Chapter 140

Chapter 140. Initiation (4)

[B-rank Constellation ‘Golden and Silver Children’ watches with a tense expression.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Third Son of the War God’ swallows nervously while watching the situation.]

[A-rank Constellation ‘Flower-Tattooed Monk’ leans forward with interest.]

Liu Xianfei was dumbfounded.

Kang Yujin had suddenly charged forward, jumped onto Turtle-Head Mountain, and punched it.

What exactly was he trying to accomplish?

“Lord Ma Taesu, what in the world...”

She was so stunned that she even forgot to run.

“What is he doing? Punching the bottom of Turtle-Head Mountain? No, its back? What is hitting it with his fist supposed to accomplish?”

“You still haven’t fully investigated him, have you?”

“Are you talking about that Awakening Skill that supposedly destroys anything?”

She had seen that information in the materials prepared beforehand.

But Liu Xianfei hadn’t believed it.

For one thing, obtaining an Awakening Skill that early was already strange.

And even if he really possessed one, the claim that he could destroy anything didn’t sound particularly credible.

“There’s no way he can destroy something that huge! Look! Nothing is happening! It’s still moving forward!”

Even after Kang Yujin punched it, Turtle-Head Mountain appeared completely unharmed.

Worse, it continued approaching the shore.

In just a few seconds, it would crush the docks and crawl onto land.

“Well, we’ll see about that.”

“What?”

At that moment...

a sound began to emerge.

“What is that?!”

Rrrrrrumble...

A bizarre roar unlike anything Liu Xianfei had ever heard in her life filled the area.

It was coming from Turtle-Head Mountain.

“Wh-What is happening...?”

“Just watch quietly, Liu Xianfei.”

Ma Taesu smiled.

“That is Kang Yujin.”

Then...

Crack! Crack!

Turtle-Head Mountain began splitting apart.

It wasn’t collapsing like a landslide.

If anything, it looked more like someone tearing apart a leafy vegetable with their bare hands.

Liu Xianfei sucked in a breath at the grotesque sight.

The rumbling grew louder and louder until...

“Aah!”

The instant Liu Xianfei screamed...

BOOOOOOM!

With a roar like a volcanic eruption, Turtle-Head Mountain exploded.

No.

It scattered apart.

An island hundreds of meters in size was pulverized and disappeared in an instant.

“It only looked like it was still moving forward because of inertia.”

Ma Taesu calmly watched the debris fall into the sea.

“Hmm. If that much powdered material falls into the water, it might affect the marine environment.”

“Wh-What...”

At some point, Liu Xianfei had collapsed onto the ground again.

She had even forgotten to stand back up.

Instead, she shouted at Ma Taesu.

“What the hell is that man?!”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you.”

Ma Taesu took out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

“That bastard is Kang Yujin.”

He lit it.

“A Contractor from that ‘small country’ you were talking about.”

“See, Princess Longji?”

“Yes...”

“There was nothing to worry about.”

“Apparently not...”

Hearing the drained tone in Princess Longji’s voice, I smiled.

Either way, we got some excellent footage.

I had actually sent Number 49 to China in advance to record the scene.

Originally, I just wanted footage of Kang Yujin arriving in China so we could use it later when making another video.

Then this Turtle-Head Mountain subjugation Event suddenly appeared.

Thanks to that, we got much better material than expected.

We had even captured the exact moment Liu Xianfei looked down on Kang Yujin.

Once edited and uploaded to Constellation Tube, the Constellations would probably love it.

Wait a second...

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

I turned toward Princess Longji.

“Come to think of it.”

“Yes?”

“You said earlier that Nata probably created this Event to embarrass Kang Yujin and give him trouble, right?”

Princess Longji had even blamed herself earlier for failing to stop him.

“But was that really his intention?”

“What?”

I thought back to the messages and donations sent by the A-rank Constellation ‘Prodigy with Three Heads and Six Arms’ while he had been watching Kang Yujin.

“If I remember correctly, he’s donated quite a bit of Origin Power too.”

I spoke slowly.

“He never seemed to dislike Kang Yujin that much.”

“What? But even when he talked to me, he said things like, ‘Kang Yujin needs to get taught a lesson for once...’”

“That could just be the usual kind of stubbornness boys have when they don’t want to be honest about their feelings.”

"...?"

Princess Longji looked completely confused.

“There’s no way he prepared an Event like this without considering that Kang Yujin possesses an Awakening Skill capable of destroying it.”

“Then are you saying Nata prepared this Event because he expected Kang Yujin could destroy it from the beginning?”

“Yes.”

I smiled.

“In other words...”

“This was arranged so Kang Yujin could make an enormous impression on the Chinese people the moment he arrived.”

I nodded.

“You could say Nata was actually helping him.”

"...!"

─ Just got here. Did Nata lose again today?

─ Yep. Kang Yujin arrived in China and Nata immediately opened an Event, but it ended in under ten minutes.

─ He must’ve spent an insane amount of Origin Power on that.

─ And just like usual, Kang Yujin ended up looking awesome.

─ Nata really needs to stop treating Kang Yujin like a rival.

─ He’s always trying to nitpick everything Kang Yujin does.

─ Wait, didn’t Nata do this on purpose?

─ On purpose? What are you talking about?

─ I mean, didn’t he deliberately set that up to make Kang Yujin look good?

─ How does that make any sense?

─ There’s no way Nata didn’t know Kang Yujin had an Awakening Skill.

─ Oh. Now that you mention it...

─ Maybe he staged it so Kang Yujin could do something huge the moment he arrived in China.

─ Nata, you bastard...

─ Nata, answer us.

“Hmph.”

Nata snorted with his arms crossed.

All kinds of comments were pouring into the private chat room used by Constellations he knew, but he had no intention of replying.

“Kang Yujin, that bastard...”

On his Observer screen, Kang Yujin was surrounded by Black Dragon Society members showering him with praise.

He had stopped the enormous Turtle-Head Mountain without allowing even a single casualty.

He looked like a hero among heroes.

“I went this far for you.”

Nata looked away with a pout.

“At least now no one in China will dare look down on you.”

Kang Yujin was still not particularly famous in China.

High-ranking figures with fast access to information had already investigated him thoroughly and were watching him closely.

But the ordinary rank-and-file below them barely knew who he was.

After this incident, however...

Kang Yujin’s name would spread among the Chinese public as well.

“If you let anyone look down on you after this, I won’t forgive you.”

“Hmph.”

Nata sharply turned his head away with a sulky expression.

“L-Lord Kang Yujin...”

After receiving thanks from Zhang Qinghe, Guo Yunzhao, and the others, Kang Yujin returned to where he had been standing before.

Liu Xianfei approached him with a frightened expression.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

Kang Yujin was slightly confused by the sudden apology.

So he asked,

“For what?”

“F-For looking down on you... I didn’t recognize how strong you were...”

“You’re apologizing for that?”

“Ah! I-I’m also sorry for calling Korea a small country. That was wrong of me.”

“Why are you apologizing for that too?”

Korea was smaller than China.

That was simply a fact.

Why was that something she needed to apologize for?

“I-I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

“Hey, first...”

“Eek!”

Kang Yujin raised a hand and stepped closer, intending to tell her to calm down.

Liu Xianfei screamed and collapsed onto the ground.

“I-I’m sorry! Please forgive me just this once! Please spare me!”

“Ma Taesu, what’s wrong with this woman?”

“Who knows?”

Ma Taesu looked away and smoked his cigarette as though it had nothing to do with him.

“Hey, get up.”

“Eeeek!”

When Kang Yujin reached out to help her, Liu Xianfei scooted backward while still sitting on the ground.

“P-Please spare me. Please don’t turn me into powder!”

“What the hell...”

Kang Yujin sighed, completely unable to understand her.

“Just take me to the Black Dragon Society headquarters or wherever it was. You said we had to go there, right?”

“Ah! Y-Yes!”

“And Ma Taesu is coming too. I’ll feel more comfortable if someone I know is there.”

“Of course! Do whatever you want! I’ll obey anything you say, so please just spare my life...!”

"..."

Kang Yujin looked toward Ma Taesu again.

Ma Taesu shrugged.

“China is a rough place.”

“Is that so...?”

Kang Yujin decided not to think about it any further and followed Liu Xianfei, who practically fled ahead of them.

The car driven by Liu Xianfei entered downtown Shanghai.

The city outside the window was extremely lively.

Many high-rise buildings were still standing, and the streets were crowded with people.

“W-We’ve arrived.”

Their destination was a cylindrical skyscraper.

When Kang Yujin entered the lobby, he saw a sculpture depicting a black dragon.

That made it obvious this was the Black Dragon Society headquarters.

“This looks more like the headquarters of a major corporation than a Contractor organization.”

“That isn’t entirely wrong.”

While Kang Yujin was talking with Ma Taesu, Liu Xianfei, who had been speaking to someone at the reception desk, returned.

“Um... the Vice Chairman says he would like to have a meal with you.”

“A meal?”

“Hmm... So that’s how he intends to approach this.”

Ma Taesu rubbed his chin.

“Kang Yujin, let’s accept for now. Given what just happened, I doubt he invited you with bad intentions.”

“If you say so.”

“Liu Xianfei, I’m coming too, right?”

“Yes. The Vice Chairman summoned you as well, Lord Ma Taesu.”

In the end, Kang Yujin followed Liu Xianfei into the elevator.

“There’s a restaurant on the forty-fifth floor reserved for executives. I’ll take you there...”

When they stepped onto the forty-fifth floor, an extravagant restaurant decorated in red and gold appeared before them.

Its appearance was even more luxurious than the high-end restaurant Lee Hyeonje had once taken him to.

As Kang Yujin looked around, a waiter politely guided them into a private room.

“Good to meet you.”

An elderly man with snow-white hair was waiting inside.

He looked old, but his eyes were clear and his posture straight.

Seeing him reminded Kang Yujin of Jegal Geum.

Does he practice martial arts too?

While Kang Yujin was thinking that, the old man approached and held out his hand.

“My name is Liu Zhenping. I serve as Vice Chairman of the Black Dragon Society.”

“I’m Kang Yujin.”

Kang Yujin bowed slightly and shook his hand.

“Hmm. Ma Taesu, you’ve worked hard coming all this way.”

“Thank you, Vice Chairman.”

Ma Taesu bowed deeply to Liu Zhenping.

Judging from the conversation with Liu Xianfei earlier, Ma Taesu seemed to have some conflict with the Vice Chairman’s faction.

But from the outside, the two looked perfectly cordial.

“Then sit. You probably didn’t get to eat properly on the submarine, so have as much as you like.”

Kang Yujin sat as instructed.

Ma Taesu and Liu Xianfei also took their seats.

“I heard you accomplished something remarkable as soon as you arrived in China.”

Liu Zhenping smiled.

“It’s causing quite an uproar downstairs right now.”

“It was an emergency, so I acted without thinking. I hope you’ll understand.”

“No, I didn’t mean it negatively.”

Liu Zhenping waved a hand.

“Everyone is simply wondering who managed to accomplish something so extraordinary.”

“I see.”

While they talked, the first dish arrived.

It was a thick soup served in a small bowl about the size of a rice bowl.

“The food is here. Go on, everyone. Eat.”

Kang Yujin picked up his spoon without much thought.

Then the moment the thick broth entered his mouth...

it felt as though electricity ran through his entire body.

What is this?!

It was savory.

Sweet.

And overflowing with an incredible depth of umami.

There were no solid ingredients, so he couldn’t tell what it had been made from.

It vaguely tasted like seafood, but there was also something reminiscent of toasted rice.

Whatever it was...

the soup was unbelievably delicious.

"..."

Kang Yujin silently began eating.

Liu Zhenping and Ma Taesu seemed to be discussing something beside him, but none of it registered.

“Kang Yujin, may I ask you something?”

By the time Kang Yujin had finished the soup, Liu Zhenping smiled and spoke to him.

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“Are you married?”

It was such an unexpected question that Kang Yujin was momentarily surprised.

“No.”

“Do you have a woman you’re seeing?”

“No... I don’t.”

“I see.”

Liu Zhenping nodded with a satisfied expression.

“Kang Yujin, to tell you the truth, I had no intention of treating you kindly.”

“Is that so?”

“At first, I intended to put you in your place a little.”

So Liu Xianfei’s cold attitude earlier had probably reflected Liu Zhenping’s intentions.

“But after hearing what happened at the harbor today, I changed my mind.”

“I see...”

“I’m a man who makes decisions quickly.”

Liu Zhenping smiled.

“That is how I climbed to this position.”

Kang Yujin wasn’t particularly interested.

There was only one thing he cared about.

When is the next dish coming?

“With that in mind, Kang Yujin, may I make you a proposal?”

“Let’s hear it.”

Why wasn’t the next dish arriving?

Was it because Liu Xianfei was slowly picking at her soup?

While Kang Yujin was wondering about that, Liu Zhenping spoke in a suggestive tone.

“Why don’t you become my adopted son and succeed me?”

“What?”

Kang Yujin’s eyes widened at the completely unexpected nonsense.

He wanted to ask what the hell the old man was talking about.

But he restrained himself.

At least until the meal was over, he needed to control his temper.

Whether he understood Kang Yujin’s thoughts or not, Liu Zhenping continued smiling.

“I’ll give you my daughter, Liu Xianfei, as your wife.”

He leaned back comfortably.

“Wouldn’t that be ideal?”

“Eek?!”

Liu Xianfei, who had been listening blankly from the side, screamed and sprayed the soup from her mouth.