Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Toy Well (2)
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Him? Or her? Or should it be "it"?
[Male is my gender. Aren't there just two: male and female?]
Setting aside the unfamiliar yet familiar ring of "Unified Asia Alliance" and the shared sense of familiarity from speaking Korean, the world beyond the well was worlds apart.
[What? What are you talking about? There are six genders: Sevulum, Pandenia, August, Leveling, Hominos, and Pangea.]
A place with some similarities, but far more differences.
That was the world on the other side of the well, and it sparked tremendous curiosity.
[Whoa, that's fascinating. I remember learning about it in class once. The Korean Peninsula was apparently called Korea 500 years ago!]
[Is that so? How large is the Unified Asia Alliance? I'll enclose a map.]
[This is so weird. The land here's so cramped—it's like a whole other world.]
Mr. Shin Guhoerang had scribbled all sorts of additions onto the map he sent back.
[Our world is about this size.]
[The continent's at least twice as big. What's the population like?]
[We just passed 200 billion the other day.]
[200 billion?]
[Oh, that includes the colonies. There's only about 10 billion on the home planet.]
A world that seemed futuristic, yet somehow wasn't.
[Your side's still using fossil fuels? No way! Coal! Oil! Gas! Primitive energy sources I only hear about in science class!]
[So what kind of energy do you use?]
[Festarium, obviously. It's a room-temperature superfluid, and super versatile. Mix in some arsenic and it turns solid—then it's a room-temperature superconductor. As a fluid, it powers all machinery. As a gas, it's the core of anti-gravity drives.]
A world that felt like Earth, but wasn't.
A fascinating world. The Age of Discovery and the finding of new continents had been all about exchanging novel goods. [What's the chemical formula or molecular structure of Festarium? Think you could get me some?] [They sell it at charging stations. I'll grab you a bottle.] Unfortunately, the Festarium evaporated the instant it crossed into our world. Even sealed in the bottle, it was like it wasn't permitted to exist—just a fleeting wriggle, climbing the walls like a superfluid should, and then gone. "Why did it vanish?"
Further exchanges revealed that while the world beyond followed similar physical laws, not everything matched up. [The chemical formula you sent looks off. You've got way more molecules—two extras, at least.] [The one I got is weird too. Water molecules are H2O? Not with oxygen?] Materials whose physical laws didn't align vanished on contact. Multiple cross-checks confirmed it. [Too bad. I really wanted to see diamond with my own eyes.] [Me too.] We kept swapping knowledge steadily after that, and I learned something shocking. [Hey, about that history Seung-hoon told me—you discovered a new continent and mined gold? Gold?] [That's one of the parts I don't get either. The context of discovering a new continent and harvesting luxury goods like wood feels off.] [I mean, gold's useless, right? It's heavy, soft, takes up space—what do you even use it for?] [Wood's just a plant that grows everywhere on the ground, isn't it?] In a world where everything was different, even common sense diverged. [So how do you make paper?] [Paper? Just grind up dust ore, soak it in water, and spread it out. You guys use gold as a luxury good?] [Yeah, for luxuries and as a key component in electronics.] [Gold? For electronics, optical rediation's 110,000 times more efficient. And for luxury, Oleria blows it away by 10,000 times.] I'd found an unexpected path to riches. [How about a trade?]
[I have to go on a business trip to Mars for a bit. Let's talk trade after I get back.]
Sadly, interdimensional commerce wouldn't happen right away. In the meantime, I prepared what I needed to do.
"Any preferences, sir?"
"It's nice, but I'd like to check a few more places."
First up: finding a house. From a cramped studio apartment on month-to-month lease to a big two-story standalone with a basement and yard.
"Not bad. We'll take this one."
Combining my illegal gambling winnings with my savings let me snag a place on the outskirts that fit the bill.
"Good choice. Retired couple built it, lived here a few days, then listed it because the suburbs were too inconvenient. Might as well be brand new."
With a standalone house, no outsiders would know what I got up to inside.
[Back from the trip. Let's pick up that trade talk!]
Around the time I finished moving in, Mr. Shin Guhoerang returned from his outing.
[What's the going rate for gold on your side?]
[Minimum wage buys a full ingot. How's wood there?]
[Pretty similar.]
I bought lumber for construction, stacked some in the yard. Chopped up a bit, carried it to the basement, and dropped it in the well.
"Oh..."
Moments later, an ingot of gold popped out alongside a note.
[Yahoo! Seung-hoon! I'm rich now! Looking forward to doing more business!]
I scribbled a reply and tossed it in.
[Me too.]
I'd acquired the alchemy of turning wood into gold.
In the basement, ingots slowly piled up on the pallet.
[Let's trade steadily, bit by bit. Gotta have time to offload what we swap, right?]
Fortunately, their world's gold matched ours down to the molecular level—it crossed over fine. I cut a chunk and sold it at a gold exchange, confirming it was the real deal.
Current gold price: 65 million won for 12.5kg. The ingot that came over weighed 15kg. Can't just dump it like this. Gold had always symbolized wealth; in modern times, nations hoarded it themselves. Selling raw bars like this—even refined—would raise source questions. One or two might slip by, but for absolute wealth, I need a long-term, stable buyer for these ingots. It wasn't hard. The moment I got the ingot, one idea had lodged in my brain.
"Trading with entities is risky, but no choice."
To make it happen, I packed a few ingots in a bag and headed out. I'd already bought a car, so no more subway or buses. [Enter destination.] I tapped the nav. [Korean Gold Exchange Head Office]
Creepypasta as a genre has one big flaw: lack of plausibility.
In the modern day—not some distant past—these things rack up countless victims yet stay urban legends, ghost stories, rumors. Unrealistic. CCTV's everywhere you go.
"Hey, kid! Drive straight!"
Everyone's connected via SNS to the masses.
"You fucking asshole! Drive right, goddamn it!"
Tech to find missing people or determine causes of death has advanced.
"You retarded fuck! Wanna die? Hang yourself quietly at home! Don't drag innocents on the road into your shit!"
That's the world we live in. If monsters, ghosts, or transcendent beings popped up there, they'd be ID'd fast and blasted across media in seconds. Sure, some manipulate minds or memories to cover tracks, but not all do. So lots of creepypastas introduce organizations to plug that hole. Secret groups isolating and managing these threats to protect society from dangerous entities. "Surviving the Entities" had one too. A bland, obvious name, same as every other story.
"You crazy bastard! Driving high? Get out—out, I said!"
But the place I was headed wasn't them. No way to connect with the Foundation types, and even if I did, it wouldn't end well. For every one group, there's another. The one I wanted was a special outfit the Foundation kept tabs on. [Arrived at destination.] So special it was designated an entity itself. I parked in the paid lot in Jongno 3-ga, got out, and checked the car.
"Figured better physical stats would mean better driving."
Would anyone believe this was a car bought less than a week ago?
"Driving skill and physical ability aren't linked, huh."
One more lesson learned.
Jongno 3-ga houses the Korean Gold Exchange head office. I headed there, paused before the sign, and recalled the game's lore.
[Visited the Korean Gold Exchange head office to trade a gold ingot obtained by chance.]
The glass door before me. I pushed it open, murmuring the incantation under my breath.
[But then I remembered a business card I'd gotten recently. A card from someone whose face I couldn't recall, saying that reciting the incantation when entering the Korean Gold Exchange head office would let me meet them. As if compelled, I recited the words I'd heard and opened the door.]
"Gold can achieve all things, therefore gold is God."
The door swung open normally, revealing the exact same interior I'd glimpsed through the glass.
"Welcome, sir! How can we help?"
"I'd like to sell some gold."
"Right this way!"
I followed the friendly staffer's lead to a room, playing along with their ordinary politeness.
"Please wait just a moment—our specialist will be in to handle the transaction. Have a seat."
"Sure."
Sinking into the sofa, I scanned the room. First thing I noticed: a plaque hanging from the ceiling opposite.
"Omnipotent Gold Corporation" Fancy gold lettering, and below it in a frame, the same gold script. "We can trade anything—as long as you have enough gold!" A staffer entered shortly after.
"Hello. I'm the Suit, handling your transaction."
"Lee Seung-hoon."
"Right, Mr. Lee. Shall we begin? Tell me what you want, and I'll quote you a price."
The Suit was utterly ordinary. So ordinary he'd blend into any crowd without a second glance.
"First, I'd like to exchange this ingot for cash."
"One moment—let me verify."
The Suit sniffed the ingot.
"*Sniff*! Ahh, *sniff*! Oh, that aroma... mmm!"
Then pressed his ear to it carefully.
"Oh, oooh, that sound! The pulse of gold!"
Next, he eyed it with sticky adoration.
"Such beautiful, exquisite form."
Then actually licked it.
"Ooh, yes! Ooh! Wow! Yes! Wow!"
He shuddered all over, savoring the afterglow for a bit before composing himself.
"Excellent gold. It passes. You want cash for it?"
"Yes. Not just any cash—I want it completely clean. No issues."
"Details?"
"Money the government won't scrutinize. No tax problems. No source questions. Even if it piles up, no audits from banks or the tax office."
"In short, no interference."
"Exactly."
"We'll buy the ingot for 550 million, inclusive of those terms. Agreed?"
Heavier than market gold, but a full 100 million under spot.
"Yes."
"Transaction complete."
The Suit cradled the ingot with a blissful smile. At the same time, my phone buzzed with a deposit notice.
[Web Deposit]
Nonghyup 10/12 Lee Seung-hoon 550,000,000
Instant deposit.
"One question: do you buy info or other stuff too?"
"Of course! If you have enough gold!"
So I asked.
"How much gold would it take to wipe out every entity in this world?"
Still beaming, stroking the ingot, he replied.
"Scrape together every last speck of gold in the universe. Not a single atom left behind."