Choi Yeonseung wasn’t on good terms with most of the monsters in the Abyss, but there were a few that he actually got along with.
One of them was a species of rock snakes. Thanks to the friendship developed after saving their lives, all the species of rock snakes in the Abyss were loyal to Choi Yeonseung.
As such, Choi Yeonseung was the first to recognize the rock snakes at Jacob’s venue.
‘Did they catch the rock snakes? I feel a bit bad…’
Those weren’t the rock snakes loyal to him, but even so, Choi Yeonseung was saddened to see them captured.
-That’s just your constellation pride.
-You think?
Choi Yeonseung was puzzled by the goddess’ words. She sounded like a grumpy person who disliked seeing others doing well…
“Choi Yeonseung, we received an invitation from Parker World.”
Jacob had named this new project Parker World. He had clearly heard that Choi Yeonseung was in the vicinity and decided to boldly invite him before he managed to sneak in.‘It’s almost like a slap in the face, given that I came here to steal their business…’
Choi Yeonseung felt a slight sting of humiliation.
“They didn’t notice, did they?”
“Based on my foresight, there’s no such risk,” explained Adaquaniel, to which Choi Yeonseung nodded.
Indeed, Jacob and his people most likely assumed that Choi Yeonseung was paying them a visit in order to invest and explore. What kind of person would suspect him of trying to steal?
Contrary to Choi Yeonseung’s worries, his image was that of a noble hero. Despite having suffered several losses, not even Parker Group would suspect Choi Yeonseung of trying to steal from them.
“It’s better to accept the invitation than to decline it and give them reasons to be suspicious,” said Choi Yeonseung. “By the way, isn’t that Parker kid kinda slow?”
“Well... Human business projects are on such a large scale that stealing them takes some time,” explained Adaquaniel. “Moreover, she’s trying to use a legal method to do it.”
The watching constellations were stunned to see an angel explain about human business in such a knowledgeable manner.
[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ wonders if this angel is being arrogant and presumptuous.]
***
“What…? You invited Choi Yeonseung?” Gerrity frowned. Just hearing that name made him feel unpleasant.
“Of course, I have to invite him. How can I not invite such a bigshot?”
“...That’s true.”
“Get rid of your irrational habits. My father has suffered losses because of his useless, petty pride.”
“...”
Gerrity was dumbfounded.
‘The one who ruined Parker Energy is saying this...’
Of course, Alex Parker, the chairman, was an infuriating and crazy old man, but he wasn’t incompetent. In comparison, Jacob…
In fact, Gerrity had joined forces with him because he found him easy to manipulate, not because of his abilities.
Jacob had the same reason for inviting Choi Yeonseung. He mistakenly thought that Choi Yeonseung was a typical first-generation hero that was overly concerned about what people thought of him, making him easy to control.
It wasn’t that Gerrity didn’t understand why people had this perception. After all, Choi Yeonseung’s actions in the last presidential election, including his contributions in that attack on the debate venue, were enough to solidify that image of himself.
However, Gerrity had faced Choi Yeonseung directly and instinctively knew what kind of person Choi Yeonseung really was. He was a cruel man who would pull out his opponent’s heart if he had to!
Besides, anyone who had survived the first generation and eventually rose to the S-grade would be hard to deal with.
“I understand. You take good care of the business.”
Gerrity had been about to say something else, but he quickly changed his words.
Indeed, having Choi Yeonseung attend the event would be great for promoting the project. Moreover, the officials from various countries that were still hesitant to open their wallets would be greatly shaken by Choi Yeonseung’s appearance.
Jacob Parker waved his hand as if telling Gerrity not to worry. The ring on his hand gave off a unique glow. It was the Silence of Lentus, and it was Jacob’s secret weapon that allowed this project to proceed.
All kinds of artifacts had been installed at the site for camouflage, but the real core artifact was here on Jacob’s finger. It was a powerful and amazing artifact that made wild monsters compliant even if used by a non-hunter like Jacob.
Gerrity was still surprised that this artifact had chosen Jacob Parker. Some artifacts would choose a master who was qualified to use them, but Jacob Parker was a man without any skills or talent.
What did it see in him?
***
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, who has been crowned as the new protector of humanity, is also attending this event! Please welcome him with a round of applause!”
The officials of Parker Group welcomed Choi Yeonseung with considerable warmth. His reputation would adorn this place splendidly, so they were naturally delighted to have him here.
Competitors came in one by one and tried to make eye contact with Choi Yeonseung.
Even the guests who didn’t try to approach him started whispering among themselves.
-As expected, Dragon Industry too?
-Probably.
-The competition must be fierce...
Now that Choi Yeonseung was also here, everyone expected a fierce battle.
The competition would be incredible!
“We’re happy to show you the monsters we’ve tamed. Take a look at this wild boar!”
Even though it was an E-grade monster, the spectators gasped in awe at the sight of the wild boar walking at a regular pace through the venue.
Of course, it wasn’t like hunters hadn’t tamed monsters before, but seeing a monster come out and eat its food meekly on a huge ranch was bound to shock people.
“But if there are only E-grade monsters, isn’t this project very limited in terms of actual combat?” one of the guests asked bluntly.
As though they had been waiting for such a question, one of the officials answered, “Don’t worry. The wild boar isn’t the only monster here.”
Thump!
A rock chameleon that had been lying on a huge rock emerged. All the hunters exclaimed at the appearance of the C-grade monster.
Wild boars and rock chameleons were different types of monsters, so it was normal for them to fight each other. However, the two monsters at the venue walked around leisurely, showing no interest in each other.
“Even a C-grade monster...!”
The officials of Parker Group had planned this presentation very carefully. They had started with a low-grade monster and planned to introduce stronger and stronger monsters.
“Rock drake! It’s a rock drake!”
The public erupted when a B-grade dragon-type monster appeared. Even the hunters were stunned.
If B-grade hunters could be tamed like this, then the prospect of having a monster army was no longer in the realm of fantasy. Perhaps it was finally possible to send monsters into dungeons instead of hunters…
“Isn’t it a rock snake?”
“It’s amazing! How is this possible...?”
“?”
Kwon Yeongseung, who was talking with the hunters, paused when he saw the rock snake blink. Something was off.
All the rock snakes had their eyes fixed on Choi Yeonseung and kept blinking. It seemed that something was about to happen.
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, what’s going on...?”
-■■■■■■!
Suddenly, one of the rock snakes let out an ear-piercing scream, and the others promptly replicated the scream.
“Wh-what?!”
“The monsters are going crazy!”
Even though the monsters hadn’t gone berserk yet, the hunters couldn’t help panicking after their shrill screams.
Hunters were more sensitive to monsters than anyone else, so any kind of abnormal behavior would have them think that the monster was about to attack.
The other spectators had no choice but to believe the hunters.
“Run away! Everyone, evacuate!”
“Aaaa! I don’t want to die!”
“No, they’re not going berserk...”
“Everyone! Please calm down! The facility is safe!”
The officials tried their best to calm down the guests but failed. Because of various recent incidents, including the invasion of the evil god constellations, people were constantly on their toes when it came to monsters.
The guests instantly rushed away from the venue.
“Hurry up and drive! Quickly!”
“The minister hasn’t got on yet!”
“Who cares?! Step on it already!”
Choi Yeonseung initially tried to de-escalate the situation but quickly stopped.
‘Eh, it’s none of my business. I don’t have to do anything.’
-I’m sure those monsters have been brainwashed.
The goddess of sloth carefully examined the condition of the monsters. It seemed as if some powerful force had shattered the monsters’ ego. If they were trained this way from a young age, it might actually be possible to control them as long as there were no major accidents.
[The rock snake recognizes your existence and sends you faith!]
After causing a huge commotion, one of the rock snakes slowly approached Choi Yeonseung. The way it bowed its head and sent its faith put a smile on the other constellations’ faces.
The lower the intelligence, the purer the faith.
“Uh... What’s going on...?”
The officials of Parker Group urgently summoned hunters and rushed over, but they couldn’t catch those who had already fled. Forcing those people to come back would only cause more trouble.
“Everyone! Come back! It’s safe! All the monsters are under control!”
“It was just a brief commotion!”
Adaquaniel clicked her tongue with pity. Certainly, these humans weren’t wrong.
Looking at the current situation in a composed manner, that rock snake had merely woken up, screamed, approached Choi Yeonseung and fawned on him. All the other monsters were obediently standing still in the distance, seemingly confused by the ruckus around them.
But even so, the guests couldn’t stay calm in this situation.
After today’s incident, the headlines would only say things like “The monster taming business of Parker Group is more dangerous than expected. An unexpected incident broke out, causing everyone to evacuate.”
It was a fatal turn of events for Jacob Parker, who was trying to gain large investments through this business venture.
***
Adaquaniel’s prediction turned out to be slightly off. That incident wasn’t fatal for Jacob Parker.
It was insanely fatal…
-The Parker Group’s monster taming project turns out to be sloppy…
-The citizens evacuated! There were injuries... How can Parker Group get away with this?
-Remember the Peleza debacle!It’s still too early for humanity to control monsters!
In an instant, Jacob’s project was being attacked from all sides. The vehement reaction of the public was understandable, as there had been accidents related to controlling monsters before.
-We want to be protected by hunters!We don’t want to be protected by monsters!
-Right!Right!
Many hunters were happy with the public opinion. Of course, it would be easier to have monsters clear dungeons, but over time, their power and authority would diminish because people would stop depending on them.
This project had turned into a disaster in the blink of an eye. Those who had considered becoming big investors withdrew along with those who had already invested.
Jacob Parker was dumbfounded.
Did this make any sense…?
“I told you not to let your guard down.”
“Sh-shut up! I’ll quickly recover from this!”
“Didn’t you hear? The politicians in Washington are preparing a bill to prohibit monster control. Besides, people are so outraged that they’ve taken to the streets.”
“!!”
Jacob was shocked. If this was true, it was the worst possible situation.
At that moment, the artifact set up by Gerrity released a light.
[’Curtain of the Concealment of Existence’ is triggered.]
[The gaze of the constellations will be obscured.]
“?”
“Hey. Let’s find a way out of this.”
“What...?”
“Let’s just sell this now. You said you were going to betray the constellation anyway.”
Gerrity didn’t think much about whether Jacob Parker would be in danger or not. He just wanted to salvage all the money he had invested.
“At this point, there must be someone who has an idea for it. The longer you wait, the less likely it will be to recover from this.”
“...”
Normally, Jacob would refuse to surrender like this, but he had no choice now. The offer was incredibly enticing.
A contract with a constellation wasn’t like a contract between humans, where breaches were set in court. He could just break the contract and run away...!
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