Chapter 227: < Protect – Episode 217 – Russian Roulette [4] >

Frankfurt Motor Show.

It was unnecessary to call it a top motor show in the world. Europeans loved motorsports just as much as they loved soccer. No matter where they were from white people were obsessed with speed.

Quite a few believed that cars had souls. This might have been the case in only Europe, but the more special an object was, the more they called it by a name. They believed that both people and objects’ future depended on their names.

For rational white people, this was quite superstitious. But that didn’t mean humanism made them abandon all beliefs. Many scientists believed that religion and science were tolerating each other. And in cases where science couldn’t explain it, people’s beliefs became deeper than before.

“Soo Ho.”

“Sebastian.”

Car engineering was more than just machinery. The car industry was the hero of modern technology. Some believed that it was on a downfall, but in places without proper public transportation, cars were a necessity, not a choice.

In developed countries, people debated over the environment as well as other factors, but not in less developed countries. Especially Africa or the Middle East weren’t in a position to be picky about cars. Downgraded cars disguised as used cars were the most sold in such places.

Of course, they didn’t follow the legal procedures to do so.

“How long has it been?”

“We saw each other in Hawaii.”

“Hawaii. No need to be technical. It’s good to see you again. Anyway, I see you came with a beauty. Did you decide to convert to Muslim, Soo Ho?”

Ahn Soo Ho smirked at Sebastian’s joke and shook his head.

“You white folks think all Islams practice polygamy.”

It was wrong to assume that all Muslims had multiple wives. Most Muslims just had one partner, and those with wealth had more than two. And it was also wrong to assume that everyone was rich in the Middle East due to oil.

Most of the people at motor shows looked like businessmen, but there were also many engineers battling with each other with their gazes. And it wasn’t just the engineers that fought.

“I see Oleg came, too. Everyone’s having a hard time because of Tesla.”

“Now that America is disobeying, it’s harder to deal with.”

“I can’t believe they broke the agreement like that. Yankees are so rude.”

One day, an agreement regarding cars were lifted. The one that led that movement was an American carmaker, and Tesla stepped forward to work toward innovation.

Innovation, this was a magical word that Steve Jobs and many others have used. They started to use that word for basically everything, and Americans that called electric cars new were being shameless.

The basic car makers weren’t making electric cars out of choice. Why? Because it didn’t make profits. There was no reason to work so hard on something that didn’t make money. Some did pretend to make it just to please the public, but no one was trying to replace their survival mode with electric cars.

“I don’t know. It’s pretty likely that America will go back to the old days soon.”

“They’re going to give up on electric cars?”

“They probably never expected much from it to begin with. They just tried to shake up their competition a little bit.”

“Their competition?”

“Gas and oil.”

“Oh.”

Sebastian nodded in response. In the 21st century, each country started to implement pro-environment policies. Carbon dioxide and climate change prevention, as well as end-of-the-world movies, started to plant fear in people.

So what would happen if America suddenly changed their minds about pro-friendly movements? They would probably cuss them out but not much else.

Due to various political scandals, America fell in terms of their reputation, but they were still the strongest in the world. Whether it was about politics or economy, the international community couldn’t leave them out.

“Do you think that’s the ultimate goal of the Yankees?”

“I don’t think this is from the White House. I’m guessing…”

“It was the Energy Department.”

The American President was the leader of America, but Americans didn’t reply to the White House’s leadership alone.

“Bubble.”

“Bubble?”

“Pro-environment bubble.”

“Is this like the IT bubble in the past?”

“It’s similar, but with different impact.”

Since the industrial standardization was changed to pro-environment, a burst in the bubble was going to cause major damage. As the standard of civilization increased, the demands of the public also grew, so it was to be expected that power demand would increase as well.

“That’s the dilemma of politicians.”

“Yeah. International agreements aren’t just some deals that you make with friends at a bar.”

“Do you think America can handle all the criticism?”

“Don’t look down on Yankees, Sebastian. They’re like a gang when they need to be.”

It was true that America was somewhat gentlemanly. He wanted to almost praise them for their sense of duty to protect human rights. But when their national profits became threatened, they always put that first.

No exceptions.

“It’s likely that Russia’s actions are connected to America.”

“Locking the pipeline? But America announced that if Russia doesn’t deal with that, they would mobilize NATO.”

“Haha. Do you actually believe that?”

People often assumed that NATO was Europe’s forces, but they actually relied on the American army the most. That meant America was responsible for Europe’s national defense. Even France, which always shit on the US Navy, didn’t want them to give up on NATO.

“That’s enough of this boring conversation.”

As soon as the women in revealing clothing returned, Sebastian excused himself. Even he felt uncomfortable around Caroline and Alexa. As soon as the five women returned, even Ahn Soo Ho couldn’t look away.

“What are you doing alone?”

Ahn Soo Ho hugged Jang Seol Hyun in response. Jang Seol Hyun looked full of life at the first event she had attended in a while. He felt bad about that.

‘They say pregnant women are shackled down…’

Did he do something horrible to a female actress in her mid-20s? Jang Seol Hyun recognized that look and whispered in his ear.

“I’m happy, Soo Ho. So don’t be sorry.”

“Whoa, whoa! Enough!”

Alexa took Jang Seol Hyun off of him, and even Michelle and Alice helped out. The four women looked good together. Caroline Burn saw the rest of them as they walked off and stood next to Ahn Soo Ho.

“Your wife is stronger than she looks.”

“I know.”

Jang Seol Hyun was a strong woman.

“How did you kidnap a woman like her?”

“I was lucky.”

“You’re definitely the foe of women, Soo Ho.”

“Why? Because I’m handsome?”

“Yeah right!”

Caroline looked dumbfounded.

“You don’t have to look that disgusted, Carol.”

“I just want you to come back to reality.”

“No thanks.”

Caroline pretended to be calm, but she was surprised on the inside.

‘Did Soo Ho always have this personality?’

Ahn Soo Ho

Mr. Guardian

Code Name Wizard

Killing Machine

Some called him a guardian angel while others called him a false god. Would he go easy on women and children? If they were enemies, he didn’t care if they were women, children, or the elderly. There were many times when his logic was hard to understand. People were better off not knowing Ahn Soo Ho’s nature.

‘Then they can rip him apart all they want.’

As the owner of Hosoo Entertainment and the husband of an actress, Jang Seol Hyun, most were afraid of him. After a moment of silence, Ahn Soo Ho opened his mouth first.

“Where’s Hannah?”

“She’s with her mother.”

“Did you forgive her?”

“I’m not sure. But I know Hannah needs a mother right now.”

She still had love for Christina. But he could no longer see the rage he saw in her before. She hated her in a reasonable amount. She understood that she had to endure the pain for the good of her granddaughter’s future.

Ahn Soo Ho nodded and then shook his head.

“There’s no cure for anger.”

“I’m trying to get over it. I turned this rage toward my business.”

“Like Garcia?”

“That old man had too much greed. Was it called the Emerald Plan? If it’s related to that, that’s sufficient. I don’t want to be too far from Hannah.”

“So you’re saying you won’t pay the money.”

“It’s not like I’m from oil money. How can I pay tens of millions of dollars for the membership? Soo Ho, that would add up to 100 million dollars in 10 years.”

The recruitment for the Emerald Membership finished its first round.

A total of 305 people.

The fixed number was overestimated, but 5 of them were up to Ahn Soo Ho’s discretion. Among them, the only minor was Hannah. Ahn Soo Ho stroked his chin. Employ Caroline in return for protecting her granddaughter? Loss wasn’t a business.

No matter how much he wanted the most elite unit, his nature as a mercenary wasn’t going to go anywhere.

‘But Logan also made a request…’

Since he became a father despite never having to even hold hands with Christina before, he should have been dumbfounded, but he didn’t seem that sad about it.

‘Is he happy about it?’

Anyone would have wanted a cute daughter like Hannah.

“Fine. Since Fisher is a part of the package, it’s not a total loss.”

“Hm.”

Caroline knitted her brows. She wasn’t insulted, but embarrassed.

“Are you embarrassed at your age? It’s not bad to have some late romance.”

“Don’t make fun of me. I’m serious.”

“Look here, Carol.”

Ahn Soo Ho looked Caroline in the eyes.

“Didn’t you say yourself that my wife is a good woman?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“Well, Fisher is a good man.”

It was a miracle that a man stayed loyal to a woman for 30 years. As a fellow man, he felt bad and respected him at the same time.

“If you ignore a good man like that, you’d really be a bitch.”

“Hmm.”

Feelings couldn’t be controlled by mind control, but if she didn’t have feelings for him at all, she wouldn’t have contemplated. The way Ahn Soo Ho saw it, Caroline was just in denial. She groaned again, but it was in a positive way.

‘It must be hard to accept.’

For her, a man was simply a sperm donor. Caroline worried that the absence of a father was what ruined her son. So she truly wanted to make a family for Hannah.

Ahn Soo Ho smiled and offered a handshake.

“Here’s to a partnership.”

******

Russia blocked the Europe pipeline.

The nations of Europe complained against the Russian ambassadors, while many expressed the opinion of having to terminate all agreements the EU made with Russia.

“It has begun.”

Allan Smith put down a copy of USA Today on the table.

“What’s next, Allan?”

“I’m going to instigate the pro-Russians and anti-Russians in Europe. Ultimately, the East and the West will stand in conflict.”

East Europe received a lot of oppression during the Soviet alliance. For that reason, many hated Russia. However, some actually missed the days of the Soviet Union. After being swept up from the World War I and the Nazis caused a World War II, they were occupied by the Soviet Union, but if one asked if all of East Europe joined the communism, the answer would be no.

The nation might have succumbed, but the public started a resistance movement. They criticized the government for fighting to show off power rather than fighting for human freedom and equality.

“I heard you met with the wizard, Allan.”

“I did.”

“Will that be an obstacle?”

“Don’t you know him, Chairman? Soo Ho doesn’t interfere unless the matter actually involves him.”

“Well, it’s too bad about Sluski.”

“We can always get another hunting dog. Speaking of which, we got a call from Russia. They recommend a guy named Rupee.”

The blonde man wriggled.

“That Eric Rupee? The pimp?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I guess the wizard recommended him?”

“Since there’s an empty space.”

“I see…”

The blonde man frowned his lips. Rothschild wasn’t just a family with lots of money. And it was certainly not a family that only stood up for men of the same surname.

Even with Allan Smith, his name didn’t make it clear that he was working for Rothschild. And the ones under the family simply didn’t get there just by being born as a Rothschild. Only those that proved their worth could be involved.

“What if I refuse?”

“I don’t know about Russia, but our relationship with Soo Ho will become uncomfortable.”

The chairman looked frustrated.

“I see nothing has changed after his retirement.”

“Once a savage, always a savage.”

“Fine. I’ll leave that to you, Allan.”

“Yes, Sir. As for the next step…”

The blonde man simply smiled in response to Allan’s question.

“You have my permission.”

Allan picked up the phone.

“You may begin.”

Operation-Russian roulette.

Not even those who planned the mission knew who was going to be shot. They just had a feeling of what kind of effect it would have.

One economic research center estimated that half of the world’s wealth belonged to the top 1%, but 1% of 7 billion was 70 million. This seemed to make some sense, but there were those who also spotted a flaw.

‘Who makes the authorizations among certificate authorities?’

The question was, who authorized the wealth of those 70 million people.

The banks? The credit bureaus? The American president? There was a need for the delusions that people had about a credit to be broken. The credit among nations was very similar to an illusion.

When it came to normally operating nations, they always had the tendencies to do things that would benefit the profits of their nation. That meant they threw away ethics as long as their nation could make profits.

And were corporations any different? Not at all.

Especially companies related to currency showed great interest in distribution. People thought the large financial institutions were determining the world’s economy, but that was wrong.

What made the 21st century go round wasn’t production but distribution. If distribution stopped, the world’s economy would go into chaos. That was because there were very few countries that were self-sufficient.

It might have been possible at a village level but not at the national level. When a huge marine transport company went bankrupt, the world wasn’t very interested. They just wanted to see the new iPhone reviews and thought about where to shop next. They simply thought that another company just went down. But what went down after that was a top airline as well as a top railroad company.

‘Huh?’

Only some found this strange.

In the current financial world, there wasn’t a big enough issue to call a crisis. Despite the Nigerian war and the terrorist attacks in Europe, the Frankfurt Motor Show proceeded as if everything was okay.

There was some push and pull between production companies and oil refining companies over oil prices, but this had been going on for ages. The world was relatively peaceful. Of course, the media wasn’t interested in whether people died or starved in Somalia. What they cared about was what sentence the American president was going to get, and who would get an Academy Award next year.

However, as soon as the top marine transport company went down, the harm it did was evident to many.

“Huh?”

The cost of living started to skyrocket.

< Protect – Episode 217 – Russian Roulette [4] > The end.

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