Chapter 148
Chapter 148
Chapter 148: Hot Stock (1)
“Oh… No!”
Yangju’s Strongest Sword, Choi Jongseon, didn’t really understand.
Is it possible to bring out something real with a weak line like that?
But for some reason, it seemed very likely with that crazy orphan Strongest Sword.
The plan is to find an alien to place an advertisement on the tattoo that he spent a whopping 3.4 million karma on.
“No, damn it, go do it in another neighborhood!”
In the end, Choi Jongseon, the mother Strongest Sword, reached her limit and drew her sword.
She couldn’t tolerate anything that could threaten Yangju.
This city was also a sanctuary for children in the future.
“Now stop it, you crazy orphan!”
Choi Jongseon threatened the orphan with harsh words and a menacing sword.
As someone who prioritized her child’s safety, she could say even harsher words.
But.
“S-Sorry, I got carried away. I should have thought about the child.”
“…?”
Surprisingly, Jeong Yeongwoo’s sensible reaction made Jongseon feel awkward.
“I sometimes… get narrow-minded.”
With a truly apologetic expression, the strongest orphan of the North Korean Peninsula hastily picked up the equipment on the ground.
“…?”
Watching him blankly, Jongseon eventually softened her voice and asked him to be slow.
“…Take your time. I might have been a bit harsh just now. It’s not like aliens will really appear just because you call them from the sky.”
After Jongseon said this, Yeongwoo awkwardly smiled and silently finished picking up the equipment.
“Huh…?”
From Jongseon’s perspective, it was a reaction that could only make her spine chill with the thought of what if.
“R-right? Aliens aren’t coming.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Kid, why did you pretend to pick up the equipment?”
Then Jongseon poured out very harsh words, but they were not transmitted to Yeongwoo due to the deafening roar from the sky.
Fuuuuuuuuuuck!
A cannon blast came from high above, and a crimson pillar of light was driven into the center of Yangju City.
At the same time, the sky, which had turned pitch black, swayed heavily like the night sea.
‘Someone’s really angry.’
Looking up at the sky, Yeongwoo snorted.
The one he just thought of as “angry” internally was none other than.
―Yeongwoo…!
The shareholders of the intergalactic weapon brand, Dogo.
* * *
Quarrrk!
Thunder roared loudly from the pitch-black sky.
Then, a more intense voice spewed out from the tip of the crimson pillar of light.
―Yeongwoo…!
Whether it was because they were in a hurry or because they were very angry, the shareholders of Dogo sent their voices before revealing themselves on Earth.
―Jeong Yeongwoo! Contractor of “Dogo”!
In response, Yeongwoo waved his arms as if directing parking in front of the crimson pillar of light.
“Yes! Over here!”
Then, as if he suddenly remembered, he turned to Jongseon.
“Wait, is the kid okay?”
The shareholders of Dogo were beings that were difficult for humans to perceive with a clear mind.
In fact, when they first called them on Earth, Kwon Taeyoung was unable to contain himself and was lying on the floor vomiting.
That’s why Yeongwoo suddenly remembered the child’s condition.
However, surprisingly, Jongseon’s child was not affected by Dogo’s presence at all.
“Abvbb!”
Instead, he even pointed at the crimson pillar of light with his finger and laughed.
“My kid seems fine for now. But what are we going to do about this? The city is completely ruined.”
As Jongseon said, Yangju City was now completely devastated.
“Hee, hee!”
“What on earth is that?”
“Run away!”
An untimely crimson pillar of light.
Moreover, a crimson pillar of light in the form of a tornado, which had never been seen since the reset, appeared, causing everyone to flee the city.
And to make matters worse.
Goooh…!
―Jeong Yeongwoo! We’re here!
Finally, as the shareholders of Dogo revealed themselves in a rainbow-colored glow, even those who trusted Strongest Sword nearby began to flee.
In an instant, the city was destroyed.
“..…”
Seeing the desolate surroundings, Yeongwoo looked around and then alternated between Jongseon and the baby before saying,
“Well, then, how about moving to Gangnam?”
“W-what…?”
“There are vacant properties all over Seoul. I’ll arrange a place for you and the child in Gangnam. You can commute to Gwangjin-gu if you want.”
“What on earth…”
The conversation between the two Strongest Swords ended here.
– 「Whitespace」 belongs to our “Dogo”!
The reason the shareholders of Dogo, who had descended to the bottom of the pillar of light, began to voice their anger more fiercely than before, was because of what had happened earlier.
Of course, Dogo had come looking for Yeongwoo in surprise, as he had returned “Whitespace” through an open bid.
That’s understandable.
[00:03:26]
In Yeongwoo’s sight, the advertiser timer was already displayed separately.
It seemed that his advertisement-exclusive tattoo, “Whitespace,” had once again summoned another advertiser.
‘Dogo seems to have come to me as if we already had a contract… Then who is the timer pointing to?’
As Yeongwoo chuckled while looking at the timer, the Dogo shareholders wrapped the pillar of light around even more tightly and shouted.
– Jeong Yeongwoo 07! Remember our “contract”!
Large-scale entities like Dogo’s shareholders were capable of compressing large amounts of data or emotions into a single word.
For example, even to entities that had no idea what “Dogo” was, conveying voices or texts alone could help them understand new concepts.
So, as soon as Yeongwoo heard Dogo’s pronunciation of “contract,” he could vividly recall the details of the contract he had made with them before.
Of course, even without that, Yeongwoo had memorized the contract details down to the last detail at the time.
「Contract: Dogo-49523-IIIIII_II-Tier 2」
[Grade 2 advertisement space utilization]
– The Dogo logo will be printed on the trajectory of the weapon.
– Before major battles, you must announce loudly that you are fighting with the support of Dogo.
[Grade 3 exclusive quests]
– Receive bonuses for completing exclusive quests.
[Grade 2 exclusive quests]
– Receive split payments for advertising fees only through the completion of exclusive quests.
– The total advertising fee executed increases by about 40 times.
#Basic advertising fee: Estimated 10 million karma per week.
#Basic contract period: 4 weeks.
Maximum weekly payment of a 400 million contract.
However, the salary can only be obtained through the completion of Dogo quests.
‘I’ve already received well over the basic advertising fee, but I’m still far from 400 million.’
After double-checking the contract details, Yeongwoo addressed the Dogo shareholders.
“I’m grateful for the contract you made with me, but isn’t the advertising space we contracted for the trajectory of the weapon and my advertising slogan? If you want to include advertising in the tattoo, you’ll have to make an additional contract.”
This was also strictly business.
Yeongwoo spoke as firmly as possible, ensuring that his relationship with Dogo would not be compromised.
– Ugh…!
Nevertheless, the shareholders of Dogo with dilated pupils seemed displeased from the listening position.
[00:01:13]
Meanwhile, Yeongwoo’s advertiser arrival timer was still a minute away.
“A new bidder will be coming soon. Please keep the contract proposals in mind. We should try to maintain loyalty with Dogo, but… if the conditions differ too much, there’s nothing we can do.”
Yeongwoo said this while hurriedly putting on his pants.
Since the area with “Whitespace” engraved was on the upper right arm, he only needed to remove his upper armor.
Then, he turned his head back to where the baby in Choi Jongseon’s arms was, and saw the baby looking at Dogo’s unique iridescent color with an even happier expression than before.
‘Could it be that children are completely unaffected by prestige?’
This was a hypothesis with some basis.
Even when the Strongest Swords exuded prestige among the crowd, only children were not affected.
Why could that be?
‘It doesn’t make sense for the system to only favor children.’
‘….Karma’
So, the only possible reason for children being exempt from many threats of the system, due to not having any “Karma,” could be enough.
‘Then what about Dogo? To what extent are beings from other worlds affected by Earth’s rules?’
‘I don’t know. Perhaps the prestige of the Strongest Swords and the aura emitted by beings from other worlds are fundamentally similar. After all, there were no Strongest Swords like them on Earth originally.’
As Yeongwoo pondered this far, the advertiser timer hanging in his sight fell below 10 seconds.
[00:00:09]
With 9 seconds left until the arrival of the bidder for “Whitespace.”
“Shareholders, are your contracts ready?”
Yeongwoo asked his first advertiser with an excited voice.
Another color appeared in the sky, which had been a deep shade until now.
Kwi-aaah…!
With an unusual atmosphere, the sky began to turn cyan.
The representative color of the new company was overlaid on the space that Dogo had painted pitch black.
-…!
At this, the shareholders of Dogo raised dozens of heads towards the sky and showed surprised expressions.
“Lemu!”
The scene unfolds with the reactions of the shareholders of Dogo, who raised their heads to the sky in surprise.
–Lemu!
–Lemuuuu!
–Wretched Lemus!
–Lemu! Filthy creatures!
The Dogo shareholders began chanting the name “Lemu.”
Sensing their reaction, Yeongwoo had a hunch that a company preferring cyan as their color, like Lemu, did not have the financial power of ordinary people.
‘Why would they act like this? There seems to be some discord between Lemu and Dogo’.
Yeongwoo thought to himself.
With Dogo deliberately withholding the meaning of “Lemu,” Yeongwoo had no choice but to wait patiently.
[00:00:05]
With just 5 seconds left, Yeongwoo anticipated their appearance.
‘It’s about to reveal itself,’ Yeongwoo thought as he observed the increasingly intense cyan sky.
Then, a thin laser guidance line shot down from beyond the sky.
Piiiiit!
About a hundred meters away from Dogo’s appearance point.
‘What’s this? It’s quite neat.’
It was a method that was contrary to the Dogo method, which announced the location of the appearance with a huge pillar of light.
And finally.
[00:00:00]
Finally, as the timer hit zero, changes occurred in the cyan sky.
Zzweoong!
With a loud crack, a space near the guidance line opened up, and from within it…
Shuaaaat!
A brightly glowing, pure white cuboid descended as if sliding.
‘That… Lemu?’
‘Lemu’ felt more like an object than a living creature, unlike the residents of Dogo.
It resembled a television with six sides all made of screens.
Pah!
Eventually, the problematic cuboid blinked, and large characters appeared in the air.
It looked like hieroglyphs, displaying the logo of “Lemu.”
「Lemu」
It also served as a company pamphlet offered to Yeongwoo, who was looking for a second advertiser.
‘These guys, they’re a universal pornography production company, aren’t they…?’