[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 521: To the Edge of the Galaxy (4)

A voyage to the edge of the galaxy.

It was true that they were planning to “do business” with the arms dealer, Koatu.

But broadcasting all this live through cameras was purely for show.

―If you’re going to go this far, why not just accept donations or livestream tips?

From outside the camera angle, Jiseon grumbled with a look of dissatisfaction.

Yeongwoo just shrugged.

“It's nothing more than a public record for reporting purposes. I’m not trying to cozy up to the voters just to gain a few more points.”

Even as he said this, Yeongwoo glanced toward Earth.

“…But still, is it possible to add that kind of function?”

『It’s possible. The city’s level is high and the planet’s rating has gone up, so adding something like a ‘fundraising’ function wouldn’t be hard.』

“What about adding real-time approval votes? Like on the spot?”

『That’s even easier.』

“Hooh.”

If that was the case, then it wouldn’t be difficult to reflect “public opinion” on specific issues.

They could gather the planet’s opinions in real time.

‘This could be pretty useful, even aside from being a campaign broadcast.’

Currently, four small circles floated around Yeongwoo, each representing cameras 1 through 4.

Whenever Yeongwoo looked at one of them while broadcasting, that camera would activate, sending its feed and audio.

And he could also pick up a specific camera and aim it wherever he wanted.

“This is basically top-tier broadcasting equipment.”

『It was originally designed as a security monitoring system. You’re just using it in a weird way.』

In fact, through a separate camera in the corner of the bridge, the conversation Yeongwoo had earlier with the executor was being rebroadcast.

This was to publicize that the re-vote was being carried out on Yeongwoo’s own initiative.

『We’re about to enter the relay zone. Expect some turbulence.』

As Earth said this, the view outside the bridge window was engulfed in shimmering, multicolored holograms.

And then—

Kudududududuk…!

A tremor powerful enough to shake the entire bridge struck the planetary ship.

At last, Renaissance—the disguised charitable foundation—was embarking on its first business venture.

Kugugugugu!

For a while, only the sound of the bridge rattling filled the air.

Yeongwoo thought he should say something—

Because Camera 2’s light was on.

“Uh… so, where we’re heading right now is—”

But before he could continue, Jiseon suddenly jumped into the camera’s frame.

Whip!

―If you keep doing it like that, it’ll flop again.

“…?”

Caught off guard, Yeongwoo failed to hide his confusion.

Jiseon quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his face from view, and addressed the camera directly.

―Hello. I’m Yeongwoo’s mom, Song Jiseon. A dragonkin, born a mutant.

Then she grabbed Camera 2.

Tak.

―And don’t ask why a mutant happens to be the mother of the planet’s representative. It’d take way too long to explain.

She tilted the camera’s angle toward the view outside the bridge window.

―We’re on our way to shake down some arms dealer who supposedly lives at the edge of the galaxy.

At this, Earth—who had been quietly listening—turned its head, eyes wide in shock.

Meanwhile, Jiseon continued her monologue.

―By now you probably get the gist, right? In this universe, we’re the villains. And being able to live as villains means we’re strong.

Shhk—

She raised a sharp index finger.

―Yes. Right now, our ‘Earth’ is strong. Strong enough to go around extorting aliens.

At that, Earth’s jaw dropped.

『Uh…….』

Our Earth is strong.

That, more than anything, was the perfect catchphrase to sum up “Jeong Yeongwoo.”

In short, Jiseon was conducting a campaign broadcast.

―So then, how strong are we? That’s what we’re here to show you in this broadcast.

After saying this much, Jiseon fell silent, staring intently into the camera.

―This feels kind of empty though, since I can’t see the audience’s reactions.

“…Not as easy as you thought, right?”

Yeongwoo grinned wickedly.

Then he turned to Earth and asked:

“Can you display viewer reactions too? Like let them type their thoughts in as chat messages?”

『Reactions? It’s possible… but can you even keep up? Right now there are at least tens of millions of viewers.』

“Then we just apply a filter to narrow it down.”

『Filter?』

“Yeah. Display every chatter’s name along with their country and city.”

『You want to make it real-name only……?』

Once again, Earth’s jaw dropped.

It was an approach it hadn’t even considered.

“Exactly. And if there are still people willing to type under those conditions, then display their reactions on screen.”

Earth grimaced but nodded.

『…Fine. Give me a second.』

At Yeongwoo’s command, Earth’s eyes gleamed.

And soon after, a giant broadcast feed appeared at the top of the bridge, with a chat box attached on the right-hand side.

『From now on, if viewers think of something while watching, they can decide whether to post it in the real-name chat window.』

Earth added that a warning would appear, explaining that the poster’s nation, city, and full name would all be disclosed.

Perhaps because of that—

“…Hmm. Nothing’s coming up? Is the system bugged?”

『It’s not that nothing’s coming up. It’s that no one dares post anything.』

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

After confirming that there was no problem with the system, Yeongwoo switched Camera 2 back onto himself.

“To test if the chat works, could someone please post something? Anything’s fine. I promise I won’t hunt you down and kill you for it.”

Even with that assurance, the chat box remained silent.

“No, but seriously, this is…….”

So just as Yeongwoo was about to request a system recheck from Earth—

Beep.

Finally, the first message appeared in the chat window.

[South Korea/Seoul]

| Yoobin: Yahoo!

“Oh?”

As expected, the first chatter was someone from Korea like Yeongwoo, a person living in Metal Seoul named “Yoobin.”

‘Wait, Yoobin… don’t tell me it’s that Yoobin, the Strongest Sword of Seongbuk? No way… or is it?’

Well, to be the very first person to show themselves in a real-name chatroom being watched by the planetary representative and the entire world, you’d need courage on the level of the Strongest Sword.

At the very least, Lee Yoobin must have believed Yeongwoo wouldn’t harm them.

“Yoobin from Seoul, nice to meet you. As I said before, this is just a broadcast for record-keeping. I won’t be using it as an excuse to bother any of you……”

As Yeongwoo said this while looking at the first chat, the second message finally appeared.

[USA/Oregon]

| Jeremy: Representative, withdraw the alien tenant plan! Earth belongs to Earthlings!

“…Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Straight into politics.

And Oregon, of all places—one of the regions where Yeongwoo planned to bring in alien tenants.

“I’ll give time for political discussion later, so for now……”

[USA/Nevada]

| Talo: That’s right! Earth belongs to Earthlings!

[USA/Oregon]

| Will: I don’t want to live next door to aliens!

They say the first step is always the hardest.

Jeremy’s bold statement from Oregon became the trigger, and soon the chat window began to flood.

So Yeongwoo, almost reflexively—

Thud!

He slammed the armrest of the captain’s chair to suppress the protest.

“You crazy bastards! I said political talk is for later!”

Golden light even spilled from Yeongwoo’s eyes, and only then did the chat start to quiet down.

“…Just to add, in order to defend our Earth from the universe, we need an astronomical amount of money.”

He then turned the camera toward the broadcast region outside the window.

“The reason we can travel this fast to the galactic edge is because we paid usage fees.”

In space, without money, you can’t even secure basic combat strength—let alone voyage.

“So we need to use every resource we have to make money. One of those is the alien tenant plan.”

He hadn’t expected his very first broadcast to turn into a policy briefing, but since the topic was out, Yeongwoo continued.

“So then, does anyone have an alternative? How else can we raise hundreds of billions in the short term, and trillions in the mid term, from space?”

As expected, the chat was silent.

Just as when Yeongwoo first began the broadcast, humanity’s understanding of space was still very low.

“Everyone, we are now space-dwellers. So we need to learn about space. I’ll teach you one step at a time.”

When Yeongwoo looked into the camera with a gentle expression, Earth let out a sigh of relief.

It felt like a good closing note.

But even from that brief protest earlier, it was clear that securing 70% approval ratings would be no easy task.

And right about then—

Fzzzt!

The density of the hologram outside the bridge window shifted.

That meant the ship had entered a new sector of its voyage.

Yeongwoo asked,

“How long until we arrive?”

『About 30 minutes left.』

“By then we’ll be right in front of the arms dealer’s planet?”

『Not exactly in front of the planet… more like entering that planetary system’s domain.』

“Ah. The planetary system.”

Hearing that term reminded Yeongwoo of something else.

He didn’t just have business with Koatu, the arms dealer—he also had an errand for the star of that system.

“How’s the shield work going?”

Earth glanced into the air, then answered:

『It’s almost done, within five minutes.』

In five minutes, even if they rammed into a small star, the surface of the Earth-ship wouldn’t crumble.

So Yeongwoo grabbed the camera again and addressed everyone on Earth:

“Alright, everyone. Watch closely.”

He then raised both fists into the air and smashed them together.

Thud.

“From now on, I’ll explain the Stellar Headbutt Plan. This is something only I can do.”

[USA/Tennessee]

| Ria: Wh-what do you mean, a headbutt……?

[Spain/Navarra]

| Lucas: What exactly is headbutting a star supposed to mean?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]