Chapter 28

Yu Jia stepped back into her office after the meal had concluded.

Her chest had been hammering restlessly since the dinner table, and she simply could not calm her racing thoughts.

Even though it marked their very first face-to-face interaction, the evening had been genuinely delightful.

Baek Jincheol possessed a cheerful wit, while Hwang Myeonghui radiated maternal warmth.

Until that specific moment.

“Jinwoo, that boy of ours is actually that incredibly famous gamer, isn’t he?”

“To be honest… he used to drive us absolutely mad staring at his mobile games day and night instead of focusing on his schoolwork, but look how it’s paying off now.”

“Jinwoo dedicated nearly a decade to that single game, didn’t he?”

Those casual words from Baek Jincheol sparked the realization.

“Oh, stop it, Dad. He explicitly told us he only played it for a single year. Do you really think Oppa has the patience to stick with one game for that long?”

“Tsk tsk, do you still lack an understanding of your own brother? Because I know him through and through. Jinwoo has always been the type to lock onto one objective and pour everything into it. Back in middle school, when was it? I discovered him fast asleep early one morning with some game actively running on his screen, so I took a closer look. It was that very game. I kept tabs on him out of sheer curiosity to see how long his phase would last, and without fail, he was still deeply invested in it during his senior year of high school.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, looking back on it now, there’s no mistake. That Battle of Summer-whatever game is the exact title that serves as the foundation for our current reality, isn’t it?”

Baek Jincheol directed this query straight toward Yu Jia.

When she offered a nod of confirmation.

“That’s the one. I am virtually certain it was that specific game. My recollection is slightly faint, so I shouldn’t be absolutely definitive, but……”

Baek Jincheol had unwittingly provided the critical verdict.

The undeniable verdict that his own son was quite possibly a ten-year master player.

“Dad! Are you for real? If that’s the truth, this changes absolutely everything!”

“Is that truly the reality, Father?”

Right at that precise second.

An identical moniker flashed across the thoughts of both Baek Ajin and Yu Jia.

Ilcheon JinuGod!

That mythical figure worshiped universally by top-tier rankers across the planet!

Of course, how could I have been so blind to this?

Awakening from her deep trance, Yu Jia found herself leaning heavily over her desk, her fingers tightly locked together as she rested her forehead against them.

No matter how brilliant his gaming instincts were, the official timeline never made sense.

Demolishing world-class records with such effortless grace after a mere year of play?

There were elite players scattered across the globe with two or three years of active experience.

They were exceptionally talented individuals, without a doubt, yet none of them exuded the terrifyingly dominant aura that defined Baek Jinwoo.

Furthermore.

There existed an incredibly glaring piece of circumstantial evidence that was so blatant she felt foolish for overlooking it.

Jinu.

Jinwoo.

Ha.

The two names were practically identical.

They mentioned he had been playing since his middle school days, right?

A kid of that age would easily come up with a username exactly like that.

It’s a hundred percent certainty.

Should she relay this discovery to Mr. Park Changseok?

She pondered the option for a moment before instantly dismissing it.

She lacked a direct, verbal confirmation from the man himself, after all. It amounted to nothing more than her personal deduction.

And above all else.

He genuinely detests being the center of public attention.

The corporation known as Yubaek was established for the sole purpose of serving Baek Jinwoo.

She had absolutely no intention of alienating him or provoking his displeasure.

Because of this, she had already taken strict precautions with his family before leaving.

“Father, Mother. Let’s keep this revelation strictly between ourselves. If this information leaks to the wrong crowds, it could place an immense burden on your son. That goes for you as well, Ajin.”

“Don’t worry at all, Unni. My lips are completely sealed!”

“If Jinwoo chose not to bring this up himself, he undoubtedly has his own justifications. We understand completely.”

No protective parents would ever jeopardize their own child’s safety by gossiping about a matter that could place them in the crosshairs of danger.

Baek Jincheol and Hwang Myeonghui agreed instantly, treating the secrecy as common sense.

For the time being, I will keep this strictly under wraps.

Yu Jia resolved not to breathe a syllable of this to Kim Byeongjin or Hwang Taeseop either.

She wouldn’t even attempt to confront Baek Jinwoo directly about it.

Whenever she analyzed his personality.

An image of a cautious stray cat flashed through her mind.

If you try to rush forward too quickly?

He would only retreat further into the shadows.

Gradually.

Deliberately. That was the precise methodology required to manage him.

Yu Jia, who had remained immobile with her face resting against the desk, finally raised her head.

She then opened her terminal to look up data and media coverage regarding JinuGod.

[World Rank #1, Rachel: “I gained an immeasurable amount of wisdom from South Korea’s JinuGod.” Conveys profound respect and longing.]

She began reviewing Rachel’s old interview.

[Japan’s Yoshida Hikaru: “South Korea must locate JinuGod without a single moment of delay. This is an absolute necessity for the survival of South Korea, and for the entirety of mankind tasked with conquering the Tower of Trials. Should they fail to locate him? Mankind possesses no future whatsoever.”]

She scrolled all the way down to Yoshida’s legendary proclamation regarding the fate of the human race.

Past those archives.

America’s Xenos, Russia’s MoscowMan, Taiwan’s Baekcheon, and countless others.

Virtually every titan of the current era had paid homage to JinuGod at some point in their careers.

MoscowMan had gone so far as to declare:

“South Korea is the nation we must observe with the utmost vigilance. Because that territory holds JinuGod.”

And that terrifying, mythic JinuGod was none other than Baek Jinwoo?

This is truly…

Monumental.

A sharp light flickered in Yu Jia’s eyes.

By a stroke of absolute fortune, 「Yubaek」 had transformed into the singular enterprise that laid claim to JinuGod!

An intense sensation swelled within Yu Jia’s soul.

An unquenchable ambition to dedicate her entire existence to elevating Yubaek into an unparalleled empire.

It was the identical, driven bloodline trait that her grandfather Yu Byeongcheon had once possessed.

It was time to take the next step.

Baek Jinwoo arrived at his conclusion.

He was officially concluding his time in the low-rank Day Dungeons.

Operating under Drill Sarge’s rigorous guidance, the specialized forces designated for those specific instances had experienced substantial growth.

Their core attributes had escalated significantly, and they had successfully unlocked several specialized capabilities.

He had reached the exact threshold where mid-rank instances offered vastly superior efficiency compared to low-rank ones.

[Baek Jinwoo: I intend to challenge the mid-rank dungeons next week. Do you want to prepare the recording strategy?]

Baek Jinwoo fired the query directly to Yu Jia.

The response flashed back on his screen within five seconds.

[Yu Jia: Absolutely! Jinwoo! I have been eagerly anticipating this exact moment!]

She didn’t even pause to question his capabilities anymore.

Baek Jinwoo chuckled softly to himself.

Well, it simply indicated that her faith in his abilities had reached that level.

He had given her more than enough proof to justify it.

[Yu Jia: The entire advertising campaign is already fully conceptualized. All that is required from your end is to equip yourself and clear the dungeons just like before, smooth and effortless!]

Yu Jia subsequently forwarded the accompanying marketing documents through text.

Wow.

She had already assembled all of this beforehand?

Bundle Package Options!

Low-rank + Mid-rank video strategy = 200 million won → discounted to 150 million won!

Low-rank + Mid-rank written guide = 20 million won → discounted to 15 million won!

Strict non-disclosure terms apply.

Individual video files (Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat) are priced at 100 million won; individual text files (Thu/Sun) sit at 10 million won.

Purchases are strictly restricted to combatants verified by the South Korean government headquarters.

Returning patrons are eligible for loyalty incentives on subsequent orders.

Starting with the basic bundle options.

Flash Sale — Exclusive Pricing for Today!

Strictly Limited High-Discount Event!

The Chief Executive Officer Has Completely Lost Her Mind!

Low-rank + Mid-rank video strategy = 200 million won → slashed to 130 million won!

Low-rank + Mid-rank written guide = 20 million won → slashed to 13 million won!

All the way down to an immediate-purchase tier featuring even more drastic price reductions.

He couldn’t begin to fathom how her mind generated these wild promotional concepts.

Baek Jinwoo chose to completely ignore the marketing side of operations.

Any mental energy spent calculating promotional schemes was better utilized clearing active gates.

[Baek Jinwoo: The structure looks excellent. Perfect!]

His reliance on Yu Jia’s competence was sitting at an absolute maximum.

He had received an update from Ajin earlier.

The executive had personally traveled to check on his parents, brought over premium presents, enjoyed a family dinner with them, and secured long-term medical and security arrangements.

To be completely fair, he found himself deeply impressed.

She easily could have delegated private security details and let a low-level staff member oversee the domestic arrangements, yet she took the initiative to go herself.

What made the gesture even more commendable was that none of it had been requested—it stemmed entirely from her genuine consideration.

And that was merely a fraction of it.

Baek Jinwoo had directly audited Yubaek’s financial gains.

The generated capital was staggering—unbelievable, breath-catching quantities of money.

Short on liquid funds?

All he had to do was ask for a corporate payout, she informed him.

They would disburse the capital instantly in accordance with their ownership stakes.

The sheer level of security that provided was immense.

Furthermore.

Baek Jinwoo had merely requested a modest 1 billion won distribution to cover his day-to-day survival expenses.

The remaining mountain of wealth he directed her to pour back into corporate investments.

And how had she reacted to that?

“Oh, if we are talking strictly about daily living costs… please utilize this.”

As though she had anticipated the exact phrase, she smoothly produced a card from her pocket.

A refined, high-end black card issued by a premier financial institution.

Engraved cleanly across the front surface were the letters VIP.

“This is the corporate account card. Feel free to use it without restriction for dining out and general lifestyle purchases, up to a yearly cap of 1 billion won.”

Hold on.

What ordinary human being burns through 1 billion won in a year just to feed themselves?

Well……

Perhaps if you belong to an elite billionaire dynasty?

Regardless, Baek Jinwoo embraced the perk gladly.

“Additionally, regarding specialized assets like summons or magical runes, you are welcome to submit procurement orders through the firm within an annual allowance of 10 billion won, and our logistics team will manage the acquisitions on your behalf.”

That massive of an amount?

“This does not represent a financial loss for our enterprise. You represent the single most critical asset Yubaek possesses, Jinwoo. If that allocation proves insufficient, do not hesitate to lodge an additional request regardless. Following an internal assessment, if the expenditure is deemed practical, we will happily expand our funding.”

Incredible.

Yes!

This was the dream!

Now this was how a proper corporation should be operated!

It was an entirely different experience.

Lightyears ahead of the bureaucratic nightmare of dealing with the state.

Consequently, he resolved to simply place his full reliance in her capabilities and let her steer the ship.

With Yu Jia managing the background, he felt confident that every minor detail would be flawlessly handled without him lifting a finger.

And what elevated this situation even further.

The corporate financing, the familial allowances, all of it.

In a technical sense, the business was absorbing Baek Jinwoo’s private liabilities.

Which meant Yu Jia, who owned a significant stake in the equity, was voluntarily bearing a portion of that financial load herself.

In that case, she had completely earned the right to his high-level information.

The old folk wisdom claiming you should hand an extra snack to someone you despise was absolute nonsense.

Baek Jinwoo operated on the philosophy of offering far more rewards to the individuals who treated him with genuine respect.

Yes, this trajectory was moving in the ideal direction.

A prosperous destiny aligned with Yubaek.

It was time to utterly dominate the mid-rank brackets as well.

The very following week.

The mid-rank Day Dungeons shared a basic framework with the low-rank versions, yet they diverged significantly in their complex mechanical nuances.

Baek Jinwoo focused heavily on highlighting those specific points of variance with absolute precision as the cameras rolled.

And.

As a matter of course, he obliterated every existing domestic milestone on his initial run through the gates.

The global community exploded in excitement, and Baek Jinwoo’s public reputation skyrocketed to unprecedented heights.

[The Tyrant of Records, Baek Jinwoo! At what point will he breach the global leaderboards? The ultimate countdown has officially begun!]

[Yubaek initiates distribution of mid-tier data sets! Flash discount pricing attracts massive crowds of civilian players!]

[Will he ultimately launch an assault on the mythical supreme-tier gates, infamously dubbed the Devil’s Domain?]

Regardless of the endless media speculation.

Baek Jinwoo simply configured his automated grinding schedule to run on cruise control and departed for a casual dungeon training session with Stormy.

When on earth was she finally going to master the technique?

That frustrating Dragon Burst Chain.

His pool of endurance was beginning to bottom out.

“…It’s just not clicking. Why can’t I manifest the pattern?”

Stormy cocked her head to the side, looking noticeably discouraged, prompting him to seek out Drill Sarge for counsel.

Only to receive an absolute bombshell of an explanation.

“My master.”

“Yes?”

“Step over to this side for a brief moment.”

Drill Sarge walked away from Stormy’s line of sight, guiding him toward the edge of a dense thicket before dropping his voice to a low murmur.

“It is my firm conviction that Stormy is intentionally delaying her own progress.”

“What?”

What kind of logic was that?

“The situation defies rational metrics. Her internal mana reserves and the precision of her magical manipulation have already bypassed the mandatory requirements. The reality that the ability still refuses to manifest indicates she is consciously suppressed it herself.”

“For what possible reason would she do that?”

“This amounts to my personal deduction, however… have you not been executing your recent dungeon sweeps exclusively with Stormy, leaving the rest of us behind?”

“That’s true.”

“I am convinced she is thoroughly savoring the exclusivity.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Every summoned entity fundamentally craves the focused validation of their summoner. She recognizes that once her training concludes, there may not be another scenario where she enjoys your undivided companionship inside a gate. If her progression accelerates too rapidly, her personal time alongside you will inevitably dwindle.”

“Wow.”

He found himself entirely at a loss for words.

Could a creature genuinely harbor that kind of motivation?

So how was he supposed to handle this scenario?

A strange wave of affection struck his heart, even as a profound sense of bafflement settled over him.

So the issue had absolutely nothing to do with the promise of fried chicken and cold beer.

“What if you chose to alter your instructional parameters? Suspend all active dungeon excursions with Stormy immediately, and explicitly inform her that the moment she successfully executes the Chain, you will resume clearing gates together as a pair.”

“Do you honestly believe that will yield results?”

“She might very well perfect the Chain prior to midnight.”

“……”

Is that so?

Then again, Drill Sarge’s tactical insights had proven flawless up to this point.

It felt slightly cruel to his heart, but.

There was no harm in testing the theory.