Chapter 56

EP.56 Fan

Alright, let's think about this.

The villain caused a terrorist attack.

But what are the odds that the people the villain took hostage would be fans of the villain?

I don't know exactly what the odds are, but I feel like I just hit the jackpot.

"Mangosteen!!! I'm a fan!!!"

College girls were lowering the windows and shouting loudly.

Why is this happening to me?

All I wanted was a normal family trembling in fear...

Ah, they are trembling.

But it seems to be from excitement, which is the problem...

"Ha ha, I didn't expect this..."

I forced a laugh.

The metal music still blaring from inside the car.

At the same time, the excited gazes of the people were fixed on me. Are these... hostages?

[This is hilarious lololol]

[About the incident where the hostages were my fans]

[How can you stab someone with a mango stick lololol Really a tough guy]

[Seriously, is this the first time he's heard the term 'mango stick'?]

[From what he said earlier about being 'Apple Mango,' he must know the nickname lololol]

[But those girls are really tough, coming out as fans of a villain in front of the whole nation, wearing their college pajamas and standing up proudly]

[It's pure madness]

The chat window was a complete mess.

No, in a situation like this, I need to keep my cool.

This is something I could have predicted. If I stay calm and handle it smoothly, there won't be a problem.

I composed my expression again and smiled, then spoke.

"Yes, yes. Hello everyone. This is Egostick. You all look very... excited. Could I ask for your introductions?"

"Sure!!!"

They responded energetically.

Right, right.

Being bright is good.

In response to my greeting, the girl sitting by the window where I was standing spoke first.

"Hello! We are members of the 'Veritas' club at Yeonhee University, which focuses on heroes and villains!"

She answered with a bright and strong voice.

No, I didn't ask for the university and club name. That's TMI.

They were greeting the camera with smiles, like idols making their debut on a music show.

...Am I really interviewing hostages I accidentally took? Not hosting Music Bank, right?

"I am Kim Yeon-hwa, the president of this club."

She then introduced the others behind her one by one.

One of the girls sitting in the back suddenly shouted loudly.

"Kim Yeon-hwa is the manager of your fan cafe!!!"

...Who is your 'oppa'?

But apart from that, what she said was quite interesting.

"Your fan cafe manager?"

I looked at her again, sitting in front of me.

She blushed slightly, as if embarrassed.

Twirling a strand of her brown short hair with her finger, she spoke again.

"Yes. Have you heard of 'Mango Gang'? They are fans who like... not mango, but Egostick. By the way, everyone here, including me, is part of the Mango Gang!"

She puffed out her chest proudly and cleared her throat.

Ah...

Please stop.

My limbs are tingling.

Who does this in front of the person they're talking about...

But I am a pro. A pro in the villain world.

As a pro, I didn't waver and smiled brightly in response.

"I see. It's an honor to have fans. But, I'm really curious, do you know that I'm a villain?"

I caught her off guard.

I'm grateful for your support, but...

Are you really forgetting that I'm a villain?

I thought the Mango Gang was just a group of concept fans online, but my opinion has changed.

Blinking with excitement at the scene of a terrorist attack, seeing the terrorist and being excited—this isn't just a concept. This is madness...

Why would someone who looks normal and popular do this?

Filled with my genuine curiosity, I asked, and she responded with a surprised and puzzled voice.

"What? Isn't oppa an S-class hero, Apple Mango?"

I almost fainted hearing that.

No, I can't take any more.

My resistance is low. Please stop.

"Yes!!! I heard you clearly. It's a very interesting story. Could you give me one last word?"

I hastily ended the interview.

My goal was to instill guilt in the masses who would take 100,000 won mindlessly, but somehow we ended up having a conversation light-years away from that.

This needs to end quickly.

As I made a gesture to end it, the girls behind me whined, "Why are you ending it so soon~"

Hmm. This is probably the most painful experience since I fell into this world. I might go crazy.

Of course, I didn't show my feelings on the surface and just smiled.

Fortunately, the mask covers half my face.

The corners of my mouth behind the mask were trembling.

Ignoring the strange comments from the other girls, the girl who claimed to be my fan cafe manager thought for a moment and then her eyes sparkled as if she had an epiphany.

"Ah!"

She started rummaging through her bag.

Seeing this, the other girls behind her also started rummaging through their bags. What are they doing?

What they pulled out of their bags were...

Notebooks?

"Can you sign this, please?"

They handed me the notebooks with shining eyes.

I failed to maintain my poker face and sighed, pressing my forehead.

Please... please stop...

[LOL]

[Egostick really looks flabbergasted lol]

[Are they really that hardcore lololol]

[They are so dedicated, right?]

[So this is a conversation between a terrorist and hostages?]

[Why are they asking for autographs lololol]

[Mango Gang will do anything when asked lololol]

[Is this really a villain? lololol]

In the end, I gave them autographs.

I just scribbled "Egostick" in English. They seemed to love it even though I just wrote it randomly...

Finally, I gave them the remaining strawberry cream buns, and the interview ended.

As I closed the window, they shouted one last thing.

"Ah! And we got the 100,000 won! Thank you!"

Sigh.

This terrorist attack is a failure.

***

Anyway, after many twists and turns, the promised time finally ended.

I turned on the camera that I had turned off after the interview.

In the sky above Mapo Bridge, I turned on the microphone and announced.

Behind me, instead of a blue sky, there was a large digital display.

Se-eun made it appear using computer synthesis technology. This is the famous metaverse?

"Yes, everyone. It's now 7 PM. The national participatory terrorist attack I presented. 100,000 won or the leg and the life of another? To see how selfish humans are, I will now reveal the results of this terrorist attack."

[Heart racing]

[No way it passed 5 million lol]

[Really, 5 million? No way without any prior notice in such a short time lololol]

[Let's go~ Let's go~ Let's go~]

[We can't disappoint Young-jin. Let's show the power of Korea!!!]

[Yeon-hwa's fans won't be disappointed]

[If Mapo Bridge collapses, I can't go to work. No way]

[I'm a passing civil servant. I'm praying it doesn't explode. If it does, it's over.]

"Show the results! The results are!!!"

The numbers on the digital display behind me started to rise.

One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand... The numbers on the display rose sharply.

"The results are!!!!"

I was almost shouting.

The numbers were rising crazily! The videos of people watching me were also flickering! Blinking screens! Blinking images of me!! Flashing numbers!!!

"The results areeeeeee!!!!"

The screen was almost completely unreadable!

Suddenly, the screen showing me turned into a white screen with "Egostick" written on it, and then...

Boom. Fireworks exploded around me, and the screen showed me again.

The number on the large digital display behind me was.

[7,523,660]

"Seven million!!! Fifty!!! Two hundred thousand people!!! Took 100,000 won!!!"

I shouted.

Cheers from somewhere. Of course, it's the background music.

Clap, clap, clap. I clapped in response.

"Amazing! Citizens of Korea! I thought it would barely pass five million, but seven million! Beyond imagination!!!"

I said this with a wide smile.

As if shouting "Hooray," I spread my arms wide.

"You selfish people, this explosion is for you. Congratulations to everyone!!!"

As I spread my arms wide, behind me...

The digital display had disappeared.

The bridge in the background...

BOOM.

Started to collapse with a huge explosion.

The explosion... is art!

"Thank you for participating in my terrorist attack, Egostick! See you next time!! Until then, goodbye!!!"

I smiled at the camera and waved.

After waving, I turned off the camera.

Phew, another successful shoot.

After finishing the live stream, I wiped the sweat off in mid-air.

Wow, I've been here for about ten hours. It was like a marathon terrorist attack. It was exhausting...

Floating in the air, I looked down.

The bridge was collapsing with a tremendous sound.

And from a distance, a woman was flying towards me at an incredible speed.

Our StarDust.

It's been a long time.

Wearing a red hero suit and flying with her blonde hair flowing, she looked truly amazing.

The last time I saw her was at that festival. It's been a long time.

I don't know when I'll see her again, so I'll just watch.

I didn't run away immediately but floated leisurely in the air using my telekinesis. It's a bit embarrassing that she's cleaning up my mess... but it's a good thing, right?

She flew quickly and lifted an SUV that was about to fall off the collapsing bridge with one hand.

Wow, after stopping trains and planes, now she's lifting cars with one hand?

...No matter how I think about it, she's growing much faster than in the original. It's a good thing, but...

She flew towards the passenger car on my side, holding the SUV in one hand.

But the problem is, her speed is a bit slow because she's already holding the SUV...

And oh? The car is about to dive into the Han River?

The car Young-jin was in, which was about to fall through the gaps in the collapsing bridge, was about to slip in before StarDust arrived.

She was almost there, but the car had already slipped into the gaps of the collapsed bridge.

"Damn."

And at that moment, without realizing it, I extended my hand and used my telekinesis to the limit to slightly fix the falling car in mid-air.

The time I fixed it was just a short second.

But that second was enough for StarDust to save the car.

In the end, she managed to grab all the falling cars in time.

"Damn... Huh. Huh."

Damn, I'm exhausted.

My body was drained from the sudden use of telekinesis.

Hurry, Shin-ha. Why are you so late... He almost died.

The sight of a villain saving a hostage they were trying to kill would be hilarious if anyone saw it.

But still.

StarDust's reputation for saving civilians must not be tarnished.

It was inevitable... I had no choice...

And StarDust, holding two cars, suddenly turned her face towards me.

Our eyes met. Damn, did she notice?

As soon as our eyes met, I turned my body and flew away.

I did nothing.

I know nothing...

***

StarDust. She stood there, holding the cars, with the collapsing bridge in the background, lost in thought.

Egostick. The car that was falling from the side where he was.

It seemed like it was about to fall before she could catch it.

'Just now, definitely...?'

It seemed to pause for a moment as it was falling...