Goblin Library - Chapter 164

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 164

After the Chinese assault, I managed to enjoy several quiet days.
Today, Lee Gang-hun diligently delivered goods and was organizing receipts in his hotel room.
He affixed receipts to a notebook and jotted down explanations beside each one. In Korea, an accounting clerk would handle this work, but here there was no one else to do it, so Lee Gang-hun had to manage it himself.
If he simply accumulated them and tried to process them later, he’d struggle to remember what was what, so it was best to handle receipts incrementally.
After finishing the receipt organization, Lee Gang-hun called the headquarters in Seoul.
“Yes, so the sales revenue from goods here is this amount. If you deposit it in the account with the discount applied, that should work. Oh, but don’t deposit the full amount.”
[Are you saying we should leave some outstanding?]
“They won’t like it on their end, but having some outstanding balance makes transactions smoother.”
[That’s true. With outstanding balance, we can prevent them from playing games with the goods. So then….]
“Huh? Hold on a moment. I’m getting another call.”
Lee Gang-hun looked at his ringing phone. An unknown number was calling.
“Hello?”
The moment Lee Gang-hun answered, rapid Chinese flowed from the other end of the line.
[Hotel assault at dawn.]
Click.
With only those words, the call ended. Lee Gang-hun stared silently at his phone for a moment, then reconnected to Seoul.
[Who was that?]
In response to Park Young-il’s question, Lee Gang-hun spoke.
“I’m going to be assaulted at dawn today.”
[Assaulted?]
“Someone from the Chinese side gave me the information.”
[Then isn’t that dangerous?]
“If they’re coming to assault the hotel at dawn, it certainly seems dangerous.”
[Then get out of there immediately! Wait, what time is it there now? Hey! What time is it there right now?]
Lee Gang-hun responded to Park Young-il’s words.
“I can’t leave.”
[Why?]
“If I leave now, it’ll look like I heard about the assault and fled.”
[Isn’t that why they gave you the information?]
“Probably.”
[Then what’s the problem?]
“If I leave, the person who gave me the information could be put in danger.”
[Your safety is more important. And who gave you this information anyway?]
“I’m not certain, but it’s one of two people.”
[Two?]
“There are people like that.”
One would be the Chinese man called Chang, and the other would be the Chinese man who tore his sleeve to provide emergency treatment.
[So you’re just going to stay there like that?]
At Park Young-il’s words, Lee Gang-hun cracked the door open slightly and peered outside. After observing the quiet corridor for a moment, he spoke.
『We can’t just stay like this. I need to think of a strategy.』
[What kind of strategy?]
Lee Gang-hun paused briefly before speaking.
『Let’s hang up for now.』
[Why?]
『I need to prepare as well.』
[But….]
『The best way to help me is to end this call quickly.』
After hanging up, Lee Gang-hun called Mahmoud.
Once he explained the situation, Mahmoud responded.
[I’ll head there right now.]
『No. If you show up, the nature of the attack will change.』
Depending on whether Mahmoud was present when they assessed the situation, the level of preparation for their assault would inevitably differ.
[Is that so?]
At Mahmoud’s questioning tone, Lee Gang-hun checked the time.
『It’s still ten o’clock. They said they’d come at dawn, so we have time.』
[If you have a plan, tell me quickly. That way I can prepare too.]
『Do you have friends who can get here within two hours?』
[My friends?]
『Like I mentioned before. Friends who can stand guard. Didn’t you understand?』
[Yes, I understood.]
『If they commute to the warehouse, they’d live nearby. Two hours should be enough to get here, right?』
[It’s possible.]
『Ah! Tell them to bring some alcohol.』
[Are you thinking about drinking at a time like this? Besides, there’s soju in Lee’s room.]
At Mahmoud’s words, Lee Gang-hun sighed.
『Soju is more expensive than decent foreign liquor in this country, so that stuff… Never mind. Just have them buy some. The cheapest kind. And a few bags of snacks. And explain the situation… Tell them I’m repaying a debt.』
Repaying a debt was admittedly subjective, but there was nothing else to say.
With the money I currently had, there was no way to properly repay them.
[Understood. But… are you sure I don’t need to go?]
『If they’re your friends, I can trust them. So… how many can come?』
Mahmoud was silent for a moment before answering.
[Two people.]
『Two people… that’s enough.』
[Understood. I’ll contact them now.]
After hanging up with Mahmoud, Lee Gang-hun looked around the room, searching for something that could serve as a weapon.
About an hour after ending the call with Mahmoud, there came a knock on the door.
“Lee. Lee.”
Hearing someone call his name, Lee Gang-hun approached the door.
“Who sent you?”
“Mahmoud sent us.”
At the voice from outside, Lee Gang-hun gripped an electric kettle in his hand and carefully opened the door.
Two Arab men stood before him.
“You shouldn’t open the door so easily.”
At the man’s words, Lee Gang-hun glanced at their hands. Seeing the bags they carried, he asked.
“What’s in the bags?”
“You asked us to buy alcohol and snacks, didn’t you?”
Lee Gang-hun didn’t answer, simply turning his body to the side. The two men entered.
“I’m Salim, and this is Hamad.”
At their greeting, Lee Gang-hun extended his hand.
“I’m Lee Gang-hun. Please call me Lee.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, Salim looked at the electric kettle in his left hand.
“Ah!”
Lee Gang-hun set the electric kettle on the floor and took the bags, spreading them out.
“Have you heard the situation?”
“We heard that Chinese gang members will come at dawn.”
As he spoke, Salim looked around the room carefully.
“The room’s small size has both advantages and disadvantages.”
“I understand the advantages, but what are the disadvantages?”
“If nearly twenty people come in, we’ll be buried in bodies and won’t be able to move either.”
A narrow space means enemies can only enter in small numbers, allowing fewer defenders to handle more attackers.
But if the opponents don’t care about positioning and just push forward with their bodies, crushing everything—skill becomes useless.
We won’t even be able to use our hands properly before we’re buried.
“Will they really come in such numbers?”
“We should hope they do.”
Then Salim looked at Lee Gang-hun. Lee Gang-hun was arranging bottles of alcohol and snacks on the floor.
“Surely you’re not planning to drink in this situation?”
“Of course not. I’ve set up a scenario where we’re caught drinking when the gang members arrive.”
“Why such a setup?”
Seeing Salim’s confusion, Lee Gang-hun explained.
“Someone gave me information. They’ll expect me to be alone, but if you two are prepared and waiting, it could expose that the information leaked, putting that person in danger.”
“You’re even worried about that person?”
“At the very least, I won’t harm someone who showed me goodwill.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, Salim studied him for a moment, then nodded and opened a bottle of alcohol.
Pop!
After opening the bottle, Salim checked the time.
“It’s a time when they could arrive anytime without suspicion… Let’s prepare.”
As Salim spoke, he lightly blocked the bottle’s opening and sprayed the liquid in sweeping arcs around the doorframe.
Splash! Splash!
Watching the alcohol scatter in all directions, Lee Gang-hun asked.
“You’re trying to spread the smell of alcohol.”
“A drinking session without the smell of alcohol would be suspicious.”
After spraying alcohol around the door, Salim took a small sip and handed the bottle to Hamad.
Then he went to the Bathroom, gargled with the alcohol like mouthwash, and spit it out. Hamad did the same.
Meanwhile, Lee Gang-hun gargled with alcohol, spit it into his hand, and rubbed it over his body.
The other two followed suit, coating themselves with alcohol.
Lee Gang-hun sat down on the floor and spoke.
“For now, please both sit down.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, Hamad sat on the bed with Salim.
“I apologize, but we’ll remain on the bed.”
“We can react faster getting up from the bed than from the floor, so please understand.”
“I understand.”
Lee Gang-hun smiled and spoke.
“Since you’re here, shall we conduct an interview as well?”
“An interview?”
“I’m looking to hire people. Didn’t Mahmoud mention that I asked him to find someone?”
“He did mention it, but… are we conducting the interview here?”
“This isn’t a large company, so there’s no need for a formal interview.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, both men straightened their posture carefully. Seeing their reaction, Lee Gang-hun continued.
“As you can see from today’s situation, the Chinese will cause considerable trouble. That’s why I’m looking for someone to guard our Warehouse at night. For now, I’m thinking of hiring about two people like yourselves, and if the situation improves, I plan to bring on a few more. And…”
Lee Gang-hun looked at both of them, then entered a number on his phone and showed it to them.
“This is what I’m thinking for the weekly wage.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, both men looked at the number on the phone and stared at him in surprise.
“You’re offering that much?”
“When there’s no work, it will be peaceful and leisurely, but once trouble starts, it becomes quite dangerous work. So I’ve factored in a hazard allowance. And I also wanted to repay the kindness you’ve shown by coming here like this.”
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, both men paused for a moment, then nodded.
“We’d like to do it.”
“However… I apologize for saying this, but it’s difficult to set fixed days off. We need at least two people on guard duty, and there are only two of you.”
“We don’t need days off.”
“You still need to rest. Let’s do it this way: Mahmoud and I will work the night shift at the Warehouse once a week.”
“The Company President?”
Hearing himself called the Company President, Lee Gang-hun laughed and spoke.
“You both need rest too. In any case, once we hire more people, you can rotate your days off.”
“Understood.”
Watching both men smile brightly with satisfaction, Lee Gang-hun asked.
“I understand you’re military friends with Mahmoud. What have you been doing all this time?”
“There are many Construction Sites in our country these days, so we’ve been working there.”
While Lee Gang-hun and I exchanged casual conversation to pass the time, Mahmoud’s phone rang.
“Hello?”
[Lee, the Chinese guys are arriving.]
Lee Gang-hun squinted at Mahmoud’s words.
“They’re here?”
[They’re in the alley where the hotel is visible, so the Chinese guys haven’t spotted me.]
“So how many came?”
[A van arrived with six men inside. And there’s another sedan behind it.]
“Did anyone get out of the sedan?”
[No.]
Lee Gang-hun switched his phone to speaker mode.
“I’m on speaker now. If I happen to shout ‘Save me!’ come in. Oh, and don’t forget to enter the hotel in a way that the people in the sedan can’t see you.”
[Understood.]
After ending the call, Lee Gang-hun looked at the two men.
They nodded and glanced around before dragging an old wooden chair over nearby.
It seemed they were planning to use it as a weapon when the Chinese gang members arrived.
“I heard you two are decent fighters.”
“We manage.”
“Still, since they might be carrying blades, don’t step forward. Just stay behind me.”
“Understood.”
It would be smoother if the two of them handled it rather than me stepping in. Unlike those two who’d worked together for years, my fighting coordination would be off.
Lee Gang-hun turned on the electric kettle and poured water into it.
Splash!
“Why the water?”
“In case things get dangerous, I’ll throw it. When I say ‘Move!’ dodge to the sides.”
Lee Gang-hun made a motion of pouring water toward the front.
“I’ll splash it like this.”
The two men nodded at his words. Then they picked up glasses and poured drinks into them.
Lee Gang-hun held a glass from the floor while the two sat on the bed, both facing the door.
They weren’t preparing for an ambush—rather, they needed to appear startled by a sudden commotion while drinking, as if caught off guard.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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