Chapter 147: Star, Abroad (4)

Chapter 147: Star, Abroad (4)

Gang Woo-Chan’s face reddened when Chang-Sun coldly smirked at him.

“You fuck...” Woo-Chan stopped abruptly when he saw Department Head Shim Geon-Ho hurriedly running somewhere. Turning to see what was happening, he found a middle-aged gentleman with pomaded short blond hair and his secretary approaching them. Woo-Chan flinched and immediately straightened his posture.

‘That’s Duke Bluewolf!’ Woo-Chan gritted his teeth.

When Joachim Wolff visited the White Tiger Clan head office three days ago, their employees were thrown into chaos. Joachim was one of the most famous Players in Europe, and to top it all off, he visited the White Tiger Clan as the Illuminati’s emissary. Although there had been several news articles about how the Illuminati had decided to recruit Chang-Sun, the White Tiger Clan employees thought the Illuminati members were just bluffing.

They didn’t think any differently even when Joachim came over. Although Chang-Sun was certainly a world-class celebrity, it was hard to believe a ‘Duke-Class’ high ranker would personally recruit one rookie. In fact, it was more logical to think that Joachim was using Chang-Sun as an excuse to visit Korea and secretly meet with other Clans.

Since Joachim paid the White Tiger Clan head office a visit and Executive Director Oh greeted Joachim himself at that time, the theory earned more credibility. All the employees knew that the White Tiger Clan executives had been trying to expand the Clan since after the punitive expedition against the Highoff Clan, so they believed meeting with the Illuminati was just a part of the Clan’s plan to achieve their goal.

However, it seemed the ‘meeting’ had already concluded, so the Illuminati emissaries planned to leave Korea on the same day the White Tiger Clan members departed for France. Woo-Chan couldn’t act pathetic in front of such a man, so he quickly put a stop to his hostilities, but not before warning Chang-Sun by sending him a telepathic message.

『I’ll see you soon.』

Of course, Chang-Sun just snorted right in his face, making veins pop out of Woo-Chan’s forehead and making him really want to snap at Chang-Sun.

‘Huh? Huuhh? Why is he coming toward us...?’ Woo-Chang wondered.

Weirdly enough, Joachim began walking toward him and Chang-Sun after half-heartedly exchanging greetings with Geon-Ho. Joachim was also smiling very brightly and delightedly, appearing to be extremely glad to see Woo-Chan. Since he never had talked with Joachim, his jaw goofily dropped as he wondered why Joachim was acting like this. However, Joachim just passed by Woo-Chan and suddenly shook Chang-Sun’s hand. “Oh, there you were. I’ve been looking for you!”

“Are you heading home today?” Chang-Sun asked.

“Yes, we changed our flight. I thought if I was going to return, it would be better to chat with my friend on the way.” Joachim grinned.

“We’re on the same flight, then?” Chang-Sun asked.

“Haha! That’s right. To be honest, I didn’t tell you because I wanted to surprise you, but was it impolite of me?” Joachim carefully inquired.

“No, I’m happy to know that I’ll be going with my friend.” Chang-Sun gently shook his head.

“Haha, that’s good. That’s good.” Joachim burst into laughter and continued to talk with Chang-Sun. Anyone could see that he was very delighted to meet Chang-Sun.

In contrast, Chang-Sun reacted nonchalantly, just as how he interacted with other people. The sight allowed Woo-Chan to determine who was more glad to meet the other and made him pale. He didn’t expect Chang-Sun would be acquainted with a man like Joachim.

‘Did he really visit the head office just because of Lee Chang-Sun...?’ Woo-Chan thought, ending up unwittingly hiccupping.

Hiccup!

‘I made a mistake!’ Woo-Chan bit his lower lip.

No matter how quickly he stopped acting hostile, a man like Joachim would surely have seen the staredown between him and Chang-Sun. If Joachim raised an issue regarding that, Woo-Chan would be the one to take responsibility.

However, there was someone who was more shocked than Woo-Chan.

‘How dare he...!’ Geon-Ho’s clenched fists trembled.

Joachim had just ignored Geon-Ho and headed straight to Chang-Sun. The problem was that Geon-Ho had no power or held a position that would make him powerful enough to raise a formal complaint to Joachim.

“...”

“...”

Sensing Geon-Ho’s annoyance, other employees furtively moved away from him.

“I see everyone has already arrived!” the Executive Director shouted as he showed up with three old men. Chang-Sun, the Team L members, Geon-Ho, Woo-Chan, and the rest of the Future Strategy Department members bowed at them.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ is looking down on his sharpest and oldest claws.]

Woosh!

Although they had just shown up, the air around them became heavy—no, not just heavy. The air became so hot it was as if the airport’s air conditioner broke down. The cause had to be the auras that the three old men subconsciously emitted, not Executive Director Oh’s.

‘Are they the elders that Executive Director Oh was talking about?’ Chang-Sun’s eyes momentarily shone.

Executive Director Oh had already told Chang-Sun last night that three elders were going to join to ‘help’ him, so he was expecting them. Even so, he was still quite shocked. The three elders were more powerful than he had thought.

‘They’re truly monsters that symbolize the White Tiger Clan,’ Chang-Sun thought.

Unlike the Illuminati’s Senate, an organization that ran the Illuminati Clan, the White Tiger Clan’s Council of Elders couldn’t participate in Clan management. However, they were the ones in charge of combat. If the four Raid Teams were the White Tiger Clan’s face and body and the Future Strategy Department was the Clan’s brain and spine, then the Council of Elders was its hidden claws and fangs.

Although the Council of Elders rarely appeared in public, they always created disasters whenever they did. As a result, the public considered them ‘mysteries.’ There was even a rumor that the missing great demonic beings were hiding in the White Tiger Clan’s Council of Elders.

If other people knew what Chang-Sun was thinking, they would be shocked to their cores. After all, being in the same league as Joachim meant being at least a level 80 ‘Duke-Class’ Player.

Clap!

To loosen up the tense atmosphere, Executive Director Oh lightly clapped. “It looks like everyone has finished introducing themselves, so I’ll give a brief explanation now. As you all know, this business trip is to establish a solid relationship with Europe before we head to America. The three experienced elders here will be helping you during this trip, but keep in mind that you should never make mistakes, got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yes, sir! I’ll keep that in mind!”

“Yes, sir! I understand.”

“...”

Except for Chang-Sun, the Team L members nodded fervently and nervously as they stood in attention.

Executive Director Oh smiled gently. “Then off you go. I hope to see your names in tabloid newspapers when I meet you guys in the U.S. Hahahaha!”

Their business trip to the U.S. had begun.

* * *

“... Department Head Shim.” Woo-Chan looked at Geon-Ho very nervously while Geon-Ho watched Chang-Sun, the Team L members, and the three elders enter the departure gate. Just like Woo-Chan, Geon-Ho had tensed up with anger because Executive Director Oh also pretended as if he didn’t see Geon-Ho. It was the second time Geon-Ho had been ignored today after Joachim. No, it wasn’t anger that he felt anymore. He was now scared of Chang-Sun, who had successfully threatened his position within a matter of months.

“Keep what I said in mind,” Geon-Ho said.

“Yes, sir.” Woo-Chan nodded with a heavy heart.

“And...” Geon-Ho pulled out two letters from his pocket and handed them to Woo-Chan. “Deliver these as soon as you arrive.”

“Can I... ask what these are?” Woo-Chan carefully asked.

“One of them is a letter I’m sending to the Illuminati. If they’re capable of thinking, then they won’t see Lee Chang-Sun in a good light, so I’m trying to ignite ‘fire.’ The other is...” Geon-Ho trailed off.

“...?” Woo-Chan blinked.

“It’s for the Black Hand. For the Killer Overlord of Crna Ruka[4], to be precise.”

“...!” Woo-Chan turned pale upon hearing a name he didn’t expect to hear. The Killer Overlord was one of the Ten Overlords, the most famous Players in the world.

“So don’t make any mistakes. When you hand over the letters, you might receive something in return, but burn everything on site,” Geon-Ho instructed.

As his face hardened, Woo-Chan bowed. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“Then off you go.” Geon-Ho gestured at Woo-Chan with his chin.

Tucking the letters safely in his inner pocket, Woo-Chan walked away with his suitcase, looking a bit nervous. Watching Woo-Chan’s back, Geon-Ho narrowed his eyes and saw Chang-Sun, who was passing the checkpoint, over a glass wall.

Geon-Ho had confirmed through Director Kim Yeon-Seung that in ‘Yeti Hill,’ Chang-Sun killed Hong Gi-Nam, the Killer Overlord’s disciple, and exterminated the Black Ghosts. Hence, he planned to use that to make someone else kill Chang-Sun. No matter what Chang-Sun had accomplished, he wouldn’t be able to survive against the world’s best assassin. Even if he did, he would certainly sustain a severe injury.

‘You won’t be able to find out how I got here.’ Geon-Ho gritted his teeth and turned away when he couldn’t see Chang-Sun anymore. Because of that, he didn’t see Executive Director Oh, who happened to finish sending everyone else off, looking coldly at him.

* * *

Their flight’s plane was Air France AF0267. They were going to depart from Incheon and arrive in Paris.

‘Shoes, shoes, shoes....’ Gyeo-Ul nervously repeated in his mind as he got on the plane, remembering what Chang-Sun had told him.

The flight attendants, who were checking their tickets, became antsy for some reason. “S-sir?”

“Pardon?” Gyeo-Ul looked up while taking his shoes off.

“You should keep your shoes on...!” one of the flight attendants carefully said.

“...?” Gyeo-Ul stopped and blinked, not knowing what was going on.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ also blinks.]

1. A city in Korea ☜

2. This term is used to describe the phase that the Joseon Dynasty went through while developing into a modern form of state. Image of the suit. ☜

3. Jaegal is a Korean surname that came from China. The most famous man with this surname is Zhuge Liang. ☜

4. This is another name for the Black Hand. ☜