My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness

Episode 253 Closed Dimension (2)

Inside a luxuriously decorated office,

Information flashed across the monitor at a speed that would make an ordinary person’s head spin.

‘I’m used to it now.’

But the man sitting before the screen remained unfazed, his expression unchanging.

Bzzt—

A faint vibration from his left eye, and the flood of information was projected directly into his mind.

It would be an overload for an ordinary person, but to him, with his transcendental mental abilities, it was just a light mental workout.

‘Is that all?’

He had absorbed the massive amount of reports in an instant. Yulryeongja, the man with the cybernetic eye, closed his eyes, processing the information.

‘…Where are you, Hahoe Mask?’

Hahoe Mask, who had vanished after their battle in Japan, was still nowhere to be found.

A vampire named Heinz had started operating in Seoul, but that was Doctor’s concern, not his.

‘He’s still missing… That means he must have been seriously injured in our fight.’

He nodded slowly.

It had been a deliberate mental attack, designed to cripple him.

It would be strange if he had emerged unscathed.

Yulryeongja opened his eyes and glanced at his withered right arm.

A surge of anger coursed through him as he looked at his paralyzed limbs, a constant reminder of his defeat at the hands of Hahoe Mask.

‘Hahoe Mask…’

As he was stewing in his resentment—.

-Beep!

A notification sound echoed from the office speaker.

He checked the caller ID and accepted the connection.

-Ah, hello? This is Doctor. Is this Yulryeongja~?

“Yes, Doctor. What is it?”

He frowned slightly at the frivolous voice coming from the speaker but maintained a calm demeanor as he replied.

-Uhyaha~ The Master has left again! He waited as long as he could, but it seems he has other matters to attend to. Such a shame!

It had been some time since the incident in Japan.

The Master had been waiting for Hahoe Mask to reappear, reorganizing the Society in the meantime… but it seemed he had reached his limit.

-It seems that the incident with Smile Mask has attracted too much attention! He wanted to stay and capture him, but… It’s a huge loss!

“…I apologize. It seems my failure has wasted the Master’s precious time.”

He didn’t really think it was his fault, but considering the gravity of the situation, he couldn’t just ignore it.

The Society’s grand plan had been delayed because of his failure.

-Ah, don’t worry about it! Things don’t always go according to plan! If Plan A doesn’t work, there’s always Plan B! The Master will be fine, so we should focus on what we can do!

Doctor didn’t blame him.

He simply expressed his frustration with the root cause of the problem.

-But still… I’m not happy with this situation. Why should we be dancing to the tune of those gods?!

He wasn’t criticizing Hahoe Mask, but rather the reason why the Master couldn’t act freely—the very reason for the Society’s existence.

“This is within acceptable margins. It won’t be long now.”

-Yes! You’re right! I can’t wait! The existence of gods… It makes scientific progress, new discoveries and inventions, all meaningless! Humans should solve their own problems! Why should gods interfere?!

He had been relatively calm…

But as he rambled, Doctor’s voice gradually became filled with manic excitement.

‘Here we go again.’

This was the Doctor he knew, the Society’s resident madman.

Yulryeongja sighed and played along, agreeing with his words.

Doctor’s passionate rant continued for a while.

Unable to contain his excitement, he declared he would channel his energy into his research and abruptly ended the call.

Silence returned.

“Ha…”

Yulryeongja sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair, lost in thought.

He recalled the words he had spoken in Hahoe Mask’s mental world.

-The freedom of returnees. To create a world ruled by us.

-We existed long before them. And we have always fought for our freedom.

‘Freedom…’

He had meant every word.

He just hadn’t mentioned that their opponent wasn’t a human authority, but a divine being.

But in the end, their goal was world domination, so it wasn’t that different.

‘Sacrifices are inevitable for the greater good.’

The terrorist attacks were also part of their grand plan, a necessary step towards achieving their goal.

If things went according to plan, about half of Earth’s population would be sacrificed.

Hahoe Mask seemed to be completely against it, but there was a limit to what a single person could do.

Their plan was progressing smoothly.

______________________

‘The Master of Heaven’s Turn Society… Could it be him?’

It was a baseless assumption, without any concrete evidence or context, but his instincts, sharpened beyond a certain point, were screaming.

That the one responsible for the current situation was him.

Harris, feeling the need for more information, did his best to jog Jin Deok-man’s memory.

Crackle—!

“Ugh! I don’t know! I really don’t know!”

“Are you… dropping the honorifics?”

“No, no! I’m just saying I don’t know anything else! That’s all I know!”

But despite his best efforts, using all sorts of scientific methods… he couldn’t get any more information out of him.

All he knew was a baseless rumor about a hidden truth behind the Empire’s collapse.

“Then who told you that story?”

“Ugh, my sworn brother… The leader of the Changjiang Waterway Stronghold! He said he heard it somewhere, but he didn’t know the source. He just mentioned it as a joke during a drinking party!”

“The Changjiang Waterway Stronghold…”

The Changjiang Waterway Stronghold.

They were another bandit coalition, like the Dongting Eighteen Strongholds, but much larger and more powerful in every aspect.

In this world without magic, waterways were the center of logistics, and they controlled the vast Changjiang River, giving them immense influence.

The government had tried to regulate them, but bandits were experts at circumventing such restrictions.

‘And this is a world where a few powerful individuals can overwhelm a large army.’

They had become a nuisance to the authorities, accumulating wealth through smuggling and tolls along the river.

And now, with the Empire’s collapse, they were practically running the waterways.

“Hmm, this is troublesome.”

Harris frowned, recalling the information.

The Changjiang River was incredibly long, and he didn’t have much time.

He only had about seven days left.

It wouldn’t be easy to find his target and extract information in such a short time.

‘…But I can’t expect to achieve everything at once. Let’s not rush. My initial goal was to gather information and establish a safe base for growth.’

He had accidentally gone on a bandit-smashing spree…

But he didn’t need to focus on that right now.

“…If you want information, why are you bothering us small-time bandits? Why don’t you go ask someone who actually knows something? Like the Zhuge Clan in Yungjung, Hubei Province.”

Jin Deok-man grumbled, as if trying to shift the blame.

It was a valid point.

“The Zhuge Clan?”

“Ahem, they’re known for their knowledge. They’ve produced many officials for the imperial court. And they were the first to discover the dwindling of Ki and the importance of Dragon Veins.”

It was highly likely that they would know something about the current situation.

And unlike the Changjiang Waterway Stronghold leader, who moved between various strongholds, their location was fixed. It would be easier to find them.

‘And they’re a renowned clan.’

In these chaotic times, there was no truly safe place.

He needed the help of a local ally to ensure his safety and gather information effectively.

But he couldn’t just choose anyone…

‘…Should I go check them out?’

After collecting all the bandits’ loot, of course.

______________________

A shabby fishing village near Dongting Lake.

Just a few days ago, it had been shrouded in despair… but now, the villagers were filled with a newfound hope.

The bandits who had been exploiting them had been punished, and their empty storehouses were now full.

It was a fragile hope, uncertain how long it would last, but it was enough to give them strength to endure.

“Heavens… This is…”

A middle-aged man in worn-out robes entered the village, his voice filled with awe.

“Who are you?”

A hunched old man, sitting in the shade of a tree, looked at him with suspicion.

Outsiders were rare in this small, isolated village, especially in these times.

He looked suspicious.

“Ah! I apologize for intruding, elder. I am Qingguan.”

“…A Taoist? What brings you here…?”

The old man’s suspicion subsided slightly as the man bowed politely.

Even Taoists could be dangerous in these times, but at least he seemed respectful.

“I have a question for you, elder…”

And as the old man waited for him to continue, Qingguan turned his gaze towards the lake.

“Do you know what happened over there?”

He was looking at a small island in the vast Dongting Lake.

Where the Eoryong Stronghold used to be.

“Oh! You can tell, can’t you, Master Taoist? Hahaha! The Dragon King of Dongting Lake has punished those bandits!”

“The Dragon King…?”

The old man’s eyes lit up as he spoke excitedly about the magnificent and mysterious spectacle he had witnessed.

The swirling vortex of dark clouds, the raging storm, and the thunder and lightning that had rained down from the sky, as if a god of thunder had descended upon the earth.

Qingguan listened intently, nodding gravely.

His gaze returned to the island, where traces of the event still lingered.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have dismissed the old man’s story as an exaggeration.

It sounded too fantastical to be true.

But he could still sense it.

The overwhelming, otherworldly energy that permeated the area.

‘…This isn’t from this world.’

The old man had attributed it to the Dragon King’s wrath, but he knew that wasn’t true.

Whether it was a Dragon King, an immortal, or a demon… they were all beings of this world.

Qingguan thanked the old man and quickly left the village, heading towards a secluded spot.

He unpacked his ritual tools and set up a small shrine, then sat in the center and held a talisman before his face, chanting softly.

After a few moments,

Whoosh—

A blue flame erupted from the talisman, casting a soft glow around him.

But the talisman itself remained intact, not even scorched.

“This is Qingguan reporting.”

And then, the Taoist priest, a sorcerer of the Maoshan Sect, spoke in a reverent voice.

“Traces of an otherworlder wielding otherworldly power have been discovered at Dongting Lake, Hunan Province.”

Sending a message to his sect’s headquarters, far away in Jiangsu Province.

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