Chapter 213
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: Clarification
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“The report ends here. And I’ve handled the task you assigned.”
“Good work. Just to be safe, stay close to them until this blows over.”
“Understood, Master.”
Ryu Min ended the call with Yamtti, lost in thought.
This brief yet twisted grudge could finally come to an end.
‘I never intended to kill Ma Kyung-rok in the first place.’
He had planned to carry him all the way to Round 20 if possible.
Someone of Ma Kyung-rok’s caliber was more than valuable as a combat asset.
‘But what I need isn’t a dealer harboring an inferiority complex toward me. It’s a reliable supporter.’
Between Ma Kyung-rok and Christine, he’d choose Christine without hesitation.
Of course, he could still turn Ma Kyung-rok into an ally, inferiority complex or not.
Dominating him through Yamtti would solve that easily.
‘But the guy tried to kill his own brother.’
Family turning on each other like that—it was par for the course, nothing worth meddling in.
He’d simply seen an opportunity to use the situation to pull Christine firmly to his side.
‘Sacrificing Ma Kyung-rok as an asset is worth it if it means securing her.’
That was the judgment call, and the plan had been simple.
Summon Christine and Seo Ah-rin to witness Ma Kyung-rok’s crime firsthand, planting seeds of disgust.
Naturally, the two would distance themselves from him.
‘Everything went according to plan up to that point. The problem was Christine stepping in—I didn’t see that coming.’
Ryu Min had only hoped they’d learn Ma Kyung-rok’s true nature and leave it at that.
But according to the recent report, Christine had intervened to save Ma Kyung-su.
An unexpected wrinkle.
‘That put Christine and Seo Ah-rin in mortal danger.’
It was predictable that the perpetrator would try to eliminate witnesses and destroy evidence.
That’s why Ryu Min had assigned Jeffrey and Joo Seong-tak, and even Yamtti as backup, to prevent any accidents.
‘With Yamtti there, nothing major should happen.’
Surprisingly, Joo Seong-tak had shone brightest.
He’d left Ma Kyung-rok on the brink with that corpse explosion.
No need for Yamtti to intervene.
‘But he couldn’t finish him off.’
That’s why Ryu Min, listening to Yamtti’s real-time updates, had revised the plan.
To kill Ma Kyung-rok for sure.
“Approach Ma Kyung-rok stealthily right now and dominate Ahn Sang-chul. Pretend to evacuate him, then seize the chance and kill him as ordered.”
That was the command he’d given Yamtti.
He’d also added that once Ma Kyung-rok was dead, dispose of the body and commit suicide.
She’d executed it flawlessly.
‘I hadn’t planned to kill Ma Kyung-rok originally, but after clashing with Christine, I couldn’t let him live.’
Letting it slide would have been fine, but Christine had inserted herself and exposed her position.
Ma Kyung-rok had then targeted her as a witness.
‘That made them irreconcilable. I couldn’t have both.’
He couldn’t drag two people who hated each other into Round 20.
One had to go.
That’s why he’d given Yamtti those orders.
To kill Ma Kyung-rok.
The results spoke for themselves.
[Cannot find target ‘Ma Kyung-rok.’]
[Person does not exist.]
[Cannot find target ‘Ahn Sang-chul.’]
[Person does not exist.]
Both eliminated as planned.
The fact that tracking didn’t register them was proof.
‘Ahn Sang-chul erased Ma Kyung-rok’s body to cover traces, then suicided as ordered.’
He hadn’t pulled the stocks to avoid suspicion from Ma Kyung-rok, but now there was no reason not to.
‘I need to dump every share I hold.’
It’d net him about a trillion won, but the company would collapse in exchange.
‘It was doomed anyway. Without Ma Kyung-rok, pulling out won’t cause any backlash.’
He hadn’t meant to deal with Ma Kyung-rok and Ahn Sang-chul, but it had wrapped up cleanly.
All that remained was convincing the others.
Right on cue, a video call came in from Jeffrey.
Ryu Min donned his white mask and answered.
“Jeffy.”
“Black Scythe, sir.”
“What happened to your face? Something go down?”
Playing dumb prompted Jeffrey to pan the camera over the devastated scene, explaining the incident’s sequence.
Ryu Min already knew everything from Yamtti’s report but nodded along as if hearing it fresh.
“So a clash happened after all. Any injuries?”
“Fortunately, none. But the people here want an explanation from you, Black Scythe, sir.”
Christine and Seo Ah-rin suddenly popped into frame.
“Hello, Black Scythe, sir. Sorry to call out of the blue. We had some questions.”
“Want me to guess? You’re wondering how I knew about Ma Kyung-rok’s crime, right?”
“Exactly. And the real reason you called us here.”
Ryu Min gathered his thoughts.
It was time for an explanation—no, a clarification.
“Some of you might already know, but I’ve been communicating with a prophet named Ryu Min. Not for long.”
He continued as they nodded.
“From him, I got one piece of info. A guy using the nickname Cheonma—Ma Kyung-rok—was going to kill his family at a specific location. And he was connected to you all. One’s his fiancée, the other an actress under his agency. That’s when I learned that.”
“Ahh.”
Hearing it came from a prophet finally made sense to the two.
“When did you receive this prophecy?”
“Before Round 12 started.”
“So almost a month ago?”
“Yeah. Knowing in advance, I couldn’t see this Cheonma guy in a good light. That’s why I refused your party in Round 12.”
“Ah! So that’s why...!”
Seo Ah-rin, who’d secretly felt slighted about him only partying with Min Ju-ri, now wore an expression of understanding.
“As the rounds progressed, I wrestled with it internally. Should I tell you all—unaware of this killer’s identity? Or stay hands-off despite knowing?”
Hearing that the stoic Black Scythe had agonized over them for their sake left Christine and Seo Ah-rin quietly surprised.
“Without the prophecy, maybe I’d have ignored it. But knowing made it eat at me—I couldn’t just sit. Needing to do something, I learned Jeffy knew Christine. So I asked him.”
“To bring us here?”
Ryu Min nodded at Christine, who spoke up.
“I couldn’t move myself due to other matters. So through Jeffy and Joo Seong-tak, I gathered you there. To confirm Ma Kyung-rok’s true face with your own eyes.”
It was laced with lies, but grounded in truth.
He had intended for them to just witness and leave.
“Telling you over the phone wouldn’t convince you. Seeing it firsthand was the sure way. That’s why I set this up.”
“Ahh, I see.”
“Of course, whether to cut ties with Ma Kyung-rok was your call. I didn’t expect this mess.”
“We didn’t either. That Ma Kyung-rok was a murderer...”
“He’s fled for now, but he’ll come for revenge later, right?”
They hadn’t tried tracking yet, so they didn’t know.
That Ma Kyung-rok and Ahn Sang-chul were dead.
‘They’ll figure it out naturally without me saying.’
Ryu Min skipped that and wrapped up.
“Questions cleared up?”
“Yes, Black Scythe, sir. It makes sense now.”
“What was the prophet’s intent in telling you?”
“Who knows. Even I can’t read that guy’s mind.”
Ryu Min held back there.
Defending the prophet unnecessarily would only breed suspicion.
Better to let them speculate.
“What now?”
“We’ll report to the police first. Two people died...”
“Leave that to me. I can handle it as CPF vice-captain.”
Mentioning the prophet in a police investigation would complicate things.
This nipped it in the bud.
“Sorry for dragging you into this ordeal. Go rest up.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Black Scythe, sir. Rest well yourself.”
“See you in the next round.”
“Yes, goodbye.”
Setting down his phone, Ryu Min texted Yamtti immediately.
[Black Scythe: Tell the police chief to clean this up. Announce Ma Kyung-rok’s death too. But not a word about the prophet.]
[Yamtti: Yes, executing now.]
Pocketing his phone, Ryu Min started walking.
The Ma Kyung-rok incident was settled, and his U.S. business was done.
Time to head back to Korea.
* * *
One week after Ma Kyung-rok’s death.
Short time, but massive changes.
First, Ryu Min had surpassed chaebol status to become a billionaire.
Dumping all his shares had swelled his assets past a trillion won.
Stashed in the bank, it’d earn over 100 billion in interest yearly just sitting there.
A fund manager could yield more, but with no greed for money, Ryu Min opted for the safe bank.
Second change: Ma Kyung-rok’s company crumbled.
Yanking 31% of shares naturally shook it to the core.
‘Even if I hadn’t, it was doomed.’
Players halved each round, and Round 15 would slash them to a quarter.
No way business thrives in that.
Even ramping VVIP promos had limits.
Surviving this long was a miracle.
‘Plus, the CEO’s dead.’
Ma Kyung-rok’s death leaked a day later.
At Ryu Min’s order, the bribed police chief issued the announcement.
Oseong Group’s eldest son Ma Kyung-rok killed his siblings in a succession feud, only to be betrayed and slain by a subordinate.
Killing family tanked public opinion, regardless of reason.
Oseong’s stock plunged deservedly.
‘Then they dug into his warehouse, exposing all his past murders.’
Ma Kyung-rok’s history of crimes hit the headlines.
His stock rollercoastered down.
Oseong Group took the hit too, Chairman Ma Dae-chul’s face saved none.
‘Image recovery will take time.’
After all Oseong heirs died in this unprecedented scandal, internet buzzed with succession theories.
‘Not my problem anymore.’
He’d cashed out at peak for massive gains and eliminated Ma Kyung-rok.
No ties to Oseong Group left.
‘That closes the chapter with Ma Kyung-rok.’
He’d always expected trouble from him, and sure enough, he’d tried silencing Christine and Seo Ah-rin.
‘If I’d spared him, endless regret. He might’ve come after them—and me.’
No regrets killing him.
Better than loose ends.
Clean cut.
‘People don’t know I did it anyway. They think Ahn Sang-chul.’
Police combed the mountain, found Ahn Sang-chul’s body.
Ma Kyung-rok’s? Nowhere.
So police concluded Ahn Sang-chul killed him, ditched the body, then suicided.
Which was true.
Why betray his boss? Up for debate.
‘People’s theories vary.’
Conspiracies abounded, but the top one: tired of being used, he turned.
Or Ahn Sang-chul was a double agent planted by the brothers.
‘Whatever. Irrelevant to me.’
Ryu Min tuned out Oseong Group news.
PlePle Market he’d nurtured collapsed, but future items came solely from dwarves anyway.
Round 13 task: meet the dwarf.
‘One thing left before next round. Meet Heo Tae-seok.’
A real-world rune: [Hero’s Rune].
At level 60, Heo Tae-seok could help obtain it.
‘Time to visit the Reaper Church after ages.’
Black Scythe’s pilgrimage to the Reaper Church had arrived.