Surviving Restructuring

A pitch-black shadow spread across the crowd. Through the dimness, scattered slogans could still be made out.

“Down with the Labor Union! Down with Lee Eun-Ho!”

“Disband the nuisance union!”

“If you have any conscience, take responsibility and step down!”

...

The shadow overhead swallowed all the wooden placards with their crude slogans and the blood-red banners with aggressive messages.

—Looks like quite a few of you showed up.

Eun-Ho slowly swept his gaze across the protesters gathered below. Nearly one hundred and fifty thousand people had assembled, all apparently turning their backs on him.

Yet his expression remained calm, as though he had expected this outcome from the beginning.

—Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Lee Eun-Ho, the union leader.

His tone sounded almost welcoming. It resembled the voice of a host greeting visitors like, “Welcome to the Wailing Forest!” or “The guest rooms are this way.”

“That’s the union leader right?” someone whispered.

“What are those wings?” another asked. “Is he a flying ability user?”

The atmosphere shifted.

“What’s with him? Why does he look so calm?” someone muttered.

“Exactly. There’s no way he doesn’t know the situation he’s in,” another replied.

“Hmm...”

In a situation like this, he should have been running himself ragged, bowing his head and begging for forgiveness. Yet the union leader stood there completely composed. That alone made people think that perhaps, just perhaps, he had something prepared.

—You’ve all checked the prices by now that they’ve increased by ten thousand times.

“S-so what happened?” someone shouted.

“You said you’d fix this!” another demanded.

Darkness fell in an instant, and within it stood a man holding a blazing torch.

Even though they had come prepared to beat him down and dismantle the union by force, they now found themselves waiting for him to speak.

He knows how to command attention, Mu Ah thought.

People like that fell into one of two categories. Either they were accustomed to standing before crowds, or they possessed an instinctive understanding of how to control one.

I heard he used to be at the bottom of society before the restructuring. And if that’s true, he belongs to the latter. But to have enough charisma to manipulate the entire workforce at will... Mu Ah thought.

A chill ran down Mu Ah’s spine. Even throughout his long life, there had been only one person of this caliber.

I see now why he’s worth watching.

Mu Ah’s dull, lifeless eyes suddenly glimmered with anticipation.

—The current surge in prices is the result of unilateral suppression by the company.

“Stop blaming the company and explain properly!” someone yelled.

“Yeah!” another shouted. “I’ve only got a week left before I’m ruined!”

Several protesters wearing red headbands shouted angrily, but Eun-Ho remained completely at ease. His expression was polite yet devoid of emotion, like an adult humoring an overly excited child.

—Let me ask a question.

Eun-Ho casually raised a hand and pointed.

—You over there. The one holding the sign that says Abolish the Corrupt Union.

“Me?” the man asked in surprise.

—Why do you think the company is suppressing the labor union?

The man curled his lips into a smirk. A headband reading Down with them! was tied tightly around his forehead.

“Well, obviously they’re deceiving innocent employees! They’re destroying morale and lowering productivity! In the end, they’re harming all of us!” he shouted passionately, his voice rising as he ranted, the veins in his neck bulging. “They claim to speak for the workers, but look at the results! Because of them, we can’t buy anything, wear anything, or even eat properly anymore!”

“That’s right!” someone shouted.

“Exactly! Look at the mess we’re in now!”

Several people nearby nodded in agreement.

No wonder he sounded so passionate, he was sent by the chairman, thought Mu Ah.

Of all people, Eun-Ho had singled out the one man sent by that old fox.

How unlucky is that? No wait. Did he pick him on purpose?

—Are you a union member?

The man snapped. “Why the hell would I be?!”

He had come specifically to sabotage whatever Eun-Ho said. Nothing Eun-Ho said would change that.

—In that case, you were dragged into this for nothing because the price surge was applied equally to non-union members as well.

“That’s exactly the problem!” the man shouted angrily. “We’re not even in the union, so why the hell are we suffering for it?!”

“Yeah!” others chimed in.

“That’s what I’ve been saying!”

How can he be smiling? Mu Ah wondered.

—That’s correct. Most of the people gathered here today are innocent non-union employees.

And he’s even agreeing with them?

—But here’s the thing.

With a faint smile, Eun-Ho turned away, as though he had already obtained all he desired. Then, he rose into the air.

Swoosh—!

He positioned himself high enough for all one hundred and fifty thousand protesters to see him clearly.

—Let’s think about this. You didn’t even join the union, yet you still suffered losses.

He paused.

—What would that mean?

The question hung over the entire crowd. Then Eun-Ho gave them the answer himself.

—It means the company considered all of you as troublemakers.

“Troublemakers?” someone muttered.

“Us?” another asked in disbelief.

—That’s why whether you joined the union or not, you were all targets of suppression.

Shock rippled through the crowd. The answer had been planted.

“No way!”

It was a blatant fabrication because the company had only intended to target the subversive elements within the labor union. After all, there was nothing to gain from turning the entire workforce into enemies.

“Why?”

“What did we even do wrong?!”

Eun-Ho tilted his head slightly.

—Well, perhaps they’re planning to replace all of you.

“Huh?!”

A ten-thousandfold increase in price was an absurd and terrifying figure. If they failed to extend their allotted time immediately, their lives could end. Regardless of unions or factions, the company could erase an employee’s time whenever it pleased. The realization struck them like a hammer.

“That’s too cruel.”

“How could they do this to us?”

“Damn it! Do they know how much I’ve earned for this place?!”

This was not a one-time incident, and no one could act like it was someone else’s problem anymore. The manipulation and fabrications tore through the employees’ already fragile reason like wet tissue paper, sinking deep into their minds.

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped Mu Ah’s lips as Eun-Ho’s earlier words echoed in his ears.

“I’m going to deceive them.”

“So I’ll do it. I’ll play the hero.”

So that’s what he meant, Mu Ah thought.

Eun-Ho had never claimed he would become a hero, only that he would play one. If the world demanded a show, he would give it one: a false hero who magnified the enemy’s sins to make his own triumphs shine brighter.

Eun-Ho knew from the beginning that he could never become a pure and noble hero.

—Some union members came to see me the moment the price of timepieces skyrocketed. They were frantic as many of them had only a week left to live.

Still, Eun-Ho continued on because he had, could, and wanted to.

—Did you believe the extra life you obtained was a blessing? Is a life that can end with a single gesture from those above really a blessing? A life placed in someone else’s hands isn’t a blessing. It’s a shackle.

Standing before everyone, he began to break those shackles.

“But...” someone protested.

“Are we supposed to give up our lives then?” another shouted.

“If we want to survive, we have no choice!” someone cried desperately.

—If you fight alone, then yes.

He was telling them that they did not have to live like dogs, beasts, and slaves.

—But.

Fwoosh!

The torch flickered.

Sssssss—

Darkness swallowed the world once more. In the pitch-black void where not even an inch ahead could be seen, Mu Ah felt the cold touch of a gauntleted hand and the rigid surface of armor holding him. Then, a sensation of weightlessness lifted him upward.

“Shh.”

Fwaaaaash!

Then, a burst of brilliant radiance exploded before his eyes.

Golden armor wrapped around Eun-Ho, blazing with light. It shone like a star embedded in the dark sky, radiating brilliance as though it had replaced the sun itself.

“Ugh!”

“What is that light?!”

The protesters shielded their eyes, unable to adjust to the sudden brilliance pouring down in the darkness. Within that curtain of light, Eun-Ho’s voice resounded..

—A collective is different.

Then he lifted his trophy high.

—If someone tries to shackle us, we fight back.

“Huh? W-what’s that?!”

“Isn’t that the Operations Bureau director?!”

“Why is the director in that condition?!”

The restraint device fastened around Mu Ah’s wrist glinted in the sunlike light radiating from Eun-Ho.

—And if they still stand in our way, we’ll return the favor.

The device sparkled.

Snap—!

The instant Eun-Ho snapped his fingers, the command he had prepared in advance spread across the entire system under the director’s name.

[Administrative Order - Release]

Bang! Boom—!

Fireworks erupted, exploding brilliantly across the sky.

—And we will win just like we did today.

A shiver ran through Mu Ah. Slowly, he closed his eyes. He did not understand why, but even behind his tightly shut eyelids, Eun-Ho’s afterimage shone like the sun.

***

“Holy! It’s fixed already!”

“What? Seriously?”

“Check the shop! Everything’s back to normal!”

The union members who had been wearing dark, despairing expressions slowly began to calm down.

The entire protest had started because of the outrageous price surge. Now that the problem had been resolved, there was little reason for the crowd to remain so furious.

“Wow, how did he do that?”

“Wait, does that mean he actually defeated the Operations Bureau Director?”

No matter how one looked at it, Eun-Ho was still a newcomer. Even if he held the titles of team leader and union leader, most people had secretly looked down on him as a junior. However, they had just watched him manipulate the director like a puppet. Naturally, the shock ran deep.

“I heard people say he was strong, but I didn’t think he was this strong.”

Astonishment and awe occupied the space that had once been filled with anger.

“So that’s why the company tried to crush him with force?”

“Why? Because he’s too strong?”

“Well, he’s strong and he’s caused a lot of trouble. He’s been exposing things left and right.”

“Yeah... And when you put it that way, it makes sense. Still, their methods are pretty dirty.”

Meanwhile, the seeds of doubt toward the company, which had been planted little by little over time, were finally beginning to take root.

“Honestly, the company’s the one that went crazy here.”

“Exactly. Damn it, just because we complained a little, they threatened the lives of the entire workforce?”

It was just a few words of dissatisfaction, but that was where it began. Those complaints would pile up, one after another, until they formed a towering structure as solid as a fortress.

[Your speech is causing ripples throughout the company.]

The murmuring that had started like splashing water gradually grew louder, swelling like an approaching wave.

[Congratulations!]

[You have united the hearts of the union members!]

A series of blue message windows appeared before Eun-Ho’s eyes.

[Current average loyalty of union members is 57%.]

[Would you like to end the special order and claim your reward?]

[Y/N]

Unity was the special order that had appeared when the union members began to waver under the sky-high prices.

[2] Unity

- Gather the scattered will of the people and claim it.

- The stronger the loyal hearts you gather, the stronger you shall become.

As the system desired a Revolutionary, Eun-Ho had succeeded in claiming the employees’ support.

To be honest, it was closer to forcing it, Eun-Ho thought.

He had made them furious at the absurd ten-thousand-fold price hike and then resolved the crisis in dramatic fashion. The resulting catharsis had temporarily pushed their loyalty upward. To make that happen, he had created a new enemy, redirecting the crowd’s anger toward the company.

“Man... I heard the union even supplied items to their members this time. Maybe I should join too.”

“What? Why?”

“What if something like this happens again?”

Right now, Eun-Ho and the labor union probably appeared to them like Noah’s Ark floating in the middle of a waist-high flood.

“Wait, what exactly does the union do again?”

“How do you join?”

“Are there any requirements?”

Some felt relief at having narrowly escaped the brink of disaster. Some were shocked that the despair which had seemed impossible to overcome had vanished in an instant. Some even felt an awkward embarrassment at having criticized the very person who had saved them.

Union member or not, the gazes directed at Eun-Ho were no longer very different.

Mr. Eun-Ho!

You’re the best!

Down on the ground, his team members waved their arms above their heads, gave enthusiastic thumbs-up, or simply stared with their mouths hanging open in amazement.

[Current average loyalty of union members is 57%.]

[Would you like to end the special order and claim your reward?]

[Y/N]

However, Eun-Ho read the message windows again.

This is the first time I’ve been asked whether I want to end it, Eun-Ho thought.

If the system was asking whether to end the special order, it meant he didn’t have to finish it yet.

The stronger the loyal hearts you gather, the stronger you shall become.

It was essentially asking whether he would settle for his current loyalty or seek to win over even more hearts.

Eun-Ho slowly extended his finger, pressing N without hesitation.

Click.

As if he would settle.

[Special order will continue.]

[Increase the loyalty of union members to obtain upgraded rewards!]

Gather loyalty and upgrade the reward. Simple enough.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could waste time. He required the fastest possible way to raise loyalty further.

Let’s see... Ah.

Eun-Ho called out, “Hey. You there! Stop.”

The man froze. He was the one holding the placard painted in red letters, Abolish the Corrupt Union.

The atmosphere had completely shifted, and the man had been quietly trying to slip away.

“You too! The one holding the Lee Eun-Ho Should Die sign,” Eun-Ho added casually, stopping the others nearby. “And the guy with the Company Heaven, Union Hell banner. Stay where you are.”

They clearly appeared like the man’s accomplices.

“What?! Why?! What are you trying to say?!” one of them shouted nervously.

“I’m busy with work, so I’ll be leaving now!” another said quickly.

Eun-Ho chuckled softly.

Come on now. It would be disappointing if they just ran away now.

“Why don’t we talk for a moment?”