Chapter 27

Chapter 27: A Reckless Move That Brings a Bloodstorm seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Lillian opened the door right away.

There stood a very agitated Myung Un-seok, entering with a deep scowl.

“What the hell is this?! Cancelling the investment contract?!”

Just a few minutes ago, LIVIO SOFT had unilaterally notified MH Group of the cancellation of the investment contract, without any prior discussion.

Of course, the reason was listed in the notice.

【…It has been confirmed that your company cannot fulfil the clauses outlined in the subsidiary contract….】

But Myung Un-seok could not accept that, so he came to confront Lillian.

“So, the termination notice has already gone out. Doesn’t the reason seem pretty obvious to you?”

“…Don’t tell me… LIVIO SOFT found that programmer, MANDU, on their own?”

“That’s right.”

“How did they find him?”

Myung Un-seok had been anxiously searching for MANDU’s trail, only to lose it.

And now, LIVIO SOFT, which hadn’t been able to make any headway before, had found MANDU.

“That, I’m afraid I can’t disclose.”

“But wasn’t that something MH Group was fully entrusted with?”

“It wasn’t a full delegation. And I’m no longer with LIVIO SOFT. So, I’d like to end this unnecessary conversation here.”

Lillian’s annoyance flared, already fed up with Dale Becker’s broken promises.

And now, being hassled by Myung Un-seok, who had thrown lustful glances at her even in the U.S., she wanted nothing more than to leave the situation.

But Myung Un-seok, surprised by her statement, spoke again.

“You mean you’ve left LIVIO SOFT?”

“That’s none of your concern. And I’ll be checking out of this hotel shortly, so please leave.”

Despite her clear words, Myung Un-seok hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“Then, how about working for me?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m quite busy with other matters, so employment isn’t really an option.”

“I’ll offer a salary and benefits better than what you got at LIVIO SOFT.”

“I’m not interested.”

Lillian maintained her dignified expression, just wanting him to leave.

But Myung Un-seok wasn’t ready to give up, offering again.

“Did they fire you from LIVIO SOFT? If there’s any bad blood, I can help you crush them later. What do you say?”

He believed that once his father, Myung In-chul, took over as chairman of MH Group, the next in line would be him.

At that moment, Lillian’s previously calm face contorted, and she spoke clearly in Korean.

“Are you a stalker? Or are you just too stupid to understand words?”

“…….”

“I already told you no, didn’t I? Why do you keep pestering me? Get out right now, or do you want me to tear you limb from limb and display you in the hotel lobby?”

Completely shocked, Myung Un-seok was left speechless for a moment before slowly walking out of the room.

Once she was alone again, Lillian, her face twisted in fury, screamed out.

“Where the hell is that damned MANDU anyway—!!”

* * *

A few days later.

Past midnight, in a desolate area northwest of Vladivostok, Russia. A single black sedan pulled up in front of an abandoned warehouse surrounded by hills and open fields.

With no moon in the sky, the area was pitch black.

Three foreign men got out of the car.

Two of them were large, muscular men in black suits, while the third was a man with a kind demeanour, wearing glasses with a casual outfit.

“He hasn’t arrived yet….”

The man leading them was Lloyd Douglas, a renowned corporate lobbyist, sent on an important mission by Dale Becker of LIVIO SOFT.

Not long after, headlights pierced through the dark road, heading toward them.

The vehicle approached and stopped a short distance away from them.

The person who got out was Shin-woo. Despite it being nighttime, he wore sunglasses as he stepped out of the car.

The only light illuminating them came from the headlights of the two cars.

Lloyd Douglas smiled as he watched the scene unfold.

“Je wewe ni MANDU? (Are you MANDU?)”

Jang Man-soo had sent the email on Shin-woo’s behalf in Swahili, so Lloyd Douglas responded in the same language.

“представитель. (Representative.)”

But the words that came out of Shin-woo’s mouth were in Russian.

Lloyd Douglas was slightly surprised but, being a lobbyist, he smoothly switched languages.

“Are you Russian?”

“Does that matter?”

“If you’re a representative, I assume you’re a lobbyist like me. I’m Lloyd Douglas.”

He spoke in a friendly manner as if trying to create a comfortable atmosphere, stepping closer.

“I don’t feel the need to tell you my name. Whether or not I’m a lobbyist is for you to decide. What are LIVIO SOFT’s terms?”

Getting straight to the point, Shin-woo’s words caused Lloyd Douglas’s face to tense slightly.

“You seem to be in a hurry. But how can I trust that you are really MANDU’s representative?”

In response, Shin-woo took out a pen from his pocket and tossed it to him.

Lloyd Douglas caught it with some difficulty and examined it, twisting it open. It was a USB flash drive disguised as a pen.

The man next to Lloyd Douglas naturally brought a laptop from the car and immediately plugged in the USB to verify its contents.

“Bring him over.”

At Lloyd Douglas’s command, one of the men opened the backseat door and dragged out a bewildered-looking man, standing him up in front of the group.

“Verify it.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

Since the job involved the IT industry, Lloyd Douglas had brought an expert to verify the authenticity of the data.

With trembling hands, the man pushed his glasses up from the tip of his nose and began checking the laptop’s screen. It didn’t take long for him to give an answer.

“This is the real deal.”

“How did you confirm it?”

“The source code matches, and there’s a hidden lock option that we hadn’t detected while managing the program until now.”

After confirming it for himself, Lloyd Douglas grinned widely, looking at Shin-woo.

“What’s the unlock code for the option lock? Or better yet, how about you tell us who MANDU really is and where he’s located?”

“There’s no need for you to know anything about MANDU. You’ll need to provide appropriate compensation for the unlock code and the usage rights.”

“Don’t you understand the situation?”

As he spoke, the two burly men standing beside him began walking toward Shin-woo.

Seeing this, Shin-woo couldn’t help but sigh.

‘Greedy people always think in their favour, don’t they?’

Click

From behind him, the familiar sound of a gun’s hammer being cocked reached Shin-woo’s ears.

Turning his head slightly, he saw a Black man approaching him, aiming a gun at him.

“Is this the situation you were talking about? You claim to be a lobbyist, but your real job seems to be that of a thug.”

“The best skill of a lobbyist is negotiation, by any means necessary.”

Step, step.

The man behind Shin-woo moved closer, pressing the muzzle of his gun against Shin-woo’s back.

‘Is he a professional? He feels like a former soldier.’

Normally, people think aiming at the head is more certain, but the head is a small target and can move with the neck, making it less effective for intimidation. A real expert would aim at the back, just like the man behind him.

“To arrive first and set up an ambush… quite impressive.”

“I’d rather hear the answer to the question I asked earlier. About MANDU.”

For LIVIO SOFT, this was a life-or-death issue for the company. If the owner of the foundational program source code had even the slightest change of heart, it could destabilize everything. That’s why they chose the fastest and most reliable way to resolve the matter.

“I don’t want to answer that.”

At the same time, the man behind him poked Shin-woo in the back with the muzzle of the gun.

“Did you pick this place as a grave? Oh, but before that…”

With a nod from Lloyd Douglas, one of the men standing beside him pulled out his gun and shot the man who had verified the authenticity of the data.

Bang!

“Ugh—! Why, why… me, why…?”

“Sorry, but I was asked to keep the source of the data confidential.”

Soon, the man’s breath ceased entirely.

Shin-woo watched the scene through his sunglasses.

“You’re quite ruthless.”

At Shin-woo’s murmur, Lloyd Douglas’s face turned cold, though he smiled sinisterly.

“A clean job builds credibility.”

“You’re right. But the thing you said earlier… this is indeed a grave. Except it’s for you, not me.”

“Stop spouting nonsense. If you keep this up, the finger on the trigger is going to get awfully twitchy.”

This time, it was Shin-woo who smiled.

“Huh. It hasn’t gotten twitchy yet? My hands have already lightened up.”

“…What?”

Twang!

At that moment, something flew through the air, cutting through the darkness, and spun around the arm of the man holding the gun.

Simultaneously, as Shin-woo moved his body to the left and pulled with his right hand, the man’s arm dropped as if something had grabbed it.

Bang!

The bullet was fired into the ground, and Shin-woo quickly turned his body, jabbing his elbow into the area between the man’s collarbone and neck.

Thud!

As Shin-woo shifted behind the man, just like before, the man’s arm and body, which held the gun, became bound by something, leaving him unable to move.

Shin-woo snatched the man’s gun and pointed it at Lloyd Douglas.

In an instant, the positions of the man and Shin-woo were reversed.

The other men standing across from him also raised their guns, ready to engage.

The previously amiable expression on Lloyd Douglas’s face twisted into one of frustration.

“You weren’t an ordinary lobbyist, were you?”

“You’re not an ordinary lobbyist either. Besides, I never said I was a lobbyist.”

“You think the situation’s changed just because you’ve taken one hostage?”

Even though Shin-woo had a gun, it was still two against one.

“Nothing’s changed. I had the upper hand from the start.”

“…What?”

Bang! Bang!

Flames erupted from the gun Shin-woo was holding, and the two men across from him crumpled to the ground, their heads twitching.

“See? Nothing’s changed.”

Bang!

Shin-woo also shot the man he was holding in the head.

Now, only Lloyd Douglas remained.

“…How… how can this be?”

“What do you mean? That I killed these guys? Didn’t you just kill that guy earlier too? Why are you acting like an amateur?”

Lloyd Douglas swallowed hard as he stared at the gun pointed at him by Shin-woo.

“Ca-calm down… What terms do you want? I can negotiate the best possible deal for you. Considering the situation, you could demand more than half of LIVIO SOFT’s shares.”

“Oh~ so now you’re saying you’ll do anything if I let you live?”

“How could negotiations proceed without me?”

“You said a lobbyist’s best skill is negotiation, right? But I’m a bit different. I think the best skill is getting the job done right.”

Muttering that, Shin-woo pulled the thin wire from the man’s body, which he had just killed.

Whirrr—

In his right hand was the yellow eight-sided die he always carried with him. It was made by Jang Man-soo, and when pulled apart, a specially designed high-strength micro-wire came out, which he had used to restrain the man’s arm.

Shin-woo slowly walked toward Lloyd Douglas.

“P-please spare me! If you let me live, I’ll make sure LIVIO SOFT agrees to whatever conditions you want!”

“First you threaten me, now you’re offering me everything. What should I believe?”

Click—

Shin-woo pointed the gun directly at Lloyd Douglas.

“It’s the truth! I swear it’s not a lie, please believe m—”

Bang!

Without hesitation, Shin-woo’s finger pulled the trigger.