Became a CyberPunk Tycoon - Chapter 167



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Episode 167. Eyes and Ears (8)

“There will be a brief search.”

“A, a search?”

As the police officer’s fierce gaze poured down, the middle-aged man froze, unable to say anything.

“Please show me your identification.”

The terrified middle-aged man frantically took out his wallet and looked for his ID.

“I will verify your identity.”

The policeman pulled out a small machine. It beamed out light and scanned the middle-aged man’s face.

“Confirmed.”

“Yes, yes! Thank you for your hard work.”

Looking around, he saw that in addition to the police officer standing in front of him, there were several others patrolling the area with guns.

Since such an incident had occurred not long ago, it was only natural that they would cling to each other.

‘… … Even so, it would just be censorship for show.’

The unknown mercenaries barged in. The delegation disappeared.

A new delegation was formed to hastily bring together stakeholders, but negotiations were at a standstill.

He also had a job and ran a restaurant.

He participated in the negotiations because he was afraid of receiving ridiculously small compensation and losing the store he had been living in, but he couldn’t just protest forever.

In fact, I still didn’t want to go into the tent. So many people had died, so the atmosphere couldn’t have been good.

With heavy steps, the middle-aged man entered the tent.

“Oh, you’re here!”

But the tent where the negotiating team headquarters was gathered was filled with lively voices.

“yes…….”

He slowly turned his head and looked at the people inside.

There were many people he was seeing for the first time. It might have been natural, since so many people had died, but the man felt quite uneasy.

He had lived in this neighborhood for more than fifteen years. Neither the gangsters who walked around with their shoulders hunched over, nor the carpenters, restaurant owners, nor the hardware dealers could escape his eyes.

Most people who lived nearby knew about it. Most of the families and relatives of the dead people were people who were at least acquainted with each other.

But there was no one who lived here or did business here.

The man, unable to adapt to the changed situation, sighed deeply and lowered his head.

“You can talk to this person for more details.”

Enzo stepped aside slightly to allow me to sit down. The man in front of me looked at me with suspicious eyes, unable to hide his unease.

“But I can talk to Mr. Enzo-.”

“This person is much higher than me.”

“Yes? But I heard that Mr. Enzo is the head of Hansan’s ‘Audit Team’……”

“Well, I’m not a manager. I’m just an employee receiving a salary. Since this person has the decision-making authority, I think it’ll be fine if you speak politely.”

Enzo jumped me in with great skill.

Hansan’s audit team was so famous that even ordinary people who had nothing to do with the company would know about it. Enzo had even been in the media once, so his fame was bound to skyrocket. Rumors of his connection to Brownhood were a bonus.

“What you’re talking about… I don’t think I can solve it at my level, so I brought in a superior. You can trust me.”

At Enzo’s assurance, he nodded reluctantly.

“Then… I, I understand.”

He seemed ready to start talking. I looked calmly into his eyes.

“You must have had a hard time.”

The man standing in front of me was trembling and fidgeting as if he were committing a sin.

“Relax. We’re not here to do anything bad.”

“But still… it wasn’t like we met openly, right? If they found out that I met Hansan in private-”

“I don’t know if it’s Hansan, but you’re not the only one who’s had contact with other companies.”

He must have known that too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried to contact me first.

Even if he hadn’t moved first, Hansan would have made contact with him.

“I thought it was nothing but…….”

“There is no need to hide it. At this point, there is no one in the delegation who has not had contact with a company.”

“Yes? Is that it?”

“But our information may also be uncertain, so please tell us. Why did you feel uncomfortable?”

The recorder was on. He was also informed that every word he said could be used as evidence.

The man took a deep breath and carefully opened his mouth.

“There are some non-locals in the delegation. From what I’ve heard, they either just took over a store or moved to this area a few days ago…….”

“Of course… since there was a murder case, the relatives of the victims could suddenly come in. But listening to what those kids say, it seems like they had no intention of doing business properly in the first place.”

“Why?”

“Common sense tells you that a high-end Japanese restaurant would be able to operate in this rural area.”

Enzo interrupted in surprise. He opened his mouth, then bowed his head to me as if he was apologizing. I smiled and accepted his apology.

“You probably think that’s nonsense. It’s really nonsense. People here won’t even go to a store like that… and there will be a lot of trash people who eat and drink without paying. Don’t you think they’ll pretend to be fooled if you say something reasonable?”

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“It’s a Japanese restaurant……”

Of course, I had no intention of plowing up the land in the central area and building a factory complex.

The security and infrastructure of the area selected as the factory site were slightly better than the ‘terrible level’. There weren’t many people making money.

“That’s ridiculous. What’s the name of that store?”

I had assumed that the company would intervene in the new delegation, but I never thought they would resort to such a clumsy method.

“Well, I think it was called Sumarushi…….”

Now I could understand a little bit. The man in front of me was calling it a ‘high-class Japanese restaurant’, but it was a little different in the central district.

It was a sushi franchise. It was a cost-effective sushi franchise where students and office workers living in the city center could easily grab a meal.

“That was stupid.”

Companies are surprisingly not meticulous. If the person in charge of final payment does not have a keen sense of detail, problems like this can arise at any time.

It’s no wonder they chose a franchise, as they needed evidence so solid that the police wouldn’t feel uncomfortable getting involved.

Since this was also an operation to insert a spy who would not be able to do his job properly into the delegation, there was no reason not to use a franchise system that leaves clear evidence.

“That’s right! That’s ridiculous. It’s a restaurant that sells sashimi made from fresh fish, so who on earth would think that it would fit in a place like this-.”

It’s a street where people eat energy bars made of sawdust and plastic, and eat cheap porridge that even pigs don’t eat.

If they were selling food for money, they would sell better dishes, but at least they couldn’t sell fresh fish raw.

“It’s a cheap store.”

The man sitting in front of me and Enzo looked at my face as if they couldn’t believe it. Enzo, who didn’t live in the city center, couldn’t understand the ‘investigator’s’ perspective.

“At least, from the perspective of the central district.”

After all, it is the human beings of a company who make plans. So it is not surprising that mistakes like this one occur.

“You are blatantly trying to sabotage the negotiations.”

“That’s right! I tried to persuade people somehow, but whenever I mentioned negotiating with Hansan, they kept labeling me a weirdo-.”

“They probably had no intention of negotiating in the first place. Other companies would have promised a sweeter price.”

He nodded.

Even if ordinary people had come together, it would not have been pleasant to engage in legal battles with corporations.

“Didn’t Hansan make a lot of concessions? But they just kept repeating that if they held out, they could get more money… It didn’t even seem like money was their goal!”

The doubt in his eyes turns into certainty. This man can no longer mix with them.

“The Japanese restaurant is a noble house. There’s also a child who suddenly bought a nearby villa and moved in, and the relatives and family of the victim of that incident… Their eyes were a bit strange. There was something that was not righteous….”

This is enough.

“Hansan is under attack.”

“I probably wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes… but I can’t help but believe this.”

“We are gathering people who are willing to negotiate with Hansan. Real residents who have not been bought out by corporations.”

His eyes widened.

“Excuse me?”

“Those who actively participate in negotiations with Hansan will naturally receive greater benefits.”

“For example… even if a factory complex is built, wouldn’t there be a need for some convenient facilities nearby?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t have to move, you can just run your restaurant nearby.”

I smiled brightly.

“But the factory hasn’t been built yet-.”

“I can make this level of investment. I will support the remodeling costs and, if you want, I will let you have a house and a store.”

“Is that… really so?”

“Of course, we won’t be covering all the costs, but we think it will be an attractive proposition.”

When Hansan’s damage becomes ‘the loss of Hansan’s forces in Stella City alone’, people turn a blind eye to it.

No matter how unfairly or cruelly you are treated, you end up thinking it’s someone else’s problem.

We need to increase the number of people who share the profits. We need to create people who, like it or not, will stick together with vested interests and take Hansan’s side.

“Would you like to join us?”

I held out my hand. The man hesitated for a moment, then took my hand.

This man was the only person I met in person as ‘Lee Seon-woo’, but even now, there are probably countless Hansan employees and collaborators out there looking for citizens.

This level of effort alone will not be enough to quell all the complaints. But it can be turned into a political strife.

There are clear incidents. There is the fact that Hansan is doing his best to win over the residents, even at the cost of losses.

Even if the reporters keep their distance from Hansan, if I decide to expose them to the media, I cannot completely hide them.

And then, people will very naturally begin to infer the hidden contexts between the truths.

Behind these false delegations, ‘fact-based’ conspiracy theories will begin to emerge that there are corporations hiding there.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

He seemed to have made up his mind and smiled with a firm look.

Maybe I’m doing this because of justice. Maybe I’m doing this because of the money and the benefits I promised.

If not, they may have made this choice because they felt that if they did not clearly define their stance between companies, they would end up like a shrimp caught in a fight between whales.

But whatever his intentions were, he would move according to my intentions.

I smiled with satisfaction.

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