Ch.627Chapter 24. Real Estate Never Die (5)

At that moment, two men were quietly strolling through a certain historical museum in Busan.

“Association President.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“You know, I still can’t forget that day.”

President Tae Chae-jin gazed wistfully at the footage playing on the monitor before him.

“It took just three months to build that massive bridge connecting Busan to an island in the middle of the East Sea. We’re not talking about some small village bridge—this was a four-lane highway bridge completed in just three months.”

“And that’s…”

“Yes. Of those three months, the actual ‘framework’ of the bridge took less than a week to construct.”

Rumble, rumble.

With vibrations, the bridge began to rise from the waters of the East Sea.

Even the camera filming from the helicopter shook as the concrete bridge emerged from the water, resembling an ancient ruin rising in a fantasy film.

“I’m no construction expert, but wouldn’t just building the framework take about two years?”

“Two years would be optimistic. Building something like that in the deep East Sea would normally require at least ten years, to be generous.”

“Yet an S-rank ability user accomplished it. At not even ten years of age.”

The President traced his finger over the museum information panel while tapping his Taegeuk Watch.

Static crackled.

A video began playing through mirroring.

In it, a girl with dark brown hair was surrounded by several men in suits, examining dozens of miniature models.

-…Hero! You need to memorize all of this to connect Busan to Sejong Island! …The fate of our Republic of Korea rests on your shoulders!

Hearing the architects’ words, the girl gripped the miniatures with a sense of duty, examining them from every angle.

A child who should have been playing with fidget toys alongside friends in elementary school was instead forced to memorize bridge models with architects until 1 AM, all in the name of serving the country and its people.

“…If people knew that this had been happening since she was five years old, that they made her work on construction projects until dawn, the world would be outraged.”

“It would immediately become an international child abuse scandal.”

“Indeed. Even though they were doing similar things themselves.”

That was in the past.

Everyone did it.

That’s the story from the past perspective, but things are different now.

In the age of superpowers, civil society has matured, and ability users are no longer forced to show loyalty through service and passion for the country and its citizens.

It also helped that they could no longer be forced to do so.

“Association President. What do you think? Someone who suffered like this and was barely reborn in America. Is there really no possibility that ‘Choi Ho-jung’ won’t act?”

“…She probably won’t plant bombs underground or anything like that. She wouldn’t need to—she could just grab the Taebaek Mountain range and shake it, and everything would collapse.”

“What a terrifying existence. An S-rank… no, an S+ rank ability user.”

The President displayed another image on his Taegeuk Watch.

“Should we call her ‘Miss Akos’ now? Or like Red Rider Yoon Hye-ra, should we call her ‘Black Rider’?”

“You can just call her by her original name, ‘Hundun,’ as you used to.”

The monitor displayed an ID photo of a mature woman who appeared to be the grown-up version of the girl from the earlier video.

Her hair was lighter than dark brown, almost yellow, with some strands dyed blonde.

“One of America’s Four Generals.”

It was a profile photo officially sent to the Korean Hero Association.

“Association President. Do the four executives of the Syndicate… do they officially have any ‘murder convictions’ yet?”

“No, they don’t have murder convictions. …At least officially they’re claiming ‘it wasn’t them.'”

“I almost wish they did.”

The President displayed other profiles with a bitter smile.

“How burning with revenge they must be. The previous and the one before that… Presidents who deliberately concealed everything, though I know roughly how it all went down.”

“I heard they’re currently revising the law on access to records by pressuring the lawmakers who were hiding in Haeguneul.”

“Yes. That’s possible now that Haeguneul is gone. Soon… the entire nation will know about the terrible history of oppression against ability users, what some called ‘Pandora’s Box.'”

The kind of classified information that could turn national pride into self-loathing and disgust.

“Association President.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“After experiencing all that, why do you think she came back to Korea and is doing so much for the country?”

“Well…”

Step, step.

The two men arrived at a particular spot.

The central plaza inside the museum, the main exhibition hall.

“First, she probably has a sense of duty to serve the country from a young age.”

Below the glass floor spread a bird’s-eye view of “Neo-Busan,” a planned city.

As the Association President manipulated the control console, the view changed to “Busan in 1997.”

“She knows that it was the politicians and Haeguneul who exploited them that were bad, not the Korean people.”

Rumble, rumble.

As he operated the console, Busan of 1997 began to transform as if in a time-lapse.

Past the year 2000, at some point.

The roads and building structures of Busan had instantly transformed into something reminiscent of New York’s Manhattan.

“…Above all, it’s her homeland.”

“Homeland…”

The President shook his head.

“American nationality but born in Korea. This isn’t some documentary about an overseas adoptee returning to their birth country to work, what is this?”

“But thanks to that, we…”

“Yes. We’ve been able to acquire the redeveloped Gwanbuk region in a Manhattan-like style while just sitting back.”

The President looked around, then tapped his Taegeuk Watch.

A holographic image appeared above his watch, showing data about the northern part of the Korean Peninsula—the Gwanbuk region.

“Applying the development data from the Rocky Mountains to the Taebaek Mountains… I’m not sure if this is right.”

“But Mr. President.”

The Association President clenched his fist and pointed to the 3D planned cities and railways rising in the image.

“The tax cost is zero.”

“……”

“Well, to be precise…”

“Patriotic Master Craftsman support funds.”

The President looked up at the ceiling.

“…It’s a blessing that the master craftsman is Korean.”

* * *

Roads laid without taxes.

Railways laid without taxes.

Apartments built without taxes.

The entire Gwanbuk region redeveloped in a more sophisticated form than the cities near the Rocky Mountains—all without taxes.

Would any organization refuse such conditions?

Especially when they still pay their regular taxes, and after 50 years, everything becomes the property of the Korean government?

Moreover, from an individual’s perspective…

“People who move into Geumgang Doji State Kaosia Complex 1 will receive ownership of their apartments after 50 years. Until then, they just pay usage fees to the government, like rent.”

“You guys… seriously.”

Baek Seol-hee alternated her gaze between me and Seong Ji-eun, letting out a hollow laugh.

“I thought you normally just thought about how to beat villains or how to make patriotism more fun, but you had this kind of plan all along?”

“……”

Seong Ji-eun silently raised her head slightly.

“Hmm… judging by your lack of self-praise, this wasn’t your idea, was it?”

“Ugh.”

Baek Seol-hee immediately caught the true meaning behind her silence.

“The planning was done by the Syndicate’s collaborators, right? You just provide the ‘methods’ with your abilities.”

“…That’s right. Tch. How did you know?”

“No matter how capable you all are, I didn’t think you could come up with such a large-scale city development plan in just a few years. It’s obvious.”

“…Well.”

Seong Ji-eun twisted the corner of her mouth with a meaningful expression.

“Someone could design such a planned city in just one night, you know?”

“……”

“Baek Seol-hee. No matter how much you aim for first place, you know you’ll never reach it, right?”

“I told you I’m not aiming for first place. But being ‘first’ among heroes wouldn’t be so bad.”

“…Hmph, who says I want to be a hero.”

She had tried to bring someone else in to irritate Baek Seol-hee, but Seong Ji-eun just ended up annoyed by Baek Seol-hee’s counterattack and shut her mouth.

“Anyway, to summarize, there’s no construction cost for redeveloping these lands. There might be costs for raw materials or transportation, but at least the cost of erecting the entire apartment buildings is zero.”

If nothing else, the “building construction” itself requires absolutely no labor costs.

“When I was young, I built buildings and laid roads out of patriotism and a sense of duty. But you know what? That little girl who would do anything for just a piece of candy is dead. This country killed her, and now I’m America’s hero—the Black Rider.”

“What part of you is black?”

“That’s none of your concern. Anyway, as an American, I have no intention of using my ability for free. So…”

Seong Ji-eun twisted the corner of her mouth and grabbed my arm, linking it with hers.

“In exchange for redeveloping the Gwanbuk region, I bought three nights with the patriotic master craftsman.”

“What… did you say…”

“The Republic of Korea sold Do Ji-hwan. To me.”

“…That’s what happened.”

That’s right.

The construction costs.

Were replaced with a bribe.

“The more Do Ji-hwan strengthens his loyalty to the country, the more apartments will be built in the Gwanbuk region.”