Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 314: Noble Family (6)

“What’s a collection team? Why do you need that?”

"Collection team."

It was such a unique term that even Song Jiseon showed curiosity.

Yeongwoo, staring off somewhere beyond Gwangjin-gu with a distant look in his eyes, replied,

“Since I’m not yet the true ruler of this planet, I can't automatically collect taxes from other countries. It’s really unfortunate.”

Jiseon tilted her head, puzzled, and asked,

— What are you saying? So you're saying that in other countries, taxes are collected manually?

“Something like that. Though, right now, it’s closer to alliance fees than taxes.”

When Yeongwoo explained that they had to send people to various Chinese cities that had been ‘convinced’ to collect money, Jiseon gestured in disbelief.

— Are you kidding me? China is huge. How are you sending people everywhere to collect money?

“That’s why I built highways.”

— …What? Roads? In China?

“No, across the world.”

— W-what…

Jiseon hesitated, finding it hard to believe such a claim.

Yeongwoo pointed at one of the ‘towers’ planted even in Gwangjin-gu, lifting Bastard, that he was holding.

“That right there is our highway. My sworn brothers, the Red-footed Orcs, built it.”

Most likely, the roads were still under construction even at that very moment.

By now, his brothers were probably crossing Europe and building roads somewhere on the African continent.

— Orcs are building highways across the world? And you’re using those roads to extort foreign currency?

“It seems like you still don’t understand the concept of alliance fees, but yes, on the surface, it’s something like that.”

As Yeongwoo nodded, Jiseon finally seemed to understand.

She raised her greatsword with one hand, pointing it at her son.

— Are you serious? You’re a complete imperialist! You’re crazier than I thought…

Jiseon, now realizing the ‘foreign policy’ of the Korea her son kept mentioning, was in utter shock.

—- So, when you said you were the ‘owner of this planet,’ you meant that you're in a position to extort money from the entire world?

“Extort? No, mother. Soon, it’ll be a legitimate tax, and until then, it’s revenue.”

— …What?

“What is the one thing in this world that everyone wants to have?”

Yeongwoo asked seriously, leaving Jiseon speechless.

Instead, it was Yechan, who had been silently watching, who cautiously raised his hand.

“Yechan, go ahead.”

Glancing nervously at both Jiseon and Yeongwoo, Yechan voiced his answer.

“Life… isn’t it?”

Life.

Indeed, Yechan was able to answer right away because he had purchased his life from Yeongwoo on the very first day of the reset.

The price of life.

Or to dress it up a bit, a protection fee. H

e had hired Yeongwoo before, paying for his protection.

As expected, Yeongwoo patted Yechan on the shoulder, looking pleased.

“That’s right! Who in this world doesn’t want to avoid death?”

“….”

Even though Yechan had given the correct answer, he couldn’t feel happy about it.

Meanwhile, Jiseon, hearing the answer, was utterly incredulous.

— Are you insane? How is that a product? Demanding money not to kill someone—that’s robbery!

In other words, her son had turned Korea into a giant den of thieves.

But Yeongwoo was thinking far beyond what Jiseon could imagine.

“Robbery? Please, call it the violence business.”

— …What?

“The world has reset, so many concepts need to be redefined. In this world, even life can be a product.”

Then, Yeongwoo grabbed the ground with his hand, clad in his Vesedel armor.

Crack.

The asphalt beneath his hand crumbled like a cookie, and dirt clung to his fingers.

“This country was the same before and now—without a single drop of oil to sell. So, what should we sell?”

At this point, Jiseon could somewhat predict what her son was going to say next.

— You crazy bastard.

“Exactly. We have to mortgage other people’s lives and sell them.”

It was nothing short of creative economics.

If only the essence of this business wasn’t outright robbery, it would have been an incredible business model.

After all, wasn’t it creating value out of nothing?

Even Song Jiseon, a businesswoman to her core, couldn’t overlook this point.

However, to accept such radical ideas only an hour after arriving in this world was too much.

“Mother, this is like an insurance or investment product. It’s creating intangible value based on the trustworthiness of the company.”

— Where's the trustworthiness in what you’re saying? Insurance and investment rely on trust in the company’s ability to pay out…

When Jiseon tried to argue based on the old world’s concepts again, Yeongwoo raised his hand to stop her.

“Why isn’t there trust? The belief that ‘this guy can kill me anytime’—that’s trust. And I can guarantee that I’ll instill that trust within three moves, no matter who it is.”

Surprisingly, this also included Song Jiseon herself.

The brief exchange between her and Yeongwoo had been settled in three moves.

“So, in this business, my sales power is equivalent to my strength. And with that in mind—”

Thud.

Yeongwoo firmly gripped Yechan’s shoulder once more.

“No one is better suited for the collection team than you, Yechan.”

“…What?”

The sudden shift in target left Yechan dazed.

“If I refuse to the very end…?”

“Then I’ll have no choice but to ‘convince’ you, too. To earn your trust.”

“….”

Gulp.

As Yechan swallowed nervously, Jiseon pointed to the view of Gwangjin-gu… no, of Seoul, and asked,

— Do people know that the country is being run like this? That you’re collecting taxes?

In response, Yeongwoo placed his right hand over his left chest and spoke in a solemn tone,

“Isn’t there a reason taxes are collected automatically? I am the first-ever elected ‘Strongest Sword’ in Korean history.”

— Elected?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“And my approval rating is 76.8%.”

— What?

Jiseon widened her eyes inside her helmet and scanned the distant sight of the metal Seoul skyline once more.

76.8%? That was an unheard-of approval rating.

What had happened in Seoul?

No, more importantly… what had her son done in Seoul?

“But using that approval rating to bring peace to the world is just laying the groundwork. My ultimate goal is to ensure that we don’t back down even in space.”

Swoosh.

As Yeongwoo looked up at the sky, Jiseon’s voice began to tremble.

―To you, "global" basically means a space force.

"Yes. I've seen a part of space after all. Just like my mother once led the Jinhyeon Group and competed on the world stage, I will take this planet and head for space."

With that, Yeongwoo scattered the earth he was holding back onto the ground.

"So, the disputes on this planet are nothing more than a preliminary round. The real contest is about who will decide the direction we'll take in space."

And in that competition, the three significant space powers were already involved.

So, 'space' had effectively begun.

―But you can't keep doing your robbery... no, your violence business in space, can you? Aren't you setting yourself up for global trouble?

To this, Yeongwoo surprisingly nodded in agreement.

"You make a valid point."

Then, he quickly changed course.

"But it's not the right point."

―What?

"My sponsors are people who even beat up public officials. The fact that they have both sufficient force and background... proves that you can run a violence business in space too."

"......"

Yechan, who had been quietly listening, realized at some point that the conversation had gone completely off track, but he remained silent.

After all, this was a cosmic-level conversation, and someone like him, who barely claimed to be the ‘Strongest Spear of North Gyeongbuk,' couldn't possibly interject.

On the other hand, Jiseon, who had joined forces with her son to board a spaceship to space, couldn't help but keep asking questions.

―Let's assume sufficient force, but what do you mean by background?

"The chairman of my sponsor is a royal before he is a space thug."

―What?

At this point, the fact that her son was blatantly calling his business partner a 'space thug' didn’t even register as a threat anymore.

No, after all, he was backed by space royalty.

―Royalty?

"Yes, I think that’s why he can kill public officials or invade other planets without facing any consequences."

Of course, it was just a theory for now.

But no other explanation seemed plausible.

―And what about you? Compared to space royalty, you're just...

As Song Jiseon raised her finger, aiming to point at her son, Yeongwoo shouted back fiercely.

"Hey, 'just' what? If I kill my second uncle, I will be the sole heir to the Great Jinhyeon family and the only son of the Iron-Blooded Empress, Song Jiseon, won't I?"

―...Is this kid really out of his mind?

"Of course, right now I’m just an illegitimate child, unacknowledged by my parents, with no background or even a proper family."

For a moment, sadness flickered in Yeongwoo's eyes.

But only for a moment.

"So, if I don't have it, I’ll have to create it. The background."

―What?

At that moment, Yeongwoo was looking at the achievements bestowed upon his family.

[Family: Root Restoration]

"From now on, I will become the master of a violent business that even aliens tremble at the sound of. To do that, I first need to conquer Earth and solidify my foundation. I need a background, a family."

And of course, a family must have members.

Click!

Yeongwoo suddenly grabbed his mother’s arm, and a startled Song Jiseon tried to pull away.

But Yeongwoo’s grip was too strong, and she couldn’t easily escape.

Meanwhile, Yeongwoo turned his gaze to Yechan.

"Now that I have my mother and father to form the basic family unit, I should have at least one retainer too. After all, that’s what a great family is."

"A retainer...?"

As Yechan also tried to back away, Yeongwoo grabbed him too, not letting go.

"Welcome to the family of a cosmic dynasty."

"......!"

The goal of this family was to grow into something that could rival the royal families of space.

'And to do that, of course, the family’s status on Earth, its origin, must rise too.'

As Yeongwoo thought this, he saw the VIP timer on his system display drop to 10 minutes.

[00:10:02]

And then.

Pop!

As the timer dipped below 10 minutes, a system message appeared.

"In 10 minutes, the promotion examiners will arrive."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]