Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: The Bomb Bluff
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A middle-aged man doubted his own ears.
Sure, one could coincidentally drop by the hotel.
But to come all the way to the 53rd floor and announce his arrival?
And with words like, 'The man you're looking for. He's here'?
“You must know about us to come like this.”
No matter how he thought about it, the only conclusion was that the intruder knew the 53rd floor was The Company's territory and had walked in of his own accord.
But why, when he should be running and hiding?
‘No way… is this a declaration of war?’
There could be no other reason for showing up here.
If he’d come to apologize for his arrogant actions, he would’ve sought out Yi Chenlian, not the 53rd floor.
‘Me? No, daring to challenge The Company?’
It was so absurd that laughter bubbled up instead of anger.
Pfft—!!
As the middle-aged man let out a hollow chuckle, his secretary approached.
“Shall I handle it?”
The secretary’s voice held no emotion whatsoever.
A wealthy businessman from Korea?
If he felt like it, he could put a bullet in his head right now and dump the body in the Pacific.
Burying him in the Nevada desert wouldn’t be bad either.
Either way, eliminating Lee Dae-hyuk would be easier than toasting bread.
But the middle-aged man thought differently.
“Would he walk right in here without some solid insurance?”
The middle-aged man instantly grasped Lee Dae-hyuk’s intentions.
‘I wonder what it is.’
It might just provide some entertaining diversion in his boring routine.
A long-forgotten thrill curved the corners of the middle-aged man’s lips into a smile.
“…So, what will you do?”
As the secretary asked, the middle-aged man stroked his chin.
“Aren’t you curious what insurance he’s holding?”
The secretary didn’t respond to the question.
He already knew what answer his boss wanted.
Taking the silence as affirmation, the middle-aged man said,
“Connect the call.”
***
Beretta, revolver.
Two pistols without silencers gleamed under the fluorescent lights.
‘They’re confident in their soundproofing? Or they don’t care since it’s their turf?’
Either way, one thing was clear.
The Company was so assured of their power that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill even in the heart of LA.
‘But today won’t be easy for them.’
If they intended to kill him, they would’ve pulled the trigger already.
A moment later.
“Yes. Understood.”
The white employee, having received orders through his earpiece, stared silently at Lee Dae-hyuk.
“…….”
He couldn’t comprehend the recent command.
But what could he do?
He was just a low-level employee who followed orders.
“We’ll frisk you first.”
“Go ahead.”
Lee Dae-hyuk shrugged.
“Hand over that box first.”
At the employee’s demand, Lee Dae-hyuk handed over the box without hesitation.
“…….”
The black employee who took the box.
Swish—!!
“!!”
Peeking inside carefully, he widened his eyes in shock.
Inside the box was a homemade bomb, with red and blue wires crudely tangled around a timer.
“You son of a—!”
Click—!
The white employee raised his gun toward Lee Dae-hyuk’s head.
But Lee Dae-hyuk remained calm.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a toy with the detonator removed.”
“What the hell are you doing?”
At the white employee’s question, Lee Dae-hyuk glanced at the CCTV on the ceiling.
“A little surprise gift.”
Tremble—!!
The gun barrel shook at Lee Dae-hyuk’s nonchalant reply.
He desperately wanted to pull the trigger, but the white employee gritted his teeth.
Another order had come through the earpiece.
Grit.
Suppressing his rising fury, the white employee said,
“Come this way.”
***
Creak—.
Thud—!!
Lee Dae-hyuk entered the 53rd-floor conference room, guided by the employees.
He looked around.
“…….”
A place he’d already seen through Yi Chenlian’s memories.
The executive conference room.
‘Smaller than I thought.’
Lee Dae-hyuk mulled over his impression of the room.
But something else caught his attention more.
It was the object sitting plainly on the conference table.
‘A phone?’
As Lee Dae-hyuk stared at the phone,
Vrrr—!!
It vibrated on the table.
Step, step—!!
“Hello.”
- Interesting.
A heavy middle-aged man’s voice came through the phone.
Lee Dae-hyuk instinctively knew he was a Company executive.
“Do you know me?”
- I’ve been watching you with interest. Especially lately, thanks to a friend of yours who’s been suffering because of you.
A sneer spread across Lee Dae-hyuk’s lips at those words.
A sense of superiority, looking down on all humanity.
The man on the phone undoubtedly shared the same ideology as Yoo Jae-man.
But Lee Dae-hyuk didn’t show anger or emotion right away.
Instead, he began the conversation calmly.
“I’ve been interested in you all too.”
- Us ‘all’?
“Old rich guys in masks playing house—it’s fascinating.”
Lee Dae-hyuk mocked.
But the middle-aged man felt not anger, but puzzlement.
- You talk big. I’m curious where you heard such nonsense.
“Living as a chaebol son in Korea, this level of intel comes naturally.”
The middle-aged man burst into laughter at Lee Dae-hyuk’s joke.
- I like that confidence. But watch yourself. How many have regretted a slip of the tongue here, do you think?
“Whew~ Sounds like I’m one of them. I’ll be careful.”
- …How many do you think are outside that door?
Lee Dae-hyuk glared at the conference room entrance.
Footsteps, breathing.
Beyond it, the slaughterhouse crew the middle-aged man had prepared.
But Lee Dae-hyuk didn’t care.
They were like Yoo Jae-man.
And he knew exactly how to deal with such people.
“You don’t think I came here without any preparation, do you?”
- Young friend, some advice: stop the nonsense and show some respect. Barging in late at night isn’t enough—you’re wasting my time too?
“…….”
- As I said, I’ve been watching you with interest. Your recent antics have been impressive.
“…….”
Lee Dae-hyuk shut his mouth and waited for the man to continue.
- So I’ll ask again. What do you know, and why are you here?
“You probably already know, but I met a rather interesting acupuncturist recently. Thanks to him, I learned about you all.”
- “…….”
“He’s a man who loves his wife and son dearly. I was even a little touched by his family devotion.”
- ……!!!
The middle-aged man’s eyes twisted at Lee Dae-hyuk’s drawl.
‘Yi Chenlian… he has a family?’
A fact unknown to him—no, to The Company itself.
- Are you lying to me so pathetically?
“Check and see.”
The middle-aged man fell silent at Lee Dae-hyuk’s confident reply.
If Yi Chenlian had deceived them, he deserved severe punishment.
But first, verification.
- Fine. So you came here to tell me that acupuncturist has a family?
“No way.”
- Then what…
“Munich in Germany, Tokyo in Japan, Baghdad in Iraq.”
- Hah……!!
A scoff escaped the middle-aged man’s lips.
The cities Lee Dae-hyuk mentioned weren’t just capitals—they housed The Company’s branch conference rooms.
‘How the hell does he know that far?’
The middle-aged man was momentarily speechless.
- …….
But he stayed silent, hiding his agitation.
Because of Lee Dae-hyuk’s next words.
“You know Joseph Griffin, right? I got some gifts from that friend of yours.”
Lee Dae-hyuk didn’t elaborate.
Anyone with brains would get it.
- Planning a bomb terror?
“I can deliver, sure.”
- Security? You think you can breach them all?
“Honestly, I didn’t believe it either. But my friend’s work is top-notch. Plastic bombs that slip past every checkpoint. And moreover….”
The bluff continued.
An outrageous lie, but believable in this situation.
“You don’t think I’m the only one who’s turned against you, do you?”
- Hahaha.
The middle-aged man let out a hollow laugh at the question.
It reminded him of a man who’d betrayed them long ago.
That man was Korean, like Lee Dae-hyuk.
- So. Someone else has your back?
“Well… not exactly right, but not wrong either. Satisfied your curiosity?”
Lee Dae-hyuk answered without hesitation.
All facts uncovered via psychometry, but psychological warfare required such bluffs.
A faint chuckle came through the phone.
Lee Dae-hyuk’s counterattack amused him.
But now it was his turn to strike back.
- Heh. Fine. What matters now isn’t internal traitors—it’s why you came here.
“Yes. So let me tell you why I’m here….”
- Before that, look at the screens at the end of the conference room.
An abrupt interruption.
Lee Dae-hyuk stared straight ahead.
The dozen monitors on one wall flickered to life.
Flash—! Flash—!
“……?!!”
A sinister glint flashed in Lee Dae-hyuk’s eyes.
The screens showed Kim Sung-hee and Yoon Tae-ho sleeping in their hotel rooms.
But.
“…….”
Even so, Lee Dae-hyuk remained composed.
He’d anticipated this much.
But it didn’t end there.
The footage switched instantly. No, to photos.
‘……Father?’
His father Lee Myung-guk, half-brothers Lee Dae-hwan and Lee Dae-cheol, sister Lee Seon-ah.
Then Kim Mi-jin, Kim Jae-woon, Kim Min-gyu, Jeong Hee-joo—photos of people connected to him cycled through.
‘They investigated everyone in that time?’
Two weeks in America.
Met Yi Chenlian four days ago.
Caught Joseph Griffin two days ago.
In roughly four days, they’d gathered all his info and weaknesses?
As Lee Dae-hyuk reeled,
The middle-aged man continued.
- I already anticipated your plan. Threaten with bombs, then expose us to the world. That’s the picture, right?
“…….”
- Go ahead, try it.
“!!?”
Perhaps because he’d pinpointed his exact scheme.
Lee Dae-hyuk couldn’t speak.
The middle-aged man, excited, unleashed a torrent of venom at him.
- Bombs? Be my guest. A show? Same thing. But have you considered this?
“…….”
- The moment those bombs go off, Interpol will hunt you as a terrorist. Of course, we’ll chase you too. What happens then? You become a ghost. Alive, but not really living.
“Scary words.”
- Want to know what’s scarier? My promise from now on.
Pausing dramatically, the middle-aged man spat,
- Your family, friends, and that mighty group you trust—all wiped from existence. Now that’s real terror, isn’t it?
“…….”
- Want to live? Kneel and beg. I might consider mercy.
The barrage of savage threats poured out.
But far from cowed, Lee Dae-hyuk…
Pfft—!
“Pfft! Kh… hahaha.”
Let out a chuckle.
- You’re laughing now?
The middle-aged man sounded baffled at the laughter, but Lee Dae-hyuk had one more bluff prepared.
Bomb terror threats.
Everything the man predicted.
‘All of it just foreshadowing for this.’
“Then how will you explain the Baghdad, Munich, and Tokyo explosions to the others?”
- Why should I explain to them? You’re the culprit.
“The moment I die, my ‘will’ goes public. Something like… ‘A greedy old bastard ordered me to bomb his rivals to eliminate them. I just followed orders.’ A fabricated suicide note.”
- “…?!!”