34-44

Chapter 44 

Today was the day of the official press conference regarding the death of the Seoul mayor. 

And it was an unusually rare event: the president himself would address the nation. 

[Hello, fellow citizens. I take this opportunity to greet you. I am OOO, serving as your president, though I may be lacking in many ways.] 

= I’m the president. 

[First, I wish to express my condolences for the tragic death of the Seoul mayor.] 

= Why did this guy die? 

[Today, the government will present decisive evidence that the Seoul mayor’s death was a ‘murder.’] 

= Here’s some bait, go wild with it. 

[First piece of evidence. The investigation found that the mayor died due to an ‘explosion.’ This explosion occurred in the basement of the mayor’s mansion. The government is still investigating whether the explosion was caused by a bomb or by a superpowered individual. We promise to find out as soon as possible.] 

= We don’t know, but he blew up. 

[Second piece of evidence. Just before the explosion, someone was caught entering the mayor’s mansion. Unfortunately, we don’t have a clear image or description, but prosecutors believe this person is a prime suspect in the murder by explosion.] 

= We found someone, but don’t know who. 

[Finally, here are the remains found at the mayor’s mansion. These remains are very similar to those of the ‘Villain Puppeteer’s’ dolls. This suggests the mayor had contact with the Puppeteer for some reason, which is still under investigation. The government will do its utmost to uncover the truth.] 

= Probably villain-related. 

Other statements followed, but they were mostly formalities. 

[The government will work to protect the deceased’s honor...] 

“Eh... nothing much said...” 

Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous. 

‘If the government had named me as the culprit, it would have been all-out war...’ 

But whether they didn’t know or were pretending not to, they didn’t point the finger at me. 

‘So I’ll just keep corrupting people as usual.’ 

Now, the Ja-Ae Cult has settled into public consciousness much like the old ‘Shincheonji’ maybe even better. Most people hated Shincheonji, but the Ja-Ae Cult has passionate supporters(?) and is even somewhat popular among women... 

‘Of course, some women absolutely despise us.’ 

But they’ll join eventually, so it’s funny to see them hate. I wonder if they’ll hate themselves when they change, too. 

‘Honestly, what bothers me is that some male supporters treat us like a free brothel...’ 

That’s a bit unpleasant. The world I want to create is one where people aren’t judged by looks a world where true love brings happiness. 

Not a world where women are used as sex objects and discarded, or where men act like kings swapping partners. Even the followers get hurt by such attitudes. The worst offenders are already on our internal blacklist. 

Of course, some who don’t like their treatment cause trouble... 

‘But what can ordinary people do if they’re not superpowered?’ 

Ja-Ae Cult followers are reborn through my salvation physically, mentally, and in terms of ability. 

If a minor is saved, they gain the physical strength of an adult male, meaning they become more than three times stronger than before (for ordinary people). Superpowered people get their traits enhanced, but I’m not sure about tripling their strength. 

‘And I get stronger too.’ 

Already, tens of thousands now hundreds of thousands of followers have gathered. My trait grows stronger the more women I convert. At this rate, I could easily crush the villain union leader, Bertolt of Collapse. 

‘I’m at least twice as strong as when I first met him.’ 

I don’t know the exact numbers, but that’s how it feels. I can also create more clones. If I set their physical strength to that of an average adult male, I could make up to 100,000 of them. 

‘This is the “Hundred-Thousand Army” theory.’ 

It seems I can make as many as the number of followers I’ve physically been with. Of course, I respect the free love of my followers, but I can’t make them unhappy. I don’t block anyone who wants me. 

“Jinwoo-nim.” 

“Yes?” 

“We’re all ready. Just give the order...” 

“Ahh...” 

Han Ji-young, the second woman I awakened after myself, is essentially number two in the cult. Maybe because she’s been with me from the start, or just from being close, she’s gotten much stronger. 

She could probably take on that villain “Puppeteer” mentioned in the press conference. 

How do I know? 

When I visited the mayor’s mansion, I saw the maids. All of them were as strong as B-rank superpowered individuals. 

‘...Even B-rankers can’t be ignored anyone who can threaten hundreds of people is considered B-rank.’ 

And by using the [Tracker] trait to trace the connection to the dolls, I found a woman in a dark room, hood pulled low, grinning creepily. 

Her distinctive “ehehe...” laugh was memorable. 

Despite her harmless appearance, that laugh revealed she was an official A-rank villain. 

It also reminded me of someone. 

‘Ha Jungwoo...’ 

Just a few months ago, he was convicted of drugging and raping a Ja-Ae Cult follower. Even though he was a minor, the crime was severe and he showed no remorse, so he got 15 years. 

Now separated from Kim Minji and no longer under her emotion-amplifying influence, he was still insane. 

  You... you!! No matter what, I’ll kill you, I swear... I swear!!! For taking Kim Minji from me...! 

It was almost funny to get a murder threat. Had his instincts figured out I was the mastermind, or was it related to the “dream” he mentioned at the end? 

  ...You’re the one from my dream!! 

“...I definitely don’t have any dream-related traits.” 

It was weird. Did someone leak the cult’s plans to him? Or was it just a coincidence?... Betrayal inside the cult was unthinkable. Every follower has been personally vetted (by my clones). Betrayal is inevitable in large groups, but at the time, only Han Ji-young and I knew about that operation, and it made no sense to suspect her. 

I even asked: 

  Did you ever tell anyone about that plan? 

  ? No. 

  Good, let’s keep it that way. 

‘She said no, so I’ll trust her...’ 

I decided to chalk it up to coincidence. 

Blue House. 

President’s Office. 

“Haha, who would have thought the Ja-Ae Cult was behind it...” 

“...Mr. President, about that... why did you impose an embargo?” 

“Chief of Staff?” 

“Yes, Mr. President.” 

“Sometimes... pretending not to know is the right thing to do. It’s embarrassing to say, but I know their true power. I know I can’t stop them.” 

“...Is it because they’ve passed 100,000 members? If so, we could ” 

“Haha, that’s not what I mean. You know as well as I do that, even though the Blue House seems above the Association, in reality it isn’t.” 

“....” 

“Even being president isn’t what it used to be. Before superpowered people appeared... the president really did hold national power.” 

“But now, we’re just a toothless tiger. Even the Association, a branch of the World Government, has more power... Any group without strong superpowered people will just disappear.” 

“But we have some powerful superpowered people...” 

“Who?” 

“Well... there’s the Ice Mage who guards you, and Iron Man...” 

“Haha, but you know they were all defeated by Lee Jinwoo, right?” 

“...Yes.” 

“I think Korea is just the beginning. A new wind will blow around the world, and at the center will be Lee Jinwoo.” 

“...But Mr. President, what if that wind is just a breeze?” 

“Haha, that’s why I’m not acting openly. There’s a reason for the embargo it’s not for nothing. Everything has its justification.” 

“...You really are the president.” 

“Sigh who knew I’d end up playing both sides even at my age...” 

“...I’ll stay with you to the end, sir.” 

“I’m ashamed, but for ordinary people like us, it’s the only way to survive.” 

“...You’re right.”