Chapter 90: The Chairman of gacorp
Chairman of a ga Corp
The tallest skyscraper among those standing in Hong Kong.
Diesel was heading toward its topmost floor.
‘I can’t even see the ground.’
Outside the transparent elevator, the sun shone brilliantly.
White clouds spread out like a carpet, a view one would normally only see from an airplane.
“Welco.”
As the elevator ca to a gentle stop and opened, an elegant secretary greeted us politely.
“I will escort you to your seats.”
She was human, not an android, and at a glance there was no sense of any connection to the Electrosphere.
She seed to be a pure ‘Natural,’ with no bodily modifications at all.
‘For security……? Or maybe just for show.’
Either way, she was definitely a rare kind of employee these days.
Following the secretary down a neat corridor, a dazzling lobby soon ca into view.
“…….”
The place was decorated with artworks that looked extrely old.
Marble sculptures, large oil canvases, intricate glass crafts…….
Among them were pieces that sohow looked like ones I had seen in textbooks.
[The David statue. It’s an authentic piece.]
Sis spoke as she noticed where my gaze had landed.
[Authentic……?]
[I heard rumors that the Black Market operator is a collector. Looks like it was true.]
[Who is it? The operator, I an.]
[Oh, didn’t I tell you?]
She shrugged her shoulders and answered.
[It’s the chairman of the ihua Group.]
[ihua…….]
[Yeah. One of the gacorporations.]
The fact that the Black Market’s operator was a ga Corp chairman.
ihua ranked eighth among the world’s top ten gacorporations.
[This building is also owned by ihua. Their headquarters is in Singapore, but apparently the chairman prefers this place.]
[……I see.]
The ihua Group was a cartel-like company founded by overseas Chinese communities scattered across the world pooling their power.
Their main business was the massive sorcery industry, and they were famous for amassing enormous wealth through the use of otherworldly miracles.
‘They said it was large-scale rituals to protect stocks and real estate.’
It was hard to imagine how that was even possible, but this was a world where past common sense no longer applied.
‘Well, prayers for wealth are common in any religion.’
These days, lofty spiritual mindsets weren’t all that important in religion anymore.
Miracles were treated as a form of technology and industry.
As long as religious practitioners upheld just enough ‘doctrine’ to use that power, it was sufficient.
[So are we actually going to et a ga Corp chairman today?]
The giant corporations said to rule the world.
eting the chairman at the very top of such an organization wasn’t sothing just anyone could do.
[I’m not certain, but it’s not impossible. You saw what the security was like on the way up.]
Compared to the heavily guarded undersea auction house of the Black Market, the Electrosphere defenses here were on an entirely different level.
And the security personnel stationed at every entrance looked to be at least level-5 powerhouses.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Before long, a door connected to the lobby opened, and another secretary bowed slightly.
Following him inside, a reception room even more extravagant than the lobby ca into view.
And there, a completely unexpected man greeted Diesel.
“Welco!”
“…….”
The man smiling affably at Diesel was a ‘Panda Beastman.’
“Nice to et you. My na is Zhou Wei. I currently serve as chairman of ihua.”
The chairman of a gacorporation being a Panda Beastman.
His plush-looking body was covered in soft fur, and round ears twitched atop the panda’s characteristically cute face.
Faced with soone completely different from what I had imagined, I glanced sideways at Sis.
She asked via closed communication.
[Why?]
[Nothing, just…… didn’t expect the chairman to be a beastman.]
[You’re more species-biased than I thought.]
[…….]
[You’d probably faint if you saw the CBN chairman.]
[Why is that?]
[That one’s a Chihuahua Beastman.]
[A Chihuahua……?]
CBN was a colossal dia company boasting a gacorporation ranking of fourth.
‘Hmm…… co to think of it, Baekung Urmus is a beastman too, isn’t he?’
As I was thinking that Sis was right and I should probably shed so bias, Zhou Wei gestured and spoke.
“Was your trip here comfortable?”
“Yes. More or less.”
“Please, have a seat first.”
He smiled warmly and guided us to our seats.
On the table we followed him to was a blue-and-white porcelain cup adorned with an ornate dragon pattern, which looked at a glance like a very old antique.
‘Is this authentic too?’
Even if it were, the cup had an oddly fitting presence.
As I stared at it with suspicion, Wei spoke.
“It’s a white porcelain piece excavated from an imperial tomb from the Great Ming period.”
After saying that, he casually poured tea into it.
“…….”
It was a cup several hundred years old—was it really okay to use it like that?
As I was forming that question, Wei laughed heartily and cracked a joke.
“It’s been thoroughly cleaned, so there’s nothing to worry about. Haha!”
Drinking tea from a cup once used by a Ming dynasty emperor.
In so ways, it was nothing more than flaunting wealth, but seeing it, Diesel smiled inwardly.
‘This feels promising from the start.’
It was a eting called to discuss compensation, and he was openly showing how much money he had.
Naturally, that made unable to help but look forward to what he would offer next.
“I’ve heard that both of you are Ghostcatchers active in Seoul.”
“That’s correct.”
“First, I must express my gratitude. Thank you for protecting the auction house from Despotis’s excommunicated knight.”
The Panda Beastman smiled and perford a clasped-fist salute.
“We rely did what needed to be done.”
After saying sothing he didn’t particularly an, Diesel returned the smile.
“This was the first ti in Black Market history that outsiders breached the auction house. If it hadn’t been for you two, it could have ended disastrously.”
It already seed pretty disastrous.
No one among the remaining VIPs had lost their lives, but I had heard that most were suffering severe aftereffects from exposure to demonic power.
“That is why we wished to offer proper compensation.”
Since he was practically insisting on giving credit, Diesel simply nodded without saying anything.
“What kind of compensation?”
When Sis asked bluntly, Wei nodded in response.
“May I first confirm one thing?”
“Confirm what, exactly?”
“Are you truly the one who wielded the ‘Arc Blade’?”
The Panda Beastman smiled.
‘Hmm…….’
There was no real reason to hide the truth here.
It was a question I had expected anyway.
“That’s correct.”
At Diesel’s answer, Wei nodded.
“Thank you for confirming. In that case, we can be more decisive.”
He then pulled out a black tal box from beneath the table.
‘Hmm…….’
I could already guess what was inside.
Pretending not to know, I stayed still as Wei clicked open the complex locking chanisms.
“This is the compensation we are offering.”
The legendary sword once wielded by the man called the Supre Swordsman.
The Arc Blade.
The very weapon I had seen at the undersea auction house was now before Diesel’s eyes.
‘It looks even more battered in bright light.’
An old weapon that made wonder how it had even been swung the night before.
Wei slid the box gently toward Diesel.
“It is only natural to give such a weapon to soone capable of using it.”
An item with a starting auction price of five billion, handed over this readily.
At first glance, it looked like generous compensation, but Diesel could clearly see the calculation behind it.
‘He knows I can retrieve the Arc Blade anyti.’
A weapon that, no matter who held it, was destined to return to its owner soday.
In that case, it made sense to return it like this while earning so goodwill.
‘Corporate types…….’
Of course, he could have pretended ignorance and sold it to another client, but the Panda Beastman didn’t seem that desperate for financial gain.
It didn’t look like he ran the Black Market simply for the sake of money.
Perhaps it could be considered a very luxurious hobby.
“Of course, there are other rewards besides this.”
As if he had read my thoughts.
Wei spoke with a smiling gaze.
“We will conduct a powerful protective rite (保護祭) to safeguard you from the excommunicated knight Garcia.”
A protective rite…….
ihua’s rituals were famous for their effectiveness.
There was a clear reason behind such powerful results.
Each ritual involved pouring in tens of billions’ worth of Qubits at a ti.
‘In the end, miracles get stronger the more money you pour into them.’
Still, I responded with a faintly sardonic tone.
“It seems you didn’t perform that protective rite for this auction?”
If it were really that effective, shouldn’t it have prevented such a terror attack in the first place?
At the implication in my words, Wei’s eyes widened.
“Hahahaha!”
Then he burst into loud laughter.
“Ah, my apologies. It’s been a long ti since I’ve had a conversation like this.”
The chairman of a gacorporation.
A being who wielded near-absolute authority within his company.
But I didn’t care about that in the slightest.
I didn’t hesitate to risk sounding rude if it ant squeezing out even a little more benefit.
“To answer you first, we perform a protective rite for the Black Market every year. And we do it quite grandly.”
Wei’s eyes glead as he looked at .
“That is precisely why I wished to et the two of you.”
“…….”
Words laden with aning.
I could tell what kind of subtext was hidden within them.
‘Is he saying I managed to stop Garcia thanks to the protective rite?’
I really couldn’t grasp how the power of miracles actually worked.
Especially when it ca to obscure things like fate and prophecy.
“Anyway, rather than a protective rite, there’s another ritual I’d like you to perform.”
I finally brought up the main point.
Wei readily replied.
“Of course. Is there sothing you desire?”
“Ji-Cheon Man-Geum Rite (地天萬金祭).”
“Hmm……?”
“I’d like you to perform that.”
Among ihua’s countless rituals, the most powerful sorcery of them all.
The reason a company with no foundation at all had risen to beco a gacorporation.
‘They might refuse, but…….’
ihua accepted almost any kind of ritual, as long as the money was paid.
Except for one.
The very ‘Ji-Cheon Man-Geum Rite’ I had just nad had never been permitted to anyone.
A ritual that turned the target’s financial fortune auspicious.
Its effectiveness had been proven beyond doubt.
After all, ihua’s founding chairman himself had benefited from it.
‘The story about a holess man becoming a ga Corp chairman through a single ritual is pretty famous.’
One day, after receiving a divine revelation, he perford the Ji-Cheon Man-Geum Rite.
After that, every business he touched flourished, and he eventually rose to the position of gacorporation chairman.
‘There are other rituals that affect financial fortune, but Ji-Cheon Man-Geum Rite is the strongest.’
Perhaps because of that—
ihua never allowed that ritual to be perford for anyone but themselves.
Especially after they entered the zero-sum ga that controlled the world.
“Ji-Cheon Man-Geum Rite…….”
Wei drew out the words and sank into thought for a mont.
Then, as if he had made a decision, he slowly nodded.
“Very well. However, there is one condition.”
So it wouldn’t be given freely.
‘That’s still not bad.’
I hadn’t expected to obtain the Ji-Cheon Man-Geum Rite easily.
With so resolve, I asked,
“What is it?”
As Wei smiled in response, sharp fangs that didn’t match his cute appearance were revealed.
“I’d like you to do one job for us.”
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