Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Onda Guild's Reckoning
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Gates, Players.
After that cataclysm, wealth was redistributed, and a massive wave of new tycoons was born.
It was thanks to the players who, in exchange for risking their lives, amassed assets beyond the dreams of ordinary folk.
Moreover, players had to face death every time, so they didn't hold back on spending.
Gulp.
Their extravagance was on a whole different level compared to the old YOLO crowd or the FIRE folks.
Supercars lined the streets, and hypercars popped up everywhere.
Each one costing hundreds of millions to billions.
Some even over ten billion.
"......"
Sure, that insane experience had become surprisingly commonplace.
"...This car..."
But to Park Dong-wook, it was a different story.
The CEO of the company he used to work for had driven a sedan worth hundreds of millions.
-Take off your shoes before getting in?
The guy had made such a fuss about it.
Even if he politely declined several times, he'd insist on giving a ride and then demand shoes off.
-Be careful opening the door! Even a scratch, and your salary wouldn't cover it.
He nitpicked even grabbing the door handle.
What a scene it had been.
But even then.
-Who knows, maybe one day you'll be riding in a car like this.
That one line had kept him soaked in sweet dreams for days, pondering his future.
Later, when he became a player and joined a guild.
-Huh.
The guild master's car was a hypercar, limited to 100 units worldwide, worth tens of billions.
Even top players couldn't easily buy one, and there it was, parked boldly in front of the guild building. He'd been floored.
Back then, he couldn't even think straight.
It had just felt like a dream.
-Daddy.
Because his son, Sung-hoo, was sick.
And now.
"......"
Park Dong-wook sat ramrod straight, tense like a new recruit.
Vroom.
Was that the engine, or tinnitus from nerves?
"...Th-this... car..."
Gathering courage again, Park Dong-wook spoke up.
"Is that... what I think it is?"
He asked cautiously, turning to Go Yohan in the passenger seat.
"......?"
Go Yohan tilted his head, as if he didn't understand.
"I mean... the one from Bronti... only three made... no one even knows where they were sold..."
Bronti, one of the top car companies that only produced hypercars, even at the lowest tier.
They'd announced it as a concept car but failed mass production—a sedan, only three in existence.
Priced at hundreds of billions.
No.
'I heard one went for over a trillion at auction...?'
He remembered a YouTube Short hyping it up, sold for over a trillion at Goldian Auction.
"Is that so?"
Go Yohan's casual reply overwhelmed Park Dong-wook once more.
'This guy...'
Only three in the world, something even billionaires couldn't snag easily, and he just says "Is that so?"
"It was a gift. If I'd known it was that valuable, I would've turned it down."
"A gift?"
"Yeah."
"From who...?"
Maybe because Sung-hoo was safe now.
Park Dong-wook's tension eased, and he realized he was asking Go Yohan something he normally wouldn't. Too late.
"There's this guy named Samuel. Kinda unique fellow."
"Samuel?"
First time hearing...
'Huh?'
Something clicked in Park Dong-wook's mind.
An event that rocked not just America, but the whole world.
Especially for sinking South Korea, it was the big pull that dragged it back.
-Goldian's Richard...
When Goldian suddenly announced relocation to South Korea.
-The pearl of Goldian, Samuel...
He was sure.
"Goldian's Pearl! Samuel!"
Park Dong-wook shouted.
What was Goldian?
A golden fortress that swayed the world economy.
"Golden Lion...!"
Its pearl was a giant who could sink or save the global economy single-handedly.
Just his support and relocation pledge had buoyed sinking South Korea.
Moreover.
'Goldian Auction.'
If he owned that auction house.
Gulp.
Had saving his son made him drop his guard?
Now, Park Dong-wook saw Go Yohan beside him as an even greater giant than Samuel.
Like stepping into the maw of a nation-devouring monster.
Drip.
To feel this just from getting in the car.
"No need to be that tense."
Go Yohan said.
"I won't eat you."
Something in those words eased the tension a bit.
Screech.
The car stopped.
Drip.
Sweat started flowing again.
*
*
*
He hadn't heard the destination.
Didn't know what they were there for.
Just.
-Get in.
Like following a current, he opened his eyes and they were there.
He'd vowed to devote everything to Go Yohan since he saved his son.
'Damn sweat glands! Cut it out!'
But the tension was unavoidable.
His back and upper body soaked.
Sweat dripping down.
"I-I didn't pee myself."
When it wet his pants, Park Dong-wook blurted that out.
'What the hell am I saying!'
He scolded himself.
"You're here."
The others ignored Park Dong-wook entirely, greeting only Go Yohan.
Gulp.
Park Dong-wook swallowed dryly again.
Waiting there were people in black suits.
Their eyes and auras were exceptional—standing among them made him shrink.
'Who are they?'
Too ambiguous for player uniforms.
He'd heard some guilds stuck to that style, but they vanished years ago.
'Heard organized crime guilds dressed like that.'
No way.
As those thoughts swirled.
"We've fully documented all illegal activities of Onda Guild."
And.
"......!"
Only then did Park Dong-wook take in the surroundings.
It felt familiar for a reason.
-Onda Guild.
This was the mid-tier guild house of Onda, where he'd briefly been a player.
He'd visited often as a player, but after losing power, never dared come near.
Clench.
They'd squeezed his blood dry under "contract."
-What's your sick son got to do with breaching contract?
-We follow the law. Strictly.
-My kid's sick too. Lost the system like you.
They'd mocked and choked him.
But.
'Why?'
Why come here?
And who was this guy claiming to have all of Onda's dirt?
Did Onda always have issues?
"You knew?"
Go Yohan asked, as if reading Park Dong-wook's mind.
"My apologies. It's such a small outfit, with such crude antics, we paid it no mind."
Meaning.
'First time hearing this?'
No.
'A mid-tier guild.'
Onda was "small"?
"Still, what we checked on the way here suffices. Even before Player Park Dong-wook, they ran rampant with shady contracts like this."
A stern-faced man said.
"They dabbled in anything profitable."
Really?
"Not the worst, but definitely a messy bunch."
"No ties elsewhere?"
And.
"China."
The shocking answer came.
"We confirmed Onda's guild master, On Wi-seong, is connected to China."
China?
"Looks like they got major funding from China in exchange for certain jobs..."
The stern-faced man glanced at Park Dong-wook.
'Gasp.'
Park Dong-wook involuntarily swallowed, shrinking back.
'What eyes.'
Like staring at a honed blade.
Even now, it felt like they were carving him up.
"Player Park Dong-wook. First, my apologies."
"...Pardon?"
"We've determined Onda was involved in your son's condition. Part of human experiments... exposure to demonic energy..."
"W-Wait, what...?"
He couldn't comprehend.
"Hoo."
Kang In exhaled and continued.
"From the start, Onda's guild master was behind it."
"......"
"Player Park Dong-wook and your son Park Sung-hoo both have abundant mana aptitude, and they exploited that..."
Eeeee.
Tinnitus rang.
'Congratulations on awakening as a player. I'm Onda's guild master...'
Past memories flooded.
Events he'd chalked up to chance and luck.
-Such contract terms...!
Traps he couldn't refuse.
-Gotta save your son, right?
All those memories flashed by.
Clench.
Park Dong-wook clenched his fist.
"Our oversight. The China ties were under Black Watch handling. Didn't expect such sleazy tactics."
The apology shocked him again.
'Black Watch.'
Unknown to civilians, but infamous among players.
'Reaper Black Watch.'
Where Black Watch went, nothing lived.
Not the Association, but they disciplined illegal guilds.
Once marked by Black Watch, it was death.
"As Black Watch leader, this is my failure. Regardless of the Captain's involvement, Black Watch will do everything to right Player Park Dong-wook's wrongs..."
Eeeee.
Tinnitus again.
But for a different reason.
Clench.
He clenched his fist.
For a different reason.
Right now, Park Dong-wook looked at Go Yohan.
If all this was true.
"We're wiping out Onda from now on."
Go Yohan was truly his savior.