New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 979: Greasing The Wheels Of Bureaucracy

Liu Yan realized Alex and Kary were looking at him, little smirks on their lips, and immediately thought they were mocking him.

But, internally, both of them were thinking, 'See how powerful even the children in our group are?'

It was pride that dominated their minds, far from them the thoughts of mocking Liu Yan's pitiful display of power.

Liu Yan vowed to himself to prove to them he was powerful once they started fighting, to compensate for his lacklustre performance just now.

'Don't worry, Yan. You excel in combat magic. This was just not your specialty,' he told himself, clenching his fists.

"Alright. Seems like we are set. Jin-Sil. Lead the way, please," Alex said with a smile.

Even though they were heading into a dangerous hunt, Alex tried to show only confidence and strength. He wanted everyone to look at him, and think, 'Everything will be fine. If he's this confident, there is no way things could go wrong.'

Of course, there was still some nervousness amongst them, mostly coming from the ones who hadn't hunted monsters yet. But seeing their guild leader and ally display such confidence helped alleviate the tension in their bodies.

Jin-Sil took the lead, as they walked into the building that separated the parking lot from the historic site, displaying a confident smile as well. She needed to look like a guide to this happy troop of young people, so they could talk their way into the volcano without hiccup.

Normally, the site would be open to tourists until dusk. But in light of the recent

disappearances, and missing people at the foot of the volcano's waterside, it had been closed for investigation.

Of course, since most of the disappearances occurred during non-visiting hours, or on the ocean below, where the circulation was technically illegal, the authorities were taking their time with starting the investigation.

The paltry sum they charged visitors was far from affecting the economy if it was suddenly closed for a week or two. Jeju Island's most famous touristic volcano wasn't this one, after all.

As the group entered the building, which was still open so the security could shoo away tourists, Jin-Sil confidently walked up to the counter.

Immediately as the security guard saw her, he frowned and tried shooing her away.

"Ulineun mun-eul dad-assseubnida, agassi. Jaegaejang-eul balpyohamyeon gwihawa gwihaui chingudeul-i dasi dol-aol su issseubnida," the man said, annoyingly.

"Ye-oeleul dul su issnayo? Nae chingudeul-eun hangug-e olae meomulji anh-eul geos-igo eonje dol-aolji moleugessseubnida. ulineun dangsin-ui sigan-eul gachiissge mandeul su issseubnida," Jin-Sil responded with a pleading look.

The man looked at her with an annoyed look, waving her away without responding.

Alex looked at him, his smile fading away a bit. He stepped forward, ready to speak up, but Kary acted faster than him, producing a thick wad of cash.

She slammed it on the counter, grinning at the two men.

"I know at least one of you speaks English, so let me make this simple. In this pile of cash, there are around twenty-five thousand US dollars. That should be around sixty million won if my math is correct. This can be yours if you let us through.

"We promise to be mindful of the environment, and leave nothing behind that wasn't there before, but we need to pass. The offer is of a limited duration, so make your mind fast," she said, not taking her hand off the wad of cash.

The eyes of the other security guard went wide as he understood what she said.

"San-e oleumyeon 1indang 3000man wonssig jugessdaneun yeoja! Hyeongjenim, ulineun I jean-eul tong-gwasikil su eobs-seubnida." he exclaimed, looking at his colleague.

The man in front of Kary and Jin-Sil suddenly looked at her with wide eyes, extending his hand to the money. But Kary withdrew it faster than he could reach it.

"Ah ah. I need assurance we can go up before I pay. Do you think me a fool?" she asked, giving them a mocking eyebrow raise.

The man to the left stepped forward, bringing his hands together with a wide smile.

"Of course, Ma'am. You and your friends can go up the mountain, not a problem. We won't keep you here. But we will act like you were never here. If something happens up there, you will take full responsibility. Is that alright with you?" he asked, eyeing the money greedily. Kary grinned.

"Even better," she said, tossing the money at the man.

"Let's go, people," she said, turning to the others, who were looking at her with wide eyes. "What?" she asked, giggling a little.

"Did you think I wouldn't have a contingency plan lined up? It's not that I don't trust Jin-Sil, but money is always the best transactional lubricant. Now, hop to it. We need to climb up there," she said, passing the gate that the security guard had unlocked with a wide grin.

He wasn't even looking at the esoteric group, as he was already imagining all the things he could do with this money. Thirty million won was a year's worth of salary, for bottom-level workers like them.

No sane person would have spat on that offer. Even the most righteous of people would do a double-take at that sum.

As the group passed the opened gate, ignored entirely by the two glee-filled guards, Alex leaned in close to Kary.

"When did you have time to stop and pull out that much cash?" he asked, curious.

"I've had it in my bags since we left Montreal. I figured a bit of cash would go a long way if we ever needed it. So, I had it pulled a few days before leaving," she said, winking at him.

Alex chuckled to himself.

'If she wasn't on my side, that amount of foresight would terrify me,' he mused, looking at her backside as she accelerated her gait to take the lead.

His thoughts wandered off a bit as he looked at her hips swaying from left to right, and only came back to normal when David's shoulder bumped into his.

"Earth to Wolfy. Get your thoughts out of the gutter there, perv. I know that's a fine ass, but you should be thinking about the battle to come. Not your next fling," David mocked, as he

walked past him.

Alex grunted, pushing the stray thoughts away.

'He's right. The trouble hasn't even begun yet. I need to stay focused,' he told himself, his

gaze steeling itself once more.

'I hope everything can keep going this smooth...'

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