Thomas Thompson tossed the notebook over, and Christopher Carter reached out to catch it. Then Thomas Thompson said, “I’m giving this to you. Whether you use it or not is up to you.”

　　※※※

　　Christopher Carter returned home without turning on the lights.

　　He sat by the window, leaning sideways, tossing the notebook in his hand and catching it, over and over again. The neon lights outside flickered, the night lights swept across his face, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, reflecting his unpredictable expression.

　　He understood what the old man meant.

　　Fighting, brawling, involvement in prostitution or gambling—when you get down to it, those are just minor troubles; selling a few batches of party pills in nightclubs—calling it drug-related sounds scary, but it’s not really a big deal. Even if there’s a body on your hands, as long as someone takes the fall, it won’t shake the heavens. But smuggling is different—it may not sound like much, but in reality, it’s stealing food from the country’s mouth. It’s fundamentally different from those other things; it means truly heading deep down this path.

　　But with such a good opportunity, all he got was a proper security company… No matter how you look at it, it’s just a pain in the ass.

　　Speaking of which, now he runs a hotel, there’s a nightclub under the hotel, a casino, and suddenly there’s a security company too—does this count as a cross-industry conglomerate?

　　Christopher Carter laughed at himself. Qingliangli is definitely not Jiangnan District. He might look like a big boss, all imposing and powerful, but in reality, he just has a bit more muscle. Economically, compared to those real big corporations, he’s like an ant trying to shake a tree. And he still has the nerve to call this a conglomerate…

　　For some reason, he suddenly thought of that little girl—Christopher Carter had learned a bit about her these past couple of days. Turns out her group Apink is considered an idol group, and strictly speaking, there’s still a gap between that and being a real “singer.” In fact, Apink itself is just a rookie group that debuted a year ago, and in the girl group world, there’s a huge mountain called Girls’ Generation standing in front of them, one they’ll probably never be able to climb over in this lifetime. And she still calls herself a singer…

　　Looks like everyone’s in the same boat.

　　Christopher Carter looked at the date on the calendar and suddenly smiled again.

　　He wondered what kind of expression that girl would have when she saw him at the commercial performance.

　　Christopher Carter stood up, stretched lazily, and casually stuffed the notebook into the cabinet.

　　Why overthink it? When the time comes, use it. If not, just let it lie there forever.

　　※※※

　　This time, Samsung’s press conference wasn’t for any flagship product. The much-anticipated GALAXY S3 hadn’t been released yet, so the event itself was pretty average. The so-called guest performances weren’t, as Christopher Carter imagined, meant to liven up the press conference itself, but rather, after the formal product presentation, there would be a direct sales event at the entrance of the Lotte Department Store across the street, and that’s when the guests would perform live.

　　In other words, their security company was actually handling plaza security, not press conference security.

　　Christopher Carter didn’t really know what level this kind of performance was. In theory, performing in a plaza shouldn’t be very high-end, but anything with the word “Samsung” attached to it, Koreans would never think it was low-class. In fact, anyone qualified to be invited by Samsung to perform could hold their head high and call themselves a popular idol.

　　If you could get an endorsement, then you’d be a superstar…

　　They arrived at the plaza early. The manager from Samsung’s advertising company who came to meet them looked a bit puzzled. “And this is…?”

　　Kevin King hurried to introduce, “This is our President Carter. The previous President King has already transferred…”

　　Before he could finish, the Samsung manager interrupted, “I signed the contract with President King, not with President Carter!”

　　“But the contract’s Party A is Kim’s Security Company, and I’m the president.” Christopher Carter took over, waved at Kevin King, pulled out a pack of Marlboros, and offered a cigarette.

　　The Samsung manager took one, but still looked unhappy. Christopher Carter lit it for him, lit one for himself, and said with a smile, “Whether it’s President King or me, there’s not much difference. Security work relies on these brothers, not on the boss. They have plenty of experience.”

　　The Samsung manager nodded. This explanation sounded more reliable, not like some rookie eager to boast about his own skills. Anyway, it was too late to change companies now, so he handed over a business card and said, “My surname is Park. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation this time, President Carter.”

　　Christopher Carter handed over a freshly printed business card. “I believe we’ll have more opportunities to work together in the future.”

　　Manager Park left. Kevin King looked at Christopher Carter, a bit surprised. He’d always heard that Ninth Master had a rough temper, but this style—he seemed even more like a businessman than Eighth Master…

　　Christopher Carter patted him on the shoulder. “So, how do we do this? I’m counting on you.”

　　Kevin King pointed in Manager Park’s direction—he was directing staff to set up the stage and arrange the sound system. “Our security has to coordinate with their stage setup, and we also have to handle security for the product sales. We have to wait until they’re done before we can do anything. There’s no point in acting on our own right now.”

　　“Every trade has its own secrets…” Christopher Carter sighed softly. Watching Kevin King call the brothers over to check the stage’s load-bearing, he couldn’t help but click his tongue. He’d looked at the previous security work plan but hadn’t understood it. Deep down, he’d always thought security was just about forming a human wall and pushing people back if they crossed the line. Who knew there was so much more to it…