[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 509: Earthling (6)

"Everyone’s insane."

As Yeongwoo shuddered and cut the communication with the corrupt official, Jiseon clicked her tongue and added,

—You’re the one doing crazy things. No wonder crazies are drawn to you.

“…”

He couldn’t argue with that.

So instead of replying, Yeongwoo turned his gaze toward the stars outside the cockpit window.

"Anyway, this takes care of our tax issue."

—Might have created an even bigger problem, though.

Still, even Jiseon had to admit the necessity of the corrupt official.

Bribing the tax officer was one of the basic conditions for maintaining a fake charity business.

—Won’t they catch on eventually? The best we can do is extract as much profit as we can before then.

If their tax evasion were ever exposed, they’d have to attack the National Tax Service just to rescue the key witness, Toachi.

In that case, how much profit would be enough to make it all worth it—even if things went south?

"Even a small-time business owner, if they get too big, becomes untouchable for the government. Just look at our Chairman."

After all, it was the Chairman and his company that openly manufactured weapons for assaulting government officials.

So it was only natural that Yeongwoo’s ultimate goal was something on par with the Chairman.

"If the Tax Service sends a team after me, I’ll just beat them all up and send them back."

—The National Tax Service is arguably the most important branch of the government, no? They handle the money. That means the officials they send will be seriously skilled.

Once again, Jiseon said nothing wrong.

Yeongwoo nodded in agreement.

‘The planetary inspectors were rated Level 4 under intergalactic law, and the ones from the Ship Management Bureau were around Level 6.’

That meant the Tax Service’s elite agents would be at least Level 4.

As much as he hated to admit it, there was a good chance Level 3 officials existed too.

‘Level 3… that’s Chairman-tier.’

Could there really be a public official in space who could match the Chairman?

‘Well, if there’s even a shred of order left in this crazy universe, then the government’s influence must be considerable.’

And whoever managed such high-level figures in the space government would have to wield immense power.

‘If I ever dared ask the Chairman whether there were officials stronger than him, he’d probably cut my head off…’

As Yeongwoo recalled the overwhelming presence of Chairman Dogo while gazing out into space, Jiseon came a bit closer and asked,

—So what’s the next crazy thing on your list?

"That’s it for now. Once I pay my taxes, I get a short break."

Of course, for Yeongwoo, being forced to hand over billions while wide awake was the craziest part.

—A short break?

"Next, I need to check if the dungeon opens again today."

Though there was a chance that no more mutants would fall starting tomorrow, Yeongwoo was fairly certain the dungeon would still open.

Unlike the petrification phenomenon or the mutant drops, the nighttime dungeon seemed to operate under different mechanics than the Reset.

Even Batum's casino, where they had to play betting games in the arena, was a real place that existed somewhere outside of space.

And the ancient titan Gameta trapped inside the Temple of Valor had been a real being.

‘It definitely felt like it was being used for planetary tests.’

Even the planetary promotion exam had taken place inside a dungeon, and their first encounter with the Ship Management Bureau’s agents was also in a private dungeon.

It was becoming clear that dungeons were not merely a subcategory of the Reset system.

"Let’s head back. I’d like to rest a bit."

—Back where? Where to?

"Where else? Our room."

* * *

Parnas Hotel, Room 3233.

As Yeongwoo grabbed and turned the doorknob, he heard the cheap click of the lock disengaging—a crude sound compared to things outside the universe.

Clack.

Ironically, Yeongwoo felt a sense of relief in that moment.

After spending so much time traversing this insane universe, it was the little things he had missed.

‘Home is where the heart is, after all.’

Technically, there was a captain’s quarters above the cockpit, but he had chosen to come here instead.

For his long-awaited rest, he wanted to be somewhere familiar.

Whoosh.

As the door opened, the company rep, Kim Seok, who had been sitting in the living room to the left, shot to her feet and bowed deeply.

“You’re back a little early today.”

She was referring to the fact that Yeongwoo usually showed up only after the room-service hour began.

Yeongwoo nodded in return and looked around the suite.

“How about the kids?”

“They’re in the bedroom, watching TV.”

“Ah.”

Yeongwoo had been mentally overwhelmed from his daily billion-year growth cycle, but the kids of CEO Kim Taejoon had been waiting eagerly every night for the television to power on.

It was the only time they could see their father.

‘If only the room-service system could run all the time…’

As Yeongwoo muttered this to himself, Earth responded from within his consciousness—having caught wind of his thoughts.

◯ It’s possible now.

‘Huh?’

◯ We’re using Moro’s energy as the main power source for the Earthship, right?

‘That’s true…’

◯ If we adjust the absorption rate and operation time, we can already extend the room-service hours.

Then Earth added a caveat.

◯ But only in Metal Seoul. To power the entire peninsula or planet, we’d need to reinforce the protective shield.

‘Wait, don’t we have to reinforce the shield anyway for that star-ramming maneuver?’

◯ Exactly. That’s why, in the long run, it means we can offer room-service across the whole planet.

‘Not even long-term. I’m planning to handle it soon.’

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Then, looking at the still-dark room, Yeongwoo gave Earth a command.

‘Then turn the power on in Metal Seoul right now.’

◯ Understood.

Almost immediately after his command, Room 3233 lit up and a system message appeared.

「Due to a special order by planetary representative Jeong Yeongwoo07, early room-service has begun.」

「From this moment, all buildings classified as ‘residences’ will be under the protection of the room-service system and become inviolable.」

At the same time, a prompt popped up in front of everyone in the suite, requesting payment for the room.

If no one paid the room fee, all occupants would be evicted.

“Since it’ll take a while for Suna to get here, I’ll pay for this one.”

The short-term rental fee for Parnas Room 3233 was 62,000 Karma.

To the old Yeongwoo, it would’ve been an absurdly large sum—but in just a few days, it had become nothing more than pocket change.

Flash!

As soon as Yeongwoo paid the fee, the furnishings of the room subtly shifted, and cheers erupted from the bedroom.

The television had turned on.

“Let the kids keep using the bedroom. I’ll be resting in the annex.”

Saying this to Seok, Yeongwoo headed toward the annex and glanced briefly into the bedroom.

There, he saw the children gathered in front of the television, watching a man in white pajamas—their father.

CEO Kim Taejoon was engaged in a chess match with Kang Hongtae, a newly arrived conglomerate boss and returnee.

Judging by his deeply furrowed brows, it looked like he was about to lose.

‘Seems like they’re doing well.’

Yeongwoo had once said he’d try to find a way to turn his “friends” back into humans, but there was still no sign of such a method appearing.

‘The universe is vast—there’s bound to be a way somewhere.’

Maybe the reset administrator scheduled to visit tomorrow would know something.

Clack.

By then, Yeongwoo had arrived in front of the annex.

He began taking off his gear piece by piece and collapsed into the bed.

“Damn, this feels incredible.”

The overly soft white bedding wrapped around his tattoo-covered body, and, exhausted from overwork, he fell asleep almost instantly.

“…Ugh.”

That is, until just before 10 p.m.—when the tax collection alert went off.

Beep!

—Taxes will be collected shortly starting at 10:00 p.m.

Buzz.

It was such a critical matter that the “One-Eyed Sentinel” attached to his left cornea buzzed to wake him up.

“Uugh.”

Groaning, Yeongwoo grabbed his left eye and sat up.

The tax alert that had just been issued shimmered in the air like an afterimage.

“What the… it’s already ten? I haven’t done anything.”

—Time passes even when you’re doing nothing.

“…?”

Yeongwoo turned his head and saw Jiseon standing in the doorway.

—Came to wake you up for the tax payment, but looks like you’re already up.

“Man, I thought I finally got a decent sleep without any weird dreams.”

—If you don’t want to die, pay your taxes.

Not even the owner of a planetary ship could escape taxes.

As Yeongwoo pushed back the blanket and stood up, a new system message appeared in his vision.

—Beginning tax collection now.

Beep!

As predicted by Kubu, the calculated taxes were displayed:

| Assessed Tax Amount: 2,249,600,000

| Deductions: Dependents

| Final Tax Due: 1,912,160,000

‘1.91 billion…’

He wanted to believe this money was being used to maintain universal order—but hadn’t he just returned from negotiating with a corrupt tax officer?

That lingering discomfort was hard to shake.

‘Still, I’ve got to pay it.’

How powerful would one have to be to become free from taxes?

“……”

With a flick of his hand, Yeongwoo paid the taxes, and 1.91 billion Karma vanished from his balance in an instant.

Swoosh!

At almost the exact same moment, the defense tax collected from the Korean Peninsula was funneled into the national treasury.

*Available Karma: 11,052,048,016

*Available Defense Fund: 236,619,987

‘11 billion… not bad.’

With that amount, he could strengthen the Earthship’s shield and maybe even buy a few more auxiliary guns if needed.

“Hmm.”

While sitting on the edge of the bed blinking rapidly, Yeongwoo triggered another reaction from Jiseon, who instinctively stepped back.

—What now? What kind of crap are you pulling this time?

But Yeongwoo wasn’t talking to her—he was speaking to Earth, with which he was mentally linked.

‘Next up is the arms dealer, Koatu, right? Have you received his coordinates?’

○ Of course. I’ve already input them into the navigation system. We can start the voyage whenever you like.

‘Really? Then he must be living on some planet?’

○ Naturally.

‘And that planetary system must have a star at its center, right?’

○ …What’s your point?

‘Find out how big that star is.’

○ Wait… are you seriously thinking about ramming it?

‘Yeah. Let’s crash into that star on the way to visit Koatu. That’s what we call “killing two birds with one stone.”’

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]