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Chapter 573: Protest (1)

“From the inside?”

“It means the situation is likely to continue getting worse. I don’t know if it’ll be such a big problem, but they’re not getting the welfare the workers deserve. The sabotage will grow stronger, and it might lead to a dramatic protest.”

“Didn’t you say that we had to look for a little more? Are we really on a stage that you can be sure of?”

“Yes, I’m certain. Anyway, it’s undeniable that the management is a mess… It has also been confirmed that Mikhail has a problem due to the circumstances. What we lack is evidence.”

“Evidence…”

“There is circumstantial evidence, but there is no solid evidence. If the pie for technicians and workers suddenly disappears, a trail would be left behind following where the pie had gone. But there’s no such thing at all. It’s obvious who swallowed the pie… but does it make sense we can’t find him? It was cleared up so naturally that I almost missed it.”

“If you feel that way, then that means he’s certainly skillful.”

“I don’t know anything else, but the ability to hide slush funds is amazing. I’m tracking down the money as much as possible, but… I can’t figure out how well the laundering was done. I thought he could open a dry cleaner business with his skills.”

“He didn’t seem to be someone greedy, so it’s a little surprising.”

It was even more embarrassing because his unique characteristic and disposition were perfectly normal. I didn’t just blindly believe in the disposition shown in the status window, but some parts definitely matched.

I had overlooked the fact that even good people could commit crimes. Depending on the situation, humans could make mistakes at any time.

He probably was in an unavoidable predicament. Perhaps he had gotten an offer that couldn’t be rejected, or maybe he had an urgent need for money.

‘Should I say that he’s skillful or stupid?’

If he had taken it out little by little, he wouldn’t even get caught. He completely covered up evidence after stealing funds that could have a direct blow to the big scene.

Although the time he had was short, it wouldn’t be a mistake to assume that there were almost no loopholes if even Jihye said that.

‘I’ve always known that he’s pretty skillful.’

On the one hand, I was proud that I had recognized that he was such a capable person. Of course, the problem was that he was using that ability in something futile.

“I guess I didn’t pay much attention. I thought I had taken care of all the rats.”

“You’re not a god or anything, so how could you manage the entire continent? I don’t think the problem is with you. Rather, the problem lies in the system we’ve created. It’s a side effect of forming a Continental Protection Management Committee in a hurry and throwing funds into the project. Mikhail dug well through that loophole. In fact, I didn’t expect this to happen either. I think it’s not just a problem for you alone.”

“Still…”

“You don’t have to blame yourself. It was out of our reach, and who would have known about this? Anyway, personally, I’m so curious that I can’t stand it. I’m curious about why, and I’m even more curious about where the money has leaked. Even if I look at his history, I can’t find any trails, which makes it even more surprising. Of course, I haven’t dug into it properly yet…”

“Do you think the results we need would eventually come out?”

“If it doesn’t come out on its own, I have to force it. The best thing is to figure out the movement, but I don’t think it’s bad to have a backup plan either. We don’t have to measure things with a headache if we did that. If we run and cause his head to explode, everything will be solved. Of course, if that’s the case, there’s a high possibility that he’s also preparing for the prosecution summons or the continental state audit. It’s best to do it formally if you don’t want any rumors to come out… What would you like to do? Would it be better to take the time to respond? Or should I just blow it up?”

“Look a little further into this first. If you lay a trap, like catching a mouse, the evidence is bound to come out. I don’t know where or how he laundered the money, but he expanded the range to the area where that bastard was active before… Did you investigate his family?”

“Only superficially. Let’s see… He has no children. His wife’s name is Natalie, a friend he grew up with in his hometown. I’m not very curious about their love relationship, but, interestingly, his wife is infertile. Still, the fact that he hasn’t yet had a second wife is also piquing my curiosity. It wouldn’t have been easy in this social environment… He’s definitely different from someone I know.”

“…”

“The woman is a commoner. She’s the type that only waits for her husband in the house, doing housewife things. A typical old type, you know? I don’t think I’ll be able to find anything, but… I’ll still look into it.”

“Do that. Usually, if there’s no problem with those at the top, the people around them are more likely to do the dirty stuff. Maybe that’s the case.”

“What if that’s the case?”

“You already know the answer to that. Do I really need to say it? How long will it take to finish investigating it?”

“Well, it’s difficult to determine an exact time. However, I’ll dig into this as quickly as possible.”

“No, should I do it myself? How about I go around like I’m patrolling?”

“You don’t have to. It’s more appropriate for you to step in when it matters rather than to go back and forth for no reason, right? The conflict is likely to intensify anyway.”

“Well, if you think he smelled something too… I wonder if he’ll be more careful… Most of all, I don’t like things getting bigger will be…”

“Hmm, you mean you want to handle this quietly?”

“I want to avoid actions that can interfere with the site as much as possible. It doesn’t really matter if it explodes, though.”

“You mean you want the best possible outcome rather than resorting to a backup plan, right? I’ll try to gather evidence and prosecution…”

“Yes, that’s better.”

In fact, it wasn’t such a bad choice to force it to blow up.

It meant that I could exert a little more influence on the continent, and there was a possibility that warning messages would be sent to others as well. However, at that point, having a massive strike or a protest was a bit…

‘It’s not the most pleasant situation.’

Although it meant taking one step back to move two steps forward, I didn’t like that one step at the moment. Since the warning had been issued at the right time, I knew Mikhail would try his best to fix the problem.

I could solve it by gathering evidence and getting ready to prosecute him while he was fixing the problem at the scene. He wouldn’t be able to do many things at once, causing him to have a hard time responding.

On the contrary, Lee Jihye would become more mobile, so wouldn’t it be easier to gather evidence to prosecute?

‘It did seem like it hurt her pride too…’

She said that I didn’t need to worry about it, that it’s a problem with the system, but Jihye’s personality wouldn’t allow letting such issues slip with a smile. She seemed hurt about the fact that her investigations had led to nothing.

“Don’t give me anything else to do for the time being. I just want to focus on this.”

“Okay, do whatever you want.”

“What’s that now all of a sudden?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Then I’ll start now. I want to handle this alone. You don’t have to help me.”

“Yes, I also can’t just pay attention to this. When I see things like this, I feel like I need to hire more people.”

“How about bringing manager Kim Mi-young?”

“She is also busy managing the Blue administration.”

“Such a waste. It would’ve been much easier, you know.”

That couldn’t be denied, but I was already leaving some of the work to her little by little.

Lee Sang-hee, Sun Hee-young, and Hwang Jeong-yeon were struggling, but I couldn’t imagine the administration team of the Blue Guild without manager Kim Mi-young.

If I dragged her to the North out of greed, it would cause noises either internally or externally.

I was greedy, but I thought that couldn’t be helped.

At this, Lee Jihye immediately left the office. She pretended she was fine, but she certainly seemed to have been partly wounded. She didn’t even kiss me before going out…

There would probably be no other problems. If Jihye became persistent, just like how she was at that moment, wouldn’t it be natural for a source to come out?

However…

“I’ll wait for a little longer.”

After a day…

“Fuck. Son of a bitch, so annoying. This bastard…”

Three more days passed…

“Wow, where did he hide it? Is he nuts? It has to be somewhere. It’s definitely leaking out somewhere.”

The problem was that there were no results even after a few days.

According to Lee Jihye’s words, she said that when she thought she had found it, he escaped by cutting off the traces. It was only reasonable to feel annoyed at this point.

She certainly kept finding treasure maps, but every time she dug at the X mark with excitement, nothing ever came out, so how couldn’t she have a mental breakdown?

As time passed, she got more annoyed, and the frequency of swearing began to increase.

Meanwhile, Mikhail continued to stabilize the place.

Lee Jihye’s movement would inevitably be limited if the site entered the sphere of stability.

As such, the flames in her eyes grew stronger as she started scouring the laundry, and it was only after exactly two weeks that I finally saw her laughing with satisfaction.

“Let’s go ahead and formally prosecute and summon him.”

“You found it?”

“It’s a bit late, but I found it. I took on a different perspective and looked again. There was something I missed. It was Natalie.”

“What?”

“I thought she was stupid because she seemed quiet… Mikhail is skillful, but that girl is also quite good.”

“How exactly did the money get out?”

“If you check the details in the document, it’s all there. They made it so complicated that even explaining it one by one is tiring. It seems that Natalie had a connection with some of the oldies from the Union. I don’t know if she had acted under Mikhail’s direction or if it was an independent act, but no, perhaps this was all Mikhail’s joke. Anyway, it’s solid enough to call it evidence. When I converted all the funds so far, there was quite a big amount. It seems he’s braver than I thought. Actually, something is bothering me, so I wanted to spend more time on it, but… For now, it seems to be quicker to summon and arrest him. By that time, I think I will be able to search for all of the funds, not part of them.”

“That’s sweet. What’s bothering you?”

“Should I say that the flow I followed was smoother compared to the initial hard work? Maybe it has a different purpose… I’m worried about that. It’s not something to be concerned about, but I think I’ll be able to accurately figure it out if this gets a little bigger.”

“Hmm…”

“Anyway, the hard work is over for now. I’ll rest today too. Right now, move the press and publish the article and officially…”

Knock, knock.

It was then that I heard the sound.

Naturally, I exchanged a little puzzled face with Lee Jihye. That was because I told them not to enter when we were together unless it was really urgent.

If they knocked on the door like that even though they knew Lee Jihye was with me, it meant that something has happened at the moment.

“Come in.”

“I apologize for coming during the meeting.”

“…”

“Um… there’s been a strike protest in District 5.”

‘What? I thought it’s stabilizing?’

“Currently, those in charge of the 5th site are dispersing the protesters with forced suppression…”

‘What, why is that happening so suddenly?’

“Workers and technicians are fighting back without backing down.”

‘Fuck, this is…’

I couldn’t come to my senses momentarily due to such a sudden situation. Before long, after watching the video brought by the messenger, my face became wrinkled without my knowledge.

-We will get the appropriate rights for the workers at this place right now! We’ll prove that we are not slaves! Awaken Mikhail! Awake!

That was because I saw the democratic fighter, no, Park Deokgu, which had at that moment become the center of the labor movement.

‘That bastard thinks he’s an activist or something…’