Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: Two Weeks
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Two weeks.
A time too short to declare the downfall of a nation, yet not unrealistic.
In fact, in the past, if nuclear missiles were embedded across the entire territory, a destruction scenario could unfold in just one day, so in that sense, it was actually quite a long time.
That made it all the clearer.
‘They don’t want destruction.’
They just want heads bowed.
“It’s not just us who know that South Korea will face a crisis close to annihilation in two weeks.”
It was Yun Seung-ah’s voice.
“And it might not even be two weeks.”
Lee Jae-kyung’s voice.
“Those things can move gates as they please. Adjusting the break period should be a piece of cake for them, right?”
I looked at Lee Jae-kyung.
“The simplest way is that just making more gates appear simultaneously in South Korea would be enough for a chain break.”
I considered their methods.
“Those things are even playing politics.”
It was Lee Ha-yeon.
“The two-week grace period will be pure terror for some people, and they know that full well.”
It was one of the hot topics in many discussions.
What if you knew exactly when you’d die? Would you even want to know?
Two weeks from now, you die in a car accident. What would you do?
Human reactions would vary by personality, but one pattern dominated the vast majority.
“Chaos.”
They’d fall into panic.
“Plundering, robbery, skyrocketing crime rates. Suicides would become common too. And the worst part is.”
Lee Ha-yeon continued.
“There’s an escape route.”
Indeed, they were playing politics.
“Flee South Korea and you’ll live. Run. If Go Yohan stands in your way, he’s the one killing you. Even though they’re the ones opening the gates and causing the breaks.”
Dizziness washed over me.
“They plan to dump all that guilt and blame on the Captain.”
“And it’ll work.”
The higher you climb, the clearer the view below.
Having operated as a player and manipulated the world economy, I knew human patterns didn’t change much across eras.
Especially in this land, South Korea.
Crunch.
A grinding sound kept coming from Lee Ha-yeon’s face.
She rarely showed emotion, but this was one of the things she hated most.
“I just stabilized it!”
If that happened.
“It’s finally turning red!”
South Korea’s stabilized economy and Lee Ha-yeon’s steeply rising assets would plummet in an instant.
“You think I’ll let that happen?”
Lee Ha-yeon said.
“Captain, give me permission. I’ll sink the US economy. I’ve still got plenty of moves left. Plenty of ways. Let them feel it too.”
It was her sincere plea.
“I held back because I was worried about the key currency collapsing. Who do they think they’re messing with?”
“C-Calm down, Ha-yeon.”
“What’s there to calm down about, old man? Or should we just go kill them all. Hoo.”
“Ha, Ha-yeon!”
That was when it happened.
“You don’t need to comfort me like that.”
At Go Yohan’s voice, all eyes turned to him.
Go Yohan was smiling, and at that sight, Lee Ha-yeon instantly reverted to her usual expression, as if she’d never been angry.
Go Yohan was right.
At this moment, the one who should be angriest and most furious was Go Yohan.
Because all these schemes weren’t aimed at South Korea as a nation, but at Go Yohan as an individual.
They’d been considerate, gauging Go Yohan’s feelings with all that malice focused on him.
“For me, this stuff is so familiar it’s practically daily life.”
“That’s not…”
“We’ve got plenty of ways to deal with it already, right?”
Go Yohan stood as if ending the meeting.
“We decided to go through with it anyway.”
Go Yohan said.
“Let’s do it properly.”
The Apostles smiled in satisfaction, as if understanding Go Yohan’s words.
Their schemes would never work on Go Yohan, or this land where he stood.
*
*
*
The next day, opinions and reports on South Korea’s situation poured in as if they’d been waiting.
-South Korea sees 149 gates appear, highest gate density per area in history.
-According to the World Association, up to two weeks remain until a chain gate break.
-World Federation urges South Korean citizens to evacuate.
-US government and others state they’ll swiftly dispatch players if requested...
Every report reeked of blatant intent.
Stock prices, which had been climbing, began crashing again, and lines of people fleeing South Korea reformed.
“Yeah, I’ve been too soft.”
Watching the scene, Lee Ha-yeon said.
“Eighty percent? I’ll buy up ninety myself.”
She started absorbing the flood of sell-offs alone.
Of course, the South Korean government and Association weren’t idle either.
-No cause for concern.
-We have ample countermeasures in place...
It was an immediate response.
-Crusaders, in alliance with Sacred and Sanctuary, investigate gates.
Unprecedented swift action.
-Most South Korean players confirmed to have lost their systems.
And the counterattack was just as quick.
-Judged to lack capacity to tackle the gates that have appeared in South Korea.
Sword and shield, that’s what it felt like.
Could you believe all this unfolded on Tuesday morning, the day after the gates appeared on Monday?
South Korea was in uproar, heaven and hell traded places in mere minutes, deciding all values and movements.
And at 1 PM.
-Go Yohan.
A single piece of news struck South Korea.
-I have a sure way to resolve this. Don’t give in to anxiety.
The name Go Yohan and a simple message.
-All South Koreans are advised to simply carry on with their peaceful daily lives.
And something astonishing happened.
Snap.
It was as if something had snapped.
South Korea’s entire economic system seemed paralyzed.
Repeatedly surging and crashing stocks halted, and canceled tickets appeared for flights booked solid two weeks out.
It was as if.
‘It’s stabilizing.’
At just the name Go Yohan, the nation of South Korea found stability.
An event powerful enough to halt the crash midway, a name worth risking your life to stay in South Korea for.
Before they knew it.
-Go Yohan.
That name had come to hold such value.
And the attacks and defenses of that day ended there.
“Now it’s certain.”
This day had also been Go Yohan’s grace period to gauge them.
“The Pantheon lacks the power to kill me. If they had it, they wouldn’t bother with all this hassle.”
Those who called themselves gods had sent Shin Mingyu, but he returned without even a scrap of flesh.
Their ongoing attacks since hadn’t posed any direct threat to Go Yohan.
Because they lacked the power to handle him themselves.
“This.”
They aimed to bring Go Yohan to his knees by targeting what he valued most.
“Feels like it was planned a long time ago.”
That was the hunch.
As if.
“They wanted to create a weakness.”
Hoping something precious would arise for Go Yohan.
But that wasn’t what mattered now.
“Seung-ah.”
-Yes, Captain.
From atop a building overlooking central Seoul, Go Yohan spoke.
“Ready?”
Their clumsy attacks had instead provided the spark for a greater counterstrike.
“Let’s end this power struggle here.”
Humm.
The skies over South Korea, still only 3 PM.
Fwoosh!
Began to dye black.
*
*
*
They had already pulled off something similar not long ago.
The incident with North Korea’s downfall, another potential turning point in world history.
It had been the same then too.
Fwaaaah!
Black gates appearing across the world.
The demons’ scheme to disperse Go Yohan’s full power and restrict his movements.
“More than I thought.”
The sky turning black.
“It’s got a lot in common.”
He sensed similarities between the demons and the group presumed to be the Pantheon.
Their attack methods mirrored each other, almost as if one side was imitating the other.
Snicker.
It was amusing.
Though it felt like they’d refined the method.
-Preparations complete, Captain.
That was it.
Their one fatal mistake.
“They still can’t even guess our limits.”
Not dividing power across the world, but pouring it all into this land.
If they thought that would create a greater threat, they were gravely mistaken.
Fwaaah.
Go Yohan’s sky-blue eyes began emitting intense color.
As if forcibly restoring the black-dyed sky to its original form through his pupils, they were brilliant sky-blue.
‘Divine Sight.’
The System, the Goddess’s blessing.
That great power didn’t apply to Go Yohan either.
Black Knight, Great Sins, curses, and such.
No miracles of mana stirred just from uttering words.
But so what?
Fwaaaaaah!
Go Yohan had never possessed such things to begin with.
Even without the System, he had slaughtered ten million demons and felled the Demon God Balor.
If players felt the loss like severed limbs.
Go Yohan was already the supreme being who had conquered the world without limbs.
Snap, snap.
Threads snapping at Go Yohan’s gaze and gesture.
“Now.”
The moment Go Yohan’s signal fell.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
The dark clouds blanketing all of South Korea roared and surged in an instant.
Above Seoul’s skies, unprecedented black clouds swirled.
Amid them.
Swish.
Faint threads became visible to Go Yohan’s eyes.
A world visible not through his old Divine Sight, but through the newly bestowed Goddess’s blessing.
Slide.
He grasped the thread.