Chapter 86 - Aftermath And Reactions
["How could a president! Do this to a place where his own citizens are! Even a villain as cruel as me wouldn't do such a thing!"]
After Egostic's exposé video hit millions of views and shocked the nation, the news continued to focus solely on this story.
"Following villain Egostic's revelation, the president's approval rating continues to plummet daily. It has collapsed below double digits, recording a constitutional low of 9 percent..."
"The Director of the Hero Association held an emergency press conference in public. The main point was confirming that the president did indeed launch a nuclear missile or one with comparable power, and stated that without hero Stardust's intervention, thousands of citizens would have perished."
"The Presidential Secretariat has attempted damage control. They explained it wasn't a nuclear missile but a conventional one, yet public reaction remains cold. Netizens responded heatedly, saying, 'If not a nuclear bomb, then a hydrogen bomb? Isn't that basically the same thing?'"
"The government is facing its worst crisis since taking office. Amid calls for the president's impeachment..."
"Meanwhile, the Hero Association's approval rating continues to rise. There's growing praise for the Director's principled statement and Stardust's appropriate response."
"Breaking news. Foreign reports indicate that the International Hero Association Alliance is discussing upgrading Korea's hero Stardust to S-rank. Experts believe her performance in the recent battle influenced this consideration. Unlike A-rank, which can be designated by the domestic association, S-rank requires approval from the International Association Alliance."
"Additionally, villain Egostic is also being considered for S-rank promotion. Unlike Stardust, whose discussion just began, Egostic has been under consideration since before the Sudalsan incident, and an official announcement is expected at the end of this month, according to an association official."
***
[Breaking News) Egostic's S-rank promotion coming soon]
Article link
=[Comments]=
[Finally]
[Why did it take so long?]
ㄴ[Probably because S-rank is determined by an international organization?]
[S-rank hero King Mango is coming!!!]
[Based on his recent performance, he's definitely S-rank material, right?]
*
[Mangostick is a hero and this is a fact written in the Goguryeo Watermelon Diagram]
No casualties, prevented dozens of terrorist attacks, and between the bridge incident and this robot hijacking, I can't even count how many people he's saved
Hey, you still don't support Ego after all this? That's cold, really coldㅋㅋㅋㅋ
=[Comments]=
[Honestly, if you're Korean? You should support Mango, right?]
[Upvoteㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Fact) True]
[I'm forty-five years old. Never seen a villain like this before]
*
[How to understand Egostic.honey_tip]
Why the hell is a villain saving people? (X)
Ah! Egostic was a hero all along! (O)
=[Comments]=
[This is exactly itㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[For real, we need to change our thinking]
[Why is a villain doing this?(X) Oh, he's not a villain!(O)]
[Just...^Villain Assistant^]
ㄴ[Is this a compliment or an insult?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
*
[The president is truly despicable]
He steals a giant mech that even the government couldn't stop, saves Seoul
And instead of a commendation, they fire a missile at him
Are these people even human?
=[Comments]=
[They're idiots, he can teleport so they couldn't kill him anywayㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Hero-related matters should be handled by the Association, why is the government interfering]
[But he's screwed nowㅋㅋㅋ Not much time left in office but the lame duck effect will hit hard]
ㄴ[Honestly, he should just be impeachedㅋㅋㅋ]
*
[Why did the Association Director cut ties with the president so quickly?]
He immediately announced that it was indeed a nuclear warhead
Isn't the Association supposed to cover for the government? Aren't they partners?
=[Comments]=
[No, the Association and government aren't that friendly. This administration thinks the Association threatens government power, so they try to check each other's authority. The Association feels the same way]
[1. The president is like a sinking ship, so cut the rotten rope or deliver the final blow 2. To defend Stardust]
ㄴ[Personally I think it's #2 because if the president questioned why Stardust blocked it, the Association would be in a difficult position. Technically, firing at a villain is justified. So they preemptively struck before he could make a fuss?]
*
[Mango fans discovered something chilling....scary]
Everyone who has faced Egostic
Has completely fallen from graceㄷㄷㄷ
Yakostic... how far does his power extend...
=[Comments]=
[Stardust: ???]
ㄴ[Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋ Girlfriends are the exception, I guessㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
*
[Breaking) Team Electra destroyed.... Photos from the previous incident released]
(Photo)
Photos released showing Egostic catching the falling Stardust princess in his arms mid-airㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Some guy nearby apparently captured it with a telescopeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㄱ
Wellㅋㅋㅋㅋ It's Ego X Starㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㄱ
Egostic's heart already belongs to Stardust, right? At this point, it's just an established fact, right?
=[Comments]=
[That's fake]
ㄴ[The "it's fake" meme has arrivedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[???: Anyway, it's fake]
ㄴ[Are you coming to your senses?]
ㄴ[Someone can't accept realitywwwwww]
[Niceㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[For real, there's definitely something between Egostic and Stardustㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
*
[Fact) Egostic has liked Stardust from the beginning
Killed a villain and left a note for Stardust
Called for Stardust after his first terror attack
Somehow always gets involved with Stardust
And now saving Stardust tooㄷㄷㄷ
True love, agree?
=[Comments]=
[At this point it's not speculation but reasonable suspicionㅋㅋㅋ]
[The photo's authenticity is debated so that's a bit ambiguous]
[As an EgoStar supporter, I was so excited when Ego first called for Stardustㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
*
[Stardust's popularity is skyrocketing these days]
Team Stardust fan cafe membership increased by 2000% compared to normalㄷㄷㄷ
Definitely the biggest beneficiary of this situationㅇㅇ...
=[Comments]=
[Crazyㅋㅋㅂㄱㅋㅋㅋㄱwhat the]
ㄴ[Soon to be Korea's first S-rank... and she basically saved all of Seoul's citizens, so her popularity is through the roof]
ㄴ[If EgoStar get married, will they be an S-rank couple? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[The Team Stardust cafe manager was super excitedㅋㅋㅋ Giving out chicken to members and going crazy]
ㄴ[That person truly loves her for realㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Like living just for Stardust]
[Honestly, going one-on-one with a giant war machine was pretty impressiveㅋㅋ]
*
[Yu-seong Corporation donates relief supplies to Seoul refugees]
They also donated billions, apparentlyㄷㄷ
=[Comments]=
[Is Yu-seong the company where the chairman's granddaughter is Icicle?]
ㄴ[Yeah, that's Lee Seol-ah, correct]
[Yu-seong Corporation is gaining favorㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Yu-seong Corporation became Korea's #1 conglomerate after Han-eun Group collapsed, now they're managing their image too]
ㄴ[They've been acquiring and merging with other companies like crazyㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[Buy their stocks, they keep rising endlesslyㅋㅋㅋ]
[Yu-seong Group controls Korea from behind the scenes! And A-rank hero Icicle is the mastermind!]
ㄴ[Hello. This is Yu-seong Corporation's legal team. If you do not delete this comment by 10 PM tonight, we will take legal action for spreading false information and defamation.]
ㄴ[The corporate threat meme has arrivedㅋㅋㅋ]
***
Busan.
Yu-seong Group Headquarters.
Top floor.
A staff member in a suit approached her as she sat stroking a cat while leaning back in her chair, gazing at the night view.
"Ms. Seol-ah. The public opinion manipulation has been completed to a certain extent. This administration is now beyond recovery. We've also successfully negotiated with the Association Director."
"And what about that matter?"
"Yes. We've successfully approached and recruited the next presidential candidate. He will follow our instructions from now on."
"Good. Everything is going according to plan. Anything else?"
"....The Chairman has announced that he's delegating all authority to you, President Seol-ah."
"Finally. That's excellent."
She smiled slightly at the news for the first time and turned her chair away from the window toward the front.
With long light blue hair.
Holding and stroking a white cat.
The woman smiling gently was.
Lee Seol-ah, the A-rank hero known as Icicle and the heir to Yu-seong Corporation.
"Now that this is somewhat resolved... shall I go see Ha-ru?"
***
Deep in the mountains, a hidden mansion, known as the Ego-Stream headquarters.
There, a man sat with his hands clasped on the desk, deep in serious thought.
That man was me.
"....."
What was I worried about?
The president? That's not my business. He was going to crumble and fall anyway, just like in the original story.
S-rank promotion? I expected that too, and it happened in the original story, so no problem there. Well, there is an issue, but I'll probably be able to resolve it.
Yu-seong Corporation's conquest of Korea led by Lee Seol-ah? I'm planning to get my share anyway, so that's fine.
The real problem I'm worried about is.
'With this, my debt is paid, right?'
Since that day, I keep thinking about it.
Stardust's face as she smiled slightly and said those words to me. That image.
This.
No matter how I think about it.
"Has she figured it out?"
I'm scared.