Goblin Library - Chapter 193

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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 193

Lee Gang-hyuk sat in the Office, reviewing documents. The papers contained figures detailing the amount stolen today.
As Lee Gang-hyuk’s expression grew grave upon confirming the sum, Lee Ho-yeol spoke.
“Money can be recovered, so please don’t worry too much.”
Lee Gang-hyuk glanced at him.
“Right. We can recover it. For now, settle the urgent payments with the funds we have on hand at the Company.”
“Understood.”
Lee Ho-yeol continued hesitantly.
“Brother, I was thinking… what if we put a bounty on them?”
“A bounty?”
“One billion for information about the ones who raided our Vault, and ten billion if we bring them in.”
Lee Gang-hyuk’s eyes narrowed at Lee Ho-yeol’s suggestion.
“The amount is substantial, of course, but we need to make an example of them.”
Lee Gang-hyuk met his gaze and spoke.
“You want to broadcast to everyone that The One’s Vault was broken into?”
“We have to catch them, even if it means spreading the word.”
At Lee Ho-yeol’s response, Lee Gang-hyuk sighed and said.
“Ho-yeol. Let me explain this slowly. Listen carefully.”
“Yes, brother.”
“We’re a criminal organization. So our clients and employees—they’re all thieves and con artists. Criminals you can’t trust. When criminals like that learn our Vault was broken into and hundreds of billions were stolen, they won’t come to us with information. Instead, their eyes will gleam with greed as they rush to divvy up the money among themselves. Putting out a bounty isn’t about recovering our money—it’s advertising that our funds were stolen. Go ahead and find it yourself. That’s what it becomes.”
“Ah… I see your point.”
Lee Gang-hyuk paused briefly in thought before speaking.
“Look into the gold market. I doubt they’ll try to move our gold, but we should check anyway.”
“Understood.”
“And… investigate what variables and problems arise if we fail to recover the money that was in the Vault.”
“Well… the amount in the Vault is substantial, but our Company can function without those funds.”
Lee Gang-hyuk shook his head.
“It’s a problem.”
“Don’t we have plenty of money?”
At Lee Ho-yeol’s words, Lee Gang-hyuk looked at him and asked.
“Your wife is doing well, isn’t she?”
“Of course.”
“You get money from her and spend it, right?”
“That’s right.”
“But what if your wife suddenly needs to spend money urgently? Without you knowing.”
“I’m not that rigid. If she needs it, I’ve already set up a separate account with several hundred million for her to use.”
“I’m speaking hypothetically.”
Then Lee Gang-hyuk spoke to Lee Ho-yeol.
“How did you manage the Company while I was in Prison?”
“Well….”
Lee Ho-yeol gathered his thoughts for a moment before responding.
“I communicated frequently with Choi Jin.”
Watching Lee Ho-yeol mention Choi Jin, who was still in Prison, Lee Gang-hyuk sighed and spoke.
“The money in the Vault is like my brother-in-law’s personal pocket. It’s a pocket full of money he can spend however he wants without worrying about your opinion. Company money, on the other hand, is money that requires your permission to use. So which money would be more convenient for us?”
“Ah….”
“And the state monitors Company money. The Vault holds cash so we can spend it without worrying about the state or the tax office. If I hadn’t intended that, I would have just kept it in the Bank. Just keeping it in the Bank would generate tens of billions in interest annually—why would I put it in the Vault otherwise?”
“I see.”
Lee Gang-hyuk observed Lee Ho-yeol, who now appeared to genuinely understand, before speaking.
“I’ll assign someone to help you. Study hard.”
“St-study?”
“You can’t do this forever. Before you turn fifty, you need to wash your hands clean and find a proper position where you can be called Company President while playing golf.”
“U-understood.”
At Lee Ho-yeol’s response, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded and spoke.
“Anyway, things are moving strangely. Contact Choi Jin and tell him to prepare to get out.”
“What about the Prison?”
“Once you tell Choi Jin the situation, he’ll prepare and get out on his own.”
“Understood.”

***

Choi Jin, who was reading a book in the Prison, felt the book beside him vibrate slightly.
Choi Jin snapped his fingers immediately.
Snap!
The inmates in the cell rose to their feet—one glanced toward the door while the others bustled around Choi Jin, moving with practiced efficiency.
Choi Jin then opened the book and retrieved the phone hidden inside. Of course, no Prison Guard at this Prison would dare say anything if they saw Choi Jin making calls on a phone.
Still, it was better to keep certain things hidden. Choi Jin looked at his phone and answered the call.
“Something happened?”
Since the call came outside their scheduled time, there had to be trouble at the Company.
Lee Ho-yeol spoke in response to Choi Jin’s words.
“Your brother says you need to come out.”
“What’s going on?”
“The Vault was hit. And… our hacker disappeared.”
Choi Jin fell silent for a moment, caught off guard by the two unexpected developments, then spoke.
“Have a car waiting in front of the Prison at two in the morning. And prepare someone to take my place.”
“Already done.”
After ending the call, Choi Jin looked at the inmates.
“I’m leaving today. Take good care of whoever comes in to replace me.”
“Understood, sir.”
The inmates didn’t ask how he would get out. After all, both Choi Jin and Lee Gang-hyuk had done this before—occasionally smuggling someone in to switch places and then leaving and returning.

***

Two in the morning. A figure crawled out from beneath the prison’s perimeter wall. The concrete barrier had been breached—a tunnel had been dug through during construction.
As Choi Jin emerged through the opening, the man waiting outside bowed his head and slipped inside through the same passage.
Choi Jin brushed the dirt from his clothes, and the man outside lowered his head respectfully.
“This way.”
Choi Jin nodded and approached the vehicle parked nearby.
As Choi Jin drew close, the van’s door slid open and Lee Gang-hyuk and Lee Ho-yeol stepped out.
“Boss.”
Choi Jin bowed, and Lee Gang-hyuk nodded before extending a suitcase toward him.
“Change your clothes.”
“Yes.”
Choi Jin undressed on the spot and pulled a suit from the case, slipping it on.
After changing, Choi Jin ran his hand lightly over his body and spoke.
“The suit is perfect.”
“It’s a gift from Ho-yeol.”
“From Ho-yeol?”
Choi Jin looked at Lee Ho-yeol with a puzzled expression, and he cleared his throat before speaking.
“I knew you liked Italian tailors, but I found some excellent craftsmen here in Korea. While having my own suits made, I sent your measurements and had several pieces tailored for you.”
At Lee Ho-yeol’s words, Choi Jin looked at him and nodded.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Then Lee Ho-yeol turned to Lee Gang-hyuk and spoke.
“Boss, shall we depart?”
“Get in.”
Lee Gang-hyuk boarded the van, and the two men followed him inside.
Once all three were seated, the van pulled away, with escort vehicles trailing behind.
Inside the moving vehicle, Choi Jin spoke up.
“I need to understand the situation first.”
At Choi Jin’s words, Lee Gang-hyuk explained the circumstances. Choi Jin, who had been listening intently, opened his mouth to speak.
“Have you had any separate contact with the Squad Leader since then?”
“No.”
“Any word about him going abroad?”
“Nothing about that either.”
“May I make a phone call?”
“Go ahead.”
Choi Jin bowed his head and glanced at Lee Ho-yeol, who pulled out his phone and called the Squad Leader.
“Hello?”
Choi Jin switched the call to speaker mode and spoke.
“I apologize for calling at such a late hour.”
“Choi Jin? You’re out?”
“The situation called for it, so I stepped out briefly.”
“I see.”
“Well, my older brother may have spoken, but we won’t take any action against this Sergeant Lee Jin-bae or Squad Leader and his team. You can trust that.”
“I do trust it.”
“And as Squad Leader knows, both my older brother and I have shown respect to you and your team members all this time.”
“I’m aware.”
“Thank you for acknowledging that. Now, I have something I’d like to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“It seems there’s something in what Sergeant Lee Jin-bae said that we need to know.”
“….”
“Regardless of what you tell us, we won’t harm your team in any way. My older brother will make that promise.”
Choi Jin held out his phone to Lee Gang-hyuk.
“I promise. No matter what you say, we won’t take any action.”
After receiving Lee Gang-hyuk’s assurance, Choi Jin spoke.
“Will you tell us?”
The Squad Leader seemed to think for a moment, then relayed exactly what he’d heard from Sergeant Lee Jin-bae.
Listening quietly, Choi Jin then said:
“So he said ‘when the job is finished,’ correct?”
“That’s right.”
“But you don’t know what the job is.”
“No.”
“Then I have one more question. Perhaps….”
Choi Jin paused briefly before asking with a serious expression.
“Did you receive money?”
At the word “money,” Lee Gang-hyuk and Lee Ho-yeol exchanged puzzled glances. Choi Jin continued as he felt their gaze.
“Just as my older brother promised, we won’t take any action regardless of what you tell us. And even if you did receive money, we will absolutely not recover it.”
Choi Jin, who had said “will not” rather than “will not,” stared quietly at his phone.
“We did receive it.”
“May I ask the amount?”
“Two billion won.”
“Two billion?”
Lee Ho-yeol squinted in confusion. He couldn’t understand why two billion won had been given to the Squad Leader.
“I understand. Thank you for telling us. And….”
Choi Jin paused to catch his breath before continuing.
“Until now, my older brother and our Company have made no mistakes with you and your team. We won’t make any in the future either. Thank you for everything.”
“We should be thanking you.”
After Choi Jin ended the call, Lee Ho-yeol squinted.
“Aren’t they in cahoots? Two billion won? And they don’t say a word about receiving it? This needs to be dealt with.”
Choi Jin answered Lee Ho-yeol’s words.
“My older brother promised not to take any action.”
“That was before he knew about the money.”
“Whether you knew that fact or not… a promise is a promise. That’s the foundation of our Company.”
Lee Gang-hyuk nodded at Choi Jin’s words.
“That’s right. Our Company has reached where it is today through nothing but promises and trust. We won’t take any action.”
“Understood.”
“And this situation is more serious than we initially thought.”
Lee Gang-hyuk looked at Choi Jin as he spoke.
“Two billion won… it’s a small amount compared to what we lost. But those thieves aren’t the type to give that two billion to someone else.”
“Thieves always try to take even one more won.”
“Yet they handed over that two billion. Moreover, they passed it to the Squad Leader’s team through this sergeant. They probably gave the sergeant a separate cut too. I’d estimate they received several hundred million as well.”
“Of course. That sergeant would need funds to make an escape.”
As Lee Gang-hyuk stroked his chin, Choi Jin spoke.
“First of all, the ones who broke into our Vault aren’t ordinary thieves.”
“If not thieves, then what?”
“These men aren’t after the money in our Vault. Their real target seems to be… our Company itself.”
“The Company? They’re trying to take over our Company?”
At Lee Ho-yeol’s question, Choi Jin shook his head.
“No. They’re trying to destroy it.”
“Destroy… our Company?”
Deep anger etched itself across Lee Ho-yeol’s hardened face. To Lee Ho-yeol, The One was home.
It was The One that had allowed him to survive and eat despite coming from nothing, from the very bottom of life.
They wanted to destroy his Company?
And the same was true for Choi Jin and Lee Gang-hyuk. The One was home, homeland, and family to both of them.

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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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