Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: A Proposal for Yeon-ah's Safety
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'At this point in time, he's probably living well.'
Shin Yu-hyun gave a wry smile.
The blacksmith who had lasted until the very end in his previous life, Lee Kang-cheol.
He had been in his late sixties back then, doting on his granddaughter like a typical loving grandfather.
He'd even shown Shin Yu-hyun photos of her.
But when Shin Yu-hyun first met him, Lee Kang-cheol had been burning with a thirst for revenge.
His son, daughter-in-law, and precious granddaughter had been brutally murdered by Getia's followers.
Because of that, Lee Kang-cheol dreamed of vengeance but was killed before he could reach Getia.
'That kind of thing only needs to happen once.'
Shin Yu-hyun reaffirmed his resolve once more.
He vowed never to let history repeat itself.
'For now, I'll have to leave the poison stinger and Verka metal alone.'
The Xenomorph King's poison stinger and Verka metal were materials too tough to process without a blacksmith of Lee Kang-cheol's caliber.
And at this moment, Lee Kang-cheol wasn't yet famous despite his skills.
He had his own stubborn ways and eccentric quirks.
He only did what he wanted and charged exorbitant fees.
Of course, the results were always top-notch.
That was why only those in the know sought him out as a master craftsman.
'I should gather the other materials in advance too.'
Processing the Xenomorph King's poison stinger and Verka metal required specific supplementary ingredients.
Once he had them all, he'd go visit Lee Kang-cheol.
'Next up...'
Shin Yu-hyun turned his gaze to the last trophy: the Xenomorph Mother's essence.
'This is a jackpot too.'
Shin Yu-hyun couldn't help but smile.
The Xenomorph Mother was the queen and ruler of countless swarms of magic beasts.
And perhaps because of that...
Its essence boosted dominance.
It was essential for Shin Yu-hyun, making it an incredibly valuable spoil.
'No choice but to consume this one.'
Shin Yu-hyun popped the essence, about the size of two finger joints, into his mouth.
A taste like 99% cacao chocolate flooded his mouth.
Still, if it was this tolerable, he could manage.
"Kuh!"
Suddenly, a headache like his skull was splitting assaulted him.
When his strength, agility, and stamina had surged before, his whole body had ached.
This time, it was his head that throbbed.
As pain churned through his mind, Shin Yu-hyun closed his eyes, dropped to one knee, and endured.
All pain eventually passed.
After some time, the headache began to fade bit by bit.
"Hoo."
Shin Yu-hyun exhaled deeply and steadied himself.
With the excruciating headache vanishing like a lie, he finally had some breathing room.
A small smile crept onto his lips as he checked the message floating before him.
'Have I finished checking all the spoils now?'
He still had the 5-star and 6-star magic cores from the bosses.
He planned to invest the 5-star cores into expanding Black Tortoise Hall, and ask Nam Yeon-ah to upgrade his DF Coat with the 6-star one.
The DF Coat currently had a 4-star core embedded.
"Alright then..."
All that was left was to meet Nam Yeon-ah's grandfather and Namdu Group's chairman, Nam Hyun-cheol.
And the meeting with Chairman Nam Hyun-cheol was quickly arranged.
The next day in the afternoon.
Shin Yu-hyun arrived at Namdu Group's headquarters right on time for the appointment.
"Then, Hall Leader, I'll wait outside."
"Got it."
Isia bowed her head and stepped back in front of the chairman's office.
She had accompanied him as his secretary all the way to Namdu Group's HQ.
Nam Yeon-ah had been left at Black Tortoise Hall for safety, guarded by Shuv and Dia.
And thanks to Nam Yeon-ah's prior contact, Shin Yu-hyun was ushered straight in to meet Chairman Nam Hyun-cheol.
"Please come in."
"Yes."
At the guide's words, Shin Yu-hyun nodded and opened the door to the chairman's office.
Only Chairman Nam Hyun-cheol was inside.
"Hello?"
"You've arrived. I've been waiting."
Nam Hyun-cheol greeted Shin Yu-hyun warmly.
He approached and offered a handshake.
"Have a seat."
"Yes."
After a brief handshake with Nam Hyun-cheol, Shin Yu-hyun nodded and sat on the reception sofa in the center of the office.
"I could thank you a hundred times and it still wouldn't be enough. But truly, thank you for saving my granddaughter."
"Not at all. I got lucky this time. Yeon-ah contacted me asking for help."
"Still, you were the first to rush in and save her. Without you, she might have fallen to those magic beasts."
It was just as Chairman Nam said.
If Shin Yu-hyun had arrived even a little later, or if it hadn't been him, the damage would have been far worse.
The Xenomorph swarm had been raid-dungeon levels in number.
"By the way, didn't Yeon-ah come with you?"
"No. She's under protection at Black Tortoise Hall."
"What? Under protection?"
Nam Hyun-cheol asked with a puzzled expression.
"Yes. Haven't you heard? A Getia Worshipper was involved in the research lab incident."
Shin Yu-hyun spoke calmly.
As Namdu Group's chairman, Nam Hyun-cheol had access to fast information.
A report on what happened at Nam Yeon-ah's artifact lab had surely reached him already.
"Researcher Kim Seung-cheol, right? I know he tampered with Yeon-ah's experiment, causing this mess. And that he worshipped Getia. But what does that have to do with Yeon-ah? Wasn't he just trying to steal the lab's confidential data?"
Nam Hyun-cheol seemed to view the Getia Worshippers as mere industrial spies.
"No. You know about the magic beast attack on our clan not long ago, right?"
"Yes."
Nam Hyun-cheol nodded.
The magic beast assault on Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan had been major news.
It was such a massive incident.
Thanks to information control, details like the Iron Forge Unit or the beasts being manipulated hadn't leaked.
"We discovered Getia Worshippers were behind that attack."
"What? Getia Worshippers?"
Nam Hyun-cheol looked shocked.
He hadn't imagined Getia Worshippers pulling the strings on the beasts that hit Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
The clan had kept Getia info as secret as possible.
"Yes. They were controlling the magic beasts using crystal devices. I commissioned Yeon-ah to investigate those."
"Is that even possible?"
Nam Hyun-cheol's face filled with astonishment at the continued revelations.
Controlling magic beasts with crystals?
"It happened, so yes. It seems Getia figured out how to manipulate beasts with those crystal devices."
"Controlling magic beasts with crystals... What even are these crystal devices? And what is Getia?"
"I don't know the details yet. I've only just pieced together that a secret group worshipping Getia lurks behind some villain organizations."
Shin Yu-hyun framed it as facts learned from the Iron Forge Unit's beast-led assault on his clan.
He excluded prior-life knowledge, sticking only to this life's revelations.
Thus, he claimed ignorance on Getia specifics.
"But is it okay to share this info with me?"
Nam Hyun-cheol gazed steadily at Shin Yu-hyun.
What Shin Yu-hyun had revealed were clan secrets.
But it was fine to tell Chairman Nam Hyun-cheol.
'In his previous life, he fiercely opposed Getia.'
Thanks to him, countless superhumans got aid. He'd distributed artifact gear for free to fight Getia.
Shin Yu-hyun himself had benefited greatly.
That's why he trusted Chairman Nam Hyun-cheol.
And there was more.
There was reason for Nam Hyun-cheol to help Shin Yu-hyun.
"It seems the Getia Worshippers... are targeting Yeon-ah."
"What?"
Nam Hyun-cheol's voice rose at Shin Yu-hyun's words.
"There's one thing from the unidentified dungeon gate that Yeon-ah and I haven't talked about. One of the investigation team members was a Getia Worshipper trying to assassinate her."
"They dared try to kill my granddaughter?"
Nam Hyun-cheol slammed the table, roaring. His face twisted in fury.
"Why the hell are those bastards after my granddaughter?"
"I don't know yet."
Shin Yu-hyun shook his head.
He couldn't reveal Nam Min-hyuk was targeting Nam Yeon-ah yet.
No solid material evidence.
Accusing Nam Min-hyuk now would backfire.
To Chairman Nam Hyun-cheol, Nam Min-hyuk was the precious heir to lead Namdu Group.
"So for now, we'll protect Yeon-ah on our end."
"Does that mean you're taking responsibility for our granddaughter?"
Nam Hyun-cheol said with a beaming smile.
Shin Yu-hyun replied with a firm expression.
"Yes. I'll ensure Yeon-ah's safety."
Sensing an odd nuance in Nam Hyun-cheol's words, Shin Yu-hyun emphasized "safety."
"If you say so, I trust you. But I don't want to burden you."
Nam Hyun-cheol wiped the smile from his face.
Nam Yeon-ah was his family.
Knowing she was in danger, it was natural he'd want to protect her himself.
However,
"If you step in to protect Yeon-ah, she'd be safe, sure. The problem is we don't know how deeply the Getia Worshippers have infiltrated."
Namdu Group was a massive corporation.
No telling how many spies or Getia Worshippers had wormed their way in.
"Hm."
Nam Hyun-cheol pondered Shin Yu-hyun's point. It was valid.
Hadn't one already infiltrated the artifact lab?
There could be more.
"You have a point. But we can't leave Yeon-ah in your hands forever, can we? Unless... you're really willing to take full responsibility?"
Nam Hyun-cheol eyed Shin Yu-hyun meaningfully.
As Namdu Group's chairman, he had his own eyes and ears.
He'd already grasped how Shin Yu-hyun was rising rapidly in Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
And Nam Hyun-cheol prided himself on judging character.
'That's no twenty-year-old's gaze.'
To him, Shin Yu-hyun seemed deeper-thinking and more visionary than his peers.
His eyes held the weight of a lifetime of hardships.
Plus, hadn't he saved Nam Yeon-ah twice already?
As a direct descendant of Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan, Shin Yu-hyun made an ideal son-in-law for Namdu Group.
But Shin Yu-hyun brushed it off with a laugh.
"As you say, Chairman. Protecting Yeon-ah has its limits. But doesn't she have the talent to defend herself?"
"Talent? In Yeon-ah?"
"Yes."
Shin Yu-hyun nodded at the question and got to the main point of his visit.
"I want to build an artifact research lab for Yeon-ah in Black Tortoise Hall."
Nam Yeon-ah's talent.
It was in researching and developing artifacts.