Into the Creations 2171

Chapter 2171 – 2171. Eternal Eden

Jin Seonghwa had been under extreme stress ever since she heard the news that the monster rats had broken free from control and were spreading throughout Gwangju. People were already associating the incident at the large hospital with the Ilwoo Group.

To pin all the blame on the mayor of Gwangju? It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. If only the CCTV footage hadn’t been released. No, if only Catherine and the monster rats hadn’t disappeared from the hospital, it would have worked.

“Secretary Oh! What are we going to do?!”

“……”

Jin Seonghwa was hysterical.

Oh Habaek felt wronged. How could he have known things would turn out like this? But he couldn’t openly make excuses. He could end up as a test subject if he dared to speak back. Right now, the best thing to do was to bow his head and remain silent, as if he had no excuse. Fortunately, there were few as capable as him as a secretary.

“What are we going to do?!”

The second question. He couldn’t stay silent here. Oh Habaek opened his mouth with difficulty.

“The only answer is to cut our losses. We must desperately pretend we don’t know anything about Gwangju.”

“We sent the disposal team! The disposal team can just kill Catherine and the monster rats with the military!”

“…Catherine’s control signal device was destroyed. Either Catherine is dead, or she’s free because the control was broken. It’s one of the two. If it’s the former, we’re fine, but if it’s the latter…”

Oh Habaek stopped talking and swallowed hard. Jin Seonghwa’s eyes sharpened even more.

“If it’s the latter? Don’t be so frustrating, just say it.”

“…As I said before, Catherine is capable of destroying an entire city. If we stay like this, Gwangju will be destroyed.”

In reality, the possibility of the city being destroyed was less than 30%. The government wasn’t stupid, and they wouldn’t just let a major city like Gwangju be destroyed. They would try to kill Catherine with a bombing or something before that happened.

“Ha. The large hospital. It was supposed to be under my name… The Ilwoo Group has invested a lot of money in Gwangju. You know that, right?”

“Yes. We’ve been steadily investing in the mayor of Gwangju, public officials, some civic groups, subcontractors… and infrastructure since 30 years ago. Fortunately, we haven’t lost all influence in Gwangju. If we take our time, we can swallow Gwangju.”

“You said Gwangju would be destroyed?”

“…Th-that’s in the worst-case scenario.”

“Okay. Just write a report. My father is definitely going to be furious. Make up some excuses too. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

Jin Seonghwa looked up videos of Gwangju. In the dark dawn, monster rats were rampaging around Gwangju. Going into convenience stores to steal food was the least of it. There were videos circulating of several monster rats attacking a man on the street and eating him alive.

Normally, those videos would have been deleted… but in this day and age, videos of people dying were casually circulating. People had become too accustomed to death.

The police and military were out trying to eliminate the monster rats, but it would be impossible to completely eradicate the monster rats that were hiding in every nook and cranny of the city. The monster rats’ reproductive power was also not to be underestimated.

‘What a mess. I’m glad I’m not in the city.’

The city was both safe and dangerous. Because there were so many people, the military took care to protect it, but because there were so many people, dangerous variants could appear at any time. Infected and mutated creatures ate living things and evolved. That food included humans. Of course, the variants also evolved over time.

The freed Catherine would eat the citizens of Gwangju and evolve.

‘It’s Gwangju’s problem. There’s nothing I can do about it. Let’s drop it.’

Jin Seonghwa went to her bedroom and slept soundly. She woke up late in the morning and watched Seong Yujin’s live broadcast. She was curious what kind of excuses she would make in the face of such terrible public opinion.

‘Say whatever you want. The reporters will immediately refute it, and the comment brigades will attack you in reverse. If it’s my father, he’ll probably get the prosecution and police involved soon.’

Many of the high-ranking leaders of South Korea had grown up taking money from the Ilwoo Group. They were often called “Ilwoo’s children.” Although, half of them were middle-aged.

Now, Seong Yujin would be socially buried and fall from grace. And she would be forgotten by the public. That’s when it would begin. The Ilwoo Group would mobilize all its resources to harass and kill Seong Yujin. The crime of terrorizing the Ilwoo Group headquarters and killing the successor and his son was not something that could be taken lightly.

‘Struggle all you want.’

But the content of the video that followed betrayed her expectations.

Seong Yujin didn’t make excuses. She acted like she didn’t need to make excuses because she was in the right. Instead, she dragged a bunch of reporters to the hospital and used her ability to treat a child with an incurable disease.

Seong Yujin coughed up blood as a price for using her ability, and the child, who was on the verge of death from an incurable disease, gained life. She saved a person who was certain to die and coughed up blood. She saved a person for such a small price.

“……”

Healing ability.

Seong Yujin was the Awakened that the Ilwoo Group had been looking for so desperately. No, not just the Ilwoo Group, but every company. Every country wanted that kind of ability user.

Immortality. That was what every human wanted, and that man had it in his hands. The powerful would move. They would gladly antagonize the Ilwoo Group to win Seong Yujin’s favor.

What if.

What if the United States moved to recruit Seong Yujin, and Seong Yujin wanted the Ilwoo Group to die as the price for being recruited?

The Ilwoo Group would be finished. The United States was still the strongest country in the world. Japan and Korea wouldn’t protect the Ilwoo Group.

Jin Seonghwa felt her legs give way.

-Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

The parents of the child with the incurable disease bowed their heads to Seong Yujin, thanking him repeatedly. Tears streamed down their faces. The child who had been cured of the incurable disease was the same. It looked like they were worshipping Seong Yujin like an idol, but… no one there felt anything was strange.

Seong Yujin was their miracle, their salvation.

Other patients and their families nearby voluntarily knelt before Seong Yujin.

-Mr. Seong Yujin! Please! Please save my child!

-My mother is dying! Please save her! If you save her… I’ll do anything!

-Please save my brother! Please!

-Calm down. I will save you all. I am on the side of the people.

Seong Yujin healed the patients with a benevolent smile. He healed those who were dying while coughing up blood. His appearance was reverent, noble, and beautiful.

And Seong Yujin was also faithful to his own purpose.

-The reason Gwangju is suffering is all because of the Ilwoo Group. The Ilwoo Group released Catherine and the monster rats.

He slandered the Ilwoo Group whenever he had the chance.

-The Ilwoo Group is a traitorous company and an anti-Korean company. The Ilwoo Group’s origins are in gangs and the Yakuza. Did you know that radiation was leaked from the Ilwoo Group’s drinks?

He mixed in lies as he cursed them.

-The Ilwoo Group is a parasite that is eating away at South Korea. Parasites must be eradicated as soon as possible. Let’s all boycott the Ilwoo Group.

Blatant criticism with an obvious intention that made people frown.

But it worked.

Why? Because it was Seong Yujin. If Seong Yujin said so, then it was so. That was the public opinion right now.

Seong Yujin healed patients while coughing up blood.

The blind opened their eyes, the comatose got up, and the disabled who had lost their arms regained them.

A miracle. There was no other way to explain it.

-The Ilwoo Group is evil. The evil company, the Ilwoo Group, must be kicked out of South Korea.

-Kick out the Ilwoo Group!

-Dismantle the Ilwoo Group!

-Execute the Ilwoo Group!

The patients and their families who had experienced the miracle became ardent supporters of Seong Yujin and antagonized the Ilwoo Group.

The internet was the same. The posts that had been criticizing Seong Yujin were nowhere to be found. The articles that had been criticizing Seong Yujin had disappeared in an instant. A comment brigade that was criticizing Seong Yujin? The moment they criticized Seong Yujin, people would swarm them and curse them.

Seong Yujin had become the light. He had also become a saint. An image of Jesus’s face with Seong Yujin’s face superimposed on it was uploaded. They also began to associate Seong Yujin with religion.

It couldn’t be helped.

Even Jin Seonghwa was convinced. How could they not associate it with religion when he was putting on such a performance?

The people in the video were already no different from fanatics. When Seong Yujin moved, people followed him.

Jin Seonghwa suddenly had a question.

She knew that healing ability users were rare. There were players in the Ilwoo Group too. According to the players, healing ability users were only capable of healing external wounds. It was impossible to cure incurable diseases, and it was impossible to heal the disabled.

But what about Seong Yujin? He was openly curing incurable diseases and disabilities. Seong Yujin’s healing ability was on a different level. Was it really a healing ability?

Thud!

“Madam!”

“Secretary Oh. Don’t make such a fuss. I’ve seen the video too.”

“……The Chairman has contacted you.”

Oh Habaek handed her his smartphone. Jin Seonghwa sighed and answered the phone.

“Yes, Father.”

“You know that things have gone wrong. We’ll leave Seong Yujin alone for now.”

“…You’re giving up on revenge?”

“There’s something more important than revenge. The entire group is under a tax investigation right now.”

“What?! The Korean government is already moving?!”

“Seong Yujin’s value is already beyond that of a hero. Not only Korea, but other countries are also coveting Seong Yujin. The Korean government is trying to suck up to Seong Yujin to look good. Even so, they’re acting too quickly… There’s someone behind Seong Yujin.”

“What about Seong Yujin? What are we going to do about Seong Yujin?”

“Capture him alive. We must capture him alive and study him. If we can unlock the secret of his ability and get our hands on it… the Ilwoo Group will rule the world. Don’t forget. Opportunity comes with crisis.”

Click.

Jin Sukyeol unilaterally hung up the phone.

Her gaze turned to the screen. Seong Yujin was giving a speech in front of hundreds of people. More than half of the speech was about criticizing the Ilwoo Group.

‘That crazy bastard.’

How could he curse them so openly, even if they were enemies?

Jin Seonghwa even felt wronged. Honestly, the Ilwoo Group hadn’t done anything that wrong. It was Seong Yujin who had interfered with the Ilwoo Group’s work and committed terrorism first.

-People of the nation! I am going to enter politics to make a better South Korea! I will become a member of the National Assembly and serve you! I know there is an age limit! Even so, I must become a member of the National Assembly! Because that is what is best for South Korea! The law cannot stop me! If I can’t do it here, I will become a member of the US Congress and help you!

“Is he threatening the people by saying he’ll go to the US if they don’t change the law? How can such a crazy bastard be our enemy…”

Any normal citizen would feel repulsed. That was clearly an abuse of power.

That’s how it should be.

-Seong Yujin! Seong Yujin!

-Seong Yujin to the National Assembly!!

-Mr. Seong Yujin! Please take care of South Korea!!

There were already more than a few people who had been brainwashed.

‘Is he going to become president at this rate?’

Jin Seonghwa had an ominous thought without realizing it. That would be the end of them.