Chapter 226

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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Chapter 226

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The Concealer III

4

The Hollow Earth Theory.

As the name suggests, it's a theory that the inside of the Earth is hollow and contains a massive underground cave.

Similar theories include "Nazis on the Moon" or "The Underwater City of Atlantis."

In short, it’s a conspiracy theory, nothing more than gossip with zero academic value.

Unfortunately, after the advent of the Void, Earth shifted from being governed by physicists to conspiracy theorists. There was indeed a secret Nazi base on the far side of the Moon, and Atlantis was very much alive in the Atlantic Ocean.

Along the same lines, of course, the inside of the Earth was also hollow. As an intellectual, It was almost embarrassing to be unaware of such a simple geological truth.

"Sir."

"Hmm."

"There’s a village. Underground."

"...Hmm."

"There are people living here as well. Should we call them subterraneans? Judging by their appearance, they look like Homo sapiens."

However, the Homo sapiens that Yoo Jiwon referred to had physical traits that differed significantly from modern humans.

-Woo? Ah, ah, woo!

-Woouugh! Oooohooo!

As soon as they spotted us poking our heads out of the ground hole, the subterraneans surged toward us, raising wooden spears.

The subterraneans stomped on the ground and craned their necks toward each other, exchanging barbaric cries of "Ooohooo-."

What was there to hide?

The level of their civilization remained at a typical primitive tribal stage. They weren’t even properly covering their lower bodies.

-Uhooohooo! Hooohooo!

One of the subterraneans, presumably their leader, pointed his spear at us threateningly and spat out unintelligible words.

Even with my linguistic skills, translating their language was difficult, but from the tone, I could roughly guess it meant something like, "Come out, you monsters!"

Unfortunately, they picked the wrong opponent to threaten.

"Excuse me for a moment, sir."

Thud!

Before anyone could stop her, Yoo Jiwon leaped forward and thrust a dagger into the leader's throat.

-Uhooohooo? Uhohoh!

-Ooooh! Ohoh! Ough!

A few brave subterraneans attempted to retaliate, but it was futile. Yoo Jiwon pulled out a new dagger and threw it. The blade struck precisely in the center of their foreheads.

As four of them were killed in an instant, the remaining subterraneans had no choice but to flee, terrified of the psychopath who had invaded from the surface.

The entire situation was resolved in just 30 seconds.

Typical of Yoo Jiwon, the head of the National Road Management Operations Team, her clean efficiency was undeniable.

"Hmm."

Jiwon brushed off her uniform.

"They were a disorganized rabble, sir. Hardly worth your attention."

"...Jiwon, as I've said many times, you really need to tone down your casual psychopathic tendencies."

"They threatened us first. Now, let me examine the body."

Thud!

Again, before anyone could stop her, Yoo Jiwon split open the subterranean leader’s skull.

It was a gruesome scene that would undoubtedly earn an R-rating on any platform, but fortunately, there was no need to worry about censorship.

Because inside the body of the subterranean Jiwon had cut open, there was no blood or organs—just emptiness.

"They’re hollow inside."

"An anomaly, then."

"Yes, without a doubt. They resemble the terrain here quite well."

Not only the skull but the entire body was hollow. It would have been strange not to call them an anomaly.

"But sir, look closely at this primitive. Doesn’t he resemble you?"

"What?"

"I’m not joking. Sir, take a careful look."

"......."

It was true.

The subterranean Jiwon had first killed, their leader, bore a striking resemblance to me. It had been hard to recognize at first due to the stark difference in civilization levels.

"...Wait a minute. The one lying over there looks exactly like you, Jiwon."

"Your Excellency. I've been thinking, couldn’t we use this anomaly to our advantage?"

"Use it? For what?"

"This is the opposite side of the Earth. If not for your Excellency's terrifying aura, no awakened person could have found this remote place."

In short, Yoo Jiwon said,

"No other place is more suitable for committing the perfect crime."

An ominous feeling crept over me.

"You don't need to look so concerned. I'm only suggesting that we could use this anomaly to correct humans who have personality flaws in various ways."

"Personality flaws, you say...."

“For example, suppose we write 'Narcissism' on the notebook and put it inside Miss Sim Aryeon’s doppelganger. Wouldn't that easily resolve one of the symptoms that have been troubling her?”

"Hmm."

Yoo Jiwon continued,

"Your Excellency could use this place like an editor. You could easily correct and modify your comrades' personality flaws, turning them into more perfectly functioning individuals."

“...No, that would lead straight to becoming an anomaly. Changing the personalities of those around me at my whim? Are you trying to turn me into a dictator?"

“I think it could be very useful, though.”

“No, no.”

I waved my hand.

"Something similar was done before in another turn, by Tang Seorin. The result was a fallen one."

"Is that so...."

Yoo Jiwon looked around with an expression (which, again, only I could read) of deep regret.

Not that there was much left to look at, aside from the massacre site she had just caused.

"If Your Excellency insists, I’ll be satisfied with just exterminating the anomalies."

"Yeah. We should be thankful we found them before they stole people's hearts or brains."

"Understood."

Yoo Jiwon obediently cleaned up the scene and returned to the tunnel we had dug.

She gave up her opinion so cheerfully that I almost absentmindedly followed him back to the surface.

But something felt off.

Following my instincts, I approached the corpse of the 'Underground People: Doctor Jang.'

When I opened its mouth, to my surprise, a notebook with Yoo Jiwon’s handwriting was hidden inside.

[Doubt about Yoo Jiwon]

[Suspicion of Yoo Jiwon’s loyalty]

[Total distrust of Yoo Jiwon’s character, integrity, and remarks]

"......."

“...Ah.”

Our eyes met—mine and Yoo Jiwon’s, who was already halfway into the tunnel.

She burrowed in like a mole. Soon after, I could faintly hear the sound of her fleeing at top speed, tap tap tap.

If I were to express that sequence of actions in words, it would be something like, 'Yoo Jiwon hid her conscience.'

I couldn’t help but shout.

“Yoo Jiwon, you bastard! Don’t you dare run away!”

5

There’s a short epilogue.

“Hyung-nim! Thank you so much!”

"Uh, sure."

Seo Gyu, whose hair had returned, clung to my waist, sobbing.

Not only had his hair grown back, but so had his original identity—his memories of having luxuriant hair were fully restored.

Not just Seo Gyu, but others also received the "blessing of normalization." Tang Seorin, who safely returned to being a train enthusiast, even held a bonfire with scrapped trains at the station plaza.

“I, uh, would’ve been fine if you’d just left me alone....”

Aside from Sim Aryeon, who was reveling in her newfound popularity, most people regarded the recent events as embarrassing memories.

Just as we were about to wrap up the bizarre tale of how our doppelgängers had been living beneath the surface, sharing the same ground we tread on daily―

As I returned to the surface and enjoyed my normal routine, a sudden question hit me.

‘Wait. If the underworld had been stealing things from the surface one by one... What about the sun?’

There had been a sun in the underground world, yet the sun still shone brightly in the sky above the Earth.

This meant that currently, Earth had two suns coexisting—one sun that had something stolen from it, and the other that had stolen something.

"......."

I sipped my café au lait and looked up at the clear sky, particularly at the glaring sunlight.

What could the sun of our galaxy have had stolen by the anomalies?

- The Concealer. The End.

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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