Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Golden Pavilion Negotiation
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“Golden Pavilion. Been a while here too.”
Cafe Golden Pavilion.
The massive five-story cafe in Gangnam was, naturally, no ordinary spot.
It was a haunt for high-ranking officials and Players from around the world to meet in secret. Countless talents had been poached overseas right from this place.
It had been that way in the past. It was that way now. And it would be that way in the future.
Why did Shin-hyeok know this fact?
Nothing special about it.
“How many offers did I get here? After the fifth, I stopped counting.”
Shin-hyeok had received offers from them here at Golden Pavilion too.
He'd gotten so many that he hadn't bothered keeping track after five. Shin-hyeok was the kind of prize the entire world salivated over.
But Shin-hyeok had stayed in Korea.
Not out of any deep affection, but because back then, friends and family mattered more to him than wealth or fame.
Anyway, returning to Golden Pavilion after his regression stirred up strange feelings.
Ding-a-ling.
“Welcome. Your guest is waiting in Room 1.”
“Got it.”
The enormous five-story cafe stood completely empty.
Taking it in stride that only one person waited to greet him, Shin-hyeok strode toward Room 1.
Golden Pavilion's Room 1.
The largest and most opulent space in the whole cafe, reserved for Players of utmost importance.
Anyone in the know understood this, making it a dream invitation for Players eyeing naturalization. But Shin-hyeok opened the door with utter indifference.
Slide.
Stepping through the finely crafted wooden sliding door, Shin-hyeok spotted the portly Chinese Player Affairs Minister who'd arrived first.
“Wang Chun-ping here. Too many people last time for a proper introduction.”
“Choi Shin-hyeok.”
After the minister introduced himself as Wang Chun-ping, Shin-hyeok reciprocated with a light handshake.
Once introductions wrapped up, a cup of tea appeared before Shin-hyeok and Wang.
“West Lake Dragon Well. Premium grade too. They say even millions per cup falls short.”
“I'll enjoy it.”
Dragon Well tea.
The most famous of traditional Chinese teas, yet luxuriously priced to brutal heights. Shin-hyeok paid it no mind and downed the cup in one shot.
“No, that priceless stuff...”
Ignoring Wang's dumbfounded expression as millions evaporated in a gulp, Shin-hyeok gargled with cold water to cool his scalding mouth before turning to the man.
Wang was floored—not just by the one-and-done chug of what demanded slow savoring, but by the cold water rinse that erased every last trace of flavor. Shin-hyeok couldn't care less.
“To the point.”
“...Haha, impatient one, aren't you? Though you were the same at that press conference. Fine, no beating around the bush since you insist. Come to our country. A puny nation like Korea can't contain a talent like you.”
Wang's upper lip quivered, but he held his patience and extended the naturalization pitch.
Even with the boldface slight against Korea—his homeland—right to his face, Shin-hyeok's expression never twitched.
Assuming some openness to the idea, Wang eased into a slow smile.
“Our nation welcomes Players of your caliber. Small fry like Korea skimp on Player support. Never harbored anyone like you, so they wouldn't know where to start. Like clutching a raw diamond without a clue how to facet it.”
“China's different?”
“Of course! Our great power boasts two top-rank Players. Loyal to the nation, they pour time and care into nurturing their fellows under the same roof. Same here.”
“I see.”
Wang launched into a monologue on China's grandeur and its pillar Players.
Shin-hyeok nodded along just enough for a bit.
“For that Myth Forge commission, you saw the materials I supplied. Imagine several times more, piled like mountains. Plus elixirs from our government's labs and pharma outfits. Tempting, no?”
Wang dangled vast crafting hauls and elixirs to reel Shin-hyeok in for real.
But Shin-hyeok felt nothing.
“I've got materials aplenty. Legendary-grade in heaps, Unique-grade even more. Myth Forge backlog will only swell my reserves. Elixirs too—Paracelsus under my guild covers that fine.”
“...”
Everything on offer was already Shin-hyeok's.
Wang had no comeback and fell silent.
But he pressed on.
“Can devourers of the sweet and spitters of the bitter truly count as family?”
“...”
“Dug into your background. Before awakening, you and yours were total outsiders to Myth Group. Doesn't Korea's entrenched elite grate on you? We'll hand you perfect revenge. Everything you own transfers seamlessly if you wish. They'll pay dearly for your family's long humiliation.”
“Hmm.”
Family.
Bringing up how Shin-hyeok's grandfather, Choi Cheol-ho, had personally iced out his kin from Myth Group.
It stung, sure.
Revenge? Rage?
Shin-hyeok harbored plenty.
But—
“Why bother when it'll be mine anyway?”
“...What?”
“Grandfather draws firm lines between duty and personal. As I shine, Myth Group shifts my way. Those who scorned and hounded my family? They'll get purged naturally. Confident on that.”
“Hah.”
“And revenge... isn't real if outsourced.”
“...”
Wang lost his words under that bone-chilling stare.
A zap of cold like lightning crown-crashing.
Gazing at the hushed Wang, Shin-hyeok leaned back into the chair.
“Besides, it's not just my family who gorges sweet and spits sour.”
“Meaning?”
“Guangdong Province. Tianxia Forge. Liu Feng.”
“...!!! How the hell do you know those names!!!”
“Ways exist. Anyway, that Taiwan naturalizee who mysteriously croaked? Scared of that alone keeps me away. Had black tea or something? Not the point.”
Guangdong Province. Tianxia Forge. Liu Feng.
Wang blurted in seizure at the trio.
Shin-hyeok shrugged mockingly.
“...Amusing. That intel reach, huh. But consider: mysterious deaths aren't our nation's exclusive.”
“Oh? Planning some in Korea too? That confident?”
Wang bared a frosty grin at Shin-hyeok's breezy vibe, doubling down.
Shin-hyeok got the subtext—exporting China-style "disappearances" to Korea—and grinned right back.
Taut standoff.
Wang clocked no more to say, gathered his things, and rose.
“Watch your back.”
“Sure thing. I stick to health foods—no worries needed.”
“...We'll see how long that fire burns.”
The well-wish rang like a death threat, but Shin-hyeok just beamed without bite.
Bang!
“Sigh. Wanna trash the door? Say it—don't show it.”
Sipping cold water while eyeing the cracked sliding door Wang had slammed through, Shin-hyeok shed his smile for icy blankness.
“Wonder when they'll bite.”
Net cast. Timing the nibble was all.
Musing that, rocking front-back in his seat, Shin-hyeok bolted up.
“Food time. Call to a restaurant if summoning—not a cafe sans eats. Zero sense.”
Zero intake since pre-Su-ah spar to now. He hit the killer kimchi stew joint nearby.
“Granny, two bowls kimchi stew, ramen add-on.”
“Heavens, lad—solo gorging like that?”
“All good. I pack it away.”
“Heaps of meat then. Stuff yourself.”
Order flowed smooth as stream.
Shin-hyeok scarfed till bloated, snagged a counter mint, crunched it, and bounced.
“Dark out already.”
Overstuffing?
Or chat drag made late dinner?
By finish, dusk had deepened long ago.
Spot tucked away unlike Gangnam flash, darkness thicker still.
Yet Shin-hyeok marched deeper into shadow.
Soon, abandoned construction site.
Gangnam glamour's grim underbelly.
Darkness predating Dimension Arena, thickened by its monster spawn.
Standing stock-still in the long-forsaken site a spell.
“Out. I know it all. Third floor: two. Second: three. First... whew, twelve? Big turnout.”
Casual Mana Detection [C] exposed every lurker. Black-clad figures poured from the ruins en masse.
Nearly twenty ringed him instant. Shin-hyeok's eyes stayed coldly sunk, unmoving.
Clank!
Gear yanked from inventory and donned in a flash. Player stance locked.
“...!!!”
Rumble rumble rumble!
Battlefield flipped instant—from derelict site to colossal Coliseum.
Walls surged from the ground.
Trapped assassins' dead eyes flickered dismay.
“...Insane!”
“Heard rumors, but it's legit?”
Fresh despair crashed down.
Trap-rigged ruins to Coliseum shift hit hard enough—then the debuff stacked. Fluster made sense.
But hell awaited them.
“Think basement's rock bottom? I'll show the real depths. Vassal Summon.”
“Been waiting.”
Skill: Coliseum. Followed by Skill: Vassal Summon.
Tarkhan materialized, stolidly claiming Shin-hyeok's flank.
Not over yet.
“Ahh, this chill. Long time no feel. Back to Coliseum Champion Tarkhan?”
“Companion precise, but whatever.”
Buff: Coliseum's Companion hit Tarkhan. His stats jumped 30%.
Lacked punch next to Shin-hyeok's though.
“The true one's me.”
Crunch!
Full 50% buff.
Unlike Integrated Gold League use, his current mid-Platinum stats made the uplift obscene.
Prep locked. One task left.
“Wipe 'em. Ah—backers to squeeze, so spare a few.”
“On it.”
Nearly twenty assassins.
Unleashing Shin-hyeok calamity upon them.
Tarkhan sub-calamity at his side, naturally.
No who-first—the twin disasters ignited battle as one.
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