Chapter 140  

Kim Do-Jin's sudden appearance was unexpected. He had simply flown into the house.

‘How...did you…?’?

Yu-Seong asked with his eyes.

Kim Do-Jin continued to release sword energy while keeping his gaze and sword tip on Helen Mirren. At first glance, it appeared as though he was the only one exerting pressure on Helen Mirren. In reality, however, even the slightest mistake on his part could result in a perilous outcome for himself.

"...You're Kim Do-Jin," said Helen with a frown. After a brief contemplation, she clicked her tongue and said, “Hah... the best among the rookies? Looks like everyone's eyes are no different from a blind man's. You are already close to being a perfectionist, huh.”

With her sharp gaze on the tip of Kim Do-Jin's sword, Helen added, "But sweetie, that sword still cannot reach me. I don't know why you got involved in this, but wouldn't it be better to back off now?"

"As long as there is a will, the sword will reach its place," said Do-Jin.

Yu-Seong was surprised by those words.

‘The peak of martial arts mastery!’

The peak of martial arts mastery was too high a level to be achieved in this world. It wouldn’t be possible even if he returned to modern times and had overcome numerous crises.

Yu-Seong lowered his head.

'If he has already reached the peak of martial arts mastery, then he already would have killed my father.'

If Do-Jin was already at the peak of martial arts mastery, his sudden appearance would have killed Helen Mirren already. However, it did seem like Do-Jin was getting accidental glimpses of the peak of martial arts mastery.

‘He is just catching a glimpse of it... Wait, but what's his rank and level now?’

Regardless of Kim Do-Jin's current rank and level, he was still progressing at a rapid pace. His growth was clearly surpassing the character in the original novel that Choi Yu-Seong had read about.

“...That’s an interesting statement,” said Helen Mirren, who also felt something from Do-Jin’s statement. Feeling slightly surprised, she widened her eyes and stared at Do-Jin.

“Since when did the Seductive Demon become so loose-lipped?" said Do-Jin.

Helen's face twisted into a sneer, because that was a nickname she hated the most. She said, "Most alchemists are like that. They have a lot of thoughts all of the time. When we think too much, our thoughts become disorganized, so we have to spit some out to help with that process. Well, let's cut the nonsense for now."

The first one to ease off was Helen. She held up her arms in a gesture of surrender and plopped down on the couch. She then said, "To be honest, no matter how much I boast, I can't guarantee a win against four people. If I decide to kill, there might be a difference, but..."

Helen shrugged with a bitter smile, feeling resigned and helpless. She couldn’t afford to offend Choi Woo-Jae.

Once again, the brewing storm went away. The tension in the room dissipated. Jin Yu-Ri and Jenny, who had been holding their breath for a while, breathed a sigh of relief.

"That’s just impossible.” Kim Do-Jin snorted. He slowly sheathed his sword since Helen no longer showed any intention to attack.

"Are you two friends? You two look alike. You both always stand your ground and never back down easily too," said Helen.

"We're not friends," replied Yu-Seong immediately.

"I've also never thought of you as a friend." Kim Do-Jin looked at Yu-Seong sharply.

"Haha... So you two are in love?" said Helen.

"Old woman, do you want to get beat up?" shouted Do-Jin as he unsheathed his sword again. Yu-Seong quickly shook his head. "Unfortunately, I have no interest in men.”

"Yeah, yeah. Let's move on to the main topic. Young Choi," said Helen. Looking right at Yu-Seong, she said, "If I can't bring you with me by force, I guess we'll have to negotiate. I need you under any circumstances.”

"Just in case?" asked Yu-Seong.

"Yeah, just in case. You said it easily, but if there are really Demon King Worshiper bastards in Pyongyang, it would be impossible for me to steal the Philosopher’s Stone alone," said Helen.

"Hmm..." Yu-Seong sighed.

They both had thought of a ‘just in case’ scenario, but their criteria for what that meant were slightly different.

"So, I was thinking of taking you with me and taking the girls behind you as hostages to get the job done. Hahaha," Helen Mirren candidly confessed all of her plans and shrugged. She continued, "Let's do this, sweetie. I've never made this kind of proposal before. I assume you were trying to help me find the Philosopher's Stone since you also have something you wish for, right? Whatever that wish may be, I'll fulfill it in advance.”

Choi Yu-Seong couldn't hide his surprise because he knew that Helen Mirren's alchemy was based on the principle of equivalent exchange. For her to fulfill a distant wish without receiving anything in return, she was showing that she would sacrifice something too.

‘Since there are no miracles without a price.’

Helen Mirren's proposal was certainly attractive. However, this would be more of a breakeven scenario than one raking in a profit.

Hiding his surprise, Yu-Seong said, "It's not enough. I have to stake my life.”

"Most of the people who ask me for a wish do end up staking their lives. Are you scared now?" asked Helen Mirren.

"Yes. I want to live," answered Yu-Seong.

Yu-Seong always lived life on the edge, but he had never lived with the resolve to die.

"Let's do this, Helen Mirren. I have two conditions. First, as you said, please treat the patient I want in advance, and second, give me five Return Stones," said Yu-Seong.

"What...? How do you know about Return Stones?"

Choi Yu-Seong had originally thought of demanding both Jin Do-Yoon’s treatment and the Return Stones after handing over the Philosopher's Stone.

‘The Philosopher's Stone is worth enough for it to be an equal exchange.’

Return Stones were one of Helen's inventions, and Yu-Seong needed them for himself.

‘The owner of the Return Stone and one accompanying person can use it to be transported to a designated location.’?

This might not sound special, but the Return Stone had one remarkable aspect.

‘There are no restrictions on distance or space.’

If the designated points were set in advance, one could activate the Return Stone and travel between the United States and Korea in a single minute. Of course, such a fantastic item naturally had penalties.

‘Limited to one use.’

After being used, the Return Stone would turn into sand and disappear.

The original novel had mentioned that the raw materials needed to make one Return Stone exceeded several hundred billion won. It could only be made by Helen Mirren too, so its value could actually be said to be incalculable.

"Is that important?" Yu-Seong asked calmly.

The Return Stone was not commonly known, but it also was not a secret. For example, it could be assumed that most of Helen Mirren's wealthy clients knew about the Return Stones.

“It is indeed important. I make sure to enforce a confidentiality agreement with those to whom I sell Return Stones. If they break the confidentiality agreement, they will no longer be human.” Choi Yu-Seong didn't know about such a confidentiality agreement, so he let out an awkward laugh.

"Hmm." Helen clicked her tongue and nodded. She said, "At least your father, Choi, is not the one. As I can see that he is still alive.”

"Everyone has secrets. What do you think, seonbae-nim? I am listening to your request and offering to take it up,” said Yu-Seong.

With the five Return Stones, Yu-Seong could go to Pyongyang together with Helen Mirren and escape when it got dangerous. He could also make this trip with a good safety net for himself.

In truth, Helen Mirren was not the true danger here.

‘The danger lies in the land of Pyongyang itself.’

Anyway, Yu-Seong knew one more secret that Helen Mirren needed to know about. Keeping that as a hidden card up his sleeve, he had less to worry about regarding Helen. He was more worried about the other aspects.

"Five Return Stones... You are quite greedy. Let's settle for three," Helen said.

"Five or nothing."

"Three."

"Let's pretend it never happened."

"Ah, you little thing...!" Helen stood up from her seat in anger, glanced at Jin Yu-Ri, Jenny, and Kim Do-Jin, who all surrounded Yu-Seong, and breathed a sigh. She nodded. "Fine, five, but for now, I only have three. It’s not the easiest thing to make in the world.”

Yu-Seong lightly nodded and smiled. “We will draw up a contract that states you will no longer be a human upon breaking the contract. And I have one last proposal."

"Another one…?!"

"You are the current representative of the Researchers of Miracles, right?”

"You damn brat. How many secrets do you have?" cried Helen.

The Researchers of Miracles, based in San Francisco, USA, was the world's largest alchemist organization. They produced most of the alchemical products being supplied worldwide. Unfortunately, there were not many alchemical products yet, and they had not been able to exert much influence.

But in the future, they would become a giant company that controlled the world economy in partnership with artifact creators. The only problem was that the leader’s identity would not be fully revealed until the end.

‘In the original novel, only Kim Do-Jin learns the leader’s identity through the Philosopher's Stone.’

In the original novel, Kim Do-Jin, through a contract with Helen Mirren, had received about 5% of the shares of the Researchers of Miracles and accumulated quite a large fortune. However, what Yu-Seong wanted was something much more than that.

“Give me half of your shares in the Researchers of Miracles,” said Yu-Seong.

"What...?"

In fact, the Researchers of Miracles did not receive much investment. Helen Mirren, the founder of the organization, already had a lot of money, so she held onto a significant 60% of the company’s shares.

This was one of the reasons why Helen Mirren could be confident when she had the conflict with the Rochchild family, who was known as the center of the global economy in the original novel. In fact, giving half of her shares to Yu-Seong meant that he could become a co-owner of the Researchers of Miracles.

‘With this, I can become a tycoon, maybe even a billionaire.’

Anyways, if he had to go to Pyongyang, Yu-Seong might as well go all in. Furthermore, The Researchers of Miracles didn’t have much value yet, so it would be easier for him to acquire it now.

‘She wouldn’t even contemplate it if she knew what’s going to happen in the future, but…’

Helen Mirren deeply contemplated as she furrowed her brow and bit her lip.

Choi Yu-Seong had decided to take the plunge. In fact, the outcome of this negotiation was already predetermined.

“If you don't like it, then quit. I also don't like doing things that require me to risk my life…”

"Who said I wouldn't be interested? I was simply calculating the value of half a share. What a cunning little demon!" Helen Mirren shouted.

“Does that mean…?”

“Okay, I'll do it! Dang it! What a demon. Even worse than the big Choi guy!”

Helen Mirren, also known as the Seductive Demon, was defeated by another demon who tempted her with the use of ruthless business methods for the first time.