Chapter 140

===================

Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

“…”

In a heavy and solemn atmosphere, Chairman Kang Seong-ho quickly read through the contract.

“I’m not from the legal team, but isn’t this really unfair to the person joining? What is this withdrawal clause… Plus there are many rules to follow, and when doing special activities within the organization, you absolutely have to follow orders? Is this the mafia?”

He looked back and forth between me and hyung.

“*Ahem*. If you don’t want to, then don’t. We won’t force you.”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho quickly grabbed the contract as hyung was taking it back and signed it.

“Goodness. When did I say I wouldn’t do it? I was just concerned whether this is an unfair contract disguised as an application.”

“Didn’t our Jin-ho tell you? This is a place you can’t enter with half-hearted resolve.”

“Of course. I heard. I made the decision to enter here with serious resolve.”

Then hyung nodded with a satisfied smile.

“Then that’s good. Now that you’ve written the application. Shall we go?”

“Yes. Sounds good.”

“Oh right, you cannot bring attendants. The reason… you know, right? Our company will send a vehicle, so from now on, take that to come. Today we’ll travel together.”

“Yes. Understood well. Such security must be thorough.”

Actually, sending a vehicle was consideration for guild members.

Rather than the hassle of driving themselves, we bring them and also take them home—top-tier service.

But it seemed to appear as security awareness to Chairman Kang Seong-ho.

I barely suppressed my laughter, got in the vehicle, and traveled together to arrive at our guild’s landmark.

“…”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho looked around the building and tilted his head.

“This building is taller than expected. Plus it’s decorated like a hotel or something, or like a resort, and is that a swimming pool? There are rides you’d see at a water park too.”

I couldn’t think of any particular explanation, so I just kept my mouth shut.

It was one of the facilities made for the families of guild members who come to play at our landmark.

“Oh my, Chairman, hello. Hurry and greet him too, kids. Stop running.”

“Hello!!”

When we went inside, several children were running around.

The wives walking with the children warmly greeted us.

“…”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho just stared blankly at that sight.

By now, he should have realized we’re playing a prank.

“This place.”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho slightly raised the corner of his mouth in the elevator.

He finally figured it out!

“The disguise is very well done.”

“…?”

“Outside is decorated like a luxury resort, children play inside—who would think this is a secret hideout?”

“…”

I see you could think of it that way.

No. Is he that oblivious?

Hyung also seemed flustered—I could see him biting his lip tightly trying to hold back the laughter about to burst.

“…”

When we got off the elevator, guild members came into view one by one.

They knew Chairman Kang Seong-ho was coming, so they tried not to act surprised.

But the curious gazes couldn’t be hidden.

After everyone passed with light nods, we finally arrived.

“Is this it?”

“Yes. This is the space Chairman Kang will use often. I specially prepared the space. It seems you’ll need guidance in many ways. And feedback.”

“Guidance? Feedback? Why would those be needed…?”

“You’ll find out when you go in. Hoho.”

At hyung’s words, Chairman Kang Seong-ho tilted his head and opened the door to go inside.

“…?”

In that room was one computer.

There was also various convenient equipment needed for enjoying games.

Things hyung had specially ordered for Chairman Kang Seong-ho.

“What is this…”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho looked confused, not understanding.

“Please sit down first.”

“Ah, yes. But wh-what is all this?”

“Think about that later. Let’s do the most important thing first, shall we?”

“Yes? Which.”

“Creating an ID.”

“Pardon? An ID?”

“Yes. You need to create an ID first to play games.”

“…?”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho, realizing something was off, tried to get up again, but hyung and I were already firmly pressing down on both shoulders so he couldn’t.

He might want to call for help, but didn’t Chairman Kang Seong-ho enter this building without a single attendant?

“I told you before the contract, didn’t I? The moment you set foot in our guild, you can’t leave as you please.”

“G-guild?”

“Yes. Welcome to our ‘Trinity’ guild, Chairman Kang Seong-ho.”

“!?”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho stared blankly at hyung with his soul escaped. It was the face of someone properly scammed.

————————————————————————————————————————

“Mr. President, here’s the battle report on Russia and Ukraine.”

American President Aiden opened the report handed by the secretary general.

Currently, the thing most governments including America were watching most closely was probably the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Ukraine’s resistance is extremely fierce. Also, thanks to Zelenkis going around military units fearlessly to raise morale, Ukrainian soldiers are fighting without sparing themselves.”

A leader’s decisiveness, and its influence, is powerful.

Aiden had been having such thoughts lately.

Could I have made the same decision as Zelenkis in the same situation?

“What’s the possibility of Russia launching nukes?”

“That’s slim. What Russia wants is to occupy Ukraine and make it part of Russia. But if they launch nukes here, Ukraine will be abandoned forever, and it will also cause permanent damage to Russia. Also, regions that see Russia’s atrocity might declare independence too.”

In other words, launching nuclear missiles would be the same as Russia self-destructing.

“Then, how long do you think this war will continue?”

“We’re viewing it as long-term war. The main factor is Russia’s forces were too easily broken. The attack aimed at Kyiv being blocked is big, and Russia’s internal discipline collapsing is also a major factor.”

Honestly, Aiden never imagined Russia would struggle this much.

“Then what should we do?”

“If Ukraine holds out that well, it’s not bad for us. Early on, it would have been fine if Ukraine was quickly occupied since we wouldn’t have to keep sending support—but if it goes long-term like this, it’s good for us to consistently support weapons.”

“Because we can exhaust Russia’s national power?”

“Yes. Russia didn’t expect long-term war—they raised troops with a strategy to end the war within a week. But with the situation like this, they’re bound to be flustered. Thanks to that, we can use Ukraine here to weaken Russia’s power.”

America knew well that war means loss for that country.

Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, and so on.

How much money was wasted and national power consumed through multiple wars?

“What does Ukraine need most right now?”

“We’re supporting all basic firearms. But what’s most urgent is the air force. The problem is even if we want to support the air force, the cost is too expensive, and even if we do support, there aren’t many pilots who can 100% utilize those fighters.”

The power of an air force is tremendous.

No matter how many hundreds of thousands of troops are on the ground, if the air force bombs them, they can instantly turn them to dust.

“So what’s being discussed now is drones.”

“Drones?”

“Yes. As the war shows signs of being prolonged, both Ukraine and Russia are digging trenches and building positions to hide. Precision striking such places would cost astronomical amounts, but if you use drones, the story changes.”

“Is it really that effective?”

“Yes. I brought some footage.”

Aiden could see demonstration videos of how drones could be utilized and what destructive power they had.

Drones finding enemies hiding in trenches and dropping bombs, or rushing toward enemies hidden inside buildings and exploding right there.

“Imagine thousands of these roaming the battlefield.”

“…Just imagining it gives me chills.”

Is this modern warfare?

The advancement of technology was truly terrifying.

“Drones are easy to operate, and if we buy them instead of fighters, the cost savings are enormous.”

“Then we should support these.”

“Yes. But there’s one problem.”

“Hm? What problem?”

“Among the military drones currently available, there’s a model with excellent cost-effectiveness. And it’s produced in Turkey.”

Was it being made in Turkey really such a big problem?

“There’s a Turkish defense company called Baykar, and one of this company’s largest shareholders is Gwangwoon.”

“…!”

Just hearing that name now seemed to trigger a reaction.

“How does Gwangwoon have shares in a Turkish defense company? The government wouldn’t have allowed it?”

“The situation is a bit complicated. When Turkey’s currency value plummeted, they fully opened up to foreign investment at one point. That’s when Gwangwoon entered and the first thing they secured was this Baykar.”

“It was before the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, right?”

“Yes. They went in last year and made large-scale investments.”

So after natural gas, nickel, and wheat, they had also preempted the defense sector?

“Do we absolutely have to buy drones from here?”

“We can buy other models. The problem is the cost is more than double, and the performance isn’t dramatically different.”

It seemed like there was no choice.

“John. About this Russia-Ukraine war.”

“Yes.”

“Is there a possibility Gwangwoon is directly involved?”

“After I had that close conversation with you last time, Mr. President, I had a full investigation done on Gwangwoon again. It’s still ongoing.”

“And?”

“Before this Russia-Ukraine war broke out, Gwangwoon prepared thoroughly as if they were certain war would definitely happen.”

He already knew that through reports.

They had steadily built a foundation before war broke out and were now selling everything at expensive prices.

“They even delivered 500 million dollars in donations to Ukraine. There are ongoing suspicions they might be funding the war behind the scenes.”

“So? Did you find anything?”

“…Nothing.”

“Nothing? Not a single thing?”

“Yes. We’ve done in-depth investigations tracing Gwangwoon’s footsteps, but we’ve only gotten results that Gwangwoon isn’t connected to any incidents. We couldn’t find a connection to this Russia-Ukraine war either.”

“!?”

Aiden let out a short sigh.

“Vicious bastards.”

“Yes. They’re also more terrifying than imagined. There should have been at least small traces left, but they seem to have erased even those in advance. So that their numerous evil deeds couldn’t be found.”

“Is there a possibility our intelligence agencies are compromised? Information could have been manipulated on our side.”

“So we’re continuously doing cross-verification with other agencies. But… we haven’t found anything yet.”

Aiden shook his head.

Who on earth were they?

Who was behind Gwangwoon that even America’s intelligence network couldn’t find them?

No. Many government agencies might have already fallen into that mastermind’s hands as expected.

“They’re even faster at information than us…”

America also couldn’t get a handle on the Russia-Ukraine war.

They didn’t know until right before whether it would really break out or end as an episode.

But they knew about this a year ago and were certain war would break out.

What did that mean?

“So Russia is also being controlled by them?”

The Russia-Ukraine war wasn’t simply for Patin’s ambition.

An even greater and more secret ambition must have caused the current situation.

————————————————————————————————————————

“I know that expression very well. ‘I’ve been completely scammed!’ That’s what you’re thinking right now, aren’t you?”

Kang Seong-ho, who barely escaped from Jeong Jin-ho and Hwang Dae-woon’s hands and came out of the room for a break, was staring blankly at the air.

President Kim Du-young sat next to him.

“I also didn’t know this was a gaming guild when I first came in. I was completely fooled by the Chairman and President Jeong. Haha.”

Kang Seong-ho let out a hollow breath.

This wasn’t some secret gathering like he thought.

It was just an ordinary gaming guild.

“But is it really just an ordinary gaming guild?”

“Pardon?”

“The guild name here is ‘Trinity.’ I didn’t hear exactly what meaning the guild name was given, but Trinity—meaning three as one. A name that fits this guild perfectly.”

Kang Seong-ho became interested at Kim Du-young’s words.

“Rich chaebols like Chairman Kang Seong-ho, people related to politics, and finally people in media and press—money, power, information. These three are united as one.”

“The members here?”

“Yes. Some have a lot of money, some are close to the government, and some run media companies or have media exposure. Trinity. Just as the name says, three cores are gathered as one. And the one who personally selected those people is President Jeong Jin-ho.”

“That means…”

“Us gathering in one place like this is by no means coincidence.”

It had been a question.

Was it really just an ordinary gaming guild?

What gaming guild builds a building that looks like this kind of disguise?

“Actually, after gaming, when guild members gather, they have various conversations. And each time, information that you absolutely couldn’t get outside goes around. In other words, it’s a social gathering disguised as gaming.”

If everyone was a notable figure in their respective fields, naturally the quality of information exchanged would be high.

“Most people fitting the name Trinity are gathered in this guild. President Jeong Jin-ho personally selected them and even built this building so they could meet regularly. Is this really coincidence?”

Only then did Kang Seong-ho understand.

“So it really wasn’t just a gaming guild…”

“Yes. After I realized that, I started seeing this place differently. When I didn’t know, I just thought it was really people who liked games gathering. But after understanding the meaning, everything looked different.”

In other words, this wasn’t simply a gaming guild—it was a Korean version of Bilderberg with the power to move Korea from behind.

“Ah. But there’s something unusual about this place. They do teach newcomers well, but after a certain time passes, if you can’t function as a person in the game, they really don’t treat you like a human. No speaking rights either.”

“…!”

“So practice gaming hard. It hasn’t been long since I started being treated like a person.”

Kim Du-young left that advice and got up first.

“…”

A secret social gathering disguised as gaming.

But is it a concept, or do they really not treat you like a human if you’re bad at gaming?

“But it didn’t seem that hard.”

He had barely played games, but after messing around a bit while getting nagged by Jeong Jin-ho and Hwang Dae-woon, he didn’t think it was that hard.

“I’ve come this far—I can’t live without speaking rights.”

At first, he thought about secretly escaping home, but now his thinking had changed.

He would become the person who’s best at gaming in this guild.