Chapter 243. The Company’s Perspective (4)

Fwoosh—

[ON AIR]

The strange red glow that had flickered throughout the broadcast finally went dark.

“C-Chairman!” The moment the broadcast ended, the chief secretary hurried toward him. “The contents of that announcement was—”

The floor felt oddly slanted beneath her feet. She staggered as she approached, fighting the dizzy sway.

However, the chairman only smiled kindly and took a step back. “Well done.”

Well done? Really?

A chill crawled up her spine. Something had gone terribly wrong and she could feel it in her bones. Yet her thoughts felt wrapped in fog, sluggish and uncooperative. Still, if the chairman said she had done well, what else could she say? Her usually sharp eyes blinked dully.

Just then, a series of system windows rose before her eyes, rippling like disturbed water.

[Alert!]

[Change has been detected!]

[Category - Trial Details]

[Requester - Chairman(Proxy)]

[Authority - Confirmed]

The text wriggled across the screen like an earthworm.

[Changes have been detected in the existing trial.]

[Would you like to distribute the updates?]

“Update?” she murmured.

[Y/N]

Yes or No. Or is it Yes or Yes? Why is this so confusing?

Unsure of what she was supposed to do, she lifted her hazy gaze toward the chairman.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back and gave a firm nod.

Click.

Finally, her finger moved against her will.

[Distributing update...]

[1%, 2%, 3%...]

A long rectangular progress bar appeared. Then, the empty space began filling, slowly but steadily.

[57%, 58%, 59%...]

Why did she feel worse the more it filled? She shook her head, but the nausea lingered.

[97%, 98%, 99%...]

The bar filled completely, flashing black as it reached a hundred percent.

Ding.

[Update has been completed!]

The chairman stepped closer, wearing his usual benevolent expression.

“Good work.” His face was lined with age, but the voice that reached her ears was smooth, young and clear. “You should rest now.”

“What?”

Thud.

The world tilted as the floor rose like a wave and swallowed her whole.

***

“Eun-Ho!”

“Oppa!”

“Hyuuuungnim!”

Eun-Ho had summoned several team members including Ji-Eun, Jae-Hyuk, Bo-Ra, and Sol-Ah into the Secret Room.

[You have been healed by Healer Yoon Sol-Ah.]

[Stab wound recovery: 71%, 72%...]

The cuts he had taken during the earlier clash faded under Sol-Ah’s touch. They had not been deep, so the recovery did not take long.

“What,” he said dryly, glancing around.

“Huh? What do you mean? We didn’t say anything.”

All of them, except Sol-Ah, were staring at him with intense expressions. Despite their curiosity, they hesitated to question someone who had just been injured.

“If you’re curious, just ask.”

That was all the encouragement they required.

“There was a meteor shower in the forest earlier,” Bo-Ra blurted. “Did you get hurt there?”

“Eun-Ho, you’re really okay, right?” Ji-Eun asked.

“And what was that broadcast about?!” Jae-Hyuk demanded.

“Why did the chief secretary suddenly switch sides?” Sol-Ah added.

The questions came in a torrent.

He had meant to brush it off with that simple answer. “Yes, yes. And the broadcast happened thanks to the drink.”

“The drink?”

“The chief secretary’s the chairman’s right-hand woman, isn’t she—kyah!” Ji-Eun suddenly stumbled backward with a yelp. She pointed at the obstacle she had just tripped over. “Oh my god! She’s still here?!”

The chief secretary sat slumped on the floor, arms and legs bound, forehead nearly touching the ground.

“Well,” Eun-Ho continued lightly, “as you can see, she’s not in any condition to move.”

“W-why is she like that?” Ji-Eun asked, horrified.

Any outsider would find the sight of a bound woman sprawled in a hidden room deeply questionable.

“She’s drunk.”

“What? So when you said you were having a drink, that was actually alcohol?”

“I didn’t realize it would be this strong.” He held up the bottle. “It’s something a VIP client gave me.”

It was a rare brew gifted by the Prepared Bride after she had been delighted by the date trial.

[Ghost-Weep Liquor]

- A specialty of Ghost Valley Lodge, brewed from wailing spirits.

- Anyone who drinks it will see illusions chosen by the giver.

- Warning: it gets you drunk.

He had been saving it, uncertain how elaborate the illusion would be. Unexpectedly, the perfect opportunity to test it fell into his lap. Eun-Ho had given her just one glass. He suspected that besides the alcohol content, the illusion likely drained mental energy, leaving the drinker exhausted and vulnerable to intoxication.

“An illusion?!”

“So she saw something you made up?” Sol-Ah asked, glancing between Eun-Ho and the chief secretary.

“Yeah,” he replied calmly. “I pretended to be the chairman.”

He had poured the scenario he imagined into the liquor as a medium.

“Is that even possible?” Bo-Ra asked.

“It is.”

Not only had he kept her confined within the chairman’s office in the illusion, he had even practiced the chairman’s tone and expressions in advance.

“Wait,” Ji-Eun said, eyes wide. “When did you even visit the chairman’s office to copy him?”

“I didn’t.”

“What? That would’ve been sloppy then,” Jae-Hyuk muttered. “How did she fall for it?”

“I did some research.”

Sarah: This is the Secretary’s Office.

Sarah: The chairman’s office is just past this corridor.

Sarah: Here’s a photo.

Even so, there likely had been gaps in the illusion. Fortunately, it did not matter.

“She probably filled in the details with her own memories,” Eun-Ho said quietly.

That was the most terrifying aspect of Ghost-Weep Liquor. The mind completed what was missing, smoothing over inconsistencies until the fabricated vision felt indistinguishable from reality. In other words, once trapped inside, a person naturally accepted the illusion as truth.

“So what do we do with her now?” Ji-Eun asked.

“Chaaairmaaaan... Give me a proomotion...” the chief secretary mumbled drunkenly, oblivious to the fact that her fate was being decided.

“Chief Secretary,” Eun-Ho said quietly, crouching in front of her.

Her teeth ground faintly as she twitched in her stupor.

“Not everything I said was a lie.”

Her cheeks, flushed with heat, trembled slightly.

“If you’d truly switched sides, I would’ve given you a proper position. Maybe not vice chairman, but something substantial.”

“Mmnn...”

She had been the chairman’s most trusted aide. Of all the sycophants who surrounded him, she had been the one carefully selected to be his closest hand and foot.

That’s why I wanted you.

“How many years have I served you? Even if I were reborn, I would serve only you.”

That kind of loyalty would never crumble after a few persuasive words.

Not now, at least.

Still, Eun-Ho wanted to press her further about the chairman’s true form.

“A trap?”

“I’m certain of it. You must not, under any circumstances, go there in your true form.”

However, in her current state, that seemed impossible. He had to postpone that conversation.

“Mmmm...”

Clink.

Eun-Ho then gathered the items the chief secretary had subconsciously produced while trapped in the illusion.

[Secretary’s Office Access Card(Master)]

- Grants unrestricted access to the Secretary’s Office.

[Chairman’s Office Access Card(User)]

- Grants access unless restricted by a Master user.

They were two cards bearing her face.

“That should do it. Jae-Hyuk, can you lock her up?” said Eun-Ho.

“Huh? Where?” asked Jae-Hyuk.

“In the prison.”

“What?”

“Bo-Ra will show you.”

Jae-Hyuk looked between Ji-Eun and Bo-Ra in confusion. “Since when did our Castle have a prison?”

“Was there one? I don’t remember seeing one,” Ji-Eun replied.

“Oppa, I thought we never built a prison,” Bo-Ra said.

Eun-Ho smiled faintly and turned toward the opposite wall.

Hundreds of cards floated there with various colors and designs. When he selected a dull silver one, etched with iron bars, it spun once in the air.

Fwoosh—!

[The Prison has been installed.]

[400 Team Benefit Points have been consumed.]

“We do now.”

Thus, the first prisoner entered the Wailing Castle.

***

「Hellooo, peeps!」

A woman with sharp features, elaborate makeup, and flashy accessories beamed at the massive screen.

「I’m at the hottest spot trending right now, the Labor-Management Cooperation Team office!」

She waved energetically.

「No one missed the shared trial, right? I’ll show you just in case.」

She brought up the translucent trial window and showed how the objective has changed.

[Objective: Defeat Lee Eun-Ho]

──────▼──────

[Objective: Defend Lee Eun-Ho]

「This was totally a defeating trial at first, but the moment I joined the union, it was updated!」

She gasped dramatically.

「Isn’t that wild? I’ve never seen anything like this!」

Then she lowered her voice conspiratorially.

「Honestly? I came here planning to film myself taking down that team leader.」

She winked.

「But saving him sounded more fun, so I followed the new guidelines. What do you think?」

Employees’ trials were starting to change.

「What? You think I’m doing this because I was scared of getting punched? No way!」

She spun the camera.

「Oh! There’s Team Leader Lee Eun-Ho! Let me heal him real quick!」

The trial that had once ordered his death was now actively protecting him.

「Ta-da! I restored his Stamina! I’m still good, right?」

Just then, her jaw dropped.

「Wait... no way.」

「Whaaaaa! This is insane! I actually got promoted!」

「This is such a steal!」

「Someone even got promoted for catching him when he almost tripped! This is nuts!」

People really got promotion as a reward for saving him.

「Union’s the best!」

「What are you all doing? Hurry up and join!」

“What did that wretched woman just say?!” the chairman demanded.

Bang!

The heavy table in his office shattered, splinters flying.

“S-she’s following the guidelines...” a trembling aide stammered.

“What guidelines! Where did those damned guidelines come from?!” the chairman roared.

A priceless rainbow gemstone statue exploded into fragments. Paper scraps infused with violent aura tore through the room like blades, toppling shelves and cracking walls.

“Perhaps... the chief secretary has defected to Lee Eun-Ho...”

“She defected? The chief secretary?!” In the collapsing chaos, the chairman’s white hair stood on end as if struck by lightning. “That ungrateful wench! After everything I’ve given her!”

His insides boiled. It had been a long time since he had felt such fury. However, nothing could rival his rage toward the man who had taken the traitorous subordinate.

“Lee Eun-Ho...”

Worthless land and the soul that would have rotted and disappeared in a garbage heap if left alone, the chairman thought.

“You’re the one who escalated this to this extent.”

I’ve spared you and given you purpose. And you worthless insect who knows nothing of this company’s noble value dares to fight back?

The chairman closed his eyes. “Fine. I accept.”

His eyes opened.

Thuuuuud—!

The building trembled, and the ruined office darkened as if night had fallen indoors. Cracks spiderwebbed across the walls as the entire structure shook violently.

“C-Chairman! The building will collapse!” The rookie secretary rushed in, trying to stop him. “Please, stabilize—”

Boom!

An explosion hurled the young aide through the air.

“Kuk—!” She slammed beyond the broken wall, one leg shattering instantly. Flesh blistered and melted under the sudden surge of heat. “Chairman...”

The chairman rose into the air.

“Activate Protocol 999.” His eyes glowed fiercely with pupils replaced by blazing light. “Summon all directors.”

Energy surged uncontrollably, rippling and exploding outward.

“I hereby designate that wretched bastard as an enemy of the company.” For the first time in his long reign, the solitary sovereign of this sky acknowledged the name of an insect. “Lee Eun-Ho.”

In the darkness forged by dust and destruction, that name rang out alone.

“I will show you what true power looks like.”

His voice thundered, vast and unmistakable.