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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Nation's Choice: 1 vs 10
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Boom. Boom. Boom.
Against the backdrop of exuberant drumming heard from somewhere, a man stood suspended in mid-air.
He wore a black cloak, black robe, and black wizard's hat, unsuited for broad daylight. Smiling from behind a mask that covered half his face, he soon shouted loudly towards the camera.
"Greetings, everyone! I, Egoistic, Korea's Association-recognized #1 Most Influential Villain and Forbes' highest-ranked villain, greet you all. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Floating in the air against the backdrop of a massive bridge, the man removed his hat and bowed to the camera in a manner reminiscent of medieval Europe.
His appearance, broadcast nationwide via the three major television networks and YouTube, elicited an enthusiastic response from the public.
The chat window for Egoistic's official YouTube broadcast scrolled up so fast it was barely visible.
[Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick! Mangostick!]
[Is Egoistic a god? Is Egoistic a god? Is Egoistic a god? Is Egoistic a god?]
[Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a terrorist! Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a terrorist! Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a terrorist!]
[Release Kim Seon-woo! Release Kim Seon-woo! Release Kim Seon-woo! Release Kim Seon-woo! Release Kim Seon-woo! Release Kim Seon-woo!]
[Let's get it~ Let's get it~ Let's get it~ Let's get it~ Let's get it~ Let's get it~ Let's get it~ Let's get it~]
[LOL is this that famous EGOSTIC? Wonder if there is eng sub]
[F*ck, this chat is a total mess LOL]
[Honestly, kinda nice to see him after 4 months lololol]
[What kind of crazy shit is he gonna pull this time, omg]
[Mangopunch! Mangopunch! Mangopunch! Mangopunch! Mangopunch! Mangopunch! Mangopunch! Mangopunch!]
[What's up with that bastard's hat lololol]
[韓国ビランのレベルwww 私たちの大日本帝国に比べて劣るwwww]
[Hero Association was happily planning their dinner party today, now they're crying rivers lololol]
[F*ck, now even foreigners are watching lol. Look at this chat.]
[So where is that?????]
"Greetings, everyone. Yes, I am currently on Mapo Bridge. Ah, it's nice to be back at the Han River after so long. My debut performance was right here on the Han River, you know. It feels like yesterday when I carried out that terror attack, but it's almost a year now, isn't it? Time really flies."
[Was that really a year ago?]
[It was in spring, and now it's almost winter, so roughly?]
[A year with Mangostick lololol]
[There's a son of a bitch who went dark for 4 months out of the year?]
[Three major terror attacks in one year, f*ck lololol]
[Looks like he's doing something again today, this would make it four, omg]
[This... villain... how... dare he... show his face...! What... a scoundrel!]
[Gramps knows how to type in YouTube chat too lololol]
"Anyway, ta-da! To reveal it suddenly, there are bombs attached to Mapo Bridge, right beneath me! Heroes, Association members, if you try anything foolish... you know what happens, right?"
Egoistic waved the detonator towards the camera.
[Detonator season 516731461 has entered the chat lololol]
[That guy, always carrying a bomb lol]
[Government officials are screwed lol. After that guy bombed a ship, a train, and a plane, they apparently started checking for explosives every morning, noon, and night lololol. Now they'll have to patrol bridges daily for bombs too lololol]
[Why would government officials do that? They'd hire part-timers.]
[Mangostick even creates jobs omg]
[Am I the only one who can only see Mangooppa's legs right now? Aren't they too sexy T_T T_T T_T T_T]
[Mangooppa, I'm dying T_T T_T T_T]
[Oppa, I'm really dying, f*ck, I'm on Mapo Bridge right now.]
[F*ck, isn't the guy above actually gonna die? lololol]
"Ahem. Heroes, if you don't want to see this bridge shatter into pieces, you'd best stay put. Actually, the only hero who can stop me right now is Stardust, isn't that right?"
After saying that, he cleared his throat slightly, then continued.
"Yes. I recommend you don't approach. I'm a little short on patience, so I don't know what I might do if I see you."
He fiddled with the detonator once more, as a warning.
[Stardust disowned lol]
His body paused slightly, as if he'd seen something.
Then, as if nothing had happened, his mouth naturally opened again.
"Everyone... Oh, wait a minute before that. Hmm... just a moment. Bang!"
Simultaneously with his words, a massive roar echoed from both ends of the bridge.
Something collapsed at the same time, blocking both ends of the bridge.
He pulled out a large megaphone from somewhere and shouted loudly at the cars passing below the bridge.
"To everyone currently on Mapo Bridge!!! Please just stop where you are!!! If you try anything funny, I'll shoot immediately!!!"
At Egoistic's threatening warning, cars that had been speeding slowly came to a halt.
He hadn't blown up both ends as soon as he appeared; he'd given them some time, so there were hardly any cars on the bridge.
Only two cars, either having missed the radio broadcast or just having incredibly bad timing, were left stranded.
Having said his piece, Egoistic tossed the megaphone somewhere again, then grinned at the camera.
"My apologies. Isn't a terror attack more enjoyable with an audience? My speech was momentarily interrupted as I spontaneously recruited some guests."
[Grabbing perfectly fine people and calling them 'recruited guests' lololol]
[Crazy bastard... Crazy bastard... Crazy bastard... Crazy bastard...]
[What did the people in those two cars do to deserve this lololol]
[Who cares, it's not like anyone's died in his terror attacks so far lololol]
[Seriously, isn't it more like a reward? It's a thrilling, heart-pounding, exciting terror experience lololol]
[Ah, too bad I wasn't there.]
[Every time I look at this chat, I can't tell if the world is weird or if I am.]
[You're the weird one.]
"Alright, alright. Now that all preparations are complete, I'd like to talk for a moment."
At the same time, the exuberant music that had been playing ceased.
A suspenseful BGM, like something from *White Tower*, began to play.
At the same time, Egoistic began to speak in a tone similar to an anchor from *Unanswered Questions*.
"Everyone, do you know my name? Yes. It's Egoistic. But tell me, everyone, do you know where my name originated?"
"It originated from the English word 'egoistic,' meaning selfish. The reason I chose this name is... because I became a villain to prove just how selfish humans are."
[Someone who read *The Selfish Gene* too deeply lololol]
[Who nominated *The Selfish Gene* as required reading for teenagers?]
[Richard Dawkins is to blame.]
"Ahem. Anyway, this time I've come to live up to my name. Let's conduct an experiment to see just how selfish humans are! If humans are selfish, it's my victory. If humans are less selfish than I think, it's my defeat."
Viewers who heard Egoistic's words up to that point were all puzzled.
He's going to experiment on selfishness? How?
Whether people were puzzled or not, Egoistic began to speak nonsense.
"This bridge. Ah, Mapo Bridge. Truly grand and beautiful. How much money do you think it cost to build this? Wouldn't it have easily cost hundreds, or even thousands, of billions of won?"
He suddenly asked for the price of Mapo Bridge.
"But for all that money, aren't citizens using it conveniently and well? Without this bridge, the roads would have been that much more congested, wouldn't they?"
Then, his gaze, bearing a wicked smile once more, turned towards the camera.
He opened his mouth.
"Now, I will explain this terror attack."
"The method is simple. If you send me your bank account number via the address, link, or text message I provide, I will give you 100,000 won."
"I've already hacked the entire network, so there's no need to worry about being caught. Anyone who is a citizen of South Korea aged 19 or older, just send your account number, and I'll send you 100,000 won, no questions asked. It's free money."
"However."
"By 7 PM tonight, if more than 5 million people have taken 100,000 won from me..."
"...this bridge will be blown up exactly as it is. Along with the people on it."
"Everyone, make your choice."
"Free money, 100,000 won? Or this bridge, which might explode?"
"Are humans truly altruistic enough to easily give up 100,000 won of free money for the sake of others? Or are they selfish people who will take the money, thinking, 'just one more won't hurt'?"
"Well, that will be revealed today."
"Alright! Introducing a new concept: a nationwide participatory terror attack. One bridge, or 100,000 won, an amount similar to disaster relief funds. 'The Nation's Choice: 1 vs 10,' begins now!!!"
At the same time, a resounding applause began to play in the background of the video.
With Egoistic smiling and bowing to the screen against the backdrop of the bridge, the video ended.
Following that, a blank screen simply displayed all the means by which one could send their account number to Egoistic: a website, phone number, KakaoTalk, blog, Twitter, and so on.
And at the top of the screen, the remaining time until 7 PM was displayed.
[8h 56m 45s]
[8h 56m 44s]
[8h 56m 43s]
...
Next to the silent video, a single chat message that appeared spoke for everyone's feelings.
[He's nuts.]
And so, on an ordinary day in South Korea, a sudden [Great Money Grab Era] began, like an explosion.
***
"..."
Near the river, where Mapo Bridge was visible at a glance.
Seeing the area surrounded by police, blocking all access and in a standoff, Stardust gritted her teeth.
Egoistic.
She had known he would stage another terror attack someday.
But she never expected this kind of terror attack.
Her mood, as she glared at the bridge, was very sour.
Of course, it was because that bastard was committing such an outrageous act, a malicious terror attack that dragged the citizens into it.
...It was absolutely not because this was the first time that bastard had excluded Stardust from his terror attacks.
Of course not. What did it matter if that bastard called her or not?
She didn't care about that.
She was definitely not concerned about such things.
she repeated to herself.
"..."
Ha. But.
He had called her so persistently until now.
But this time, why was he suddenly telling her not to come?
"This is ridiculous..."
She muttered to herself.
Words no one else could hear, just to herself.
Still.
Last time, he contacted her to save a plane, so...
Was he planning something similar this time?
It didn't seem like he would exclude her entirely.
She just kept having those thoughts, over and over.
Useless thoughts, she didn't even know why she was having them.
***
"Oppa, but are you going to mention Stardust in this terror attack too?"
"Hmm? Oh, no, I won't. If the bridge blows up, she'll just fly over and save the cars anyway... This isn't a trial for Stardust, so there's no need to specifically call her."
Stardust will probably be happy that I'm not bothering her.