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Chapter 495: The Chaotic Universe (2)

The reason Earth wanted to accompany the North American trip this time wasn’t because of Yeongwoo, but because it was concerned about the powerful figures in North America.

Even though they had just returned from a smooth negotiation with the Virtuous Ones, Earth believed that the true nature of Jeong Yeongwoo07 hadn’t gone anywhere.

“What a joke. If they want Earth so badly, why don’t they just come storm Seoul directly? If they don’t even have that kind of courage, they’re going to challenge me?”

As Yeongwoo frowned in disbelief, Earth gave a flick of its finger.

『No matter how strong someone is, they can’t just cross the planet in a single step to get to Seoul.』

Physical distance.

That, Earth explained, was the biggest reason why North America’s powerhouses hadn’t challenged the sole stakeholder of Earth.

“So basically, they’re just weaklings.”

『But they don’t know that. They've never seen iron horses from space, or experienced ultra-fast transport routes.』

“But at least they must’ve seen me beat down Bioto, right?”

Bioto.

A head of the Satral family, and Yeongwoo’s first victim from the lower galactic ranks.

『Maybe. But do you really think all of Earth’s strongest recognize you as the ultimate powerhouse just because of that? They have no idea how powerful lords from space truly are.』

Just as Yeongwoo had been able to act boldly due to his ignorance of the galaxy, the same could be said of the strong people scattered across Earth, including in North America.

They had never met Yeongwoo in person, nor had they faced beings from space.

That’s why, Earth speculated, once they met the famous Jeong Yeongwoo face to face, some might get the urge to challenge him.

“Oh yeah? Gotta admire their courage, at least.”

Yeongwoo crossed his arms.

Then he suddenly grinned with a sinister expression.

“Then I’ve no choice but to show them. What happens when a human who’s been rolling through the universe comes back.”

『…But you don’t have to do that. If you use your Presence, you can make them all kneel.』

“I don’t need to use that. They’ll kneel anyway.”

Then Yeongwoo turned toward the cockpit exit, glancing back over his shoulder.

“If you really want to come along, go ahead. I’m curious too—how they’ll react when they see a ‘talking Earth.’”

* * *

Earth and Yeongwoo’s first outing together.

And it wasn’t even out into space, but a trip within Earth.

Maybe that’s why Earth seemed a bit awkward.

『This feels… stranger than I expected.』

“…What does?”

『Walking around on top of myself, I mean.』

“What? You mean you’ve never come outside before?”

『Not never. But I’ve never walked around so openly like this.』

What Earth meant by “openly” was moving around while clearly revealing its identity as the planet itself.

It had roamed among humans before, but always in disguise or secrecy.

『So that’s the transport route, huh.』

As a towering spire piercing the sky came into view, Earth showed a look of renewed amazement.

“What are you surprised about? You’ve been watching ever since it was built, haven’t you?”

『Seeing it in person is different. The folks in North America will feel the same way when they see you.』

“I may have spoken harshly, but it’s not like I really want to massacre people.”

『Still feeling the aftertaste of Doatel?』

“…Not really. But without those guys, North America’s security would collapse, wouldn’t it? More mutants and monsters are going to pour out tomorrow, after all.”

As Yeongwoo said this, he stole a glance at Earth’s reaction.

As expected, Earth was now silently tight-lipped.

“You bastard. You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

『Sharpest instincts in the universe, I swear.』

“So mutants and monsters are going to appear tomorrow? Even in our country, the first-ever mutant already showed up.”

『Even if something appears tomorrow, it won’t be a mutant.』

At that, Yeongwoo—who had been touching the entryway to the transport route—suddenly froze in place.

“…What do you mean?”

『Originally, humanity was supposed to be nearly wiped out by the Reset. Only a handful of powerful cities or nations were meant to survive, while the rest of the world would be devoured by outsiders. That was the most likely scenario.』

“Outsiders?”

『At the large scale, the Mara. On a smaller scale, probably monsters. If humanity had lost its sovereignty, smaller invaders would’ve started moving in.』

“Sovereignty? What do you mean by that?”

『If the native population’s control over a planet drops below 20%, then the planet can legally change owners.』

“Oh… That’s what the Mara did to the Redfoot Orcs, huh.”

Yeongwoo’s brows furrowed.

“Wait. So you knew that and just stood by watching the Reset happen?”

『That’s what you’d call karma. The trial was meant to be resolved by the inhabitants themselves. I couldn’t interfere. I wasn’t allowed to.』

“And now? I’ve already crushed every ridiculous mutant that came at me.”

『That’s true. No one saw that coming, to be honest.』

"What are you talking about? Wasn’t the whole point of the Reset supposed to be a kind of test? And we made it through."

『It was a test, yes. But why did you assume that you were the only protagonist of the Reset? Weren’t the mutants also residents of another planet?』

"……"

At that, Yeongwoo couldn’t say a word.

Because it wasn’t wrong.

『The mutants also had the right and power to become the rulers of this world. And ironically, that power was given to them because of the "karma" left behind by those who survived.』

The karma of the survivors.

It referred to the public executions carried out during the first filtering stage.

If no one had used their karmic points when the Reset was triggered, then this world wouldn’t have ended up with monsters, mutants, or bizarre rules in the first place.

『The Reset isn’t just a trial for the survivors of the filtering. It’s a trial aimed at all of humanity.』

"But the mutants lost in the end. Some still live on with me, but—"

『Yes. It's true that it was basically because of you that the mutants were defeated.』

"And I stopped a bastard like Mara from taking over the planet too."

Yeongwoo added, as if to make sure that wasn’t forgotten.

Earth nodded in agreement.

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『That was definitely a major achievement.』

"So then, what now? I mean, I’ve taken care of the mutants and blocked off most of the external invaders. Shouldn’t we be getting a happy ending now?"

Yeongwoo thought at the very least, the petrification phenomenon that had paralyzed the world should be lifted.

If no more mutants or monsters appeared, then the majority of humanity would soon starve to death. That was just a matter of time.

Right now, without karma, they couldn’t even get food.

『Technically, it’s not my place to answer this. It should have been the Chairman.』

Earth finally spoke again.

『But since the Chairman is dead, I’ll tell you what I know.』

"The Chairman? Oh, you mean that Nezra guy. He was pretty strong."

When Yeongwoo looked up into space with a faint expression for some reason, Earth shook its head.

『Probably by tomorrow, a new administrator will arrive to take the Chairman’s place.』

"A new administrator?"

『Of course, since we followed the proper procedures and protected the planet’s sovereignty, that administrator won’t be able to interfere with the planet’s affairs. Even if they tried, you’d probably kill them anyway.』

Earth continued with a complicated expression.

『That’s why it’s likely the administrator will present a few choices. Because even without the Reset, our situation is quite tangled.』

Currently, Earth had already shed its status as a "planet under trial" before the Reset process could finish.

More precisely, the planet’s position and trajectory could no longer be predicted, so the next phase of the Reset couldn’t proceed.

Even if the Reset system tried to pull something from space and deploy it above Earth, it wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the planet’s location.

『The administrator who appears tomorrow won’t even be able to reach here without our approval.』

"You’re amazing, Earth…"

Yeongwoo realized it anew.

Why the universe had made building planetships so difficult.

"So if we just avoid meeting this administrator and keep running away… Oh wait, that won’t work."

『Right. Returning the planet to its pre-Reset state isn’t something we can do on our own. That’d be a problem. Unless, of course, you find a way to feed all of humanity.』

"Then I guess I’ll have to talk with this administrator first. I’m curious what they’ll say anyway."

With that, Yeongwoo opened the doors of the high-speed transit platform.

Fwoosh!

Then he quickly shot up to the upper level with Earth.

"If I didn’t exist on this Earth, humanity would’ve been wiped out by now, wouldn’t it?"

『Well… the mutants probably would’ve taken your place, so "humanity" might’ve continued in a sense. But depending on how things went, they might have become refugees or been completely annihilated. One of the two.』

Refugees.

That word no longer felt like something distant.

Yeongwoo had already seen countless refugees through Doatel, and even now, those welcoming them at the upper level of the platform—the Redfoot tribe—were practically refugees themselves.

—Little Foot.

—The path is ready.

As Yeongwoo reached the upper level of the platform, the Redfoot brothers greeted him and opened the outer wall.

Clang!

Then a glowing path stretched across the high skies, and one of the brothers asked Yeongwoo:

—Where do you want to go? I’ll input the destination.

Instead of answering right away, Yeongwoo turned to Earth.

"Where do you think we should go? Somewhere to drop the golden ratio bomb and meet all the top dogs in North America at once."

Earth rolled its eye and gazed off into some invisible point in space, then answered:

『As a single entity, the strongest in North America is still the Conqueror of the Great Lakes. But in terms of numbers and total combat strength, Nevada has the edge.』

“Nevada? What’s there?”

『The Western Union.』

“I see.”

Having already seen all kinds of alliances back in the Korean Peninsula, Yeongwoo immediately understood.

The system’s chosen strongest in North America may have been the Conqueror of the Great Lakes, but that didn’t mean he had unified the entire American continent.

That was to be expected, given how vast the Americas were.

"So our destination was pretty much set from the start."

『…You’re going to Nevada, then?』

“Of course.”

As Yeongwoo nodded, the Redfoot orcs who had been listening to the conversation began operating the central controls of the platform.

—Sending Little Foot to Nevada.

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