Chapter 600
I nodded slowly and began recounting everything that had happened that day in detail.
The private meeting at the special detention center.
And the existence of another secret zone—something only I had heard directly from Go Sewon.
“He didn’t know the exact location, or what the area was for. He just said that only the late Lee Jung-ryong and Seok Gojun had access to it.”
After listening silently, Chief Choi muttered under his breath.
“So it was all true after all.”
“…Sorry?”
His reaction caught me off guard. I blinked at him, surprised, and he asked,
“Is there anyone else besides you who knows this?”
“Uh… probably just me and Go Sewon. I blocked the sound and covered my mouth while speaking.”
“You mentioned the Presidential Security Service escorted you, right?”
“They seemed suspicious, but haven’t asked anything yet. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if they already reported to President Baek Hanseong.”
“I see.”
Having answered his questions, it was my turn. I looked at him, suspicion in my eyes.
“Did you already know? That’s what it sounds like.”
Chief Choi nodded without hesitation.
“I was told by someone else.”
“…So there weren’t just two of us who knew. There were four. That means President Baek might know too, doesn’t it?”
“I doubt it. Ares Guild’s security was airtight—especially anything concerning A-Zone. Only an extreme few were privy to that. And…”
He added quietly,
“There are three of us. Not four.”
“…Huh?”
“The person who told me passed away recently. He, too, was once someone very close to the dark secrets of Ares Guild. Just like Go Sewon.”
There weren’t many people of that caliber.
In fact, since the guild’s founding, they could be counted on one hand.
‘And if he died recently…’
A single name rose to my mind.
I muttered under my breath.
“Song Cheon-woo.”
Chief Choi nodded and continued.
“Our last conversation was inside a Gate. He told me everything he’d kept hidden. Whether it was out of guilt, or just a selfish desire to die with a clear conscience—I don’t know.”
The reason didn’t matter.
The damage was done, and there was no undoing it.
But we could still search for what was left in the aftermath.
“Did Song Cheon-woo know the location or purpose of the hidden zone?”
“He didn’t know the location, but he did know the purpose.”
“What is it?”
The purpose of the hidden zone—that was what I’d been most curious about all along.
If A-Zone was the shell, then the space inside was the core. A secret shared only between Lee Jung-ryong and Seok Gojun.
Even now, despite thorough investigation, the government hadn’t discovered what lay inside.
‘A mountain of cash? Stolen S-rank mana stones? Or… human experimentation?’
Conspiracies and movie plot clichés flashed through my mind.
But Chief Choi’s next words wiped them all clean.
“It’s my grandfather.”
“…Sorry?”
“My grandfather. That secret zone exists to hide him from the world.”
Time passed. The wind blew. Clouds drifted by overhead. And yet I couldn’t move a muscle.
‘What the actual…’
I never even considered this.
Cheon Taemin? That Cheon Taemin was in the hidden zone?
It felt like a sledgehammer from Gyeongsang province had slammed the back of my head.
Stunned, I managed to speak.
“Um… you don’t happen to have two grandfathers, right?”
Chief Choi looked at me like I was an idiot and answered bluntly.
“As far as I know, no.”
“…Shit.”
So it’s real.
As I stood there speechless, he followed up with another mind-numbing revelation.
“He lost consciousness over twenty years ago. Lee Jung-ryong and Song Cheon-woo covered it up. They’ve kept it secret until now.”
“…Unconscious? Cheon Taemin? That man?”
The Immortal Hero of mankind.
The one who defeated the Demon King Asmodeus was a vegetable.
That was harder to believe than Jin-ho passing the bar exam or Hyuk Mujin becoming the Lord of the Murim.
‘How is that even possible?’
Cheon Taemin was the equivalent of a god in the martial world.
Even though it had been over twenty years since he disappeared, no one had reached his level. He was flawless. Absolute. Supreme.
He was called the Immortal Hero because he had the strength to match the name.
And yet… in a world with advanced medicine and magical healing, he had been in a vegetative state for decades?
‘Something’s fishy.’
I must’ve let my skepticism show, because Chief Choi shook his head before I could speak.
“Lee Jung-ryong and Song Cheon-woo didn’t do anything to him.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because people become honest in the face of death. Especially when their families are held hostage.”
“…You’re right.”
“The important part is that my grandfather is hidden inside A-Zone’s secret room. And no one else knows—not even the government teams scouring that zone.”
I thought of President Baek Hanseong, who had been by my side throughout the national funeral.
If there’s any profession that’s best at hiding their true intentions, it’s a politician.
“Are you sure?”
“This isn’t a guess—it’s based on information. We’ve already turned several core members of the government’s investigation team to our side.”
“…Huh.”
“So for now, we can breathe easy.”
As he explained calmly, a thought occurred to me.
Maybe the past week hadn’t just helped him recover from grief.
Maybe it had turned him into someone who could leap forward.
‘He’s already started.’
After surviving the brink of death in Sichuan, after bearing unimaginable sorrow in Pyeongchang, Chief Choi—no, Choi Minwoo—had grown tremendously.
And I had a feeling I knew where his next steps would lead.
“The investigation is expected to take at least a month. What would you do in my place, Mr. Jin?”
“Stop the government probe. That’s the only way to secure his safety without raising suspicion.”
“And the fastest way to do that?”
“To settle this chaos and claim ownership of A-Zone. Legally.”
And to become the legal owner of A-Zone meant only one thing.
Chief Choi reached out and touched the memorial stone.
“I once made a promise to Butler Kim.”
The iron-walled castle had fallen.
The exiled prince, stripped of his claim, had returned after a long time.
To reclaim the crown that was stolen from him.
“I will take Ares Guild as my own.”
His sunken eyes lit up.
Staring at the highest-engraved name—Kim Hwajong—Chief Choi turned to me.
“Will you help me?”
Did he really need to ask?
From the moment I signed that contract with him, my answer had been set in stone.
“We’ve got plenty of time left on our contract. I’ll help. Just don’t ask me to kill anyone again, alright?”
Chief Choi chuckled.
It was the first smile he had shown since waking up.
He pulled out his phone.
“No. This time, all I need is a whip.”
“A whip?”
“Yes. A little carrot and stick to shake some people loose.”
Beep. Beep. Beep. Click.
After three rings, someone answered. Speaking to the unidentified caller, Chief Choi said in a neutral tone,
“Hello, Vice President Park Daewon. This is Choi Minwoo.”
Park Daewon.
The name that had come up constantly in the news lately.
The man who, after Seok Gojun’s death and the prosecution’s sweep of all the power-holding executives, was now acting leader of Ares Guild.
— “Yes, I’m listening… Choi Minwoo-ssi.”
A gloomy voice came through the receiver.
Chief Choi replied smoothly, “It seems you still haven’t made up your mind. Seeing how you left the national funeral without a word.”
— “That’s… it’s just…”
“6 p.m.”
— “…Pardon?”
“I’ll be at HQ personally. When I open the conference room door, I expect you and all the other executives to be there.”
— “W-Wait a moment. I still need time—”
“You’ve got three hours. That’s plenty. Goodbye.”
Click.
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
He hung up without a hint of hesitation.
Seeing my stunned face, Chief Choi spoke nonchalantly.
“You heard him. So you understand the situation.”
“Right now? Like, immediately? We still have three hours—”
“There’s a press conference too.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It’s going to be a busy day. After waiting this long, when you draw your sword, you have to strike like lightning.”