Episode 7.
"So this is a thousand-year-old ginseng?"
The chairman, having heard the exact same explanation I had given the Madam,
"That's a bit much."
smirked and declared,
"It might have worked on my wife, but not on me."
I knew.
That no lie could deceive him.
He was a titan who had built an enterprise of this magnitude from scratch.
He must have met countless swindlers, and his insight to distinguish real from fake must have transcended that of ordinary men.
"What does the reason matter?"
It wasn't a confession, but I admitted it in a roundabout way.
Of course, that was fine.
"What matters is that you have awakened, Chairman."
Whatever the means, the tiger had awakened as a result.
"Indeed."
He simply let the matter of the lie pass.
"Then let me ask. Is it certain that my dementia symptoms are completely cured?"
To that question filled with expectation,
"No."
At that definitive answer,
"Hey!"
The Madam, who had been beaming with joy just moments ago, rose from her seat.
Though a woman, as the lady of the house who had supported a chaebol family, her bearing was quite fierce.
"Sit down."
The tiger calmed the angry Madam.
"Honey, even after hearing this...?"
"Enough."
Though weakened from a long illness, with those unique eyes—overwhelming eyes like a tiger's—the Madam sat back down.
"You are showing signs of improvement now, but as time passes, the symptoms will worsen again."
"Is that so? Right now, I feel perfectly fine."
"Yes. It shows an effect akin to a temporary complete cure."
"That's unfortunate."
Even though he was talking about his own illness, it was as if discussing someone else.
In fact, that was the basics of negotiation.
A person making a deal must never show disappointment.
Because that was ingrained in his very being, his composure did not waver.
"But I heard you had found a medicine to completely cure my illness."
"It is exactly as you heard."
"Didn't I just hear that it can't be completely cured?"
"I meant that it's impossible with this."
I showed him the Jangno ginseng in the box.
"So you're saying the real one is separate."
"That's correct."
He was truly a man well-versed in dealing; communication was easy.
"This ginseng was prepared to prove that it has an effect. The real one is separate."
"Hmm."
He stroked his chin and looked at me.
The gaze of a merchant trying to unearth the truth.
But no matter how long he had lived, no matter how accomplished in business, he could not dig out my truth.
20 years.
It was virtually impossible to excavate the inner mind of someone who had thrashed about in the apocalypse for a full 20 years.
"Difficult."
"What do you mean?"
"You. You're hard to read. It's like looking at a seasoned merchant, no, a veteran of a hundred battles."
"Thank you for the compliment."
A few pleasantries were exchanged.
Of course, even amidst that, a fierce battle of wits to read each other's true intentions was unfolding.
"Well then, let's get to the main point."
His tone softened.
He had raised the white flag.
No matter how much he pretended otherwise, Chairman Kang was the one who needed the cure the most.
"How much—no, what do you want?"
He began negotiations on the premise that a cure existed.
Through our conversation so far, he seemed convinced that I had the cure.
"As you know, your illness, with modern medicine, is..."
"Cut the chatter. Speak. What you want. Your purpose for coming here."
He certainly had insight.
He had grasped that I had come here with some kind of purpose.
Then the conversation was easy.
"Please... become my sponsor."
"..."
At the unexpected words, even Chairman Kang seemed slightly flustered.
Actually, I had thought of this on the spot as well.
Originally, I had planned to hand over only the Jangno ginseng under a few conditions.
But after coming here, or rather, after speaking with the lucid Chairman Kang, I changed my mind.
'Chairman Kang is a bigger man than I thought.'
While experiencing the apocalypse, I had met all sorts of people.
Among them were virtuous people worth laying down one's life for, towering figures worthy of becoming titans, and irredeemable villains and murderers.
Having spoken with him directly, I judged that Chairman Kang was someone who could have become a titan even in the apocalypse, someone capable of leading the tide.
'With this level of charisma and executional power, who knows what changes he might bring about.'
I had regressed.
To one year before the apocalypse.
While thinking about what I could do, what came to mind was 'change.'
What if this person were alive?
If this person had not died, the massacre would not have occurred.
An opportunity had been given to me, who could judge value, and Chairman Kang was a titan worth saving.
"You want me to be your sponsor? Ha! That's a condition I never expected."
He stroked his chin again.
Then he stared intently at me.
"Why? I could easily give you billions if you asked. Why a sponsor?"
"There is something I must do."
"Is it dangerous?"
"It is extremely important, but dangerous, and I may perhaps lose my life."
I couldn't give a detailed explanation, but I could tell him it was a matter of grave importance.
"Interesting. You don't even seem to be of age, yet you're undertaking something life-threatening?"
"Yes."
"And you need my sponsorship for that?"
"Yes."
"Hahaha!"
He laughed heartily.
"At an age where it wouldn't be strange to die tomorrow, you're somehow entangled in a bizarre affair."
He spoke as if complaining, but he didn't seem to be in bad spirits.
It was probably because he sensed I was telling the truth.
"Very well. You aren't asking for billions, so what's a mere sponsorship? There's no reason I can't do it."
He was refreshingly bold, which was good.
If he were a petty merchant, he would have been tapping away at a calculator to figure out his gains and losses, but Chairman Kang certainly had a different caliber.
'Or perhaps he had already calculated the profit and loss.'
Of course, since I couldn't read his inner thoughts, I couldn't be certain.
"I promise you active sponsorship."
"I believe you."
"You may believe me. I am a man who keeps his word no matter what."
Indeed he was.
The anecdote of him confidently declaring to the President that he would end the foreign exchange crisis was a famous story in political and business circles.
"And this is a bit of an afterthought, but."
"Why? What is it?"
He showed curiosity even at the mention of an afterthought.
It was evidence that he was taking an interest in me as a person.
"You farmed your enterprise well, but you have utterly failed at farming your children."
"..."
His face hardened.
"What do you mean by that?"
As expected, the mother was the first to react at the mention of children.
Though the current children were not her biological children, it was also proof that she cared for them with considerable interest and affection.
"Look at this..."
I held out a smartphone.
On the screen was the fight that had occurred at school not long ago.
「Die!」
And Kang Jihwan swinging a knife was clearly captured there.
I had kept the video recording on to use whenever needed, and I played it at this occasion.
The roughly 10-minute video came to an end.
"..."
Silence ensued.
"...You're right. I have certainly failed at raising my children."
He spoke in a voice filled with regret.
"They say raising children is the most uncontrollable thing in the world, and this Kang Seonghyeon was no different."
How could he not have known about the transgressions of his children and grandchildren?
He had simply turned a blind eye because he was their parent, their grandfather.
They would come to their senses someday—that was the common sentiment of parents.
Of course, sometimes that did happen.
But not for Kang Jihwan and Kang Jieun, nor for Kang Cheoljun, who had left them unchecked.
'They are the type to cause huge disasters even in the apocalypse.'
And I wasn't referring only to the Butcher.
Kang Cheoljun.
He too, with the onset of the apocalypse, threw people into chaos; with his three-inch tongue, he was a murderer who led tens of thousands to their deaths.
"I have clearly seen what kind of result my neglect has created."
A voice filled with resolve, unlike before.
"Honey, please don't. I'll set them straight properly."
Though she was not their biological mother, that was a mother's heart.
Realizing what resolve he had made, the Madam tried to dissuade him by any means.
"Yujin."
"...Yes."
"You know who my most cherished child is, don't you?"
"Taewang Group."
"Yes. My most cherished child is this Taewang Group that I built with my own hands. But if there are bugs trying to ruin it, should I simply stand by and watch?"
"..."
He had called his children bugs.
Through that choice of words, I could tell how furious Chairman Kang was.
"They are bugs gnawing at my precious child. I believe I have fulfilled my duty as a parent merely by tolerating and standing by until now."
"..."
She couldn't say a word.
Well, had the boys not caused some trouble by the time they grew so old?
'A tiger father begets tiger sons, they say. But this isn't even tiger father, dog son—it's tiger father, bug son.'
How could bugs emerge from beneath such a great man? As Chairman Kang had just said, it seemed raising children truly did not go as planned.
"Thank you."
He expressed his gratitude suddenly.
"Until now, I turned a blind eye even after seeing reports, in the name of parental duty, but through this, I have clearly realized. Bugs gnawing at the house must be duly exterminated."
"I'm glad it was helpful."
Actually, I had been planning to tattle about him sending gangsters after me, but since he was being so firm, there seemed to be no need to add anything.
"I will take firm measures to ensure no further harm comes to you."
Haha.
It wasn't that there was no need to add anything—he already seemed to know.
The fact that Kang Cheoljun had used dirty tricks to harm me.
He was indeed a man with staggering insight.
"Sponsorship, and measures regarding Cheoljun. Is that enough to receive the cure?"
And his profit calculation was precise as well.
"Of course."
"I would like to receive it as soon as possible."
"Since you want it quickly, I shall prepare it right away."
What was there to hesitate about?
I simply had to 'make' it right here and now.
*
I asked for understanding and borrowed the kitchen for a moment.
Of course, I forbade anyone from entering under the pretext that it was a sacred ritual.
"Let's see."
I examined the materials.
What I needed to make the cure was originally the nine roots of Jangno ginseng I had prepared to give Chairman Kang.
Not ordinary Jangno ginseng, but herbs that had undergone +99 reinforcement.
First, I picked up one root and concentrated.
Zing—
A light invisible to others.
But it was neither the golden light of success nor the blue light of failure.
A pure, snow-white light burst forth from my hand.
『Disassembly』
What a Reinforcer could use was not limited to reinforcement.
Through disassembly, one could obtain materials needed for 'special reinforcement.'
Tsss!
Like molecules being restructured, the Jangno ginseng transformed into a small orb.
It was a Transcendence Orb.
A low-grade Transcendence Orb, obtainable only by disassembling items with full reinforcement, used for reinforcing herbs.
Tssst!
I repeated it seven more times.
Though Chairman Kang or the Madam would have been shocked to see it, this was all a process to create one greater target object.
Eight Transcendence Orbs were completed.
Since it was best to raise the probability with certainty, I held all eight in my hand and—
Flash!
I attempted reinforcement.
It was not ordinary reinforcement, but a rank higher, a 'Transcendence Reinforcement' befitting the word evolution.