Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Joyful Virtual Space
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A virtual space brimming with pleasure.
Bill Gates and Steven Gibson shared the exact same thought once again.
They only thought about machines and components.
They couldn't even imagine the possibilities beyond that.
'Yeah. We have to make it.'
Steven Gibson and Bill Gates's minds raced.
Not just machines, but selling pleasure in a special virtual space.
'Not a simple marketplace, but a massive space—a station, literally.'
For example, a virtual station where buyers could visit anytime and purchase whatever they wanted.
If ePhone was the train, the place to sell its programs and apps would become a sort of train station and market.
'Platform... maybe that's the word?'
The platform they would build in the future still wasn't concretely formed in their minds.
Instead, the benefits they would gain once it was complete were vividly clear.
If users could happily buy all the pleasures they desired in that virtual space...
Bill Gates let out a gasp of admiration.
"It would be amazing."
It would be a utopia for technicians and programmers like himself.
Meanwhile, Steven Gibson sank into the sofa and gulped down some cold water.
"Haha. Yeah. I forgot all about it. It's like I got completely blindsided."
Hardware was just a means to obtain better software.
But technicians tended to get bogged down in the framework of hardware.
He was the same way.
He had created the ePhone himself, yet he hadn't envisioned its future.
And now, he had heard from Lee Dae-hyuk's mouth the ultimate future that ePhone—no, eApple—should pursue.
'At the very least, his vision for the future might surpass mine...'
Not only did he gain trust in Lee Dae-hyuk the man's character, but also in his business acumen.
And then.
"Add one more person who got blindsided here."
Bill Gates, who had been chuckling, raised one hand.
However, his smile carried another meaning.
Namely, admiration toward Lee Dae-hyuk.
Of course, Steven Gibson felt the same.
On the other hand, Lee Dae-hyuk, who had given these two geniuses of the century a lesson(?), was—
'Damn. This is some next-level cheating...'
He wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.
A platform and a market.
A place where countless contents delighted people around the world.
Everything he had said had ultimately been realized by their hands.
Of course, far in the future, IT companies like eApple and KuGle would cause unexpected platform 'monopoly' issues.
'But no need to worry about future problems right now.'
As a regressor who knew the future and a chaebol, he would eventually have to do things for the world.
But for now, creating a new world with people like Steven Gibson and Bill Gates came first.
And who knew.
If Steven Gibson lived into the distant future, he might prevent eApple's monopoly.
'He's not the type who wants to make money that way.'
From what Lee Dae-hyuk had seen with psycho metry, Steven Gibson was a man who wanted to earn money through developed products, not market domination.
Probably due to the self-proving desire that only geniuses possessed.
And for Steven Gibson, money was merely a means to efficiently prove himself.
He needed to make money to get investments for new ventures.
And through those ventures, he needed to invent works to prove himself.
'Bill Gates is the same.'
Bill Gates was someone who donated more than he earned.
He probably had a similar mindset to Steven Gibson.
As Lee Dae-hyuk made this judgment about the two men.
"Alright, now let's have some casual chat. We've only talked heavy stuff after calling our guest here."
Perhaps wanting to lighten the somewhat heavy atmosphere, Bill Gates changed the topic.
"Who do you think will win the NBA this year?"
"Not the New York Knicks."
Steven Gibson shook his head.
After that, various conversations followed.
"But Mr. Lee, aren't you getting married?"
At Bill Gates's question, Steven Gibson tried to dissuade him.
"Marry as late as possible. Marriage is the grave of intellect."
"It's also the castle of happiness."
At Bill Gates's retort, Steven Gibson muttered.
"Cut the pretentious talk."
"All married men live like this."
"......"
Lee Dae-hyuk was the only bachelor in the room.
He clamped his mouth shut, feeling a inexplicable fear of married life.
But it was, in its own way, an enjoyable conversation.
Talking about ePhone's future, chatting so casually like this.
It was meaningful time for him.
He got to see the hidden(?) human side of geniuses.
A few hours passed like that, and soon it was time to part.
"It was fun today."
"It was an eye-opening time. Let's have more conversations like this in the future."
Steven Gibson and Bill Gates greeted Lee Dae-hyuk in turn.
"......"
Lee Dae-hyuk, watching the two, felt an inexplicable lump in his throat.
He had lived as a mere thug and died miserably.
Yet now, he was having such refined and enjoyable conversations with these world-leading figures.
It felt like he had become friends with them.
But this was just the beginning.
From now on, he had to become not just friends, but equal partners.
So, for this level of conversation...
'No need to get excited or moved.'
It was only natural.
Lee Dae-hyuk spoke with a calm smile.
"You're too kind. I learned a lot from today's conversation. Oh, time's already up. Well then, I'll..."
As Lee Dae-hyuk, tempering himself, was about to bid farewell to the two.
'What?'
Feeling an unfamiliar gaze, Lee Dae-hyuk instinctively turned his head.
'Huh?'
A man sitting on a bench.
A familiar face.
Even with his face hidden by a newspaper, Lee Dae-hyuk recognized him at a glance.
The moment their eyes met just now.
'I should thank Yi Chenlian.'
The handshake right before parting with him at Yongwolwon.
Lee Dae-hyuk vowed to repay the man who had given him such a great gift.
If not for him,
He wouldn't have recognized Joseph Griffin, who was alternating glances between the newspaper and himself.
***
At that moment, as Lee Dae-hyuk parted from Steven Gibson and Bill Gates.
Joseph Griffin was surveilling him amid the passersby.
'What the hell is this guy doing with those two...'
He had no interest in anything except burning the world, but the two figures seeing Lee Dae-hyuk off were familiar faces.
The two geniuses who divided the world IT market.
Steven Gibson and Bill Gates.
If he was laughing and chatting with those geniuses like that, he was no ordinary man.
'Even so, he's just a target for elimination.'
Within the next 24 hours.
That smile, that moment's memory—all would turn to ashes and vanish.
Last night.
Joseph Griffin had received the organization's message and immediately booked a room at the hotel where Lee Dae-hyuk was staying.
Of course, under a false identity.
After that, he installed a homemade bomb on Lee Dae-hyuk's rental car, avoiding people's eyes.
If the organization hadn't ordered him to eliminate Lee Dae-hyuk as quickly as possible, he would have made it more perfect and clean.
'No time to spare now.'
No matter how he thought about it, it felt a bit hasty.
He should have monitored the target like now and found a more certain timing, but something had been sloppy.
Still, a pro was a pro.
Heh!!!
The operation was hasty, but in return, he could see the beautiful sight sooner.
Lee Dae-hyuk burning in the flames of hell's inferno.
Imagining that hot and beautiful scene, Joseph Griffin curled his lips.
'Alright. Time to head back...'
Having finished his scouting, Joseph Griffin stood up from his seat.
Thud!!!
"......?"
He had to stop in his tracks.
Something utterly unexpected and shocking had happened.
'He's looking at me?'
Lee Dae-hyuk was staring straight at him from amid the crowd.
Of course, if it had just been staring, he wouldn't have been this shocked.
Thud thud thud!!!
"!!"
Lee Dae-hyuk started walking toward him.
Straight at him, head-on.
Thump thump!! Thump thump thump!!!
His heart pounded fiercely.
It wasn't the first time a target had brushed past him.
Thud thud!!!
But a target approaching him head-on, staring right at him—this was a first.
'...Wh-what.'
Lee Dae-hyuk's deep gaze seemed to pierce into his mind.
Yet Joseph Griffin did not avoid Lee Dae-hyuk's eyes.
Avoiding would raise suspicion.
Better to stare back as if nothing was wrong.
Their gazes tangled in the air.
A moment later.
Tap!!!
As Lee Dae-hyuk tapped Joseph Griffin's shoulder and passed by.
"Ah, sorry."
The newspaper Joseph Griffin was holding fell to the ground.
"Ah, I was lost in thought for a second. Really sorry."
Lee Dae-hyuk repeatedly apologized politely and picked up the fallen newspaper from the ground.
"...It's fine."
Joseph Griffin, with an expressionless face, took the newspaper Lee Dae-hyuk offered.
"......"
"......"
And so, for a moment, the two stared at each other in silence.
Thud-
Joseph Griffin moved first.
'For now, leaving this place comes first.'
"......"
Joseph Griffin, with his expressionless face, simply left the spot.
Thud thud thud!!!
Lee Dae-hyuk, watching Joseph Griffin's retreating figure.
'As expected.'
He wore a chilling smile.
'I was going to check the rental car first when I got back.'
Thinking about it, the only place to plant a bomb was the rental car, so Lee Dae-hyuk had been on guard.
Now, all that was left was to surprise Joseph Griffin 'as he had been taught.'
Tomorrow would probably be the worst day of Joseph Griffin's life.
'Look forward to tomorrow, Mr. Griffin.'
Watching him walk away, Lee Dae-hyuk grinned.
***
The next morning.
Joseph Griffin, dressed in training clothes, was loitering near the hotel where Lee Dae-hyuk was staying.
He looked like an ordinary white guy you could see anywhere, so no one paid him any mind.
'Why does it bother me so much?'
Yet Joseph Griffin himself felt an inexplicable anxiety whose cause he couldn't pinpoint.
Was it because of running into Lee Dae-hyuk last night?
The anxiety only grew as time passed.
'No. The preparations are perfect. Focus.'
He comforted himself like that for a moment.
Then, a sly smile crept onto Joseph Griffin's lips.
'He's here.'
Vroom!!!
The rental car appeared earlier than expected.
The sinister smile on Joseph Griffin's lips deepened.
Luckily, not only the bodyguard but also Lee Dae-hyuk was riding in the rental car.
Now, he just needed to press the detonator button, and he could rest easy.
Joseph Griffin pressed the detonator button in his training clothes pocket without hesitation.
Click!!
His thumb tingled.
Even the anxiety vanished at the same time.
Soon, a deafening explosion and crimson flames would dye his vision red.
But.
'This time too, beautiful...'
Contrary to his expectations.
Vroom!!
The rental car carrying Lee Dae-hyuk and Yun Tae-ho passed by his side without incident...
"...?!!!!"
A peaceful street with no explosion or flames.
On that street, only Joseph Griffin was plunged into despair.
"......"
The rental car had long vanished from his sight.
Anxiety had become reality.
'Damn! Things went wrong!'
His instincts were screaming.
Danger.
Get out of here now.
Tadadad!!!
Joseph Griffin quickly ran toward the hotel.
***
Screech!
Joseph Griffin urgently flung open the hotel room door and grabbed the clothing bag in front of the closet.
'Shit.'
Joseph Griffin gritted his teeth in humiliation.
His first failure.
'I'll kill him. I will definitely kill him!'
He would slip away for now, but it wasn't over yet.
Even if it took time, as long as he eliminated the prey, that was all.
With that resolve, as Joseph Griffin was about to leave the hotel, he froze.
Through the gap in the open door...
'Wh-what's this doing here?'
Because of his own 'masterpiece.'
'No way?!"
Just as Joseph panicked.
Bang! The door flew open.
Vwoom!
A massive shadow lunged at him.