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# Chapter 4
At the very top of South Korea's Awakener ecosystem.
The CEO's office in the Oracle Consulting penthouse overlooked the dazzling skyline of Gangnam far below.
The lights in the enormous office, spanning hundreds of pyeong, were dimmed, and only dozens of large holographic
screens floating in midair emitted a blue glow as they rotated silently.
On the screens, real-time data poured forth: the flow of funds belonging to South Korea's ten largest guilds, the cycles
of mana waves emanating from unexplored dungeons, and even the private activities of high-ranking government Hunters.
And at the center of that enormous whirlpool of information, Yoo Taekyung was buried in a deep leather chair.
"President. The Myeongwang Guild has requested the S-rank dungeon攻略 data again. They're offering ten billion won, which
is three times their original offer."
Secretary Choi, dressed impeccably, reported while scrolling through his tablet.
Taekyung, dressed in a top-quality bespoke suit, casually spun the Montblanc Meisterstück fountain pen he had been
holding to sign off on documents between his fingers and glanced at the holographic screen.
Under the subdued lighting, its handcrafted 18K gold nib gleamed sharply.
In that instant, the blue light in his eyes deepened.
The vision of the Absolute Observer, capable of twisting the rules of the world, opened.
Taekyung's eyes did not merely see the numbers on spreadsheets and charts.
Hundreds of possible causes and consequences that could occur when the Myeongwang Guild Master entered the dungeon—the
intricate threads of causality—appeared in midair, becoming visualized as they intertwined and tangled with one another.
"Reject it."
"You're giving up ten billion won? Myeongwang Guild is currently ranked third. There could be some backlash."
"The Myeongwang Guild Master will make a fatal error in judgment out of arrogance at seven tomorrow evening, in the
second boss room. More than half of the party will be wiped out."
Taekyung lightly tossed the fountain pen onto the desk.
The heavy resin body struck the marble surface with a dry tap.
"There's no reason to tie Oracle's name to a rotten lifeline that's going to collapse the day after tomorrow. Make our
refusal clear and cut off contact."
"Understood."
Secretary Choi bowed without the slightest doubt.
The President's predictions—or rather, the causal laws he directly observed with his own two eyes—had pierced through
the workings of the world without a single error for the past five years.
"And, as you instructed yesterday, I've compiled everything regarding Yoo Taejin's current situation and financial
transactions."
When Secretary Choi switched the screen, the face of Taekyung's younger brother, Taejin, appeared alongside a series of
red negative figures.
The same Taejin who had been dragged out of the first-floor lobby a few days earlier while howling like a beast.
In the past, Taejin's success as a spectacular A-rank fire Hunter had been entirely the result of parasitically stealing
Taekyung's potential and mana.
In his late teens, Taekyung awakened and immediately severed the mana link through his doorslam, cutting it off
permanently.
Taejin's flames became pitiful as though someone had flipped a switch, and he eventually fell to the level of a
low-ranking Hunter and was expelled from his guild.
But Taejin's descent into unbearable debt and complete ruin wasn't simply because his mana supply had been cut off.
"Mr. Taejin began dipping into his guild's operating funds exactly three years ago. It matches the timing you predicted
perfectly. At present, his private-loan interest alone amounts to tens of millions of won every month."
Taekyung expressionlessly flipped through the documents.
In truth, hidden within the series of events that led Taejin to fall for an absurd investment scam, become addicted to
gambling, and eventually embezzle funds was a very subtle and meticulous design by Taekyung.
The transcendent power of the Absolute Observer was not simply a passive ability that allowed him to see the future.
Taekyung was exceptionally skilled at twisting even the smallest event and turning it into a massive disaster through a
butterfly effect.
He had arranged the surrounding causalities so that Taejin would be unable to overcome his own greed and would walk
straight into the trap himself.
"There's no need for me to bloody my hands breaking the glass of a greenhouse flower."
Taekyung spoke dryly as he took a sip of his cold coffee filled with ice.
"All I have to do is open the ventilation slightly so it can't regulate its own temperature. It'll either wither to
death on its own or freeze to death."
His younger brother Taejin was the embodiment of someone who had spent his entire life feeding on other people's
attention and praise.
Once his abilities declined and the cheers and attention of others disappeared, he suffered withdrawal symptoms
bordering on madness.
Desperate to regain even a fragment of his former glory, he recklessly borrowed money to buy imported cars and flaunt
his wealth.
Taekyung had simply placed a single small bait along the path of his younger brother's shallow vanity.
A reliable investment tip supposedly known only to insiders.
Taejin, who had never achieved anything through his own strength in his entire life, eagerly swallowed the bait and
willingly walked into the swamp of ruin.
The result was a perfect self-destruction that ensnared the entire family.
Bzzz— Bzzz—
At that moment, Secretary Choi's work cellphone, sitting on one side of the desk, vibrated briefly.
An unknown number appeared on the screen, and soon a missed voice message was left.
Secretary Choi pressed the playback button.
A sharp, hysterical woman's voice immediately filled the office through the speakerphone.
"[You said you're Secretary Choi, right? I'm Yoo Taekyung's mother. If you're his secretary, make sure you deliver this
message properly. Our own flesh and blood is about to end up on the streets, while his own brother is living comfortably
by himself! He'll be punished by heaven! How could he do this to Taejin?! Tell him to call me! Right now!]"
His mother's furious shouting poured through the phone.
The elegant society lady who had once worn beautiful silk dresses and whispered about sacrifice to young Taekyung with
her pretty lips was nowhere to be found.
When Secretary Choi hurriedly moved to turn off the phone with a stiff expression, Taekyung raised a hand and stopped
him.
"Secretary Choi, don't block that number. Just leave it."
Taekyung's voice remained calm.
"Let her leave as many missed calls and voice messages as she wants. Let her fully enjoy the feeling of shouting at a
wall all by herself."
Taekyung stared at the holographic screen in the air with an indifferent expression, not a single shred of emotion in
his eyes.
Complete disregard and severance.
For a mother consumed by self-pity and a vicious desire for control, it was the most painful and perfect punishment he
could inflict.
His mother probably wanted Taekyung to become angry and argue back.
But Taekyung had no intention of wasting even a single gram of emotional energy on her.
"More importantly, what happened to tomorrow evening's schedule for the government high-ranking Awakener council? Is the
attendee list out?"
"Yes. The government just sent the list over. However..."
A strange glint passed behind Secretary Choi's glasses.
"There's one familiar name on the list. She's a figure who has recently risen to become one of the government's most
influential officials after being promoted to the youngest-ever director of the Mana Management Bureau. Her name is..."
"Yoo Jooyeon."
Taekyung cut him off and uttered the name coldly.
Yoo Jooyeon.
His older sister, five years older than him, and the first great pride of the family back when their father had showered
her with blind affection before their downfall.
Even when their family had been ruined by the debt guarantee and was forced to move from one rooftop room to another,
she had naturally exploited Taekyung's labor under the excuse of pursuing her studies and success.
She had never hesitated to trample others in order to conceal her only complex—her below-average height.
In the end, she had followed the elite path and risen to a senior position at the government-affiliated Mana Management
Bureau.
'Anyway, that woman is frighteningly smart.'
"Director Yoo's side contacted us first. She said she would like to have tea privately with you after tomorrow's council
meeting."
"A private meeting."
A cold curve formed at the corner of Taekyung's mouth.
There was no way Yoo Jooyeon didn't know that the powerful CEO of Oracle Consulting was her younger brother, Yoo
Taekyung—the very younger brother she had once looked down on and treated like an idiot.
An ordinary person might have avoided contacting him out of shame over their past actions.
But Jooyeon, whose personality leaned heavily toward sociopathy, thought differently.
She undoubtedly believed that all the neglect and exploitation she had committed in the past had been reasonable choices
she had been forced to make in order to save the family.
'No matter how lucky Taekyung got by awakening and becoming successful, he's still my little brother. If I, his older
sister, sweet-talk him enough, I can control him.'
Taekyung could vividly picture Jooyeon's arrogant face as she worked through her shallow schemes in her head.
Just as she had once gaslighted young Taekyung in their rooftop room by saying, "We're family," before dumping the task
of taking out the trash on him, she would undoubtedly try to use the authority of their blood relationship once again to
obtain Oracle's top-tier information for free.
"Set it up. I'll see her tomorrow."
"Are you sure? Her intentions are painfully obvious."
"A grown beast is approaching me while wagging its tail, still under the illusion that it can put the same leash around
my neck that it used to."
Taekyung picked up the Montblanc fountain pen he had tossed onto the desk earlier.
His long, pale fingers slowly stroked the golden nib.
"I should personally make sure it pays the price for that arrogant delusion."
Crack-.
Under the force of Taekyung's grip, the golden nib, said to possess the most perfect balance in the world and worth
several million won, bent grotesquely.
As though the heart holding the ink had burst, sapphire-blue ink dripped down Taekyung's fingers and fell onto the
marble floor.
Drip.
Drip.
That eerie sound of rupture echoed coldly throughout the vast penthouse.
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