Surviving Among the Entities

[The babirusa is a mammal of the pig family Babyrousidae that lives in Indonesia.]

Kim Bok-man (26), a university student living in Seoul.
Welcoming the summer vacation, he had planned to travel here and there with his club members, but due to frequent heavy rains and heat waves, he canceled all schedules and rested at home like an unemployed person.

[The babirusa, meaning “deer-pig,” has one characteristic. It is not possessed by all babiruses, but only by the males – a terrifying characteristic.]

Even at home, the heat was the same, so he closed the windows and set the air conditioner to 18°C.
After turning on his favorite nature documentary, he boiled and ate some ramen noodles.

[The male’s tusk continues to grow until death. This tusk grows upwards in a curve, and even if it touches the forehead, it does not stop growing, eventually piercing the skull and leading to its own death.]
“What a stupid creature.”
[However, for the male, a large, long tusk is a source of pride. The larger and longer the tusk, the higher its rank, and the easier it can seduce females. It could be considered power exchanged for death.]

Kim Bok-man gulped down the ramen broth and mocked the babirusa.

“Such a stupid creature will go extinct soon. It’ll disappear within a few hundred years.”

Night fell, but the heat did not subside.

“Ugh, so hot.”

He turned on the air conditioner.

“Ugh, too cold.”

It was cold, but turning it off would make it hot again, so instead, he covered himself with a thick blanket.

‘Just right.’

Thank you, Carrier, for allowing me to sleep soundly.

Kim Bok-man fell into a deep sleep.
The outdoor unit ran powerfully all night.

“Ridiculous.”

In a building in Seocho-gu.
Seo Yong (35), a member of a major corporation’s technology innovation team, unconsciously uttered a curse.

[Budget Proposal for New Factory Construction and Carbon Capture Technology Application]

Recently, there had been many opinions to introduce new technologies in factories to reduce carbon emissions, but the cost was more expensive than imagined.

‘Nature? Good for them. They’ve been ranting about global warming and whatnot these days, and I’ve been feeling the weather getting a bit strange too. But this is just too expensive.’

With this money, he could build two more factories.
After a staring contest with the report, he sighed and rejected the proposal.

‘Anyway, India and China aren’t following the carbon emission limits at all, and neither is the US. What’s the point of a small country like Korea diligently following them? It’s useless if other countries don’t comply.’

So it’s not my problem?
Looking at the asphalt road rising in the humid heat exceeding 30°C today, he clicked his tongue.

“It’ll work out somehow.”

“Those bastards!”

In an Indian company.
Sanjib Gupta (50), an executive there, was furious at the misbehavior of developed countries once again today.

‘Telling us to reduce carbon emissions? That means running fewer factories, doesn’t it!?’

They didn’t have money to introduce the latest technologies like carbon capture or eco-friendly technologies.
Therefore, to reduce emissions, they inevitably had to reduce production, which would severely impact sales.

“They emitted as they pleased for over a hundred years, and now that we’re trying to live well, they’re obstructing us like this?”

Eat dirt.

“We have no choice but to keep going if we want to make a living!”

John McKenzie (55), a US Congressman, had a headache because of his son.

“Father! If we don’t reduce environmental pollution soon, something terrible will happen!”

His proud son had graduated from an Ivy League university with excellent grades and even obtained a doctorate in the natural sciences, but recently, he kept pestering him about the global warming issue.

“Oh, Michael, I know.”
“If you know, then why are you only pursuing pro-business policies?”
“Michael, you have a good head on your shoulders, but you’re naive. Climate crisis? Global warming? Of course I’m aware of them.”

John flicked his finger.

“But it doesn’t make money or votes. The intention is good. But the moment we present and implement it as policy, domestic demand will shrink, and consumer prices will rise. Then the voters will curse us, and we’ll inevitably suffer a crushing defeat in the next election.”
“But……”
“Michael, can’t you understand what I’m saying?”

John looked his son in the eye with a serious expression and spoke.

“The people don’t want it. That’s all there is to it.”

The sun set.
The Earth’s summers grew hotter, and its winters grew colder.

“We’re on the verge of the tipping point. Unless we take drastic policy measures immediately, humanity will be annihilated!”
“Please! Global warming is not a lie!”

Scientists frantically explained and shouted.

“Global warming and such things are nonsense!”
“It’s not a man-made climate crisis, but a natural phenomenon!”

Politician siding with corporations angrily refuted them.
Among them were those who bribed fellow scientists to deceive people with false information.

“Aaahh! Help me!”
“It’s a flood!”
“A wildfire!”
“The rain won’t stop!”

Natural disasters only grew more severe.
As the years passed, numerous casualties resulted from natural disasters occurring worldwide, and no country was spared.

“Global warming is real, after all!”
“It’s not just getting hotter, but also colder, and more natural disasters are happening too!”

Even conspiracy theorists could no longer deny global warming.
Then, politicians also actively implemented preventive policies.

“To reduce carbon emissions, we will implement a nationwide vehicle quota system.”
“We will impose a carbon tax on all businesses.”
“All vehicles must be replaced with electric cars within three years. Otherwise, heavy fines will be imposed.”
“All businesses must use renewable energy.”
“Beef production emits a significant amount of greenhouse gases. Therefore, we will introduce a meat tax on beef.”
“A large amount of carbon is emitted from the electricity used by internet data centers, so we will implement internet usage-based billing.”

While business owners and related operators strongly opposed, the public followed along.
It was for saving the world, so even if it cost money and caused inconvenience, they had to comply, right?

“Why is meat so expensive!”
“Not being able to freely drive a car is so inconvenient! Public transportation sucks!”
“Why can’t I drive my own car that I bought with my own money as I please?”
“The prices of food and daily necessities have all skyrocketed!”
“Aaaah! Only being able to use the internet for 3 hours a day is hell!”

As businesses invested in eco-friendly measures, product prices rose.
Due to poor harvests caused by natural disasters from global warming, food prices, already high, became even more expensive.
It became difficult to properly utilize conveniences like cars or the internet.
The weather remained unfavorable, and despite efforts to overcome the climate crisis, nothing seemed to have changed.

“$3 for a single loaf of bread? Are you insane!?”
“This is crazy! 300 yen for a single loaf of bread!”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me!? Why is it so cheap? In Korea, a single loaf of bread now costs 10,000 won!”

People’s discontent exploded, breaking through the tipping point in less than six months.

“Impeachment!”
“Give us back our lives!”
“Global warming is a lie! It’s a corporate scam to extort money!”

Pro-business politicians regained power.
At this point, it was impossible to completely exclude global warming from the mainstream, so they created an external enemy.

“This is all because of the developing countries! No matter how hard we try, if they don’t reduce carbon emissions, it’s meaningless! They are the cancer of the Earth, trying to destroy it!”

The developing countries had something to say as well.

“Wasn’t it the past developed countries that turned the Earth into this state? Is it right for you to blame us after making this mess and refusing to clean it up yourselves?”

Abandoning development at this point would mean falling back into underdevelopment, a path of self-destruction they could not choose.

“Mom! Read me a storybook!”
“Okay.”

No one let go of their own interests.

“Once upon a time, there was a hunter. The hunter wanted to catch a monkey, but the monkey was too fast for him to catch. So the hunter came up with a trick – he hung a basket just big enough for a hand to fit through on a tree and filled it with candy.”

Politicians turned a blind eye to reality for votes.
Businesses turned a blind eye to reality for money.

“The monkey discovered the candy in the basket. After struggling to put its hand inside, the monkey grasped a handful of candy. But oh no! With its fist clenched, its hand couldn’t pull out!”

Citizens turned a blind eye to reality for convenience.
Nations shifted the cause to other countries to quell discontent.

“The monkey could have pulled its hand out by letting go of the candy, but due to greed, it couldn’t let go until the end. The monkey couldn’t escape the trap and was eventually caught by the hunter!”
“Ahaha! The monkey is so stupid!”

And…….

“Mom, the rain won’t stop outside!”
“You’re right. It’s been raining for days……”

Finally, the tipping point was crossed.

The Earth was annihilated.
A world came where convenience, money, and votes were no longer of any use.
The scorching heat became a deadly heat wave, killing people, while snow fell in tropical regions, causing tens of thousands to freeze to death, and incessant heavy rains and floods occurred.

“We have to stop it! Deploy the technology!”
“Yes!”

The Foundation no longer just observed the situation.
They must have gained enlightenment by now.

“Sir, Overseer! The dimensional gate won’t open!”
“What!?”
“All the connected pathways have been blocked!”

However, the Foundation could not intervene.
Not only were all pathways connected to Earth sealed off, but communication with agents dispatched to Earth had also been completely cut off.

“The time has finally come.”

There was a culprit behind this entire situation.

“I have lived for this day for a thousand years.”

It was none other than the Lee clan of Dangjin.
They had long ago infiltrated their bloodlines worldwide and had already penetrated the Foundation’s dimensional pathways, secretly planning to seal them.

If the Foundation had been in full strength, they might not have fallen victim, but their forces had dwindled tremendously.
They could only helplessly fall prey to this unexpected, covert plan.

“Now, the Lee clan of Dangjin shall become gods in the new celestial realm.”

The Foundation could no longer interfere with Earth.
Their existing agents had also been subdued long ago through occult means after being identified.
The Lee clan’s bloodlines scattered around the world had all returned to their ancestral lands.

“I have fulfilled our deal with you! Now, take us to the new planet!”

Countless outsiders who had cooperated with them had also returned.
They were humans preparing to sow new seeds as the kin of gods on a new land.

“Oh, at last……”

The sky opened.
Beyond the sky, there was a planet similar to Earth, and as it drew closer, the primitive humans living there also looked up at the sky in surprise and scampered about.

“Our kin shall reign as the new gods of the new planet for eternity.”

The Lee clan’s bloodlines vanished.
The remaining humans were swept away by the rampaging climate crisis and the natural disasters that came with it.

Thus, humanity was annihilated.
The sealed land of the Lee clan of Dangjin on the annihilated Earth cracked open, and the calamity sealed beneath awoke.

The calamity was the negative thoughts emanated by the ghosts harboring heartpoison.
These thoughts circled the Earth, whose average temperature had soared over 100°C due to the greenhouse effect, once a day.

The negative thoughts were resentment.
The resentment exhaled by those who died harboring heartpoison and became calamities.
According to the principles of yin and yang, ghosts carry yin energy, and their resentment, being a condensation of yin energy, was bitterly cold.

Each time the negative thoughts circled the Earth, that resentment gradually cooled it.
After several years, the Earth had completely cooled, but the negative thoughts did not stop, continuing to lower the Earth’s temperature.

And after decades more.
The negative thoughts had been scattered across the entire Earth and vanished, leaving the Earth as a snow-covered sphere.

If someone had been in space, they would have been startled upon seeing the Earth and exclaimed.
The Earth had become a completely white sphere, hadn’t it?
But someone had written something on it, hadn’t they?

On the snowy surface of the white Earth, there were enormous letters that could be read even from space.
Though it did not match any language of Earth, anyone could read it, and it conveyed meaning to the reader.

[“A planetary dish cooked by minimizing artificial interference, chilled through humanity’s foolishness alone, now with a garnish of bitter regret added. – Mr. Ando”]

The Earth had become a dish.

‘Mr. Ando, huh.’

I had thought he wasn’t an ordinary entity, but I didn’t expect him to go so far as to cause global annihilation.

‘Though it wasn’t him directly, but rather humanity’s self-destruction.’

To make a deal with the Lee clan of Dangjin and wait a thousand years to cook a planet.
I don’t know the extent of his powers as an actual entity, but just that alone made Mr. Ando’s extraordinariness palpable.

‘So the Lee clan of Dangjin had been preparing for this since a thousand years ago?’

That if the Earth were to be annihilated someday, they would step in to help.
As compensation for their aid, their bloodline would overflow with talent, and when the deal ended, they would reign as gods in a new celestial realm.

‘The terms of the deal were to gather the negative thoughts emanated from the ghosts afflicted by heartpoison, and when the time came, prevent the likes of the Foundation from stopping global warming – those two things, it seems.’

The negative thoughts emanated by the ghosts afflicted by heartpoison were seasoning.
Seasoning that would chill the completed Earth dish while also sprinkling resentment across it to enhance its flavor.

“Now, how do I go about this……”

This was the underground of the Lee clan’s residence.
Presumably under the sealed land, and being a sealed place, it would not be easy to escape from inside using ordinary means.

‘The master detective’s touchpad said I could resolve this issue.’

If it could have been resolved by directly visiting the Lee clan’s residence, the issue would have been resolved long ago.
Then does that mean I can also resolve the issue from here…….?

‘The final hint was clearly……’

Do not be bound by preconceptions.
This is merely the first.
They claim it was influenced by Russia and emerged, but in fact, it is a culture that emerged from them.
There is no need to use their language.
They use the language of truth, which humans cannot pronounce.
Instead, it is sufficient to speak in the languages of the Earth, as they will understand.

The power the Lee clan received from Chef Ando was the occult.
And the occult is…….

“Those who carelessly curse others should be prepared to be cursed themselves.”

I think I roughly understand.

“Then it’s time to end this.”