Chapter 48

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 .