The Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company is a Poison King - Chapter 136
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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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Chapter 136: Deceiving and Being Deceived, Stealing and Being Stolen From
The first thing the Emperor did was dispatch troops to Yangsan.
Top priority national project.
Naturally, security and protection had to be taken care of first.
So the Gurye Jirisan Defense Corps was deployed.
Oh Jin-hyeong appeared with four stars on his hat.
“Oh! With one more star added, it’s so dazzling. I can’t even look directly at it.”
“Tsk! So what if I do? I don’t have a position so I’m just lounging around. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here at least.”
“Ah, there probably won’t be much to do here either, right?”
“But I can make a name for myself. Think about it! I can at least get a spoon in this great undertaking of advancing into the sea.”
Master Oh Jin-hyeong was subtly proud.
Well! It’s a site that the Emperor is personally overseeing and the world is paying attention to.
Imperial Army forces were spread throughout the Yangsan area.
The ship hotel restoration and repair work was scheduled to begin in earnest about a week later. It would take time for skilled workers, advisory committee members, and equipment to arrive.
In the meantime, what Tae-ju did was file for company establishment.
He tried to change the name of the new subsidiary to Taehong, but.
“Taehong Shipyard? No way! What did I contribute to the new company startup? It’s all yours.”
Baek Hong-pyo strongly opposed it.
“Still…”
“While we’re at it, let’s change the pharmaceutical company name too. Let’s remove the ‘Hong’ character from Taehong Bio. How about TJ Pharmaceuticals? It has an international feel too.”
“Are you trying to wash your hands of this and run away now?”
“No, it’s because I have nothing to do. Since part of my name is in the company name, it’s quite burdensome. Take all my shares too. I’m busy running the orphanage.”
“…”
So the names of the new companies became ‘TJ Shipyard’ and ‘TJ Shipping’.
But these national infrastructure industries require an enormous amount of money.
No matter how hard they sold medicine, it was impossible to cover all the initial costs.
After consulting with the Emperor, they decided to receive investment from the Imperial government.
So it was decided that the state would purchase 20% of the shares.
National budget was invested.
Now there were no money worries.
They didn’t have to worry about any flies that might stick around either.
There was one more thing the Imperial government had to do.
Restore a large port equipped with container ship berthing facilities.
It wasn’t too difficult.
Yangsan Port was located not far from the shipyard.
Like the closed shipyard, it was a place where port functions had stopped due to severed sea routes.
A large-scale civil engineering project racing against time.
All construction workers in the Empire flocked to Yangsan.
Land prices in Yangsan began to fluctuate.
They skyrocketed frighteningly.
But who was Baek Seo-yeon?
When she entered negotiations to purchase the hotel ship, she had already bought up prime land around Yangsan Shipyard and the port early on.
And advisory workers came to Yangsan Shipyard.
People who had been involved when this container ship was built 50 years ago.
Hull designers, welders, engine technicians, container loading and unloading technicians, etc.
They were now people in their late 70s to 90s.
Elderly people walking with difficulty, leaning on canes.
“Welcome. Thank you for coming.”
“Hehehe, Chairman Kim Tae-ju, it’s an honor to meet you.”
“I hope there were no inconveniences on your way here.”
“I’m at an age where I could die, but my heart is still young. I don’t know how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to repair a ship I made before I die. It’s all thanks to Chairman Kim.”
“Hahaha, then shall we write up a contract?”
“A contract? When I don’t even know when I’ll die, just leave it be. Just make sure to provide three meals a day regularly.”
How could that be possible?
“You’ll need to work here for at least 10 years, you know?”
“Huh? I’ll probably die before then?”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t do it that way.”
Honestly, he did feel sorry.
Having to call back people over 90 years old to work.
“You’re all ordinary people, right?”
“Hmm, that’s right. If we were aptitude users, we could live healthily for another 30 years, but…”
“Then please take one of these pills each. Think of it as a signing bonus. But! Don’t tell anyone.”
“What kind of medicine is this?”
“It’s nothing special. It’s an elixir that upgrades ordinary people to aptitude users.”
“…Hah, you’re joking too much. You expect me to believe that’s real?”
“But it is real?”
“…”
Wavering eyes.
When the chairman of a pharmaceutical company says it’s real medicine, they couldn’t not believe it.
“How could you give us something so precious…”
“Because you gentlemen are more precious than this little pill.”
The elderly were valuable human resources.
Only they could pass on the severed shipbuilding technology to future generations.
Were they only going to build one ship?
Container ships, oil tankers, gas carriers, and passenger ships.
How many ships would need to be built in the future?
* * *
The full-scale repair work began.
They overhauled the engine and welded black iron plates to the ship’s bottom.
There was no need to cover everything with black iron.
“Think of it as attaching them in 1m by 1m squares, with 1m intervals, in a checkerboard pattern.”
“Hmm, it’s not difficult. Leave it to us.”
Actually, this was already quite a lot.
Since it was the first voyage, they were being extra careful.
It wasn’t just elderly people.
They also hired young workers.
Advisory workers teaching them while working together.
The young generation and the elderly generation joined forces.
The elderly who became healthy after taking the elixir generously passed on their know-how to the young people.
Wasn’t this true generational integration?
Standardized containers from all over the Empire arrived at Yangsan Port.
The shipping target was at least 15,000 containers.
And Saengibulkkun and Saesalssugsseug were packed into containers as soon as they were produced.
It was an enormous number.
The result achieved by pharmaceutical company employees working overtime every single day.
At this rate, they would far exceed their target.
Everything was going smoothly.
Except for one thing.
What good is making a container ship?
When there are no captains and crew members who can operate the ship.
In fact, the risk burden is enormous.
It’s only been 50 years since hundreds of ships crossing the sea sank due to attacks from marine magical beasts.
And now they want to cross the Pacific Ocean?
Moreover, this is the first voyage, and safety hasn’t been verified.
Tae-ju offered a huge hazard pay while recruiting people.
He also promised that he would board the ship himself.
Still, not a single person volunteered.
Surprisingly, the problem was solved from an unexpected place.
“Chairman.”
Lieutenant Do Min-su came to see Tae-ju.
“What brings you here…?”
“I heard you’re looking for crew members.”
“That’s right?”
“Here’s a list of volunteers.”
“Oh!”
Active Imperial soldiers and veterans.
A total of 100 people had volunteered.
“They’re mostly former navy personnel.”
“Yes, they’re older, but they know ship navigation know-how better than anyone.”
Naval officers with experience operating large warships, sergeant navigators and engineers. These were also elderly retired soldiers.
50 years ago, when sea routes were cut off, did only civilian ships stop operating?
There were also naval vessels.
As a result, all the skilled personnel retired and the Imperial Navy was reduced to a pitiful size.
Now they were only responsible for coastal magical beast reconnaissance and defense missions.
“I’ll hire them all.”
What a stroke of luck.
It was like a windfall.
Tae-ju planned not to spare the elixir.
These people needed to live long so that ship navigation know-how could be passed down to future generations.
Then Lieutenant Do Min-su hesitated and said.
“Um, could I also join this company? I want to board the ship.”
Of course he could!
“You’d have to retire from the military.”
“I’ll submit my application immediately and come back.”
They had secured crew members too.
Of course, they would need retraining to operate the ship.
Now they could launch the ship once repairs were completed.
Total war.
The full capabilities of the Samhan Empire, encompassing both the state and private enterprises, were mobilized.
Time passed.
Nearly two months after work began.
Finally, the dock was filled with water.
And the ship floated on the water.
* * *
Time passed the same way in the Immortal Realm.
Danggumak’s convertible sports car had long become a famous attraction in the Immortal Realm.
Big spenders were getting restless.
Yama, Seo Wang-mo, and Taesang Nogoon too.
Whether orders were possible, and if so, when they could receive them.
But the poor immortals could only suck their fingers.
Even so, there were immortals trying to collect coins to buy cars.
Hwangcheon-gye’s Scorching Hell.
Black iron smelting work was carried out like this.
A total of 30 teams.
That is, 30 production lines.
Each team consisted of ore transport, ore melting, ingot mold production, molten metal injection, ingot mold dismantling, finished ingot transport sections, with one supervisor assigned to each.
About 100 sinners worked per team.
10 teams were managed by Chasa and Saja, while the remaining 20 teams were handled by immortals.
Therefore, over 3,000 sinners worked simultaneously in Scorching Hell.
Most importantly, the role of supervisors.
Left alone, sinners would never work.
They had selected 3,000 of the least sinful ones for the work, but weren’t they sinners by nature?
So they had to use the whip.
Honestly, Yama was skeptical.
He had brought immortals as supervisors, but would they work properly?
But that was needless worry.
The immortals worked very well.
In just two months of work, excluding rest days, they had produced over 800,000 black iron ingots.
“Look at you move, can’t you see your hands moving?”
“You bastard! Others are carrying two sacks of ore, what gives you the nerve to carry just one?”
“If you don’t meet your quota, I’ll melt you instead of the ore.”
“Once it’s all melted, pour it into the molds immediately!”
“Stack them neatly? Make them easy to count!”
The production output of the immortal supervisors was tremendous.
Ah! If he had known this would happen, he should have brought them earlier.
A moment later.
After work ended, 20 immortals gathered before Yama.
“Ahem, you’ve worked hard.”
“Just give us our daily wages quickly.”
“Speaking of which, don’t you provide snacks while making us work?”
“Right! You should at least give us refreshments.”
He felt sorry.
So Yama added 2 bonus ingots to the promised daily wage of 10 ingots each.
“Oh! A bonus.”
“As expected of the Great King, I believed in you.”
“Just open the door quickly. It’s too hot here.”
“We want to drink a cold beer each with today’s wages.”
“Hehe, understood. There’s no work tomorrow or the day after, so rest well for two days.”
Yama opened the door leading to the Immortal Realm.
Whirrrrr!
Then the immortals entered through the door.
All 20 arrived in the Immortal Realm in order.
Even after arriving, they didn’t separate.
As if by appointment, they walked somewhere in a line.
They didn’t even talk to each other.
Eventually.
At the boundary between the Immortal Realm and Hwansu Realm.
Only when they reached a quiet place thick with forest
“Danju Seonin, take it out quickly.”
“…Is no one around?”
“I said there isn’t any! Haven’t we done this countless times before?”
Dan-ju put his hand into his pants pocket and fumbled around before pulling out a talisman.
“Here it is.”
“Hey! Let’s check it with our eyes first and then put it back.”
“…Don’t you trust me that much?”
“Would you trust Danju Seonin if you were me?”
Danju Seonin’s face was deeply furrowed with displeasure.
Having no choice, he tore the talisman.
Riiip!
In an instant.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
A massive amount of black iron ingots poured down from the air.
“Hehehe, how many are there!”
“Good, very good!”
“I’ll be able to buy a car soon.”
In fact, all their plans were only possible because of Danju Seonin.
He had created the spatial talisman after seeing Dok-seon’s Infinite Space and getting inspiration from it.
However, the size of the space wasn’t very large.
About half the volume of a subspace bag.
Moreover, it was single-use.
It didn’t matter when storing things, but you had to tear it to take them out.
“What kind of mess is this every time? Tearing it to check, then making a new one to store things again. Do you know how much spiritual energy it takes to make one of these?”
“That’s why we give you our daily share of Seondo, isn’t it?”
“Let’s try to trust each other a bit.”
The reason they did this.
They were worried someone might switch it with an empty talisman.
Danju Seonin, looking wronged by the suspicion, took out a new talisman and stored the black iron ingots that had fallen to the ground again.
“How many?”
“It’s definitely over 1,000,”
“Let’s make it exactly 1,000 and quickly hide them.”
The place to hide the spatial talisman containing the black iron ingots was an ordinary rock.
On top of it was a spell formation carved by Mosan Seonin.
“Now, everyone place your hands on it.”
All 20 Immortals had to place their hands on the rock for the spell to activate and the rock to open.
But?
“Why won’t it open?”
“Who didn’t put their hand on it again?”
“Everyone did… isn’t someone just pretending to put their hand on it?”
“Really! Danju Seonin, what are you doing? You need to press your hand firmly against the rock.”
“Huh? Did I not do it?”
Danju Seonin’s expression was brazenly innocent.
“Tsk tsk, I understand, I get it.”
“What?”
“Dan-ju, you don’t trust Mosan Seonin’s spell formation either. You’re trying to see if the rock opens even when all 20 people don’t put their hands on it.”
“…We’re all the same anyway.”
The Immortals who didn’t trust each other.
Finally, when all 20 placed their hands on the rock.
Crack, the rock split open.
And inside were 18 spatial talismans.
Adding one more made it 19. Plus the leftover ingots after storing 1,000 each.
“Hehe, just looking at it makes me feel full.”
“Now we just need one more and we can divide them up.”
Excluding rest days, they had siphoned off about 40,000 black iron ingots over two months. Besides this, each Immortal already carried a spatial talisman containing 1,000 ingots.
So what about these 19 spatial talismans?
They weren’t 20 yet.
When they reached 20, they planned to divide them up, one each.
Why go through such trouble?
Because fights would break out.
It was obvious they’d quarrel over who gets them first.
So they decided to divide them up on the spot once all 20 spatial talismans with 1,000 ingots each were collected.
They had done it this way before too.
“When should we sell them?”
“Hmm. The Seon-gye World opens in two weeks, right? Then there’ll be a shopping mall sale event.”
“Hehehe, a sale. That would be perfect timing.”
“This sale will probably be incredible.”
“What else is there?”
“There’s the basic Seon-gye World opening event, plus they’re holding a Tae-ju Hero’s Safe Pacific Crossing prayer event.”
“Ooooh! Then how many percent off?”
“If we’re lucky, 50%, a half-price sale.”
The Immortals’ faces brightened.
They kept grinning, unable to stop smiling.
“Let’s go back now.”
“Don’t even come near this place.”
“The rock will only open when we all come together anyway.”
“Let’s get some good sleep.”
The Immortals scattered back to their respective dwellings.
There was no one around the rock.
That’s when it happened.
Swooooosh!
A sword falling from the sky.
And one person riding on the sword.
“Hmm, so this is where they hid it.”
It was the Swordsman.
One of the oldest Immortals in the Immortal Realm.
The spell formation was torn to shreds before his sword.
Mosan Seonin’s spell formation was no different.
Slash!
The rock split in half with one sword strike.
From inside, 19 spatial talismans shyly revealed themselves.
It was 19,000 black iron ingots.
In terms of Seondo, that was 1,900.
In coins, 190,000.
‘This should be enough to buy a sports car, right?’
Deceiving and being deceived, stealing and being stolen from—it was a completely mad world in the Immortal Realm.
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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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