Chapter 149
In truth, Kim Suho’s policy of saving people couldn’t be called evil, and from a moral standpoint, it wasn’t necessarily a wrong policy either.
However, the problem was that Kim Suho’s policy was far too idealistic for this Apocalypse.
It was certainly something that could be considered the right thing to do, but the issue was that the Apocalypse was soaked in blood, making it impossible to survive with righteousness alone.
“You foolish fool. Are humans such rational creatures?”
“To begin with, since an Apocalypse has occurred, Kim Suho becomes the perfect target to blame.”
Contrary to Kim Suho’s thoughts, humans were not such rational beings.
If one were to think rationally, then indeed, in this situation, it was an undeniable fact that they should cooperate and focus on survival, as Kim Suho said.
However, there was no way to explain this Apocalypse with reason alone, and since there was no way to explain it, people were desperate to vent the grudge piling up in their hearts on someone.
It was an extremely emotional reaction, almost like an escape from a cruel reality, but in order to justify this Apocalypse, humans were capable of becoming more brutal than anyone else.
Those who barely grasped the situation and retained their sanity, in contrast…
“Even an ordinary citizen like Kim Suho can do it. Then isn’t it something I can do too?”
“Han River Defense Line? I can do that.”
If a civilian like Kim Suho could do it, they thought they could do it just the same.
Yes, these were the so-called geniuses of Lua Knox who insulted even self-proclaimed gods, rejecting Kim Suho’s proposal, firmly believing that they too could obviously do it.
“Why is a civilian like Kim Suho the leader?”
Because before the Apocalypse, they were ministers or members of the National Assembly in high positions and didn’t want to bow their heads to someone like Kim Suho, who was just starting his career.
They believed that if they could bring Kim Suho down and claim his authority, they could resolve the entire situation, and it was safe to say they were all involved in the political conspiracy rising in Gangnam.
Especially during this kind of Apocalypse, rumors and fake news were incredibly effective, and through that, they could build their foundation and manipulate public opinion to turn hostile toward Kim Suho.
“Do they have no conscience?”
The issue was, these people were the ones who benefited the most from Kim Suho’s policies.
In other words, Kim Suho had protected their vested interests to ensure their cooperation, and yet these very people were now betraying him to take control of Gangnam and the Han River Defense Line for themselves.
They were the kind of people who failed as humans and only passed as beasts, meaning Kim Suho had chosen the wrong people to save—too wrong.
But who could have known that the ones he saved were human failures and beast successes?
If Kim Suho had known this fact, he would have surely hardened his expression.
“No one’s helping me…!”
In reality, he was deeply regretting having saved these human-failed, beast-passed people.
Right now, in Gangnam, self-proclaimed members of the National Assembly had stirred up the flames of ideological conflict by inciting those seeking someone to blame for the Apocalypse, and even Kim Suho, who had no interest in politics, was quickly able to grasp the cause.
Or rather, perhaps he was forced to understand it due to how rapidly he had to level up—regardless, Kim Suho soon realized this situation was a side effect of his own idealistic policy.
“I failed. I’ve completely failed.”
Most people would not want to admit their failure and might cling even harder to their policies, but Kim Suho didn’t have the luxury of doing so.
He immediately acknowledged the failure of his policy and had to devise a countermeasure to fix this side effect.
‘The problem is, I don’t have an advisor who can give me political advice.’
The problem was that Kim Suho didn’t have someone specialized in these matters—an advisor who could offer political counsel.
Unfortunately, most of Kim Suho’s subordinates were field personnel, not political commentators, and the absence of a political advisor was one of the causes of this current situation.
Had Kim Suho had a real politician beside him to realize his ideals, perhaps he could have compromised between ideals and reality and avoided falling into this difficult position.
But unfortunately, in the Han River Defense Line, from Kim Suho’s perspective, no such politician—no matter how much he wished for one—was anywhere to be seen.
“Why should I follow Kim Suho?”
“Sure, this is a national crisis now, but if we can once again wield the power of the Republic of Korea, we can overcome it.”
“Isn’t this an abuse of authority? That’s why I should do it! I can do it!”
Rather than engaging with reality, all that could be seen were the beast-passed monsters vying for power through political schemes.
But now, Kim Suho understood.
Just like how these people had incited extreme supporters to their side in Gangnam, Kim Suho had used the field operatives loyal to him to figure out their true identities.
‘Taking advantage of the Apocalypse, these fringe factions grabbed power. No, they’re not even proper members of the National Assembly.’
They weren’t members of the Assembly elected through a vote, nor had they officially succeeded proportional representative seats.
They were merely opportunists who belonged to parties that seized power during the chaos of the Apocalypse.
So how could they call themselves members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea?
‘Because they were technically part of those parties. Though they belonged to fringe factions, they took over their parties during the collapse and now claim succession.’
A massive storm had brought the National Assembly to the same fate as the Republic of Korea, and of course, countless members of the Assembly perished.
Effectively, both the Conservative Party and the Democratic Party had lost their leadership, and these people had taken over the vacant parties like spoils.
So even if one formally protested to the parties still bearing the names of the Conservative or Democratic parties, it was useless—that was only natural.
It was safe to say that both parties were essentially corpses now, devoured by these beast-passed monsters.
Frankly, whether these people could now be considered traditional Democrats or Conservatives was something that needed to be scrutinized in detail.
“Kim Suho is not the president.”
“This is illegal, isn’t it?”
“Of course it’s illegal. The National Assembly must quickly impeach Kim Suho and strip him of his authority. Kim Suho is the enemy of Korea! Yes, the enemy of democracy! The hero is the enemy of democracy!”
The fact that the name “Republic of Korea” still barely existed had become a dagger piercing Kim Suho’s side.
These people were clinging to the name of Korea and using it to attack Kim Suho, and even though he knew it full well, there was nothing he could do in response.
Because at the very least, the name still represented the Democratic or Conservative Party, didn’t it?
They had originally belonged to those parties, and surviving the disaster of the Apocalypse, they claimed the right to wield the authority of the National Assembly under the justification of maintaining the control tower.
From the start, Kim Suho had no talent for political battles, and as he grew increasingly overwhelmed by their arguments, all he could do was sigh.
“I’m obviously not the president. I was never someone who did these things, but right now, isn’t this a national emergency brought on by the Apocalypse? Please follow my orders.”
“What, is this a threat now?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
With eyes full of emotion, Kim Suho practically delivered a final ultimatum, pleading with them to just follow his orders given the current situation.
No matter how much of a pushover or idealist Kim Suho was, in this apocalypse, he was a capable fighter who had defended against zombie waves through realistic decision-making.
That fighter judged that if he left them alone, the situation would only worsen, so he even considered using force to stop them.
“Follow my command. I am a fifth-term lawmaker.”
“But the command should be…”
The problem was that in this complete mess, even a real member of the National Assembly had entered the fray.
When a legitimately elected lawmaker survived and demanded command authority, Kim Suho appeared flustered and asked how the command would be managed.
“I am also an Awakened.”
In response to Kim Suho’s protest, the lawmaker brushed it aside with the argument that he, too, was an Awakened.
After all, surviving through this chaos and making it to the Han River Defense Line either required ingenious methods or sheer strength.
Especially since the fastest way to gain the power to survive was to become an Awakened, and this lawmaker had simply chosen that fastest path.
“…Understood.”
When a real lawmaker appeared, Kim Suho couldn’t suppress them by force, thinking he lacked the justification.
Even if tattered, the name of the Republic of Korea still remained, and respecting that authority was his intention.
However, his action led others to mistakenly believe that Kim Suho could not disobey the sacred laws of the Republic of Korea.
In other words, the sight of him backing down without resistance before the authority of a lawmaker caused him to lose face.
“As expected, you’re not our president.”
From those who had always harbored dissatisfaction over Kim Suho’s lack of official title to even ministers of the Republic who absorbed such individuals, they voiced their discontent.
Realizing that a single dialogue had flipped the entire situation, Kim Suho sighed as if he had a headache.
“So what do you want me to do? Don’t you realize how urgent things are right now?”
Had he responded more firmly when the real lawmaker appeared, he wouldn’t have lost his authority.
Rather, if he had invoked the justification of the apocalypse and mentioned how Gangbuk was still a living hell, even if the politicians spouted nonsense, others with hidden dissatisfaction wouldn’t have questioned his leadership.
Without a political advisor, Kim Suho didn’t even consider that as an option, and thus he ended up being challenged by the very Republic of Korea he had saved.
“Then return our authority.”
“I’ll return it. So… will you cooperate?”
Even then, Kim Suho wanted to say, “Take the authority if you want—just help us.”
In truth, the Han River Defense Line was a battlefield, with zombies and survivors pouring in daily.
They needed as many people capable of fighting as possible, and administrative personnel to handle operations.
If these people could take over Kim Suho’s duties, he was willing to hand over all authority.
“We’ll see how you handle it.”
The problem was that even after giving them the authority they wanted, cooperation was still hard to achieve.
The reason they resented Kim Suho so much was that he had used their authority without holding any official title.
If he had originally been an administrative employee or someone related to the government, they might have been unhappy with his overreach, but wouldn’t have openly voiced their complaints.
But Kim Suho was an outsider completely unrelated to them, so they believed their authority and power had been forcibly stolen by an outsider, and they expressed their resentment.
“What am I supposed to do!?”
Yet Kim Suho had more than enough grounds to rebut their complaints.
Back then, unless he used that authority, there was no way to bring order to the chaos, so even if it was an overreach, Kim Suho had no choice but to use it.
The reason he was able to manage the situation to this extent was precisely because he used the authority they now complained about.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“Agent of the National Intelligence Service.”
Of course, not all government agencies refused to follow Kim Suho — in fact, more and more began to loyally follow him.
Especially those working on the frontlines could be considered Kim Suho’s loyal allies.
“You must be out of your mind. Do you still not see reality?”
“Our elites have always been disconnected from the people and accused of being authoritarian. And even when things have gotten this bad, they still ignore reality!? Do they think we’re fools!?”
“Kim Suho is a hero! But the elites are trying to steal the countless achievements that he — no, His Excellency — built!”
Because they worked on the ground, they knew the reality of this country better than anyone.
Every single day, they had to fight in hellish battlefields, rescuing survivors and guiding them to the Han River Defense Line that Kim Suho protected.
They had to fight against the undead they encountered and, if the undead blocked the bridge, break through at the risk of their lives.
As agents deployed every day to these battlefields, they were more aware of the harsh reality than anyone.
“It’s already a failed nation. A failed nation.”
“The Republic of Korea has effectively collapsed.”
“Isn’t it practically just the name surviving thanks to Kim Suho’s abilities alone!?”
They declared that the Republic of Korea had, in fact, already fallen.
It was a failed nation, barely maintaining its name by parasitizing Kim Suho’s personal abilities.
Ironically, these agents had once worked for that Republic of Korea, but now they were disappointed in it and had given up, saying it was hopeless.
“Are those bastards even thinking!? For the sake of their stupid power, they’re making all of us lose our chance to survive!?”
“Do they think the Han River Defense Line will survive if they strip His Excellency of his authority!? There’s no way! Even if they’re Awakened, how many of them are above level 5!? I guarantee you there aren’t many! They’re just cowards who can’t bring themselves to step back into that hellish battlefield!”
That’s why they were furious at the contradictions of the Republic of Korea, which had burst apart during the apocalypse.
People even shouted why those in power still clung to their former positions in such a situation, and it had reached a point where insults were hurled openly.
“At this point, let’s just give up on them.”
“It’s impossible to work with them.”
Some of the more radical agents even proposed a loyalist coup to Kim Suho.
That was how deeply they were disappointed by the elite’s behavior, and they recognized that the Republic of Korea should perish and be reborn into a new government.
They believed the Republic of Korea had run its course and must be reborn into a new nation — one strong enough to overcome the apocalypse with renewed vitality.
“No… I can’t do that. Aren’t they still citizens of the Republic of Korea? If I try to convince them sincerely, they will eventually understand me.”
“Do you really think that’s possible?”
“I’ll try.”
However, no matter how hard it was, Kim Suho’s words about how a loyalist coup wasn’t an option managed to stop the agents from going too far.
Kim Suho still believed that violence could never be justified.
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