Chapter 133
Chapter 133
133. Selling Medicine to a Medicine Peddler?
Shinwoo watched as the elevator he had been waiting for opened. Inside, Wen Wei, who had come down from the 32nd floor, stood with a murderous expression.
"So, you came down too."
"I had to see that bitch's face at least once."
The reason Wei's mood was so unusual was because of Dorothy McDaniel. More precisely, it was because all of Wei's organization brothers, whom he had wanted to save, had died while Dorothy was cleaning up the Seven Circle Society until recently.
During his recent business trip to Hong Kong, Wei had been operating separately in China when he found out about it and was furious.
"...I'm sorry. If I had known, I would have taken action sooner."
"Why are you sorry? It's all because Kwak Chi-young tried to kill your mother as one of the Three Fiends and, when that failed, made Dorothy go after them instead."
It all started when Shinwoo embezzled Ray Sung Group's slush funds.
"What are you going to do by seeing her face?"
"We're going to take her down someday, aren't we? I need to see what she looks like before that."
In the meantime, the elevator arrived on the first floor and they got off.
In the lobby, Dorothy McDaniel, Braden Cross, and a large number of bodyguards were standing.
Shinwoo approached her and said in English.
"I didn't expect to see you again in Korea, Branch Manager Dorothy."
"I'm here on an important business trip, but I can't avoid meeting CEO Baek. We have some unfinished business from last time."
"Let's go up first."
After shaking hands, Shinwoo turned around and nudged Wei's side, muttering in Code.
"kuua nishati. (Kill the bloodlust.)"
It was because an unusual atmosphere was faintly emanating from Wei's body as he looked at Dorothy.
Wei nodded and patted Shinwoo's shoulder.
Meanwhile, Dorothy asked Shinwoo with curiosity.
"Is the person next to you a bodyguard?"
It seemed she was asking because it was unusual to bring a bodyguard even inside the company.
"He is the head of KITE, a subsidiary of MH Future Security."
"...I'm Wen Wei."
Dorothy's face showed a slight surprise at hearing Wei's name.
"You're Chinese? But you speak English very well."
"I just learned it to survive."
For a mercenary to live with the world as their main stage, language was essential. Shinwoo and his other colleagues had no choice but to learn languages and many other things to survive on that stage.
In response, Dorothy lowered her sunglasses slightly and replied with a smile.
Shinwoo guided Dorothy into the company. A little later, they arrived at the conference room where the argument had taken place earlier.
"Seeing that you came all the way here, I guess the information I gave you last time was useful."
"Thanks to you, Zhaodong is doing well. It was true that the Chinese government had a tight grip on it and wouldn't let go, as you said."
A smile bloomed on Dorothy's face as she sat across from him.
"I'm glad to hear that."
"We've also finished checking Baian, Landtech, and Hatulin, and we're moving in on all fronts. I think we can make a significant profit if there are no problems. Long-term investment would be good too."
"I hope you see good results."
A deal for information that would bring huge profits to the TSF China branch had been concluded. Depending on the size of the investment, the profit could be anywhere from hundreds of billions to trillions of won.
Shinwoo, who had provided the information, should have been satisfied, but instead, he showed a nonchalant reaction.
Dorothy was puzzled and said to Shinwoo.
"I should give you a reward for the deal this time, right?"
"If you knew the effect of my information, I thought you would have prepared it in advance."
A satisfied smile hung on Dorothy's lips.
"Of course. We're currently in negotiations with LAOJIA. They're also in the process of producing new products there, so they won't be able to give up easily... It's complicated in many ways."
"What is the production progress rate?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but since we have a deal, I can't help it. I know that the cell phones are at 43% based on the first target production volume of 3 million units. The laptops have reached the first target volume of 4 million units."
Shinwoo's face hardened slightly at the explanation.
"Just considering the materials and production costs, it would be at least 8 trillion won."
"It's an amount that they can't easily give up there either."
The scales were tilting towards MH Group, which had secured Go Seok-ju and An Dong-won.
Nevertheless, LAOJIA was clinging on tenaciously because of the enormous amount of money they had already invested.
"If necessary, they'll give up exporting overseas and just focus on domestic sales."
It was China, not somewhere else. LAOJIA's corporate size was also considerable, so there was a high possibility that they would ignore the restrictions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty and proceed.
Of course, LAOJIA would change the technical aspects a little before the release, thinking about the aftermath. It wouldn't look much different on the surface, but...
"That's right. No matter what we do at TSF, the final decision has to be made by LAOJIA."
Clatter— Clatter—
Shinwoo pondered and rolled the 8-Sided Dice with his hand.
"8 trillion won is about 43.5 billion yuan. Of course, it's a cost that they can't easily give up. But it's a little different from the information I know."
The air between the two suddenly turned cold.
"...What do you mean?"
"LAOJIA's digital production plant is in Changping, Beijing, right?"
Dorothy began to feel uneasy.
"That's right..."
"As far as I know, the proportion of new models among the models that LAOJIA's Changping plant has been producing until recently is less than 5%. Other than that, they've been spurring production to clear out old model materials."
Shinwoo continued, watching Dorothy's expression, which was beginning to darken.
"If you look at the production start date they announced, the period is 6 months. Even if you roughly calculate it, would it be 10% of the production volume you just mentioned?"
This was because the production fund of 8 trillion won was only possible when LAOJIA's Changping plant was fully operational.
In response, Dorothy took off her sunglasses and bit her lip.
"I also found out about the information through LAOJIA... I think something is wrong."
"It's seriously wrong. I think you should re-examine your information line."
"...I see. In this situation, there wouldn't be enough to provide as compensation from our side."
The value had dropped from the initial 8 trillion won to at least 800 billion won.
"MH Electronics can be resolved by our side even if it takes some time. But MH Foods is different, so wouldn't it be a deal about that?"
Dorothy pondered for a moment.
"I have something prepared, but I'm hesitant to bring it up because of the problem we had earlier. Would it be okay if I checked it out a little more and then told you?"
"I hope it doesn't take too long."
It seemed that the important story was coming to an end, but Dorothy met Shinwoo's eyes again.
"Oh, have you ever seen this person?"
With the question, Braden approached Shinwoo and showed him a tablet. A picture of Cui Xun was displayed on the screen.
"...Isn't this the former China branch manager?"
"That's right."
"Isn't she affiliated with TSF? Why are you asking me about her?"
The 666 Unit members handled Cui Xun's body and the crime scene.
As a result, her official whereabouts were not announced separately, and only rumors of her disappearance spread.
"We're looking for her because of some internal matters, and she came to Korea a few days ago. So I was wondering if you saw her while meeting with Branch Manager Kwak Chi-young."
Shinwoo carefully examined the picture of Cui Xun.
"I haven't met Branch Manager Kwak Chi-young recently, so I don't know. But what's the matter? It seems like it's quite important if the chairman is looking for her himself."
"I'm sorry. It's difficult to tell you because it's an internal matter."
It was understandable.
Of course, Shinwoo knew very well what the situation was. From Dorothy's point of view, she judged that Cui Xun was alive, so she had no choice but to be desperate to track down the whereabouts of the 1.8 trillion won of Ray Sung Group's slush funds that she had embezzled.
"I understand."
"Thank you. Then I'll have to go and find a solution again."
"Okay."
Shinwoo escorted Dorothy and went outside to the lobby.
Wei, who was watching the scene together, approached Shinwoo.
"Dorothy took the bait that the boss spread properly, right?"
"Looking at the current situation, she bit so hard that she can't get out. But she's not an easy woman. She was trying to stab me in the back in the meantime."
She tried to resolve the situation by raising the amount that LAOJIA was losing, making Shinwoo owe a lot of money.
"That's why the Seven Circle Society was helpless."
"The problem will be what happens next. I didn't even get to hear what she wanted after stabbing me in the back with the LAOJIA deal."
"Do you have any expectations?"
If it was Dorothy's character, she would have planted a spy in Kwak Chi-young as well. If so, she would have no choice but to know Shinwoo's information that TSF Investment Korea was handling.
"The most likely thing she'll be aiming for... is the MH Tech project."
"The defense technology that Man-soo is working on?"
Kwak Chi-young was also aiming for it, but he deliberately let it go by choosing Myung In-chul. He must have thought that if TSF Investment swallowed MH Group, he could naturally eat it as well.
At the same time, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone else behind Shinwoo.
"That's right. If that information got to Dorothy, she'd be aiming for it."
"Then Man-soo is in danger too, isn't he?"
"If she knows that fact, she might approach Man-soo. But she wants to have me as a set, so she's coming out like this."
If Dorothy's goal from the beginning was Jang Man-soo, she wouldn't have bothered to come all the way from Hong Kong.
"She's a greedy woman."
"Of course, this is just speculation. I didn't expect her to try to scam me with LAOJIA from the start."
Honestly, Shinwoo didn't show it at the time, but he was so surprised inside that he was beyond dumbfounded.
"From now on, Dorothy will be digging around everywhere to find Cui Xun."
"It'll start around Kwak Chi-young."
"What should we do?"
"I already told Lillian what we need right now. That's enough to put some medicine in."
Even now, Dorothy was able to be drawn to Korea through Lillian's disguise. She was blinded by 1.8 trillion won, so she had no choice but to be turned upside down by the mere appearance of Cui Xun.
If they threw a few more clues there, Dorothy might turn hostile to Kwak Chi-young on her own, even if Shinwoo didn't step in right away.
"Only Lillian will be busy. She has a lot to do now."
As Wei said, Lillian had a lot to handle as the head of the MH Future Security Investment Division.
Of course, it was also because her abilities were enough to handle it that she had been entrusted with it until now.
"I've taken over what's difficult to handle right now because I'm going to be on a lot of business trips for a while."
"The boss is having a hard time too."
At that moment, Jang Man-soo's shout rang out through the earphones that the two were wearing.
[I'm terribly busy too!]
Shinwoo and Wei had been wearing earphones since they met Dorothy, so they had heard the entire conversation.
"I know. Man-soo, you're having a hard time too."
[Tch—! More importantly, something happened.]
Shinwoo tilted his head as Jang Man-soo's voice suddenly became serious.
"What's wrong?"
[Kwak Chi-young's movements were caught by the facial recognition system I put up at the airport. I found out that he left the country with a forged passport.]
"...Leaving the country in this situation? Really? Where is he?"
[Um... he's going to Asmara, Eritrea, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. But it doesn't look like Oh Han-sung is accompanying him. I can only see Ahn Deok-chil and other bodyguards next to him.]
There was nothing related to Asmara, Eritrea, in Kwak Chi-young's actions so far.
Shinwoo sank into deeper thought.