thenovelthief Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Translator: Dreamscribe“.......”
In a heavy and solemn atmosphere.
Chairman Kang Sung-ho quickly read through the contract.
“I'm not from the legal team, but isn’t this a bit too disadvantageous for the person signing it? The withdrawal clause is just... And there are so many rules to follow. It even says you must unconditionally follow orders during special activities within the organization. Is this the mafia?”
He looked back and forth between me and hyung.
“Ahem. If you don’t like it, you can back out. We’re not forcing anyone.”
When hyung tried to take the contract back, Chairman Kang Sung-ho quickly grabbed it and signed it.
“Come on. When did I say I wouldn’t do it? I just had concerns that this might be an unfair contract disguised as an application form.”
“Didn’t our Jin-ho tell you? This isn’t a place you can enter with a half-hearted mindset.”
“Of course. I heard. I’ve also made up my mind seriously before deciding to come here.”
Then hyung nodded with a satisfied smile.
“That’s good to hear. Now that you’ve signed the application form, shall we go?”
“Yes, sounds good.”
“Oh right. You won’t be able to bring your escorts. The reason is... you know, right? Our company will send a vehicle for you from now on, so please use that when coming here. For today, we’ll go together.”
“Yes, I understand. That kind of security should definitely be strict.”
In fact, sending the vehicle was a courtesy for our guild members.
Rather than the hassle of driving here themselves, we’d bring them directly and even take them back home, the best kind of service.
But to Chairman Kang Sung-ho, it must have seemed like a security measure.
I held back a laugh and got in the vehicle with him, and we arrived at our guild’s landmark.
“.......”
Chairman Kang Sung-ho looked over the building and tilted his head.
“This building is taller than I expected. And it’s decorated kind of like a hotel. Maybe a resort. Is that a swimming pool? There’s even amusement equipment like you’d see at a water park.”
Nothing came to mind to explain it, so I just kept my mouth shut.
It was one of the facilities we built for the families of guild members visiting our landmark.
“Oh my. Chairman. Hello. You kids, greet him. Stop running.”
“Hello!!”
When we entered, several children were running around.
The ladies walking with the children greeted us warmly.
“.......”
Chairman Kang Sung-ho just stared blankly at the scene.
By now, he must have realized that we were playing a prank or something.
“This place right here.”
Inside the elevator, Chairman Kang Sung-ho lifted the corners of his lips in a faint smile.
He finally noticed!
“The disguise is very well done.”
“......?”
“Decorating the outside to look like a luxury resort, with kids playing around inside. Who would think this is a secret hideout?”
“.......”
So that’s how he interpreted it.
Or maybe he just didn’t get it.
Hyung must have been flustered too, because I could see him biting his lip, trying hard not to laugh.
“.......”
When we got out of the elevator, guild members began to appear one by one.
They already knew that Chairman Kang Sung-ho was coming, so they pretended not to be surprised. But they couldn’t hide the curious looks in their eyes.
After passing by them all with slight nods, we finally arrived.
“This is it?”
“Yes. This is the space Chairman Kang will be using frequently from now on. I’ve specially prepared it for you. I figured you’d need some guidance in various ways. Also to get some feedback.”
“Guidance? Feedback? Why would I need those...?”
“You’ll understand once you go inside. Hehe.”
At hyung’s words, Chairman Kang Sung-ho tilted his head and opened the door to go inside.
“......?”
Inside the room, there was a computer.
Also, it was equipped with various convenience devices necessary for enjoying games.
These were things hyung had specially ordered for Chairman Kang Sung-ho.
“What is this.......”
Chairman Kang Sung-ho looked completely confused, not understanding the situation.
“Please, have a seat for now.”
“Ah, yes. But what... what is all this?”
“You can think about that later. Let’s do the most important thing first.”
“Sorry? The most...?”
“Creating an ID.”
"What? An ID?"
“Yes. You need to make an ID to play the game.”
“......?”
Realizing that something was off, Chairman Kang Sung-ho tried to get up from his seat again, but by then, both hyung and I were already pressing down firmly on his shoulders so he couldn’t stand.
He might have wanted to call for help.
But hadn’t Chairman Kang Sung-ho come into this building without a single escort?
“I told you before the contract, didn’t I? The moment you step into our guild, you can’t just walk out as you please.”
“G-Guild?”
“Yes. Welcome to our ‘Trinity’ Guild, Chairman Kang Sung-ho.”
“!?”
Chairman Kang Sung-ho stared blankly at hyung in a daze.
It was the face of someone who had just been completely scammed.
***
“Mr. President, here’s the situation report on Russia and Ukraine.”
U.S. President Aiden opened the report handed over by the Chief Secretary.
Currently, what most governments including the United States were paying the closest attention to was the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Ukraine’s resistance is incredibly fierce. Thanks to Zelenkis moving around military units without fear and boosting morale, the Ukrainian soldiers are fighting with everything they’ve got.”
The decisiveness of a leader, and the influence it holds, is enormous.
Lately, Aiden had been thinking about that.
If it were me in the same situation, could I have made the kind of decision that Zelenkis did?
“What are the chances that Russia launches a nuclear strike?”
“That’s unlikely. What Russia wants is to occupy Ukraine and make it part of Russia. But if they launch a nuke here, Ukraine would be permanently lost, and Russia would suffer irreversible damage as well. Also, other regions witnessing Russia’s atrocities could declare independence too.”
In other words, launching a nuclear missile would be no different from Russia self-destructing.
“Then how long do we expect this war to last?”
“Our side is predicting a prolonged war. A major reason is that Russia’s military was broken down too easily. The failure of their attack on Kyiv was significant, and the collapse of discipline within Russia is also playing a huge role.”
Frankly, Aiden never imagined that Russia would struggle this much.
“Then what should we do?”
“If Ukraine can hold out like this, it’s not a bad outcome for us. In the beginning, if Ukraine had been quickly occupied, we wouldn’t need to send more aid, so that would’ve been acceptable. But now that it’s turning into a long-term war, it’s best if we continue providing weapons steadily.”
“To wear down Russia’s national power?”
“Yes. Russia didn’t plan for a prolonged war and raised its troops with the strategy of ending it within a week. But with things turning out this way, they can’t help but be flustered. Thanks to that, we’re now able to use Ukraine here to weaken Russia’s power.”
The United States knows well that war ultimately harms a country.
Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, and so on.
How much money had been wasted and how much national power had been drained through so many wars?
“What does Ukraine need most right now?”
“We’re already providing all the basic firearms. But what’s most urgent is the air force. The problem is, even if we want to support them in that area, the cost is too high, and even if we do provide fighter jets, there aren’t many pilots who can fully operate them.”
The power of air forces is immense.
No matter how many hundreds of thousands of troops are on the ground, a bombing by air can instantly turn them into dust.
“That’s why what’s now being discussed is drones.”
“Drones?”
“Yes. Now that the war shows signs of dragging on, both Ukraine and Russia are digging trenches and fortifying their positions. It would cost astronomical amounts to strike such places with precision, but if we use drones, it’s a different story.”
“Are they really that effective?”
“Yes. I’ve brought some video footage.”
Aiden was able to watch demonstration videos showing how drones could be utilized and what kind of destructive power they possessed.
Drones would locate enemies hiding in trenches and drop bombs, or rush at enemies hiding inside buildings and explode on impact.
“Just imagine thousands of these flying across the battlefield.”
“...Just the thought gives me chills.”
So this is modern warfare.
The advancement of technology was truly terrifying.
“Drones are easy to operate, and if we buy them instead of fighter jets, the cost savings are immense.”
“Then we should just provide those.”
“Yes. But there’s one problem.”
“Hm? What problem?”
“There’s a particular military drone model currently on the market that offers excellent performance for its price, but it’s manufactured in Turkey.”
Is it really such a big deal that it’s made in Turkey?
“It’s produced by a Turkish defense contractor called Baykar, and one of the largest shareholders of this company is Kwangwoon.”
“......!”
He felt like he would have a seizure just hearing that name now.
“How is Kwangwoon holding shares in a Turkish defense company? The government wouldn’t allow that.”
“It’s a bit complicated. When the value of the Turkish currency crashed, there was a period when they fully opened up to foreign investment. Kwangwoon entered the market at that time and was one of the first to seize a stake in Baykar.”
“This must have been before the Russia-Ukraine war broke out?”
“Yes. They went in last year and made a large-scale investment.”
After natural gas, nickel, and wheat, now they were seizing control in the defense sector too?
“Do we absolutely have to buy drones from them?”
“We can purchase other models. The issue is that those cost more than double and don’t offer dramatically better performance.”
It seemed there wasn’t much of a choice.
“John. About this Russia-Ukraine war...”
“Yes.”
“Is there a possibility Kwangwoon is directly involved?”
“After that in-depth conversation with you last time, Mr. President, we launched a full investigation into Kwangwoon again. It’s still ongoing.”
“And?”
“Before the war broke out, Kwangwoon had been preparing as if they were certain it would happen.”
He already knew that through previous reports.
They had been steadily laying the groundwork before the war, and now they were selling everything at exorbitant prices.
“They even donated 500 million dollars to Ukraine. There are ongoing suspicions that they might be funding the war from behind the scenes.”
“So? Have you found anything?”
“...Nothing.”
“Nothing? Not a single thing?”
“Yes. We followed every trace Kwangwoon left and conducted a thorough investigation, but all we found was that Kwangwoon has no connection to any of the incidents. We couldn’t find any link to this Russia-Ukraine war either.”
“!?”
Aiden let out a short sigh.
“Monstrous bastards.”
“Yes. They’re far more terrifying than we imagined. There must have been at least some trace left behind, but even that seems to have been erased in advance. So that none of the countless crimes they’ve committed could ever be found.”
“Is it possible our intelligence agencies are compromised? That the information’s been manipulated on our end?”
“That’s why we’ve been continuously cross-verifying with other agencies. But... we still haven’t found anything.”
Aiden shook his head.
Who the hell were they?
Who was standing behind Kwangwoon that even the intelligence network of the United States couldn’t uncover a thing?
Or maybe, as expected, many government institutions had already fallen under the control of that dark hand.
“They’re even getting information faster than we are...”
Even the U.S. couldn’t get a clear grasp of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Until right before it broke out, they didn’t know whether it would truly escalate or fizzle out.
But those bastards had known about it a year in advance and were certain the war would happen.
And what does that mean?
“In the end, does that mean they’re the ones controlling Russia too?”
The Russia-Ukraine war wasn’t merely about a man named Patin’s ambition.
A greater and more secretive ambition was what had triggered this situation.
***
“I know that look very well. You’re thinking, ‘I’ve been completely duped!’ aren’t you?”
Having finally escaped from Jung Jin-ho and Hwang Dae-woon’s grip and stepped out of the room to take a short break, Chairman Kang Sung-ho was staring blankly into space.
Next to him, CEO Kim Doo-young sat down.
“I also didn’t know this was a game guild when I first came in. I was completely fooled by Chairman Hwang and CEO Jung. Haha.”
Kang Sung-ho let out a sigh.
This wasn’t some kind of secretive gathering like he had imagined.
It was just a regular game guild.
“But is it really just a regular game guild?”
"What?"
“The name of this guild is ‘Trinity.’ I haven’t heard exactly why they chose that name, but it means the Holy Trinity, three in one. It’s a name that fits this guild perfectly.”
Kang Sung-ho’s interest was piqued by Kim Doo-young’s words.
“We have wealthy chaebols like you, Chairman Kang, people tied to politics, and even those in media and journalism. Money, power, information. These three are united as one.”
“The members here?”
“Yes. Some have a lot of money, some are closely connected to the government, and some run media companies or are constantly exposed to the media. Trinity. Just like the name, the three core forces are gathered into one. And it was CEO Jung Jin-ho himself who personally selected these members.”
“Then that means...”
“It means us being gathered here like this is no coincidence.”
That had been a lingering question anyway.
Was this really just an ordinary game guild?
What kind of game guild builds a place that looks like a cover facility?
“Actually, after playing the game, guild members often gather and talk. And every time, information you’d never get from the outside gets exchanged. In other words, it’s a social gathering disguised as a game.”
If each person was a major figure in their field, then of course the quality of the information shared would be high.
“This guild is filled with people who live up to the name Trinity. CEO Jung Jin-ho personally selected them and even built this entire building so they could gather regularly. Do you really think that’s just coincidence?”
Only then did Kang Sung-ho start to realize.
“So it really wasn’t just a simple game guild...”
“Exactly. Once I realized that, I started to see this place differently too. Before I knew the truth, I thought it was just a place where game enthusiasts gathered, but once I understood the meaning, everything looked different.”
In short, this wasn’t merely a game guild, but a Korean version of the Bilderberg Group, a secret power hub capable of influencing the entire country from behind the scenes.
“Oh, and there’s one unusual thing about this place. While they do teach newcomers quite well at first, after some time, if you can’t hold your own in the game, they really won’t treat you like a proper human being. You don’t even get a say.”
“......!”
“So make sure to practice hard. It hasn’t been long since I started being treated like a real person around here either.”
With that piece of advice, Kim Doo-young stood up and left first.
“.......”
A secret social gathering disguised as a game.
But whether it was part of the concept or really their true attitude, if you couldn’t play the game well, they wouldn’t even treat you as a person?
“But it didn’t seem that hard, actually.”
Though he had barely played games before, after fiddling with it a little while being nagged by Jung Jin-ho and Hwang Dae-woon, it didn’t feel all that difficult.
“I’ve come this far, I can’t live here without even a voice.”
At first, he had considered quietly sneaking back home, but now his thoughts had changed.
He was going to become the best gamer in this guild.