Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: 39. Campaign (1)
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When we listen to news or official announcements, we often notice how the editors inflate or downplay events, injecting their own biases into the narrative.
Exaggeration and concealment are just methods of expression.
People express their intentions in as many ways as there are thoughts, and one of those is simply omitting certain facts entirely.
...
...
The government had warned about the monster approach but said absolutely nothing about the casualties.
Even PaleNet went down.
Worried about John_nenon, I messaged one of his underlings.
Apparently PaleNet's outage wasn't due to the monster invasion but some internal network issue.
The real problem came after that.
-ZZZT
The government launched an emergency radio broadcast.
That was the entire broadcast.
No mention whatsoever of the incident that might have killed hundreds of thousands, maybe millions—just talk of elections.
As expected, the forums erupted in outrage.
...
...
Even the lurkers who rarely posted were chiming in.
Some usernames I'd never seen before.
Defender's rant topping the popular posts was meaningful in several ways.
It shattered his previous like record.
Even the conservative types who usually disliked him were genuinely cheering him on this time.
Overwhelmed by the expectations, Defender posted something uncharacteristically weak.
PaleNet came back online shortly after.
Though the users differed from ours in vibe, human hearts are all the same.
Korea's melting pot of ages and genders—PaleNet's popular posts board—criticized the elections even more fiercely and sharply than ours.
The highlight was PaleNet's alpha and omega: the Hot Grill board.
I checked the post with the most comments.
A buff guy in a balaclava openly threatening to slaughter the election committee and candidates with his gun.
Over 23,000 comments.
Gulp.
"Whoa."
Incredible response.
Ten thousand more than my 10k-comment post...
I briefly considered posting something similar but glanced at the list below and gave up.
...
...
Tons of posts vowing to kill national reps.
But these guys...
Most seemed not entirely serious...
Just watching, it was clear the jokes outnumbered the real threats.
Still, what the hell was with "Monster"?
Why was a monster online posting?
"...They've got style."
I envied their humor—turning even this into jokes—but also felt the bitterness of the nameless masses who could only vent this way.
A day passed amid the chaos and fury.
John_nenon's masterpiece fulfilled its purpose perfectly.
Dozens of PaleNet users headed to the ruins of Seoul to scout.
Soon, info posts flooded in, and our reporter sifted through, editing the reliable bits for our board.
No exact death toll.
They never properly counted, so all numbers are estimates.
Consensus: At least 500k dead.
Hard to confirm without bodies.
The colossal Kraken-type's destruction beam turns flesh to ash, leaving no trace—like a lighthouse from hell.
"Whew."
Sipping Dragon's leftover coffee, I leaned back in my chair, zoning out.
The bunker's only light: sidelong sunlight through the open door.
As the shadow tilted deep, reaching my throne-like toilet on the central pedestal, the K-walkie-talkie beeped uniquely.
Personal ID: REDMASK
Woo Min-hee again.
She's been contacting me a lot lately.
Did she figure out who I am...?
No way.
John_nenon's guy swore it was impossible.
Calming my pounding heart, I responded.
"Hey~ Min-hee!"
"Sunbae! You're alive!"
"Thanks to you. I'd be dead otherwise—that Kraken-type came right to my door. Whoa..."
"Worth it. Knew my sunbae wouldn't go down to something like that."
"Thanks."
They say people die when they do uncharacteristic things.
Could she be on her last legs?
Entertaining that cheeky thought, I waited.
A soft, scattered laugh came through the speaker.
"Told you before? I still think highly of you, sunbae."
She had said that.
But it sounded like mockery then.
That's Woo Min-hee for you.
Guess my heart's softened too.
"...Still old school, though."
Couldn't hold back the words bubbling up.
Maybe I'm just tired.
Or impatient.
In an era where everything dies, crumbles, vanishes—chances to speak your mind are rare.
When's the next shot at this?
Regretted it instantly.
She'd mock me.
Woo Min-hee deemed old-era hunters like me worthless post-Awakening.
Fine, laugh it up.
I'm not the delicate, prideful Professor anymore.
SKELTON, internet punching bag hated on both PaleNet and Viva! Apocalypse!
Even Eom-chang beats me—her laugh won't dent me.
But.
"Is old school really wrong?"
An unexpected line from my junior.
Had to gauge if she meant it or joked.
Then, in a low mutter:
"Thinking it over... yeah, it's a bit off..."
"..."
"Too many die? I nearly died five times in old school days. See? Bullet scar on my side."
Why say that?
"Anyway, sunbae. Can you help me? You have to, right?"
Here's the real ask.
Let's hear it.
"...Help with what?"
"Nothing big."
Her signature high, grating laugh echoed faintly.
"Election campaigning."
Hearing that, PaleNet Hot Grill's murder threats flashed in my mind.
*An armored vehicle waited at the rendezvous.
Soldiers with visible faces waved at me.
"Hunter Park! Long time! All good?"
I agreed to Woo Min-hee's odd request for various reasons, but the biggest was Woo Min-hee herself.
The old her was an uncontrollable maniac.
Never the nicest, but post-Awakening, she became untouchable.
Human in form, inhuman in essence.
She drove her favorite male junior to death, then raved and popped psych meds—that's what made me cut ties.
But age mellows.
Her personality improved.
Still trash human, but human again, not something else.
Hell, I've softened too.
More than those remembering Professor-era me could imagine.
Naive, but: if I changed, maybe she did too. First motivator.
Decisive: her favor during the monster surge.
Never dreamed she'd personally tip me off.
Info was spot-on.
Even trusted junior Kim Daram never did that.
At least to Eom-chang, she was a normal noona.
Your standard bitchy big sis...
"..."
I wouldn't pry into her schemes.
No need, and I'm not a picky kid picking food.
Post-Daram, I learned how vital connections are.
Blind without them.
No Viva! Apocalypse!, and I'd be primitive.
Maybe swept away by a storm, isolated and dead.
Won't fully trust Woo Min-hee, but keeping light ties ain't bad.
This is that labor.
No loss.
Gains here and there.
"Seoul, huh? Tragic. Mostly old folks and invalids died. Nowhere to go, no will to. Chose death in their homes despite sirens."
Info too.
"From Director Woo Min-hee."
Soo's fave juicy canned stuff.
"Seoul soon. Nothing shocking. Just people cleanly gone."
See the famed Seoul.
"Here we are, Hunter Park."
Seoul's landscape unfolded again.
War started 2 years, 7 months ago.
Seoul: effectively fallen.
Few survivors wander empty streets.
"Hahaha..."
A madwoman roamed.
Disheveled hair, torn clothes baring breasts—she didn't care, shuffling empty streets.
Soldiers watched, didn't stop her.
Metal shard embedded in her occiput.
"This way."
Never imagined campaigning in my lifetime.
Luckily, Woo Min-hee's request matched my skills—not standard stump speech.
"Our candidate wants to hunt a monster for election cred. Otherwise, thinks he'll lose."
She asked for "campaigning," not "winning."
Just help—that suffices.
Whether it helps him or not, mere pretense while there.
"That guy's got dirt on us, blackmailing. No choice. Used to have Daram handle it—nice girl. I'd have killed him."
The candidate stared vacantly at Seoul's ruins, hands behind back.
Familiar nape.
Oh, him.
"Ah, the hunter from National Crisis Committee intro."
He turned.
"Huh?"
His face soured.
No surprise.
Park Sang-min—we clashed during Je Phong-ho incident.
I saw him at school demolition, but first face-to-face since for him.
"Y-you?! From back then?!"
"Send me back if you don't want."
Perfect.
Hate even a second with this guy.
But our Assemblyman Park looks rougher than 2 years ago.
"Haha, what're you saying, Hunter."
His haggard face eyed me warily.
"Let's go! Vehicle's ready!"