Chapter 170

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 170

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Divers II

4

In the past, there was a policy in Joseon called Gongdo, which literally meant "emptying the island of its inhabitants." Instead of constantly having mineral and gas-sparse areas raided by Zerglings (pirates), they decided to simply relocate the command center—a radical reversal of thought.

This was evidence that our ancestors had always cared for their people like SCVs were looked after in the Terran race. As a Terran myself, I couldn't help but follow in my ancestors' footsteps.

"Director, the evacuation of Jeju Island residents is complete."

"Good job."

Following my orders, Yoo Jiwon traveled around the southern islands, guiding the evacuation of the refugees. There was some resistance, but it was ignored. The difference between what ordinary people considered a "monsoon" and the "Great Monsoon" approaching was as vast as that between a breeze and a typhoon.

If we didn't evacuate now, they would all be annihilated anyway. This had been proven in multiple previous episodes.

The evacuation orders weren't just issued in reality.

-[Three Thousand] Witch's Judge: (Mandatory Reading) Guidelines for Living During the Great Monsoon.

-[Baekhwa] 8th Grade High Schooler: All roads connected to Sejong City will be closed until the Great Monsoon ends in July and August! If you are short on food, please come to Sejong City Hall to apply for refugee status!! >_<);;

-Administrator: (Notice) Please note that access to SG Net may be unstable during the Great Monsoon period.

Guild leaders like Tang Seorin and Cheon Yohwa, who were in cooperative relationships with us, volunteered to act as canaries in the coal mine. Even SG Net's administrator, Seo Gyu, stepped forward.

When the rare "Administrator" nickname appeared, even some awakened individuals who prided themselves on being tough began to feel a sense of urgency.

-Anonymous: Hasn't SG Net never been down before?

└Anonymous: Nope, it did occasionally connect to weird sites. I once typed in the same address and got redirected to a site called "Let's Live Net." LOL

└Literature Girl: OMG

└Anonymous: That was just a temporary contamination by a suicide site anomaly. The SG Net connection itself wasn't blocked. This Great Monsoon is definitely a record-breaking event.

-Anonymous: So, is Busan the most dangerous? Can't we just run away?

└Anonymous: Yep, that's why most of the ordinary folks in my neighborhood have fled to Daejeon. That's where the shelters and free meal centers are operating well.

└Anonymous: They'll probably get lost and die in the void on the way LOL

└[National Highway] Officer: The National Highway Management Corps is operating emergency caravans twice a week. Please use the caravans, ordinary citizens.

-CookingQueen: If you're in a tough situation, please come to Daejeon. I'll help you whenever I can.

The southern part of the Korean Peninsula was abuzz with preparations for the flood. Of course, even with all these warnings, some people remained complacent.

-Anonymous: Wow, people are overreacting LOL

-Anonymous: A typhoon? We have the SSS-class breakwater Japan. No worries LOL

It couldn't be helped. Humanity is a species enslaved to dopamine and thrill. Even when floods come, people will still enjoy camping in the valley, and even when a typhoon strikes, they'll try swimming in the ocean.

-Anonymous: Isn't it just a monsoon? LOL. Ordinary people might have a hard time, but do you really think awakened ones will die from a bit of rain??

Amidst the hustle and bustle of those fleeing Busan, those staying behind, those building arks, and those laughing it off—

Plop...

Plop. Plop.

The rain began to fall.

5

[I've confirmed the wall of the typhoon with my own eyes.]

The voice of the Saintess echoed in my mind. It would have been conveyed to the other awakened ones as well. However, for them, the message would have come under the name of a "Constellation."

[Jeju Island has entered the typhoon's influence.]

"Good. Begin withdrawing the Three Thousand Worlds guild members scattered across the southern coast."

[Understood.]

All members of the Three Thousand Worlds guild could use flight magic, so they were currently serving as meteorologists. They flew over the sea, hanging from a single staff, observing the approaching typhoon in real time.

The Saintess shared the meteorological observers' vision through her [Clairvoyance]. Thanks to this, the typhoon's path could be tracked from multiple angles.

[This is...]

That's why, more than anyone else, the Saintess, who witnessed the true form of the "Great Monsoon" firsthand, hesitated for a moment.

[Jeju Island is being torn apart. No, it's being swallowed. The entire island. In one go.]

[Like a tsunami... No, it’s like something from a movie, but much, much bigger...]

[A wall of waves that covers the horizon to the sky, a tsunami over 10 km high is approaching. How is that even possible...]

Even the Saintess, who had witnessed numerous anomalies and voids, momentarily lost her composure.

"Saintess, we cannot allow that thing to head towards other regions. We need to gradually guide it toward the ark through the Three Thousand Worlds guild members."

[But, no matter how many arks we built, can we really withstand that... that thing?]

Bubbles rose right in front of me.

They were Lee Hayul's breaths. She was visibly panicking, facing a kind of void she'd never encountered before.

All it took was a brief blink of an eye, and suddenly our entire bodies were submerged in water.

"......! ......, ......!"

Lee Hayul flailed underwater. The others reacted in much the same way.

No matter how much I had emphasized and re-emphasized my explanations, it was difficult for a person submerged in water to remain calm.

Croak.

The worst part was that Lee Hayul and the other Awakened ones, who were bubbling frantically, were gradually starting to resemble 'frog hands' more and more.

Physical mutation. Existential contamination.

These were typical symptoms of exposure to Void Poison. Witnessing their hands and feet, which they had used their whole lives, suddenly transforming into 'frogs' threw them into a temporary state of panic.

Bubbling—croak, bubbling—croak.

The Void Poison, feeding off human panic, spread even faster. Now, the sound of bubbles rising from Lee Hayul's mouth was becoming more frog-like.

In Chinese characters, the word for frog is represented by "蛙," which contains the radical for insect "虫." This is because a frog's crouching posture resembles the shape of the insect radical (虫).

Croak, bubbling. Bubble, croak.

Frog hands. Frog legs. Green skin. My comrades were rapidly transforming into insects.

The time it took for all this to happen was merely six seconds.

I infused my voice with aura and shouted.

"Move the buckets!"

"......!"

My roar reverberated through the water.

"Perform the bucket-bailing action! It doesn't matter how clumsy it is! Bail the water! Hayul, move! Come on! How many times have I told you!"

"......! ......!"

Finally, Lee Hayul and the other Awakened ones came to their senses and began moving the buckets.

It was difficult to act underwater, but they had all been trained together in such conditions before boarding the ark.

"......!"

"......! ......!"

Though their appearances might have been laughable, they all desperately performed the 'bucket-bailing action.'

Splash, splash.

Then, the water level, which had filled the operations control room, began to gradually decrease.

In reality, the water in the buckets wasn't being moved outside. However, the water level seemed to 'really be decreasing as if it was being bailed out.'

"Phew, haa!"

As the water level finally dropped, my comrades raised their heads above the surface.

The skin that had started turning green was now gradually returning to its human color.

"Damn, I thought I was going to die!"

"Haa... haah, haa, haa...!"

"Is everyone alright?"

My comrades, drenched and panting, looked around.

Their hands were still elongated like frog's hands, with membranes forming between their fingers, but even that was slowly healing.

"It's too early to feel relieved."

They all turned to look at me at once.

I glanced at the window.

Outside, there was nothing but 'Rain.'

Just like us, the ark was completely submerged. It had been entirely flooded.

Not in the nurturing waters of the mother of all life, but in the deadly Void Poison.

"We now need to check if the other zones are safe."

"......"

"Hayul, follow me."

"Okay."

After bailing out the rest of the water from the operations control room, I left the room with Hayul.

Croak, croak, croak, croak.

The long hallway of the ark echoed with the pervasive sound of frogs croaking from all directions.

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]