Chapter 55 - Interview

The masses who mindlessly claim 100,000 won regardless of whether bridges collapse or people die.

A special event to raise awareness and guilt among them!

If you take the 100,000 won, we'll interview the people who might die because of it!

I walked toward the car, the first target.

A camera floating via telekinesis followed me, recording everything.

Good, preparations are perfect. Probably.

"Knock knock. Would you mind rolling down the window?"

When I knocked on the window, it slid down smoothly.

Through the gap where the window had been, I saw a well-built man in his twenties.

Phew, thankfully he wasn't some weirdo. Imagine if someone like the Ice Maiden of the North Sea was randomly sitting in here—that would've made things complicated. What a relief.

"Well hello there! Thank you for your patience. Would you mind introducing yourself?"

I conducted the interview naturally, like a recreation host.

If you threaten and intimidate people in situations like this, you just make the atmosphere awkward. The key is to proceed smoothly, like a snake slithering over a fence.

Fortunately, the man responded to my question.

"Yes, hello. My name is Choi Young-jin."

The man answered confidently.

Huh... but wait.

He seems rather composed?

His demeanor didn't match the life-or-death atmosphere of being caught in the middle of a terrorist attack.

Even with a terrorist who could kill him standing right before his eyes, there wasn't a single tremble in his body.

I could tell from his eyes that he wasn't scared at all.

If anything, his eyes seemed... bright and eager?

I pointed this out and asked him about it.

How curious.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Choi Young-jin. But Young-jin, you don't seem scared at all for some reason? Aren't you anxious or anything?"

"Haha. Anxious?"

The man chuckled as if he'd heard something strange.

Then he looked me straight in the eyes and spoke clearly, his gaze shining.

"What is there to be anxious about? Unless 5 million people take the money, this bridge and I will all be safe, won't we? I believe in them. The citizens of South Korea. My beloved homeland is bound together by the warm bond of the Korean people, who would never abandon their humanity for a bit of capital. There's no way I'll die, so why should I be scared?"

The man answered with clear eyes.

Ugh, his eyes.

So pure! Too pure!

It's like light is radiating from his eyes, stop it!

What is this, a hymn to humanity or something?

I squeezed my eyes shut.

No, maybe in my past life, but the people of this South Korea don't seem like that at all...

As both the mastermind of this terror attack and a fellow Korean citizen, my conscience was being pricked.

To think such a pure person exists in this world.

And looking at the chat window, I wasn't the only one feeling the sting of conscience.

[Ah LOL]

[I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry]

[Huh... what the, why does my chest hurt?]

[There's something in my heart poking me, is this cancer?]

[No. That's guilt. It means you're becoming human.]

[The 100,000 won... I already took it...]

[I was debating whether to take it but decided not to]

[Damn it, I'm not taking it. That pocket change isn't worth a human life]

[Why aren't you taking it? You're making me look like the bad guy for taking it.]

[Fact) The ones who took it are the bad guys]

[I'm sorry...]

Hmm, well the atmosphere isn't bad.

What I originally expected was people trembling in fear of death.

So I anticipated citizens feeling guilty after seeing that...

Well, either way, the conclusion is that people won't take the money, so does it matter?

Honestly speaking, the fewer people who take the money, the better it is for me.

Why? Because whether it exceeds 5 million or not, I'm just going to lie and say it did, then blow up the bridge anyway.

...

Well.

Can't be helped. You can't leave your life up to gambling.

I can't just awkwardly say 'Oh... only 4 million people applied? Then I'll just leave...' if it doesn't reach 5 million! If I don't blow up this bridge, the world... I mean Korean society will all descend into ruin together. I have to destroy this first.

And even if I say it exceeded 5 million, who's going to ask me to prove it? Are they going to tell me to reveal the account list of everyone who took the money? Then the millions who took the money will protect me. Well, technically they'd be protecting themselves.

And honestly, the money is a bit of a waste.

Of course, it's true that I have an unimaginable amount of money. How much? Simply put, about one country's annual budget? After falling into this world, I wandered around, then got my act together and before meeting Seo-eun, I spent all day making money with my knowledge of the original work. Roughly extorting money from corrupt American corporations, finding and using money that villains from other countries hid before they died... Of course, Seo-eun helped later, but anyway.

I do have a lot of money, but burning over 500 billion at once is a bit burdensome.

Capital becomes quite important later on, and I feel like I might be burning too much here...?

Just from the macros, money is draining at several billion per minute right now. Maybe I went too far.

Ugh. Seo-eun's nagging about why I spend money like water still rings in my ears like tinnitus. Ha-yul tried counting on her fingers how big several thousand trillion was and passed out. Hmm.

Anyway, the conclusion is that it's fine if people take a reasonable amount of money.

Honestly, I thought the total wouldn't even reach a million. No, with such a short time frame, it'd be lucky if it even exceeded a million.

But as always, the people of this world easily surpassed my expectations.

[Oppa, over 3 million people have already taken the money?]

[....What?]

I recalled the message Seo-eun had sent earlier.

People! Have you truly thrown your conscience to the bottom of the Han River?

Why are you only diligent at times like this...

Anyway, this is why my heart ached at Young-jin's pure words.

Sorry! The Korean citizens you believe in so much... have already betrayed you and happily claimed the money....!!

But I couldn't say that to him, who was sparkling with faith and trust right before my eyes.

I just... couldn't...

"Ahem. I understand. I've heard your story well, Mr. Choi Young-jin, who believes in South Korea. Any final words?"

When I said that, he looked at the camera and spoke with unwavering faith.

"Citizens of South Korea. I believe in you. You'll help me return home safely, won't you? I always love you. Go Korea!"

Now he was even striking a fighting pose at the camera.

Hmm, I feel dizzy.

Let's escape.

"Yes! Thank you for sharing. Shall we move on to the next person?"

Just as I was hurriedly trying to retreat.

The man in the car shouted loudly.

"Wait!!!"

"Yes?"

He suddenly called out to stop me.

What?

"What is it?"

"Mr. Villain. Egostic, was it?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"I've been starving for 4 hours now. From what I hear, I'll be starving for another 4 hours. Do you have anything to eat?"

Now he was demanding food from me with a confident expression.

I... this is truly the first time I've encountered a character like this.

But what's even funnier is.

Come to think of it, I actually did bring food to hand out. I'd completely forgotten about it.

"Ah, just a moment."

I used Teleportation to warp to where I'd left my bundle on the road.

Right, here it is.

My Ego-Bundle, packed with everything I needed—guns, tear gas, a microphone, and so on.

I grabbed it and teleported back in front of the car.

"Hold on... Ah, found it. Here, have some cream bread."

"Oh my, thank you."

The man beamed as he took the bread.

He sure has some nerve.

[What is this LOL]

[A hostage asking a terrorist for food, and the terrorist actually handing over bread he prepared LOL Is this for real?]

[My head is spinning lmao]

[Call this a villain? LOL]

[No matter how I look at it, Mangostick is a Hero doing villain stuff as a hobby.]

[Fr, even trying to break legs must have some deep meaning LOL]

[The Villain Next Door Who Buys Me Food LOL]

Anyway, my business with this car was officially over.

I trudged toward the next vehicle.

Sigh... We barely even talked, yet I felt completely drained.

"Okay, let's move on to meet the next hostage. I wonder who will welcome me this time? I'm quite looking forward to it myself."

I addressed the camera as I approached the next car.

Please, let it be a normal person this time.

You know? Someone who's actually scared. If you're held hostage by a terrorist in a life-or-death situation, shouldn't you be tense and trembling? Isn't that how it's supposed to work?

With that hope in mind, I walked over.

Unlike the sedan the previous guy was riding in alone, this one was a large SUV.

Oh, my hopes were rising slightly.

Maybe it's a family on a trip? Parents trembling in fear while trying to protect their children... That would be perfect for stimulating the public's guilt.

Please, let me save some money.

However, the closer I got to the SUV, the more I realized my hopes were in vain.

Faint music grew louder as I approached.

And it was some kind of upbeat rock music, too.

...This felt very ominous.

But I'm a professional. I knocked on the door anyway.

"Knock, knock. Hello there. Could you roll down your window?"

As soon as I knocked, the window whirred down.

Simultaneously, loud metal music assaulted my ears, along with...

"Kyaaaaaah!!! Mangostick!!!!"

"OmgwhatdoIdohe'srealthisiscrazy!"

"I'm a huge fan!!!!"

"Mango! Mango! Mango! Mango!"

It was a group of female college students screaming at the top of their lungs.

...I'm going to lose my mind, seriously.