English Novel
Chapter 219
[Translator - Jjescus]
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Chapter 219
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The Slanderer I
1.
"People's morals these days seem really strange…"
One day, while enjoying a swim, such a remark came out of Noh Doha's mouth.
"Hmm."
For the record, we were in a swimming pool.
It was a pool located in the basement of the National Highway Management Headquarters, and given it was the power center, it wouldn’t do to get upset about leisurely swimming in an apocalypse.
It was just that a public pool in the void had sprung up randomly.
Noh Doha hated every activity categorized as 'exercise', but swimming wasn’t something he disliked. So I regularly dragged him from his office and tossed him into the pool.
People need to get some exercise at least, or they’ll live shorter lives.
Premature death wasn’t allowed for the strategist of the peninsula.
Anyway.
I silently approached Noh Doha. Then I crouched down and placed my hand on his forehead, as his face was sticking out of the pool.
"Strange. The temperature seems normal."
"Do you want to die…?"
"Oh, it’s pure concern. When the person whose morality is the most suspect suddenly talks about morals, it’s only natural to worry."
"Pure nonsense, more like…"
Noh Doha brushed off my hand, and the smell of pool chlorine filled the air.
"Haven’t you noticed? Lately, people's reactions have been a bit odd…"
"How exactly have they been odd?"
"Let me explain…"
Noh Doha told me the story.
In the National Highway Management, there was always talk about supplementing the workforce.
After all, being a highway officer meant constantly living with one’s life half in the hands of strange entities, so it was unavoidable.
And officers were required to have high combat strength, strong camaraderie, professional learning abilities, mental resilience against the void’s mental contamination, loyalty to resist bribes from regional warlords, and above all, the attitude to still hold onto hope for humanity despite the hardships.
In short, the job was tough as hell.
- People are getting killed on the field! Hire more!
- Who’s hiring these useless recruits?! Don’t just hire anyone!
- We need quantity! Quantity!
- Qualityyyyy!
Thus, there were always two eternally conflicting opinions within the National Highway Management.
"But lately, even people outside of the National Highway Management have started meddling in this…"
"Huh?"
It all started on SGnet.
One of the caravans from the National Highway Management departing from Busan had been wiped out in the void (not an uncommon occurrence), and users on the message board began discussing it.
- Anonymous: Honestly, isn't it the management's fault for not supplementing the workforce in time?
└ Anonymous: The highway management is practically responsible for all logistics in the peninsula, so yeah, they’re kinda negligent... agreed...
└ KoreanVillage: Hmm…
- Anonymous: Because of this accident, the market in Pohang hasn’t opened for over three months, lol.
- Anonymous: A friend of mine works in highway management, and they said there's a lot of talk internally too. Apparently, they’re deliberately not hiring new officers even though they know they’re short on field personnel.
└ Anonymous: Why?
└ Anonymous: If they hire more officers, they’ll have to share the profits they’re sucking from the guilds all over the country. Honestly, the management doesn't care about logistics; they’re more focused on extorting taxes from guilds, lol.
└ Anonymous: Is this for real??
└ Anonymous: Yeah, anyone who’s in the know knows this stuff.
└ dolLHOuse: ?? What nonsense are you all spouting?
- Anonymous: I didn’t think the highway chief was like this. Guess they’re no different from the politicians of the past.
└ Anonymous: You still trust people? lol
└ Anonymous: I knew this would happen.
I blinked.
"What... is this parade of nonsense?"
"It’s just a parade of nonsense. I only know about it because my subordinates reported it to me. Apparently, posts like these have been popping up frequently."
"All of a sudden?"
"They say it started about a week ago."
It was truly malicious misinformation.
At present, the National Highway Management was practically the lifeline of the Korean peninsula. Even the regional warlords, who were essentially guild leaders, knew this, and so did ordinary citizens.
Wasn’t it a time when unity among people was more precious than ever? Spreading such slander would ultimately lead to a loss for all humanity.
It was pointless disruption.
"We should track the IPs with Seo Gyu."
"Of course, we've already done that."
"Who are they? Is it a specific guild deliberately waging a public opinion war? That’s the only thing that makes sense to me."
If so, we’d deal with these petty people following short-sighted gains.
Noh Doha said to me, "Well, I thought the same, so I asked Yongsan to check their identities... But they were just ordinary Awakened."
"Ordinary Awakened?"
"Yeah. They had no contact, no connection, no background. They were literally strangers just commenting back and forth."
I blinked.
Wasn’t this just a coincidence, then?
I wasn’t one to be uptight about regulating simple accidents.
Venting emotions on the internet was something that had always happened before civilisation's collapse.
"But that’s not all. Ah, something just grabbed my ankle…"
"It’s a water ghost. Don’t worry. Please continue."
"Sure…"
We both ignored the water ghost, and the conversation continued.
"It’s not just about the National Highway Management; people have also started meddling in the affairs of Three Thousand Worlds and Baekhwa Girls’ High School as well."
It was literal slander.
[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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- Anonymous: In Busan, Tang Seorin holds a monster dismantling show every month, but honestly, it’s kinda brutal, lol.
- Anonymous: I heard two regular guild members died last time trying to capture monsters for that show.
└ Anonymous: Really?
└ KoreanVillage: Hmm…
└ Anonymous: Yeah, I heard that too. They could’ve just killed the monsters with no casualties, but Tang Seorin insisted on capturing them, and that’s how the incident happened.
└ Anonymous: Wow.
- Anonymous: If this is true, isn't that a real problem?
└ Anonymous: Busan is practically Tang Seorin’s territory, so covering up two deaths is nothing. She’s always been like that.
└ dolLHOuse: ?? What nonsense are you all spouting?
└ Anonymous: I knew this would happen.
Of course, it was just a baseless rumor.
Tang Seorin almost always hunted the prey she dismantled herself. At the very least, she never just stood idly by after ordering her subordinates to capture them.
Actually, if Tang Seorin's main defensive system hadn’t backed her up, the Ten Clans Hunts or the Meteor Shower Hunts would have caused exponentially more damage to the Awakened.
Tang Seorin had accumulated a lot of "shield points." And yet, some low-level Awakened dare criticize Tang Seorin? Have they all gone mad together?
"Hey. Don't let your eyes roll back. Your eyes already look inhuman, and now you're about to start resembling a frozen fish…."
"Yeah."
"Anyway, it's been like this for the past week. Just like when civilization used to function normally…."
"Is it only happening on SG Net?"
"Who knows…."
Swoosh-.
Noh Doha came out of the swimming pool. I wrapped a towel around his shoulders, which I had prepared beforehand.
Since he was forced to do the exercise he absolutely hated, this level of service was necessary.
Noh Doha sipped the hot coffee I poured from a thermos and looked at me. Droplets of water were still dripping from his black hair.
“I get the feeling that it’s probably the work of some anomaly….”
I had the same gut feeling.
2
It wasn’t just any random person; I received a quest directly from the Head of the National Roads Administration. Slacking off wasn’t an option.
I delayed my original schedule and contacted the Saintess for advice.
[Yes, you're right. There's been an increase in such conversations in real life recently.]
The Saintess was reliable. She immediately provided the information I wanted.
[The people involved don't seem to care much that they had those conversations.]
[They just think, "I happened to say that. I didn't mean any harm. I was just agreeing with what someone else said. It was just casual chatter."]
[That seems to be the general perception.]
I rested my chin on my hand.
"If this is affecting not only the internet but also real life, keywords like 'witch hunt' might be important. Could it be some kind of mental virus?"
[A virus… doesn’t seem like the right word. There doesn’t seem to be a clear infection source.]
[It’s happening simultaneously, from Sariwon to Busan.]
“Can you summarize the key characteristics of these conversations?”
[Of course.]
The Saintess laid out the characteristics of the “witch hunt” anomaly as follows:
1. Someone subtly starts a baseless rumor.
2. Despite doubts, people chime in with agreeable responses.
3. The rumor is taken as fact, and the person at the center of the rumor is criticized, with comments about their character.
4. The conversation always ends with, “I knew it.”
[That’s the gist of it.]
"Hmm."
I rested my chin on my hand.
"It's definitely some kind of mental anomaly... It seems like an anomaly that parasitizes language itself."
[How do you plan to handle it?]
"Let's test the reaction first."
I issued a secret order to Sim Aryeon, the most powerful card available in the current human internet system.
Sim Aryeon had the authority to control the Constellations [Librarian of the Great Library] and [Collector of All Anomalies], as well as multiple anonymous nicknames.
Target: ON. Fire.
-Anonymous: I know who’s spreading that stupid rumor that Tang Seorin forced herself to capture an anomaly just for a dissection show, lol.
-Anonymous: There’s this small guild in Busan's Yeongdo called the Cheonghae Guild, always acting cocky with Three Thousand Worlds. The guild leader got ‘caught’ by Tang Seorin, and ever since, their small fry have been spreading rumors about her, lol.
└Anonymous: ?? What are you talking about? I’m just sharing what I heard from an acquaintance.
└Anonymous: And your acquaintance must be the same guild leader who was bawling his eyes out in front of the Great Witch, begging for his life like a child, right?^^
└Anonymous: I’m not even from the Cheonghae Guild, though?
For reference, all the “Anonymous” posts above were Sim Aryeon herself.
Sim Aryeon skillfully stirred up the forum with her "clone technique."
And once the attention of the members was fully captured, she delivered the finale.
-Anonymous: I’m one of the top five Awakened serving the Librarian of the Great Library, lol. Keep messing around, and I’ll ask the Constellation to reveal your identity, so shut your mouth.^^
└Anonymous: Lol, what a clown. I’m seriously not from Cheonghae Guild, so what are you going to do about it? Go ahead, reveal my info, lol.
└[Librarian of the Great Library]: Park Sang-soon. 37 years old. Guild Leader of Cheonghae Guild. Currently logged in from Yeongdo, Busan.
└Anonymous: ?
└Anonymous: What the f—?
└Anonymous: That’s not me.
The other forum members watching the coliseum, of course, went wild.
The public opinion quickly shifted in favor of Three Thousand Worlds, with a flood of comments criticizing the Cheonghae Guild.
I calmly observed the unfolding situation.
"Now then. The rumor has been overturned. What’s your next move, anomaly?"
At that moment.
-Anonymous: I knew those Cheonghae Guild bastards would cause trouble someday, lol.
-Anonymous: Their guild is infamous for promoting themselves anonymously and badmouthing rival guilds.
└Anonymous: Really??
└Anonymous: They even have a PR manager under the guild leader who tells the guild members exactly how to sway public opinion, lol.
└Anonymous: I knew it.
Hmm.
I sighed.
The same forum members who had been questioning Tang Seorin’s character earlier had now turned to condemning the entire Cheonghae Guild as if nothing had happened.
"It’s not eradicated at all."
[…Yeah. Other unrelated Awakened are still commenting.]
Indeed.
This mysterious anomaly seemed only interested in setting the world on fire, regardless of what the target was.
No matter how hard you tried to overturn one rumor, it simply moved on to the next one.
[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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