I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell
chapter-188

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The Patriot I

Have you ever heard this saying?

"Crisis is an opportunity."

While this phrase is widely known and often quoted, I find it overly kind and somewhat misleading.

Reality is harsh. To accurately reflect this cruel world, the saying needs a serious makeover.

"Find an opportunity in a crisis. If you can't, then you'll die."

An apocalypse is a continuous series of crises, much like the incessant survey calls during election season. But while election season lasts a month at most, the apocalypse is a never-ending, thrilling ride with new surprises every day.

The weak humans who couldn't adapt to the newly updated environment of Earth all perished.

It wasn’t just individuals that died either. Entire professions were wiped out. If we were to list the jobs that disappeared from the elementary school career aspirations list in the face of the apocalypse, it would include members of parliament, election commission members, union leaders, stock traders, physicists, graduate students, hikikomori...

And we must not forget "journalists." In the modern media world, which could no longer survive without advertisers, the apocalypse was too harsh.

That said, large guilds did publish quarterly newsletters when the occasion struck. "Hogsmeade News" of the Samcheon World gained some popularity, for example.[1] However, it was hard to consider these true media outlets. It’s not exactly prestigious journalism when Dang Seo-rin’s autumn witch fashion items make it to the front page.

Nevertheless, it took a considerable amount of time for "journalists" to disappear from the job market, and that was all because of one man.

Jo Yeong-su.

The last journalist remaining not only not just on the Korean Peninsula but in "Republic of Korea" was quite active for a long time.

However, if I were to grab any citizen of Busan and claim, "Jo Yeong-su is actually a journalist," I would likely receive a strange look.

"Him? A journalist? Why?"

In Busan, Jo Yeong-su could always be found in the square in front of the National Road Management Corps headquarters. It was there that one could find a middle-aged man holding a protest sign and shouting every day.

"Dictator Noh Do-hwa, step down! Step down! Step down!"

"Ugh, there he goes again. Doesn't he ever get tired?"

"Dictator Noh Do-hwa, step dooown!"

Yes, that man was Jo Yeong-su.

To the people of Busan, Jo Yeong-su wasn’t recognized as a journalist. He was just the "crazy guy in the square."

This crazy guy had a distinctive outfit. Not only was he holding a protest sign, but his shirt was emblazoned, front and back, with:

[Republic of Korea 大韓民國]

[Democracy 民主主義]

The shirt, which was more armor than clothing, was covered in large and small characters:

[The Republic of Korea is a democratic republic]

[The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea belongs to the people, and all power comes from the people]

[All citizens have freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly and association]

[No permit or censorship shall be imposed on speech, the press, or assembly and association]

...

Truly the embodiment of democracy!

If there had been a "Jesus = Heaven, No Jesus = Hell" Evangelism team in Myeong-dong, Seoul, during the civilized times, now Busan had Jo Yeong-su.

No matter how liberal Busan was with fashion, Jo Yeong-su stood out more than any witch cosplayer from the Samcheon World.

"Can't someone do something about that guy?"

"He's such a nuisance."

"When will that man ever lose his voice?"

Naturally, the members of the National Road Management Corps detested Jo Yeong-su. Even if they didn’t worship Noh Do-hwa as the savior of the Korean Peninsula, they couldn’t stand a human alarm blaring at them on their way to and from work. If Noh Do-hwa had said, "Get rid of that nuisance," the members of the National Road Management Corps would have gladly done so and left no trace.

"Just leave him alone..."

In other words, Jo Yeong-su’s survival was entirely thanks to Noh Do-hwa’s neglect.

"What’s the big deal? Get back to your work..."

"Commander, is there any reason to keep such a troublemaker alive? It could demoralize the Corps."

"Demoralize? If they don’t like it, they can quit. Who’s stopping them? Damn, I’d quit too if I could. Do you want to see what real demoralization looks like?"

"I’ll make sure to tell the members not to touch him."

Noh Do-hwa was immune to criticism and slander. No matter what was said, even if it was deeply insulting, she ignored it. This couldn’t be interpreted as the benevolence of a ruler. It was more like how a person wouldn’t care about a caterpillar wriggling to get attention. That was Noh Do-hwa’s mindset.

Yu Ji-won also ignored Jo Yeong-su, deciding it wasn’t worth trying to gain points with her superiors. She was equally good at treating people like insects.

"Dictator Noh Do-hwa, step down!"

Thus, a miracle was born. Jo Yeong-su achieved true "freedom of expression" that was hard to enjoy even in a true democratic society.

Remarkably, Jo Yeong-su was even an Awakener.

"Able to light a lighter with his index finger."

His awakening ability was trivial, but to a true democrat, such "innate traits" didn’t matter. The important thing was that as an Awakener, he could access SG Net. That was all that mattered.

-Anonymous: The Republic of Korea is facing a crisis! The election system has collapsed, and democratic principles have disappeared!

After the National Road Management Corps members went home, Jo Yeong-su’s fingers would light up SG Net instead of the square.

-Anonymous: By what legitimate procedure did Noh Do-hwa become the head of the National Road Management Corps? What is the legal basis for this?

Of course, she was chosen by me, the Undertaker, and selected through a beta-testing period spanning hundreds of years. Curiously, everyone except her went mad when they seized power on the Korean Peninsula.

What was I supposed to do? I had no choice but to pick Noh Do-hwa, who couldn’t go any crazier because she was already well beyond saving.

-Anonymous: The situation with the large guilds controlling the cities is even more pressing. The guilds arbitrarily collect protection fees from the people!

-Anonymous: If this isn’t a tax, what is? What right do these rogue groups have to levy taxes on the people?

That would be because all the "anomaly experts" of this era were gathered in the guilds.

As anyone who has heard my stories would know, it was practically impossible for ordinary people to stand up to anomalies. Even for Awakeners, it wasn’t easy. In this apocalyptic world where one could die on the streets at any moment, the guilds were responsible for maintaining law and order. Thus, one had to consider the guilds’ perspective too.

"Hey, we’ll pay you a protection fee equivalent to a head tax and 10% of your income, so you better deal with the anomalies first and most aggressively, okay?"

That was the proposal made to the guilds.

People might feel differently, but it wasn’t a deal particularly weighted in the guilds’ favor. Honestly, theirs is a tough job to do without some incentive.

-LiteraryGirl: What’s that guy saying again?

-Anonymous: Attention everyone, the night shift has begun. Please share your Three Kingdoms theories.

-Anonymous: Is it true that Jo Yeong-su goes to the free meal center every day?

-OldManGoryeo: Welcome, old-timer, LOL

Even on SG Net, Jo Yeong-su wasn’t well-received. Despite operating anonymously, everyone knew his identity, which was a problem. It meant he had fostered himself a notorious reputation.

In this era, who lives by "procedures" and "votes"? Anomalies don’t care about that stuff when they crush humans.

-Anonymous: I’m not condemning the guild leaders or the head of the National Road Management Corps because they’re incompetent.

Of course, every post he wrote was met with mocking comments, and Jo Yeong-su would always respond with long rebuttals.

-Anonymous: The issue is legitimate procedures! Even if power is seized by force, humans live through time, and time brings forgetfulness.

-Anonymous: Force can sustain power for 10 years, 20 years, 50 years, but not 100 years. Time is too powerful!

-Anonymous: The way to overcome the inevitability of forgetfulness is writing agreements and promises into laws. These are the only measures that continue to work over countless years that humanity has discovered!

-Anonymous: Inheritance based on bloodlines cannot be a legitimate procedure! Countless ceremonies and coronations were devised to make such a tradition look legitimate.

-Anonymous: Ultimately, agreement! Only agreement! Laws inscribed with agreements!

-Anonymous: Realistically, everyone cannot gather every 10 years to renew agreements, so we create "promises that transcend time and space, agreed upon by all humans." This is the constitution!

-Anonymous: Realistically, not everyone can participate in agreements, so "periodically elected representatives of all sovereign people" renew the agreements. This is the law!

Indeed, these were lengthy rebuttals.

I didn’t edit them. He genuinely wrote such detailed responses to every member’s comment. Each comment had slightly different words and sentences too, so he wasn’t using copy-paste.

-Anonymous: Do the National Road Management Corps and guilds have power? Yes. Do they have agreements? No. Do they have a constitution and laws? No. Do they have agreed procedures?

No!

-Anonymous: Thus, these organizations won’t last 100 years. They clearly lack the qualifications to represent the current Republic of Korea!

-Anonymous: Former Busan Mayor Jung Sang-guk, who fled to Japan, has more legitimate qualifications!

└dolLHOuse: ?

No matter how passionately he poured out his arguments, no one agreed with Jo Yeong-su. It was only natural, really.

-Anonymous: LOL 100 years? We’re struggling to survive 10 years and you run your mouth about "the inevitability of forgetfulness" LOL

No one expected a nation to endure for over 100 years. The Republic of Korea, which Jo Yeong-su revered so much, had collapsed just over 100 years after its founding. The "constitution and laws" he cherished couldn’t stop the arrival of the void. Dang Seo-rin’s Cursed Song Incantation could protect the public order and far more people than a few agreed-upon sentences.

That’s the world we live in.

Humans were no longer great but merely part of nature. Laws were luxury items for humanity, which found itself at an overwhelming disadvantage in nature.

In other words, we were animals. Beasts.

Awakening abilities weren’t something grand or a sign of being chosen by heaven; they were just claws for beasts or wings for escaping.

One had to humbly acknowledge this fact to face the current reality.

-Anonymous: Difficulty in current times cannot excuse procedural deficiencies! The former Republic of Korea declared independence and established a constitution even when the country was lost and occupied by foreign forces!

In short, Jo Yeong-su was an idealist. To the SG Net members, whose families, friends, and colleagues had died and were still dying, his idealism was almost unbearable.

-OldManGoryeo: Thanks to the old-timer, the night shift is warm again LOL

Thus, he earned the nickname "Old-timer."

"Republic of Korea" + "Old-timer," a mocking term.

Along with OldManGoryeo, Old-timer was one of SG Net’s three major villains.

Who was the third? That was debatable, but sometimes the WitchJudge would be tossed around as an option. Some factions even dared to nominate me, the Undertaker, as a Three Kingdoms villain, but those were all baseless slander.

-Anonymous: Noh Do-hwa, the head of the National Road Management Corps, should wake up!

└OldManGoryeo: Wake up! Wake up!

Anyway.

As usual, the night shift on SG Net was filled with OldManGoryeo causing chaos and Jo Yeong-su breathing fire. Normal people were asleep, preparing for the next day’s labor. Only two villains were passionately debating the "future of the nation" through their posts and comments.

-Anonymous: Even now, the National Road Management Corps and guilds should seriously discuss the direction of the Republic of Korea, considering public opinion!

└OldManGoryeo: Public opinion? LOL how would you do that?

└Anonymous: Through the media, of course!

└OldManGoryeo: Oh, gotcha. But we don’t have any media or news in our proud Republic of Korea, do we? lmao...

At that moment, Jo Yeong-su’s keyboard, which had always unhesitatingly voiced the truth, suddenly fell silent.

One minute, three minutes, five minutes.

No matter how long they waited, there was no rebuttal to OldManGoryeo’s comment.

-OldManGoryeo: Last hit done.

Finally, OldManGoryeo, satisfied with getting the last word, moved on to another topic.

-OldManGoryeo: Hey guys, what song are you listening to right now?

└ZERO_SUGAR: Three Kingdoms theories, go.

└OldManGoryeo: Go to sleep.

Of course, OldManGoryeo didn’t realize it.

That he had just inadvertently given birth to the last "journalist" on the Korean Peninsula.

Footnotes:

[1] Hogsmeade is an all-wizard village featured in the world of the Harry Potter series.