I remembered Han Myungoh boasting about a private yacht at his Maldives villa. He had said this: The propeller cutting through the water was like a highway on the sea.
Now I knew what that feeling was like. If Director Han"s boat on the ocean was like the Gyeongbu Expressway then I was currently on the Autobahn.
"It is really amazing."
Yoo Sangah and I rode on the back of the queen and watched the ripples of Han River with fascination. As if testing her control, s.h.i.+n Yoosung led the queen straight through the group of ichthyosaurs. Now Han River had become a safe zone and it was preferably to disembark near Yongsan-gu.
The ichthyosaurs swam after Queen Mirabad like ducklings following their mother. I closed my eyes and felt the cool air against my face. This was a real feeling. It was a luxury I wouldn"t have enjoyed if the world had remained the same.
s.h.i.+n Yoosung kept mumbling on the queen"s head in order to sync their spirits. Yoo Sangah watched s.h.i.+n Yoosung and spoke with a complicated voice. "By the way, Dokjssi. If Yoosung becomes stronger now then won"t her future self be stronger as well?"
I thought she would ask something like this.
"I don"t think so."
According to the original novel, the disaster that would come was the s.h.i.+n Yoosung of the "future of different regressions." She was betrayed by Yoo Jonghyuk and abandoned outside the world.
She lost her sense of time and wandered the universe. Then she became part of the scenarios due to the Star Stream"s blessing and she became a "disaster" of past scenarios.
Yoo Sangah raised a question. "Then why will the future disaster be stopped if the current Yoosung dies? If the branch is completely different…"
"Have you heard of the Disconnected Film theory?"
"…No." I watched the water and opened my mouth. "Put simply, it is like this. Let"s a.s.sume that the history of Yoosung from the first world is a film."
"Film… are you talking about the film for movies?"
I nodded and continued. "a.s.suming that this world is film one, there must be countless films of the other worlds right? There could be two films and there could also be 34 films."
"I see. Is that right?"
"What happens when one of the films, with the front broken, sticks to the back of the first film? For example, what if the ripped 34th film sticks to the back of the first film? What do you think will happen if the film is played?"
Yoo Sangah seemed troubled for a moment. "Then the movie would change along the way… ah, wait a minute. The two stories will never affect each other?"
"That"s right."
"Ah… Yoosung is currently in such a situation. The present Yoosung is from the first film while the disaster Yoosung is from the 34th film. The two stories are completely independent and any changes in our world can"t affect the disaster." Yoo Sangah was truly smart. "Still, the question remains. Shouldn"t the disaster remain if the current Yoosung is killed?"
"The contents of the film don"t affect each other but the two films are connected."
"Huh?"
"What if the front of the film is set on fire?"
Yoo Sangah shouted after realizing. "The rear film… will be on fire as well."
The two world lines were connected. If the present Yoosung dies, the future Yoosung would also die. However, any changes to the present Yoosung wouldn"t change the future Yoosung. That ambiguous paradox was at the heart of this disaster.
"Dokjssi really knows a lot. I"ve heard of parallel cosmology but I"ve never heard such a theory before."
I awkwardly nodded. Of course she wouldn"t know it. It was a theory that the author of Ways of Survival created. As far as I knew, the laws of Ways of Survival had never been ruined.
After a while, the water of Han River calmed down. We finally arrived at the other side of Han River. The queen dropped us off and then disappeared into Han River again.
s.h.i.+n Yoosung sighed like all the tension had been released. "…How was I?"
"Are you really asking? Well done."
"Yes."
s.h.i.+n Yoosung"s expression changed. She was pleased at receiving praise. Now there was n.o.body left to praise the child.
Then I felt a fierce hostility coming from the buildings of Yongsan-gu. A huge shadow came out from the shadows of the building.
…A giant praying mantis? The boy on top of the praying mantis looked down at me.
"Dokja hyung?"
There were Lee Gilyoung wearing a snapback and Han Donghoon with headphones.
Lee Gilyoung slid down the praying mantis and rushed into my arms. Lee Gilyoung"s snapback fell off his head.
It was a reunion after one week. Then a message popped up on my smartphone. It was from Han Donghoon.
–It is good to see you, Hyung.
"Shouldn"t you say it is nice to meet me after a long time?"
–I don"t want to.
***
Lee Gilyoung and s.h.i.+n Yoosung had a war of nerves as soon as they met. Lee Gilyoung"s hair was moving like it was really an antennae while s.h.i.+n Yoosung kept touching her hair.
"Ahjussi, that boy keeps glaring at me."
"Hyung, who is she?"
It seemed people of a similar type recognized each other. One was a beast master and the other was an insect master. I didn"t know if they would fit together.
I asked Lee Gilyoung, "You haven"t met Heewon-ssi yet?"
"Yes. However, I know where she is. I sent an insect to look. Heewon noona is currently in the north."
As expected from Lee Gilyoung. He was already searching for the group members without needing to be told.
By the way, the north was where the King of Wanderers was currently located. Maybe Jung Heewon was in contact with her.
"I knew Hyung was coming. I sent a lot of diving beetles."
Speaking of which, the bugs on Lee Gilyoung"s head had increased. There had definitely only been a c.o.c.kroach before… s.h.i.+n Yoosung frowned like it was disgusting. I checked the power of the party and concluded.
"It is better to stay here for two days. Raise your skill levels as high as possible and collect coins in your spare time. Take care of your overall stats. Ah, Yoo Sangah-ssi."
"Yes."
"Did you contact your family?"
Yoo Sangah"s face suddenly darkened. It seemed that she hadn"t contacted them yet.
"Donghoon."
Han Donghoon kept his headphones on and nodded silently. Han Donghoon had Wide-area Internet as a skill. In other words, it was possible to communicate with the outside world.
Yoo Sangah"s smartphone rang and there was a message that it was connected to the Internet. Yoo Sangah looked down like she doubted her eyes before staring at me tearfully. I nodded and continued.
"Please tell your family of this situation. Once this scenario is over, the outside of Seoul will no longer be a safe zone."
"What will happen?"
"I don"t know what will happen. Just tell them to be prepared. That is enough for now."
"Dokjssi, don"t you have to contact anyone?"
"I"m fine."
"But…"
"My family is in Seoul."
"Seoul? Then…"
"They are safe."
I silently stared towards the north. Then the system message arrived like it had been waiting.
[Someone has dealt with the Disaster of Water in the north.]
The King of Wanderers had finished her work safely. There was only one disaster left. It was the Disaster of Floods.
***
「 The bright energy sword made a faint sound as it was raised in the air. It struck dozens of energy blades at once. Blood flowed from Jung Heewon"s eyes and scattered through the air. Soon Jung Heewon"s sword stopped.
"I think that"s it."
Jung Heewon carefully inspected the sword and smiled with satisfaction. The middle-aged woman across from her also smiled faintly.
"Jeon Woochi"s technique is amazing."
"Heewon-ssi"s kendo is also excellent. You will soon have a sponsor and I might not be a match anymore."
"I"m flattered."
Jung Heewon stared at the woman"s blue prison uniform. In the past week, Jung Heewon had been indebted to them. It was a debt that probably couldn"t be repaid with the remaining time. A middle-aged woman asked.
"Do you really not want to join our New Wave group? The king will be delighted if Heewon-ssi joins."
"I"m sorry but my companions are waiting."
Jung Heewon raised her hands in an apologetic manner. The middle-aged woman just smiled like it couldn"t be helped. The woman already knew who the members of Jung Heewon"s party were.
"I hope he knows that Heewon-ssi is this desperate."
"He knows." Jung Heewon looked at the sky with a slightly disgruntled expression. "Somehow, I think he is watching me right now." 」
…This was why I didn"t want her knowing about Omniscient Reader"s Viewpoint.
In any case, Jung Heewon seemed to be growing well. I was worried since her character hadn"t seen the light in the original book but I was glad my choice was correct.
Then I watched someone else using Omniscient Reader"s Viewpoint. Unfortunately, there weren"t many visible points to determine the person"s ident.i.ty.
…Um? What was this? A familiar face soon appeared on the screen.
…It was me? Wait. These people?
「 "Hey, you." Lee Gilyoung spoke in a ferocious voice. "Stay away from Hyung."
Then s.h.i.+n Yoosung, who was lying next to me, replied, "What if I don"t want to?"
"This mongrel…"
"Don"t talk to me, you worm b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Lee Gilyoung was stunned. The c.o.c.kroach and other bugs moved wildly on his head. Lee Gilyoung barely regained his composure.
"Hyung hates kids like you."
"I know who Ahjussi likes."
"…You know who Hyung likes? Who?"
"An unni."
Lee Gilyoung laughed. "Unni? I think you are misinformed. Hyung likes a man."
"How do you know?"
"I"ve been with Hyung for a long time." 」
I barely managed to wake up as the terrible conversation began. I hurriedly looked around and saw Lee Gilyoung and s.h.i.+n Yoosung sleeping with their heads leaning on something.
…Did I see wrongly? Was it just a dream?
"Dokjssi, what"s wrong?"
I shook my head at Yoo Sangah"s question. It must be a dream. I was just lying back down when I heard a whisper from somewhere.
"Hey, bug. Come to think of it, you hugged Ahjussi earlier?"
"…"
"Are you a baby? Do you like old people?"
It wasn"t a dream.
"Excuse me… aren"t you sleeping?"
Yoo Sangah warned. Then the surroundings became silent and the children"s snoring started soon afterwards.
***
Two days flew by in a flash.
[The sub-scenario – Survival Activities has ended.]
Everyone heard the system message as they woke up and got ready. It was a long but short scenario. Then a message from Bihyung arrived.
[9,421.]
It was a number. Bihyung spoke again.
[9,513.]
"What?"
[Don"t you understand? 9,611.]
I noticed right away what the number was. At that time, I made a "10,000" promise.
[The constellations who love the Korean peninsula are nervous about the number of subscribers left.]
I asked Bihyung, "Did you do what I told you?"
[…I did but I don"t know if it will be any good. In any case, I wish you luck. 9,781.]
The swirling Great Hall in the sky showed an unusual omen. There was a thunderstorm and the intermittent sound of thunder was heard. Then an intermediate dokkaebi appeared in the air.
[Everyone, you have been waiting a long time.]
The intermediate dokkaebi looked gaunt. He had probably been suffering from the bureau.
[Did you enjoy the survival activities? The scenario that you have been waiting for will finally begin. There were some disruptions but… yes, well. It will be a fun scenario to look forward to.]
He looked at me and the incarnations and continued speaking in a disgruntled tone.
[You have stopped four of the five disasters. I fully acknowledge your accomplishments. But do you know? The other four were just child"s play compared to the last disaster.]
The faces of the people became tense. In fact, he was right. None of the other disasters could compare to the Disaster of Floods.
[Depending on the success of this scenario, everything that you have done so far might go away and everything will be over. Frankly, the odds of that happening are over 90%. Fortunately, there are those who commiserate with you.]
I formed tight fists. It was finally starting. The last event before the fifth scenario started.
[Then, from now on I will start the second Sponsor Selection.]