Chapter 2416 – 2416. Eternal Eden
I returned to Sungak Elementary School as secretly as I had come.
The first button was well-fastened.
Army Chief of Staff, Jin Suhak.
Meeting him wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was something I had been planning for a long time. First, I worked on his wife through the Sungjin Church.
‘Originally, I would have put in a little more effort. To gradually make Jin Suhak fall for the Sungjin Church under his wife’s influence.’
That was safer and more certain than me stepping in directly.
But with Jung Woo-hyun making his move, I had no choice but to accelerate my plans.
‘Jin Suhak could have ignored me and attacked. I would have killed him then. Even if not, he could have pretended to follow me for now and then sided with Jung Woo-hyun.’
There was no guarantee that Jin Suhak wouldn’t betray me.
As a precaution, I had taken parts of Jung Woo-hyun and his family’s bodies. Cut-off fingers. It was a threat that there would be no comfortable death if he betrayed me, and a token of trust. His young son was no exception. It was just that there was an urn, so there was no need to cut off his finger.
‘We have a generous three weeks before the food runs out. Of course, it’s impossible to win over all the military officers within that time. We’ll move the coup with the minimum number of people and secure Jung Woo-hyun.’
If it succeeds, it’s a revolution, and if it fails, it’s treason.
Of course, Jin Suhak will be the one at the forefront. Even if it fails, my name won’t come up. Even so, those who know will know that I was involved.
‘As long as we don’t fail, it’s fine. If we succeed, I’ll become the behind-the-scenes power of South Korea. It means South Korea will be in my hands. And I’ll slowly spread the Sungjin Church throughout South Korea. If the Sungjin Church converts 50%… no, 30% of the Korean people, Korea will be mine.’
The narrow confines of Sungak Elementary School will disappear, and management on a national scale will become possible.
‘The things I can do will increase tremendously.’
High risk, high return.
Honestly, the risk is quite high, but the return is even greater.
‘The power of me and Sungak Elementary School must also be involved in the coup. I heard that Jung Woo-hyun’s security team is made up entirely of Awakened.’
It’s a shame that the Awakened of Korea are dying, but it’s easier for us if they are killed without mercy. And the Awakened can be revived later. When I have a sure way to control the Awakened.
‘Next, what I need is… justification. Although the Sungjin Church followers are protesting in front of the Blue House, support for Jung Woo-hyun is high.’
The damage to Korea from this disaster is minimal compared to other countries. That’s because of the president’s wise choices. That perception had spread among the people. Moreover, didn’t they recently hold talks with North Korea and achieve a truce?
‘Damn it. That was originally my achievement. Not that bastard’s.’
North Korean leader Kim Jae-ji’s goal was to meet me.
‘Jung Woo-hyun. He pretends to be nice on the outside… but judging by his actions, he must have committed all sorts of corruption. Considering the aftermath of the coup, Jung Woo-hyun’s reputation must be tarnished. That will become the justification.’
I didn’t have any information about Jung Woo-hyun’s corruption. But I know who would know about Jung Woo-hyun’s corruption.
‘Lee Yeon-hee, the 4th Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service. She’s likely to know about Jung Woo-hyun’s corruption. Moreover, Lee Yeon-hee is under house arrest by Jung Woo-hyun. She must have a grudge against Jung Woo-hyun, so it’ll be easy to win her over.’
The problem is that I don’t know where Lee Yeon-hee is right now.
It’s not easy to contact her openly. If the 1st Deputy Director, Shin Young-soo, is a sane person, he’ll be monitoring Lee Yeon-hee.
‘I need to think of a way.’
If I can bring Lee Yeon-hee in, it will be a great help.
• • •
Three days later.
I found out Lee Yeon-hee’s location. I found out through Gu Tae-hee, the boss of Taehwang. I thought she had some kind of relationship with Lee Yeon-hee, but she even knew Lee Yeon-hee’s family home.
Ssangmun-dong, Seoul.
A large traditional Korean house there was Lee Yeon-hee’s family home. Lee Yeon-hee was a descendant of the Korean Empire’s royal family. I knew she was no ordinary woman, but I never imagined she was of imperial lineage.
Unlike me, who was surprised, Na Chae-young was calm.
“That woman is a descendant of the royal family? It’s not surprising. You don’t know because you’re not a player, but there were a few Easter eggs in the original game, Eternal Eden. One of them was that descendants of real historical figures would occasionally appear as NPCs.”
I had also played the original Eternal Eden. But I hadn’t played it that much, so I didn’t know much about the Easter eggs.
“Does that mean there’s a descendant of Hitler too?”
“It’s possible. Since it’s become reality, the name might have changed.”
True. If they used the name Hitler openly, they might get beaten to death on the street.
“Anyway, I’m going to meet Lee Yeon-hee tonight. There’s not much time left, so I need to move as quickly as possible.”
“There’s no need for that. Because I’ve come here like this.”
Lee Yeon-hee, wearing a suit, suddenly appeared from the empty air.
Na Chae-young, startled, jumped up from her chair, and I stepped forward as if to protect Na Chae-young.
“Lee Yeon-hee. How did you suddenly appear? I knew you were an Awakened, but… were you a teleporter?”
“No. Spatial movement is just one of the things I can do. I’ve been here all along. It’s just that you didn’t notice.”
She was here all along? I didn’t feel her presence at all.
Of course, I didn’t use electromagnetic waves, but that’s natural. This is Na Chae-young’s lab, the most important place in the main building of Sungak Elementary School. It’s the safest place I know. Would I use electromagnetic waves in a place like this because I’m suspicious?
‘If Lee Yeon-hee had tried to kill us… we would have been helpless.’
I didn’t notice her at all. Even if I hadn’t been careless, would I have been able to notice her presence? I couldn’t be sure.
Lee Yeon-hee took off her glove and extended her hand to Na Chae-young.
“Dr. Na, you’re a player, right? If you make contact with me, you’ll be able to know my abilities and characteristics. As an apology for my rudeness, I’ll let you know my abilities and characteristics. And to make an excuse… it was to trust you. I don’t trust anyone without prior information.”
“……”
Na Chae-young looked at me. She was asking me what to do. I nodded. If she had intended to kidnap Na Chae-young with her ability… she had plenty of opportunities. The fact that she came out like this means she wants to talk.
Na Chae-young took Lee Yeon-hee’s hand. At that moment, Na Chae-young’s eyes widened in shock.
“What, this…”
“I’m curious what Dr. Na was surprised to see. Can you tell me?”
“……I’ll write it down on paper now, so please wait a moment.”
The contents of the paper Na Chae-young wrote were as follows.
「Individual Name: Lee Yeon-hee
Potential: ★★★★★
Awakened Ability: Spatial Manipulation.
Characteristics: Thorough, Iron-Blooded, Iron Will. Nationalism.」
There were four characteristics. Moreover, they were all top-tier characteristics.
Na Chae-young looked at Lee Yeon-hee’s stats and said,
“You. Now that I see it, you’re an all-around worker.”
“Hmm. Looking at the characteristics, I don’t know what effects they have since I’m not a player. Can you tell me?”
“Dr. Na. I’m curious too.”
“Iron Will is tier 0. The rest are all tier 1 characteristics.”
“Tier 0?”
“It’s a characteristic that you choose without question if you have it. It’s also a very rare characteristic.”
Thorough: All work correction +50%.
Iron-Blooded: Mental resistance +50%. Doesn’t waver even if family or friends die.
Iron Will: All stats +20%. All work correction +20%, fatigue recovery rate +30%.
Nationalism: All work correction +30% when working for the country.
‘I see why she said she’s an all-around worker. If you add up the work corrections, it’s 100%.’
In the original game Eternal Eden, NPCs are divided into what they can and cannot do depending on their job. That thing they can do is called work, and the more they do that work, the more their expertise increases. A 100% work correction means that they can learn all skills regardless of talent.
“I’ve been told I’m a genius who can do everything since I was young. In fact, there was nothing difficult among the things I learned. But I didn’t delve into them deeply because nothing caught my interest.”
I looked at Lee Yeon-hee with greedy eyes. She was pretty and had abilities. I wanted to get her no matter what.
“Lee Yeon-hee. Come to Sungak Elementary School. No, come under me.”
Lee Yeon-hee said with her usual smile.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“Did you forget what my fourth characteristic is? I’m married to Korea.”
Nationalism.
It’s similar to patriotism but a little different. Nationalism is extreme. Their own country must be above other countries. They will do anything for that.
“Married to the country, huh. So, if I become Korea itself, you’ll be married to me.”
“Is that how the story goes? Hmm. Yes. It doesn’t seem wrong. If Eugene becomes Korea itself… yes. I’ll dedicate everything to you.”
“I’ll definitely remember those words.”
Lee Yeon-hee was just smiling. Still, I could see through her thoughts better than before.
“But you’ll cooperate with this, right?”
“Yes. Jung Woo-hyun crossed the line.”
“Well, he crossed the line by messing with me.”
“No. It’s not that… I found out about the details of a deal Jung Woo-hyun made with Japan. Allowing the immigration of Japanese people. In return, he received cooperation and technology from Japan.”
“Japanese people are immigrating to Korea? Why? Is the situation that serious?”
“It’s much more serious than what’s known to the public. Earthquakes are occurring more than three times a week, and the Japanese archipelago is gradually moving westward. Assuming there are no variables, the peninsula and the archipelago will collide in about five years. That’s the conclusion reached by famous doctors such as geologists, seismologists, and oceanographers.”
I laughed, recalling that there had been quite a few earthquakes in Korea recently.
“The territory is coming to me on its own. The beginning of the Korean Empire’s occupation isn’t far off.”
Lee Yeon-hee’s eyes widened, and her face flushed. She breathed heavily, as if she was ecstatic.
“The Korean Empire’s occupation…. Just hearing it makes my heart race. If that really happens, I’ll have no regrets.”
“If I become the president of Korea… Korea will become the strongest country in the world.”
“I’ve heard your ambition, Eugene. If the opportunity for that really comes, I will do my best to help.”
For now, Lee Yeon-hee’s favorability seemed certain. Turns out she wasn’t a difficult woman. It seemed like she would do anything for me if I made Korea the strongest country in the world.
“Lee Yeon-hee. Assassinate Jung Woo-hyun with your ability. Korea will be in chaos for a while, but… Korea will overcome it.”
“I would like to do that, but I can’t teleport to Jung Woo-hyun’s side with my ability.”
“What? Why?”
“Jung Woo-hyun has a haetae’s horn. A haetae. To be precise, it’s a variant of a lion. Four months ago, a lion in the zoo mutated, and the military hunted it. At that time, they obtained the haetae’s horn, and the use of abilities within a 10m radius of the horn was restricted.”
“Does that mean assassination through abilities is impossible?”
“I basically can’t move. I’m currently being monitored even at my family home. I barely managed to find a gap to come here now.”
“Is the security that tight?”
“Jung Woo-hyun knows my ability. I told him before. He knows I’m a teleporter.”
“…I see.”
Lee Yeon-hee is capable of spatial movement. Depending on how it’s used, it’s an incredibly dangerous ability. A 10m ability restriction? If you attack from outside 10m, that’s it. Even with just a pistol, you can hit an enemy 10m away. …I can’t hit it now, though.
“Why did you tell him about your ability, even if it wasn’t all of it?”
“Because he’s the president of Korea. There were some unsettling parts, so I didn’t tell him everything. I’ll give you the corruption data I collected on Jung Woo-hyun now.”
Space split open, and documents and USBs poured onto the desk.
‘Is that subspace? I know because I have an inventory. That’s so convenient. I’m a little jealous.’
I can’t use the inventory in this world.
I reached out for the data because I needed to check it.
