Chapter 47

Chapter 47: The Family’s Condition #3

Choi Sung-yeol’s words contained a strange eloquence . He blended one lie among 10 facts . That way, it sounded like he was just telling the truth .

The contents of Choi Sung-yeol’s words were simple . Large corporations regarded their employees like slaves . In addition, they bribed politicians to try to pass labour reform laws . No matter how hard someone worked, they could be thrown away like a used tissue . They would never be rewarded for their efforts .

However, Tiwai was different . By default, in order to join the company, a person had to purchase a certain amount of shares . It wasn’t a relationship between an employer and employee, but one where everyone was an owner . If there were tangible results, then their rating would go up . The higher the rating, the greater the distribution .

‘Well, it sounds like a plausible story . ’

Tae-hyuk clicked his tongue .

It was no use if people were owners . In the end, the exploitation targets just changed to a higher grade .

However, Choi Sung-yeol was extremely good at cajoling the new members . There were men and women next to him, all decoys planted by Tiwai .

The old people praised him by using their years of experience . The young ones said they had a burning passion . There were those who didn’t have proper jobs, and were now living well . Every one of them spoke words of praise . The praise, that was as smooth as butter, poured out of their mouths and were caught in the people’s ears .

While the sense of confidence increased, the final blow was dealt . If they joined now, then they could go up to a higher grade . They could reach the status of other people, who had worked for a few years, in an instant .

In that way, the participants were persuaded . Interviews with members of Tiwai were broadcasted on the screen . The attendees looked at the screen with flushed faces .

“Look at this . Many people are making more than five million a month . Are you willing to do that? Do you lack experience? Or is there a lack of enthusiasm?”

A person who earned around 800,000 a month would become someone who earned more than 10 million won in the first three months . A man, who said he was in his first year of employment, took out the key for a foreign car from his pocket and shook it .

Now everything was gathered for the perfect situation .

Tae-hyuk laughed .

‘It is like taking off the label and replacing it with one from a deluxe brand . Furthermore, that isn’t a key no matter how I look at it . ”

It was a fake made for use as a movie prop . It was made elaborately so that it couldn’t be distinguished from the real thing . However, Tae-hyuk had the ability to grasp the authenticity of an object, due to the Forgery skill improving his discerning eye .

Tae-hyuk wondered if he would receive a new crime skill and checked the Demon Revealing Mirror .

‘Um . There is no new skill . ’

So far, Tae-hyuk had met seven blacklist members . However, except for Big Mama, he didn’t receive any of their crime skills . Was it necessary to upgrade to Noble?

‘By the way, what is An Eun-jeong doing? She isn’t a decoy?’

She hadn’t appeared with Choi Sung-yeol’s party . Tae-hyuk looked around the meeting room and was able to find her . An Eun-jeong was sitting in a corner and writing down Choi Sung-yeol’s notes in a notebook . She looked just like An Eun-young .

‘… They are truly family . ’

The other people were busy talking to each other . Tae-hyuk sat next to An Eun-jeong and asked .

“You have been writing really hard . What is the content?”

An Eun-jeong laughed and held out her notes .

“This? I was writing about Choi Sung-yeol sunbae . He really is great, and none of his words are ridiculous . The money he earns as well… I want to be like him someday . ”

An Eun-jeong was looking at Choi Sung-yeol with sincerely respectful eyes .

Tae-hyuk inwardly sighed .

She was completely deceived without knowing it . The good news was that she hadn’t been completely corrupted yet .

‘I need to discover how deep her feet are . ’

“An Eun-jeong is working really hard . ”

“Uh, how did you know my name…?”

An Eun-jeong asked with wide eyes . Tae-hyuk pointed to the employee ID hanging around her neck .

“I saw the name hanging around your neck . Oh right, my name is Lee Cheol-su . ”

Tae-hyuk gave the pseudonym he used during the voyeur incident .

An Eun-jeong nodded .

“Oh, I see . Anyway, I am currently a silver member . If I can recruit 10 more people, then I can upgrade to gold… I need to work harder!”

An Eun-jeong took a fighting posture . She had a similar atmosphere to Ha-ran . It felt like he was watching a child .

Tae-hyuk lowered his voice as much as possible and said .

“That’s amazing . Already a silver member… You must have spent a large amount of money . ”

An Eun-jeong hesitated before opening her mouth .

“… Yes . In fact, it was the money I had set aside to rent a room . I used it all but… I can make a lot more once I become a gold member!”

Tae-hyuk’s head started to hurt .

She must have devoted millions of won into this . After becoming a part of the multilevel marketing, a person could easily obtain a higher grade if they spent a certain amount of money .

However, the problem was after that happened . They had already invested money, and now they couldn’t pull their feet out . Once that happened, the appearance of the company would change by 180 degrees .

‘Gather members . Bring in more money because your shares are low . Go out and sell new products . ’

There was constant exploitation . At the end of the day, they wouldn’t be able to sell enough .

An Eun-jeong was laughing with an innocent face .

‘I thought she was moderately quick-witted…’

The woman in front of him never even imagined that she was being deceived .

“I’ll ask you just one thing . How many people have you brought here?”

“Well… Two or three people . ”

A fool pulled in other fools . The multilevel scheme was truly scary .

Tae-hyuk asked with a heavy expression .

“So they all became part of Eun-jeong’s shares?”

At that moment, An Eun-jeong’s eyes shook .

“… It isn’t like that . It will be given the next time I register a name . ”

“I see . The people Eun-jeong brought in received consultation from another person and was registered under their name . Next time, do better . Is that the method?”

An Eun-jeong looked at Tae-hyuk with a startled expression . Based on her expression, it seemed like he had struck the nail on the head .

“H-How did you know?”

Tae-hyuk told An Eun-jeong the truth .

“If you gather 10 more people, then you can reach the gold rank?”

“Yes…”

The confident voice from a few minutes ago had become smaller .

“That number will never go to zero . Eun-jeong also knows this to a certain extent . ”

“……”

An Eun-jeong looked at Tae-hyuk with a shocked face . Tae-hyuk had stabbed her with the sword of truth . However, he needed to use this degree of shock therapy on Eun-jeong .

At that moment, a strange thing happened .

‘Uh, what?’

Tae-hyuk noticed a strange smell spreading in the seminar room . It was a smoke with a sweet, floral scent . He felt light-headed the moment he breathed it in .

An Eun-jeong’s eyes also became blank . Then suddenly, her eyes became animated again .

She spoke in a strong tone .

“T-That can’t be . I can surely upgrade my rank if I work hard! Ah, that’s right . Cheol-su! Cheol-su shouldn’t think like that . Cheol-su is also in our company . We should work hard together to make a lot of money . Then my father…”

‘Damn…’

He thought it was almost over . However, An Eun-jeong was completely possessed by this strange perfume .

Tae-hyuk bit his lip and pulled out the Demon Revealing Mirror to check his status .

“O-Oh my god! All my stats are being reduced at a tremendous pace!’

His intelligence, that was close to 50, was now near 40 points . Tae-hyuk realized that his judgment was gradually falling .

‘Did they even use a hallucinogen?’

He grabbed his left little finger in order to regain his spirit .

Wooduk!

The twisting of the bones caused his stats to stop falling . Tae-hyuk inwardly screamed but persisted .

‘This isn’t a normal method for a multilevel company . Wait a minute . Didn’t Choi Sung-yeol have a partner?’

He wasn’t a criminal who worked alone . He committed his scams with an even worse colleague . The name of another blacklist member popped into Tae-hyuk’s mind .

‘… Producer Kim Joon-young!’

He was a famous criminal who produced bizarre shows, a producer . Then the fragrance with the hallucinatory effect… Perhaps there were three or more criminals gathered here .

‘Damn . Now they are flocking . ’

Scammer Choi Sung-yeol . Producer Kim Joon-young . An unknown perfume user .

Tiwai International was a lair full of criminals . Tae-hyuk was barely able to win against the hippo using all of his skills . Since then, he hadn’t got any new skills or upgrades . Yet this place had three criminals . In addition, there was the unidentified man who sent the note to An Eun-young . Who was he?

Tae-hyuk bit his lip as he thought about it .

@

‘But the fact that the Producer is here…’

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much written about him in the blacklist . However, he remembered about the Death Circus run by the Producer . It was a flashy show of human desire and betrayal .

Tae-hyuk thought about the structure of the building . The interior was much smaller compared to the size . It felt like there were secret rooms that couldn’t be entered through a normal route .

Maybe the Producer was planning the Death Circus .

Tae-hyuk realized that there was only one way for An Eun-jeong to escape from here .

“Eun-jeong . If there was a way to raise your rating all at once, what would you do?”

“Huh? A-All of a sudden?

“It isn’t gold but the platinum rating . ”

Eun-jeong covered her mouth with her hands at Tae-hyuk’s words . It was the same rating as Choi Sung-yeol . He led the thousands of silver and gold members and gained a huge amount of money from what they earned .

“R-Really?”

“If you have any doubts, then you can ask Choi Sung-yeol . ”

Tae-hyuk didn’t miss the fire blazing in An Eun-jeong’s eyes . She really was an easily convinced woman .

“… If there really is such a method then I will do anything . S-Surely…”

“It probably isn’t what you are thinking . You could die . ”

“How do you know such a thing? Are you not an ordinary member?”

Tae-hyuk smirked . Now she had noticed .

“I came for this . Do you understand?”

“Ah…”

“But I can’t do it alone . How about it? Do you want to reach the platinum rating with me?”

An Eun-jeong gave a strange groan as she hesitated for a moment . And after a while . She came to a conclusion and nodded .

“I accept . I should put my life on the line to make money . ”

‘Ugh . This woman! Does she even know what she is saying?’

Tae-hyuk inwardly screamed . The words made him feel like puking . He needed to show An Eun-jeong reality .

‘… Yes . Let’s try it . Death Circus . If I look at it directly then I’ll discover what I need to know . ’

“Can you wait a minute? I have something to say to Choi Sung-yeol . ”

“Yes . ”

Tae-hyuk walked towards the front of the room . Two people were talking without any worries to Choi Sung-yeol . Tae-hyuk smiled as he reached Choi Sung-yeol .

“What is going on? I saw you talking to An Eun-jeong . Is there an incident that you would like to document?”

“Oh, I wanted to join . I came when I heard that Kim Joon-young was here . ”

“Huh? You came to see Kim Joon-young…”

“An Eun-jeong wants to play . Both of us would like to join the Death Circus . ”

Choi Sung-yeol’s mouth twisted strangely .

“Ohuhu… There are applicants . How did you court An Eun-jeong? Anyway, it is nice to meet you . The show is scheduled for tonight . ”

“I’m glad that I don’t have to wait . ”

“But is it really okay? You are still young . Your lives will be ours the moment you apply to participate in the Death Circus . ”

“It doesn’t matter . I will win . ”

Choi Sung-yeol smiled brightly .

At best, they were hoping to pluck tens of millions of won from pushovers . Yet he willingly participated in the Death Circus . Now they could get hundreds of million of won .

“That confident expression is good . Then I will introduce you to Director Kim Joon-young . ”

That night, the Death Circus was going to begin .