Surviving Among the Entities

The virtual reality game, The Center of the World, was successfully released.
The legal issues that should have existed were all resolved by the Foundation, and the ethical issues were cleanly resolved through the abilities possessed by the Center of the World.

“Games should be enjoyable. The administrator has an obligation to create an enjoyable gaming environment.”

Was it because she connected external terminals?
As an entity, her abilities affected not only the virtual reality but also the reality surrounding the terminals connected to that game, in terms of “managing the physical reality during game connection,” eliminating potential risks.

“But what about issues like trading between real-world currency and in-game currency, resolving in-game issues for real-world money, and committing fraud within the game – how should those be resolved?”
“I will leave it all to your discretion.”
“Um, well, if it’s part of the game, then I’ll just leave it be.”

She approached me.

“Thank you so much. Because of you, I have a reason to live. It’s all thanks to you.”

Something hot and moist touched my cheek and fell.
I wanted to ask more details, but by then, I had already woken up from the virtual reality and returned to reality.

“Hmm.”
[“Why is that?”]
“It’s nothing.”

We haven’t built up that much resonance yet, have we?
The important thing is not time, but depth, perhaps.

‘Even if you’ve known someone for a long time, if the relationship is shallower than a puddle, it’s less than that of a neighbor. But even a fleeting connection as deep as the ocean is closer than family.’

An enlightenment comes to me.
I want to share this enlightenment with the community, but unfortunately, it’s impossible since I’ve decided to exercise restraint from now on.

“I had forgotten that I am no longer my past self.”

My past self didn’t have much money.
Therefore, the only way I could share my enlightenment was by discussing it in the community.

‘Of course, aside from that, I did enter to have discussions.’

But now, things are different.
I have the means to publish this enlightenment as a book.

“Alright, let me write down this enlightenment.”

I can self-publish without going through a publisher.
I spent busy days working on the publication.

“It’s been a while. Thanks to Mr. Seung-hoon Lee, I haven’t had any customers for a time.”
“My apologies. I acted rashly. I’ve come to apologize for that.”

Due to this incident, my relationships with the entities had become strained, so I met with them to mend those ties.

“Hmm, if you continue resolving issues for my customers in the future, I shall accept your apology. Originally, I had no intention of forgiving you, but rumors have been spreading among the customers that Mr. Seung-hoon Lee’s problem-solving abilities are exceptional. Your popularity has increased.”
“I shall do so, then.”

The Shady Merchant let it go lightly.
Receiving requests from customers like Professor Roland not only provided unique experiences but also allowed me to preemptively block potential threats from entities, which was what I wanted as well.

“Is that why you called me? I have no particular complaints.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, instead, please invest more in virtual reality. If you’re going to do it, why not support equipment for people in the third world to connect as well, or promote it in areas lacking promotion?”

Baal brushed it off coolly.
A contrasting attitude to when he had used Lee So-young to try and defeat me.

“Do you think humanity is becoming corrupted by their own standards through virtual reality?”
[“Shouldn’t you stop them, then?”]
“According to Lucifer Company’s standards, corruption often stems from personal choices. You can’t simply stop something just because you want to.”

I could just stop the Center of the World, but that would be burning down the house to get rid of the mice.

-Well, I’ll let this incident slide. Thanks to it, we’ve gained additional punishments for the sinners of the cyber hell. Even without this, the number of sinners had become too large compared to hell’s size, causing difficulties.
“It was like that when I went as well. Extremely cramped.”
-Anyway! This is the only time I’ll overlook it!

Coincidentally, I also received forgiveness from Chugang Daewang, who had called about the sinner issue.
The pleasant news that many sinners had recently repented and returned to the cycle of reincarnation was a bonus.

“How dare you! Did you think you could be easily forgiven after causing us such difficulties!”
“Here is 100 tons of gold.”
“I shall forgive you.”

The Office Workers were still the Office Workers.

‘Now only the Wall-Mounted TV remains.’

How should I appease them?
Unfortunately, I had no way to appease them.

[Finally! It’s our turn! While we tried to overlook the behavior of our only viewer, Mr. Lee Mo, as much as possible, this incident has crossed the line!]

And they didn’t seem inclined to let it go, either.

[In that sense, breaking news! We have received reports that a terrible calamity will befall Mr. Lee Mo (26) from Bucheon!]

Can’t be helped.
I’ll humbly accept it.

[It is said that for humans to live, they need clothing, food, and shelter (衣食住). However, as of this hour, Mr. Lee Mo has been deprived of the pleasure of food (食) for one month. Any cooking he does will become tasteless due to inexplicable accidents, and any food he orders for delivery will become defective, it seems. For the next month, may you reflect while eating tasteless things!]

The revenge is milder than expected.
But my cooking will become tasteless? And the same for delivered food?

“Shall I see how it unfolds?”

I lightly made a fried egg.
Without breaking the yolk, I half-cooked it, then lightly sprinkled salt before flipping it over.

“……Sweet.”

It wasn’t salt, but sugar.
I had definitely used the salt from the salt container.

‘The salt in the salt container had been replaced with sugar.’

Real-time reality manipulation?
Or did they foresee my future and manipulate it?
Either way, it seemed I wouldn’t be able to enjoy tasty food from now on.

‘But at least my intellectual curiosity will be satisfied.’

Just how far does this misfortune extend?
Next, I took out and ate the delivered food I had stored in the refrigerator.

‘Tasteless.’

The pizza I had frozen had its cheese replaced with imitation cheese.
The retort pouch of seaweed soup had a faint off-putting taste, as if it had gone slightly bad.
The Victoria sponge cake I had bought as a snack had a small hole in the bag, causing all the moisture to evaporate and losing its fluffiness, becoming dry and crumbly.

‘Then what if I go out and buy it directly?’

I visited a traditional Korean restaurant I frequented.
The mackerel set menu I ordered was usually delicious as they used high-quality mackerel, but today the cooking went wrong from the start.

‘Undercooked, with a strong fishy smell.’

They seemed to have cooked the frozen mackerel without thawing it, resulting in a burnt exterior but uncooked interior.
Among the side dishes, the vegetable dishes had a stale smell, and the rice was overly sticky due to improper water adjustment.

“Thank you for the meal.”

I cannot blame them.
Since this was all due to the entity’s mischief, further dining experiments would only inconvenience the restaurants.

“Is delivery the same?”

Next, I ordered budae jjigae (sausage stew).

‘This is smoked ham, not spam.’

Instead of Cabort sausages, some unknown cheap sausages.
Despite being budae jjigae, it had an excessive amount of kimchi and bean sprouts added.

“It would be more apt to call this something akin to kimchi budae jjigae.”

Next, I ordered sundae gukbap (sundae soup with rice).
Instead of meat-filled sundae, it was sweet potato noodle sundae.

“The worst.”

Not only was the sundae unappetizing, but even the pickled radish that came with it tasted bland and flavorless.

‘Enjoying food is a pleasure one takes care to savor, yet they have deprived me of that.’

Wait a minute.
Surely not even tea time?

“……The tea leaves aren’t brewing properly.”

The cucumber sandwiches were also dry and crumbly.
The water I had just boiled rapidly became lukewarm, resulting in a bland, insipid cup of black tea.

‘Is there no loophole in this rule?’

The loophole was discovered sooner than expected.

“Please try a sample!”
“Buy dumplings now and get 1 free 1!”

While visiting various places for experimentation, I ended up at a large mart.
There, I ate the dumplings offered by the sampling staff, and they tasted ordinarily delicious.

“I understand the rule.”

Any cooking I make is tasteless.
Any cooking I purchase with proper payment is tasteless.
Any cooking I order for delivery after proper payment is tasteless.

“However, food provided for free by others is unaffected.”

So only free food is fine.
Then the solution is easy.

“Excuse me, Chairman? What brings you to the employee cafeteria……”
“I’ve come to eat.”
“Oh, I, I see! Shall I call the executives as well?”
“No need.”

Sadly, the employee cafeteria at Sarang Corporation was also tasteless.
Presumably because the company is my property, and the cafeteria cooks were also employed and paid by me, so it was recognized as something I had purchased.

“Wow, why does the rice taste so weird today?”
“Did they put dishwashing soap in the soybean paste stew? Why is it so foamy?”
“The tofu has a tart taste?”
“The jeyuk (soy-braised pork) is under-seasoned and flavorless.”
“The codfish fritters are fine. But why isn’t anyone eating them? These are true rice thieves.”

Due to my influence, even the employees were affected.

‘Now, how can I enjoy a tasty meal?’

By this point, meals had become a game for me.
A game of breaking the Wall-Mounted TV’s rule and enjoying a delicious meal.
In the midst of this, an invitation arrived from the Shady Merchant.

[Many customers have requested a meeting with Mr. Seung-hoon Lee. I have enclosed their invitation letters, so please read them and meet with them.]

Not just one, but several letters.
Reading each invitation, I checked who had sent them.

‘There were customers among politicians as well. This person is a celebrity, aren’t they? A celebrity associated with entities. This person is a Japanese manga artist? The one famous for not aging, if I recall correctly – surely they can’t be associated with entities?’

One invitation caught my eye.
The black letters written on the red stationery exuded an ancient fragrance, a splendid calligraphic style.

[I humbly address you, esteemed one. When everyone trembles in fear in this world filled with the calamity (天災) called entities, I have been moved by the sight of the resolver who single-handedly resolves issues that astound heaven and earth, alleviating people’s worries, and thus brazenly send this invitation.

I am Lee Won-bok, the 36th descendant of the Lee clan of Dangjin. My connection to entities dates back long ago, but I have humbly led a modest life befitting a commoner.

However, upon hearing the rumors about Mr. Seung-hoon Lee, memories of my hot-blooded youth have resurfaced, and I wish to meet you in person and hear your tales of adventure.

Of course, my intention is also to establish a friendship with such a noble person. Yes, I will not hide this part. Are not humans weak alone, but can exert the strength of a hundred when united? I believe those who know of the existence of entities must become well-acquainted with one another and form close bonds.

I have heard that Mr. Seung-hoon Lee has already amassed wealth like mountains and commands numerous entities. While I have nothing to offer you, I do pride myself in possessing a humble talent that can satisfy Mr. Seung-hoon Lee in terms of gastronomy.

I shall eagerly await the day we meet, and with that, I shall end my words here.]

Below were the words “Lee Won-bok, 36th descendant of the Lee clan of Dangjin” and a stamped seal.

“Gastronomy.”

I wonder what kind of cuisine he will present?
And what kind of connection to entities has he had since long ago?

“It seems I can satisfy both my intellectual curiosity and appetite.”

The next day, I visited the address written on the letter.

“Oh, what a magnificent countenance. You must be Mr. Seung-hoon Lee? It is an honor to meet you!”

An old hanok (traditional Korean house).
A vast estate and well-maintained garden trees.
Inside, a pavilion and a small lake with carp swimming within.

“I am Lee Won-bok, the 36th head of the Lee clan of Dangjin.”

And an elderly man who looked like he had stepped out of a historical drama.

“Hello.”

I greeted him politely as well.
“I am Seung-hoon Lee.”