Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 385 The Leap of Faith (Revised Edition)

The negotiations with Samsung went exceptionally smoothly, and the two sides reached an agreement immediately.

The only problem was that Lee Jae-yong got a bit aggressive drinking in the second half of the session. It seems that Koreans tend to get louder as they drink, and even the Samsung heir is no exception.

After all, the crown prince has always faced great pressure.

The Li family's situation is far more complex than outsiders perceive. Wealth and status are inevitable, but the mental pressure they face is undoubtedly immense.

Work, family, and the entire nation of South Korea are all watching. This person, who has been able to withstand pressure since childhood, can be called a legendary figure on the peninsula.

Among the countless so-called "chaebol heirs" in South Korea, he is considered quite normal and law-abiding. This is all due to the high pressure they faced, and even at forty years old, he still hasn't escaped the shadow of his father.

I don't know what he was thinking. Maybe he felt that he could let down his guard when he was with a foreigner, and it was rare that they were having such a good chat.

In the end, I decided to reward myself.

One more bottle, please!
As a result, he finished a bottle and a half of red wine by himself and had to be helped away in the end.
As Zhai Da watched the luxury car drive away, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Is that guy from Chicken Neck completely drunk? They had such a good talk, don't forget everything when you wake up tomorrow!

Fortunately, this worry did not come true, as there were two translators in the private room who would tell Lee Jae-yong exactly what had happened.

The scene where someone clapped their wrists and sang "Arirang" was simply omitted.

The sun almost rose in the south.

Back at the Shilla Hotel, Zhai Da let out a burp. Although he wasn't that crazy, he had drunk about half a bottle of red wine, and his face was a little flushed.

After all, Lee Jae-yong was inspired by him to sing "Arirang" and downed a large glass of red wine.

The person who brought him back, who was fluent in Chinese, was quite responsible and made sure Zhai Da was back at his suite door.

However, as he was closing the door, the man suddenly asked, "Mr. Zhai, do you have any plans for tonight?"

Zhai Da frowned in confusion: "Didn't I just get back?"

You blacked out even though you didn't drink?
The man smiled and said, "If you need anything, please feel free to contact me."

Any two words are pronounced with more emphasis.

Zhai Da was stunned for a moment before he understood what he meant, but he still waved his hand and said, "Go down, I need to rest."

The man didn't say a word more; he nodded, bowed, and left quickly.

I felt a little sentimental; those talent agencies had waited all night for their calls, but it seems they won't need them anymore.

Back in his room, Zhai Da casually tossed his coat aside, rummaged through his suitcase for a moment, and took out a wristband with the special "Moneywort" logo, putting it on his wrist.

He doesn't like to go to sleep when he's intoxicated; if it's not too serious, he prefers to be more or less sober before going to sleep.

I got up and went to the balcony, enjoying the Seoul night breeze and basking in the moonlight.

After being enhanced by the components, the [Extreme Bracers] can enhance his mental recovery ability. Although it is unknown whether it helps with sobering up, the feeling of being refreshed is obvious.

On the contrary, the "hormone stabilization" ability provided by the "Internal Furnace" set itself seemed to be mismatched with his hangover cure. He didn't feel that he could drink more than before, nor did he feel that he sobered up faster.

It might just reduce the damage from drinking? Zhai Da wasn't sure.

Leaning against the balcony railing, Zhai Da gazed at the still bustling Seoul night view, feeling his mind gradually clearing up.

Samsung Korea
In the future, amidst the surging tides of history, these supporting characters, though not protagonists, are nonetheless named figures.
There are actually only two main people who get to sit at the table and look at the menu. The rest are either the waiters or the menu itself.

From what he already knew in his later life, South Korea's industrial structure, due to its high degree of overlap with the industrial Cthulhu, had already been brought to the brink of collapse. In this life, with its own existence, it might develop even faster.

I wonder if Lee Jae-yong, who took over Samsung back then, was under even more pressure than he is now.

But life always finds a way, doesn't it?

What's it to him?

Just as his thoughts were drifting away, Zhai Da heard the sound of a sliding door. Curious, he glanced to the lower left and saw a familiar face.

Lu Siwen was wearing a white long dress, the evening breeze lifting the hem of her dress. The young girl seemed to have just taken a bath, as her hair was still slightly damp.

Whether it was an illusion or not, even though they were two floors apart and more than ten meters away, Zhai Da could faintly smell the scent of shampoo.

Lu Siwen took a step forward and leaned against the railing, looking at the same night view in the distance. The lights reflected on her jewel-like pupils, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

After a long silence, he sighed and muttered to himself, "Why don't I dare to make a phone call?"

"What are you doing?"

Lu Siwen looked up blankly and saw Zhai Dazheng leaning on the balcony looking at her from the upper right.

The deer took a step back as if startled, clearly taken aback, but then put on a smile: "You're back? How was work?"

Zhai Da rested his chin on his hand: "It was alright, but I felt a little dizzy after drinking half a bottle of red wine. Where did you guys eat?"

Lu Siwen rested her chin on her hands: "The director took us to eat Korean food. I can't read Korean, so I don't know what it's called."

"what about the taste?"

“I’m not full.”

Goodness, they skipped the question of "whether it tastes good or not" entirely?

Zhai Da remembered something: "Wait for me a moment."

After rummaging around in his room for a while, he returned to the balcony and waved the instant noodles in his hand.

Then, with a forceful throw, it leaped over the height of two floors and landed precisely in Lu Siwen's arms.

(Children without special skills should not imitate this; throwing objects from heights is unacceptable.)
Looking at the familiar "Braised Beef Noodles" logo, Lu Siwen exclaimed in surprise, "You brought this with you?"

Zhai Da shrugged: "I learned this from a senior colleague. It was originally for the United States. I'm so grateful, but I don't have much of it left."

Lu Siwen beamed with joy: "I'll definitely eat it all up, slurping it down, leaving not a drop of soup!"

She even made a gesture of eating noodles while speaking, which was lively and playful.

For some reason, Lu Siwen felt that the instant noodles in his arms were a little warm, perhaps it was Zhai Da's body temperature?
She had actually drunk a little bit of liquor today, as a way of trying out the local specialty. Slightly tipsy, Lu Siwen suddenly felt a surge of courage and said, seemingly unintentionally:
"Um... the production team said filming is the day after tomorrow, and we have a meeting tomorrow morning. We're free in the afternoon. Want to go sightseeing in Seoul together? I... I'll treat you to a big meal?"

Unfortunately, the courage she mustered dissipated even faster than the night wind, and before she could even compose herself, she heard Zhai Da's rejection:

"You guys can move around freely, but I can't. I basically have to stay on set the whole time. The closing magic trick in Seoul is a bit dangerous, so I have to keep an eye on it."

Lu Siwen felt as if a rope had been pulled across her heart, but she knew she couldn't ask any more questions.

So he nodded casually and said, "Alright, then I'll stay in the hotel obediently."

Taking one last look at the Seoul nightscape, Lu Siwen knew she could only steal a glance at these wonders; it was time to leave.

She shook the instant noodles in her hand and said, "I'm going back to boil water now. You should get some rest too."

Zhai Da nodded: "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Back in his room, Zhai Da thought for a moment, then pulled out several professional books on silicon carbide and semiconductors, quietly using knowledge to soothe his drunkenness.

------

The next day, Zhai Da, just as he had said, spent the entire day at the filming location.

Thanks to Samsung's connections, filming in South Korea was much easier for the production team than in Japan, with filming permits and location support coming through smoothly. However, this also meant that the workload increased.

Zhai Da attended a filming meeting in the morning and met with the three guests of this episode besides Lu Han: domestic artists Li Chen and Zhang Li, and local Korean guest, Im Yoon-ah, a member of a top girl group.

Yes, Li Chen can be considered a "handsome young man," but Zhai Da is already numb to it.

After the meeting, Zhai Da left directly to supervise the final magic show of the third phase. Lu Siwen hesitated as she watched Zhai Da leave, but ultimately chose to obediently return to the hotel, open her notebook, and write something.

As a writer, it seems he is recording his inspirations.

Filming officially began at noon on the third day.

This time, the filming location was Itaewon, a famous commercial street where domestic film crews could only squeeze into cafes to shoot. A space was specially set aside for Zhai Da and his team.

The familiar opening, warm-up, and team formation took place. In the team formation task with inside information, Li Chen and Lin Yoona were paired together, while Lu Siwen was paired with Zhang Li.

In the magic trick selection segment, Li Chen and Lin Chen chose "Cool," a trick involving playing cards hidden in stockings. Lin Yoona wore black stockings with specially made double-layered playing cards hidden inside. When Li Chen flicked the cards away, he pulled a hidden thread, causing the outer flesh-colored membrane to rise and reveal the cards underneath, making it appear as if the cards were inserted into the stockings. Lu Siwen and Zhang Li's group chose "Joyful," a trick involving an apple stuck on a stick, tucked under their armpits and concealed by black clothing, making it seem as if the apple could levitate.

The group practiced for three hours before launching a full-scale attack.

It was evening, and when the two groups returned, the closing magic show was about to begin.

Why always at night?

Just like with black clothes, the night is also a magician's friend.

The four performers' performances did not go very smoothly. Li Lin's group messed up multiple times due to language barriers, and Lin Yoona even ruined three pairs of stockings. Lu Siwen and Zhang Li's magic tricks were too "simple and crude" and were difficult to gain recognition.

The four were told by the production team that they needed to go to the rooftop of a building in Itaewon to find Zhai Da. Before going upstairs, they found a large number of passersby gathered downstairs.

It seems they were informed by the production team what kind of performance was coming up.

I looked up and glanced at it, but couldn't see anything amiss.
I climbed up to the rooftop with doubts, only to be stunned by the sight before me.

Mirrors, countless mirrors.

Hundreds of mirrors form a maze, and just one glance can cause a sense of spatial dizziness.

This is a classic "scene magic trick," a mirror maze.

Dressed neatly in his familiar "magic costume," Zhai Da suddenly appeared on the mirror.

Or perhaps it's just his reflection.

The person in the mirror said to the four people:

"Unfortunately, none of the four completed the task and must accept punishment."

The guests pursed their lips, a mixture of curiosity and trepidation in their expressions.

On the mirror, Zhai Da smiled and said, "This is the first time everyone has failed, and you definitely don't want to experience the punishment. But now you have one last chance."

Zhai Da paused briefly on the golden staff, his immersion in the [Cloak of Faith] feeling complete.

He thinks he's super handsome.

"This is my chance to seize it."

With that, he flicked his cloak and disappeared into the maze.

The four exchanged glances, and finally Lu Siwen took the first step.

She wasn't afraid of any punishment if Zhai Da wanted to punish her.
Punish them!
On the contrary, the mirror maze intrigued her, giving her a faint sense of excitement reminiscent of playing games as a child.

Seeing Lu Siwen enter the maze, the other three did not hesitate any longer and carefully walked in as well.

As it turns out, this long-standing scene is indeed quite confusing. After just two turns, people become dizzy and disoriented, and there was even an accident where the photographer following the scene bumped into a mirror.

The cerebellum is like a foot wrapped in cloth.

Zhai Da's mirror image appeared on a certain mirror from time to time, appearing and disappearing like a gust of wind, tempting and provoking the group to quicken their pace.

In the end, it was Lu Siwen, who had a proper education, who was the first to react. She abandoned her vision and switched to touch, no longer worrying about the visual illusion, but instead walking along one side of the wall by feeling her way.

She shared this idea with others, and the other three finally found some method.

The makeshift maze wasn't very big, and after about seven or eight minutes, the four of them walked out of the maze and saw Zhai Da standing on the rooftop.

Several searchlights shone down from the high-rise building next door, clearly prepared by the production team. Huge beams of light swept around Zhai Da, resembling a large-scale arrest scene in a movie.

It's easy to imagine that this segment will be accompanied by tense and exciting background music.

But the filming location was quiet, and the guests were not informed in advance. They thought that the "mirror maze" was the whole closing magic trick, but now it seems to be over.

Unbeknownst to them, the passersby who had been called downstairs had been told to be on high alert because a special performance was about to begin!

On the rooftop, Zhai Da, immersed in his role, seemed calm and collected, waiting for his pursuers.

Lu Siwen asked疑惑地问道：“We caught you. And then what?”

Zhai Da raised his hand and shook his finger: "No, you just found me, you didn't capture me."

Li Chen understood the subtext and suddenly sped up to launch a sneak attack.

However, Zhai Da simply spun and turned to the side, avoiding Li Chen's hands and creating distance between them.

Exceptionally elegant, like a bullfighter.

Li Chen turned around and continued to pursue several times, only to find that Zhai Da's agility and speed far surpassed his own; he couldn't even touch Zhai Da's cloak, let alone the person.

Li Chen's intelligence suddenly prevailed, and he said to the other three, "You guys surround him from the side, I'll catch him, you just block the way."

Zhai Da smiled and did not stop him.

Lu Siwen took the opportunity to block Zhai Da's side path. After all, the show hadn't finished filming yet, so they should finish filming first.

As the four drew closer, Zhai Da moved further back, and it seemed that they truly had no way to break the deadlock.

Under the night wind, his cloak fluttered, like an elegant thief cornered.

Li Chen took the initiative and said, "Teacher Zhai, let's admit defeat."

He thought that the encirclement he had commanded had disrupted Zhai Da's plans, but little did he know that this was exactly what Zhai Da wanted to see.

Zhai Da twirled the stick with one hand and laughed, "Why should I admit defeat?"

"You have no way out."

Zhai Da smiled and said, "I have more than one path."

Li Chen felt the distance was sufficient and wanted to launch another sneak attack. This time, Zhai Da did not dodge like a bull in a bullfight, and there was no longer enough space. He turned around and ran back.

Li Chen was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted, "No!"

Because behind that was already the edge of the rooftop.

Zhai Da showed no sign of slowing down; on the contrary, he ran faster and faster.

The searchlights that had been roaming around converged at the same time, illuminating that agile and dashing figure.

Zhai Da even turned around, grinned, and showed off his white teeth: "Goodbye!"

Immediately afterwards, he spread his arms at the edge of the rooftop and jumped off.

There were no steel wires, no harnesses, and no safety measures whatsoever.

Purely based on faith!

And so he threw himself into the night sky, thirteen stories high.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The crowd gathered below kept staring in one direction, and the spotlight beams guided their gaze.

Suddenly, someone pointed to the rooftop and said, "Look! There!"

A figure wearing a cloak gracefully leaped off the rooftop.

It's like diving.

Its incredibly realistic parabola proves that it had no protective measures whatsoever.

However, the next moment, under countless spotlights, that figure exploded into countless banknotes!
Yes, banknotes!
Thousands of banknotes fluttered down in the wind, and someone managed to snatch one—it turned out to be a genuine 5000 Korean won banknote! (equivalent to 20 yuan).

"Damn it! This is money, damn it!"

Hundreds of people began cheering and frantically grabbing the items, and passersby also joined in the festivities.

Hidden cameras on various high-rise buildings captured the incredible scene of Zhai Da running, jumping, exploding, and hundreds of people picking up money.

Although it lasted only a dozen seconds, the leap and the magical transformation into a shower of banknotes were breathtaking.

(End of this chapter)