Chapter 211
Chapter 211
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: 48. Karma (3)
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This confirmed it.
The galaxy-spanning weapons brand "Dogo," led by the Chairman, was the axis of evil itself.
‘Ah… I should’ve realized it the moment I saw that insane ad.’
An image of Gephi, the Mono tribesman boy from Planet Zarugal, flashed through Young-woo’s mind.
Of course a company that makes ads with a story like that couldn’t be normal.
‘But no, even while they’re stacking up their own evil karma, they trash Lemu like that?’
Still, he had no intention of turning his back on the Chairman and the company now.
If not for them, he might not even be alive at this moment.
But the fact that he’d unknowingly piled up a level of evil karma that seemed impossible to handle was a huge problem.
Assuming this evil karma wasn’t just a simple indicator to distinguish tendencies, that is.
‘They throw you in a cell with an 84% mortality rate for even one day late on taxes. You think a world like that would leave someone stacked with evil karma alone?’
The evil karma he’d gained from becoming a Dogo ad model was a whopping 51 million.
In contrast, the evil karma he’d whittled away by repeatedly showering down golden rain was a mere 2.9 million.
‘Pissing in the wind. And sticking with Dogo will just mean more evil karma piling up.’
That’s why big corporations do so much charity and sponsor public campaigns.
‘The Chairman needs to do more good deeds too. Their brand image is a total mess…’
As Young-woo thought this, he realized Dogo’s most recent product was “Increased Damage to Public Servants” and his jaw dropped.
Now he saw it—Dogo had never once hidden their true nature.
So naturally.
‘Our customers must have insane evil karma too.’
Shock, despair, terror.
“……!”
Young-woo let out a silent scream.
To be born a mere resident of a fringe planet and rack up tens of millions in evil karma.
If that was a luxury, it was a luxury, but.
‘Even so, this is too much. I never planned to become a galactic villain.’
On top of that, didn’t he have the achievement of finding the “protagonist”?
[Ending Maker]
|Discover the protagonist after the reset.
‘What’s with this flow… Meeting the protagonist with this much evil karma doesn’t seem like it’ll end well.’
When he met the Chairman again someday, he’d have to discuss this evil karma issue.
“…….”
Young-woo repeatedly checked his evil karma details with an incredulous expression.
Then Jeong-gu cautiously approached and spoke.
“…You okay?”
“Not okay. I think I’ve hooked up with a sponsor way above my pay grade.”
* * *
6:03 PM.
As the battlefield with the Kim family trio was wrapping up, Tae-won’s Im Seon-ah arrived with her staff.
More precisely, she’d come looking for Young-woo, the Gangnam First Sword.
“Young-woo!”
She spotted him soon enough, but couldn’t approach the First Sword.
The area was packed with Benzes, blocking the way.
So Young-woo made his way out through the Benz field to meet her.
“No issues on the Tae-won side, right?”
When Young-woo asked, Seon-ah glanced around dazedly at “Kim Jong-un’s Dream” before answering belatedly.
“Ah, yes. You’re okay too, right…?”
Her eyes landed on what looked exactly like a gun—the evil karma meter—so Young-woo quickly handed it to the goblin.
“Yes. Today’s mutant crisis is all wrapped up, and starting tomorrow, we’ll collect defense fees from each district.”
“Defense fees…?”
Seon-ah asked back with a look that said, *What did you do this time?*
Young-woo briefly relayed the “discussions” with the Seoul Alliance.
Starting tomorrow, golden rain would fall across Seoul, followed by major collections.
“All the First Swords are going to shower golden rain from now on?”
Seon-ah alternated looks between Young-woo and the gathered Seoul First Swords, still unable to believe it.
She couldn’t picture gold pouring down across all of Seoul.
“So we should prepare to start collections tomorrow?”
As Seon-ah switched back to work mode, Young-woo nodded.
“Yes. For Gangnam District, collect 5 million karma per resident as defense fees.”
Tae-won had managed Gangnam early on, so collections would be easy.
But in Gangnam’s case, the beneficiaries were different.
“However, split that money evenly between Officer Kwon Tae-young and Kim Jong-su.”
“…Yes?”
Seon-ah wore an expression like she wasn’t sure she’d heard right.
“You’re saying the defense fees from Gangnam District go to those two from now on?”
“Yes. You got it right.”
Young-woo nodded and gazed vaguely eastward.
“If I ever have to be away from Gangnam for long, those two will act in my stead.”
It was preparation for a potential North America trip or other variables.
It was also a show of respect for comrades who’d stuck by him since early reset days.
Above all, Seoul needed solid allies.
Tae-won was already his limb, and he had a fairly friendly relationship with Gwanak’s Jo Sang-ik, but those two groups weren’t guaranteed firm allies.
‘The only ones I can trust with my back right now are the officer, Jong-su, and…’
Young-woo’s gaze shifted to the man with 1.07 million evil karma, Kim Jeong-gu.
“What? Why again?”
Jeong-gu frowned at his son’s odd look, and Young-woo scratched his chin.
“Nothing. Just make sure you bring the money later. You haven’t paid your 5 million yet.”
* * *
Current time: 6:33 PM.
As sunset loomed, Young-woo rode Neuggig northward again.
Kwa-kwit, kwa-kwit!
He needed one more golden orb for tonight’s dungeon.
‘At worst, there’s gotta be at least one mutant left up north.’
Harsh thought, but North Korea barely had any First Swords left.
Kim Jong-un coming down to the South proved it, and even without that, everyone knew the North took heavy hits in the Paju North-South war.
So, scouring the North without Pyongyang’s First Sword or Kim Jong-un should easily turn up a surviving mutant.
Kwa-kwit!
Neuggig, at full speed, had passed Goyang City toward Paju.
‘Assuming most North Korean First Swords are dead… what happens next?’
Mutants would keep spawning up there for a while, right?
‘A handful of First Swords monopolizing them, or the North collapsing entirely—those are the options.’
Either way, it’d ripple into the South, so Young-woo needed to check North Korea’s status.
Kwaat!
Reaching the Imjin River Station area north of Paju, a green expanse—the Peace Nuri Park—stretched to the right.
Along with its demolished facilities.
“……?”
Taat!
Young-woo yanked the reins on reflex, halting Neuggig. The goblin and Popu riding behind also sensed something off and turned toward the park.
“What, a fight here too?”
At Young-woo’s words, Neuggig turned its head toward the park and stepped forward on its own.
Chil-kuk, chil-kuk.
Neuggig began walking slowly across the park’s grass.
Soon, a familiar face entered Young-woo’s view.
“Huh?”
It was none other than Yeoncheon’s Sergeant Jo Seong-sik.
“S-Sergeant!”
Kwaat!
Flustered, Young-woo leaped off Neuggig and ran toward him.
He quickly realized the man was already dead.
Jo hadn’t even blinked at his call.
“Ah……!”
Even as Young-woo arrived with a thud, Sergeant Jo stared wide-eyed.
‘Kim Jong-un passed through here.’
Young-woo sighed lowly and looked around.
Not just Jo—the whole area had Yeoncheon Army HQ soldiers down.
All their gear shattered to pieces.
Proof they’d faced an opponent leagues beyond regular mutants.
‘This is bad. Without Sergeant Jo, our northern border is basically…’
If North Korea had Jo Seong-ho, the Shinuiju First Sword, as its northern guardian, the South had Sergeant Jo Seong-sik.
But now both were gone—the border had effectively collapsed.
‘First, check the area around Yeoncheon, then evacuate residents to Seoul.’
Young-woo used “Wave” to request manpower from Jo Sang-ik.
He told Tae-won in Gangnam to send people to Paju too.
They had to hold funerals for Sergeant Jo and the fallen soldiers.
Thanks to former Gangnam First Sword Jeong Hyeon-sik, Tae-won still had a funeral system.
‘Find the families first, hand over the bodies, and offer funerals if they want.’
This was the first time since reset that Young-woo had seen corpses and thought of funerals.
‘North Korea must be in even worse shape.’
Young-woo’s gaze shifted north again.
In the sky, now turning navy, a reddish glow flickered.
“Huh?”
Young-woo blinked, and the red light—now closer—took clearer shape.
“Huh?”
It was a red pillar marking a mutant’s location.
A mutant from somewhere in the North was heading toward Paju.
“What.”
Hwik!
Young-woo shot up and dashed to the park’s edge.
Ta-tat!
The Imjin River appeared ahead, and beyond it, a bear the size of a detached house charging over.
[Soldier-Kim Dae-ryong]
Soldier, Kim Dae-ryong.
‘Kim Dae-ryong? Never heard of him.’
Makes sense—not a big name, and North Korean military, so Young-woo wouldn’t know.
The man’s identity was.
「I’m Kim Dae-ryong from the Guard Command! Help me!」
The KPA Army Commander and State Security Minister right before reset—Kim Dae-ryong.
“What? You want *me* to help? With what?”
As Young-woo muttered, Kim Dae-ryong plunged desperately into the river.
Paaaak!
Crossing the Imjin toward Young-woo.
Only then did Young-woo realize he was being chased.
Ta-tat!
As Kim crossed, two sleek silhouettes appeared behind.
And the titles over their heads:
『Dandong Three Swords』
‘Dandong… Three Swords?’
As an ominous feeling gripped Young-woo, Kim Dae-ryong—fresh across the river—opened his soaked maw exhaustedly.
「You just gonna watch? Help me first!」
He’d been demanding help so boldly that Young-woo wondered what, but then it clicked.
“Ah.”
His own head bore the Joseon First Sword title.
So Kim thought he was North Korean too.
Thus, Young-woo.
Pat!
『Gangnam First Sword』
Switched his title and swung Sasaeng-a, decapitating Kim Dae-ryong’s massive head in one stroke.
Swiiiish!
The Dandong Three Swords, just about to cross the Imjin Bridge, froze.
They’d assumed a 2v2 after Kim’s words, not that the foe would kill the mutant instead.
Young-woo called out to the still-hesitant Dandong Three Swords.
“Turn back without crossing that bridge, and I’ll let you live. Go now.”
He meant it.
He’d secured his orb, and soon had to recover northern soldiers’ bodies including Sergeant Jo—no more blood.
Especially fresh off discovering evil karma, he didn’t want to swing at unknowns.
And above all.
‘Killing them would slap me with a Chinese traitor mark. With land connections looming and chaos brewing, better avoid needless uproar.’
But the Dandong Three Swords’ response wasn’t ideal.
“…….”
They conferred briefly, then looked back at Young-woo.
Probably weighing their odds.
Young-woo glanced at the sky and suddenly shouted.
“Earth! 482! 184! 3041! 27!”
Of course, the Chinese who didn’t know what the numbers meant didn’t flee.