China, which was the main force, not Korea, which was indirectly affected by the financial crisis. But I couldn't predict the political situation in China at that time, so I decided to reinvest in our country only as a safe bet and as a country where I could receive future news. It had become Suyeon Electronics and Suyeon Construction.
I replied to Vice President Jang, "Ah, I did. However, we can't succeed if we are afraid of failure. I would like to try some business in China now. Since we took over half of Suyeon Group, we have to be involved in the Chinese market. SHH will also do business with China a lot in the future."
"That's true. All right, boss. Then I will contact Mr. Turner, and get a person who has acquaintance with a Chinese power broker. And… do you want me to do anything else?"
"No, I don't. Please accomplish those two first."
"Yes, sir."That evening, I received an email of 12 Hours After, which was somewhat changed.
[Politics – New York State's deregulation of marijuana legalization.
Economy – By the power of contents, Netflix sets a new high stock price.
Society – Drone-based drug delivery, how far has the Mexican cartel evolved?
Life/Culture – How to make twelve sandwiches using toast.
World – Arctic ice increases again. Polar bears recover their habitat.
IT/Science -How to join NASA for space travel dreamers.
Sports – The Buffalo Bills lead the east by beating the New York Jets.
Entertainment – Justin Bieber gets divorced for the second time, his fans turn their backs.]
It was news entirely for the United States.
'I am a little unadapted. But it will be useful if it comes out like this.'
I scrolled down a little more. There was a phrase in the People Search section that had not been visible, 'When you receive news from a certain country, the name of the People Search should be written in the country's main language.' I had been given that guidance when I received the grade-up.
Without hesitation, I wrote down the name 'Donald Trump' in it. If I chose the most famous person in the world right now, it was this person. He was the man who had won reelection and had been leading the United States for five years. Sure enough, there was news about President Trump.
[President Trump will ask for the right amount of money instead of helping rebuild China.]
'Ha… it's still about China…'
Trump, who had pointed to unfair trade with China since his first election five years ago, was in fact the main culprit behind the Chinese financial crisis. Of course, it was not just his intention, but it was an open fact that Obama, his predecessor, had also done everything he could to keep China in check. The U.S. political community, both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party had agreed, but his radical remarks and actions were enough to provoke the Chinese politicians and the people.
'… there's a war coming that way. He really didn't know that.'
He must have thought that China would never use nuclear weapons. He put as much pressure on China as possible. It was his way of negotiating. Just like he had used on North Korea, he put maximum pressure on the other side of the negotiations, and then worked the deal by loosening the pressure little by little. It was quite efficient, but it could offend the other party. That was a sad point, especially when I thought about what would happen in the future.
'Anyway, it's not a bad start. I can see in advance what the president of the United States will say. All right, so let's keep track of it and what's next. Who should I put in the other two in People Search? U.S. Vice President? Or the next presidential candidate? Who to pick?'
I went back to the portal site, searched for this and that in People Search, and put it back into the future news using that name. And that way, over the next three years, I studied what would happen in the United States and China.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
After changing the setting of my future news to the United States, I received US news for about a month. I had only received the future news of Korea before, but I began to receive the future of the United States. So even if it was the news of 12 Months After, a year later, there was a lot of amazing and fresh news. The interesting thing was that there was news in the US after 2026. It was just one. And… it was pretty weird news.
[Politics – General Duke's forty-second birthday party is held.]
That was really strange news. Most of the time, the political news in the U.S was like this:
[Claudia Moritz of the Senate condemned Trump's tweet] or Defense Secretary Howard said, ["The military tension in the South China Sea…"]
However, suddenly, the story of a general's birthday party was in the news.
'What is this? What the hell? Why is the general's birthday on the news?'
I clicked on it.
[General Duke celebrated his forty-second birthday on July thirteenth, 2030. After the Great Recession of 2026, General Duke, who has built up our army at the top of the South with outstanding leadership…]
After reading the article, it seemed that a general named Duke was establishing a position in the south of the United States, and pretending to be a king.
'It is a story that can only take place in a dystopian movie, but it is worth playing king if he is a general who commanded a mechanized division when a nuclear war broke out and the government collapsed. In other words, he will become president without having to go through a coup.
'General Duke's army must have avoided the nuclear weapons…
'Now that the U.S. has become this way, there is nothing else to say. If Seoul and Pyongyang are destroyed by nuclear weapons, the military might take control of one or two metropolitan cities and establish a military regime. To elect the president by vote is the story when it's peaceful. In wartime, guns soon become power.
'But a general's birthday is political news… This is no different from the old hostile North Korea.'
Anyway, it was alright, as there were many useful things in US news. In particular, the People Search was very effective. By far the two most frequently used figures in the U.S. were U.S. President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. These two were literally superpowers that controlled world politics and the economy, and if I searched under their names, I would find such news.
[It's obvious that Donald Trump is strengthening his sanctions against Iran, and oil prices are rising.]
[Jerome Powell, chairman of the FRB, remarks hinting at more dollar releases to ease the financial crisis.]
Every word they said had a tremendous impact on markets around the world, with international oil prices rising and dollar indexes falling. And in fact, it was like finding a treasure trove to me. I realized that their words and the market actually became synchronized, so I called in Vice President Jang.
"Did you call me?"
"Oh yes. I'd like to set up my own team."
"Team?"
"Yes. An international futures trading team. They should be quick-handed and quick-witted. About ten people?"
Of course, I used to do futures trading sometimes, when I was lucky to have news to bet on in the "Economy" section. But now that I was able to search for names in English, I needed to actively trade. This was because I was able to earn a lot more than what I used to receive from the Korean news, and make forty to fifty million dollars a month by buying and selling the KOSPI and KOSDAQ in advance. Compared to the futures market and the foreign exchange market, KOSPI and KOSDAQ were just small mom-and-pop stores.
"Ah… yes. I'll go ahead and get twenty people's applications."
"Yes, please."Jang brought in twenty profiles around three days later. "When I said it was the boss' team, everyone was dying to join it."
"Oh, was that so?"
There was a rumor going on across the investment industry, beyond our company: If CEO Han Sang-hoon is pleased with you, an annual salary of a few hundred thousand dollars is basic.
The rumor was true, although there had been many false rumors in the investment industry. Vice President Jang, some directors, and the secretaries who had stayed by my side had all become rich with millions of dollars. Therefore, working on my direct team was no different from a high-paying, high-speed promotion.
"That's just twenty people. I'll pick only ten people who I like."
"Yes, boss."I made my own futures trade team through interviews. What these people did was trade futures all day, twenty-four hours a day. I gave them an account, each containing a hundred million dollars, and set up a strategy based on news from the United States.
"By February next year, the dollar will go down, and the oil prices will go up. Only sell and liquidate dollars and buy and liquidate oil prices. I'll settle the profits at the end of each month and give you one percent. Anyone who loses for two months in a row will be fired immediately. Go run."
I let go of ten traders, as if to untying the hounds. My hounds traded frantically for a 1% bonus. Since the seed money was a hundred million dollars, they could make tens of thousands to hundreds of thousand dollars in just one or two months. In fact, some members of the team made me ten million dollars in a week. They earned a hundred thousand dollars at the end of the month just by their share of this profit. It wouldn't be necessary to say that other members around them were stimulated, and burned to perform.
By all means, it was good for me. This was much more profitable and comfortable than making blind money from individuals on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ. With my guidelines alone, the team could earn at least a hundred million dollars, to as much as five hundred million dollars a month.
Watching them, I recalled the interview I'd had with Forbes before:
'Do you need more money?'
'No, I just want more success than more money.'
It was a slightly greasy, beautiful answer, but now things were a little different. I certainly needed more money. To increase my influence in the U.S. and China's political circles, astronomical levels of lobbying must follow. Therefore, I set a rough road map.
'Three years to the next collapse… I will make an astronomical amount of money in the first year, start lobbying in the second year, and in the third year, I will lobby all the politicians in the U.S. and China.'December, 2022…
Ah-young was brought in to be diagnosed before childbirth delivery. I expected them to put gel on her stomach and look inside with ultrasound, but it didn't happen.
The female doctor who had become Ah-young's dedicated doctor after receiving one million dollars in a lump sum payment, told us, "These days, genetic technology has developed, so with the mother's blood, we can identify her genetic traits."
Rubbing the stomach for ultrasound testing was only done until the 2010s, and in the 2020s, they were able to diagnose almost any disease by collecting just a drop of blood. Come to think of it, I had heard such news in the future news about two years ago. [The upper limit price of Sejin GC. Patented gene kit for fetal diagnosis.] The future of the past was now the present.
"Well… let's see." The doctor, who had seen the results of the test, nodded. "She's healthy. The baby doesn't have any genetic modifications or deficits, she's fit for size and weight, and she is growing well."
We spoke in chorus, "Good to hear!"
Then she looked at us and brought up a rather abrupt story. "Well, did you buy something like a baby's suit?"
'No, we still have a few months to get the baby out, but do we have to buy it already?' I told her with such thoughts, "No, not yet."
"Really? You'd better buy pink baby clothes. These days, we have many pretty pink ones."
As soon as I heard that, I realized why she had brought up the story of baby clothes. 'It's a girl!'
"I see."
In a few months, my daughter would be out, a healthy and pretty daughter. But in order for her to grow healthy, there was something I had to do: world peace. Looking at the future news, the U.S.-China nuclear war did not seem to have happened as planned.
Between them, of course, there were signs of war going the way that it was.
[Increased friction between the U.S. and China.]
[China warns the U.S. not to sell weapons to Taiwan.]
However, there was no specific news like this.
[Because of this, we decided to fight a war.]
[… the destroyer fired first.]
Rather, a week before doomsday, there was some news.
[The U.S. gives a gesture of reconciliation to China.]
[The U.S. and China will meet at the G20 meeting.]
Therefore, it was hard to say it was a planned war. In the first place, neither would have wanted such an ending that would devastate the world. Both of them wouldn't have wanted it, but it seemed as if one side fired a nuclear weapon, and the other automatically fought back with it, and then brought about the end of the world.
So maybe, if I dug this way, I could stop the future war even if I didn't have to pay for it. So while I was making money for world peace and expanding my company, I began my own spy campaign, because I had the most capable spy."Did you call me, Mr. CEO?"
I saw Crow on the roof of my house. I spoke to him in a slightly heavier tone than usual. "I think you'll be a little busy in the future."
"It's okay. Just give me the order. I'll be happy to do whatever you want me to do."
I handed him the data I had prepared. It was a profile of the U.S. president, the Chinese president, and key figures of the U.S. and Chinese forces. That was all I could find on the Internet.
"For these people, please find out details, particularly about political weaknesses, and information about nuclear weapons. I'll look at the results of the report, and I'll make a request again."
"Yes, sir."
I said one more thing to him as he was about to disappear into the air as usual. "Please pay special attention to this mission. Crow, maybe…"
As I said, Crow paused and looked at me.
I was going to say something to him, but I changed my words for a moment and asked him, "Crow, you said you don't talk to anyone else, did you?"
"Of course. I don't talk to anyone else in the world except you."
That was enough. I told him, "Okay. Crow, to be honest, every civilization on this planet may be destroyed within three years."
"… I see."
Crow took the words more casually than I expected. I felt as if he had been through this kind of thing once or twice. I looked at him and instead of asking him anything more, said, "This is to stop it. So, please take extra care and do well."
Crow listened to me for a moment, thought of something, and then answered, "All right, sir. I'll do my best, just like the CEO said." After he finished the remark, he left the place.
For the next three years, I would do my best in the sun and in the dark to prevent the end of the world…
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
'Most people in the world usually live with extra energy left on their own. If people have 100% power, some lazy people use 60% to 70% power, while ordinary people use 70% to 80% power. Those who hear the word "diligent" only use 80% to 90% of their energy, but they don't live every day with 100% of their energy.
'Living fiercely every day is stressful and makes people forget about their fundamental vitality. So people leave so much extra energy behind. But then, when a crisis comes, when they are pressed for time, people explode with extra energy to produce maximum efficiency. Even if they are stressed in the short term, they know that they should work hard at this time, which will help their life in the long run.
I'd worked harder than ever since I had found out that the end of the world was coming. 'Some say that it needs a perfect plan, and with only a short time to do great things.' I had both; it was a perfect plan built on the future news, and a short time where the end of the world would happen in three years.
I took the elevator down to the floor with the president's office. When I got off the elevator, walked down the hall, and came to the president's office, Secretary Park stood up and greeted me. "Are you here, boss?"
And at the same time, in the back, a cute woman in her twenties, with white skin and glasses, bowed with her head down, saying the same greeting in a rather trembling voice. "Are… are you here, boss?"
I said to the two, with a loosely closed fist. "Oh, yes. Let's try our best today, Secretary Park and Secretary Lee."
In my words, the two once again spoke, lowering their heads at the same time.
"Yes, boss."
"Yes, boss."
The new secretary was Lee Ji-sun, who was recently nominated as my second secretary through an open recruitment. The special feature was that she could speak English, Chinese, Japanese, and German at the level of native speakers, thanks to her residence abroad with her diplomat father. She was hired to fill Park's weakness: he could speak only one language, just like me, even though he was perfect as a bodyguard.
"Then, first of all, Secretary Park, contact Vice President Jang and get the advertising proposal, and Secretary Lee, contact Mr. Turner to get the answer about what I asked him about last time."
The two, once again, answered at the same time under my orders, "Yes, boss." "Yes, boss." before they grabbed their phones.
I saw that and went into the president's office. It was Vice President Jang who got in touch with me first.
"Boss, I sent it by email. Please take a look at it."
"Yes."I received the email sent by Vice President Jang through the company email. There was an attachment that said, 'SHH Group Advertising Proposal One.' I downloaded it.
"With the world's best technology." It was Kim Jun-hyung, the star of OH Entertainment, who walking forward and putting out his hands. As Hanhanlyeong has been called off, he had become one of the top stars in the Chinese region.
Then, Oh Hyun-joo said as she walked out, "With the world's best service." She had recently been nominated for best actress at the Cannes Film Festival, and had started to show her face and name to the Western world.
The two global stars in China and the West took turns talking about the given lines, which were somewhat trite, but still formal lines such as "trust with customers" and "a win-win company." Kim Jun-hyung and Oh Hyun-joo said the last line in chorus, "A New Age, A New Enterprise, SHH Group!"
I looked at it and thought, 'Not bad. It's kind of boring and normal, but… with Suyeon Group in such a state of collapse, it's better to move on to the image of a model student.'
I sent a reply to Vice President Jang: "Okay, you can run the ads right away."
'The ads will be broadcast heavily over the air for several days on cable TV and YouTube. My SHH group will be the largest company in the country in three years. I'm going to be a new chaebol. In order to properly imprint the new name SHH, I will push ahead with this first greeting to the people.'When the matter with Vice President Jang was over, Secretary Lee contacted me.
"Boss."
"Yes. Please speak."
"Mr. Turner says it's possible anytime. What you have to do is to inform them of your departure date a week or two before you come to the U.S."
"Okay, I got it."
It was for a dinner with his brother, Senator William Turner, which I had asked Maverick Turner for, after he had been newly named CEO of Suyeon Electronics. It was the first step into the U.S. political world.
'Okay, his older brother is a senator. Good for me, anyway.'
As I was thinking that, Secretary Lee said, "Boss, please talk casually. You talk casually to Secretary Park, who is older than me, and it's weird if you talk to me in a polite way."
I listened to her for a moment, and then I answered, correcting myself. "Okay, then I'll talk to you casually from now."
"Yes, boss, please. That's convenient for me." Secretary Lee spoke in a cute, fine voice, in contrast to Secretary Park, who was rather hard.
I felt that the combination was good.
'I'd better use Secretary Lee when I deal with others a little bit more gently. I will use Secretary Park when I deal with them a bit harsh.'
I told her, thinking about it. "Okay, then, could you ask Kim Min-chul, president of View Box, when the Chinese report will be ready?"
"Yes, boss."
I had decided to contact the Chinese political side through the subsidiaries of SHH Construction, which had been making inroads into the Chinese consumer market for twenty years. China had a structure in which politics and the economy were closely aligned with. Doing business in China and expanding was almost the same as getting close to Chinese politicians.
So, anyway, the electronics side was in the United States, the construction side in China, and I began to touch both political circles. Of course, if I got close to them, I would not be able to say something like "Don't fight!"
The conflict between the U.S. and China was not something that could be controlled by individuals. The fight between the U.S. to maintain the Pax Americana empire and China to emerge as a new one was a historic trend. I was only trying to prevent the conflict from escalating into a war. Of course, it would not be easy to influence it directly.
Even if I was holding the leash of President Joo Sung-won, I could not command President Joo Sung-won to reorganize the Capital Defense Command or buy more fighters or upgrade the missile defense system, since the lives of its people depended on the national defense.
However, even if I failed to do so, it was my opinion that if I were to be close, I might find some way to stop the war through Crow. Crow's ability was the best one to play against the two superpowers.I focused on creating cash through Invictus Investment by making SHH Group a hub for networking in global politics, like an investment company. My direct futures trade team created not long ago through Vice President Jang became the cash-generating leader. The trading team, which moved according to my guideline, 'Buy oil, sell dollars,' had produced tremendous results during the first month.
"Mr. Kim Tae-gon, you're at the top of this month's earnings rate of return. We'll pay you $387,000 in bonus depending on your records."
"Thank you, Mr. CEO!"
The incentive was 1%, so the money he had earned this last month was 38.7 million dollars. Even if there was a guideline based on the future news, it was obviously a huge achievement. The other nine traders also made profits, whether big or small. There was not a single person who lost money, so the total money earned was close to two hundred million dollars. It was a level of profit that a middle-size business could make in a year.
If the other company saw it, they would say 'How did they do that? Aren't they gambling?'
It was a tremendous yield. But I decided to push ahead with it, regardless of others' envy and jealousy. I felt like I was in too desperate a situation to care about someone's eyes right now. I mainly focused on buying new companies with the money I had earned. Based on the news of 12 Years After, which only showed three years later, I had purchased companies that could grow rapidly after one to two years.
"Director Chung, I'll give you a budget of two billion dollars for Koryo Shinyak. Go ask them."
"Director Kang, could we take over EastAgent, with about four hundred million dollars? Go talk to them."
That was how I did. 'Most things that cannot be solved by money are solved by more money.' No matter what would happen in the next three years, whatever Crow brought back, I prepared so that I could put a lot of money into it.
I would fulfill the condition of the next class, XXX: Twenty listed companies and a market capital of four hundred billion dollars, if possible, in the process. I didn't know what new technology would come out of XXX, but once I leveled up, I could have Crow investigate twice a month.
Crow was now working hard every month, going to and from the United States and China. If the number doubled, the chance of stopping a nuclear war would also double.As I was busier than ever, my wife gave birth to our daughter Seo-hyun safely in May, 2023.
"Congratulations, Mr. CEO. The mother and child are both healthy."
I was overwhelmed with joy. There had been times when I had earned billions of dollars a day, but I had never been so happy and emotional like this. I became a doting daddy for my daughter just a day after she was born. I thought I could do anything for my daughter. If I could spend all my money on my daughter, I wouldn't mind spending it at all.
'How can she be so pretty?'
I fell in love with my daughter Seo-hyun, enough to forget for a moment the company which I had been so eager for. But that didn't last long, either. As much as I loved my daughter, I was worried that her future might disappear.
'That's what everyone does. Everyone has two feelings about what they value. The first is pure love, and the second is to be afraid that the love will disappear.'
However, I bravely decided to face the unrest. 'Yes, I can make it.' I made up my mind with my daughter in my arms; I would give my daughter a bright, hopeful future!
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
I listened to Vice President Jang's voice on the phone. "What do you want me to do?"
"Let's give them another ten million dollars."
"Then, I'll make Pure Nature your company within a month after signing the contract."
"Please."
"And the next one; the president of Yosung Foodville suddenly changed his words. He had roughly agreed to the sale last time, but now he says it's too cheap."
I gathered three fingers and touched my brow for a moment and said, "Now that the negotiations are going on, he's suddenly greedy for money."
"I think so."
"Well, please wait a little bit. I'm going to make the meat a little bit softer."
'It's good to negotiate with me, but it's not acceptable to negotiate and change your words. It has been almost a year since Suyeon Group was smashed, and now there is a rumor going around in the industry and in public that I have destroyed Suyeon Group and Tak Mun-su; sometimes a rumor going around the market is true. Nevertheless, the president of Yosung Foodville seems to have overlooked that.'
"Ah… I see." At my words, Vice President Jang didn't ask any more questions, and just answered softly. "Then I'll wait a little while, knowing it will happen."
"In a week or so, he is going to be a little more polite."
"Yes, boss. The next one is…"
Vice President Jang started to continue. But then, a long cry was heard from the room outside. I was so surprised that I said to him, "Wait a minute."
He replied in a slightly amused voice, "Yes, boss."
After asking him to be excused, I looked back. My daughter Seo-hyun, who seemed to have just fallen asleep, was bursting into tears as if she had never done so before. I began to soothe the wailing Seo-hyun, holding her in my arms.
"Why, my baby? Why?"
But Seo-hyun didn't stop crying. In the meanwhile, my wife came in, opening the door.
"Seo-hyun, Mom's here."
I handed over the crying Seo-hyun, and then picked up the phone again.
"Vice President, please, keep talking."
Jang continued without delay. "This is from Vice President Chung Yong-kyun of the View Box. The opening ceremony of the hundredth View Box store will be held in Shanghai, and it is said that party secretary Jiang Fengyi is attending the event. Chung asked me if you might not want to attend and say hello to him at that time. He heard that they wanted to see you."
Shanghai was the central part of China's economy before or after the Chinese financial crisis. I needed to meet the party secretary for the first time there.
"I see. When is the event?"
"It's the seventeenth of next month."
"I see. Well… let's go on a business trip to China, then. Why don't you accompany me?"
"I'll join you on that day."
"And… do you have anything else on the agenda?"
"No, sir."
"Okay."
After I finished talking, I turned my head. My daughter Seo-hyun was rolling her eyes gently in her mother's arms, as if she had not cried.
My wife looked at me and said, "Don't be stubborn and go to work. I'll take care of Seo-hyun."
"Yes…" I was going to tell my wife something, but I nodded reluctantly. Actually, there was a mountain of work to be done, but seeing my daughter was putting me off going to work because I was so happy.
"Yes, then…" I said in a slightly sad voice, kissing my daughter in her mother's arms. "I'll be back from work soon."
'All fathers will be the same, but my hard work is for my daughter. My case is a little different from other fathers.'Donning a suit, I went to work. Secretary Park and Lee welcomed me, "Are you here?"
I raised my hand and said, after receiving their greetings. "Secretary Park, I am going to Shanghai on the seventeenth of next month."
"I just got a call from Vice President Jang, and added it to the timetable."
"Oh, really? Then you two need to get ready, okay?"
"Yes, boss." "Yes, boss," the two answered at once. I nodded and started to go into the president's office. But then, Secretary Lee grabbed me.
"Boss."
"Hmm?"
"I had a call from Paul Ocean. He said that everything was ready, so he hoped you could come and confirm it."
"Hmm… really? " I stood in front of the president's office and thought for a while. "I think I'd better go and get back before I go to China. Leave a message for him that I'll visit next week, no, two weeks from now."
"Yes, boss. He sent you an email, so check it out."
"Yes."
"If you have any difficulty with English, let me know…"
I said, shaking my hand. "I am a victim of a typical Korean-style English education. I can't speak English, but I can read it like a native."
The secretary said with a slightly knowing smile, "Yes, boss."I went into the president's office with that remark. After a month of work, Secretary Lee quickly adjusted herself to her secretarial work. She was smart enough. I went to the mailbox. When I opened the mailbox, I found an email from Paul Ocean, just like Secretary Lee had said.
'Sir, I've found the right area.'
I clicked on it. It said, 'It's a sheep ranch near Reykjavik, and the landowner is Olavir Hardarson. He says he is willing to sell it if paid a reasonable price.'
I read the name aloud, "Olavir Hardarson."
'Looking at the 'son' ending his name, he is exactly a typical Viking descendant with that Icelandic name.'
I read the email further. '…I don't think I can find a better place than this, considering the circumstances and the ground around. I hope the boss comes and looks at it. When the contract is completed, our people will start construction. P.S., I'm enclosing the pamphlet I mentioned last time.'
I received the attached file in the email. It was a picture file. Written on the front of the picture file was "Doomsday Preppers", which meant "people who are preparing for doomsday." What appeared in the file looked similar to a structure commonly found in model houses of apartments in Korea, which were equipped with living rooms, bedrooms, and so on.
But what this differed from them was that this real estate model would be applied to the basement of Iceland. Paul Ocean was quite an eccentric, rich man with assets of ten million dollars, far less than myself. However, he became obsessed with science fiction about the end of the world, and started to build a shelter for himself and then sell them to others.
I didn't know whether his business went well or not; it was probably the latter. There were not very many nerds like him. But he was taking this seriously anyway, and I happened to be able to find him, as I was preparing for a nuclear war with Plan B.
'Okay… if I make a shelter here… we can last at least thirty years, right?'
'Iceland has been seen in the news continuously, after I searched around fifty countries in the state setting of the future news. In addition, many of the conditions are good. Located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the other side from the United States and China, it has nearly the same area size as our country, but has a population of less than four hundred thousand people. It is similar in that all the people living in Wonju City, Gangwon Province, are scattered and live all over our country. In addition, natural resources are abundant, the ground is secure, and there is nothing for anyone to attack during the World War. Therefore, Plan B has been set up there.
'The price is between three million dollars and fifty million dollars. In fact, I am willing to spend more than a billion dollars if there is a nuclear war. No, I can actually pour all my money into it. If a nuclear war breaks out, it will all become a piece of waste paper. What does it mean?
'I have budgeted a maximum of fifty million dollars for now. That's not much for me. My futures trading team, which I have doubled the size of, make two hundred million dollars a month. If I'm sure I can't stop the nuclear war by the end of the day, I'm willing to move to Iceland early and expand the level of building my kingdom underground. Iceland is a country with advanced finances, so if I say that Korea's richest man will come, they will welcome me.'Time passed again, and it was December 2023. About two years was left until doomsday. I'd been making money and building personal connections in the American and Chinese political worlds, but as time went by, I put a little more weight on building a shelter in Iceland. Every time I saw the information Crow brought, I thought, 'I can't stop a nuclear war this way. They are both thinking about a nuclear war.'
"Mr. CEO, here is this month's report."
"Crow, thank you very much."
The December report was about Harry Carterfield, chief of Naval Operations. The report was virtually full of U.S. state secrets, making it more of a spy's intelligence document.
'… if I sold it to the Chinese government for money, I'd get tens of millions of dollars.'
The information was that sensitive. Anyway, when I read the US defense confidential information, I found that the U.S. actually thought of China as an enemy, and was drawing up war scenarios. Nuclear war wasn't an option, but as super-power versus super-power, they had it in mind to use force.
The problem was that China was the same way. China also had an intention to extend the blockade in the South China Sea and move on to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Furthermore, they had a plan to occupy Taiwan as their territory.
'Hoo… I can't stop a nuclear war… but there will be a war. I haven't done it yet, but I feel more and more skeptical. This is perhaps the way the wheels of history will roll. Whether I am the president of the United States or the president of China, I wonder if I can stop this war.
'Do I really need to establish a kingdom in Iceland? I'll be king… Seo-hyun will be raised as a princess…' I had such a queer imagination, and then I giggled. I didn't think that would be too bad. I would throw myself into this as much as I could, and I would have to find happiness there if I could not. I really thought so at this time, though I changed my mind soon.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
"Hoo-hoo…" I heaved a sigh and lifted my head up. Above the sky, an airplane flew away. I looked at it and asked Secretary Lee beside me. "So, how many minutes are left?"
"We have forty-five minutes to get on board."
"… forty-five minutes." Even though I had been tight-scheduled, I had forty-five minutes left. I recounted the time and said, "Secretary Park."
"Yes, boss."
"My first task for next year is to buy a private plane. Get me started on the purchase as soon as I get home."
"Yes, sir."
'I've increasingly grown to dislike waiting these days. To be exact, I have come to hate wasting time. For forty-five minutes now waiting for the plane, the world will be on the verge of collapse. If I buy a private plane, the problem will be solved. If I think about it, I should have bought one earlier.'
Because of the nature of my work, I couldn't think of buying a plane even though I had become the richest person in Korea; all my work had been done with a few clicks in the office and a few meetings with directors. It had been only the last few months that I had been abroad frequently.
Once again, another plane passed over the sky.
I lowered my head and looked ahead. White, yellow, black… people of various races came and went. This was the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Yesterday, I'd had dinner with Senator William Turner, brother of Maverick Turner, and talked about this and that. It was based on SHH Group's increased investment in the U.S.. Senator William Turner was very pleased to have me as his supporter: he would promote it like this, "I brought in an investor from Korea who will create jobs." In any case, a politician was always hungry for money, whether in the U.S. or Korea.
I lifted my cell phone. It was seven p.m. on December thirty-first, in U.S. time. I mumbled in the middle of watching it, "Korea must have already had a bright new year, 2024. Time flies so fast."
Secretary Park answered quietly, "That's right."
While I was working around the world like that, the year changed to 2024. Doomsday was two years away. However, nothing had changed. News was still going out until February 2026. Crow worked hard, but he didn't find any clues to the nuclear war. If it was after the nuclear war, he could bring something, but for now, he brought only the present facts.
'What if I release the classified information Crow brought? What would be the aftermath? The U.S. and China would not sit still. When dealing with Korean chaebols, I was able to spread information secretly, but I would not be able to reveal military secrets and deceive the eyes of U.S. and Chinese special agents… Then maybe I could raise a political issue. However, it would be better than a nuclear war… this should be considered one of the last methods.
'I'll go as planned. I need to increase my influence by investing the remaining money in the U.S. and China for the next two years, even if I'm shopping for companies on both sides.'
Even SHH Group had a large base in its global market, but its business sectors were fixed, and it was limited in its ability to expand. In order to penetrate the US and Chinese markets, it was necessary to invest directly: that is, to go there with money and buy a local company. But to do that, one thing must be done first, and that was the IPO of Invictus Investment; in a word, to list Invictus Investment on the KOSPI. Currently, Invictus Investment had one big problem in acquiring U.S. and Chinese companies. It was not a money problem, but the future news!
According to the rules, the future news only recognized the value of the company's shares listed in the Korean market. No matter how many foreign companies I had bought, the future news had not given them credit for raising my grade. I spent money, but my grade didn't go up. It was a big problem for me. But there was a way to resolve the problem at once; it was the listing of Invictus Investment.
After that, if Invictus Investment bought foreign companies, their value would be reflected in the stock price of Invictus Investment, which was listed in the KOSPI, and it would allow me to acquire foreign companies and raise my grade at the same time. To be exact, as soon as it went public, my grade would go up. Currently, our company had more than forty-five billion dollars in cash alone and its equity value was over ten billion dollars. So, the pure cash assets and stock value exceeded fifty-five billion dollars. Furthermore, if we included SHH Electronics and SHH Construction, which were worth more than thirty billion dollars each, it exceeded a hundred billion dollars!
'As soon as Invictus Investment go public, I will have that 'Exxxxx' Class. Then the foreign companies that we take over will become the ones that support it.'Shortly after returning to Korea, I called up Vice President Jang and the board members. I sat down at the top seat, with Vice President Jang next to me, and said to the board members, "I'm sure everyone knows today's agenda."
As I said that, I looked at the document in front of me. Right there was a document titled 'Discussion on the listing of Invictus Investment to the KOSPI.' In fact, this kind of story used to come out in the media regularly ever since it was revealed that I had become the richest person in Korea.
[Korea's richest man, CEO Han Sang-hoon, when will your company be open?]
[Love calls continue for to CEO Han Sang-hoon.]
[Investors with a bundle of money waiting for CEO Han Sang-hoon.]
I had a 100% stake in Invictus Investment and had enhanced the value to ten times, twenty times, fifty times, a hundred times, and four hundred times. People who were jealous of the value were grumbling. In fact, I had wanted to keep Invictus Investment private and receive indirect investments, and in that way, I would have raised the stock prices of the companies I had bought.
Over time, however, other institutions and individual investors had found that they were just side dishes, since Kai Games and Hyun Young Pharmaceutical had lost their stock values since I had sold them. In the end, as time went on, the only place where the money poured in was Invictus Investment. Of course that was what I had intended for a long time. The key to it all was my monopoly!
"Now, I'd like to have our company listed, and grow it into the largest company in the country. Does anyone have any objections to this?"
As I spoke, a director raised his hand and said, "Mr. CEO, by the way… Why are you suddenly trying to make an IPO? Our company is now in full cash and profitable right now."
That was a very good question. Actually, I didn't want to do the IPO, either. I also wanted to monopolize the profits of our company. But it was necessary to raise my grade within two years. If I hadn't seen the future, this IPO would not have been planned at all. I put forth a rather compelling reason, "I felt that funding was necessary for the planned investments, and there is a strong public opinion that wants an IPO…"
Saying that, I felt a little guilty, because it was a total lie. Even if the first reason was so, the second reason was even more so. I was a public opinion maker, not a public opinion listener. But nevertheless, since I said so, no one interrupted me.
Everyone seemed to accept it, thinking, 'If the CEO says like that…' Of course, one or two of them probably had in mind, 'It's weird to think so…' However, in the end, they would also agree with me, thinking, 'Everything the CEO does has a big meaning.' They'd been watching my winning streak for years, just like Vice President Jang. During the financial crisis in China in the previous year, it was even stranger that the short sale was preemptive.
One of the directors asked, "Then, how much do you want to make public?"
"I'm not going to do that much, only ten percent of the current stake. I will keep holding ninety of it."
In the first place, the IPO was a necessary procedure to break through the rules of the future news. I would not tolerate anyone buying a stake in our company and interfering in internal affairs, so only ten percent would be released to the market. Anyone who managed to buy our company's shares would have great luck.
Once upon a time, a dentist living in Omaha, Nebraska in the U.S. invested several thousand dollars in a neighbor's investment company, and earned millions of dollars, because the neighbor was Warren Buffett, and the investment company was his company, Berkshire Hathaway. Like that dentist, anyone in Korea would be able to make profits up to ten to a hundred times easily if they bought our company… on the condition that our company existed two years from now.
"Then I will know all of you decided to do that… Do you have any other problems?"
"I'm sure everything will be okay. Our finances are so transparent… If I make a prediction, I am sure there will be a huge crowd."
A director raised his hand and said, "There won't be any trouble with the FSS. The government workers say that this administration is strangely positive about our company."
'I know.' I laughed and said, thinking along, "We pay a lot of taxes and they like us. Let's try to get the IPO done as soon as possible."Our company immediately started to work in advance for the IPO. Vice President Jang had a lot of experience in the IPO sector, so he led the way smoothly. The Financial Supervisory Service opened the door as if it was waiting for our company to do an IPO. As a result, our company was scheduled to go public on the KOSPI in July 2024, half a year after deciding on the IPO.
The media made a fuss ahead of the IPO, which was still half a year away:
[Invictus Investment enters the KOSPI!]
[Investors are already flocking to the Invictus Investment, which will be listed on the KOSPI!]
[The market capital of Invictus Investment will easily exceed a hundred billion dollars.]
The reaction of ant investors was also hot:
– Wow! Invictus Investment will be listed. It's really awesome.-
– I've only followed Han Sang-hoon and bought what he bought. It's so good. I will put my whole wealth in it.-
– I'll sell every stock I have and load the bullets.-
The IPO boom was guaranteed. In order to achieve the "Exxxxx" Class in half a year, I had completed the process of finalizing the acquisition of domestic listed companies. With just Invictus Investment listed, the condition of twenty listed companies would be completed.
'If I get that Exxxxx Class, I'll be able to send Crow out twice a month. That will be much more likely to stop the nuclear war. In addition, I saw it contained… something extraordinary, right?'
I recalled the conversation with Customer Service in the past. Customer Service had told me, 'In particular, the class above xxxxxx has a very strong skill and we recommend you achieve it.'
The Customer Service sometimes said crazy things that I didn't understand, but they never lied.
'A new skill in the Exxxx Class may help in the nuclear war… I don't know what it is, but as Customer Service said, a very powerful skill could help solve the problem.'
I went back to work, waiting for our company to be listed, and for my future news to rise in grade. I had been busy buying and selling futures, making investments going back and forth between the U.S. and China, and occasionally stopping by Iceland to check the shelter. As I worked hard to avoid the coming end, time went by so fast.
Not long after my daughter Seo-hyun's first birthday, our company finally made an initial public offering, and I was able to get the Exxxx Class…
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
"Mom and dad, please hold her and I will take a picture of you."
At the guide's words, my wife and I posed with Seohyun in our arms. A female employee with a camera approached and took a picture of us. We heard a 'click', and the host said with his arms wide, "Then, it's Seohyun's Doljabi, a birthday-grabbing fortune telling ritual that everyone's been looking forward to."
In May 2024, on the occasion of Seo-hyun's first birthday, I used a floor of the company building and held a celebration. The host was a famous comedian from OH Entertainment; when I put in a phone call, President Kwon brought him over right away.
"Will you take Seo-hyun over here?"
We brought Seo-hyun to a place, led by the host. On the table, which was beautifully decorated, there was a judge's stick, a stethoscope, a microphone, a soccer ball, silk, a mouse cursor, a pencil, a postcard, and so on.
"Then before you start Doljabi… What would you like Seohyun to catch?"
I looked at the things lying down. To be honest, it was the silk that caught the most attention, which meant "long life." But I chose an easy answer.
"I like whatever Seo-hyun holds. I will fully support whatever she wants."
"Haha, I think Seo-hyun can do anything if the richest man in Korea fully supports her!"
'That's true. My daughter Seohyun was born to a rich family. However, I don't intend to raise her by saying yes to everything. All the people I fought against until I got here were from rich families, and had a lack of humanity. No matter how precious my daughter is, I can't raise her like that.'
"Seo-hyun's mom, what about you?"
"I like anything, too, if that's what Seo-hyun wants."
"I see. Seo-hyun is very lucky since she has generous parents. Then let's start Doljabi!"
My wife carried Seo-hyun over in front of the miniatures, holding her in her arms. Seo-hyun looked at them curiously, then grabbed the pink microphone.
"Oh, Mike! She got a microphone! I guess Seo-hyun is interested in art or broadcasting. The hard work is done by machines, and the brain work is a promising job for today's computer-generated artists."
While the host was talking hard, I glanced at the people who were gathered at this party. My mother, father, sister and brother-in-law, relatives such as an uncle and his wife, their younger son, a first aunt and her husband sitting down, and relatives of my wife were all seated at the opposite table.
Behind the family and relatives were Jang and some board members, Secretary Park, Secretary Lee, some people of Invictus Investment, President Kwon of OH Entertainment; former Secretary Seo Ji-hoon, who was independent and working hard; and some old hometown friends. They were the ones who had been forged for a long time through blood ties, territorial ties, and school ties. I counted the people. It looked like there were roughly fifty of them.
'I can carry them on my private jet in two trips. I can hire a few more people like doctors, electricians, and programmers, who are necessary to survive.'
Iceland's fifty-million-budget underground bunker was nearing completion. It had residential facilities that could accommodate up to a hundred people, food for nearly thirty years, a semi-permanent generator, water and air purification system, and crop cultivation system.
Not only that, but there were also play and exercise facilities, such as a library, computer room, board game room, theater, fitness center, and basketball court so that bunker life wouldn't be boring. There was no shortage of residents. I had a plan to spend another two hundred million dollars to expand in the middle of next year, half a year left to doomsday. At that time, money would no longer mean anything.
'With a hundred people, it will not be very lonely to live underground.' While I was thinking about it, the host's words resonated with applause at the party. "Clap!"
In the meantime, my wife whispered in my ear. "What's wrong, oppa? Laugh it up!"
I had been thinking of the end of days and the shelter, and I looked a little bad. I joined the clapping with a faint smile. After all the events were over, I talked to Vice President Jang and the directors about business during the meal. There were not many days left for the IPO of Invictus Investment.
"So there's no problem with the procedure?"
"We keep talking with the Financial Supervisory Service, and they say there's nothing wrong with it."
"What about demand?"
"It's enough. We all expect it to be the best IPO ever."
"That's good."The IPO went smoothly, on scale and schedule. Next month Invictus Investment would be listed on the KOSPI. At the same time, I would be up to the next class. That kind of thinking gave me a little hope. I walked away to a table where my former secretary Seo Ji-hoon was eating with Secretary Park and Secretary Lee. I slapped Ji-hoon on the shoulder and said, "How are you, President Seo? How's your job?"
Ji-hoon looked up at me and said with a big smile, "It's hard, but it's worth it."
I said, sitting next to him, "Oh, really?"
"Yes, it's a very good thing to be running my own company. Even in the middle of a hard time, there's something worthwhile to do. Should I call it fidelity? So I'm working hard with all my passion."
"That's great. Do your best. You go public and give me back my investment, too."
"Yes, boss. Maybe the middle of next year… or by the end of next year, we'll have a decent result."
'Late next year…'
"Oh, I see."
By then, the end would be months away. Perhaps Ji-hoon's results would fade away within a few months of seeing the light of the world. However, I didn't have to move my concerns to others. I spoke in a voice as bright as I could, "That's great! Try hard until the end."
Ji-hoon answered me in a cheerful voice, "Yes, boss! I'll make sure to meet your expectations."
I felt much better when I saw his vivacity. I thought I should work with a more positive mindset.
Ji-hoon suddenly slapped Secretary Park on the shoulder while eating next to him. "By the way, the working environment for Park has improved significantly since I worked."
"Really? What? Nothing's changed."
He spoke with Secretary Park in front of him. "You paired him up with that beautiful girl; you should have done that when I was here."
At his words, Secretary Lee turned her head with a smile, and Secretary Park looked at him with a sideways glance.
"No, it was just a skill-based selection. Secretary Lee speaks foreign languages very well."
"That's what it is. Boss, when I was with you, you didn't go on a business trip overseas. You've been to Shanghai and New York lately and…"
When he spoke the end of his words ambiguously, Secretary Park spoke for him, "Iceland."
"Yes, I heard that you also go back and forth to Iceland a lot."
I answered briefly, "Yes. Because our company is a global company now."
"That's great. You're going abroad together. And the secretaries will sleep in the best hotels, right?"
I nodded, "Of course."
"I envy them. I wanted to go to New York and Shanghai. Iceland is good, too."
"I had nothing to do with that. The timing was not fit for you. You can take a vacation from your company."
"No, I can't. I need to roll over my company and give it back to the boss with ten times the investment."
I nodded. I could see that Ji-hoon was crazy about his work. Overseas travel would not come to his attention. He had only come since today's event was my daughter's birthday party, and I had sent him an invitation myself.
Ji-hoon continued, putting oranges in his mouth, "By the way, why is Iceland… Why are you going there? I heard it's a financial powerhouse."
"Ah… for investment."
"To an Icelandic company?"
"No… some kind of real estate investment."
Secretary Seo said with his eyes blinking, "Oh, I see. Do you invest in real estate these days?"
"Yes, it's kind of a vacation home…" I said with a slight grin. "Some day… I'll take you once I have a chance."
Ji-hoon replied cheerfully, unaware of my inward thoughts. "That's good. I look forward to it."Next month, June 2024…
I left for Iceland for a while, with the IPO just two weeks away, since I got a call from Paul Ocean: 'The bunker is completed.'
I arrived at Leica Beak after taking my private jet; my bunker was about two hundred kilometers from there. I looked around. Certainly, it was built in a secure structure, strong enough to survive a nuclear war.
Paul Ocean asked me through Secretary Lee. "What do you think, Mr. CEO? Are you satisfied?"
"Yes, it's very satisfying. It's a lot better than I expected."
Paul Ocean laughed at my compliment. He was quite proud of this as the CEO of "Doomsday Preppers." By the time we had finished looking around the air-raid shelter, he asked, "But, Mr. CEO, do you really want to expand it? It's still the world's best and largest for an individual bunker…"
I heard that and told him, "Yes, but please get ready."
As I said, he was quite surprised, "Oh… really? Yes…" Even he, who took this job as a profession, had no idea that there would be a nuclear war in the next few years.
"Then I'll draft a new design and send it to the CEO as soon as possible. If the plan is drawn up, the additional contract as stated in the first contract will be made, so you will have to pay us a penalty when you cancel it."
"Yes, It's okay. Please proceed like that."
'If there is a nuclear war, everything outside the bunker is useless. Even my billions of assets won't have any value, no reason to try to save money on them.' I certainly thought so at this time.Two weeks after returning from Iceland, I concluded the KOSPI listing process for Invictus Investment as scheduled. Inside the Korean Stock Exchange, I cut a long string of ribbons with scissors and received a congratulatory message from its executives. Invictus Investment, which was listed on the same day, started at $150 per share and went straight to the upper limit price. That was when Invictus Investment was recognized as a company worth more than a hundred billion dollars.
'Invictus Investment 30%.'
It was refreshing to see the number written in blue next to our company's name, 30%. I'd only seen other people's stocks come and go since we had got a special fate back in the past, and I finally got to see our company at such a high price. I looked at it and thought. 'No matter how the world is ruined, this scene will be a beautiful memory at this time.'
I walked out of the stock exchange thinking that way. That night, after paying tribute to Vice President Jang and the directors who had worked so hard, paying their bonuses and drinking heavily, I came back home. But still, I told my wife to wake me up at seven the next day. I had to get the guidebook for the next class of 'Exxxxx' tomorrow at eight.The next morning, after I woke up from my wife's biological alarm, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and forced myself to go to work. I waited until eight o'clock, drinking hot honeyed tea that my wife had prepared for me. And then, after looking at the guidebook that came along, I couldn't help but doubt my eyes. "What?"
And after looking at it for a long time, I picked up the number two phone and said, "Secretary Lee."
"Yes, boss."
"Contact Paul Ocean, and tell him he doesn't need to expand the shelter under the new contract… Why don't you cancel it right away?"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
"Yes, boss. I'll contact Iceland right now."
"Please."
I put down the phone and turned my head back to the monitor. There was a guidebook for the new class on the screen. I had read it all the way through, and then I read it from the beginning again.
[Editor Class Guide.]
[Congratulations. Han Sang-hoon, who has been promoted to Editor Class. As we have announced since the beginning of your first paid subscription, your Editor Class will have a godly capability, unlike those below. From now on, not only can you read the future news passively, but you can actively change it yourself.]
I looked at it with my arms crossed. If this was true, the future news would become a totally different concept.
[New active skill 'Edit' targets already issued news and will edit the news as it is named. Edited news, as soon as it's edited, changes the universe in time for events in the news. 'Edit' is controlled by 'openness', but it can have a powerful impact on your world immediately, so please use it carefully.]
I read it twice, but I still couldn't get the hang of it. I looked down at the scroll.
[There are four skills available in the current Editor Class. Thirty skill points are not currently allocated.]
The skill points given to me this time were thirty.
[People Search Lv4 (Active skill – four points required)
There is one more slot to search for a person. It will be available with other passive skills applied.
Ranking News Lv3 (Active skill – three points required)
You can receive first, second, and third place news with high cumulative view counts in a specific category. You can use it three times a month. It will be available with other passive skills applied.]
The rating of the future news, which was at the bottom of the Ranking News, was not visible. Therefore, it seemed that I couldn't see the future beyond twelve years from now.
'Is twelve years the end?' I went down the scroll with that thought.
[Infiltration Report Lv2 (Active skill – ten points required)
We will send a reporter to a specific target. The reporter will conduct a fifteen-day intensive
investigation into the target and bring in one article that will not be reported to the established
press. When you are sending a reporter, you can specify what to investigate.]
'I've already seen this.'
The key was at the end.
[Edit Lv1 (Active skill – thirteen points required)
Attempt to edit the published news. Editing is limited by 'number of characters' and 'probability items.' Edited news, as soon as it's edited, changes the universe in time for events in the news. Edited news doesn't come back from the future news. Other news that has been altered by editing will not have correction news. You can use it once a month.]
'It changes the universe… What a grandiose thing it is…'
Anyways, that was great. I happened to have a future to change, a nuclear war that would bring the end of the world.
'But… then… can I really make the nuclear war disappear by typing in a few words?'
Come to think of it now, I wondered if this was really feasible.
'Maybe I canceled the bunker expansion too soon. If I say I am going to rebuild it, that's enough. Why don't I be a little fickle when I have already paid fifty million dollars and will pay another two hundred million dollars? Anyway, this is possible once a month, so let's use it right now.'
Deciding that, I allocated skill points for each skill. When I looked at it, four points were needed for People Search, three points for Ranking News, ten points for Infiltration Report, and thirteen points for Edit. It was exactly thirty points.
'There's nothing to worry about this time.'
After allocating the skill points, I pressed the OK button. Soon a message followed, 'Congratulations. You have been promoted to Editor Class. Upgrade your news to Pxxxxxxxx Class! What is needed to be promoted to Pxxxxxxxx Class is a subscription fee of ten million dollars. The qualifying terms are to control more than fifty listed companies in your countries with a combined market capital of more than four trillion dollars.'
"What?" When I saw it, I opened my mouth wide.
'The condition of more than fifty listed companies is okay but… four trillion dollars? It was four hundred billion dollars earlier, but now it's ten times as much.'
Before that, the total market capital of the KOSPI that Invictus Investment of four hundred billion dollars was listed on was only two point four trillion dollars now. Creating a four-thousand-billion-dollar company on the KOSPI was more like saying that the nation's economy should almost be doubled.
"It's… it's impossible…" I muttered like that and soon realized, 'No… No… What if I use this 'Edit' skill to make money?'
'If the world is not destroyed, I may soon earn four trillion dollars. Why don't I edit the stock price of Invictus Investment to the upper limit price after searching under my name? No, but before that, what if I intervene in the foreign exchange market and edit the exchange rate? Maybe it will be possible in a few days. It is very easy to do it that way. Rather, it may end up achieving the rating faster than I got to Silver.
'Is Pxxxxxxxx Class the next Editor Class? How many x's? Eight? That's a word of nine characters. If I think about it a little bit, one word will be complete.
I picked up my pen and wrote 'Pxxxxxxxx – Total nine characters' on a notepad. That was the way it was. I was going to think of something, but I couldn't.
'Let's think about this in a little while. Let's edit something first.'
Thinking that way, I finished the rating upgrade and closed the email with the guide.Thirty minutes later, at 8:50, I received the upgraded emails, from "E 12 Hours After" to "E 12 Years After." I first clicked on the news of 12 Hours After.
[Politics – Rep. Ahn Joon-sung urges economic cooperation with North Korea.
Economy – Invictus Investment's fourteen percent rise on the second day of listing.
Society – The rise of the A.I.: Is the white collar class falling?
Life/Culture – In the low yuan era, cheap overseas travel to China.
World – The Arab Spring: will democracy come to Saudi Arabia?
IT/Science – Will the successful PS VR4 continue to be a big hit this time?
Sports – FC Seoul easily overpowered FC Sejong, 2-0.
Entertainment – Comedian Kang Seung-hyun is arrested on charges of illegal gambling.]
I could see the active skills that had been collected so far under the articles.
[People Search – 1. 2. 3. 4.
Ranking News – Enabled
Crow Summon – Summonable (two times are left)
State Setting: Korea]
And there was another new skill.
[Edit – Activate]
I looked at it vacantly and clicked on the 'Activate' button. Then, as the usual cursor soon turned into scissors-shaped one, the comment where "Activate" was written changed.
[Edit – Click on the article you want to edit.]
I turned the scissors-shaped cursor up and round.
'… can I just change anything?'
I searched from top to bottom for an article I wanted to change.
'Invictus Investment's fourteen percent rise… I can't change this. In Society and Life/Culture, there are only columns. If the PlayStation is a big hit, it's good to me, too. Oh, here it is…'
In Sports, there was an article titled FC Seoul easily overpowered FC Sejong, 2-0. FC Se-jong was my club. When I first took over, I had pledged that I would go beyond Korea to become the best club in Asia. However, I didn't pay attention to it, because not long after the decision to take it over was made, I found out that the end of the world was near. Thanks to the money I poured into it during the first season, it went up to the first division, but it was hovering around the bottom as my interest was cut off prematurely.
'Shall I edit this, then?' I put the scissors-shaped cursor on the article, I stopped for a moment thinking, 'Oh, I can only do this once a month.'
'But… if I click on this, the opportunity will be lost?' With that thought, I called out the Customer Service in a long time.
-[Hi, how are you? Subscriber Han Sang Hoon, what can I do for you?]
I didn't want to talk long with this guy. I went to the point.
– I have a question for this editing skill. If I click on the article, will the opportunity be consumed there?-
[No, the editing skill will be completed when the subscriber has pressed the registration button after the article has been edited.]
It was good. That meant I could experiment with other articles.
'OK, that's good enough.'
I tried to close down the Customer Service window, but in case there was anything else I wanted to ask, I minimized it and came back to the article. I clicked on the article of 'FC Seoul easily overpowered FC Sejong, 2-0,' with the scissors-shaped cursor. Strangely, a sentence appeared at the top of the article: [100% probability – probability cannot be modified less than 50%.]
'Is the probability… 50%? What does that mean?'
Anyway, I scrolled down further and read the article.
[FC Seoul easily won one victory after beating FC Sejong 2:0. FC Seoul, which left for Daejeon in the eighth round of the K League 2024 season at Daejeon World Cup Stadium at 6 p.m., shook FC Sejong's net with Lee Jae-sung's heading goal in the fourteenth minute and Kang Hyun-sung's mid-range shot in the thirtieth minute.]
The article was ordinary. The content of the article was no different from what I usually saw. There was only one difference: I could move the cursor between the lines, like I had turned on a word processor.
'Hmm… Shall I change that FC Sejong beats FC Seoul?'
I changed the first sentence, 'FC Sejong easily won one victory after beating FC Seoul 2:0.' Then, the caption at the top changed to, [0% probability – Current article cannot be posted.]
'What is it? Is it impossible for our team to beat FC Seoul?' But in this way, the content written in the rear part would be nonsense, since the team and the players didn't match first.
'They didn't go to Daejeon for an away game in a match…'
I rewrote the third sentence first, 'FC Sejong, which met FC Seoul at home stadium in Daejeon, in the fourteenth minute in the first half…'
After I edited the article there, I recalled the names of the aces and strikers of FC Sejong for a moment, 'Who are our aces these days?'
Then, I wrote again, 'Koo Hyun-mo shook FC Seoul's net with a heading goal and Ji Ho-sung's mid-range shot in the thirtieth minute.'
But still, the probability was zero percent.
'What the hell is wrong with this?'
While I was looking at it, I suddenly searched the portal site for 'Koo Hyun-mo' and 'Ji Ho-sung'. There was news of the coming. [In the match against FC Jeonbuk, Ji Ho-sung's toe was fractured by a tackle from the opposing defender; four weeks injury.]
FC Sejong's ace Ji Ho-sung was unable to appear in the match because of a broken toe. I put another name in place of Ji Ho-sung.
'Recently, I hear that midfielder Kim Sang-jin is good at it. Okay, let's search for the name.'
I tried Kim Sang-jin in place of Ji Ho-sung. 'Koo Hyun-mo shook FC Seoul's net with a heading goal and Kim Sang-jin's mid-range shot in the thirtieth minute.'
And then finally, the top comment changed like this, [84% probability- Current article registration is available – Register]
'Oh, it's only possible if the changes are correct. And eighty-four percent probability… It's hard for our team to beat strong team FC Seoul 2:0… But it's not impossible.'
In any case, the changed news seemed to have to be over fifty percent likely. I clenched my fist,
'If this is the case, I can get rid of the nuclear war right here.'
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
After testing the Editing skill with a soccer game, I decided to move on to the real one I wanted to edit, the nuclear war that would take place two years from now. I got out of the news of 'E 12 Hours After' and moved on to 'E 12 Years After.' The way to bring in the nuclear war news was simple, to use the Ranking News.
The first and second highest news items I'd seen in the twelve years list had never changed, because after that news, there was no more news being printed. I scrolled down and went to the Ranking News. I could now see all the first, second, and third places. I clicked on them without hesitation.
[No. 1 – U.S. nuclear bomb hits Beijing. Ten million civilians are estimated dead.]
[No. 2 – China's nuclear bombs were launched and Washington, D.C. was left in ashes.]
[No. 3 – Defcon One issued. The whole nation is in a state of war (Breaking News)]
After the first and second places I had seen last time, the third place was that my nation was in a state of war.
'The enemy is probably North Korea, China… and maybe… Russia?'
The details were unknown. What was certain, however, was that the nation's civilization would collapse to the point that no more news would be available after the next war.
'I hope it will be stopped…'
I activated the active skill 'Edit'. The cursor changed into the scissors-shape.
'Well… but what shall I edit? There is no point in changing the war in Korea. If a nuclear bomb falls on China anyway, the nation will end up in a war because of the nuclear power facilities on the east coast. If I edit, it is number one or number two.'
'I'll have to get rid of the first shooter. I'm sure one of them shot first and the other one retaliated. But which side shot first?'
But for now, there was no way to know.
'Then shall I go to number one news, since there are more view counts on it?'
I clicked on the first article. As it was a breaking news, the full text wasn't that long.
[100% probability – probability cannot be modified less than 50%.]
[A nuclear bomb believed to have been fired from the Pacific Ocean, dropped in the Chinese capital, Beijing. All of the key administrative bodies, including the palace of the president, were destroyed, with an estimated ten million civilian casualties.]
I read it for a moment. 'But how do I fix this? Should I get rid of it all?'
I went to the end of the sentence and pressed the Delete key to get rid of the article. Where there was news, there was no news, only a framework. And at the same time, a notice came up,
[42% probability – Current article cannot be posted.]
The probability was forty-two percent.
'… forty-two percent. It's not impossible to disappear right now, but it's not easy to make it go away.'
Seeing this, it seemed that the nuclear war had not just happened by accident.
'Forty-two… forty-two…' I muttered the figures in my mind. But if I thought positively, it didn't seem to be a bad number again.
'It means that if I raise it by eight percent, it will work. Then what should I do? How do I increase the probability by eight percent?', I thought my arms crossed. As the relations between the United States and China would improve in the future, the probability would gradually rise. That way, the article could be deleted in a few months, if not immediately.
'So… I'm not going to start by getting rid of this article…' Suddenly, at a thought, I looked up. I changed the state setting from Korea to the US, and I closed the email.That evening, I got the future news set for the United States of America. I went to the People Search and wrote 'Donald Trump' on all the news. Of course, U.S. President Donald Trump's articles appeared. While I was watching Donald Trump's news, I found the news I wanted:
[E. 12 Days After – Donald Trump has repeatedly pressed China to not to slow down its financial opening.]
[President Donald Trump said during a White House press conference at ten a.m. that 'China is delaying the opening of its financial market. In view of this, the Chinese seem to be failing to learn a lesson from the last financial crisis, and if it is delayed further, it could create another financial crisis for them.' China's Foreign Ministry has replied, 'It is rude to ignore the country's 1.5 billion people,' and has indicated China will not cave in to any pressure from the United States.]
In any case, there was no good story. I clicked on the article with 'Edit' and touched it slightly. I started to edit with the first sentence. 'President Donald Trump said in a White House press conference at 10 a.m. today that he was concerned that China was slowing down its financial opening a little.'
I patted my chin and muttered, "Well, good. Gently, softly…"
I tapped the keyboard once again. This time was the second sentence. 'President Trump has urged China to act responsibly, insisting that China, which caused the financial crisis, should reduce its imbalances and increase its stability by opening up its finances.'
'It's good. It's much softer.'
I also corrected the Chinese response to this. 'The Chinese Foreign Ministry has expressed its understanding of the U.S. position and will try to open its market and strengthen fairness in line with President Trump's demand.'
'Is it enough?'
I looked up. [Fifty-seven probability.]
It was breathtaking but safe. I read the corrected article again, and thought, 'It's hard to get rid of the nuclear war overnight, but if I do a little bit like this, I can raise it by eight percent.'
I checked the news date for the last time and pressed the "Register" button. A message appeared soon, 'Edited article has been registered. If you press the 'Publish' button, it will immediately apply in the future. Do you want to publish the edited article?'
I pressed the "Yes" button, and got another message, 'Edited article has been posted. The future news of the edited article does not have any correction news.'
I thought as I closed the message. 'Obviously, this is the news in five days. Actually, it is at ten a.m. five days later in the U.S… what is that in Korean time?'In the evening, six days later…
I search for "Trump, China" on a Korean portal site and got a news article at eight o'clock. It was the speech of President Trump.
'All right, this is it.'
I clicked it right away. The video began with the words of an announcer. "Yesterday at ten a.m. local time, there was an official press conference for President Trump at the White House. The news conference drew attention as President Trump, who has been pressing China with his hard-line stance, made an unexpectedly soft remark. Correspondent Ha Ji-seok reports from New York…"
The screen changed and showed President Donald Trump. He talked to the camera, "China's financial opening is more beneficial to China than to any other country. China should open its market as soon as possible to increase fairness and show responsible behavior for triggering the last financial crisis."
Unlike normally, he was being extremely polite. If it were the way it was, he would say something like, "Why don't you keep your promises? You said that you would open your financial markets. Didn't you hear me? So, we're going to push you one more time because of the financial crisis."
But that line was changed by my hand six days ago; I changed what the President of the United States would say, with my own hands. On top of that, the Chinese side's answer was also changed like I wanted. "China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi says he understands President Trump's concerns and they will work harder to change the country's financial markets to meet the needs of the world."
'It's… it's amazing, isn't it?' While I was thinking about it, the correspondent continued, "… President Trump's change may be intended to improve U.S.-China relations in the future. I'm correspondent Ha Ji-seok from New York."
I thought as I listened to the correspondent's voice. 'I'm sure… this is a score. This is a small, but big step. If I continue to smooth the relationship between the two countries in this way, friction between the two will decrease and eventually, war will be far away.'
I was sure. 'In a few months, I'll be able to increase the probability by at least eight percent…'Since then, a few more months passed. In the meantime, I had not asked Paul Ocean to continue the bunker expansion work again. I was confident that I could prevent the future nuclear war. Every month, I gathered news from the U.S. president and the Chinese president for speeches and news conferences, and I changed the lines that came out of them to fit my taste.
'Okay, here… China is going to pocket its pride a little bit…'
"China announces its efforts to open up its finances, being aware of its own priorities and set to achieve shared growth in line with the global era."
I could get the hang of it after revising the articles a few times. I was getting used to making the probability move. If the probability was too close to a hundred percent, I decorated the reality more beautifully according to my tastes, and if it was less than fifty percent, I changed the reality little by little. Under the limit level, I manipulated reality to my desires.
On the morning of December fourth, 2024, the day before the U.S.-China nuclear war, I finally managed to get rid of the nuclear war story, which had risen to a fifty-four percent probability.8:55 p.m., the night I deleted the nuclear war article…
In my study, I received the future news with a slight tremble. As soon as I got it, I opened the news of 12 Years After. More than any other news, there was just one piece of news that showed the year. [Sports – Chelsea won the 2028/2029 English Premier League.]
I didn't have to click it to find out what it was. This was the 2029 news, which would be three years after the original nuclear war. When I saw the news, I stood up with my fist clenched. "It's done!"
I had finally stopped the end of the world! Hopping with joy, I ran out into the room and shouted outside of my study. "Ah-young!"
Outside the study, from the living room, I heard my wife's voice, "What?"
I ran in that direction. My wife was sitting on the sofa and watching television with our daughter Seo-hyun in her arms. I approached my wife and shouted, "Ah-young! Seo-hyun!" I hugged my wife and my daughter Seo-hyun.
The sudden hug made my wife laugh and she said, "What's wrong with you all of a sudden?"
My daughter Seo-hyun looked for her mother as I held her, "Mamma!"
I gave Seo-hyun a long kiss on the forehead. Now the crisis of the end was over. The Invictus Investment Empire would continue, and my daughter Seo-hyun would be the daughter of the emperor and grow up happily.
My wife asked me, "What's wrong, oppa? What's going on? Did a good thing happen?"
I looked at her. When asked by my wife, I couldn't reply, 'The world was about to be destroyed, but I stopped it!' I just smiled and hugged my family again.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
"Today is the day when your alumni are coming from America, isn't it?"
"Yes. It's been years."
My wife spoke to the fullest of her expectations. She hadn't even been outside since she had given birth to Seo-hyun, and I'd decided to invite her American college classmates to Korea to play with her. While my wife was outside, my mother and father, who came from my hometown, would take care of Seo-hyun.
"That's great. Where are you going when your American friends come?"
"I have a lot of friends who are new to Korea. I will take them to Bukchon Hanok Village, Insa-dong Culture Street, and Gyeongbok Palace… At night, I want to go to Cheonggyecheon."
"Okay, and which hotel did you get?"
"I've got one right near Cheonggyecheon."
"If there's anything you want during the play… call Secretary Park. He will provide it. Do you want me to put him on as a chauffeur or as a bodyguard?"
My wife hated that. "No! I don't want to make them feel a sense of incompatibility. My friends have been already saying that I got married to a chaebol. I'm just going to get together like in the old days, have a beer, and have a chat, like in college."
I said with a smile, "Yes, then."
Looking out the window, the sky was a little dim with thick clouds. Now, it was mid-February 2025. The cold hadn't gone yet.
"By the way, isn't it too cold today?"
"It will be okay. The weather forecast says it's snowless and sunny today."
"Well, have a good time then. Give my regards to Sarah." Then, I bowed my head and said to my daughter Seo-hyun, who was being held by my wife. "Seo-hyun, I'm going to work."
"Dad~mom." Seohyun beckoned me with a medium pronunciation of 'Daddy' and 'Mom'.
I kissed Seo-hyun, then took the elevator, waved to my wife, and went to work in the president's office.
"Good morning, Secretary Park."
"Good morning, boss."
"Are you here, boss?"
I greeted the two secretaries, and the sweet aroma of coffee stung my nose. I said, looking at the take-out coffee cup in front of Secretary Lee.
"Secretary Lee."
"Yes?"
"Is that white chocolate mocha coffee?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
"It's a cafe coffee in our building, I should be able to guess it. Buy me one of the same."
"Now?"
Secretary Lee tried to get up from her seat, but Secretary Park suddenly stood up at my words.
"Then I'll go and come back."
I looked at Secretary Park and Lee in turn. 'What is it? Is it a chivalry's mind? Is he trying to look good to her? What's going on between the two of them?'
Anyway, I only needed to drink some coffee. I nodded, "Yes."
"Do you want just coffee? What about a sandwich or a muffin?…"
I shook my head. "That's okay. I've had enough breakfast that my wife prepared. Just coffee is okay."
"Okay." Secretary Park went to buy coffee.
I asked Secretary Lee, "Do I have anything important scheduled today?"
"Yes. Today is the day when the trading team reports. It's scheduled for eleven a.m."
"I see."
I came into the president's office and turned on the computer leisurely. It was 8:20 and there was still about half an hour left before the future news would come. I spent time watching YouTube videos. Soon, Secretary Park, who had gone down to the cafe on the first floor, came in bringing coffee.
"Thank you."
Secretary Park bowed his head, opened the door, and left. At that moment, I could see that Secretary Park and Lee had made eye contact. I sipped my coffee and thought, 'Will it be a problem if those two have an office romance? I don't know. What if there's a problem? I can prevent it before any matter happens…'
At 8:50 a.m., the future news came. I opened every email as usual. By the way, there was a catchy news. [Life/Culture of E 12 Hours After – This afternoon, we had a sudden gale and snowflakes. It was the recorded snowfall in Seoul.]
I muttered when I saw it, "Hmm? They forecast today's weather would be okay, didn't they?"
I clicked on the article. It was reported that there was heavy snowfall in Seoul around this afternoon, causing traffic to be paralyzed; it was very cold with strong winds and was definitely not the right weather to go somewhere.
'Don't tell me…'
I came to the portal site and searched for the weather today. It said that today's weather would be very bright and getting warmer.
'Ha… the weather forecast is wrong again…?' I picked up my cell phone right away and tried to call my wife, but instead, I set the alarm to call my wife at 10:30. Then I looked up the rest of the future news. The most interesting news to read these days was 12 Years After.
'Wow! A small American pharmaceutical company invented a liver cancer treatment. Is it a company listed on the NASDAQ?'
'These are all investment news. I can buy a company before positive news comes out, or if SHH Electronics or SHH Construction can dominate it, we can start developing it first. If I have a twelve-year timetable of the future, it's not too difficult to create an investment company with the four trillion dollars needed for the next step. There is a lot of news that I can enjoy even if it's not about money…
'MMORPG via VR? The story that could come out of a game fantasy novel becomes a reality. They can decorate an avatar to become a completely different person. I should try it when it comes out.
'In the future, there are things going on that would only come from science fiction. Of course, it is due to all my hard work. This is thanks to the elimination of the nuclear war.'
After last December, once the new skill 'Edit' was used to get rid of the article about the nuclear war, news after 2026 continued to flow out. Although the U.S. and China's war of nerves continued, they stopped at taking their own profits. It was the start of a new cold war.
In the meantime, Korea had received both love calls and checks from the U.S. and China at the same time. President Joo Sung-won seemed to have avoided the checks and walked a tightrope while eating the carrots. According to the news of 12 Years After, the next president came from the same party as President Joo Sung-won.
'Ahn Hyun-joon… It is Ahn Hyun-joon of the same party who will be chosen to replace President Joo Sung-won, who has served eight years. He is now Anyang Mayor, but he'll be working as governor of Gyeonggi-do later. Who is the president? I'll have to meet him on the pretext of investing in Anyang some time.'
I made a schedule on my timetable: Meet Anyang Mayor Ahn Hyun-joon within the next month.
'I'm going to meet him and if I like him, I'm going to make him the next president, and if I don't like him, I'm going to change it. It's easy for me to change. I can send Crow to check his background, but before that, I can bring him down by editing the probability. It is not hard to bury a person if I want to.'
I looked down the article and saw the 'Edit' skill at the bottom, and thought, 'This skill is too powerful.
'It's really a different skill from the ones that have come out so far. Since I can edit the future myself, it is completely different from passively reading something and responding to it. Manipulating reality is nothing but an ability that is close to God. I have dreamed of becoming an emperor… with this, I'm a god.'The time passed and it was 10:30. The alarm went off.
'Well… shall I stop the wind with editing, and let it not snow. She must have been looking forward to it today. But I don't know if the probability will allow it. In most cases, probability becomes magnanimous if time is far away. Just as it is certain to fall to the ground if a mobile phone in hand is released right now, there is a possibility that the wind and snow that the Korea Meteorological Administration did not expect at this time may be near the Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, to be honest, it's a little bit too much to use a month's skill for my wife's one-day vacation. In fact, this 'Edit' skill, if I used it well, would be a skill worth a few billion dollars.
'Yes, it's a waste to use it to change the weather. I should persuade Ah-young to change her schedule.'
I picked up the phone and called my wife, "Honey."
"Yes?"
"I think you'll have to cancel taking your friends to Bukchon."
"Why?"
"It's going to be windy and snowy this afternoon. It will be the worst ever."
"No way! The weather forecast for today is going to be nice."
"As you know, the weather forecast is often wrong. From the information I just received, that forecast is wrong."
"Really?"
"Yes. It's hot news from the Daewon Daily News. The traffic is going to be confused because of the snow today. Just hang out in Gangnam. I'll change you to a better hotel here. Go to Bukchon after the weather clears up tomorrow."
"Hmm…" My wife was worried for a moment, but she soon followed my words. "Okay, no problem." She knew from experience that I was more often right than the weather forecast.
"Then, switch to a Gangnam Tour today and play here. I might be able to show my face to your friends when I have time."
"Yes."
After completing the conversation with Ah-young, I proceeded with the next item on the schedule.
"Let's go, boss."
"Yes." I headed to the trading team, accompanied by Secretary Park and Lee."Boss, we welcome you!" About thirty people greeted me in unison as I entered.
"How have you all been?" I asked, waving my hands.
"We have been fine, sir!"
The trading team somehow was bright and cheerful. I thought it was because every word I said would end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in rewards.
"Okay, let's cut it short, and look at your accomplishments first."
I reached out into the air. Director Park, who was in charge of the trading team, came running up and handed me a report. Watching it, I glanced at the trading crew and said, "You're not doing very well this month, are you?"
As I said, I saw everyone was slightly intimidated. But in fact, I wasn't disappointed, and I wasn't angry, because I knew it was going to be like this. A month without great volatility was bound to yield less.
"It's okay. You can make a lot of money next month. Anyway, I'll give you the incentives I promised."
At my words, some clenched their fists with a happy look, some cracked their lower lips with an angry look. That was good. 'As the rewards are different depending on the results, people work hard.'
I set the agenda for next month. "We are going to buy oil next month. The target price is…" I pretended to be thinking for a moment. "About $84.50. Think of that as the highest price and buy it."
I told them using the figures I had seen in the future news. After my instructions were given, the trading team nodded with a determined look. My soldiers would probably make quite a fortune next month.
After finishing my morning schedule like that, I came back to the president's office. Instead of sitting in front of the computer, I looked out the window. Outside the window, it was starting to snow slowly, as I had seen on the news of 12 Hours After. It would be a little cold outside, but it was a beautiful view from here. I watched it for a moment with my arms crossed. Then I muttered to myself, "Everything is perfect…"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
'As it has been, I like the forest of buildings. And I like to look down from that tall building even more.'
I looked outside again today from the top floor of the building, my arms folded. Today's landscape was quite different from what I usually saw. Nearby, I could see a big park, and in the distance, a forest of large buildings bigger than Gangnam. I looked at it and thought, 'Certainly the original is better.'
The nearby park was Central Park. What was far away was the forest of buildings in New York City where Spider-Man webslung through in the movie. The place where I was standing was the top floor suite of a five-star hotel built by Trump, the former president of the United States.
I thought, sipping champagne from a glass, 'I'll buy a vacation house near here to come and take a rest with Ah-young and Seo-hyun sometimes.'
I came to New York to attend SHH Electronics' new product conference, but I wasn't interested in the conference, because I knew the results in advance. The new hologram phone would have a tremendous impact on the market, and it would boost SHH Electronics into a leading player in the smartphone business. I would sit in the front seat and give them some applause.
I was rather more concerned about meeting with the American reporters after the conference. My name was now very well known in Korea, but not in America yet. My name needed to spread further, so it would appear frequently in the newspapers, and so I could expand my U.S. career.
Fortunately, the American journalists seemed very interested in me, too. The story of a man who was born into a poor family, and became the richest man in Korea and the owner of Korea's largest investment company seemed to be drawing keen attention, even in the mainland of capitalism. As soon as I set up my U.S. schedule, the American press was in contact, trying to make an appointment with me.
'Win-win is what this is.' As I thought about it, I once again sipped some champagne and looked out of the window. But then, behind me, I saw a big, tall shadow. A big man had come into a hotel room reserved by me without making any sound with the door closed.
But I wasn't surprised at all. It was Crow who had showed up. He had appeared with a thick document as usual.
I said, raising my glass slightly, "Leave the document there, and come here. Let's have a drink. How about?"
Crow left the document he carried on the sofa as I said, and instead picked up a glass of champagne.
"If the CEO recommends it."
I filled Crow's glass with champagne which I had taken from the hotel bar. Even though I hadn't seen the price, it was probably over $3,000. Then I said, tinking a glass with him, "Crow, you have a good job."
"Don't mention it."
We drank to one another. The pungent carbonic acid, rich fruit scent, and a slight aroma of alcohol were fantastic.
I asked, pointing out the window with a glass of champagne. "The night view of New York is great. You were here last year, weren't you?"
"No. It's my first time in New York. I've only been back and forth in Washington a lot."
"Ah… I see."
Last year, when there was a nuclear war crisis, Crow traveled to and from the U.S. and China every month. However, he seemed to be new to New York, too.
I said, as if Central Park were my front yard. "This is New York City, the capital of the world."
Crow looked at the night view of New York with his exotic eyes for a moment. "What a splendid sight…" He then added, "It's very good that this place has not been burned to ashes."
I smiled and nodded. Only Crow knew that I had known the end of the world in advance, and that I had stopped it. So when I talked to Crow, I felt free, since I had never told my wife that the end of the world was coming. I was slightly intoxicated and repeated the remark, "That's a relief. Thank God."
Crow said, filling my empty glass, "You've done a really big job."
I laughed at his words. Crow was the only one who could congratulate me on my achievement.
"Well, I did it for myself and to save my wife and my daughter."
Crow nodded and said as if he had just remembered. "Ah, by the way, Master Crow called to congratulate you."
"The… the boss?"
"Yes, and he congratulates you on having power to compare with God."
"Umm…"
Master Crow must have found out what abilities I had. I thought about the mysterious character, and said, "Please give him my thanks.'"
Crow drank all the remaining wine and said, "Yes, I will."
Only after that did I approach the document he had brought.
Crow spoke on my back, "I hope this investigation will be helpful for your work."
The words were based on 'I apologize for not being helpful during a nuclear war.'
"Oh, don't mind that. Crow, the information you brought wasn't used to stop the nuclear war, but it really helped me. It's true."
Crow spoke in a rather light voice, "Then, I am glad."
"Yes. Next month… I'll see you in fifteen days."
"Yes, Mr. CEO."
After hearing the words, his presence disappeared. I lifted the document Crow had left behind and thought, 'Even when I have God's power now, Crow is still very useful.'"Mr. Han, Mr. Han." Ignoring the microphones of the flocking reporters, I calmed them down and took a seat. Then, I gave some reporters a chance to ask questions.
"How would you rate this conference?"
I answered deliberately using automated voice recognition translations for the next generation of cell phones from SHH Electronics. When I spoke in Korean, the voice came out in English immediately and clearly.
"It's very satisfying. SHH's next generation of mobile phones will lead the next generation of mobile phones with powerful holographic capabilities."
"How is your relationship with President Maverick Turner?"
"I have a hundred percent confidence in President Turner. As you've all seen today, he sometimes looks like Steve Jobs' reincarnation… Steve Jobs with a lot of hair."
At my words, some reporters burst out laughing.
"Do you intend to increase your investment in the United States?"
"Of course. If you've seen this conference, you've foreseen the tremendous growth of SHH in the United States. So have I. I am going to increase SHH Group's investment in the U.S., and I will personally invest in a U.S. company, too."
When I talked about my personal investments, the eyes of the reporters were wide. Whether it was in Korea or in USA, news of money coming in was something to write home about.
"Can you tell me which company it is?"
I said with a smile, "That, of course, difficult."
"Please, give me some least hints."
I hinted at the reporters, making them as curious as possible. "You'll find out about it before long."
But in the meantime, there was a reporter who asked me a serious question.
"Mr. CEO, you are known to be close to Maverick Turner's brother, William Turner. There's a saying that you intend to use him in the U.S. government as a lobbyist. What do you think about it?"
I looked at the reporter who asked the question. 'What is this guy, a political journalist mixed up?'
A little misrepresentation might harm me or the Turner brothers. I answered moderately, "No. I just talked to the senator of New York because I was trying to invest in New York."
"Are you serious? You're going to have dinner together tonight."
'Where did he get that information?'
I looked at the microphone held by the reporter as I thought about it. It said 'BNC Media.'
'BNC…' I memorized it and told him, "Yes. I've been invited to join them. I am sorry if I got clumsily caught up in their family dinner."
The reporter wanted to ask me something more, but another reporter stepped in. "Mr. CEO, the FutureSink you sold to Amazon is now valued at five billion dollars. Do you have any regrets that you sold it at too low a price?"
I went over to that question easily. "No. With the money I earned at the time, I made dozens of times more by investing in China. The deal was good for Amazon and me, too. It was a win-win deal."After the press conference, I spoke to Secretary Lee who was following me. "Secretary Lee."
"Yes."
"This the first time I've heard of BNC Media, either small or new. Find out about the company's stake here."
"Yes, boss."
Today's question had the potential to be a problem with my future course of action. I intended to forestall it.
'First, I will press it with money, and if I can't finish it… I will edit it…'
That evening, I had dinner with Maverick Turner and William Turner, as the BNC Media reporter had asked about.
"So what kind of person is the new president, Edward Pittman?"
"In a way, he's more aggressive than Trump. President Trump used to exaggerate all the time, but he was much more cautious about what he did. But on the other hand, President Pittman is normally a placid man, but sometimes he does something drastic."
"Well… I see."
Now it was March 2025. Originally, it would have been the aftermath of a nuclear war. It meant that former President Trump was a problem, but now President Pittman was responsible.
I used some negative expressions, "I think President Pittman is a little bit dangerous about the matter of China…"
William Turner seemed to think the same way, as well. "Yes, I think so, too. It's good to pressure China, but he goes too far. I think it's better to ease military tensions."
I looked at him. It was my third meeting with him so far, and he was prudent, bright and above all, kind. It was a quality not seen in the previous and current U.S. presidents.
I said with my hands together for a moment, "President Turner, could you leave us for a moment? And you too, Secretary Lee."
At my words, President Maverick Turner and Secretary Lee left the room.
I spoke to Senator William Turner, using that simultaneous interpretation app, "Senator Turner, I hope you will listen to me carefully and think about it."
As I made them leave and said that, Senator William Turner looked at me with a slightly nervous look. "What… what do you want to say?"
I told him what I really thought, "Somehow, I think… you should be aiming for the next presidential election."
"Pardon me?" Senator William Turner was not only half surprised. It was that kind of response, 'I had that idea, too, but I didn't expect it to come out of your mouth.'
I took out the document I had prepared and handed it to him. t was the political weaknesses of the current U.S. president, whom Crow had investigated. As soon as he received the document, which would make it impossible for President Pittman to be re-elected, he grasped at a glance the importance of what was written there.
"It's…"
I hinted to him. "How about it? Why don't you try it with me?"
Senator William Turner spoke in a rather cautious voice, "But the presidential election is four years away…"
I said, holding hands together, "It is because we have four years left that I'm telling you."
In four years, there would be plenty of time to satisfy the probabilities in "Edit."
I spoke to him in a firm voice, "Senator Turner, please become President of the United States in four years. I will help you."
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
Lifting Seo-hyun, I said, "Seo-hyun, papa."
Seo-hyun copied me, moving her cute cheeks. "Paba!"
I replied with a big smile on my face, "Yes, Seo-hyun. Papa."
"Paba!"
I lifted Seo-hyun a couple of times and laughed, "Oh, yeah, you're good. My daughter."
My wife, who was watching, asked me, "Oppa, what would you like to call our second child?"
I looked at my wife with Seo-hyun in my arms. "Well?" And after thinking for a moment, I turned my head again and asked Seo-hyun, "Seohyun, what should I name your brother?"
Seo-hyun looked at me and said, "Pa ba.."
I smiled and said, touching Seo-hyun's cheek, "No, not me, your brother's name."
My wife was in her second pregnancy. Ah-young's gynecologist advised us to buy a nice robot toy for the child this time. It was a boy.
"Well, how's Se-hyun? Han Se-hyun."
"Seo-hyun and then Se-hyun?"
"Yes."
"It's not bad. By the way, oppa, why do you have to name them after SHH?"
In fact, that secret was hidden in Seo-hyun's name. Seo-hyun Han. SHH, the initial name was the same as mine. It was a long-term arrangement for Seo-hyun and her soon-to-be-born brother. Even if the SHH Group was inherited, its owner's initials would be the same.
"Won't that be good in the long run?"
"Why? Are you trying to get our kids to run a company?"
"… if they want."
As I had said during Doljabi, I was going to let my children do whatever they wanted to do. I would let them study if they would want to, I would let them do art if they would want to, and I would let them be athletes if they wanted to.
'Doing what they want to do is the source of happiness.
'However, in Korea, the sons and daughters of a chaebol often run them after their parents. It may not be in foreign countries, but a professional management system has not yet been established in our country. I think it would be a little difficult to leave my billion dollars to someone else. So, it's practical to assume that Seo-hyun and the second in the womb will manage our company. Then, it may be helpful in many ways later to set the same initials.'
"… if you think like that, do it. Se-hyun is also a good name," my wife agreed with me.
I looked at Seo-hyun and said, "Seo-hyun. Your younger brother's name is Se-hyun."
Whatever I said, Seo-hyun reached out and grabbed my nose. "Paba!"
That lovely look gave me a big smile. In the old days, my mother and father used to say, 'You should have your own child to understand a parents' feelings.' I was getting to know their mind these days.
'I could do anything for Seo-hyun and Se-hyun, even at the expense of everything I have.'
I looked at Seo-hyun and thought, 'Whatever you do or run our company, I need to make the three letters, SHH, famous. That's the only way to see the future.
'I should make their names, Han Seo-hyun and Han Se-hyun, appear in the news. Of course, they may still appear as "a daughter of Han Sang-hoon" or "a son of Han Sang-hoon," but that's not enough. Only when their names are in the news, will I be able to get the news right through People Search. That way, I can take care of my children's future.'
I kissed my daughter on the forehead, thinking, 'Seo-hyun, whatever you do, grow up healthy. I'll protect you for the rest of my life.'
But then, my daughter made a weird smell.
"Oh, my princess. You pooed!"
I laid Seo-hyun down carefully, and got ready to change her diaper. But my wife stepped forward and said, "I'll do it, oppa. Aren't you going to work today, anyway?"
I looked at the clock. It was 8:35. I was definitely late. Even if I was going down in a hurry now, I would arrive just in the fiftieth minute when the future news would come. In fact, I didn't have to go to work, and I could see it in my study. I thought for a moment whether I should go to work or not.
'Well… ah… I am supposed to get a job report from Secretary Lee.'
In the meantime, my wife took over Seo-hyun from me. She took off her diaper like lightning, and changed in her new diaper. I'd tried it myself, but I couldn't keep up with my wife. Watching her, I stood up from the seat. I would have loved to stay more with my daughter, but I had a lot of work to do.I sat in the president's office and looked at the monitor. As always, from 12 Hours After to 12 Years After, there were five emails.
'Let's see…'
These days, I read the mail more carefully. Besides reading and interpreting information, I had to see if there was anything else to edit.
'Well… there's nothing to edit?'
Now I had three big goals. The first was to gain power that reached even the United States and China. The nuclear war was blocked by my efforts, but the tension between the two superpowers was constantly a problem for our country. America's fight to keep the world's power, and China's desire to become a new power, was really the matter of the twenty-first century, and the brief pause did not end the conflict.
Starting with the project to make the next president of William Turner, I was going to extend my reach to the United States and China and increase my influence. It would be almost impossible to make them puppets like our president, but with the right level of influence plus the "Edit" function, it would be enough to play with them.
'When I get the American news, I'm going to search for the current U.S. president and William Turner.'
My second goal was the unification of our country.
'As we know from the history of the late Joseon Dynasty, no matter how hard we try to solve the problem through diplomacy, the problem is not solved if a nation has no power. In order to have the right to speak in international politics, Korea must have a strong national power, equivalent to the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan.
'And that's not done with just our current half-country, South Korea. Only when we achieve peaceful reunification through exchanges with North Korea will we have the power to confront other countries with dignity by growing our population, defense, and economic power.
'The search term must be the name of the president of our country, and the North's leader.
'Fortunately, there's a lot of news for the two. I will choose the news and lead our country along the path of reunification. It's not a normal job, so it'll take about ten years. Before that, the first goal of taking power in the U.S. and China should be preeminent.
'It's not easy, but… it'll mean something.'
The third and last goal was to achieve the final grade, P Class. I was actually content with the strength I had now: the level of money unrivaled in the country, a personal connection with the president, the power to receive the future news and manipulate events, and even the perfect spy to dig up everything that had happened in the past.
There was little I couldn't do now. The power was so close to God. However, there was still a yearning for the next class. The last grade, the last force, whatever it was, I wanted to have it, even if I didn't need more power.
'Next class is P… If I could get it, I'd probably…
'The method to get the next grade is money. I can make money just like I used to. As I make money, the asset value of Invictus Investment will grow, and as soon as I meet the rating conditions, I will naturally get it. Right now, I'm a complete expert in making money. It's not only possible to decode future news, but also manipulate it.
'The next goal is to make four trillion dollars. Amazon in the U.S. is worth about two trillion dollars, so twice that. It is like saying that I will have the largest company in the world, but it's not that hard for me. Whatever I do, I know the future twelve years from now. Making money is now a matter of me going to the place where the treasure chest is buried and taking it out. It takes only a little time, not a difficult task at all.
'It will naturally be done if I run a company. Sometimes, if I touch an article, and if I have a jackpot, it'll happen a little faster.
'It's actually going to take more time than the two preceding things. Since day one, I've had money, so I can do anything. If I achieve the first and second goals, it will be accelerated. The expansion of influence in the U.S. and China will almost certainly lead to an increase in my earnings. Unification with North Korea is a factor that could cause a boom in the nation's stock market.
'If reunified, the war crisis, which will never happen as long as I am around, will be eliminated completely, eliminating the traditional Korea discount, and the domestic market will nearly double rapidly. For example, my subsidiaries, Changhae Food and Songhae Brewing, will have a huge market for dumplings and makgeolli. Though unification will be a shock in the short term, foreign investors will come to a unified Korea, which combines cheap labor from North Korea with excellent South Korean technology.
Jim Rogers, a legend in the investment world, used to say repeatedly "If I could invest only in North Korea, I would invest all my assets."
I thought, half lying in the chair in the president's office, 'Then, let's edit the news on the U.S. side this month. The starting point is here, right?'
While I was thinking about it, the telephone rang. I answered it and heard Secretary Park's voice over the phone. "Boss, Secretary Seo… No, Seo Ji-hoon is here."
"He is here already?"
Today's meeting was scheduled, but he came twenty minutes earlier than the appointed time. Park spoke in a rather playful way.
"Shall I have him wait outside?"
"No, tell him to come in."
Ji-hoon came in quickly. He was slightly thinner than usual, and I could clearly feel the energy of his overwork.
"How are you, boss?"
"I am good. You have something to ask for your work, right?"
"Nothing but… this big data-driven app."
"I heard it's all developed."
"Yes, but I think I'll need some data. I was wondering if you could help me a little."
"Hmm… What kind of data do you need?"
"Any data is fine if I can make money. Our app can generate algorithms on its own with just about any data."
"Really? Um…"
I thought for a moment, about the articles I had seen in the news of 12 Years After. Within three to four years, the "big data-based medical industry" would grow, and large companies would be born there. Maybe I could grow Ji-hoon's company like that.
"How's the medical industry?"
"It's good. It's even better on the DNA side."
"Is that so? Then, there's a cancer clinic that I regularly sponsor. I'll put you through to the clinic. That's enough, right?"
Ji-hoon answered in a happy voice. "That's good, boss! That would be great!"
His words gave me a good laugh. If he liked it, so did I. Our company had a 51% stake in his company.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
"They're ready. Let's go, boss."
I followed Secretary Park with a nod. President Kwon Oh-hyuk of OH Entertainment followed me. He seemed nervous, as I looked at him still fiddling around with his tie. I said, lightly putting my hand on his shoulder. "Don't be too nervous, President Kwon. All you have to do is smile and talk about work."
"Ah, yes."
Passing through a few red pillars and pushing through a door bearing two golden dragons, a neat-looking middle-aged man was standing before us. He opened his arms and told me something in fast, high Chinese. "… Han Shèzhǎng."
What I understood was the last word, 'Han Shèzhǎng' which I had been often called in China. I could make a rough estimate of what it meant, without having to listen to the interpretation of Secretary Lee.
I responded to him in the Chinese that I had practiced this morning. "Rènshí nǐmen hěn gāoxìng." It meant, 'Nice to meet you.'
He shook hands with me and offered me a seat opposite him. The person facing me was Longjingquan, the Shanghai Party Secretary. He was a promising politician who had grasped Shanghai's power at a young age. Shanghai was capitalistic enough to be called the economic capital of China, so he was the best target for me to gain a foothold into Chinese politics.
"Rènshí nǐmen hěn gāoxìng." He greeted me and Kwon with a smile, as our side was the one holding the money.
'Although not official, the Chinese Communist Party usually divides into three factions: the Communist Youth League of China run by Hu Jintao; the current leader Xi Jinping's fellow Princelings, the Crown Prince Party; and Jiang Zemin's Shanghai Clique. With Xi Jinping's prolonged rule, the power of the Communist Youth League of China and Shanghai Clique was greatly reduced, but the financial crisis recently helped them to rise again.'
I was thinking of keeping China's nationalist hardliners in check by pushing this Shanghai Clique. In this way, I would benefit the economy and reduce the security threat to our country. Since Longjingquan was the next leading figure in the Shanghai Clique, just working with him and enhancing his stature would help me achieve my goal. To him, I, who was the richest man in Korea, and the owner of a 1.2 trillion dollar investment company, would be also helpful. He seemed to be well aware of that, too.
I spoke to him through Secretary Lee, "There's a saying that the ground hardens after the rain. There have been tough times in recent years, but I think China's economy is going to get back on its feet."
I was a little sorry that I was saying such a thing, but I was serious about it. China was still a country with 1.4 billion people and great potential, although it had been hit hard by the U.S. for its rapid growth.
Secretary Lee conveyed the words of Longjingquan, the Shanghai Party Secretary. "In the process, I hope President Han, Koreas richest man, will help us a lot."
"Of course. Ah… Before I start talking about business, I have a present from Korea. Please take it."
I looked at Secretary Park as Secretary Lee continued the words I had prepared. Secretary Park brought him the gift box he was carrying. Inside it was a Goryeo celadon-style teacup and kettle set. The teacup had a crane on it, and the kettle was shaped like a turtle. The color had the unique jade color of Goryeo celadon.
"I have heard that the Chinese like tea, so I prepared it."
The teacup of the Goryeo celadon seemed a little different to his eyes, who had seen so many high-end goods as a power of the Communist Party.
"Oh, yes." He looked at the teacup with a grin, and opened the turtle's back. His eyes widened slightly. He looked at me and said, "They're so beautiful in color. Thank you, President Han."
I thought as I listened to him, 'He is a person who has come all the way up here, avoiding the checks of the Princelings of the Crown Prince Party.'
There was a USB in the turtle he just saw, which had the information Crow had gathered, needed for him to rise higher in the Communist Party. It wasn't my preferred way of doing things, but it was essential in China, where the state media was still powerful and freedom of speech was not high.
I replied, "The turtle is a symbol of longevity, isn't it? I think… If you drink tea from this kettle, you'll live longer."
He seemed to have understood my message 100%. "Thank you for the precious gift. Let's take the tea from this kettle and drink it today."
At his thin smile, I recalled Senator William Turner on the other side of the world.
'Most people who have come up to this position have similar aspects. Their background, personality and appearances are different, but there is a strong desire for power. I give a sword to a man of ambition, and he will brandish it himself. And then, gradually, he will be subordinate to me.'
I moved on to the next item on the agenda, as if nothing had happened. "Then let's talk about the opening of the hundredth View Box. President Kwon of OH Entertainment, who's sitting next to me, will explain the event."My first goal, my power expansion in the U.S. and China, went ahead as scheduled. If I tracked Senator William Turner in the U.S. news and Longjingquan in the Chinese news, I could easily see their progress. There was no immediate news of them taking office as the U.S. president or as premier of China, but they would soon be if I worked on it.
'It's only a matter of time before I get power in the two countries. It means that I will become a world power, beyond Korea. What I want will happen, and what I don't want won't happen.'
I then turned toward the second goal: peaceful reunification with North Korea.
North Korea wanted to keep its economy open, although there were complicated problems that could not be compromised with South Korea, such as communism, and a hereditary succession. It was moving slightly from pro-China to pro-U.S., with a long period of U.S. economic sanctions and looking at the financial crisis of its ally, China. Ideology used to be important in the past, but as times changed, economic power became more important.
'In any case, the fate of South and North Korea are similar. It's something the superpowers are aware of. Historically, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is always the same.'
In the old Joseon dynasty and the Gwanghaegun era, it was a matter of choice between the Qing dynasty and the Ming dynasty; at the end of the Joseon dynasty, it was between the Qing dynasty and Japan; during the liberation period it was between the USA and USSR, and now it was between USA and China.
'In order to avoid this constant conflict, the Korean people have no choice but to be strong themselves. That can never be done in an environment where South Korea and North Korea antagonize one another. How can the nation become stronger when it is pouring tens of billions of dollars into the 38th Parallel, and it is difficult to exert all its energy out of the sea? The reality is that we cannot overpower even Japan, let alone the U.S., China, or Russia.'
I was busy trying to break this point."What about it, boss?"
I pushed the pad I was holding forward, and said, "It's good just in this way concerning economic cooperation."
Chung So-young, the president of Oracle News, ruffled her bobbed hair and focused on the part I pointed at. "I see."
"There was a coercive statement urging large companies to participate, but they've changed a little bit, right?"
What had I pointed out was an editorial in Oracle News, which I'd drafted, and a professional reporter had edited a little. Before publishing, the article needed to be passed over by me for final approval, and then it would be placed on the Internet. When President Joo Sung-won saw this, he would base his policy with this.
"Ah, yes. It had a little strong expression, and I was afraid that it would be against the friendly readers from the big corporations. I toned it down a bit. Should I change it back to the original?"
"Yes. Let's go to the original."
"Yes. I'll do as you say." Chung So-young bowed her head and started to leave.
I looked at her back and told her, "President Chung."
She looked back at me. I added, "Don't consider the big companies too much. Our company is the largest."
Chung once again bowed her head to me. "Ah yes, boss."After Chung went outside, I picked up the phone and called Secretary Park.
"Yes, boss?"
"I think I'll have the meeting today after a long time."
"The meeting?"
"You know the meeting, right?"
"Ah, yes, I see. I will tell the executives of each company."
"Yes, please. The date is…" I looked at the calendar and said the date I wanted. "We'd better do it next Thursday. The place is… Let's go to the hotel lounge like last time. It was comfortable and nice."
"Yes, sir."
The meeting was none other than what had been previously called the Garden Royale. I didn't bother to call it by that name now, but the people attending were the same. They were the third and fourth generation of big corporations, except for one person, Tak Mun-su. Ever since Tak Mun-su had been arrested and sentenced to twenty years in prison, I hadn't heard any word from the meeting again, but when our company's market capitalization exceeded a trillion dollars, I started calling them back. I wanted them to cooperate with what I wanted to do. In the past they used to treat me as a newly rich man, but now I was really rich, and they were just so-so.
The purpose of the meeting was simple. As I wrote in my editorial, I was going to encourage them to invest in North Korea. Pulling the president in using an editorial, pushing big business owners in meetings, and doing so, everything would go as I planned, and as I wished.
Having sent President Chung and Secretary Park to work separately, I checked the remaining schedule. I was finished for today.
'Shall I go home then?' I got up from my seat. These days, I often went home as early as possible after work, since I missed my daughter and son. Four-year-old Seo-hyun, who had just started to speak, and one-year-old Se-hyun, who just passed Doljabi, were the center of my life. I simply packed my bag and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" The two secretaries outside got up from their seats.
I sent them down with my hands and said, "Home. I'm going home."
"Yes, boss."
Leaving my two secretaries, I stood in front of the elevator and pressed the up button. Soon the elevator arrived, and I got in and pressed the penthouse floor where my family was waiting.
I had served as the leading investor in the global economy, the secret power that drove global politics, and as the owner of a company with thousands of employees… but my favorite position was right there, the father of Seo-hyun and Se-hyun.
"Penthouse." At the same time as the mechanical voice spoke, the door opened and the voice of my daughter Seo-hyun chimed out, "Wow, it's Dad!"
I caught my daughter, who was running at me extremely fast. "You will be hurt. Slow down!"
From within came my wife with Se-hyun. Thanks to her natural beauty, she was still pretty and lovely.
"You left work early."
I hugged Seo-hyun and looked at Se-hyun, who was being held by my wife. While earning a few trillions of dollars, sometimes I had a scream-pleasing moment of pleasure, but I didn't think there was a happier time than when I was with my family at home.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
I wore a tie and put on a jacket. After looking in the mirror, I left the dressing room, went through the living room, into the children's room. There were Seo-hyun sleeping like an angel, Se-hyun, and my wife taking care of the children. I looked at them for a moment. As my wife felt my presence, she turned her head, and spoke in a small voice so as not to wake the children.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes. How about Se-hyun?" I saw Se-hyun lying on the bed. He was just three years old, but last night he had been crying without sleeping, so my wife and I had a hard time taking care of him.
"Well, now, he is sleeping well… If he does it again today, I'll take him to the hospital."
"Yes."
"What about breakfast?"
"Never mind. I'll go down and get some food."
"I'm sorry. Today is an important day, but I can't do anything for you…"
I shook my head. My wife and I were the ones who couldn't sleep last night because of Se-hyun. "No, I'm sorry. I'll be back as soon as I can."
My wife smiled at my words and said, "Can you do what you want?"
"Of course. I can do everything I want."
'Usually, these words are an expression of self-confidence when someone else says them, but they have a slightly different meaning when I say them. I really don't have anything that doesn't work out my way.'
"I'll be back," I said goodbye to my wife and left the children's room. As I came to the front door through the living room, there was my collection of car keys. I bought this and that, and now there were about twelve of them, but it was very small compared to my wealth.
'Today, I'm going to have to go with a more solemn concept, right?'
I picked up the Rolls-Royce key, with the two capital R's overlapping, and headed for the first basement floor. My two secretaries were waiting for me in the parking lot there.
"Are you here, boss?"
I threw the Rolls-Royce key I had brought to Secretary Park and said, "Yes. Let's go."
After checking the key's logo he had received from me, Secretary Park ran to the Rolls Royce's driver's seat. Secretary Lee also followed him to the back seat of the car.
Getting in the back seat, I said, "Let's go!"
Engine purring, the Rolls-Royce left the Invictus building and sped down the boulevard through Gangnam. While Park was driving, I asked Secretary Lee, "So, how many people are attending the meeting?"
Secretary Lee looked into her tablet and said, "They're almost all there. First of all, all of our executives are present. All the representatives of the subsidiaries are here, and some high-ranking officials from overseas branches are here to attend today's meeting."
"Yes, they should not miss it today."
Today was the relaunch day of Invictus Investment. Over the years, I had been making money at a tremendous rate and buying back companies from the United States, China, Japan, and Europe, which had led to a huge increase in the number of subsidiaries, many beyond my control. So, I had decided to divide the companies according to Vice President Jang's recommendations.
The business part would be divided into an investment firm and turned into a subsidiary, with Vice President Jang taking control, and I would become the chairman of Invictus Investment Holdings as the company's owner, managing the subsidiaries as a whole.
Not long after Park started, we could see the company building with the 'Invictus' logo embedded in the building.
For the second Invictus building, I set up a separate business here for Vice President Jang, who had long devoted himself to the company.There was a large crowd of people in the hall. I pushed my way through them and greeted the hero of the day. "Congratulations, President Jang!" It was a bit awkward to call my former vice president a president!
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman."
I also felt awkward to hear him call me Chairman. "I'm sure you'll do well in the future."
He bowed his grayed head, shaking my hand. "I'll do my best. Please watch."
After greeting President Jang, I proceeded along the event hall with my two secretaries. Everywhere I went, people came up to me and bowed their heads. "How have you been, Mr. Chairman?"
This might seem a little servile, but in fact they were some of the best people in their fields. In their companies, everyone was ruling as a boss. They just bowed their heads because I was the emperor. That meant they were as good as kings and empresses.
As I greeted them, I engraved their names and faces in my mind. I regularly scanned for people using People Search, but I didn't know what was inside them. Sometimes only when the kings of the subsidiaries were called in and I was greeted like this would the empire would be maintained, though some kings did not need such a loyalty process.
"Big brother, congratulations on becoming the Chairman."
I looked at Seo with my arms crossed, and said, "I also congratulate you on becoming the president of a listed company!"
"It's all thanks to you."
Ji-hoon, who had been my secretary, was now the respectable president of a KOSDAQ-listed company, thanks to his efforts and my help. The stake of the company was divided into seven of me and three of him. He had tried his best, but it had still been a difficult situation to succeed in with only that, so I had helped him some more.
For his business, I had arranged a hospital for data, wrote editorials to revolutionize regulations, and put more investment in at the right times. Of course, I got my money back out of his company when his company went public. The promise I had made to him in the past, "If you're with me, you will ride a Porsche," was completed hundreds of times over. With a thirty percent stake in the company, he could now buy more than a hundred Porsches. I'd had a few trillions of dollars by special fate, but he had also gained a special fate since he had been close to me in college.
I patted Seo on the shoulder and said, "Don't be satisfied here, and work harder. Half of the money that you got from the IPO is ants' money. You have to take responsibility and work hard for other people's money. Don't think about flirting with that, or when the stock price goes down, you will be blamed."
"Don't worry about that, big brother. I'll work hard!"
After that, Kwon Oh-hyuk, president of OH Entertainment, came up to me and greeted me, "Mr. Chairman, congratulations!"
I was very happy when I saw him. "Ah, President Kwon. How are you these days? It's not easy to raise your kid, is it?"
"Haha, that's right! However, it's worth raising her, because she is so pretty!"
He had recently married actress Oh Hyun-joo, despite being in his mid-forties. Oh Hyun-joo's fans were a little shocked that she had chosen a fat-bellied man without hair as her husband, but as Oh Hyun-joo stepped up directly and said, "This man loves me most, and he helps me a lot with my work," it was received warmly after the announcement.
These two were kings, too, but they were among the more special kings. Compared to SHH Electronics and SHH Construction, their market capital was not that big, but he was treated better within the group for being a member of the company's early days and for being closer to me. After all, they were the founding fathers of my empire.
Towards the end of the meeting, Maverick Turner of SHH Electronics also said hello. "Mr. Chairman, congratulations!" In his fourth year in Korea, he now knew how to speak Korean quite well.
I replied to him, "How was your business trip to the U.S.? Did you see your brother?"
"My brother told me to say hello to you."
His brother, Senator William Turner, was gradually gaining ground as the next presidential candidate in the United States, so I could 'edit' him in the next one. The more his presence grew, the higher and closer his probability came to 50%.
Shaking the current U.S. President two or three times over a scandal would build up enough possibility before the next presidential election. The U.S. President would be also made by me. There was no need to mention the benefits from that.
"But when I went to the U.S. this time, I heard something funny."
"What?"
"On Wall Street, there is a rumor that you are going to take over Apple to create synergy with our company."
Apple, which had enjoyed the best of the 2010s, had been struggling in the 2020s. Since Steve Jobs' death, there had been no real innovation, but the biggest factor had been our company, SHH Electronics. It was not surprising. Apple predicted the future, but I looked at the future. They could not be a match for me.
Mr. Turner asked me, "I thought it was just a rumor… but it's true that Apple has been looking for another owner these days, so I thought it might be possible. What's the truth, Mr. Chairman?"
Instead of answering his question, I asked him something else, "The total market capital of Apple is… 1.4 trillion dollars, right?"
"Yes, it's about 1.46 trillion dollars. It came down a lot."
'1.46 trillion dollars…' I thought about that amount for a moment. Currently, the total market capital of the affiliates I owned was 3.6 trillion dollars, and if I used the cash I had to buy Apple, the total value of the companies under my command would be over five trillion dollars. That meant I could reach the last P Class in a single moment.
"Why would I have to buy Apple? At this rate, it's only a matter of time before SHH takes over the market."
Apple was a company that would only get cheaper over time. I didn't have to buy it now.
President Turner nodded and said, "I see, Mr. Chairman."
President Jang, who was today's main character as well as one of the founding figures, grabbed the microphone and said, "Thank you, distinguished guests here today."
I listened in anticipation of what he would say. But then, Secretary Park looked for me, "Mr. Chairman."
I looked at him with a slight frown. He was interrupting me at this important moment!
"I got a call from your wife."
"What?"
"Well, I think you should take it yourself."
I got a cell phone from him, and I heard my wife's voice, "Oppa, Se-hyun…"
At the few words of my wife, I was frozen, but I soon came to my senses. I said to Secretary Park, "Let's get out here. Drive."A university hospital near my house…
A doctor in a white gown stuttered and said, "Mr. Chairman… So… It's…" He looked very nervous.
"Just tell me the point."
He swallowed once, and said, "It's a pediatric brain tumor."
I asked, covering my crying wife's shoulders, "So, is it curable?"
"He needs to have surgery as soon as possible. But his tumor is growing in a dangerous place. It won't easy…" The doctor blurred the last word.
I pressed him, "What's the level of difficulty?"
But hopelessly, the doctor shook his head and said, "It won't be easy… It's almost a miracle for a baby to come back from the surgery without side effects…"
It was a task that needed a miracle. That meant there was a near zero percent probability. I was mesmerized, even touching my wife's shoulders.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
"What's wrong?" My parents came to the hospital that night. I went out of the room for a while after leaving my nearly exhausted wife Ah-young to them. I thought I could clear my mind if I got a little fresh air. While I was walking the hallways, a nurse greeted me, "Mr. Chairman, hello?"
I bowed my head and received her greeting. She asked me in a bright voice, obviously not knowing the situation. "What brings you here today? There's no charity event."
"… it's personal."
I answered roughly like that, and then got out of the hospital. I had a lot of mixed emotions. I'd spent tens of millions of dollars on the Rare Cancer Foundation, but my son had that rare cancer. I looked at the sky and thought, 'If there is a God, answer me. I didn't ask for anything, but I've been working hard to split the time and the money. It's not too much to give it back like this.'
However, there was no reply at all. I dropped my head. But I soon raised my head with my fist clenched. It was no use blaming God. I had to come to my senses. No matter how hard I thought about it, I was the only one who could solve this problem.
'Han Sang-hoon, let's think about what I can do now.' I thought of my abilities once more. 'If I call in reporters right away and have them write an article about my child, my son's name will appear in the future news.
'Somehow, if I edit it there…'
However, I was not sure if the probability would be supported. Se-hyun's brain tumor was malignant and it not well positioned. Even if he had the surgery, his chances of survival would be very low.
'There's a very high probability of side effects. But once I edit it to something like "There are no side effects, and he managed to survive"… If I edit it that way, it might go up to 50%. I'll have to try that for now. T
'There is still a final grade left. When I get the next P class, there may be a way.'
I thought about the acquisition of Apple.
'It's not impossible to make a deal with all the remaining available money in our company. But the problem is, no matter how much Apple has fallen and is worth in the market, its market capital still exceeds a trillion dollars. Even if the money problem is solved, it will take at least a year to avoid the U.S. anti-trust laws. In a year, Se-hyun may not be alive. The same is true of companies other than Apple. It would be less burdensome to buy a small company, but it would still take months.
'That's not going to work… So the only way to do this is to…'
'The only way is to inflate the value of the listed company now. In terms of our equity relationship, the parent company, Invictus Investment Holdings, is of course the highest. Of the total 3.6 trillion dollar value, it has 2.8 trillion dollars by itself, as it has not only cash, but also interests in non-listed companies in Korea and overseas.
I picked up my cell phone and tried to calculate things. The answer came soon.
'If I temporarily raise our stock price by fifteen percent, it will work. But it is very difficult to raise our company's stock price. It has already become the largest company in the world at 2.8 trillion dollars, and the price is very stable. No matter how great an earning surprise there is, it will only rise by three to four percent and will not move beyond that. It is natural since the market capital of our companies is more than fifty percent of the total amount of the Korean market. Even if the media were manipulated to raise its stock price, it would not move more than ten percent.'
'Then, there's only one way to go. Though there are some side effects, I have no choice but to use that method.'The next day, with slightly bloodshot eyes, I called in Secretary Park and Lee first.
"Both of you, come inside."
My two secretaries quickly came into the president's office. I took out two pages of the document I had prepared. One was for the phone numbers of high-level officials at the nation's banks, such as Duri Bank, Shinhyun Bank, and BK Bank, while the other was for the contact numbers of overseas banks such as City Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Deutsche Bank. I handed over the domestic list to Park and the overseas list to Lee.
"Both of you, call each of the phone numbers you have received. Tell them I want to see the bank presidents myself as quickly as possible. It's for a loan of billions of dollars."
The two secretaries returned to their seats and began to work, as each instructed. The results came quickly.
"Mr. Chairman, Kim Ji-hoon, president of Duri Bank, wants to visit you in person."
"Mr. Chairman, JPMorgan Chase will send the head of its Korean branch over this morning."
It was a natural response. It was not a penny or two, but a chance to make money on billions of dollars. My plan was to buy back our company's shares. It was a way to raise the market capital by repurchasing our company's shares, which I had thought up a few years ago as a way to gain an "E" class. I could raise the price fifteen percent in a short period of time. After my purchase, the stock price would go back on track, but as I did so, it could break through four trillion dollars temporarily.
The reason I called in the bank presidents was to secure as much ammunition as possible. I had about three trillion dollars, but I only had about ten billion dollars in cash because I owned it all in stocks and real estate. It was an unimaginable amount to the public, but with just that, I couldn't raise our company's stock by 15%. Therefore, I was thinking of borrowing money using the stocks and real estate for collateral.
"The president of BK Bank asks when he can visit you."
"The president of Deutsche Bank says he will send the vice president to Korea. If he gets on board now, he'll arrive tomorrow. He's asking if you can wait until then."
This was going to be easy, as the bankers were impatient to lend me money. I called Lee Won-jae, the CEO of the Daewon Daily News, and arranged a meeting with him.
"It's been a long time, CEO Lee."
"Yes, boss. No, you're the chairman now, aren't you? Mr. Chairman, why did you call me?" He also did not seem to know much about my son.
I spoke in plain language, "My second child is now hospitalized at Gangnam Hospital with a malignant brain tumor."
"What? A brain tumor? Oh, my God."
When he was muddling his words, I said right away, "Please send some reporters to cover it."
"Yes?" Lee Won-jae was quite surprised at my words.
I didn't want my family to be on other people's tongues, so I'd completely blocked them from being exposed to the media. Because of that, he just found out that Se-hyun had a brain tumor.
"Do not directly cover Se-hyun or my wife, so that they are not exposed to the media, but cover the person in charge of the hospital or the doctor. Let them announce that the son of the nation's richest man has a brain tumor."
"Yes… but why?"
I didn't want to spend any time explaining it. "Please just do it. Okay?"
As I said it grimly, he answered, "Yes. I'll do that today."
"And one more job you have to do is…"
"Yes?"
"Please spread a rumor gently and modestly for investors to notice in three days."
"What rumor?"
"Please spread a rumor that I've decided to buy back our company's stock, and that I will buy back between thirty and a hundred billion dollars' shares."
"Oh, yes, I see."
After I finished the phone call, I went on to call my wife Ah-young.
"Oppa? What?" Ah-young answered my call, clearly exhausted.
I spoke to her in a confident voice, "Ah-young, don't worry too much. I'll do everything."
A few days later, news about Se-hyun began to emerge from the various media outlets, including the Daewon Daily News.
[Chairman Han Sang-hoon's son is battling a brain tumor.]
[Bad luck for Han Sang-hoon, the luckiest man in the world.]
I searched for Han Se-hyun in People Search. Tragic news about my son came out. [CEO Han Sang-hoon's son ends up dying during a brain tumor operation.] However, I took it in and played scissors with the Edit skill.
[Han Se-hyun, the son of CEO Han Sang-hoon, eventually died after surgery for a brain tumor. CEO Han Sang-hoon, who has usually made a large donation to the Childhood Cancer Foundation…]
I quickly began editing it in the direction I wanted, [Han Se-hyun, the son of CEO Han Sang-hoon, has revived dramatically after surgery for a brain tumor. Surgeons saved Han Se-hyun's life by performing a clean operation on a dangerous tumor, amazingly without any aftereffects.]
However, the probability was six percent. I revised the article again, [Surgeons managed to save Han Se-hyun's life.]
The probability rate to succeed while leaving behind the aftereffects was twenty-three percent. This was far short of fifty percent. It couldn't be edited. No, before being edited, the possibility was too low. 'Is the surgery's success rate this low?' I was desperate.
I finally decided to try the second method.
'After achieving the final grade… if not, when the chances are high that the surgeon will be able to make the most of his life, I will make this edit. That would be the best way. Even if Se-hyun is more likely to die.'A week had passed since Se-hyun had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had stayed in the hospital room.
After my wife heard the doctor's advice to operate as soon as possible, she told me, "Let's set the date of the operation as soon as possible.'
However, I dissuaded her saying, "Let's put it off for a week."
My wife, who had never objected to my opinion, couldn't agree with it this time. "What the hell? We have to do it as fast as we can, so there's a better chance of a successful surgery."
It was natural since our son's life was at stake. But I still put off the surgery by a week if I were to pin my hopes on the last grade. In the meantime, the loans had been executed. I had President Jang's team buy back our company's shares from my personal window as soon as the money came in, an amount in the billions of dollars.
A company with a market capital of 3.8 trillion dollars had begun to move at my direction. One percent, two percent, three percent, the fact that our company's share price rose three percent meant that the total value rose nearly a hundred billion dollars, similar to when the former Suyeon Group back then.
– What's this? Why is the Invictus Investment so high?-
– Isn't there something hidden in there?-
People reacted like that, but there wasn't any really good news.
However, it had just risen by force for my goal. The next day, it also went up three percent. Now, people were starting to think about it, 'Let's buy it; they must have some good news.' The ants joined the chase. The rumors which the Daewon Daily News had spread might have been in the ears and mouth of some investors. Rumor had it that I was buying back our company's shares with a hundred billion dollars. The next day it rose three percent again.
When it rose three percent each day for three consecutive days, I ran an article through the Daewon Daily News. [It is true that CEO Han Sang-hoon is buying back the company's own shares. The amount has yet to be decided, but it will be close to a hundred billion dollars.]
When the article was printed, the next day it jumped by seven percent, even if I didn't spend my money. Finally, with more than four trillion dollars from the share price of the company I owned, I got the final grade in my hands.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
I looked at HTS with my arms crossed as the market closed. [Invictus Investment Holdings 7.2%.]
It was 3:30. The market closed, and I relaxed. There was an article on HTS. [The rumor that Chairman Han Sang-hoon bought back shares of Invictus Investment Holdings was found to be true. It had a seven percent increase for today.]
I glimpsed it and came back to see the market capital of our company. [… three trillion and four hundred thirteen billion dollars; four hundred forty billion dollars of SHH Group; three hundred twelve billion dollars… ] It was definitely over four trillion dollars.
'Surely today is a day that deserves to remain in economic history, even if it's only for a moment…'
However, this stock price would not last long; it was because I artificially raised it by releasing money. Right now, even if the rating was up, it could go down anytime.
I picked up the phone and called President Jang. "President Jang, you didn't pay for it today, did you?"
"Mr. Chairman, I've been waiting for your call, and I have not bought any shares back today."
"Yes, then, please defend the share price as much as possible tomorrow so that it won't fall further below -3% from today's closing price."
"Yes, I see, Mr. Chairman."
After finishing my instruction, I went to my mailbox. 'Anyway, since I've met the requirements, there must be a guide, right?'
As I expected. There was a final grade guide in my mailbox: [P Class Guidebook.]
'This is my last hope. If something doesn't change here, there is no hope for Se-hyun. Please…' I thought, and waited until eight a.m. the next morning.Seven o'clock, the next morning…
I went to the hospital where my wife and son Se-hyun were hospitalized early. My wife complained to me when she saw Se-hyun lying on the bed in the hospital bed.
"Oppa. So when did you get a call from the U.S.? How long do I have to wait?" Ah-young asked, because I had told her the reason for the delay was that I had contacted a top-notch medical staff in USA.
"They said that they would contact us by this morning. Let's listen to them and decide today, whether we operate here, or go to the U.S. to have it done."
Actually, there had been an answer a half-hour after the inquiry. 'The results of the surgery are almost the same in the U.S. and Korea. When it comes to pediatric surgery, Korean doctors with good hand skills may perform better.'
I was going to decide by looking at the guidebook that would come at eight o'clock today. Ah-young turned to Se-hyun at my words and stroked his head. It hurt my heart to see it. In the meanwhile, the alarm went off at eight o'clock sharp. I stopped by the bathroom for a moment and accepted the email guide. 'Publisher Class Guide.'
I read the class guide carefully.
'Really?'
After being in shock for a while, I soon came back to my senses, came out of the bathroom, and headed back to the hospital room. I called Ah-young, who still looked sorry for our son, "Darling."
"Hmm?"
"I got the call from the United States. They said that it would be better to do it here. Let's operate today."In front of us stood a middle-aged man with a little thin hair on top. He was Choi Moon-seok, a top authority on pediatric brain tumors and a professor with the most surgical experience.
I said to him, "I heard the sooner the better. Is it possible to do it today? If you can produce the best results, I'll pay all the expenses."
At my words, Professor Choi said, "I see. Mr. Chairman, I'll schedule the surgery right away this afternoon, at 5:00 p.m."
Ah-young asked, "How long will the surgery take?"
Choi replied thoughtfully, fixing his glasses, "About 12 hours… Maybe longer."
Ah-young once again looked at our bedridden son, Sehyun. Our young baby's twelve hours of major surgery seemed to have worried her. When I saw her expression, I said, holding her by the shoulder, "Don't be anxious. Everything's going to be fine."
Ah-young nodded, holding my hand, taking comfort at my words. I once again left her and my son in the hospital room. I walked across the hall, through the exit, and out into the parking lot. There was my car, the Bentley, in the parking lot. I opened its door and said, "Notebook!"
Secretary Park, seated inside, gave me the laptop that I had prepared.
I said, taking the laptop, "Please stand outside for a moment."
Nodding, Park stepped outside the car and closed the door. I turned on my laptop, caught the Wi-Fi, and went to my mailbox.
[P. 12 Hours After]
There was an email that I had received after achieving my final grade this morning. I scrolled down to the bottom. There was a new active skill, 'Publishing An Article.'
I looked at the skill for a moment and recalled the guide I had read this morning.
[Publisher Class Guide]
[Congratulations! Han Sang-hoon, who has been promoted to Publisher Class. You are finally on the final grade of the future news. Congratulations! Unlike the ratings below, Publisher has an ability beyond God. Your ability is infinite. Don't forget that there's only one huge responsibility followed by great power.]
[There is only one skill currently available in the Publisher Class. Skill points that are not currently allocated are a hundred points.]
[Publishing An Article Lv1 (Active skill – a hundred points are required)
It published a new article. The publishing is not limited by letters and probability, and as soon as it is published, it changes the universe in time for the event in the news. The news that has been published does not appear in the future news again, and the universe, changed by the publication of the article, does not appear in the future news as correction news. There is no limit on the number of times.]
'There's no limit for letters, probability, and the number of times…'
It was just a divine ability. I clicked 'Publishing An Article.' A window in the shape of an A4 paper appeared in front of me. There were two lines of sentences:
[Probability %] [Enter an article.]
But there was a probability part. 'No, it says that there is no limit, right?'
I checked the time for a moment. It was 11:04 a.m. I wrote down an article.
[There was a shower around 11:10 a.m. today in southern Seoul.]
It was a very short article.
[Probability 2.4%]
The probability was 2.4 percent. It was less likely that Se-hyun would undergo surgery and survive without aftereffects. I left it as it was and pressed the "Issue" button. Then a warning message appeared, [The probability is too low. Too low a probability could bring chaos to the world. Do you still want to issue it?]
A warning message appeared, but did not seem to stop it. I was going to issue it but changed the article a little bit. [There was a local shower for about a minute around 11:10 a.m. today in southern Seoul.]
The revised version increased the probability rate to 4.3%. I issued it here. Looking at the time, it was 11:07. I waited for three more minutes. But in three minutes, outside the car, there was really a shower. I could see Park standing close by, and then evacuating to the hospital overhang.
'This is how it works.'
I came back and pressed the 'Publishing An Article' button. This time, I wrote an article for my son. [The operation of a brain tumor on Han Se-hyun, the son of Han Sang-hoon, chairman of Invictus Investment, has been a huge success. Han Se-hyun, who was diagnosed with malignant brain cancer not long ago, had the operation for a brain tumor and fully recovered from the surgery he received at Gangnam B Hospital.]
The probability was 4%, as I had seen before, but in the meantime, I had a different idea, 'Wait, why don't we have the surgery?'
It said, "There is no aftereffect," but perhaps there would be some surgical traces left. I changed the article. [A miracle happened once again for Chairman Han Sang-hoon of Invictus Investment. The brain tumor of his son Han Se-hyun, who has been fighting it, disappeared before the surgery. Choi Moon-seok, the doctor in charge of Han Se-hyun, said, "This is a miracle and a unique case to report to the medical community.]
The probability was 0.0003% after writing it that way. It was simply impossible. But nevertheless, I pressed the "Issue" button as it was. [The probability is too low. Too low a probability could bring chaos to the world. Do you still want to issue it?]
There was a warning tone, but I ignored it and published the article. How could there be chaos in the world when our innocent son was healthy? When I wrote the second article, it stopped raining outside. Looking at the clock, it was exactly eleven ten."I hope you'll take good care of my son, then." "Please take good care of him, Professor." We said, holding Choi's hand.
Choi nodded and said, "I'll do my best on my honor."We sat in a waiting chair outside the operating room and decided to wait for our son to come out after twelve hours. However, about twenty minutes after Choi had entered the operating room, the door to the operating room opened, and Professor Choi walked out of it. I was dull, but Ah-young got up in surprise.
"Professor! What is going on?"
At her question, Choi was embarrassed and puzzled, "I… I don't know what to say…"
His stammer made Ah-young misunderstand. She was on the verge of fainting, but he avoided the situation with his words, "I began to operate, but the tumor was missing from the video. I checked a few times to see if I saw anything wrong. The tumor's really gone. The structure of his brain is the same as that of a normal child."
"So… my Sehyun is…"
At Ah-young's words, Choi said, scratching the back of his head. "He is perfectly healthy now. Maybe it's… I think this is a miracle that should be reported to the academic world."
It was just like what I had written. Ah-young, hearing the words, looked back at me and shouted,
"Did you hear that, oppa? He said it's a miracle! Sehyun is healthy!" Even though I had caused the "miracle" myself this morning, I was moved by her voice.I sat in the chairman's office and looked out the window. In downtown Seoul, I could see my territory at a glance. I looked out the window for a long time.
The telephone was ringing. I went up to the phone and answered it.
"Mr. Chairman, it's a call from President Jang."
"Okay, put me through."
Before long, I could hear Jang's voice, "Mr. Chairman, there's a bad thing going on."
He spoke urgently, but I took his words calmly, "What's going on?"
"It's Haejo Fisheries that we invested in. An ocean fishing boat was hijacked by pirates near the Indian Ocean. Although it has not yet been revealed to the media, there are rumors that there are casualties. If this turns out, I think the stock price is going to plummet."
I got some keywords and wrote them down in my head, 'Haejo Fisheries, Indian Ocean, hijack, pirates.'
"Yes, I see. Don't worry too much. It could work out unexpectedly. Well, the pirates were nice, so they just let them go."
"Pardon me?"
"No, just don't worry too much about what didn't happen."
"Oh, I see. Mr. Chairman, I'll look at the case and report it again."
"Yes."
There was another phone call coming in, frighteningly enough the moment President Jang's phone was finished. This time, it was Secretary Lee.
"Mr. Chairman, Maverick Turner, president of SHH Electronics, has requested a call."
"Okay, put me through."
Soon, I heard the unique, foreign voice of President Turner.
"Mr. Chairman, it's me."
"President Turner, what's the matter?"
He spoke with his voice down, "It's not about my company, but it's about my brother."
It was about the U.S. presidential election. Senator William Turner recently won the first place in a vote of the party's primary, and was nominated for president candidate according to my own will.
"Please keep talking."
"My brother said he wants the chairman to come to New York once more and help him before the presidential election. What do you think?"
I told him, "Oh, I see. Well… I'm so busy that I can't go to America… Tell him exactly what I'm saying, 'I'm so busy in Korea that I can't go to America. I understand the anxiety ahead of the presidential election, but don't worry too much. My prediction is 99.9% sure of your winning the election.' That's how it is."
At my words, Turner was a little bit nervous, but he answered, "Ah… Yes, I see."
However, just after putting my phone down, I got another call. This time it was the cell phone in my pocket. I lifted it and saw it was Ah-young.
"Yes, Ah-young, what?"
"Oppa, we are scheduled to go to an amusement park this weekend with Seo-hyun and Se-hyun."
Not long ago, Seo-hyun turned six and Se-hyun five. Both were very healthy.
"I know."
"But according to the weather forecast, there's a lot of fine dust today, so I think it would be better to put off."
"Well, by the way, wasn't Seo-hyun and Se-hyun both very excited? Wouldn't they be disappointed if we postponed it suddenly?"
"That's true, but there will be a bit of a dust storm, and I don't want to take the kids out."
"Well, let's wait a little longer. We still have three days left until our trip. The weather forecast is often wrong, right?"
"That's true, but…"
"Let's wait until the day before. If there is too much fine dust on the day before, let's go to the aquarium."
"I got it."
After I finished talking to my wife, I stretched out long. I had many things to do today, as a human and as a god.
I turned on the computer and opened my mailbox. The email '12 Hours After' came to me as it always did. I opened the email and scrolled down. Then, I clicked 'Publishing An Article' button at the bottom. In front of me, there was an empty sheet of A4 paper. I looked at it, took a deep breath, and then began to type.
I created the future. I created the miracles.
The End
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
Writer's Reviews:
First of all, I would like to thank you. Thanks to the readers, who read my lack of writing; I have finished my fourth book! I'll always remember that.
As I said earlier, this is my fourth book, and I still don't think writing a novel is easy. I always feel this. Personally, I started to feel weak around the 150th chapter. It has not been easy to write since then. I thought it would be better to take six books from the beginning or divide them into two parts and take a break.
This time, I wrote a series, but I couldn't handle it in the second half. I'm sorry about that. I used to post it on the day I finished my epilogue, but this work has been so hard that I had to take a day off.
It has been the most popular piece of my writing, and at the same time, it was the most regretful piece of work. After writing and posting, I always thought 'I should write something like this,' or 'I should try to develop something like this,' or 'I could write something more specifically here,' or 'I'd like to reduce that a little bit.'
I work for a company, but I've tried to write, edit, and post it on the Munpia. It has not been easy. When I was writing my previous Master Hunter K, it was really easy to write because I had no job then. I think it was difficult this time because I was always running out of time.
The future news of this article I originally thought of about a year ago. When I wrote my previous novels, I used a theme of going back to the past, a time shift, but I've never written about a future foreseeing, so I made a decision to write this genre if I could. We had a contest in April in Munpia, so I participated in it with this novel.
The motive was a horror cartoon based on future news, which I saw when I was in elementary school. My memory was dim, but in the animation, the main character had a paper newspaper every day, and it had the future news. I decided to convert it into something that would be in line with the Internet news standard.
As you can see, I took the League of Legends rating except for the last two, and Editor and Publisher. I thought they were the sources that I'd take to the end. As the abilities grew, I conceived the idea of the character's power and assets growing together, and I wrote it on the basis of that, before the last two grades.
The last two rating scenarios, the U.S.-China nuclear war, and the rare cancer of his son, were actually must-not subjects in web fiction writing, but I chose them as subjects to showcase the power of the last two parts. In the first place, the main character was so strong that I couldn't pull the story out unless it was that special. It was not bad to finish at around a hundred eighty episodes, but I still had leftover material. So I tried to use it without paying any attention to my grades, since it was material that I would like to release, and a scenario that I wanted to use. I am satisfied, but I'm a little sorry to those of you who have dropped out on the way.
By getting the last two ratings, the main character has a pure divine ability. Some of you worry about chaos or confusion at the end of the story, but it's just a part that I put in as a cautionary note that the power of this kind of manipulation is so strong that it could destabilize the world if he mismanages it. If the probability is not limited, he can pop his fingers a few times and destroy the world. The main character, Han Sang-hoon, has a pretty wife, a daughter and a son, so he will use it carefully.
From April to November… I feel relieved but sorry to have finished the series after more than half a year. I think I wrote it in my previous reviews that when I was in middle school and high school, I used to read genre novels, but I haven't read any genre novels in the ten years since then. A few years ago, when web novels appeared, I thought there was this new kind of novel, and I became a reader, and a writer, and then wrote four books.
I'm sure many of you remember the genre novels of ten years ago, but there weren't many contemporary fantasies of this kind at that time. Most of the time, I read pure fantasies, martial arts novels, and so on. So, I was going to write that kind of pure fantasy. It's been ten years since I came to the web fiction world, and I found that all the pure fantasies were dead, and there were only a fusion or a modern fantasy. Since the pure fantasy was not popular at all, I tried to write a modern fantasy to see if my writing would work or not.
That's how I have written three novels so far. Except for Master Hunter K, there has been a reversal of the order of host and guest. So, the next novel will go back to its original version, and even if I can't write a pure fantasy, it will go toward a fusion fantasy. Originally, I announced that I would release my next novel as a game fantasy. Due to the nature of the genre novel, I don't think I need to use the game format. So, I'm going to go to a fusion fantasy similar to the previous Master Hunter K.
Now, when I think about it, I think it's a personal achievement and a lucrative hobby. But now I've won a big prize after writing this novel, and I've changed my mind a little bit after getting too much love from you. It is no longer right to write with such amateurish ideas. I will reduce my stubbornness a little bit, and get closer to my readers with a little more professional writing, for the fun of my readers.
So, I'll return to you with the next novel, which reflects that aspect. It's something that readers might like more. In a month or two, after recovering my physical and mental strength, I'll be back after I'm finished with the idea of my next novel.
Thank you so much again for reading so far!
See you in the next novel!Editor's Note: And so the novel is completed! It's been interesting to read along as I edit it, and get drawn into what originally seemed to be another money-grabbing 'I've got a cheat' fantasy. I have to say I enjoyed the aspects of him administering justice with his power more then how he accumulated it.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
