Gold and Silver Alchemist

The 2nd Alchemy store in Apgujeong.

malevolent malevolent-

There were more people flocking to the store than at the opening event not too long ago.

It was to see a very special jewel.

A brilliant light emanated from the revolving display stand installed in the center of the store.

and-

People marveled at the brilliance of the jewel.

The large diamond seemed to radiate something beyond beauty.

“Your eyes are perfectly fine today!”

“that’s right! Where do you go and see something like this!”

A 1,200-carat rough stone found in Africa has been polished and reborn as a 500-carat flawless diamond.

Colored diamonds, such as pink, red, blue, and green, are often traded for dozens of times more expensive than transparent diamonds of the same size.

However, the huge transparent diamond was emitting a brilliance that crushed them.

It was as if he was saying, “I am the true diamond.”

The diamonds will soon be auctioned off by the world’s largest jewelery auction house.

Alchemy decided to display the diamond at its Apgujeong store before handing it over to an auction company.

“How much will the winning bid be?”

“Well, it seems to me that it won’t even be pushed by the stars of Africa.”

Cullinan, the largest rough diamond in the world, was split into 9 large pieces and 90 small pieces.

Among them, the largest piece made by polishing is the 530-carat ＜Cullinan I＞ and has the nickname ‘Star of Africa’.

The African Star was not only large, but also top-notch in terms of transparency and quality.

In addition, since it is a symbol of the British royal family and a testament to the colonial history of Africa, its value cannot be assessed in terms of money.

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there are voices calling for the return of the African star to Africa.

In any case, experts were estimating the star of Africa as a diamond alone at around $500 million.

Diamonds polished by Alchemy are also not far behind Cullinan in size and quality, so you can expect a winning bid of hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Please step back!”

Security company employees forced back those who were closely attached to the restraining belt.

Chairman Chung was also among the crowd.

His expression as he looked at the diamond was pleased.

‘Choi is very good at business.’

Since he had decided to sell the building in Cheongdam-dong to Choi Min-hyeok, he was watching Alchemy’s progress with interest.

Of course, Chairman Chung did not know that Choi Min-hyeok was the actual owner of KD, a mining company that mined rough diamonds.

It was just amazing that Alchemy was able to craft a precious gemstone that everyone coveted.

In addition, the diamonds were displayed at the Alchemy store before being put up for auction, and the second store was properly promoted, so the business was doing very well.

It seemed that sooner or later he would come with 100 billion won and ask for the building to be handed over.

‘I should have prepared the contract of sale in advance.’

.

.

.

Chairman Chung finished looking at the jewelry and came out of the Alchemy store.

Then I came to a soup restaurant two blocks away for lunch.

bubbling-

Hot seolleongtang soup was served in an earthen pot.

“I want to watch some news, okay?”

The president of a soup restaurant held the TV remote control and asked Chairman Chung.

Chairman Chung has been a regular at this store for decades.

The kid who was doing his homework with a notebook open at the table in the corner of the store is now well past his middle age and has been running a soup restaurant for generations.

“Is the TV mine? why ask me?”

“Among the guests, only the chairman watches TV.”

The soup restaurant owner was right.

These days, even people sitting at the same table see different things on their cell phones.

Except for the World Cup or Olympic Games, where Korean athletes compete, few people watch restaurant TV.

“If you want to see the news, do so.”

“thank you!”

The owner of a soup restaurant turned the channel.

＜Diamond stones weighing more than 1,000 carats have been found in Anga, a small country in Central Africa, and are attracting attention.＞

When I turned on the news, there was talk of rough diamonds.

The name of the country where KD was mining diamonds was ‘Anga’.

“I have to close the soup restaurant for a while and go over there to dig some diamonds!”

Chairman Chung laughed at the soup restaurant owner’s pointless joke.

“For soup chefs, quality beef bones and crucibles are rough diamonds. For a realtor like me, undervalued land and buildings are gemstones. We have to excavate each gemstone in its own location.”

“I can’t joke in front of Chairman Chung! ha ha ha!”

Mining company KD has become very famous these days.

This is because he made a big hit by buying the mining rights of an insignificant mine.

For $30 million, he bought the rights to mine for 20 years, starting with a 1,200-carat rough stone, and in just one month, he mined three more than 1,000-carat diamonds.

With the price of those three rough stones alone exceeding $200 million, it was already a long way from breaking even.

In addition, Alchemy, who was in charge of polishing diamonds, was also famous worldwide.

But the announcer’s next words were so unexpected.

＜A coup took place in Anga this morning.＞

Anga was a democratic country.

However, the military is trying to usurp the government by force.

The reason for the military coup was to root out the corruption of the current president and high-ranking officials.

‘what the!’

Chairman Chung clicked his tongue inwardly.

Although it is happening in Africa, which is far away, the reality of the place was drawn in my head with only two words, ‘diamond’ and ‘coup’.

‘They’re trying to steal the diamond mine!’

***

A wasteland where not a single blade of grass grows.

People were digging in the barren land with pickaxes and shovels, looking for diamonds.

As KD discovered rough diamonds weighing more than 1,000 carats one after another, the number of residents flocking to the mine increased exponentially.

Tens of thousands were now gathered in the wasteland.

Most of them were digging the soil with their hands, without even a decent tool.

They slept in the wasteland without a tent, and the time they opened their eyes continued to dig the ground.

But no one has been able to find even a rough diamond the size of a pea.

When they stretched their backs and rested while digging, they could see barbed wire in their eyes.

Originally there was no barbed wire, but KD recently installed it.

burrung-

Several military vehicles appeared in the wasteland.

A man wearing sunglasses got out of a navy-colored SUV.

He was wearing a military uniform and a beret, but he was not wearing a rank insignia.

Men who got out of the car followed him and escorted him with rifles.

At first, people thought they were KD’s mercenaries who had come to drive them out of the mine area.

But that wasn’t it.

They were a coup d’état force.

But the people in the wasteland didn’t even know that the coup had taken place.

When the soldiers didn’t take any action, the people started digging again.

trudging-

The man in sunglasses started walking towards the people.

Then they stopped in front of a boy who was digging with his bare hands.

the man asked the boy

“What are you doing here?”

omg-

The boy looked up and was terrified when he saw the crowd standing there holding rifles.

Then the man smiled benevolently.

“don’t worry. It’s a gun that protects you.”

“yes?”

“I will ask again. What are you doing here?”

“Everyone, I’m looking for diamonds…”

Then the man shook his head with a sad expression.

“To find diamonds, you have to dig a deposit. What are you doing digging here?”

The man pointed his finger at the barbed wire.

“You know very well that diamonds are out there!”

“But there is an owner there.”

“master? Who is the owner?”

Then the boy crawled in and said the name of the mining company.

“KD.”

Then the man replied in a weak voice.

“Why did the mines on our land become owned by a foreign company?”

“Because the government sold them mining rights.”

“Yeah right! very smart! Then why did the government sell mining rights to them?”

“that···.”

The boy couldn’t answer.

Then the man spoke.

“Because you can get royalties and taxes without digging the ground yourself! The crumbs KD eats up diamonds is enough to feed them! But look at you! You don’t even have such crumbs for your share!”

As the man’s voice rose, the people around him flocked to him.

People surrounded him in a circle, and a speech space was naturally formed.

“The government bastards always scream freedom and equality, but that only applies to them and their families!”

The people who listened to the man’s speech made a sour look on their faces and started digging again.

Those who remained around the man were mostly young boys.

To them, the man’s words came true.

This is definitely their land.

But it didn’t make sense that a foreign company was taking the yolk of the mine and digging up a wasteland where there would be nothing.

“So let me tell you guys how!”

I finally heard the man’s speech at the end.

The boys focused on his words.

“How are you telling me?”

“How to get freedom, equality, and even diamonds!”

“What is it?”

The man took a rifle from a nearby guard and raised it.

and shouted to the boys

“Put up your gun!”

***

Woo woo woo-

Choi Min-hyeok, wearing a rocket suit, arrived at the mine.

“president! Are you here!”

A miner’s golem ran to Choi Min-hyuk.

“How are things?”

“The coup forces are right in front of the barbed wire.”

It was prepared in advance by setting up barbed wire in case so many residents gathered around the mine that no one would break into the mine intentionally or accidentally.

Whoops-

Choi Min-hyeok moved to the place where the coup forces were located while maintaining ＜invisibility＞.

I saw a group of military vehicles and rifles at my feet.

Looking closely at their behavior, there were only a few people wearing military uniforms.

Most were dressed in casual clothes and carried old-fashioned rifles.

It was clear that civilians joined the coup in the temptation of the military to distribute the diamonds.

‘They’re ragtag people.’

Whether the opponent is a soldier or a civilian, the moment they set foot in a mine with a gun, they will be treated without discrimination.

He took up a weapon and planned his work, so even if he died, he shouldn’t feel unfair.

But getting into the mine won’t be easy.

shoot ah-

A few were trying to cut the barbed wire with a gas cutter.

swish-

Someone threw a cutter and got nervous.

“[What kind of barbed wire is so strong! It doesn’t work with an arc cutter, and gas cutting doesn’t work either!]”

“[Can’t we just climb over the barbed wire?]”

“[you idiot! It is over 15km from here to the mining site! Let’s leave the car and walk?]”

Their target was a mining farm.

The plan was to occupy the facilities there and take the miners hostage.

“[Let’s just push it with the truck!]”

Everyone nodded at someone’s opinion.

Yes, it was barbed wire.

I couldn’t cut it, but I thought I could knock it down by pushing it with a truck.

burrung-

The person who spoke up quickly climbed into the truck and started the engine.

“[Everyone get out of the way!]”

At the driver’s cry, everyone ran away from the barbed wire.

Then he stepped on the accelerator pedal hard.

Boo Woo-

The truck sprinted vigorously toward the barbed wire.

bang-

The truck collided with the barbed wire and made an unexpectedly loud sound.

And a terrible sight came to everyone’s eyes.

‘oh my god!’

The driver jumped out of the vehicle through the window and hit his head on the barbed wire, killing him instantly.