Chapter 48: The Family's Condition #4

Tae-hyuk and Eun-jeong were guided to a VIP room by Choi Sung-yeol. Sitting in the lavishly decorated room was a middle aged man.

'Producer…!'

Kim Joon-young looked like an ordinary man with a good style. He wore a neat, tailored suit, and had cropped hair. He had the atmosphere of a high income professional. However, he was actually the criminal responsible for the production and distribution of dangerous videos for nearly 10 years.

His main product was snuff films, showing brutal murder scenes. He showed a wide variety of people being killed in order to earn a profit. The terrifying thing about Kim Joon-young was that he did nothing but prepare the situation. He made many murder videos without getting his hands dirty.

However, there was a limit to the profit he could get from snuff videos. People eventually wanted a stronger stimulus. People quickly got tired of the videos of people being brutally killed. In addition, there were rumours that he was being targeted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

So Kim Joon-young started the 'Death Circus' business. It was a game where people risked their lives in extreme situations. People watched in real time through magic windows or surveillance cameras. It wasn't a recorded video — the situation was actually happening in front of them.

It was a tremendous sensation. Domestic as well as foreign conglomerates swarmed to the market, causing entry tickets to soar to hundreds of millions of won. The only problem was that the survival rate was close to zero, decreasing the participants. Thus, he needed to find new participants each time the Death Circus happened, but that wasn't easy.

Choi Sung-yeol then appeared with the multilevel company, Tiwai International. The multilevel scheme sucked out the blood marrow from the members. After being driven to their limit, they would be entered into the Death Circus and forced to play a game with their lives on the line.

The two criminals created such a devilish system, and approximately seven years from now… Choi Sung-yeol and Kim Joon-young were arrested and sentenced in accordance to the federal laws.

However, the system they created continued, and there was an endless number of victims. Perhaps Seo Ha-ran…

Tae-hyuk felt dizzy. This incident didn't end with simply catching the criminal. He had to destroy the very system they created.

Just before sitting down, Tae-hyuk sent a message to somebody. The stage where the Death Circus was held didn't allow radio waves in or out. Therefore, all his preparations needed to be completed before entering.

Seo Tae-hyuk and An Eun-jeong sat down as tea and refreshments were placed in front of them. At first glance, the food looked luxurious. However, Tae-hyuk didn't touch it.

Kim Joon-young quietly observed the two people before opening his mouth.

"Hello. I’ve heard that you want to join the Death Circus."

Tae-hyuk answered while secretly sending messages on his smartphone.

“That’s right.”

Next, it was An Eun-jeong's turn. She asked the most important thing for her.

“Is it really true that I can leap to platinum rating in one go if I participate?"

“Of course. In addition, if you are lucky enough, then you can make an unimaginable amount of money overnight.”

"Wah…"

“Well, it is a little dangerous. But if you survive, you can earn a huge amount of money. In theory, assuming that you win all the games, you can earn approximately three billion won."

It was an enormous amount of money that could change a person's life. An Eun-jeong drank the tea with a rapt expression as Kim Joon-young said.

“You are called Lee Cheol-su. Won't you have some?"

“I ate some bad lunch so it hurts."

“Then that is serious. Now that you pledged to participate in the Death Circus, you won't be able to get out of here. Should I ask for some medication to be brought over?"

Kim Joon-young's words were obvious. Tae-hyuk shook his head and replied.

"It is okay. I will be fine after some rest."

"Haha. I’m glad. Then let's talk about contracts. Please look at this."

Kim Joon-young pulled out two pieces of paper from a bag. He seemed to be in a good mood.

Lee Cheol-su and An Eun-jeong were lively young people. Those who participated in the Death Circus were in such a serious crisis that they wanted to commit suicide. Their spirits were likely to be dead before participating in the game. A desire to live needed to be ignited.

However, this wasn't necessary for these two. In particular, An Eun-jeong's appearance was quite good. The customers would be satisfied if a girl like her screamed in pain. Maybe tonight, he would be able to get a record level of revenue. Kim Joon-young's eyes shone with greed.

Tae-hyuk looked at the piece of paper. In summary, it was a 'body waiver.' Those who participated in the Death Circus didn't receive any legal protection. Tiwai had the rights to the corpses.

It was ridiculous enough to be unreasonable. For the most part, the ones signing this were able to die anyway so it was their last gamble.

An Eun-jeong had already signed it. Tae-hyuk sighed and wrote down Lee Cheol-su.

Kim Joon-young made a satisfied expression.

“The details can be seen after entering the Death Circus. Good luck on receiving a jackpot!"

@

"Ohuhu…"

Kim Joon-young laughed as the two participants left to join the Death Circus. Tonight there were more participants than usual. In addition, the two people who entered…

The female was an employee of Tiwai International.

Kim Joon-young would have eventually convinced her to join the Death Circus. However, he had expected it to take 10 years. He remembered thinking that she was a girl who would have a lot of value in the future. It was a little quicker than expected, so tonight would be heated up. A young girl crying in pain was the best entertainment.

But the man was unusual.

"He is called Lee Cheol-su?"

He wasn't an employee of Tiwai, but he seemed to be familiar with the Death Circus. Perhaps he was a puppet prepared by one of the guests.

“It isn't unwelcome."

Kim Joon-young laughed.

He contacted some people and told them to pay attention to Lee Cheol-su. At first glance, the system of the Death Group seemed very fair.

Win money or lose your lives. However, this was just the stage that Kim Joon-young prepared. There were numerous traps for the participants. In the end, Tiwai would have the last laugh.

Kim Joon-young sat on a chair and watched the monitors. It showed all of the Death Circus. All he needed to do was relax and enjoy it.

There were numerous attractions and traps that were impossible to survive. It was impossible even for a god. Kim Joon-young was certain.

@

A man in a black suit guided Tae-hyuk and Eun-jeong somewhere.

The building had a labyrinth-like structure.

Eun-jeong's face had turned pale.

“W-What am I doing…?"

She seemed to have realized that she had signed a waiver form, and that she couldn't run away from here. The only way to escape was to clear all the attractions, and use 200 million to purchase a platinum certificate.

The guide said.

“Once again, I'll explain the rules. All participants will receive 50 million won by default. The value of life… You can think of it as that."

The man explained while walking down the passage.

“And An Eun-jeong, you have shares in Tiwai International. That money will be given as well."

An Eun-jeong's expression brightened.

“The shares are obviously worth 100 million… So I will have that in addition to the 50 million?"

The man in the black suit shook his head.

"No. Ahn Eun-Jung’s share is worth roughly 15 million won. The rest has been distributed to the upper ranks."

"Huh? T-That is ridiculous! I definitely bought 100 million in shares!"

“Have you forgotten that a portion of the shares would be transferred to the upper ranks?"

"T-That’s right…"

If she recruited new members, then a portion of their money would be hers. Most people only thought about that. She didn't notice that her own shares would also be taken.

Tae-hyuk listened to the conversation between the man and An Eun-jeong.

‘85% was taken from the beginning. You really evil bastards.'

It meant that the members absolutely couldn't climb up from silver rank. They would undergo the pain forever, and would eventually be forced to participate in the Death Circus.

The man stood in front of a firmly closed iron gate and contacted someone through a radio. Then there was a lumbering sound as the door opened.

“We have now arrived. My role ends here. I wish you will obtain a jackpot."

The black suited man bowed and disappeared back the way they came.

“U-Uh…?"

Eun-jeong made a confused expression as she looked inside. A game of life or death. She had imagined a dark basement place guarded by many men. However, the interior was completely unexpected.

It was almost like…

Tae-hyuk said.

“An amusement park?"

There were mascot dolls wandering around. There were also a few rides scattered here and there.

"Yes. Isn't this better than I thought?"

Tae-hyuk shrugged.

They looked like ordinary attractions, but she still didn't know the horror of this place. As the two of them entered, a mascot doll came up and gave them badges.

Tae-hyuk sighed and accepted it.

“Now it will really start."

Once he placed in on his chest, the badge showed the number 50. It meant that his current money was 50 million won.

“Just place it on the chest?"

An Eun-jeong copied him and the number 65 appeared.

The two people entered. Then an announcement was heard.

-Since there are two new entrants, I will explain it once again.Your e-money will be reduced by 10 every hour.Once it reaches zero, you will be automatically eliminated, so please be careful.Then I hope you hit the jackpot!

Elimination meant death. In addition, there was a 10 million won fee every hour. It was ridiculous.

Tae-hyuk tugged the hand of the despairing An Eun-jeong.

“There are some people playing Pirate Roulette over there."

Tae-hyuk pointed to a place that was slightly far away. 

There were two people playing a pirate game. There was a pirate in the barrel, and people would insert their knives in order. The winner would be the one who caused the pirate to pop out. The barrel was made large enough for someone to enter. The man inside had a pale white face as he bit his lip. The person holding the knife outside was hesitating about which hole to insert it into.

There were 10 attractions in this place. Each one had a sign explaining how to play them. An Eun-jeong read the sign for Pirate Roulette.

“After entering, three knives must be inserted before leaving. If successful, you will be paid 10 million won. You can gain an additional 10 million won for each successive win. If you fail, then the money of the person with the knife will be recovered. Umm… There are nine holes in total. Take a good position. If your position isn't good then you might end up stabbed in the arms or legs."

“Well. Is it like that?"

The man holding the knife shouted.

“J-Just one more and it will be 90 million won! I’m sorry but just one more…"

The man inside the barrel shrieked, but the man holding the knife didn't stop.

“Ooooof!"

The knife entered the barrel and blood emerged. An Eun-jeong covered her mouth with both hands as she watched.

“This is the 4th failure… he has no luck."

“Failure? He was successful in one thing. The person inside didn't die yet."

"Huh? B-But the knife!"

"Only one out of the nine holes doesn't have a knife device installed. Any hole would stab the person inside with a knife. How could he survive so many stab wounds? This is the Pirate Roulette you are watching right now.”

Tae-hyuk explained in a calm voice. However, the information was bloody.

“… R-Ridiculous, n-no… How is this…?"

An Eun-jeong sat down on the spot. From now on, the games they would have to play were far crazier.

Tae-hyuk said.

"Then let's go to the next attraction."

He pulled Eun-jeong up and walked to the next attraction.

Death Circus. It was a crazy amusement park where those who entered would die. It was systematically impossible to survive here.

However, Seo Tae-hyuk was different. He was certain of victory.

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