Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Second Prophecy
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[Here's the first update. In this day and age of LCD monitors and digital TVs dominating the market, far too many people don't know how to maintain a cathode-ray tube TV. So, we're here to teach you directly. Our intern on-site, intern?]
The screen switched. Beyond it was my living room at home, with a woman in a suit standing primly in front of the dial TV, facing the camera.
[Yes, this is the intern on-site, intern!]
However, the woman's face was a massive notebook.
[Today, we're covering cathode-ray tube TV maintenance. First off, never expose it to direct sunlight, or the tube could degrade!]
Grunting with effort, the intern moved the TV farther from the window. She then pulled out a dry cloth and cleaner to wipe down the screen.
[Cathode-ray tubes also build up static easily, so dust them regularly!]
Next, she took out some WD-40 and sprayed it into the TV's crevices and dial gaps, then diligently wiped them down with a cloth and cotton swabs.
[Finally, clean the buttons and crevices with metal lubricant, and you're done! See? Easy, right?]
I couldn't help but snicker.
"Yes, that looks simple enough. I'll take care of it as soon as the news is over."
An emoticon appeared on the intern's notebook face.
[＼(^o^)／]
The screen transitioned back to the newsroom.
[Next up, the second update. The Japan-Korea joint venture 'Romance & Romance' will release their first game, 'Romantic Academy City,' on the 28th of this month. While the collectible mobile genre featuring cute girls wielding swords against evil is already a red ocean, Romantic Academy City is poised to top sales charts across Korea, China, and Japan for 48 straight months thanks to its deep story, unique characters, and stunning illustrations.]
The moment I heard that, I pulled up my stock app and searched for Romance & Romance.
'Current price: 880 won. A penny stock.'
I used every last bit of money in my brokerage account to buy in, then turned my attention back to the screen.
[Third update: A hermit living on Mount Songni has achieved enlightenment and gained powers straight out of a wuxia novel. Let's see it for ourselves. Our reporter on-site, reporter?]
In what looked like a mountainous area on Mount Songni, a man with a microphone for a head was interviewing an old man.
[Yes, this is reporter on-site at Mount Songni. Kim Go-deok has lived here as a hermit for 50 years, communing with nature, awakening to the Tao, and inventing his own martial arts. Mr. Kim?]
[Yes, that's me, Kim Go-deok. Heh heh.]
[Did you really create martial arts? I mean, do they actually exist?]
[They do. What is the energy of nature? It's the essence of heaven and earth, the harmony of yin and yang, the flow of the five elements. After 20 years of embodying its secrets, I've reached a realm where I wield it freely. This is the foundation of inner energy, the secret of martial arts.]
[Wow, could you demonstrate?]
[Take a look.]
The old man, with a flowing white beard like an immortal, assumed a stance, thrust out his right hand, and bellowed a mighty kiai.
A tree over 10 meters away shook violently. On its trunk was the imprint of the old man's palm, like a seal.
A rock split in two from the old man's punch.
He moved his feet, dashing through the forest at incredible speed, as if riding the wind.
Sitting cross-legged, he inhaled deeply, and his complexion improved instantly.
[That was impressive. Martial arts really do exist. Let's all strive to learn them!]
The screen switched back to the newsroom.
[Truly astonishing. Though honestly, it's not as powerful as I'd hoped. A bit disappointing.]
Curiosity struck me. Was that old man just an ordinary guy empowered by the dial TV? Disappointed because the entity it created wasn't as strong as expected?
'Or maybe a human who gained superhuman powers and became an entity, now living in hiding—until the dial TV found him?'
Entity Survival features humans born as humans who acquire mysterious powers and become entities. Either way, the old man was undeniably something special.
[Final update: Industrialization has brought global warming, microplastics, environmental pollution, reckless development leading to habitat destruction, and cascading extinctions collapsing ecosystems. All massive headaches for our planet.]
What was she leading up to? With ears perked like the announcer's rabbit ones, I focused intently.
[But worry no more. No need to fear global warming, microplastics, pollution, habitat destruction, or ecosystem collapse!]
The screen changed.
[Because those problems will all be resolved exactly 31 days from now.]
The new footage showed pristine wilderness. No buildings, no trace of humanity—just pure nature, breathtakingly beautiful.
[Can you believe this was once Seoul, Korea's most prosperous city?]
...Seoul? That place?
[Hard to believe the world ends up like this because of an apartment bazaar in Chungju City, 30 days from now.]
The announcer bowed politely.
[That's all for now. This has been your Dial TV announcer, announcer.]
The TV shut off, but I sat on the sofa, lost in thought for a while.
-Caw!
Once I'd gathered my thoughts, I headed out first and bought some WD-40, cleaner, premium cloths, and cotton swabs.
'This spot should work.'
I adjusted the dial TV's position, cleaned the screen spotless, sprayed WD-40 meticulously, and wiped it away.
'End of humanity? But that doesn't add up.'
As I cleaned, I analyzed what I'd seen.
'Concrete buildings take over a century to vanish completely. Micro-cracks and rebar corrosion force them to collapse eventually.'
But rubble remains. The nature I saw had no rubble—not even a hint of human presence.
'Did it show the distant future? No, the dial TV said the problems resolve in 31 days.'
And it starts at a Chungju apartment bazaar, 30 days from now.
"That means humanity vanishes in a single day, without a trace."
Things are about to get busy starting tomorrow.
[Yes, we've arrived at Mount Songni. Passengers, please wait until the vehicle has come to a complete stop before exiting.]
Humanity might end in 31 days, but until then, there wasn't much to do, so I carried on leisurely.
'Let's meet that Mount Songni martial artist.'
Intellectually intriguing—and if I could learn martial arts, why not?
Beep-!
Just as I was about to enter Mount Songni, a shrill whistle halted me.
"Grandpa! Stop right there!"
No need to hike in—I could meet the martial artist Kim Go-deok right away.
"Out of my way! The realm of officials and martial world do not interfere! How dare you break that taboo!"
"No, Grandpa! What are you talking about? There's no such law!"
The old man outran the police at blinding speed, like sprinting across the sky.
'Impressively fast.'
Even with my enhanced physical abilities and senses thanks to the blind girl, I knew I couldn't catch him.
"Hm?"
In that moment, our eyes met.
"Tch, decent body, but your mind's shot. Martial arts require unity of heart, technique, and body—otherwise, forget it."
He clicked his tongue in pity, shook his head, and vanished swiftly.
"Huff, huff... That old coot runs like hell!"
The pursuing officers gave up and stopped.
"What happened?"
"Huff... That grandpa just now, huff... snapped a natural monument and bolted!"
Mount Songni's natural monument.
'The Jeongeui Pine?'
I went to see the 600-year-old pine, Natural Monument No. 103. It lay broken at the waist.
'Hmm.'
A palm print at the break point—definitely the martial art from the news.
"Wow, it really snapped."
"Why'd it break?"
"You don't know? Some old guy was muttering in front of it, saying it was perfect for martial arts practice. Then bam, it broke."
"Did he really use martial arts?"
"Nah, probably rotted inside. Perfect timing."
"Doesn't look rotten, though."
I'd wanted to learn martial arts too. What a shame.
'Next up: Chungju.'
I left home for a while and holed up in a Chungju motel. From there, I scoured every apartment complex, pinpointing where the bazaar would be.
'The bazaar 30 days after the day I saw the prophecy.'
Only one matched.
'Samyeon Apartments.'
'Today's the day.'
I washed up quietly and left the motel. Time was on my side, so I didn't need to stay in Chungju motels anymore, but dial TV prophecies could change, so I had to account for that.
'I visited daily just in case, but it wasn't open until yesterday.'
Today was the 30th day as per the dial TV.
I left the motel and headed to Samyeon Apartments.
[Samyeon Apartment Bazaar.]
It was early, so the bazaar hadn't started. Residents participating bustled about, gradually setting out items for sale.
'What happens here to erase humanity without a trace?'
Not just gone—existence itself wiped clean. Meanwhile, nature exploded into Amazon-like abundance in a day around Seoul.
'Must be a powerful entity. But I'm not scared. It's still an Entity Survival entity.'
The original creepypasta bible, SCP, is packed with beings humans can't possibly fight. Inescapable death or incomprehensible horrors that fuel pure terror.
'But Entity Survival is a game.'
A survival game where enduring is the goal.
In a game centered on survival, unbeatable, instant-death entities just frustrate players. Every entity has at least one survival method.
'Unless it's an event entity like the Munchkin Mary Sue constellation, there's always one or more ways to survive.'
Ways to flee entities.
Ways to drive them off.
Ways to seal them.
Ways to negotiate with them. And so on.
'So, what's this one's?'
After wandering a bit, I finally spotted it.
"Sung-yeol, keep an eye out. Mom's just gonna grab some kimbap real quick."
"......"
"Sung-yeol!"
"Huh? Yeah, got it!"
The annoyed young man griped in front of a pile of random junk.
"Fuck, this is such a hassle."
Tucked among the junk: a grotesque hand.
'There you are.'
Not human. Covered in thick fur, longer than a human's, beastly. Only a middle finger—no trace of the others, not even folded.
'The One Remaining Monkey's Paw.'
In the game, an item dubbed a cheat for granting any wish honestly and perfectly.
'Grants one wish only, but unlike the classic monkey's paw, it never twists it—just fulfills exactly as stated. An object-type entity.'
Two wishes it won't grant:
'Wishes to increase the number of wishes, or to eliminate or permanently exclude the entity itself.'
Instead, players could seal certain entities for years to enjoy the game in peace or boost their specs to entity-level, skyrocketing survival odds against monster types.
'This causes humanity's end?'
Curiosity hit. What wish would doom us?
'Looks like that guy's using it.'
The moment I saw the young man manning the stall, I could activate my right eye.
'...So that's why the future turns out like that.'
The young man, steeped in superiority though he was, wished on the One Remaining Monkey's Paw for the world's sake.
'A monkey's paw is still a monkey's paw.'
The outcome just wasn't good.