A week later, on the outskirts of Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, at an equestrian training base owned by Samsung.

The decor here is very elegant; the equipment room and rest room are built in the style of old European money.

Lee Jae-yong, with a forced smile, inspected the horse farm facilities with Choi Soon-sil, who held no official position and whose public identity was merely that of a kindergarten principal.

Choi Soon-sil's daughter, Jung Yoo-ra, walked at the front with an arrogant expression. Having just won gold at the Incheon Asian Games, she was in high spirits. Already enjoying many extraordinary privileges because of her mother, she became even more unrestrained when she discovered that even Samsung had to act as a tour guide and give introductions.

"This place looks so-so, and it's too far from the city center! I still want to train in Germany; I really like Germany. I just won a gold medal, and not training well will affect my future competitions."

Lee Jae-yong really wanted to slap him. Jung Yoo-ra couldn't even get a ranking in the individual competition. She was a weakling ranked outside the top 200 in the world. She only got a spot in the team competition because of her status. Although she didn't exactly win by default, she was definitely not the core of the Korean team. In the end, she just barely managed to get the team gold medal.

But the acting teacher's words from yesterday still echoed in my ears: I have to endure it, the performance can't stop.

Lee Jae-yong jogged a few steps, overtaking Jung Yoo-ra, and ran to a stable: "Anything is fine, but we didn't know you wanted to train there. We've already bought this gift. Why don't you take a look? If it's alright, it's nice for you to get used to it here for a while."

Jung Yoo-ra became interested; this was a gift from Samsung. Then everyone saw a gentle chestnut-colored mare who came over and nuzzled against them as a greeting.

Lee Jae-yong quickly recited the words he had memorized yesterday: "Vitana V, a Dutch warmblood mare born in 2002, whose sire is Donnerhall × Hemmingway × Zuidhorn. Donnerhall is the greatest stallion in the history of dressage."

She herself has also received the KWPN Elite Sports Mare title, one of the highest honors in the breeding world.

She made her debut in 2011, won a bronze medal at the 2012 Dutch Indoor Dressage Championships, and was later selected for the Spanish Olympics...

Zheng Weilu interrupted him directly: "Stop, stop, stop! I'm not an outsider. I recognize Vitana V! She's the horse of a Spanish Olympic athlete. She's a Grand Prix winner."

This is nothing like the small-race horses I ride now. Although she's already the best horse in the national team, she's still a level below Vitana V. You actually bought her? It must have cost a lot of money.

With her, I definitely have a chance to win a medal in the Asian singles competition. The people on the national team all say that I only got into the national team because of my good horse, and that I'm just not good enough myself.

The only one to blame is their parents. They only know how to bring up their wealth and power; money is a form of power too.

Lee Jae-yong said nonchalantly, "I believe your performance will definitely improve by leaps and bounds with her. The price isn't too high either, just over a million euros. We are happy to sponsor an Asian Games gold medalist like you."

Choi Soon-sil's eyes lit up, and she took over the conversation: "Let's go over there and talk. I'm used to letting her focus on training, and I take care of all the logistics."

She considered herself quite astute, and instead of going inside, she engaged in a serious price negotiation with Lee Jae-yong in the center of the racecourse.

"Mr. Li, I won't beat around the bush. You know my influence, so just name your price. It's really just a matter of convenience. We don't need much; compared to your worth, it's nothing."

Lee Jae-yong paused for a few seconds and said, "Can't you just give me a number? This is the first time I've encountered this kind of problem. I've never encountered it before. I have no experience with this either. I even asked my father, and he said the last time he was blackmailed was back in the 1980s."

Choi Soon-sil was a little unhappy: "How can you call it extortion? Without our help, this wrangling could have dragged on for another six months. What we're buying is time."

How about 10 billion won? We'll use the guise of funding equestrian training. I'll set up two funds, follow the proper procedures, and consider it funding for Korean sports. Plus, we'll get tax breaks.

"Okay, then let's agree on 10 billion won. Can we make the payment today? Aurora is pressing us hard."

Choi Soon-sil regretted it; she had agreed too quickly and asked for too little.

She added tentatively, "This horse shouldn't be included in that amount. The cost of the horse farm and its care must be considerable, and you'll have to cover that too. If my daughter wants to train in Germany, those expenses will also be calculated separately. Also, I'd like my daughter to attend Ewha Womans University, but they don't have special admissions for equestrian sports. Could you please help me with that?"

"No problem at all, I just need to pass the bill as soon as possible."

"Alright, I'll transfer the money to your account. If you really transfer the money today, I'll have the president start taking action tomorrow. The opposition will still oppose it as usual, but they'll be fine after a bit of a struggle. Two weeks, I'll make sure the bill passes within two weeks."

That evening at home, Lee Jae-yong vented his frustrations on his beautiful secretary. He was furious; the head of the prestigious Samsung Group had to grovel before him.

But he knew this wasn't over yet. After calming down, he picked up the phone and began to perform according to plan.

Choi Soon-sil and the President can be said to have a very strong sense of contractual obligation. After receiving the money, they immediately began to do real work, started to coordinate, and communicated privately with some neutral lawmakers.

In parliament, the ruling party also demonstrated greater fighting spirit, setting up its battle formation and retaining the speaker's seat. Within two days, it passed legislation related to Aurora Group's brain-computer interface device and exoskeleton device.

Just when the South Korean public thought that the National Assembly was about to pass the bill three times in a row, an unexpected incident occurred.

Son Suk-hee, one of South Korea's most influential media figures and head of the news department at JTBC, revealed a recording on his show "JTBC Newsroom" of Samsung President Lee Jae-yong openly offering bribes!

Son Suk-hee is a veteran journalist. He joined MBC in 1984, starting as a reporter and working his way up to produce social and political programs. He is considered one of the most ethical journalists in South Korea and is widely recognized as a symbol of credibility.

When he received the anonymously sent package and saw its contents, he was completely bewildered.

The recordings of conversations between Lee Jae-yong and Choi Soon-sil, the recordings of conversations between Choi Soon-sil and the President, the flow of funds, etc., are all exceptionally clear. This is not something that an ordinary employee with a change of heart could obtain.

Now that these top-secret messages are right in front of him, he doesn't believe there's no conspiracy behind them.

Resistance from the opposition? But they don't seem to have that kind of power. Even if they reveal something, they should only get some superficial information. Now, this can be used as evidence, enough to get them sentenced.

Aurora's methods? That doesn't make much sense either. Aurora and Samsung have a very good relationship. Samsung has been firmly on Chen Yiran's side since he started his business. They are practically the most loyal of the loyalists.

Internal strife within the ruling party? That's quite possible. The closer the relationship is to the inside, the more likely they are to pull off such exaggerated surveillance recordings to obtain evidence.

Sun Suk-hee thought for a long time but couldn't think of a reason not to disclose it. Whatever the reason, it was a fact that Lee Jae-yong had bribed him, although it was a bit tragic that he had been extorted.

As for the president, that's interesting. If he dares to extort money from South Korea's largest corporation, then other medium-sized corporations must have suffered as well.

We have to expose her! We have to bring her down!

Sun Shixi dedicated an entire episode to explaining the relevant events in detail and presenting related evidence to the audience. He believes that this content is enough to shake many people and will be the first step in toppling the dominoes.

But he didn't expect that this one step would directly knock down the last domino.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office demonstrated remarkable efficiency, announcing the filing of a case the following morning, and the Ministry of Justice issuing travel bans on the individuals involved that afternoon. That evening, Samsung's chairman, Lee Jae-yong, was taken in for questioning, and the prosecution simultaneously applied for a warrant.

At 3 a.m. the next day, the court conducted a substantive review of the writ. At 8 a.m., Lee Jae-yong, who had not slept all night, was pitifully questioned in court and admitted to multiple crimes on the spot. He was then directly detained in a detention center to await final review.

The president was dumbfounded; she had no idea who she was fighting against. In her mind, even if she went to prison, the Samsung Lee family would at most receive a suspended sentence.

But this is too fast. Under the dual pressure of the Lee family and the ruling party, it only took three days to arrest Lee Jae-yong. Does South Korea have some power that she doesn't know about?

With no one to answer her, she was impeached in a moment of helplessness and handed over to the Constitutional Court for trial.

Moon Jae-in, whom she had previously defeated, successfully came to power.

The first thing Moon Jae-in did after taking office was to begin discussing with various parties the powerful weapon of the aurora borealis and the related issues of consciousness transfer.

He was actually quite troubled by this. From a broader perspective, it seemed like an opportunity, a chance for South Korea to take a step further in the future global landscape.

However, he finds it difficult to face his own conscience. For forty years of his life, Moon Jae-in has always stood on the side of the weak. He started by helping the poor with their lawsuits, and later, as president, he continued to help the poor. For him, helping the weak has become a habit.

In 1996, a tragedy occurred on the South Korean fishing vessel Pescama, where six Chinese crew members, having suffered severe humiliation, ultimately killed seven South Korean crew members, three Indonesian crew members, and one fellow Chinese.

South Korean media outlets launched a front-page attack, calling it a brutal murder, a cold-blooded massacre, and an outrage against humanity. The streets were filled with condemnation, and everyone only remembered a few key phrases: Chinese people killing Koreans.

With such widespread public outrage, the pace of the police and judicial system's response was predictable. The six Chinese crew members were quickly indicted, and the South Korean prosecution requested the maximum penalty, the death penalty.

The court's trial satisfied public opinion, and the case was quickly concluded, with all six Chinese nationals sentenced to death.

Most South Koreans felt relieved, believing it to be a fair argument.

But this was not an ordinary murder case. The six people gritted their teeth and wrote letter after letter of appeal, describing their experiences on the ship, how they were beaten, verbally abused, and tricked into signing documents, word by word, and sent them to the court, hoping that even one person would be willing to read them carefully and help them.

These documents caught the attention of Zhao Feng, a Chinese lawyer of Korean ethnicity. After contacting the family members and confirming their authenticity, Zhao Feng felt he should do something.

He made a crazy decision: to personally travel to South Korea to try and save people.

In South Korea, he met many people, but in such a sensitive case, few South Koreans were willing to risk being labeled traitors to defend a Chinese person.

Ultimately, Zhao Feng found Moon Jae-in, a human rights lawyer with a background in the sports world.

Moon Jae-in already enjoyed a high status in South Korea at the time, but he still resolutely accepted the case. In the end, the verdict was changed in the second trial. The five accomplices were sentenced to life imprisonment, while the main culprit was still sentenced to death, but received a presidential pardon.

This can be considered a very fair verdict. Although these six people suffered greatly at sea, they ultimately took the initiative to commit violence.

Most importantly, they later completely lost control, not only forcing three Indonesians to become accomplices and killing an innocent intern who had just boarded the ship, but also murdering three other Indonesians who refused to go along with them.

However, South Koreans are certainly not satisfied with this; they believe the death penalty is the only just punishment. When South Koreans criticized Moon Jae-in for helping foreigners, his response was: "Humans have the right to live like human beings."

Moon Jae-in ultimately chose to proceed slowly with the consciousness transfer technology from Aurora. He always felt that this would solidify class distinctions to an unbelievable degree, and he did not believe that the poor would be able to enjoy this technology anytime soon. It seemed more like an exclusive privilege of immortality for the rich.

Surprisingly, Samsung did not file any further complaints, and even Lee Jae-yong cooperated fully, seemingly preparing to go to jail. Moon Jae-in even felt a little embarrassed and began to consider how to appease Samsung and ease tensions, after all, Samsung is the lifeblood of South Korea.

Just then, an accident occurred.

Aurora Corporation sent a very formal letter to South Korea, demanding that South Korea unconditionally release Lee Jae-yong.

Otherwise, Aurora Mobile will impose large-scale and comprehensive sanctions on South Korea.

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