Chapter 114
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: The Mayor and the Budget
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Some time had passed since the radical elderly support policies had taken root.
I turned on the internet with a pounding heart.
Finally, the reactions I'd been craving so badly were starting to appear.
✪ Lee Garam is seriously pissing me off
Youth rent support got cut and I got kicked out to a flophouse lmao
Is this even a country?
This is just too much, right?
Our taxes going to pocket money for old folks
City's newlywed special loan budget got slashed
Reason? For elderly welfare lololol
They tell us to have kids but how the hell are we supposed to buy a house?
Killing off the youth to win boomer votes
Textbook populism with no sustainability
Even a rough calc shows this can't last
✪ Wtf rice price crash for real???
Was 50k won for 100m gold just the other day
Logged in today and it's 30k lmaoooooooo
Who the fuck dumped rice on the market???
Take responsibility for the rice price crash ffs
Was making 1m a month, now 500k
Lee Garam turned every senior center into a PC bang
Boomers partying up for 24/7 3-shift rice farming lololol
Garam really trying to kill all the youth
— NewbieHero: Where are D-ranks supposed to build experience now...
— PoliticalVictim: Wasn't this a Lee Garam campaign promise? Total backstab.
— BreadLover: All that money went to buying bread for old folks lolol
— PolarisFan: But why is Polaris still getting funding?? Even got sponsorships from the hometown association?
— NoTomorrow: We're the ones paying taxes, why do only old folks get the benefits!
— RetiredHero: Back in our day there was no support. Kids these days are too soft.
↳ RetiredHero: I'm Gen MZ too!
Yes, this is exactly it.
[The pinnacle of populism]
[Generational divide politics]
[Traitor who stabbed youth in the back]
[Pitiful politician begging for boomer votes]
The monitor screen filled with furious words.
Ah, how sweet this melody of hatred.
How beautiful this harmony of resentment.
"Kuh, kuhehehe!"
This was the exact picture I wanted.
"Et tu, Igaram? Even you, Lee Garam?"
Like Brutus stabbing Caesar, I plunged a dagger into the backs of the youth.
The deeper the love once was, the greater the sense of betrayal.
The thicker the trust, the deeper the disappointment.
The higher the expectations, the more devastating the despair.
Young people of Neo Incheon, be angry.
And hate me.
For your blazing hatred will be the fireworks lighting up my farewell party.
Wondering how things got this bad?
Some wise youth might ask:
'Wait, something's off? Isn't Neo Incheon raking in cash right now?'
'Catopia's hitting record highs daily, Insimdang became a global franchise, Garamland's about to get UNESCO World Heritage status! So why cut youth support? This makes no sense!'
Yes.
It makes perfect sense.
Perfectly.
The answer is simple.
Neo Incheon has no money.
More precisely, no surplus money.
Let's imagine.
Suppose there's a giant piggy bank.
Its name is 'Neo Incheon City Budget'.
This fat pig is fatter than ever before.
Insimdang.
Started as a small bakery infamous for tainted food, angering citizens. Now a 10-story bakery tower, Neo Incheon's landmark. Bread nerds from across the country pilgrimage here, revitalizing the surrounding economy. Branches everywhere in Neo Incheon.
Catopia.
Meant to symbolize tax waste as a cat shelter. Now a paradise where humans and animals bond, and His Majesty Nero's audience chamber. Rumor has it even cat allergy sufferers get cured just entering, turning tickets into platinum items you need macros to snag.
Garamland and Garam Waterway.
My masterpieces utilizing Magpie Village underground ruins and Sea Dragon Cult legacy. Underground exploration and aquatic city redevelopment became massive research hubs drawing archaeologists and urban engineers worldwide. New relics pour out daily; new canals and maritime ventures open constantly.
K-Ninja Village.
My ace card meant to frame pro-Japanese traitors and end my political career. Now ninjas brewing kimchi stew and doing K-pop challenges— the hippest tourist spot nationwide. Insight Lenses, Ninja Cream Buns, Returning Dagger Cookies sell out instantly.
All these ventures succeeded.
No, success is an understatement. Jackpot, super jackpot, historic windfall.
Clink clink—
The city vault overflowed with astronomical sums. Tax revenue flooded in.
So why not use that for welfare?
Ha! Naive.
The problem? The piggy bank's bottom is riddled with holes.
Huge ones.
All incoming money was immediately reinvested.
Catopia isn't just a cat shelter.
Building enclosures for superpowered animals rescued from Furry Evolution is turning it into a full zoo.
Know how much indoor giraffe pens cost? How high the ceilings need to be?
Better not to know. It's my money(?), hurts the heart.
Insimdang?
That tiny shop is now a 10-story landmark tower.
Each floor researches different bread concepts. Beyond basic drug bread, insane products like waterproof bread or denture bread— R&D costs are beyond imagination.
Garamland is a black hole devouring unknown fortunes.
Underground restoration is just the start. Plus the adjacent research complex.
Garam Waterway?
Need regular cleaning of sea monster eggs at the canal bottoms or risk Kraken 2.0.
Leviathan System maintenance labor costs alone are insane.
Kurokumo Clan's 'Little Tokyo: K-Ninja Town'?
Needs soundproofing optimized for assassination training and cutting-edge returning dagger recovery systems.
Earned money sucked into bigger holes under the noble name of 'investing in the future'.
In that situation, new expenditure line: Elderly Happiness Enhancement.
Funds from where?
Falling from sky? Springing from earth?
"Nero."
Meow?
The calico cat sunbathing by the window perked up its ears.
"Nero, our city's finances are in dire crisis."
Meowww...
Nero tried closing its eyes again, utterly uninterested.
Attitude like it had nothing to do with it.
"Gotta give elders pocket money, buy cane-swords, make denture bread. No money left."
I stroked my chin gravely.
"So, Nero. How about cutting your Churu budget to help the elders?"
MEOW!
0.1 seconds.
Time for Nero to bolt upright.
Cat pupils narrowed to slits.
"You're looking a bit chubby lately anyway. Diet time, and as emperor for the people, gotta sacrifice a bit, right?"
NEROOOOO—!
Warning growl.
Nero's body started puffing up.
"Joking, joking! Calm down!"
I hurriedly pulled emergency Churu from the drawer and shook it.
[Ultimate Churu - Tuna Belly Special]
Meow?
Nero's pupils rounded instantly. Body deflated accordingly.
"Here! Your favorite premium tuna belly!"
Lick lick.
It started devouring like the anger never happened.
"Right, you're correct. Churu budget is sacred."
Grrr.
I muttered while petting Nero's back.
"Then no choice but to find savings internally."
I opened the Welfare Policy Bureau budget draft.
[Disabled Activity Support Program]
[Low-Income Child Meal Support Program]
[Single-Parent Family Child-Rearing Support Program]
Can't touch these. Instant swarm of activist groups if I do.
So the remaining option is simple.
Pull out the bottom brick to support the top.
Politics is always choice and focus. And I chose 'filial piety'.
I took a red pen and crossed out youth-related budgets one by one.
Scritch—
[Youth Rent Support Program - Suspended]
"Sorry, earn your own rent."
Scritch—
[Newlywed Housing Loan Interest Support - Fully Cut]
"Marriage is a luxury these days."
Scritch—
[Youth Startup Fund - Frozen]
"Startup? Just get a job."
Scritch—
[Next-Gen Hero Internship - Indefinitely Postponed]
"Hero? Work part-time and grow slowly. Take after our Sia."
Each X raised my lips higher.
Each stroke shattered one youth's dream.
With these simple hand movements, tens of thousands of youths' futures crumbled.
And now, they all resent me.
Yes, me. The traitor Lee Garam.
This is the essence of the true Brutus Project.
Giving hope to the young generation, then ruthlessly snatching it away.
"Betrayal is the most potent fuel for hatred, after all."