The Civil Servant Who Concealed Their True Strength Turns Out to be a Master of Possession - Chapter 280

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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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A Civil Servant Who Hides His Strength Is Exceptionally Good at Possession – Episode 280
“No, that won’t work. You’ll get the wrong idea.”
I frantically drew an X shape with my hand to emphasize the point.
No, that won’t do. If there’s a misunderstanding.
Then….
‘They’ll move forward without properly thinking it through.’
In that moment, someone slipped between us.
“What misunderstanding?”
A person with an uncanny sense of timing.
Always appearing precisely when I’m in trouble.
For that, I’m grateful!
I beamed at Pee So-won.
“It’s nothing really. Anyway, thanks to you, Choi Woo-jin has become quite wealthy, hasn’t he?”
Because Pee So-won had funneled all her coins to Choi Woo-jin, he had acquired 1.6 million coins.
It was an amount that was expected to maintain an unrivaled first place going forward.
Pee So-won, who had directed that enormous sum entirely to Choi Woo-jin, furrowed her brow.
“I suppose so.”
Pee So-won drank the bitter whiskey placed before her.
Well, her presence here was entirely thanks to Choi Woo-jin anyway.
He had elevated her status as a Mafia member to that of an investor, allowing her to be included in this social gathering.
Of course, even so, Pee So-won had to always wear defensive items.
A target of danger, never knowing where she might get shot tomorrow.
“But this seems to be continuing as a death game, and I’m wondering if it’s really okay for just one of us to maintain first place?”
“It won’t be okay. Since we entered here, the bottom 50% hasn’t been regenerating.”
At Kwon Ik-seong’s words, I furrowed my brow.
“What do you mean….”
“When we first arrived, I witnessed extras and minor actors dying. But their numbers didn’t decrease, and this time, the staff at the film set were grumbling. They said it’s become difficult to find extra actors these days.”
“…!”
So this world’s population is halving with each cycle?
Is this insane…?
“So what do we do? What’s the total population?”
“That’s unmeasurable. However, considering that the population of 1920s New York was 5.6 million, after about six more cycles, it would drop to 80,000.”
“Most of those 80,000 would be wealthy individuals.”
At Pee So-won’s words, my head began to spin.
“The money-laden bastards in this place aren’t showing aggression now, but if the population continues to decline like this, there’s no guarantee these bastards won’t awaken. Already, in the gambling establishment I operate, people have become so scarce that everyone’s on edge.”
…So you’re also running a gambling establishment.
Well, never mind that.
“So there’s a possibility that awakened players might fight each other?”
“It’s possible. Especially—”
Pee So-won furrowed her brow.
“If the one who caused this Dungeon Break is Player 1, and if Player 1 is Seol Ok-gyun or a member of Hunter’s Faith, then we can’t rule out the possibility that they brought weapons into this Dungeon to survive.”
It’s more than just a possibility we can’t rule out—
‘It’s almost 100% certain they brought weapons in.’
I’m going to lose my mind.
“There’s no law saying it can’t circulate on the black market, right….”
“Of course not.”
“What’s the probability of rescue from outside?”
I looked at the two of them with a grim expression.
“Who knows. I’m not even sure if entry is possible, and even if they do enter, I have no idea what the boss monster of this Dungeon is, so clearing it will be difficult.”
“Then our only way to survive is—”
“For now, I’m still searching for an exit.”
Just then, Choi Woo-jin, who had approached without my noticing, grinned widely and slipped between Pee So-won and me.
Then he looked at me and Kwon Ik-seong and spoke.
“Wouldn’t the Craftsman and the actress being too close together spark some rather dangerous scandal? I think it’d be wise to be careful, don’t you?”
At Choi Woo-jin’s words, Kwon Ik-seong’s eyebrows shot up.
“On the contrary, it could become an interesting scandal. There is such a thing as noise marketing, after all.”
…?
Kwon Ik-seong. That’s not the kind of character you are.
I’ve been discovering so many new sides to Kwon Ik-seong lately.
“I think a scandal with New York’s richest magnate would be even more noise for the actress. What do you think?”
Choi Woo-jin looked at me with a grin.
I looked back and forth between the two men at his words.
What is this strange atmosphere?
That’s when it happened.
Pee So-won, chewing on a cigar clenched between her teeth, spoke.
“Both of you shut your mouths. If you want to hear the information I brought back.”
Pee So-won, leaning back against the sofa, truly looked….
Like a villain.
Why does she look so naturally suited to being a criminal?
“What kind of information?”
Choi Woo-jin asked.
“I met someone at a gambling establishment yesterday who was spending money quite lavishly.”
“You’re not gambling yourself, are you…?”
When I looked at her with concern, Pee So-won shook her head firmly.
“The gambling establishment owner can’t gamble. I need to manage the operations thoroughly.”
I see.
So there’s a professional ethic even in that line of work.
Ha ha….
“Anyway, that bastard said something interesting? He mentioned he’d made some money through stocks. There’s this guy called O.G Marlin, and apparently that man has such high stock returns.”
“Stock returns…?”
“Right. But apparently, not just anyone can invest in it? At first, only a few wealthy people invested, but he paid them interest like clockwork every single day. Then one day, he claimed he hit it big and handed over a 10% return in just one day.”
“…Is that even possible?”
Kwon Ik-seong answered at those words.
“It’s impossible. There are companies that see daily stock returns at that level—or even higher—but if he liquidated everything in a single day, there’s no way he could pay interest every day.”
Even with day trading, paying interest on top of that would be impossible.
“But how would you know something like that…?”
“Because I trade stocks myself…?”
“Huh?”
Kwon Ik-seong trades stocks? That seems oddly out of character…?
Then again, he’s a production company president, so it makes sense he’d be moving money around, I suppose?
“Don’t you trade stocks, Inspector? It’s 1920s New York, after all.”
Choi Woo-jin tilted his head.
What. Am I the only one who doesn’t?
I looked at Pee So-won with desperate eyes, but—
“Automobile stocks have been doing well lately.”
“…Damn it.”
Ha ha. So this is what they call FOMO—Fear Of Missing Out?
Is that what this is?
Damn it, I was the only one not moving money around!
I was the only one breaking through wooden boards and jumping off trains, earning money the honest way with my body!
This filthy world!
“How naive, our Inspector Lee Yu-ji….”
Choi Woo-jin looked at me with pity.
I’m annoyed.
I turned away from Choi Woo-jin and asked Pee So-won.
“Regardless! So what is that? How did he manage to deliver a 10% return in just one day?”
“What else. A Ponzi scheme.”
…!
A Ponzi scheme.
He takes money from investors, initially pays them consistent returns to attract more customers, then uses the new investors’ money to pay supposed returns to the old investors, and repeats the cycle to keep pulling in more victims.
It was a particularly famous scam in this era when the stock market was overheated.
“But here’s the thing. You said this O.G Marlin character doesn’t just take on any investor, right? But the timing of when this bastard recruits investors is suspicious.”
“Surely….”
As Pee So-won spoke, a thought flashed rapidly through my mind.
“Exactly.”
Pee So-won nodded.
“The timing when large sums of money came into Player 1. It matches perfectly with when he was recruiting investors.”
“Wow… That’s quite an interesting development.”
Choi Woo-jin grinned and looked at Pee So-won.
So Player 1 is the one running the Ponzi scheme?
If that’s the case…
Wait a moment.
If this dungeon’s boss monster is the capitalist system itself, then the way to bring down that system is—
I widened my eyes and asked Pee So-won.
“Then! How do I become that investor?”
“You’re going to invest? Without any seed capital?”
Her blunt assessment struck right at my heart.
Ugh, seriously…
“He has the seed capital, doesn’t he?”
I pointed to Choi Woo-jin.

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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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