Chapter 206 (Part 2)
Chapter 206: Worse Than Strangers (Part 2)
“What’s your nickname then?”
“Come on, don’t you know about respecting your elders? You should tell us first.”
“Black Scythe.”
“Stop kidding.”
“I’m serious.”
“Prove it here.”
“How do you want me to prove it?”
“You know about the duel request feature that came with level 60, right?”
“Yes.”
“Request a duel and beat both of us. Without using weapons or skills, just bare hands. If you’re really Black Scythe, you can do that, right?”
At level 60, they had all gained access to the duel request feature.
They already knew how it worked, having used it before.
They also knew they could place stakes through duels.
“If we win, you step down from the successor position. But if you win, we’ll acknowledge you completely.”
“Fight 2-on-1?”
“Yes. Why? Not confident, Black Scythe?”
It was a ridiculous provocation, but Ma Kyung-rok couldn’t respond.
If he had a weapon, it would be different, but to fight bare-handed without skills?
No matter how good his skills were, he couldn’t win under such conditions.
“Fine, I lied a bit. I’m not Black Scythe. Are you satisfied?”
“I knew it. What nonsense to claim you’re Black Scythe.”
“Why lie about something that can be easily exposed, bastard?”
“What?”
As soon as the curse words came out, Ma Kyung-rok’s expression turned grim.
His brothers’ gazes also became colder.
“What are you doing?”
At this point, Ma Dae-cheol, who had been quietly watching, had no choice but to get angry.
“You! Talking about duels and whatnot, are you here to fight with your brother?”
“See, we told you we didn’t want to come.”
“But you insisted on dragging us here.”
“What, what? You rascals!”
The chairman was furious, but his sons didn’t flinch.
In the past, they might have been wary because the successor hadn’t been decided yet, but not now.
Ma Kyung-rok had shown significant achievements and was already decided as the successor.
“Honestly, we don’t understand why you brought us here.”
“If it’s to tell us to learn from our brother, we’re leaving.”
“You ungrateful bastards!”
“Hey guys, how can you speak to your father like that!”
Ma Dong-won tried to scold and stop them, but the two’s minds were already set.
“Kyung-rok, be careful on dark roads. Don’t get too cocky just because you survived up to the 13th round.”
“What?”
“Remember, those who hold their heads high will stumble over a stone.”
The two brothers left after leaving those ominous words.
“To think I have such ungrateful sons… Ah, my neck.”
“Brother! Are you alright?”
As Ma Dong-won supported Ma Dae-cheol, he called out to Ma Kyung-rok, who was standing there blankly.
“What are you doing? Help your father!”
“Ah, yes.”
As Ma Kyung-rok supported his father, he wore a dazed expression.
He was thinking about his brothers’ words.
‘Be careful on dark roads? Stumble over a stone?’
Anyone could see it was a threat.
‘Those damn bastards. Instead of congratulating me, they say such things?’
Grinding his teeth, Ma Kyung-rok felt a headache coming on.
Even though they were blood-related, he had no good memories with them.
‘They’re worse than strangers.’
Being threatened with murder made his temples throb.
Recently, Ma Kyung-rok has been under tremendous stress.
Maybe that was why?
Ma Kyung-rok started to think about something he shouldn’t.
‘Should I kill them first before they get me?’
It wasn’t an empty threat.
His brothers were capable of plotting his death.
Only then would the successor position be vacant.
And they would have their chance.
‘Until now, they must have thought I would fail Father’s mission. They never expected me to grow the company this much. Maybe they thought I would die during the rounds.’
But now, the situation has changed.
‘They won’t just wait for me to die in the other world. They must be desperate, unsure how long they can survive themselves.’
So they left with genuine threats.
They really believed they had to kill him.
‘Do they think I’ll just sit back and take it? They don’t know me at all.’
With a cynical smile, Ma Kyung-rok genuinely decided to kill his brothers.
Unaware that someone was reading his thoughts.
*
‘Ah. What’s with this atmosphere?’
Ryu Min, who had arrived at the company at Ma Kyung-rok’s invitation, couldn’t greet him.
He had witnessed the brothers’ quarrel.
So he was using transparency to approach and read their thoughts.
‘See, not all chaebols have good lives.’
The inheritance fights among chaebol children were a cliché often seen in dramas.
‘Would you want to fight over succession in a life-or-death situation?’
Or maybe they were more obsessed because they didn’t know when they might die and wanted to have one big win before they did.
‘It looks like the chairman has no intention of changing the successor.’
He had already confirmed Ma Kyung-rok as the next successor in his mind.
No wonder.
The eldest son had shown an outstanding achievement by getting listed on KOSPI. How could he not favor him?
‘He only called the other brothers to stimulate them, but it backfired.’
Reading the departing brothers’ thoughts, it was clear they genuinely wanted to kill Ma Kyung-rok.
When they return, they might even start plotting in earnest.
‘And Ma Kyung-rok believes he should strike first before he gets hit.’
The brothers wanted to kill each other.
There was no family worse than this.
‘Wait. This might be an opportunity for me?’
If he could use this situation well, he could perfectly separate Ma Kyung-rok from Christine.
Then he could make Christine his own completely.
‘I’ve already confirmed that Ma Kyung-rok harbors ill feelings towards Black Scythe. We could never get close.’
They had stayed together for mutual benefits, but it was time to sever ties.
There was no more high ground to reach together.
‘The company is the same. Though it passed the listing review, that’s all. The number of players will gradually decrease, and eventually, after the 15th round, revenues will completely drop.’
Now was the perfect time to sell.
‘But as the major shareholder, I can’t just sell everything.’
Selling all his shares now would mean openly opposing Ma Kyung-rok.
If he did, he should sell a portion.
Enough to secure a carefree lifetime fund of 100 billion won, then keep the rest.
‘About 3% of my shares should be sold.’
That way, even if the company fails later, it won’t be seen as betraying.
‘I should call Russell immediately to cash in all my shares.’
And another person.
‘Christine.’
He needed to call her to take advantage of this situation.
‘I’ll also call Seo Arin to help organize my thoughts.’
Smiling slyly, Ryu Min looked around and released his transparency in a distant place.
Then he approached Ma Kyung-rok naturally, pretending not to have seen anything.