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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Aftermath and New Plans
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"Ugh, I'm gonna die..."
After the terror attack.
To escape Stardust, who was coming for me, I teleported straight home and promptly collapsed onto my bed from the side effects.
Ugh... Seriously, what's so great about teleportation that it has to hit me with such a backlash...?
That was the last thought I had while conscious that day.
"Ugh."
In the end, I simply passed out there.
...Life isn't easy.
***
When I finally managed to open my eyes after that, it was already the morning of the next day.
Clutching my throbbing head, I got up and turned on the TV first. I wanted to see if there was any news coverage about what I had done yesterday.
And sure enough.
[News Wide - In-Depth Analysis of Villain Egoistic]
The channel I'd randomly picked was immediately talking about me. Right. I'd forced all three major terrestrial broadcasters to shut down and broadcast my terror video, so by now, pretty much the entire nation would know.
Still, seeing myself on TV, wearing a black hat and a white mask covering half my face, was a rather strange sight. Mother, your son is on TV. I've become a celebrity. A villain, but a celebrity nonetheless. Haha.
Sitting on the edge of the bed for a while, watching TV and lost in idle thoughts, I soon gripped my aching body and got up. First, I needed to check the internet. All the public's reactions would be compiled there.
With that thought, I took off my cumbersome cape and changed into comfortable clothes, then turned on the laptop on my desk.
In the small studio apartment, where sunlight streamed in from the window, only the faint hum of the computer could be heard.
...I need to leave this place soon. I've stayed too long in a house that was only meant to be temporary.
Once it finished booting up, the first thing I did was go to the news section of a portal site.
And sure enough.
"Well... Oh. As expected. It was a complete uproar."
It was, quite literally, a pandemonium. All the content was related to the terror attack I'd caused last time.
The portal headlines were entirely about me.
[Live Broadcast of a Large-Scale Terror Attack... Who is the Villain 'Egoistic'?]
Starting with this article, which showed my picture at the top, the articles below were also filled with nothing but talk about me.
Such intense interest. Right, national broadcasting was indeed the correct answer for drawing attention. Next time, I should broadcast on YouTube too, not just terrestrial TV.
I quickly skimmed through the articles that were talking about me.
Yesterday's incident was almost like a massive entertainment show. Except for the fact that people's lives were actually on the line. Perhaps because of that, the public watched with bated breath, and there was a lot of talk about how chaotic it was on community sites. After all, it was a question of whether to press the button or not.
Moreover, at the end, it seemed to garner even more attention because of the heartwarming, humanistic ending, where, like in a movie, people had a change of heart due to the hero's speech, and ultimately, no one pressed the button to sacrifice others for their own survival. After all, it was a terror attack, but no one died.
After roughly surveying the public's reactions in that way, I divided the gains I had made from this terror attack into two major categories.
First. Making my name known nationwide.
Egoistic. My unique villain name, derived from "egoistic" to avoid overlapping with other villain names, was now known by the entire nation. Its distinctiveness made it easy to remember, which was a definite advantage. For me, someone who plans to be consistently active in the future, raising my recognition and interest this much was an enormous gain.
...Seeing comments like "[Catch that Mango Stick!]" which was a twist on my name, Egoistic, in the comment section, made me briefly regret choosing this name, but anyway.
The second was making the name Stardust known nationwide.
Stardust, an A-rank hero belonging to the Association. She was, in fact, a fairly well-known figure among the public. Unlike me, ordinary people couldn't recognize her face due to her facial recognition jamming device, but they somehow knew she was beautiful, perhaps from her aura. And there weren't many A-rank heroes to begin with.
The problem, however, was that Stardust's image gradually deteriorated in the original story... As villains progressed later in the plot, they would subtly torment Stardust and even manipulate public opinion, successfully creating a perception of her as rude and insolent.
Thus, the original story was a true tale of ruin and psychological torment, subtly leading not only Stardust's social standing as a hero but also Shin Haru's social standing to utter downfall.
And I, who had been furious reading that, had no intention of letting it happen. I would make sure our Stardust only walked on a path of flowers, wouldn't I? I would get rid of any interfering villains and change things so that she only had to deal with me. Let's try to create a Republic of Korea without terror.
...Anyway. As a result of my intentions, Stardust's recognition skyrocketed during this terror attack. And not because of her appearance, but because of her righteousness. Her heroism. In short, I had firmly planted a positive image of her.
Looking at the community forums and news comment sections, there was nothing but praise for her, so it seemed my plan to have her give a speech had hit the mark precisely. Right. Our Haru is good at speeches, you know? I was glad everyone recognized that.
"Now the first step is complete..."
After finishing all that, I closed my laptop and then got up.
No time to rest, no time to rest. I still have a lot to do. I need to deal with countless other A-rank, and even S-rank villains... and plan other terror attacks... Haah. Living as a villain isn't easy either.
"Ah. Is it already time...? I should meet her first."
I muttered that as I looked at my smartphone.
As I mentioned before. Doing everything from planning to executing terror attacks is incredibly difficult. That's why I needed an accomplice.
And that was her, my accomplice.
The child who helped me with the broadcast hijacking. In the original story, she becomes an S-rank villain, but I took her in before that, changing her future.
I then operated my phone and called her.
"Oh, Seoeun. I'm awake. ...Ah, right. I was unconscious until now. Yeah, yeah. Sorry for contacting you late. Were you worried? ...You weren't? Anyway, got it, I'm coming now. Okay~."
After the call ended, I grabbed my coat and went outside. I could have teleported, but as you can see, my powers are lacking, and I'd pass out if I moved a long distance... so I decided to just walk. Well, the weather's nice today anyway.
***
Outside the window, spring rain whispered.
A six-mat room in a foreign land.
...As if questioning when the weather had ever been good, a light rain suddenly began to fall, so I opened my umbrella and walked until I reached a residential area about an hour away.
There, a single, ordinary house stood.
Walking up to it, I naturally entered the four-digit passcode on the door lock and went inside.
But once inside, there was another door with a lock. Was this a double-lock system?
Anyway, having come and gone many times, I wasn't particularly surprised and naturally entered the passcode again.
The only difference was that this one was long, over ten digits.
Once I entered the passcode again.
*Thud.*
Instead of the door opening, the floor beneath my feet vibrated and began to descend, like an elevator, down, down below.
How long had I been descending, watching the black walls before me?
After a short while, with another *thud*, the elevator came to a halt.
Then, a white wall unfolded before my eyes, and an interior filled with LED lights. A scene like something out of a near-future sci-fi movie.
A large underground space hidden beneath an ordinary residential area. After walking a bit, a large room greeted me, its walls filled with countless displays, like a NASA research lab from a movie.
And in the midst of the glowing monitors, sat a silver-haired child with a bob cut, perched on a large leather chair that looked twice her size.
This child was the one who had helped me with the broadcast hijacking.
The one who would later appear as an S-rank villain in the original comic.
"Seoeun, I'm here."
"You're here, 'Hyung'?"
It was the genius hacker, Han Seoeun.
I walked over to where Seoeun was sitting, ruffled her hair, and asked her.
"Why on earth do you call me 'Hyung'...? Anyway, what were you doing?"
"What do you mean 'what'? I was dealing with the mess you made, Hyung."
As I stroked her white hair, Seoeun purred and shook her head.
Small in stature and pretty in appearance, Seoeun was undeniably a girl. ...And yet, she strongly insisted on being a boy.
Since I already knew she was a girl from the original story, her behavior just seemed cute. I merely wondered if she had some trauma related to being a girl... Still, hearing a girl who looked to be about a third-year middle schooler constantly insist she was a boy did give me a peculiar feeling.
"Ah. And Seoeun, you really did a great job with the broadcast hijacking yesterday. You even edited the broadcast like some kind of producer, didn't you? What would I have done without you, seriously?"
"Oh, please. Anyone could do something that easy."
She replied curtly, but when I complimented her, I could see her lips twitching unconsciously. I can see you smiling, kid.
"And Hyung. That's not the problem right now. Something's happened."
"What is it?"
As she spoke, suddenly seeming to remember something while tapping on the computer, I tilted my head.
"Do you remember that woman I mentioned last time, Lee Soobin? The one who I thought could become our new accomplice."
"Oh. The woman you said was active on the deep web? The one you said seemed to be my fan..."
"Yes. I said that because she was in a fan group of yours, 'Eumjingdi'... Oh. Look at this. It seems she's gotten involved in something strange."
Saying that, Seoeun showed me the screen.
And there it was.
[Egoistic's followers are currently holding hostages and staging a terror act in the heart of Incheon! They have planted bombs in the building and are...]
Unidentified individuals were doing strange things, invoking Egoistic's name.
...Who the hell are these bastards, suddenly using my name and pulling this crap?