Chapter 392
Chapter 392
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Travel Preparations (15)
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****
Terrifying.
“F-Fan!”
“Oh my! Nice to meet you~”
Terrifyingly so, unmistakably.
“An autograph? Of course! What’s your name?”
“Kes....”
“Such a pretty name! Here you go?”
Click-clack. Click-clack. Click-clack.
The sharp sound of high heels echoing through the clean but worn-out commercial building, surrounded by BDSM squad members crowding around Rabbit.
“Is that woman some kind of succubus or something?”
It was an atmosphere domination so bizarrely overwhelming.
The atmosphere in question wasn’t some frenzied “Ooh, Rabbit! Ooooh! Our idol!” mania.
Just pure enjoyment. Chatting intimately with a dazzling beauty who could grace the covers of nations, a light laugh spreading like a gentle breeze, and before long, everyone buzzing with excitement—that kind of pleasant vibe.
That’s what made it scarier.
Her fanbase spanned all ages and genders.
“Hey, Metal Joe.”
“Yeah?”
“How’s that woman look to you?”
“How? Well.... She’s alright? Pretty. Sweet. Good personality.”
She’d even captured the tastes of psycho Metal Joe, who had explosive impulse disorder.
Only after Professor Park, barely grasping the underbelly tying GG internals to the wasteland and clearly recognizing Rabbit as no ordinary woman, did he finally cast a suspicious glance—only then did her true nature faintly come into view.
Click-clack. Click-clack. Click-clack.
Parting the crowd of squad members, after Ian mentioned that Rabbit, I, and Thousand Stream Emperor had urgent business, everyone else was shooed away. Only then did I quietly open up about what I’d discovered.
“What, is she some kind of witch?”
“Oh my~ How rude! I’m just the universally likable type~?”
Once away from the squad members, Rabbit answered as if she’d been waiting for the question.
“Sexual appeal aside, pure admiration for a great person.... No, it’s more rational to assume mind magic.”
“It’s just some basic relational psychology? And it’s not like there’s no appeal or admiration at all. It just blends cleverly with the rest.”
Likability. Not drawing affection through that flashy appearance, but pure likability alone.
Intent packed into tiny gestures. An intimate smile bordering on perfection. The posture whispering during autographs, footsteps, lively speech and actions infecting the disinterested with bubbling happiness.
She perfectly controlled herself so everyone gathered would remember this moment as “a pretty happy time.”
“How much practice did that take?”
“From the moment I resolved to live like this, a lifetime. Without a single break.”
Gaslighting. Subtly manipulating others’ situations or psyches to dominate their emotions and actions.
Rabbit was a gaslighting expert—no, a goddess. Unlike typical gaslighting, though, she used her flashy looks as bait to make those drawn in feel their time with her as joyful and happy—benevolent gaslighting.
I’d once watched her play and thought:
‘The world seems to revolve around that woman. Nothing she touches fails.’
....Why wouldn’t it? Anyone even slightly entangled with her felt fondness toward her.
Pure likability devoid of sexual love was, in other words, a terrifyingly potent political or diplomatic card.
Even scarier: this atmosphere domination wasn’t innate but honed through meticulous calculation, training, and simulations. Meaning, facing any other group with different tendencies, she could adapt to theirs and pull them to her side.
A true universally likable person. In a world of unique individuals, a demonic charisma drawing them all in.
Click-clack. Click-clack. Click-clack.
“Meeting someone, stacking happy memories. Repeat that, and causality flips—the moment you meet becomes joyful. That’s how ‘close friends’ form, the basic rule of human relations, right? I studied people and practiced making our moments enjoyable for them.”
“People are all different—can you calculate for every single one?”
“People differ, but they share commonalities? External appeal, personality. Body language. The status of famous Rabbit Princess. Admiration. Wealth. Affection.... Tricky to handle, but wield them right, and nothing’s off-limits.”
This woman was far scarier than I’d thought.
Like Thousand Stream Emperor’s martial prowess or my wits and adaptability—her ability.
Atmosphere domination powerful enough to turn everyone met into allies. That violent pull, atmosphere control, was the driving force behind Rabbit clearing the world.
Even I, openly discussing her true face now, found Rabbit pretty decent. Calculated and thorough. Ambitious personally, but not harming others.
As suspicions toward her melted away, I’d unconsciously shifted to “Working with her would be convenient?”—positively appraising her.
Was this how Adolf Hitler ensnared an entire nation of Germans into murderous madness during World War II?
“Don’t worry too much. Like anyone, those who talk with me always feel ‘the talk ended well.’ I’m a joyful presence to all~?”
Sensing my mood already, Rabbit strode ahead, opening the door to the room I’d guided them to first.
Bang!
“Ah.”
She froze solid.
The flustered face I’d never seen once since meeting her for real.
Whoosh—
Drip-drip!
A swing so clean it looked beautiful to onlookers. Sweat drops trailing the body that moved first.
The man, who seemed like he should be in a gi, swung his sword in modern gym wear inside a contemporary dojo.
“....A loose-lipped woman and the man who’s been waiting.”
“Th-Tho-Thou.... No, why are you here?”
“Ah, didn’t I mention? Thousand Stream Emperor’s here to meet me. Today’s meeting is a three-way face-off.”
“No, this, ugh....!”
Rabbit, ever maintaining her pace, fidgeted helplessly.
Thousand Stream Emperor strode over, brushing past her to extend a hand to me.
“Thousand Stream Emperor.”
A greeting with no modifiers, as if that sufficed.
Caught in the wave of heat from this man’s presence, I shook his hand in return.
“Professor Park. Heard a lot about you.”
His palm was rock-hard, callused without gaps.
His eyes held the indifference of an inanimate object.
“Well then. Let’s talk game now.”
“Agreed.”
“Why of all people this guy with me....”
These extraordinary figures each took their seats.
****
“....”
“....”
“....”
An awkward silence hung between the three for a moment.
Rabbit, usually brimming with confidence, looked somehow cowed.
Thousand Stream Emperor blatantly stared me down with half-lidded eyes.
I pondered how to broach the topic before these two.
“Ahem!”
Neither seemed likely to speak first, so as host, I forcibly broke the ice.
“Uh.... Let’s unpack one by one. First, Thousand Stream Emperor—you’ve waited longest. Word is you came looking for me?”
“Right. Something personal to confirm.”
“A personal question.... Intriguing.”
Thousand Stream Emperor was at the extreme end of Rabbit’s spectrum.
Human relations: 0.
Known info: next to none. Only presumed mixed South American heritage from appearance.
A modern enigma, the solitary swordsman.
Admin said he showed zero interest in server rooms or such.
For such a man to seek me out personally? And this guy, who scheduled his days like clockwork, left his home to come here?
‘No way it’s really [wanted to test my mettle] or some curiosity like that?’
Remembering his sole interest was personal training, I grew uneasy.
Thousand Stream Emperor slowly, very slowly scanned me top to bottom, then parted his firmly shut lips.
“....Professor Park. Do you know someone named Han Seo-ho?”
Huh? What?
“Han.... Seo-ho? Who?”
“Confirmed different family name. Any illegitimate child on father or mother’s side perhaps.”
“Huh?”
“Asking if there’s blood ties to Han Seo-ho beyond normal family relations.”
The out-of-left-field question stunned me and Rabbit alike.
What’s this? The famed strongest enigmatic swordsman breaks long seclusion just for a background check?
As I gawked in disbelief, Thousand Stream Emperor closed his eyes as if that answered it.
“Just a hypothetical. I’ve searched a lifetime for someone like Seo-ho, but confirmed only two: Seo-ho and Professor Park. Regrettably, no connection between you.”
“Wait! Who the hell is Han Seo-ho, and why drag me into this enough to track me down?”
“....”
Pressing Thousand Stream Emperor, who muttered to himself, he fixed me with a steady gaze, slowly enunciating words as if pressing them down.
“The Completed One.”
“....Completed One? Another besides us three?”
“No. Not by Gedroits’s ridiculous standards—by my measure, the closest to a true Completed One. That’s Han Seo-ho. I disagree with Andrey Gedroits’s selection criteria but deeply empathize with his plan.”
Disagrees with criteria but empathizes with plan. Criteria means GG’s process for picking Completed Ones. Andrey Gedroits’s plan then....
“Guiding a foreseen future to a controllable one, finding the most fitting person and granting them power and authority. No interest in destruction or salvation, but I know better than anyone such a person shouldn’t die pointlessly in a drug den sewer. My name, my existence—all of it is the legacy of someone who vanished so futilely.”
Click.
Inhaling briefly, thumb caressing the sword hilt at his waist.
“One fit to lead the world. One who sprouts humanity even from the rotten bosom of the lowliest wretch. I’ve witnessed such a soul with my own eyes, hence recognize their necessity clearer than anyone.”
It was the sole moment emotion flickered on Thousand Stream Emperor’s face, refined as tempered steel.
****
“Thousand Stream Emperor’s personal Completed One.... Rabbit, you look like you knew.”
“Of course. That idiot came to our house too. Same spiel as now.”
Rabbit, uncomfortable since meeting Thousand Stream Emperor, grumbled harshly about him with a pout.
“Grand words, but deep down he’s just a wasteland cliché—trauma-stuck kid throwing tantrums. Long-dead comrade, deified inside for surviving on his sacrifice! No reaching that no matter how he flails lifelong. He’s preset that guy as inherently superior.”
“Rabbit Princess. After hearing your horrific joke about me as Completed One candidate plus wasteland backstory, I visited expecting a real one. Woman loved by all, making everyone happy. Huge hopes, but just reconfirmed Gedroits’s standards are rotten.”
Rabbit interjected in the brief lull, Thousand Stream Emperor countered, tension crackling between them.
“Eek! What’s wrong with me! Honestly, I’m fit to lead the world, right? I get shit done! Hire well! My goal’s pursuing universal happiness even!”
“How you sway people’s like Hitler luring them to warfields. Intense, but mere illusion.”
‘No way, but Rabbit seriously dreams Gedroits-style Completed One—world conquest?’
I’d talk to him later, but current convo and clear rewards pointed that way.
“Then, does your standard even exist! From what you say, Han Seo-ho sounds like a god!”
“....Thought not. Until recently.”
As Rabbit and Thousand Stream Emperor bickered, the arrow suddenly turned to me.
“Uh.... Me?”
“Yeah, you. Professor Park. The resilience I’ve pursued lifelong. One whose self-change naturally spreads, transforming the environment itself. Superhuman. Holder of that incredibly rare trait I haven’t met since that day.”
“Uh.... Huh?”
“When I saw your video by chance, I doubted my eyes. After Rabbit disappointment, wondered if Han Seo-ho was hallucination from my drug-riddled brain like she said. Then, like magic, someone evoking Seo-ho appeared before me.”
“....So. You came to meet me?”
“Right. Hmm.... Felt like there was something to say or do upon meeting....”
Thousand Stream Emperor frowned briefly, then sighed low.
“....Can’t remember. Not gifted at complex thoughts or long-term memory. By evening, when hallucinations pile up, I hammer steel to settle them—that’s it. Only faintly recall intending something from shattered memories. Professor Park, there was definitely something I meant to convey to you, but forgot.”
Drug-induced brain damage. Common enough in the wasteland. Perhaps his habit-bound routine and near-zero external activity stemmed from it. Spouts whatever floats up thoughtlessly, but forgets premeditated plans easily.
“....One thing.”
“Oh, remembered something?”
“Recalled coming here planning to live here onward. You resemble Seo-ho, so maybe something to observe and learn. Can protect your safety if needed. Bearers of Seo-ho’s trait are exceedingly rare—don’t know when I’d find another if you die.”
Hm? Wait. His fixation target shifted a bit from that Han Seo-ho to me? For someone this extreme, becoming an object of interest.... Kinda dangerous, right?
“S-So.... You’ll protect me because I resemble Han Seo-ho?”
“Yes. Good if ones like Seo-ho survive.”
“You’re not seeing me as exactly that guy, right?”
“Seo-ho’s dead. No one like him can exist.”
Phew. At least not fully projecting him onto me.
“What if I deviate from your ‘Thousand Stream Emperor’s Completed One’ standard?”
“....Probably want to kill you. As I said, I’ve experienced such a person’s influence firsthand more than anyone. If you grow wrongly, fear of that influence would make me want to eliminate you.”
“Ugh—”
“See, see? Told you not to talk to Thousand Stream Emperor assuming normal person standards?”
Total landmine. Simply aiding because I fit his ideal human image means—he could do anything if I skew wrong.
Simple, easy to read, yet utterly untamable.
But right now, incredibly—no, as friendly as this guy gets?
“....Does that mean you’ll join BDSM?”
“Hm. If that’s required to stay here.”
Grab!
No need to hear more. I seized this young dementia geezer’s hand and shook it wildly up and down.
“Oh my~ If that’s it, should’ve said sooner! We welcome you unconditionally! Great salary too! You like beating people, right? We’ve got plenty who need beating to come to senses—no days off! Welcome, welcome!”
“Crazy? He’ll kill you if you screw up! Thousand Stream Emperor lacks human standards!”
“That’s our problem! Think I’ll die easy if he tries? Seems pretty straightforward—easy to persuade!”
As Rabbit said, Thousand Stream Emperor’s behavior bordered mental illness. Trauma fixation on specific events was common.
Moreover, long-term drug exposure as he admitted heightened that likelihood.
Classic wasteland brokenness somewhere. But clear-headed, gets the point—good enough?
Plus, certified Gedroits Company “superhumanization program” completer, one-man army. Skill verified clashing with Ian’s unit already.
Jackpot. Found lotto!
“Oh, one more.”
“Oh! What else? Anything—”
“Heard you have a lover. Ideally, have lots of kids.”
“—Cough!”
“Will help as much as possible, but this place, death anytime’s no surprise. Seo-ho’s trait might be genetic, so more offspring sharing genes the better. Several like Seo-ho would surely be good.”
Leaving that chilling remark, he sauntered off as if done.
Soon after, clang-clang echoed nearby from hammering metal.
“....Meant well, but you’ll regret taking him in. Walking bomb.”
“Can’t deny outright.... Eh, we’ll manage.”
Rabbit and I, left in the room, filled Thousand Stream Emperor’s spot with sighs.
“Anyway. Clear, server room, wasteland future disinterested party’s gone. Now, those interested can talk?”
Regaining breath, Rabbit amped her voice to recapture entry vibe.
“Straight talk. Sell your 3rd World clear seed exclusively to me, don’t publicize. Oh, and you don’t play it either.”
“Rejected.”
From here, familiar peaceful mind games.
Yeah, got why Rabbit hates Thousand Stream Emperor. Folks like us, used to reading others, get uneasy just around someone unreadable no matter what.
For Rabbit, pouring all into keeping the world “joyful”—can’t tolerate her own discomfort.
Community control access, right! Just manipulate some opinion? You’re good at that! Whip up sympathy for local variant patients! Good deed!
“Forget it! Give me seed monopoly! Ditching that idiot’s 4th World for proper 4th World reward!”
“No, not selling!”
“Bex’ll grind teeth hearing you yelled!”
“Ha! Bet on whether our Jja-ri-mong-ttang sides with me?”
Ahh, peaceful.
Watching compromises form amid sharp banter felt like true healing.
****
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