32: Chapter 32 The Spiritual Collapse of South Korea

Just as Lin Ye was falling into an early sleep,

The broadcast of the National Destiny Challenge echoed across Planet Blue.

[Park Jeongsang of South Korea has submitted a "Vassalage" application to Kotori Hatoyama of Japan.]

[Vassalage relationship established!]

[Due to the South Korean Challenger's proactive vassalage, a National Destiny penalty has been triggered!]

[Effective immediately, the basic constitution of all South Korean citizens will decrease by 5%.]

As the voice faded, disaster erupted throughout South Korea.

On the streets, drivers of moving vehicles suddenly experienced blackouts and loss of limb strength.

Multi-car pileups unfolded at every intersection, with flames soaring into the sky.

In office buildings, countless corporate drones working for the chaebols turned pale, with some even vomiting blood.

Inside the intensive care units of major hospitals, equipment alarms blared in unison.

Critically ill patients who were barely hanging on couldn't withstand this sudden 5% deduction in constitution; their EKGs flattened out simultaneously.

The scene in plastic surgery hospitals was even more gruesome, as patients with half-sewn faces died from the sheer pain right on the operating tables.

In the South Korean livestream room,

One second, they were spamming "Great Han Republic is number one in the universe" and "Park Jeongsang is the goddess of wilderness survival."

The next second, the livestream was flooded with the world's most vicious and desperate curses.

[Shibal! Park Jeongsang, that bitch! She ruined the Great Han Republic!]

[My grandmother's heart just stopped! Park Jeongsang, go to hell!]

[She's lost all our face! Why go and lick the boots of those Japanese shorties!]

South Korea's fragile national pride was crushed both physically and mentally.

Netizens from all countries followed the scent and flooded into the South Korean livestream.

[Great Xia: Coming here for the fame—is this the Great Han Republic of the thieves?]

[Japan: Yoshi, those who recognize the circumstances are heroes! Very good!]

[USA: 5% drop in constitution, now they've all turned into weaklings.]

[India: At least our Great Bharat will never surrender! Cheers to this cup of Ganges water!]

In Great Xia's Lin Ye-exclusive livestream room,

Netizens who had gone to watch the drama gradually returned, bringing back news of South Korea's miserable state.

[I'm dying of laughter. I just went next door to watch the show. This time, the USA's second son really knelt to the eldest son.]

[I'm not sure what benefits the little Bagas gave to make Park Jeongsang recognize him as her 'daddy' on the spot.]

[That little Baga seems to be an actor from adult films!]

[Holy crap! Then isn't that South Korean girl having a 'sweet' time?]

[Sweet my ass. Didn't you see that name? Kotori Hatoyama! Those who know, know!]

[Laughs aside, has anyone considered what would happen if this occurred here...]

[Upstairs, shut your crow's mouth!]

[Brother Eye definitely wouldn't! Soldier King Xu wouldn't either! But what about the others? In a big forest, there are all kinds of birds!]

Just then, one comment caught everyone's intense attention.

[I looked around, and one named Liu Tingting is very dangerous!]

[What's wrong with her? Details!]

[From the moment she was air-dropped until now, she hasn't done anything productive, only crying and complaining! She even said the supreme will doesn't respect women.]

[I just dug up her history on social media! This woman is a total foreign-worshipper!]

[She posts feminist rants domestically every day and even says the air in foreign countries is sweeter!]

[We're doomed! This kind of 'little fairy,' to save her own life, will definitely sell out the country and drag us down!]

A mix of panic and anger spread through the comments.

A potential internal threat was harder for the citizens to accept than the natural disasters before their eyes.

On the commentary panel, Su Qinglan sat up straight, her voice gentle yet firm:

"Everyone, please remain calm."

"South Korea's experience has indeed sounded an alarm, but that doesn't mean we should fall into internal strife and panic."

"Please believe that the backbone of the vast majority of Great Xia's Challengers will always place national interests above personal life and death!"

Under her strong reassurance, the agitation in the livestream was barely suppressed.

...

Disaster Prevention Administration, Command Center.

Director Wei Tiejun sat behind the console, scrutinizing the footage of every Great Xia Challenger.

Everyone present had heard that global broadcast clearly just now.

But in the livestreams, whether it was Soldier King Xu Haifeng on the Level 3 Floating Island or the soundly sleeping Lin Ye...

No one had any reaction whatsoever to the broadcast!

Director Wei Tiejun turned to look at Zhou Jianping beside him:

"Old Zhou, did you hear that broadcast?"

"I heard it! Why?"

"Look at our people—no reaction at all. Go check the livestream rooms of other countries immediately!"

Zhou Jianping was jolted and immediately gave orders to the intelligence team.

Five minutes later, the intelligence officer gathered the data:

"Report! It is confirmed that all Challengers worldwide showed no reaction to the broadcast!"

Director Wei Tiejun and Zhou Jianping looked at each other, both feeling a chill down their spines.

The broadcast of the vassalage penalty was actually only heard by the people on Planet Blue.

Those Challengers had no idea what had just happened!

What did this mean?

This was a potentially fatal information gap!

Zhou Jianping's voice was dry:

"If a traitor appears in our country, it's highly likely they will use the same language, face, and national sentiment to fish for victims!"

While their compatriots were completely off guard, they would go to claim credit from their foreign masters!

Director Wei Tiejun gritted his teeth:

"They really aren't planning to leave even a single loophole!"

"The road ahead for Great Xia is more treacherous than we imagined!"

...

Time passed, and it was early the next morning.

In the cave on the Level 2 Floating Island.

Lin Ye woke up slowly and stretched.

Although the cave was cold and damp, thanks to the hunting suit and the campfire, he slept more soundly than he had in the tree.

Emerging from his sleeping bag, he quickly scanned his surroundings.

Confirming the cables hadn't been touched, his tense nerves relaxed slightly.

He untied the cables and retrieved his bracers.

A bit of faint light filtered through the cave-in crack above his head.

Judging by the sound, the storm outside should have ceased.

Lin Ye walked under the crack and held up the small iron pot to catch the seepage dripping from the rock wall.

After catching half a pot of water, he brought it back to the campfire.

His left eye narrowed slightly.

Eye of Destiny, activate.

With a sweep of his left eye, the water in the pot showed a faint green tint with only a few scattered gray spots.

pollution was extremely low; it was acceptable.

His left eye returned to normal, and Lin Ye placed the iron pot over the campfire.

He used the flint to reignite the fire and threw a few strips of smoked meat into the pot.

While waiting for the meat to boil, he wanted to check his status.

Before sleeping last night, that 0.19% pollution value had made him very uneasy.

A pale blue light screen appeared before his right eye.

[pollution: 0.09%]

Lin Ye's eyebrows shot up.

It was 0.19% last night, and after a night's sleep doing nothing, it had dropped by exactly 0.1 percentage points!

He pulled open his black hunting suit and looked down to check.

Yesterday, his right shoulder had been strained and was swollen and purple; his calves and arms were covered in abrasions and scratches.

But now, the swelling on his right shoulder had subsided.

The numerous abrasions on his arms and calves had also completely healed.

Only a few deeper cuts still left faint red marks.

He stood up and tried a few shadow punches by the fire, then did a few standard squat jumps.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

His punches whistled through the air, and the power feedback from his legs was incredibly strong!

His strength, agility, and even cardiovascular function had improved significantly compared to yesterday!

This gave him the illusion that he wasn't an archaeology student holding a brush, but a track-and-field hunk from a sports academy.

But how could this be achieved just by getting a good night's sleep?

This was the result of his body forcibly catalyzing after absorbing the "pollution"!

Lin Ye stood in place, without a hint of joy.

In this ghostly place where death lurked at every step, the more strength, the better.

The total pollution he had received so far didn't even add up to 1%.

This was like a pie falling from the sky, and it happened to be his favorite flavor.

In his view, this was an otherworldly version of a "pig-butchering scam"!

First, give you some sweetness to get you hooked, even making you proactively absorb high-pollution items to pursue power.

Once that damn pollution value broke a certain critical point, the real price would explode!

Lin Ye sneered:

"Trying to play a scam with me? I'm a loyal user of the Anti-Fraud App!"

Determined to keep his pollution value strictly low and never get greedy, Lin Ye sat back down by the fire.

The smoked meat in the pot had softened, emitting an enticing aroma.

Just as Lin Ye was about to pick a piece of meat to feast on,

The broadcast of the National Destiny Challenge rang in his ears.

[Yesterday's battle report for the Endgame Simulation...]