Chapter 358

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

w

Chapter 358: Astronaut (2)

In the universe, there's a tagline that goes, "Interest rates cheaper than death."

The idea is that if you fail to pay your taxes, you'll be annihilated instantly, so loan companies urge you to borrow money from them to pay your taxes.

That’s how absolute taxes are in space, and Yeongwoo had never seen anyone who failed to pay them.

Even someone as rebellious as the so-called "shadow of the universe’s law" would probably pay their taxes.

That’s how strict it was.

‘But seriously, who’s even using all this tax money?’

As one of Earth's top taxpayers, Yeongwoo couldn’t help but wonder.

Who was using all this collected tax money, for what purpose, and how?

Generally, taxes are public funds, so they are used for the public good—maintaining roads and streetlights, covering public employees’ salaries and operating expenses, and so on.

‘Ah, probably to hire replacements for all the public officials who keep dying.’

Yeongwoo answered his own question.

Considering how many villains like the Chairman existed in the universe, a significant portion of the funds likely went into handling the disasters they caused.

Now, one question remained.

‘So... who's spending it?’

While institutions like the National Tax Office existed, it was unclear if there was something akin to a Ministry of Finance in the universe.

What Yeongwoo was really curious about was whether there was some entity that oversaw it all—something like a president of the universe.

‘Doesn't seem like it’s typesetting, though…’

From what he’d seen, even the Chairman—who casually killed public officials over inheritance tax disputes—never ignored taxes.

This meant even lawless figures had a line they wouldn’t cross: taxes.

‘Nobody dares defy taxes. That means there’s an overwhelming force behind it.’

But what was the source of that force?

Why could someone beat up a tax collector but not refuse to pay taxes outright?

What sat at the top of this universal governance?

—-Tax collection will now commence.

The tax notice cut off Yeongwoo’s train of thought.

Moments later, his tax statement appeared before his eyes.

| Calculated Tax: 138,290,000

Acquisition Tax: 11,530,000

| Deductibles: Dependents

| Final Tax: 117,540,000

Acquisition Tax: 9,800,000

Acquisition tax due in 23 hours, 59 minutes

The total amount, including acquisition tax, was just shy of 130 million Karma.

‘I’ve officially reached the point where I’m paying taxes in the hundreds of millions.’

Even though he was about to lose an enormous amount of money, Yeongwoo didn’t feel bad at all.

His bank account was in good shape, and the more taxes he paid, the better his chances of becoming a planetary stakeholder someday.

Available Karma: 1,104,309,405

Defense Funds Available: 0

Yeongwoo’s total wealth amounted to roughly 1.1 billion Karma.

However, as promised to the Strongest Swords, half of the money earned during the Naked War had to be used for public purposes.

This meant 400 million was essentially public funds, leaving his effective wealth at 700 million.

‘I’ll have to invest some of the public funds into upgrading Metal Seoul... that should work.’

It might also be worth considering using the forge Lemu left behind to supply Seoul with equipment.

After calculating his finances, Yeongwoo paid the full tax amount without hesitation.

Flash!

In an instant, 127,340,000 Karma was deducted, reducing his balance to the 9 billion range.

* Available Karma: 976,969,405

* Defense Funds Available: 0

"Everyone else is good, right?"

Yeongwoo asked, just to be sure, and everyone nodded in agreement.

After all, anyone with issues had likely already been annihilated and wasn’t present in the room.

"Alright, then…"

Yeongwoo scanned the room, checking on everyone, which included a more diverse group than before.

Jiseon, Jeonggu, Yechan, and Seok, along with Kim Taejoon’s family.

"Everyone seems to be doing well. I’m going to catch a bit of sleep now."

He had less than an hour for some shut-eye.

Glancing at his wristwatch, Yeongwoo lay down on the bed.

Jiseon, who had been staring at him, stepped back, and as always, Jeonggu cautiously approached and asked:

"When should I wake you? Are you heading to the dungeon again today?"

"Yes, of course. I absolutely need to go today."

According to the Chairman, today’s dungeon was different.

It would be the first nighttime dungeon Yeongwoo entered since starting the planetary evaluation.

With his curiosity as a universal ranker, Yeongwoo wouldn’t miss it, even if someone tried to stop him.

"Apparently, there’ll be other evaluation candidates. The Chairman said so, so it must be true."

"Evaluation candidates? You mean for planetary evaluation?"

"Yes. There must be other planets undergoing evaluation. Their representatives are coming too."

"So, aliens?"

"Exactly."

"What are you supposed to do with those... aliens in the dungeon?"

Jeonggu, having some experience accompanying Yeongwoo to dungeons, couldn’t help but wonder.

"No idea. Maybe we’ll have a battle for additional promotions or something."

A frightening thought, but one entirely plausible in this universe.

"We’ll find out soon enough. If I don’t wake up even after the extreme weather alarm, wake me by force."

"...Got it."

As Jeonggu responded, Yeongwoo had already closed his eyes and begun to sleep.

* * *

At exactly 11:00 PM, the time Yeongwoo had been waiting for arrived, accompanied by an extreme weather alert.

「Extreme Weather Alert: Lightning Storm Detected」

"!"

As soon as the alarm sounded, Yeongwoo bolted upright.

He immediately began scanning his equipment catalog for gear to withstand the storm.

「Eye of the Typhoon」 - Epic Necklace

【Ignores extreme weather of the wind type.】

It was a necklace he’d earned as a reward for a nocturnal achievement.

Since it negated all wind-based weather effects, it would likely work against the lightning storm as well.

‘None of these rewards go to waste.’

Having prepared for the weather, Yeongwoo got up.

At that moment, he encountered his father walking toward the room.

"Oh, you're already awake."

"And you're walking over in this storm? What if I’d overslept?"

"...What?"

"I’m heading out. If I’m meeting fellow candidates, I can’t be late."

With Bastard at his hip, clad in full Vesedel Armor, and accompanied by Golden Goblin and shadowy Pofu Tenta, Yeongwoo checked his equipment one last time and stepped out of his room.

Click.

The moment he entered the hotel corridor, ominous noises greeted him.

Crackle! Zap!

The lightning storm outside was affecting even the hotel’s interior.

‘Crazy. Anyone who went outside for even a second must’ve been killed.’

The corridor floor seemed to warp underfoot as if a lens distorted it.

The entire exterior space was saturated with immense energy.

Yet the hotel elevator was still operational, and Yeongwoo risked riding it down to the lobby despite the storm raging outside.

‘Times like this really feel like the apocalypse.’

Lightning arced above the elevator call button.

Though it felt more like a lightning attribute than a wind one, Yeongwoo wasn’t harmed at all—thanks to the storm being classified as "wind."

Ding!

The elevator doors slid open, and at the far end of the lobby, Negwig was waiting.

‘This really feels like going to work.’

Especially since today’s mission involved the planetary evaluation, it could be considered an external duty.

"Let’s go. Whatever it is, today won’t be ordinary."

Yeongwoo mounted Negwig, and Golden Goblin and Pofu Tenta climbed onto its back.

"Take me to Gwangjin-gu. It’s dungeon time again."

-Screech!

As soon as Yeongwoo patted Negwig's neck, the creature dashed out of the hotel like a bolt of lightning.

Boom!

Just like always, Yeongwoo was engulfed by the immense speed, but this time, a raging thunderstorm greeted him outside.

CRASH!

‘What the...’

Yeongwoo's pupils dilated as he stared at the sky.

Massive lightning whirlwinds, each hundreds of meters in diameter, writhed over various parts of the city.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

w

‘And they don’t even graze the residential areas?’

For the first time in a while, Yeongwoo felt a sense of awe.

Until now, he'd been too preoccupied figuring out how to navigate the extreme weather to notice.

But now, his perspective had broadened enough to take in the phenomenon itself.

‘How is that even possible? I’d bet my company’s entire resources couldn’t develop this kind of technology.’

It was a wide-scale assault that affected every nook and cranny of the building corridors, yet, beyond the thin line of a single door labeled "residential area," there wasn’t a hint of damage.

And every day, such attacks came in different forms in this world.

Which meant that someone out there in the universe had designed and implemented all of this.

‘Is there really an all-powerful god in the universe?’

Standing in awe of a deity whose existence he couldn't confirm, matters like his parents' wedding scheduled for 3:23 PM the next day or the venue’s 1.22 billion Karma balance seemed utterly trivial.

‘If I had power like that... I wouldn’t have to deal with all these money leeches!’

Boom, boom!

The steel horse carrying Yeongwoo kicked its legs with even more vigor.

Soon, Gwangjin-gu appeared ahead, shrouded in the lightning storm.

“I’ll open the dungeon right away. As usual, you probably won’t be able to enter this time either.”

When Yeongwoo said this and gestured for the goblin to take out the orb, the goblin, squinting against the lightning storm, fumbled nervously in its dimensional pouch.

-Squeak!

The goblin handed over an orb that started turning pitch black the moment it was drawn from the pouch.

Taking the orb, Yeongwoo leaped off Negwig.

Thud!

Surprisingly, before his feet even touched the ground, a dark field began to unfold from the orb.

Whoosh!

“Huh?”

An all-too-familiar sensation.

It was the void.

‘What... what’s going on?’

「At the request of planetary inspectors, this dungeon is now linked to the waiting room of the Planetary Administration Bureau’s Inspection Division.」

A warp utilizing the void had opened.

“Wait, what? How can it just connect like that? Shouldn’t you get my permission first?”

Yeongwoo shouted angrily, but his voice was drowned out by the roaring lightning storm.

Instead, a short notification followed:

「Commencing transport.」

Before Yeongwoo could protest further, his body was sucked into the dark void.

“Ugh...!”

This was nothing like the portals typically used to enter dungeons.

Though time seemed frozen, the suffocating sensation of holding one’s breath pressed down on his entire body.

When the unpleasant feeling finally subsided, his vision was filled with polished stone tiles.

Thud!

Yeongwoo let out a pained yell as his forehead smacked against the floor.

“...Ugh!”

Caught mid-air during transport, Yeongwoo had fallen flat as soon as the warp ended.

But where was this?

According to the chairman, this was where he’d meet his inspection peers.

“...!”

Sensing movement ahead, Yeongwoo quickly regained his composure and shot to his feet.

Shing!

Drawing his mythical sword, Bastard, he shouted:

“Come at me! I’m the one and only...!”

But the only figure in the stark white waiting room was a single individual.

-Please, calm down…!

A hulking knight with shoulders spanning at least two meters.

The figure stood around five meters tall but appeared shorter since they were crouched awkwardly on a small bench.

Even seated, they were taller than Yeongwoo.

“What... Just you?”

Yeongwoo eyed the figure suspiciously.

Now that he looked closer, something was off about them.

They wore a thick suit of armor that completely covered their body, but the headpiece wasn’t solid.

Instead, it was filled with something that looked like a semi-melted caramel—a blend of liquid and jelly-like texture.

In other words, a caramel-coated knight was sitting in front of him.

“What the...”

An alien.

No doubt about it.

Plop.

The caramel knight kept dripping some kind of sweat or liquid from its armor.

-Ah, apologies.

As the yellowish liquid seeped through the armor’s waist, the alien used a handkerchief in its left hand to wipe it away.

“…Are you sick or something? Should you even be here right now?”

Yeongwoo asked, half-seriously, prompting the caramel-like head to twist into a spiral.

-I-I’m sorry. I tend to sweat a lot when I’m nervous.

“Oh, I see.”

Realizing it was just sweat, Yeongwoo nodded.

He also learned something else.

While the alien had no eyes, nose, or mouth to express emotions, its entire head reacted to its feelings instead.

‘So this guy can’t play mind games, huh?’

Reassured by the surprisingly novice-like demeanor of his first opponent, Yeongwoo relaxed slightly.

“Am I the second to arrive?”

-Oh, y-yes.

The caramel knight wiped its sweat again before turning its caramel head toward Yeongwoo.

‘Wait, so this guy wasn’t even looking at me while talking?’

-I came early, just in case I was late.

“Yeah, but where are the others?”

-They should be here soon.

Plop.

The early bird dripped more of its bodily substance.

Yeongwoo decided it was time to exchange names.

“Well, since we’re stuck here, why don’t we introduce ourselves...”

Just then, the system sent a message.

Beep!

「This is the waiting room. To prevent any mishaps, all participants are requested to remain seated.」

‘Remain seated?’

Come to think of it, the caramel knight had been sitting on a bench the whole time.

It must have received this instruction upon arrival and followed it dutifully.

“Remain seated, huh...”

Yeongwoo looked around.

The spacious room was lined with long benches and wide chairs along the walls.

The system sent another message:

「Royalty, please take a bench. All other participants, please use the chairs.」

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]