Chapter 5: Guilty (5)

I don’t remember exactly when, but it wasn’t that long ago.

The terrible disaster at the food factory where many people died due to a machine malfunction.

It was before the main character appeared and I haven’t heard of it yet, so it would happen in a year or two at the latest.

“If you have something to say, tell me.”

My secretary was glancing at my seat through the rearview mirror.

Although I was sitting in the driver’s seat, the driving was done by AI.

It wouldn’t be dangerous to just look away.

But her gaze was a bit scary.

No matter what anyone said, the person who knew Hansanwoo the best was my secretary.

It wasn’t very pleasant to be suspected by her.

I couldn’t say that she was absolutely on my side.

At least inside Stella City, she was like my right-hand man, but it was different when it came to the Hansan family.

Even if just anyone reported me, the Hansan Group wouldn’t bat an eye, but if she reported something, things would be different.

It was dangerous to think that my actions were not like Hansanwoo, or that they were too excessive and seriously harming the group.

“Still, your temper has become quite toxic. That’s fortunate.”

But my secretary’s eyes were much gentler than I expected.

“What?”

“At least you acted according to the group’s rules. It may not be the case right away, but it will help the group in the long run.”

Of course, she couldn’t really think that way.

Even though she was a collateral, she was also Hansan.

She ate Hansan’s food, lived in a building Hansan built, and had Hansan’s blood flowing through her.

There was no way she would really believe a far-fetched story like, ‘If you follow the safety rules and respect the workers, it will eventually pay off in greater profits!’

Even if there were some gangs with kind hearts, they would not feel guilty about minor drug or theft.

And even if they did, they would not really hate their fellow gang members who committed such crimes without a care.

The opposite was also true.

Regardless of her personal character, she could not really be happy about something that did not benefit the company.

If I think about my actions from the perspective of the company as favorably as possible, it will end up being something like, ‘It is desirable for Hansan’s consistent rules to be followed without exception.’

“Well, that’s fine.”

I sighed deeply inside, but I kept a calm expression on the outside.

What on earth did Hansanwoo do before to be treated like this?

Still, it was a windfall for the time being.

If I could live my life doing what I wanted without being suspected, I could endure this level of humiliation.

My body was not modified with cyber implants.

In 21st century modern people, it would be like someone who doesn’t have their own cell phone.

Like it or not, I was no different from her and our shared destiny.

I turned my head and looked out the window.

The view of Stella City from the elevated highway was not as bad as I thought.

Except for the high-rise apartments, the slums were not visible from this height.

The city center was located on a relatively high ground.

The relatively wealthy area of the slums was underground for those living in the city center.

It was a dangerous and dangerous street that required an elevator.

It would be nice if there was a reason to go there.

Right now, I couldn’t think of a good excuse.

“Ugh!”

A huge exhaust sound was heard. And from below.

I felt dust and smoke sticking to my face as I slightly stuck my face out the window.

“You rude bastards…”

The secretary hurriedly closed the door.

“Please stay right there. I will activate the internal cleaning management system.”

“Uh… Okay.”

The vehicle floating in the sky soared onto the overpass.

“You accelerated too fast. I don’t want to get involved. Suhwa, speed up.”

“Understood.”

Now that I think about it, this area was a hotbed of conflict.

“Isn’t that a new product made by General Techina? I heard it was pretty good. Have you heard of it?”

Just because it was Hansan Group, it didn’t mean that it boasted the best performance in every field.

General Techina’s cutting-edge technology was amazing.

Because it was literally a dream company for technicians, where engineers and practitioners held the power, not businessmen like Hansan.

A company that guarantees freedom to engineers and scientists, freeing them from petty restrictions like money and ethics, and allowing them to freely use their imagination.

Of course, they were also companies in this world, and from my perspective, they were no different from mad scientists.

“It’s not that great. It’s flashy on the outside, but it’s not very practical.”

“You think the same way. Can’t you speed it up a little?”

Of course, a flying car is cool.

However, a car doesn’t necessarily have to fly. It wasn’t a technology that Hansan hadn’t tried before. However, it lacked practicality.

It might be possible to deploy soldiers in an emergency or transport urgently needed supplies, but that’s all.

The amplitude of the up-down, left-right sway was not small, and it was so dangerous that anyone who wasn’t properly equipped with combat gear wouldn’t want to ride it.

On top of that, it soared into the sky. Even if there were no laws regarding aerial vehicles in Stella City, driving a car like that couldn’t have been normal.

“Beware of the impact.”

“I saw it too.”

An anti-tank missile flew. When I turned around, there was a huge explosion and General Techina’s aerial vehicle was crashing into the ground.

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

Sadly, my emotions were also drying up.

In this city, if you were carrying such expensive and unstable items, a gangster or mercenary with a crazy mind would steal them in seconds. It was only natural.

Seeing that made me even more anxious.

In a normal company, there would be rules for fighting and ways to win.

Making better products, increasing management efficiency, or competing for victory through mergers and acquisitions or legal disputes.

But in this city, that was a bit lacking.

“Who is it?”

“General Techina. Aren’t they related to us? I don’t know.”

“That… I don’t know. They never provided weapons like that, but… those primitive anti-tank missiles are things you can buy on the black market if you have money.”

If there is a reporter who will spread information that could put the company at risk, it is better to just point a gun at their head or use a mercenary with hacking skills to destroy the evidence itself rather than bribing them with money.

It is better to pay a high price for a skilled mercenary and destroy the factory’s core data than to make a better product than the other company.

Of course, going against the company with a mercenary-level workforce was a gamble with a higher chance of failure.

Still, I need to build my own personal power.

Moving a gang that has ties to the Hansan Group is not only not a wise choice, but also cumbersome and inconvenient.

My car continued to drive on the overpass without stopping. As if the previous accident was nothing.

“It’s already been three days since the incident where General Techina’s aerial battleship was destroyed in broad daylight.”

The announcer’s lighthearted and cheerful voice pierced my ears. I thought the voice was unique when I saw it on TV, but it felt even different when I actually heard it.

“Shocking, right? I never thought that such an incident would happen in broad daylight. Not only that, but there was also news that the broken car body and debris were hitting pedestrians.”

However, I came here for something unrelated to that incident.

In fact, I didn’t know it would happen this quickly. The timing was bad.

“What was more shocking was the actions of the Stella City police. Rather than catching the perpetrator, they only increased the chaos as the street fighting continued.”

No. Maybe it was the perfect timing. If I had been a little later, someone might have died in our factory.

“The police chief who recently opposed police efficiency will likely take a big hit from this incident and the response afterward.”

It was ridiculous. What they were claiming was police efficiency was the privatization of the police, and it was the media that was ultimately shaking up the police so that they could not do their job.

But it wasn’t something to blame anyone for.

The lobbying of Hansan Group was generously pouring into this media company, and Hansan was among the companies that thought of making money by participating in the improvement of public security efficiency.

In the first place, the media is no different from a dog to a company.

There are some journalists with good intentions, but their articles are not covered by the mainstream media.

It is not a job that makes money, and capable people do not come in.

The end of a journalist with good intentions and a media company is,

It was one of two things: either become a corporate dog or fall from public support and be forgotten.

“Let’s move on to the next topic! Just yesterday, there was an incident where many people died in a factory due to a machine malfunction. Let me take a moment to express my deep regret to the viewers.”

A few seconds. For a very short moment, his quick and frivolous words stopped. And that was it.

“But! Even in this situation, there is a company that minimized the victims with excellent response and determination. That is… Hansan Group!”

In an instant, a smile grew on his lips. The mourning did not last long. Even though there were at least a hundred deaths and twice as many injuries, this was still the case.

This was not a situation where I could blame anyone. The fact that he was promoting our ‘good side’ in this way and giving me a chance to make excuses was the result of lobbying he had done in advance.

“You’ll probably be surprised when you hear who we’ve invited. He’s probably the most famous, unconventional, and huge businessman in Stella City.”

“You can get ready now!”

Before the staff could finish speaking, the secretary had already adjusted my clothes.

“We’ve invited Mr. Hansanwoo, the president of Hansan Electronics!”

With a loud sound effect, a spotlight was cast on the place I had to go. It was time to reveal myself.

“Nice to meet you.”

“You’re so polite! I’ve met all sorts of people, but this is the first time I’ve met someone as big as President Hansanwoo.”

As I sat down on the chair in front of him, I could feel the eyes of many broadcasters focused on me.

“Usually, I would tell the guest, ‘Calm down, nothing will happen,’ but my heart is pounding!”

The host, who was joking, brought up a prepared topic.

“As you know, the food companies in Stella City were destroyed, right? But Hansan was fine. What do you think is the secret?”

“It’s the system. A proper system and values may seem foolish at the moment, but they are bound to show their power in a crisis.”

“Is that so? Rumor has it that Mr. Hansanwoo himself entered the food factory shortly before this incident broke out?”

At first glance, it seemed like he was attacking me, but it was already a question that had been directed at me.

“Of course, maintaining that system is not easy. It’s not particularly rewarding. If you don’t constantly work hard, the system will fall apart in an instant.”

“What do you think about the rumor that Hansan Group caused the accident?”

“That’s ridiculous. If you look at the prepared materials here, you’ll see that this is a talent.”

At the perfect timing, the secretary displayed a hologram full of materials in front of me.

People watching this on TV wouldn’t get any meaningful information from it. What I needed was an image.

An image that there was data, an image that this accident was nothing special, that we could have prepared and countered for it.

“It could have happened at any time, and it’s stranger that nothing has happened until now. No, it’s stranger that it’s been buried by the deaths of several people.”

I took a deep breath and shouted at the camera.

“Hansan Group has nothing to do with this accident.”

At least this one statement was one of the few true statements made on the broadcast.