Chapter 54
Chapter 54.
Agent GLASS's representative office.
Shin Yuri watched Lee Ganghan's video from beginning to end and smiled deeply.
"Really,Sir Heavenly Demon always... exceeds my expectations."
"That's what I'm saying. I could only reach the 30th floor... how is that even possible?"
Shin Dongseok, who had been watching Lee Ganghan's play together with her in the representative office, shook his head back and forth.
When he was Iron grade, he had finished his challenge at the 30th floor of the Tower of Infinity and felt incredibly proud.
But this monster friend reached the 200th floor and still had time left, so he logged out while receiving donations.
"I'll have to change the plan."
"What plan?"
"Originally, I was going to gently comply with National Assembly member Joo Yongwan, then change my attitude 180 degrees when the scoreboard came out to recover the incentive..."
The original plan was to pretend to join hands with National Assembly member Joo Yongwan, then recover all the incentives when the player scoreboard appeared at the end of the month.
"Now there's no need to do that."
"Why?"
"The roulette we saw earlier... the value implied by the 'Affiliated Country' item there is tremendous."
"Ah... if he had gotten affiliated country earlier, Korean players would have received tremendous rewards. If it's +1 for race but limited to the country, how big would that have been?"
Shin Yuri nodded at those words.
"Exactly. And wouldn't all industry insiders think the same way?"
"Right?"
"And the only player who can spin that roulette is currently sir Heavenly Demon."
"Well... he was also the first to destroy a tower."
"Only Heavenly Demon can spin the roulette... Then who would be the super dominant party in the industry?"
Super dominant party.
As Shin Yuri's smile deepened when she mentioned this, tririring...!
The representative office phone rang.
"Hello. Ah, a call came from National Assembly member Joo Yongwan's office? Please transfer it here."
Shin Yuri, who answered the phone directly, said:
"Yes? Contract condition changes, you say? We have absolutely no intention of changing the contract conditions..."
She continued the conversation in a relaxed voice, then:
"I understand for now~ I'll speak to sir Heavenly Demon first."
She hung up first, saying she would speak to Heavenly Demon.
"...Didn't your attitude change too drastically?"
"Do you know how humiliating it was to please National Assembly member Joo Yongwan at yesterday's drinking party? Later, every time I had a drink, he kept pestering me to meet his son."
"Joo Yongwan's son?"
"Yes. He's apparently in America? He kept appealing several times that if I married him since he has citizenship, it would be good for me too."
"Wait, that guy criticized players for having no patriotism when they go abroad..."
"When have politicians not been two-faced?"
Shin Yuri, who coldly defined politicians that way, brought up the main point.
"Then now I should get permission from sir Heavenly Demon and leak the contract."
"You're going to leak the contract...?"
"Yes. I'll make it so that a reporter accidentally acquired it when I carelessly left it in the bathroom."
That's really an unbelievable 'coincidence.'
When Shin Dongseok was dumbfounded listening to her words, knock, knock.
"Come in."
"Representative, big trouble!"
An agent employee entered with an urgent-looking face.
"What's the matter?"
"Sir Lee Ganghan's contract has been leaked! Dispatch published the full contract!"
At those words, Shin Yuri and Shin Dongseok looked at each other.
"Did you already proceed with it?"
"No? I was going to do it after getting sir Heavenly Demon's permission. We haven't leaked it from here yet...?"
While the two were puzzled:
"Representative! Big trouble!"
Another employee rushed in through the open door.
"What's the matter?"
"Sir Lee Ganghan's contract has been leaked!"
Wait, this is the same repertoire I just heard.
"From Dispatch?"
"No! From another media outlet...!"
What.
It broke simultaneously from two places?
"Only I know the contract contents, not even our employees... this seems to have been breached from the Management Office."
"Geez... was the Management Office's security this poor?"
"I know, right. It got breached faster than here, where we were seriously preparing to leak it."
"Uh, yes...?"
You were seriously preparing to leak it?
When the employees were confused by Shin Yuri's words:
"Simultaneous work from two places... I wonder where it came from."
Shin Yuri tilted her head while:
"Let's look at the articles first."
She began examining the articles where the contract contents were revealed.
***
Meanwhile, at the White House residence in America.
"Ganghan Lee..."
President Alfred, who hadn't been in office long, looked at the video of Lee Ganghan achieving his accomplishment with interested eyes.
"Did you say Ganghan means strong?"
"That's correct."
"A name that suits the new America."
President Alfred, who had a mountain-like build, had been elected advocating for a new America, a strong America, and hearing the meaning of Lee Ganghan's name made him like it even more.
"Why isn't Strong Lee in America? Didn't we make a recruitment offer?"
"We made an offer, but he declined and remained in Korea."
"Why?"
"His will to remain in his homeland was strong."
"We should have made a good enough offer to make even that will disappear!"
"That's why this time, the Management Office is preparing an offer that cannot be refused."
"Good. First place should be in the first-place country."
President Alfred nodded while saying this, then:
"There's a tower-dedicated department in the CIA, right?"
"Yes, there is."
"Can they obtain Strong Lee's existing contract?"
"..."
The aide, who remained silent for a moment, then:
"It's possible. They've already obtained it and begun working on it."
He soon gave a 'possible' answer while adding that they had begun working on it.
"Working?"
"Ganghan Lee's contract was apparently full of toxic clauses. It seems they're trying to induce contract termination by revealing this through the media."
"Oh. Good. Strong Lee's naturalization is also related to national security. Make sure to bring him over."
"Understood. However, according to urgent reports, China also seems to be working on this."
"China?"
At the news that 'China' was also getting involved, President Alfred's eyebrows twitched.
"The contract was revealed through pro-China media outlets. It was almost simultaneous with where we worked."
"They also know what's good, as expected..."
President Alfred spoke with a serious expression.
"Strong Lee must not go to China. Use any means necessary to recruit him."
"Yes, understood."
***
Tokyo, Japan.
Tower Management Agency under the Prime Minister's Office.
"Tanaka."
"Yes, Department Chief!"
"Are you continuing to organize materials on Heavenly Demon?"
"Yes... I haven't finished organizing today's materials yet."
Tanaka, a civil servant belonging to the Management Agency, answered with a bewildered face to the department chief's question.
"You're not distracted by the new Elf that appeared this time, are you?"
"N-no!"
How did he know?
The department chief is really like a ghost.
Tanaka felt cold sweat on his spine as he recalled constantly saving only photos of the Elf who mentioned 'Valkyrie.'
Following Karana, a new Elf appeared with whom he could have a few exchanges.
As an Elf maniac, he couldn't help but focus on this, right?
Besides:
'Anyway, organizing Heavenly Demon materials... doesn't seem like recruitment is possible.'
The announcement Heavenly Demon posted today.
Its destructive power was well known even to Tanaka, a low-level civil servant at the Management Agency.
From now on, America and China would do their utmost to recruit Heavenly Demon.
Could they make any meaningful proposal by interfering there?
Since it was already determined that measuring the scale was impossible, Tanaka was more interested in the scraps around Heavenly Demon.
The 'Elf.'
"Well, never mind. From now on... yes, try to find some weaknesses."
"Weaknesses? Of that monster?"
Find weaknesses.
How is a mere civil servant supposed to find weaknesses of the monster who just climbed to the 200th floor of the Tower of Infinity?
When Tanaka just blinked:
"Honestly, I don't have high expectations either. Try making something by mixing in rumors floating around the internet or your speculation."
"Would that be okay...?"
"Yeah. Heavenly Demon recruitment has become impossible, but I thought we'd at least leave something like this as data."
Since recruitment is impossible, investigate and document even weaknesses?
Tanaka couldn't readily understand that logic, but:
'If they tell me to do it, I have to do it...'
Isn't the public service society one where you do what you're told?
He nodded.
"Understood. I'll organize information about Heavenly Demon's weaknesses."
While Japan's Tower Management Agency gave up on Heavenly Demon recruitment long ago and shifted to finding weaknesses, in Beijing, China, at Bureau 1014 of the Ministry of State Security, a meeting was in full swing.
"America has moved."
"Seeing the roulette Heavenly Demon posted, they seem to be doing their utmost to recruit him."
"Lee Ganghan's father lives in America. Won't they use him?"
"When the target goes to LA to receive an award, he might be detained in America."
Displaying Lee Ganghan's photo, the intelligence agents of Bureau 1014 were analyzing him from various angles.
The meeting, which had been proceeding for a while with the head seat empty, paused momentarily when clunk! The meeting room door opened and a woman entered.
"How is the meeting progressing?"
"Director!"
"You've arrived?"
The woman in a black suit, who looked too young to be called director, had an impressive long scar running from her temple to her chin on her left cheek.
She swept the audience with sharp eyes.
"America has begun moving in earnest."
"America?"
"Yes. The White House is showing great interest."
"Is that so... The roulette's effect was indeed too great."
The roulette Lee Ganghan had posted.
The effect of 'Accessory Slot +1' far exceeded imagination.
If the effect for race was this much, what kind of effect would appear if the next roulette was set to 'Affiliated Country'?
Since they couldn't gauge how much impact that would have, even America's president was directly showing interest in Heavenly Demon's recruitment.
"If we and America put forth our full efforts in a 1:1 recruitment war... where do you think Heavenly Demon would go?"
"That's..."
"Assuming the conditions are identical."
At the director's question, all the intelligence agents of Bureau 1014 became speechless.
The target is Korean.
Probability-wise, he would more likely choose America than come to China.
Seeing such reactions from the intelligence agents, she smiled bitterly.
"I should have used 1 billion yuan from the start. It's regrettable."
"That's..."
"It was too large an amount to use when he was known to be terminally ill..."
"I clearly reported that he wouldn't be terminally ill, but the higher-ups wouldn't accept it."
When Lee Ganghan first obtained the Heavenly Demon Constitution and made a spectacular debut, the young director of Bureau 1014, 'Director Jin,' had submitted a report saying they should recruit Heavenly Demon even if it cost 1 billion yuan.
However, 1 billion yuan was close to 200 billion Korean won, so it was too large an amount to spend on Lee Ganghan when he was D-grade.
"I wanted to negotiate nicely with Heavenly Demon if possible... it's regrettable."
"..."
"Now we'll have to explore other methods as well."
"When you say other methods..."
"Heavenly Demon has family, right?"
At those words, the intelligence agents nodded.
"Yes. He has a father and a missing mother."
"The father is currently on a business trip to America."
The intelligence agents already knew Korean personal information like the back of their hands.
"Hmm..."
Director Jin looked at the materials the intelligence agents had investigated, then:
"Until we find the parents' whereabouts, we can't use family as hostages."
"That's right."
"Then ultimately... we'll have to secure Heavenly Demon himself."
Securing ultimately meant kidnapping.
"The world's attention is currently focused on Heavenly Demon."
"If we rashly attempt to kidnap such a person..."
The intelligence agents showed bewilderment at the director's intention, but:
"Don't worry."
"...Yes?"
"I'll go to Korea personally."
When Director Jin said she would step forward personally, the meeting room was momentarily enveloped in silence.
'The director is going personally...'
'The director who has never failed even once until now?'
Director Jin.
The reason she could climb to that position despite her young age was due to her outstanding 'track record' of succeeding in every single mission assigned to her without a single failure.
If such a person stepped forward personally, even Heavenly Demon, who had the world's attention focused on him, could be 'secured.'
"...Understood."
"We'll prepare immediately as well."
The intelligence agents of Bureau 1014, who had wavered momentarily when kidnapping was mentioned, all bowed their heads.
Meanwhile, Lee Ganghan, who had returned home and was resting while watching the news he had created, blinked his eyes when he received a call from Shin Yuri:
"...The contract has been leaked?"