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Translated by BiasNil
· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·
Thump. Thump. Thump.
A man hung in the air to the beat of an exciting drumline coming from somewhere.
He wore a black cape, a black robe, and a black magician's hat—totally out of place in broad daylight.
Smiling behind a half-face mask, he soon shouted at the camera:
"Hello, everyone! I, Egostic—the No. 1 most influential villain chosen by the Korea Hero Association and the best villain chosen by Forbes—am here to see you. Nice to meet you!"
Floating before a large bridge, he tipped his hat and greeted the camera like some medieval European noble.
When he went live nationwide through the three major broadcasters and YouTube, people lost it.
The YouTube chat on Egostic's official stream flew by so fast you couldn't even read it.
[Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic! Mangostic!]
[Is Egostic a God? Is Egostic a God? Is Egostic a God? Is Egostic a God? Is Egostic a God? Is Egostic a God?]
[Mom, I'm going to be a terrorist when I grow up! Mom, I'm going to be a terrorist when I grow up! Mom, I'm going to be a terrorist when I grow up!]
[Release Kim Sunwoo Release Kim Sunwoo Release Kim Sunwoo Release Kim Sunwoo Release Kim Sunwoo Release Kim Sunwoo]
[Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~]
[LOL is this that famous EGOSTIC? Wonder if there are Eng subs]
[Fuck, the chat is going crazy. Hahahaha.]
[It's nice to see him after 4 months. Hahahaha]
[What's he gonna do this time?]
[Mango punch! Mango punch! Mango punch! Mango punch! Mango punch! Mango punch! Mango punch! Mango punch!]
[What is that hat he's wearing? Hahahahahaha.]
[韓国ビランのレベル[1]www 私たちの大日本帝国に比べて劣る[2]wwww]
[The Hero Association is crying while prepping the company dinner. Hahahaha.]
[Fuck, even foreigners are watching now. Hahahaha. Look at the comments.]
[So where is that??????]
"Nice to meet you, everyone. Yes, I'm at Mapo Bridge. Wow, it's nice to be at the Han River after a long time. I debuted here, at the Han River. It feels like yesterday that I caused that terror attack, but it's already been almost a year? Time really flies."
[Was it already a year ago?]
[He did one in spring, and it's already winter.]
[A year with Mangostic. Hahahahaha.]
[There's a brat who hid for 4 months of that year.]
[He caused three large-scale terror attacks in a year. Fuck. Hahahahaha.]
[I guess he's doing something today—if we count this, it'll be the fourth!]
[You… villain… You bad guy…!~~ How dare you show your face…! You brat]
[The elder knows how to type on YouTube.]
"Anyway, ta-da! Situation brief: there's a bomb on Mapo Bridge below me! Heroes and the Association—if you pull anything stupid… you know what happens, right?"
Egostic shook the detonator toward the camera.
[Entering the 516,731,461st season of detonation.]
[He's always carrying a bomb.]
[I heard civil servants test explosives every morning, noon, and night after the last ship bombing.]
[Why would civil servants do that? They'll hire part-timers.]
[Mangostic creates jobs.]
[Am I the only one who sees how beautiful Mango is? Isn't he too sexy?]
[Mango oppa, I'm gonna die TTT]
[I'm going to die. Fuck, I'm on Mapo Bridge.]
[Fuck, isn't that brat in danger up there? Hahahaha.]
"Ahem. Heroes, if you don't want a broken bridge, you'd better keep your distance. Honestly, Stardust is the only hero who can stop me, right?"
He coughed lightly and continued.
"Yes, I recommend you stay away. I'm a little impatient, so I don't know what I'll do if I see you."
He thumbed the detonator again, a warning.
[Stardust's Retirement Announcement…]
Then he paused, just for a beat.
His mouth opened again, as if nothing had happened.
"Everyone—oh, before that, wait a sec. Hmm… wait a minute. Bang!"
A loud roar boomed from both ends of the bridge as he spoke.
At the same time, something collapsed to block both approaches.
He pulled a giant loudspeaker from somewhere and shouted at the cars on the bridge below:
"To everyone on Mapo Bridge!!! Please just stop right there!!! If you try anything weird, I'll shoot you right away!!"
As Egostic warned them, cars slowed and rolled to a stop.
Because he hadn't attacked immediately and gave them some time, there weren't many cars left.
Only two vehicles—those that missed the broadcasts—remained together.
Having said his piece, Egostic tossed the loudspeaker aside and grinned at the camera.
"Sorry. Terrorism's more fun with an audience. I paused to cast a couple of on-site guests."
[He grabbed people who were escaping just fine and 'invited' them as guests. Fuck Hahaha.]
[Crazy brat… Crazy brat… Crazy brat… Crazy brat…]
[What did the people in those two cars even do? Hahaha]
[No one's died in his attacks before, so it's fine.]
[Isn't it a reward? A thrilling, exciting terror experience!]
[I should've gone.]
[I can't tell if the world's weird or I am whenever I read these comments.]
[You're weird.]
"Yes, yes. Now that we're set, let's chat."
The hype music cut out.
Suspenseful "white tower" background music swelled in.
Egostic spoke in a news-anchor tone.
"Everyone, do you know my name? Yes—Egostic. By the way, do you know where my name came from?"
"'Egoistic,' as in selfish, in English. Why did I pick it? Because I became a villain to prove how selfish humans are."
[He read The Selfish Gene too hard wwww]
[Who decided 'The Selfish Gene' is a must-read for teens?]
[It's Richard Dawkins' fault.]
"Well, anyway, I'm here to live up to my name. How selfish are humans? Let's run an experiment! If humans are selfish, I win. If humans aren't as selfish as I think, I lose."
Viewers froze at the scope of what he was saying.
He wants to test selfishness? How?
Whether they wondered or not, Egostic kept going.
"This bridge—Mapo Bridge. Big. Beautiful. How much did it cost to build? Tens of billions? Hundreds?"
Casually, he asked the price of Mapo Bridge.
"But with all that money, citizens use it conveniently, right? Without it, traffic would choke."
Then his eyes slid back to the camera with an evil smile.
He spoke:
"Here's how today's attack works."
"It's simple. Send me your bank account—address, link, or text—and I'll give you $100."
"I've already hacked every network, so don't worry about getting caught. If you're 19 or older in Korea, send me your account. I'll send you $100. No questions asked. Free money."
"However."
"By 7:00 PM tonight, if more than five million people take $100 from me…"
"I'm going to blow this bridge—along with the people on it."
"Everyone, make your choice."
"Free $100? Or I blow the bridge."
"Are humans altruistic enough to give up a measly $100 for others? Or are you selfish and take the money, consequences be damned?"
"Well, we'll find out today."
"So! Presenting a new-concept, nation-participation terror attack. Will you choose the bridge, or a hundred bucks of stimulus cash? 'The Nation's Choice: 1 vs 10.' We begin—now!!!"
Loud applause swelled in the background.
The video ended with Egostic smiling and waving at the camera, the bridge behind him.
After that, a blank screen listed every method to send accounts to Egostic—sites, phone numbers, KakaoTalk, blogs, Twitter.
At the top, a countdown ticked to 7:00 PM.
[8h 56m 45s]
[8h 56m 44s]
[8h 56m 43s]
…
Before that quiet video, someone typed the comment that seized everyone's chest:
[This is crazy.]
Just like that, on an ordinary day in South Korea, the [Big Money Era] began.
***
"..."
From the riverside vantage where everything was visible,
Stardust clenched her teeth, watching the police cordon the area, blocking entry, bracing for a standoff.
Egostic.
She knew he'd strike again someday.
But she hadn't expected this.
Staring at the bridge, she felt… awful.
Of course—he was terrorizing the public like this.
…This wasn't the first time he hadn't called her out during an attack.
Of course not. And it shouldn't matter whether he called her or not.
She didn't care about that.
She definitely wasn't concerned about that.
She repeated it to herself.
"….."
Ha. But—
Until now, he'd always called for her.
Why tell her specifically not to come this time?
"I can't believe it…"
She muttered to herself—words no one else would ever hear.
Even so—
Last time, he called her to save the plane.
Would he do the same this time?
She doubted he'd ever truly exclude her.
She kept turning it over.
She didn't even know why she did. Such useless thoughts.
***
"Da-in, are you going to mention Stardust in this terror attack?"
"Hm? Uh, I'm not. If we blow the bridge, she can just fly in and lift out the cars. This one isn't a Stardust trial, so there's no need to call her."
Stardust would probably prefer it if he didn't bother her.
[1] TN: Translation "Korean Villain Level"
[2] TN: Translation "Inferior to our Empire of Japan". BN: DONT SHOOT ME I JUST TRANSLATE