Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The World Beyond the Right Eye: Global Warming and Earth's Demise
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[The babirusa is a mammal of the babirusa genus in the pig family, native to Indonesia.]
Kim Bok-man (26), a college student living in Seoul, had planned to travel around with his club members during summer break. But frequent monsoons and heatwaves forced him to cancel everything and laze around the house like a jobless bum.
[One distinctive feature of the babirusa—which means "deer-pig"—isn't shared by all of them. It's a horrific trait unique to the males.]
Even at home, the heat was unbearable, so he kept the windows shut and cranked the AC to 18 degrees Celsius. He put on his favorite nature documentary and boiled some ramen.
[The male's tusks keep growing until death. They curve upward relentlessly—even piercing the skull when they reach the forehead—ultimately killing their host.]
"What a fucked-up creature."
[Yet for males, bigger and longer tusks are a point of pride. The grander the tusks, the higher the status and the easier it is to attract females. A power won in exchange for death, you could say.]
Kim Bok-man slurped down the ramen broth in one go and laughed at the babirusa.
"Idiots like that'll go extinct quick. Gone in a few centuries, no doubt."
Night fell, but the heat lingered.
"Ugh, so hot."
He turned on the AC.
"Ugh, freezing."
It was cold, but turning it off would make it hot again, so he pulled a thick blanket over himself instead.
'Perfect.'
Thank you, Carrier-nim. Thanks to you, I can sleep like a baby.
Kim Bok-man fell into a deep slumber. The outdoor AC unit hummed steadily through the night.
"Bullshit."
In a building in Seocho-gu, Seo Yong (35), a member of a major corporation's technology innovation team, let a curse slip without thinking.
[Budget Proposal for New Factory Construction and Carbon Capture Technology Implementation]
Lately, there'd been a push to cut carbon emissions by introducing new tech to factories, but the costs were outrageously high.
'Nature? Sure, great. Everyone's yapping about global warming these days, and even I can feel the weather going haywire. But this is way too expensive.'
With this money, they could build two more factories. After glaring at the report, he sighed and rejected the proposal.
'India and China don't give a damn about emission limits anyway. Neither does the US. What's the point of a tiny country like Korea busting its ass if the big players don't? Useless if they don't follow suit.'
So, not my problem, right?
He clicked his tongue at the steaming asphalt roads under the sweltering 30+ degree heat.
"It'll work itself out somehow."
"You fucking bastards!"
In an Indian company, executive Sanjeev Gupta (50) was seething at the antics of the developed nations once again.
'Telling us to cut emissions? That means running the factories less, doesn't it!?'
They couldn't afford fancy carbon capture or eco-friendly tech. To reduce emissions, they'd have to scale back production—and that would tank their revenue.
"You polluted freely for over a century, and now that we're trying to get ahead, you sabotage us like this?"
Eat shit.
"To survive, we have no choice!"
US House Representative John McKenzie (55) had a headache because of his son.
"Dad! If we don't cut pollution, disaster's coming soon!"
His son had graduated top of his class from an Ivy League school and earned a PhD in natural sciences—a son he was deeply proud of. But lately, the kid kept nagging him about global warming.
"Oh, Michael, I know."
"Then why push pro-business policies only?"
"Michael, you're smart but naive. Climate crisis? Global warming? Of course I know."
John rubbed his fingers together.
"But it doesn't make money or win votes. Good intentions, sure. But push it as policy, and domestic demand shrinks, prices soar. Voters will hate us, and we'll get crushed in the next election."
"But..."
"Michael, don't you get it?"
John stared into his son's eyes with a serious expression.
"The people don't want it. That's the truth."
Years passed.
Earth's summers grew hotter, winters colder.
"We're on the brink of the tipping point. We need drastic measures now, or humanity is doomed!"
"Please! Global warming is real!"
Scientists explained and shouted desperately.
"Global warming is nonsense!"
"It's not man-made—it's a natural cycle!"
Politicians in corporate pockets fought back fiercely. Some even bribed fellow scientists to spread lies.
"Argh! Help!"
"Flood!"
"Wildfire!"
"The rain won't stop!"
Natural disasters intensified. Year by year, they ravaged the globe, claiming countless lives—no nation was spared.
"Global warming is real!"
"It's not just getting hotter—it's colder too, and more disasters!"
Even conspiracy nuts had to believe now. Politicians jumped in with prevention policies.
"To cut emissions, we're mandating vehicle rationing nationwide."
"All companies will pay a carbon tax."
"All vehicles must switch to EVs within three years, or face heavy fines."
"All businesses must use renewables."
"Beef production emits tons of greenhouse gases, so we're taxing meat."
"Data centers guzzle power and spew carbon, so internet usage will be metered."
Business owners protested, but the public went along.
It's to save the planet—gotta deal with higher costs and inconvenience.
"Why's meat so damn expensive!"
"Can't even drive freely—public transport sucks!"
"Why can't I use the car I bought with my own money?"
"Food and essentials are all pricier!"
"Argh! Only three hours of internet a day? This is hell!"
Eco-investments jacked up prices. Crop failures from disasters made food scarcer. Cars, internet—conveniences became luxuries. Weather stayed crap, and "solutions" changed nothing.
"A loaf of bread for $3? Insane!"
"No way! Bread's 300 yen each?!"
"What? You're crazy cheap! Bread's 10,000 won in Korea now!"
Grievances hit critical mass in under half a year.
"Impeach them!"
"Give us our lives back!"
"Global warming's a lie! Corporate scam to steal our money!"
Pro-business politicians seized power again. Erasing global warming from mainstream was impossible, so they pointed fingers outward.
"It's those developing countries! No matter how hard we try, if they don't cut emissions, it's pointless! They're the cancer killing Earth!"
Developing nations had their say.
"Who fucked Earth in the first place? You developed nations! You shat everywhere and now bitch at us without cleaning up?"
Abandoning growth meant self-destruction into poverty—no choice.
"Mommy! Read me a story!"
"Okay."
No one let go of their precious gains.
"Once upon a time, there was a hunter who wanted to catch a monkey, but the monkey was too fast. So the hunter hung a basket barely big enough for a hand from a tree and filled it with candy."
Politicians ignored reality for votes.
Corporations ignored it for profit.
"The monkey found the candy and barely squeezed his hand in, grabbing a fistful. Oh no! His clenched fist was stuck!"
Citizens ignored it for comfort.
Nations deflected blame abroad to quell unrest.
"He could've let go and escaped, but greed kept him holding on. He couldn't get free and got caught by the hunter!"
"Hahaha! Monkey's such a dummy!"
And...
"Mom, the rain outside won't stop!"
"Yeah... It's been days now..."
The tipping point was crossed.
Earth hurtled toward doom.
Convenience, money, votes—none mattered in the new world.
Scorching heat turned murderous; snow buried tropics, freezing thousands; floods raged endlessly.
"We have to stop it! Deploy the tech!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Foundation stopped watching.
They should've learned by now.
"Ma-Master! The dimensional gates won't open!"
"What!?"
"All connected passages are sealed!"
But the Foundation couldn't intervene.
Every link to Earth was severed, contact with agents lost.
"The time has finally come."
The mastermind behind it all revealed themselves.
"I've lived a thousand years for this day."
It was the Dangjin Lee clan.
Using blood kin scattered worldwide, they'd long scouted the Foundation's gates and plotted to seal them secretly.
A intact Foundation would've repelled them, but their forces were depleted.
Caught off-guard, they fell helplessly.
"Now, the Dangjin Lee clan shall become gods in a new heaven and earth."
The Foundation could no longer touch Earth.
Existing agents had been neutralized with spells long ago.
The clan's global kin returned to the ancestral land.
"We've upheld our deal! Take us to the new planet now!"
They brought countless collaborators—humans prepped to seed a new world as the gods' kin.
"Ooh, at last..."
The sky split open.
Beyond it, a planet like Earth loomed closer. Its primitive humans gazed up in awe, jumping in shock.
"Our clan shall rule eternally as the new gods of this new world."
The Dangjin Lee clan vanished.
Humanity drowned in runaway climate disasters.
Thus, humanity perished.
On the shattered ruins of the Dangjin Lee land, the sealed calamity awoke.
The calamity: vengeful ghosts' malice-born negativity.
This malice circled the superheated Earth (average 100°C+ from greenhouse effects), orbiting daily.
The malice was singular: resentment from those poisoned by heart-demons, turned to calamity.
By yin-yang principles, ghosts embodied yin energy; their grudges, condensed yin, were bitterly cold.
Each circuit chilled Earth bit by bit. Years later, it froze solid—but the malice kept cooling it relentlessly.
Decades on.
The malice dispersed across the globe and faded. Earth became a snowbound orb.
Any cosmic observer would've gasped: Earth's gone pure white!
And someone wrote on it?
On the icy wastes, visible from space: massive letters in no earthly tongue, yet readable, conveying meaning to all.
『A planet slow-cooked sous-vide in humanity's folly with minimal meddling, then chilled—with a bitter aftertaste of regret. - Mr. Ando』
Earth became a dish.
'M r. Ando, huh.'
I'd pegged it as no ordinary entity, but engineering Earth's end? Beyond imagination.
'It wasn't direct action—humanity self-destructed.'
Trading with the Dangjin Lee clan, waiting a millennium to cook a planet.
No clue on its raw power, but this alone screamed extraordinary.
'The Dangjin Lee clan prepped this a thousand years ago?'
If Earth was doomed, they'd help it along.
In exchange, their bloodline overflowed with talent; at contract's end, godhood in a new paradise.
'Contract: Gather malice from heart-demon ghosts, sabotage groups like the Foundation from halting warming. Two tasks.'
That malice? Seasoning.
To chill the finished Earth while infusing flavor everywhere.
"Now, what to do with this..."
This was the Dangjin Lee clan's underground.
Likely below the sealed land—escape by normal means impossible.
'The Detective's Touchpad said I could solve it.'
Visiting the clan outright would've ended it ages ago.
So solvable here too...
'The final hint, for sure...'
Don't cling to preconceptions.
This is just the first.
It claims Russian influence but was born from them.
No need for their tongue.
They speak the language of truth, beyond human utterance.
Earth tongues suffice.
The power from Chef Ando to the Dangjin Lee clan: sorcery.
And sorcery is...
"Those who curse others lightly must steel themselves for curses returned."
Yeah, got it.
"Time to end this."