ocean-life Chapter 141: Korea (1)
Chapter 141: Korea (1)
of course no one would believe it. appearing out of the blues, self-styling as some galactic emperor, and claiming dominion over earth? taking that seriously would be like shouting “status window” while jumping in front of a truck in real life.
especially coming from a lunatic who spouted this kind of nonsense.
[i do hope you’ll entertain me.]
anyone who believed him definitely needed their head examined. but people could not simply ignore it...
-how is this happening? the communication network’s been breached?
-i-i don’t understand it myself...
-we can’t restore control!
hijacking the world’s entire communication infrastructure, all by himself?
-if they go through these defenses...
-even after shutting down the servers...
-how did this happen? you know our security level! it’s top-secret—
-this is technically impossible!
while individuals might scoff, institutions were breaking into cold sweats. this comprehensive cyber assault targeted everything indiscriminately—banks, corporations, governments, all of it. in this day and age... how was this even possible?
this was not something to dismiss. the average person could not fathom just how dependent modern society was on its networks and data. simply erasing a single bank’s records would cause unimaginable damage. and this hacker could paralyze not just one nation, but the entire world.
-identify them immediately!
-get security in here!
-what’s our damage assessment?
-there might be traces! check everything!
-ohh....
-launch an immediate investigation!
those who understood the implications were terrified. and as details about the hacker emerged, their confusion only deepened.
-so... you’re saying it’s a monster?
-but it looked completely human...
-sure, humanoid monsters exist, but still...
-a wandering hidden boss? wasn’t that all nonsense?
-a boss monster came out of the tower?
it strained belief. the whole world knew korea alone was failing to break through the 50th floor. and now the wandering hidden boss responsible had waltzed out of the tower to cause this disaster.
yet, some welcomed the situation.
-this is actually our chance. we must secure it for the nation!
-the items from that tower clearly show traces of a civilization far beyond ours. deploy an investigation team at once!
-party limits might apply inside the tower, but out here...
-that’s not all. we even have artillery at the ready.
the extraordinary nature of korea’s hidden boss rewards was common knowledge.
with america’s recent breakthrough in item research hitting pay dirt, interest had skyrocketed. and now the source of that fortune had strolled out of the tower on its own.
-this is divine providence!
-ohh! indeed! such technology explains these impossible feats!
-hahaha! the korean government’s protests? ignore them!
-threaten to cut off their mana stone supply unless they open their airports immediately.
-this will advance humanity by decades!
-hahaha!
they were bent on acquiring this advanced technology.
***-halt! halt! halt!
that was the first greeting karlstein received the moment he emerged from the tower.
-hands up, and don’t move!
“mm?”
stepping out to find himself surrounded, he wondered if this was some kind of welcome party.
“word spreads quickly, doesn’t it? oh, maybe those lurkers had something to do with it.”
naturally, team supreme’s vanished life signals had played their part too, though he could not have known that.
“how is everyone today? i am the galactic emperor. i have come to establish diplomatic relations with the earth of this—“
although he introduced himself with a bright smile...
“listen up, monster! you are surrounded. comply with our instructions quietly.”
“hahaha.”
the hunters’ eyes gleamed as they sized up karlstein, who responded with a simple nod.
“yeah. done thinking.”
“thinking?”
he felt it unnecessarily to even bother answering.
time to party. the hard way.
bzzt-
as if on cue, the background task he had been working on reached completion.
bzzzt-
karlstein grinned, making an announcement to the crowd.
[i am karlstein babylon, emperor of the galactic empire.]
[starting now, i’m taking over earth.]
yeah. as they suggested, i should create the right environment for ‘dialogue’ first.
karlstein’s eyes flashed.
***[breaking news: korea’s hidden boss now targeting china?]
[two-day damage estimate exceeds 1,000 trillion]
[hidden boss ‘karlstein babylon’: what is his purpose?]
[karlstein’s first move: korean politicians purged? “empty the blue house!”]
[korean hunter army decimated. what happened that day when casualties exceeded 1,000?]
[karlstein babylon asks “where should i play next?” -analysis inside]
[what is a wandering hidden boss?]
the media’s constant coverage made it impossible to ignore: korea, already in decline, had finally hit rock bottom. yet contrary to the media’s doom-mongering, korea continued functioning normally.
it defied logic. how could things run smoothly after such upheaval? even after all high-ranking officials and administrative heads were ousted overnight, within a matter of days?
[well. just follow instructions, all you need to do. no need for top brass.]
the anarchy system appeared on every electronic device in korea overnight. it was essentially an ai management system for futuristic communism.
two days after karlstein babylon’s emergence, the nation’s foundation had transformed. every korean had to know about the anarchy system. after karlstein’s broadcast—which was effectively a declaration of war—it auto-launched with every computer startup.
surprisingly, public opinion online was not particularly bad.
ᄂis this really okay? can we just continue like this?
ᄂye its fr.... jus gotta follow orders.
ᄂthought earth was done for at first tbh.
ᄂsaw him at the mart, he actually said hello!
ᄂlol for real?
ᄂyeah... so i said hi back. surreal moment.
ᄂisnt he sightseeing in china now?
ᄂsightseeing lmao more like going around destroying errything.
ᄂbut can the country really function like this?
ᄂah whatevs. it’ll handle it prolly. that anarchy thing ykno?
ᄂmah mind is blown yo... how’s a country run without politicians?
ᄂjust think of it as ai running the country.
ᄂi’m in disbelief because it’s so perfect yo.
ᄂlol i’m a 6th grade civil servant... it’s wild. just doing what the system tells me to like they’re quests and everything runs smoother...
ᄂplus the work quests are personalized with different rewards.
ᄂquests? then what if you don’t work?
ᄂif ur backlog stacks, your bank balance drops real-time....
ᄂseems like... the financial network was completely taken over from the start.
ᄂbasically, ur bank balance goes up the more u work, and goes down the less u do.
ᄂthe workload’s actually pretty reasonable... and there’s especially no room for slacking.
ᄂfak....
ᄂthe ai governance era is upon us.
korea was evolving in a rather strange direction.