Chapter 456
The rush hour had caused the roads to become congested, but one side was completely clear under the supervision of the police.
That happened to be the same road that Jonathan’s vehicle was traversing. The front and back seat were separated by a private partition, and Jonathan was gazing outside of the window with a stern expression.
An unknown emotion overwhelmed him as he observed the police and citizens capturing pictures of his vehicle with their smartphones. He wondered if it was frustration or anger. Images of past hearings and the protesters who had once filled Wall Street with their cheers flashed through his mind.
Although this had temporarily settled, it did not mean that public interest had waned entirely. There were individuals akin to stalkers who resumed their activities on the video platform, now renamed YouTube, and they had gained significant popularity.
The private partition then lowered. It rose again after the attendant in the passenger seat handed Jonathan his tablet PC.
「Jonathan Hunter’s Limousine Racing Through New York. The Awesome Power of Jonathan Hunter.
Kevin Jo. 90K Views. 10 minutes ago」
Jonathan had no change in his expression as he glanced at it. Road control was unavoidable, given the urgency of the situation. As soon as the one-minute video finished, new videos were suggested.
「*Related Video* Jonathan Hunter, Anonymized Trading Trial Imminent… Strong Support vs Slight Criticism.
CNN. 13.92M Views. 3 days ago」
「*Related Video* (Anime) The Hero Who Saved the Earth, The King of Hell Episode
Hunter’s cartoon. 294.41M Views. 5 months ago.」
「*Related Video* The Unbelievable Scale of Jonathan Hunter’s Wealth. 1 Quintillion Dollars???
$10,000,000,000,000,000!!!
TOP of TOP. 29.3M Views. 2 months ago」
「*Related Video* Hearing Highlights 1 (The King of Hell)
Team D. 90.02M Views. 2 months ago」
「*Related Video* China Moving Towards a Completely Free Market System - How Jonathan and Gillian Investment Finance Group are Taking Over China.
David Report. 220K Views. 6 hours ago」
「*Related Video* Is Jonathan Hunter’s New Mansion a Bunker? Is He Preparing for the Apocalypse? What Exactly is Happening in Outer Space?
Mystery world. 14.5M Views. 1 day ago」
Of course, the videos created by the stalkers were not recommended in the list of the related videos, but they could easily be found with a quick search.
「Shocking! We Were All Destined to be Slaves of Jonathan Hunter.
Description: The Worst Conspiracy Ever. The Freemason, Bilderberg Club, and the World Awakened Association. The Reason Why They Are Hiding What Is Happening in Outer Space.
Tree Insider. 339 Views. 1 hour ago」
「This video has been removed due to a violation of YouTube’s terms of service.」
「Account: Tree Insider
This account has been terminated multiple times or severely violated YouTube’s policies, such as spam, misleading behavior, content causing confusion, or other violations of the terms of service.」
These amateurs were not a problem. However, there had been an increase in individuals who packaged provocative statements, just striking the boundaries of YouTube’s policies, and incited controversy with their accumulated fan base. Some did it for personal gain, while others saw it as a desire to enlighten the world.
Anyway, the world now trusted the trashy media of the virtual world more than mainstream media sources due to Sun’s immense patience. They obviously knew why the World Awakened Association was leading the Awakened to enter the other realms. They had to accept it gratefully and adapt to reality.
However, they were too greedy. There were too many people taking advantage of the chaos arising from the turning point of humanity.
“Such scum.”
They were oblivious to how precarious their world was.
Jonathan had urgently viewed the video from outer space that morning, and he was currently heading to the club’s meeting place.
***
Since leaving the suburbs, he had been traveling along a quiet forest path. In the distance, a hotel began to come into view. It was the location where the two conferences of the year were being held, which broke the traditional rule of hosting meetings only once per location in a year.
Jonathan had urgently called the members to gather. As it was impossible to avoid the public’s attention when the world leaders moved simultaneously, Jonathan usually allowed members time to prepare.
Nonetheless, this time was different. He ordered them to attend within 24 hours regardless of the circumstances. It was a command that risked public scrutiny.
As he stepped out of the vehicle, the members who had arrived first came into his view. There weren’t many who had arrived as it was a last-minute order. When they hesitated while looking at Jonathan, a man approached him.
“Mick?”
Jonathan recognized Mick immediately. He used to be a member of Sun’s private group before the Stage of Advent and later operated the club’s cleaner organization. His group was currently cleaning up individuals who stalked the club.
He had never received a direct report about it, but once in a while he found an article about some investigative journalist who had died a mysterious death. This guy seemed to have been behind that.
Mick said, catching Jonathan’s attention, “It is an honor to meet you, the King of Hell. No members have been notified of their absence, and twelve members are in attendance. However, China sent spies during the meeting we just held a few minutes ago.”
“I am aware. If the same happens again, feel free to kill them on the spot,” Jonathan replied and shifted his gaze to Mick’s subordinates.
They were blocking the hotel entrance and patrolling the vicinity, and a few of them were Bsilgols. Jonathan understood why they had accepted the offer of Mick, a non-Awakened. Although they had gone through hell like other Awakened, the scarlet letter ‘Bsilgol’ was branded upon them.
Therefore, they chose to accept Mick’s helping hand instead of entering another world or seeking help from the association. Lucky bastards.
“They have been carefully chosen,” Mick said as he followed Jonathan’s gaze. He originally wanted to recruit citizens of the Savior’s City, but explained that he failed.
Jonathan nodded and walked past him. A cold question hit his back.
“Do civilian journalists also fall under the category for instant kill?”
He replied calmly, “There are no exceptions for anyone, Mick.”
While the club members were arriving, Jonathan did not show himself as he entered his residence.
That night, gunshots were heard from outside the window. It appeared that a club stalker had tried to spy despite the stern warnings from the security agents. Since Jonathan was maintaining his heightened Sense, he could smell the stench of blood from there.
However, compared to what was unfolding before his eyes was basically nothing.
「 5.mp4 」
The title of the video file Jonathan was watching was merely a number. It was the fifth clip that Lee Tae-Han sent while flying to New York. Among the various videos, this one vividly contained the state of the battlefield.
The elves pouring out from the Old One’s gate were not the beings that people would imagine in fantasy. They had lived a military life from an early age, abandoned children who were born with disabilities, and forced their kids to fight to the death against the slave tribe warriors.
They were the same as the battle-focused group like orcs in terms of military nature. The sight of the elves with faces covered in blood and flickering eyes seemed enough to plant nightmares in the public.
Moreover, the S-class items their leaders held destroyed the Awakened and Undead into pieces with every swing. Thus, watching the video was enough to create an illusion as if Jonathan was smelling the blood.
The onslaught of the elves, intoxicated with divinity, was brutal. They seemed to be prepared to shout out for the divinity of Lacryma and the queen, and launch an assault on the human mainland. They looked as if they would open another gate and annihilate humanity.
Therefore, Jonathan chose [5.mp4].
***
Four hours before the meeting was held, the vehicle carrying Lee Tae-Han passed through security. Jonathan, who had been waiting for him to arrive, was staring out the window. He was the last member to arrive.
Unlike previous club meetings, the members were not in accommodations or at the bar. They were all gathered in the courtyard. They were in positions where they could access the situation in outer space. Although the videos would have been from different angles with different titles than the files Jonathan received, the club members must have come across footage of outer space where the great war took place.
The conversation was being led mainly by members from the military sector. It was about whether the second Day of Advent was about to begin or not.
As members swarmed around Lee Tae-Han who had gotten out of the car, Jonathan closed the window. Soon, he could feel Lee Tae-Han approaching. There was a knock on the door, and Lee Tae-Han began to speak as soon as he entered the room.
“Are you sure the gate will not open to our mainland? What has he said to you?”
Jonathan’s face hardened, and then Lee Tae-Han realized his mistake.
“I’m sorry. There are no additional updates from Osiris. He was the same in the last report.”
“If Osiris loses, then we might have to enter outer space.”
Jonathan recalled [3.mp4], which contained the last image of Osiris. It was a video taken when another ancient dragon appeared. Osiris had disappeared into a giant barrier with that dragon, and there had been no news since.
“Odin also met his end while facing the dragon. But Osiris… Osiris’s defeat was expected.”
“No, I believe there is a chance for Osiris.”
“...”
Jonathan stared at Lee Tae-Han, who had suddenly fallen silent. Lee Tae-Han’s face was clearly saying that Odin should have been here.
Jonathan ignored him and continued speaking, “The dungeon may open, but we shouldn’t assume that a gate will directly open to the mainland. Sun has been focusing on preventing that all along.”
Why else would Sun have accepted the deal with Doom Kaos?! Doom Kaos had put the safety of the mainland on the scale, which was something the Old One could not offer. However, what if a gate opened to the mainland by any chance?
Excluding the shock that Sun would experience, honestly, this was what Jonathan had hoped for.
“Let’s start the meeting now.”
Even as he said that, Jonathan did not get up from his chair. Instead, he turned around and faced his laptop. Lee Tae-Han looked over Jonathan’s shoulder at what was happening on the screen. Jonathan was signing into YouTube, and he already had an account.
「Select file to upload or drag and drop video file」
「Public」
「5.mp4」
“King of Hell….”
Lee Tae-Han exclaimed in surprise. He knew exactly what the file was that Jonathan was about to upload on YouTube. However, Jonathan did not stop.
「Title: The Truth」
「Description: If you wish to know the truth about what is happening in outer space, be prepared to handle it.」
「Would you like to upload this video?」
Click!
「Uploaded.」
Lee Tae-Han had neither the time nor the authority to stop Jonathan. He even looked at it again with wide eyes, but the video Jonathan uploaded was indeed the one that showed the situation in outer space.
「The Truth
Description: If you wish to know the truth about what is happening in outer space, be prepared to handle it.
Jonathan Hunter. No Views. 0 minutes ago」