Zhang Manyue's schedule today, as always, was centered around filming her drama.
Only this time, her scenes were heavier than usual.
From just past eight in the morning until two in the afternoon, the cameras rolled without pause, though of course, there had been a lunch break.
When the day's shoot was done, Zhang Manyue bid farewell to the crew.
Carl trailed close behind her.
That was when he overheard people nearby whispering in hushed tones.
『Crew Member A』: Hey, did you hear?
『Crew Member B』: About what?
『Crew Member A』: The investor for our drama, he's gone missing.
『Crew Member B』: Missing? No way!
『Crew Member A』: Of course it's true. Neither his home nor his company knows where he is.
『Crew Member B』: I heard SC Group, the one Li Jaekyung belongs to, even posted a bounty online. Anyone who provides a valid lead can earn 3,500,000 won.
『Crew Member A』: And if someone actually finds Li Jaekyung himself, the reward is two billion won!
『Crew Member B』: Whoa, seriously? That sounds insane.
『Crew Member A』: Absolutely real. I saw it on SC Group's official site.
『Crew Member B』: SC Group wouldn't lie on their own homepage, would they?
『Crew Member A』: Exactly.
『Crew Member B』: If only I could find him…
『Crew Member A』: But wait, if Li Jaekyung's gone, what about the investment in our drama?
『Crew Member B』: Don't worry. He was plenty generous, signed the contract and paid all the funds up front.
『Crew Member A』: Truly worthy of being from SC Group.
『Crew Member B』: I see…
Carl lifted a brow slightly at their chatter.
Already missing, and the bounty posted immediately. Clearly, Li Jaekyung was a figure of real importance to his conglomerate. No surprise there, he was their heir.
As for the reward… well, it sounded impressive to those crew members, but Carl quietly ran the numbers.
3,500,000 won, barely over three thousand U.S. dollars. In terms of the money from his previous life, not even twenty thousand yuan.
Two billion won? That was around 170,000 U.S. dollars. Roughly a bit over a million yuan in his past life's terms.
A considerable sum for ordinary folk. But to Carl, it was… nothing.
After parting with the crew, Zhang Manyue walked toward the van with Carl and her manager.
Once they were out of earshot, the manager couldn't hide the grin spreading across her face.
『Manager』: Manyue, did you hear that just now? That loathsome Li Jaekyung, he's gone missing! This is wonderful. At least for a while, he won't be bothering us.
In recent days, Li Jaekyung hadn't approached Zhang Manyue too often. But his status as a chaebol heir and, worse yet, the investor behind her drama put enormous pressure on the manager.
Zhang Manyue herself felt no fear, she knew Carl was a shareholder of the Stark Group, not to mention the overwhelming strength he possessed.
Compared to Carl, the likes of Li Jaekyung were less than insignificant. The gap was simply immeasurable.
Had Manyue not been kind by nature, and had Jaekyung not been relatively restrained in his pestering, she would've already told Carl to "take care" of him.
She had every reason to feel secure.
But her manager did not.
After all, Zhang Manyue was still only an up-and-coming actress, not yet top tier. Against the scion of a conglomerate, she held no sway.
That Manyue dared refuse him outright left the manager panicked and breathless with anxiety.
Now, knowing he had vanished, the woman finally felt relief.
Zhang Manyue, however, remained calm. After all, Carl was far stronger. She even suspected that, had she not stopped him yesterday, Carl might have already ended Jaekyung outright.
She knew well enough about Carl's encounter with Abomination.
To her, Li Jaekyung's disappearance simply had nothing to do with her.
『Zhang Manyue』: Hopefully, they'll find him soon.
With that single, detached comment, the three climbed into the van and drove off for a leisurely outing.
Elsewhere,
Cheon Song-yi and Do Min-joon, too, had seen SC Group's bounty notice and learned of Li Jaekyung's disappearance.
『Cheon Song-yi』: How strange. How could Jaekyung-oppa just vanish? I literally saw him only a few days ago.
She was genuinely surprised.
After all, she'd grown up alongside Jaekyung's younger brother, they were childhood friends. While she had never liked Jaekyung himself, their families had known each other well, so she was at least familiar with him.
As for his darker dealings, Song-yi had no knowledge.
Which was why his sudden vanishing, so soon after she'd last seen him, felt baffling.
Do Min-joon's reaction, however, was far more pointed.
Just yesterday, he had wondered whether Carl's cryptic mention of "trouble" might have been referring to Li Jaekyung.
And today, with news of Jaekyung's disappearance, the truth crystallized.
It had to be Carl.
After all, Carl had rescued him yesterday, and afterward spoke of that very "trouble."
Who else but Jaekyung could he have meant?
Relief swept through Do Min-joon. He had worried Jaekyung might harm Song-yi.
Now, with Carl apparently having dealt with him, that concern vanished.
『Do Min-joon (inwardly)』: That Superman of a man really is remarkable… even knowing about Jaekyung's schemes.
The World of Record of Ragnarok
Valhalla – The Council Chamber
Though called a chamber, the space was vast, larger than any football stadium, seating tens of thousands, perhaps even a hundred thousand.
And upon those seats sat shadows, figures that were anything but human. Some had four arms and five eyes, others bore the heads of beasts atop human bodies.
They were gods.
At the center, thin as a withered branch, sat an aged man, the supreme god of Greek myth, and the presiding chairman of Valhalla's Council: Zeus.
『Zeus』: My fellow gods… since our last convocation, another millennium has passed. And so, we begin anew, this gathering to decide the fate of humankind.
The council's sole purpose: to determine whether humanity would be permitted to endure another thousand years… or be consigned to extinction.
Every god present could voice an opinion.
『Shiva』: Hmph… end them.
The speaker, lounging indolently, was Shiva, the four-armed, five-eyed god of creation and destruction in Indian myth, and one of its highest deities.
『Shiva』: For a thousand years they've shown no hint of repentance. Let's just wipe them out.
『Aphrodite』: Indeed.
A golden-haired goddess with eyes like sapphires rose to speak, the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite herself.
『Aphrodite』: In this past millennium, the world has grown only uglier. The seas choke with trash, species vanish one after another. To be frank, humanity itself is the blight upon this blue planet.
『Aphrodite』: They are poison.
Her words fell, and others soon joined in.
『Unnamed God A』: Aphrodite speaks true.
『Unnamed God B』: Extinguish humanity!
『Unnamed God C』: Yes, I'm tired of guiding them.
One after another, voices resounded through the great hall, a storm of divine condemnation cataloguing humanity's sins.
The council swelled with judgment.
End of chapter...
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