I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 58

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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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058-Suspicion
58.
“We can’t do it that way. We’ll leave a trail immediately. The company that moved the money should be shut down.”
Once Ana joined us, the stagnant online gambling team came alive.
The blockage cleared, and momentum built.
Honestly, Nam Yong-woo was optimized for creating and maintaining gambling sites.
Asking someone like him to create coins and exchanges from the start was a bit much.
And on top of that, money laundering.
There are limits, no matter how many lawyers are involved.
Lawyers are the kind of people who defend themselves first.
No matter how much they act like they’d give their liver and gallbladder for their clients, they won’t touch anything that seems risky for themselves.
For example, when consulting on tax issues, they help frantically with tax avoidance, but once it enters the realm of tax evasion, they just hint at the nuance.
Because helping carelessly could create problems, they just emit the scent that such things exist.
They absolutely never explain it in detail.
They’re preparing in advance in case it becomes an issue.
But for Ana, who had worked long at Cayley International Advisory, this was child’s play.
Money laundering was what she did every day,
and money laundering was the easiest thing in the world.
Especially after cryptocurrencies emerged, it became even easier.
“A coin that works like points? A stablecoin at that? That’s just points. Do you really need to go that far?”
“The effort required would be disproportionate to the effect, wouldn’t it?”
“Ah~ South Korea? Then it makes sense. It’s strict there. Especially a country so sensitive about small change like that.”
“Create a coin exchange in a tax haven? That’s a very good idea. The Cayman Islands would be perfect. The regulations there are still loose, and there are currently no restrictions on coin exchanges under those conditions. The timing seems right.”
“Can Nam Yong-woo create a coin exchange? If not, I’d need to look into it—do you know anyone who could?”
Once Ana was assigned to the task, she grasped the situation instantly and offered ideas.
Perhaps because she’d only dealt with money, she was certainly quick in that field.
Ideas were immediately materialized and applied to operations.
With Ana’s involvement, the gambling team’s project accelerated.
However, there was someone who found this inconvenient.
Nam Yong-woo was one of those people.
Whether Ana’s skills were excellent or lacking didn’t really matter.
The issue was that I hadn’t yet formed a judgment on whether Ana was someone trustworthy.
Having worked in this underworld for so long, Nam Yong-woo naturally felt caution whenever he assessed someone.
Nam Yong-woo conveyed his thoughts to me without filter.
“CEO. I’m not sure if it’s right to open everything up to Ana like this. I’m not confident she’s someone we can trust yet.”
“You’re saying we should worry about betrayal?”
“I’d like at least minimal safeguards in place.”
“Minimal safeguards… How would you like to set limits, sir?”
“Shouldn’t we at least restrict some information or hide sensitive details?”
“Why?”
“As I mentioned earlier, it’s a precaution in case of betrayal..”
“Director.”
“Yes.”
“Did we have information that needed to be hidden?”
Nam Yong-woo was taken aback.
Information that needed hiding?
Everything about this operation required secrecy.
The site’s very existence was illegal, so what was he talking about?
“I’ve been thinking our site operates legally. Isn’t that the case?”
“It’s legal within the Philippines, but when Korean citizens use it…”
“It becomes illegal in Korea?”
“That’s correct.”
“Are we illegal? Or are the Korean users illegal?”
“…”
“When Korean citizens use this site, they become the ones breaking the law—not us. Consider Thailand, for example. Cannabis is legal there. If a Korean goes to Thailand, uses cannabis, and brings it back, that person becomes a criminal. While using it in Thailand is legal, it becomes illegal once they cross into our country. Does Thailand get punished for that?”
“Well, that’s not quite the same…”
“It’s exactly the same for us. Playing games here is legal. Of course, I’m aware there could be some complications during the withdrawal process. That’s precisely why we’re proposing the coin and exchange system to address it. Once we launch and demonstrate transparency, we can identify problems and provide appropriate solutions, can’t we?”
“What if that woman is someone’s puppet or an undercover agent?”
“Haha. You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already verified her identity.”
“Really?”
Of course I have.
I pulled her back from the brink of death.
That day.
When we returned to the Hotel, we talked for quite a while.
She was perceptive.
She immediately grasped who held the power and how she should conduct herself.
She understood precisely who could protect her in this situation.
I’m uncertain about the future, but she will remain loyal.
Betrayal is possible, but being someone’s puppet is not.
So it’s fine.
“Of course. You needn’t worry about that. So please work with Ana to create an impressive site.”
“Yes. I’ll make it the finest gambling site possible.”
“And going forward, I’d appreciate it if you’d share your thoughts freely without reservation.”
“I apologize if my limited perspective caused you any confusion. Thank you for listening.”
Once Nam Yong-woo left and I was alone, a wave of irritation washed over me.
Why had I said I’d create it?
Should I withdraw now?
Honestly, I didn’t need to build that coin system or exchange.
It was nothing but a hassle with no profit.
It would only cost me money.
The cost of creating a coin, the cost of building an exchange,
development and maintenance expenses, server costs, administrative fees. Even employee salaries.
Money flows out even when I do nothing.
Then why build an exchange at all?
To ensure no one becomes a victim of injustice.
To prevent people from becoming criminals simply for playing a few rounds of gambling.
Decent people becoming criminals for playing a few rounds of gambling.
Becoming a criminal caught red-handed just for clicking cards with a mouse.
They say there’s no such thing as a bad person who enjoys gambling.
This is a kind of service to rescue such wronged individuals.
Playing poker online, playing Baduk online—there’s no legal problem whatsoever.
If that were a problem, every gaming site in this country would be illegal.
Games are legal.
It’s simple: if you bet money and play games to receive that money, it’s illegal.
If I spend my own money, convert it to points, and play games, that’s legal.
But if I spend my own money, convert it to points, play games, and then convert the points back to cash, that’s illegal.
Converting them to gift cards, merchandise, or securities—all illegal.
So I’m trying to make the process of converting points to cash a bit easier.
Making it appear as legal as possible.
Points can be used to purchase coins,
and coins can be traded and exchanged normally on the exchange.
Of course, large sums of money will move through this process, and Ana will skillfully cycle it to make it clean money.
The end result is creating a state where withdrawals are possible at any time.
I played games and won some money.
Shouldn’t I at least be able to buy myself a chicken dinner with that?
I’m in the process of building that system.
From my perspective, it only costs money and brings no profit,
but it’s to support decent gamblers.
******
Patrick laid out the merchandise in front of me.
“The merchandise you mentioned, sir. Here are the samples.”
“Already done? Thanks.”
People say Filipinos are slow?
A misconception.
When necessary, they handle things quickly enough.
Give them money, or point a gun at them, and things get done fast.
We do both.
We give plenty of money, but if they hesitate, we pull out a gun.
That’s why the samples came out in a remarkably short time.
The problem is that I don’t like how they turned out.
I thought the merchandise made from that artwork would look beautiful, but it didn’t turn out nearly as nice as I’d hoped.
I was pondering how to fix it when Kang Jae-ho, who was passing by, noticed me.
Kang Jae-ho had joined our company.
As the manager of the Interior Design team.
“Is this the merchandise you mentioned last time?”
“Yes. The sample just came in.”
“Oh~ it looks nice…”
“Really? So you’d buy it?”
“Well…”
“Be honest with me.”
“To be frank, it feels disconnected. The artwork and the product don’t mesh well together.”
“What if you lent your hand to touch it up?”
“I don’t have talent in that area. Besides, I think the original artist would be quite upset, wouldn’t they? Why don’t you try asking the original artist for help instead?”
“I’m hesitant to call because it feels like I’d be imposing.”
“If I were them, I’d probably prefer having someone come check it out rather than seeing my work turn out badly.”
.
.
.
Lim Yu-na sat in a cafe, drawing on her tablet.
The money from selling her artwork in the Philippines had been deposited immediately.
Two million won per piece, ten pieces total.
Twenty million won in all.
It was no small sum.
I’d even bragged to my parents and bought them gifts.
My obsession with making a living through art was gradually fading, but after selling that artwork, a spark of confidence—a sense that maybe I could do this—began to kindle within me.
So now I found myself sitting in cafes during the day, drawing.
It felt different from drawing at home.
I was drawing while listening to music when a call came from an unknown number.
An international call.
Normally I would have simply hung up, but something made me answer it.
“Hello?”
– Lim Yu-na?
“Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”
– Ah~ this is from the Philippines. The one who bought your artwork last time.
“Oh~ yes. Hello.”
– Hello. You’ve been well, haven’t you?
“Yes, thanks to you. But what’s this about?”
Lim Yu-na felt a flutter of hope.
Could he be having second thoughts?
Had he only come to appreciate my worth after I’d left?
Was that why he reached out—to convey feelings he couldn’t express back then?
Even now, I want him to accept my heart.
Now that I’ve left, there’s nothing I can do.
What if I confess like this?
Then what do I do?
Do I have to go all the way to the Philippines?
What if that man comes to South Korea?
First, I need to get a home…
– Yes. I created a sample based on the drawing you gave me last time, but it didn’t turn out the way I imagined. I think it would look nice with just a few touches, but I’m not sure where to make them. Would it be possible for you to come to the Philippines and take a look at this?
“Come to the Philippines?”
“I would be so grateful if you could. I’ll send you a ticket right away.”
“Then I’ll go ahead with it.”
Without properly hearing what the conversation was about,
Lim Yu-na heard only that she was being called to the Philippines.
Not caring about anything else, she headed straight to the airport.
.
.
.
“Ah~ It turned out like this?”
The merchandise I saw on-site was disappointing.
It was the result of carelessly printing without considering the size, shape, or color of the goods.
It felt like they’d simply slapped a photo onto existing merchandise without any new design.
Naturally, there was no way to bring out its charm.
Especially for merchandise like Emerald Canyon where color is crucial.
“Let me revise this a bit. It looks like it’ll need quite a lot of overall modifications.”
“How long will it take?”
“I wish it would come out right away, but with designing, printing samples, and checking, it seems like it’ll take some time.”
“Hmm… Then you’ll be working here in the Philippines? If so, we’ll prepare some things for you.”
What’s this?
Is he trying to keep me here?
Does he want me to stay?
Now that I think about it, he can’t express it in words,
so he speaks indirectly?
He wants to keep me nearby and watch me?
Well, what can I do?
Some people are like that. I should understand.
I don’t even know what will happen going forward.
In Lim Yu-na’s mind, a happy future with Alex was already unfolding.
She was endlessly running her happiness circuit.
******
“Director, we’ve received approval for the cryptocurrency exchange in the Cayman Islands.”
“Excellent. Coin team.”
“Yes. The coin development is complete, right?”
“Yes, sir. It’s finished. We’ve integrated the wallet with GoGo Casino.”
“What about the exchange team?”
“The exchange is also ready.”
“Then integrate it with the gambling site immediately and verify there are no issues.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Monitor the exchange to ensure transactions are processing normally.”
“Yes, sir.”
.
.
.
“No abnormalities detected in the coin system.”
“The exchange is functioning normally and transactions are operational.”
It was the day Candy Coin and TrustBit launched.

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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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