Chapter 128. The Mother of Brainwashing I Love
Religion.
Today’s world is experiencing an unprecedented religious fervor.
This is because, amidst the calamity known as Dungeon Shock, many are seeking a place to lean their hearts.
“Oh dear, Heavenly Gods. I beseech you. I beseech you……”
“Lord, please watch over my family.”
“The only reason we’re alive is the Buddha’s grace. You should also offer your worship to the Buddha.”
Humanity used this faith to overcome battles against monsters.
Hope.
Sometimes, simply believing and holding on was all that was needed.
In a sense, religion greatly contributed to increasing the survival rate of humanity during the last Dungeon Shock.
However, these days, it’s the opposite…….
Because of this faith, more people are perishing.
“Ugh, tsk tsk. Do you know why your son was bitten by a monster? It’s all because of the misfortune written in your fate.”
“Misfortune?”
“That’s right! If you don’t hold a ritual soon, your remaining daughter will be gobbled up too!”
Once, a great mage referred to those who created the gates with a phrase.
Hungry for the heart.
Ki-simche.
He said they were tribes starving for the hearts of humans.
But in fact, it wasn’t only Ki-simche that hungered for others’ hearts in this world.
Today’s Korea is a chaotic time teeming with fraudsters.
And among these fraudsters, the one that has grown the most ravenous is none other than a certain cult.
“–You must throw away all the filthy money earned in the secular world. Everyone! You must donate all your wealth to Nachalnim and perform a ritual so that we do not meet an unfortunate fate in the future!”
Nowadays, many have lost precious things due to Dungeon Shock. Nachalsawon was a kind of warm savior.
Claiming to have experienced the same, they understood my pain.
Continuously approaching those who lost their families so they wouldn’t feel lonely.
Where else could there be a gathering with as much compassion in this cold society with nowhere to lean?
“Brother, it’s nice to see you every day. Please make sure to come out tomorrow and pray with us.”
“Sure!”
But in reality, within the soft intentions of Nachalsawon crawled maggots no different from Ki-simche.
Desperation. Sorrow. Anxiety.
They were parasites feeding on the emotions of others brought about by disasters.
“Ugh, sniff. If I just donate my wealth……. if I let go of my filthy greed, will I truly never suffer again? Can my parents really come back healthy?”
What is the difference between them and Ki-simche?
And does this mistaken faith truly have a reason to exist in the future?
*
Tuesday.
In a shabby corridor, two men were conversing.
“Did you fill the prayer funds for this month too?”
“Of course.”
“Good job. The Apostle has been paying close attention to the performance of this prayer room lately.”
“Is that true?”
In Nachalsawon, there were several levels of positions.
Excluding the unpromotable positions of the Prophet and Apostle, ‘Great Teacher’ was the highest rank.
The young man here was on the verge of achieving that ‘Great Teacher’ position.
“Then please continue like this. Officer He.”
Officer He was the title used to address the young man within Nachalsawon.
“Yes! Take care!”
Furthermore, Officer He was recently struggling to elevate himself to the position of Great Teacher.
If he could just fill the offerings a little more, he would finally become an executive of the order.
“I’m almost there. There’s really not much left.”
Recently, due to the Prophet’s arrest, there have been many storms inside and outside the order……
However, Officer He firmly believed this was a conspiracy by the demons, and that the Prophet, who endured hardships, would soon resurrect.
Why?
Because the high-ranking officials of the order said so.
“I just need to do my job well from my position.”
Officer He embarked on another day of active recruitment to squeeze out the offerings.
“Oh~ Sister, have you been waiting long?”
Fortunately, the new believers trained this time turned out to provide decent money.
Especially, in August, a woman who lost her breadwinner due to a Dungeon Break came in, raising her son all alone.
This believer was so timid and gullible.
Just mentioning her child’s name for three seconds had her willingly paying whatever she was told, whether ritual fees or donations.
“Please let my son do well, Nachalnim……”
And another Wednesday arrived.
Colorful, cheap fabric hanging between tree branches.
In the middle lay a gong.
A young man dressed in a beautiful hanbok.
Officer He had come up the mountain early in the morning to prepare all sorts of complicated arrangements.
This was the ancestral ground where the new believer’s ancestors were buried, and today was the day to perform a ritual for her family.
Ritual Fee: 50 million won.
Talisman Fee: 3 million won.
And every Sabbath, 600,000 won.
In Nachalsawon, it was truly a case of money flowing out with every breath, but still, compared to the life of a child, this level of spending was nothing.
“Beseech, beseech.”
The elderly believer repeated fervently, trusting in the ritual prepared by Nachalsawon.
Please let my son do well.
Please protect my son…….
“Hey!!”
But at that moment.
Suddenly, a big man rushed over from beyond.
The young man, whose face was red and purple, seemed incredibly angry, and as soon as he arrived at the grave, he shouted loudly.
“What are you all doing!”
“Uh, son?”
“Mother! Didn’t I tell you not to trust these guys? I told you not to hold any rituals!”
This is why wealth is terrifying.
No matter how gentle a person might be, once they get fleeced of about 50 million won, they can turn as fierce as a demon.
“Hey! Spit out the money right now! You trash! How could you trick an elderly person into performing such a ridiculous ritual……!”
The believer’s son grabbed Officer He by the collar near the grave.
“Ha ha, I said if I’m cursed, never let the family know about the ritual day.”
But Officer He’s face remained calm.
In today’s world, there was an incredible object that could solve such situations.
“You dare babble as a fraudster……!”
Whoosh.
Officer He brandished the [Eye of Temptation] from his pocket and thrust it at the opponent.
At that, the believer’s son blinked for a moment, then fell to his knees as if crumbling.
An unknown power that an ordinary person couldn’t counter.
Indeed, surely, as the doctrine taught, the Gate was a blessing.
Since Dungeon Shock had occurred, people like him had become so much more comfortable living, hadn’t they?
“Son!”
“Tsk, how annoying.”
After similarly brainwashing the approaching female believer, Officer He dusted himself off and stood up.
When affected by an Item, it became impossible to perform complicated actions, making things like banking jobs inconvenient.
‘Well, at least with the ritual fees I received this time, I filled the offering funds, so that’s good enough, right?’
Officer He let out a breath of satisfaction.
At this moment, there was no trace of guilt in his eyes.
His mind was filled solely with money, money, money.
Only wondering how to swindle more people.
“Alright, everyone. Prayer’s done, so clean up.”
“Yes, Officer!”
“Yes!”
Thus, Officer He left behind the family he had drained and walked down the mountain leisurely.
Squeak squeak.
But how strange.
No matter how warm the weather is, the ground should still be frozen, so were there really this many mice in the mountains originally?
*
A while later.
Finally!
In front of an abandoned factory in the countryside.
Officer He arrived here joyfully.
Today was the day he would be promoted to Great Teacher.
What’s more, as an executive of the order, he would proudly face the supreme leader, Apostle Su Ye-hwi.
The position of teacher was personally bestowed by the Apostle.
‘Now, I won’t have to struggle with missionary work! I can comfortably study the doctrines. Money will flow effortlessly just by sitting still.’
Clang.
Officer He opened the iron door in front of him, pleased with his progress.
Then, someone inside slowly turned to look at him.
With white hair and a translucent raincoat that contrasted with the weather…….
“You came quickly.”
Right. Standing there was Su Ye-hwi.
Today, Officer He would finally meet the existence known as the Apostle.
Oh!
By the way, out in the world, they say the police are out to capture the innocent Apostle, but upon entering inside, it became clear why Su Ye-hwi hadn’t been caught all this time.
“Is everything there the [Infinite Power Core]?”
If all goes well, with each one valued at over billions, there were piles of such items.
Surely, Su Ye-hwi had secured his safety with those.
Utilizing barriers that block magic and the core.
The new method of avoiding the recent discoveries of Seocher’s tracking had already spread among the criminals.
“Indeed, it’s the Apostle. Did you foresee this trend and prepare ahead of time?”
However, there was no reply coming from the other side.
The person called Su Ye-hwi merely scanned the area quietly with a smile on his face.
“Officer He. I have a question to ask.”
What followed were Su Ye-hwi’s few questions.
“Can you, Officer He, let go of all your greed when you rise to the position of teacher?”
“Yes?”
“Can you continue to serve for faith even without prayer funds?”
To this, Officer He replied that there was nothing he couldn’t do for the order, so of course, he would.
“Really? Then that means you won’t have to give Officer He a single penny in prayer funds from now on?”
But this time, he somehow couldn’t readily respond.
To be honest, the Great Teacher was like a diamond rank in a multi-level marketing company. In other words, it was the position that collected the most funds.
“Uh, um, if it’s really not even a penny……?”
He revealed a moment of confusion.
Su Ye-hwi didn’t miss this and spoke in a small voice.
“Whenever money comes up, why does everyone react the same way?”
That was the last voice Officer He heard from Su Ye-hwi.
After that, his vision suddenly blurred, and his consciousness flickered as if it were being cut off.
“This is why education is hard. We need to teach the importance of money to maintain the order, but when we do, only such greedy teachers come out, what a problem.”
Su Ye-hwi muttered in disappointment and activated his [Brainwashing] skill.
Making others puppets was an easy feat for him.
Moreover, he had the ability to dominate even the top-tier A-Class in an instant.
Truly, an unparalleled talent. Ever since awakening, Su Ye-hwi had controlled everyone he encountered as he wished.
“Hmmm.”
However, even Su Ye-hwi, these days, encountered things that didn’t go his way.
The failed assassination of a certain politician.
Exposure of ties with Member Kim.
Moreover, because of this backlash, even the Prophet of the order was arrested.
“Ugh, if only such a strong bodyguard hadn’t been around the assassination target, I’d have been able to use Yin Hyang by now……. And how the hell did the police prevent the suicides of the captives?”
Even shamans don’t know their death dates.
Su Ye-hwi had ruined a significant situation due to unforeseen variables.
Moreover, with Tak Kwang-jo, who was set as the replacement Prophet, now captured, there wouldn’t be much time left for Nachalsawon either.
For now, he had forcibly extended its lifespan by changing its name. But with the puppet that played the brain role now cut down, how long would this base last?
“Life isn’t so easy. It’s hard to find a substitute for Tak Kwang-jo right away.”
Knowing this, Su Ye-hwi had been drilling the Great Teachers for excessive offerings.
Money is a disgusting thing, but it can’t be helped.
Paradoxically, to save this vast world, significant financial resources were necessary.
Such a setback wouldn’t deter Su Ye-hwi. As someone speculated, the one controlling this pseudo-religion from the shadows was a brainwasher.
Changing the name of the group is simple. Just brainwash someone else to take the place of a bullet sponge, and it’s all good.
“Is this already the 15th one?”
Su Ye-hwi gazed at the Infinite Power Cores neatly lined up on the factory floor, a satisfied smile on his face.
But at that moment.
Rustle.
From a corner of the factory where there should have been nothing, a tiny presence unexpectedly emerged…….
‘Hmm?’
Su Ye-hwi turned his head to chase the mysterious noise.
And what he saw was a mouse.
He instinctively threw a dagger at the moving mouse, and as expected, his physical abilities as a top-class Awakened were remarkable.
Thunk!
The thrown dagger embedded itself perfectly into the beast’s body.
“A mouse.”
Su Ye-hwi approached the small creature he just killed and lifted it up.
The small animal was lifeless with a knife embedded in its torso.
But this was…….
Isn’t it too cold to have just died?
“…!”
The raincoat-wearing Awakened suddenly realized something.
“Officer He, you bug! What the hell did you bring in here……!”
But there was no time to blame others.
Not long after, something entered the factory.
‘A box?’
Tick, clatter.
The item rolling in from the half-open factory door was none other than a palm-sized red box.
Soon, the top of the box started to shake as if it were about to spew something out.
