Baek Hyeon-Jeong asked weirdly.

“You want to go to America?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “Yes, mother.”

“Why America, all of a sudden?”

“It’s because Yu-Min will be competing in the final of that gaming tournament...”

While explaining himself, Kang Jin-Ho wondered what he was doing here. Was going to America something forbidden?

Many Koreans traveled to that country several times in their lives for various reasons, but here was Kang Jin-Ho, feeling like he was repeatedly making excuses for some reason.

Just what crimes did he commit throughout his life for him to go through this over and over again?

Baek Hyeon-Jeong furrowed her brow. “Do you have to go, though?”

“Sorry?”

She sighed deeply. “You got arrested after coming home from China, right? Just the idea of you going to another country is giving me a heart attack, son.”

“But that was China, and this is America...”

“Whether it’s China or America, you gotta fly on planes to get there, no?”

At this rate, she might even forbid Kang Jin-Ho from traveling to Jeju Island soon!

He smiled wryly. “It should be fine, mother. I’m not going alone, after all. The Seongsim kids and people from the company will tag along.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong’s expression became a little softer just then. “Oh, really?”

“Yes. The public security in China is questionable, but things should be relatively safer in America.”

“What are you on about, son? Don’t you know Americans carry guns? What if you get shot?”

Kang Jin-Ho stuttered to a halt just then. After all, didn’t the Chinese also carry guns around? And didn’t he get hit by missiles, too?

...Maybe I should refrain from saying that out loud.

If he truthfully told his mother the contents of his overseas adventures, Baek Hyeon-Jeong might tie a metal leash around his neck and lock him up in a room. And no, Baek Hyeon-Jeong wouldn’t be the one overreacting, but any sane-minded parents would have reacted similarly to her.

Kang Yu-Hwan, who was listening from the side, nodded. “Have a safe trip, son.”

“What are you saying, honey?!”

Despite his wife shooting a deadly glare in his way, Kang Yu-Hwan simply furrowed his brow slightly.

“He only wants to cheer his friend on, okay? So, it’s obvious he must go!”

“But, he’s...”

“Honey, don’t you get what I’m trying to say here? Jin-Ho wants to cheer his friend on! His friend!”

“Eh?” Baek Hyeon-Jeong tilted her head this way and that, after confusion got the better of her.

“Look, honey. You need to remember what kind of person our son is.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong frowned deeply. Was her husband talking about Kang Jin-Ho’s loyalty? Indeed, her son was a loyal person, but...?

Kang Yu-Hwan noticed his wife’s confused face and tutted. “Even though he’s got that face, he only made one friend in the last twenty years, honey! Whether in school or at work!”

“...!”

Someone unexpected suddenly stabbed Kang Jin-Ho in the solar plexus with a verbal dagger. This indescribable pain made him moan weakly.

“A man needs at least one male friend to talk frankly about his troubles over a good drink, honey.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong furrowed her brow again. “But what about his colleagues at work? It sounds like they hang out all the time, doesn’t it?”

“That’s not the same! We’re talking about friends! One’s friendship! You can quit the company, and that will be the end. It’s the same for a girlfriend, too. You can always break up with her, right? But a friend is supposed to be by your side for the rest of your life. From what I can see, Jin-Ho and Yu-Min have been drifting apart lately from how busy both of them are. Isn’t that right, son?”

“W-wait, father. Drifting apart is a bit of an exagger...”

Kang Yu-Hwan wasn’t listening to his son as he immediately addressed Baek Hyeon-Jeong instead. “Will you take responsibility if our son falls out with Yu-Min and loses his only friend?”

“You’re right, that’s not good at all.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong and Kang Yu-Hwan turned their heads in perfect sync and stared at their son. Although, their gazes could only be described as unreadable!

Kang Jin-Ho felt deeply uncomfortable right now. People should never look at other people with such a gaze. Especially if they were parents looking at their kids!

Kang Yu-Hwan sagely nodded. “You made the right decision, son. You should go.”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. “I... wasn’t trying to create this kind of atmosphere, father.”

“Then again, Yu-Min has been looking after you since you two were in school, no?”

Park Yu-Min did what? Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes. Why did it feel like his parents were re-writing history here?

The unfairness of that statement triggered him, and he ended up saying something he shouldn’t have.

“Father, it’s not Yu-Min looking after me, but I...”

“It’s the same thing, son.”

“Sorry?”

Kang Yu-Hwan chuckled gently. “Right now, you have Miss Yeon-Ha and your own company, which have given you the wings to soar as much as you’d like. But remember back to your school years, son. You would have been completely helpless without Yu-Min to show you the ropes. You were a loner with no friends, after all.”

“...”

Kang Yu-Hwan was so right that Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t think of any counterarguments. After hearing all this, it seemed Park Yu-Min had played an incredibly precious role in his life, didn’t it...?

N-no, wait. That’s not what we’re here to discuss!

Just as Kang Jin-Ho snapped out of his thoughts, his mother nodded in agreement.

“Mm, yes, I agree with your father. Go and have fun, son. We shouldn’t forget everything Yu-Min has done for you, after all. Yes, going there and cheering him on is the right thing to do. And I would love to see Yu-Min succeed in life even after leaving that pro gaming scene.”

“...”

This should be a heartwarming discussion between family members, and it certainly was, but it also felt like something strange had discolored the discussion somewhat.

Still, he got his permission, so it should be all good, no?

“Wait! I wanna go, too! To America!”

A sudden interference more vigorous than anything that came before him slammed into Kang Jin-Ho from behind. With a weird expression on his face, he glanced behind him at Kang Eun-Yeong making her unwelcome intrusion.

“And why do you want to go?”

“Because I want to! Take me, too! Since it’s to cheer Yu-Min oppa on, it should be okay to take me along with you, right?”

Kang Jin-Ho tutted. “Did you miss the part about my work colleagues tagging along, too?”

Even if that hadn’t been the case, Kang Jin-Ho still wouldn’t take his little sister with him.

Even though Kang Eun-Yeong used to be so cute and lovable when young! By now, she had gotten so much prettier that strangers on the street would comment on her good looks, yet in Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes, his little sister was devolving more and more into a dumbass the older she got!

This whole brother-sister relationship would forever remain as one big indecipherable mystery to Kang Jin-Ho.

“I mean, come on, oppa! You always travel to China and America and whatnot! Isn’t that unfair? We should also travel to other countries at least once in our lives. What’s the point of you making all that money? When you can’t even be bothered to treat your own mother and sister to an overseas vacation!”

Kang Yu-Hwan nearly fell off his spot on the couch. “H-hang on? Eun-Yeong, what about me, your dad?”

“If you go, who’s gonna run your cafe, dad?”

“...!”

That was when Kang Yu-Hwan realized all the hard work he put in to raise his daughter was all for naught.

Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly intervened. “I’ll take you next time. Promise.”

Kang Eun-Yeong suspiciously looked back at her older brother. “Really? Promise?”

“Yes, really.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong latched on to what Kang Jin-Ho said and chimed in. “Your sister has a point, Jin-Ho. We all should have a family vacation. Together. Your dad has never taken me on an overseas vacation until now, you know? My son’s success financing our vacation overseas sounds like a dream come true.”

Kang Yu-Hwan hurriedly tried to defend his honor. “B-but honey, I took you to Jeju Island before.” 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“Yes, yes. You can go there by yourself.”

“...”

And so, Kang Jin-Ho swore to take his family on an overseas vacation someday and finally got their permission, then retreated to his room.

He was mentally pooped out, although a happy smirk was still etched on his face.

At least he got his parents’ permission, which was a relief. In the past, he wouldn’t have sought out their permission for something like this, but with what happened recently, Kang Yu-Hwan and Baek Hyeon-Jeong were understandably on edge about what their son was up to.

After all, it hadn’t been all that long since he got released from prison.

Just how many parents in this world would have experienced their child getting locked up in jail? Kang Jin-Ho was relieved to see his parents regaining some semblance of normalcy relatively quickly.

Kang Jin-Ho sat on the edge of his bed, his expression morphing into a frown. “I’ll forgive you this once. However, this is your only warning...”

He spoke in a cold, whisper-like voice.

“Enter my home without my permission again, and I will shatter your skull to pieces.”

“Please forgive me, Assembly Master, sir.”

The Blood Demon emerged from the darkness and bowed deeply.

Kang Jin-Ho stared uncomfortably at the Blood Demon. He didn’t mind the intrusion in other places, but not here.

To him, this place was where his family lived. A place he must defend no matter what; kind of like his reverse scale, or a line others should never cross.

When he thought about this blood-stained bastard dirtying such a sanctuary with his mud-stained boots, even a hint of killing intent began waking up inside him.

The Blood Demon seemed to have sensed Kang Jin-Ho ire and bowed even deeper.

“Please forgive me, sir, for this servant is still lacking.”

“Fine, whatever.”

Kang Jin-Ho casually waved his hand. He wouldn’t have let this transgression go had the Blood Demon committed it knowingly. But he genuinely didn’t know, did he?

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the Blood Demon. “Why are you here?”

“I’ve received a new message from the Chinese government. First of all, all the spies monitoring your residence have been withdrawn. Not only that, but they also have promised to stop monitoring you through CCTV and satellite feeds.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded while cocking an eyebrow. “Using satellites to monitor someone? Isn’t that a waste?”

“Such a thing happens rather often, sir. International criminals and individuals deemed too dangerous to the state are most likely being watched by spy satellites even as we speak.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho’s jaw fell a little in stupefaction. Of course, he heard someone tell him that sometime ago, but he figured a certain level of exaggeration had been added to spice up the story. However, to think that the Chinese government really was monitoring him with bloody satellites!

He couldn’t tell if the scale of their operation was too big, or if he was thinking too small here.

The Blood Demon furrowed his brow. “However, sir. A word of caution, if I may.”

“About what?”

“Only China has stopped monitoring you. We don’t know what other nations are doing.”

“Why don’t you just say the Three Kings also have a satellite or two?”

“Those people can be surprisingly conservative toward science and technological advances humanity has achieved, sir. Which means quite a few people working for them are tearing their hair out in frustration.”

One of those people must be Cai Kechang, then?

Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply. Whatever the case might be, it was still good to hear that the Chinese government had stopped monitoring his every movement.

Not even Kang Jin-Ho could do something about this arrangement, after all. No matter how strong he was, what could he realistically do against spy satellites circling around the planet in outer space?

Only the fictional Superman could deal with that. Unfortunately, Kang Jin-Ho was still far from reaching such lofty heights of cultivation yet.

“And finally...” The Blood Demon took out a stack of documents from his inner pocket, then politely presented them to Kang Jin-Ho. “This is the list of people who helped the Chinese government spy on you using the CCTV feeds, sir. It should come in handy while negotiating with the Korean government.”

“I see. Give them to Lee Hyeon-Su.”

“Lee Hyeon-Su, as in Chief Lee?”

The Blood Demon tilted his head.

“Assembly Master, sir... No, my liege.”

The title he used to refer to Kang Jin-Ho changed. Which meant what he’d speak of from now on would be more personal in nature and not related to work.

“Forgive me, but I don’t understand why you trust that man and have him near your side. He might be capable, but many others rivaling him in capabilities can be found in abundance among martial artists, my liege. I can recommend a few potential replacements if you so wish.”

“No, I’m fine,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“But, my liege...”

“Blood Demon,” Kang Jin-Ho spoke coldly to cut the Blood Demon off. “Tell me. Do you think you and Lee Hyeon-Su look any different in my view?”

“...!”

The Blood Demon hurriedly lowered his head. He figured out what Kang Jin-Ho was implying.

In Kang Jin-Ho’s view, the Blood Demon’s martial prowess didn’t differ much from Lee Hyeon-Su’s.

A human wouldn’t go out of their way to compare the combat strength of an ant to that of, say, a mayfly. They could just squash the creature to death with a finger, after all!

“Lee Hyeon-Su is capable in other ways you’re not aware of. Enough of your meddling.”

“My apologies. I’ll reflect on the errors of my ways, my liege.”

“Also...”

“Yes?”

“If you sincerely wish to mingle with other people, discard your previous mindset of judging others through their martial prowess alone. If you don’t, you will fall behind the others, whether that’s the Demon Cult or the Blood Cult.”

The Blood Demon bowed deeply. “I’ll engrave your teaching to my soul, my liege!”

Kang Jin-Ho silently stared at the Blood Demon. For some reason, this man reminded him of himself right after returning to the modern era. Back then, he found it so difficult to acclimatize to the modern world.

Of course, that didn’t mean he found it easy now!

“Keep working at it,” said Kang Jin-Ho. “A man must learn to match the era he’s living in. Even if you’ve devoted yourself to the cult, not constantly improving yourself and changing yourself will ensure that you will get left behind by your competitors.”

“Understood, my liege!”

“Now, go.”

“Yes. Also... Forgive me for not seeking your permission first, my liege, but I’ve taken the liberty of installing the Blood Cult’s sorcery formation around your residence, just in case. If someone dares to intrude your home, I will be the first to find out.”

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips curled up. “I see. Good work.”

“Thank you for your praise.”

The Blood Demon smiled like a child while gradually melting into the darkness.

Why did it feel like Kang Jin-Ho was raising a child? Although capable, the Blood Demon was still too rough-edged to blend into the regular society. Sanding down those edges should take a good while. Of course, time would take care of that.

Kang Jin-Ho lied on the bed.

America, is it...?

The usual thing to feel before going somewhere new should be excitement, but Kang Jin-Ho was more anxious than anything else.

I hope nothing happens this time.

This trip really was about going on an overseas vacation.

Until now, all of his overseas adventures were an extension of his work in one way or the other. But not this time. It really had nothing to do with the Assembly or the martial world. And that was why he felt so weird right now.

“If something happens again this time... I swear I will never leave this country ever again.”

Of course, he wasn’t sure if he’d get to keep that resolution.