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Chapter 417: Cosmic (4)
Meeting with the Council.
Only 2 hours and 30 minutes remained.
"There's supposed to be a meeting with the Council soon. Where is it happening?"
Yeongwoo asked Kubu, but no clear answer came.
—Th-That is...
"Well, this is your first time as a family administrator too, Kubu."
Although Kubu's knowledge might surpass Yeongwoo's, he was still a newly appointed administrator.
There was no way he would have prior information about such a large-scale event as a planetary council meeting.
"Hmm."
As Yeongwoo gazed absently at the sky, lost in thought, Jiseon interjected.
—Since the family's founding site is Seoul, wouldn't it be held in Seoul?
"Really?"
—What's the purpose of this meeting? It's to figure out what kind of people we are, right? And to set some guidelines.
It was a plausible argument.
After all, Renaissance was the first noble house of Earth.
From the perspective of both Earth and the Council, they were an entity that couldn't be ignored.
—If I were representing Earth on the Council, I would come here directly. These people appeared under the banner of a bandit gang, so wouldn’t you want to check out how they’ve set up shop?
Kubu cautiously added,
—That reasoning makes sense. Since today's ceremony was something both Earth and the Council would have been aware of, it's highly likely they would want to inspect the site themselves.
"Oh, so there's a chance the meeting will take place right here in Gwangjin District?"
Yeongwoo turned to look at the ceremony hall.
Despite the devastation inside caused by the tribute breakthrough, the exterior still retained its imposing grandeur.
"If the Council really does come directly to Metal Seoul, we should start developing the city right now."
—…Why? To make it look a little more prosperous?
"No, because we might end up fighting with the Council."
—……?
"There's no guarantee that the Council's interests align with ours."
Yeongwoo was already picturing the scenario in his head—
Activating the Annihilator, surrounding those Council bastards.
—Wait, are you seriously considering fighting them? The planetary council is like… a landlord’s representative, right? And we’re the tenants.
Jiseon pointed at the ground as she spoke.
But from Yeongwoo's perspective—he who would essentially be representing Earth's people before the Council—it was a completely different matter.
"Why do you say we're tenants?"
—What?
"Mother, we are natives. Without us, Earth is alone."
—W-What are you talking about?
Jiseon, as well as Jeonggu and Kubu, widened their eyes at this completely new perspective.
"What can Earth even do by itself, without its residents? Even the planetary rank evaluation was conducted because of me, its inhabitant."
—...That’s true, but...
"Earth is nothing more than a low-tier backwater planet. There’s no need for us, the insignificant, to act as if we’re mere tenants. If anything, they should be the ones coming to greet us."
Yeongwoo’s expression was deadly serious.
Seeing that he was ready to grab the Council by the collar, Jiseon hurriedly tried to calm him down.
—So… you're saying it's wise to maintain good relations.
"Yes. And the key to getting close is power!"
—What?
While Jiseon stared at him in shock, Yeongwoo had already opened the urban development interface.
Paaaah!
[Dogo Special City: Metal Seoul]
|Level: 3
|Location: Earth
|Mayor: Jeong Yeongwoo-07
|Objective: Social Status Advancement
Metal Seoul’s current level was 3.
With this, it had gained territorial defense rights, meaning lower-tier merchants could no longer enter without approval.
Additionally, the city had been equipped with anti-air cannons and self-destruct explosives.
And the next phase?
[Dual Structure]
|You are no longer restricted in facility and device construction choices.
However, exceeding previous limitations will increase costs.
The next step was expanding the existing infrastructure through dual structuring.
[Due to Dual Structure, ‘Victory Monument’ and ‘Annihilation Mode’ expansion is now possible.]
"If I build another Victory Monument, will it contribute to city level advancement?"
Yeongwoo asked.
Kubu blinked before replying.
—All structures within the city contribute to level progression.
"So, even if it’s useless, it's still beneficial to build."
Yeongwoo made this remark because the designated site for the second Victory Monument was none other than Jongmyo (Royal Shrine).
[Victory Monument]
| Register the legendary enemies who met their end before the city's name and gain Glory Points.
The enemies recorded in the monument had to be at least legendary-class foes.
Like Kim Jong-un, for example.
'Will there be another legendary-class mutant like him in the future?'
Kim Jong-un had been significantly buffed because he had appeared alongside two of his predecessors.
Finding another legendary-class enemy in the upcoming reset period would be difficult.
'So, what's the price?'
Yeongwoo checked the construction cost for the second Victory Monument.
[Victory Monument]
| Register the legendary enemies who met their end before the city's name and gain Glory Points.
| Once the city's Glory reaches a certain level, bonus points will be awarded during planetary status reviews.
*Options:
*Sacrificial Altar: Install
*Jongmyo: Not Installed (320 million Karma)
‘320 million…’
Considering this was an urban-scale upgrade, the price wasn’t outrageous.
Plus, he was currently holding a lot of cash.
‘Earning money is hard, but spending it is easy.’
Eventually, Yeongwoo approved the construction of Jongmyo’s Victory Monument and moved on to the main course—Annihilation Mode.
Paaah!
[Annihilation Mode]
|When the city is in danger, emergency facilities will be activated to eliminate threats.
Can be activated only once per day.
Options:
*Four Great Gates: Active
*Namsan: Inactive (850 million Karma)
"Damn, that's expensive."
850 million Karma.
He had expected city defenses to be pricey, but this was even more than expected.
A low-tier city would never be able to afford this kind of upgrade.
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But Yeongwoo had made a fortune by hosting that insane wedding.
‘No matter how I look at it, the Council should be the ones bowing to me.’
Yeongwoo scratched his chin.
[Namsan]
|Annihilator count reduced to 1 but enhanced anti-ship interception.
Spending 850 million Karma on Namsan would deploy a single but highly specialized Annihilator for anti-ship defense.
In other words, it would be effective against large-scale invasions like the previous Mara mutant attack over Seoul.
‘If we ever build a planetary battleship, the city itself would become part of the ship… In the long run, this investment makes sense.’
Moreover, he needed to construct something to level up the city further.
"This really isn't easy..."
After letting out a brief remark, Yeongwoo immediately approved the additional facilities.
Flash!
A total of 1.17 billion drained from his balance, and the sky turned a deep blue.
Flaaaash!
― Dogo Special City Mayor Jeong Yeongwoo07 has approved the construction of [Victory Monument] at the key location ‘Jongmyo’.
― Dogo Special City Mayor Jeong Yeongwoo07 has approved the activation of [Annihilation Readiness] at the key location ‘Namsan’.
—What… what the hell?
"Huh?"
Jiseon and Jeongu looked up, eyes wide in shock.
Then, beams of blue light shot down onto Jongmyo and Namsan.
Chuaaaak!
A piercing sound, reminiscent of jet propulsion, rang sharply through the air.
And then—
Paaaaang!
A crisp, resonant impact echoed as the entirety of Metal Seoul flashed brightly.
「Metal Seoul’s level has risen to ‘4’!」
"As expected!"
Confirming that the city level had jumped in one go, Yeongwoo clenched his fist.
Kubu, too, seemed to be processing the new information, its eyes darting rapidly.
― A level 4 city… has considerable privileges.
"Oh, really?"
― For starters, a level 4 city qualifies as a planetary capital.
"What?"
Planetary capital.
Hadn’t Dogo long ago issued a quest to designate a planetary capital?
That’s why he had chosen Seoul for the role.
But so far, Metal Seoul had only been the capital of the Korean Peninsula, not the entire planet.
"Having the qualifications to be a planetary capital just means the conditions are met, right?"
― Correct. To officially become the planetary capital, you need the unanimous approval of the planet’s shareholders and the planet’s own recognition.
Approval from planetary shareholders.
And the planet’s own recognition.
"Well, those are things I’d have to deal with anyway while building the planetary fleet."
No problem there.
"What about the other privileges?"
At Yeongwoo’s question, Kubu blinked as it glanced around.
― If you construct a Grand Assembly Hall, you’ll be able to summon planetary shareholders and shareholder candidates.
"Ohhh."
Now that was a function befitting a planetary capital candidate.
As the leading city on the planet, he could now issue summons to the later-stage contenders.
"Then… could I just summon them all and execute them?"
― ……
Kubu hesitated to answer.
But it didn’t say no, which meant it was technically possible.
"I'm kidding. If I rack up too much karma debt here, it’ll be a headache for me too."
However, if violence was possible in the Grand Assembly Hall, then persuasion would be as well.
"I absolutely have to build the Assembly Hall."
As Yeongwoo fiddled with the commemorative coin in his hand, Kubu spoke hesitantly.
― The Grand Assembly Hall is a level 4 facility.
"And?"
― That means the construction cost is exorbitant.
Exorbitant…
For Kubu to use such language, the price had to be ridiculous.
"…How much are we talking about?"
Yeongwoo tilted his head, and Kubu's eyes flashed as it pulled up the Assembly Hall's construction menu.
Flash!
[Grand Assembly Hall]
| Convene the influential figures of the planet for meetings. Planetary shareholders and candidates can be forcibly summoned.
*Base construction cost: 3 billion Karma
"Three billion?"
He couldn’t help but exclaim at the absurd scale.
And since it was labeled as a "base construction cost," that meant it could be upgraded like the ‘Broadcast Screen.’
"Isn’t 3 billion a bit much?"
― Should I put the construction on hold for now?
Kubu’s response came almost as if it had been expecting this reaction.
Yeongwoo hesitated for a moment.
"Should I just let this go? No… The chance to summon all the shareholder candidates won’t come around often."
Planetary shareholder candidates.
These were the powerful figures currently paying massive taxes.
If they managed to stay in power as key taxpayers, they would eventually claim their share when planetary rights were distributed.
Thus, if Jeong Yeongwoo07 wanted to monopolize Earth’s planetary rights, he had to either kill all the candidates or ensure they were no longer eligible.
"No longer eligible… Make them ineligible?"
As he pondered the idea, Yeongwoo’s eyes suddenly widened.
Then he turned to Kubu and issued a command.
"Build the Grand Assembly Hall."
― Are you sure? The construction cost is…
In response, Yeongwoo put away the commemorative coin he had been holding and instead pulled out a crimson coin worth 1,000 Karma.
"It’s fine. The ones forcibly summoned to the Assembly Hall will split the cost among themselves."
This time, Jiseon tilted her head and asked,
—Are you extorting them again? Aren’t those people going to be planetary shareholders in the future? Unless you’re planning to kill them, wouldn’t it be better to stay on their good side?
But Yeongwoo was already shaking his head.
"No. The moment they’re summoned, they’ll no longer be shareholder candidates."
—Why not?
"In this world, taxable income is calculated after deducting essential living expenses."
—…So?
"So if I threaten them into splitting the construction cost of the Assembly Hall, that money will be considered an essential expense."
In other words, their taxable income would shrink.
Enough that they would no longer qualify as shareholder candidates.
—Wait, are you serious? Even money taken through threats counts as an expense?
Jiseon turned to Kubu, who had once been a broker and tax specialist.
Kubu slowly closed its eyes.
Srrrk.
― Surprisingly… it is possible.
—What?
― First, because Earth is currently undergoing a reset. And second…
Kubu’s eyes rolled toward Jeong Yeongwoo07.
― It’s due to the Lord’s karma score.
—What about that bastard’s karma score?
― Legally speaking, the Lord’s threats would be deemed credible enough to constitute a genuine fear of death.
—…What.
In other words, Jeong Yeongwoo07’s cosmic reputation was that bad.
"Mother, this is karma working in my favor. See?"
Feeling triumphant after Kubu’s explanation, Yeongwoo drew his saber.
Schwaaaak!
Then, pointing its tip skyward, he declared:
"Today, I will turn all the high earners into beggars!"
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