WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability

Chapter 90

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Cult (2)

I made plans with Juwon-hyung to meet in person and hear the full story.

"You know the Person123 Church, right?"

Looking worn out, he fidgeted with his coffee cup as he spoke.

I nodded.

"Yeah, I know it. Did Ji-woo noona get pulled into that?"

I had seen her doing Person123 Church activities before...

But I had no idea it was this serious. Or had it gradually gotten worse since then?

Juwon-hyung started explaining.

"Person123 Church, I guess you could call them denominations or whatever, has a lot of different branches. Not just the one people usually know..."

To summarize what he said:

I did not know much about religion, but apparently Person123 Church was not one unified group. It had all kinds of branches.

The biggest one in the world was Salvation Church, formally the Humanity Salvation Hope Society.

That was the one often mentioned in the news, the Person123 Church people knew publicly.

But besides Salvation Church, tons of other Person123-related groups had sprung up all over Korea like weeds...

If Salvation Church, the major branch, felt less like a religion and more like a light fan community cheering for Person123,

then some of the minor branches had gone way past that and turned into strange organizations.

In one word, a cult.

"...These days people join Person123 Church like it's a trend. Ji-woo started like that too, just casual activity at first. Sometimes I even tagged along to meetings.

But at some point she started going way too deep. She started telling me about this weird group called Cheonin Church."

Cheonin Church.

That was the name of the cult Ji-woo noona had fallen into.

"The leader there says they're Person123's proxy and all that... it's ridiculous, right? You can tell at a glance it's a cult."

"Right."

When did my proxy pop into existence without me knowing?

It was absurd.

The rest went exactly how anyone could guess.

Hyung said he tried to stop and persuade Ji-woo noona, but she would not listen. Then at some point, all contact was completely cut off.

He went to her place, and it was empty. So he contacted other friends and her family too, but it was the same. Nobody could reach her.

"Exactly when did contact get cut off?"

"It's been almost a week since she became completely unreachable."

"What about school? Ah, wait, is it break right now...?"

"Yeah."

"Did you file a missing person report?"

Hyung sighed.

"I did. But they said her safety was confirmed."

"You mean she contacted the police?"

"Uh... on Ji-woo's side, she said she's safe right now and wants people to stop contacting her. So the police said they can't investigate it as a missing person case..."

If she was still in contact and showed no clear problem, it was not a missing person case.

He asked the police to at least tell him where Ji-woo noona was, but they refused that too.

If the person refused, the police had no right to reveal location or address information to others.

She was an adult acting of her own will, not a runaway minor.

I looked through the chat records with Ji-woo noona that he showed me.

Hyung tried to snap her out of it, saying it was a cult. Noona denied it. They argued.

They kept fighting, and then she said she was sick of it and told him not to contact her anymore.

"I'm losing my mind, even if the police say they contacted her. What if Ji-woo is in danger? No matter what, she's not the type to cut off everyone like this, she just isn't..."

That was true.

The Ji-woo noona I knew was a very bright person, so hearing she got mixed up with a cult and then vanished made no sense.

"...I'm seriously considering going into Cheonin Church myself. Maybe I can find her that way."

"Hyung, don't. I don't think that's a good idea."

I stopped him.

Just from what I heard, this was not a normal group. It could be dangerous.

All I could do was listen to him vent and tell him to wait a little longer instead of doing anything reckless.

* * *

After I got home, I looked into what this Cheonin Church was.

I searched online, and they openly had an official homepage.

- Person123-nim's proxy, Leader Shin Du-rang, will guide you onto the right path.

"Heh."

I could only laugh as I scrolled through the intro text.

- The fate of the world now depends solely on Person123-nim, and Leader Shin Du-rang is the one and only proxy directly appointed by Him.

People of this world foolishly do not understand. In the end, the world will be destroyed, and only those with the deepest faith in Him will be saved. This is now the time of testing, when Person123-nim is sifting out His true believers.

Soon this time of testing will end, and the day of falling and salvation will begin. Just as the Tower proposed Ark on Floor 6, most unbelievers will eventually die and fall as monsters. On the other hand, the minority of believers will receive His salvation.

There is not much time left. Do you wish to become one of the chosen believers? Leader Shin Du-rang, the one and only proxy of Him, will guide you to the right path...

.

.

.

A long intro that screamed cult from top to bottom.

The funny part was that they were even bringing up the recent Ark incident.

Did they update this thing diligently or what?

There was contact info at the bottom of the homepage.

I hesitated for a moment.

'What should I do...'

What I wanted to do now was simple.

Go into this Cheonin Church myself.

It was a cult using my name and impersonating my proxy.

What if Ji-woo noona was actually in danger?

At the very least, I felt like I had to confirm where she was and what she was doing.

I also felt bad for hyung, since this was not completely unrelated to me either...

I did not think long.

I pressed the contact number on the homepage.

The call connected, and a call-center voice came through the speakerphone.

"Hello? Yes, I saw the introduction on your homepage and wanted to ask something..."

* * *

I set up a meeting with Cheonin Church people for the very next day and met them at a cafe.

"Nice to meet you. We heard you're interested in joining our Cheonin Church?"

Two people came.

One was a college-aged girl around my age, the other a middle-aged woman.

As with most recruitment work, they looked normal on the surface.

"...If I join, can I really receive salvation directly from Person123-nim?"

The young woman smiled brightly and answered.

"Of course. He never turns away believers who sincerely trust in Him."

"Is your leader really His proxy?"

I asked on purpose.

If I acted too trusting from the start, I thought that might make them suspicious.

She clasped both hands and nodded.

"Yes, our leader truly is Person123-nim's proxy. Person123-nim even announced it Himself."

"Person123 announced that Himself?"

What fresh nonsense was this?

She confidently kept talking nonsense.

"Yes! Only our leader and the High Priests have met Him directly."

"...So you have not met Him yourself?"

"I'm only a regular believer. But if regular believers build up more merit and become a High Priest serving closest to our leader, we can have the honor of meeting Person123-nim directly."

What a spectacle.

She kept explaining Cheonin Church.

How to receive true salvation, how little time was left, how finding Cheonin Church now meant fate had helped me, and so on.

I held back a sigh, nodded, and reacted as if I was gradually getting moved.

"...So what do you think is the best way we can show Person123-nim our faith?"

"Um... what is it? Prayer?"

"Of course praying with sincere faith and devotion to Him is important. But taking action is just as important."

What was she getting at?

"As I said, the destruction of this world is already decided. In that case, do we still need material things?"

"We don't."

"Right, we don't! So if you truly believe in His salvation, there is no need to cling to worldly things. Proving you let go of that attachment is proof of your faith in Him. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand perfectly."

I thought that buildup was dragging on.

In the end, it was just a demand for money.

"To join Cheonin Church, you need to start with a very small proof of faith. So we require a 300,000 won joining fee."

Three hundred thousand won.

Paying was not the issue.

"If I join, can I meet the leader right away?"

She shook her head.

"After joining, you need a probation period before receiving baptism directly from the leader."

"So I can't meet the leader right away?"

Why so complicated for a cult leader?

When I showed a hint of reluctance, she spoke quickly.

"Our Cheonin Church regularly holds an event called Chancheonje. It's a sacred event where all regular believers gather and receive the leader's guidance."

Chancheonje?

Quite a grand name.

"All Cheonin Church believers gather there?"

"Yes! At that time, probationary believers who completed their three-month probation also receive direct baptism from the leader and are promoted to full believers. And Chancheonje is held every three months too. As it happens, the next one is just a few days away. If you make it in time, you can be promoted straight to full believer."

I thought about it.

An event where all believers gathered.

Then maybe I could find out where Ji-woo noona was there.

"Where is this Chancheonje held?"

"At the holy site of Cheonin Church. You can go there only after finishing the probation period."

She clearly had no intention of giving out the location freely.

Well, that probation itself was probably part of their vetting process.

People doing shady things would not accept just anyone.

I stopped asking about the location and spoke in an eager tone.

"Didn't you say there's not much time left for salvation? I can pay more if needed, but is there really no way for me to participate in this Chancheonje right away?"

"Ah... sorry, but that part is fixed by doctrine."

She glanced at the middle-aged woman beside her.

The older woman shook her head, and the younger one spoke apologetically.

"I'm sorry. But you don't have to be that anxious."

"Exactly when is it?"

"Ah... one moment."

She checked the date on her phone and answered.

"April 16."

"Then that's almost 100 days away? That's ten days longer than three months, so does that mean this Chancheonje is in about ten days?"

"Y-yes. That's right."

"Is there really no way to take part then?"

"I'm sorry. There's no way to shorten the probation period..."

Ten days from now.

Anyway, I paid the joining fee to keep contact with them going. 300,000 won.

"We're glad you made a wise choice. You've now stepped onto the true path to salvation, brother."

She grabbed my hand tightly with both of hers and said a short prayer.

Now she was calling me brother...

After that they did a basic background check too.

Name, age, job, I introduced myself as someone who dropped out of college and was currently doing part-time work.

"It was great meeting you today, brother. We'll see you again soon."

We agreed to meet again and parted ways.

After I got home, I thought about what to do...

[Person123: Billon, can you get me something like a location tracker?]

I contacted Billon.

A reply came right away.

[Chicken Sandwich: Of course. What exact type do you want?]

As expected, Billon agreed first and asked questions later.

I asked for a tracker like in spy movies, something I could secretly plant on one person.

[Chicken Sandwich: I see. If you want to track one person, I can give you a tool that directly hacks their phone.

Of course, you can check their GPS data as well.]

[Person123: Then please get me that. Can you do it within a week?]

[Chicken Sandwich: Of course.]

I had no intention of waiting months just to verify this Chancheonje thing.

So what was the plan?

Plant a tracking device on a Cheonin Church believer.

They said all believers participated in that event, so for this upcoming Chancheonje, everyone would head there too.

It was a simple idea: attach a tracker and follow them.

The hacking tool Billon mentioned arrived the very next day through the magic stone courier.

[Chicken Sandwich: Connect it to the charging port area of the target phone.]

Billon explained that just connecting it for three seconds and removing it was enough to gain full control of the target phone. Terrifying.

Another day passed.

For the first time in my life, I headed out for religious activity.

As a believer of a cult that was selling my own name, no less.

"Welcome! This way."

I met the woman who recruited me again and headed somewhere with her.

Her name was Lee Hye-ri, one year younger than me, but that did not matter.

Anyway, the place we went to was unexpectedly normal.

A study cafe.

I had imagined some dark place full of fanatics going wild, but...

It was nothing like that.

They rented one study room in a study cafe, introduced themselves to first-timers, chatted, laughed. That was all.

Maybe because it was my first time there?

Maybe this was how they slowly lowered people's guard and pulled them in.

Either way, it was easy.

I casually connected and removed the hacking tool from Lee Hye-ri's phone while it sat unguarded on the table.

We ate, drank coffee, wrapped up the activity, and I checked things after getting home.

"Oh, it worked."

When I connected another tool that came with the hacking device to my phone, just as explained,

I could see Lee Hye-ri's phone as clearly as my own.

I checked her messages and everything else.

Reading through them... Lee Hye-ri was seriously deep into this cult too.

I got all the information I needed.

The date for this Chancheonje was exactly January 15, five days away.

And as expected, Lee Hye-ri was also heading to the sect headquarters to attend.

Five days passed.

From early dawn, I checked Lee Hye-ri's real-time location as she started moving.

Looking at her route... she left the capital area and went down toward Chungcheong.

Once Lee Hye-ri arrived, I planned to head there immediately too.

Go there, find Ji-woo noona, and check if she was safe.

Lee Hye-ri's location stopped in the middle of a mountain area.

The region was Boeun County in Chungcheong.

It looked like she had reached the destination.

Wearing a cap, mask, and hood, I activated the warp device.

Let's see.

What those cult bastards were doing there.

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