Unexpected

Nirvana.

The Chinese hero Changwei.

China’s hero and one of the Three Strong alongside Bruce and Kasim.

Despite his overwhelming power and absolute support from the Chinese people, he was a user whose very existence was questioned since he had never appeared in public or during world-class crises.

And now this mythical user had suddenly contacted him via text message.

‘Given that he used the nickname Nirvana correctly, he must be a user… An impersonator? Someone’s prank?’

That was the first thought that came to mind after checking the message content.

However, that suspicion was quickly dismissed.

There was no reason for a user to impersonate another user, nor anything to gain from it.

Hard as it was to believe, the person who sent this message was most likely Changwei himself.

“…Why did he send a text message?”

Sending a text instead of using the community meant he wanted to make secret contact without other users knowing, but he couldn’t guess the reason.

The most likely possibility was that he contacted him after seeing the unmanned weapons revealed during the Carlos incident.

Since he had reused most of the parts in their original form, he might have realized he had been to the demon realm and wanted to ask about the Prime Code.

‘No, the timing doesn’t match in that case?’

The text message came a few days ago.

While it would make sense if he contacted him on the day of the incident or within a few days, reaching out several weeks later felt very awkward.

“There’s also the possibility he was doing a quest and only contacted me now…”

Yuseong scratched his head vigorously.

There was too little information to guess Changwei’s intentions.

In times like these, the answer was to just dive in and see.

After taking a deep breath, Yuseong called the number on the text message.

After several rings, a sharp male voice rang out.

-It’s been about a week since I sent the text, you’re quite quick to respond.

“Are you really Nirvana?”

-You’re quite suspicious. Would you believe me if I verified through the community?

“Go ahead.”

-…….

Perhaps not expecting him to actually ask for verification, there was silence on the other end of the line.

And shortly after, the man’s voice came through again.

-I posted an empty message in the community. Check it.

“…Seems it’s really you. What should I call you? Nirvana? Chinese Hero? Changwei?”

-Call me whatever you like. Han Yuseong.

“Since you’re calling me by name, I’ll do the same. So Changwei, why did you contact me?”

-Before we start our main discussion, let me ask something. Have you ever completed the Suicide Squad Wanting to Escape from Demon Realm quest, or any quest in the B-02 world?

The natural condescension and commanding tone implying that of course he must answer his questions.

Though tempted to hang up, Yuseong decided to continue the conversation for now since he was curious about Changwei’s intentions.

“I did do a quest related to that world a few months ago.”

-Did you obtain an item called Prime Code during the quest?

“No.”

-Are you sure? You’re not lying?

“What would I gain from lying? If I had gotten it, I would have contacted you first.”

-Tch, I thought there might be a chance but I guess not. Well, they wouldn’t give that to a user anyway.

Perhaps he hadn’t expected much from the start.

Contrary to expectations that he would press further, Changwei accepted Yuseong’s answer with such ease that it left him feeling deflated.

-Then let’s get to the main point. Han Yuseong, become my subordinate.

“……”

Instead of getting angry, Yuseong remained silent.

His counterpart was a user who had crossed countless worlds and solved countless problems.

If he suddenly contacted him with an abrupt and outrageous proposal to become his subordinate, there must be a valid reason.

-You’re not getting angry.

“Because I haven’t heard everything yet. What’s the reason for making such an outrageous proposal to a user you’ve never met?”

-To survive.

An immediate answer without a trace of hesitation.

Changwei continued in a slightly subdued voice.

-Han Yuseong, what do you think will happen to the world from now on? Do you think humanity can stop the monster invasion?

If he had been asked this question a month ago, he would have immediately given a negative answer.

After all, it would be impossible for humanity on Earth, whose Civilization Grade couldn’t even reach 1 and who had no significant ability users except for users, to survive a dimensional war that countless worlds couldn’t withstand.

Yuseong decided to hear more of what Changwei had to say instead of revealing that goggle mass production was now possible.

-The answer is obvious. No matter how hard the users try, unless humanity’s Civilization Grade suddenly jumps several levels or everyone miraculously becomes powerful ability users overnight, humanity will wither away in an endless war of attrition. In other words, humanity’s extinction is predetermined. But what if there was a way to delay that extinction?

“Interesting story. So exactly how do you plan to delay extinction?”

-Not only is this an unwinnable fight to begin with, but the reason current humanity is being pushed back so helplessly is because everything is scattered across the world. The land is vast and there are many people to protect, but the already scarce soldiers, ability users, and users are spread widely across the world, so we can’t fight properly and are being defeated piecemeal. It’s inefficient.

Changwei’s argument was correct.

The evidence was that while regions and countries with low population density had mostly perished, places with high population density were somehow managing to hold off monster attacks except for the initial period when they were caught off guard by unexpected ambushes.

“I think I get what you’re trying to say. You want to create a defensive line?”

-You catch on quick. Something like that. My plan is to gather the world’s users and ability users, materials and resources, and competent people worth saving in one place to establish a new country.

“Though I can guess what answer you’ll give, since there’s an ‘if’, I’ll ask anyway. Where do you plan to gather people?”

-Obviously we have to gather them in Chinese territory.

“What about the country’s political system?”

-Ability users fighting monsters and powerless people hiding behind them can’t receive the same treatment. Don’t you think those with more responsibilities should enjoy more rights?

“And you would enjoy the most rights?”

-You’re asking the obvious.

“……”

When something is too absurd, words fail.

Yuseong barely managed to open his mouth while suppressing the urge to hang up immediately.

“…Why should I accept that proposal?”

-Don’t tell me you’re planning to refuse it?

“Refusing or not, there’s absolutely no merit in accepting. Even if we establish a new country, it should be somewhere with abundant resources like America or Australia, or somewhere with geographical advantages. There’s zero reason to establish it on Chinese land.”

-There is a reason. China will become safer from monster attacks than anywhere else in this world.

Even through the phone, he could feel it.

Not just empty words, but a tone full of conviction.

Before he could ask why, Changwei began explaining.

-There’s a transcendent being in China who has a friendly relationship with me. However, due to certain circumstances, that transcendent being cannot properly use their power outside of China. We need to establish the country within Chinese territory to receive their protection.

“…You have a friendly relationship with a transcendent being who can only use their power in China. This seems too contrived. What’s this transcendent being’s name? Can you show me them fighting?”

-Information about the transcendent being is top secret. I’ll tell you if you accept my proposal.

“Hmm.”

Yuseong pretended to contemplate while stalling for time.

He wasn’t really curious about the transcendent being’s identity.

The moment Changwei mentioned the transcendent being, Yuseong had roughly guessed their identity.

‘It’s probably Lucifer.’

In the future he saw through Universal Vision, Lucifer was in what appeared to be a Chinese city along with countless demons.

Just as in Korea, Lucifer probably offered to protect humanity from monsters in exchange for being worshiped as the one true god, and Changwei must have accepted that offer.

“…It’s hard to believe. Even if what you say is true, becoming your subordinate just because there’s one friendly transcendent being seems like a loss for me. You know what I possess, right?”

-A flying fortress the size of a decent island. How could I not know?

During the European undead incident, people couldn’t even imagine that a human could be the owner of the flying fortress, and it didn’t create much of a stir as it was overshadowed by the release of the ability awakening potion.

But after it was broadcast exchanging fire with the corrupted World Tree in Tokyo and launching weapons beyond modern technology to attack monsters, and its owner was revealed to be a user, the whole world was shocked.

An all-weather fortress that could freely fly through the sky with powerful defensive capabilities and offensive power.

Naturally, the impact was enormous.

“Just the benefits America offered in exchange for selling the flying fortress or naturalizing include permanent tax exemption, immunity from all types of crimes, territorial concessions, full ownership rights to all monster corpses I hunt, and the list goes on for pages. There are wealthy people lining up offering their entire fortunes just to have one seat installed inside. So why should I abandon such good conditions to become your subordinate?”

-Simple. Because that’s the only way you can survive. You said you completed a quest in the demon realm. Have you perhaps heard of Vimana?

“I have heard of it.”

Yuseong half-opened his eyes, recalling his conversation with Teresa.

Vimana.

A flying fortress created by pouring all of a world’s technology and resources into fighting the demon race.

Unlike Dragonia which was built for escape and had various miscellaneous functions like dimensional navigation and terraforming attached, this was a fortress built purely for combat.

If what Teresa said was true, Dragonia would likely lose in a head-on battle against Vimana.

But there was one big problem with this.

“But doesn’t that require the Prime Code to use? I heard it has restrictions preventing it from attacking anything other than the demon race or demon realm monsters outside the demon realm.”

-I thought so too. Until you summoned those unmanned weapons in Tokyo.

Yuseong paused briefly.

Though he had only heard one sentence, he could sufficiently guess what Changwei would say next.

-Those weapons. They seem to have been brought directly from the demon realm, so I should thank you. Thanks to that, the immobile Vimana recognized you as an enemy and started moving.

“…Damn it.”

Yuseong unconsciously let out a curse.

This was completely outside his expectations.

Changwei spoke while chuckling as if he couldn’t hold back his laughter.

-I’d like to hear your answer to my proposal now.