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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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Chapter 212: Up (4)
“Oops!”
It was only after Yeongwoo had made the coordinate call that he remembered.
The range of the laser beam shot from the returnee’s room was quite wide.
‘Huh? At this rate, they’ll be killed right away…?’
Yeongwoo had initially called the coordinates behind the opponent with the intention of scaring them away.
But at this rate, those two Chinese men would disappear in the blink of an eye.
“General…!”
Yeongwoo, who was about to hastily request a ceasefire, then closed his mouth as he saw the two swordsmen attempting to cross the bridge.
‘Well, considering they came down here as soon as the border was breached…’
They probably wouldn’t change their minds just because they were scared.
Even if they retreated now, there was a high chance they would come back properly prepared later.
So how could this problem be solved?
In fact, Yeongwoo already knew the answer.
‘…If you destroy the problem, there won’t be a problem anymore.’
That was the Chairman’s teaching.
So Yeongwoo, after receiving the evil business detector back from the goblin, aimed his gun at the opposite side of the bridge.
Bang!
“…!”
“Ah!”
As a result, the two people who had just set foot on the bridge quickly retreated, and the sky tore apart right on cue.
Fwaaaaaah!
Finally, General’s laser bombardment arrived on Earth.
“What’s that?”
“D-Danger…!”
Both of them sensed the danger as they saw the laser beam tearing through the air, but it was far too late to dodge.
Paaah!
The person who had been looking into the distance at the sky vanished without a trace, and the other person, who had managed to fly sideways just in time, lost everything except his head.
“…Huh.”
As Yeongwoo watched the Chinese man’s head fall to the ground, he finally realized how terrifying the laser bombardment must look to others.
And one more thing.
“Wait a minute!”
As Yeongwoo stared blankly at the location where the bombardment had landed, he quickly ran across the bridge.
Because…
‘The equipment has completely vaporized?’
Not only the bodies of the two swordsmen but also the equipment they had were cleanly gone.
‘It seems like bombardment not only destroys the enemy but also their equipment.’
It was probably the firepower that killed Kim, who wielded mythical equipment, in a single blow.
It was natural that most equipment couldn’t withstand the output of the laser cannon.
‘If you want to take the loot, you have to be careful with bombardments.’
Of course, amidst all this, there was one item that remained intact.
Tap.
The crimson coin Yeongwoo picked up from the ground.
Just like last time, this currency survived a direct hit from the laser.
‘I wonder if the Chairman will ever make guns? It would be nice to use this as ammunition for firearms.’
Yeongwoo first ordered the goblin to collect the scattered coins from all around.
-Kiit!
Then, 14,000 karma, the “change,” poured into Yeongwoo’s balance.
* Available karma: 41,348,500
With this, today’s tax issue was perfectly resolved.
But another problem arose immediately.
Paaat!
「Since you have acquired the title of a region not belonging to your country, the stamp ‘Territorialism’ will be created.」
Yeongwoo received another stamp while taking away two titles from the swordsmen.
‘So it’s finally here.’
Yeongwoo calmly waited, like someone experienced in stealing titles.
Soon, a shiny blade mark appeared before his eyes, informing him that from now on, he would be pursued by countless Chinese people.
『Territorialism: China』
|To atone for this crime, all strongholds in China will be informed of your location.
“Strongholds in China” likely referred to the highest-ranked individuals. How many would that be, altogether?
Before the reset, China’s population was roughly 1.42 billion.
In contrast, South Korea had around 50 million people.
A simple comparison of populations showed about a 28-fold difference.
‘So, the number of leaders of strongholds would be at least 20 times higher.’
Then would the number of pursuers also be 20 times higher?
‘Wait a minute… is this okay?’
Just North Korea, with a population half that of South Korea, had about eleven members who didn’t participate in the Paju Battle during the inter-Korean war.
Then, for China…
‘It’s 40 times that of North Korea… so 440 people come every time there’s a full-scale war?’
It was a laughable number’
Of course, the probability of such an event actually happening was extremely low.
With the majority of communication equipment disabled, how could the scattered strongholds across China communicate and coordinate without means?
At most, there might exist alliances based on geographical proximity.
‘But even so, we can’t completely ignore it. Even if the regions are divided into quarters, each has a population five times that of ours.’
And that was a conservative estimate.
“…”
Yeongwoo imagined himself standing before a hundred Chinese strongholds gathered from various regions of China.
And soon, the scene of laser beams raining down on them.
‘A hundred against one? Even with a laser cannon, it wouldn’t be easy.’
And on top of that, if there were those in China who received sponsorship from space corporations?
It became more complicated.
Whoosh.
Yeongwoo reached out to the ground and grabbed the head of the unnamed Chinese man.
He checked if there was any hidden loot in the head of the deceased, but as expected, there was none, so Yeongwoo sighed with disappointment and laid the head on the ground.
‘But where’s Dandong? Is it one of the areas near the North Korean border?’
The only Chinese region Yeongwoo vaguely knew was Shandong Province, under the jurisdiction of Sandong’s Twin Evil Jang Jaham.
It was the aggressive middle-aged Chinese man they met in the dungeon last night.
‘He said he’d come find me tonight, but only the tough ones came crawling in.’
Whoosh.
Yeongwoo’s gaze shifted northward.
He wanted to go up to the Chinese border with North Korea, but it was already getting dark, so he had to return.
He couldn’t predict the route of tonight’s dungeon, so he needed to rest in advance.
And he also needed to meet the people from Gwanak and Taewon who were rushing to Paju.
‘Angry Chinese could approach Seoul through other regions. It’s best to return around here.’
Whoosh!
When Yeongwoo made up his mind and raised his hand to call for Negwig, a fierce extraterrestrial iron horse came galloping from the other side.
* * *
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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7:46 PM.
As Yeongwoo left Paju and headed back to Seoul, there were now over thirty swordsmen and four transport carts following him in line.
They were personnel from Seoul National University brought by Jo Sangik of Gwanak and monster hunters from Taewon who were urgently dispatched.
Responding to Yeongwoo’s call to recover the bodies of the soldiers, people were sent from both Gwanak and Taewon.
Originally, the plan was to first find the families of the deceased and then proceed with the recovery of the bodies, but when Jo Sangik arrived at the scene, he had a different opinion.
If they couldn’t find the families quickly, the bodies would be damaged by tonight’s abnormal weather, so for now, they should move the bodies to Seoul and proceed with the rest of the work later.
Given that Yeongwoo hadn’t even considered the possibility of the bodies being damaged, he had no choice but to accept Jo Sangik’s opinion.
‘As expected, adults are adults.’
As Yeongwoo looked at Jo Sangik, who was leading the way, he noticed him staring back through the window.
“Everything’s been wrapped up nicely, so you can go ahead. You must be much busier than me.”
Jo Sangik said with a kind expression.
With the recovery of the bodies completed and with Seoul National University swordsmen present, not to mention himself, the Strongest Sword of Gwanak, there was no reason for Yeongwoo to stay here.
But Yeongwoo’s circumstances were somewhat different.
“…Haha, it’s okay. You never know what might happen.”
You never know what might happen.
It meant the possibility of a large-scale night attack by angry Chinese.
And sure enough.
“You never know what might happen? Are you talking as if you’ve just been through a big accident again, haha!”
Jo Sangik, who was quick-witted, seemed to sense something and glanced at Yeongwoo.
Then he continued.
“Did you cause an accident?”
“…Yes?”
“I mean, the accident. What happened this time?”
As Jo Sangik said this, he glanced back.
He was probably looking at both the north, where the accident occurred, and the Seoul National University and Taewon Group swordsmen who were present here.
“Whatever it is, even though I know Yeongwoo has the ability to handle it, shouldn’t I know? My people are here too.”
“…”
With Jo Sangik saying so, Yeongwoo could no longer remain silent.
And anyway, even if they didn’t realize it now, they would all figure it out by tomorrow at the latest.
“This time, it’s China.”
Finally, Yeongwoo confessed.
Then Jo Sangik’s expression changed from confusion to disbelief.
“What…?”
Then, soon after, his face stiffened.
“What, really? Are you crazy?”
At this point, it was the highest expression of anger for Jo Sangik.
“Really? China?”
Due to Jo Sangik’s incredulous exclamation, the swordsmen behind them began to murmur.
In response, Jo Sangik lowered his voice and shouted again.
“China? Do you know how many people live there? It’s almost twenty-eight times our population…!”
As expected of someone well-educated, Jo Sangik quickly calculated the population ratio.
Then, he looked back north with a shocked face.
“Now, there’s probably nothing left on the North Korean side. It’s practically an open border.”
“I suppose so.”
“The remaining people in North Korea will face various difficulties as well.”
Jo Sangik’s vision was clearly broad.
Before the reset, North Korea and China had friendly relations, but was it still the case after the reset?
‘Unlikely. If China’s leadership was all judged because of the reset, it’s unlikely there would be another place as hellish as China. It would be a lawless wasteland.’
Corrupt bureaucrats, immense wealth disparity.
China was the country where the results of the reset would be most vividly displayed.
In addition, with such a large population, the competitive landscape during the early stages of the reset would have been much fiercer compared to other countries.
“It’s a country I would never have considered an enemy.”
Jo Sangik sighed and looked at Yeongwoo again.
Although the future seemed bleak, there was nothing they could do.
He could only hope that the man who had now truly started his defense and even started to pay for it would succeed.
“So, what’s your plan now?”
When Jo Sangik asked, Yeongwoo scratched his chin.
“What else can we do? We have to acquire stronger firepower.”
That’s why he had gone all the way north to obtain another sphere.
The golden sphere.
The admission ticket to the night dungeon.
‘Tonight, if there’s a Chinese party member among our group, things might get complicated.’
He was confident he could handle whatever number of Chinese attacked, but if the dungeon’s unique rules were added to the mix, the situation might change.
‘I wonder how awful tonight’s dungeon will be.’
As Yeongwoo thought this, he looked at the Seoul skyline appearing on the other side. Right on cue, an alert sounded, signaling 8 PM.
「The night is approaching.」
「Therefore, to ensure your right to rest, the dormitory will be open in one hour.」
“Ah… the night is already starting.”
Jo Sangik muttered, looking at the increasingly darkening sky.
However, the system announcement for today was not over yet.
「The third stage of the reset, ‘Pangea,’ will soon begin.」
“What?”
“…!”
“Pangea?”
With the appearance of the new announcement, everyone in the area stopped in their tracks, and soon a giant timer appeared in the sky.
[11:59:48]
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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