Chapter 198. The Road Not Taken (4)
“I'll try raising the ceiling! Please move out of the way!” Ji-Eun shouted.
“Oh, okay. Got it!”
Above the sweat-soaked team members’ heads floated translucent rectangular windows.
[Focused Work Hours in progress.]
▣□□□□□
[Team Trial, Repair the Ceiling, has been completed!]
[The Labor-Management Cooperation Team has earned 10 Team Benefit Points.]
Three trials had been completed. Ten more to go.
[Team Trial List]
1. Repair the mud walls (79%)
2. Repair the entrance (45%)
3. Logging (22%)
4. Repair bedroom furniture (0%)
4. Repair kitchen furniture (0%)
...
“Haaa... It feels endless.”
“I know right?! That meteor or rock or whatever really wrecked the place!”
The cannon bombardment hadn’t done much damage, but the divine weapon that fell afterward was another story. It had crushed everything indiscriminately, including the entrance, the nearby desert, and even the ceiling. Yet while the others grimaced at the sheer destructive power, Eun-Ho’s expression remained oddly bright.
So it’ll be at least this powerful even when I use it, Eun-Ho thought.
[Restored Parvatastra]
- A staff said to have been wielded by an ancient god.
- Originally meant to be fueled by the caster’s vitality, but due to the extreme risk, it has been modified to draw upon natural energy instead.
- When activated, it drops an iron rock at a designated location.
- Maximum Charges: 10 uses.
Regardless of how it was achieved, the result was nothing short of spectacular. Although the fortress had been damaged, everyone was unharmed. They had also cleared the final trial practically for free. On top of that, they had even obtained the very divine weapon behind it all.
Just imagining how fed up the mastermind must have been melted his exhaustion away.
Smiling without realizing, Eun-Ho said in a relaxed tone, “Let’s take it slow. We can sleep in the log cabin if we need to.”
Or we also have the Employee of the Year Residence, I guess.
The team members answered back with bright, determined expressions.
“Got it, Young Man!”
“Let's push just a little more! We've got this!"
Part of him wanted to stay up all night and restore the fortress completely. However, rushing things and overexerting themselves wouldn’t do anyone any good.
If we’re dead tired and someone attacks again, that’d be a disaster.
Adequate rest was part of the job, too. Although he was always thinking about something, even this was a bit much by his standards.
“Eun-Ho, you seem to have a lot on your mind,” Ji-Eun said.
“Oh haha. Can you tell?"
“Yes. Very.”
[The Forest Guardians have completed the ruler’s command.]
[They are entering a short rest while awaiting further orders.]
He was pondering how best to make use of the Guardians.
[Choi Seung: There were quite a few suspicious individuals.]
Three signals had interfered with his trial: the Management Bureau, the Investigation Bureau, and the Operations Bureau.
Eun-Ho thought about the identities and motives of the two parties, excluding the Operations Bureau. He also pondered how to win over ten percent of the employees, and what agenda to advance afterward.
『If ten percent or more of the total employees agree on a specific agenda, the agenda may be proposed through a labor-management consultative body.』
My head’s going to explode.
Yet among all those issues, one matter weighed on him more heavily than the rest.
[You have acquired the Declaration of the Resistance.]
He was curious about the owner of the Declaration of the Resistance Yul had somehow dug up from who-knows-where.
Who were the people who had written such a grand manifesto, built an underground fortress, and ultimately fallen upon the desert?
The question gnawed at Eun-Ho relentlessly.
If there’s precedent from the past, then it’s something I can definitely make use of.
Just as Eun-Ho was about to sink deeper into thought, Ji-Eun asked him with a tense expression, “About that attack earlier... It’s been bothering you too, hasn’t it? We never figured out who sent them.”
Ah. Right.
From her perspective, the sudden assault would naturally be the biggest concern. It would have felt like having a serial killer loose in the neighborhood.
“I already know,” Eun-Ho said.
“Pardon?”
He had to put her at ease. “I know who tried to kill us.”
“Huh? Who was it?”
“The higher-ups.”
“What?”
“If a labor union were to form, it’d be an enormous hassle for them. They were probably trying to threaten us.”
In truth, the higher-ups had likely intended to wipe them out completely.
For now, that’s as far as I’ll say.
The not-so-friendly explanation was more than enough, as Ji-Eun’s face drained of color almost instantly. “Isn’t this dangerous?! Shouldn’t we move the base or run away?”
“The higher we go, the more eyes will be watching. Do you think they’d move rashly right after their strategy failed?”
“But still...”
In fact, they were probably burning with impatience and would start moving in earnest. However, now wasn’t the time. More importantly, openly announcing that their own strategy had failed would make them look like a clown.
A leader who cares about their reputation can’t afford to be that hasty, Eun-Ho thought.
It’d take time to fabricate a reason why the failure had been inevitable. Therefore, during that window, he planned to finish his preparations.
Ding!
Just as Eun-Ho finished organizing his thoughts, a notification rang out, audible only to him.
[New schedule has been registered.]
[You have been invited to the Team Leader Inauguration Celebration with the Director of Personnel Bureau!]
[Attendees: all newly appointed team leaders]
[Location: Personnel Bureau Outdoor Banquet Hall]
[Time: Today, 4:00 PM]
“Ah. That was fast.”
***
It was a hasty meeting. Still, there was no need for Eun-Ho to force himself to match their pace.
“So those are the two directives, correct?” Ji-Eun asked to confirm his orders.
“Yes. The rest is up to your judgment,” Eun-Ho said.
“Leave it to us, Hyungnim!” Jae-Hyuk replied confidently.
After issuing the two orders, Eun-Ho took out a glossy card engraved with a golden key. With that, he summoned a door. “Activate.”
In the middle of the log cabin, an obsidian door materialized. He turned the golden handle and opened the door on their behalf, before offering his farewell. “Then I’ll leave things to you.”
“Yes! Please contact us immediately if anything comes up!”
“Safe travels!"
That took care of things, more or less.
[Caution!]
[You have one delayed schedule.]
[4:00 PM - Team Leader Inauguration Celebration with the Personnel Bureau Director]
[Please proceed immediately!]
Guess I really have to go now. They'd all be waiting.
Thus, Eun-Ho stepped into the single-person arch installed at the log cabin’s entrance.
[Moving to the Personnel Bureau Outdoor Banquet Hall!]
A cheerful announcement played as his vision blurred.
Fwoosh—
For an instant, it felt like plunging his head beneath the surface of water. He felt as if he had been submerged into invisible liquid. When he closed and opened his eyes again, feeling grass crunch beneath his feet, the Banquet Hall replaced the Wailing Forest.
[Welcome to the Personnel Bureau Outdoor Banquet Hall!]
This is the banquet hall?
Before him, an outdoor garden that only French royalty would own appeared. The long, straight central avenue was lined with pure white statues of dignified middle-aged men. Beds of flowers were arranged in neat sections, and sprawling hedge mazes were stretching all the way to the horizon.
In short, it was an overwhelmingly grand space.
“Did it already start?”
“Tsk... We’re late.”
In front of the ornate main gate stood several other latecomers, nervously shifting from foot to foot.
[The Team Leader Inauguration Celebration with the Director of Personnel Bureau is currently in progress.]
[Verifying access authorization.]
Along with the elegant announcement, message windows appeared one after another.
[Entrant - Lee Eun-Ho]
[Affiliation - Labor-Management Cooperation Team]
[Position - Team Leader]
[Access Authorization - Confirmed]
[Welcome to the banquet!]
The fence-like gate slid open. Beyond it spread an elegant arrangement of tea tables and assorted finger foods. People mingled cheerfully, each holding a glass of alcohol; while staff in crisp suits wove through the crowd, carrying bottles of champagne.
“Eun-Ho, over here.”
A woman approached from a distance. Her silky, straight hair swayed as she walked, and her beige suit pants gave her a polished, professional air.
“Long time no see,” Eun-Ho replied.
It was Ye-Ra, the brain of the Investigation Bureau.
“Eun-Ho. Or should I call you Team Leader Eun-Ho now?” she asked.
“That’s right,” he replied lightly. “I’d appreciate the honorifics too.”
“Hah? Is this why you turned down my scouting offer?"
“Haha. I’m joking.”
Ye-Ra shot him a sideways glance, then gestured toward a table. “Then why did you ask if I was coming today? It’s not like you were planning to enter together.”
Ah.
When that unfamiliar schedule had been registered earlier, Eun-Ho had immediately sent Ye-Ra a message. She had now become the newly appointed team leader of the Special Investigation Control Team.
“I wanted to know if this gathering was actually happening,” Eun-Ho said.
“Hm?”
He had wondered if it would be a fake event, staged just to lure him out.
When Eun-Ho didn’t elaborate any further, Ye-Ra tilted her head. “I knew you were the suspicious type, but... hmm..."
Mid-thought, she stopped speaking and smiled faintly. His lack of explanation told her everything. She could tell something had happened.
“The job market wrapped up a while ago though, didn’t it?” Ye-Ra asked.
“Yes. It’s been some time.”
She indirectly asked if it was because of the attempted poisoning. He answered just as indirectly that that incident had been resolved.
Ye-Ra thought for a moment, then smiled as she suggested, “I never even got to congratulate you on becoming a team leader.”
“That’s true.”
“How about dinner together after this? There’s a great place I know.”
Is she suggesting a private talk? I'm down for that.
"What matters is that we want you and that we can help. Just remember that."
Eun-Ho wanted to know more about the "we" Ye-Ra referred to previously. Seeing that the group was secretive enough to hide themselves even after calling him out personally, he required more information.
He wanted to ask if they knew the people who had written the Declaration of Resistance. And if they did, he wanted to ask if they were related or connected somehow.
I need to probe.
Regardless, this wasn’t the place to show his hand, as he was surrounded by so many leaders and the Personnel Bureau personnel.
“Please recommend somewhere with healthy food,” Eun-Ho said instead.
“As if I wouldn’t,” she replied dryly.
With that trivial exchange, they tacitly postponed their confidential discussion.
"Attention, please."
A beautiful woman drew everyone’s eyes. Her hair was swept back without a single strand out of place, her attire immaculate. Behind her shoulder, Eun-Ho spotted a raised platform about waist-high, fitted with an ornate chair.
"The director is entering."
There he is. Of course he has to show up. He's the main villain of the day, Eun-Ho thought.
***
"... And that is why I have arranged this gathering today."
After listening to the roughly five-minute speech, Eun-Ho had to admit that the director was a professional.
"An organization is, by nature, prone to rigidity. That is precisely why the role of leaders who act as intermediaries is so crucial."
The strategy they had chosen after a competitive presentation had failed. The personally dispatched subordinates hadn’t even left bones behind. To top it off, they had lost a god-tier weapon. The director’s insides had to be rotting with rage. Despite all that, he spoke nothing but pleasant words, wearing the face of a benevolent superior.
"And yet, seeing such outstanding talents take on leadership roles brings me immense reassurance. The chairman himself has high expectations for all of you."
For a man his age, he was fairly handsome. Holding the immense authority of a director, yet personally tending to his subordinates, his image management was meticulous.
He would've tricked me.
If not for Sarah's tip-off, Eun-Ho would have fallen for it completely.
"Now then, I’ll spare you from this old man’s dull rambling."
There’s no way he’s ending it like this.
With Eun-Ho standing right in front of him, he was just going to leave with some words of encouragement? That was absurd.
“Secretary,” said the director.
The woman who had announced the director’s entrance stepped back onto the platform. Unlike before, she now held a box about the size of an ordinary monitor.
“It would be a shame to part so plainly. So, we will be selecting one newly appointed leader for a special dinner.”
Yeah, of course.
“Are you serious?!”
“A private dinner with the director? One-on-one?”
Whispers rippled through the team leaders. The director was akin to a company president, after all. For ambitious individuals, starting off with such a private audience was an ideal launch. Everyone was too excited to question why the lottery box was opaque.
“Inside this box are all of your names.”
All of our names? I can bet my pinky nail that the box contains only mine, Eun-Ho thought.
“The one whose name is called... Well, it’s awkward for me to say it myself, but please consider it an honor. Also, even if you’re not chosen, don’t be too disappointed.”
None of the people here imagined that this “honor” could turn into a last supper, where their life was on the line.
Well, in that case, I'll make a move first.
“Then, let us begin the draw—hmm?”
Eun-Ho took a step forward.
“And you are?” the director asked.
“I am Lee Eun-Ho, Team Leader of the Labor-Management Cooperation Team.”
The director’s expression shifted subtly. Although the kindly mask remained intact, with his lips still curved gently, his eyes sharpened.
After meeting his gaze, Eun-Ho bowed politely. “It is an honor to meet you, Director.”
It was bold enough to be impossible to ignore, yet polite enough to make disciplining him awkward.
“With apologies for intruding upon such an honorable occasion, may I dare to speak a word?”