Chapter 5 : Rakshik’s Legacy

Even if he was the chairman of a major corporation ranked fourth in the business world,

his staple food was still the Energy Bar.

Before the Great Cataclysm,

meals for company executives were also part of the work.

But now, most meals consisted of eating a single Energy Bar in the office during work.

Chairman Lee Woo Do was no exception.

However, being the eccentric he was, there was one thing different about him.

His office was on the top floor of a skyscraper overlooking all of Seoul.

On the desk lay the finest tableware from Le Bernard, and a bottle of wine that had now become Old Vintage sat beside it.

The set looked no different from those of a fine dining restaurant of the past.

Yet what was placed on the plate was a finger-sized Energy Bar, which was terribly out of place.

The chairman poured wine into a glass himself.

He let the candlelit liquid linger on his lips for a moment and savored it.

The deep and rich aroma unique to Burgundy Wine filled the room.

The Energy Bar on the plate was the most premium kind available on the market.

He used a top-tier La Guiole Knife to cut it.

He dipped it into a sauce made of high-quality black pepper, olive oil, and Guérande Salt, which had no bitterness at all.

Taking the most luxurious Energy Bar in the world into his mouth, the chairman closed his eyes and relished the taste.

“…Disgusting.”

He knew that there was no alternative once the staple food was gone.

In his secret warehouse, Lee Woo Do stored enough ingredients to feed himself for the rest of his life.

But the chairman was not the type to devour all the cake in front of him.

If he were that kind of person, he would have retired long ago when the world fell and spent his days consuming stored ingredients in a villa.

Quietly, the chairman swallowed the remaining piece of Energy Bar.

“I miss it.”

Though Lee Woo Do was the type who seemed to have wine flowing through his veins instead of blood, there was something he longed for.

That was to eat delicious food.

His passionate drive to lead a cutting-edge high-tech company and overhaul the Abyss was also because of that.

If the Abyss was renovated, prosperity would return to the world.

Before the allotted lifespan ended, he wanted to restore the world to its original state.

No matter how much frozen ingredients there were, they could not be compared to the past world.

Their variety was limited, and their quality inevitably declined over time.

Even vacuum freezing technology had its limits.

At first, humanity thought it would overcome this disaster quickly.

But already 30 years had passed, and the Abyss overhaul had barely advanced beyond 18 levels.

The Divine Punishment that fell on the Day of Cataclysm had destroyed most crops and nearly all species.

There was no great chaos to restore the ecosystem. Only those raised by humans for food had disappeared.

Fish started to develop a disgusting smell that only affected humans.

Even attempts to breed new species through genetic engineering were blocked by Divine Punishment.

Aquaculture or anything else was impossible.

Only some wild mountain berries were edible, but they were too scarce to feed the swollen population.

That was why Lee Woo Do missed the past.

“Those were happy times.”

To comfort the exhausted Lee Woo Do, there were countless chefs and restaurants in the world.

Among them, there was one restaurant he loved the most.

He was even close enough with the owner to be like brothers.

The restaurant’s name was Rakshik.

A name he missed deeply.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“Manager Choi here.”

“Come in.”

Lee Woo Do’s face, lost in sentiment, instantly shifted back to that of a business executive.

“Oh, were you in the middle of a meal?”

“It’s fine. Come and report.”

While the chairman finished the last bite of his Energy Bar and washed it down with wine,

Manager Choi began his report beside him.

“The American Elon Bio attempted to cultivate Bretagne Berry on the 5th floor but failed. It seems they will delay the launch of the Nectar Energy Bar’s complementary product.”

“The chairman there likes eating too. Looks like he still hasn’t given up on cultivating the Abyss. But even if he tries, he won’t be able to feed ten thousand people. It’s good for us. Keep nagging him.”

“Yes. We will invest in Project E, the competitor from France.”

Neither companies nor governments had stopped trying to supply food from the Abyss.

However, the reason humanity created this world where only Nectar was favored was because people no longer liked eating anything else.

They searched for edible plants, but even if they took seeds and planted them, they were useless outside the Abyss.

Moreover, if cultivation was attempted inside the Abyss, the horde of monsters would always rush in, turning everything into chaos.

They tried all sorts of tricks, and instead of cultivation, they tried foraging to secure some amount of food.

But it was far too insufficient to feed humanity.

“Next, there’s an issue with one of our sponsored explorers.”

“What is it?”

“His name is Kwak Cheong Rae. It appears he’s involved with drugs and sexual assault. We’ve managed to suppress the media for now.”

“Pfft, deal with him. Cleanly.”

“He’s a promising rising star expected to reach A rank soon. We’ve invested a lot in him.”

“They think they’re so great because we’re supporting them. Kill him. Cleanly. Pay off the reporters a little. Intimidate them.”

“We will handle it that way.”

The chairman noticed that Manager Choi was tense after hearing the order.

Being young, he wasn’t yet hardened enough.

Lee Woo Do took out another glass from the cellar.

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-five.”

“In your prime. Want a drink?”

He asked but had already poured the wine.

“Thank you.”

It was grape wine.

Its original value had been high, but in this day and age, it was something unobtainable no matter how much money one had.

Manager Choi smiled happily as he tasted the wine.

Lee Woo Do coldly observed his subordinate’s behavior.

“Such a waste of wine.”

Where he learned to drink wine like this was unknown, but he appeared to enjoy it somewhat.

However, it was just an imitation.

As expected from a generation raised on Energy Bars, he didn’t really care about the taste when eating something.

His feigned appreciation was probably learned beforehand because Lee Woo Do liked drinking in the past.

“Let’s go in now.”

“Ah, Chairman. There’s one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Have you ever given a Hotline to someone named Baek Yuseong?”

“Baek Yuseong…? Who is that?”

Lee Woo Do thought hard but could not recall the name.

Seeing the chairman’s indifferent reaction, Manager Choi’s face involuntarily brightened.

“Just now, a call came from someone named Baek Yuseong saying he wants to speak to you. He thought it was directly connected to you.”

“I used to have that phone number. I had it for over 40 years.”

“It seems that number was somehow leaked.”

“Well, it was very old, so that’s possible. But I’ve never heard of this guy. I guess that number can’t be used anymore.”

For a businessman like Lee Woo Do, his network was vast like a spider’s web.

If Baek Yuseong were someone worth worrying about, the Special Strategic Planning Office would have known or the chairman would have remembered.

“Then we will terminate that line and create a new Hotline.”

“Alright, let’s go in.”

Manager Choi bowed his head and was about to leave when Lee Woo Do stopped him suddenly, as if recalling something.

“By the way, why does he want to talk to me?”

“Ah, yes. He said he’s the grandson of Rakshik.”

At that moment, Lee Woo Do slammed the desk and jumped up.

Clang!

His cherished wine bottle fell and shattered on the floor, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Say that again!”

“R-R-Rakshik’s grandson…”

“Baek Yuseong. Baek. Baek. What a stupid bastard!”

“I’m sorry…”

Manager Choi took the insults as directed at himself and begged for forgiveness.

But it was actually the chairman’s way of blaming himself.

“He’s the grandson of my older brother! How stupid I was.”

“Y-Your older brother?”

“Bring him here immediately! No, bring the phone! Hahaha.”

Manager Choi had never seen Lee Woo Do this excited before.

“Hurry!”

***

The day was very cold.

Though the sun was high in the sky, a biting wind blew relentlessly.

Yuseong wore a tracksuit that looked insufficient for this weather.

It couldn’t be helped. It was still an era where down jackets with fur lining were nothing but a dream.

As he checked the time on his wristwatch, someone called out his name.

“Yuseong oppa!”

“Oh, you’re here.”

It was Shin Jia.

She was bundled up in a long, thick jumper and a scarf, trying to shield herself from the cold.

“Brr, it’s freezing. A sudden part-time job? Well, it’s Saturday, so it’s not bad.”

“I thought the pay would be good. And I like the work.”

Yuseong had called Shin Jia the morning after eating Sliced Pork Belly, telling her he found a part-time job.

She hadn’t been very enthusiastic at first, but after hearing his explanation, she finally gave in.

“I’m starving already. I haven’t eaten an Energy Bar since last night.”

“I’m not allergic like you. Why suffer?”

“But I haven’t eaten anything delicious yet.”

“Keep it a secret from your friends.”

“Okay, anyway, those guys make a face whenever food comes up during history class.”

Eating the food Yuseong prepared—that was the job he explained to Shin Jia.

She wondered how that could be considered a part-time job,

but since she had already tasted the food, she couldn’t refuse in the end.

“The daily wage is…”

“They’ll make sure you get paid properly.”

“When Grandfather set this up, he said we needed contracts…”

“Yeah, you’re well-educated. No contract though. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

“That, that’s…”

Thinking about the taste of Sliced Pork Belly, Shin Jia’s mouth was already watering.

Honestly, even if she had to pay money, it was a tempting offer.

Noticing this, Yuseong smiled.

In truth, Yuseong needed Shin Jia’s presence.

“To analyze the Gift.”

He had learned that through Gift exploration, one could grant powers to Rotain.

But here lay another problem.

To properly utilize one’s ability, detailed analysis was necessary.

However, with food almost vanished from the world, ways to analyze the Gift were severely limited.

“By the way, where do we work?”

At that moment, Shin Jia realized she didn’t even know where she would be working.

“CH Tower.”

“Huh? What’s there?”

“Cheonghwa Electronics.”

“You’re not eating food there, right? Isn’t that a company? It’s famous…”

“Who else would own ingredients if not the chaebol?”

“Ch-Chaebol?”

“Our employer is the chairman of Cheonghwa.”

Shin Jia froze as if turned to ice.

“Haha, that’s not a very funny joke.”

“I’m serious.”

“She’s smart, you know? She placed third in the recent exams. I’m not kidding.”

“You really don’t know anything. Do you know how much ingredients are worth? Do you know how much the Sliced Pork Belly we ate last time sold for at the last auction?”

“Ten thousand won?”

“Twelve years ago. Eight million won.”

Shin Jia suddenly turned around and squatted down.

Then she started patting her stomach.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to throw up. I’ll throw up and sell it again.”

“Haha, it must’ve already turned into poop.”

“Ah, seriously.”

Yuseong laughed heartily.

His expression was quite the contrast to Shin Jia’s pale face.

“If it were that money…”

“There’s nowhere to sell it now. Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t.”

The ingredient trade was carried out secretly among upper echelons.

No matter what tricks street vendors tried, they couldn’t sell Sliced Pork Belly.

“But how do you know the chairman of Cheonghwa Group?”

“I’m not lying this time.”

“Are you lying again…?”

Shin Jia’s words were cut off by the sudden arrival of a black sedan.

The car stopped right in front of Yuseong and Shin Jia.

“Wow…”

In a time when just owning a car was proof of wealth,

a large sedan belonging to a company had an overwhelming presence just by being seen.

Shin Jia marveled at the luxury car she was seeing for the first time.

“That’s the chairman’s car they always talk about…”

A man dressed neatly in a suit got out of the driver’s seat.

From his glasses to his suit, he was clearly an elite.

He seemed like someone who spoke with authority.

“I am Manager Choi Jun Yeol of Cheonghwa Electronics’ Special Strategic Planning Office.”

He bowed politely, and both Yuseong and Shin Jia greeted him in return.

“I will take you to see the chairman immediately.”

He opened the car door for Yuseong, who quickly got inside.

Shin Jia was still dazed, seemingly sulking.

“If I had known, I would have worn my uniform instead of these clothes…”

If she had known, she would have dressed as nicely as possible instead of a black long padded jacket.

“Get in quickly before they leave.”

“Okay, Nell!”

When Yuseong tried to close the door, Shin Jia hurriedly got into the car.