Chapter 94: Phantom Company (3)
The Director stared at Yoo Hajin.
“Excuse me, sir. That five-thousand-won item over there—or, no, that hat—may I try it on?”
“Yes, customer. This cap is made from fabric sourced from another world…”
He was still busy trying out various items from Nesone. Then, one of the nearby employees hesitated before speaking to him in a slightly awkward tone.
“Customer, aren’t you feeling a bit tired?”“Not tired at all.”
“Our Nesone products consume spiritual energy, so you might start feeling weak, or even experience hallucinations or auditory illusions.”
“Now that you mention it, I might feel a little tired…”
To think he was still pulling stunts like this, fully aware of the dangers of Nesone’s items.
Yoo Hajin had layered three Nesone T-shirts on top of each other. On top of that, he wore one pair of Nesone sunglasses on his eyes and another on his forehead.
Why on earth was he doing such a thing?
Hypothesis: Each Nesone item rewards 50,000 won. Yoo Hajin is engaging in this behavior to earn money.
That couldn’t possibly be true.
The Director immediately came up with a rebuttal.
Rebuttal: Yoo Hajin is close friends with a powerful psychic. He is also deeply connected with various psychic organizations such as the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Qigong Sect. �
Someone like him couldn’t possibly be strapped for cash.
So, why was Yoo Hajin doing this?
Now, Yoo Hajin had placed a cowboy hat on top of his cap. To an unknowing observer, he looked bizarre enough to be mistaken for a paranormal phenomenon.
At that moment, two men in suits emerged from the hallway. The instant the Director saw them, he understood Yoo Hajin’s actions.
“Wow, this is unprecedented. To endure that many products…”
“Yes, this customer might surpass Diamond and even reach Challenger.”
It was a ploy to draw attention.
So, that was it. All those ridiculous actions were just bait.
It was bait to catch the eyes of Nesone’s executives.
The Director looked at Yoo Hajin with a slightly astonished expression. Meanwhile, Yoo Hajin was thinking something entirely different.
“No way, are they bringing this here?”
He picked up a sea monster hat.
Then, he placed it on top of the cowboy hat.
“Another fifty thousand won!”
As soon as Yoo Hajin completed the disastrous hat combo, the two men in suits approached him.
“Hello, customer.”
They looked like high-ranking people.
Noticing this, Yoo Hajin’s demeanor naturally grew more polite.
“Hello.”
“To see you this active on your very first day—truly impressive.”
One of the suited men continued.
“With your talent, you’ll easily reach Diamond level. Have you ever considered aiming beyond Diamond to the Challenger level?”
“Wow, Challenger.”
Diamond level earned a monthly income of ten million won. So how much could the next level, Challenger, possibly earn?
Yoo Hajin immediately began igniting his imagination with dreams of wealth.
“If you’re interested, shall we head upstairs?”
With that, Yoo Hajin stepped into the elevator with the suited men. Seeing this, the Director hesitated no longer and started donning several Nesone items, just like Yoo Hajin.
‘Warning: The items are resonating, amplifying contamination.’
A subtle wave of information contamination, perceptible only to beings like herself, washed over her. For a normal person, it would have been overwhelming.
Even for a typical psychic, it was dangerous.
‘Decision: Mimic Yoo Hajin and investigate the upper floor.’
The Director adjusted her evaluation of the Nesone phenomenon and waited for the staff’s reaction. Soon enough, they responded.
****
This allowed the Director to proceed upstairs.
When the elevator doors opened, a pristine hallway came into view.
It was an ordinary hallway, entirely unremarkable for such a bizarre phenomenon. This, of course, was why people would be deceived. If humans had ever created a phenomenon, it would look exactly like this.
Demons lacked this level of subtlety.
In the end, the creature most adept at deceiving humans was other humans.
Thus, the Director trusted no one.
“Question: Then why is Yoo Hajin…”
While lost in thought, she found herself standing before a group of members challenging the rank of Challenger. Every single one of them was unusual.
Labored breathing, trembling pupils, and souls faintly warped in some way. These were all individuals teetering between normalcy and abnormality.
The Director assessed them.
‘Assessment: Their souls are nearly destroyed. They’re on the verge of collapse or transforming into part of the phenomenon itself.’
Yet, none of this was visibly apparent. Their souls looked almost intact. If she hadn’t measured them directly using her device, she wouldn’t have realized their state.
The Director felt a wave of confusion.
Perhaps others might call that confusion fear.
‘Denial: I lack the functionality to feel emotions like fear.’
In an effort to quell this “confusion,” the Director addressed the broken individuals.
‘Confirmation: Are you all Nesone Diamond members?’
“Of course. Aren’t you all as well?”
The Director continued,
“Why did you start this? Did you not foresee things turning out this way?”
“We knew,” said a man with a vacant expression, his soul almost completely ruined.
“But where in this world is there an easy path?”
Whether it’s dying to the scavengers or the phenomenon itself, no one pays us. But this company does. That’s enough for me. I can’t turn back now.”
The Director calculated a rebuttal.
Yet the words did not come easily.
At that moment, a man appeared in the distance.
Wearing four hats, sunglasses perched on both his eyes and forehead, several T-shirts layered on his torso, and a duffel bag slung over his shoulder—it was Yoo Hajin.
Grinning, Yoo Hajin greeted them.
“Oh, you’ve made it to the upper floor? Wow, this must be the real Nesone class, huh?”
“Agreed. Nesone is truly on another level.”
Hearing that, Yoo Hajin smiled even wider.
Why is he smiling?
What’s so good about Nesone being an extraordinary phenomenon?
The Director’s mind flashed an error message.
“Oh, a document on promotion methods.”
While the Director was still reeling, Yoo Hajin was looking at a set of documents—guidelines for Nesone’s ranking system.
—---
Nesone Promotion Guide
How to advance from F-Rank (Bronze) to D-Rank (Gold)
Welcome to the Nesone family!
Nesone is a company for ordinary people who want to become rich with a little hard work!
Let’s gather points together.
Collect points.
Points can be exchanged for money.
Earn 100 points to reach E-Rank, and 500 points to advance to D-Rank.
Points are earned when you personally use Nesone’s products or when your family and friends use them.
Work together with your family and friends to gather points and level up.
And remember—don’t question the points.
—---
After reading the guide, the Director thought,
To advance, the help of family or acquaintances would be essential. With only one point earned per item, accumulating 500 points would be impossible alone.
Yoo Hajin moved on to the next document, and the Director peered over his shoulder.
—--
How to advance from D-Rank (Gold) to B-Rank (Platinum)
Welcome to those who’ve adapted to Nesone!
By now, you must know how to gather points.
Purchase items with points and sell them to new victims.
Leverage social status to coerce purchases.
Donate Nesone products to the poor.
Gift Nesone products to every single relative.
If you attempt to leave the Nesone Soul Network or fail to meet your point quota, she will visit your mirror. When you hear her laughing…
—---
After reading this document, Yoo Hajin tilted his head.
Then, he moved on to the next.
—-----
How to advance from B-Rank (Platinum) to A-Rank (Diamond)
Keep increasing points.
You will no longer have any living family.
You will no longer have any friends who answer your calls.
It’s been a long time since you’ve cared about means or methods.
Now, all you can think about is increasing points.
There’s no turning back.
—-----
Yoo Hajin tilted his head again after reading this document. He examined the back, held it up to the ceiling light, and thought,
‘There’s nothing written here. So how do you advance? The previous documents also had so many blank sections.’
As Yoo Hajin rummaged through the papers, the last document fell to the floor.
—-----
How to advance from A-Rank (Diamond) to S-Rank (Sacrifice)
You will now see your family’s faces again.
You will now see your friends’ faces again.
You will now understand what points truly are.
So fill your points and embrace the end.
Wretched sacrifice.
You will now feel your limbs %%@Y%pain%^&&@#)45stop%@@please^$%(+
—-----
It was an information contamination beyond what any device could withstand.
What on earth was the nature of points to hold such power?
“Oh, it fell to the floor.”
At that moment, Yoo Hajin picked up the fallen document, organizing it neatly, allowing the Director to barely stabilize her device.
A human protected her terminal.
“Power core temperature rising rapi
The Director blankly touched her power core.
Why were these errors happening?
While she was lost in confusion, the doors opened, and a Nesone executive entered the room. He smiled at the gathered members and said,
“Welcome, members challenging the rank of Challenger.”
– – – The End of The Chapter – – –
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