Reset Life with Infinite Talents - Chapter 174
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Infinite Talent Reset Life Episode 174
46. Competition
A short mini-skirt suit.
A presence so large that the blouse buttons seemed to scream for mercy.
The beauties behind her were no less impressive.
They appeared to be Hispanic mixed-race and white mixed-race beauties.
“Johann, please stay still…”
“Let me be. They seem to be my fans.”
“Johann! Damn it!”
Johann got out of the car and approached the women.
“I think this is the first time fans have come all the way to my house.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Nana Inoue.”
Flinch!
“…Inoue?”
Johann’s wavering gaze turned cold.
His eyes became indifferent, the lewdness disappearing in an instant.
‘As expected.’
Curious by nature, but equally strong-willed.
‘And weak to those who are vulnerable.’
Just look at today’s incident with the Abu Dhabi princess. The investigation on Johann was already complete.
Nana Inoue smiled.
“That’s right. I’m the legitimate heir of Inoue. Currently affiliated with Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence Investigation Office.”
Johann looked at Rick Bottom, whose expression had hardened.
“Think of it as an intelligence agency like the CIA.”
“…Ah.”
Johann looked at Nana Inoue.
“Just give me 600 million yen.”
The total cost of buying the mansion plus remodeling was 570 million yen. Adding 30 million yen for this annoyance made it 600 million yen.
“Let me convey the Japanese government’s position. If you transfer just 30 percent of the Inoue treasures you acquired, we’ll recognize your ownership of the remaining treasures.”
“…?”
“Isn’t that better than getting into trouble by trying to swallow everything greedily?”
“Uh… what treasures are you talking about?”
“You don’t seem to want to hide it, yet you keep playing dumb?”
ENU Museum. Add O and E to this and it becomes Inoue.
“Those treasures belong to us Japanese, no, to me.”
“Sigh. So…”
Irritation began seeping from Johann’s body.
‘The One Who Became a Star’ and ‘Kledor Concierge’ combined their power to act.
“What exactly are you talking about…? Could you explain in detail so I can understand?”
Stop this interrogation as if I’m some kind of criminal.
“No wait. You’d better think carefully about every word you say from now on. I’m going to file a direct complaint with your embassy about this matter.”
If they came here like this, their investigation on him must be complete. Just moving Mr. Kellner, the hotel’s major shareholder, would cause them trouble.
“Fine. Let me explain. Our Inoue family, which owned the mansion that Johann bought under Rick Bottom’s name…”
She explained about the Inoue family and herself.
“Do you understand? Since I, Nana Inoue, am the legitimate heir, the sales contract made with that fool is invalid.”
Instead, if he handed over just 30 percent of the treasures, they would recognize his ownership of the other treasures.
Johann blinked again.
“Wow.”
A hollow laugh escaped Johann’s mouth.
“So you’re saying there were incredible treasures hidden in that mansion, and I moved them to America and even created the ENU Museum? And held auctions at the hotel I invested in? Wow…”
Clap clap clap!
Johann applauded and snorted.
“Interesting. But how? How did I, barely 17 years old, know there were treasures hidden in that mansion, and how did I move those treasures?”
“If you continue to play dumb, I’ll have no choice but to conduct search and seizure operations at Iwata Precision and other places. And if it’s proven to be true…”
“That’s enough.”
Thud thud!
Lynch walked out from the darkness between the streetlights.
Johann’s expression hardened.
“Mr. Lynch.”
“…”
“Did the CIA deceive me?”
The CIA that asked him to sell his hotel shares.
He sold his shares after they said it would be sufficiently profitable, and yesterday’s auction proved that.
But if Nana Inoue’s claims were true, it meant there was something hidden that Johann didn’t know about.
“Don’t tell me… even my trip to Japan was according to the CIA’s intentions?”
‘The One Who Became a Star’ and ‘Kledor Concierge’ perfectly captured the look in his eyes, his voice, and even the emotions within.
“…Do you think our CIA discovered treasures from the Inoue mansion that Johann purchased? That we guided Johann’s actions for that purpose?”
“That’s what they’re saying.”
“Huh.”
Lynch pressed his brow firmly.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I’ll explain in detail later.”
“Now.”
“…It was all for this auction.”
The CIA had been looking for a place where they could naturally contact wealthy individuals capable of purchasing expensive antiques.
The story was that they bought shares simply because the hotel Johann invested in was the optimal location, with no other reason.
Johann looked at Lynch, who approached and whispered quietly.
“Then what is that person talking about?”
“Nonsense.”
“What about the Inoue mansion?”
“Johann, it’s yours.”
“Got it.”
That was what he wanted to hear.
Johann looked at Nana Inoue.
“You write fiction well. Let’s go, Rick.”
“…Yes.”
As Johann and Rick got in the car and disappeared, the alley became quiet again.
Click! Hiss!
“Phew.”
Lynch lit a cigarette and looked at the sky.
“…That’s enough. Go.”
“Are you acknowledging it now?”
“You know.”
The CIA doesn’t give any answers.
“If you really want to know… no.”
Lynch waved his hand and disappeared back into the darkness, and Nana Inoue narrowed her brow watching him.
“So Johann Jefferson really did discover it.”
“How did he find it?”
The CIA agent who appeared at such perfect timing.
The conversation between the two flowed like acting, perfectly in sync.
Suspicion becomes certainty.
“…Could that really be true?”
“Manager Mayumi?”
Nana Inoue is a fabricated name. A fictional character created to exploit Johann’s psychological vulnerabilities. The reason for selecting and bringing beautiful women was the same.
“Let’s move for now.”
For this small suspicion to become certainty, one more thing was still lacking. Time was needed for what began as confused doubt to become conviction.
Mayumi turned around, recalling the scene from just moments ago.
About 3 hours later, at LAX International Airport.
Mayumi, having passed through the immigration gate, makes a distrustful expression.
“There was no contact at all?”
Protests or pressure, or a notice to back off.
A warning not to covet Inoue’s treasure since it now belongs to America, to Americans.
This is America, which recently presented war bonds worth about 100 billion yen – part of bonds whose total value is unknown – while demanding various concessions.
The CIA, America, was a country that could do such things.
She had been extremely cautious about possible elimination, but the CIA made no contact whatsoever. There was only Johann’s complaint.
The suspicion wavers without solidifying into certainty.
“Somehow…”
“Manager?”
“When government agents suddenly show up, is it possible to act without even being flustered?”
Especially when they came with a fictional character named Nana Inoue, the legitimate heir.
“Well, he is a genius actor…”
“Do you know how many NGs even great actors make when filming a single cut?”
No matter how great an actor, finishing filming in one take is realistically difficult.
Especially in an unprepared situation like this, suppressing psychological pressure and performing flawlessly without the slightest waver is impossible.
“No matter how genius, at 17? That’s ridiculous.”
If that earlier behavior was acting, only one type of person could make it possible.
Agents like themselves.
‘And veteran agents who’ve been through everything.’
It doesn’t make sense.
“Sigh.”
Mayumi runs her hand through her hair, saying she came for nothing.
“This is hopeless. He’s not Johann Jefferson.”
She only exposed her face to the CIA for nothing.
Though it was a disguised appearance, the voice was their real voice. She ended up giving them grounds for future pursuit.
‘I said from the beginning it didn’t make sense!’
The ENU Museum displays thousands of treasures alone.
The ENU Museum boasts of displaying different treasures by season.
And Johann visited Japan about half a year ago.
In other words, for Japan’s claim to hold, tens of thousands of treasures would need to be moved in just half a year without the Cabinet Intelligence Investigation Office noticing at all.
Mayumi thought this also made no sense.
Even the fact that Johann moved according to his scheduled itinerary while staying in Japan was confirmed.
Moving that many treasures secretly in the short time outside his schedule was realistically impossible.
‘It might be possible if there’s a separate organization managing Inoue’s treasures…’
Honestly, even this is doubtful.
Even if, just maybe, Johann and the CIA were already in collusion.
It’s the nature of intelligence agencies like theirs to pursue even weak suspicions, but this time they made a big mistake.
“Still, just in case, put him on the surveillance list.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, just how much did we lose?”
The losses from forged passports for three people, disguises, airfare, etc. are enormous.
“…So ENU Museum was the CIA’s slush fund channel after all.”
A slush fund channel for selling off expensive antiques that were obtained through seizure but difficult to dispose of.
“It’s fortunate we didn’t meet Larry Jefferson first.”
They had postponed approaching Larry because, being an excellent businessman, he seemed unlikely to show weakness. They planned to shake Johann first, then go after Larry to gain certainty.
‘No.’
It might not be just the CIA.
The Cabinet Investigation Office, which grasped the hotel’s shareholding structure, had the higher-ups propose a slightly different hypothesis. The hypothesis that ENU Museum and the hotel might be slush fund channels for high-ranking officials from various countries including America and Japan.
Still, they sought out Johann because of lingering suspicions, and suffered these losses because of it.
“Honestly, at this point I even question whether Inoue’s treasure actually exists.”
Like the legendary Yamashita treasure.
It feels like being obsessed and groping around in empty darkness.
“…Me too.”
“Maybe the Inoue family just squandered all that wealth through the passage of time, failed child-rearing, and business failures, as is commonly known?”
“That’s probably the right way to see it. Enough. We’ll report this case as is and erase it from memory.”
“…Yes.”
If this really involves even Japan’s high-ranking officials, even the fact that they noticed shouldn’t be revealed.
‘If we keep trying to uncover something this big, we’ll disappear without anyone knowing.’
Mayumi didn’t want to die so meaninglessly.
They clicked their tongues and disappeared into the darkness.
“Then what does ENU mean? We suspected more because it’s similar to Inoue.”
‘Try it backwards.’
UN.
United Nations, UN.
How many countries’ high-ranking officials are involved that they’d use such a term? The fear of knowing secrets she shouldn’t know rushes in like madness.
But this is speculation only she should know.
“Well, some CIA old man probably just made it up as he pleased.”
“Ah… I wish people who make dad jokes would just die.”
Whatever it was, they got it wrong.
* * *
Meanwhile, in a car driving somewhere.
Lynch is on a call with someone.
-The Japanese agents have boarded the plane.
“Got it.”
‘They were fooled.’
With this, Japan can no longer dig into Johann.
‘Now the only remaining tail is the Sangju Manuscript?’
The Hunminjeongeum Haerye Sangju Manuscript.
Since they say that side didn’t mention Inoue’s name either, Inoue’s name won’t be brought up anymore.
“Finally wrapped things up.”
It was a night that made him think of a cold beer.
* * *
“I received the porcelain well, Tarun. You found such a treasure.”
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a 50s man with large eyes and thick eyebrows, smiles warmly.
However, his eyes are suspicious of Tarun.
How did he get such a treasure?
“I went on a trip to LA, America this time, you know?”
Tarun explains in detail the process of how he came to attend the auction. From the catalog sent by ENU Museum to attending the auction.
“What can I do? You brothers are such amazing people that they probably couldn’t send you the catalog, so even someone lowly like me had to go.”
“Tarun! You…”
“Ah, so noisy. Just pay me back a hundred times instead of sweet words. Not ten times, a hundred times. I spent a lot of money this time, and I need to have much more than now to attend the special auction.”
“Special auction?”
“Won’t pottery like what I sent to you be the basic standard?”
“Ho.”
“I’ll send it when the catalog arrives, so just check what you want.”
“I’m counting on you. And continuing what I said earlier, Tarun, you…”
“Ah, Brother Mansour.”
Clatter!
A handsome middle-aged man in his 40s sets down his teacup and looks at Tarun.
“Aisha’s face has brightened a lot, hasn’t it?”
“…Should I praise you for doing well as an uncle?”
“Tsk.”
Mansour’s brow furrows.
“I owe a lot to the hotel I stayed at this time.”
Mansour and Muhammad look puzzled.
What could the prince and princess of Abu Dhabi possibly owe to a mere hotel?
Tarun takes out a paper from his pocket and hands it over. It was the tourism plan that Johann had created.
Mansour and Muhammad’s expressions harden.
“…You’re right that you owe them.”
How could they not know the hardships of the royal women?
No, it would be a big problem if they didn’t know. The household must be comfortable for the kingdom to run smoothly.
“This is a plan created directly by the hotel’s major shareholder. He even mobilized the woman who will become his wife to show Aisha a sense of liberation.”
The young major shareholder who showed his dedication to the hotel business by working as a trainee concierge at his own hotel.
“I’ve never seen such a hotel before. They run an Arab restaurant, have a reservation-only walking trail where they can care for lions and tigers that you brothers raise.”
They also have large toys and veterinarians, and non-alcoholic wine made from fantasy breeds that disappeared from the world 120 years ago.
It was a hotel with a special concept that would be hard to find anywhere in the world.
“And you can even enjoy auctions there?”
They can picture it. They attend auctions while their wives and daughters enjoy these customized tourism products.
It smells of connections more precious than money.
All the wealthy of the Middle East would flock there. High-ranking officials trying to befriend them would also gather.
As Muhammad and Mansour’s eyes gleam, Tarun smiles.
“I found out there’s a law firm connected to that major shareholder.”
It’s a place where his family works as a representative lawyer.
“I’m thinking of entrusting our American investment law and negotiations to that place…”
“What’s the name?”
“Lewis & Boris.”
It was LA’s top law firm.
* * *
Korea earnestly appeals for the return of its national treasures!
It was a short article published after the auction ended.
“Hmm…”
Snap!
Early morning, Emily closes her laptop.
“Don’t look at your laptop while eating.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Sizzle!
Johann twists his body like a squid on a grill. Larry and Ada leisurely enjoy their coffee during their usual morning.
Emily is startled by this sight.
“A, Ada. Are you okay? Are you sick somewhere?”
“Puhaha!”
Sizzle!
This time Larry twists his body.
“Now that I’m a representative lawyer, my mornings should start a bit earlier.”
Becoming a representative lawyer meant ten times more things to worry about than when he was a senior.
Ada was inaugurated as representative lawyer the day after the auction ended safely. Now the representative of Lewis & Boris Law Firm was Ada Wong.
“Congratulations once again!”
“Thank you.”
She’s especially grateful to Johann.
The proposal that came from the Al Nahyan Royal Family recently.
It was a proposal to entrust all legal consultation for work conducted in America to Lewis & Boris, and this was a mega achievement that completely silenced other factions who had been showing jealousy and envy after she became representative lawyer.
“Thank you so much, Johann. Emily too.”
“…?”
Johann sits up, puzzled.
“I’ll get up first. See you in the evening.”
“Take care.”
Emily, who came outside, narrows her eyes.
“Something… doesn’t it seem like those two have gotten closer?”
It feels like the distance between Larry and Ada has gotten a bit closer.
“Well…”
He hasn’t been paying close attention because there’s something else on his mind lately.
“No. They’ve definitely gotten closer. Could it be?!”
“That’s not it.”
If they had made history, the atmosphere would have been more different, but it wasn’t to that extent.
“Hmm. Then what could it be…”
The two headed to school, puzzled.
And they were shocked.
“Ma, Mason! What happened to your leg?”
Mason suddenly appeared with a cast on his leg. The friends who had arrived earlier were also shocked, and Mason clicks his tongue.
“Well, with my piano academy friends…”
While playing a game of jumping from the second floor onto a trampoline and diving into the swimming pool, he fell wrong and twisted his knee.
“…Puhahahaha! Idiot!”
“Why are you…”
“Yeah. You guys are just like me. You’ll get hurt too.”
“Us? Like you, a klutz?”
“100 dollar bet, call?”
“Call!”
“What are you going to do, you guys!”
“It’s okay. We won’t die.”
“But you got hurt!”
“Well, that’s because he’s Mason…”
“What’s so funny?”
“Fla… sh?”
Why does Flash look so gloomy again?
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Father suddenly started pestering me about creating Skynet.”
“Skynet?”
The artificial intelligence from the movie Terminator that destroyed the entire world.
“He says it’s self-learning AI through deep learning…”
He said he’s creating a program that can infer the intent of questions and give accurate answers even when explained poorly, or even draw pictures, and ultimately have conversations like a real person based on such learning.
“So I stayed up all night yesterday testing what Father made. Really, once I turn 18, I should just become independent like my older brothers… ugh…”
Suddenly Emily’s eyes flash.
Johann also quickly uses Absorption Reading on him as fragments of ‘Investor Leicester Barber’ tickle his mind.
But the other friends’ reactions are different.
“Oh, um… Michael seems to have some free time.”
“Is that… so? Come to think of it, he has been leaving work early since last year.”
“Since when has he been doing that?”
Flash shakes his head at Emily’s question.
“I don’t know. By the way Johann, when did you say your competition was?”
“Oh, next week.”
He had to go to Brussels, Belgium.
“The country between France and the Netherlands? Wow, I want to go too!”
“Let’s go together later. But when did he start developing? What was the trigger?”
“Oh, he said now that we’ve all grown up and have some money to spare, he wants to challenge his dreams…”
Johann’s eyes sparkled as he listened to the story.
Various IT companies already investing in artificial intelligence development.
His curiosity and interest surged.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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