WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 149
──────
Right after returning to reality.
I immediately opened my status window.
[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 46)]
[6,289,000 Points]
What I saw was...
A massive, magnificent number, nearly 6.29 million.
I'm proud!
“Three days ago, I saved Busan. Two days ago, I saved Jeolla and Gwangju. Just yesterday, I saved Chungcheong. And now I've even saved Jeju, South Gyeongsang, and North Gyeongsang...!”
Jeju had a little over 600,000 people.
South Gyeongsang had around 3 million.
North Gyeongsang had around 2.5 million...
Today, I had saved Jeju and both Gyeongsang Provinces all at once!
Choi Yejin, who had been watching, muttered.
“Can't you just say you brought back a shitload of Points? Why do you keep comparing them to regional populations? Did you seriously memorize population numbers just to pull this crap?”
“That's me.”
To be honest, I did memorize regional populations because of this.
When you name the regions, it really hits home, you know?
The Points stop looking like mere numbers. They feel like the lifelines of our country's people, which makes me feel even prouder.
A guardian of King Korea should naturally have the nationwide population distribution memorized!
Anyway.
Today, I had saved another 6,289,000 citizens of King Korea!
I was simply... fulfilled!
Just as I was about to close my status window.
“Iing!”
Pop!
Iing Iing floated over and held something out to me with telekinesis.
Something that smelled savory.
In other words.
“Huh? Iing Iing, what's with the bread?”
It was bread.
The kind you ate.
Why was she suddenly offering me bread?
“Iing!”
Ta-da!
Iing Iing held out the bread and puffed out her chest proudly.
Hyeji translated from beside her.
“Jiho, you kept looking at the bread earlier, so she thought you wanted some. That's why she brought it...”
“...”
“I think Iing Iing thought you were hungry.”
The children who had been eating poisoned meat could finally eat bread, and I had only been looking at it fondly.
But Iing Iing must have thought I was staring at the bread in those children's hands because I was hungry.
No, Iing Iing.
I'm not such a bad adult that I'd covet bread covered in a child's snot.
Besides, I don't even like Western food.
Koreans should eat rice cakes instead of bread!
Come to think of it, Chuseok was coming soon.
I should make some songpyeon with my sister then.
But something suddenly occurred to me.
“Iing Iing. Did you bring this from that city?”
“Iing!”
She nodded.
I continued.
“Did you get permission from the owner before taking it?”
“Iing? Iing iing.”
Iing Iing tilted her head.
Then she shook it.
She had brought the bread without permission.
In other words...
She had stolen it!
I was horrified.
“N-no!!! Iing Iing!!! Why would you steal?! I didn't raise you like this!!!”
Our cute, adorable, lovable, thoughtful, dependable Iing Iing, the conscience of our party...
A thief!
A bread thief, like Jean Valjean!
It felt as though the sky had fallen.
Could Iing Iing have entered puberty?
Or was there some problem with her upbringing?
If not, was there something nearby that could have been a bad influence...?
Whip! Whip!
I hurriedly looked around.
Then I found one ordinary idiot.
“What the hell are you staring at, asshole?”
“Found the culprit!!!”
I realized what had caused Iing Iing's sudden delinquency.
The culprit was none other than Choi Yejin!
With that hopeless human around, who did nothing but swear, drink, and fail at everything...
Our pure Iing Iing had been badly influenced.
That was why she had committed such a delinquent act as theft!!!
At my declaration, Choi Yejin frowned.
“What the fuck do you mean, I'm the culprit?”
“Who else would Iing Iing learn such bad behavior from?! How dare you! Stop teaching our Iing Iing bad things!”
“When did I ever teach her anything bad, you crazy bastard?!”
“Profanity! Drinking! Incompetence! Delinquent behavior! Alcoholism! The very embodiment of media harmful to minors, Choi Yejin!”
“Fuck... I hate it, but I can't refute that.”
“Arrest that bitch at once!”
I couldn't forgive a villain who had a bad influence on our Iing Iing!
As I was harshly scolding Choi Yejin.
“Iiiiiing!!!”
Iing Iing shrieked.
She wildly waved her tiny hands, protesting about something.
Hyeji translated.
“Um... Jiho? Iing Iing says she didn't steal it.”
“What? Really?”
“Iing iing iing!”
“Yes, that's what she says. Sigh.”
Hyeji looked troubled.
What had Iing Iing said?
She continued.
“She says the whole city is Jiho's city anyway... So the bread in it belongs to Jiho too. That's why it wasn't stealing...”
“...”
Thinking it over.
She had a point...
She did!
I quickly raised my head.
“Iing Iing is right. Extreme Lunatic Hell City is my city. That means the entire city is my property! And that means the bread in the city is ultimately my property too!”
That was right.
Iing Iing had not stolen anything.
She had merely moved my property from somewhere in the city to in front of me.
It wasn't theft, it was relocation!
What a relief...
No, I was grateful for Iing Iing's kindness in going through the trouble of bringing me bread.
Such thoughtful consideration!
What a kind-hearted fairy she was!
I vigorously patted Iing Iing's head.
“That's our Iing Iing! Our Iing Iing would never steal! I'm sorry, Iing Iing... To think I doubted you, even for a moment... I won't do it again!”
“Iing!”
“Why are you accepting that stupid logic?”
“I took my bread from my city. What's the problem?”
“It isn't your city, asshole.”
I had saved their lives, purified their land, built their walls, built their homes, built their roads, and built their waterway.
Why would it be someone else's city?
It was my city.
Anyway!
I took the bread Iing Iing had brought and examined it carefully.
‘Hmm. It is rough and unimpressive.’
The bread Iing Iing had brought from the Tower didn't look especially tasty.
It was lumpy, and flour was scattered across its rough surface.
There were black scorch marks in places.
It wasn't very soft when I pressed it either.
The bread at the neighborhood Paris Baguette was glossy. It looked sweet and delicious just from looking at it.
But this just looked like a lump of flour that had been baked.
It hardly made my mouth water.
Still, as I looked at it...
“...”
I felt strange.
Not long ago, these people had been tearing into poisonous Wyvern meat.
Now, they were growing wheat themselves on the land I had restored and making bread like this.
Wasn't it a meaningful trophy?
I murmured quietly.
“This is perfect for a photo to brag about on Hunter Gallery.”
Click!
I took a picture of the unimpressive bread.
Then I quickly wrote a post.
[Post Title: (Info) How to Clear Floor 45!]
[Author: Blue Dot]
(Photo of unimpressive bread)
Hunters who aren't newbies...
Today, I went to Floor 45.
As soon as I got there, I found the Wall-Blue Dot I made yesterday.
I got curious and checked it out.
Something was weird.
When I made it yesterday, there were only a few thousand people.
It was a fucking tiny village.
But when I went back today, it had become a city.
???
Turns out, because I caught sparrows for them, started an agricultural revolution, and built city walls yesterday, Extreme Lunatic Hell Village developed into Extreme Lunatic Hell City in just one day!
Wow, the Great Leap Forward is seriously incredible.
Mao Zedong, you were right!
The Great Leap Forward didn't fail because Big Bro Zedong was wrong!
It failed because the people under him were incompetent!
Anyway, seeing the city that had sprung up made me feel pretty proud.
Just yesterday, they were miserable Chimpis living under scraps of tents and scavenging monster meat...
Now, people were growing crops and vegetables, making food like bread, putting up buildings, laying roads, and increasing in number.
Seeing them live like proper people made all the work of catching sparrows, purifying the land, and building city walls feel worthwhile.
This is why I save people!
Oh, and the people were grateful to me.
They even made a statue to honor me.
Honestly, shouldn't King Korea set up a statue honoring me too?
I saved the Republic of Korea...
They can put up one statue of me next to Big Bro Sun-sin's statue in Gwanghwamun.
Right?
Anyway, while I was looking around the city, it was still lacking in a lot of areas...
People were sad because they had no water, their living conditions sucked, and the roads were total garbage...
Everything was pretty rough.
So I just fixed it!
I built a few thousand buildings, laid roads, and dug a waterway for them.
Now it was decent enough.
Phew, I really am an angel.
Maji tenshi incarnate...!
Anyway, today's earnings!
I killed 823 Wyverns, 358 Trolls, 167 Ogres, and 36 Cyclopes...
6,289,000 Points!
62.89 billion won...!!!
I saved people in the Tower and citizens of our country.
Another fulfilling clear today.
Oh, right. To clear Floor 45, just kill every monster you see and find the Escape Portal.
That's all. Later.
...
As soon as I posted it, comments poured in.
└You're suitably insane again today, Blue Dot.
└That damn Mao Zedong... That damn Extreme Lunatic Hell...
└Every time I read these, the cognitive dissonance hits hard. The government confirmed that the Points this guy earns are real, so why does everything he writes sound so fucking insane and impossible?
└Sure, I get it. Yesterday you built a fifty-meter-tall city wall, and today you built thousands of buildings, dug a waterway, and made roads! I understand perfectly!
└Good job, good job. Our Blue Dot can do whatever he wants!
└LOL, he used to at least pretend his recent posts were strategy guides. Now he just writes whatever the hell he wants.
└For real. The title says "(Info) How to Clear Floor 45!" but 99 percent of it is bullshit, and the strategy info is just "kill every monster you see." Is that a strategy guide, Blue Dot???
└└Blue Dot: ? Is there a more accurate strategy guide than that? Seriously, that's all there is. What am I supposed to do;
└└This is ridiculous, okay...
└A Gwanghwamun statue? Reveal your face before you say that shit, asshole. What kind of statue does someone who won't even show his face deserve?
└└Blue Dot: Ah.
└└For real LOL. We'll build you dozens of statues, so reveal your face already. We're fucking curious~
└What does Blue Dot even look like?
└└He's obviously a terminally online loser. He probably looks like one too.
└└Blue Dot: I'm fucking handsome though?
└└Don't bullshit us, Blue Dot. Just reveal your face. We won't make fun of you for being ugly...
└└Yeah, we have some decency. You saved us, so would we really make fun of you just because you're a little ugly? Reveal your face with confidence!
└└For real, for real. King Dot bro, we don't care what you look like. As citizens of the Republic of Korea, we respect and thank you, so please reveal your face!
└└Everyone, let's not care about looks. What matters isn't appearance, it's what's inside!
└└But he's insane inside too.
└└Come to think of it, that's true...
└Blue Dot: You insane ordinary idiots, stop spreading propaganda and lies! Sigh... It's such a shame you didn't get to see the statue of me in my city. Fuck, I can't exactly bring it here to show you.
└└? We're talking about your face. Why are you bringing up a statue?
└But nobody is even surprised by 6,289,000 Points anymore LOL.
└└It's a crazy number, but it's Blue Dot, so we just moved on.
└└If it's 6.29 million people a day, what does that become in a month?
└└Don't calculate it. You'll get cognitive dissonance...
└└Ooh... Hunter Gallery guy can't read numbers... Mustn't read them... My head feels fuzzy...
└└Shining Blue Dot bro saved the country again, huh?
└What even is that bread? Such a random picture.
└└For real. Is Blue Dot broke? Buy some tasty bread. Why are you eating crappy bread that doesn't even look like a neighborhood bakery would sell it?
└└Blue Dot: That bread was made by the local residents in the Tower that I saved. It's the seed of civilization earned through hardship and adversity. How can you say such cruel things about that meaningful bread...? Do you people have no human hearts?
└└What are you talking about, Blue Dot...? There are no people in the Tower... Stop pretending there are people there. It's getting old.
└└Blue Dot: Do you think I want to go into the Tower?! There are people inside it!!!
...
While diligently replying to comments, I clicked my tongue.
“Phew. Even today, none of those foolish Hunter Gallery morons have opened their eyes. What a pity...! Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Hunter Gallery was full of blind people who turned away from the truth and closed their eyes.
No, really, there were people in the Tower.
Why couldn't these ordinary idiots believe it?
I grabbed Hyeji, who was beside me, and complained.
“Hyeji, how many times have I told them there are people in the Tower? Why don't they believe me yet?”
“Well... It's impossible to believe. Everyone knows that the only humans in the Tower are Black Mages on the High Floors. And even they are treated as monsters and can't communicate. But only you...”
“That's me.”
That damn “common sense” was the problem.
Their imagination had been castrated by uniform cramming education!
They spent all their time memorizing the answers on test papers, so even when truth outside of common sense was right in front of them, they couldn't accept it.
To raise creative talent, people needed free thinking like me.
They should use Hunter Gallery and play games too.
How tragic!
Anyway.
I had gotten enough of my daily Hunter Gallery fix.
I murmured quietly.
“Six days until London?”
Only six days remained until I descended on London as the world's only Floor 51 Hunter.
I went to bed.
Tomorrow was Floor 46.
* * *
United States.
Twenty meters underground in the White House East Wing.
PEOC, the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.
A large conference room.
“Let us begin the meeting.”
At Donald Torumph's words, an aide opened a report.
The screen in the conference room displayed the deployment status of military units across the United States.
The aide reported.
“The special emergency response system has been activated. Rapid response forces are being redeployed around major cities and critical infrastructure.”
“What about the western deployments? Has everything, including the Navy, been completed?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And the East?”
“It will be completed by tomorrow.”
Torumph nodded.
The reports from the staff continued.
“The Air Force and National Guard have also strengthened their alert status. They are preparing to respond immediately if an incident occurs.”
“What about the intelligence agencies? ODNI Director, report.”
“The CIA and FBI have both shifted to a twenty-four-hour response system. They are gathering abnormal incidents occurring across the country in real time. The NRO satellite system is also operating normally.”
Satellite systems and military intelligence networks were also being prioritized for monitoring monster appearances.
The military and intelligence agencies gathered the information each had secured and would deploy rapid response forces when necessary.
The response system they had prepared had finally begun operating in earnest.
Torumph nodded.
“Proceed according to plan.”
The staff and advisers calmly continued the meeting.
No one appeared surprised or flustered.
The Great Cataclysm.
A disaster the United States had prepared for over a long time.
The time to face it was drawing near, and so the United States methodically carried out its prepared plans.
The reports continued.
The state of food, medicine, and fuel reserves.
How power plants, communication networks, and military facilities would be protected.
“Reserve Magic Stone Reactors have been redeployed to backup power plants near each city. In an emergency, they should be able to restore power within one minute.”
“Good. What about communications?”
“We have secured the Starlinked satellite network as a backup network...”
The sound of pages turning continued.
As the reports continued, one aide cautiously spoke up.
“Mr. President. Do you truly believe measures this extreme are necessary? Could this not be excessive...?”
Torumph's hand stopped.
He stared silently at the aide who had asked the question.
Then he spoke quietly.
“If we fail, the country disappears. Three hundred forty million citizens die, and there will be no America left to protect. Is there such a thing as excessive preparation in that situation?”
“...”
“So shut your mouth and do what you must. Do not gamble our citizens' lives for the sake of petty efficiency.”
The aide lowered their head.
No further questions came.
The staff began organizing their respective orders.
Then Torumph spoke again.
“And one more thing. Include strategic nuclear forces in the Great Cataclysm response plan.”
The hands sorting documents froze.
Silence instantly fell over the conference room.
Someone asked.
“...Nuclear weapons as well?”
“Do not misunderstand. I am not saying they must be used.”
Torumph slowly rose from his seat.
“I simply do not want to see us unprepared to use them should a situation arise where they are necessary.”
He looked around at the staff.
Then repeated his order.
“Prepare the nuclear forces as well.”
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