RE: Player again

344

[Chapter 105] [Catch Your Player]

November of the 10th year of Seonryeok, with not much left until the 11th year.

As the situation was gradually stabilizing, an incident occurred that once again stirred up public opinion.

[Breaking] Myeongwang Clan defeated in clan war. Gives up prime territory in Seodaemun-gu to local alliance clan...

[Comprehensive] Seodaemun-gu Alliance "Will maintain 0% tax rate for residents in the future as well."

Seven clans evaluated as S-grade domestically.

Among them, Myeongwang Clan, evaluated as S+ grade along with Zenith and Regulus, was defeated by the Seodaemun-gu Alliance Clan in a clan war.

The story of a mega-clan that has dominated Seodaemun-gu until now being defeated by a small-scale clan alliance was no different from bringing about the weakening of Myeongwang Clan.

Although it's said to be just losing a few administrative districts of Seodaemun-gu, Seodaemun-gu was prime territory owned by Myeongwang Clan.

Moreover, Seodaemun-gu could be said to be a district representative of Myeongwang Clan among the jurisdictions owned by Myeongwang Clan.

They lost part of such a district.

Of course, Myeongwang Clan's prestige was cracked, and it was too obvious that other clans would rush to crush Myeongwang Clan taking advantage of this gap.

"Um, Clan Lord... The Eunpyeong-gu Alliance applied for a clan war next month today. And small-scale clans belonging to Myeongwang Clan's jurisdictions in Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, Chungcheong-do, etc. are showing movements to form alliances and apply for clan wars."

"...I see... Understood."

Do Wanjun, 2nd generation Twelve Seats member and Myeongwang Clan Lord.

He closed his eyes tightly after hearing the report from the sub-lord.

Leaning his body tightly against the chair backrest and raising his head towards the ceiling, he felt his chest tighten.

To think they would lose the Hongeun-dong area...

Clans qualified to manage local public order had to accept clan war applications from other clans at least once every three months according to the Mana Management Organization's principles.

Because clans possessing public order management rights for an area could collect taxes within the area for the reason of public order.

Also, representative clans could collect a certain tax rate from clans belonging to the area.

Such rights couldn't be allowed to only one clan.

However, Myeongwang Clan had demonstrated their skills and won clan wars until now.

Of course, until the Seodaemun-gu Alliance Clan secretly incorporated clans belonging to other districts and applied for a clan war.

It was such a quiet operation that even Do Wanjun himself didn't expect it.

There must have been prior collusion.

It's no coincidence that clan wars were declared in other regions at the same time to disperse Myeongwang Clan's forces.

It was clearly someone's scheme.

The problem was not knowing who the opponent was.

Large-scale clans originally had many enemies anyway.

"We'll also apply for a clan war to reclaim the lost territory 3 months later."

"Yes, understood. But Clan Lord, complaints from residents in the jurisdiction are rapidly arising as the Seodaemun-gu Alliance lowered taxes to 0%."

The sub-lord speaking carefully.

Do Wanjun frowned deeply.

Until now, Myeongwang Clan had reached an agreement with clans evaluated as S-grade and collected 10% tax for maintaining public order.

A burdensome cost for residents.

But it wasn't much cost to operate a clan.

The problem was that residents didn't think so.

"...An obvious ploy."

Do Wanjun grumbled with an unpleasant face.

The Seodaemun-gu Alliance's intentions were obvious.

They aimed to make local residents doubt Myeongwang Clan's qualifications while riding public opinion to define Myeongwang Clan as evil.

Initially there could be complaints within the alliance for not being able to collect tax rates, but it was clear they intended to raise tax rates as they pleased after completely absorbing Myeongwang Clan's forces.

Humans blinded by money would naturally do so.

In the end, how long they can endure, that's the key...

As far as Do Wanjun knew, the Seodaemun-gu Alliance invested quite a lot of funds to fight this clan war.

As long as they can't collect taxes from residents, the alliance could be said to be unable to use one of their important sources of funds.

Rather, they had to work for free to maintain public order in Hongeun-dong.

How long can clans within the alliance endure?

Can players who joined the alliance continue maintaining public order without any benefit?

"Those alliance bastards... Find out where they're managing funds from."

"Yes, understood."

Do Wanjun who had been lost in thought said.

If there's a mastermind behind this incident, the mastermind will provide funds to prevent the alliance from collapsing.

They had to uncover the alliance's mastermind and drive them out, whether in the light or in the shadows. At the same time, they had to cut off the funding source.

Fortunately, Myeongwang Clan was a clan sponsored by Yeongwon Group.

Yeongwon Group, which thoroughly grasped the flow of 'money', could not only easily find the mastermind behind this incident, but also apply pressure.

However, Do Wanjun who contacted Yeongwon Group's vice chairman had to grit his teeth.

The vice chairman acting as chairman in place of the chairman who fell into a coma rejected his request.

"...Is that how you're going to be!? If the chairman knew, he would never..."

[Look here? Hey. Just who do you think you are to talk to me like that, huh? You got beaten by dog bone-like bastards, so why are you asking us for help?]

"......"

[You still don't grasp the situation? If we gave you money all this time, you should have worked worth that value, what the hell is this! Hang up!]

Currently, Yeongwon Group was in the midst of a succession dispute.

Among them, the vice chairman who was likely to become the next chairman had viewed Myeongwang Clan, the chairman's shadow, as a thorn in his side from before.

So the vice chairman intends to use this opportunity to change the clan sponsored by Yeongwon Group.

These bastards were involved.

Do Wanjun who had been pushing for another successor at Yeongwon Group realized he had fallen into a trap by the opposing forces.

[...I'm really sorry about this.]

And that the successor he had been pushing for couldn't do anything about this incident either.

It seemed they were caught with some weakness.

Do Wanjun eventually let out a long sigh and hung up the phone.

They say Yeongwon Group plans to drastically reduce sponsorship from this month.

Myeongwang Clan won't have problems operating the clan for now, but considering the endless clan wars that will unfold, funds will soon hit rock bottom.

When that happens, it's the end for Myeongwang Clan.

The clan he created together with Bang Yeonji, who is no longer in this world, will disappear.

I must find a way somehow.

But Do Wanjun didn't give up.

Even if the Seodaemun-gu Alliance Clan has the backing of Yeongwon Group's vice chairman and his forces, and the support of other business groups supporting them.

Nevertheless, he won't give up.

The King of the Underworld, the king of the dead, never disappears.

If you're going to come at me like this─

Do Wanjun opened the safe under the desk.

What was in the safe was Yeongwon Group's hidden shame that he had collected in preparation for such an incident.

And Yeongwon Group's affiliate stocks he had been secretly collecting through borrowed-name accounts.

─The King of the Underworld will come at you too.

Do Wanjun let out a grave smile.

As if the paper in his hand was a book of the dead.

Right at that moment.

A phone call came in.

Someone called the smartphone he had been calling on until now.

"Who is this?"

An unknown number.

He who answered the phone listened carefully.

Soon, a still youthful voice came through the smartphone.

[─This is Yoo Dojun.]

☆

Player Academy regular meeting.

The instructors gathered in the meeting room were all reading the plan placed on the table and staying silent.

"Ugh..."

Someone let out a groan.

Starting with that sound, several instructors broke the silence and spoke.

"Shouldn't we do it after all?"

"The situation is like this anyway, so using this to aim for a rebound opportunity..."

Currently, public opinion perceived the Player Academy negatively.

Moreover, trust in players hadn't recovered either.

In such a situation, news spread a few days ago that Myeongwang Clan was defeated by the Seodaemun-gu Alliance in a clan war.

The media packaged the defeat of a mega-clan like the story of Goliath killed by David.

Myeongwang Clan collecting 10% tax versus Seodaemun-gu Alliance Clan declaring they'll work for 0% tax without pay.

Public opinion was saying on this occasion that the benefits players receive from the state should be reduced.

Saying don't you earn a lot of money? Yet you've been taking 10% tax rate until now?

Mega-clans including Myeongwang Clan were being treated as tax thieves, and the Player Academy was in a similar situation.

Just at such a time, one of the major terrestrial broadcasting stations sent a program proposal to the academy.

"No matter what, to film a variety show...! Are we players or some entertainers!?"

"Entertainers... They're celebrities. Sigh, I knew you were old-fashioned but you could get stoned if you say such things outside."

"How many players appear on broadcasts these days? Seeing that, players appearing on broadcasts doesn't seem all bad."

The program's purpose was to show what kind of people players are and allow people to have a familiar image of players.

To emphasize 'familiarity', they want to cast fresh 3rd year high school academy students who will soon enter active duty.

"It doesn't seem bad to air it first and film regularly if ratings are good?"

"What's that. In the end, isn't it using the kids as material for ratings? It's saying they'll keep making it if it's fun, and just throw it away if it's not fun, right?"

"I think it would rather be good. It's an opportunity for 3rd year high school academy kids to show their faces on broadcast and imprint themselves on the public."

"Well... We can't only consider positive effects. Haven't you heard of the devil's editing? If we're not careful, they could appear on broadcast and just get cursed at. Then it could become trauma for the kids."

"But kids who didn't receive attention will get more attention if this broadcast airs."

"Rather, I wonder why we didn't think of this until now."

While some instructors opposed, others agreed.

As it was the first time filming a variety show dealing with players, they carefully shared opinions.

"For the sake of public opinion... Doing it is the right answer, but..."

"But in a way, aren't we cleaning up Myeongwang Clan's mess?"

"...I heard it's a proposal that came out from before. Then just as the incident in Hoengseong-gun happened, public opinion towards the academy..."

"Oh? Looking at this now, there's also a handwritten note saying to cast the 031 class additionally selected this year to heighten public interest."

"That seems a bit excessive... We might risk being criticized for not thinking about the dead students anymore if we're not careful."

The debate continued.

Without converging on any one conclusion.

In the end, they decided to decide by majority vote.

As a result of voting by raising hands─

"─It's exactly tied?"

"There shouldn't be a tie with no abstentions... Ah, that guy didn't vote."

"Hey, Lee Gukjong! What are you doing not raising your hand!?"

The number of pros and cons were exactly the same.

The instructors looked at Lee Gukjong, who recently became an instructor and hadn't raised his hand yet.

Lee Gukjong was in a difficult position.

He hadn't made a choice yet.

Oh well, I don't know.

The instructors' gazes were piercing.

In the end, he raised his hand with the mindset of just going for it.

To the agreeing side.

"─Then we'll approve filming a variety program featuring academy students."

The representative instructor declared.

The decision to film the program was made by one person's vote.

"They say they'll film inside the academy while filming academy students... No problems will arise, right?"

"That's something we can thoroughly prepare for in advance... We have a few things we need to prepare too. They're asking to show something that can showcase the students' skills to viewers..."

"But the number of students appearing is only 50? Is it because it's a 4-week pilot program..."

"They'll send a notice to 3rd year students, and the rest will be selected by the production team... Hah. Looking at this, they're asking to have promising rookies apply."

The instructors thoroughly examined the proposal and checked how the variety program would be structured.

Then they discovered students the production team hoped for listed on the last page.

"'We definitely want to cast Ryu Yeonhwa, Noh Euna, and Han Changjin who will debut in the player industry next year'... Have rumors about these kids spread not just in the industry, but to the entertainment world too?"

"I wonder if celebrities will come out of the academy at this rate."

""""Hah....""""

The instructors who were positive about the broadcast soon completely changed expressions and sighed.

Let's say Han Changjin is fine.

The problem was Ryu Yeonhwa and Noh Euna.

"...I don't know much about broadcasting, but we don't need to worry about ratings."

"To be honest, their visuals are no joke. Even I sometimes think I want to be born with faces like theirs."

"Yeah, you might be better off being reborn...gak...!"

"Anyway. It seems like it'll be troublesome in many ways if those two appear on broadcast, so it seems better to talk to them in advance."

The instructors all nodded.

Ryu Yeonhwa and Noh Euna's appearances were famously rumored in the industry.

Not just the industry, but in political and financial circles too.

Especially in Noh Euna's case, engagement proposals even flew to the academy.

...There won't be any problems, right?

The instructors were somewhat worried.

It seemed better to urge the two in advance.

That they should be prepared.

"But broadcasting seems interesting. If there were broadcasts like this, I should have watched them earlier."

Lee Gukjong had no worries.

Not thinking he had stirred up a storm.

Anyway─

"Then we should post a notice."

─Catch Your Player has begun.