Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

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Chapter 324: Special Planet (6)

—What’s this, are we just supposed to fight every other company?

Jiseon asked, glancing at the warning sign. Yeongwoo scratched his chin.

“If I can settle things with words, I’d rather do that. It’d be easier on both body and mind.”

But the adversaries were Mara and Lemu.

Mara had a deep-seated grudge against his brothers, and Lemu was not on good terms with Dogo, their sponsor.

“I don’t think we can avoid a war with Mara,”

Yeongwoo said.

—Why?

Jiseon asked.

“It’s about avenging my brothers. It’s a contract obligation.”

—Then I suppose it can’t be helped.

Jiseon accepted the answer without further questioning since it was about contract compliance.

No matter how reckless or impossible a task seemed, she had to see it through if she had agreed to it at the time of the contract.

This was one of businesswoman Song Jiseon’s iron rules.

—By ‘your brothers,’ you mean them, right?

Song Jiseon asked, subtly gesturing with her greatsword toward Bantubangtong in front of the war memorial.

Yeongwoo nodded.

“Yes. They’re the ones I’ll keep going forward with. They even built that bridge…”

—So you’ve been working them so hard based on your promise to avenge them?

“Yes.”

—You’ve burdened yourself with an enormous weight, kid. Never base a business on ‘hatred.’ The same goes for revenge.

“Why not? After all, revenge is about exerting power for the victim’s sake, isn’t it?”

—But isn’t hatred the driving force through both the process and outcome? Hatred is unpredictable; it can change form, nature, and direction with the slightest push.

Jiseon wasn’t just talking about how revenge breeds more revenge.

She was pointing out the instability it brings to business.

—Do you think anyone can bear the burden of hatred? When hopeful expectations are shattered, they end in disappointment, but when hatred is thwarted, it only breeds more hatred.

“You mean, if I fail in my revenge, my brothers might end up hating me?”

—It could be even worse. Depending on the situation, they might hate you even if you succeed.

With that, Jiseon dispelled her ice greatsword.

Shwiiing!

—What matters is not running a business based on hatred. If you work that way, you won’t last long.

As Jiseon gave her advice in a solemn tone, Yeongwoo’s expression shifted to one of smug defiance.

“But weren’t you just trying to kill me a moment ago, acting like the very embodiment of hatred?”

—You little brat! I’m trying to calm down now, aren’t I?!

“Well then, I’d appreciate if your actions matched your words.”

Yeongwoo, though wearing a mocking expression, actually took her words to heart because they made sense.

‘So violence is acceptable, I suppose? After all, that’s a business fueled by trust and fear, not hatred.’

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As his thoughts reached this point, Yeongwoo instinctively looked eastward.

“Shall we relocate?”

—-Where to?

“To Mother’s wedding hall.”

* * *

At 4:14 PM.

Yeongwoo arrived at Gwangjin-gu, a dedicated dueling site proudly located in Metal Seoul, and immediately began the setup for the “Self-Destruction Bomb.”

[Self-Destruction Bomb]

|A city that has proven its value has the right to choose a grand finale.

|Place a bomb in a designated area to cause a powerful explosion at the desired moment. While it will result in the loss of the city, it can also eliminate the invading enemy.

*Once a city’s status reaches that of a ‘Planet Capital,’ planetary self-destruction becomes an option.

A colossal, violent seed, destined to grow into a planetary self-destructor someday. Incredibly, the bomb's installation range covered the entire district.

In other words.

“Whoa, is this really the size of the bomb?”

Yeongwoo mumbled, staring at the red hologram blanketing the whole of Gwangjin-gu in construction mode, as Jiseon asked.

—How big is it?

“The whole of Gwangjin-gu. If it detonates, we wouldn’t even have time to escape.”

—I can just fly out.

“It won’t be so easy.”

Yeongwoo gazed past Gwangjin-gu, eyeing the other districts.

As he prepared to bury this gigantic bomb beneath Gwangjin-gu’s ground, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt toward the residents… or rather, the voters.

“But someday, this will be one of our most powerful weapons.”

Speaking aloud as if rehearsing a speech for a recording, Yeongwoo’s words made Jiseon step back.

—Are you seeing something like a vision?

Then, suddenly—

Fwoosh!

The ground throughout Gwangjin-gu was engulfed in a bright red light as the self-destruct bomb was installed.

「Self-Destruction Bomb has been installed in Gwangjin-gu, Metal Seoul, Dogo Special City.」

「This information has only been conveyed to the mayor.」

“These guys are more sneaky than I thought.”

Narrowing his eyes at the notification intended only for the mayor, Yeongwoo watched Jiseon step forward.

—They seriously only told you? About the bomb you just set up?

“Well, now you know too.”

Yeongwoo then pointed quietly at his father, standing in a corner.

“And so does Father. This is our first family secret.”

The explosive secret of the Yeongwoo family.

Yechan wasn’t present, as he was busy distributing wedding invitations on Earth, and Bantubangtong had already returned to Australia before the bomb installation.

“But everyone knows of the self-destruct bomb’s existence. They just don’t know where it’s placed or if it’s even been set up for real.”

—Are you sure about this?

Even the fearless Jiseon shook her head at this point.

No matter how daring she was, she wasn’t bold enough to plant a bomb under her own city.

“Just one more, and we’ll be ready for war.”

Yeongwoo said as he tapped the ground in Gwangjin-gu with the back of his hand.

—One more? What’s that?

“An anti-aircraft cannon. Anything that dares fly over Seoul will be shot down.”

* * *

At the same time, in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan…

A woman appeared with three swords but no shield, drawing the attention of the many swordsmen moving northward.

And in an instant, all eyes widened.

“Huh? Is that…?”

“Could it be her?”

Because above the opponent’s head.

It was because they held the title of Sword Emperor—Master of Swords.

Not just any Sword Master, but the Miyagi Sword Emperor, Tomiko Fuyama.

Everyone in both eastern and western Japan knew about the time she visited a house in Yamagata and was ambushed by six Sword Masters.

In the end, only the Miyagi Sword Master, Tomiko, walked out alive from that scene.

Because of that, Yamagata Prefecture disbanded and crumbled, having lost all of its Sword Masters.

Thanks to this event becoming so notorious, just a few days later, even high-ranking martial artists from southern Japan were aware that the Miyagi Sword Emperor was a problematic individual.

More precisely, she was known as a pro-Korean Sword Master wielding formidable power.

“Did she really take down all of Yamagata alone?”

“They say she’s worth at least six Sword Masters.”

“Is that even possible? No matter how strong she is, six…?”

“And they say the fight happened indoors.”

The Sword Masters kept a cautious distance from Tomiko, murmuring amongst themselves.

Eventually, they mentioned a stigma—an almost infamous one—that had been attached to her.

“So what? In the end, she’s pro-Korean, right?”

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“Pro-Korean? She refused to cross the sea and ended up killing six people instead.”

“She didn’t just kill six. It’s practically like she set the entire Yamagata region on fire.”

The Miyagi Sword Emperor, Tomiko Fuyama—a fervent pro-Korean.

This was the position that Tomiko held within Japan now.

A crazy woman who, for some reason, killed all of Yamagata’s Sword Masters just because she didn’t want to invade Korea.

In fact, after the Reset, this was an unforgivable act in Japan, which had become much harsher.

Thus, challengers visited Miyagi Province one after another to hold her accountable for the Yamagata incident, yet, to date, no one had walked out alive.

Around the same time, Sword Masters and Sword Emperor from the south had gathered forces, confidently setting off to invade Korea, only to vanish without a trace.

As things unfolded like this, a massive atmosphere of fear began to spread across Japan.

They had previously attacked their rival, with whom they already held hostile sentiments even before the Reset, only to be mysteriously defeated.

So, what was going to happen next?

Of course, it was going to be bloody vengeance.

Invasion from Korea, this time into Japan.

Especially since now, the land was connected.

“Korea will soon covet Japanese territory!”

Though nobody loudly proclaimed this, every Japanese person harbored this fear deep in their hearts.

Then, this morning, people sent from Tokyo arrived in Japan’s major cities.

The Tokyo messengers, arriving on something that was clearly not of this world, handed a short note to each region’s leaders and left.

「Come to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building immediately. The preparations are complete; we will make Japan great once again.」

The message sounded far-fetched, but the signature at the bottom of the note was enough to make every Swordsman and Sword Master willingly take action.

—The Tokyo Sword Emperor.

Because the sender was none other than the Tokyo Sword Emperor.

The symbolic name of what had once been the capital of Japan before the Reset, and perhaps still a de facto capital.

Because of this, even masters from the southwest who were preparing for a second invasion, as well as Tomiko, who had not taken a step outside Miyagi for a while, all set out for Tokyo.

“Making Japan great again? Seems like they got the idea from somewhere.”

Having already experienced a similar situation once in Yamagata, Tomiko smirked as she headed toward Shinjuku’s southern side.

That was where the promised meeting place, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, stood.

The landmark in Shinjuku, consisting of two buildings each standing 48 stories high.

The buildings were so tall that before long, the fork-like structure of the Government Building appeared in everyone’s sight.

Whoooom…!

However, something about the sight was a little strange.

“…Huh?”

Tomiko instinctively stopped in her tracks.

There, floating atop the Government Building, which stood 243 meters tall, was a massive, white cube.

‘Wait, just how big is it?’

If it looked to be as wide as the Government Building from this distance and height, just how gigantic could that object be?

As Tomiko’s thoughts reached this point, a loud cheer erupted from the ground level of the Government Building.

No, to be precise, it was the sound of chanting.

“Waaah! Lemu!”

“Lemu!”

“Lemu…!”

Then, a deep, authoritative voice, likely belonging to the Tokyo Sword Emperor, boomed through a loudspeaker.

—Our great Japan is officially set to become one of Earth’s three great powers! Lemu!

“Yeahaa!”

“Lemu!”

“Lemu!”

The intensity of the crowd was palpable, even just from the sound.

‘Something’s wrong here. Maybe I should turn back now.’

Sensing something amiss, Tomiko took a cautious step backward.

But then, the booming voice trapped her in place.

—There are two major conditions! But for greatness, any disgrace must be endured…!

“…Disgrace?”

A word she had never anticipated, making Tomiko involuntarily turn her head toward the lower part of the Government Building.

There, she saw a tall man holding what looked like a microphone on a platform.

‘Are you… the Tokyo Sword Emperor?’

Tomiko’s pupils dilated as she took in the sight of the Sword Master who ruled over this country’s capital.

For some reason, he wasn’t wearing any clothes.

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