Capítulo 5: Steal
The only reason he didn't pass out right there was due to his tenacity. 'If this is a dream, I never want to wake up again.'
The next day, Volkner went to check if there really was $5 million deposited in his account. He pinched himself until he bled, no doubt it was real! Volkner ran back to his grandmother to show her account of her, he was still shocked with disbelief at not being able to speak.
"Grandma, I made some money."
"Oh, I see."
His grandmother replied weakly. It had only been three days since her ID was issued to him.
"Good job Vol."
"It's not good to work grandma, it's something much better."
Volkner thrust his notebook at her.
"What is it?"
"Just look. This is the money I made."
Her grandmother squinted blearily before looking at her notebook. The expression on her face bordered on disbelief at the number printed on it.
"D, did you steal? No, that's not a sum of money you can earn by stealing….."
"You know the game I played? I sold the account."
"Account?"
"It's too complicated to explain… But this money is all nice."
"So this is really..." She felt emotions welling up inside.
"Volkner, can we live like other people? Without worrying about utility bills?"
"Of course. We can even buy a house now."
"Then you can study again…. And Elesis can go to university, and we don't have to live in such shame anymore."
Her grandmother was so moved that tears began to soak her blankets. Volkner was the same. It was from the memories of her countless hardships and countless sorrows.
"We can live happily now, grandma."
"Yes, we can."
Deep emotions and tears come to the surface as they both remember the hard times they have overcome over the years.
For several days they looked for a new home and even went to the hospital to treat their grandmother. They found out that she had several other ailments besides her back, so she had to be admitted to the hospital. Her sister Elesis also shared her newfound joy.
But like everything else, their happiness was just a fleeting glimpse of the moment.
Men in black suits. The people they never wanted to see had come knocking on their door at the hospital.
The men in the black suits made their way into the hospital ward without even taking off their shoes. There were only five of them, but due to their muscular build, it looked like the ward was overcrowded.
The other patients, afraid of the situation, left slowly, supported by their caregivers. The only people left in the wards were Volkner, his grandmother, and the men in the black suits. Fortunately, her sister had left shortly before these men entered. Volkner had never had a good date with these men, and he was sure this would be another such encounter.
"Volkner Aslan, I hear you've just gotten a windfall…" The bleached-haired thug began.
"So?" Volkner responded brusquely.
"I came to get the money your father borrowed back then."
"Debt?"
"Yes. I think you're ready to pay it back now."
Volkner swallowed nervously. When his parents passed away, there was a debt of 100 grand that he inherited. If he had renounced his inheritance, it would have been all right. But as he was young at that time, he didn't know anything about the law. His grandmother, in her grief-stricken mind at the loss of her son, could not apply for the waiver of the inheritance within the 3 months. With that, Lee Hyun inherited the 100k debt to loan sharks.
He knew how violent and ruthless they were, but he had no reason to fear as he now had money.
"If there is a debt, I will pay it. How many?"
"Payback? Your cheap talk. However, since you are one of our precious customers, I will amuse you. The money you have to pay is 4.6 million"
At the bandit's words, Volkner pulsed with rage.
"That's impossible... I know for sure that the money my father borrowed was only one hundred thousand"
"Look here, it's been 8 years. When time passes, the interest accumulates."
"That's nonsense... I'll report you to the police."
"Report us? Do as you wish. Do you think the police will side with you?"
"The police are the people's shepherd."
"Boahahahaha."
The loan sharks burst out laughing at Volkner's statement. Especially the thug with the bleached hair, he couldn't contain his chuckle as he chuckled while slapping his hand on his forehead.
As the situation became unmanageable, the man who had remained silent until now spoke up. Seeing the disposition, Volkner could tell he was the boss.
"Explain it correctly to the boy. There is no need for this useless fussing."
"Yes, Chief. I apologize. Listen up kid, I'm only going to explain this once. What we're doing is not outside the bounds of the law. We're just asking for interest set at the legal limit. First of all, interest is set at $#% per annum. Should I go a step further? In the first year, with interest, the 100 thousand goes up to #@! thousand. Second year, about #$% thousand. The third year, 1 million. In the fourth year, it is almost 2 million
Volkner calculated the sum and closed his eyes in despair. The debt has increased fivefold in just four years. Since 8 years had passed, the debt was at 4 million. At 8 years and some months ago, the figure of 4 million was approximately right.
While Volkner was bothered by these thugs from time to time, he never realized that his debt would have grown so much. The sum was enormous, amounting to 4.5 million. It was a complete ruin!
Anyone else with a debt of 4.5 million. would have done anything to declare bankruptcy. It's not that Volkner hasn't considered filing for bankruptcy. He couldn't!
It was just that filing for bankruptcy cost money. He had to pay for the court and court clerks and had to follow proper procedure only to be bankrupt. Volkner simply didn't have the money until now to file for bankruptcy. Even if he did, these relentless loan sharks would make the process impossible.
"Cough".
"No…I refuse."
"No? Then do as you wish. We won't be back until tomorrow, with a little more interest than now."
Volkner could see how relaxed and confident these men in the black suits were. The self-confidence of those in power. What's more, Volkner clearly knew what would happen if he didn't pay the debt. He had his back against the wall, as these loan sharks clearly knew he had the money.
These thugs just looked on with a smug look on their faces.
"Look, grandma must be so sick that she had to be hospitalized, I think she finds it comfortable. I think I also saw his sister in the hallway back there. She was very adorable, if we sold her we could earn considerably….."
"I won't let you touch her!"
"Ah-ah-ah, nothing's going to happen. Yet. You know how boys like to talk nonsense. But imagine all the happy family members being admitted to the hospital on the same day. It will be really unfortunate, won't it?"
In his veiled threats, Volkner couldn't take it anymore. There was nothing he could do. These men would carry out his threat and more. He saw firsthand when he lived in the ghetto, the kind of thing they did to those who couldn't pay or refused to give money. It was a sin to borrow money from them in the first place.
Volkner, who couldn't even count on the law's help, had to hand over his bill. The loan sharks accepted his account at that time and in return they took 4 million from his purse and handed it to him. With the money, they returned the 4 million debt certificate that their father signed 8 years ago.
They knew everything from the start and came carefully prepared.
"Thanks a lot, boy, be careful."
As the loan sharks were about to leave, Volkner yelled, "Wait!"
"Huh? What now boy?"
"One day, I'll definitely make you pay for this."
"What?"
"I paid you what I owe you, but everything you did against us. I'll make sure you pay for what you did."
The men were about to start laughing once more, but when they saw Volkner's eyes, the laughter died in their mouths. They could see a beast inside him, waiting to pounce. It chills your hearts to see so much malice in those eyes.
"Looks like you haven't come to your senses yet, kid. I think it'll be worth teaching a kid how this idiotic bravery works in the real world."
The bandits began to roll up their sleeves, but Volkner showed no signs of fear or desire to flee.
"Enough. We got the money, let's go."
"But….."
"Do you want to cause an incident in a hospital?"
"I understand Chief" The men started to leave.
"And boy." The boss looked at Volkner and spoke as if giving advice: "I'm Han Jinsup from the district. Do you think the world will bow down because you're angry? If that's unfair, then go get another 40 million dollars in five years. If you can do that, I'll treat you like my boss."
The loan sharks walked away, leaving Volkner to collapse helplessly on the floor. He could hear his sister crying from the hallway, his grandmother heaving a loud sigh from the bed. The force left his body and he was unable to get up after being extorted 4 million dollars.
He was overcome by an extreme sense of futility and hopelessness. But after 3 days, he rolled up his rug and stood up. There was new hope in his heart, and he couldn't just sit around and do nothing. A smile graced Volkner's face as he laughed even though tears were leaking from his eyes. Although it was only a short time, he experienced first hand what it was like to have a huge amount of money. He felt enlightened in how the world worked.
'It does not matter. If I could do it once, I can do it again.'
Volkner started to run. As long as $400,900 was left, he could not spend it all where he wanted. He had already signed a contract for a house, so 300,000 was set aside to pay for it. The contract wasn't impossible to cancel, but if he did, he'd have to pay a fine. He would rather die than pay for it.
So he actually had 100 grand in spending money! All of this was made possible by the slump in the housing market at the beginning of the 21st century. He started using the rest of the money on kumdo dojang, hapkido, taekwondo, and other martial art related training centers.
Every day, he forced himself to do a grueling run around a minimum of 6 different long-distance points. He practiced various martial arts until his body began to break down. The masters called him hardheaded as he swung his practice sword until his hands began to bleed.
With that, he increased his stamina. All for virtual reality gaming purposes. In it, it is said that people could move their body just like in real life. If so, wouldn't it help if he knew martial arts and understood the game mechanics a little better?
Of course, a person who knew martial arts wouldn't be entirely at an advantage. But if he could be 10% stronger at the top of his level, then he'd better learn martial arts. How that extra 10% strength can make a tremendous difference in the game.
In the morning, Volkner practiced martial arts and in the evening, he studied everything he could about the virtual reality game. He thoroughly dissected which VR game had the most players and what kind of gaming system it was based on. He even printed out profiles and tables of the various pokemons, cities, and abilities in the game and stuck them on his wall. There were so many prints stuck to the wall that Volkner could repaper the walls of his room.
For a year, Volkner practiced martial arts and studied everything about virtual reality games. That year was not only a period of preparation for him, but he also used that time to observe the progress of Royal Pokemon Online.
As expected from its name, Royal Pokemon Online has gone down its royal path and started to dominate virtual reality. Captured 75% of the world gaming market. Among gamers, 30% were already playing the game. It can be said that the game is following a predestined path.
During specific days when the kings went to war, it completely overshadowed other networks in the audience. A time was coming when one could gain fame, power, and money in the world through just one game. This was the result of Royal Pokemon Online's innovative game system combined with virtual reality.
"Good. Everything is falling into place according to plan."
Volkner watched his monitor with a sharp eye. Today, he spent over 95K just to acquire a capsule needed to connect to Royal Pokémon Online. He almost cried at how unfair it was, but in the end, it was a necessary investment.
Preparations were made. His life struggle was about to begin. He felt like a soldier going to war.
『Do you want to connect to Royal Pokemon Online?.』
"yes."
"No."
When the intro message appeared, Volkner wasted no time and yelled, "Yes! LINK START!"
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