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Chapter 181

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The Existence III

4

Have you ever wondered what jobs would survive even if the world ended? Soldiers? Most of them met their end with Chekhov's gun. Artists? They've been nearly wiped out, thanks to a regressor who only favored writers.

"Your Excellency, Team 2 of the Operations Control Room has assembled."

Surprisingly, the answer was "civil servants."

"Good. You've done well."

"No, Your Excellency."

Boom!

Thunder roared across the night sky. It was caused by the autumn rain. As Yoo Jiwon's silver hair gracefully absorbed the rain, the National Road Management Corps troops stood in formation behind her. A total of 108 members made up the Operations Control Room strike force. These elite civil servants were responsible for public enforcement in today's Korea, where the national military had vanished.

Every single one of them had been taught Aura by me, and not a single one had been left without guidance on how to develop their awakened abilities.

"......"

"......"

Naturally, their discipline was ironclad. The looks they gave me were filled with nearly infinite respect.

I clasped my hands behind my back.

"An unidentified anomaly has spread like a virus. So far, 504 people in Korea have been infected, with 311 cases in Busan alone."

"......"

"The condition for infection by the anomaly is seeing a 'ship.' We're lucky it's nighttime; the fishermen would have been wiped out if it were dawn. In fact, most of the infected were engaged in night fishing."

A tense atmosphere radiated from the eyes of the troops. It wasn't just because they had a trauma from experiencing the coronavirus as children.

In this era, where food was not abundant, fish had become almost a staple. Fish were nutritious, except for the fact that they were now as dangerous as pufferfish.

In short, even tomorrow's meals were in jeopardy.

"The official name of this anomaly has been designated as 'Theseus' Ship.' During the operation, refer to it as T. T is growing at a terrifying speed. In some cases, you can become infected not just by the image of a ship but by merely hearing the word 'ship.' From now on, all words related to ships are banned. Understood?"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

The combat unit of the National Road Management Corps responded in unison.

The reason why they call me "Your Excellency" is simple: the silver-haired psychopath standing next to me is their boss.

"T-infected individuals are running amok in the city, luring uninfected citizens towards the water and near ships."

"......"

"The National Road Management Corps has already taken measures, but unforeseen damage might still occur. There is a high possibility that the infected are carrying pictures related to ships, so always be ready to put on your blindfolds. That's all."

Snap. The corps members saluted. It was a movement so precise that even Mussolini would be envious.

I rubbed my forehead. I had told them countless times to stop doing that, but they wouldn't listen.

However, their skills were undeniable.

What Mussolini should truly envy was not their disciplined salutes but their combat prowess.

"Your Excellency, we've captured them all."

Before the night was over, all the infected in the Busan area had been captured.

"Any casualties?"

"We had two. Based on your information, we formed capture teams of three, with at least one person always wearing a blindfold, which minimized the damage."

The troops wore blindfolds because the infected would try to show images related to ships whenever they had the chance. Some infected individuals even had ship tattoos on their bodies. One of our men got infected after seeing a ship tattooed on a knocked-out suspect's scalp.

So, the anomaly had made a bald man tattoo his own scalp.

Now you see why I resolutely reject the coexistence of anomalies and humanity? Anomalies. You should not exist.

"Saintess, what about the damage in other areas?"

[Mostly under control. The region with the most damage is Incheon, but we've captured almost all the infected there. There’s no damage in Daejeon or Sejong.]

"As expected, inland areas have less damage."

[Yes. At this rate, we should be able to block the infection route before dawn completely.]

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"If that's the case, the problem now is..."

[Yes. It’s SG-Net.]

A sense of suffocation overcame me.

In reality, you can simply quarantine infected people, but the internet was the problem.

Even now, SG-Net was flooded with posts and comments.

-Beautiful Ark.jpg

-Click this post and get $300,000

-I'm scared, anyone want to chat??

-No ship images here, feel safe to click

-[Must Read] Tips for Boarding the Ark!!

All of these were bait posts. Most of them contained ship images. Just because the image wasn’t visible in the post, you couldn’t relax. ASCII art was painstakingly drawn in the text.

There were even four awakened ones who ignored the warnings from the Constellations to stay off SG-Net and ended up getting infected. Fools.

"Saintess, are we sure all the awakened ones posting under these nicknames have been captured?"

[Of course. We’ve confiscated all their smartphones. It’s not some macro program running elsewhere.]

"But the fact that posts are still going up under their nicknames means..."

[Yes. It's likely that not just real people but even the 'nicknames' on the internet have been infected by T.]

So-called personas.

Many people, not just heavy users like Sim Aryeon, believed that the real world existed on the other side of the monitor.

Even if they weren't that extreme, a lot of people distinguished between their 'internet self' and their 'real-life self.'

Theseus' Ship exploited this gap.

-Am I the real me online? Or the real me in real life? What is the true me? Does the concept of "I" actually exist?

That kind of thing.

In the end, not only the "real me" living in reality but also the "me" roaming the internet got infected by the anomaly.

They had become literal internet ghosts.

Although we succeeded in capturing the infected individuals, there was no way to deal with the virus carriers inside SG-Net.

What could we do? The very administrator of SG-Net, Seo Gyu, had already lost his mind.

"Your Excellency, I have a plan."

Yoo Jiwon spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Since SG-Net is a virtual space that cannot function without Seo Gyu as the administrator—"

"If your plan involves killing Seo Gyu, don't bother saying it."

Yoo Jiwon quietly closed her mouth.

‘What should we do?’

Even now, Theseus' Ship was evolving in real-time.

The SG-Net logo itself was beginning to distort eerily.

It shifted from 'SG-Net' to 'Suicide-Net,' 'Kill-Yourself-Net,' and 'You-Should-Die-Net,' twisting and changing its form.

For now, it was only messing with the letters, but soon it would be able to manipulate image files freely as well, parasitizing Seo Gyu's awakening ability.

Once the site’s logo had a ship image attached to it, it would be the end.

A brand new internet anomaly that no one should ever access would be born. And in a world where all other websites were down.

‘I can’t just lose Seo Gyu like this.’

I was deep in thought.

‘Ship. Ship. Ship. The ferryman of Charon. The vessel that carries people to another world. A tool that transports you from the ordinary to the extraordinary. How can I eliminate this? What’s the ship's weakness? Water? A typhoon?’

At that moment, a strange sound reached my ears from afar.

- Ah, ah...

A singing voice.

A lone voice was heard from the direction of Busan city.

"Mm?"

Yoo Jiwon and I turned our heads simultaneously.

Melodies were resonating from speakers installed throughout Busan.

Strangely, as soon as I heard the song, the fatigue in my entire body lessened.

"Ah. The Great Witch is singing."

"At this hour?"

"Yes. Given that the National Road Management Corps members, the Three Thousand Worlds Guild members, and the citizens of Busan have been suffering all night, the Great Witch must be singing to soothe their fatigue and help them sleep."

"I see... I didn't think of that."

I was impressed by Tang Seorin's considerate gesture, but Yoo Jiwon smirked indifferently.

"By singing at times like this and winning public favor, the Great Witch is subtly securing her influence. Truly, a maneuver fitting for the Witch of Busan."

"Hey, Yoo Jiwon. I've told you time and again to stop with that nasty attitude. I know you only show it in front of me, but if anyone else finds out, you’ll be in real trouble――"

It was at that moment.

A lightning bolt of an idea struck through my brain and straight down my spine.

‘――Wait a minute. A song? T for Titanic?’

As I’ve mentioned before, I have a sixth sense nerve cell in the back of my neck that no other Homo sapiens possesses.

Also known as goosebumps. And right now, all of them were screaming Eureka.

"A song. Yes, it’s a song!"

"Your Excellency? I didn't quite catch that?"

"Yoo Jiwon! Grab a recording device and let’s go to Tang Seorin! I’ve got a real plan to take down T!"

The expressionless psychopath tilted her head in confusion.

5

There was another ship just as famous as the Ark of Genesis.

The Titanic.

In 1912, the largest passenger ship in the world set sail from England. Its grandeur earned it the nickname "unsinkable" from the press, implying it would never sink.

However, in subcultures, if a character other than the protagonist is labeled "undefeated" or "invincible," it’s often an indirect way of saying that they will inevitably be defeated or overwhelmed by an enemy.

England in 1912 was originally the leading character on the global stage, but across the Atlantic, the up-and-coming "Miss America" was rising rapidly.

In this situation, with the "unsinkable" ship crossing between England and America, the tragedy that followed was all too predictable.

It marked the beginning of the end for England as the protagonist of the world stage.

This real-life story inspired the film directed by James Cameron, Titanic. And Titanic became famous as a masterpiece that dazzled the audience's eyes and ears. First, it dazzled the eyes with Leonardo DiCaprio’s stunning appearance, and then the ears with—

"Um... Doctor Jang. You want me to sing a song?"

"Yes."

"And that song is My Heart Will Go On?"

"Exactly."

That’s right.

My Heart Will Go On.

Composed by James Horner, performed by Celine Dion.

It’s one of the most successful songs in film history.

"...Why suddenly? That’s your favorite song, not mine."

"Because I plan to play it through the speakers, and your voice is way better than mine."

"But your English pronunciation is better than mine..."

"It’s fine. Just think of it as Latin instead of English, and there won’t be any problem."

"Oh?"

The idol from Samhan, Tang Seorin (TOEIC score 560), flawlessly performed the English pop song.

I took the recording and immediately went to see Seo Gyu.

"Seo Gyu."

"Yes, Brother. But what is Seo Gyu? Does it refer to the manager of SGnet, or does it mean the person who, according to you, would be the first to die at Busan Station if left unattended? If so, can we consider the Seo Gyu from the first death at Busan Station and the current Seo Gyu as different people...?"

"Stop talking nonsense and listen to the song."

"AAAAAAGH!"

Seo Gyu, who was tied up with ropes, struggled.

"Get out! The walls are closing in! Get out! Abandon your baggage! Descend! Lower the boat! Descend! HAAAAA!"

"..."

Seo Gyu screamed in a frenzy, as if the Titanic was really sinking before his eyes.

Noh Doha, who had also been working overnight on quarantine efforts like us, muttered in disbelief.

"No way... this actually worked...?"

"It was good fortune. The fact that the Ship of Theseus starts with a 'T' just like the Titanic, and that the anomaly couldn’t be satisfied with reality alone and extended into fictional space. By sinking a ship in the same way as in the movie, the anomaly couldn’t help but sink as well."

This was the fatal mistake of an anomaly that recklessly attempted to level up.

The more concepts it contaminated, the stronger its influence became. But at the same time, its weaknesses became more pronounced. Expanding its power carelessly could lead to a sudden downfall. This was a good example of that. If the anomaly wanted to avoid being easily hunted, it had no choice but to hide its true identity. It’s no wonder that forgotten gods lay low for so long.

"Ugh, ugh... huh? Brother?"

"Yes. Seo Gyu. Who are you?"

"What? Who am I...? Well, I’m Seo Gyu, of course."

I nodded. The method was proven effective.

With the strategy verified, I immediately played My Heart Will Go On for all the infected.

Oh, and I also set it as the background music on SGnet.

-AAAAAAAAGH!

-The ship is sinking! The ship is sinking!

-Everyone, run for your lives!

However, there was no place to escape in SGnet. The anomalies, now transformed into ghosts of the internet, sank helplessly.

I patted the shoulder of the exhausted Noh Doha, who had been working all night.

"Good work, Chief."

"..."

"There’s no need to thank me. Even though a new anomaly was born at the chief’s fingertips, causing casualties, and early suppression was only possible thanks to my competence as a regressor, there’s no reason for the chief to be grateful to me."

"Damn it..."

Just as I was about to turn away, savoring my long-lost sense of superiority over Noh Doha, an event of earth-shattering proportions occurred.

"...Thank you, Doctor Jang..."

In a very small voice, Noh Doha muttered while facing away from me.

I was so shocked that I froze for a moment. Noh Doha expressed genuine gratitude? Could it be an anomaly?

"..."

Despite this, Noh Doha remained standing still, facing away from me.

I shrugged.

"Well."

"..."

"You’re welcome. I’ll have Yoo Jiwon handle the follow-up tasks. Take the day off."

Then I left the command room.

The anomaly that could have endangered the entire Korean Peninsula by infecting anyone who came into contact with an image of a ship was thus exterminated in a single night.

6

Epilogue

"Come to think of it, Aryeon."

"Yes?"

"How did you avoid getting infected by the Ship of Theseus? You’re always on SGnet all night. Did you just happen to avoid posts with ship images?"

"Huh? Oh, no."

"Then?"

"I saw them. Pictures of the ship..."

What.

"But even though I saw them, I was fine... I mean, I did have a brief moment where I thought, 'Who am I? Where am I?' but those are thoughts I always have. Haha. Someone like me has no value no matter what happens, right? It’s just a worthless worry..."

"..."

"Leaving comments on SGnet is much more important than that...! I kept hanging out on the boards, and things got weird for a moment, but then everything was normal again, so I thought, huh? When the Guild Leader told me it was because of an anomaly, I was really surprised... Did that really happen?"

"..."

Epilogue End.

-The Existence. END.