The Heavenly Demon Destroys the Tower - Chapter 54

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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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Episode 54
Agent GLASS headquarters, director’s office.
Shin Yu-ri watched Lee Kang-han’s gameplay footage from start to finish.
Then smiled deeply.
“You truly never cease to surprise me.”
“Right? My limit was Floor 30, so how is this even possible?”
Shin Dong-seok, who had been watching Lee Kang-han’s performance alongside her in the director’s office,
shook his head in disbelief.
Back when he’d held the title of Iron,
he’d felt immensely proud clearing the Infinite Tower up to Floor 30.
But this monster of a friend had reached Floor 200 and still had time to spare,
accepting donations before logging out.
“We need to change the plan.”
“What plan?”
“I was originally planning to play along with Congressman Ju Yong-wan, then completely flip the script once the Scoreboard drops and reclaim all the incentives, but……”
The original strategy had been to pretend to cooperate with Congressman Ju Yong-wan,
then claw back all the incentives once the player’s Scoreboard appeared at month’s end.
“There’s no need for that anymore.”
“Why not?”
“That Roulette we saw earlier—the ‘National Affiliation’ slot suggests something far more valuable.”
“Right, if he’d landed on National Affiliation, the reward for a South Korean player would’ve been enormous. If the Race bonus is +1, imagine what a country-specific modifier would be worth?”
Shin Yu-ri nodded at his words.
“Exactly. And everyone in this industry would think the same way, wouldn’t they?”
“Of course.”
“And right now, there’s only one player capable of spinning that Roulette—you.”
“Well…… this guy was the first to break through the Tower anyway.”
“If only a Cheonma can spin the Roulette…… then who holds the Super Power Position in this industry?”
Super Power Position.
As Shin Yu-ri spoke these words, her smile deepened.
Brring, brring, brring…!
The office telephone rang.
“Hello? Oh, it’s from Congressman Ju Yong-wan’s office? Put them through.”
Shin Yu-ri answered the call directly.
“Yes? You want to change the contract terms? We have no intention of altering our agreement……”
She continued the conversation in a leisurely tone.
“I see—let me speak with Lee Kang-han first about this.”
Then she hung up without waiting for a response.
“Your attitude just did a complete one-eighty, didn’t it?”
“Do you know how exhausting it was catering to Congressman Ju yesterday at that dinner? Every time I had a drink, he wouldn’t stop pushing his son on me.”
“Congressman Ju’s son?”
“Yes. Apparently he’s in the United States with citizenship. He kept insisting that if I married him, it would be beneficial for me too.”
“Wait, didn’t that man criticize players for leaving the country, calling them unpatriotic……?”
“Politicians being two-faced—what’s new about that?”
Shin Yu-ri, her expression turning cold, defined the politician in those terms.
Then she broached the real matter.
“So now I need to get Lee Kang-han’s permission and then leak the contract.”
“You’re going to leak the contract……?”
“Yes. I’ll claim I accidentally left it in the bathroom, and a reporter just happened to find it.”
That was quite the implausible ‘coincidence.’
Even as Shin Dong-seok absorbed her words in bewilderment,
came a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
“Director, we have a major problem!”
An Agent GLASS employee burst in looking frantic.
“What’s happened?”
“Lee Kang-han’s contract has been leaked! Dispatch has just published the full text!”
At this, Shin Yu-ri and Shin Dong-seok exchanged glances.
“You already went through with it?”
“No? I was going to wait for Lee Kang-han’s permission first. I haven’t leaked anything from here yet……?”
As the two of them stood baffled,
“Director! We have a serious problem!”
Another employee rushed through the open door, breathless.
“What’s happened?”
“Lee Kang-han’s contract has been leaked!”
Wait—wasn’t this the same story I just heard?
“From Dispatch?”
“No! From another media outlet……!”
What?
It broke in two places at once?
“The contract details—even our own staff doesn’t know them. Only I do…… This looks like it came through the Management Bureau?”
“Well. I didn’t think the Management Bureau’s security was that weak.”
“Right. The breach happened faster than we were prepared to leak it ourselves.”
“Eh, yes……?”
They were planning to leak it themselves?
While the staff reeled from Shin Yu-ri’s words.
“Two operations running simultaneously…… Where could it have come from?”
Shin Yu-ri tilted her head curiously, then.
“Let’s look at the articles first.”
She began examining the pieces that had published the contract details.
* * *
Meanwhile.
Inside the White House residence.
“Strong Lee…….”
President Alfred, newly inaugurated, watched.
He regarded the video of Lee Kang-han’s accomplishments with undisguised interest.
“They said his name means ‘strong,’ didn’t they?”
“That’s correct.”
“A fitting name for the new America.”
President Alfred, a bulky man with an imposing frame.
He had been elected on the platform of a new America, a strong America, and now.
Learning the meaning behind the name Lee Kang-han, he grew even more pleased.
“Why doesn’t America have a Strong Lee? Didn’t we make him an offer?”
“We did make an offer, but he refused and remained in South Korea.”
“Why?”
“It appears he had a strong will to stay in his homeland.”
“We should have made an offer good enough to overcome even that!”
“That’s why we’re preparing an offer this time that even the Management Bureau won’t be able to refuse.”
“Right. A first-rate talent belongs in a first-rate nation.”
President Alfred nodded at this, then.
“The CIA has a dedicated Tower division, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, they do.”
“Can they obtain Strong Lee’s existing contract?”
“…….”
The aide fell silent for a moment, then.
“It’s possible. In fact, they’ve already obtained it and begun operations.”
He delivered the answer: yes, it was possible.
And added that operations had already begun.
“Operations?”
“Strong Lee’s contract was reportedly filled with toxic clauses. The plan is to expose them through the media and force a contract termination.”
“Excellent. Good. Strong Lee’s naturalization is a matter of national security. Bring him here by any means necessary.”
“Understood. However, according to an urgent report, China appears to be conducting operations as well.”
“China?”
At the news that China had also entered the game.
President Alfred’s eyebrows twitched.
“The contract was published through pro-China media outlets. It happened almost simultaneously with our operation.”
“So they recognize talent when they see it…….”
President Alfred spoke with grave certainty.
“Strong Lee cannot go to China. Bring him in by any and all means.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
Tokyo, Japan.
Tower Management Bureau, under the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Tanaka.”
“Yes, Director!”
“Are you continuing to compile the data on the Cheonma?”
“Yes… I haven’t finished organizing today’s yet.”
Tanaka, a civil servant belonging to the Management Bureau, gave a sheepish answer to his superior’s question.
“A new Elf appeared recently—you’re not getting distracted by that, are you?”
“Ah… No, sir!”
How did he know?
The director really was uncanny.
Tanaka felt cold sweat trickling down his spine.
He recalled having saved photo after photo of that Elf—the one called the Valkyrie.
Following Karana.
A new Elf had appeared who could actually hold a conversation.
As an Elf enthusiast, how could he not focus on that?
Besides.
‘Even if I organize the Cheonma data… he doesn’t seem like he’d be recruitable anyway.’
The notice the Cheonma had posted today.
Tanaka, a low-ranking civil servant at the Management Bureau, understood its impact all too well.
From now on, the United States and China would surely throw their full weight behind recruiting him.
If Japan tried to muscle in, could they even make a meaningful offer?
It was already a situation beyond assessment.
So Tanaka was more interested in the scraps around the Cheonma—
in the Elves.
“Well, forget it then. From now on… yes, find his weaknesses.”
“Weaknesses, sir? Of that monster?”
Find his weaknesses.
Of a monster who’d climbed the Infinite Tower to the 200th floor.
How was a mere civil servant supposed to uncover that?
Tanaka just blinked.
“Honestly, I don’t have high expectations. Just compile whatever rumors are floating around online, mixed with your own guesses.”
“Is that… acceptable?”
“Yes. Since recruiting the Cheonma is no longer possible, I thought we might at least document something like this.”
Since recruitment was impossible.
They’d investigate weaknesses and file it away as documentation?
Tanaka couldn’t quite grasp the logic.
‘If they order it, I’ll do it, I suppose….’
That was how the civil service worked—you followed orders.
He nodded.
“Understood. I’ll compile information on the Cheonma’s weaknesses.”
Even as Japan’s Tower Management Bureau abandoned recruitment efforts
and pivoted toward hunting for weaknesses,
in Beijing, China,
a meeting was in full swing at National Security Bureau Section 1014.
“The Americans are on the move.”
“After seeing the Roulette the Cheonma posted, they seem to be mobilizing all their resources to recruit him.”
“Lee Kang-han’s father lives in the United States. Shouldn’t we use that?”
“When the target travels to Los Angeles for an awards ceremony, he could be detained in America.”
With Lee Kang-han’s photograph displayed on the wall,
the intelligence operatives of Section 1014 analyzed him from every angle.
The meeting, which had been proceeding for some time with the director’s chair conspicuously empty,
suddenly stopped.
The conference room door swung open,
and a woman entered.
“How is the meeting progressing?”
“Director!”
“You’ve arrived?”
The woman in the black suit looked young to be called a director.
From her temples to the tip of her chin.
She had a striking long scar running down her left cheek.
Her sharp eyes swept across the conference room.
“The United States is making serious moves.”
“The United States?”
“Yes. The White House is said to be showing considerable interest.”
“I see…… The Roulette’s effects were indeed greater than anticipated.”
The Roulette that Lee Kang-han had activated.
The effect of “Accessory Slot +1” had far exceeded all imagination.
And this was merely what corresponded to the species category.
What if the next Roulette spin landed on “National Affiliation”? What kind of effect would manifest then?
Since the ripple effect couldn’t be gauged, it only made sense.
That the American President himself would step forward and show interest in recruiting the Heavenly Demon.
“If we and the United States were to pull out all the stops, engaging in a one-on-one recruitment war…… which side do you think the Heavenly Demon would choose?”
“That would be…….”
“Assuming the conditions were identical.”
At the director’s question.
All the intelligence operatives of Section 1014 fell mute.
The target was Korean.
Statistically speaking, it was far more likely he’d choose the United States over China.
Observing their reaction.
She gave a wry smile.
“I should have used that billion yuan sooner. It’s a shame now.”
“That would have been…….”
“The sum was too large to spend when reports indicated he had limited time…… was it not.”
“I submitted a report stating clearly that I believed he wouldn’t have a time limit, but they wouldn’t accept it.”
When Lee Kang-han first obtained the Cheonma Body Constitution and made his spectacular debut.
The young director of Section 1014.
Director Jin had submitted a report saying that the Heavenly Demon should be recruited even if it cost a billion yuan.
But a billion yuan was nearly two hundred billion in Korean currency.
It was far too large a sum to spend on Lee Kang-han during his D-Rank days.
“I wanted to conduct negotiations with the Heavenly Demon smoothly, if at all possible…… it’s regrettable.”
“…….”
“Now I’ll have to explore other methods.”
“Other methods, you say……?”
“The Heavenly Demon has family, doesn’t he?”
At those words, the operatives nodded.
“Yes. A father and a mother whose whereabouts are unknown.”
“His father is currently on a business trip to the United States, we’re told.”
The operatives, who already knew every detail of the Korean’s personal information as if it were in the palm of their hand.
“Hmm…….”
Director Jin examined the data the operatives had compiled.
“Until we locate the parents, we can’t use family as leverage.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then in the end…… we’ll need to secure the Heavenly Demon himself.”
Secure meant kidnap, ultimately.
“The entire world’s attention is fixed on the Heavenly Demon right now.”
“If we rashly attempt to kidnap him…….”
The operatives showed signs of alarm at the director’s implication.
“Don’t worry.”
“……Yes?”
“I’ll go to South Korea personally.”
When Director Jin said she would take action herself.
The conference room fell into sudden silence.
‘The director is going in person…….’
‘The director, who has never failed even once until now?’
Director Jin.
The reason she’d risen to this position despite her youth.
Was that no matter what mission she was given.
She had succeeded in every single one without a single failure — an exceptional track record.
If she were to take action personally now.
No matter how much the world’s attention focused on the Cheonma.
‘Securing’ him would be possible.
“…I understand.”
“We’ll prepare immediately as well.”
The informants of National Security Bureau Section 1014, who had wavered only briefly when the kidnapping was mentioned,
all lowered their heads.
Meanwhile.
After returning home and taking a brief rest while watching the news he’d created, Lee Kang-han
“…The contract leaked?”
received a call from Shin Yu-ri and blinked his eyes twice.
The Cheonma Destroys the Tower (serialized)
Author │ Yeom Bi
Published by │ Kim Ju-hyung
Publishing house │ JPlusmedia Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Post Tower 1st)
Email │ [email protected]
Homepage │ www.jayplemedia.com
©Yeom Bi 2025
※This work is published by JPlusmedia Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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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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