Lee Jae-hak, the Seventh of the Soongmuiga.
While the next generation of Soongmuiga distinguished themselves in martial prowess, Lee Jae-hak showcased his genius in business.
People say of him: he may face failures, but he never suffers defeat.
A bold entrepreneur who, even if he stumbles at times, ultimately seizes victory.
And such a man wants to work with him?
"Why on earth…?"
Baek Cheol-soo did his best to feign humility, but he couldn't hide his skepticism.
Though he was known as the "human butcher" for his ruthless killings, he was no fool.
There was no reason for Soongmuiga to approach him specifically.
The black market was certainly a lucrative business, but not to the extent that Soongmuiga—especially a direct descendant—would personally get involved.
"Is this real?"
Doubt crept in.
After all, this was Soongmuiga.
No matter how much Baekgolpa was expanding its influence in South Korea's underworld, compared to Soongmuiga, it was nothing more than a child's plaything.
"The person seems to be connected to Soongmuiga, but is it really a direct descendant?"
Just as Baek Cheol-soo was lost in thought—
"I can see the arrogance in your eyes."
"…My apologies."
"My lord is far too generous to creatures like you. So much so that he's left this matter in my hands."
The man pulled out a long, cloth-wrapped object from his back.
"…!"
"Relax. If I intended to cut you down, you wouldn't have made it past the entrance."
With those words, the man unwrapped the cloth.
It was a short spear.
To the untrained eye, it might have looked more like a sword than a spear.
The blade was long and slender, curving like ocean waves.
Its handle was shorter than the blade.
Even at a glance, it was no ordinary weapon.
Baek Cheol-soo recognized it immediately.
"Baekjeol!"
The demonic spear, Baekjeol.
It was said to have been tempered using a dragon's leyline and bathed in the blood of a sea dragon.
Several years ago, during a mission in the North Sea, Lee Jae-hak had slain a sea dragon and extracted this spear from its remains. It was a well-known story in certain circles.
"You recognize this, don't you?"
"I know it as the demonic spear, Baekjeol. But why do I sense no energy from it…?"
"Because it's sealed, of course."
The man's eyes turned icy.
"I understand your doubts, but remember this—my lord does not need to choose you. If you continue with that insolent attitude, there is no reason for him to use you at all."
The man casually leaned back into the sofa.
Baek Cheol-soo's eyes gleamed.
"I apologize. The name Soongmuiga is so far beyond us lowly scum that I couldn't help myself. If there is a reason behind this, I would be grateful if you could explain it so that we may understand."
"My lord has taken an interest in your black market."
"The black market…?"
"That's right."
"It's merely a place we set up to make a little money."
"My lord will be the one to determine its value. He intends to expand the black market and take control of the underground economy."
Baek Cheol-soo's eyes widened in shock.
"A direct descendant of Soongmuiga is reaching into the shadows?"
The underground world was profitable, to be sure.
And considering that it was Lee Jae-hak—renowned for his business acumen—this move was not entirely surprising.
As he connected the dots, a dreadful sensation washed over Baek Cheol-soo, as if he had stepped into an abyss.
"Do I… have a choice?"
"No. You do not."
Of course not.
The moment the name Lee Jae-hak was spoken, the answer had already been decided.
If he refused, by tomorrow night—no, perhaps even immediately—a squad of elite enforcers under the direct command of the family would arrive.
That would be the end of him.
"But if you become my lord's loyal dog, you will rise in the daylight as the chairman of a thriving corporation and rule over an untouchable empire in the shadows. Of course, my lord will always be above you."
Baek Cheol-soo swallowed dryly.
He had no choice.
This was not just a lifeline being thrown at him.
It was a pillar descending from the heavens.
A thick and solid pillar named Soongmuiga.
"…What should I do?"
Baek Cheol-soo's eyes sparkled.
"Don't be mistaken. I intend to test you now."
The man gave a meaningful smile.
***
Baek Cheol-soo first sent Lee Jae-hak's subordinate to the suite room and then called Jeong Jin-soo.
"That guy is a direct subordinate."
Jeong Jin-soo's eyes wavered.
Soongmuiga was a direct subordinate. And judging by his appearance, he seemed to be from a branch family.
For wanderers, that was an incredibly significant status.
"Aren't you curious who he is? He's the subordinate of the seventh, Lee Jae-hak."
Baek Cheol-soo conveyed the conversation he had with the man to Jeong Jin-soo.
Jeong Jin-soo's eyes widened.
"Is that true?"
"I'm not completely sure. But he showed me this."
Baek Cheol-soo casually tossed a dark, rugged piece of metal onto the table.
"Chief Jeong, you don't know what this is, do you? It's a creature called Baekjeol. Quite a famous one. It's also known that Lee Jae-hak obtained it from the North Sea."
Baek Cheol-soo's eyes gleamed.
"I told him I understood for now, but I can't fully trust it. So, I need you to verify it."
"Haven't you been trying to avoid dealing with Soongmuiga until now? If they have some hidden agenda…"
Jeong Jin-soo trailed off.
Baek Cheol-soo smirked.
"If he really is Lee Jae-hak's subordinate, then it's fine. If not, we'll have caught an impostor pretending to be him. Either way, it works in our favor."
Baek Cheol-soo took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth.
"If nothing suspicious comes up, think about what to do with this at the next black market. If it checks out, we'll have a huge opportunity."
Baek Cheol-soo let out a low chuckle, flashing a sly grin.
Jeong Jin-soo bowed his head deeply to hide his distorted expression.
***
I was escorted to the suite room in the building.
It was at Baek Cheol-soo's request, asking for some time to process the conditions I had set.
I had given him three conditions.
The first condition was the sale of Baekjeol.
A difficult-to-handle and cumbersome weapon, akin to a spear. I wanted to test whether he had the ability to sell it.
'Not that it's a real Baekjeol anyway.'
I smirked.
The Baekjeol I handed over wasn't the real demonic spear, but a fake created using Mujin.
As proof, the ring that had always been on my finger was now gone.
Even if Baek Cheol-soo suspected something and examined it, he wouldn't be able to find anything.
Even Soongmuiga's advanced technology had only detected that "something" was there, but never uncovered any meaningful results about Mujin.
Moreover, unless someone had personally fed it blood, it couldn't even be used.
So even if things went south, I had no fear of losing Mujin.
'With the abilities I've already absorbed from Judo, I can just retrieve it if needed.'
The masterpiece-grade sword, Judo, which I had received from my seventh brother.
Judo's ability allowed it to return to my hand no matter how far away it was.
Since I had already imbued it with magic, I could summon it back within a certain range, like a boomerang.
The second condition was to review the ledger.
This was where Baek Cheol-soo hesitated.
He paused for a moment, but in the end, he had no choice but to bring it.
The final condition was access to the client list.
All three were necessary to smoothly wrap up this matter.
'Right now, he must be racking his brain over it.'
Baek Cheol-soo was a man who knew how to think.
Even after seeing the Baekjeol, he wouldn't trust it 100%.
He would try to verify it by any means, but he wouldn't find any answers.
'Because the real Baekjeol is already sealed away.'
It wasn't a sacred relic, but a demonic weapon.
A spear that devoured its own wielder.
Before any unnecessary chaos could arise, my seventh brother swiftly sealed it away and blocked all information about it.
'That aside…'
I just recalled the face of the man who was with Baek Cheol-soo when he visited me a moment ago.
'I'm sure I've seen that face before….'
Since Baek Cheol-soo had everyone leave for a private conversation, I hadn't been able to take a closer look.
Just then, a faint ringing sound came from the corner of the room.
When I pressed the intercom button, Baek Cheol-soo and that man appeared on the screen.
"I gave you the best room available, but I wonder if it was to your liking."
Baek Cheol-soo said with a smile.
"Did you prepare everything I asked for?"
"I've brought the requested documents. Would you like to review them now?"
I naturally took the seat at the head of the sofa, while Baek Cheol-soo and the man sat side by side.
"This man is someone I have entrusted with various business operations. It would be more convenient for you to hear the explanation of the documents directly from my subordinate."
Baek Cheol-soo gestured toward the man as he spoke.
"I apologize for the late introduction. My name is Jeong Jin-soo, Chief Manager."
The man bowed politely and then began placing thick stacks of documents in front of me.
At that moment, I could hardly believe my ears or eyes.
Jeong Jin-soo.
Hearing that name, I finally recalled why his face had seemed familiar.
***
Jeong Jin-soo began explaining in a calm voice.
"This is a table summarizing last year's revenue, and this one here…"
I skimmed through the documents he introduced, trying to suppress my shock.
Then, I glanced at the man, who continued flipping through the papers and speaking in a businesslike tone.
'Jeong Jin-soo… Could it really be that Jeong Jin-soo?'
In my past life, I had known him.
There was no way I could not know him. He was quite—no, extremely—famous.
Because he was none other than my third brother's man.
'Tongue Sword (舌劍). My third brother's brain.'
That was what people called Jeong Jin-soo.
After our father passed away, when my third brother and eldest brother began competing for the position of family head in earnest, he was the one who emerged at the forefront.
His wit and words were as sharp as a blade, earning him the nickname "Tongue Sword." Even my eldest brother struggled against him.
'He has both hands, and there are no burn scars. Is it really him?'
The Jeong Jin-soo I remembered had lost his left hand. He also had a horrific burn scar running from his right forehead down to his right shoulder, which he covered with an eye patch.
'No matter how I look at it, he's the same person. So the success of Baekgolpa (White Bone Faction) wasn't just because of Baek Cheol-soo's skills—it was because Jeong Jin-soo was backing him up.'
Baek Cheol-soo might have been capable enough to control the vagrants' nest and underground businesses alone.
But expanding into the legal market and growing the black market to its current scale? That had to be Jeong Jin-soo's doing.
No matter how cunning Baek Cheol-soo was, there were too many things that couldn't be handled with mere resourcefulness.
But if Jeong Jin-soo had been covering that part, then it all made sense.
'So far, he doesn't seem to have any ties to my third brother. Was he originally working under Baek Cheol-soo before that?'
Jeong Jin-soo's presence here was an unexpected variable.
'What should I do?'
Even with Jeong Jin-soo here, there was no need to revise my plans.
However, considering his value and the danger he posed, I couldn't help but ponder.
The decision didn't take long.
I turned to Baek Cheol-soo.
"Baek Cheol-soo."
"Yes."
"How do you plan to handle Baekjeol?"
"I'm planning to auction it off on the day of the black market opening. Only trusted clients will participate, so security won't be an issue."
"When is the black market opening?"
"In three days."
"I will personally attend. But before that, I want to inspect what will be on sale at the black market."
Baek Cheol-soo's expression turned uneasy.
"Well… the goods are kept in a rather remote location. It's not exactly a place suited for an esteemed warrior of the Sungmuiga clan to visit…"
I scoffed, speaking as if it were nothing.
"I already know the goods are stored in the warehouse of the vagrants' nest. Did you really think I wouldn't know that?"
Both Baek Cheol-soo and Jeong Jin-soo's faces filled with shock.
They were realizing, once again, the terrifying reach of Sungmuiga's intelligence network.
"Then I will personally escort you. Would you like to go right away?"
Silently, I stood up and followed Baek Cheol-soo.
"...."
Jeong Jin-soo, holding the documents, wore an oddly dry expression.
A blank face does not mean a lack of emotion.
On the contrary, people often put on a blank face when they are trying to hide something.
I took one last look at Jeong Jin-soo's gaze before turning away.
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