Chapter 73

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“Neom City?”

“Yes. Though they haven’t officially announced it yet, it’s an ultra-large project being pushed by the Saudi royal family. Investment proposals already went to major companies worldwide, and they came to us too.”

To businesspeople, Saudi was one very important customer.

Doesn’t the Saudi sovereign wealth fund exert influence worldwide?

People lining up to receive investment from them number in the truckloads.

That Saudi sent an investment proposal first.

And it wasn’t them investing but receiving investment.

Chairman Kang Seong-ho examined the report with interest.

“They say completion is scheduled for around 2030. Honestly, 2030 isn’t even close to possible.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Just looking at the lineup, quite many things impossible to construct with current technology are mixed in, they say.”

“Did Saudi not know that either?”

“They must have known. But still stuffing it in like this..”

There’s a method scammers always use.

First, make everything look flashy.

“There are also things engineering-wise absolutely impossible to construct. They say they’ll make an ultra-large linear city 170km long and 500m high, but experts assess that it absolutely cannot be made right now.”

“But it’s Saudi who sent this, no other place, right?”

“Yes. First, the amount Saudi set aside alone is 600 trillion won in our currency.”

600 trillion.

It was an amount hard to grasp.

The problem is this is the initial amount.

Once initial construction ends, an amount larger than this will surely be invested.

Even if the Saudi royal family’s assets exceed 1,000 trillion won, handling 600 trillion won alone would be difficult.

“So they’re coming to us asking for money?”

“If there are places to invest, come in advance to preempt positions and invest, and conversely if there are things to make by receiving money, participate in infrastructure development.”

Right. It’s about time a city you’d only see in movies gets constructed.

And it was a good project for the Saudi royal family to proceed with, who are throwing money feasts for generations because ancestors brilliantly secured land.

If there’s exactly one thing bothering them,

“It reeks of scam smell.”

From the costs involved to the project contents.

Honestly it wasn’t realistic.

“But the source is certain. Because it’s an investment proposal from the Saudi fund side.”

However, Saudi seemed to have firm will to force through this crazy act.

Chairman Kang Seong-ho pondered briefly.

Should I accept this or not?

If he doesn’t accept this and refuses, the aftermath is something Kangsung must bear entirely.

Saudi is the largest oil money producer.

The amounts they handle are also astronomical, so for Kangsung to build a semiconductor cluster going forward, they needed to receive investment from places like the Saudi fund to disperse risk.

Saudi also knows that, which is why they sent the investment proposal.

If you don’t want to make enemies with us, participate on your own.

“..Did this proposal also go to Gwangwoon?”

“Yes. Gwangwoon alone as a securities company handles trillions of won, doesn’t it? Among our country’s securities firms, only Gwangwoon received it, they say. Asset management firms can’t move individually even if the amounts they handle are large.”

Both Kangsung and KS Asset Management.

Both handle amounts exceeding hundreds of trillions of won.

However, they can’t move money as they wish.

The money they handle is ultimately customers’ money.

But Gwangwoon is different.

Even if they don’t have hundreds of trillions like those others, that money is entirely Gwangwoon’s.

So they can invest anywhere they want.

“What is Gwangwoon doing?”

“That much..”

“Whew. Wait a moment.”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho took out his phone and pressed Jeong Jin-ho at the top of recent calls.

No need to investigate complicatedly, he just needs to ask Jeong Jin-ho directly.

[The call cannot be connected, voice message..]

“Ha ha. Is this fellow busy?”

Once more Kang Seong-ho tried calling.

[The call cannot be connected..]

“…”

Executives were also trying to avert their gazes.

Kang Seong-ho called once more as the last attempt.

After that long connection tone,

[Yes, Chairman.]

As Jeong Jin-ho’s voice came through the phone, executives breathed sighs of relief.

“Why can’t I reach you? Are you very busy?”

[I was sleeping.]

“Huh? Is today a day off?”

[These days there are no market issues, so there’s hardly any fluctuation.]

“True. Your work environment is very different from here.”

[But what’s the matter? If it’s drinking again today, I’m not going out. My stomach hurts.]

“Hey. People will think I meet to drink every day.”

[You did that a week straight last time.]

“…”

Chairman Kang Seong-ho glanced at executives pretending otherwise but with ears wide open, then let out a cough.

“Gwangwoon also received that from Saudi, right?”

[Neom City?]

“Yeah. What did you decide? Will you enter?”

[No.]

An answer that came without hesitation.

He didn’t even reveal why he refused the investment proposal.

Just a firm short answer.

“The investment proposal came to our Kangsung too. Should I enter?”

Brief silence flowed.

Soon Jeong Jin-ho’s fading voice was heard.

[..I wouldn’t enter.]

“Okay.”

That was enough.

Even if he heard the reason, nothing changes.

Because he didn’t call to be logically persuaded.

He was just curious about Jeong Jin-ho’s decision.

“Let’s not enter this either.”

“What? B-but Chairman. This isn’t just anywhere but a proposal sent from Saudi. If we refuse this, we might have to completely give up on receiving investment from Saudi going forward!”

“No matter how much Gwangwoon said they won’t enter, isn’t their situation different from Kangsung’s? Gwangwoon doesn’t need Saudi’s help, but we need Saudi’s investment funds greatly going forward, Chairman.”

Kang Seong-ho also knows.

That if he doesn’t accept this investment proposal, relations with Saudi will also be severed.

But didn’t Chairman Kang Seong-ho already swear?

That whatever Jeong Jin-ho says, even if it endangers the company, he’ll trust him.

***

“Rejection?”

“Yes. Mega Lucky’s side suddenly says they won’t accept our investment.”

“Wasn’t it proceeding well?”

Seeing possibility in Mega Lucky and SPS, I tried to proceed with investment there.

Mega Lucky currently has sales of 35 billion won, still a small scale.

But as SPS succeeded in overseas expansion, future prospects were bright.

Also, the intuition I felt from the report that day was definitely certain of this company’s success.

So I tried to accept their proposed investment proposal and add more to acquire 40% equity for 300 billion won.

Just when it seemed investment would proceed without problems.. Suddenly the other side overturned the table.

“Are they asking to raise the investment amount?”

The reason Mega Lucky tried to receive investment from us also had Enflix’s influence.

Didn’t Enflix grow into a global company by breaking through 100 million subscribers in an instant?

It seemed they tried to get publicity effects by having actors or idols Mega Lucky is nurturing appear on the Enflix platform.

“That’s not it. From what I hear, they’re trying to make a contract with the Saudi side.”

Suddenly Saudi?

“Talk is circulating that Saudi is recently expanding investment areas. The royal family side also wants to pour money to wash away Saudi’s negative image.”

“What does that have to do with Mega Lucky?”

“This.. Seems to be a different area. We investigated, and besides the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, there are funds individually operated by Saudi royal family members. Among them, a large one is a fund operated by a prince named Abdul Hadim.”

I carefully listened to the story Vice President Seo explained.

So there’s a fund operated by a prince named Abdul Hadim, and money happened to be heavily invested in semiconductors and shipping, and because of us he suffered great loss.

“So he’s retaliating?”

“Yes. Not just Mega Lucky here. Already on the China side and US government side too, he seems to be spreading bad stories about Gwangwoon. Recently negative rumors about Gwangwoon are spreading in the market, and we suspect Abdul Hadim’s side deliberately spread those too.”

How many places would have bad feelings toward our Gwangwoon?

But there was nothing directly impactful.

The problem is this enemy is somewhat different in quality.

Capital held alone amounts to tens of trillions of won.

If he uses that money not for investment but to screw over our Gwangwoon, he could pull off sufficiently threatening things.

“Plus they say Abdul Hadim’s side is also commanding this Saudi Neom City investment matter.”

“We refused that, right?”

“Yes. So that’s why we got even more on his bad side.”

As expected, money seems to be the best in the world.

As he moves tremendous financial power to torment our Gwangwoon, the pressure is tremendous from all directions.

‘..Should I have just put it into Neom City?’

Though I didn’t invest following my intuition.

Even if I say I’ll invest now, they won’t accept it, right?

***

“How is it proceeding?”

“First we’re mobilizing all possible means. The connections we’ve managed until now are all moving too.”

“Effect?”

“We’re gathering investment information Gwangwoon is proceeding with and spreading obstruction operations as much as possible. If there’s a problem.. Gwangwoon usually takes management rights when investing, so seizing companies seems difficult.”

Gwangwoon bastards.

They’re more thorough than expected.

They built walls very thick so other large funds or companies can’t shake management rights. But no matter how lofty a wall is built, it gets breached by Trojan horses.

Even the best-made dam has small holes, doesn’t it?

They tried to target that weakness.

“First we laid hands on the US government and Chinese government too. The problem is both America and Chinese high officials, when Gwangwoon’s name comes up, immediately cover it without asking or questioning.”

“Why’s that?”

“They say the Chinese government central committee and Gwangwoon have a close cooperative relationship. The Tianjin Port incident also happened from touching Gwangwoon. Also, a place called Dragon Sea Alliance had their necks fly off opposing Gwangwoon, so after that there’s no place opposing Gwangwoon.”

Is Gwangwoon that much?

“Then America?”

“America isn’t easy either. Since the Trent administration came in, they’re placing various regulations on companies that attacked them during the election period. Saying it’s all for America. The problem is Kangsung Group gave massive support funds to Trent’s side during the election, and that’s also connected to Gwangwoon.”

Trent was spreading absurd tariff policies saying he’ll make America great again. But you must look closely at this hidden side.

Saying make America great, but actually it contained some degree of revenge toward companies that didn’t support him but rather attacked and pressured him.

And Kangsung Group, one of the minority forces that supported him, is receiving great benefits. Right now, aren’t American companies like Amvidia and Ampl having the semiconductor market shaken by Gwangwoon’s thug-like shipping monopoly and TSNC encirclement?

“If done according to President Trent’s initially stated intentions, he shouldn’t just watch that. It’s right to step in at the government level to save American companies. But rather he’s watching. Essentially meaning he’ll push to the end companies that trusted and supported him.”

“What? Can the person running the world’s greatest nation really operate the country with such personal feelings?”

But that’s how rulers are.

They always say they work for national interest, but ultimately being human, personal feelings inevitably enter.

But such feelings also eventually have to waver before money, don’t they?

Especially Trent is a thorough businessman.

If he says he’ll invest more than Gwangwoon and Kangsung, his thinking will change again.

“This won’t do. Like this there’s no damage going to Gwangwoon, right? Some way to torment Gwangwoon even by throwing money..”

Bang!

At that moment Abdul Hadim flinched at gunshots echoing in the building.

“What’s that sound?”

He wondered if he heard wrong, but.

Soon gunshots were heard from all directions, then soldiers forcibly broke down the door and entered.

“W-who are you? Don’t you know who I am!?”

No less than Saudi royal bloodline.

Yet soldiers didn’t care and shot resisting guards, roughly grabbing Abdul Hadim.

If he even struggled, they exercised force without mercy.

“What on earth is this..”

Thrown into the lobby captured by soldiers while bleeding from his face, Abdul Hadim looked around helplessly.

Not just him, but numerous princes and businesspeople gathered at this hotel today were all captured.

Plus those soldiers are royal direct special forces who move only on the king’s orders.

But the current king wouldn’t have moved them.

Only one person.

Hamud Salman, who’s essentially playing king of this country.

This was clearly purging work.

Large-scale purging unprecedented in Saudi history at that.

“This crazy bastard!”

***

Chairman Hwang Dae-woon thought the vice president’s complexion looked better than before.

When someone below suddenly takes the president position, one would be stressed, but there’s no such sign at all.

“Remember what I said last time?”

“About making me vice chairman?”

“Yeah. That’s still valid.”

“No thanks. I won’t do it.”

“Why?”

“I have much more fun being under President Jeong than under you, Chairman.”

He briefly forgot.

This vice president fellow entered the investment world simply because it looked fun.

“To speak honestly, when I was under you Chairman, I didn’t see a vision.”

“Wh-what?”

“But now under President Jeong, I definitely see a vision. There’s thrilling taste too.”

“Ha ha. Under that guy you get pickled in dopamine and can’t come to your senses.”

“Yes. But not just for that reason. Having a clear vision is what’s important.”

A clear vision.

Chairman Hwang didn’t yet know exactly what vision Kang Ji-hwan meant.

“Did you hear? The Saudi royal purge incident.”

“Ah. Yeah. I thought it was the Joseon era. That such things still happen in the 21st century.”

“Because it’s a place where royalty still persists. The power struggle is fierce, isn’t it?”

Saudi Crown Prince Hamud Salman gathered all the royal family’s core figures at the Ritz Hotel, then suddenly deployed the military to detain them all.

Also, attaching various charges for massive purging, he absorbed all the assets they possessed.

“There’s also connection to this Neom City project. Since it’s a project requiring over 600 trillion won, they needed funds. They needed to organize princes to strengthen power, and needed funds, so they caught two rabbits at once.”

“Wow. Scary, scary. But what does this have to do with Jin-ho?”

“There is connection. One of the main figures removed this time is someone who was enemies with our Gwangwoon.”

“..What?”

“A guy named Abdul Hadim who blatantly tried to torment our Gwangwoon, but this time he’s detained with unknown life or death.”

Hwang Dae-woon felt his mouth drying up.

“Could that be related to Jin-ho..”

“I don’t know. President Jeong didn’t separately mention it. But the timing is exquisite. That guy tried to bombard our side, then his neck flew off just before that.”

“…”

Chairman Hwang gulped down a cup of water.

After Tianjin Port, now even Saudi purging.

Don’t they say when coincidences pile up, it becomes inevitability?

“But Abdul Hadim perpetrated fraud comprehensively this time. Though the Saudi government hasn’t officially put in Neom City investment proposals yet, Abdul Hadim took the lead and spread proposals in advance.”

“Wait. Then that was a scam?”

“I don’t know if it was real fraud, or if the Saudi government is using Abdul Hadim as an excuse. The investment funds that went to Abdul Hadim all got absorbed by the Saudi government, so only companies that put money there got properly hit in the back of the head.”

“Our Gwangwoon didn’t put money there?”

“Yes. President Jeong refused without even reading that proposal.”

Could Jin-ho really have known in advance?

“We tried to invest in Mega Lucky Entertainment, but that place refused because they decided to receive investment from Abdul Hadim’s fund. But as things turned out like this, that side is grabbing our pant legs again.”

“So? What did you decide?”

“We made a contract again on condition of increasing equity from 40% to 50%. We also handed over investment funds.”

“But entertainment out of the blue. Do you think that place will definitely rise?”

He didn’t expect investment in an agency nurturing idols.

Isn’t Enflix enough for media?

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? That I’m under President Jeong because there’s a clear vision.”

“What vision?”

“Industry, technology, trade, and this time including Enflix to entertainment business. That is, like everything else, President Jeong is trying to dominate the cultural industry too. Not stopping at one field but conquering various fields.”

All places Jeong Jin-ho invested hit jackpots until now.

But not satisfied with just making lots of money, he’s acquiring companies in those industries and becoming core.

He’s conquering each field one by one.

Following his own roadmap that others can’t know.

“I was seeing President Jeong’s vision from the start. That’s why I decided to remain under him. Technology, culture, media, even sports. If we conquer fields one by one that can’t be absent from the world, what will our Gwangwoon become?”

Gwangwoon dominates industries essential to this world, industries that absolutely won’t collapse.

“A super-giant company dominating all fields. Probably a super-large company that’ll be one of a kind in the entire world.”

In movies, no. Games would be more familiar to Hwang Dae-woon.

There are super-giant companies that appear there sometimes.

Companies with such overwhelming power that dominate all the world’s industries, that even nations can’t control.

“Is Jin-ho really trying to build such a super first-class company?”

“I also thought it was speculation at first, but seeing him reach even to Enflix and entertainment business this time, I’m certain. To establish such a giant company, media domination would be essential. The substance is also very solid. He dominated trade through shipping, world-class Bitcoin exchange, and even gained semiconductor technology.”

“..!”

He couldn’t quite grasp it.

Though there have been many large companies until now, because super-giant companies that would only appear in games have never appeared once.

But Jin-ho is trying to establish that.

“Chairman. You must stay healthy for a long, long time. Because you must become the first chairman of an unprecedented super-large group.”