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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Perfect Checkmate
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Yeon Sung-hun indifferently stared at Jin Seong-jun's face, twisted into a sly grin.
Denying it was pointless.
The fact that he'd singled him out and come all this way was already a perfect trap.
Why? How? What for? None of those questions mattered now.
What was important was figuring out how to handle the man standing before him.
...Should I take him down first? No, that's not realistic.
He couldn't even be sure Jin Seong-jun was alone here, and even if he subdued him, it wouldn't mean anything now that his identity was exposed.
More importantly, if they'd investigated him, they surely knew he was a C-Rank Hunter. For them to show up so boldly anyway meant they had their reasons.
...Unless I get a chance to down a potion.
He looked like he was just standing there casually, but there were no openings.
The moment he sensed anything off, he'd turn the tables and overpower Yeon Sung-hun in an instant.
And the aura radiating from him was far from ordinary.
Jin Seong-jun's presence was brutally sharp—nothing like what you'd expect from the secretary general of a major corporate affiliate.
It felt more like something from the underworld.
This guy's killed more than one or two people.
A surge of frustration furrowed Yeon Sung-hun's brow.
It really was a perfect checkmate, a complete dead end.
Tsking in exasperation, Yeon Sung-hun asked flatly,
"So, what do you want?"
Even with the razor-sharp tone, Jin Seong-jun didn't seem fazed.
If anything, the smile on his lips grew even smoother.
"Oh dear. Did I offend you somehow? Was there any discourtesy in my approach...?"
"I'm not here for a war of words. Get to the point."
Jin Seong-jun paused with a soft "Hm" as Yeon Sung-hun glared at him impassively.
It was because the aura Yeon Sung-hun exuded without thinking was no joke.
He might look like a green kid based on his age, but clearly, that was just appearances.
So this is the guild Choi Yeon-ah belongs to, huh?
She might be past her prime now, but she was still Choi Yeon-ah.
During the investigation, he'd been quite surprised to learn she was in Yeon Sung-hun's guild. At first, he'd thought she was after the potions too, but actually meeting him in person made him vaguely sense that wasn't the case.
Of course, it doesn't change anything.
The thorough investigation into Yeon Sung-hun was flawless.
As long as they held his weaknesses, they had the upper hand.
With a quiet smile, Jin Seong-jun finally spoke.
"What we want is, naturally, a partnership with Alchemist F."
"Partnership?"
"Yes. We'll offer you the best terms. How about joining Woo Chemical? We'll provide full support for your guild, Golden, to grow under our group's umbrella."
On the surface, it sounded like a perfectly reasonable offer.
Especially compared to the background check and their sudden visit—it was remarkably mild.
But Yeon Sung-hun didn't buy it easily.
Sweet-sounding proposals always hid the deepest traps.
"The best terms, huh. Anyone can make empty promises. I can't give an answer until I see the contract myself."
"Hm. So I can take that as a positive inclination?"
"If you want my answer, show me the contract first."
Jin Seong-jun shrugged at his unyielding stance.
With a light nod toward the car, another man stepped out.
Another guy radiating the same murderous aura.
Yeon Sung-hun tsked shortly as the man silently handed over a document envelope.
Every damn one of these secretary office goons reeks of bloodlust.
More like an assassination squad than a secretary's office, really.
Tsking again, Yeon Sung-hun snatched the envelope from Jin Seong-jun's hand.
He pulled out the contract and quickly scanned it.
"What do you think? The best deal in the industry."
"...A 9:1 split on the potions I make? And I'm the one getting 1?"
"Considering Woo Group's excellent distribution network and marketing costs, it's more than fair. Actually, quite generous compared to others."
Yeon Sung-hun skimmed the contract with a blank expression, saying nothing to Jin Seong-jun's explanation.
There were plenty of other absurd clauses besides that.
The kicker was that all rights to the potions he made would belong to Woo Chemical.
Just become our slave, huh.
Ownership of the guild Golden would transfer to Woo Chemical too.
All existing contracts with guild members would be voided, and Woo Chemical would handle all re-contracts and member management.
Yeon Sung-hun would be a figurehead leader with no real power.
Every single term was utterly ridiculous.
After a moment of silence, Yeon Sung-hun spoke up.
"I need time to think it over."
"Hm? Won't you decide right now? It's a really generous contract."
Suppressing a scoff at Jin Seong-jun's words, Yeon Sung-hun replied flatly,
"We need time to review the contract too."
"Well, suit yourself."
He seemed to already expect Yeon Sung-hun to accept, responding nonchalantly.
Shrugging lightly, he added what sounded like advice.
"Ah, I expect a wise choice. Especially with family to support..."
Jin Seong-jun flinched mid-sentence.
A chilling sensation ran down his spine.
A murderous intent he'd never felt before in his life.
Not even from his boss, Oh Young-gyu, or Woo Group's chairman, Oh Jeong-nam.
Shuddering involuntarily, Jin Seong-jun stared blankly at Yeon Sung-hun.
"..."
Yeon Sung-hun said nothing.
He just stared silently with an emotionless face.
He hadn't even used a speck of mana.
If mana had been involved, he could've countered with his own, but this aura from Yeon Sung-hun was something else.
Pure charisma, unadulterated.
For a split second, a massive mountain—or no, a towering spire—seemed to loom behind Yeon Sung-hun.
"...You should head out for today."
With those calm words, Yeon Sung-hun turned his gaze away from Jin Seong-jun.
The terrifying pressure vanished completely.
The atmosphere shifted so abruptly it felt like an illusion, prompting Jin Seong-jun to speak.
"Y-Yes... I-I'll be going now. H-Have a good day...!"
Exhaling his held breath, he stammered his farewell in a trembling voice and hastily drove off.
Yeon Sung-hun didn't spare him a glance even as he left. Only after the car was completely gone did he finally exhale the breath he'd been holding.
Gripping the document bundle tightly, he roughly crumpled it and ran a hand over his face.
He wanted to scream his lungs out, but that would draw his family from the house.
Swallowing his boiling rage, Yeon Sung-hun gazed blankly at the sky.
"Fuck."
The curse slipped out—something he hadn't uttered once since awakening to his past life. He pressed a hand to his forehead.
His gut churned with emotions, but now wasn't the time to vent.
First, he needed to pinpoint the cause.
He had to address this to avoid repeating the mistake.
Where did it go wrong? How did they find out?
Several possibilities came to mind.
Rumors about his potions had been spreading subtly for a while.
The guild members? Han So-yul? Seong A-reum? Jeong Hyun-su?
The most likely were Seong A-reum or Jeong Hyun-su.
He didn't have much personal connection with Seong A-reum yet, and Jeong Hyun-su was an underworld figure who'd smile while stabbing you in the back for profit.
But Jeong Hyun-su was unlikely.
No reason for him to.
Someone as profit-driven as him wouldn't leak info on Yeon Sung-hun unnecessarily.
He'd fight tooth and nail to keep it exclusive.
In fact, Jeong Hyun-su had gone to great lengths to protect Yeon Sung-hun's secret—maybe even more than Yeon Sung-hun himself.
That left Seong A-reum by process of elimination.
But Yeon Sung-hun suspected she wasn't the culprit.
No direct ties, but he'd heard plenty about her from Han So-yul and Choi Yeon-ah.
She was rough around the edges but tight-lipped.
Connection to those two didn't prove innocence, but he had some confidence.
If her bonds with them were real, she wouldn't spill his secret and put them in a tough spot.
Less faith in her character, more in Han So-yul and Choi Yeon-ah.
That left the guild members and Han So-yul...
He hadn't even considered suspecting them.
Partly trust, but mostly because including them created too many variables.
If I'm going to trust them, I should see it through.
Excluding them, who else could have talked?
The Black Market.
Not Jeong Hyun-su, but the Black Market itself.
After their first real deal, maybe not—but the first day's traces were likely uncovered.
That day alone, at least two people had seen him up close.
More than anything, the Black Market wasn't a unified entity. It was a loose alliance of people chasing individual gains.
If the leak came from anywhere, it was there.
...I got complacent.
Yeon Sung-hun had to admit it.
This was undeniably his own fault—no one else's.
Arrogant, huh?
He'd told himself otherwise, but actions spoke louder.
Acting like he was Faust from his past life, he'd underestimated everything.
Even though he was Yeon Sung-hun, not Faust.
"Mephisto would've laughed his ass off."
Probably rolling on the floor clutching his gut, in a manner utterly unfit for an emperor.
A bitter smile tugged at Yeon Sung-hun's lips as he let out a quiet sigh.
All his efforts to prevent this had gone to waste.
He knew better than anyone the value of his potions.
He knew packs of vultures would come circling.
To fend them off, he needed power—like the Tower of the Sage in his past life—and he'd been building that protective wall.
That's why, despite being able to hold off until he grew stronger, he'd deliberately gone through the Black Market instead of official channels...
Never thought it'd backfire like this.
Letting out a wry chuckle, Yeon Sung-hun glanced at the crumpled envelope in his hand.
He crushed it viciously.
Worthless trash not even worth considering.
No matter how groundbreaking the offer, he'd shake his head at this garbage.
Faust, who hadn't bowed even to the emperor of the empire that spanned two-thirds of the Western Continent—the greatest on the entire continent—and had faced him as an equal.
And they thought to offer him a slave contract like this?
Calling it a once-in-a-lifetime deal, no less?
Just thinking about it made his blood boil again.
But what enraged him most was something else.
Daring to bring up my family?
That was Yeon Sung-hun's reverse scale.
When Jin Seong-jun mentioned it, Yeon Sung-hun hadn't even felt anger anymore.
In its place was pure killing intent.
Without the memories and experience of his long-lived past as Faust, he would've lunged at Jin Seong-jun right then.
No—even with them, he hadn't fully held back.
It was the first time since awakening to his past life that he'd felt such towering rage and murderous urge.
Yeon Sung-hun exhaled calmly.
For now, I've bought some time.
He was cornered, but it wasn't over yet.
Since he'd said he'd think it over, they owed him that much time.
Of course, they'd keep tabs on him in the meantime, but the key was he'd gained a window.
And that window was enough to turn the tables.
I'll use every damn thing at my disposal.
Yeon Sung-hun resolved to do his utmost for payback.
No, not payback—retribution.
No matter who they were, everyone involved would learn the hard way.
Just who they'd messed with.
He'd make them regret it.
Instead of heading home, Yeon Sung-hun turned toward the Black Market.
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