Chapter 2415 – 2415. Eternal Eden
The room temporarily given to Kim Jihee as the head pastor’s office had become a space that felt like a pseudo-religion. On her desk were various religious books, like a bible. It seemed she was studying to be a pastor. Whether that was the right direction or not, I didn’t know.
The clothes Kim Jihee was wearing were also surprising. She was wearing a long, white robe. It was similar to a priest’s robe but more extravagant. In any case, it had a religious feel.
“Welcome, Your Holiness.”
Judging by her tone, she seemed to have completely become a religious person.
“You’ve decorated the annex quite a bit in just one day. It must have been hard to find all this.”
“Yes. I received it from the people living at Seongak Elementary School. They gave it to me willingly.”
On the surface, there was freedom of religion. Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism, shamanism, and more were quite widespread. It seemed she had received religious items from them. No, it would be more accurate to say she had taken them. With the Imperial Guard in front, they couldn’t refuse.
‘To use her power to requisition things in just one day. In a way, she’s quite a woman.’
I needed to reconsider assigning the Holy Imperial Guard to Kim Jihee.
‘For now, I’ll keep them as Kim Jihee’s escort and surveillance. I can create another military unit and assign it to Kim Jihee. Of course, filled with fanatics who would jump into a fire at my command.’
Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
“We need to move Seongjin Church. There are quite a few of them, so it’s time to start showing their faces in the public eye.”
Korea was a country with freedom of religion.
People had the perception that if it wasn’t a major religion, it was a cult, but there were definitely religions that weren’t cults.
“…The Seongjin Church is going public as soon as I become the head pastor. Is this some kind of test for me?”
“The situation has changed. Yesterday afternoon, the first deputy director of the NIS came and made a fuss.”
“Ah. I heard. That Your Holiness killed the devil who called herself your younger sister.”
Kim Jihee didn’t show much change in expression. She was better at hiding her emotions than Deputy Director Shin Youngsoo, whom I met yesterday.
“The important thing isn’t that, but that the president is trying to dismantle Seongak Elementary School and target me and my women.”
“He doesn’t know his place. Shall we declare a holy war?”
“Are you serious?”
“About half. Of course, Your Holiness’s opinion is the most important.”
Kim Jihee’s eyes sparkled. It was like a child who had gotten a new toy. I knew that feeling well. The feeling of wanting to use the power you’ve gained right away.
“Don’t do anything unnecessary. What you need to do is incite the believers with Son Taehyung to protest. Completely remove any religious overtones and disguise them as civilian protesters.”
“Isn’t Korea under martial law right now? Is it okay to protest?”
“The believers of Seongjin Church are present in all levels of society. It was a bit difficult with the military… but I’ve already won over some politicians. The same goes for journalists. Even if martial law is declared, this is still Korea. Are they really going to run over peaceful protesters with tanks? Protesters who aren’t even carrying weapons?”
“I suppose they wouldn’t. But… what’s the theme of the protest?”
“Anything that can attack the current government, President Jung Woo-hyun, is fine. But the most representative thing would be… yes. This would be good. Gun control. They’re regulating guns when mutants and variations are running around everywhere in the city? That’s insane. The people actually want guns. They need a way to protect themselves.”
“…That sounds fun. Yes. I will do as Your Holiness wishes.”
I didn’t think that the protesters could remove Jung Woo-hyun from the presidency. But they could draw attention. If attention is drawn, it becomes public opinion, and that will become a spark.
‘Propaganda and fabrication… I’ll burn his approval rating using every means possible.’
And the moment his approval rating drops and a suitable justification is created…
‘It’s a coup.’
I didn’t plan on taking the lead myself.
There were many who would take the lead. There were more than three high-ranking politicians who had devoted themselves to Seongjin Church. I could leave it to one of them.
‘I’ll become the hidden power!’
And at the right time, I’ll ascend as the Emperor of Korea!
‘It’s a perfect scenario.’
To do that, I had to move diligently.
• • •
-Ms. Sung Yoo-jin, I’m sorry. The food situation has recently worsened, so we can no longer provide support to Seongak Elementary School. The same goes for food trades. According to our calculations, Seongak Elementary School can last for three months without food support. This is also to support citizens in difficult situations, so please understand.
The voice of Deputy Director Shin Youngsoo echoed through the smartphone speaker.
“Ah, I see. Understood.”
Click.
I hung up the phone.
I couldn’t be defeated by something like food. If I protested again, they would surely start talking about the people again. And a few hours later, there would be an article about how Sung Yoo-jin was complaining about food even when the people were having a hard time.
I went straight to find Na Chaeyoung.
“Dr. Na. How much food do we have stockpiled? How many months can we last?”
“…It seems the NIS has started interfering with the food supply. With the stockpiled food, we can only last for one month.”
“…One month? I’ve been stockpiling food whenever I had the chance, and we can only last for one month?”
“There are over 5,000 people gathered here at Seongak Elementary School. You accepted a large number of people to grow Seongjin Church.”
“…To expand the influence of Seongjin Church, we need a lot of believers. We also need to educate them separately. People have no choice but to gather here.”
Right. The capacity of Seongak Elementary School was already over its limit. Most of the people at Seongak Elementary School were living in cramped spaces, like a chicken coop. The reason why no complaints were coming out was because we were suppressing them with force. And because we were guaranteeing a minimum amount of food.
“The good thing is that we have a lot of money. Thanks to the believers who are rushing to donate. The problem is that even if we have a lot of money, there’s nowhere to spend it.”
It was an era where zombies and mutants were roaming the streets. Supermarkets and convenience stores had obviously gone out of business. Delivery? Of course, it wasn’t possible. The government had a monopoly on food.
Even if you had money, you couldn’t get food. Even if you could get it, it was questionable whether you could buy as much as you wanted. I heard that the price of one potato was at least 20,000 won.
“…What about smart farms or hydroponics? We prepared them in advance.”
“We postponed that. What was urgent during that time wasn’t food but defense and safety. We’re still improving the combat AI and weapons. Even if we focus on hydroponics or smart farms now, we won’t be able to get enough food to satisfy Seongak Elementary School.”
I scratched my head. Most of the reason why Seongak Elementary School was being maintained was because of food. If food wasn’t supplied, a rebellion would 100% happen. Even if that didn’t happen, there would be a flood of people trying to escape from Seongak Elementary School.
“We need to find food by other means.”
“It won’t be easy. The NIS will try to interfere no matter what.”
“If not, we’ll have to settle things within the next month.”
• • •
Late at night.
I secretly left Seongak Elementary School and headed to a wealthy neighborhood.
It was a neighborhood where the rich lived, so it was quiet without any zombies or mutants. I walked into a mansion with the lights on and rang the doorbell.
Ding-dong. Click.
As if they had been waiting, the gate opened. I confidently entered the mansion.
As I entered, a middle-aged man sitting on the living room sofa jumped up in surprise.
“Who are you?! Honey! Who is this person?!”
His wife didn’t even look at her husband and knelt down in front of me.
“Ah! You’ve come, Your Holiness! Please bless and have mercy on our family!!”
“Yes. I have come. If you have any cola, bring it.”
“I, I’m sorry. We don’t have cola at our house, but we do have coffee…”
“I understand. It must have been hard to get cola. Bring me water.”
The middle-aged woman jumped up and ran to the kitchen.
The middle-aged man who had been sitting on the sofa was now holding a gun and pointing it at me. I calmly looked at him and asked.
“Are you General Jin Soohak, the Chief of Staff of the Army?”
“…That appearance. I remember now. The Thunder God, Sung Yoo-jin. Why are you in my house? No, how did you get here? There should be guards near the house.”
“I’m a pro at moving quietly. I also received help from your wife.”
I also received information from Jin Soohak’s wife that Jin Soohak would be coming home today.
“Put the gun down and let’s talk. As you can see, I don’t have any weapons either.”
“…Do you think I don’t know that you’re an Awakened?”
“That’s why I want you to know my sincerity even more. If I had wanted to kill a normal person, I would have already killed you.”
“……”
In the end, Jin Soohak lowered his gun. His eyes were full of caution as he looked at me.
His wife, who had gone to the kitchen, appeared. In one hand, she held a cup of clean water, and in the other, she held an urn.
She politely handed me the water and prostrated herself on the floor.
I gulped down the water. It was quite refreshing.
“Please, please save my son! Your Holiness! Please!”
That damn “Your Holiness.”
I was about to let out a hollow laugh but stopped myself. Let them call me whatever they want.
“Sung Yoo-jin! What did you do to my wife?!”
“Why? Do you think I mind-controlled her?”
“If not, there’s no way my wife would act like this! What’s your purpose?!”
“Don’t shout. First…”
Thunder Heaven Style Electromagnetic Wave.
There were no bugs or small cameras.
“It’s fine. Let’s get straight to the point. I’ll save your son who died 20 years ago. There’s only one condition. Come under me. And for trust, I’ll take one of your fingers. If you refuse, I’ll kill you to keep the secret.”
“Are you crazy?”
He said as if he was beyond angry and dumbfounded. His wife was horrified and grabbed Jin Soohak’s leg. She was desperate enough to shed tears.
“You!! This is a chance to save Minwoo! Quickly kneel before Your Holiness! Kneel! We have to meet Minwoo! Minwoo!!”
“Honey. Calm down! Saving a person! That’s impossible!”
“I saw it! I saw it! I saw with my own two eyes that Your Holiness revived a dead baby!!”
“This woman is really… Sung Yoo-jin! What the hell did you do to my wife?!”
“Tsk. We’re not making any progress. I guess it’s better to show you directly.”
I opened the urn and grabbed the relic inside and used Recovery.
It was a bit difficult, but Recovery activated properly. What was just a relic began to regenerate as if time was being reversed. Bones and flesh regenerated, transforming into the appearance of a young boy of about 6 years old.
“Ah, ah! Minwoo! Minwoo!!”
Jin Soohak’s wife was moved to tears. Jin Soohak stared blankly at the body of the boy in my hand with his mouth open.
“…Really. Did you really save my son, Minwoo?”
“He’s not alive yet. He has a heart, but it’s not beating. If you want to save your son, accept my conditions.”
“This. Is this even possible? Reviving a dead person…!”
“The world is already a mess. The zombie virus has spread, and people have turned into monsters called variations. Players have appeared and claim that this world was originally a game, and Awakened people are using incomprehensible superpowers. It’s not that strange to have the ability to revive the dead, is it?”
“You! Say you’ll do it quickly! Quickly!! I want to see Minwoo! Poor Minwoo! Quickly pledge your allegiance to Your Holiness!!”
His wife urged him as if she was screaming.
“……”
Jin Soohak stared blankly at his son in my hand. His eyes were shaking violently.
Thud.
Jin Soohak’s knees fell to the floor.
“You are… who are you?”
“I am the God of Life.”
“…I know that everything has a price. What is the price I have to pay?”
“A coup. Jung Woo-hyun is possessed by the devil. That bastard will ruin Korea. So we have to take him down before that.”
Jin Soohak’s eyes twitched. He pondered for a long time and finally said.
“I will pledge my allegiance to you. Please save my son.”
I used Recovery. His child’s heart began to beat again.
“Ugh…”
The child whimpered and opened his eyes. The child was confused when he saw me. I handed the child to his mother.
The mother hugged her son tightly, tears streaming down her face.
“Minwoo! Minwoo!!”
“Ack! O, ouch! Mom? Mom!”
The child didn’t recognize his old mother. I put my hand on the mother’s head and used Recovery. The mother became younger. The mother’s beauty was ordinary.
“Mom!!”
The child finally recognized his mother.
Jin Soohak, who witnessed this scene, had a choked expression and his eyes were red.
“You have a lot to do, so I’ll give you youth later. Try to hide the child’s existence for now.”
“Yes. Your Excellency. But… I can’t do a coup alone. I need people who share my intentions.”
“I plan to recruit several people. I would like you to make a list. What we can give them as a reward for recruitment is youth. Is that not enough?”
Jin Soohak looked at his wife and child, who were hugging each other and crying. His younger wife. His revived child. He swallowed the overwhelming emotions and said.
“It will be enough. To them, youth will be a second life.”
