Chapter 314

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 314: Noble Family (6)

“What’s a collection team? Why do you need that?”

"Collection team."

It was such a unique term that even Song Jiseon showed curiosity.

Yeongwoo, staring off somewhere beyond Gwangjin-gu with a distant look in his eyes, replied,

“Since I’m not yet the true ruler of this planet, I can't automatically collect taxes from other countries. It’s really unfortunate.”

Jiseon tilted her head, puzzled, and asked,

— What are you saying? So you're saying that in other countries, taxes are collected manually?

“Something like that. Though, right now, it’s closer to alliance fees than taxes.”

When Yeongwoo explained that they had to send people to various Chinese cities that had been ‘convinced’ to collect money, Jiseon gestured in disbelief.

— Are you kidding me? China is huge. How are you sending people everywhere to collect money?

“That’s why I built highways.”

— ...What? Roads? In China?

“No, across the world.”

— W-what...

Jiseon hesitated, finding it hard to believe such a claim.

Yeongwoo pointed at one of the ‘towers’ planted even in Gwangjin-gu, lifting Bastard, that he was holding.

“That right there is our highway. My sworn brothers, the Red-footed Orcs, built it.”

Most likely, the roads were still under construction even at that very moment.

By now, his brothers were probably crossing Europe and building roads somewhere on the African continent.

— Orcs are building highways across the world? And you’re using those roads to extort foreign currency?

“It seems like you still don’t understand the concept of alliance fees, but yes, on the surface, it’s something like that.”

As Yeongwoo nodded, Jiseon finally seemed to understand.

She raised her greatsword with one hand, pointing it at her son.

— Are you serious? You’re a complete imperialist! You’re crazier than I thought...

Jiseon, now realizing the ‘foreign policy’ of the Korea her son kept mentioning, was in utter shock.

—- So, when you said you were the ‘owner of this planet,’ you meant that you're in a position to extort money from the entire world?

“Extort? No, mother. Soon, it’ll be a legitimate tax, and until then, it’s revenue.”

— ...What?

“What is the one thing in this world that everyone wants to have?”

Yeongwoo asked seriously, leaving Jiseon speechless.

Instead, it was Yechan, who had been silently watching, who cautiously raised his hand.

“Yechan, go ahead.”

Glancing nervously at both Jiseon and Yeongwoo, Yechan voiced his answer.

“Life... isn’t it?”

Life.

Indeed, Yechan was able to answer right away because he had purchased his life from Yeongwoo on the very first day of the reset.

The price of life.

Or to dress it up a bit, a protection fee. H

e had hired Yeongwoo before, paying for his protection.

As expected, Yeongwoo patted Yechan on the shoulder, looking pleased.

“That’s right! Who in this world doesn’t want to avoid death?”

“....”

Even though Yechan had given the correct answer, he couldn’t feel happy about it.

Meanwhile, Jiseon, hearing the answer, was utterly incredulous.

— Are you insane? How is that a product? Demanding money not to kill someone—that’s robbery!

In other words, her son had turned Korea into a giant den of thieves.

But Yeongwoo was thinking far beyond what Jiseon could imagine.

“Robbery? Please, call it the violence business.”

―But you can't keep doing your robbery... no, your violence business in space, can you? Aren't you setting yourself up for global trouble?

To this, Yeongwoo surprisingly nodded in agreement.

"You make a valid point."

Then, he quickly changed course.

"But it's not the right point."

―What?

"My sponsors are people who even beat up public officials. The fact that they have both sufficient force and background... proves that you can run a violence business in space too."

"......"

Yechan, who had been quietly listening, realized at some point that the conversation had gone completely off track, but he remained silent.

After all, this was a cosmic-level conversation, and someone like him, who barely claimed to be the ‘Strongest Spear of North Gyeongbuk,' couldn't possibly interject.

On the other hand, Jiseon, who had joined forces with her son to board a spaceship to space, couldn't help but keep asking questions.

―Let's assume sufficient force, but what do you mean by background?

"The chairman of my sponsor is a royal before he is a space thug."

―What?

At this point, the fact that her son was blatantly calling his business partner a 'space thug' didn’t even register as a threat anymore.

No, after all, he was backed by space royalty.

―Royalty?

"Yes, I think that’s why he can kill public officials or invade other planets without facing any consequences."

Of course, it was just a theory for now.

But no other explanation seemed plausible.

―And what about you? Compared to space royalty, you're just...

As Song Jiseon raised her finger, aiming to point at her son, Yeongwoo shouted back fiercely.

"Hey, 'just' what? If I kill my second uncle, I will be the sole heir to the Great Jinhyeon family and the only son of the Iron-Blooded Empress, Song Jiseon, won't I?"

―...Is this kid really out of his mind?

"Of course, right now I’m just an illegitimate child, unacknowledged by my parents, with no background or even a proper family."

For a moment, sadness flickered in Yeongwoo's eyes.

But only for a moment.

"So, if I don't have it, I’ll have to create it. The background."

―What?

At that moment, Yeongwoo was looking at the achievements bestowed upon his family.

[Family: Root Restoration]

"From now on, I will become the master of a violent business that even aliens tremble at the sound of. To do that, I first need to conquer Earth and solidify my foundation. I need a background, a family."

And of course, a family must have members.

Click!

Yeongwoo suddenly grabbed his mother’s arm, and a startled Song Jiseon tried to pull away.

But Yeongwoo’s grip was too strong, and she couldn’t easily escape.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo turned his gaze to Yechan.

"Now that I have my mother and father to form the basic family unit, I should have at least one retainer too. After all, that’s what a great family is."

"A retainer...?"

As Yechan also tried to back away, Yeongwoo grabbed him too, not letting go.

"Welcome to the family of a cosmic dynasty."

"......!"

The goal of this family was to grow into something that could rival the royal families of space.

'And to do that, of course, the family’s status on Earth, its origin, must rise too.'

As Yeongwoo thought this, he saw the VIP timer on his system display drop to 10 minutes.

[00:10:02]

And then.

Pop!

As the timer dipped below 10 minutes, a system message appeared.

"In 10 minutes, the promotion examiners will arrive."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]