I Regressed but the World Didn’t Fall Apart chapter 3

His Debut (1) – [It Kills Two]

003.

Tap-

“…Oh no.”

The door closing quickly.

It felt like a mistake.

Living with curses before the regression made him forget.

He should’ve been more careful with his words in front of his younger sibling.

Lee Jihan’s trembling pupils visible through the closing gap of the door.

She seemed clearly shaken.

“Did I… never curse at this time before?”

Who knows.

I couldn’t remember well.

It was expected.

From Yido-hyuk’s perspective, it was an event from 20 years ago.

But come to think of it, even though there was a 7-year age gap, I tried to be as careful as possible in front of my younger sister.

“I should apologize later.”

With that thought, Yido-hyuk buried himself deep in bed again.

I don’t want to do anything.

I just want to flow down like water.

That was Yido-hyuk’s true feeling at the moment.

“I keep feeling irritated.”

Was it because of the 20 years lived since the outbreak that his mouth had become foul?

Or was it because of the current situation?

Thinking about the so-called ‘God’ made curses want to spill out of his mouth.

Is there really a God?

If there were aliens, there might be.

Perhaps the unknown force that awakened humanity was the power of God.

The ability to regress, the fact that the regressed world did not perish.

It could all have been the power of God.

If that’s the case…

“I’ll curse even if I hear the bastard. At least to me.”

Yido-hyuk did not hesitate to commit blasphemy.

After overcoming everything, after numerous sacrifices, he had barely regressed.

And yet, there was no world to be saved.

No, even so, it’s fine as it is.

[Loan Balance: 22,328,045 KRW]

“······.”

Sweat trickled down Yido-hyuk’s spine as he checked the loan balance.

“When will it all be paid off?”

This was also halved after much effort.

Selling accumulated survival goods through second-hand trading.

Selling cigarettes bit by bit in the labor market.

Above all,

“Long time no see.”

“Oh. Our esteemed customer is here again? Why, do you need more money? This time, the collateral is on the eye side. Is your eyesight good?”

“No, that’s not it. I found out that there is something called the legal maximum interest rate.”

“hahahaha. What are you saying, our benefactor? Hey guys, we need to work for a living.”

“Well… it might be better not to say such things.”

A few months ago, Yido-hyuk visited places like Loan Korea, 365 Help Loan, and Loan Brothers, each borrowing 10 million KRW.

To sum up the situation at that time, it went something like this.

Illegal financial institutions charging more than the legal maximum interest rate of 20% set by law.

Thus, after several tense encounters with them, they managed to reduce the outstanding loan balance owed to the illegal loan sharks.

Of course, there was no scenario where they would go and apologize a few times, saying, “Sorry for the trouble, boss!” and have the loan fully repaid like in a third-rate novel.

It was more of a back-and-forth of exchanging punches between them (although if we exclude a few punches thrown by Lee Dohyuk, it was mainly him doing the hitting).

They could have let it slide with remarks like, “We’re even since I got a scratch here too. Plus, you guys were armed, so it’s considered assault with a deadly weapon. Don’t the gangsters have any manners?”

But in a country governed by the rule of law like South Korea, it was impossible to simply erase the meticulously signed loan contract by Lee Dohyuk and pretend it never happened.

The best course of action was just to receive back 20% of the initial loan amount and adjust the exorbitant interest rate, which had soared well over 100%, to the legal maximum.

Anyway.

When you pay off debts, there’s nothing left in your hands.

That’s why loans, especially from loan sharks, are terrifying.

There’s a saying that it’s better to starve and go bankrupt than to borrow from loan sharks for nothing.

…But then why did you borrow from them knowing that?

“Because I didn’t know!”

Even though I knew loan sharks were scary,

I didn’t know the world wouldn’t collapse!

I didn’t know I would really have to pay off the debt.

From Noble mtl dot com

“No, if I knew, would I have borrowed?”

So.

Lee Dohyuk’s plan, or more precisely, the strategy that emerged after discussions with other members of the secret society, was as follows:

“First, borrow money as needed.”

“Money?”

“Yes. Whether it’s from loan sharks or elsewhere, grab whatever you can to prepare for an outbreak.”

Preparing for destruction has a practical aspect.

First and foremost, a considerable amount of money is required.

Of course, there was no way that Lee Dohyuk, a man in his twenties with military service as his only credential, had that kind of money.

Therefore, regardless of legality, he borrowed as much as possible.

That was the first step.

“And then?”

“What’s next? Is there even a next? Once the outbreak happens, it’s all over. Who in their right mind would go around collecting debts?”

And then?

Simply ignore the debts.

That was the second step.

Entitled “Chapter 1: Method to Prepare for Destruction After Regression,” borrowing money and ignoring it completely.

“…But it didn’t fail.”

Of course, all of this is a story for when the world has indeed collapsed as planned.

The world did not collapse.

Perhaps, it will continue to remain peaceful without any disasters.

In other words… Lee Dohyuk found himself unable to ignore the borrowed money.

That was why Lee Dohyuk was currently toiling away.

The next day.

“Is it really… not real?”

“Yeah. It’s not some cult. It’s not like that. I just… had my reasons.”

Jian seemed to finally let go of his suspicions with the continued explanation.

But whether he completely let go or not, he still looked at him with a lingering doubt in his eyes.

Watching her like that, Idohyeok felt truly absurd after a long time.

“Sect… Did you fall for some sect?”

“Well… It’s plausible to misunderstand.”

Suddenly changing his behavior as if he was a different person, bringing in various survival supplies, and going around like a madman looking for news or YouTube videos about the end of the world…

From Jian’s perspective of observing him from the side, it was a reasonable misunderstanding to have.

“Where did I treat you like a madman?”

Anyway –

“You want me to help with the broadcast?”

Idohyeok got lost in thought.

“An internet broadcast.”

Even before the regression, his younger brother had tried his hand at becoming a professional streamer by doing internet broadcasts.

He remembers that he had devoted himself to it for a few months, but it all fell apart when the outbreak occurred.

However, this time it seems like he has been walking that path continuously.

Given that it has been well over half a year since the outbreak occurred.

Jian, who was now a professional streamer with a career of more than a few months, had come a long way.

“Are you talking about that Full Dive thing?”

“Yeah!”

A few years ago, a miraculous technology emerged like a comet, the Full Dive game.

It reportedly took the gaming industry by storm as soon as it appeared.

Idohyeok had never played it before.

The virtual reality games he had encountered were from the old generation, using VR goggles, motion capture for movement recognition, and suits that provided tactile sensations.

Although they could reproduce shocks and vibrations to some extent, it didn’t feel real.

That’s why he quickly lost interest and didn’t play.

“But now, it’s almost like reality.”

Although he had never tried the Full Dive game himself, he had heard a lot about it.

In recent years, the emergence of Full Dive games had also made capsule rooms extremely popular.

And after the outbreak, many hunters who were active were involved in the Full Dive game as professionals or famous players.

“I have to clear a 2-player game this time… Can you help me, oppa?”

“Me? I have no experience with Full Dive games.”

“You were always good at sports and stuff, right, oppa? You’ll adapt quickly. Plus, I have no one else to ask for help.”

That’s how his younger brother explained it.

They had to shoot a roulette wheel after setting probabilities for each item, and a 2-player horror game called [It Kills Two] had come up for clearance.

In other words, since it was a 2-player game, they needed one more person besides Jian.

But they were struggling with the progress because they didn’t have anyone to play with.

Women streamers declined to play horror games, fearing public backlash, while male streamers… refuse to play horror games with male broadcasters and viewers do not want them to. It was a subtle and strange world of online personalities that was hard for Ido Hyuk to understand.

“If we’re doing this together, shouldn’t I have a capsule too? They’re quite expensive.”

“That’s why I’m getting another one. We need it for collabs anyway. These days, the trend is to meet up and play games together.”

“I see.”

He bought another one because they needed it.

But wait a minute.

Didn’t he just casually mention needing another phone like it was no big deal?

Surely capsules don’t come cheap?

Ido Hyuk saved his younger brother while pondering on this thought.

Then suddenly, the sight of their home caught his eye.

“Huh. Was our TV always this good?”

Not just the home he remembered.

It didn’t seem like this a few months back when he first visited their ancestral home.

The TV back then was about half the size of the one on the wall now.

Not just the TV.

All the furniture and appliances in the house.

Everything was sparkling new, as if showing off.

Ido Hyuk raised an eyebrow.

Had their home turned into a lottery jackpot behind his back?

“Oh! I bought it. Mom complained that the old one had a small screen.”

…What?

So, his brother bought that TV, which looked like it cost millions at a glance?

In that case, could it be that other things too…?

“The fridge too…?”

“Yeah.”

“The cleaning robot…?”

“Yeah.”

“That one costs around five million with its laundry function, right?”

“Well, it’s cheaper than a capsule, so why not.”

“… …”

Ido Hyuk’s gaze shifted towards Jihan.

“My dear brother.”

“Yeah?”

“If you don’t mind me asking, do you have an idea of how much you’re making from your streams?”

In response to Ido Hyuk’s question, Jihan manipulated his smartphone.

Then he showed a screen.

“…!”

‘One, two, three zeros… Monthly…?’

Ido Hyuk’s eyes widened.

No, is it this much?

If there was one thing he realized after his return, it was the terror of capitalism.

The principal and interest slipping away from his hands day by day were more ruthless than the pursuers of surviving beings from outer space.

Realizing that now.

Looking at his younger brother’s broadcasting income…

“Ugh! It’s blinding!”

Back when he was a novice hunter, in the 4th Great War, there was the Saint who saved him and his party, Eliza.

It was Ido Hyuk, who now saw the moment when she generously spread her sacred power around, driving away the alien race, overlapping with the current appearance of his younger sister Jeean.

But no matter what.

He had his pride as an older brother.

“Is my little sister trying to buy her sky-like brother with money?”

“Anyway, can we do this together? I’ll give you a guest fee of 50, plus half of the day’s broadcasting income. If we can clear it, my share might exceed 1 million won.”

-It was too much money to scold.