Numerous large corporations had knelt before Han Sang-Cheol and Geumyang Group.
Compared to the major companies Han Sang-Cheol had forced to their knees, the president currently standing before him was merely a fragment of dregs running a gambling den.
In the end, the conclusion reached after much deliberation was one that was utterly obvious in a way.
“I-I am deeply sorry for causing you any discomfort. It is already late, but I apologize now.”
Thinking about it, the body search itself was a laughable matter.
As Han Sang-Cheol had stated, 5 billion won was pocket change to him.
‘What would the chairman of Geumyang Group lack that he would resort to fraud over such pocket change?’
A tycoon like Han Sang-Cheol did not come to a gambling den to earn money; he was the type to come to a gambling den to spend it.
“Good. I am grateful that you are showing such consideration.”
Han Sang-Cheol reached out and tapped the shoulder of the junket room president and smiled benevolently.
“Since you are operating a junket room in the Playchip Hotel’s casino, you must have sufficient know-how and knowledge in the relevant field. You are aware that there is a hotel brand under Geumyang Group, right?”
At Han Sang-Cheol’s words, the president’s eyes widened as he looked at him, and soon he lowered his head sharply.
“Of course I am aware.”
How could he not know?
Even though it was a fact that the Playchip Hotel was the world's best hotel, that did not damage the brand value of the hotels under Geumyang Group.
The Playchip Hotel was a single hotel, but what Geumyang Group possessed was a hotel brand.
“Our hotels also operate casinos. Naturally, junket rooms are also being leased out.”
Even hearing only that far, the president felt he knew exactly what Han Sang-Cheol was talking about.
A chip labeled ‘Happiness’ in his frontal lobe began to flicker and emit light crazily.
“Contact me if you become interested in a junket room at our hotels. Give me a business card if you have one.”
There was virtually no opportunity to present a business card to the chairman of Geumyang Group.
It was a miracle-like event that was infinitely close to impossible.
The president quickly took out his business card, bowed his head deeply, and offered the card with both hands.
The sight looked much like presenting a tribute to a king.
“Well, then let us go in now. Lead the way.”
“Yes, I will escort you immediately!”
The fear of him being a powerful person who could not be resisted if he became an enemy, and the intense, stimulating sense of happiness that such a powerful person seemed to like him.
Now, the president operating the junket room could not disobey Han Sang-Cheol unless Han Sang-Cheol was holding a grenade in his hand.
To be precise, it should be expressed that he no longer had the intention to do so.
Han Sang-Cheol was guided via the elevator to the junket room used only by VIPs of the Playchip Casino.
Inside the junket room was a baccarat table, and two other people were already inside.
As soon as Han Sang-Cheol entered, the two of them stood up abruptly from their seats.
“Oh, Chairman, it seems it has been a while.”
“Ha In-seop, this is likely the first time we are meeting in a place like this, perhaps?”
Ha In-seop was the representative of the Blue Wrench Junkyard.
As soon as Han Sang-Cheol took off his coat, Ha In-seop quickly received it and hung it on a clothes rack.
Even Ha In-seop, as the representative of Blue Wrench Junkyard, was treated as a fairly distinguished guest in most situations, but as long as the person standing before him was Han Sang-Cheol, he too was merely one of the many common corporate representatives rolling around.
“That is correct. It is a tremendous honor to be able to host you in such a private setting.”
“Cut it out, man. I came here to gamble, so what is there to host? Just think of it as earning some pocket money today.”
Ha In-seop laughed boisterously at Han Sang-Cheol’s words and spoke.
“On the contrary, am I not the one who will be plucked? Does the Chairman not have enormous financial luck?”
“Then try to catch some of that energy.”
Sharing such talk, Han Sang-Cheol and Ha In-seop sat together at the table.
The game began.
Baccarat is a game where money changes hands quickly.
There are two ways to melt money the fastest in this world: baccarat and cryptocurrency.
At least with cryptocurrency, there is a possibility that the money might be duplicated.
Baccarat can be seen as slightly more evil than cryptocurrency in the sense that it is a system where one unconditionally loses money.
However, not only Han Sang-Cheol but also Ha In-seop were people who did not care if money melted away like ice cream on a hot griddle because of a few pieces of cards.
“Ha, this bastard is good.”
“Thank you.”
In the span of thirty minutes, countless rounds were repeated.
It was the time it took for 1 billion won of the seed money Han Sang-Cheol had brought to vanish.
Han Sang-Cheol repeated the game as if it did not matter and then opened his mouth.
“I am being stripped quite impressively. Let us take a short break. You, young lady dealer, go and take a rest as well.”
At Han Sang-Cheol’s words, the dealer looked at Ha In-seop.
When Ha In-seop nodded slightly, the dealer offered a greeting and left the junket room.
After the dealer left, Han Sang-Cheol took a sip of his drink and spoke toward Ha In-seop.
“Can you guess why I am suddenly gambling, and with you of all people, which is unlike me?”
“Well... have you grown tired of League of Legends lately?”
Ha In-seop made a joke with a laugh, but Han Sang-Cheol made no reaction and merely stared at him.
“I am sorry.”
“Is there even a need to be sorry? I simply was not in the mood to take a joke just now. Rather than that, hurry and answer my question.”
Ha In-seop also perfectly understood that he must not make a joke like that again.
Now was not the atmosphere for it.
The reason why Han Sang-Cheol was playing baccarat in this junket room, and with the representative of Blue Wrench Junkyard of all people.
It was impossible not to know.
“Where did you hear the rumors?”
“Oh, it seems you now intend to interrogate me altogether.”
“No! That, I am sorry. It was not meant that way.”
Han Sang-Cheol let out a sigh internally as he looked at Ha In-seop’s attitude of immediately apologizing.
He was a bastard who truly did not know what was important.
What was important here was not the fact that Han Sang-Cheol was displeased.
The first question was the most important: how he found out.
Trafficking is done in secret.
If a rumor had leaked out, its source must be identified.
However, Ha In-seop was simply swayed by the fear right before his eyes.
“Would there perhaps be an item you are specifically looking for?”
At Ha In-seop’s words, Han Sang-Cheol pointed to the coat hanging on the rack.
“I would like to have something sturdy to wear in preparation for when the weather grows cold.”
It meant he needed defensive gear.
Ha In-seop understood Han Sang-Cheol’s words and nodded.
“I will check the inventory and show you a suitable item. Excuse me, but may I dare ask what price range you are considering?”
“Would price be the issue? The performance is the issue. Because it is a dangerous world.”
There was an intention behind Han Sang-Cheol selecting defensive gear, and clothing in particular.
Most clothes tend to have pockets attached.
Of course, there are clothes without pockets, but those are the types one would wear at a party.
Hunter equipment is mostly practical, and practicality means there are pockets.
One can know this by thinking about how many pockets are on a military uniform.
Ha In-seop chimed in with Han Sang-Cheol’s words and contacted somewhere with his cell phone.
“Yes, I think I can show you about three items. The prices are a bit high, but the performance of all of them is certain.”
“Since you say it with such confidence, I shall have some expectations as well.”
“Of course. Please wait a moment.”
After a while, the bathroom door opened, and three men in suits walked in slowly.
Each was holding a box.
“Please check the first item. It is a coat with a protective shield generation and emergency hemostasis function.”
Even with shield generation, there was a vast difference compared to the equipment real hunters used.
If the equipment hunters used was armor, this was merely a somewhat thick padded garment.
However, it was absolutely not equipment at a level that ordinary people could obtain.
After that, a shirt with mana resistance and shock absorption functions, and gloves that could treat serious injuries although limited to three uses, were introduced before Han Sang-Cheol.
Han Sang-Cheol examined the items here and there before opening his mouth.
“And bring me a glass of liquor.”
“Which one would you like? The prepared liquors are...”
As Ha In-seop tried to bring the menu, Han Sang-Cheol smirked and waved his hand.
“I don't drink commercially available liquor. If you tell my secretary to bring the whiskey, he will bring it from the car.”
The whiskey Han Sang-Cheol drank was a whiskey combined to his own taste in every aspect, including the variety of malt, the type and size of the casks used for aging, the aging period and location, the shape of the still, and the peat.
Well, according to relevant regulations, it could not be called Scotch whiskey because it was not a whiskey that had finished bottling in Scotland, but there was no need to respect the regulations of the British Whiskey Association in today’s world anyway.
“Ah, I understand. I will contact him immediately.”
And this was actually not for the sake of drinking liquor either.
It was a kind of signal sent to Yoo Chan-seok.
If he ordered liquor held by the casino, he could not send a signal to Yoo Chan-seok because the liquor would be brought from inside the casino anyway.
But what if the liquor had to be brought from the car Han Sang-Cheol arrived in?
The scene of the secretary taking the liquor out of the parked car was in itself the act of sending a signal to Yoo Chan-seok.
Yoo Chan-seok would be waiting near Han Sang-Cheol’s car, receive the signal upon seeing the scene of the liquor being taken out, and then do what he had to do.
“Let us have a look while the liquor is being brought. Ah, is it alright to try it on? Is this not what you call style, which is also important?”
“Of course, Chairman.”
Han Sang-Cheol said a word with a playful expression.
“Surely you will not get angry later, saying I must buy it since I touched it?”
“Of course not.”
Han Sang-Cheol lifted the coat with a leisurely movement and examined it here and there.
After examining the coat for a while like that, he slowly draped the coat over his body.
“How does it look?”
Han Sang-Cheol asked the question to Ha In-seop while standing in the coat.
At the same time, he naturally thrust his hand into the pocket.
One of the men in black suits who had brought the items watched that scene intently.
“Excuse me.”
That man spoke toward Han Sang-Cheol.
“What is it? If you have something to say, go ahead. Because my mood is quite good right now.”
The man, who hesitated for a moment at Han Sang-Cheol’s words, was gazing toward Han Sang-Cheol’s hand which had gone inside the pocket.
‘He was a hunter.’
He seemed to have felt something strange.
An ordinary person might not know, but it was virtually impossible for an ordinary person to deceive a hunter’s senses.
That was the very reason hunters were prohibited from entering casinos.
‘I knew this would happen.’
There was a sufficient possibility that a hunter would come when selling hunter equipment.
Furthermore, this much was usually prepared as a precaution against contingencies when conducting trafficking.
“I am sorry, but...”
“What is there to be sorry for? Speak without hesitation.”
Just as the hunter approached slowly and cautiously tried to say something more, an explosion suddenly echoed through the hotel.
And a siren wailed crazily.
“W-What the?!”
Due to the sudden situation, a broadcast flowed out immediately.
[An unidentified explosion has currently occurred in the casino building. Customers, please evacuate quickly following the guidance of the staff. I repeat.]
And once again, an explosion sound erupted.
In this situation, how would Ha In-seop, who had brought the trafficked items, react?
“Hey, pack the items quickly! Hurry! Chairman Han Sang-Cheol, I am sorry. Let us proceed with the deal again later. I will show you the items again later.”
It was far too obvious.
‘If there is an expected event, one should make appropriate preparations for it.’
Check the distance between the junket room and the parking lot in advance.
And estimate the time required for the person working in the casino to convey the story to his secretary and for the secretary to go get the liquor.
And stall for time moderately before putting on the coat, then when the time seemed right, slowly put on the coat, ask them to see if it suited him well, and thrust his hand into the pocket to put in the tracking chip.
Even if the timing was slightly off, it would only be a margin of error of about one to two minutes.
Han Sang-Cheol was confident that he could stall that much time through improvisation.
Han Sang-Cheol was not the type of person to leave such matters to luck and pray.
If he had been that kind of person, Geumyang Group could not have grown this far.
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