BXBX NOVEL Chapter 259: Association Bunker
With a large population, there should be a lot of strong heroes, but there aren’t.
There are only three A-list heroes in the first place, and with only one neighboring country, North Korea, it’s hard for other countries’ villains to cross over.
In any case, they’re too busy fighting and frying amongst themselves to have much to do with the international community but now, finally, we have a chance to bring our country into the mainstream.
A cataclysmic event that will bring the world to its knees is happening in Korea, by Koreans. Wow!
“….Haha. That… That’s…funny, it’s a joke.”
And when I explained it well, the president of the association held his head in his hands and mumbled something about the world falling apart.
*
[Estimated time to Seoul collapse: 5 hours]
[Estimated time to Busan collapse: 3 hours]
[Estimated time to Gyeonggi collapse: 3 hours]
[Estimated time to Gyeonggi-do collapse: 3 hours]
…
[Estimated time from event to destruction of South Korea: 14 hours]
[Estimated death toll: 20,000,000 + A]
*
If we did nothing, the predicted outcome of the disaster flowing according to the scenario neatly appeared on the data screen.
And then I noticed the beads of sweat on his sleek head. Ugh.
“So… What the hell are we doing?”
In the underground bunker I very kindly, very matter-of-factly give him a very realistic estimate of the death toll and the disapproving glances he’ll receive from the international community when the Moonlight Gate Incident happens later this year.
The president of the association had a mental breakdown and muttered to me in a dying tone.
“First of all, how many underground bunkers did you build?”
“…From what you said last time, we’ve completed quite a few.”
“Throw some more money at it, and build more, fast, all over the province. There should be at least one in every district.”
“Well, I’ve been getting strangely good budgets lately, so I guess it’s possible.”
“Huh…”
As the president of the association nodded and said that, Lee Seola, who was sitting next to me, smiled brightly.
Of course, she’ll support him because she’s in charge of the budget.
“So, what else do we need to do?”
“Next, we need to prepare for that fateful day.”
With that, I took out a marker and started circling the large map of Korea on the wall.
“From what we can tell, the catastrophe will begin in Seoul, which means that the strongest, aka boss-level monsters, will appear primarily in the capital.”
As I said that, I circled a few areas of Seoul.
These are the places where particularly strong entities appear in the original.
“…Then how do we deal with them?”
“We’ll have to deal with them in a special way, but the good news is that, aside from these guys, most of the mobs that will appear in the provinces can be dealt with by conventional weapons.”
Of course, they’re very weak.
For example, you’d have to feed them 100 bullets, which is about the same as a single attack from a C-class hero.
Most bosses are also immune to fire because of some sort of weird shield.
Still, it’s nice to know that at least some of them have firepower. We can use missiles and stuff.
“So we can probably destroy this area and this area with missiles…”
“The president of the previous regime was almost impeached for firing a missile at Seoul, and you want to do it again?”
“…Honestly, wasn’t it because of your incitement that the public opinion got to that point?”
“…Hmmm. Nonsense.”
At my incredulous gaze, the president of the association turned his head and coughed.
“No, you were the one who was on the news every day during the HanEun Group mega-weapon incident, cussing the President out like crazy for attacking Stardus.
…Of course, he did a good job, but whatever.
“Anyway, the bosses in the center of Seoul are probably the biggest problem. I’ll take care of that, and I’ll help Stardus.”
I said, sounding confident.
Actually, it would be more like Stardus will deal with them, but…
“And now for the periphery and the provinces, which I’ll leave to the Association’s B-list heroes, Icicle’s PMC, and Shadow Walker.”
“I see.”
“Got it.”
Icicle and Shadow Walker nodded at my words.
They were trustworthy.
“But…Egostic. My powers should work on them, right…?”
“Yep. Don’t worry, they’ll work on most of them.”
“…Right. Phew, haha. That’s the first good news I’ve heard in a while.”
…Shadow Walker asked cautiously, and then smiled really broadly at my answer, despite his tired face.
Hmm, I guess he’s had a lot on his mind lately. I mean, there have been quite a few kids lately who are immune to Shadow Walker attacks, even at night, like Seo Jae-young. Thanks to the original’s insane power inflation…
Actually, by this point in the original, Shadow Walker was living as a wild man after his girlfriend died and he blackened up.
He was living as a wolf in the mountains, so he didn’t have much of a plot, and Stardus was the only one who had to roll all day without getting off work in the evening.
Anyway, even if he’s not quite what he used to be, having Shadow Walker officially helping out like this is a huge plus.
He’s nearly invulnerable at night, so he’ll be able to run amok once the sun goes down on the day of the catastrophe, which was a major factor in my determination that the PMC alone would be able to shut down the rest of Seoul, South Korea.
Therefore, I decided to take this opportunity to give Shadow Walker a pep talk.
“Shadow Walker, you’re actually the key to this operation.”
“Huh?”
He looked over as if he didn’t understand what I was talking about, but his ears perked up, showing great interest.
I spoke softly to him.
“The truth is, Shadow Walker, I don’t think we could cover this large area of Korea without you. If it weren’t for your divine shadow shifting and abilities, the plan would have been impossible in the first place.”
“Hmmmm, is that so?”
“Yes. I’ll say it again: you, Shadow Walker, are the key to this plan, so please do your best.”
“…Hmm, that’s a lot to take in. Okay, I’ll do my best.”
Shadow Walker replied earnestly, but he didn’t seem to notice that the corners of his mouth were twitching with the desire to smile.
…Oh, how I wish I hadn’t been so troubled lately. I should have paid more attention.
As I was talking with Shadow Walker, Lee Seola was smiling like she understood why I was doing this, and the president of the association was looking at me with a, um… ‘What’s wrong with him? No, no, no, no, no, no… Shadow is an important part of this… It’s just that Stardus is the most important part of this plan.’
Anyway, I finally revealed my final plan.
“Anyway, my plan is this: me and Stardus will be in charge of the Seoul area, where the strongest monsters will be. And down in the provinces, Icicle and Shadow Walker will be in charge. If you can evacuate all the citizens quickly, and hold out for a while…I’ll close all the gates.”
Yes.
This is my final plan.
When the monsters come through the gates, everyone, including the Ego Stream, Stardus, and Heroes, will evacuate the citizens as quickly as possible and try to stop them.
In the meantime, I’ll keep the Moonlight Cultists at bay and prevent any more gates from opening.
…Of course, the dimensional rift is weakening and the gates will continue to appear, making it impossible to physically stop them, but there’s always a way.
“…I see. So we just have to hold out for the meantime?”
“Yes. We’ll probably have to kill them one by one once they’re released… but we should be able to prevent further damage.”
If we don’t do this, the world will become a dumping ground for monsters almost all day long, quickly reaching a state of quasi-annihilation and turning into a post-apocalyptic genre.
This is the episode that I’ve been talking about since the beginning of my possession of this world: the one that completely changes the tone of the novel.
In other words, if we can’t stop this, we won’t have an answer for what’s coming next.
“So, let’s do the best we can, so that when this is over, I’ll still be able to terrorize in peace.”
“Okay, okay… Hah, the head of a Hero Association in league with a villain. How history will judge me later.”
“Won’t they remember you as a saint who, in a moment of crisis, joined forces with even the enemy to defeat disaster?”
“…I hope so.”
At Lee Seola’s words, the association president muttered while wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.
Anyway, finally.
Now, on the association’s side, preparations have begun in earnest.
***
On my way back from the meeting I was quietly looking at the dark night sky as the sun set and thought.
‘…For Korea, this would have been enough.’
Once again, the problem is overseas.
Even though all the power of the Moonlight Gate will be focused on Korea, the gates will still open to other countries. Of course, if I close them quickly, the damage won’t be as devastating as in the original, but there will be some.
After all, it’s because of Stardus that I’m so protective of my country.
“Yeah…
If something happens overseas, it’s going to affect my country, which means that other countries have to take some measures.
And that, of course, is the job of an international organization.
“The Cathedral…is coming up soon?”
I muttered, after a moment’s consideration of the schedule.
Now, it’s time to reap what I’ve sown.