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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The blinding light quickly subsided.
My vision slowly returned.
I saw myself facing off against the bald Chinese man.
“I” was about to throw a punch at the Chinese man, shouting,
“What was that about supporting the Hong Kong protests!!!”
“Die, you son of a bitch!!!”
But just before the punch landed…
A short blade popped out from the toe of the Chinese man’s left shoe.
He stabbed “my” right shin with the blade and stomped down on my instep.
*‘This bastard’s using a fucking knife in a fistfight?’ *
But it wasn’t over.
The moment “my” posture faltered, the Chinese man threw a long right hook.
One hit.
Just one hit was all it took to smash “my” face.
I watched as “I,” with a shattered face, fell to the ground, and thought,
‘I got killed by a shameless chink with no brains or conscience.’
Putting that aside, he was quite dangerous.
But what I was witnessing made no sense.
Suddenly, I heard the voice in my head.
[Ugh… ow… my head…]
‘You’re awake.’
The crazy bitch in my head was finally up.
But something was different.
[Who are you? Who are you Big Bro? Why am I here?]
‘Snap out of it. I’m in a hurry here.’
[Where the hell am I? Who am I?]
Her voice sounded like she had suffered severe brain damage from the shock.
And her calling me “Big Bro” at her age indicated the damage was pretty serious.
In these situations, repeated shock therapy was effective.
‘Keep this up, and I’ll show you Assistant Manager Han’s posts from the Mysticism Gallery again.’
[Mys… ticism? Assistant Manager Han? Ugh, something’s coming back… Argh!]
A brief scream.
Followed by silence.
A while later, the voice spoke again.
[I feel like I had a long nightmare.]
Her voice was filled with fear.
Understandable.
[I don’t remember anything, but I know it was a nightmare I should never recall.]
*‘That’s not important right now.’ *
I understood, but it wasn’t my priority.
I needed to figure out what was happening before my eyes.
[So, what happened?]
‘I’m watching myself die in 8K.’
[Oh!]
‘Don’t just say “Oh!” Explain it quickly. This is urgent.’
Her stalling was getting on my nerves.
I considered showing her the abyss again, and then she finally spoke.
[This is a possibility, a fragment of a future someone experienced.]
‘And I died in that future?’
She hummed in agreement, confirming my statement.
She sounded as if she was nodding, even though I couldn’t see her.
[Yes, what you’re seeing is the future that baldy experienced.]
‘But why am I suddenly seeing this?’
[Isn’t this the ability you awakened?]
I finally had an ability worthy of a protagonist!
It was my time to shine!
‘The days of humiliation and oppression are over! Everyone’s fucked!’
[However, it seems you can only see a short glimpse of the future.]
Cold water was suddenly poured on my burning ambition.
‘You’re a real buzzkill. But how do you know that?’
[Isn’t everything flashing red? It probably wasn’t like this from the start.]
She was right. Everything was flashing red.
Ah, I see.
It was a sign from the Party.
‘Rise, comrades!’
[…You really are out of your mind.]
But despite her comment about a time limit, I felt perfectly fine.
I felt no different than usual.
She seemed to understand my confusion and continued,
[Of course you wouldn’t feel anything. Your real body isn’t there.]
*‘Ah, so there’s a price to pay when I return to my original perspective?’ *
[Yes, the longer you stay, the greater the price.]
‘Like Anivia’s ultimate ability mana cost?’
[…You’re surprisingly accurate with your analogies.]
She sounded exasperated.
But I was right, wasn’t I?
The problem was…
‘How do I go back?’
[Just retrace your steps.]
I had no idea how I even got here.
‘I was just staring at that weird shard… it looked kinda cool… and then I was here?’
[Where is that shard?]
‘I don’t know.’
A brief silence.
And then her voice, tinged with annoyance,
[This is not the time for jokes.]
‘But it’s gone! What am I supposed to do?!’
[Are you truly this stupid? Use your brain for once!]
She just insulted me.
I couldn’t let this slide.
‘If you keep hurting my feelings, I’ll hurt yours too!’
[I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!]
She quickly apologized, sounding pathetic.
But that didn’t solve the problem.
‘What am I supposed to look at? Should I just think about going back?’
As soon as I finished that thought, the world around me started crumbling.
My consciousness flickered.
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My consciousness faded, and then I regained my senses.
The world was still frozen.
The Chinese man before me was about to punch.
I felt my left fist, clenched tightly, regaining its sensation.
It was a generous ability with a long pause duration.
Not bad.
‘Let’s play, you bastards.’
But the problem began now.
As soon as the world returned to its normal flow, an overwhelming exhaustion washed over me.
My arms and legs felt weak, trembling uncontrollably.
This was likely the price she mentioned earlier.
I wouldn’t have minded if it slowly drained my stamina.
But the problem was, it was a one-time payment.
The disconnect between my clear mind and my exhausted body…
It was too jarring to adapt to.
At least let me pay in installments, you bastards.
The interest rates are too high these days.
But the fight wasn’t over yet.
If I didn’t do anything, my head would get smashed like a watermelon.
So, I changed the future.
I forced my trembling right leg to move and stomped down on his left foot a half-beat faster.
The red number above his head went up.
He finally realized something was wrong.
He was so shocked that even his feint with his right fist lost its power.
Forgetting we were in a fight, he asked incredulously,
“H-how did you?!”
“I voiced my support for Uyghur independence, and I saw the future!!!”
“Wh-what?! Is that true?!”
I thrust my left fist deep into his abdomen.
He staggered back.
I kicked off the ground with my left foot, using it as a pivot, and spun my body, bringing my right leg up in a long arc.
A classic Taekwondo roundhouse kick.
“You believed that bullshit, you stupid bitch? Jet kick!”
“Ugh! My gut!”
My kick landed squarely on his unguarded stomach.
It was a textbook jet kick.
He flew backward, crashing through several desks before finally stopping.
He was specialized in physical enhancement, but his head wasn’t as durable, so he fainted easily.
Of course, I wasn’t in great shape either.
I slumped to the ground, gasping for breath, struggling with the aftereffects of using my ability.
‘Damn, I wouldn’t be this exhausted if I hadn’t wasted so much time talking.’
But at least I had taken care of them all.
The archive door burst open.
It was Hye-ji.
“I’ve arrived.”
“Hye-ji, how many did you kill outside?”
I asked jokingly, grinning.
“Just the enemies, or should I have taken out some civilians too?”
“…Civilians?”
It didn’t seem like a joke to her.
Seeing my confused expression, she waved her hand dismissively and continued,
“Just kidding. I haven’t killed anyone yet.”
“…Yet?”
“…As long as they’re still breathing, it’s fine, right?”
She suddenly avoided my gaze.
I figured it was fine as long as she had subdued them, so I asked,
“How many?”
“Three. One of them surrendered as soon as I set him on fire.”
“Classic bullying.”
Just then, Jung Ah-yeon turned her head towards us, her hand still on the ground, using her ability.
Her eyes were still closed.
“Master Shinwoo, are you alright? The last one was dangerous.”
“Huh? Shinwoo, you almost died?”
Hye-ji looked surprised.
But it was in the past, so I brushed it off.
“I almost became beef stew. Why? Want some side dishes too?”
“Can I get refills?”
“…This one questions whether this is a normal conversation.”
In total, we apprehended nine Chinese intruders.
One more than the original number.
We called the security office and asked them to come to our location.
We also told them to just knock out and drag anyone who was still acting up because of the broadcast.
The music hadn’t ended yet.
The security personnel soon arrived.
They thanked us profusely and started taking the Chinese away.
Hye-ji sounded concerned.
“But Shinwoo, isn’t this all for nothing if the Ministry of Public Security takes them back?”
“This one also believes that fighting the Ministry of Public Security is dangerous.”
“I agree this time, Shinwoo. Don’t do anything reckless.”
The conversation had somehow shifted to me fighting the Ministry of Public Security.
Dumbfounded, I protested.
“Hey, I’m not a mad dog! Why would I fight the Ministry of Public Security?”
“Shinwoo, have you even been sane this whole time?”
“Unbelievable.”
“You bitches…”
Suddenly, the attacks came from a different direction.
Anyway, we followed the security personnel.
They herded the Chinese into an unused room in the security office building.
I asked one of the staff members,
“They’ll probably get away without any punishment if the Ministry of Public Security takes them back, right?”
“Yes… most likely.”
He sighed as he answered.
But I wasn’t going to let them go so easily.
They were bad Chinese.
I had to at least make them good Chinese.
“Would it be okay if we do something here for a while?”
“Just don’t kill them.”
“It’ll be troublesome if we kill them here.” He mumbled as he left.
It was fine as long as they weren’t killed “here.”
We entered the room and counted the Chinese.
There were eight people in the CCTV footage, but there were 15 before us.
To ensure we hadn’t apprehended any innocent people, we performed a traditional verification method.
“If you support the independence of Tibet, Hong Kong, and Uyghur, raise your hand.”
Most of them cursed in Chinese, baring their teeth.
One of them tried to raise his hand.
“Shinwoo, he’s trying to raise his hand!”
“He’s trained to raise his hand in this situation. Don’t be fooled.”
“They’re ruthless.”
“…This one sees a real ruthless bastard right before my eyes.”
They were all definitely Chinese.
No need to feel guilty.
Guilt is something you feel for fellow humans.
Not for bad Chinese.
I spoke in a hushed voice, only loud enough for us to hear.
“Jung Ah-yeon, create a small summon and have it check if the Ministry of Public Security is coming.”
“This one can only sense their presence with mana. I can’t tell who they are.”
“That’s okay. If they’re from the Ministry of Public Security, they’ll be walking confidently, so tell me if you sense anything approaching quickly.”
“Understood.”
She nodded and summoned a creature.
Now, it was time to give Hye-ji her task.
“What do you want me to do, Shinwoo?”
“Hye-ji, pull the pins on these grenades and have them bite down on one. And lock the door.”
“These are dummy grenades, right? They look exactly like real ones, though.”
She hesitated.
I whispered, just to nudge her,
“Are you scared?”
“I’m thrilled! Just give the order, Captain. Right now!”
“…This one heard nothing.”
Jung Ah-yeon shuddered, her eyes closed.
Ignoring her, Hye-ji and I worked swiftly.
I started collecting their phones while she was stuffing the grenades in their mouths.
Some had lock screens…
But that wasn’t a problem.
They eagerly unlocked their phones with a grenade in their mouth.
Hye-ji returned after completing her task.
“Shinwoo, why are you taking their phones?”
“Just giving them a little gift.”
“But didn’t you say they were sent from China? Shouldn’t they have been given phones?”
“No, these are their personal phones.”
“Why?”
Hye-ji tilted her head, confused.
But I was sure these were their personal phones.
I could guarantee it.
“They’re all iPhones.”
“Ah, American products. None of them have Huawei.”
“Master, someone’s approaching!”
At that moment, someone started banging on the door.
I heard angry shouts in Chinese.
It had to be the Ministry of Public Security.
They were shouting, frustrated that the door was locked.
And the Chinese before me were trembling in fear, grenades in their mouths.
Everything was ready.
I activated the translation app and started speaking in Chinese.
Loud enough to be heard outside.
They were definitely listening outside because the complaining voices of the agents had gone silent.
They were likely captivated by my speech.
Meanwhile, the reactions of the Chinese intruders were incredibly passionate.
They were so moved that tears streamed down their faces, unable to utter a single word.
Those must have been tears of joy.
And their joy was so immense that they couldn’t contain their excitement, squirming in their seats despite the restraints.
It was heartwarming.
“They must have missed freedom.”
“That was a beautiful speech, Shinwoo. I’m almost tearing up myself.”
“…You two are truly despicable.”
I wiped away a tear.
But the joy couldn’t last forever.
We returned their phones and removed the grenades.
But I was worried they might express their happiness verbally.
It would be dangerous to do so with the Ministry of Public Security listening outside. So, with a heavy heart, I communicated with the restless Chinese…
Vrrrrroooooom!!!
With a chainsaw.
They finally calmed down.
That was a relief.
Just then, two agents, dressed in sharp suits, burst through the door.
They barked orders in Chinese.
They scanned the room, their suspicion of the Chinese evident.
Then, they started dragging them out.
It was time.
I had added all the Chinese to my WeChat contacts while collecting their phones earlier.
I sent a heartfelt message to each of them as they were being led away.
“Shinwoo, what did you say?”
“Nothing much. I just wished them a safe journey.”
“…You’re a monster.”
Jung Ah-yeon glared at me.
She must have figured out what I actually sent them.
But I didn’t care.
The messages were already sent.
“Let’s go ask the staff for some food. I’m hungry after all that work.”
“Since America triumphed over China today, let’s get some Western food, Shinwoo.”
“How about noodles with dumplings and a bottle of Bamboo Leaf Liquor at a Korean restaurant?”
“…Just do whatever you want. I give up.”
Jung Ah-yeon replied with a dejected sigh.
But she was still eager for a free meal, because she followed us.
Then, I realized I hadn’t sent a message to the last guy, so I quickly sent him one.
– We are the last Falun Gong practitioners.
– Beware of the authorities.
– Destroy your phone after this is over.
A magical spell to turn a bad Chinese into a good Chinese.
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lmao he spammed the tiananmen square copypasta on their phones