253. Shin Do-hwa (2)
253. Shin Do-hwa (2)
The current total population of China stood at 1.1 billion.
Originally, more than 1.4 billion people had lived within China's borders.
But over 300 million lives had been sacrificed to the Gate Incident.
Even so, at 1.1 billion, its sheer mass remained terrifying.
In such a China, there was one community that was the hottest, with the most users.
That was, of course, the hunter-centric community.
[ By Hunter ]
It was a massive community where all manner of gate intel and hunter-related posts were made.
So many people were stuck to it, managing it, yet so many posts went up in real time that tens of thousands of posts got buried every single day.
In that kind of place, several posts on the same topic began to spread with explosive speed.
[ Upvote if you think these U-fucking-topia bastards are overrated lololol ]
[ Utopia vs. Guangdong Ryu Jin, who wins? ]
[ Jin Yu-ha honestly uglier than Landlord of Guangdong Ryu Jin lololol, pics attached. ]
[ Let's be real, even if you add up all the scraps from Korea, Guangdong Province hunters alone would roll them, the numbers aren't even close lol ]
[ Honestly, U-fucking-topia is just carried by Rina lol I'll take Guangdong's Ryu Jin over those guys any day, agree? ]
Jin Yu-ha had, even originally, been the target of quite a lot of abuse inside China.
Korea and China had never historically had the best of relations, so nationalistic animosity played its part,
but the more direct cause was the major incident from the previous U.S. Monster Subjugation Request.
The primary reason was that he had brought down Ling Xiao on the international stage and, by extension, made all of China a laughingstock.
Because of that, trashing Jin Yu-ha or Utopia wasn't exactly a novel or attention-grabbing topic on By Hunter.
But these were posts comparing the Landlord of Guangdong with Jin Yu-ha, so comments began trickling in one by one.
Comparisons were, after all, always an effective tool for farming engagement.
─ Hm, to that extent? Utopia guys can be a bit grating, but I dunno if Guangdong Province alone can match up...? The Landlord there is pretty powerful, but she's not a hunter, right?
└ Hey, you Korean or something? Lean that way?
└ No, that's not it, just objectively if you're gonna compare, you gotta at least bring a hunter lol The Landlord is just someone who spent money to hire hunters lol If you wanna match Utopia, at least Ling Xiao-level...
└ Fuck, why bring up Ling Xiao? You're a fucking Utopia fanboy.
└ We talking about Ryu Jin's recruited hunters and they bring up Ling Xiao lol This fucker 100% one of them, Indian Rain Dance lol
Whenever someone began to speak ill of the Landlord of Guangdong, Ryu Jin,
a mob would descend in the replies and unilaterally beat that person into the ground.
As that flamebait continued unabated for days, people who were fed up began to emerge one by one.
[ Yo, if you're gonna trash Utopia, then just trash Utopia; you guys keep popping out of nowhere dragging in some Guangdong I've never heard of and comparing like crazy ]
└ You're a U-fucking-topia fanboy, lol
[ Guangdong, Utopia, all of you can fuck off, I'm sick of it ]
└ You're a U-fucking-topia fanboy, lol
[ Ah, who the hell are these Guangdong bastards? Got like a group chat or something? ]
└ You're a U-fucking-topia fanboy, lol
But whenever such posts went up, a hail of hate comments and downvotes bombarded them as if prearranged.
Who could these posters be, who spewed such extreme hatred toward Utopia?
It was, precisely, China's hardcore Jin Yu-ha fandom.
The 'Indian Rain Dance.'
Using a multi-server method Shin Se-hee had taught them, they cloned their IDs
and churned out countless posts and comments.
Posts desperately tearing down Utopia, elevating Guangdong.
Since they were, originally, the ones who had even performed an indefinite wait for Jin Yu-ha,
they had initially felt resistance against trashing Utopia, a complete inversion of their true feelings.
But the reward Shin Se-hee had offered, the 「Jin Yu-ha X-Files」, was far too sweet, so they were now mechanically churning out text.
"Unni, another post just went up. Post number 32131!"
"Okay, I see it. I've sent out a site-wide notice."
"Hmm... Honestly, from the Jiangsu Province perspective, isn't Utopia the benefactor? Since they cleaned up the mess Ling Xiao made? Hm, that's a fair point... What you said is right, but you're still gonna have to eat curses. Now, charge!"
Clackclackclackclackclack—!
The sound of keyboard tapping resounded in perfect unison.
Truthfully, what they were doing now was no different from their usual activities.
The Indian Rain Dance had always, against everyone's opposition, steadfastly posted praise of Jin Yu-ha and Utopia.
It was simply that, this time, the direction was reversed.
As the Guangdong vs. Utopia flamebait continued to churn like that,
gradually, the public's unfavorability toward Guangdong began to surpass even that toward Utopia.
The ones who always draw the most heat onto a specific group are inevitably the ones who aggressively push their excessive fandom.
"Oh! Another one just went up! Post number 14512! Says why do you simp for the old, decrepit Landlord of Guangdong lol, are you a Guangdong paid shill?"
At that, the president of the Indian Rain Dance fan café curled up the corner of her lips.
"I had no idea public opinion could be manipulated in this way... As expected of Utopia's brain, Shin Se-hee. This... we can definitely use this again."
* * *
A secluded alley near Guangdong Province.
Before Shin Se-hee, large bundles were piled up high.
Thud!
Just now, another sack had been set before her with a heavy noise.
The woman who brought the sack was one of the hunters from the Indian Rain Dance's Magic Stone procurement team.
She bowed her head deeply toward Shin Se-hee.
"Here are the Magic Stones you requested."
Shin Se-hee looked at the Magic Stones, filled inside the bundle and shining with a brilliant light, and nodded.
"Thank you. The money used to purchase the stones was just sent to your account."
At those words, the hunter, who had checked her account on her phone, opened her eyes wide as saucers.
"I-I think you sent the wrong amount? This is far too much...?"
"It is the correct amount."
"...Pardon?"
"For us, being of foreign nationality, procuring this volume of Magic Stones requires taking on considerable risk. It is payment for undertaking that dangerous work in our stead."
Twitch—
The hunter, suddenly coming into a large sum, felt the corners of her lips quiver.
Though she had raced this far solely on her fan's heart for Jin Yu-ha,
there was no way she could dislike money.
Rather, she felt a deeper sense of pride in Shin Se-hee, who so highly valued her worth.
"...In that case, I will not refuse it."
"Yes, thank you."
"I will be on standby nearby, so when the situation erupts, please contact me without fail."
The hunter spoke, bowing her head even deeper than before.
"Yes, I look forward to it."
"Loyalty!!!"
With the local procurement of Magic Stones having been successfully carried out in this way,
and the minor hiccup of Im Ga-eul suddenly having a fit aside,
we were now fully prepared to push into Guangdong Province.
Jin Yu-ha spoke before the party members.
"Shin Do-hwa probably already knows we've arrived here. We avoided the drones, so she might not have pinpointed our exact location yet... but it's only a matter of time."
"...All of those drones, surveillance."
Recalling the sheer number of drones they had evaded on the way here, Sofia's face hardened stiffly.
"Yeah, she's a woman with a pathological obsession with cleanliness, so her surveillance perimeter is considerably wide."
At Jin Yu-ha's words, Shin Se-hee nodded.
"That's right. Shin Do-hwa extremely dislikes anyone entering her domain without permission. If we go any further from here, a report will be sent to her immediately."
"Th-then what should we do? Do we just charge in recklessly? Blowing up those chimeras as we go...?"
I shook my head at Lee Yu-ri's words.
"That only worked because they were trash mobs. From here on, that won't fly."
"...Then?"
"Hm, we've got a few options... but how about we do the thing Shin Do-hwa hates the absolute most?"
I spoke while picturing Shin Do-hwa's face twisted in disgust.
* * *
"You still haven't found where those intruders are? I told you to locate them and drag them before me. Do I need to say it twice?"
Shin Do-hwa tilted her head as she spoke to the researcher.
A holographic map was densely displayed in the air before her.
Reconnaissance drones were combing through every corner of the Guangdong Province region, yet they still had not located the intruders' position.
"W-we haven't yet precisely pinpointed their location."
"Hmm... The experimental subjects are giving me trouble too, and on top of that, this incompetence..."
Shin Do-hwa clicked her tongue irritably and turned her head to look at the experimental subject.
— Gaaaaaaaargh!!!!
The sight of it still resisting, even with the brainwashing level pushed to maximum, only served to further stoke her irritation.
Writhe.
"But we will soon capture..."
"Hey. There are three things I hate the most. Do you have any idea what they are?"
Shin Do-hwa glared at the researcher with her red eyes.
"Since you seem clueless, I'll tell you. One is filth. The second is some wretch setting foot in my domain without permission..."
At that, the researcher audibly gulped.
"And the very last one is..."
Writhe.
"This."
She pointed a finger toward one section of the hologram.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
There, some woman was banging a shield.
— Uwaaaaaah!! I-I hate this toooooo!!!!!
And behind her, a swarm of flying pests was teeming like a black cloud.
"...Right now. Remove that from my sight."
She spoke in a voice that had turned utterly frigid.