Chapter 233
To say Korea’s government had fallen into chaos would be an understatement. Too much had happened in the ten days following Kang Jae-Hyeok’s rise in status.
“We need to strip him of his National Treasure candidacy status immediately!”
“No need to bring him to court. His crimes are clear; we ought to send the military to put him down.”
“The killings that took place during his candidate exam could be dismissed as accidents, but what about the rest? He illegally intervened in the Association’s president election, killing nine of the ten participating branch managers. He destroyed a military prison, causing hundreds of billions of won in property damage. And he then even killed General Cha Seung-Min! It’s clear what’s going on. Kang Jae-Hyeok is nothing but a young killer, abusing his status as a National Treasure candidate to wreak havoc and death. Are we going to sit idly by like this?”
A young killer... The moniker seemed to fit Kang Jae-Hyeok perfectly. Wherever the youth went, death always followed in his wake. He made Kang Dae-Seong’s and Kang Hyeon-Ah’s crimes look like child’s play.
“Not even the Yaksha treated his opponents with such barbarity,” concluded the politician.
Of course, in the world of players, the strong ate the weak. So, provided there was just cause, the government and society at large tolerated some level of battle and killing. After all, ordinary citizenry relied on players for protection, so without some flexibility, the government would sooner drive away high-level players—falling to gate outbreaks or invading countries—than achieve “peace” in the streets.
That said, there were limits to what they could tolerate. The government could still afford to come down hard on some players if need be—that was true in Korea or in any other country, and players knew this. Therefore, they usually restrained themselves from killing and acted with consideration for their impact on society at large. Even the Yaksha avoided killing recklessly despite occupying a high position. Indeed, many influential figures had stood in the Yaksha’s way at one point or another, but the Yaksha had often restrained himself, knowing that if he killed them outright, the result would be public unrest and chaotic infighting as organizations scrambled to fill the power vacuum left behind.
Of course, the Yaksha’s “merciful” solution was to only beat people until they were half dead...
A sharp-faced woman with dense white streaks in her hair looked at the people around the table, all of whom had flushed faces. She lingered a moment before speaking her thoughts.
“The Yaksha didn’t go so far because he didn’t have to. Until eight years ago, Korea revolved around the Yaksha. His words were the truth, and his will was the law. So there was no need for him to get blood on his hands.”
The woman spoke the truth.