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Chapter 229

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The Four Seasons III

5

If you had to pick the number one cause of death for humanity, aside from “murder by anomalies,” I could answer without hesitation.

Frozen death.

Literally, death by freezing.

Even without considering the anomaly that brought the ice age to the Korean Peninsula, now called New New York (but changed to Shin New York since New New York sounded a bit off), winter alone, in its pure vanilla state, was more than enough to kill humans.

So, what about winter with an anomaly added to the mix?

Even in this cycle, where the National Road members had their aura proficiency raised to a high level, enduring the brutal cold wasn’t easy.

“Damn, it’s freezing…”

Especially for Noh Doha, who hadn’t put any points into aura on his Awakener skill tree, the cold hit him even harder.

60 minutes since the Ice Age began.

A white puff of breath leaked from under the blanket Noh Doha had wrapped around himself, resembling chimney smoke. The trembling of his body was so intense, it almost made me feel sorry for him.

“Chief, come a bit closer.”

“…Seriously. If this was going to happen, you should’ve brought the Grand Witch of the Three Thousand Worlds instead. Why drag someone like me, who was working just fine in Busan, all the way here? At least she could’ve made things a lot more enjoyable with a song or something.”

“You’re here because this operation absolutely requires you, Noh Doha Chief. It would’ve been a disaster if Tang Seorin had come instead.”

“Whatever this operation is, I feel like I’m going to freeze to death because of it…”

I reached under the blanket and grabbed Noh Doha’s left hand. His fingers were icy cold.

He twitched, furrowing his brow slightly, but didn’t pull his hand away.

Soon, my aura began to transfer into his body through our joined hands.

“…”

Noh Doha’s shoulders quivered slightly, as if tickled by the unfamiliar aura flowing into him.

His lips moved, as if to complain, but perhaps realizing that I wouldn’t stop, he clamped them shut.

Warmth spread beneath the blanket in no time.

I controlled the aura carefully, ensuring that it circulated only beneath the blanket, so the others wouldn’t notice.

“…”

“You could at least thank me.”

“Shut up.”

“….”

“…”

“….”

“Hmm. This feeling… I think I’ve experienced something like this before. Oh, right. It’s like when you turn on the air conditioner while under a blanket with the floor heater on.”

“Really? You lived in such luxury? Do resources grow on trees for you?”

“Hmph. It’s because people like you, a genuine relic, don’t remember the good old days when civilization was intact. Everyone in Korea has tried it at least once… But, Doctor Jang, let me ask you one thing.”

Noh Doha pointed in one direction with his right hand.

“What’s with those cameras?”

There, lined up, were cameras recording the inside of the Statue of Liberty, all aimed in our direction.

Most were cursed items, tainted by the anomaly, but they still whirred and operated as if nothing were wrong.

“As you can see, they’re recording equipment.”

“I’m asking why they’re filming us shivering in the cold…”

“Ah, it’s all part of the strategy to defeat the ice-age anomaly. You don’t have to worry about a thing, Chief Noh Doha. Just sit tight.”

“…This feels so unsettling…”

It was at that moment.

“We’re all doomed!”

Someone from the middle of the patrol team screamed. His eyes had lost their focus.

“Communications are down, and we’re out of food! We’re going to die here no matter what! We’re all going to die!”

“Hey, Cha Jaehui, what the hell is wrong with you?”

His comrades, who had been radiating aura like living heaters just moments ago, looked at him in confusion.

The deranged patrol member began tearing off his blanket and cold-weather gear in a frenzy.

“If we’re all going to die anyway, I’ll sacrifice myself. Yes. If I reduce the number of mouths to feed, my comrades can survive just a little longer. Ah, I’ll go outside right now…”

“Damn! He’s been tainted by the Void!”

“Someone restrain Cha Jaehui!”

As expected of well-trained elites, the patrol members quickly subdued the out-of-control teammate.

There was no need for me to intervene, and the situation was soon resolved. However, Noh Doha, who was still holding my hand, gave me a suspicious look.

“Doctor Jang.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you filming all of this instead of helping your comrades?”

Indeed.

I was calmly sitting there, recording the entire chaotic scene with my smartphone.

And not just this—when more patrol members began succumbing to the Void’s corruption and started behaving erratically, I continued filming without stepping in.

“If we stay here, we’ll all die! We need to form a rescue party and call for help from the outside!”

“What? We still have enough food—”

“That person is right! Even if the rescue fails, someone has to survive!”

“Let us go outside!”

They were all losing their minds.

Outside, a snowstorm was raging, with temperatures at negative 120 degrees Celsius. With visibility completely lost, even the elites of the National Road would stand no chance if they ventured out.

Clearly, their judgment had been stolen by the anomaly.

This was the moment when Yoo Jiwon, the strict disciplinarian, should’ve stepped in.

“….”

But Yoo Jiwon merely glanced at my face, then calmly resumed standing at attention.

It was expected. Yoo Jiwon’s priority was always to “stay in my good graces and maintain power.” The duties of a mission leader were far down her list of concerns.

If I didn’t act, neither would she. She just fiddled with her smartphone, probably browsing SG Net.

“Damn it…”

Seeing my and Yoo Jiwon’s reactions, Noh Doha seemed to grasp the situation and sighed. He must have realized this was all part of the strategy.

“Let’s break through the frozen land for our comrades! If we reach the southern base, we can bring back a rescue team!”

“Don’t be afraid of death! If we don’t sacrifice ourselves, who will?”

The Void corruption spread uncontrollably.

Out of the 20 patrol members, 10 had suddenly turned into “escape fanatics.”

Even considering that the command team, including us, had already stopped intervening, the speed of the contamination was extraordinary, and the intensity of the brainwashing was deep.

“Captain! Doctor Jang! They’re seriously about to leave!”

“Let them.”

This was precisely why I had brought Yoo Jiwon and Noh Doha on this mission.

Resistance to brainwashing.

Among all the people I knew, these two had the strongest mental fortitude.

Yoo Jiwon was the holder of an achievement no one in the history of Earth had ever accomplished: she completely ignored the pink Voldemort whose name could not be spoken.

For brainwashing-related anomalies, he was like an impenetrable wall.

Noh Doha? No need to even mention — an absolute mental giant.

Boasting an unmatched track record, he had never been contaminated by countless anomalies associated with politicians, such as “the powerful are bound to corrupt” or “dictators will inevitably fall into depravity.”

There was a reason why I entrusted the leadership of the National Road Management to these two, who had somewhat flawed personalities. If you want to survive politics in the country of pink-haired people, these two are the answer.

The saintess, sitting over there in the armchair, had superhuman mental fortitude, just like the other two.

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In short.

Currently, inside the Statue of Liberty were the strongest awakened minds from the Korean Peninsula.

"Let\'s go! For our comrades!"

"Let\'s move! Let\'s save humanity!"

"Oooooh!"

Meanwhile, the ten brainwashed individuals, with their ordinary mental strength, opened the bunker door on their own.

Sssaaaahhh—

As soon as the door cracked open, an overwhelming snowstorm rushed in. Even as the brainwashed faced the snow directly, they laughed hysterically, as if enjoying it.

Soon enough, the brainwashed disappeared into the icy wilderness. Their laughter, too, was drowned out by the howling wind.

The survivors left in the bunker looked at us, at a loss.

"L-Lord…"

"Hmm."

That should be enough footage.

I stopped recording on my smartphone.

"Jiwon. I\'ll step out for a moment, so take care of Director Noh Doha\'s body temperature in the meantime."

"Yes, leave it entirely to me."

I passed the role of living heater to Yoo Jiwon and immediately dashed out of the bunker, chasing after the brainwashed.

Outside was a white snow country.

However, unlike the landscape Kawabata Yasunari described in Snow Country, the snow that fell on this mishmash called New New York was chaotic. White noise flashed incessantly in every direction.

Though it flickered, it wasn’t like a beacon guiding people. Instead, it was more like a camera flash at a red-carpet event, pushing away and rejecting humanity with a punch. This place was indeed a snow country, but the tyrant had utterly ruined it.

Sssaaaahhh—.

Beyond the thick white noise, red T-shirts were scattered here and there.

Half-buried in snow, they looked as if they were floating on a white river.

I stepped on the trail of clothes like a stepping stone, following the traces.

"Hahaha!"

"It\'s getting warmer. Look, there\'s the sun. We\'re heading south."

"It\'s not cold. Look, it\'s really not cold!"

"The sun is watching over us!"

Soon, the white noise and the human laughter formed a bizarre chorus.

The ten brainwashed were marching through the snow, stripping down to their underwear.

Their clothes were being swallowed up by the snow as if sinking into a swamp, and the naked humans were also slowly sinking deeper into the snowfield.

"Good job."

Thud.

I lightly knocked the ten heads with my aura. The brainwashed fell unconscious without even screaming, collapsing one by one.

I stacked the unconscious crew like hamburgers, holding them all with one hand, and dashed southward.

"Oh! It\'s that guy!"

"L-Leader! Over here!"

How long had I been running?

As soon as I crossed the boundary of New New York, the snowstorm stopped as if by magic. Looking back, the snowstorm, towering to the sky, covered New New York like a dome.

At the sharply defined boundary, the ‘backup team,’ including Sim Aryeon and Oh Dokseo, had already been waiting.

"Ugh. What the heck, why are these people naked? Are they crazy?"

"There was a brainwashing ability attached to the Ice Age anomaly, so they were bewitched. If they had lacked even a bit of aura, they would\'ve frozen to death long ago."

"That\'s insane…"

"Aryeon. Please handle the healing."

"Oh, yes, sir!"

"They might be fine when they regain consciousness, but they could move again to offer themselves as sacrifices to the snowstorm. Until the anomaly is completely eradicated, monitor them closely. And make sure they don\'t connect to the SG network. Dokseo. Got it?"

"Oh, seriously! I already know! Stop nagging."

"Alright. I’m counting on you."

"Make sure to get good footage!"

After entrusting the injured to them, I returned to the snow-covered land where the storm raged. On my way back, I didn’t forget to collect the clothes the brainwashed had dropped.

Bang.

As I opened the door and entered the Statue of Liberty, everyone\'s attention turned toward me.

Noh Doha. Yoo Jiwon. The saintess. Plus, the remaining ten crew members. A total of thirteen people were looking at me.

One of the management crew spoke up.

"L-Lord? What is that you\'re holding in your hand…?"

I glanced around.

The recording devices were still rolling.

Good, no issues here.

"They are the clothes of the missing people. I found them scattered outside."

"What? Then… what about our comrades…?"

"I\'m sorry. I chased them as far as I could, but there was nothing but the endless snowfield."

"……."

"Everyone. It seems the Ice Age anomaly is more dangerous than I initially predicted. Stay alert."

Fear subtly crept onto the faces of the management crew.

They didn’t seem to suspect at all that I might be lying; their expressions were filled with genuine conviction. Even professional actors wouldn’t be able to pull off this level of emotional realism.

Yeah.

You’ve probably caught on by now.

If you want to deceive your enemies, deceive your allies first.

――I intended to completely ‘fool’ the Ice Age anomaly that had descended upon this city.

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