Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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Chapter 373: Cold But Warm (3)

-Sa… It's beyond imagination.

Golem Taru of the 023rd Team scratched his forehead.

He was witnessing something that defied all his common sense—a scene unfolding before his eyes that should have been impossible.

-Is it the 004th Team?

-Hmm, I’ll buy just two for now. 010 and 033.

-Handshake... Why is the 023rd Team so expensive?

As confidently predicted by Jeong Yeongwoo07 earlier, his paid handshakes were selling like hotcakes.

“Why is the 023rd Team's handshake expensive? Because there’s a premium for being ranked first overall.”

Yeongwoo answered the customer’s question with a sly grin.

But everyone implicitly knew the real reason why the 023rd Team's handshakes were so expensive.

What would happen if the ‘rank-seeking challengers’ who came here filled every possible handshake opportunity?

At that point, the determining factor for entering the ranks would be the handshake with the 023rd Team, which no one had bought so far due to its exorbitant price.

In short, Jeong Yeongwoo07 had orchestrated everything.

-...You seem to see very far—much further than anyone else, Yeongwoo.

Recognizing the grand scope of Yeongwoo’s plan, Aldo muttered nervously, and Amana let out a deep sigh.

-With schemers as wicked and cunning as these, how can the universe ever find balance...?

Golem Taru added with a hesitant expression.

-But still...

-But still, what?

-At least for this promotion match, I think balance has been achieved thanks to Yeongwoo.

-What did you just say?

Amana’s feathers immediately stood on end in shock.

But Taru continued with his argument.

-If it weren’t for the new rules created by Yeongwoo, countless planetary representatives would have died. Things have taken a strange turn, but in the end, it’s true that many lives were saved.

-...…

It was a fact too difficult to refute, leaving Amana unable to say anything.

-And isn’t it the same with this handshake event? Yeongwoo has the ability to harm all the challengers, but instead, he chose to just take their money.

-That’s true.

Amana finally nodded in agreement.

As Taru pointed out, the only things being exchanged here were money and handshakes.

In a place where swords and lives should have been at stake, it was a curious shift.

So, even if Jeong Yeongwoo07 had initiated all this with malicious intent, the outcome leaned more toward good than evil.

-Then... does that mean this could actually be considered good karma?

-Only the system will know for sure.

Taru looked up at the sky.

And during that moment.

Beep-beep-beep!

With a sharp signal sound, a system notification appeared above the promotion arena.

「1 hour remains until the promotion match ends.」

Immediately, the participants on the ground widened their eyes and looked up at the sky.

-Huh?

-What? One hour?

-Is it already that late?

What did those words imply?

It meant there was only one hour left to purchase handshakes.

-Ah, a handshake! I’ll buy one more!

-We’ll take two!

-The 023rd Team handshake—is it still 100 million?

As expected, participants who hadn’t bought enough handshakes scrambled to make their purchases.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo summoned his henchmen to block the 'products' and shouted:

“Starting now, we’re launching a special sale!”

-A s-special sale?

-A sale, you say…

Typically, a special sale implied discounts.

But Yeongwoo’s sale was a little different.

“From this moment, the 023rd Team handshake is 120 million, and all other teams are 60 million karma.”

-What?!

-120 million now?

-This is outrageous! Isn’t this profiteering?

A sudden 20% price hike.

Naturally, the prospective buyers protested.

But Yeongwoo’s ruthless sales tactics didn’t end there.

“Profiteering? What nonsense. Starting now, handshake prices will increase by 20% every 10 minutes. So right now, it’s the cheapest they’ll ever be.”

-You insane bastard.

-Every 10 minutes? A 20% hike?

-You think we’ll fall for such blatant trickery? Enough is enough!

But with only four planetary promotion slots available, most of the participants were desperate to claim one.

And knowing this all too well, Yeongwoo smirked as he slammed a henchman into the ground and declared:

“As planetary representatives and guardians, shouldn’t you first think about what you can do for your own people?”

-...What?

-Huh?

-What’s he saying now?

“You’ve made it this far to this promotion arena. No matter what, shouldn’t you leave here with some sort of achievement?”

Slowly, Yeongwoo raised his hand and pointed toward the sky.

More specifically, toward the vague direction of each participant’s home planet.

“What I’m selling is not just planetary promotion but your glory itself. Yes, 100 million, 200 million karma—it’s not a small amount of money. But the glory you’ll gain in return will be equally immense.”

Clenching his hand encased in his Vesedel armor, Yeongwoo looked out at the crowd of planetary representatives, their eyes gleaming as if dreaming.

That was right.

Could there be anything more glorious for a planetary representative than to return home with the news of promotion?

Spending some money here for that glory wasn’t such a great sacrifice after all.

Moreover:

“Don’t forget. The price increases by 20% every 10 minutes. And it takes time to actually handshake too.”

-...You…

-Ah.

In other words, even if they tried to buy a handshake now, their turn might be delayed, and the price could rise in the meantime.

“I’ll say it again. Promotion is cheapest right now.”

As Yeongwoo finished his sentence, countless planetary representatives rushed toward him. Not to shake his hand, but to purchase a planetary upgrade opportunity at the lowest price.

-Alright! I'll buy it. Shake hands with me!

-Let us go first! We'll pay for handshake 023 immediately!

-How much would it cost to buy everything you're selling? Could you prioritize them by price for us?

"No. I will sell handshakes in the order of arrival."

Even when someone proposed buying all the handshakes in exchange for moving up in line, Yeongwoo stuck to his principles, which only caused the line of eager buyers to grow longer.

From the earlier conversation, one thing was clear:

‘The sooner you line up, the higher your chances of buying a handshake within 10 minutes.’

This statement had been proven true.

-Then let’s proceed quickly!

-Hurry up and start selling handshakes! We don’t have time!

Participants, holding wads of cash, urged those in the front of the line to purchase quickly. With a wide grin, Yeongwoo announced:

"The handshake sales... begin now!"

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

w

* * *

「2 minutes remaining until the promotion battle ends.」

Time flew by like an arrow.

For Yeongwoo, it felt as though he had spent the entire hour just issuing promissory notes.

And indeed, that was mostly the case.

‘This is crazy. So, this is how you do business.’

It was the first proper business Yeongwoo had conducted since Earth connected with the universe.

Yeongwoo blinked as he looked at the dense list of promissory notes displayed on the left side of his vision.

「Total Promissory Note Value」

| 2.46 billion Karma.

And the most remarkable part?n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

This was achieved without seemingly increasing any "evil karma."

In other words, Yeongwoo learned for the first time that, depending on the situation, it was possible to run a "violent business" without resorting to outright malice.

‘Chairman, are you watching this? Proof that even righteous violence is possible!’

Of course, the buyers who had grudgingly purchased the exorbitantly priced handshakes would likely never agree that this was "righteous violence," but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

After all, everyone here would return to their home planets alive, wouldn’t they?

「1 minute remaining until the promotion battle ends.」

The 1-minute warning finally appeared.

Yeongwoo scanned the crowd and spoke.

"Thank you, everyone, from the bottom of my heart! The promissory notes you issued are guaranteed by the universe, so as previously disclosed, failure to pay within two weeks will result in imprisonment. But two weeks is a long time, so I’m sure you can build at least a basic spacecraft by then."

Then, Yeongwoo dramatically pointed a finger toward the sky.

Zap!

"And tomorrow at 3:23 PM Earth time, there will be a major event. If any of you already own a spacecraft, please visit Earth at that time. There will be plenty to see and business opportunities to seize."

「30 seconds remaining until the promotion battle ends.」

"Once again, thank you! Complaints regarding this transaction will be politely declined, but inquiries about new deals are always welcome. If you need help, look for Jeong Yeongwoo07 on Earth."

With those words, Yeongwoo tucked his weapon into his belt and bowed deeply to everyone.

At that moment, three representatives from Team 023 cautiously approached Yeongwoo and asked:

-So… is this really the end?

-Are we parting ways now?

"Why? Are you feeling regretful about leaving?"

-N-not really…

-We’re just wondering if it’s really okay for us to end as the top team.

Swish.

One of them pointed to the leaderboard displayed above the promotion grounds in real-time.

「Overall Rank: 1st – Team 023」

| 2nd: Team 004 [19 handshakes]

| 3rd: Team 049 [18 handshakes]

| 4th: Team 006 [17 handshakes]

| 5th: Team 033 [17 handshakes]

"Yes. Unless someone takes me down within the next 30 seconds, we’ll finish in first place."

Of course, less than 30 seconds remained.

「10 seconds remaining until the promotion battle ends.」

The countdown had already reached the single digits.

Yeongwoo turned to the crowd and shouted:

"Does anyone want to change the rankings one last time? Just two more handshakes could get you to 5th place!"

This prompted Team 033, currently in 5th place, to scream in near-panic.

-W-what are you saying?!

-You can’t change rankings at the last minute!

-Do you have no sense of decency?!

「5 seconds remaining.」

Despite Yeongwoo's final sales pitch, no additional buyers emerged.

Everyone who could afford it had already bought handshakes.

‘Damn, I guess this is it.’

As Yeongwoo showed a frustrated expression, the promotion battle countdown dropped below 3 seconds.

「2 seconds remaining.」

And finally…

「1 second remaining.」

『Promotion battle ends.』

"Thank you for your hard work…!"

With Yeongwoo's declaration, time froze across the promotion grounds.

A new system message appeared exclusively in front of Team 023.

「You have passed the 2nd trial of planetary promotion as the overall 1st place team.」

[Team 023, Overall Rank 1st]

| Total Score: 133/100

-Bonus 20 points for balance score.

-Bonus 5 points for first kill.

-Bonus 5 points for creativity from the planetary judge.

-Bonus 3 points from Team 9’s salary negotiator.

‘Huh? Team 9? Aren’t they the ones who took bribes?’

In the frozen time, Yeongwoo found it odd that Team 9 had awarded bonus points.

He had no idea that Team 9 had successfully negotiated higher salaries thanks to him.

And then…

Flash!

「As the 1st place team, you will now receive special benefits for the 2nd trial.」

‘Oh… finally.’

「However, before choosing your benefits, please evaluate your team members.」

‘Evaluate my team?’

「Among the following three team members, who do you believe contributed the least to passing this promotion trial?」

[Prince Aldo from Doatel]

[Guardian Amana of the Sacred Patrol]

[Taroo, the Last Hope of Pigot]

「The team member with the most votes will receive a downgraded reward and will have a lower chance of being matched with you in similar dungeons.」

‘What… So they’re imposing a tiered reward system on the same team? That’s harsh.’

Even the “worst of the worst” promotions left Yeongwoo stunned. But there was no avoiding the choice.

The next message appeared:

「If you do not select another team member within 10 seconds, you will automatically vote for yourself.」

‘Damn it.’

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

w