D.I.O

Chapter 200

However, the gathered reporters started asking a bunch of questions.

Is it true that Scorpion was assassinated due to an in-game dispute?!

What are your views on the violence that stems from playing DIO!

Did you know that young children are forming violent gangs in schools after playing DIO?

Recent research suggests that a greater number of young teens are being diagnosed with mental illnesses after playing DIO; do you have any comments on this social phenomenon?

Yongno frowned.

Wait, what kind of absurd line of questioning is this?

Even Yongno, with his almost supernatural reasoning and analysis abilities, couldnt help but be caught off guard. Despite his extraordinary instincts, he couldnt understand what the reporters were getting at.

Lets go.

Yeah.

Since he wasnt a public official, Yongno didnt need to answer the reporters, so he left the funeral hall and got into the luxury sedan he had arrived in. Yongno was rich enough to employ a designated chauffeur, but he wasnt fond of having unfamiliar people around him. Thus, Yongno still drove himself around.

Whats going on?

Phew. Now that Ive had some time to process what theyre saying, I think the crux of the issue is that DIO has made too much money.

Isnt that something obvious and to be expected?

After hearing Eunhyes words, Yongno shook his head.

They havent shared that wealth. In other words, they didnt grease the wheels.

Ah!

Obviously, the Noblesse didnt care about the situations and common practices that earthlings faced every day. If just one Noblesse appeared on Earth, they could wipe out humankind with ease; hence, the Noblesse never considered bribing people or greasing the wheels to make their lives easier and allow their business to run smoother.

Based on their line of questioning and the overall public sentiment these days, it seems like a few restrictions and rules against DIO will be implemented. It would be inappropriate to place those limitations without any reason, though. It appears the mainstream media is being used to build negative public sentiment and ultimately justify those restrictions.

DIO is unhealthy and improper for so and so reason. Therefore, certain restrictions must be put in place something along those lines?

Yeah. Although people who offer services and products earn some money, those who control the system and its rules make the real profit. For all of history, public power hasnt been used to assist and help those in need but to restrict and harm.

As he grumbled about his point of view and misgivings, Yongno turned right. Eunhye soon spoke.

Thats too bad.

What is?

The Noblesse have no intention of trying to understand humans, so if the Noblesse feel too restricted, theyll take immediate action.

Probably.

The Noblesse wasnt a typical multinational corporation. While most of the people working for the Noblesse were humans, the executive team, which held all decision-making power, were members of the dragon species. These beings look down on other species to the point of being called tribalists. Logically speaking, would the Noblesse ever try to please humans?

Boom!

At that moment, a forceful spiritual wave swept through the entire planet. This phenomenon only occurred on Earth, not Arterian or Ayan.

Yongno?

Yongno had sped up without saying anything, so Eunhye called out to him; however, Yongno didnt offer a response. The situation was rapidly changing. Currently, a second variable, something that even the Noblesse didnt expect, was making its impact.

Whats going on.

***

The funeral home was modest.

Once he got there, Dongsoo respectfully bowed. The building was relatively small, and there werent many visitors attending the funeral.

Are you Mr. Byun Dongsoo?

Yes, but you are?

Im not a friend or acquaintance of the deceased. Ive been employed to carry out the funeral proceedings.

Ah.

Dongsoo was momentarily taken aback when he learned that there were professionals handling the funeral. The man wore mourning clothes, and he handed Dongsoo a letter.

The funeral procedures will be conducted under a prearranged process, so theres no need to worry.

Indeed, Dongsoo had nothing to worry about. Trained funeral home employees handled the funeral service, and the deceaseds body was cremated and placed in an ossuary.

I feel so empty.

Dongsoo watched the entire process from the sidelines as he suddenly felt a suffocating feeling. An unknown sense of pity, rather than sadness or anger, washed over him.

Father, mother.

Yes. They were his adoptive parents, who had adopted Dongsoo at a young age and raised him for a year. They were the two adults who helped him understand what it meant to feel familial warmth and the joy of working hard. They were also the ones who broke his heart when they abandoned him due to his shortcomings.

They never properly adopt him, allowing them to eventually send him back to the orphanage. As such, it wasnt entirely correct to call them his adoptive parents. Presently, there was no reason to call the deceased father or mother. However, Dongsoo still considered them his parents. If they werent his parents, hed still think of himself as an orphan.

Dongsoo recalled the fateful day he met them at the orphanage and how he later moved into a new home. From the first day he became their child, he received all kinds of gifted education lessons from private tutors, from sports and basic studies to music and writing.

Those days were quite impactful and significant for him. He had started his life with a sincere personality. Dongsoo never wavered from his responsibilities and always did his best to work hard and learn.

Im sorry. I may have initially looked smart or gifted, but I wasnt.

Dongsoo remembered how he kicked and screamed when he was forced to return to the orphanage after a year under their care. It wasnt that he disliked the orphanage. Actually, he was someone who could adjust and get used to any setting.

Dongsoo didnt want to lose his [Father] and [Mother]. Though they never really showed any particular love or affection for him, a [normal, untalented being], Dongsoo felt the warmth and safety that came with being part of a family for the first time in his life.

/To Dongsoo,

We wanted to see you at least one last time before we died, but we couldnt get over our guilt. Though you werent the type of child we sought, you were nice and hard-working.

My husband passed last year due to an accident, and Ive been diagnosed with a terminal illness. It appears the heavens are punishing us. We were, after all, terribly greedy people.

Ive dismantled the family business and taken care of all debts. However, I found that I was still left with a sizable amount of wealth.

You probably dont want anything to do with it, but I wish for you to watch over the funds. Also Im hoping you can take care of our daughter.

Though this might sound like an excuse, my husband and I always wanted to cultivate someone who could achieve greater things than us. We thought we could raise a perfect child if we put all our energy and resources into the project, and thats how we found our second child.

However, we knew that real genius wasnt something my husband or I could handle properly.

So, I have a request. Its shameless and cowardly, but you were the only one my husband and I deemed trustworthy. Please, watch over the child, the girl who can be considered your sister, until she becomes an adult.

This is our final wish./

Dongsoo stared at the will that hed been handed before laughing weakly. In the end, it seemed the couple continued searching for a talented child after sending him back to the orphanage.

Yet, they both died and left their worldly property and daughter behind. Moreover, they were asking him to take care of her.

In the end, after much contemplation, was I the only person that came to mind? You really didnt have any friends, did you, mother?

To Dongsoo, the deceased was still his mother. Of course, he resented her. He still retained the painful memory of that fateful day when he was abandoned; the image and feelings of that day were still fresh in his mind. If Dongsoo had seen his mother or father face to face, he might have spewed numerous venomous and hurtful words.

Youre dead now, though. I was so committed to succeeding and proving you two wrong, but you both went and died.

Dongsoo felt an unimaginable, intense feeling of despair pressing down on his whole body.

He wanted to be special.

He wanted to become the kind of person everyone couldnt help but look up to, appreciate, and love.

Yet, he knew Dongsoo knew he was ordinary- no, maybe even less than that. It didnt matter if he endured for hundreds and thousands of days, vomiting blood and whittling away at his soul through constant training. His essence, his innate potential, may never change.

You two were truly cowardly.

Dongsoo laughed mischievously. If others overheard and knew what happened to him, they would have smirked and called him an idiot, but Dongsoo didnt resent his adoptive parents. When people adopted an unrelated child, wasnt it normal to desire a talented and gifted kid?

Unless someone had the heart to save a poor child and sacrifice their whole life for the kids happiness, any adopter would prefer children who were prettier, cuter, or more intelligent than average. It wasnt wrong to go to an orphanage and check the conditions and personalities of different children and choose from that pool. Dongsoo felt that this process and mindset were natural and normal.

Undoubtedly, returning a child to the orphanage after going through that entire process was clearly a matter of fault for his mother and father, but they donated a considerable amount to the orphanage after that and even supported his tuition without contacting him once. Although Dongsoo didnt spend a single penny, they genuinely tried to help.

By the way, my father and mother raised her for over ten years Im curious, how smart and talented is she?

Dongsoo had no interest in material property and was curious about how great his adoptive sister was. Dongsoo drove to the address he was given - his parents home.

Beep~

He stood before a luxury apartment. As if things had been planned and settled beforehand, Dongsoo passed the apartments entrance without much difficulty and made his way to his adoptive parents apartment. Once there, he rang the doorbell, but there was no answer.

What is this hmm? The door is open.

Though puzzled, Dongsoo entered the house. The interior of the luxurious apartment, which was incomparably larger than the house he lived in, was in a state of ruin and disarray. It wasnt the aftermath of a raid or robbery. Instead, the mess stemmed from a completely different reason.

Whys this place so trashed?

There was garbage from delivery food thrown here and there, and cases of electronic products were piled up against every wall. Novels and comic books were also haphazardly thrown against the side of one wall.