Goblin Library - Chapter 174

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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 174

Lee Hye-eun led the way, dressed in a short skirt and a top with a modest neckline.
Behind her followed Choi Tae-sik, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.
As they finally arrived at the Villa where the Gambling Establishment was located, Choi Tae-sik approached the electronic keypad, pressed the button for Ho-su, and rang the bell. A soft voice soon responded.
[How may I help you?]
“Delivery.”
Though no one would have mistaken his appearance for that of a delivery person, Choi Tae-sik announced himself as such.
[Delivery for whom?]
“Delivery for Park Chun-sik.”
The door opened immediately after Choi Tae-sik’s response.
The brief exchange had been nothing more than an entry code. Two men standing in the Corridor watched as they ascended to the second floor.
“I don’t think we’ve met before.”
“I heard the water here is good, so I came to enjoy myself.”
One of the men interrogated Choi Tae-sik as he finished climbing the stairs.
“This is a membership-only establishment, so we don’t accept strangers. Who referred you here?”
“Choi Hyung-sik from Nowon told me about it.”
“Choi Hyung-sik… Choi Hyung-sik…”
Lee Hye-eun smiled and spoke to the man who was murmuring the name.
“Everyone has to start somewhere, don’t they? You have to be a first-timer before you become a regular.”
As Lee Hye-eun smiled and gave a subtle wink, the man swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on her.
“Well… that’s true.”
Lee Hye-eun wore makeup as bold and alluring as her outfit suggested.
Though naturally beautiful, she now possessed an undeniable magnetism—the kind that would make anyone on the Street turn to look twice.
“Come visit me at Gangnam TenTen sometime. I’ll make sure you have a good time.”
“Gangnam TenTen? You work there?”
The man, now curious about what kind of woman she was, watched her with interest as she smiled and replied.
“Jenny.”
“Jenny?”
“Ask for Jenny.”
As Lee Hye-eun spoke with a smile, the man looked her up and down before shifting his gaze to Choi Tae-sik.
“And you are?”
“A close friend. I came along to play a game with her.”
The man alternated his gaze between the two before nodding.
“Go up one more floor.”
As Choi Tae-sik and Lee Hye-eun climbed the stairs, Jang Ma-ru’s voice reached their ears.
[It’s ridiculous—they won’t hire experienced workers, let alone accept new recruits.]
Lee Hye-eun responded in a low voice, ensuring only they could hear.
『Ah! I saw that news—when companies hire, they only recruit experienced workers, right?』
[That’s right. To build experience, you need to get into a company, but companies only hire experienced people… So where do new graduates gain experience to get hired? Unless it’s a small company that can’t afford to be picky, employment is basically out of reach.]
『From the company’s perspective, they naturally prefer experienced workers… but the job market keeps getting tighter.』
As she spoke, Lee Hye-eun looked up the staircase. At the top of the stairs stood an iron door.
It resembled the kind of door that owners living in the top unit of a Villa typically install on the staircase for privacy.
She knocked lightly on the door, and it opened immediately.
Click!
A young woman in a neat one-piece dress greeted them with a smile.
『Welcome.』
The two entered through the door. After climbing a few more steps, another door came into view.
Something like sponge material was densely attached to the door.
[It’s a soundproof door.]
As Jang Ma-ru spoke through the camera accessory attached to Lee Hye-eun’s chest, the door opened.
Click!
And then….
Clatter, clatter!
『Excellent!』
『If you’re scared, you might as well be dead.』
『Heh! Wait… I won this round.』
Amid the boisterous chatter of people, the sound of something hard continuously colliding echoed through the space.
『This is your first time at our establishment, correct?』
At the young woman’s words, Lee Hye-eun nodded.
『Yes.』
『As long as you follow our establishment’s rules, you can enjoy gaming safely.』
At the young woman’s words, Choi Tae-sik spoke.
『The rules are probably similar wherever you go. I’ve been to places like this plenty of times, so let’s just take a look at the games.』
As he spoke, Choi Tae-sik shook the hand bag he was holding.
The young woman nodded.
『Understood.』
Then she made a gesture for them to follow her.
Following behind the young woman, Lee Hye-eun spoke with a smile.
『The air here is nice, isn’t it?』
『Air? Ah….』
The young woman, understanding what Lee Hye-eun meant, laughed and replied.
『Other establishments are full of cigarette smoke.』
『Exactly. It’s not for nothing that people say gamblers don’t die from gambling but from lung disease… The air here isn’t bad at all.』
As she spoke, Lee Hye-eun looked around the establishment. Typically, in places like this, smoke hung thick in the air from people smoking while gambling.
But here, while there was cigarette smoke, it wasn’t particularly dense.
『Our establishment has many ventilation fans installed. We also have air purifiers placed throughout, so it’s very pleasant to enjoy.』
At the place the young woman guided them to, two burly men stood waiting.
“Our establishment uses chips rather than cash for gaming. You exchange your cash for chips here, and when you leave, you exchange your chips back for cash. There is a fee when converting chips to cash.”
The young woman continued with a smile.
“However, if you have no chips to exchange, you can simply leave. Our establishment does not demand payment from customers who lose money.”
“If I win, that fee is nothing… and?”
The young woman smiled and continued her explanation.
“On the third floor, you can enjoy mahjong and hwatu, and on the fourth floor, you can play card games. And for beverages, just ask any passing staff member and we’ll provide them free of charge.”
“Free beverages?”
“It’s a special service unique to our establishment.”
Choi Tae-sik nodded at the young woman’s explanation, then pulled out two bundles of fifty-thousand-won notes from his bag and placed them on the exchange counter.
The man sitting at the counter tore open the bundles and fed them into the cash counter.
Whirrrr! Whirrrr!
After confirming the amount, the man exchanged the notes for chips. As Choi Tae-sik looked around after receiving his chips, the young woman spoke.
“Would you like me to show you around more?”
“No need. I’ll figure it out myself.”
With that, Choi Tae-sik surveyed the gaming area. The third floor had all its walls removed, creating a spacious open area dedicated entirely to gambling tables.
It was indeed quite expansive.
[Sister, look around carefully…]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lee Hye-eun turned her body this way and that, pretending to observe her surroundings.
[There are quite a lot of cameras.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Choi Tae-sik spoke quietly.
“They install plenty of cameras to catch cheaters.”
[Aren’t there also professional cheaters working in the establishment?]
“Of course the house cheaters use tricks. Those cameras are for monitoring outside cheaters. We can’t let external cheaters take the money that comes into the establishment.”
As he spoke, Choi Tae-sik approached the hwatu game table.
“Mind if I join in a round?”
“Ha ha! Please do. There’s no reserved seat here.”
The seated players responded readily and glanced at the chips in Choi Tae-sik’s hand.
Watching the gamblers eyeing his chips, Choi Tae-sik spoke.
“Then let’s deal the cards.”
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, the gambler holding the dealer position began distributing the cards.
“Oppa, what should I do?”
“Do you want to go play a game too?”
“I’m not really into gambling.”
“Then there’s a bar over there. Just have a drink while you wait.”
Choi Tae-sik pointed to the bar on one side. There, gamblers who had lost money or people taking a break were drinking beer and other beverages.
Lee Hye-eun nodded and headed straight for it. A commercial refrigerator next to the bar displayed various beverages and liquor.
As Lee Hye-eun looked at them, she called out to a passing staff member.
“Do you have any foreign whiskey?”
“We do. How would you like it?”
“Give me a glass of Chivas Regal straight.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, the Factory Employee poured a glass of liquor from behind the bar and slid it toward her.
Whoosh!
When he set out coffee peanuts, Hye-eun smiled faintly, brought the liquor to her lips, and spit it back out.
She did it so skillfully that anyone watching would have thought she was actually drinking.
Pretending to sip the liquor, Hye-eun discreetly scanned the third floor.
[I can see the camera, but where’s the computer?]
The computer managing the security cameras had to be somewhere.
『It’s probably on the second or first floor.』
[Second or first floor?]
『This is a four-story building, and the third and fourth floors are the Gambling Establishment. They wouldn’t leave the remaining first and second floors vacant—they’d use them as a control room.』
[That makes sense.]
『So can you secure the surveillance cameras?』
[Let me find the internet port in that Villa first.]
『Ah… the one you told me about?』
[Right. Find it and try plugging in the lipstick-shaped internet port I gave you. If the line is active, I’ll be able to access it through there.』
『But didn’t you say there’s no internet here?』
[Even if there’s no internet, there could be an intranet running internally.]
『I don’t understand what you’re saying, but just try plugging it in.』
[Right.]
『But the location is….』
[Wait. Hmm… since you’re around here. The port should be….]
『What are you looking at?』
[The Villa’s blueprints. Found it. Noona, do you see the window on the left?]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Hye-eun turned her head.
『I see it.』
[Under that window… ah….]
Jang Ma-ru let out a sigh. People were playing mahjong at a table positioned near the window.
Jang Ma-ru, watching through the cold accessory camera Hye-eun wore, felt troubled.
[What do we do?]
『What do you mean “what do we do”? Our youngest asked me to do this, so I have to do it.』
[How?]
『If there’s a mahjong table, then I play mahjong.』
With that, Hye-eun walked over to Choi Tae-sik’s seat.
『Oppa, are you having fun?』
『So-so. Why? Bored?』
『A little.』
『Want to play mahjong?』
Choi Tae-sik, who was also listening through the earpiece, glanced toward the window where the mahjong game was in full swing.
『No. Just give me some chips. I’ll go play.』
『You?』
“I’ll cover the losses for you.”
As I spoke, Lee Hye-eun gathered the chips and moved toward the mahjong table.
[Sister, you know how to play mahjong?]
“I learned back when I was working a Chinese expatriate guy. That man was absolutely obsessed with mahjong.”
Lee Hye-eun let out a soft laugh as she spoke.
“I bought him one of those automatic mahjong tables—cost four million won—and he was so thrilled he could barely contain himself.”
[An automatic mahjong table costs four million won?]
“That’s what I’m told.”
Lee Hye-eun soon positioned herself before the mahjong table and addressed the players.
“Mahjong is really only fun with four players, and I see you’re one short.”
At her words, all of them looked at her, their faces breaking into smiles.
Among gamblers, beautiful women are always welcome. Besides, they were indeed short one player, so having another join them was even better.
“A beautiful woman joining us? We’d love that. Then let’s have you join us after this round.”
“I’d like that. But… I had my fortune read today, and it says the window is auspicious for me. Would it be alright if I sat there?”
The man sitting by the window laughed at her request.
“There’s no gambler who isn’t superstitious about fortune. I’ll switch seats with you after this round.”
Lee Hye-eun smiled at the man, bowed politely, and then opened her clutch. Inside were several lipsticks.
She pulled out one of them and twisted the cap to the side, revealing a component that could be plugged into an internet port.
All the lipsticks in the clutch were hacking devices—USB drives, internet line adapters, Wi-Fi tools—everything Jang Ma-ru had thoughtfully prepared, unsure which she might need.

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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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