Chapter 69: < Protect – Episode 68 – Show Me the Money [1] >

“It’s sophistry.”

Kurshenbai clicked his tongue at the speech Ahn Soo Ho gave at the indoor gymnasium.

“Many agreed?”

“Yes. They were quite passionate.”

Was he a natural born instigator? Kurshenbai shooked his head. The Ahn Soo Ho he met wasn’t the type to lead. That means he was after something. But he couldn’t think of anything.

“A worldwide martial arts association…do you think they’ll succeed?”

“I’m not sure. It depends on how much he intervenes.”

“Hm.”

There was already a worldwide martial arts association. Not just one, but hundreds. There were countless associations related to martial arts in one way or another. It was also common for the court to get involved in whether or not it was legitimate, but the winner and loser were not easily decided upon.

“They all endured it with pride, but they put it all down? That’s hard to understand. What’s their relationship?”

“Jang Ji Min and Ahn Soo Ho knew each other.”

“I know that too. But I don’t think they were that close.”

“It could be a pity.”

“I guess that’s possible…but that’s not it.”

Jang Ji Min died, and Ahn Soo Ho could have helped just out of respect. But a worldwide martial arts association was too random. He had no reason, and it was very unlikely to succeed. He might have got them to agree for now, but it wasn’t easy to collect the opinions of martial artists.

Associations were no joke.

“Keep an eye out.”

Ahn Soo Ho was just as troubled as Kurshenbai.

“Thank you, Master.”

There had already been 142 people who approached him and then backed off. Martial artists had as much pride as secret agents, but as soon as Shun May and Ahn Soo Ho’s battle became known, many people started to request battles. He had to make sure that the beginning was well laid out in order to avoid problems later on.

“This is tiring.”

“Why did you do something so stupid, Soo Ho?”

His assistant today was Alexa instead of Logan. People couldn’t help but stare at them since a thin Western beauty was following him everywhere.

“Whatever. Did you look into it?”

“Even if we get support, there are too many people who’re eating away from the bottom to make it possible to expand. Or we’ll have to accept our losses and start from scratch.”

Even though Ahn Soo Ho was close to a high official of the Communist Party, he had to do some greasing for the middleman. In particular, the Chinese entertainment world was very likely to have a connection with Chinese criminal organizations. The problem was that it was difficult for a foreigner to set up a business in China alone.

“How about we give our support?”

“I acknowledge Jang Ji Min…but I don’t know. It’s not good to irritate Kurshenbai too much, Soo Ho.”

“The premier really hates him.”

“Kurshenbai?”

“Yeah.”

Yuhaipung wanted Ahn Soo Ho to keep a safe distance from Kurshenbai. Ahead of what would determine the future of the parties, the BRICS Summit was the last chance to decide the premier’s diplomatic abilities.

“This might sound ungrounded, but Korea, China, and Japan likes to talk about martial arts and the warrior’s code. They think those beliefs actually exist.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Think about how the Americans went crazy for Spaghetti Western.”

Those outlaw series were masterpieces in the international movie world.

“Criminal organizations always start off as vigilante groups. They used the excuse of protecting themselves so they could steal other people’s rights and freedom. Haven’t you heard of that before?”

The military was like that and so was the intelligence agency. Also, security was the rationale of entire nations.

“We all prefer the profit of ourselves and the ones around us. We’re all the same.”

“Then why did you egg on the martial artists?”

“Because they’re weaker individually.”

Kurshenbai expressed his hope to advance into the world of mercenaries in front of Ahn Soo Ho. The reason why he kept the opposition alive was probably to get some of the pressure from the political party off of him. However, as long as he wanted to advance forward, he didn’t have much reason to lay low.

“China is scarier than the States thinks. They think they’re the most powerful nation while putting down everyone else.”

“They probably know that much.”

“No. They don’t. The relationship between the Eastern countries isn’t as laid back as you would think.”

The perception of ethnic groups and unification was completely different compared to the Western world. Ahn Soo Ho arrived in front of a famous club. In the midst of men and women of beauty, there were silver spoons and diamond spoons showing off their supercars.

They were openly showing off their ability to spend countless millions of yen in a single day. Maybe it was the current address of the corrupt Communist Party. No matter how much the premier Yuhaipung wanted to eradicate corruption, it was impossible to get rid of such hardened habits.

‘Foolish punks.’

All departments of China belonged to the party. The rich might have thought they could live like that forever, but it was possible to become poor overnight depending on which party was in power. The reason why they transferred their funds abroad was because they could have their money taken away depending on the party.

The rich in China was an illusion.

The night in Shanghai was crazy. No matter what kind of regulation threats were made at the summit, the rich always found a way out. The irony that capitalist China ran into was the division of financial ranks. In just 10 years, the word “people” would probably be forgotten.

There was a long line in front of the club.

Since famous clubs were always crowded, they tried to keep up their reputation with quality checks. VVIPs went inside without waiting, but the average people had their looks evaluated. As soon as Ahn Soo Ho headed for the door, a big man stopped him.

“The line…”

He stopped mid-sentence as soon as Ahn Soo Ho pulled out his gold card. When he stepped aside, Ahn Soo Ho slipped a few 100 yen bills in his pocket.

The inside of the club was vibrant.

The reason why many Chinese went to Shanghai was to make money. But the upper class of Shanghai only preferred those who were originally from Shanghai. They had pride in their home just like Hong Kong and Beijing had theirs.

“What’s the gold card?”

“It’s like a membership card.”

Prostitution was illegal in China as well. However, if there was money then illegal dealings were most likely involved. There were levels in the sex industry as well. The ones with money enjoyed bookings at high-end clubs, or they had their own party and invited men and women of their taste. They had no reason to go to a brothel and risk getting caught.

“The performance will start soon. Is it okay that the CEO is at a club?”

It was almost time for Hosoo Entertainment’s Asian tour to start performing in Shanghai Main Stadium. Luckily, the tickets sold out, so they weren’t humiliated by the Korean press. As soon as he sat down in a room that looked down onto the club, expensive drinks came in.

Across from him were people opening a bottle of champagne. This place held opportunities for those wanting to boost their reputation. It didn’t matter if they got married as long as they got money. Ahn Soo Ho ate his fruit with a fork.

“It’s good.”

“Soo Ho?”

Alexa, who was wasting time away in an unfamiliar face, looked at him with a confused face.

“Wait here. I have to introduce you to someone.”

“Me?”

Someone came in just in time.

“Ugh! I’m so tired!”

She sat down without saying hello, chugged a bottle of expensive champagne, and then made a remark that made her sound middle-aged.

“Kya!”

“Who drinks champagne like it’s beer?”

“Champagne? Oh!”

Kim Soo Jung swallowed down her fruits and then stared at Alexa.

“Your girlfriend?”

“No. Say hello. This is Kim Soo Jung and this is Alexa.”

“Hello, Ms. Kim.”

“Hello, Alexa.”

After exchanging greetings, they both looked at Ahn Soo Ho.

“Isn’t it better to meet in a quieter place?”

“No. If I meet you at a hotel, Chul will give me crap.”

Yoon Chul and Kim Soo Jung finally started dating. She was one of the top journalists of Korea. She was lucky to trip over information Ahn Soo Ho gave her, but in any case, she accomplished a position in the newsroom.

“Come on. Chul is too reserved for that.”

“You’re the only one who doesn’t know how daring he is. In any case, you’re probably on the blacklist now.”

“Blacklist?”

“Yeah. A list of people messed with vested rights and need to be monitored.”

Reporters who exposed corruption related to vested rights were put on a blacklist. They wouldn’t outwardly attack Kim Soo Jung, but they could start to make small dents at her reputation.

“Do you think Chul is on there too?”

“He was on it since a long time ago.”

“You too?”

“Not me.”

When Kim Soo Jung tilted her head, Ahn Soo Ho smirked.

“If they dare to roam around my surroundings, they’ll get killed. It looks like the pressure has started seeing how you were sent to Shanghai.”

“BRICS is under the newsroom’s jurisdiction.”

“What about the Shanghai employees?”

“They said they need more help, so I had no choice.”

“Who did you dig dirt on for this to happen to you?”

“Lee Bum Hak and Jeon Min Kyu.”

“Ha! The Chairman of the National Assembly and the party delegate? Aren’t they too big?”

She just shrugged in response to Ahn Soo Ho’s criticism.

“There’s no end no matter how much I dig.”

“No wonder the desk hated it.”

No matter how scary media’s power could be, the ones she was dealing with were politicians who went all sorts of dirty things and still survived. Kim Soo Jung was at a disadvantage to win.

“She needs your help, Alexa. Work together.”

“How?”

“Do something that will really stop them.”

“Yeah, but how?”

Ahn Soo Ho looked at the people partying across from him. Unless they were professional soldiers, there were very few politicians who served their full military service. It was comical that such people talk about security. Then what about the kids of those politicians? They were just like their parents.

“Kids can’t be controlled by their parents no matter what country it is.”

---

If the rich were China’s current problem, Korea had many heirs leaving Korea since way back. There was the candlelight protest regarding the reformation of the rich, but that didn’t last long either because of Ahn Soo Ho’s appearance. He covered social media all over the world with hashtags such as #realwealth, #mrahn, #luxuryprivatejet, and #luxurycruise.

The rich kids who enjoyed receiving jealous gazes from people had their pride hurt, so they tried to buy more expensive things. As soon as Ahn Soo Ho was seen at the BRICS summit, the rich kids also visited the UN or shared pictures with politicians.

When a picture of the Hosoo Entertainment celebrities at Shanghai Main Stadium was shared, they shared pictures of themselves with Hollywood stars. When photos of him at a high-end club surfaced, they uploaded photos of their own parties.

Ahn Soo Ho of luxury cruise.

Ahn Soo Ho of luxury private jets.

Ahn Soo Ho of luxury clubs.

Ahn Soo Ho with famous politicians.

Ahn Soo Ho with famous celebrities.

The rich people all around the world started a war about who was richer. What poured oil over the fire was a short post uploaded by someone.

I’ll rank the rich kids by countries! Middle East=America=China>England>Germany>Russia>Brazil>Brunei Royal Family>>Big Wall>>>Korea. The rich kids of Korea aren’t even rich! But Mr. Ahn is an exception! He’s not a 2nd generation heir!

That was how it started.

The silver spoons and diamond spoons of Korea started flaunting their money again. Pictures of them buying out luxury shops, pictures of them with tubs full of cash, pictures of scenery from hotel royal suite rooms, as well as the good old supercar pictures.

Flaunting money wasn’t a crime.

However, it was going to be a problem if the source of that money was uncertain. People thought cash couldn’t be traced, but that was incorrect. The bank ATM’s these days used the numbers on each bill to precisely check their routes at all times.

Ahn Soo Ho clicked his tongue.

‘So they do exist.’

Those who throw wads of cash.

“Stupid sons of bitches.”

< Protect – Episode 68 – Show Me the Money [1] > The end.

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