Chapter 3: I Got Followers
"You want me to clean?"
"Yes."
"That's labor."
"Yes. But you only need to take out the trash and wash the dishes. That's basically a 50,000-won-an-hour part-time job."
The cleaning company had demanded 800,000 won.
Apparently that was because their minimum package included pest control, mopping, and everything else.
They said none of those services could be removed.
But if I make this guy do it?
Only 50,000 won!
"Can't you just lend me the money?"
This bald guy really had no shame.
"There's no such thing as free money."
"Hmm..."
Then...
"That won't work."
The scary-looking loan shark spoke in a deep voice.
He glanced at his wristwatch.
"You have an hour and a half left."
It was currently 4:30 p.m.
Apparently he finished work at six.
"How much does he need to pay?"
"Five hundred thousand won."
It looked like the bald man was borrowing 50,000 won from each household.
That meant he needed ten households.
Within an hour and a half?
Could he do it?
I doubted everyone in this building was as kind as me.
"What happens if he can't pay?"
At my question, the bald man glanced backward too.
Apparently he was curious.
Though judging by the sweat pouring down his face, he already had an idea.
"Knowing too much can get you hurt."
"He'll get hurt if he doesn't pay too, right?"
"Probably."
"Will he be unable to come back here?"
"Maybe."
Suddenly, a wonderful idea came to me.
"Mister. Should I give you the whole 500,000 won right now?"
"What? Seriously?"
"Yes. But you have to clean my apartment."
"Ah! Fine! I'll do it! But later. I'm in a hurry right now."
"Oh, and one more thing."
"What?"
"Sign a promissory note."
"Fine, fine! I'll sign it! Happy?!"
I quickly wrote up a simple promissory note and handed it to him.
The bald man read it and jumped in shock.
"You said you'd give me 500,000 won!"
"Yes."
"Then why does this promissory note say one million won?"
"Don't sign it if you don't want to."
"You sneaky little bastard!"
I took out ten 50,000-won bills and waved them in front of the bald man's eyes.
His pupils followed the money left and right like magnets.
"Sign it while he's offering."
The loan shark threatened from behind him.
"Eek! I-I'll sign!"
In the end, the bald man signed the one-million-won promissory note.
He received 500,000 won.
Then the loan shark snatched all 500,000 won away.
When did he get there?
In the blink of an eye, he'd appeared right in front of us.
"You've paid today's interest. Good work."
"Yes, sir!"
"You're lucky. You have such a generous young man for a neighbor."
"I guess so. Haha!"
The bald man quickly fled.
As expected, he had absolutely no intention of cleaning.
Knew it.
No wonder he'd lost all his hair.
I called the cleaning company again.
"Fine. I'll pay the 800,000 won."
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We're coming right now.
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The cleaning company arrived.
Five middle-aged women stood outside my door with cleaning equipment.
"That'll be 880,000 won."
"I have to pay first?"
"Yes."
"But you said 800,000."
"VAT is separate."
"Hmm. You didn't tell me that. Should I cancel?"
"Even if you cancel, you'll still need to pay a 100,000-won call-out fee."
What a world.
They could rob you with your eyes wide open.
"Fine."
When I handed over 880,000 won, they became delighted.
"We'll clean this place until it shines!"
"Okay. I'm going out."
"Yes! We'll text you when we're finished."
"Sure, sure."
There was a bag containing one billion won inside my apartment.
But there was no need to worry.
I'd put it inside a drawer and locked it.
No reason to worry.
There were five cleaners here.
Honestly, even if I placed one billion won in the middle of the living room, none of them would dare take it.
There were too many witnesses.
Where's that loan shark's business card?
He'd probably shoved one into every door around here.
Found one.
[Friends Capital]
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Need emergency cash? We lend without asking questions!
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We recover unpaid debts without fail!
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As warm as family and as comfortable as friends, Friends Capital!
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Feel free to visit or call us anytime!
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Contact: 010-XXXX-XXXX
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Address: Joyful-dong, Happiness District, Seoul...
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I followed the office address written on the card and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"Hello."
"Hm? You?"
Sure enough, the loan shark from earlier was sitting inside.
"You're probably not here to borrow money."
"I haven't said anything yet."
"I can tell just by looking at someone's eyes whether they're the type to borrow money."
The loan shark grinned.
What about yesterday's me?
I probably had the face of someone who would borrow money.
This guy's the real deal.
He was experienced.
"Actually, I'd like to sell you a bad debt."
"A bad debt? What is it?"
"This. I'll sell it for half price."
I placed the one-million-won promissory note the bald man had signed earlier on the table.
The loan shark looked at it.
"You little bastard."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what'll happen to that man if I take this?"
"You said knowing too much gets people hurt."
"Hah."
He stared at me like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"And you're doing this even though you know that?"
"People who borrow money and refuse to pay deserve whatever happens to them."
The loan shark's eyebrow twitched.
"Watch what you say. Someone hears you talking like that and they'll beat you half to death."
"There's a huge difference between being unable to pay because of circumstances and simply refusing to pay."
The loan shark's eyes sharpened.
His expression seemed to say, Well, look at this kid.
"You're pretty ruthless yourself."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment... Anyway, I don't lose anything here. Here. Five hundred thousand won."
"But, boss."
"What?"
"Can you really collect this debt?"
"Well... There are ways. That's not something you need to worry about."
"True."
"If you're done, leave."
"Yes. Goodbye."
On my way home, I coincidentally ran into the bald man again.
"Mister. Give me my 500,000 won now. If you pay today, I'll only take the principal."
"Ah, damn it... I said I'll pay! Who said I wouldn't? Stop ruining my drinking mood and get lost!"
I knew it.
The plastic bag in his hand was filled with bottles of soju.
Hmph!
I walked upstairs and opened my apartment door.
The moment I did, I froze in shock.
Is this... really my apartment?
Had the wallpaper always been white?
It's blinding!
And it smelled wonderful.
It was definitely worth the money.
The apartment was unbelievably clean.
Most importantly...
"Hey. Pay your debt."
"W-What? Didn't I p-pay earlier?"
"Your debt increased by one million won. See this promissory note?"
"W-Wait, that's..."
"That's right, bastard. Come quietly."
"P-Please give me just a little more time..."
Smack!
"Gueeegh..."
The drunk who screamed every night and woke the whole neighborhood was disappearing too.
At a total cost of zero won!
I'd permanently removed someone who made my life miserable.
In only ten minutes!
Maybe I'm a genius?
Then...
Ding!
[Followers increased. (x11)]
A message appeared.
Followers? Oh!
My Hunter ability.
It had definitely said my ability could grow by gathering Followers.
I connected to Hunter Inventory, also known as HunVen.
["DivineMan" has evolved from "Earthworm" rank to "Mammal" rank.]
Apparently, I'd evolved into a mammal.
I feel strangely acknowledged.
My shoulders naturally rose with pride.
After looking around, I discovered that Followers on HunVen weren't anything special.
They were basically followers on social media.
I checked my post.
There are fifty comments.
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You're incredible, hyung.
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Taking some of your good luck with me~
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Hope nothing but good fortune comes your way from now on!!
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That humblebragging A-rank got completely destroyed by an income flex LMAO.
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Followed you.
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The comments were filled with praise for me and criticism toward WaterPuppy.
Of course the men of HunVen reacted like this.
No one can tolerate a humblebragger.
Humblebragging was a serious crime.
Someone casually showing off could cause envy, jealousy, and feelings of inferiority in everyone who saw it.
That made society as a whole unhappier.
Because all unhappiness!
Came from comparing yourself to others.
You disagree?
There was supposedly some developing country.
It was one of the poorest countries in the world, yet its citizens had some of the highest happiness levels.
Then smartphones became widespread.
People gained access to social media.
And their happiness levels supposedly fell dramatically.
Because people finally learned "the difference between themselves and others."
I even have ten private messages.
[Title: What Floor of the Tower Are You On?]
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I'm not accusing you or anything, but I'm curious. Are you really E-rank? If you are, could you share your Tower strategy? I'll compensate you!
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Most of the messages were asking me to share my Tower-clearing strategy.
How am I supposed to tell them?
Even if I did tell them, they couldn't copy it.
Anyway.
"I have eleven Followers. Don't I get anything?"
[You have received an "E-rank Gate Open & Close Ticket."]
[The current maximum Gate rank you can open or close is F.]
I currently possessed tickets all the way up to EX-rank.
"What happens if I open an EX-rank Gate?"
No response.
I thought the system was like an AI, but apparently not.
Is it telling me to open one if I'm curious?
I was curious.
But I didn't want to die.
What about an S-rank Gate?
It could probably put an entire country in danger.
It was S-rank, after all.
Since I wasn't some Demon King trying to conquer the world, I probably wouldn't ever open an S-rank Gate.
But then...
[Title: North Korea Is Provoking Us Again]
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They apparently launched a missile attack on Yeonsan Island. Thirteen of our soldiers died.
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I saw the post on the HunVen Free Board.
[Title: I'll Teach That Pig a Lesson. Wait.]
[Author: DivineMan]
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I've had enough. Big bro is heading to Pyongyang. Just wait there lol...
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I posted that on the HunVen Free Board and spoke aloud.
"Can you open one dangerous S-rank Gate?"
[Please specify a location.]
"Kim Jong-un's house."
[Searching for conditions matching the user's request...]
[Search complete.]
[Opening "Tower of Fate Floor 80, Orc Great General's Munitions Factory (S)" at the Pyongyang Presidential Palace.]
Tower of Fate Floor 80?
No one had even cleared Floor 75 yet.
Anyway...
"Did it open?"
I'd created the Gate in Pyongyang.
Obviously, I couldn't immediately see what was happening there.
But then...
Ruuumble...
An earthquake shook the ground.
That had to be the signal that an S-rank Gate had opened.
No doubt about it!
The aftershock of a Gate opening in Pyongyang was strong enough to reach Seoul.
This was an S-rank Gate!
Sure enough, thirty minutes later, shocking breaking news appeared.
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Breaking news. Thirty minutes ago, an unidentified tremor occurred in North Korea, completely destroying the Presidential Palace. And... we have received reports that Chairman Kim Jong-un has died.
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"Gasp."
Had I...
Become a Demon King?
My hands and feet trembled.
Shake, shake, shake, shake.
