The Underground Floor 1 Victory Changes Everything
After returning home, I tallied up my current balance.
From the Centipede Cave, I had sold the centipedes for about 6,600 and freed the Nadsa Hunters for around 6,000 gold.
But the expenses along the way had been no small amount.
A backpack for 750, an expedition backpack for 120,000, a refrigerated delivery truck for 3,200, and holy water purchases for 1,040 had taken a total of about 170,000 out.
So my current balance stood at around 460,000.
To perform the ceremony for inscribing the holy power onto my titanium spade at the cathedral, I needed to prepare another 540,000 here.
If I kept auctioning off the items that Deputy Choi had put up for sale—his artificial leg and the expedition backpack—I might get around 200,000, but...
Still, 340,000 was missing.
In the end, the only way was to sell off the massive number of centipedes crammed inside the refrigerated delivery truck.
* * *
That afternoon, I visited several places of the Tower Food Restaurant.
Right after the tower emerged, citizens naturally felt a strong aversion to meat hunted inside the tower and other harvested materials.
But after a few years had passed, the situation had completely reversed.
Tower-sourced ingredients were not only exceptionally delicious but also low in fat and cholesterol, making them truly healthy.
Soon, a revolution broke out in the food industry.
While traditional restaurants shut down in droves, Tower Food Restaurants using tower ingredients recorded explosive growth.
However, even those Tower Food Restaurants gradually divided strictly by tier as time passed.
Those unable to secure good materials through guild contracts would boom for a while and then crash hard.
On the other hand, a few companies belonging to major guild cartels skyrocketed in a moment.
In the end, the saying that the money line in the tower era was controlled by the major guilds was confirmed even in the food industry.
Anyway.
The centipedes from the mountain cave were popular no matter which restaurant I went to.
“Heh heh, where did you get such a valuable item?”
“I was lucky enough to catch a few that were wandering around the lower floors.”
“Wow, I’ve never seen live mountain cave centipedes in months! I’ll buy all three. I’ll give you a few thousand won more than the market price, so please sell to us next time too.”
I walked around about five Tower Food Restaurants that day, selling several live centipedes and a few dead ones.
Everywhere I went, I received the most respectful treatment, and tens of millions of won flew into my account in an instant.
In a normal situation, that would have felt like walking on clouds.
But my heart was extremely anxious.
This wasn’t enough...
However, I couldn’t rush things here.
If I sold too many centipedes in a day, people might notice and start chasing me.
Don’t be greedy. Sell slowly while sticking to my principles.
One day it would be Ktem Bank... a few days later Hunter’s Alley... then a few more days at the Tower Food Restaurant... like that.
After selling all the centipedes I brought that day, I was heading home when a Rolls-Royce Ghost suddenly approached and stopped in front of me.
‘Is it because of me?’ I thought, but a man in a high-class suit got out from the back seat, bowed to me, and approached.
“Hunter-nim, I’m terribly sorry for disturbing you in the middle of your busy schedule, but... could we talk for a moment?”
“...What is the matter?”
“Ah, I am the representative of the Red Tower chain restaurant, Ji Yosin.”
He said that and handed over his business card with perfect manners.
‘Red Tower’...
Even I, who knew nothing about the food industry, had heard of this famous tower food chain several times.
I slightly lowered my head and accepted his card.
“I... am Deputy Choi.”
“...Ah, Deputy Choi-nim. Nice to meet you. I must have startled Deputy Choi by suddenly coming to find you like this. I was on my way here right after our restaurant staff reported that you bought mountain cave centipedes from the hunter.”
“What is the matter?”
I replied with the most brazen tone a deputy could use with a CEO, but he still spoke to me politely.
“Mountain cave centipedes... we want to buy them from you at a price higher than the market price.”
Huh? The guild?
Well...
They had probably already scanned me.
It was hard to imagine that someone who only reached the first floor of the tower would personally hunt centipedes.
I hesitated, and he continued flowing like clear water.
“President Han Won-tae of the Korean Group is about to turn 90. So domestic and international VIPs will be invited to his birthday party, and several companies are competing to win the bid for that party. We are one of them. However, President Han wants to serve mountain cave centipede dishes in the special course.”
“So?”
“However, as you know, mountain cave centipedes are hard to catch. Despite bringing in as much as we can from China, Japan, Taiwan, and even Mongolia, we are still short.”
Heh heh.
They had already raised the price a bit.
It seemed the companies had entered a chicken game with each other.
“So, how much per kilogram can you pay?”
“You might find it strange, but the higher the price you give, the higher I will set the price. For 100 kg, 50. For 300 kg, 60. For 500 kg, even up to 70.”
I told him it was a decision I couldn’t make on the spot and left.
* * *
On the way home, inside the bus.
I searched the name on the business card I received from that man, ‘Ji Yosin.’
— Born in 1978
— Graduated top of his class at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA)
— Three years at the Michelin 3-star San Francisco restaurant, An Buas
— Opened the first Red Tower restaurant in New York
...
— Grew Red Tower into a famous restaurant with over 170 chains worldwide as CEO
— Numerous TV appearances
Since searches turned up results both domestically and internationally, he didn’t seem like a scammer.
Just now he had made a tempting offer.
The more centipedes I turned over, the higher the price he would pay.
His explanation was that securing a large quantity at once would allow him to set the centipede dishes even for lower-tier guests, making the probability of selection much higher than other companies.
It was a convincing argument.
Current market price for 500 kg was about 200 million.
But if I sold to him, I could get 350 million.
A hard offer to refuse.
Of course there was risk.
If I turned over a large quantity, they might send a tail to find my supplier.
But...
If I looked at it from the opposite perspective, it might be a bluff.
This Ji Yosin was the CEO of a global company with over 170 chain stores. Moreover, over 40 of them were directly operated. His estimated assets alone were in the hundreds of billions.
Besides, from the article, the budget for President Han’s birthday party dinner alone was rumored to exceed 20 billion.
A CEO playing on such a big stage would he really send a tail to kill someone over a few centipedes worth millions?
Yeah, this was an opportunity.
To reach 100 million for the cathedral donation in one go.
And even gain a stable trading partner in ‘Red Tower.’
I eventually called Ji Yosin and agreed to hand over 600 kg at 75 million.
I wanted to turn over more, but I restrained myself because turning over too much of the rare mountain cave centipede at once might make him suspicious.
* * *
The next day, I drove the delivery truck to the Red Tower Korean branch.
Immediately, CEO Ji Yosin appeared and bowed deeply before extending his hand for a handshake.
“Thank you. Thank you.”
“I should be thanking you.”
The Ji Yosin I saw at headquarters felt different from the one on the street. Where he had looked like a handsome gentleman on the road, here he had the aura of a king of a small country.
Yet that king was extremely polite to me.
I unloaded the 600 kg from the delivery truck and was soon led to the magnificent CEO’s office.
Inside the office, every preparation for the transaction was complete, including a scale.
Normally refrigerated ingredients would go straight to the warehouse, but it seemed they had prepared everything specially for me.
Soon the centipedes came in and were weighed, and he approached and felt them with his own hands.
“Oh! They are really fresh and in perfect condition.”
“They are all half-cut, but is that a problem?”
“Not at all. Originally centipedes have an appearance that causes disgust, so they are only gutted for cooking. By the way, you didn’t catch them all yourself through the guild, right? These came today?”
I instinctively sensed that ‘coming in’ meant smuggled goods and handled it flexibly.
“No. The day before yesterday.”
“Ah, I see. Well then, please sit this way. While the staff finish weighing, have a drink.”
I acted calm, but inside my heart was full of anxiety.
My strength and stamina had improved quite a bit lately, but I was still a newbie. If these people hired high-level hunters to interrogate me, I would have no choice but to spill the secret of the 0th floor.
And just as I slightly showed tension, Ji Yosin spoke an unexpected remark.
“Haha. Don’t worry too much that we won’t report it. We are all in the same boat. In this day and age, running a hotel kitchen without using smuggled goods is simply impossible.”
“Haha. Yeah, that’s right.”
Ji Yosin was certain these were smuggled goods.
Well, with this much suddenly coming out from Gwanghwamun tower, it was no wonder.
Good. Good.
At that moment, the staff’s weighing was finished.
“President, it is the top quality and exactly 600 kg.”
Ji Yosin immediately took out the money.
After 100,000 won and 500,000 won notes came out, even if it was 450 million it wouldn’t take long to confirm.
“Huh? 450 million won? It seems you accidentally gave 5 million more.”
“That couldn’t be. That 5 million is Deputy Choi’s overtime pay. Hehehe.”
At that moment, Ji Yosin took out a luxurious bag filled with gifts.
“And... this is a small token for Guild Master-nim. If you give it to your wife or daughter, they will be very happy. Deputy Choi, please make sure to deliver it well, and in the future if we get similar quality shipments... we would be happy if you would supply us.”
I picked up the gifts with a big smile so it would look like a corrupt smuggler’s delivery guy if I refused them.
“Ah, yeah. I’ll do my best. Haha.”
“Please do! Please do well!”
After the transaction, my cash including bank balance and physical money swelled to 940 million won. It was thanks to adding the money from the small sales at other Tower Food Restaurants the day before.
Now only 6,000 remained.
If I just disposed of Deputy Choi’s artificial leg that was still being auctioned, I would reach 100 million.
In that case, I didn’t need to sell the backpack?
I immediately moved to the Hunter Auction and sold off Deputy Choi’s artificial leg that had been constantly being outbid from 120,000 won minimum for about 80,000.
Finally, 100 million was secured.
I immediately moved to the cathedral and commissioned the ceremony to inscribe the holy power onto my shovel and titanium spade.
Of course the 100 million I paid with my own sweat was paid in cash and transfer.
The apprentice explained in detail that holy-attribute options were highly diverse and decided randomly, then required me to swear that I would have no complaints about the future results.
I signed with a clear mind and left the cathedral.
* * *
And two days later,
I finally found my shovel that had received the holy inscription from the cathedral.
===
◈ Work speed increased by 100%
◈ Attack power: 7~10
===
At that moment, I wondered if inscribing holy power had failed because there was no holy damage recorded.
However, after reading the option below, I was shocked.
===
◈ When digging and lifting something with the shovel, holy energy will reside on the lifted object for 3 seconds. Holy energy causes pain when it touches the skin of evil humans or unholy series lifeforms.
===
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