Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 1051

But Minhyuk said that they would pay a hundred billion won at most. The reporters, who were left in a state of confusion, could not help but think that they had misheard him.

‘He’s going to pay a hundred billion won?’

‘When they choose to go to his side?’

‘That’s crazy. Does he think he makes any sense?’

All of them were dumbfounded and were unable to say anything. The same was true for the Athenae players. Minhyuk’s words were so ridiculous that they could only play it up and think that it was some crazy bullshit.

“The one who said he would pay a hundred billion won is Minhyuk.”

“Minhyuk is not someone who goes back on his word.”

“He is not the type of person who will lie.”

The one who mentioned the hundred billion won was none other than Minhyuk. Many people might criticize him because of their jealousy, but everyone knew that Minhyuk was not the type of person to lie.

Murmur, murmur–

The crowd’s voices began to fill the conference hall as the camera flashes started to go off like crazy.

“Minhyuk, are you crazy...?”

Alexander had to admit that he could not understand what Minhyuk was thinking.

Then, one of the prominent figures from Athenae raised their hand and asked, “Right now, are you saying that you will pay me if I join the Beyond the Heavens Empire? Wouldn’t you spend billions already just for that?”

Minhyuk nodded. “I am not the type to go back on my words. I am encouraging all of the rankers worldwide to gather in the Beyond the Heavens Empire.”

“Then...”

“But would you give the money right away...”

But Minhyuk did not listen to the words of the Athenae players. He just said, “If you don’t want to, then don’t come.”

“...!”

“...!”

Minhyuk was using money to demand their cooperation. Yet when they heard those words, everyone on the spot realized that Minhyuk had become “Party A” in their discussion just because he offered to pay a total of a hundred billion. This could be seen from how careful the people here were with their words after hearing his offer.

Then, Minhyuk pointed to Oh Changwook, who came here with him and said, “If you agree, we will immediately sign the contract right here. Now, let me tell you about the contents of the contract.”

Everyone concentrated on his words.

“Players who have reached Level 650 or have God classes on par with that level and wish to join Beyond the Heavens Empire to hunt Helenia will receive a basic salary of ten billion won.”

“Heok!”

“Urk!”

“This is crazy!!!”

Minhyuk said that he would pay a total of a hundred billion won. These were what the reporters on site thought when they heard about it:

‘Are they going to start at 100 million won?’

‘Because he gave the maximum, he will start with a tiny minimum, right?’

But their thoughts immediately changed with one word from Minhyuk.

“Of course, there will be additional incentives. The Beyond the Heavens Empire will calculate the incentives based on their contribution until we reach a hundred billion won.”

“The moment you sign the contract, you will become a contractor, gather in the Beyond the Heavens Empire, and follow our rules.

“The contractor will surrender all the drops and gold they will obtain to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

“If the contractor fails to fulfill the contract’s fine print, you will pay twice the amount you have been paid in advance as a penalty.”

Minhyuk was not a fool. Of course, the contract would have many other details aside from these significant clauses.

‘No matter how often you are forced to log out, you will have to log back in right away and join the war once again when the access penalty is lifted.’

However, Minhyuk knew that few people would want to accept such a condition despite the ten billion introductory salary offer. Of course, there would still be those who would speak up just to rip him off.

Just like now.

“That’s a ridiculous offer.”

The one who spoke up was none other than Vietnam’s God of Archery Miao. As the country\'s representative ranker, she was extremely sharp and, of course, someone who knew her worth.

“Level 650 players and their equivalent God-class players can make more than ten billion won annually.”

In fact, some celebrities could earn that much right now. As for the high rankers from all over the world, they could earn more than celebrities and famous figures these days. Of course, someone at God of Archery Miao’s level could earn at least thirty billion won for the contribution that they could make.

As she said, they could make that much money in a year. Yet the Beyond the Heavens Empire demanded their absolute submission for that much money?

“Do you think high-rankers like us would benefit from this contract?”

Click, click, click–!

Cameras flashed non-stop as Miao confronted Minhyuk.

Minhyuk smiled at her and said, “Then...”

The reporters looked at him with rapt attention.

“...don’t sign it.”

“...?!”

Miao frowned at Minhyuk’s utterly unexpected response. Didn’t he make this offer because he wanted and needed the power of other players?

Then, Minhyuk said, “If not stopped, Helenia and Barbarian will kill more than 50% of Athenae’s population. If that happens, the number of Athenae players will also drastically reduce.” Minhyuk looked around. “This will also lead to an exponential increase in players leaving Athenae. This means that the value of the rankers, their gold, and everything else they possess in the game will also be drastically reduced.”

It was inevitable. The fewer players there were in a game, the lower the value of the game.

“By that time, are you confident that you will still be able to earn more than ten billion won per year?”

Indeed. If that happened, the advertisements and various contracts the high-rankers currently have would be immediately cut off.

Minhyuk was not here to ask them for a favor.

The cold look in Minhyuk’s eyes left Miao embarrassed. She could not help but say, “E-even so, your condition is just too ridiculous, no? The Beyond the Heavens Empire wants to accept all Level 650 players and God-class players of equivalent power, right?”

Miao understood what Minhyuk meant. He wanted to attract as many players as possible and give them at least a decent offer. Tens of millions of players would gather under their banner. Could the Beyond the Heavens Empire afford to pay them all? Right now, those who doubted Minhyuk would think they might be used as free labor and would never get paid.

“Let me introduce you to my dear friend.”

With Minhyuk’s words, the doors to the conference hall opened. Then, hundreds of bodyguards wearing black suits and sunglasses poured in. Every single one of them carried a single family crest on their chest. A single man walked among these guards.

This man used the nickname Calauhel in Athenae. In reality? He was Rausch, the master of the Rothschilde Family.

“Th-the Rothschilde Family!”

“Heok!”

Another round of non-stop camera flashes appeared in the conference hall. Everyone knew that Calauhel was the master of the Rothschilde Family, but none knew if this family would support the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Even so, Miao scoffed.

“Even if Calauhel is a member of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, you would need at least ten trillion won to fund this hunt. And if you’ll borrow the money from them, then there’s no way they would agree. After all, the Rothschilde Family is not a family that would do meaningless charity. Plus, based on what you have said...”

A glimmer appeared in Miao’s eyes.

“...if Helenia’s hunt fails, you will sit on trillions of won in debt.”

“...!”

The reporters finally understood it after hearing Miao’s words. It was just like she said: if Athenae fell, then the Beyond the Heavens Empire would also fall. And Minhyuk, who dared to do something like this, would be left with trillions of won in debt.

“If that happens, the Rothschilde Family will file a lawsuit against the Ilhwa Group. From Rotschilde’s point of view, they would still receive the largest company in Korea as compensation, so they would have nothing to lose.”

Everyone agreed with Miao’s words. In the end, Rothschilde was a family that moved for the profits.

A frown marred Minhyuk’s face as he said, “I clearly said I was introducing my friend. When did I say that the Rothschilde Family would pay?”

“...?”

Then, Minhyuk continued, “And how in the world will the Beyond the Heavens Empire have ten trillion won?”

“...?”

Everyone present could not hide how flustered they were. Was he saying that everything that he had said earlier was nothing but bullshit?

The hundreds of cameras focused on Minhyuk as he said, “We’re accepting sponsors from all over the globe for this hunt for Helenia. Ah, that’s right.”

“...?”

“...?”

“...?”

“We’re on a first-come, first-serve basis.”

Rausch immediately raised his hand as if he was waiting for this moment. Then, he said, “The Rothschilde Family will become a sponsor and will sponsor you one trillion won.”

“Thank you.”

Alexander was shocked. “Right now... don’t tell me...”

Indeed. The hunt for Helenia would be an event that the entire world would pay attention to. The buzz it would create would surpass the World Cup or the Olympics.

‘You’re going to ask the companies to pay for all the expenses?’

It was a crazy idea, but there was something more interesting. Minhyuk switched his phone from vibrate to ring mode.

“Do you hear that?” Minhyuk grinned. “That’s the sound of my phone. It’s on fire, you know?”

Ring, ring, ring–!

Ring, ring, ring–!

The moment his words fell, Minhyuk’s phone rang non-stop. When one number stopped calling, another would appear. The people could not help but look at Minhyuk incredulously. His ideas were ridiculous and unconventional, but he made it possible.

‘They will bring us together under a contract, but the ones who will pay us are the companies?’

With these companies sponsoring the Beyond the Heavens Empire, they would never be deprived of money.

Then, Minhyuk said, “Well, then. Shall we sign a contract?”

They no longer hesitated. All of the prominent figures in Athenae who were present during the press conference signed the contract.

***

Genie, or Im Jihye, urgently set up a team to handle all matters related to corporate and business sponsorships. It was no use crying over spilled milk. They had to work and deal with the matter at hand.

Almost 80% of the Level 650 rankers had decided to join the Beyond the Heavens Empire in this battle. And since they had decided to hire players through the “mercenary” system, where their compensation would depend on their level, the players began to gather around them like crazy.

But there was one problem.

“The companies’ sponsorships are not as high as we thought. There’s just a lot of them.”

At least fifty companies contacted them regarding the sponsorship. However, the Beyond the Heavens Empire only intended to receive one or two sponsorships from companies and businesses, including the Rothschilde Family.

If they received sponsorships from dozens of companies, the requirements and conditions they had to fulfill would cause chaos, even during the battle. People worldwide would definitely criticize them for the non-stop Pay-Per-Lead, a performance-based marketing model (PPL).

“How much are the companies willing to sponsor?” Khan asked.

Genie looked at him and replied, “Some offered 200 billion. Some offered 300 billion and 500 billion, but most offered 100 billion.”

“Hmm...”

They needed trillions of won for the offer that Minhyuk made.

Khan, who had seen Minhyuk leave for the press conference, carefully said, “This is the first time I have seen Minhyuk like this.”

“It’s because he lost Old Man Beradon.”

The thought that they were walking down the wrong path because Minhyuk’s head was clouded by anger passed through all of their heads. If they could not gather enough money through sponsorships and donations to pay all of the players, they would be the ones emptying their pockets. Even so, Beyond the Heavens truly needed to gather the players.

“If we can successfully kill Helenia, our profits would be huge. The problem is if we fail.”

Sighs could be heard all over the place. Of course, if they could successfully secure a good sponsor, then the only ones that would be hit were the company, and the Beyond the Heavens Empire would be perfectly fine.

Naturally, the Beyond the Heavens Empire wanted to satisfy the sponsor company. They were also afraid of the impact they would receive if they failed.

‘We have spent at least three trillion won so far.’

They needed trillions more won so they could prepare everything for Helenia’s hunt.

At that moment, Minhyuk, who went to the press conference, returned with Ilhwa Group’s Chairman Kang Minhoo beside him. Minhyuk asked, “How’s the corporate sponsorships going?”

Genie looked embarrassed. She tried to speak as carefully as possible, fearing that Minhyuk would blame himself for what was happening.

“Most of the offers are around 100 billion won. But just like you said, we would be in a huge mess if we accept the companies who want to sponsor us with such an amount.”

Minhyuk nodded calmly. “It’s just as expected.”

“Huh...?”

“Did you just say that you expected it?”

Everyone in the room looked confused at Minhyuk’s calm reaction. Then, Minhyuk’s phone rang.

“Well, things are going just as my father said.”

Minhyuk received much help and advice from his father during this time. After all, his father was the chairman of a huge company.

Not long after, Minhyuk answered his phone. “Hello. Yes, this is Minhyuk speaking.”

–Hello. This is Apel.

Based on market cap, Apel could be said to be the world’s number one company.

Minhyuk switched to speaker mode so that everyone could hear the call. He thought this would be good study material for the others.

They conversed back and forth and discussed the basic story. Then, Minhyuk said, “We do not want sponsorships from countless companies. We only wish to have at least one or two companies sponsoring us.”

–That’s what we’re hoping for too.

“Just so you know, the highest amount of sponsorship we have been offered is five trillion won.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Everyone was struck dumb because they knew it was a complete lie. Apel also thought Minhyuk’s words were absurd.

–Minhyuk, I understand your urgency. However, it would be difficult for any company to recover after investing five trillion won. There’s no way that a company will invest five trillion won just like that.

Apel’s market cap was at around three trillion dollars.

Everyone frowned at Minhyuk’s reckless words.

–Our side wants to offer you three trillion won.

Three trillion was far below the amount that they required. At this moment, everyone realized that Minhyuk’s reckless and irrational actions might cause all the sponsorships to vanish.

“Ah. I forgot to tell you the other conditions I offered to the other companies.”

–Other conditions?

“Yes. I offered the other companies 90% of all the drops during Helenia’s hunt. Of course, the drops from Named Monsters and Named NPCs, including the drops from Helenia and Barbarian, will belong to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.”

–...!

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Everyone froze on the spot. That was when they realized something.

‘W-wait. This...’

Not long after, the Apel official spoke.

–Pardon me... How much sponsorship do you want?

Almost a billion people worldwide would fight alongside the Beyond the Heavens Empire in this battle. The drops that they would gather would be astronomical in value.

“We want at least eight trillion won. Of course, if you give us eight trillion in sponsorship, we will no longer receive any other sponsorships, including the one from the Rothschilde Family.”

The official asked them to wait so he could get approval from his superiors. Not long after, the official came back.

–Alright, we will sponsor you and give you eight trillion won.

“Thank you.”

When the call ended, Im Jihye, her pupils shaking, murmured, “According to the contract signed with the players, all of the drops will be surrendered to the Beyond the Heavens Empire...”

Yes, that was right. The Beyond the Heavens Empire intended to recover the money they had initially spent through those drops. But there was one problem. Drops would only come out after hunting monsters, so they could not spend this money right away.

During the press conference, they announced that they would sign a contract with a company and offer to give the company that would sponsor them the drops in return for their sponsorship. This meant that they had brought in money in advance.

And how much money would the Beyond the Heavens Empire fork out to make this happen?

‘Zero? No. We will even benefit from it.’

They would surrender only 90% of the drops to Apel. The remaining 10% would belong to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

To put it simply, the company, in this case Apel, would pay the money to pay the players who signed a contract with them. As for Apel, not only would they receive 90% of the drops from the monsters and mobs that the players hunted, but they would also experience a huge boost in their promotions and advertisements.

As a result, they secured not only the money needed to pay the players but also a surplus of money that could help them prepare for Helenia’s hunt. The Beyond the Heavens Empire would profit from this without even forking a single cent. Everyone looked at Minhyuk and Minhoo in shock.

Chairman Kang Minhoo grinned and said, “This is business.”