Part 3. Shamshion, the Sun Liberator (3)
The strategy conference room of the Alibaba Guild.
Three executives were gathered there, having a simple breakfast while conducting a breakfast meeting.
A man with thick brows and a strong impression. The Dawn's Curse Sorcerer
A tall woman with a long neck. Earrings that hung as long as her neck. A snake-like face behind round glasses.
And sitting at the head of the table, a man with various colors spreading across his entire body from the effects of countless auras.
He was the guild master of Alibaba,
"The character deletion of 'Ted' that you ordered, Master, was successful."
When several agenda items were nearing their end, Rangwa spoke.
"You settled the matter cleanly?"
"Yes. On the morning of the 28th. The tracking curse I had placed disappeared. I checked the log, and it was marked as 'destruction' rather than 'dispelling,' so we can be certain. However..."
Rangwa hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"A minor problem has arisen."
Rangwa said:
That Ted had gotten hold of a small weakness of CGTV and Alibaba.
"...So, I took people around him hostage and threatened him, but it still feels unsettling."
In truth, endless PKs on the people around a lone wolf like Ted were no easy feat.
In this day and age of cutting-edge information protection, how do you dig up the people around someone who has spent years alone without affiliation?
There was no way except to mobilize the guild's intelligence department and track them down on foot.
Even if found, the deed was not easy.
Because gamers respawn even if they die.
You have to continue PKing 24 hours a day, checking meticulously for months or even years. The costs incurred amount to several hundred million won per person.
It takes a lot of manpower and money for something trivial. Thus, the circumstances were not easy.
Soon, Pan Jiwei, who had heard Rangwa's story, smiled slyly.
"Oh, that's nothing at all. I was surprised when you called it a minor problem, Mr. Rangwa."
"Is that so?"
The Dawn's Curse Sorcerer, Rangwa, was a specialist in combat. He was so strong in curses, especially, that he was called the best in the world.
However, his eye for reading the political climate was equally dim.
"Yes. There's no need to even bother. If the related materials are reported to Rudisa TV, people will criticize us and CGTV for a moment, certainly. But the monster that was already a problem is dead... it died... ahem."
Pan Jiwei glanced at Wang Zhongqing's mood before continuing.
"Because of that, not many organizations suffered direct damage. The trading ships eaten by the Three Sea Dragon Gods were all bait we provided, and among those who failed in the hunt, there are none who can raise their voices loud enough. So we can just ignore it. Everyone will make noise and then quiet down. Even if they do report it, we just need to claim it's unfair and sue them for spreading false information."
"I see."
I was caught up in that bastard's trivial mischief.
A deep frown formed between Rangwa's brows.
"But, Master. Doesn't this leave you somewhat unsatisfied?"
"Well, it's fine now."
Though he spoke thus, in truth, Wang Zhongqing wanted to tear Ted apart whenever he thought of him....
Because although it was a spirit contracted through crooked means, he had grown quite attached while raising the Inferno Imugi.
If possible, he wanted to find the player in real life and kill him.
But Korea in reality was a country with an extremely well-made real-life PK prevention system. So he couldn't do it even if he wanted to.
"Actually, it's an age where directly tormenting a player is impossible now. So I was thinking, he will probably start the game again even if he deleted his character, right? Because Face Chronicle is that kind of game. So we destroy all his foundations. His YouTube channel, his account and bankbook. Those two things."
"Is that possible?"
"Of course. It's not difficult."
Pan Jiwei smiled a snake-like smile and flicked out her tongue.
* * *
The contents of the complaint were utterly absurd.
The plaintiff was none other than Alibaba Co., Ltd.
To summarize the contents:
1. Cheon Gyeong-u hunted Wang Zhongqing's spirit through Ted.
—Regarding the hunt, it is an internal game matter, so there is no problem.
2. However, Cheon Gyeong-u filmed the scene of hunting the Inferno Imugi, which is Wang Zhongqing's property, and uploaded it to YouTube.
—Therefore, the profits from YouTube are unjust gains because they infringed upon Wang Zhongqing's property.
Thus, the International VR Judicial Court, with the cooperation of VR Chronicle Inc., froze all of Cheon Gyeong-u's bank accounts and YouTube channels. That was the gist.
The trial date had not yet been set.
'This is ridiculous. This is an item Wang Zhongqing can't even beat me on. Why did the international court accept such a clearly losing lawsuit?'
Even Ted, who knew little of the law, could tell.
Though it was packaged plausibly, if you read it closely, it was a story that made no sense.
First, Cheon Gyeong-u had started earning from YouTube after catching the Inferno Imugi. Thus, he neither filmed nor uploaded the video to gain profit.
Moreover, raising the Inferno Imugi was illegal. Therefore, it could not be included as legal property.
Nevertheless, the lawsuit was filed. Why?
'The powerful bastards are just gangsters....'
That day. Cheon Gyeong-u, who had searched the internet in detail all day long, came to understand.
This was one of the tricks that large-scale guilds commonly used in the game.
Their goal was not victory in the lawsuit.
Merely tying up Cheon Gyeong-u's bank account. Making him suffer. That was all.
Probably the trial would be postponed indefinitely for years.
'Damn it....'
He had taken a proper hit.
Exactly 2.4 billion won, the money saved up from hunting for the past dozen or so years, and ultimately left over from two jackpots.
The earnings from YouTube and Paprika in just three weeks were exactly 500 million won.
In other words, 2.9 billion won was tied up all at once.
It wasn't the end. The money that would come in going forward was tied up as well.
'Should I blow this up now?'
Cheon Gyeong-u opened a message toward Rudisa TV but soon stopped.
Because his family weighed on his mind.
'Hoo... not yet. I have to hold onto this card. Until I can make those bastards pay for sure.'
Having controlled his heart all day like that, Cheon Gyeong-u only found peace the next day.
'Right, this is how it should be. This is my life, Cheon Gyeong-u's life, so this is normal. Bank account frozen, YouTube frozen. What would be strange about it?'
In his imagination, Cheon Gyeong-u let go of the god of fortune whose collar he had been gripping. It had done all its work at the forge.
Now the misfortune that struck was none other than his own karma, not anyone's fault. Cheon Gyeong-u accepted the fact calmly.
But the conclusion he reached this time was not submission.
'I will definitely get revenge. My money, my time, my YouTube. I will definitely take revenge on you bastards who swallowed everything. Even for the things broken in my room. One by one, I'll thoroughly smash you all so that everyone quits the game. Alibaba, CGTV. You bastards!'
He cooled his anger by cleaning up the room smashed by his rage.
Now was the time to return to reality.
'Starting over.'
Having made up his mind, Cheon Gyeong-u immediately opened a new account at a different bank.
In Face Chronicle, the service fee was not small if one's main account was not with
'They take 7%. These swindlers.'
He had no choice. Because he had no living expenses right now.
Cheon Gyeong-u invested a whole day to sell the rare and epic equipment that had become unusable. They were the items stripped off due to level restrictions.
When the sales at the auction house were finished, a considerable amount of money was made.
'About 300 million won. I should use this for living expenses and game costs going forward. Wait, come to think of it, my viewers....'
Cheon Gyeong-u opened his Paprika channel.
There was chaos there.
'15,000 guestbook posts?'
[Meow Butler — Hey, was it really true that Ted-chan just succeeded in seven consecutive Soul Brand +7s? Then why is there no recording?]
[Lazy Viewer — He really succeeded in consecutive +7s during the live stream. But the broadcast suddenly turned off. shudder]
[Tesamo®Dirty — Ted-nim ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ why did you suddenly disappear]
[Tesamo®Byeolchuri — Ted-nim, did you really quit the game? Really? ㅜㅜ]
[Viewer_Turned_Director — Could he have been murdered by someone?]
Cheon Gyeong-u's heart ached as he read through the guestbook.
'I'm sorry.'
Ted had no intention of quitting Paprika like this.
People who came to find him, people who loved his lacking self and even opened their wallets for him.
When he could stand tall on his own. He would return to Paprika.
After that, Cheon Gyeong-u searched for Shamshion, the Sun Liberator. But he could find nothing about it.
'It's unreleased content... so this is it... I should keep the videos for the Elder Cheon Gyeong-u collected properly.'
Cheon Gyeong-u carefully saved the video of the +19 enhancement that he had failed to upload into a personal folder.
Before long, Cheon Gyeong-u, who had comfortably relieved himself in the bathroom, entered the capsule.
Just before logging in.
His heart welled up.
Because he recalled when he had first connected.
'It took ten years to reach the early 600s level.'
The early days of the game's release, when he knew nothing.
Based on outstanding talent and consistent effort, Cheon Gyeong-u reached level 600 in ten years.
Face Chronicle is a place that always values 'balance.'
Balance is a kind of framework that restricts standing out among others. The reason Cheon Gyeong-u accepted reincarnation was also for that reason. Because in the game, great power was always given a corresponding risk.
However, balance was not a word like equalization.
Those who inevitably stand out even within balance were bound to stand out.
And Cheon Gyeong-u, he was now a figure who could not help but stand out.
'The knowledge I have, my combat skills... and finally, the +19 musket. With this, I....'
He steeled his heart.
Five years.
Within five years, he would annihilate the two guilds of China and place his name at rank one.
Cheon Gyeong-u lay down more resolutely than ever and closed the capsule.
And he shouted the command for a new beginning.
"Log in!"