Surviving Among the Entities

I stomp the accelerator.

[Aaack!]
[Save me!]

I shift the clutch and turn the steering wheel.

[This isn’t racing!]
[Aaack! Aaaaack!]

Using centrifugal force, I tilt the vehicle body.
I make sharp turns with hard braking and leap over ravines with sudden acceleration.

[Run!]
[What the hell is that! How is a car flying around!?]
[And it keeps driving even after being crushed by a building!]

I freely maneuver the steering wheel with one hand.
With the other, I bring a cigarette to my lips and light it.

“Didn’t they say flight mode consumes a lot of fuel?”

Ending flight mode, I grip the steering wheel tightly as the vehicle falls back to the ground.

‘This is rather fun.’

With one wheel landing on shattered steel beams,
at the precise timing, I turn the steering wheel while alternating acceleration and hard braking, allowing the vehicle to smoothly ride the beams back onto the road.

‘It feels like I’ve become the vehicle itself.’

In martial arts, it’s called merging with one’s sword, so would this be merging with my car?

‘I thought the driving ability granted by the Quest Ticket was useless, but it seems I was mistaken.’

Just not safe driving.
The virtual city created by the Street Racing Gang had already become an expanse of wasteland.

“I merely wanted to enjoy fair racing.”
[Hiiiii!]
“Why is this phenomenon occurring?”

I forcefully depressed my right foot on the accelerator.
While keeping my left foot on the brake, ready to stop at any time, I tried to overtake one of the Street Racing Gang members, but by the time I came to my senses, I had already struck him.

[Kuhuck!?]

The Street Racing Gang member I sent flying into the air dispersed into dust and vanished.

“He must have achieved Buddhahood.”

Was it the effect of Dried Friendship?
Or did my driving ability contain the power to make even entities vanish?
For now, I didn’t know.

‘I couldn’t drive very well originally, but it wasn’t to this extent?’

At most, I would damage a few guard rails and jump over some cliffs, ordinary levels.
Of course, I had destroyed an independent dimension before, but back then I had the Foundation’s vehicle assistance, and this time was the same.
However, I clearly felt my skills had improved drastically compared to then.

“Back then, the car would’ve been wrecked at this level.”

Now, there wasn’t a single scratch.
As I brought a new cigarette to my lips and focused on the street racing, I thought:

“What is the definition of driving well?”

Is following traffic laws and driving the definition of driving well?
Is simply moving along predetermined roads considered driving well?

[This bastard! This isn’t racing……. Kuhuck!]
[You madman! Don’t come! Don’t come any closer!]
[We’re ghosts, but how are you killing……!]

Before that, what is the definition of doing something well?

“Doing well is how well one can conform to the criteria.”

Studying well means solving problems well.
Doing sports well means achieving superior records within set rules compared to others.
Drawing well means drawing pictures adhering to set themes that resonate with people.

“However, those are merely ordinary criteria.”

Those who truly study well go beyond solving problems to create new rules.
Those who truly excel at sports make competitions obsolete by adding new rules.
Those who truly draw well pioneer new genres that future artists follow.

“Perhaps I am driving well.”

The world simply does not recognize it.
In reality, I have never harmed myself through driving all this time.

“My driving ability that excelled in terms of survival rather than rules has been enhanced as the world changed.”

Through the blindfolded girl, my physical abilities and senses were enhanced.
They were also enhanced through Dried Friendship.
And now, further enhanced through the Quest Ticket.

“If we assume my driving ability is a negative number, no matter what positive number is multiplied, the result will still be negative.”

The direction differs, but the absolute value has increased, so the Quest Ticket’s enhancement was a success?

“Is this why I can no longer drive in cities without Sarang’s help?”

Buildings collapsed one by one.
Some were brought down by me, others by the Street Racing Gang.

[Die!]
“Well, I’m satisfied for now.”

The past is useless.
The future is filled with uncertainty.
Only the present is meaningful.

“Carpe diem.”

So I will enjoy this very moment.

They were predators.

[Hihihi! Should we try here this time?]
[Ah! A city I like! Wide roads and plenty of mountain paths, perfect for street racing!]

They formed prides like lions.
They ran like cheetahs, trampled like elephants, and lived like hyenas.

[You there! You seem qualified as a street racer!]
[Bothered by our noise? Why? Want to drive us out? Then beat us in a street race!]
[If you win, we’ll leave this place. But if you lose, you’ll become one of us.]

Their hunting grounds were the prairies called cities.
Their prey was the arrogance of those who challenged them.
They bred by chewing on the defeated, assimilating them.

[How does it feel? From today, you’re one of us!]
[Ooh! The feeling is the highest high! If I knew it would feel like this, I would’ve become one long ago! What a waste of life!]

Even the assimilated enjoyed street racing splendidly as Street Racing Gang members.

[We are hunters.]
[We do not lose.]
[We are the strong.]

They thought this life would continue forever.
Since there would be no living person capable of defeating them in a race where they controlled the track, flew through the skies, and were undying.

[Kuhuck, kuhuck!]

That’s what they thought.
Until they met Seung-hoon today.

[Hurry, hurry across the finish line!]

One of the Street Racing Gang members floored the accelerator madly.
A flaming skeleton riding a flaming motorcycle, his comrades called him the ‘Ghost Rider.’

[Just need to cross the finish line!]

But there were no more comrades left to call him by that name.

‘There’s no way a living person can beat us! I’ll ambush him from behind!’

The one called ‘Fire Sonic’ tried to ambush the opponent but got pulled into the rear and turned to dust.

‘I, I’ll run away from here!’

‘The Youngest Son of the Tofu Shop’ fled through another course but was crushed by the opponent falling from the sky before he could leave the city, ending his life.

‘What’s the point of going one by one! Let’s all charge together!’

The one called ‘Completed Big Rigs’ led his comrades in a joint assault but they were all struck down and vanished.

‘Bury him!’

Even when collapsing buildings on top of him,

‘Swallow him!’

Even when splitting the ground open to force him inside,

‘The sky! The answer is the sky!’

Even when fleeing to the sky, the result was the same.
The opponent emerged through the dust of collapsed buildings, surfaced from underground like a mole, and freely soared like a jet fighter with an engine strapped on.

[Damn it! Just where did you get that car!]

Fortunately, thanks to his comrades’ sacrifices, he was now right in front of the finish line.

[Just need to cross!]

If even one member of the Street Racing Gang won the race, according to the rules, the opponent would become one of them.
In the distance, the checkered finish line deployed in front of the Maaeyaksa Buddha Rock Carving came into view.

[Yes! Our victory!]

The Street Racing Gang cheered out loud.
Looking back, the opponent’s lights were visible in the distance.

[Uhahaha! In the end, you’ll become one of us too……]

It was then that a belated realization struck.

‘Huh? Fuck? I have to live with that guy?’

Having to street race through cities every day with that monstrous bastard who destroys everything?
Even if they recruited new comrades or created a copied city elsewhere,
if that guy raced through once, everything would be destroyed?

[Every day will be a constant struggle for survival……]

He gripped the brakes.
With a high-pitched engine roar, bright headlights illuminated him.

[I don’t want to live like that.]

With arms spread wide, he embraced the light.

[Friends, I’ll be there soon. Let’s race again in the afterlife!]

“Phew! Thank you! Thanks to you, the fog problem has been resolved!”

The Street Racing Gang issue was resolved.
By eliminating the last remaining member right before the finish line, the entity itself vanished.

“It’s a shame, I was curious about what would happen if I won the race.”

With this, my victory against the Street Racing Gang in a race will remain an eternal mystery.
Afterward, I went through a rather troublesome process to return.
First, I visited Sarang Manufacturing’s 1st Factory to recharge Sarang, then took a taxi back to Daegu to retrieve the vehicle.

“I want to drive myself, but it can’t be helped. Sarang, autonomous driving please.”
[Understood.]

On the way home,
whenever I placed my hands on the steering wheel, Sarang kept stopping me.

[Seung-hoon, they say that being born into this world is already a sin.]
“You’re referring to the Christian concept of original sin?”
[Yes. A religious perspective indoctrinating fear and dependency, preaching the prophet’s benevolence for proselytizing purposes, but original sin has indeed been observed.]
“Where?”
[In Seung-hoon’s driving ability. Please take your hands off the steering wheel.]

Ah, so Sarang can be this blunt.
Her reaction was rather amusing, so I repeated it a few times, causing us to pass by the rest area.

“I wanted to eat some potatoes. And smoke a cigarette too.”

I did not stop at a single rest area until arriving home.

“How vexing.”

It had been several days since returning home.
Just as I was about to lie on the sofa for some rest, the doorbell rang.

“Sarang? Who is that calling for me?”
[It’s not me. There are no current calls for Seung-hoon.]

Then what is the source of this ringing?

[Kwak!]

Recalling the sound, I remembered where I had heard it before.

“The Karma Call Center.”

An entity that allows one to check their karma to determine if they will go to hell or heaven after death.
With so many applicants, even after applying, a long time would pass before being connected, so one had to apply first to receive a call from them.

“But I didn’t apply?”

I had not applied twice since the previous consultation.
I brought over the Karma Call Center phone I had left in the bedroom.

“Hello?”

Ah! Seung-hoon! Hello? This is the Karma Call Center’s Executive Director, Initial River Great King, long time no see.
“Yes, long time no see, Great King. Have you been well?”

I’ve been well, but hell as a whole has not. Recently, wicked people have been steadily pouring in, you know? About 20 per day? If the number was higher, we could hire additional staff, but this ambiguous increase has made that impossible. Not that it matters to me since I’m in charge of the call center.

After some small talk with her, we got to the main topic.

“So what was the reason for calling? I haven’t applied for a karma consultation since last time.”

Ah, you see, for first-time applicants, if there’s a sudden drastic change in their karma, we separately contact them to provide care.

Now I understand why she called.

“Last time, something happened where I used up all my positive karma.”

Ah, so there was a transcendent being who used positive karma? I wondered why it suddenly disappeared. But positive karma isn’t the problem.
“Then what is?”

Yes, it’s negative karma that’s the problem.

The Great King explained my karma to me.

If I check the secret logs, Seung-hoon, you accumulated quite a lot of positive karma. However, most of the incidents that fulfilled your positive karma were linked to transcendent beings, so positive karma did not directly accumulate. If it had, you might have become one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
“Just knowing that what I did counted as positive karma is enough for me.”

But this time, you also accumulated negative karma? Not with a transcendent being’s help, but negative karma you directly accumulated yourself.
“What negative karma?”

It was only after asking that I remembered.

Distributing obscene materials online. Didn’t I tell you? I let it slide during puberty, but as an adult…….

The traces of the debate I had engaged in.

Not only did you just post it, but you distributed it to every online community. Because of that, an astounding amount of negative karma accumulated.
“Even if the process involved a transcendent being’s help, negative karma still accumulates normally unlike positive karma?”

Of course. If that were the case, someone who accumulated negative karma by exploiting transcendent beings would be free of sin?

Positive karma is impossible, but negative karma is possible, huh.
Since Sarang’s help was involved, I wondered how it would be calculated, but it all became my karma.

“So how much accumulated?”

Your negative karma subtracted all your positive karma, leaving about 10 million accumulated?

Since Sarang had helped with the debate, an enormous amount accumulated.

At this rate, you’re guaranteed to go to hell, specifically the Avici Hell.
“Will I fall right away?”

Judgement only comes after death. As a counselor for the Hell Call Center, I contacted you hoping to provide a remedy.

She then asked me:

Seung-hoon, don’t you want to have all your negative karma remitted?
“Of course.”

And she made a proposal.

How about saving the world?
“What kind of task?”

Surprisingly, it was a familiar one.

You may or may not know, but the afterlife is not just one world. Though I can’t reveal the confidential details, this side is a bit complicated.

As for the task itself,

Among them, there’s a group called the Lucifer Company?

And the target.

The task is to interfere with their activities!