The Yongbungs Deliver Judgment
The revelation that Baek Yeon-woo had once been an MDS patient proved more than enough to flip the frenzied public opinion on its head… or so it should have been.
No way in hell.
Most people would assume that presenting solid evidence would end the witch hunt. And sure, a few did feel ashamed and reflected on their behavior. But only a few.
If anyone thought a single broadcast would wrap this up cleanly, they had clearly underestimated just how rotten the culture of hate had become in this scene.
The internet these days, once it turns toxic, can spiral into pure filth with no bottom in sight. There had been a doctor's diagnosis and even Gale Potter had stepped forward, but so what? They simply refused to see it.
Truth was, these people had never cared what Baek Yeon-woo had actually been through.
They were twisted souls who relieved daily stress by pouring it into hatred.
Reasoned conversation meant nothing to them.
What they needed was the stick.
And the Yongbungs were very, very good at swinging it.
By now the Yongbungs had latched onto Yeon-woo's heartbreaking story, and then their eyes turned twice as fierce toward the empty-headed bastards who had hurt him.
Even the relatively refined “Yongbung Era” crowd abandoned all restraint this time, throwing off their leashes and declaring zero tolerance.
If it’s a wish, I’ll grant it by killing you.
You’re all dead.
Double the profanity for those who cursed. Doxxing for those who crossed the line. Reveal personal information for those hiding behind anonymity.
The million-strong Yongbung army—once just a meme—had risen in earnest. Social media trembled, homepages lost consciousness, and the Mir flag waved proudly over every gallery.
And into that chaos, the real nuclear bomb dropped.
If they wanted a fan meeting at the police station, the least they could do was show their faces.
They would learn in their very bones what happened when you played with the wrong fingers and raised the difficulty of your own life.
The Kang & Jang Law Firm—willing to defend anyone if the price was right, even in hell—and Lee Shin, whose hourly rate no one could calculate, had joined forces. The result came at light speed.
The situation had clearly taken a dangerous turn.
Public opinion was shifting at breakneck speed.
Something had gone terribly wrong!
Posts and comments vanished like the tide going out.
People with fires under their feet were frantically scrubbing every trace.
They were throwing themselves flat on the ground, desperate to survive.
Whether that would actually save them was another question.
In any case, the ones who found themselves in real trouble now were the YouTubers and the guilds. They couldn’t dodge the backlash or run from it.
So they had to take the beating.
The guilds and hunters who had been grabbed by the collar were roasted alive, turned into complete rags.
What about the racka YouTubers? When even the guilds were getting shredded like that, there was no way those small fries would survive. They were all slapped with lawsuits and dragged into court.
Perhaps this whole incident had been Mir Guild’s warning.
Behave while they were still smiling. If anyone crossed the line and trampled their leader’s pure heart, they would learn exactly what a maniac looked like.
The controversy that had erupted like a volcano was, thanks to the shower of lawsuits, extinguished as if it had never existed.
Meanwhile, at Mir Guild’s residence.
Park Su-bin’s eyes were darting everywhere.
“Bokchi is watching the mood right now.”
“……”
“Bokchi feels very sorry toward you.”
“……”
“Bokchi would like to ask if you want to go eat tteokbokki…”
“Hey! Can’t you just talk normally?”
Baek Yeon-woo, who had been watching YouTube, growled. Park Su-bin squeezed his eyes shut and hunched his shoulders.
That only made Baek Yeon-woo’s heart soften again. He let out an exasperated “Agh!” and scratched his head.
For several days now, Park Su-bin had been giving him those big, watery, pitiful eyes, constantly reading the room.
He was convinced that he had caused trouble for Baek Yeon-woo.
At first Baek Yeon-woo had secretly smiled at the warm consideration, but that only lasted a day or two. He couldn’t take any more.
“Ugh… I told you I’m fine, you idiot. How many times do I have to say I don’t care?”
“Bokchi is…”
“I’m seriously about to get angry. If you talk like a kid one more time, you better be ready.”
“I understand…”
Even as he said that, Park Su-bin remained kneeling on his bed. Baek Yeon-woo had moved past disbelief and was now simply amazed.
How could a monster in battle be like this in everyday life?
“Bokchi, if you had even one-tenth of the confidence in real life that you have in battle, you wouldn’t be like this.”
“Hehe. Is that a compliment?”
“Does it sound like one?”
“Ugh.”
“Look at him saying ‘ugh.’”
His first real friend in life turned out to be this hopeless guy. Baek Yeon-woo let out a long sigh.
Well, what could he do? They were friends, so he had to comfort him.
“I wasn’t planning to hide it forever. I was going to tell everyone eventually, so this actually worked out. It’s embarrassing to look pitiful on purpose, you know?”
“But… being sick isn’t something to be embarrassed about.”
“It’s not exactly an achievement either. Anyway, I’m fine.”
It wasn’t empty talk. Baek Yeon-woo truly didn’t dwell on it.
What was the point of crying and screaming over something already in the past? He would rather spend that time watching another video or swinging his sword one more time.
But their Park Su-bin was a sunfish who could sympathize with emotions that weren’t even his.
Perhaps remembering their first meeting—when Baek Yeon-woo had been lying on an Oseong bed receiving all kinds of medicine—those big eyes began to glisten with tears.
“Hoo… That’s enough.”
“Okay…”
“I’m really fine, so stop thinking it’s your fault. Got it?”
“Yeah, got it.”
“Good. Now sit properly.”
When Baek Yeon-woo flicked his finger, Park Su-bin unfolded his knees and sat cross-legged.
Baek Yeon-woo stared at him quietly.
Suddenly, a question occurred to him.
“Hey Bokchi, I’ve been wondering. Don’t you have any other friends?”
“Ugh… why?”
“I mean, a normal guy like you is always cooped up in the dorm with me. Go out and hang with your friends sometimes.”
“I am hanging out.”
Park Su-bin fidgeted with his fingers and whispered the word “friends.”
That was right.
Just as Baek Yeon-woo considered Park Su-bin his first true friend, Su-bin—who had lived the life of a loner for a long time—also saw Baek Yeon-woo as his first real friend.
The realization was so absurd that Baek Yeon-woo burst into laughter.
“You two are something else.”
Still, it didn’t feel bad at all.
A miracle that had come to him when he thought the world had abandoned him.
That miracle had returned his lost freedom, gifted him the sky, given him a family, and now even friends.
Baek Yeon-woo still had nightmares sometimes. Nightmares in which this miracle had been a dream, and he was living a miserable life forever bound and “restrained” by others…
Every time he woke from those nightmares, Baek Yeon-woo made a vow.
Even if this miracle wasn’t truly his, he would never let it be taken away.
‘Because I can’t protect it the way that guy does…’
He would kill.
Anyone who tried to steal the miracle he had barely found—whether they were a ranker or whatever—would be cut down.
“Get up.”
“Huh?”
“You said you wanted to go eat tteokbokki.”
“Oh!”
“Let’s go.”
“Want me to get your crutches? What should you wear? Want a hat?”
“Shut up and put on your clothes.”
“Should I call Seo Ye-na too? I need to tell Mom, right?”
“Do whatever.”
Baek Yeon-woo walked out on his crutches with Park Su-bin chattering behind him. On the closed door hung the bromides of the two of them that had been put up during the opening season.
While the friendship between the two boys quietly deepened, the noisy atmosphere gave way to the dawn of the competitive conquest battle.
The Mir conquest team, having set out before dawn, arrived at the gate where the competitive conquest battle would take place.
On a mountain outside Daejeon, a fleet of buses came to a stop.
A man in a disheveled shirt stepped down through the open door.
The moment the tip of his dress shoe touched the ground, everyone around fell silent. Not only the broadcasting crew but even the arrogant mages from the Bureau held their breath.
And then.
“Haaam.”
The man yawned, and the frozen time and space began to flow again as if nothing had happened.
A man who could captivate everyone around him with nothing but his innate charm, without any display of force or magic power.
That was Lee Shin.
“Wow, nice weather.”
He stretched cheerfully.
Then he clapped his hands and shouted with vigor.
“Everyone, let’s get moving!!”
Yes sir!!
Right on cue, guild members began pouring out of the buses.
They moved with perfect coordination. Trunks opened, equipment was unloaded, and final checks began.
“Make sure you double-check the consumables. Don’t forget to separate immediate-use items from reserves. Oh, and where are the fresh groceries? We had to throw out a few boxes last time because they spoiled. Check the cold stones in the iceboxes, and call ‘Sacred Foods’ to warn them that if they send any more weird stuff we’re ending the contract.”
Was it because the quality of personnel had risen?
Even the way they carried the supplies looked incredibly professional. Lee Shin nodded in satisfaction as he watched, then called Chae Dong-ha over separately.
“You packed twice the usual amount of supplies, right?”
“Exactly as you ordered.”
“Good work. Director Chae, check the supplies that go into the spatial bags too. You know spatial bags aren’t all-powerful, right? Don’t forget to be careful with the loading.”
“Understood.”
“Then I’ll go check on the other areas.”
“I’ll handle things here. Don’t worry and take your time.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Sister Cho-a, let’s go.
As Lee Shin took the lead, Yoon Cho-a followed close behind, guarding his rear.
The conquest team was disembarking from the buses. Lee Shin first approached the Mountain King.
“Was everything comfortable for you?”
“What could possibly be uncomfortable? Thanks to someone, we rode in such a nice bus.”
“Hehehe. As expected, only you, sir, would say that. You’re really laying on the compliments thick.”
“But strictly speaking, shouldn’t you be thanking Chairman Sang-byeok?”
“Aww~ Grandpa’s money is my money.”
“How is that your money, you rascal? Look at this brazen kid. Don’t talk back.”
“Hehe, you’re smiling though.”
Chairman Lee Sang-byeok, moved by the greatest opening match in history, had flown into a rage when he noticed the conquest team buses lacked the Ido mark. The resulting storm of gifts was his way of showing support.
Make sure the away team maintains peak condition.
He had renovated the 45-seater buses until they rivaled first-class airplane seats.
With magic stones and magical devices added, they were ultra-luxury limousine buses worth several supercars each.
Starting with the Mountain King, Lee Shin went around shaking hands with each member of the conquest team and checking on their condition.
“Whoa, let’s see the faces of our tanker team. Damn, still handsome as ever. Very good. Sister Mal-suk, you get prettier every day. Wait, are you going to hit me… hands down. My bad.”
“Alright, to our dealers, I apologize in advance. We ran out of consumables last time, right? I checked everything myself this time. Don’t worry and use them freely. And please don’t get hurt.”
“You all know I trust you the most, right? The supporter team is the real core. The people up front are all fighting with bloodshot eyes—did you hear that?”
And in the supporter team, there was a new face.
Alongside Seo Ye-na was another healer, Ryu Hong-seok.
“Wow, those broad shoulders and that impressive chest. Our princess and knight. Very reliable.”
Ryu Hong-seok, now large enough to devour most tankers, laughed heartily. Seo Ye-na, whose muscles had grown exactly in proportion to the forced PT the healer team received, was grinding her teeth.
“You two know you’re the keys to this competitive conquest battle, right? Hong-seok, you’ll move with the tankers. Ye-na, you’ll move with the supporter team. Especially you, Hong-seok—I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, I will live up to your trust.”
“Princess Ye-na.”
“Hiss—!”
“Mm. Good.”
Her thoroughly enraged trapezius muscles nodded. Extremely trustworthy.
Our Princess Ye-na, who had somehow become an Amazon warrior, could not be left out. Angry? No no, she was just shy.
There was already a solid bond of trust between them.
Don’t you know I’m trustworthy?
Finally, Lee Shin checked on the world-class line.
“Yu Ri-ra, your form has been insane lately.”
“Your face is the one that’s been insanely handsome, Representative.”
“We really are on the same wavelength. I’m counting on you today too. Yeah~!”
“Leave it to me. Yeah~!”
He gave Yu Ri-ra a high-five.
“You know I trust Brother Yu-shin the most, right? These rookies don’t know anything.”
“Hahaha, everyone’s doing well. Why are you like this?”
“Doing well? It only looks that way because you embrace them all with your warm heart. You are the light and salt of our conquest team! My Lee Shin’s treasure!”
“Haha. All right, all right.”
He shared a light hug with Hwa-rang.
And last, the Park-Baek line. Lee Shin put an arm around each of their shoulders and spoke warmly.
“Bokchi, just do eighty percent. Don’t foolishly overdo it again trying to protect the tanker team like last time. What did I tell you before?”
“Trust is also part of the team.”
“Your actions may come from good intentions, but the other side could feel like you’re wounding their pride. So manage your stamina and do only your role. You get it, right?”
“Yes!”
“Yeon-woo, same goes for you. You’ve been acting impulsively a lot lately. I told you there’s a fine line between impulsive action and clutch plays, didn’t I? What did I say?”
“Hot heart, cool head.”
“Always look with your eyes for the core of the battlefield. A smart kid like you sometimes gets too emotional. You’ll get hurt, you fool.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“I’ll be watching.”
After patting both their backsides, the conquest team check was complete.
Time for the next item on the schedule.
“Let’s head to where the Baekgeom Guild is, sis.”
“I’ll take the lead.”
“Yeon-woo, you know the way. Follow me.”
“Yes.”
“M-me too.”
“Bokchi, you stay here.”
“You stay put.”
Lee Shin and Baek Yeon-woo stopped Park Su-bin from following and walked behind Yoon Cho-a.
A short while later they arrived at the waiting Baekgeom Guild formation.
“……”
“……”
At last, Park Gwang-seob and Baek Yeon-woo stood face to face.