The Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company is a Poison King - Chapter 56

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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 56: Domination and Embrace

The prince did not step forward directly.

He simply mentioned in passing to his attendant that the Patent Office seemed a bit suspicious, and the attendant immediately conveyed the prince’s words to the Board of Audit and Inspection.

And so the investigation began.

The Board of Audit and Inspection was an institution that all civil servants in the Empire feared. It was directly under the Emperor, had a wide scope of auditing, and possessed tremendous authority.

Any institution had to process information requested by the Board of Audit and Inspection as their top priority.

So they had already dug up all personal information on Patent Office examiner Son Dong-wook. Personal asset assessment including real estate, his personal accounts, family accounts, and call records.

The Patent Office search and seizure was a procedure to see if there were other corrupt actors besides Son Dong-wook.

Son Dong-wook was arrested by the Imperial Police on the spot.

Board of Audit and Inspection Section Chief Pyo Seong-tae met with examiner Son Dong-wook in the interrogation room at Newseoul Police Station with police cooperation.

“You’ve accumulated quite a lot of wealth. It seems you received quite a bit of money – from whom did you receive it?”

“From Jeon Ju-hak, Department Head of Mirinaei Group’s Future Strategy Office.”

“What method?”

“I received it in cash.”

Son Dong-wook already had a resigned atmosphere.

When promised a reduced sentence, his testimony flowed out freely.

“It wasn’t just once, was it? Following Mirinae Pharmaceutical’s instructions and delaying patent examinations.”

“Yes, continuously for the past 3 years. I had no choice. They threatened that if I didn’t comply, they wouldn’t leave my family alone…”

Threats my ass.

As if he didn’t know it was something done to satisfy his own greed.

Since testimony had emerged, they had to bring him in.

Police were dispatched and made an emergency arrest of Jeon Ju-hak, Department Head of Mirinaei Group’s Future Strategy Office.

“I won’t say anything until my lawyer arrives.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not a police officer.”

Pyo Seong-tae handed his business card to Jeon Ju-hak.

“…Board of Audit and Inspection?”

“Yes, the cameras are currently off and we’re not recording. When the police come in later, that’s when the real interrogation will begin.”

“Then what are you trying to do with me now…”

“I’m curious about something. How deeply chaebol families have intervened in civil servant society.”

“How would I know that? I’m not a chaebol.”

“But you’re one of their closest associates. Examiner Son Dong-wook has confessed everything.”

Swoosh.

Pyo Seong-tae slid Son Dong-wook’s statement toward Jeon Ju-hak.

“Take a look.”

Then Jeon Ju-hak glanced over the statement with his eyes and continued speaking.

“It’s all lies.”

“Lies?”

“We don’t even know each other’s contact information, so what calls could we have made…”

Pyo Seong-tae was dumbfounded.

He was lying so brazenly and shamelessly.

“Are you feeling secure now because you made calls with a burner phone?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you think Son Dong-wook wouldn’t have recorded his calls with you?”

“…Shit.”

Pyo Seong-tae chuckled.

“Listen here, Mr. Jeon Ju-hak. Your detention is already a foregone conclusion. Don’t even think about getting out. What we’re focusing on is your superiors.”

Jeon Ju-hak kept his mouth firmly shut.

“Did President Lee Dong-woo give the orders?”

“…”

“Won’t talk? Trying to take it all on yourself?”

“…”

“Well, anyway, everything will be revealed when we summon President Lee Dong-woo for investigation.”

Only then did Jeon Ju-hak open his mouth.

“…The summons investigation will be difficult.”

“Why? Because he’s chaebol family?”

“President Lee Dong-woo is… cu-currently missing.”

“Hahaha, so you’re saying he’s already been spirited away.”

“No! He really disappeared without a trace. That’s why we’re looking for him too.”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

Pyo Seong-tae really didn’t know.

That this time, Jeon Ju-hak was telling the truth.

* * *

Tae-ju received a call from Baek Seo-yeon in his hotel room.

– The patent examination will proceed soon. Results should come out within a week at the earliest.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

– The ones who interfered with us were indeed Mirinae Pharmaceutical. Mirinaei Group’s Department Head Jeon Ju-hak and a Patent Office examiner conspired to reject our examination request…

“I expected as much.”

– And there are strange rumors circulating too.

“Strange rumors?”

– President Lee Dong-woo is reportedly missing. I don’t know if he ran away on his own or if he really had some kind of accident.

“…”

Tae-ju knows where Lee Dong-woo is.

They probably will never find him.

“Anyway, now only the Food and Drug Administration sales permit remains.”

– But I think we need to approach that carefully. External intervention could backfire.

“Yes, let’s prepare diligently.”

As Baek Seo-yeon said, the Empire’s Food and Drug Administration is strict.

It’s not so much that they’re honest, but because of the role the FDA plays within the Empire.

If they carelessly approve food or drugs and problems arise, it would be a disaster.

The entire FDA would be destroyed.

That’s why drug sales permits have to be strict.

‘The patent issue has been settled for now.’

Let me try some training after a long time.

Originally, Tae-ju’s daily routine always began with Honweonmusangdokryeongong training.

But he had been too busy lately and neglected his training.

Now that he had a little more free time.

Since he had risen to 7-star too hastily, he always had to keep a close eye on changes in his toxic essence.

Toxic essence is the refinement of poison.

Naturally, its nature is not gentle.

Rather, when it reveals its power, it becomes rougher and more violent than mana or internal energy.

That’s why stabilization work is necessary.

Stabilization of toxic essence is very important.

Only then can the balance between poison and body be regulated.

What would happen if a poison master failed at stabilization and suffered qi deviation?

It doesn’t end with just the danjeon being destroyed like with other mental techniques.

You become victim to the poison you’ve built up yourself.

Tae-ju awakens the sleeping toxic essence with Honweonmusangdokryeongong.

Ziiiiiiiii…

The toxic essence vibrates.

Very slowly.

And quietly too.

‘Hm?’

Something feels strange.

It’s very stable.

‘Stabilization?’

The Toxic Spirit exchanging energy with his body, vibrating slowly, harmoniously, and smoothly. This could be considered complete stabilization.

This quickly?

There was only one cause for this change.

‘It’s the Seon-do Peach.’

More precisely, the immortal energy that embraces even toxic energy.

Just from eating a single peach, the Toxic Spirit had become perfectly stabilized.

It had to be so.

Wasn’t this the Seon-do Peach that only immortals of the Immortal Realm could eat?

Tae-ju concentrated a bit more.

Certainly, the Toxic Spirit had been influenced by the immortal energy.

From rough and spicy to smooth and mild.

‘This can’t be too mild though.’

It was poison, after all.

What would happen if it became too soft?

Suddenly!

Zzziiiing!

Toxic energy suddenly surged violently.

Like rough waves, like the claws of a terrifying carnivore, with the momentum to devour everything around it. This time it was too ferocious.

‘Uh… can this be controlled?’

As he calmed his mind, the Toxic Spirit instantly quieted down.

Ziiiiiii…

Mild, then spicy, then mild again.

‘I see. Now I understand… it was because of the immortal energy.’

Immortal energy is the energy of embrace.

But it’s also the energy of dominance.

A ruler benevolently cajoles and embraces their subjects.

Toxic energy was no different.

The immortal energy had embraced the Toxic Spirit.

‘…Wait a moment.’

If the Toxic Spirit had gained the nature of embrace and tolerance thanks to the immortal energy that permeated it?

Couldn’t it also embrace other energies besides toxic energy?

Something like mana, for instance.

Tae-ju opened the Infinite Space.

Inside was an elixir made from Elite Giant Panda Bear gallbladder.

The aura of mana concentrated in high density within the elixir.

Until now, elixirs had been of no use to him.

He had actually tried eating the leftovers when making elixirs.

However, the Toxic Spirit hadn’t reacted at all.

Now the situation had changed.

The Toxic Spirit whose nature had changed due to immortal energy.

If it could also dominate and embrace mana…

‘Let’s try it.’

Tae-ju unhesitatingly swallowed the elixir.

A moment later.

Woooooooong!

Mana came surging.

Mana rushed into Tae-ju.

It spread throughout his body through his blood vessels.

Naturally, it also reached the Toxic Spirit.

Zzziiiing!

The Toxic Spirit devoured the mana as if asking what this windfall was.

Mana flowed into the Toxic Spirit.

But there was no collision whatsoever.

It was absorbing mana just like it would absorb toxic energy.

‘Ahh…’

The Toxic Spirit had embraced mana.

At the same time, it dominated it.

Thus, mana was imprinted on the Toxic Spirit.

Through this, the Toxic Spirit took another leap forward.

Woooong!

Toxic energy flowed through Tae-ju’s blood vessels.

Following the toxic energy, mana also flowed.

And thus began a state of selfless absorption.

Tae-ju realized.

That he had reached the 8th level of Honweonmusangdokryeongong.

It was an achievement made not with new poison, but solely with mana.

* * *

A moment later, Tae-ju opened his eyes.

An unfamiliar power surged throughout his body.

It was mana.

‘At this rate, I’ll awaken.’

Honweonmusangdokryeongong 8th level.

The difference from when he reached the 7th level was that he could now use not only toxic energy but also mana.

But the effect of the elixir ended here.

Since mana had been imprinted on the Toxic Spirit, there would be no further development unless new mana emerged.

Still, the 8th level was something, wasn’t it?

He hadn’t expected it at all.

This was all thanks to the Seon-do Peach that Danggumak had sent him.

How should he repay this favor?

He wanted to give something in return, but the Shared Warehouse in the Infinite Space showed no signs of lighting up.

But every time he opened the Infinite Space, there was something that kept catching his eye.

The corpses stored inside.

‘This really won’t do.’

Let’s clean this up now.

There were no monster-dense areas around New Seoul, but there was a suitable place about 5 hours away by train.

By now, Mirinaei Group had realized that President Lee Dong-woo had gone missing.

Seeing that it hadn’t appeared in the media or news yet, they must be conducting their own investigation. It might soon turn into a public investigation.

Tae-ju first sent a message to Baek Seo-yeon on his smartphone, asking her not to contact him unless it was something special since he planned to tour New Seoul tomorrow.

And that night, Tae-ju left the hotel.

In a quiet and dark place, he took out jeans, a shirt, a hat, and sneakers from the Infinite Space and put them on.

Crack, swoosh!

He changed his face using the Reverse Transformation Technique.

Crunch!

He reduced his height using the Bone Shrinking Technique.

Having reached the 8th level, the degree of transformation was dramatic.

To the point where even he couldn’t recognize who he was.

He put all his belongings except cash into the Infinite Space.

Tae-ju took a taxi to New Seoul Station and bought a late-night train ticket at the ticket office.

“Please give me the fastest ticket departing for Beijing Stronghold.”

The travel time to Beijing Stronghold city was about 5 hours.

After finishing his business there, he could return to New Seoul by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

Beijing, the former capital of old China.

However, it had now fallen to become the Samhan Empire’s frontmost monster defense stronghold city.

Humanity’s reconstruction began 200 years ago.

After that, as 100 years passed, countries that had secured relatively large populations began rapidly returning to their former state.

For example, India and China, and also America and Europe.

China in particular achieved a population of 500 million in a short time, reconfirming its status as a great power.

But there was an obstacle to restoration.

The monsters mutated by mana.

Monsters and humans could not coexist.

Naturally, wars of taking and losing territory were bound to occur, and China’s New Communist Party Government eventually made a fatal mistake.

The monster mega-concentration zone in Wuhan, China.

The New Communist Party Government, having succeeded in restoring nuclear weapons, poured over ten nuclear warheads into the Wuhan area, and the monsters suffered near-total annihilation.

Had they been defeated?

It was a delusion.

They had been made stronger.

Some surviving elite monsters underwent re-mutation.

That was the birth of Beyond Elite monsters.

The Beyond Elite monsters immediately carried out retaliation against humans.

There was absolutely no way to stop them.

Slaughtered by monsters, territory stolen.

Thus, leaving only the lesson that nuclear weapons must never be used against monsters, China fell into eternal decline.

Beijing, now territory of the Samhan Empire.

Far below was the domain of Beyond Elite monsters.

South of Beijing Stronghold, there was no danger of monster waves.

The region was so vast that waves were difficult to occur, and even if they did, they would be resolved within the area.

So it was one of the regions where awakened hunters were actively engaged.

Unlike Gurye, taxes were imposed on monster byproduct sales, but with various monsters distributed throughout, Beijing Stronghold was always bustling with awakened raid teams.

The night train Tae-ju boarded arrived at Beijing Stronghold city station at dawn.

‘Since there’s no time…’

Naturally, the military was also stationed in the Beijing Stronghold region.

Two of the Empire’s most powerful combat military units, that is, six divisions, were deployed throughout various locations.

And the massive wall blocking the south of Beijing.

Some sections were wire fences, some sections were stone walls, stretching an incredible 400km in length. For this reason, this wall was called Beijing’s ‘Thousand-Li Great Wall.’

The Thousand-Li Great Wall had several gates leading to monster-infested areas around Beijing.

And CCTV cameras installed throughout.

Tae-ju stared directly at the CCTV camera.

It wasn’t his real face anyway.

Perhaps because it was dawn, there were hardly any people around.

Tae-ju passed through the gate and went outside the city.

The most widely distributed monster in this region was the ‘Mutant Fluffball Chow Chow.’

In the past, it was a large dog breed that China was proud of, but due to mana mutation, its body grew larger and it gained sharp teeth and claws.

The name was given because their fur was so long that their movement resembled fluffballs. Their fur was used as material for making luxury clothing, making them popular with raid teams.

Since they’re fluffballs… would they be cute?

Not at all!

They were extremely ferocious and cruel.

Their bite force was especially tremendous, strong enough to chew through and tear apart most armor.

Tae-ju ran quickly.

Mutant Fluffball Chow Chows visible everywhere.

Further inward.

Using Pyoholjilfungbo.

Swoosh!

After running for a while, the number of monsters gradually increased.

Still deeper.

He ran like that for an hour.

Easily dodging the Fluffball Chow Chows that lunged at him.

‘This should be about right.’

Tae-ju took out the corpses from the Infinite Space.

One by one at sparse intervals.

Thud, thud, thud, thud…

“Woof woof woof!”

“Grrrowl!”

“Kraaak!”

Packs of Mutant Fluffball Chow Chows rushing at the corpses.

It took less than 5 minutes for them to be torn to shreds and disappear.

Tae-ju turned his steps back toward Beijing Stronghold.

He never released the Reverse Dragon or Bone Shrinking techniques.

He went to the station, bought a ticket and waited, then boarded the train, and after another 5 hours, Tae-ju finally arrived in New Seoul.

It was the completion of a perfect crime.

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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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