Chapter 219

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]

w

Chapter 219

──────

The Slanderer I

1.

"People's morals these days seem really strange..."

One day, while enjoying a swim, such a remark came out of Noh Doha's mouth.

"Hmm."

For the record, we were in a swimming pool.

It was a pool located in the basement of the National Highway Management Headquarters, and given it was the power center, it wouldn’t do to get upset about leisurely swimming in an apocalypse.

It was just that a public pool in the void had sprung up randomly.

Noh Doha hated every activity categorized as 'exercise', but swimming wasn’t something he disliked. So I regularly dragged him from his office and tossed him into the pool.

People need to get some exercise at least, or they’ll live shorter lives.

Premature death wasn’t allowed for the strategist of the peninsula.

Anyway.

I silently approached Noh Doha. Then I crouched down and placed my hand on his forehead, as his face was sticking out of the pool.

"Strange. The temperature seems normal."

"Do you want to die...?"

"Oh, it’s pure concern. When the person whose morality is the most suspect suddenly talks about morals, it’s only natural to worry."

"Pure nonsense, more like..."

Noh Doha brushed off my hand, and the smell of pool chlorine filled the air.

"Haven’t you noticed? Lately, people's reactions have been a bit odd..."

"How exactly have they been odd?"

"Let me explain..."

Noh Doha told me the story.

In the National Highway Management, there was always talk about supplementing the workforce.

After all, being a highway officer meant constantly living with one’s life half in the hands of strange entities, so it was unavoidable.

And officers were required to have high combat strength, strong camaraderie, professional learning abilities, mental resilience against the void’s mental contamination, loyalty to resist bribes from regional warlords, and above all, the attitude to still hold onto hope for humanity despite the hardships.

In short, the job was tough as hell.

- People are getting killed on the field! Hire more!

- Who’s hiring these useless recruits?! Don’t just hire anyone!

- We need quantity! Quantity!

- Qualityyyyy!

Thus, there were always two eternally conflicting opinions within the National Highway Management.

"But lately, even people outside of the National Highway Management have started meddling in this..."

"Huh?"

It all started on SGnet.

One of the caravans from the National Highway Management departing from Busan had been wiped out in the void (not an uncommon occurrence), and users on the message board began discussing it.

- Anonymous: Honestly, isn't it the management's fault for not supplementing the workforce in time?

└ Anonymous: The highway management is practically responsible for all logistics in the peninsula, so yeah, they’re kinda negligent... agreed...

└ KoreanVillage: Hmm...

- Anonymous: Because of this accident, the market in Pohang hasn’t opened for over three months, lol.

- Anonymous: A friend of mine works in highway management, and they said there's a lot of talk internally too. Apparently, they’re deliberately not hiring new officers even though they know they’re short on field personnel.

└ Anonymous: Why?

└ Anonymous: If they hire more officers, they’ll have to share the profits they’re sucking from the guilds all over the country. Honestly, the management doesn't care about logistics; they’re more focused on extorting taxes from guilds, lol.

└ Anonymous: Is this for real??

└ Anonymous: Yeah, anyone who’s in the know knows this stuff.

└ dolLHOuse: ?? What nonsense are you all spouting?

- Anonymous: I didn’t think the highway chief was like this. Guess they’re no different from the politicians of the past.

└ Anonymous: You still trust people? lol

└ Anonymous: I knew this would happen.

I blinked.

"What... is this parade of nonsense?"

"It’s just a parade of nonsense. I only know about it because my subordinates reported it to me. Apparently, posts like these have been popping up frequently."

[They just think, "I happened to say that. I didn't mean any harm. I was just agreeing with what someone else said. It was just casual chatter."]

[That seems to be the general perception.]

I rested my chin on my hand.

"If this is affecting not only the internet but also real life, keywords like 'witch hunt' might be important. Could it be some kind of mental virus?"

[A virus... doesn’t seem like the right word. There doesn’t seem to be a clear infection source.]

[It’s happening simultaneously, from Sariwon to Busan.]

“Can you summarize the key characteristics of these conversations?”

[Of course.]

The Saintess laid out the characteristics of the “witch hunt” anomaly as follows:

1. Someone subtly starts a baseless rumor.

2. Despite doubts, people chime in with agreeable responses.

3. The rumor is taken as fact, and the person at the center of the rumor is criticized, with comments about their character.

4. The conversation always ends with, “I knew it.”

[That’s the gist of it.]

"Hmm."

I rested my chin on my hand.

"It's definitely some kind of mental anomaly... It seems like an anomaly that parasitizes language itself."

[How do you plan to handle it?]

"Let's test the reaction first."

I issued a secret order to Sim Aryeon, the most powerful card available in the current human internet system.

Sim Aryeon had the authority to control the Constellations [Librarian of the Great Library] and [Collector of All Anomalies], as well as multiple anonymous nicknames.

Target: ON. Fire.

-Anonymous: I know who’s spreading that stupid rumor that Tang Seorin forced herself to capture an anomaly just for a dissection show, lol.

-Anonymous: There’s this small guild in Busan's Yeongdo called the Cheonghae Guild, always acting cocky with Three Thousand Worlds. The guild leader got ‘caught’ by Tang Seorin, and ever since, their small fry have been spreading rumors about her, lol.

└Anonymous: ?? What are you talking about? I’m just sharing what I heard from an acquaintance.

└Anonymous: And your acquaintance must be the same guild leader who was bawling his eyes out in front of the Great Witch, begging for his life like a child, right?^^

└Anonymous: I’m not even from the Cheonghae Guild, though?

For reference, all the “Anonymous” posts above were Sim Aryeon herself.

Sim Aryeon skillfully stirred up the forum with her "clone technique."

And once the attention of the members was fully captured, she delivered the finale.

-Anonymous: I’m one of the top five Awakened serving the Librarian of the Great Library, lol. Keep messing around, and I’ll ask the Constellation to reveal your identity, so shut your mouth.^^

└Anonymous: Lol, what a clown. I’m seriously not from Cheonghae Guild, so what are you going to do about it? Go ahead, reveal my info, lol.

└[Librarian of the Great Library]: Park Sang-soon. 37 years old. Guild Leader of Cheonghae Guild. Currently logged in from Yeongdo, Busan.

└Anonymous: ?

└Anonymous: What the f—?

└Anonymous: That’s not me.

The other forum members watching the coliseum, of course, went wild.

The public opinion quickly shifted in favor of Three Thousand Worlds, with a flood of comments criticizing the Cheonghae Guild.

I calmly observed the unfolding situation.

"Now then. The rumor has been overturned. What’s your next move, anomaly?"

At that moment.

-Anonymous: I knew those Cheonghae Guild bastards would cause trouble someday, lol.

-Anonymous: Their guild is infamous for promoting themselves anonymously and badmouthing rival guilds.

└Anonymous: Really??

└Anonymous: They even have a PR manager under the guild leader who tells the guild members exactly how to sway public opinion, lol.

└Anonymous: I knew it.

Hmm.

I sighed.

The same forum members who had been questioning Tang Seorin’s character earlier had now turned to condemning the entire Cheonghae Guild as if nothing had happened.

"It’s not eradicated at all."

[...Yeah. Other unrelated Awakened are still commenting.]

Indeed.

This mysterious anomaly seemed only interested in setting the world on fire, regardless of what the target was.

No matter how hard you tried to overturn one rumor, it simply moved on to the next one.

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]

w