Chapter 521  

Most constellations out there, including Choi Yeonseung, didn’t think that highly of the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House. Of course, his power of existence had surged thanks to the greed of humans, but...

In the end, what mattered most was how the constellation wielded their power of existence.

Constellations that cowardly avoided necessary fights would naturally have a hard time earning the respect of other constellations. However, there was a fearsome side to the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House that no one else was aware of.

He could inflict massive damage without attacking constellations or their household members... Given that human greed made him stronger, the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House was the perfect constellation to quietly destroy Earth’s civilization.

Use any means necessary! Smite all of those damn humans! Don’t forgive those who dare to harbor resentment toward constellations!

-B-but Master... Shaking up human civilization will diminish your strength!

It doesn’t matter. The scum that are ignoring me are so blinded by their own ambitions that they won’t be able to retaliate. I will show them the wrath of the gods!

The reason the treasure house constellation hadn’t shaken human civilization despite his great power was simple. If humanity faced a crisis, his power would naturally decline. If many dungeons exploded and monsters flocked into big cities, the stock prices would plummet, consequently weakening the treasure house constellation.

Similarly, if evil god constellations went on a rampage, cutting off the logistics and disrupting various industries, the world economy would suffer a major blow, which would cripple the treasure house constellation.

However, the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House was blinded by rage and disregarded the losses his plan would cause.

The attack began in China.

“What do you mean you lost contact with the chairman of AXZT?”

Lately, AXZT had been a hot topic in China.

In addition to producing outstanding artificial artifacts, the company also possessed refining technology that allowed them to surpass the core purity of other major Chinese companies.

A core could produce significantly more energy even if its purity was increased by one decimal point. In this field, countries continuously poured large sums of money into the development and research of cores, so AXZT had naturally garnered a lot of popularity.

Making new artificial artifacts and technology for core refining—a company could get insanely rich just by doing one of those two things, but AXTZ was proficient in both, which was why it had accumulated a trillion dollars overnight.

It was unsurprising that the Chinese government, led by the party officials, had also invested a large amount of money into AXZT.

...But now they lost contact with the chairman.

“Well...”

“Tell me quickly!”

“Th-the chairman... I think he escaped... He’s gone... An inspection team went to the site of the company, but the factory was underdeveloped, and the machinery was... gone,” the subordinate explained in a quavering voice, barely able to contain his fear.

Zheng Zhiyun was so traumatized that he couldn’t even get angry anymore. That was how surreal the situation was. Many party executives had exclaimed, “Let’s lead the raid era in the name of the party!” and invested in AXZT. How should they deal with this situation?

“Th-the company was definitely functioning when I inspected it! They even completed a batch of artificial artifacts that were superior to Dragon Industry and other companies! I’m sure it was the same with the core as well?”

“Uh... I don’t know why this is happening...”

The people never would’ve imagined it.

A constellation had set up a project to deceive humans!

The Greedy Owner of the Treasure House didn’t have the ability to make money himself, but he had the excellent ability to help those who wanted to make a big splash.

Manipulating humans, bribing and deceiving them... The result was surprising to even the Greedy Owner of the Treasure House.

It was that easy...?

‘Rather than earning money honestly... Isn’t it easier to steal it? You insignificant human beings...’

The Greedy Owner of the Treasure House made up his mind and increased the pace of his work. The more corrupt and rigid the country, the easier it was to carry out such tricks.

AXZT was just the beginning, as various economic issues started to snowball.

***

“...The end of the world... is coming...?”

Choi Yeonseung’s expression hardened when he heard the news.

Dozens of companies which had received investments from the Chinese government had run away... It was an unprecedented disaster. Before, Choi Yeonseung would just shrug at this news, but he had been running a company for quite some time now.

He knew that an economic crisis in China would very quickly have repercussions everywhere else in the world.

Aine walked in with dead, blank eyes, and seeing her like that, Choi Yeonseung didn’t even need to ask how bad the situation was.

“I’d understand if it was just one company, but... How could they invest in a few dozen...? Are they blind...?!” Aine stuttered as she spoke, dumbfounded. She just couldn’t wrap her head around this.

It would’ve been understandable if one or two companies had run away with government investments, but she couldn’t fathom how dozens of companies had exploded at the same time. It wasn’t like someone had planned for it to happen...

“No one could’ve predicted this.”

It was such an unprecedented disaster that not even Adaquaniel had seen it coming.

“There is nothing to worry about. It doesn’t change what we have to do. If there is a problem, we solve it. Let’s keep it simple,” Choi Yeonseung explained.

Aine looked up, her face riddled with confusion. There were hundreds of problems everywhere, some more serious than others. The lines of direct export to China were lost, so several of their partner companies were on the verge of bankruptcy due to the crisis. And this was just the beginning.

Nevertheless, Choi Yeonseung seemed completely unfazed

‘He’s human, right...?’

Sometimes, Aine wondered if Choi Yeonseung was actually human. It was utterly ridiculous, but she couldn’t help wondering if Choi Yeonseung had transcended humanity during his time in the Abyss. Otherwise, how on earth could he keep calm in this situation?

“...That’s right. There’s no need to freak out already.”

“Yes, even though we have to rebuild our export lines from scratch and secure partners, we deal with this.”

This time, Adaquaniel’s supportive words backfired, as Aine looked like she was going to collapse.

-Could this be a constellation’s doing?

After Aine and Adaquaniel left, Choi Yeonseung thought about the situation. There was no basis for his suspicion, but his instincts were strangely pointing in that direction.

Wasn’t this a constellation’s masterpiece?

-I don’t think a constellation would be able to do something like this...

The goddess of sloth cocked her head. Constellations would generally go on a rampage in a way that was easier to understand. They didn’t cause trouble in such a manner.

Of course, there were a few constellations familiar with Earth’s affairs, but none of them had a reason to do this. There was no benefit in making such a fuss.

‘There is no such thing as a constellation of economic crises.’

Choi Yeonseung had to admit that the goddess of sloth had a point. He knew that most constellations actually preferred order over chaos.

...But he still had this feeling that something was wrong. He just couldn’t place his finger on it.

[The ‘Chef of Endless Gluttony’ says that when your intuition is telling you something, you shouldn’t ignore it.]

-What are you saying?

[He says that if you grab onto all the suspicious ones and smash them, the answer might come out.]

-...

It sounded like a primitive method, but surprisingly, Choi Yeonseung liked it.

‘Indeed, brute force might be the solution.’

What was the worst that could happen?

***

The Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood had been paying little attention to Earth lately. For a constellation that was embroiled in a never-ending frenzied bloodbath, the relatively peaceful and complex civilization of Earth wasn’t of interest.

At first, he was fascinated by the number of souls and tried this and that, but he soon lost interest after seeing that the results didn’t match his efforts.

Aside from occasionally taking care of his household members, the berserker constellation focused on other areas of the Abyss.

Fight! Yes! Crush his bones! Make his head a trophy for your master! Yes! Yes!! Unleash more madness!!

[The ‘Undefeated Incarnation of Training’ is calling to ask you something.]

What?

The berserker constellation frowned at the interruption.

I was really excited about this! Why are you trying to get in the way? You think you can get away with spoiling my fun?

[The ‘Undefeated Incarnation of Training’ says to forget it.]

[He tells you to have fun.]

...

The berserker constellation was angry. There were two ways to anger a constellation; one of them was to stop talking halfway. If you are here, get to the point! Are you running away because you are afraid?

[The ‘Undefeated Incarnation of Training’ says that’s right.]

[He says goodbye.]

...Wait! The fight is over. I have time to listen to you!

The berserker constellation stopped the Undefeated Incarnation of Training from leaving. He hadn’t interacted with a fellow constellation in a long time...

***

[The ‘Marauder Wielding a Scythe’ pleads that he doesn’t know anything.]

[He is paying you well for protection, so he asks why you’re doing this.]

[The ‘Beast of Swords and Spears’ angrily says this has nothing to do with it.]

[If you attack, it swears that it will retaliate along with other evil god constellations.]

[The ‘Bubbling Mass of Plague’...]

[...]

[...]

The evil god constellations were more willing to cooperate with his questions than Choi Yeonseung had expected. As he talked with the constellations, he collected more and more useful pieces of information.

[The ‘Greedy Owner of the Treasure House’ is suspicious these days...]

[The realm of the ‘Greedy Owner of the Treasure House’ these days...]

‘The treasure house constellation?’

Many of them had mentioned his name, but Choi Yeonseung found it hard to believe that the treasure house constellation would do something that would cripple him.

However, an enraged constellation would forget about profit and repercussions.

‘Why is he so pissed off?’

-Wasn’t it because he was deceived by humans last time?

‘Just because he was scammed once? Isn’t he too much of a snowflake?’

-...Successor, a constellation’s pride is greater than you think.

[Kalasnegen, the household member of the ‘Snake of Alcohol and Dancing’, requests a meeting with you.]

“What’s going on?’

Choi Yeonseung was thinking about how to approach the treasure house constellation when Kalasnegen, a familiar household member, reached out to him.

Why did you come to see me?

-Please help me, great Undefeated Incarnation of Training!

‘??’

Choi Yeonseung was taken aback. The Snake of Alcohol and Dancing was one of the most powerful constellations on Earth, rivaling him. If the household member of such a constellation was begging for help like this...

‘What is this? Did the other evil god constellations unite? The good god constellations wouldn’t touch the Snake of Alcohol and Dancing. The evil god constellations might’ve joined forces to conquer and divide a realm, but why would they pick her...?

-Master’s liquor factory is ruined! Please lend me Hunter Choi Yeonseung, your household member! He can solve this urgent problem!

...

-Is he joking?

The goddess of sloth was dumbfounded. At this moment, the entire world was shaking because of the machinations of an evil god constellation!

‘Forget it. That’s what constellations are like.’

Choi Yeonseung quickly realized that Kalasnegen was serious. At this point, he was no longer fazed by the eccentricity of constellations.