Ch.590Chapter 22. The Price of Labor (22)

At that time, near Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul.

“…accordingly, all of the deceased’s assets will be transferred to you, madam.”

“Good.”

The elderly woman with heavy makeup, dressed in a suit like a man, twisted the corner of her mouth into a smirk as she listened to her subordinate’s report.

“That man, after making me suffer all my life, has finally gone like this.”

“It’s truly unfortunate.”

The employee, or rather the executive director of Haeguneul Industries, composed his voice with a face that looked like he might cry, but also as if he was trying to hold back laughter.

“To think that Chairman Choi Ho-jung would pass away like that. It seems the shamanic curses you performed daily have finally taken effect, madam.”

“……”

“I don’t know which villain killed him, but to be killed by a villain—how fitting. Hehe… How badly did the chairman mistreat you all these years? Now that most of his inheritance legally belongs to you, all that’s left is to handle the tax issues…”

“Enough.”

The elderly woman cut off the executive director’s words and pointed outside.

“You’ve worked hard. You may go now.”

“Ma-madam, first…”

“Madam?”

“…Chairman.”

The executive director quickly corrected himself and bowed.

“How should we proceed with the funeral arrangements? Considering public opinion, perhaps a private family ceremony would be—”

“It should be a state funeral. We’re talking about Choi Ho-jung, the godfather of this country’s economic development.”

The elderly woman’s voice carried an intense determination.

“Pressure the politicians to create public support for a state funeral. If they’ve been taking our money behind the scenes, they should pay their dues, shouldn’t they?”

“Public opinion might not be very favorable…”

“Then create sympathetic public opinion. Say he was brutally murdered. The culprit… hmm… yes, say it was that Seonbital.”

“What?”

The executive director was so surprised that he unconsciously raised his voice.

“B-but the culprit hasn’t even been identified yet…”

“Who else would have the ability to kill Chairman Choi Ho-jung besides Seonbital?”

“I-I hate to say this, but Seonbital is currently a national hero. Even if his heroic status was created by manipulated public opinion, if we accuse Seonbital of murder now…”

“So what? Are you defending Seonbital too? The terrorist who attacked Haeguneul’s headquarters?”

“N-no, of course not! I hate Seonbital too! Haeguneul suffered greatly because of him. But…”

“But what?”

Creeeeak.

“I, as chairman, have given an order, and you’re refusing to follow it?”

“Hii-eek…!”

“Who is the chairman of Haeguneul?”

The elderly woman slowly rose from her chair, walked to the wall, and picked up a #3 wood golf club.

“Who is it?”

“Y-you are, Chairman!”

Was she possessed?

Or had she learned by watching from the side all these years, either through observation or direct experience?

The way the elderly woman gripped the #3 wood with both hands resembled someone else so closely.

“That’s right. I’m the chairman. What are you doing? Follow the chairman’s orders. Call the strategy team immediately and tell them to make Choi Ho-jung’s funeral grand enough for even a fool to understand. Got it?”

“Yes, Chairman!!”

The executive director bowed deeply and disappeared outside.

Frowning at the executive director who vanished so quickly, the elderly woman slumped back into her chair and covered her irritated face with her hands.

“That rotten woman… how did she manage her subordinates? Damn. And what? Shamanic curses? What nonsense she’s been up to.”

Though the voice belonged to the elderly woman, her manner of speaking and actions resembled someone else entirely.

“When given an order, one must act immediately. That is the mindset of a servant. Isn’t that right, Joga?”

“……”

Behind the elderly woman.

A black shadow emerged from the darkness and nodded heavily.

“You may speak. Thanks to you, I was able to enter this body, so you are now my hands and feet. Hehehe.”

“……”

“Being hands and feet doesn’t mean you have no mouth, does it? Or are you still loyal to Choi Ho-jung’s dead body?”

“No, that’s not it.”

The young man spoke for the first time.

“My loyalty is to the chairman.”

“That’s right. You should be loyal to me. Who raised you, researched you, nurtured you, and fed you since you were a baby? Yes, indeed.”

The elderly woman, the chairman, leaned back deeper into the chair with a satisfied expression.

“How many of the Choi family members are currently being controlled by the Syndicate, giving up their livers, galls, stocks, and everything else?”

“Out of 28 affiliated companies, 23 have completely ‘given back to society.'”

“Damn. Besides Industries, what are the other four?”

“Electronics, Telecommunications, Card, and Hotel.”

“The hotel is what I currently possess.”

The chairman openly frowned.

“And I’m supposed to reclaim my company with just that?”

“Yes.”

“Damn it. Well, let’s give it a try, shall we? Fine. No matter how long it takes, I’ll get it back. Theoretically… I have unlimited time.”

The chairman fiddled with her wrinkled hands and pulled out an object from her bosom.

It was a black fountain pen, which the chairman caressed lovingly.

“Even if I die, I have the power to revive. Hehehe, with this alone… huh?”

Whiiiiing.

“…huh?”

The inside of the fountain pen began to glow with blue light.

“W-why is this—”

“Chairman!!”

The shadow rushed forward and forcefully threw the fountain pen away.

CRASH!!

As the hotel suite’s window shattered and the fountain pen flew into the air—

FWOOOOOOOSH!!!

Blue flames erupted from inside the fountain pen, shooting toward the sky.

* * *

“Found it.”

Through the dimensional gate that Ymir opened for me, I landed directly on top of Seoul’s Namsan Tower.

“Location?”

“Haeguneul Hotel right next to Gwanghwamun.”

“As expected, people always go to the places they’re most familiar with.”

Before the Great Cataclysm, Haeguneul’s headquarters was naturally in Seoul.

The headquarters that leaned toward Busan was a building that Haeguneul constructed after the Great Cataclysm, and the original headquarters was right there where the blue pillar of light was now flashing.

“I can’t believe he’s here.”

Even if he changed bodies, abandoned the Taegeuk Watch, got rid of biochips or whatever, it’s meaningless if he still has that item.

The Phoenix Feather was his “spare life” that he purchased for a whopping 2 trillion won, but it was also an item in which I had installed a separate device.

Location tracking.

A device that could detect the location of the Phoenix Feather, whether original or fake, for “just a moment” anywhere on Earth.

Whether he tried to use it or I remotely activated it, I had created an invisible magical barrier on the feather’s surface that would explode.

Therefore, where that pillar of fire is, that’s where Choi Ho-jung must be.

[I’ll go in first.]

I pressed my mask on.

With the Goblin Mk.3 mask and my formal costume, I threw myself toward the pillar of fire.

Fwoooosh.

The pillar of fire that had created a hole in the ceiling gradually subsided, and I threw myself into the hole it had made.

[Grandfather has become grandmother. Ah, I see. You’ve possessed the body of your wife who supported you all her life.]

“Kuh, kuhk…!”

A woman I’d never seen before—or more precisely, one I’d only known from data—was acting with the familiar mannerisms of a man.

[The appearance is Mrs. Kim Geum-ok, but is it really Kim Geum-ok inside, or is it Choi Ho-jung?]

“You, you…! Goblin…!”

[Yes. I am the Goblin.]

I lightly lowered my Goblin Club.

[I’ve finally caught you, Choi Ho-jung. Chairman of Haeguneul.]

“Kuh, kuhk…!”

[I thought you would possess the body of one of your younger sons, but I suppose you were worried about becoming ‘Zenros’ if you possessed your children.]

In just a few days, those who had lost all their property, stocks, and dignity were all men of the Choi family.

Did he think he might suffer the same fate if he attempted to “body swap” with them?

Or did he choose to possess someone he could most easily control?

I don’t know the theory.

To begin with, it’s common sense that a being from “the pre-Great Cataclysm generation” like Choi Ho-jung couldn’t possibly use an ability to possess someone else’s body.

However.

As always, in the age of abilities, nothing is impossible.

For instance.

If there existed someone with the ability to swap souls between people.

And if such a person worked directly under Choi Ho-jung.

Then—

“Hmph, I don’t know if you’re the real Goblin or not… but I’ve been waiting for you.”

With the face of his aging wife, Chairman Choi Ho-jung clapped his hands and said to me.

“Thank you. Use it well.”

Behind me, an unidentified hand appeared.

With the feeling of something grabbing my shoulder, a black shadow also appeared on Chairman Choi Ho-jung’s right shoulder.

“Hahaha! You fool—”

CLANG!

“…huh?”

Chairman Choi Ho-jung looks confused.

Simultaneously, the black hand on my shoulder spews mist and is pushed aside.

[How unfortunate.]

Fwoosh.

Behind Chairman Choi Ho-jung.

A young man in a suit, his entire body covered in bandages, with hands emitting black smoke as if burning, backs away in pain.

[So you’re Choi Ho-jung’s ultimate weapon.]

“H-how…?!”

[I’ve been prepared since the moment I thought you had already swapped bodies.]

From the moment the person dying in Choi Ho-jung’s body was dying in a manner unlike Choi Ho-jung.

From the moment the person who died in Choi Ho-jung’s body never used the Phoenix Feather even once.

[You had quite an interesting ability user as a member of your execution squad.]

And.

[Don’t worry. You won’t become the Goblin. I already know all about your ability. And Choi Ho-jung, I know about your shallow plan too.]

I’ve known since I was a reader of the original work.

[You wanted to steal the body of the most attractive man in the world? Not a chance.]