Chapter 1151: Chapter 1151

Kim Myeong-Chan gravely stared at the document, then slowly lowered it to his desk, a deep sigh leaving his mouth.

“Then... Minister Seok, are the other problems sorted out now?”

“I'm not sure if that's the right way to put it, Mister Prime Minister. If someone wants to turn it into a problem, then yes, they certainly can. Both sides of the aisle are in agreement over this matter, so I don't think it'd snowball into something uncontrollable, but you never know, sir. There will always be those who think nothing of breaking promises, after all.”

While saying that, Seok Dong-Su pushed the thick horn-rimmed glasses up his nose.

Kim Myeong-Chan frowned deeply at this sight.

‘Just looking at his face is giving me the chills.’

Of course, that chilling face belonged to Seok Dong-Su, the Minister of Strategy and Finance!

Once upon a time, he was deeply anti-Martial Assembly and its leader, Kang Jin-Ho. But these days? Seok Dong-Su had devolved into Kang Jin-Ho’s flunky.

Maybe calling him a flunky was being disrespectful, but Kim Myeong-Chan couldn’t think of a more suitable description than that.

A person changing literally overnight? Something like that could certainly happen.

After all, humans were capable of changing their tune for the sake of benefits... Especially in the game of politics!

Politicians fighting bitterly for freedom for their people suddenly saying too much freedom would be a heavy burden to bear for the masses happened so often that it couldn't even be used as an example these days.

However, most of these changes in opinions and stances could be traced back to one powerful factor called 'benefits.' After all, things like ideals and beliefs were inconceivably insignificant compared to all those juicy benefits you could have.

But this logic did not apply to Seok Dong-Su. China had already promised to back him, after all!

The top job in the country might have been out of reach, but considering the power the Chinese government wielded, Seok Dong-Su could still have eyed the top position in his party.

Or maybe, he could have gone even further than that.

However, Seok Dong-Su threw all that away and converted himself into a true believer in the Kang Jin-Ho cult.

‘And that’s what’s so chilling about this situation.’

Kim Myeong-Chan’s grimace deepened. Just what kind of sorcery did Kang Jin-Ho use to turn one of his fiercest opponents into his loyal believer? Not just any believer but a frighteningly sincere fanatic, no less...!

“Mister Prime Minister?”

Kim Myeong-Chan snapped out of his thoughts when Seok Dong-Su’s somewhat critical-sounding voice reached his hearing. “Mm!”

“There isn't any notable issue with the data, sir. For now, we've made sure everything looks like they are in order. Of course, these things will go... accidentally missing soon, anyway.”

“And how long before we can consider it safe for us?”

“Around five years or so, sir. If the information going missing is discovered within five years, the heads of one or two people will have to roll. However, we've already spoken to those who might be affected if that happens. There shouldn't be a big problem since we've promised them handsome compensation.”

“Five years, you say...”

Kim Myeong-Chan rubbed his chin. That time frame seemed neither here nor there.

With his authority as the Prime Minister of this country, he could prevent problems from rearing their heads while in office. Even if he was no longer the Prime Minister, there still shouldn’t be a problem as long as the same party was in power.

The higher-ups wanted to see this done, not Kim Myeong-Chan, after all!

However, ‘five years’ was long. There was no guarantee that the power wouldn’t exchange hands during that time.

Kim Myeong-Chan glanced at Seok Dong-Su. “What did the Assembly say? Surely that side has an opinion on this, too?”

“They told me that the other side of the aisle has been suitably compensated for now, so things should be okay. Although, we don’t know if they are aware of our tendencies and natures...”

‘Our tendencies and natures, is it...?’

Kim Myeong-Chan rubbed his chin some more.

In politics, everything was fair game in a bid to gain an upper hand over one's opponents.

Although the world had changed, and it was no longer possible to kidnap a popular politician, throw him inside a meat grinder, then scatter his remains on the ocean, schemes even more diabolical than that were still running rampant behind the scenes.

Without a doubt, someone in the new administration would gladly come for this juicy piece of meat once the power exchanged hands. The secret of 'one of the top men in the previous administration getting in bed with a powerful corporation to manipulate the books' would be a deadly weapon capable of dealing massive damage to the reputation of those in power, after all!

‘I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.’

From his own experience, Kim Myeong-Chan knew the Martial Assembly usually didn’t leave any loose ends behind, especially when it came to ‘people.’

A group capable of turning Seok Dong-Su into their puppet overnight should also be capable of handling that kind of situation.

“However, in my opinion, sir?” Seok Dong-Su spoke up again. “It might be prudent to speak to the other side of the aisle with a peace offering, just in case.”

Kim Myeong-Chan wordlessly stared at Seok Dong-Su. The Minister of Strategy and Finance didn’t shy away and stared right back with unwavering eyes.

‘This is why fanatics can be so scary, huh.’

Seok Dong-Su was devoted. So much so that he probably thought there was nothing wrong with what he was doing. Sure enough, not a speck of doubt could be seen on his face.

Kim Myeong-Chan narrowed his eyes. “You want me to talk to the opposition?”

“Is there a need for that, though? When the Assembly people will take care of it on their own?”

Seok Dong-Su nodded. “Of course, sir. However, you stepping in will make it doubly sure. After all, they are not politicians. Try as they might, the Assembly can never really understand how we operate.”

Despite saying that, even Seok Dong-Su didn’t really qualify as a politician, either.

On the surface, everyone probably thought that politicians were all the same. However, that wasn't true. Even in this part of the world, something like discrimination based on one's purebloodness existed.

Those who came from outside the party and didn't do much in terms of political activity would always be seen as outsiders. Seok Dong-Su was someone like that. He probably knew he couldn't climb all that high up this career ladder, and that must've been his motivation to get in bed with the Chinese.

So, how could Kim Myeong-Chan not chuckle wryly when Seok Dong-Su said all these pro-Martial Assembly things?

Strictly speaking, though, even Kim Myeong-Chan couldn’t claim to be a pureblood, anyway!

“Mister Prime Minister, this is for our country,” said Seok Dong-Su.

“For our country, you say...” Kim Myeong-Chan slowly nodded. “Very well. I’ll try to set up a meeting.”

“You made a wise choice, sir.”

“If that is all, shall we stop this meeting here?”

Just as Kim Myeong-Chan got ready to wrap this meeting up, Seok Dong-Su raised his hand slightly. “Excuse me, sir. There is one more item we must discuss.”

Seok Dong-Su pushed his glasses up his nose again. “How far along are we on removing all the pro-China politicians from the government, sir? I’ve already provided you with their names, after all.”

“...I’m sure you already know this, but this is not as easy as it sounds.”

“Of course, sir. It shouldn’t be easy. However, it still needs to be done.”

Kim Myeong-Chan glared sharply at Seok Dong-Su. “Minister Seok, tell me. Who are you supposed to serve, again?”

“Of course, I serve this country.”

“Are you sure about that? You must know how the Chinese will respond if we openly eliminate every pro-China politician.”

“But, sir. Isn’t the job of a politician to arbitrate on matters ?”

Kim Myeong-Chan subtly bit his lip. Indeed, Seok Dong-Su’s assertion was correct. Undoubtedly so. Even then...

“...We’ll have a favorable result not too long from now,” said Kim Myeong-Chan.

Seok Dong-Su wordlessly grinned, while Kim Myeong-Chan nodded, his expression flat and cold.

Seok Dong-Su got up, then exited the office without saying anything else, leaving Kim Myeong-Chan alone.

The Prime Minister of Korea groaned deeply while picking up a packet of cigarettes from his desk. After mouthing a cigarette, he lit it up.

Kim Myeong-Chan leisurely inhaled the smoke, only to unhappily spit it out.

‘It feels like I’m being monitored here.’

By a mere government minister, no less!

The Martial Assembly had been using Seok Dong-Su as their chat window lately. Instead of directly calling the Prime Minister's office, they used the Minister of Strategy and Finance to pass along their messages.

Seok Dong-Su was supposed to be a minister of this country, yet still obeyed them like a loyal puppy and kept intruding into the Prime Minister's office repeatedly.

This arrangement made it impossible for Kim Myeong-Chan to avoid the Assembly's scrutiny while mediating the situation.

Maybe, the Assembly didn't have any ulterior motives for using Seok Dong-Su as their middleman. Directly contacting the Prime Minister all the time wouldn't be a good look overall, after all!

It was just that, from Kim Myeong-Chan's perspective, this arrangement left behind a bad aftertaste in his mouth. It felt as if the Assembly's eyes and ears were everywhere to monitor him nonstop!

Kim Myeong-Chan slowly shook his head. Maybe he was overthinking things.

From what he was able to analyze through their brief interaction, the Assembly didn't seem all that interested in butting into politics. If manipulating the Korean political sphere had been their ultimate aim, their actions would've been more insidious. More overt.

If their intention was impure, they would have chosen another ‘partner’, one they could enjoy a continued relationship with into the future, instead of Kim Myeong-Chan, who wouldn’t be able to exercise much influence after his term in office ends.

“For this country, you say...?”

What Seok Dong-Su said earlier didn't want to leave Kim Myeong-Chan alone. Even he couldn't be sure if that was true anymore.

Was humoring the Martial Assembly’s demands the right thing for this country? Wouldn't it be purely for safeguarding the Assembly's interests, instead?

Kim Myeong-Chan obviously understood why the hard-to-deal-with martial world must exist.

The reason for the government not getting rid of organized crime in the country was surprisingly simple. And no, it wasn't because of the limitation imposed by the manpower. And the lack of information wasn't to blame, either.

No, those things were merely excuses. One must not forget that the government of South Korea was not a pushover some people might try to paint it as. If it wanted to, it wouldn’t even need a month to wipe out every criminal organization from this country.

But the problem was the aftermath.

Regardless of what anyone says, criminal enterprises were still run by human beings.

If a void was left behind in such an enterprise, someone new would fill it up sooner rather than later. In other words, wiping out criminals would only lead to the next generation taking over the business!

Criminals didn’t become villains because they enjoyed committing acts of violence. No, it was because they could secure benefits via illegal activities. As long as those benefits continue to exist, criminal elements would never disappear from society.

In that case, what should the government do? Catch them every time a new crop of criminals showed up?

Unfortunately, the South Korean prisons didn't have enough room to accommodate them all.

That was why the government tacitly acknowledged the existence of the criminal organizations and turned a blind eye. In return, the criminals were expected to self-govern and enforce their own set of rules.

Why? Because, from the government’s perspective, it was a hundred times easier to deal with jaded, rule-abiding criminal gangs than the new crop of hotblooded bastards who didn't know how the world operated just yet.

This story also applied to the martial world.

Unless every single martial artist had been found and eliminated, the dissolving of the Martial Assembly wouldn't mean anything. A new organization would rise up to replace it.

What if every Korean martial artist was rounded up, then? Random riff-raffs from other countries would flood in instead. Hence the need to carefully manage the relationship between the government and the martial world!

Kim Myeong-Chan wasn't doing the Assembly's bidding for the sake of improving the country's tax revenue. And he certainly wasn't doing it to grease his palms, either. He had a hunch that someone else in his shoes would've done the same as him.

Should he be called a coward, then? Of course not.

If what he did was seen as cowardice, then what about the governments in China, America, and Europe acknowledging the martial world’s existence?

This was not something one or two people could do anything about with their willpower alone. Since that was the case, Kim Myeong-Chan should at least try to sort everything out while someone reasonable was occupying the Martial Assembly's top seat.

“Kang Jin-Ho, is it...”

Kim Myeong-Chan quietly mouthed the Assembly Master’s name.

His impression after meeting Kang Jin-Ho personally was...

‘How should I say it... A bit plain?’

Indeed, Kang Jin-Ho looked like an exceedingly ordinary young man. In fact, Lee Hyeon-Su next to him possessed a sharper and scarier countenance than he did.

If it hadn’t been for Kang Jin-Ho’s somewhat expressionless face, most people would’ve held a favorable impression from his good looks alone.

However, Kim Myeong-Chan knew only too well that true monsters hid themselves under such a facade.

All the true big fishes in the political scene carried the air of a gracious, saintly hero. However, most people would never know that something unimaginably dark and insidious resided in their hearts.

When Kim Myeong-Chan saw Kang Jin-Ho smiling like an ordinary person during the grand opening, he was instantly overcome with an indescribable chill of dread. He even thought that he was unwittingly shoving his head inside the maw of a terrifying monster.

Unfortunately for him, though...

Kim Myeong-Chan silently puffed away at his cigarette.

‘Right. I’m already riding on the back of this tiger.’

There was no such thing as getting off once he got on the tiger’s back. He had no choice but to hang on for dear life and ride the beast right till the end. Especially more so when the beast was not some mere tiger, but a terrifying monster!

The worst of it all was...

‘It doesn’t matter what I think, now does it?’

Kim Myeong-Chan stubbed the cigarette on an ashtray, then pushed himself off the chair.

The one who’d decide what to do about this situation wasn’t him. So, Kim Myeong-Chan should go and speak to this person and find out what his new orders could be.

After Kim Myeong-Chan left, gray streaks of smoke from the still-burning cigarette drifted silently within his empty office.