Chapter 393
Chapter 393
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 393
Chapter Title: Chapter 17. Travel Preparations (16)
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“Did the talk go well?”
“Oh, sorry. Did I keep you waiting?”
“No. I had some unfinished business too, so I was handling that while I waited.”
A considerable amount of time had passed since Thousand Stream Emperor left. As the ecstatic Levit Princess emerged, her high heels clicking loudly behind her, Dana greeted me from outside.
“Hmm, is everything okay? Rabbit looked a bit too happy.”
“Hm? What did she say when she came out?”
“Uh... something like, ‘When we get married, it’d be best if Dana handles all the finances~ Ahahahahaha!!!’... Her reaction made it seem that way, so I’m a little... worried?”
“Oh dear, the bunny lady is absolutely thrilled. No need to worry~”
At Dana’s concerned question, I chuckled and plopped down next to her.
“But... deals can’t always be perfectly win-win, right? If Rabbit came out that excited, it means she got more than she expected, which implies the other side—Professor—took a loss or gave up some planned gains...”
“You’re right. In a normal case, that is.”
It wasn’t unreasonable for Rabbit to bounce out like her heels might snap.
I’d granted all her conditions.
We put up a bit of a fight, I pretended to lose~, and gave her everything she asked for.
“R-Really? You’re really giving me exclusive access to [Professor Seed 4World]?”
“Yeah! I lost! Exactly one week from today! I’ll log in briefly, check the world status, and hand it over right away!”
“No, I appreciate it, but... why? Suddenly?”
“I hated to waste the effort I put in and logged out, but then I realized I’m swamped with construction outside. You know the Raptor Society’s movements are suspicious, right? With your resources, you’ve got some private intel channels.”
“There are quite a few traces of their activity...”
“Those are the guys who used an entire Dome-class city central generator core as shielding for cover. If they’re not moving, no one knows what they’re up to. That means there was some reason they had to move, even giving away approximate location data we didn’t need to provide. It’s definitely not good news for us.”
“So, because you’re busy outside, you’re handing it to me... is that it?”
“Yeah. Gedroits’s server room is impressive, sure, but before we can apply the ancient tech and facilities we find there, some huge disaster is bound to hit. The immediate threats are too urgent; I don’t have time to chase that far.”
“Wow...”
“How about it? Grateful? All you pay for exclusive Professor 4World rights is using your [GG Community Admin Rights] to keep posting content that helps improve perceptions of people with mutation symptoms. That’s it. No big deal.”
“Woooow...! Wowwowwow!!!’
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“That’s roughly how it went.”
Of course, I plan to keep the promise. Exactly one week later, I’ll share my 3World clear seed with Rabbit only.
One week later.
‘Including today, in 6 days, my vacation ends, and I log into GG. And due to my account’s nature from blending with GG’s data soul once before, I won’t be able to log out until I clear it.’
What that means is, using my [GG Playtime Multiplier Adjustment Rights], I’ll stretch a real-world instant into near infinity, spinning my wheels in 4World for years or decades until I clear it.
From the outside, it’ll look like I log in—‘Logging in now—’—and immediately pop out of the connector, yelling, ‘I-I’m back! Ooooh, the scent of home soil!’ That’s what happens 6 days from now when I log in, in real time.
Rabbit gets her promise the next day, and by the time my 3World clear seed reaches her hands, I’ll already have cleared 4World and come out.
This time, I’m determined to sort out every issue in that inner world, so if I return successfully... sorry, Rabbit, but no more chances for you.
In short, I sold her a fake product and profited.
‘The value change of the purchased item is the buyer’s risk. Anyway, we both got what we wanted, so win-win, right?’
Of course, the time multiplier, the contamination, the data soul— the ordeals I’ll face ahead are mine alone to know, so I’ll just explain to others that I handed it over because Raptor matters kept me busy outside. That should suffice.
Dana seemed to mull over each of my words carefully, then finally expressed her lingering doubt.
“Alright, I get why you handed the seed to Rabbit. The wasteland situation is changing rapidly, and as a faction leader, you don’t have time to invest in the game right now, so currying favor with Rabbit—who has clearing potential—and sharing her rewards is ideal.”
“Exactly.”
“But the other part you demanded from her doesn’t make sense. Does Rabbit even have that kind of authority? Managing the community, exposing specific posts? That’s not something you can just buy with money.”
“Oh, that’s...”
We’d just agreed with Rabbit not to publicize GG’s backstory or its ties to Gedroits. Revealing it would spike player numbers beyond the current urban legend status of the server room, accelerating data soul contamination massively.
Rabbit knows contamination rises with each save/load she does, so she’s wary of other sources too. I don’t want that world to go more to hell either, so I naturally agreed.
“...It’s one of the rewards GG admins give to world clearers.”
...Still, Dana’s fine. She won’t blab important info everywhere.
More than that, while I can’t tell her everything ahead, I wanted her to know why I’m diving into that hellfire.
Cautiously, the story of GG, Gedroits, the Completer, and his plan spilled out. How involved I was. What Rabbit or Thousand Stream Emperor gained. What Gedroits feared and prepared for.
Dana showed keen interest as an info broker, listened calmly, and analyzed it effortlessly.
“So, Gedroits planned to select someone meeting his criteria and hand them control over the current wasteland—the world shrunken to extremes after the nuclear war.”
“Yep. The super-sensory injection program Thousand Stream Emperor took—being a basic failure, it’d kill a bunch if used as-is. But a Dome-level tech group could refine it usefully. Not one-against-hundred, but one-against-ten elite troops mass-producible in short order. Of course, now it’s devolved to personal use thanks to falling into the hands of a unique case like Thousand Stream Emperor.”
“Community admin rights. In a world where satellites are all smashed, GG Community is the only wide-area group comms medium. Those rights are basically free reign over the world’s media. If Rabbit floods it with fake scandals about the camp director, riots could erupt in no time. No amount of counter-posts or corrections can keep up with community spread. It’s effectively mass brainwashing power.”
“Drone admin rights are essentially granting physical surveillance and contact over wasteland dwellers.”
“The server room adds tech superiority to the manpower and wealth gathered via those rights. Dome dominates as wasteland top power by hoarding the most pre-war tech; Gedroits’s prep for the wasteland era—praised as centuries ahead even pre-war—would let any group secure overwhelming forces.”
“Then, with firm control over the wasteland, shifting to the manned space station ‘Next-Space’ via Gedroits’s prep eliminates even assassination risks from rival factions.”
GG transport drone admin.
Community admin.
Super-sensory training program.
Server room.
Orbital habitat ‘Next-Space’.
These five rights grant the selected ‘Completer’ overwhelming rule and personal safety.
Save/Load.
GG time multiplier adjustment rights.
These two were meant for after clearing all 7 worlds and gaining all rights, likely for cases where his ‘Completer’—like Gedroits—needs to simulate futures in GG. Set scenarios via admin, run with time multiplier, check results, save/load to rewind and tweak. He couldn’t predict the initial errors or splitting rewards into seven.
Dana furrowed her brow slightly, slowly chewing over all the info.
“...The scale’s so huge it’s dizzying. So Rabbit really plans to follow Gedroits’s blueprint. She’s seriously plotting the remaining clears.”
“If we judge by process alone, she’s the top ‘Completer candidate’ truly embracing his will?”
“...Why? Is she really that power-hungry? She didn’t seem like it to me.”
“Oh, I asked about that too.”
Since we’d talked games, this topic naturally came up.
Why does Professor chase clears? Personality.
Why does Rabbit chase clears...?
“Something stronger than power lust, a bit more than ambition.”
“More?”
“Yeah. Ideology. The kind that splits the world into communist and democratic camps.”
Why build forces, expand business, gather power? She didn’t seem the type burning with power lust. Half-joking, I asked if it was really to become a world idol.
Maybe because I handed over 4World exclusive, Rabbit answered honestly.
‘I~ believe people live to enjoy themselves.’
‘Purely survival-wise, 500ml water with a dry calorie bar daily keeps you alive, so if survival instinct drives us, the happiest person locks themselves underground with stockpiles forever... but nah.’
‘Post-war wasteland: second top killer is lead bullets, first is depression? A bleak environment kills more than wild gunfire.’
‘Life/death is instinctual, animal realm before human. What elevates beasts to humans is needs beyond survival: pursuit of [enjoyment]!’
Rabbit fiddled with her long hair at the table, speaking freely.
‘Enjoyment, happiness—excluding survival, these recreational values drive humans forward, right? Honestly! Better homes, lives, existences—all beyond survival, deeply personal entertainment!’
Listening, Rabbit hid a unique ‘philosophy’ behind her constant bubbly brightness.
Rabbit said humans live for ‘enjoyment’.
Her ‘enjoyment’ could mean desire, pleasure.
‘Hmm~ Power or world president doesn’t really pull me, but the power to drag people from beastly struggle-for-life to human realm? Suuuper interesting. I’m a bit dominant too. Thinking people’s [enjoyment] stems from this Rabbit Princess... gives delicious chills. That’s why. Completer candidate. Can do it, so doing it.’
‘Watching people scurry for survival is disgustingly unpleasant; joy is pleasant to watch? Even better if it’s from me! See? I’m simpler than you think!’
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“That’s Rabbit Princess’s sneaky inner thoughts up to there. You knew some, right?”
“...Talking to Rabbit, anyone can tell she’s no ordinary person.”
“Yeah. As if any ‘normal’ person survives the wasteland’s mad fields.”
Simple? She’s twisted rarer than wasteland freaks.
Histrionic personality disorder. Aka attention whore. Pathological need for attention hampers daily life.
Mixed with ‘Enjoyment is humanism’s essence!’ personal creed, plus ‘People unhappy? Can’t focus on me? Must fix!’ thoughts.
Severe histrionic hedonist. Rational, healthy, altruistic, dominant.
What a freak hybrid.
“As always, not evil—just broken.”
Adding her info to what I’d seen sharpened the picture.
She starred in the ‘Girl’s Rabbit Disassembly Show’ that sank ‘GG ver.01’ in lawsuits; her parents loved her enough to sue a megacorp.
No current info on her living with parents.
Rabbit shows extreme aversion to people’s ‘depressed states’.
Her flashy looks impossible to hide,
Calling non-enjoyment seekers ‘beast-level humans’...
Before becoming glamorous Rabbit Princess, she endured grim survival days in the wasteland.
Harsh environments carve people. Rabbit got carved that way.
“Personally, she’s fine. Despite quirks, she fits leader wanting people happy. Her Bex stuff was more sincere than expected. Said if Bex hesitates more, she’d propose herself.”
We’d touched on Bex late in talk. Not yet a full threat, but as Bex’s lover, worth caution. Honestly, they mismatched.
With ambitions, yet bumbling but genius-skilled Bex fully enchanted? Or scheming to exploit him since he’s dear to me...?
‘Did great! About Bex, handle it yourself!’
‘What, uh, how?’
‘Propose! Before I do! Or I’ll kidnap him before another girl snags him!’
‘?!!’
“Ahh, Rabbit. Don’t say that in front of others.”
“Even in the med bay?”
“Don’t ask. Me, Deer Sis, Holy, BDSM crew, anyone knowing Bex—she blabs it all.”
“Ooo...”
Surprisingly, Rabbit was the one smitten.
Reason simple.
‘Bex shows me the wasteland’s purest [enjoyment]!’
“...Clown?”
‘Sigh! I know I’m pretty reaaal well. Seeing pretty me happy delights others, so I groom harder. My looks: pride, best bait to draw people close.’
‘But Bex? Totally immune.’
‘Definitely not his type.’
Rabbit confessed approaching Bex initially—when snatching him before us—with ulterior motives. She zealously builds friendly groups; BDSM was rising then. Planned to seduce softest Bex first, pull BDSM into alliance.
‘He won’t bend to my will—instead moves on his own!’
‘What’s tha—’
‘Ouch! I enchant everyone I meet! Even you, Professor, favor me!’
‘That’s ‘cause our deal went smooth, and you’re not a total ass—’
‘Professor! Likes honesty! Prefers shrewd calculators over pure saints! Sensual women overwhelm, rejects rational approach due to Dana—no natural skinship attempted!’
‘Whoa.’
‘Analyzed and tailored actions, so even shady me gets favor? Same with Bex! Even more passionately back then!’
“Pulled him in, and?”
‘...Heavens. His enjoyment... pours out purely from me as a person?’
She’d charged based on Bex analysis, got unprecedented results.
First time seeing someone like her purely.
Indescribable, but like he pierced her core—always analyzing targets, tailoring charms—staring straight through.
“Rabbit said, ‘Suddenly found myself by Bex doing nothing. He purely took [me] as his enjoyment, and that moment I was bound to him—’ Thought I had Bex hooked; opposite true.”
If Rabbit’s a witch delving intents, she mindlessly delved Bex’s, fell for her true self reflected in his glass-bead clarity.
How could enjoyment-worshipping Rabbit escape someone accepting ‘Rabbit Princess’ wholly—sans conditions—as pure joy.
From then, Rabbit bound to Bex, doggedly chasing shy him to current relationship.
“Who’d guess goody-two-shoes Bex counters world idol Rabbit.”
Thus, today’s Completer candidate debrief conclusions.
Thousand Stream Emperor: drug-aftermath lunatic, overlays me with ‘Han Se-ho’, seeks ‘preserve’. Preserve means protect me while slashing any disliked changes with knife. Declared: like me, guards; hate, kills. +Recruited BDSM.
Rabbit Princess: nicely crazy woman, wants world domination/management per unique personal ideal. +Smitten by Bex.
Rabbit trades 3World clear seed exclusive for community media play aiding local mutation perception fix. Takes time, but escapes ‘Cannibal bomb next door?’ level.
Hm, solid results. Neck chills, but big mutation slayer with dual blades allies; media manip for instant-value-crash item done. Bonus: gauged other candidate’s Gedroits plan views.
“Would’ve been perfect sans rat-head slip.”
“Hm... Professor. About that...”
As I grumbled, Dana raised her portable terminal she’d been tapping.
Baaaaang-! Beep beep!
“Heyyyy! So much chit-chat inside!!!! Rabbit’s been out 15+ mins! Not setting house, come oooout!!! Let’s go playyy!!!!”
Harsh horn and booming Ian’s voice echoed down hall.
“Whew. Loud bastard. Dana, what were you gonna say?”
“Hm... Later. I’ll tell you then.”
Dana glanced hallway-ward, pocketed terminal and glasses in bag, stood.
At her beckoning out, I followed without word.
Yeah, work talk can wait.
5 days few hours left—lounge till then.
Rich.
Popular everywhere.
Cute girlfriend.
Nothing but fun ahead.
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