Chapter 523: Chapter 523

The Snake of Alcohol and Dancing could show clear judgment when she was in her right mind. She listened to Kalasnegen’s explanation and quickly understood the situation.

The Greedy Owner of the Treasure House? What made him so angry that he doesn’t even care about inflicting damage on himself?

“Well, so many humans have deceived him...”

Indeed, the rage of a constellation whose pride has been insulted is frightening. The Snake of Alcohol and Dancing nodded in understanding.

Choi Yeonseung had just seen a constellation go on a rampage because of booze, so he was even less surprised about the treasure house constellation.

Then there must be only one reason for your gesture.

Choi Yeonseung nodded. There was only one reason he had persuaded the snake constellation, who was drunk and crying, with all his heart and soul without throwing a single punch.

It was so that she would join forces with him!

In any case, he was bound to face the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House whether he liked it or not. After all, he sat on the throne of the next Abyssal Kingdom.

A powerful constellation like the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing would be of tremendous help.

...Of course, given her embarrassing crying fit from before, Choi Yeonseung’s opinion of her had decreased a bit, but she nonetheless had powerful mortals in her household.

Fine, I accept. It would be dishonorable not to help you after receiving your gift.

“Thank you.”

Choi Yeonseung was nodding when he received a text message.

It was from Aine.

-Raiden Holdings has a problem. There’s an urgent request.

“I’ll find the things you need for your liquor factory and send them to you. I’ll send you the best materials available on Earth.”

The Snake of Alcohol and Dancing nodded gracefully, but that didn’t avert anyone’s attention from the huge puddle of saliva underneath her.

Kalasnegen quickly tried cleaning up the puddle with an embarrassed expression.

“I’m busy with some work, so would it be fine if I left now?”

Of course. I don’t know why a household member is so busy, but...

[The ‘Snake of Alcohol and Dancing’ is worried about his complicated matters.]

[She advises the ‘Undefeated Incarnation of Training’ to allow his household member to rest a bit.]

...I’ll take it into consideration.

Choi Yeonseung just went along with this absurd situation. To his mind, it was the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing and the goddess of sloth who were taking it too easy.

[The ‘Snake of Alcohol and Dancing’ sends you a gift!]

[The ‘Snake of Alcohol and Dancing’ sends you a gift!]

[The ‘Snake of Alcohol and Dancing’ sends you a gift!]

...

...

[The ‘Snake of Alcohol and Dancing’ sends you off and urges you to return sometime.]

[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ is amazed at your persuasion skills!]

[He asks if you have tricked other constellations like this.]

***

Raiden Holdings wasn’t exactly an affiliate of Dragon Industry.

Peleza, a former high-tech materials company, had joined hands with other companies in the industry to launch a campaign against Dragon Industry. They were intent on surpassing Dragon Industry with innovative and superior technology.

Raiden Holdings was one of the companies that joined forces with Peleza back then. Or rather, Peleza had tricked them into forming an alliance and then stabbed everyone in the back.

The allied companies were under the impression that they were cooperating with each other, but Peleza took all the stocks for themselves, and when they eventually went down in flames with everyone’s money, the executives of Raiden Holdings sent an SOS to someone they trusted.

...That someone was none other than Choi Yeonseung.

Of course, Choi Yeonseung thought they were crazy, but in the eyes of the executives, a hunter like him was infinitely more trustworthy than the greedy snakes from Peleza.

In any case, Choi Yeonseung had to deal with Peleza anyway, so he did everything in his power to destroy them. He raked in the shares of Raiden Holdings and went head-to-head with Peleza...

In the end, Peleza lost the fight, suffering tremendous damage and collapsing entirely.

‘The Greedy Owner of the Treasure House also took a hit back then.’

Due to the foolishness of those humans, the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House lost his property and was left with a whole lot of debt.

It had been an intense corporate war, but in the end, the judgment of the Raiden executives had been correct.

Instead of unreasonably having Raiden Holdings merge with Dragon Industry or make it an affiliate, Choi Yeonseung only used their facilities. He had their stocks and could’ve also stolen their technology, but...

‘Our technology is superior, so there was no need for that...’

Their production facilities were of fairly good quality and could still function well even in the midst of chaos. In fact, Choi Yeonseung heard that Raiden Holdings was also steadily overcoming the ongoing turmoil and improving its performance...

“...What did you do?”

Choi Yeonseung looked at Omori, the director of Raiden Holdings, in dismay. The man who had come to him begging for help was now locked up in a detention center in Japan.

It was utterly absurd.

“I am innocent, Hunter Choi Yeonseung! Believe me!” Omori pleaded with a scraggly face that needed a shave.

“Yeah, many hunters say that, but most of them are lying...”

“I’m not a hunter! Besides, it hasn’t been long since I became the CEO of Raiden Holdings. What reason would I have to turn to crime?!” n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“You got promoted to CEO?”

“...You didn’t know...?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, of course I knew... Sorry I didn’t manage to send you a congratulatory message.”

Omori didn’t seem to doubt Choi Yeonseung.

“So the arrest charges... Committing a financial crime. Falsifying reports...”

Choi Yeonseung cast Omori a look of condemnation, as if to say, “Sorry, but you deserve this.”

“It’s a trap!” Omori insisted.

“A trap?”

“Yes. People from other companies have been contacting the board of directors and those in management, but... I didn’t think things would escalate like this...”

It turned out that Raiden Holdings was doing better than Choi Yeonseung thought.

After all, given the invasion, competitors had collapsed and facilities had been destroyed, so the performance of Raiden Holdings was bound to increase. Moreover, the high-tech materials handled by Raiden Holdings were essential tactical materials for the armor used by clan hunters.

As a result, several big Japanese clans had joined hands with large companies to go after Raiden Holdings. Acquiring high-tech materials was difficult. In order to do that, they would have to look for companies like Dragon Industry...

It would be easier to just take control of a company that produced those materials!

But there was one problem.

Dragon Industry held a significant number of shares in Raiden Holdings, and the other major shareholders were reluctant to push them out of management. Moreover, everyone knew that Raiden Holdings’ stock price was high due to the influx of capital from Dragon Industry.

Even the executives who were most familiar with the company’s situation were vehemently against going up against Dragon Industry.

“How would you proceed in this situation?” asked Omori.

“Let’s see... Invest more money and acquire more stocks, or... contact Dragon Industry and make a proposal?”

Choi Yeonseung wasn’t fixated on Raiden Holdings. In terms of technology alone, they couldn’t possibly compete with him, who was on friendly terms with several constellations. Thus, one of his options was to sell Dragon Industry’s stocks to Raiden Holdings when their price rose.

However, Omori shook his head.

“They managed to send me, a CEO, to prison. This is definitely a warning.”

“...?”

Choi Yeonseung paused in confusion for a moment.

“So you’re saying that they arrested you unlawfully so they can get their hands on Raiden Holdings? Are they trying to intimidate the management and major shareholders?”

“Yes! That’s it!”

Choi Yeonseung laughed. “What nonsense... Japan isn’t China.”

“Really!”

Omori was indignant. He obviously respected Choi Yeonseung, an S-grade hunter, but he couldn’t tolerate someone from another country telling him to calm down and lecturing him about how Japan really was.

It was particularly infuriating since he had been falsely accused and imprisoned!

***

“What’s the atmosphere like at Raiden Holdings?”

“There’s nothing to worry about. It’s going well. I think everyone understood.”

The people at the table seemed satisfied.

They had invested a huge amount of money into this plan. In order to arrest and put the CEO of Raiden Holdings into a detention center, they had to bribe a lot of people with generous stacks of cash.

“We can’t afford to make a mistake,” Kimura, an A-grade hunter from Gagoze, a big Japanese clan, said nervously.

The investors at the table burst into laughter.

“Now that he’s been arrested, it’s almost over. I spoke to the judges and the people at the detention center. He’s not getting out.”

“We’ll put our people in management one by one. With enough time, we’ll definitely take over the company.”

“Exactly. Kimura, you’re an A-grade hunter, so what are you so afraid of?”

‘You stupid geezers.’

Kimura swallowed his words. They were only making fun of him because there were ordinary people who hadn’t seen Choi Yeonseung in action. If things went wrong, Choi Yeonseung wouldn’t touch these executives, but Kimura, being a hunter, would definitely stand out.

Even if it wasn’t Choi Yeonseung himself, various hunters who worshiped him would go after Kimura if things went south.

As such, Kimura had to be very careful, and he was understandably angry with these executives, who kept laughing as if his life weren’t at risk.

“Now now... Hunter Kimura, you saw it too.”

These executives had been working on this plan for a long time, and to them, it was flawless. They had made sure that those who stood in their way would be charged with the perfect crimes and sent to prison.

And while everyone at Raiden Holdings was panicking over Omori’s arrest, these other companies would have their people infiltrate the management of Raiden and expand their influence.

In their hearts, they wanted to buy the shares of Dragon Industry and secure them, but...

Dragon Industry wouldn’t just sell their stocks after finding out that someone wanted to take over their company.

For the time being, taking over Raiden Holdings was the only thing these executives could do. After all, it was a Japanese company in Japan, and most of the people involved were Japanese.

Even though Raiden Holdings had a similar amount of shares to Dragon Industry, these executives could do whatever they wanted in the company.

“For Japan!”

“For Japan!”

These people genuinely believed that they were being patriotic by doing this. Rather than sending tactical high-tech materials overseas, it was better to let Japanese hunters use them!

“Guys... We have a big... big problem!”

“What’s going on?”

“CEO Omori... CEO Omori...!”

“What, he pleaded innocent, right? So what? You think anyone will believe him?”

Everyone snorted. They had already instructed the media outlets in their pockets on what to do, making Omori’s explanations futile.

“CEO Omori had destroyed the detention center and escaped!”

“...What?!?”

***

“Is this okay? C-can I do this?!”

“Don’t you want help?”

“I... I do, but...”

Omori tearfully asked for an explanation.

-Please take good care of the company, Hunter Choi Yeonseungl These guys are so blinded by their current performance that they’re not even suspecting how much Dragon Industry is helping Raiden Holdings. If they drive out Dragon Industry, at least one or two production lines will be frozen right away...

-What about you?

-I can’t get out. I am completely trapped... Please look after the company, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. With your strength...

-Is it really impossible to be acquitted?

-Huh? Yes, it’s futile...

-Are you sure it’s absolutely impossible?

-Yes... Right?

-Then you should defect.

-Huh?

Before Omori could ask what was going on, the walls of the detention center crumbled and collapsed.