Chapter 173 - PMC
# The World of Stardust!
It's already widely known that the latter part of this world's original comic [Stardust!] flows in an extremely devastating direction for Stardust.
But in truth, it's not just devastating for Stardust alone—the original world setting itself becomes increasingly bleak as the story progresses.
Ability users are gradually increasing worldwide. Particularly troubling is that most of them end up becoming villains, making the situation increasingly difficult for every country.
Especially in America and Europe, well, they've always been a mess with villains far stronger than those in Korea, so that goes without saying. Though they do have equally strong heroes to maintain a precarious balance of power, even those regions are finding it increasingly difficult. Especially after the fall of the hero who was considered America's last bastion.
And this chaos was no different in Korea and other countries.
Take Japan, for instance—it was absolute mayhem with yakuza controlling half the country and confronting both the government and the Association. Though arguably, the government was more corrupt than the yakuza, but either way, the situation was dire. Even with Korea's mess, at least rebels hadn't taken over half the country.
Of course, in the latter part of the original story, the yakuza are betrayed, split apart, and picked off one by one by the government... but since the government was already corrupt, the chaos actually worsens. You could call it the rise of competing warlords.
And then there's China. China is even more ridiculous. They have a major villain organization called the Fire Dragon, which consumes half of that massive country in the final arc. Some heroes even join their side, which says it all.
Just hearing about it sounds like a complete disaster.
And Korea, holding its place among the three East Asian nations, naturally shows no less chaos than its neighbors.
The only heroic forces are: Stardust working alone, Icicle who's busy just managing Yu-seong Corporation, and Shadow Walker who turned dark after his girlfriend died. That's the entirety of their strength. With so many villains packed into such a small country, public safety begins to collapse. And then the Moonlight Cult opens a portal to another dimension, bringing monsters into the mix, making everything even worse.
In other words, things are relatively peaceful now only because I'm covering things, but the country will continue to fall into greater chaos.
Especially as the proportion of ability users increases, the number of villains will continue to grow. Already, even just in Seoul, terrorist incidents have increased compared to before. And that's despite me not carrying out any terrorism lately.
And if this chaotic situation continues, Stardust will naturally be torn apart. What's happening now is just child's play—later it will be hell. No matter how strong Stardust is, she only has one body and can't work non-stop without rest. Especially after the Moonlight Cult incident, when public safety is on the verge of collapse.
To prevent that hell from breaking loose, I'm planning to establish a PMC.
Why don't ability users want to become heroes? Because B-rank and below get paid poorly while receiving tremendous criticism for even small mistakes. If even well-paid A-rank users don't want to be heroes, why would others?
That's how we end up with surplus manpower—people with abilities who don't work as heroes. And some of them fall into villainy once their livelihoods become difficult or they find the right opportunity.
After thinking about this for a long time, I came to a conclusion.
Yes. I'll just spend a ton of money and hire them myself. They don't want to be heroes because they can't make money and only get criticized? Then let them join a PMC where they can make good money without criticism. Don't let those abilities go to waste.
It's a win-win business that prevents potential villains while nurturing quasi-heroes.
That's the PMC business I've planned.
The business concept itself is simple. Just privately hire ability users, train them according to my preferences, and build up a fighting force. That's it. And later, they'll be useful when Korea falls into chaos.
But. There's a bit of a problem.
No. Not just a bit—there are many problems.
Even if I have the funding, how would I gather people, and what about the government and Association raising hell about collecting ability users to form a rebel army?
And that's where Lee Seol-ah's role comes in.
Lee Seol-ah, who currently controls all other corporations, the government, and the assembly. If her Yu-seong Corporation is doing the hiring, no one can stop her. She's already seized control of most media outlets, so who could possibly block her?
Successfully persuading Lee Seol-ah to join the PMC business, we've been preparing diligently, and quite some time has passed.
"Phew... Da-in. It's all done. Now there won't be anyone in political circles or elsewhere raising objections. The same goes for the Association."
And today.
I finally received confirmation from Lee Seol-ah that all preparations were complete.
"Thanks. You worked hard."
"What hard work... Then buy me a drink later."
"Didn't we just have wine together here last time?"
"Not here. Outside."
"Sure, sure."
Indeed, becoming friends with Korea's number one really makes everything go smoothly. If I had done this alone, it would have dragged on for years.
Anyway, after discussing some practical matters, we officially decided to launch Yu-seong Corporation's PMC business.
With our combined financial power, it's the largest scale ever.
Now we just need to announce our launch.
So we plastered advertisements absolutely everywhere.
A PMC business—a collaboration between the shadow hero who pulls Korea's strings from behind and an outright villain.
Finally, it has arrived in the Republic of Korea.
***
[Oh what is this????]
(Yu-seong Corporation PMC Recruitment Advertisement)
Yu-seong Corp is now recruiting ability users lol. There were rumors they've already consumed all other corporations and political circles, and now they're trying to establish their own Association? lol
=[Comments]=
[This shit is everywhere these days lol. Seems like they're aiming to notify the entire nation]
[Yu-seong Corporation's conquest of Korea is just a matter of time now]
[Isn't the government regulating this? It's basically a corporation creating its own military organization]
ㄴ[How long has it been since Yu-seong consumed Korea? lol]
ㄴ[There's no one left in Korea who can stop them, gay...]
ㄴ[Conspiracy theories OUT]
[But damn, as expected of Yu-seong, the salary is insane. What is this? lol Who's going to join the Association now? lol]
ㄴ[I have a decent ability and I'm seriously tempted right now lol]
ㄴ[For real lol. Can't resist several hundred million won lol]
ㄴ[This seems like the first time ability users are being treated this well]
*
[Yu-seong Corporation has announced they are recruiting ability users. Lee Seol-ah, the current CEO of Yu-seong Group, announced plans to create a Private Military Company (PMC) composed of ability users to overcome the rapidly changing international situation and chaotic circumstances. She asked for applications from strong ability users, promising "100% identity protection and unprecedented investment." Those who pass the interview will become part of the Yu-seong family, receiving focused management and personalized education, with all necessities including room and board guaranteed until retirement. According to the article, the annual salary is approximately...]
In a quiet countryside house.
A young man sharpening his sword listened to the radio against the background of rain.
"....Yu-seong, huh."
Tap.
After putting down his long sword on the floor, he turned up the volume on the radio.
...A life of nothing but slaughter as a hunting dog.
It was the first time he, who had been living quietly while cursing his ability, showed interest in something.
And elsewhere.
A girl hiding from the rain inside a building looking at her smartphone, a boy working part-time at a fast food restaurant.
One by one, slowly, everyone began to take interest in this thing called a PMC.
***
"...Wow. Hey. What exactly did you do?"
"What?"
"No, this PMC thing or whatever is everywhere I look. How much did you spend on advertising?"
"Ah... that did cost quite a bit."
"Look even now. Every TV channel I switch to is talking about Yu-seong Group recruiting ability users."
Choi Se-hee said, looking at the TV with amazement.
...Well, the beginning is always important. This level of attention is necessary to get our money's worth.
While I was roughly explaining this, Han Seo-eun, who was sitting beside me eating an apple, asked with curiosity.
"But oppa. I still don't understand."
"What?"
"Even if there are many ability users living in hiding, who would actually participate in this? It clearly states there will be fighting..."
Seo-eun trailed off.
Right. The truth is, while it sounds nice to call it a PMC, it could involve life-or-death battles with others, so would many people really join?
To her question, I answered as if it were obvious.
"Of course there won't be many."
"...What?"
"But even those few are better than nothing."
That's right.
Even if we can salvage just a few ability users, that's something. Especially since there might be some unpolished gems among them.
And my guess is that many who join will be those driven to the edge. Those who are one step away from becoming villains.
This is just the first batch, and if they succeed, the second batch will be larger, and so on. And we can have the first batch train the second? That's how it becomes automated.
While the PMC business is nominally under Yu-seong Corporation, it's essentially all mine. With how much capital I've invested. I even have plans to eventually become independent from Yu-seong. I've already discussed this with Lee Seol-ah.
In other words, everyone who joins this PMC becomes a member of my private organization. Meaning I can do whatever I want with them.
If I invest time and train them diligently, I think they could hunt villains from A-rank down to B-rank. Though it's not immediately necessary and more for the future, it's still better to nurture them early. For the first batch, I plan to disguise my identity and teach them personally. The birth of my direct organization, Mango Squad... no, Ego-squad. Though they won't know it themselves.
Anyway, this is somewhat settled now.
We've set a long recruitment period. I've cast the bait, and now I just need to reap the harvest later. Having gotten this off my chest, I can think about the rest after recruitment ends.
Yes, the PMC matter is somewhat concluded for now.
Now it's time to think about something else.
"...."
I sat at my desk, covering my face with my arm, deep in thought.
...When was the last time I fought Stardust during a terrorist attack?
Excluding just meeting her and only counting direct confrontations, it seems like it was a very long time ago.
Right. Wow. The last time was that hastily organized attack at the beach.
"....."
It's been too long since my last terrorist attack against Stardust. It's also been ages since I directly checked her abilities.
Yes. To put it simply, right now I:
Miss Stardust.
"....Sigh. What kind of attack should I plan."
Stardust probably doesn't miss me at all.
But still, I should prepare an attack for my hero.
After all, I am her villain.