Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Whiiiiir.

The air conditioner was running in a tiny single room barely a few pyeong in size.

Outside temperature: 38 degrees. A heat wave warning had been issued.

Outside the room was hell, hot and humid.

Unlike that, my room’s temperature was set to 21 degrees.

“Phew.”

Now I could live.

At one point, my household finances had been in danger because of a debt in the hundreds of millions and the interest that increased every month.

‘Air conditioner? Please.’

Fanning myself by hand was enough.

Forget the old me, the king of saving money.

The current me had changed one hundred and eighty degrees.

Whiiiiir.

How much had I changed?

Enough that I casually turned on an air conditioner with an energy-saving grade of 4.

[Deposit Notification]

-1,500,000 won has been deposited by Eunhye Co., Ltd.

Because the pay for this subjugation, along with the incentive, had come in.

And it did not end there.

[Deposit Notification]

-1,000,000 won has been deposited by Seo-rin.

I called and doubled it.

She certainly seemed trustworthy.

She had kept her promise to give me the entire incentive if I saved her.

Like how people’s mindset differs between going into the bathroom and coming out of it.

There were so many people who, after receiving help, shut their mouths as if they had no idea what gratitude was.

In that sense, her character was worth rating highly.

‘Still, even if it was a bother, it was a good thing I went out.’

With this one job, the money to pay off the interest had been deposited.

This was exactly why people had to move diligently.

Of course, this was not a situation where I could relax.

The debt amount itself was still the same.

Well, there was no need to worry too much about that part.

I had a solution of sorts.

While waiting for the appointed time, I turned on the TV.

[Chinese Guild Caught Attempting Illegal Scout of Promising Korean Chosen. Emergency Over Attempted Leak of Korean Talent… Authorities: “We Will Respond Strictly”]

‘Honestly, they are such a problem.’

The reason our country floundered in the international community was not because our national power was weak.

It was because there were too many spies coming in from other countries.

Even if you looked only at neighboring countries, North Korea, China, Japan… wherever you looked, there were only places desperate to devour us, so honestly….

That was when I was killing time while watching the news.

A completely unexpected report came on.

[Breaking News!!]

[Crisis Response Committee Succeeds in Contacting ‘Pingkkyu Gyongdyu’… Talks Scheduled to Begin Soon.]

[Will the Veiled ‘Pingkkyu Gyongdyu’ Finally Reveal Themself? A Connection to ‘Pingkkyu Gyongdyu’ Secured! Are Historic Talks Beginning?]

[Japanese Prime Minister Mashibe Expresses Regret Over Korea’s Talks with ‘Pingkkyu Gyongdyu.’ Japan’s Door to Communication Is Always Open….]

Uh… what is this?

To be honest, I was flustered.

I had replied to the Crisis Response Committee this morning.

And yet it leaked this quickly?

That man named Kang Han-seok did not seem to have such a loose mouth.

I could not be certain.

Humans could not be trusted unless you knew what was in their hearts.

‘Well, I’ll know once I hear him out.’

In any case, news companies really did work hard.

Looking at the headlines, they were almost excessive.

They called them talks, but it was not a meeting to discuss anything that grand.

We were not even meeting face-to-face.

There was something I had asked for, and since the other side seemed so desperate to find me, I had simply arranged a chance to hear them out.

Good grief….

[Crisis Response Committee]

Speak of the tiger, and it appears.

The call came right on time.

-Hello. I am Team Leader Kang Han-seok of the Crisis Response Committee.

As soon as I answered, a man’s voice came through.

“Ah, yes.”

-First, before we begin, I am not sure whether you have seen the news.

“I have already checked it.”

-Then this will be quick. I apologize for that matter. Originally, we intended to proceed in secret, but somehow, the news companies seem to have found out, and those breaking reports suddenly appeared….

Ah, so it was not intentional after all.

I had thought it was strange when I saw the news.

Starting with an apology, Kang Han-seok continued.

-First, regarding Choi Gyu-nam, whom you mentioned before, we have handled him properly on our side. That bastard will rot in prison if he has to, but he will never set foot in society again. You do not need to worry about him. Looking into it, he was a nasty piece of work.

From what I heard, if he went to court, the minimum sentence would be life imprisonment.

I had assumed he would just serve a moderate prison sentence and come out, so this was unexpected news.

‘I felt it just by looking at him, but if he was bad enough to get life imprisonment, he really was a villain among villains.’

Who told him to commit crimes?

He reaped what he sowed.

Around the time we began exchanging small talk after that greeting.

-I will get straight to the point. How would you like to sign a contract with our Crisis Response Committee?

An unexpected proposal suddenly came in.

-We will match the industry’s highest conditions for you.

Starting with waived commission fees, all kinds of services and incentives, and even twice the signing bonus they had proposed before.

It was a proposal worth a full two billion won.

Even I, ignorant as I was about contracts, could feel that it was exceptional.

So much so that I suspected the person on the other end of the call might be a scammer.

“You are investing that much in someone on the ninth floor?”

-Haha, what a joke. Even if it is the ninth floor, your ninth floor is not the same as anyone else’s, is it?

“That is not what I meant. I mean, is someone only on the ninth floor?”

That made no sense.

Two billion won was enough to buy an apartment in the metropolitan area.

If the Tower’s peak were around the twentieth floor, maybe I would understand.

But I had only climbed nine floors out of one hundred, and they were readily offering two billion won?

“…….”

A brief silence lingered.

“Hello?”

-Ah, pardon me for a moment. Yes, returning to what I was saying earlier, if you sign a contract with us, we will accommodate anything you need.

Two billion won… it was tempting.

If I received that, I could repay a significant portion of my debt.

However.

“Well. I think it is still too early.”

-…….

Contracts had to be handled carefully, no matter what.

Moreover, if I signed a contract, I would have to report even my comings and goings from the Tower.

Also, if troublesome matters arose, I would be mobilized.

Of course, they said they would guarantee my freedom, but still.

‘Anyone can say anything verbally.’

Even so, this was not a rejection.

You never knew how things would turn out in life.

For now, I would put it on hold.

“Still, cooperation should be fine.”

-……….!!

It was not a contract.

However, if a third party were to define my relationship with them, would it not be fair to call it a cooperative relationship?

‘Yes, cooperation has a nice ring to it too.’

If someone asked next time, I felt I could explain the relationship that way.

In a way, we cooperated with each other this time too.

Ding!

A system alarm rang.

What is it?

There was nowhere in particular I expected to contact me.

The moment I checked the contents.

[A sponsorship fund of 200,000,000 won has been deposited by the Crisis Response Committee.]

I could not help being shocked.

How many zeros is that?

A whole 200 million won had come in as a sponsorship fund.

I learned something for the first time.

When people were shocked more than necessary, they actually could not say anything at all.

-Ahem, what we just sent is a small token of our sincerity. Well, it is legal money that does not fall under improper solicitation, so please do not worry. It is the reward money for your handling of the Dungeon this time.

“……..”

-Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule. We will look forward to hearing from you again next time.

Beep— beep— beep.

After leaving those words, the call ended.

I could hardly believe it.

To think they would casually donate such a large sum as 200 million won.

“No.”

There was no way they would give me such a huge sum for free.

When something came in, something had to go out.

They probably could not say it out loud because of appearances, but they definitely wanted something else.

And if there was something they wanted from me.

‘It has to be climbing the Tower.’

They had shown this much sincerity without saying anything, so as not to burden me.

It was only right that I answer their expectations too.

It was a little earlier than my original plan, but.

[Will you enter the Tower (10th Floor)?]

I would show them the sincerity I could offer.

***

“Hoo-ha!”

Immediately after ending the call with Pingkkyu Gyongdyu.

Kang Han-seok let out the breath he had been holding and gulped down a glass of water.

“Ice water!”

“Understood, sir!”

At his shout, Han-sol, who had been waiting at his side, brought ice water.

Just like before, he was gulping it down when he spat the water he had been holding straight ahead.

“Pwah! Cough, cough! Han-sol! You punk, what did you put in this?”

“You would choke if you drank too fast, so I put in a bit of lemon juice, sir. There is even an old fable about someone kindly adding lemon juice so another person would not choke, is there not?”

“Hey, you bastard! Does that sound like it makes any sense right now? It was not lemon juice, it was pine needles!”

“Ah, is that so? Anyway, as long as you did not choke, is that not enough?”

That girl had done it knowing everything.

She might look like that, but she even had a master’s degree.

Honestly, it had happened so many times that he was not even angry.

“So how did the talks go, sir?! What is Pingkkyu Gyongdyu like?”

On top of that, she was first-rate at changing the subject.

“I cannot say anything else, but one thing is certain. They are extraordinary. They are not an easy opponent.”

When he said they would offer a signing bonus, Pingkkyu Gyongdyu had said it.

‘To someone only on the ninth floor.’

At first glance, it sounded like a question asking whether they would give such an enormous sum as two billion won to someone who had only climbed to the ninth floor.

‘But I must not be deceived.’

The other party was none other than Pingkkyu Gyongdyu.

They were someone who had astonished the entire world and possessed achievements that might turn Korean history on its head in the distant future.

Once someone reached that kind of position, ordinary wealth and honor would not satisfy them.

‘They already know their own value.’

To the point that they could discuss the unprecedented achievement of earning MVP on nine consecutive floors with the word “only.”

“Then did you secure the contract, sir?”

“No, I failed. Instead, they called us a cooperative relationship.”

“Huh? Did the words cooperative relationship really come out of Pingkkyu Gyongdyu’s mouth? Amazing, sir!! How about we tell the news companies and spread it widely? This is our chance to flatten the noses of China, Japan, and North Korea!”

“Tsk, for someone who will become the next team leader if I am gone right now, you should not take everything you hear at face value.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that…?”

A cooperative relationship.

Yes, at first glance, it sounded favorable.

However, being fooled by those words was something only an amateur would do.

Behind Pingkkyu Gyongdyu’s words were thorns sharp enough to cut if touched.

“A cooperative relationship. That is the scariest phrase in the world. Pingkkyu Gyongdyu is testing us.”

“Testing us, sir? What exactly are you trying to say?”

“For a cooperative relationship to work, what is important?”

“Uh, well… for starters, both sides must be useful to each other, must they not?”

“Then let me ask you. Are we of any practical use to Pingkkyu Gyongdyu?”

“…….!!”

Han-sol’s eyes went wide.

Because she realized what Kang Han-seok was trying to convey.

Choi Gyu-nam was an evil man.

If Pingkkyu Gyongdyu had made up their mind to eliminate him, that bastard would have disappeared from this world without even his bones remaining.

Even so, Pingkkyu Gyongdyu had requested support from the Crisis Response Committee.

At first, that had not made sense.

But after speaking directly with Pingkkyu Gyongdyu, he understood.

In other words, Choi Gyu-nam was merely a pretext.

A pretext to make contact with the Crisis Response Committee.

“In other words, if we want to make a contract, they are telling us to prove ourselves. At the very least, enough for a cooperative relationship to function. They are frightening.”

When dealing with that person, it felt as though he was facing a sly old serpent that had lived for a hundred years.

They were absolutely not an opponent to take lightly.

That was when it happened.

A team member who had been waiting outside came running in a panic.

“Team Leader! This is serious! They say Pingkkyu Gyongdyu contacted us.”

“Contacted us? What contact all of a sudden?”

“They said they will enter the 10th Floor.”

They were giving advance notice that they were entering the Tower?

That had never happened before.

It seemed that since they had exchanged some communication, Pingkkyu Gyongdyu was being considerate.

No, wait.

‘Has it not only been about five minutes since the call ended?’

And they were already entering the Tower?

Their footwork was definitely on another level.

According to the information collected, it should now be their turn to climb the 10th Floor.

Every time the tens digit changed, the Tower’s difficulty rose sharply.

Because of that, among the Chosen, it was called the Wailing Wall.

Of course, there was no way Pingkkyu Gyongdyu, who had cleared every floor as MVP, would fail the climb.

However, it might take quite some time.

“They must be busy enough already, so do not contact them. If something happens for no reason, will you take responsib—”

“T-Team Leader? Pingkkyu Gyongdyu contacted us again.”

“Contact? What contact?”

“They said they cleared the 10th Floor. They said we will be able to confirm it through the System soon….”

“What?”

For a moment, he doubted his ears.

It made no sense.

Not even five minutes had passed since he ended the call with Pingkkyu Gyongdyu.

Considering the time it took to end the call, prepare, and enter the Tower, it would be even shorter.

Then the actual Tower climbing time was not even half of that.

‘Surely, they must be joking.’

But there was not even time to make a joke.

Who in the world was right?

[Pingkkyu Gyongdyu has cleared the 10th Floor.]

[They have been selected as MVP.]

CRASH!

The moment the Tower’s announcement appeared, the Crisis Response Committee was turned upside down.