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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Fan Hostages
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Alright, let's think.
A villain caused a terror attack.
But what are the odds that the people he took hostage are actually his fans?
I don't know what the exact odds are, but it seems I've just beaten them.
"Mangostiiiick!!! We're your fans!!!!"
Female college students, rolling down their windows and yelling loudly.
Why, oh why, is this happening to me?
All I wanted was a normal family, trembling in fear...
Ah, they *are* trembling.
But the problem is, that trembling seems to be from excitement...
"Haha, I certainly didn't expect this situation..."
I let out a hollow laugh.
Metal music still blared from inside the car.
At the same time, their excited gazes fixated on me. These are... hostages?
[This is seriously hilarious lmao]
[Regarding the incident where the hostages were my fans]
[How can they just blurt out 'Mangostick' right to his face, lol. Look at their nerve.]
[Seriously, is this the first time he's heard the name Mangostick?]
[He did call himself Apple Mango before, so he probably knows the nickname lol]
[But those girls have guts, coming out as villain fans in front of the whole nation ㄷㄷ. With their faces visible and university jackets, they just boldly blurt it out.]
[This is pure madness.]
The chat window was a complete mess.
No, in situations like this, I need to stay focused.
This much was well within the realm of expectation. If I maintain my composure and get through it smoothly, there'll be no problem.
I regained my composure, smiled, and opened my mouth.
"Yes, yes. Hello. I am Egostic. You all seem very, erm... delighted. Would you mind introducing yourselves?"
"Yes!!!"
They replied with cheerful energy.
Right, right.
Being bright is a good thing.
At my greeting, the girl sitting closest to the window where I stood was the first to speak.
"Hello! We are members of 'Veritas,' a club at Yonhee University dedicated to heroes and villains!"
She answered energetically in a bright voice.
No, I didn't ask for the university or club name. TMI.
They were smiling and greeting the camera as if idols were making their debut performance on a music show.
....This is definitely me interviewing unlucky hostages caught on a bridge, right? I'm not hosting Music Bank, am I?
"I am Kim Yeon-hwa, the president of this club."
Following her, the others in the back also revealed their names one by one.
One of them, sitting in the back, suddenly exclaimed loudly.
"Kim Yeon-hwa, she's your fan cafe manager!!!"
...Who's your 'oppa'?
But regardless, what she said was quite interesting.
"My fan cafe manager?"
Hearing that, I looked at the girl sitting in front of me again.
She blushed slightly, as if embarrassed.
Twirling a strand of her brown bob with her finger, she spoke again.
"Yes. Do you perhaps know of the Mangodan...? We are fans who love Mango... no, Egostic-nim. For your information, everyone here, including me, is part of the Mangodan!"
She puffed out her chest proudly, clearing her throat as she spoke.
Ah...
Please, stop.
My hands and feet are curling up from the cringe.
Who does this in front of the person themselves...?
But I am, I am a professional. A professional in the villain world.
As a professional... I responded with a fresh smile, unfazed.
"I see. It's truly an honor to have people who admire me. However, erm... I'm genuinely curious, are you aware that I am a villain?"
Here, I caught her off guard.
No, I'm grateful for their support, but...
Are they seriously forgetting that I'm a villain?
I thought these 'Mangodan' people were just online role-players, but I'm having a change of heart now.
Being taken hostage at a terror scene and still having sparkling eyes while looking at the terrorist can't be just a 'concept'.
This is just madness...
Seriously, why would a seemingly normal and popular-looking person do something like this?
At my question, filled with pure bewilderment, she seemed startled and asked me back in a puzzled voice.
"Huh? Oppa, weren't you the S-rank hero, Apple Mango?"
Upon hearing that, I nearly lost my mind.
No, I can't listen anymore.
My resistance to cringe is running out. Please, stop.
"Yes!!! Thank you for sharing. That was a very interesting story. Would you like to say a final word?"
I hastily delivered my closing remarks.
My clear objective was to instill guilt in the public who mindlessly took 100,000 won, but somehow I'm having a conversation light-years away from that.
It's best to just end this quickly.
As I made a gesture to end it, they whined from behind, "Why are you ending it already~?"
Ugh. Since falling into this world, this is probably the most agonizing moment. I'm seriously going crazy.
Of course, I didn't show those feelings outwardly; I just kept a faint smile.
Good thing my mask covers half my face.
Because the corner of my mouth behind the mask was trembling.
Ignoring the other girls who were just spouting strange things from the back, the one who called herself my fan cafe manager thought for a moment after hearing me, then her eyes sparkled as if she'd realized something.
"Ah!"
Then she rummaged through the bag in front of her.
Seeing that, the other girls in the back also seemed to realize something and rummaged through their bags together. What, what is it?
What they pulled out of their bags was.
Notebooks?
"Please give us your autograph!"
They handed me their notebooks, eyes shining.
I finally failed to maintain my poker face, slapped my forehead, and sighed.
Please... please stop...
[LMAOOOOOOOOOO]
[You can see Egostic is genuinely flustered lol]
[Are these girls seriously insane lmao]
[It's dizzying, isn't it?]
[So this is a conversation between a terrorist and his hostages, right?]
[No, why is he actually giving autographs lmao]
[Mango-jja sighs but still grants all their requests lol]
[Is this really a villain lmao]
In the end, I even gave them autographs.
I just scrawled 'Egostic' in English. Even though I just scribbled it, they really liked it...
Finally, the interview ended after I gave them a few of the remaining strawberry cream buns.
And as I closed the window, they shouted one last thing.
"Oh! And we received the 100,000 won! Thank you!"
Tsk.
This terror attack was just a bust.
***
Anyway, after many twists and turns, the appointed time came to an end.
Turning the camera back on, which I had turned off after the interview.
Hovering above Mapo Bridge, I turned on my microphone and announced.
Behind me, instead of the blue sky, was a massive digital display showing numbers.
Seo-eun had managed to project it using computer synthesis technology. Is this that famous metaverse?
"Yes, everyone. It is now 7 PM, as promised. I will now reveal the results of this nationwide participatory terror attack that I presented. 100,000 won? Or the bridge and the lives of others? This attack was prepared to test how selfish humanity truly is."
[Nervous anticipation]
[Oh, no way it exceeded 5 million people lmao]
[Seriously, do you think 5 million people is a joke? No way it happens in such a short time without any prior notice lmao]
[Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~]
[We can't disappoint Young-jin-gay. Let's show the power of Korea!!!]
[Yeon-hwa-les doesn't seem like she'd be disappointed.]
[F***, if Mapo Bridge collapses, my commute will be screwed. No!]
[I'm a passing civil servant. I'm praying with my hands clasped that it doesn't explode. If it does, I'm screwed.]
"The results, show them! The results are!!!"
The numbers on the display behind me began to rapidly scroll upwards.
Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands... The numbers on the display climbed steeply.
"The results are!!!!"
I was practically screaming now.
The numbers rising like crazy! And even the video feeds of the people watching me began to flicker! Blinking screens! My blinking image!! Flashing numbers!!!
"The results aaaaare!!!!!"
It was almost impossible to see the screen now!!!
Then the screen showing me suddenly turned into a white screen with 'Egostic' written on it.
Pop. Fireworks exploded around me, and the camera returned to me.
The number written on the large display behind me was.
[7,523,660]
"Seven million!!! Five hundred!!! Twenty thousand people!!! Have taken the 100,000 won!!!!!"
I roared.
A 'Wow!' and cheers could be heard from somewhere. Of course, it was background music.
Clap, clap, clap. I clapped in response.
"Amazing! Citizens of South Korea! Honestly, I thought we'd barely surpass five million, but seven million! This is beyond my wildest imagination!!!"
I said that, grinning widely.
As if in a triumphant cheer, I spread my arms wide.
"You selfish people, this explosion is for you. Congratulations, everyone!!!"
Behind me, as I stood with my arms outstretched.
The digital display had vanished.
And the bridge, which had seemed like just a background.
KWA-BOOM—.
Began to collapse with a tremendous explosion.
Explosion... is art!
"Thank you for participating in my, Egostic's, terror attack! See you next time!! Until then, farewell!!!"
I grinned at the camera and waved.
After waving, I turned off the camera.
Phew, filming completed safely today.
Having finished the live stream, I wiped sweat from my forehead in mid-air.
Wow, I was here for about ten hours. It was like a marathon of terror. So exhausting...
Floating in the sky, I looked down.
The bridge was collapsing with a tremendous rumble.
And in the distance, a woman was flying towards me at incredible speed.
Our Stardus.
It's truly been a long time.
Her figure, clad in a red hero suit, golden hair streaming behind her as she flew, was truly magnificent.
The last time I saw her was at that festival? That was really a long time ago. It truly has been ages.
If I see her today, who knows when I'll see her again, so I might as well watch.
So, instead of escaping immediately, I leisurely floated in the air using telekinesis and watched. I felt a bit bad that she was cleaning up my mess, but hey, isn't it good for everyone?
Her figure, flying in so swiftly, lifting an SUV that was about to fall from the opposite side of the collapsing bridge with one hand.
Wow, she stopped trains and planes, and now she's lifting a car with one hand?
...No matter how I think about it, I seem to have made her grow drastically faster than in the original story. Well, I guess it's a good thing.
Holding the SUV in one hand, she flew back towards the sedan on my side.
But the problem was, perhaps because she was already flying while holding the SUV, her speed was a bit slow...?
And wait? That car looks like it's about to dive straight into the Han River?
The car carrying Choi Young-jin, or whatever his name was, which was collapsing cozily along with the falling bridge, was about to slip through the broken asphalt of the bridge. Before Stardus could even arrive.
She was almost right in front of it, but the car had already slipped neatly through the collapsing bridge.
"Ah, damn it."
And at that very moment. Without even realizing it, I extended my hand, using telekinesis to its limit to briefly suspend the falling car in mid-air.
The time I held it was very short, just one or two seconds.
But that time was enough for Stardus to rescue it.
Ultimately, she managed to catch all the falling cars within that time.
"Damn... *gasp* *gasp*."
"Ah, f***, I'm gonna die."
My entire body felt drained of strength from the sudden use of telekinesis.
Haru, Shin Haru. Why are you so late...? He almost died.
A villain saving a hostage he was trying to kill—anyone who saw that would have found it utterly ridiculous.
Still.
I can't let Stardus's reputation for rescuing all civilians get tarnished, can I?
It couldn't be helped... I had no choice, really...
And Stardus, holding the two cars, suddenly turned her face towards me.
Our eyes met abruptly. Oh, damn, I wasn't caught, was I?
The moment our eyes met, I spun around, my cape billowing behind me.
And then, I immediately teleported away from the scene.
I didn't do anything.
I don't know anything...!
***
Stardus. Holding the cars in her hands against the backdrop of the collapsing bridge, she fell into thought.
Egostic. The car that had been falling from his direction.
It had seemed poised to fall completely, without giving her a chance to catch it, but...
'Just now, surely...?'
It seemed to hesitate—to stop falling for a moment...