Thumbs Up, Level Up

“Give me the National Intelligence Service report.”

“Here you go, sir,” Mr. Kim said as he handed over a tablet.

“Hm… Rather than infighting, it looks like someone hunted down the secret societies…”

“I am guessing it was a quest for a God.”

“So there aren’t any secret societies in Korea at this point, correct?”

“No, sir.”

“So that means nobody knew anything about the end of the world before this… Well, regardless of who knew about it, the point is that Um Ji-Cheok seems to be telling the truth.”

“It is also true according to the information we have received from the National Intelligence Service. The Ministry of Monster Industry has also confirmed it.”

“What about public opinion?”

“What we’re seeing right now is just an initial reaction, sir. It will take some time for an actual public opinion to form.”

“I need you to look into it. Keep an eye on the media. This… is a matter of national security. Also, contact Um Ji-Cheok and bring him in.”

“You want to talk to him, sir?”

“Yes. I need to know exactly what this kid wants to do.”

The President glared at the wall.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

«The response to your livestream is very hot, Master. Also, we are getting a lot of Likes in return.»

Cheok-Liang reported back after Ji-Cheok ended the livestream. He had already felt it with his intuition. During the livestream, five hundred million Likes were collected in what felt like an instant.

‘Wow, I guess this is why cults do so well with their apocalypse theories. The difference is that their theories are fake, and mine is real.’

After saving the livestream and uploading it on GodTube, the number of Likes and views was increasing exponentially.

‘This Scales of Truth and the Power of Truth are very effective!’

«The president’s secretary has contacted me and wants to see you urgently.»

“It looks like our government does not know what to do.”

«They are not the only ones. We are getting calls from foreign countries too, including Japan, China, the United States, Britain, Germany, and other great powers. What do you want me to do?»

“I want you to handle it.”

At his words, Cheok-Liang was silent for a moment.

«Are you delegating full power to me?»

“Yes. If I don’t trust you, who am I supposed to trust? You can work out a deal with them, or tell them to fuck off, I trust you. In the meantime, I will be making equipment to protect Korea.”

«Master…»

“No time to be sentimental. Let’s get back to work. We have a lot of things to do.”

To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.

«Yes, Master!»

Ji-Cheok shared skills with Cheok-Liang. Because of that, the fennec could also use Ji-Cheok’s crafting skills, and as he became an electronic spirit, his computing power increased, allowing him to manage dozens of tasks at once. As a result, Kunlun Mountain was quickly becoming a fortress, and he was acquiring real estate all over Korea.

The reason why he was acquiring real estate was to install wide-area shields and turret facilities, which was much easier to do on his own land than on someone else’s. If there was an inhabited neighborhood, he bought some land there and quickly sent people to start building.

Cheok-Liang used his money and his skills. It was a fast process because he was working with Director Gyeong-Yeong. In at most three months, there would be facilities and equipment in every corner of the country.

Cheok-Liang was doing all this while he was negotiating with government officials.

However, this was the limit of what he could do. He could only do as much as he did because it was his own country. Next, Ji-Cheok decided to take care of things in the Philippines, where the Tama Clan had become his retainers.

He contacted the Tama Clan, received the coordinates, and crossed space.

He arrived at a well-decorated control room. There were big screens everywhere, and people busily operating computers. There were several people there, but only three greeted him.

“Oh… Our Lord has descended upon us…”

Macaw the White Charcoal, who looked more like an Ent than a human, still had no intention of returning to his human form. He got up to bow to Ji-Cheok, but he hastily stopped him.

“Come on now,” Ji-Cheok said. “I do not like such excessive courtesy, so please don’t get up to bow to me.”

“If you say so, my Lord, I will comply.”

“So, the three of you are going to work with me?”

It was Daniel Enzo, Bernade Itum, and Macaw.

“The two of us will stay here to check on the situation, and Bernade here will take care of you, my Lord.”

“Very well. I will tell you the whole thing while we are on the move. I wish you two good luck, too.”

With that, he said goodbye and headed outside with Bernade. When they left the control room, Ji-Cheok saw nothing but trees and then some more trees. There was one fairly large road ahead, but Ji-Cheok knew this area was not well-known to the public.

“I know this is the first time we have worked together, but we don’t really have a lot of time right now, so let’s skip the generic small talk. Is that okay?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“That is fine with me.”

“Good. Then, let’s start here first.”

They flew up and landed on the roof of the building.

“I have already prepared a spot for you here,” Bernade said, pointing to an empty space at the center of the roof.

Ji-Cheok took out materials from his Shadow Pouch, then he used his Likes.

Flash!

Powered by the energy produced by the Likes, the materials fused together, creating a spire. It had a round bead on the end and three horns on the bead.

Muzzles protruded from all over the spire. Some of them blasted out mana that took the form of a protective shield; some others were capable of producing lightning; finally, the last ones could shoot out Mana Bullets.

With these functions, it could wipe out any number of monsters.

“So this is the spire that will protect humanity. Who designed it? Is it you, my Lord? Or…”

“I designed it.”

Well, it was actually designed by Cheok-Liang. He had built other things with Ji-Cheok before, and he also acquired many blueprints for Bi-Ga. Cheok-Liang wanted to make something that was both very powerful and practically indestructible, thus maximizing its ability to protect the allies and kill the enemies.

This was the result—a piece of equipment that offered both a shield and attacking capabilities. Ji-Cheok regretted that he did not include a healing function, but it would have definitely increased the cost and production time, so he had given that up.

Currently, in Korea, the factories he had built were in the process of creating these spires, and it was up to Jungjin to take them and install them across the country.

However, in the Philippines, they could not possibly make enough of them, which meant that they could not install these spires all over the country in time.

That was why Ji-Cheok was here.

“What is the name of this thing?”

“You can call it the Great General of Protection.[1] So, Bernade…”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“You can lead the way. Let’s go set these things up everywhere normal people can’t reach.”

He was going to install everything by himself, using his Likes.

‘Let me show you some space turret defense, you bastards!’

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

While Ji-Cheok was making his own moves, the world’s political landscape was also changing. His previous livestream had the potential to shake the entire world.

Countries, from the so-called superpowers to the developing countries, were scrambling to verify the truth of Ji-Cheok’s announcement. Some were quicker than others to jump to conclusions and make public announcements.

“Dear citizens, the world is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. The horrific catastrophe in New Jersey was just the beginning, and at this rate, we will be the last of the human race.”

He pumped his fist to convey his emotions. Normally, this would have been nothing more than political rhetoric, but this time, it was different.

He didn’t care about whether or not it was election season. Humanity was on the verge of extinction, and there was nothing more effective than the threat of imminent death to motivate people.

“However, we cannot go down like this. We will defend freedom. We will defend the world. Once again, we will stand against evil and win. Once again, we will make America great! We will make America glorious!”

“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. The world’s first democracy, we will defend it no matter…”

“For the peace and well-being of the people and their happy lives, we will…”

Three of the major powers declared a state of emergency and announced plans to allocate additional funds to fortify their territories.

Some countries decided to produce large-scale unmanned weapons, while others decided to focus on setting up as many layers of air defense as possible. Some countries decided to import massive numbers of Great Generals of Protection from Ji-Cheok’s factories.

When a major power started making such drastic changes, everyone was bound to understand that things were serious. No sane government would implement this kind of policy based on random rumors and theories.

The overwhelming majority of humanity thus understood that the end of the world was indeed near.

What happened next was pure chaos.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Get the hell out! This is mine!”

“Get off me!”

Somewhere in a foreign country, there was a huge grocery store with a parking lot for dozens of cars on a large plot of land. It used to be a place where colorful neon signs were lit up and people would leisurely walk in and buy things, but now, half of the neon signs were shattered and sparks flew all over the place.

The glass doors of the store were smashed to shards, and people ran in and out of the store like a horde of zombies.

It was basically a riot. The mob was not here to buy anything—they were looting. They did whatever they had to do to get their hands on whatever they could. Everything from toilet paper and bottled water to long-lasting food items like canned goods and retort foods.

There were fights everywhere, with some people punching each other and some others even pulling out guns. The red stains on the floor were not from tomato sauce spilling over.

Bang!

“ARGH!”

“Oh my god!”

Someone had just shot someone else. The shooter, with a grim look on his face, shouted, “Get out of the fucking way if you don’t want a hole in your skull!”

The man had a large bag strapped to his back. He had too many things jammed inside, so the backpack would not stay closed. He was also pushing a cart, full of food and other things.

He looked away from the man he had just shot and who was lying on the ground in a puddle of blood, and started to yell at everyone around him.

The others stepped back in fear.

“Go fuck yourself!”

Bang!

Someone behind the man shot him in the back. As he fell, someone else grabbed his cart and ran out. However, they could not leave fast enough. There were just too many people, and soon, gunshots started echoing here and there.

1. This is probably a reference to Jangseung, totem poles that act as village guardians in Korea. ☜