Chapter 265
Chapter 265
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 265
Chapter Title: 59. Diligent Taxpayer (2)
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“Tongue...”
Jang Ja-ham, who had been about to call out to Jeong Daehyeop, trailed off in his pronunciation.
The word “hyeop” just wouldn’t come out of his mouth.
To kill off everyone else just to become the sole shareholder of Earth—was that something a sane person could even say?
“You’re not serious, are you?”
At Jang Ja-ham’s question, Young-woo, who had been staring at Giajol, turned around.
“What do you mean?”
“...The plan to monopolize the planetary shares. What you just said...”
“Oh.”
As Young-woo let out a casual syllable like it was no big deal, Jang Ja-ham’s eyes widened even further.
“O-Of course, planetary shares on Earth are incomparable to ordinary ones in value, but...”
“Don’t worry too much.”
“...Pardon?”
“Anyone designated as a diligent taxpayer obligor probably isn’t as virtuous as you think.”
It was practically a self-introduction.
“Just think of it as monsters beating each other up. The last one standing gets to eat Earth.”
“But surely among them!”
“If there’s a good person in the mix, it’ll show. If we really run into one like that, I’ll give it some thought.”
“...!”
He doubted it, but just in case Jang Ja-ham’s concern came true, he’d worry about it then.
Jang Ja-ham had no more words.
‘A... demon. A true fiend walking the demonic path.’
Shandong Twin Evils, Jang Ja-ham.
He didn’t consider himself a good man by any means, but having real evil right in front of him sent chills down his spine.
And this guy was cosmic evil at that.
He’d already set his sights on China, and now he was trying to swallow this whole planet.
“Then Im Du-pyeong’s probably a diligent taxpayer obligor too. That’s one more reason to kill him.”
As Young-woo muttered this, Giajol slowly rose to his feet.
-If you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my leave now.
Young-woo shoved Giajol’s business card into his pocket and stepped in front of him.
Smack!
-...!
Giazol’s massive pupil quivered pitifully.
Young-woo, on the other hand, said this with a calm face.
“Now that you’re leaving, let me ask one more thing.”
-...Go ahead.
“Diligent taxpaying is only required until you acquire the planetary shares, right?”
Giazol, unable to grasp Young-woo’s question right away, made a complicated expression.
-Pardon?
Then he quickly composed himself and recited what he should have said from the start, in proper bureaucratic tones.
-Taxpayment is a rightful obligation as a member of this universe...
“No, that’s true. But after you get the shares, there’s no connection between the tax amount and acquiring more shares, right? Isn’t that so?”
It was a question about whether a sudden drop in tax payments after becoming a shareholder would affect already secured shares.
And to this, Giajol had no choice but to answer honestly.
-...That is correct.
There was no issue with it in theory.
“I see. Thanks for your hard work.”
Only after hearing Giajol’s answer did Young-woo step aside.
He’d gotten the answer he wanted.
‘From the moment shares are acquired, tax evasion... no, tax minimization strategies can be explored.’
The penalty for tax nonpayment was death.
Unavoidable.
But the tax amount itself could likely be minimized.
Just like how he was currently benefiting from single-parent household deductions and dependent exemptions.
Those who hadn’t thought that far, even for cosmic paperwork, were probably still paying massive sums.
‘Sorry, but the diligent taxpayers will have to die first.’
As Young-woo prepared to leave the side room with vague murderous intent, Giajol raised his hand into the empty air.
-You, the diligent taxpayer, are the master of this planet.
Probably the slogan of the Provisional State 060II42 National Tax Service.
Then a beam of light descended from the sky and sucked Giajol up.
Shoooo!
‘Traveling by light. A true cosmic civil servant.’
Young-woo gazed enviously at the ceiling where Giajol had vanished.
Jang Ja-ham approached cautiously.
“D-Daehyeop... what will you do now?”
“What else? First, save China from the dictator who’s become an alien frontman...”
Then collect tribute from as many Chinese cities as possible.
“And use that money as a base to advance into North America.”
“...Ah, so Daehyeop has it all planned out.”
A mad plan.
Jang Ja-ham sweated coldly inside.
But paradoxically, he thought maybe he’d boarded the perfect ship for this mad world.
“But... why North America...? For the planetary shares, I suppose?”
Planetary shares.
Still a concept he couldn’t quite grasp, but to survive, Jang Ja-ham had to master conversing with Jeong Young-woo.
“Yes. Shares are part of it, and there are achievements to clear there too.”
This referred to the legendary achievement “Golden Storm.”
[Golden Storm]
|Summon the golden rain in four of the following ways. (2/4)
-In North America.
-When two beings with #chaebol and #dragon traits are fighting each other.
-When a Rank 2 or higher otherworld being visits.
Two conditions left to complete the achievement.
And thanks to Pangea, summoning golden rain was now possible on the North American continent.
‘But to do that, I need to sort out China first. As long as Im Du-pyeong lives, he could push into the Korean Peninsula anytime.’
As Young-woo set short- and medium-term goals while checking achievements, something flashed at the bottom of his vision.
“...?”
He scrolled the achievements list all the way down.
Flash!
There, the entire Pangea achievement was flickering.
[Pangea]
|Witness the movement of continents directly at the moment of tectonic shift.
“What the hell.”
The achievement “Pangea,” which hadn’t completed even after personally seeing the Korean Peninsula touch China.
It was suddenly reacting for some reason.
‘China’s not moving right now, though?’
Young-woo looked around, and Jang Ja-ham stared back with a fearful expression.
“Daehyeop, is something else happening? If there’s anything left, please tell me in advance.”
“No, it’s not about China.”
Young-woo’s eyes blinked rapidly.
His brain, well-adapted to this bizarre world, was spinning again.
‘What is it? This achievement requires seeing continents move. But nearby, another continent...’
Then Young-woo’s mouth fell open.
There was only one conclusion.
‘No way, Australia? Is Australia coming?’
Australia.
The youngest of Earth’s four continents, Meganesia—commonly known as the Australian continent—and the nation upon it.
Meganesia was one of the few continents with even a slim chance of touching the Korean Peninsula.
Of course, that would require shoving aside Indonesia and the Philippines for a long northward trek.
‘No way. That massive landmass has been sailing all day?’
What kind of world was this?
But Young-woo knew well.
In this world, “impossible” didn’t exist.
So, what now?
“If the Australian continent is approaching, where should we go?”
“Pardon?”
“...”
Seeing Jang Ja-ham’s baffled face, Young-woo bolted out of the side room.
He’d judged there was no need to stay here any longer today.
“The money—you know, right? Send it to Incheon tomorrow!”
“Ah, wait, Jeong Daehyeop!”
“Keep your head down, and we’ll meet again!”
Thud thud!
As Young-woo hopped onto the waiting Negig above the city hall, Woo Cheong-jin, returning with the golden goblin, greeted him.
“Jeong Daehyeop! Leaving already?”
“Yeah, something urgent came up again. If the executive committee member comes for revenge, don’t get involved—just send word to Seoul.”
With that, Young-woo seated the goblin behind him and shot southward like an arrow.
* * *
If the Australian continent kept heading north, where would it attach?
Simply put, it might seem like southern China, the largest area, but Young-woo’s guess differed.
‘Right above Australia are Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Papua New Guinea to the right too.’
So those countries wouldn’t fully disintegrate at sea; they’d surely attach to nearby continents.
Like Yeongjong Island between Incheon and Shandong Province.
He’d seen a similar case firsthand, just on a larger scale.
Thus, he could hypothesize tectonic shift patterns with some basis.
‘If the Australian continent rises intact without splitting...’
Then half of Indonesia would naturally attach to Vietnam, and the rest, pushed up with the Philippines, to southern China.
In the process, Papua New Guinea might wrap around southern China’s coast or break off to attach to southeastern Japan.
Anyway, the key here was where to go to witness Australia approaching, and Young-woo’s answer was.
‘...Jeju Island?’
As expected, Jeju would now be attached to Wando due to the Pangea event.
Meaning, passing Mokpo and Haenam to reach Wando would reveal the land-connected Jeju.
‘Sigh, I can’t even believe what I’m saying.’
But that was the situation.
To see the Australian continent slicing through the sea at high speed, he had to head to Jeju.
‘If I keep going straight to Wando... I should arrive around nine.’
Thanks to Pangea shortening the straight-line distance between the Korean Peninsula and parts of China, it was feasible.
But he wouldn’t make it back to Seoul in time, so sleep would have to be near Wando or Jeju.
‘Of course, theoretically, I could sleep in Australia too.’
With that thought, Young-woo was already racing southeast.
* * *
8:14 PM.
Having left Yantai in Shandong and crossed Chinese soil, Young-woo encountered bizarre terrain well before 9 PM.
Not full plains, not mountains either—just ambiguous land stretching on.
Even dry, cracked earth would abruptly turn to tidal flats repeatedly.
“What is this place?”
A side effect of Pangea?
Tilting his head, Young-woo soon understood from the regional status window that popped up.
Flash!
|You are currently in ‘Sinan’.
|This region’s top sword is ‘Park Cheong-won01’. 1st gen, defended 188 times.
This was the infamous Sinan.
An archipelago of over a thousand islands.
That explained the odd topography Young-woo had sensed.
‘Defended 188 times? Not to be trifled with.’
He was curious about post-Reset Sinan, but Young-woo had a more pressing issue.
Completing the Pangea achievement.
It required witnessing Australia charging toward the Korean Peninsula.
Meaning, arriving after the lands had already merged would be pointless.
“Out of my way!”
Spotting a group that looked like local swordmasters, Young-woo let out a menacing shout.
On their end.
“What’s with that guy?”
“Talk...?”
“Huh? Kinda familiar face?”
Too fast for them to react properly, the swordmasters looked back at the black streak that had just flashed by, dumbfounded.
“Get out of my way!”
Meanwhile, Young-woo barreled through Sinan, barking at anyone blocking the path.
Finally.
Flash!
|You are currently in ‘Haenam’.
|This region’s top sword is ‘Kim Hyeong-beom06’. 2nd gen, defended 41 times.
He reached Haenam, ruled by Kim Hyeong-beom as the top dog.
‘Never thought I’d come to the ends of the earth.’
As Young-woo made an incredulous face, the ground began to feel like it was shaking beneath him—no, it really was shaking.
Rumble rumble rumble...
‘This is my expertise. Not too late.’
His prediction was spot on.
The Australian continent was indeed charging straight for the Korean Peninsula.
And as if waiting for this moment.
Ping!
A clear signal chimed, spawning a new Dogo quest.
[Dogo] “At Last, the Global Village”
<Task> In the Pangea rewards, select Dogo as the partner company.
<Reward> 5 million karma
“What?”
Reading the quest, Young-woo checked the text again.
Because, quest or not, this was technically...
‘A sole-source contract kickback?’
<Task> In the Pangea rewards, select Dogo as the partner company.
What even were the Pangea rewards that they’d involve selecting a “partner company”?
Whatever it was, it clearly involved some business rights.
So Young-woo.
“Hoo.”
Took a deep breath, looked to the sky, and said clearly.
“Do I still look like the Jeong Young-woo who gets excited over pocket change? I’m destined to be Earth’s owner. Bring more money.”