As soon as Min-Jun walked into the lobby, as expected, Baek Yoon-Ho, the Master of the White Tiger Guild, made the first move. He was a fighter, so his approach was blunt and aggressive.
"Hunter-nim! White Tiger will offer you an 80 Billion Won signing bonus, a 50/50 split on all dungeon loot, and a private jet. Sign with us right now!"
"...."
Min-Jun rolled his eyes, feeling speechless at Yoon-Ho's approach. He didn't even waver like Sung Jin-Woo, who wavered when Jin-Woo was offered a building with a value of 30 Billion Won.
Rather, the price that Yoon-Ho offered was much better than the offer that Jin-Woo received in the original story from the chairman of Yoojin Construction, Yoo Myung-Han.
Yet, Min-Jun didn't even stop his steps, and he just walked away, showing his clear rejection of Yoon-Ho. "Guild Master Baek. An S-Rank Dungeon Core is worth 100 Billion. You are offering me pocket change to be your employee. I am not your subordinate. Next."
While he remained calm the entire time, Baek froze, his beast instincts screaming that he had just insulted an apex predator.
As expected, the next one was Choi Jong-In, the guild master of the Hunter Guild, the man that Jin-Woo refused to meet, but unlike Jin-Woo, Min-Jun didn't hate Jong-In. Instead, among all the guildmasters, he felt that only Jong-In was the one who spoke his language, and because of that, he was curious about what Jong-In would offer.
Still, unlike Jin-Woo, who Jong-In finally domesticated due to the "waifu."
In this world of capitalism and this world, the Solo Leveling, where the weak could only succumb, a "waifu" was irrelevant.
Jong-In stepped forward. He didn't offer him a check; instead, he handed him an iPad.
"Hmm?"
Jong-In pushed his glasses up, smiling his trademark sly smile. He didn't talk down to Ming-Jun, nor did he beg. He talked to him like a fellow CEO.
"You're absolutely right. Offering you a salary is an insult. I am not offering you a job. I am offering you an Infrastructure Alliance."
"Infrastructure alliance?"
Seeing Ming-Jun's interest, Jong-In knew that the contact was already set, and all he needed to do was to make him sign, and Ming-Jun believed that the Hunters Guild was the best partner and the most sincere one.
"Mingjun-nim, you have infinite firepower, but you only have two hands. If you clear an A-Rank gate, who mines the mana crystals? Who harvests the monster corpses? Who files the tax exemptions with the government? Who pays off the press when you accidentally vaporize a city block?"
Jong-In's voice was calm, unhurried, and filled with confidence, "The Hunters Guild has the best miners, collectors, and lawyers in Asia. You do the killing. We do the cleaning. You are not our employee; you are our Exclusive VVIP Independent Contractor."
"....."
Those words were like music to Ming-Jun's ears.
He knew well that while the others expected him to work like an employee, who would follow the words of the superior like cattle, Jong-In saw him as a business partner, which he had to admit he swayed.
Still, he used the "Manager" to review the contract drafted by Choi Jong-In when he spoke with Go Gun-Hee. He knew that Jong-In was sincere, especially in the split area where he kept 90% of the Boss Loot and High-Grade Cores, while the Hunters Guild kept 10% and the mining rights to the lesser crystals.
The Hunters Guild would place its logo on news reports, boosting its stock price, whenever there was news about him.
As for liability, in this case, he caused property damage, as he did in the previous test. The Hunters Guild handles all property damage lawsuits.
The "Manager" scanned the contract in 0.001 seconds. There were no hidden clauses. Highly favorable.
Ming-Jun looked at Jong-In and realised that this man was the only one in the room playing 4D Chess. Everyone expected him to work as a worker, earning a salary that made him practically a beggar, when, with his potential, he could become one of the Chaebols.
Yes, unlike Jin-Woo, who had a system that could help him grow stronger, Ming-Jun might not be able to make himself as strong as the Monarchs or the Rulers, at how he was, which meant that even if he was known as the Apex Predator among the humans, he was still an ant that could be crushed by those beyond, who used the entire universe as their battleground.
Yet, even so, among the humans, he believed he could be the strongest.
However, while Min-Jun was analysing the draft of the contract, everyone was at a loss over Jong-In's contract, which practically babyed him.
Did Jong-In have no greed?
Everyone expected him to make Ming-Jun work under him, but Jong-In played a different game, having decided to become Ming-Jun's nanny.
Yet, while everyone would put a Hunter as their profession first, Choi Jong-In was a businessman first, and a Mage second. He didn't build the Number 1 Guild in Korea by using cheap tactics like sending a pretty woman to bat her eyelashes at an anomaly.
Jong-In knew that a God-like Archer like Min-Jung, giving him women, was simply a mockery, as it was clear with Min-Jung's face, status, and wealth that having women would be as easy as snapping his fingers.
Jong-In could see that Min-Jun was a capitalist like him, and because of that, logistics were everything.
So, this was what he did, and while everyone thought that he was generous or even almost giving Ming-Jun everything, he knew that he had made the correct bet, especially with Cha Hae-In by his side.
Jong-In didn't bring Cha Hae-In to be a mascot. He brought her because she is the most accurate mana radar on the planet.
During the test before, he had asked her about her assessment of Ming-Jun, and compared to the Association's machines, he trusted her nose more.
Using the objective data she had confirmed, Jong-In didn't hesitate to give Ming-Jun 90% of the cut, and frankly, even if Ming-Jun agreed, he felt like he still received a massive bargain.
Still, this was also the reason why, among everyone, Jong-In was the victor.
Ming-Jung handed the iPad back to Jong-In, and his decision was already as firm as it could get. He had decided to become a member of the Hunters Guild, but—
"Change the Boss Loot split to 95/5, and I want a dedicated team of your best miners on standby 24/7. When I clear the gate, I expect them to be inside within 5 minutes."
"Done. Welcome to the alliance, Hunter-nim."
Choi Jong-In said without hesitation.
The two of them then shook hands, and naturally, they did it outside of the headquarters of the Korean Hunter Associations at the moment the flashbulbs of the paparazzi went off outside the Association doors.
Ming-Jun knew that it was all Jong-In's fault for the paparazzi, but it didn't matter; the benefit that came from the Hunters Guild was nice.
Only at that moment did everyone realise, in that single handshake, whether it was Baek Yoon-Ho, Lim Tae-Gyu, or anyone else, that their guilds had permanently lost the race for number one.
Meanwhile, Choi Jong-In realised he had just secured his Guild's dominance for the next century.
And Kim Ming-Jun had just acquired a multi-billion-dollar corporation to act as his personal maids.