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Reddit's arrogance in all but ignoring the mods needs has resulted in only harming our users. This sub went dark due to the terrible handling of Reddit's API pricing changes and policy decisions. /Save3rdPartyApps/. Under duress and for the benefit of our users, we are reopening the Subreddit despite this issue not being resolved.
Disclaimer: I do not speak Korean. This is purely translated by machine with a lot of cleanup afterward. With that in mind, I am open to criticism to improve these translations. Enjoy!
Chapter 428
I pushed myself upright, exhaling the breath I’d been holding.
"Ah, fuck. I thought I was going to die from frustration."
Pretending to be comatose for four days had tested the limits of my patience.
It was a feat made no easier by the slew of cutting-edge medical devices surrounding me.
'It was also an awkward time to return to Murim.'
After all, returning meant nothing more than idly watching the Yangtze's waters from a ship's deck.
It was better to wrap up affairs in the modern world. With the System at my disposal, I've got plenty of time.
Crack, crack.
Flexing my stiff neck elicited chuckles from Mr. Choi.
"It would be chaos if people saw this on CCTV."
"That's a scary thought. If there were cameras in here, I would have just killed myself to avoid the trouble."
Fortunately, there was no CCTV to witness, and my life remained intact.
Actually, thanks to the brainwave detection device strapped to my head, alerting medical staff the moment consciousness returned, CCTV was virtually redundant.
"Out of curiosity, how did you manage to fool that machine?"
I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Hm? The brainwave detector? It's not exactly a machine."
"Oh?"
"It's technically a machine, but its core power source turned out to be a magic stone."
"So, you manipulated it with mana... I mean, with Qi?"
"Yes, I caused it to malfunction a bit. It wasn't too hard to manage."
Now that I had unlocked my middle dantian, my control over Qi had greatly improved.
If I couldn’t outsmart the few medical devices, I would have gone to check the temperature of the Han River out of frustration. [Note: the Han River is well-known for being a suicide hot spot, so much so that a common Korean saying for committing suicide is "visiting the Han River" or "checking the Han River's temperature". Fun fact: the
namu.wiki page for the Han River has a link that you can press to check the current temperature.]
"By the way, how do you think the situation with Wu Hei-Xing will turn out? From what Grandpa General Receptionist says, it seems he was prepared." [Note: see novel chapter 384 for an explanation for this reference. This is something that the MC used to call the General Secretary of China.]
"For the fiftieth time, it's not Grandpa General Receptionist, it's President Shao."
"Why not? It sounds friendly and nice."
"..."
Mr. Choi shook his head and retrieved an apple from the nearby fruit basket.
With a knife that looked like a luxury item, he deftly peeled it and offered it to me.
"You probably don't need to worry about the Wu Hei-Xing issue. The general public is on our side, and it seems President Shao has sharpened his knife for it."
"President Shao? To be honest, he seemed a bit soft."
Crunch. I bit into the crisp apple, its sweetness exploding in my mouth.
If President Shao had been as tough as this apple, the Princelings wouldn’t still be entrenched at the heart of power.
As though he had read my thoughts, Mr. Choi chimed in.
"Did you know that President Shao was once branded a reactionary and spent five years laboring in a pig slaughterhouse?"
"Really?"
"He aimed for political reform after the Great Cataclysm but became a target of the Princelings. And look where he is now."
His implication was crystal clear.
Bearing personal vendettas against the Princelings and having weathered severe trials, he had ascended to the pinnacle of power. His resolve was unyielding.
"A knife that has been long sharpened must be swung when the time comes. To the Princelings, President Shao is now a formidable swordsman."
"What about Wu Hei-Xing's father then..."
"Considering his political stance and the public sympathy for Wu Hei-Xing, execution would be too harsh. He'll probably end up in a political prison or at the slaughterhouse. But given his age, he’ll likely spend the rest of his life wherever he ends up."
From Wu Hei-Xing to his father.
Thus concludes the tale of father and son.
Somehow, this apple tasted sweeter than usual today.
I grinned, wiping the juice from my lips.
"Lying down for four days was worth it."
As Mr. Choi began peeling another apple and extended it towards me, he responded.
"Your judgment was correct, Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung. If the media had known you woke up within half a day, you couldn't have avoided their scrutiny."
According to Mr. Choi, Lee Jeong-Ryong, whose body was never found, was considered certainly dead, and Wu Hei-Xing, whose neck had broken, was found as a gruesome corpse after the battle.
Had I appeared unscathed so swiftly, I would have been fodder for a scandal-hungry press.
"Mr. Jin Tae-Kyung, when you first woke up, even I couldn’t find my composure... Did you anticipate this before dealing with those two?"
I paused, biting into the apple again.
"I hadn't thought that far."
"Really?"
“No, I was just exhausted and my head was pounding, so I didn't want to deal with any of the fallout. If it got out that I was awake, it would have created chaos, both internally and externally.”
"..."
"Why?"
Mr. Choi’s expression turned to one of betrayal, then he looked away quietly.
"...No reason."
"Relax your face. If the result is good, that's all that matters."
My words rang true as events began to tilt remarkably in our favor.
Beyond resolving the complexities with Wu Hei-Xing and the Princelings, we had lawfully neutralized Lee Jeong-Ryong, our most formidable obstacle, and thwarted the Arch Lich, averting a bigger disaster.
The wave of global accolades and commendations that ensued was merely icing on the cake.
The notifications heralding my escalating fame came so frequently they nearly drove me mad.
Like right now.
Ding.
- The world's attention is focused on you!
- Your fame has greatly increased!
- There is too much information to process. Future fame-related notifications will be delivered monthly.
"…You should have done this sooner, damn thing."
At my muttered exclamation, Mr. Choi looked puzzled.
"Huh?"
"Oh, it's nothing. How's my family doing?"
Earlier, under a special mandate from President Shao Yang, my mother and Ha-Yeon had been flown to China on a chartered plane, welcomed with treatment befitting dignitaries and escorted by a fleet of jets.
"You don't have to worry. Your mother is resting comfortably, and your younger sister is..."
"You don't need to tell me about her. I'm sure she's fine."
"…Ah, yes."
I couldn't keep the secret from my family any longer, so I had discreetly informed them through Mr. Choi that I was unharmed and already awake, though I dreaded the impending first family visit.
'A couple of back smacks won't be the end of it.'
Facing thousands of monsters would be easier.
I could hardly fathom the confrontation that awaited. After all, with every fuck-around, the find-out is always lurking right around the corner. I was the one who hopped on a plane to China and had only notified my mother through a text in our family group chat.
"Team Leader Choi."
"Yes."
"You absolutely must not leave during the family visitation. Understand?"
"…?"
"Promise me. You have to stay by my side."
"Ah, got it."
And two hours later.
"You son of a bitch! You little rascal!"
"Gasp, Mom!"
"Jin Tae-Kyung!"
With a cry that was part wail, part shriek - the likes of which I’d never heard before — my mother launched herself at us. Mr. Choi, attempting to intercept her, was the first casualty of her onslaught.
"Calm down, Ma'am..."
"Move! Out of my way!!"
Swoosh! Rip!
"Ouch! Hey!"
"Hey, Jin Tae-Kyung-!"
In a stroke of ill-fated coincidence, a bold, recently graduated high schooler’s kick landed with pinpoint accuracy between his legs.
Thump!
"…Uh."
"…Ah."
With eyes wide, Mr. Choi spoke in a ghostly whisper.
"My special underwear, impervious to heat and frost and enchanted with a semi-permanent cleaning spell..."
Goodbye, Mr. Choi.
You should have enchanted it with a strengthening spell instead.
Thud, flop.
As I silently honored the fallen warrior, brought to his knees by agony, I steeled myself for what was to come.
'Inventory open. Equip Fire Dragon Armor.'
I felt the armor snugly encase my chest, stomach, and back beneath the hospital gown. Closing my eyes, I braced myself.
Then, unexpectedly, a palm struck my cheek.
Swoosh!
Ah, wait. A slap was not part of my calculations…
* * *
I regained consciousness a week later.
That was the official story, anyway.
After a week filled with exhaustive examinations and numerous follow-ups, I faced a sea of cheering fans and media at a brief press conference.
「Mr. Jin, we've filtered out any problematic journalists, so please respond to questions from the pre-selected reporters.」
However, despite the precautions set by President Shao before the press conference, several reporters, hungry for a sensational story, swarmed like bees.
「Mr. Jin! There have been reports that you had a poor relationship with Wu Hei-Xing, who died in the recent battle. Is this true?」
I gestured towards the security team attempting to restrain an insistent foreign journalist and responded.
"I've already explained everything during the investigation, but I'll tell you again. It's all true."
Snap!
A flurry of camera flashes and a crescendo of chatter ensued. One Chinese journalist, smiling with evident malice, pressed for further details.
「What was the reason?」
"That kid had no manners from our first meeting."
「What exactly...?」
"He cursed at me, calling me a bangzi. So I called him a jjanggae bastard, and then he attacked me after the meeting." [Note: a quick reminder since it's been a while: bangzi is a Chinese ethnic slur for Koreans. It is originally "Gaoli bangzi" but has been shortened in this sentence. It originated from the word for "helper", as numerous servants would accompany Korean diplomatic missions to China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. These servants gained a bad reputation for petty crimes during this time period. Jjanggae is a derogatory term for Chinese people from the word "Jang Gwe", which means a person who manages a store's safe box. During the Imo Military Rebellion, low-status Han Chinese were brought by Qing dynasty's Manchu soldiers to Korea for menial tasks and, left stranded after the soldiers were mobilized for war against France, turned to running small-scale prostitution and restaurants during and after the Japanese colonial period to make a living. With no protections for their identities in Korea, these individuals' reverence for money stored in chests morphed into a term broadly referring to Chinese people and Chinese food establishments.]
The smile swiftly faded from the Chinese journalist’s face.
「Jjanggae! That's derogatory towards Chinese people!」
"Ah, I see."
With a casual nod, I signaled to the security officers.
"Please escort that jjanggae bastard out."
「Let me go! This is suppression of the press!」
"Please suppress that bastard's mouth. I'll talk with Chinese people, but I don’t talk with jjanggae. He's just like that bastard Wu Hei-Xing."
At that moment, another journalist, also Chinese, raised a question from the crowd.
「So, did you have further conflicts with Wu Hei-Xing after that?」
"There wasn't really a conflict; after I gave him a beating in true Korean style, he quieted down. After that, we got along fairly well."
「Then...」
"Yes."
I continued, my tone grave.
"Wu Hei-Xing was killed by the Arch Lich. There was no time to intervene, and I survived thanks to the Top-grade potion he left behind. I offer my condolences for his death once again."
There, the necessary condolences offered.
Admit what must be acknowledged, mend what can be salvaged. Regardless of Wu Hei-Xing’s actions in life or the nature of his character, confessing to his murder would complicate my future endeavors.
'Few would believe if I said Lee Jeong-Ryong lured Wu Hei-Xing into a plot.'
Inconvenient truths are often ignored.
Knowing that my next line would be better received with an expression of deep sorrow, I conjured the image of a 100T USB containing the treasures of all humanity disappearing. With that, tears naturally flowed heavily down my face. [Note: It's porn. It's always porn.]
"And most importantly, the hero of the Great Cataclysm and a senior I respected more than anyone. I feel profound sadness at the death of Hunter Lee Jeong-Ryong. He was a truly good person."
「Ah...」
The mood at the press conference momentarily grew solemn. I wiped the tears from my cheeks, gearing up to deliver one final, rehearsed statement.
"Although brief, the moments we shared will forever remain with me. I extend my deepest condolences to all who perished in this conflict. I regret that I could not save even one more soul."
A statement that silenced any further criticism.
This press conference, surprisingly brief given the weight of the circumstances, spanned just over thirty minutes. It was transmitted live across the globe via radio and cable networks; and on YouTube alone, it captivated an audience of three billion in real time.
Before the echoes of my words could even begin to fade, I set out to find someone.
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