The man in the Hawaiian shirt who opened the door and came in sat down comfortably on the sofa, as if it were his own office,
and the man who followed him in began throwing punches just as comfortably, as if he were in his own home.
On the other hand, Han Lin, who had not prepared for anything—no, who had not even expected anyone to come—could do nothing but get beaten.
Even as he was being hit, Han Lin thought about what was going on.
He analyzed the situation.
First of all, the only people who could walk around here so casually were Han Lin and Chen Yu.
Even if they were nothing special, there were men standing guard outside.
Even if their skills were too lacking to stop someone from entering, there should at least have been some noise, but there had been none.
That meant they were incredibly skilled.
And that man.
Even after coming in here, he was not intimidated in the slightest.
He was far too calm.
He had brought only one subordinate with him.
It was tremendous confidence.
He was on a completely different level from Han Lin, who brought dozens of men with him wherever he went.
The saying that only the weak moved in packs came to mind.
Han Lin found himself wondering, Am I the weak one? Is that what true strength looks like?
There was no hesitation in that man’s actions.
Han Lin envied him.
“Scott, don’t hit him in the face.”
“What?”
The man called out.
“Last time, you smashed the guy’s face up so badly all his teeth fell out, and I had a hell of a time because I couldn’t understand what the bastard was saying. We couldn’t have a conversation.”
“But the face is the most effective, sir. If I only hit the body, it takes too long.”
What?
Han Lin was flustered.
All his teeth fell out?
Before he realized it, Han Lin clenched his teeth tight.
“Then leave his hands alone. If his face gets wrecked, we can at least communicate in writing.”
“Understood. I’ll make sure he can use his hands.”
They said those terrifying things far too calmly.
As if giving work instructions, monotonous yet precise.
It was not a threat.
They were not saying it to scare him.
They sounded accustomed to it, as if this had happened more than once or twice, and they were accurate about it.
It was frightening.
That composure scared Han Lin even more.
And through it all, the punches did not stop.
“Scott, you tired?”
“No, sir. I can keep going.”
“No, I’m saying it because it looks like there’s no strength in your fists at all. Are you going to keep half-assing it like that? If you’re tired, step aside. I’ll do it.”
“No, shir.”
Perhaps angered by the man’s words, the subordinate answered through gritted teeth.
Of course, strength entered his fists as well.
The punches grew fiercer.
“Scott, let’s take a short break.”
“No, sir. I really can keep going.”
“No, seriously, let’s take a break~ This bastard needs to rest while getting beaten too. If he gets hit too much at once, something might go wrong.”
“Yes, sir.”
At the man’s words, the barrage of punches raining down on Han Lin stopped.
Only then did Han Lin lower his guard and sit there blankly.
Seeing that, the man said,
“Scott. Look at that bastard. I don’t think he’s ready to rest yet.”
Before the subordinate could even properly sit down, he stood up again and approached Han Lin.
Only then did Han Lin change his posture and kneel.
“Oh my. You catch on quick. There are bastards who don’t get it even after getting beaten to a pulp. Good job. Looks like we’ll be able to communicate pretty well.”
.
.
.
Now that I’ve come to Guangzhou, I see it’s a complete mess.
Should I say this is like putting a cat in charge of a fish shop?
I did this to reduce risk, but it’s become an even bigger mess.
That Spiritual Boundary Line or chicken farm or whatever ruined my entire plan.
So I came storming into the office first to see that bastard’s face.
There were guys guarding the place too, but when I hit each of them once, they dropped right away.
I have no idea why they even put guys like that there.
If that’s what they’re going to do, wouldn’t it be better to just install an alarm?
Anyway, there was only one man in the office.
So first we beat him, then I asked.
“Do you know who I am?”
“...I’m not... sure.”
It seemed Scott had touched his face as little as possible so he could answer properly.
Even though his face was a mess, his pronunciation was clear.
As expected of Scott.
He improved day by day.
His backtalk was improving too.
“See? We picked the wrong partner. They have this little interest in their partner.”
“Partner?”
“Aren’t we business partners? We supply Ascend, and you distribute it. That’s what I understood.”
Only then did Han Lin realize who the man before him was.
They were the Filipinos Han Lin had cursed as ignorant.
“Uh...”
“But a lot of product was missing.”
For a moment, Han Lin hesitated.
Should he tell the truth?
Or should he find a way out of this crisis?
The decision came quickly.
“Ah~ I can explain that. Since we were so enthusiastic about the business, we overdid it a bit and handed out free samples on the first day. That’s why we ran so short and made the request.”
Han Lin chose an excuse.
“How much did you hand out?”
“For now, we took almost everything we could see in the warehouse and distributed it.”
“The manual we sent you should have stated the amount to move per day.”
“I’m sorry. We’re not very educated, so we’re weak with documents. I’m sorry. We didn’t properly check that part.”
“Ah, I see. You handed out a lot of samples. I didn’t know that... Scott, this bastard is playing games with me. What should we do?”
“Should I tear his mouth open?”
“I told you not to do that. It makes conversation difficult.”
“Do we really need to have a conversation with a bastard like this? Let’s kill this bastard and replace him with another one. I feel like this bastard’s going to cause trouble again later.”
“Why are you so cruel... And anyone can make mistakes. Embracing those mistakes is what makes you an adult.”
“Then should we at least cut off his hand? I think this bastard needs to see something red to come to his senses. You’re treating them too favorably, Boss, so these thieves aren’t afraid.”
“Is that so? But I am a little angry this time. I worked hard to make a plan and send it over, and they don’t even look at it, just do whatever they want. Right?”
“No, sir. It’s a misunderstanding. We really did hand out a lot as samples.”
Even then, Han Lin was watching their reactions, trying to escape the crisis with a lie.
Theoretically, it was perfect.
There was no problem.
He was saying he had handed it out as samples.
Wasn’t it originally the amount they had intended to hand out as samples? What was the problem?
He intended to insist to the very end that they had simply handed them out as samples.
In fact, he had sold them recklessly with that thought in mind.
“Wow~ Look at this bastard’s eyes. Even in this situation, his eyes are still darting around. For this bastard, the eyes come before the mouth or the hands.”
“Shall I get to work right away?”
“Hey~ Don’t be so cruel. If you’re going to do it, do it when I’m not here. When I’m not here.”
“Then if you could step out to the hotel for a moment...”
“You cruel bastard.”
“I learned it from you, Boss.”
“I don’t pluck out eyes.”
“You’re the one telling me to pluck out his eyes right now, Boss.”
“I never said to pluck them out. I just said his eyes would probably have a higher priority than his mouth or hands.”
“Don’t you know that to salaried workers like us, that sounds like an order to pluck them out?”
The two of them talked and laughed as if joking around,
and Han Lin, listening to that conversation, gradually stiffened.
They were talking about tearing open his mouth, cutting off his hand, and plucking out his eyes as casually as if they were choosing lunch.
He could not let things continue like this.
He had to change the mood immediately.
“It seems there has been some kind of misunderstanding. As for the part where I made a mistake, that is, the portion that went out as samples, I will compensate you for it.”
“Wow~~ This bastard is still rolling his eyes to the very end?”
“What?”
“How do you think I knew to come here? Did you think we came without checking even that much? You sold them for forty yuan apiece, and for bulk purchases, thirty-five yuan. Rumor’s spreading all over Guangzhou that if you want Ascend, this is where you go. And you’re calling them samples? Are you kidding me?”
“I-I’m sorry. I will make sure to compensate you for that part.”
“Wasn’t that originally my money? In this case, there’s no room for negotiation.”
“......”
“And you seem to think I’m selling this to make money, but that’s not it. I’m doing this to fulfill China’s dream. And you interfered with that. So I’m in a very bad mood. This isn’t a matter of money, it’s a matter of mood. My mood has been badly ruined.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t calculate that you bastards would skim a certain amount off the middle when I entrusted Ascend to you? But there’s such a thing as a line. You acted like you’d forgotten that line even exists. The money is fine. I don’t care about that pocket change. But my mood... my mood is seriously bad. Very badly. Still... still, I’m going to give you one chance.”
“Boss. Aren’t you treating these sons of bitches too generously? If you do that, they’ll develop bad habits.”
“It’s because the kids weren’t taught properly. If you’re an adult, you should teach them, fix them, and put them to use. Isn’t that right?”
“I heard you can’t fix people and use them.”
“Even so, we should give him a chance. Should we call it a losers’ bracket?”
I looked at Han Lin again and asked.
“What did you say your name was?”
“It’s Han Lin.”
“By tomorrow—China’s landmass is so big that maybe tomorrow won’t work. By the day after tomorrow. Gather up all the guys like you.”
“Guys like me? Who are you talking about?”
“Guys like you. Guys who like money. Call them. Let’s all have a meal together. We’ll do some business.”
“Will they come just because I tell them to? I’m not the boss of an organization.”
“Do I need to care about that? You handle that yourself... Just gather the kids. Tell them there’ll be gifts if they come. Tell them I’ll help them make money. A guy like you, with those shifty eyes, should know better than anyone what that means.”
“......”
“And while you’re at it, look into a place for us to meet. Set it up too.”
“......”
“Answer.”
“...Yes...”
“Then set up the place and contact me. Ah~ If you want to run, you can run. But if you do, we won’t be able to meet with smiles like this next time.”
.
.
.
Today’s incident completely changed Han Lin’s thinking.
His belief that as long as he had money, anything could be resolved.
His belief that money was the best.
Before absolute violence, money could not even serve the role of a scrap of paper.
For those without money, money was a fine temptation, but for those with money, money had no value at all.
He had thought that if he had money, he could come back alive even from hell, but he could not even stop the fist in front of his eyes.
He thought he had to become strong.
And to become strong, Han Lin thought he had to stay beside someone strong.
********
Ascend’s popularity grew more tremendous by the day.
In particular, when someone posted its effects on social media, it created an enormous ripple effect.
This says it’s called Ascend. Has anyone tried it?
I ate it because they were handing it out on the street as a promotional event, and it’s no joke.
The moment I ate it, the world went quiet, and my concentration improved.
I’d buy it even with money, but I don’t know where they sell it. Hmph hmph.
- Link. You can buy it here.
∟ Thanks. It’s more expensive than I thought.
∟ It is expensive, but the effect is real. I bought a lot.
- I eat it whenever I have time too. When I study after eating this, I can focus really well, so I love it. I think my grades have gone up a lot too.
∟Same here. When I eat this, I feel like I could solve every hard math problem.
- I’m an athlete, and after eating this, I hit three home runs in one game.
∟Isn’t that basically doping?
∟So I took a doping test, but apparently it’s not doping?
- I run a hair salon, and when I eat this and do hair, I focus so well that I love it. Should I say I can create my own style? But I did get a lot of complaints.
∟Why?
∟They said it wasn’t the hairstyle they asked for. It looks pretty to me, though.
- I run a restaurant, and when I eat this, my senses get incredibly sharp, so I like it. I can see the oil temperature, water temperature, and food temperature with my eyes. But when I eat this, I get so hungry that I keep picking at things. So I’ve already gained three kilos.
∟Hey, you too? Me too.
∟When I eat this, I crave sweet things so much too. That worries me, but I still can’t stop eating it.
- I’m a driver, and when I eat this, my fatigue clears right up and my drowsiness disappears. I really like that. Just that alone seems worth eating it for.
∟I drive too, and I love that the drowsiness goes away.
└ I drive trucks, and now it’s essential. I think it’d be hard to go back to a life without this.
Reviews of Ascend continued to be posted on social media.
People who had tried Ascend strongly sympathized with and joined in on the reviews,
while those who had not yet tried it were filled with intense curiosity about Ascend.
A wind called Ascend began to blow across all of China.
******
Beijing
State President Li Guocheng was on his way back after attending an event.
It was an event under the title of globalizing Chinese cuisine, showcasing dishes meant to captivate the palates of people around the world.
But does putting cheese on something make it global?
On top of that, the last dish he ate had been the worst.
Salty, sour, and dry on the tongue.
He had eaten it reluctantly because cameras were in front of him, but if he had followed his heart, it was a taste that made him want to throw the person responsible into prison immediately for treason.
Even so, he had told that person it was delicious.
On the way from the event hall to the parking lot.
The taste of the last dish he had eaten continued to linger in his mouth.
He tried drinking some water, but the foul taste was so strong that it would not go away.
After getting into the car, he casually said,
“If anyone has candy, give me one.”
But everyone hesitated.
They were not of an age to carry around things like candy.
At that moment, the driver fidgeted slightly.
The secretary sitting beside him asked in a whisper,
“What is it?”
“Earlier, I ate nearby, and I brought back some free candy the restaurant was handing out... but I wasn’t sure if I should give it to him.”
“Let me see.”
The driver took the candy out of his pocket and handed it over.
A fingernail-sized candy wrapped in colorful paper.
As the secretary examined it closely, Li Guocheng held out his hand to him.
“Just give it to me. I’m dying here. It still feels like my mouth stinks.”
“Still, the ingredients of this candy haven’t been confirmed... and neither the candy name nor the company is properly labeled. We should search thoroughly first...”
“You said it’s cheap candy they just hand out at restaurants. And what could possibly happen from eating this tiny piece of candy? So just give it to me.”
“Even so...”
Li Guocheng snatched the candy from the secretary’s hand.
And without the slightest suspicion, he put it in his mouth.
A fresh sweetness filled his mouth.
And at the end of that sweetness came a mysterious tingling sensation.
A pleasant sense of uplift spread throughout his entire body.