God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 183: Episode _Hand It Over (5)

9.

For the first time in a while, Kenji stepped out of his capsule to review some important documents. These were major deals where a single signature could move hundreds of millions of dollars. He only reviewed the most critical ones, but even that took hours.

“What’s this?” he asked, his eyes catching on something as he reviewed the papers. He looked at his secretary.

“It’s from the Chinese side. They’ve subtly inserted a few clauses that benefit them. We determined they were concessions we could afford to make.”

The secretary answered calmly. It wasn’t a major issue. All documents that reached Kenji’s desk had been reviewed and re-checked dozens of times by experts. Even a single problematic word would get a contract thrown out. That’s why he could remain composed even when Kenji was in a foul mood. Besides, Kenji knew this better than anyone; it was how he had always run the company.

“They see us as pushovers,” Kenji stated flatly.

“Sir?”

But this time was different. Kenji, in his dark mood, reacted sensitively to the unfavorable clause, as if he had just been thoroughly fleeced by someone. In truth, it wasn’t even that unfavorable. As always, they had secured a proportional financial gain for whatever they conceded.

“A man should never let himself be underestimated.”

He was too stunned to speak.

“This contract. Set up a meeting. I’ll go myself.”

Kenji rose abruptly from his seat. The secretary, though startled, bowed his head and followed the order. ’What’s gotten into him?’ The question didn’t linger. It wasn’t his place to worry about Kenji’s unusual behavior. Everything here belonged to Kenji, and if he decided to sell it all and disappear tomorrow, no one could stop him.

Besides, he trusted Kenji’s prowess. The man grew the company’s value by a visible margin every year. That wasn’t something you could do just by inheriting a business.

’Still, what’s with him?’ The secretary couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion. It was only natural. As someone who had watched Kenji up close and knew his management style better than anyone, this was strange. It was as if the great Kenji had been shaken down by some thug and was now taking out his anger on everyone else.

’No way.’

Watching Kenji’s retreating back, the secretary pushed the unpleasant thought from his mind. Kenji had spent tens of millions of dollars on the game over the past month, but compared to his total wealth, that was an amount he could write off as a moment’s entertainment.

’Or maybe...?’

Could that really be the reason?

’Nah.’

As a plausible picture began to form in his mind, the secretary shook his head and followed Kenji out. It couldn’t be. The chairman getting scammed in a game for an amount that could buy a small-to-medium-sized enterprise? He would sooner believe a story about Kenji willingly giving his bank account and password to some random Chinese caller.

And so, because Kenji had been slighted in one place, companies all along the Han River paid the price.

*

The Northern Mountain Range. Though now a mountain range in name only, it was still the most efficient hunting ground for players over level 50. The Specialists had set up camp there and were in the middle of a hunt.

Simin was lounging on the back of a transformed Squeaker, surfing the web. Beside him, Kardian sat with her arms crossed, pouting all day. A small contingent of rabbits remained to maximize the experience buff, while the rest of the Specialists hunted below. Sudal and the other rabbits had left to create a new mine—not to restore the mountain range, but to revive Simin’s income stream.

“Agh, it would be perfect if we had Sudal’s buff too,” Simin whined.

“Our Sudal is busy,” Kardian retorted.

“Can’t you help us out a bit? It’s not like you’re getting paid for this anyway. It’s better for everyone if we hit level 100 faster,” Yeseul chimed in.

“After the mine is finished,” Kardian stated flatly.

“Tch.”

The disappointment of losing the opportunity to gain a visible chunk of experience four times a day was significant, but despite their words, smiles never left the Specialists’ faces. It was only natural. How long had it been since they’d felt an experience buff like this? The higher their level and the more experience the monsters gave, the more powerful the buff became. And they were on the cusp of level 70.

“Someone was right on the money. In Fantastic World, your items do the hunting before level 50, and after level 50, time does the hunting. It’s a battle of endurance, plain and simple.”

“It’s not like this is our first time playing a game.”

“True, but this is different from just moving your fingers,” Yeseul said, and Hyeonsu agreed.

Even Simin, who was just lazing around, nodded. He had given up on leveling, but even he sighed when he looked at his experience bar after occasionally killing a monster. He couldn’t imagine what it was like for them. They could hunt all day and their level wouldn’t budge. Three days, if they were fast. And that was only after finding the most efficient monsters and getting an experience buff. The hunting fatigue would crush players, incomparable to online games where it took three days of 24/7 hunting to gain a single level.

The fact that the Specialists could endure it was a testament to their dedication. They probably wouldn’t have been able to do it if they were hunting alone.

“This reminds me of when we were kids.”

“We’ve heard that story fifty times already.”

“Well, you’re hearing it again.”

If they hadn’t gotten along so well, it would have been impossible. Simin applauded their efforts. For chaebols, they were remarkably diligent. One could argue it was because it was a game they loved, but they were too diligent. People like them deserved to achieve something.

“Simin, aren’t you going to do some enhancement? You said you had to enhance the Sword of the Empire or something. It’s been over three weeks,” Yeseul said.

“Our Seolah’s level is more important.”

“What about me?”

“You’re just a promotional freebie.”

And so, Simin bestowed upon them a favor proportional to his gratitude. He had received a lot from them, but his shamelessness transformed it into an act of charity.

’Normally, I would have spent half the day enhancing while giving them the buff.’

Doing two things at once wasn’t his style. He would do anything if the money was right, but enhancing the Empire’s symbol was merely a way to curry a little more favor with the Emperor for the future, and perhaps to rip off a potential buyer later. How could that compare to the consideration Seolah had shown him by readily selling him a building that money couldn’t buy?

Tricked by Simin once again today, Yeseul pouted and changed the subject. She had to keep talking. That was the only way to keep the hunting atmosphere alive. She had to erase the thought of hunting from her mind and convince herself she was just chatting while getting some exercise. A state of selfless oblivion, where she forgot herself and the hunt!

“Oh! And I heard there’s been a huge commotion lately.”

“Why?” 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“You know that huge Middle Eastern oil company? Apparently, they’ve been throwing their weight around all over the world.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s not exactly a power trip. They just nitpick every single unfavorable clause they find in their contracts.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know. My dad told me about it.”

The conversation jumped between reality and the game, whatever came to mind. The interesting topic recharged their flagging hunting speed as their discussion blossomed.

“Does he have a victim complex or something?”

“No way. An oil tycoon?”

“Maybe he got scammed.”

“Who would dare scam someone like that? It’s more likely he’d be the one doing the scamming.”

“You never know. Maybe he got bored of making money in the real world and started playing Fantastic World.”

He was too stunned to speak.

Gossiping was always best when you turned it into a novel. They made up stories, imagined all sorts of scenarios. Soon enough, the real-world story became linked to Fantastic World, and they started voicing the assumptions they had only thought about until now.

“Come to think of it, that oil tycoon... what was his name? Anyway, weren’t there a lot of rumors that he was Kenji?”

“Looking at how he spends money, it’s not impossible.”

“That kind of money, a similar age, and you can just alter your appearance a bit to be unrecognizable.”

The fact that they were chaebols themselves added weight to the speculation. They knew that even among the wealthy, assets varied, but the theory wasn’t entirely baseless. Listening from above, Simin chuckled.

“Hey. That oil tycoon you think might be Kenji, he’s rich, right?”

“Very. He controls over eighty percent of the oil from a country where you just have to dig to find it.”

“So spending thirty million dollars on a campfire wouldn’t be a big deal for him?”

“Probably not. As long as he’s having fun,” Yeseul replied.

With her answer, Simin delivered his cheerful verdict. “Then it’s not him.”

“Huh?”

“That person isn’t Kenji.”

His confident declaration left the three of them speechless for a moment. It was just speculation, of course, but it wasn’t as baseless as Simin’s claim.

“Why?” one of them asked.

The question was inevitable. Simin answered without hesitation. “First of all, his name is Kenji. Isn’t he Japanese?”

“...It’s a game nickname.”

“So a Middle Easterner is a Japanophile?”

He was too stunned to speak.

Something about his logic was strange, yet oddly persuasive. But it wasn’t enough to convince them.

“That’s up to him. He might be pretending to be Japanese because he doesn’t want to be found out. There are a few Japanese tycoons who could fit the bill, too.”

“True... but it’s still not him.”

“Why on earth not?”

Despite their arguments, Simin remained confident. He had a real reason he hadn’t revealed yet. After a dramatic pause, he said with a completely straight face, “Let’s say Kenji really is that Middle Eastern tycoon.”

“Okay.”

“Then that would mean he’s taking out his anger on other countries and companies because he’s mad he got ripped off by me for thirty million dollars, right?”

“Right.”

“He’d take out his anger from a game on people who have nothing to do with it? A man that rich? A man for whom thirty million is pocket change he could lose on the street? In a business deal that could potentially backfire on him?”

“...That’s true, but he’s the kind of person who can get away with it.”

Unless a new energy source is discovered, the oil industry will always be king. And even without oil as a weapon, the money he possessed had already put him in a position to act with impunity. Simin, who had recently come to understand the power of money, nodded. ’He has a point.’

So, he brought out his decisive evidence. They would have to accept this.

“Crucially, Kenji was satisfied.”

“With what?”

“With our deal.”

He was too stunned to speak.

“It was a deal worth every bit of that thirty million dollars.”

Faced with Simin’s shameless bullshit, they all stopped talking and refocused on the hunt.