The Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company is a Poison King - Chapter 29

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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 29: Demon (1)

Today, Tae-ju caught another Giant Panda Bear.

He returned to the company and stored the cleanly processed frozen bear gallbladder in the medicinal storage freezer.

This was already the 50th one.

How many recovery potions could be made from one bear gallbladder?

If he made elixirs, a maximum of 8.

But if he reduced the medicinal effect to 1/500th to make recovery potions, he could make about 4,000.

So one bear gallbladder per day, with limited production and sales of 4,000 Taehong recovery potions.

People clamored for increased sales volume, but there was nothing he could do.

This was all handmade work – how exhausting could it be?

Plus, Giant Panda Bear gallbladders weren’t infinite either.

For now, he would just focus on hunting.

And he didn’t neglect training in Honweonmusangdokryeongong either.

Having reached 5-star level, he would run straight to 7-star without looking back.

The meaning of 7-star was very significant.

In martial arts terms, it was the realm of transformation, Master-level on Earth.

A poison master who reached 7-star could poison anyone.

His range of movement would broaden, and nothing would be frightening anymore.

Moreover, he could throw hidden weapons like scattering sand without worry.

He could just retrieve them all afterward.

What if he mastered it to 10-star?

Probably no being on Earth would be able to touch him.

Whether awakened or magical beast.

Actually, even 10-star wouldn’t be enough.

Jeoldaedokma Danggumak had also mastered Honweonmusangdokryeongong to 10-star.

But it was insufficient to face the Heavenly Demon.

That damn demon bastard.

In the end, after great hardships, he had realized the poison spirit and melted him to death.

‘Could I reach the poison spirit level?’

Up to 10-star was possible.

Because he had experienced it.

But even having experienced the poison spirit, it was questionable whether he could meet that moment again.

It absolutely wasn’t a realm you could reach again just because you’d been there once.

The poison spirit was like that.

It was when a spirit dwelled within the poison essence.

It was closer to coincidence than inevitability.

Looking at one part about the poison spirit in the Honweonmusangdokryeongong manual, you could guess how difficult it was.

‘If you earnestly desire it, it shall be achieved.’

That aside.

Too many people were looking for him these days.

Media interviews, major figures from the imperial court, military, and parliament were sending official documents several times a day wanting to speak with him.

He ignored them all.

That was fine.

This was Gurye, Free City – if it had been another region, he would have received summons and such.

‘Should I head out soon?’

To the jungle once again.

Having reached 5-star, hunting had become too enjoyable.

As long as he didn’t encounter the Three-Headed White Tiger, there were no scary magical beasts in Jirisan.

Even if he met large orc groups that raid teams found most troublesome, one Flying Waterfall technique could turn them all into rags.

He put on his coat and replenished spare hidden weapons from the equipment storage, then tried to open the door to leave.

“Chairman?”

Ah, he’d been caught.

“…Manager Baek Seo-yeon.”

“Not manager, but Chief Operating Officer.”

“Ah, Chief Operating Officer, what brings you here?”

“Approvals are backed up. Real estate purchases, equipment procurement, and you need to receive sales and net profit reports too.”

“The Chief Operating Officer handles all of that…”

“What if I create a slush fund and embezzle it?”

“Do you need money urgently? How much should I give you?”

“…Sigh, no. Yes, I’ll handle it myself.”

Tae-ju trusted Baek Seo-yeon as much as Baek Hong-pyo.

Working together for several months, she was not only smart and clever but also fair and deeply considerate.

That’s why the former orphans trusted and followed her too.

Taehong Bio already had over 500 employees.

They hired based on character rather than ability.

Work could be learned after all.

Not just former orphans, but their friends, classmates, and excellent talents came in through branching connections.

Employee treatment?

It was top-tier.

Throughout the entire Samhan Empire.

“There are a few things you need to see, so please spare me a moment.”

“You said you handle everything yourself…”

“There are things the Chairman needs to see personally.”

“Alright, let’s see them.”

“First, this.”

What she handed over first was a white card with a modest design.

“It’s a congratulatory card.”

Congratulating what…

But the moment he saw the card, Tae-ju’s expression hardened.

– Well done, my son. I congratulate your success and am always cheering you on. When you have time, please visit Paju. Father, Kim Woong-bang. –

A congratulatory message sent by his father.

‘How ridiculous.’

He could tell at a glance.

This wasn’t sent by his father.

It wasn’t even written personally, and there was no handwritten signature.

Just printed text.

His father had cut ties with him.

Though he seemed indecisive, he was someone who didn’t reverse decisions once made.

Then who could it be?

Obviously his stepmother, Honda Mitsui.

It wasn’t worth reading.

“Throw this away.”

Riiip!

Tae-ju tore up the congratulatory card.

“Oh my?”

“Please put it in the trash for me. Is there anything else?”

“…Ah, two invitations came in. This one first.”

Tae-ju received the fancy gold-foiled card that Baek Seo-yeon handed him.

“…Hmm, Noble Purples Marriage Information Company?”

He remembered hearing about it.

A top marriage information company boasting a 90% matching success rate.

“Why is this coming to me?”

“Because you’re qualified.”

The membership requirements are strict.

First, any awakened person can join.

Even compatible individuals can join if they come from good families or if one of their parents is at least a Middle Expert.

“But I’m a mana rejecter?”

“Who would believe that? Well, even so, you’ve made it into the Empire’s top 100 richest people rankings, Chairman. You’re the number one groom candidate.”

“….”

“You should get married too, Chairman. Start a family, and choosing Noble Purples Marriage Information Company would be a good way to do that.”

As Baek Seo-yeon said, he’d do it someday… but he had no interest in marriage information companies that divided and managed people by social class.

After people were divided into mana rejecters, mana adapters, mana compatible, and awakened, a caste-like class system had unknowingly become entrenched in reality.

Gurye was a bit better.

Being a distant rural area and having the character of a Free City, class divisions weren’t too severe here.

But it wasn’t like that even in the metropolitan area.

While they didn’t treat people as blatantly as in medieval class society, different classes were thoroughly separated like oil and water.

Marriage was the same.

Mana adapters with mana adapters.

Mana compatible with mana compatible.

Awakened with awakened.

You could climb one rung of the ladder.

For example, an adapter marrying someone compatible, or a compatible person marrying an awakened.

Of course, there had to be something to compensate for the lower tier’s shortcomings.

Money, honor, power, degrees, and so on.

This was all because of genetics.

If parents were awakened, their children had a high probability of being awakened too.

You could see this just by looking at the Samhan Empire’s royal family tree.

The Emperor’s children, the princes and princesses – except for a few, most were Masters, and even those few were Superior Experts.

Occasionally, cases arose that defied the laws of genetics.

Like Kim Tae-ju, a mana rejecter with a Master for a father.

When Tae-ju remained silent for a long time, Baek Seo-yeon glanced at him nervously and said.

“Should we proceed with joining Noble Purples Marriage Information Company?”

“No, that’s fine. I’m the self-recommendation type. What’s the next invitation?”

“…Yes, here.”

Another invitation.

It was a fancy card decorated entirely in gold foil.

“Empire Leaders Club?”

“Please give this one some thought.”

“It’s just a social club.”

“It’s not an ordinary social club.”

Right.

It wasn’t ordinary.

Famous awakened families, major corporation heirs, academia, legal circles, military, wealthy territory successors, even princes and princesses. A club where young people from the Empire’s most prominent families gathered to build relationships.

“What’s the membership fee?”

“5 billion. Monthly dues of 100 million are separate.”

“What reason do I have to join this place?”

“Because you’ll soon become the chairman of the Empire’s top major corporation. You need to play in the big leagues.”

Why would I bother going to a place like this?

“I’m not interested. Where I play is the big leagues.”

“But for our company’s future too…”

“Ah! Come to think of it, General Manager Baek Seo-yeon would be qualified too. CEO of the top pharmaceutical company – join right away. Process the membership fee and monthly dues as company expenses.”

“What?”

Baek Seo-yeon looked shocked.

“You said it would help our company’s future, right? Join immediately.”

“Ah, um… Ah, understood. I won’t bring these kinds of invitations again.”

Baek Seo-yeon bowed and left.

He had been sincere about recommending she join the Leaders Club instead of him.

‘Should I go hunting then?’

* * *

Taehong Biopharmaceutical Company’s expansion didn’t stop.

The location where they originally bought the building was close to Baek’s Orphanage.

A place near the Jirisan Wilderness. That’s why the land was cheap.

Now the land prices had gone up.

But they were still actively buying land.

A second factory and buildings for medicinal herb storage were built on that land.

Though the company’s monthly sales exceeded 100 billion, the profits were reinvested as they were.

The equipment for making Taehong Recovery Potions was also upgraded to the latest models.

Sealed containers made of mana steel instead of pressure cookers, heaters using mana crystals as fuel instead of ovens, and so on.

Production work was done by Baek Chang-hun and Jang Soon-cheol, the two of them working in shifts.

At first they fumbled around with a very high failure rate, but now they were skilled like masters with not a single defective product.

“Chang-hun, you’re working again today? You worked yesterday too.”

“Ah! Chairman, Soon-cheol said he had something to do today, so we agreed he’d work two consecutive days starting tomorrow instead.”

“Really? What’s he doing?”

“He has a friend he knows, but he can’t reach him at all, so he’s going to look for him.”

“An orphanage graduate?”

“Not an orphanage graduate, but a school friend who lives in the slum neighborhood. They must have been close.”

Slum neighborhood.

A neighborhood where poor people gathered to live, so the crime rate was high too.

Even though he was an awakened guy, it was slightly worrying.

Though what could happen.

“Tae-ju hyung, we could gradually increase production now.”

“Are you used to it?”

“I can push out about 8,000 a day.”

“No, there’s no need to go that far. I’m only doing limited sales for now.”

Taehong Recovery Potions were incredibly popular.

Just from word of mouth spreading, they sold out as soon as pharmacy doors opened.

Even with quantity restrictions and only selling to awakened and compatible individuals, it was like this.

To increase quantity, the number of producers had to increase.

Chang-hun and Soon-cheol alone weren’t enough.

Increase the number of awakened belonging to Taehong Bio, feed elixirs to trustworthy ones to develop them, raise Chang-hun and Soon-cheol to Expert level, teach Yeolyang-gong and Han-eum-gong so they could handle Giant Panda Bear gallbladder supply themselves… in short, there was still a long way to go.

“Anyway, it’s late today. It’s already night. Go home quickly and rest.”

“It’s almost finished…”

That’s when it happened.

Bzzzz!

The vibration sound of a smartphone ringing from his chest.

But it was an unfamiliar phone number.

“Hello.”

– This is Gurye Central Medical Center. We’re calling after seeing the patient’s phone number.

Hospital?

“What’s this about?”

“That’s…”

Tae-ju’s expression darkened as he answered the phone.

* * *

Gurye does have a hospital.

But the facilities aren’t very good, and there aren’t many doctors, so people don’t visit often.

It’s a place you only go to when there’s an emergency and you have no choice.

Tae-ju visited the emergency room with Baek Chang-hun.

“Soon-cheol!”

“…Hyung.”

Jang Soon-cheol lay in bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious injury.

“What happened?”

“Well, that’s…”

After hearing the story.

Today, Jang Soon-cheol had been searching for an old school friend.

He lives in the slums, but he hasn’t been coming home for a while now, so his parents were worried.

What if he was getting into trouble?

He wouldn’t answer his phone, and they reported it to the Self-Defense Corps but heard nothing back.

So they contacted Jang Soon-cheol, who was their son’s friend.

“According to the people who were with him, they went on a jungle monster raid, had a company dinner afterward, and split up saying they were going home, but he disappeared that day…”

“A raid?”

“Yes, that guy’s an aptitude holder. He was happy saying he’d finally paid off all his debts and would soon move out of the slums.”

“Why did you end up like this?”

Jang Soon-cheol continued his explanation.

He had thoroughly searched the slums.

He showed people photos and asked around.

Then he found a clue in an alley in the Slum Neighborhood.

One sneaker that he had bought his friend as a birthday present.

“I’m certain I bought it for him. The size matches perfectly too.”

“Where did you find it?”

“Halfway up the stairs leading to Gurye’s Slum Neighborhood. So I kept searching around that area.”

“And then you were attacked?”

“Yes, I couldn’t even see their face. Some coward hit me from behind… I was being dragged away in a daze, but I secretly took a recovery potion, landed one Penetrating Mirror strike, and barely managed to escape.”

Tae-ju’s expression was still dark.

It pained him to see his people get hurt.

At least it was fortunate that he had taught him Penetrating Mirror.

And he happened to have a recovery potion too.

“Why the bandages on your back?”

“This happened while I was running away.”

“Let me see the wound.”

“…Yes.”

Tae-ju unwrapped the bandages around Jang Soon-cheol’s body to check the wounds.

“Ugh! G-gently.”

“Bear with it!”

Deep wounds on his back where the bone was visible through torn flesh. But something seemed strange.

It looked like an animal had clawed him, with flesh torn away—five vertical scars running from shoulder to hip.

‘Could this be…’

A monster?

That couldn’t be.

No matter how much of a slum it was, that place was inside Gurye city.

It was an area where monsters couldn’t appear.

If it wasn’t a monster, then what?

“Where exactly were you attacked?”

“Halfway up Chilheokdong’s Slum Neighborhood.”

The slums were originally built on the mountain behind the neighborhood.

It was an area created when people flocking to the Free City built houses on ownerless mountains and settled there.

The danger level varies by altitude.

The bottom of the mountain is an ordinary slum, but it gets more dangerous the higher up you go.

It’s a place even Self-Defense Corps members don’t dare enter carelessly.

“My friend must be dead, right?”

“Who knows.”

“He’s not someone who’d easily fall to villains.”

Looking at the wounds on Jang Soon-cheol’s back, he had some suspicions.

This wasn’t caused by a weapon.

If it had been a sword or blade, it would have been cut cleanly.

Judging by the five vertical wounds, it was likely fingernails or claws.

In that case…

‘A demon.’

Someone who had transformed from human to monster.

Demons devour people.

They especially like aptitude holders and awakened ones.

That’s why demons aren’t treated as human.

‘I need to confirm this.’

If it really is a demon, it absolutely cannot be left alive.

Especially not in Gurye, where he had established himself.

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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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