As Long As It's Not Me
September 17th. The next day.
“H-how is this possible? This doesn't make any sense!”
“What doesn't?”
“That game everyone trashed in the reviews? And now it's blowing up after launch. It hit 4 million copies in the first 24 hours, and by day three today, it's at 30 million??”
The game from Real Production had exploded just like I'd predicted. Their stock was shooting straight up as a result.
“I told you it'd go up several times over.”
“B-but...”
The stock had jumped from 8,000 won per share to 37,000 now. According to Sua, they'd started buying at 6,000 per share, but it climbed to 8,000 because they threw so much cash at it. Still, from 8,000 to 37,000—that was about a 4.6x gain. My 75 billion had ballooned to 340 billion in an instant.
But this was just the beginning. In the game's lore, Real Production's stock peaked at 330,000 won.
Thinking about it, if I wait till 300,000 to start selling, I might miss the top and lose half the drop.
To account for the eventual crash, it might be smarter to pull out earlier.
“Change the sell order from 300,000 to around 270,000.”
To do it right, I'd need to watch market cap and volume, but that was too much hassle. Even like this, it'd probably dump hard, so netting 1.5 trillion would be a win.
“T-twenty-seven... 27 divided by 8 is about 3.3, times 7 is 21... Gasp! 2.3 trillion! No, 400 billion! 2 trillion, Master!!”
“Yeah.”
“...”
Sua, who'd been bouncing around excitedly, deflated at my curt reply.
“Ah... You're no fun at all~.”
“What was that?”
“N-nothing.”
I heard you, you little bitch. How cheeky.
“Kyaa!”
I slammed her against the wall and fucked(?) her brains out.
Reporter Yoon Ha-young threw herself into work like a maniac.
She poured everything into the special prosecution, running around everywhere, determined as a journalist—and as a woman—to root out the sex-for-favors scum she could never forgive.
She had no time for anything else. Just like she'd told Prosecutor Inaeun, the moment she paused even a little, fear and anxiety crashed in.
So she dumped every waking hour into it. She didn't even check results. She trusted Inaeun implicitly, and besides, she'd rather dig up one more piece of evidence, one more suspicion.
She finally started properly reviewing the investigation logs at Seo Hyun-ju's request.
For the first time, she went through the records meticulously.
And...
“...Huh?”
Something was off. This couldn't be right.
“No... way...?”
Rainbow Miracle... cleared of all charges??
Rainbow Miracle was ground zero for all this. She'd posted the article after seeing Chief of Staff Kim Dong-gi's live stream, and that got her team leader Seo Hyun-ju dragged off and raped by that creep “Young Master.”
Prosecutor Inaeun herself had led the probe into it. Hell, one of her investigators died at Rainbow Miracle.
And now, in her special prosecution team, of all places, Rainbow Miracle gets a pass on sex-for-favors charges? This made zero sense!
Yoon Ha-young started digging through other files. She'd felt a twinge of guilt leaking them at first, but that was gone now.
“...”
She slumped, strength drained. Piecing together the docs from other prosecutors and investigators, Rainbow Miracle was squeaky clean.
“This can't be.”
All her work the past few days felt invalidated. What the hell...?
If Rainbow Miracle walked, what was the point of this whole special prosecution? Sure, they'd nabbed other agencies, but letting a clear-cut guilty party off? Meaningless.
She tracked down Inaeun.
“Ah, the prosecutor's headed to Dream First HQ right now.”
“Dream First?”
“Yeah. Their CEO's got suspicions of bribing officials with hookers everywhere.”
“Oh...”
“Why, what's up?”
“Um... why did Rainbow Miracle get cleared...?”
“'Cause... no evidence?”
“...”
“No real suspicions, no whistleblowers. No leverage, so all the prosecutors agreed: no charges.”
“Ah... Even Special Prosecutor Inaeun... supported it?”
“She said it first. No charges.”
“!”
A weird feeling hit her. The world felt cut off. Like she was in another dimension, total disconnect.
“I-I'll head there too.”
“Huh? It could be dangerous!”
She bolted before they could stop her.
“No way... No way...! It can't be, right?? She just... really couldn't find evidence? Right!???”
Questions firing like bullets, she ran.
> D-DON'T COME CLOSER!! I'LL SHOOT IF YOU DO!!
Sex-for-favors wasn't a death-penalty crime, so prosecutors showing up with a Terminator usually got confessions. But some... the ones holding dirt on higher-ups... resisted hard.
They knew they'd get suicided on capture. Had to burn docs and evidence first to save their skin.
Dream First's CEO Hwang Ki-soon was one such case.
“Is this guy insane? Coming at us like this??”
He'd barricaded himself. Lined up hired guards and mercs to block the special team.
“...Warn them. End the sit-in now, or we'll 'execute' everyone inside.”
“!!”
Inaeun went nuclear: wipe out the hundreds inside.
Everyone gulped, tension thick. Prosecutors drew Terminators from holsters.
Inaeun gripped hers too.
> User authentication. Special Prosecutor Inaeun.
> Valid user.
> Swift Execution System Terminator, activate.
> Execution mode: Arrest.
> Please judiciously assess guilt and execute.
“End the sit-in right now~!! Come out or we'll execut-”
Bang!
A bullet whizzed by. The prosecutor ducked; it ricocheted off a car hood.
“These fuck-”
Rat-tat-tat!
Machine gun fire erupted.
“-ing bastards!!!!!”
Everyone hit the deck. No hits.
> This was a warning shot!! Back off now!!!
“Thinks that'll save him? Doesn't he know what a Terminator is?? Prosecutor Inaeun, what now?”
“...We breach.”
“...”
Sighs all around.
“Non-combat, request backup at HQ. Prosecutors and investigators, with me.”
“We're... executing?”
“Yes. Set to execution mode.”
“...”
Inaeun switched first.
> Execution mode, Terminator.
The sleek pistol morphed. Barrel split open, inner tube extended, powerful electric arc crackled inside.
Crackle-crackle! Chilling just to look at.
> Execution mode, Terminator.
> Execution mode, Terminator.
> Execution mode, Terminator.
The rest followed suit.
“Breach.”
At Inaeun's signal, they vaulted cover.
Thud.
Foot hit ground, she surged forward. Whoosh! Eerie air-whistle, afterimage trailed her blurring charge to target.
> Th-they're coming in!! Block them!!!
Bullets flew a beat late—hard to hit prosecutors. Worse, they activated optical camo and sound dampeners, vanishing entirely.
Boom!
Deafening whoosh, thick beam slashed, three-four mercs exploded grotesquely. Building wall behind cratered red-hot.
“H-heek...!!”
Victims wore heavy armored suits. Still burst like grapes. Shooter hesitated at the power.
But war waited for no one!
Boom! Boom!
Shots chained. Flesh sprayed everywhere, bodies popping.
> Wh-what the fuuuuck!!! You implants toooo!!
Kaboom!
Main gate blasted. Prosecutors and investigators flooded in—invisible, trajectories the only clue.
'Easy.'