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Translated by BiasNil
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Whether the bridge collapses or people die, the public is still ignorant and wants to receive $100.
A special event to alert them and stimulate their guilt!
I will interview people who will die if they receive $100!
I walked toward the first target—the car.
The camera I'm holding with my telekinesis was following me around, filming the whole scene.
All right, the preparation is perfect. Probably.
"Knock, knock. Can you open the window?"
I knocked on the window, and it slid down.
Looking through the lowered window, I saw a healthy-looking man in his 20s.
Phew, luckily he wasn't some weird guy. If it's suddenly North Sea Ice Women or someone like that riding in this car, that's going to be a problem. Such a relief.
"Oh, hello! You're holding up really well. Can you introduce yourself?"
I naturally hosted like a recreation host.
If you threaten and scare them in situations like this, the atmosphere becomes cold for no reason. That's when you naturally go over the line.
Fortunately, the man responded.
"Yes, hello. My name is Choi Young-jin."
The man answered me in a firm tone.
Oh my… but—
Somehow he sounds very confident?
He's caught up in the middle of a terrorist attack but doesn't seem afraid of dying.
Even with a terrorist in front of him who could kill him, I don't see his body trembling.
He wasn't scared at all—that's what I felt.
I mean, more than that… why do his eyes look so sparkling?
I took the opportunity and asked him.
It's fascinating somehow.
"Yes, Choi Young-jin. Nice to meet you. By the way, Young-jin, you don't seem scared at all. Don't you feel anxious?"
"Haha. Anxious?"
The man laughed as if I'd said something weird.
Then he looked into my eyes and answered clearly, eyes sparkling.
"There's nothing to worry about. Unless five million people get paid, this bridge and I will be safe, right? I believe them. The people of Korea. My beloved country is bound by the strong affection of the Korean people, who do not give up humanity for a little capital. I'm not going to die, so why should I be scared?"
His eyes looked so bright as he answered.
Ugh, his eyes.
Innocent! So innocent!
It's like there's a halo in his eyes—stop it!
Is this belief in humanity or something?
I blinked.
I don't know about my past life, but I don't think these Koreans are in that kind of mood at all…
As both the organizer of this terrorist attack and a citizen of South Korea, my conscience was stabbed.
I can't believe there's such a pure person in the world.
And as I looked at the chat window, I felt I wasn't the only one whose conscience hurt.
[Oh, haha.]
[I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.]
[What the… Why is my heart in pain?]
[This keeps poking my conscience right now. Did I get cancer?]
[No. That's the pain from your conscience. That means you're becoming human.]
[$100… I already got it…]
[I was thinking about whether to take it or not, but I decided not to.]
[I won't take it. It can't be compared to a person's life.]
[Why aren't you guys taking it? You're making me, who took it, the bad guy.]
[(Fact) Those who got it are the bad guys.]
[I'm sorry…]
Well, the atmosphere isn't bad though.
I actually wanted to see people trembling in fear of death.
So I was looking forward to scenes of people feeling guilty watching it…
Well, anyway, the conclusion is that they won't get paid, so will it matter?
To be honest, I think the fewer people who get paid, the better.
Why? Because I'm just going to lie and explode the bridge no matter whether it's over five million people or not.
…
Well.
It can't be helped. Life is a gamble.
I can't just be like, "Oh… only four million people took it! Then I'll step down," if it doesn't hit five million… I can't be like that! If I don't blow up this bridge, the world… I mean, this Korean society… will descend into a mess together. I have to break things down first.
And even if there are over five million people, who can make me prove it? Are you going to ask me to open the account list of the people who got the money? Then the millions who received it will protect me. I'm trying to protect myself.
And honestly, it's a waste of money.
Of course, I do have a lot of money you can't even imagine. It's about a year's budget for a nation. After falling into this world, I wandered around, and until I met Seo-eun, I made money using knowledge of the original comic all day long. I stole money from a corrupt U.S. company, found hidden money that a villain in another country couldn't spend and spent it… Of course, there was some help from Seo-eun, but anyway.
I have a lot of money, but burning more than $500 million at a time is a little burdensome.
Capital becomes quite important in the future, but it seems like I'm burning a little too much…
Even the money that I worked hard to grind out with the macro is now decreasing by billions of dollars per minute. So I think I went too far.
Ugh. It still rings in my ears—Seo-eun nagging me about how I spend money like water. Ha-yul passed out while counting thousands of trillion with her fingers. Hmm.
Anyway, the bottom line is that people are entitled to moderate amounts of money.
Honestly, I thought it would be less than a million in total. I mean, I gave them a short period, but it's a relief that it's over a million people.
But the people of this world easily exceeded my expectations, as always.
[Da-in, more than three million people have already received money.]
[…What?]
I remembered the call from Seo-eun earlier.
Gosh, people! Did you really throw your conscience to the bottom of the Han River?
Why are you working so hard on this kind of thing…?
Anyway, this is why I was heartbroken by Choi Young-jin's pure words.
I'm sorry! The people of Korea you believe in… have already betrayed you and gone for the money…!!
I couldn't tell him now, with his eyes shining with faith and trust in front of me.
I can't do this…
"Ahem. I see. Thank you, Mr. Choi Young-jin, who believes in Korea. Do you have any last words?"
He looked at the camera and spoke with conviction.
"People of South Korea. I believe in you. You'll help me get home safe, won't you? I will always love you. Way to go, Korea!"
Now, look at the camera and strike a fighting pose.
Well, I'm dizzy.
Let's run away.
"Yes! Thank you. Shall we move on to the next person?"
Just when I was about to pull out in a hurry—
"Wait!!!"
"What?"
The shout came from inside the car.
What is it?
"What's wrong?"
"Mr. Villain, did you say Egostic?"
"Yes, and?"
"I've been starving for four hours now. Apparently, I'm going to starve for another four hours. Do you have anything to eat?"
He was asking me for food with a confident look.
I've never seen this kind of character in my life…
But you know what's funnier?
Come to think of it, I did bring some food to hand out. I forgot.
"Oh, wait a minute."
I teleported to get the bag I'd left somewhere on the road.
Yeah, here it is.
Guns, tear gas, microphone—everything I need in the Ego-bag.
I teleported back to the front of the car with it.
"Wait a minute—oh, here it is. Have some cream bread."
"Oh, thank you."
The man took the bread with a grin.
That's very nice.
[What's this? Hahahahaha.]
[He asked the terrorist who caused the terrorism for food, and the terrorist gave him bread he'd prepared. Hahaha. Is this for real?]
[Feeling dizzy. Fuck. Hahahahaha.]
[Is he really a villain? Hahahaha.]
[Mangostic is a hero who does villain stuff as a hobby.]
[There's a deep meaning behind him trying to break down the bridge.]
[The villain next door who buys food. Hahaha.]
Anyway, I'm done with this car for now.
I trudged along to the next car.
Phew… We didn't talk much, but I'm already exhausted.
"Okay, I'm going to meet the next hostage. I'm also looking forward to who'll welcome me this time."
I talked to the camera as I walked to the next car.
I hope it'll be normal this time.
Some, uh… scared people. Don't people feel nervous and scared when they're being held hostage by a terrorist?
With such hope, I walked to the car.
Unlike the previous car with a single man, this one was a big SUV.
Oh, there's a little more hope.
Isn't this a family heading somewhere? Parents in fear, trying to protect their children… It's perfect to stir up people's guilt.
Please, let me save some money.
But as I approached the SUV, I realized my hopes were increasingly futile.
The closer I got to the car, the clearer the faint sound of music became.
It was some exciting rock music.
…Somehow I feel anxious.
But I was a professional, so first I knocked on the door.
"Knock knock. Hello. Can you lower the window?"
As soon as I knocked, the window slid down.
At the same time, a loud metal sound hit my ears.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Mangostic!"
"Oh, my. This is real. This is crazy."
"I'm your fan, Mangostic!"
"Mango! Mango! Mango! Mango!"
The female college students shouted in unison.
…I'm losing my mind, seriously.