NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39
Black Money.
It is also referred to as hidden criminal assets, representing a substantial amount of money earned in the shadows of the law without following legal procedures.
This kind of money does not increase by running a printing press to produce counterfeit currency or any similar method.
– If you borrowed money, you better pay it back!
– I-I will repay! Please give me your account number….
– Are you kidding me? Who’s going to transfer such money through an account? Pay in cash!!
Most cases involve those who earn money through labor being coerced into paying in cash or falling victim to scams.
There’s no need to specifically mention how black money is earned.
It’s more important to be aware of how black money primarily emerges in the era of hunter capitalism.
Why is that?
Because modern capital is pouring into this area.
Tower Coins.
As hunters conquer the Tower, they receive a mysterious reward known as Tower Coins.
Elaine also received Tower Coins when she first attempted to conquer the Tower.
Since it’s a system or status window visible only to hunters, it cannot be utilized in the external world as physical assets or cash.
– Does anyone know what Tower Coins can be used for?
– No idea.
– You can use it at Mallu? What shopping mall is Mallu? Can we see items in a Tower called [Mallu’s Tower]?
– …….
A virtual currency that does not exist in reality.
This has become an asset in line with the current cryptocurrency boom.
– I’m buying Tower Coins. It’s a 1:1 trade.
– You want to buy 100,000 won worth of Tower Coins for cash?
– Yes.
– Are you insane? Why would you buy it with cash? Nothing has been revealed yet!
So, how did Tower Coins gather people’s and hunters’ capital?
– Isn’t it just a matter of opening the status window inside the Tower and buying some strange outfits? And they’re overpriced too. Isn’t it just like buying skins in an FPS game and changing them?
You can’t really buy anything with Tower Coins, and even what you can buy doesn’t help at all while climbing inside the Tower; it’s just to change your appearance with a ‘skin’?
Is the idea that you should experience the satisfaction of conquering the Tower with a new look by using skins bought with Tower Coins all there is to it?
– Teacher, I’m not buying Tower Coins. I’m investing in them.
No.
– Until the day comes when I can buy something with Tower Coins, I’ll conquer the Tower, collect Tower Coins, and accumulatively purchase real money!
Tower Coins have built a massive cryptocurrency market based on the faith of hunters and those who aren’t hunters.
– Anyway, Tower Coins will definitely skyrocket!
– Someday in the distant future, the god of the system will create a marketplace where you can buy with Tower Coins!
– Though the time hasn’t come for humanity yet, you will be able to purchase all kinds of magic items with Tower Coins!
The rise of Tower Coins is coming!
– It’s not like your cosmetic items have any damage reduction buffs attached, right?
– Right now, it’s just cosmetic items, but isn’t the fact that you can buy any item itself important?
– What do you mean?
– If there are more items than just cosmetics, and we’re just at a stage where it’s not possible to buy them yet?
What if Tower Coins are not merely cosmetic items, but someday items that could enhance the individual abilities of hunters will be released?
– What if there’s a patch update someday that allows you to buy various elixirs or buff items, even ‘Ability Awakening Potions’ at the shop?
– …….
– We’re investing in the value of the future.
– What if nothing happens?
– That future won’t come. Because I’ve invested all my assets into Tower Coins!
– Isn’t that speculation?
– Can you at least call it value investment?
Many sought to accumulate Tower Coins.
Even those who are not hunters made all sorts of efforts to secure Tower Coins.
Even if Tower Coins are items that can be exchanged or traded within the Tower.
Therefore, among those climbing the Tower, there are individuals who gather Tower Coins and then meet people in reality to deal in the Tower and secure physical assets.
– Why are you selling Tower Coins for cash?
– Why not sell Tower Coins to buy a house or a car?
This is so-called ‘rice farming.’
Since the profits earned from this rice farming are fundamentally in the hundreds of millions, those who caught a whiff of money began to gather one by one with black money.
Whether it’s through general electronic currency or otherwise, they’re trying to accumulate Tower Coins using black money.
– Hey, guys. It seems like what we need to sell now isn’t drugs, but magic potions.
– Boss, but we don’t have any hunters right now?
– Don’t any of your relatives have awakened as hunters? If not, just bring someone who has awakened, even if they can’t climb the Tower. We’ll use that person as a Tower Coin ATM.
In this era.
Even gangsters and mafias are utilizing all sorts of means and methods to earn Tower Coins.
They are also transforming into new forms compatible with the era of hunter capitalism.
However, if those who wish to change ultimately have limits, then the only ones who can obtain Tower Coins are ‘hunters.’
And the yet-to-awaken non-hunters still possess their funds in cash or secure them via electronic information.
This is the same here, in South Korea.
“Commander~ I’ve gone through the funds of the politicians in this country. Want to take a look?”
And I have gained the power to identify the flow of that black money.
“Here, a city council member is hiring a hunter, who is a friend of his son, to earn Tower Coins?”
“…I didn’t want to know about such things.”
The abyss is filled with various nests of crime beyond what I have seen in movies.
Worse things than I could imagine.
* * *
As a specialist in electronic warfare, Dry secured more information than I anticipated.
Private SNS conversation logs.
Video materials stored on cloud services.
With just that, I could already tell what kind of person was committing crimes.
“Commander, can I take care of a little something while I’m looking at these?”
“What ‘something’?”
“Just a little internet browsing~”
Dry laughed as she shook the LAN cable stuck to the wall.
“I’ve gathered dangerous materials through that security computer you got from your American friend, but simple web surfing is quite possible with this.”
“Isn’t a computer or smartphone necessary?”
“Well, it’s not really needed that much. I just need to plug it in here.”
Dry gently held the end of the LAN cable and the hem of her skirt.
“How about it? Want to take a look?”
“That’s not where you plug it in, right?”
“Correct. Just kidding… It’s not like I’m plugging it into my head. I’m just holding the wire like this, so please don’t misunderstand.”
Dry lowered the hem of her skirt and, after pulling apart the end of the LAN cable, pinched the wire with her thumb and index finger.
“I’m just going to search without getting tracked by IP. Is that okay?”
“You’re not going to write anything suspicious, are you?”
“Of course not. Unless it’s erasing something strange. Hehe.”
“…….”
Something strange passed through my mind, but I decided not to think about it.
“Dry, can I trust you?”
“Of course. There won’t be any problems for you, Commander… wait a minute. What are you thinking?”
Dry stepped closer and smiled slyly at me.
“Want to take a guess at what I’m trying to erase?”
“Well…”
What does it feel like to be interrogated by your girlfriend when you’re not even dating one?
If it were an ordinary relationship, I might try to appease them somehow, but with her, it needed to be a bit different.
Since Elaine isn’t here, it might be fine to talk honestly.
“Your lewd images?”
“…….”
The part corresponding to the abyss in the world of the Internet.
And simultaneously, something I hadn’t brought up yet but mutually avoided mentioning due to discomfort.
“I thought you were asking me to erase something like that, but maybe not?”
“…I was trying to erase information related to you, but I guess it does need some erasing.”
Surprisingly, Dry provided a dry answer as expected.
Though this Dry is not that Dry, still.
“What’s this? By the way, did you come across my lewd images? Like seeing them before or something?”
“It wasn’t your lewd images, but the electronic warfare footage of you came to mind.”
“Electronic warfare?”
“Actually, that’s one reason I thought of you.”
Manipulating a chest part.
In reality, something of that degree could be dismissed as mere charm or just a chuckle and is certainly not the abyss.
The true abyss lies in the eyes and such.
“Commander, do you want to erase everything like that?”
“To be honest, yes.”
“Hmm… then while searching for the data, I’ll prepare for keeping it ‘ready’ to erase anything in one press of a button.”
Dry playfully mimicked pressing a button, but if she set her mind to it, she could erase anything.
If it’s connected where the LAN cable is.
Being able to hack data means she can also delete that same data.
‘It’s not just the lewd images.’
What happens if she deletes something other than the lewd images?
In that one movie, a legendary hacker got into the central bank and wiped out everyone’s debts through hacking.
Afterward, banks reverted debts to analog by manually writing down contracts and transaction records, but that took massive time and human resources.
Apart from that, even just the lewd images alone could create societal chaos.
Among the various disgusting and repulsive things that Dry pulled up through hacking, there were plenty beyond just lewd images.
“If everything gets revealed, there will be massive chaos in society, right?”
“That’ll be the case. Humans are the same no matter what world they go to.”
Kiharu approached me, showing overt disgust at the various nests of crime uncovered by Dry.
“Humans, really.”
“Lady Goddess, please don’t become corrupted. Remember what a certain teacher said.”
“What did they say?”
“When five people gather, there’s always at least one piece of trash among them.”
“I think that’s the opposite. When five people gather, either four are trash, or all five are trash.”
“That’s not entirely wrong, but let’s not look at the world too pessimistically.”
I patted Kiharu, who was in cat form, and examined the files that Dry had kindly organized by folder.
“If you’ve decided to open the trash can and take a look, you should be prepared to get nauseous. Still, the real blessing is….”
“The real blessing is?”
“Our American friend is at least understandable in nature.”
“It’s hard to believe that such a person is the president, with only a flaw of having met many women before marriage. …I can’t believe someone like this is the president.”
“That’s why I said it. There is hope.”
I gathered all the abyss-related documents found by Dry, including the folder ‘Aizen A Louis,’ adding material related to politicians, religious organizations, mafia in America, and hunters affiliated with America.
“First, let’s report where these humans are hiding the dollars or gold bars they embezzled.”
“And what if the president can’t do anything about it?”
“Then we’ll reveal the next batch of materials.”
If they refuse to return the embezzled money, the next step would be to expose the materials hidden in the abyss.
“There’s no shame greater than revealing a sex scandal.”
Especially.
“If there are all kinds of crimes that ordinary people can’t even imagine.”
An unmanageable list of all kinds of abominations is now stored on my computer.
At this moment, due to Dry’s security program, they are not leaked, but if I chose to, I could blast them onto Louis’s SNS right away.
Straight from the servers and computers they keep hidden, directly to the White House.
“The president will do the work, and the IRS will temporarily hold the returned money before transferring a reward into my account. Strictly speaking, it would be sent to a black-haired American ‘Mr. Summoner’ from West Virginia.”
“Doesn’t that lack a basis?”
“Does it lack a basis? Ah, I’m not talking about the reward for providing black money information. The real reward is something separate.”
There is the best justification.
“There’s a reward for conquering the S-Rank Tower in America. Conquering the Tower grants cash in dollars.”
“Oh.”
Kiharu sighed.
“I forgot for a moment since there’s nothing like that in this country.”
“…….”
“This country doesn’t give anything, does it?”
“There’s something; I can’t say there isn’t.”
There is indeed.
“Medals and certificates.”
“…….”