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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Behemoth is Coming
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The next morning.
"Are you really okay now?"
"Uh-huh. Yeah, I told you I'm feeling better again."
"That's strange... There's no way you could get better in just one day... Are you just pretending to be fine because you don't want to go to the hospital?"
In the living room, I told them that I felt better after waking up.
But since no one believed me, I showed them by zipping around the entire room with teleportation. Seriously, what was I doing first thing in the morning...
"What... It looks like you really are fine?"
"H-huh. I told you so. Were you born yesterday?"
"That's weird... How did you get better in just one day?"
Everyone seemed puzzled that I, who had been coughing up blood and dying just yesterday, was suddenly full of vigor, but my 'what's good is good' attitude seemed to smooth things over.
Only Hayul, who was stroking her younger brother's head and happily saying it was a relief, was quietly smiling.
She seemed to be in a better mood today. Honestly, yesterday she turned into a monster consumed by 새벽감성, which was a bit scary... I felt a little sorry when she was feeling so guilty and blaming herself.
Then again, even though she looks like a grown adult, she's still only a second-year high school student. Oh, since the year changes next month, will she be a third-year now?
Come to think of it, Seoeun is a third-year middle school student now, so she'll be a high school student next month. Her actions still seem like a middle schooler, though. Tsk.
Anyway, since it was daylight, I decided to receive a report on the results of the last terrorist attack.
Subin-ssi had organized all the data. But seriously, she's seemed so busy taking care of three kids lately, when did she even do all this?
In conclusion, the results of my recent terrorist attack were as follows.
The complete collapse of Mapo Bridge.
Apparently, I blew up everything from the pillars clean off, making it disappear as if there had never been a bridge there at all. They say it's unclear how many years it will take to clear all the debris and build a new bridge.
Good. Perfect.
Now, that crazy black tentacle monster won't be able to charge head-on and turn Seoul into a wasteland, like in the comics.
Just thinking about that guy, who doesn't know what fear is and will gleefully charge forward only to plummet straight into the Han River, already makes me happy. Ah, on that day, I'll definitely get out the popcorn and watch it live.
The beginning of a ruinous life? Not a chance! I'll eliminate any elements that could turn my life into a tragedy in advance. For Stardust's sake, and for my own.
Anyway, they say it'll be hard to even restore a single pillar of Mapo Bridge, let alone the whole thing, for about three more years, so you could say all preparations are perfect.
That incident, as I recall, happens next March, so about four months from now. Just in case I misremember the timing or the incident happens earlier, like with Hayul's recruitment, I made sure to destroy it thoroughly. Now there's nothing to fear!
So, my goal of destroying the bridge was perfectly accomplished.
I also heard some unexpected news.
"What? A lot more people are badmouthing me?"
"Yes, Oppa. Now, public opinion is practically all against you."
"No... Well, I guess I can take the insults since my goal was to become a terrifying villain from the start. But suddenly? They praised me even when I tried to destroy ships, tied tracks to trains, and dropped airplanes, so why now?"
They stayed silent when I tried to massacre 50 people at my whim, but this time, it was even a public participation vote, so why?
"Here's how it happened..."
The story Seoeun told me was truly absurd.
While I was carrying out the terrorist attack, everyone was saying, 'Hehe, 100,000 won, easy money,' but when I concluded that 7 million people had taken the 100,000 won, people were apparently quite shocked.
Everyone who had said that there was no way 5 million people could participate in such a short time, or that at most a million might, all shut their mouths and feigned ignorance.
As a result, it proved that humans are selfish, just as I had said.
But then, things got a bit strange.
Foreign countries started reporting on this incident in their own news.
Reporting on this incident that occurred in Korea, a small peninsula nation in the East, they stated that '7 million Koreans actively participated in causing a terrorist attack for their own benefit,' and spread news with a desolate nuance, calling it the disappearance of humanism.
In short, it meant that Korea had become a bit of a disgrace. Foreign netizens also clicked their tongues, saying, 'Look at those selfish people.'
On top of that, the 'K-Pride TV' channels experienced cognitive dissonance. They were supposed to bring in 'Korea is great' comments from foreign communities to make videos, but since there was nothing but insults against Korea, they were greatly shocked.
In response, the K-Pride TV channels, failing to live up to their name, began uploading videos uniformly lambasting Egoistic, fueled by anger towards him for causing all this.
The general conclusion was that these reactions from foreigners were all due to Egoistic, a heinous and immoral scoundrel, and that the citizens of South Korea were merely victims who had been manipulated by his tricks.
These baseless and illogical videos quickly spread, primarily among the middle-aged and older generation who had been distressed by the foreign news...
Reporters then picked up on this and mass-produced articles, ultimately concluding that they had been victimized by Egoistic, who shamelessly toyed with human hearts.
In truth, blaming Egoistic entirely for something they could have avoided by simply not taking the money was truly a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
As a result, Egoistic, who had been somewhat likable, suddenly became a traitor.
"Uh..."
I was a bit dumbfounded after hearing all that.
Yes, it was true that I had been flustered by the public opinion favoring me after I became a villain.
So I had thought I wanted to be insulted to become a proper true villain.
But for it to happen in this way, it's quite funny.
"Hmm, well. Since it happened because of the terrorist attack I planned and instigated, I guess it is my fault, in the end...?"
"How is that your fault, Oppa! They themselves did it, 7 million of them, and now they're blaming you? That makes no sense. Did you instigate anything or what?"
"That's right! Hyung isn't at fault!"
Chayun, Hayul's younger brother, who had just come out after getting a drink of water, also passed by and defended me. Haha...
"Tsk... But then, is the Mango Squad gone now? Did even those who were part of the Mango Squad turn their backs on me?"
"Oh, the Mango Squad? No. They actually united even more."
"United?"
What's this about now?
"Do you think people only insulted you, Oppa? Of course, they insulted the people who supported you too. So, instead, they rallied together and united among themselves. Look."
Really?
I turned on my phone and went into Egoistic's official fan cafe.
I went to the popular posts section and looked at the list of articles, and the titles seemed to be burning brightly.
*
[Why are they taking the money themselves and then insulting our Mango?]
[They took 100,000 won from Mango and then shut their mouths and cursed him, lol]
[Why don't they just admit they're selfish instead of picking on Mango?]
[Just taught a lesson to the kids badmouthing our Mango Oppa at school (with proof)]
[Thumbs up if you find it disgusting how people are dragging Egoistic down with them, lolololol]
[Real-time E-ta from our school... What is this guy?]
*
"Hmm..."
I let out a groan, looking at the list of popular posts.
Just a quick glance at the top was enough to see it was a total mess.
"Ha. Of course, I'm not saying you did well, Oppa, but it's ridiculous how they're unilaterally pushing all the blame onto you."
Seoeun, who had been sitting on the sofa looking at my phone with me from behind, soon flopped backward onto it.
"Oppa. You broke the bridge this time because the HanEun Group kids in front of that bridge were experimenting and something monstrous was going to come out, right? Because if a monster appeared, it would definitely cross that bridge?"
"Huh? Uh, right."
"Ha. I'm curious to see what will happen if it really goes the way you say, Oppa."
Seoeun said, grinning a wicked smile.
"So, if you really do stop the monster because of what you did, what kind of reaction do you think people will have then?"
Oh?
Right.
I had momentarily forgotten, seeing all the insults directed at me, but if that monster, like a skyscraper, plunges into the Han River, the entire nation will witness it. There's no way it could be hidden.
Well, people's reactions will probably be funny then. No, wait, maybe they'll become my strong supporters? I bet they'll support my claim that 'it was a coincidence.' Otherwise, they'd look like fools.
Well, that's a story for another time.
I just spent my time watching the news and relaxing. Until the 'Black Monster Plunge' incident, I'll just stay home, making plans and chilling.
Just as I was browsing the internet news, a headline suddenly caught my eye.
[HanEun Group Technical Advisor Kim Sun-woo Released on Parole After Sentencing.]
"Oh."
I exclaimed out loud.
Finally, that guy is out of jail, just like in the original story.
The guy who was the starting point of all these events.
The primary person responsible for the downfall of the HanEun Group.
And the one who pushed the 'Black Monster' project, the very reason I had to destroy the bridge.
"Now that he's out, it's only a matter of time."
Something big is coming.
***
Seoul. Beneath the Han River.
Inside a deep underground laboratory, researchers in white lab coats bowed in unison.
"Dr. Kim Sun-woo. Welcome back."
"Uh. That's enough. Lead the way."
"Yes, sir!"
The person who made everyone bow was a man in a lab coat, wearing glasses, with a gaunt face and thinning hair.
He was the technical advisor for the HanEun Group.
And the final supervisor and person in charge of the secretly ongoing project, 'Trans-Human.'
Kim Sun-woo.
"First, report on the others later. How complete is 'that'?"
"It's almost completely finished. It also seems to be gradually developing intelligence now."
"Good, good. Let's see."
Other researchers guided him as he walked forward, tapping on a tablet.
After continuously passing through dark corridors and dozens of steel doors,
they emerged into a wide-open space, like a massive auditorium, unbelievable for being underground.
There, where countless researchers were busily moving, stood an enormous tank, too large to be fully taken in by the naked eye.
One wall of the open space was not a wall but glass. This entire vast area, excluding where the researchers were, was one enormous tank.
The tank was filled not with water, but with some kind of pale green chemical substance.
Dr. Kim Sun-woo quietly walked forward and placed his hand on the glass wall of the tank, which was dozens of times taller than himself.
"Currently, the condition of Behemoth Beta is extremely stable."
"Yes, yes. So that's how it is..."
He gazed into the tank with a wistful look.
Inside the green tank, a black mass of tentacles, roughly the size of a large house, was coiled up, writhing faintly.
"...Soon, I will complete you. Behemoth."
The doctor gazed into the tank with burning eyes.
His eyes were purely ablaze with madness.
***
"Yep~ Behemoth is scheduled for an instant plunge into the Han River, right? Five years of research will be useless, and the company is going to fail, right?"
"Oppa. Where on earth did you learn such strange ways of speaking? That's internet broadcast slang, isn't it!"
I was scolded by Seoeun to use proper Korean, after I had been excitedly muttering to myself upon seeing the news of Kim Sun-woo's release.
It was a situation where a middle schooler was scolding an adult, telling them not to use frivolous slang and to speak more seriously.
...Is this right? I've seen adults scolding middle schoolers to speak properly, but the reverse...
No, Seoeun, this is good advice for you too.
Of course, my protests were ignored.
So unfair.