Chapter 50: Junk Food (3)

So, they ate it after all.

I smiled as I watched the two men swallow down the curry.

After taking another spoonful, the men looked at me with horrified expressions.

I also glanced at them and said a single word.

“Just as expected.”

I recalled the conversation I had yesterday.

Without that conversation, I wouldn’t have been able to use this method.

It happened right after I finished eating the curry yesterday. When Gujeon stared intently at the leftover curry bowl, I had said something.

“Hey, you’re not seriously enchanted by the curry, are you?”

“No, it’s not that kind of phenomenon that could enchant me. If I think it’s dangerous, I can guard my mind against it.”

“Dangerous, you say?”

Gujeon quickly washed the curry bowl and said,

“Yes, I consider everything related to strange phenomena as dangerous. Danger acts as a mental shield. As long as I hold up this shield, I can block mental attacks from phenomena of this level.”

“So, what happens if you think a phenomenon is safe?”

“That would be like lowering the shield, and you’d get enchanted instantly. That’s why I called this curry a severe phenomenon. It doesn’t seem dangerous at all, yet it can knock people out in one go. Damn.”

Listening to him, I gathered my thoughts.

Then I asked one more question.

“So, if you even momentarily think it’s safe, the phenomenon digs into that thought and enchants the person, right?”

Gujeon nodded at my words.

And from this conversation, I was convinced.

The “Curry Tryout” plan would work.

According to Gujeon’s sister, this curry was something that was difficult to swallow even a single spoonful of. But to just gobble it up like that? Then those two must have momentarily thought it was safe.

And this is the result.

They already swallowed one spoonful of curry.

And now they were staggering after taking a second.

“This, this curry. This truth. We need to act. Quickly.”

“Oh, no. I can see it. It’s coming, it’s visible. Before it becomes clearer, quickly.”

The man stumbled with tears streaming down his face.

Then he staggered and ran off somewhere.

I didn’t stop them.

Instead, I turned to the boy beside me and said,

“Let’s follow them.”

“Yes.”

So we chased the food terrorists on our electric scooters.

***

The duo turned a few corners and got into a black van.

As soon as they got in, the van sped down the road at a pace that was hard to follow on electric scooters.

But I had Gujeon, the genius boy from Cheonji Academy, with me.

I shouted to Gujeon, who was riding behind me.

“Activate the booster!!!”

“Principle activation!!!”

Gujeon had something called the Principle of Output.

It was a principle that could lower or increase the output of something.

Thanks to that, we barely managed to catch up with the van.

After about 20 minutes of chasing, the van stopped in front of what looked like an ordinary shopping district.

We could see the two men, now crying tears of blood, being supported by some other men and descending into a basement.

Without hesitation, we followed them inside. As we went underground, we were greeted by a wooden door engraved with strange symbols.

It would have been a bit tricky if it were an iron door.

But a wooden door?

Do they really think this wooden door can stop my fist? The kid next to me muttered in surprise.

“This… doesn’t seem like an ordinary organization. It’s a warded door made from consecrated wood, engraved with the territory of the descendants of Heaven. Even if you demolish the entire building, this door might remain.”

“Is that so?”

Without hesitation, I punched the wooden door.

In an instant, my fist went through the door.

Then, a barrage of punches followed.

In just 10 seconds, the wooden door transformed into wooden debris.

Gujeon was shocked, and so were the people inside the room.

“Who, who are you?”

“Sent by Cheonji? No, that can’t be.”

The room was unexpectedly a large, oriental-style office.

To be precise, it looked like a strange blend of a Buddhist temple and an office.

There were about ten men and women in the room.

Most of them were holding cute items like bells, dolls, flags, or mirrors.

One person was holding a decorative sword, but the blade was so dull it probably couldn’t even cut an apple.

But Gujeon’s voice trembled.

“Th-those are all high-grade talismans. Only elites from sects and clans use those.”

Reading Gujeon’s fear, the old man who seemed to be in charge relaxed a bit and spoke.

“You barged in without even knowing who we are?”

“Who are you? Anyway, we’re the people who almost got food poisoning because of you. We’re here for compensation.”

I stretched as I responded.

The old man spoke again.

“Oh, you came because of that incident. Poor souls. If you surrender now, I’ll tell you how to resolve that issue.”

I laughed at his words.

Then I clenched my fist.

“How about this? If you surrender right now, I’ll stop at receiving appropriate compensation and a recipe.”

“Arrogant. You don’t seem to have any enlightenment. You just broke that warded door by chance.”

The old man nodded and spoke.

“Capture them alive if possible.”

With those words, a man and a woman rushed out from behind the old man.

The woman jingled a bell at me while the man took out a colorful flag one by one, trying to tickle me.

Is this a circus act?

I paused, feeling momentarily dumbfounded by their ridiculous display.

But the woman was dead serious, shaking the bell next to my ear like it was a tambourine, and the man, with an equally serious expression, tried to tickle various parts of my body with the flag.

I had to tense my face to suppress my laughter.

“This is the power of a high-grade talisman!”

“Truly, what an incredible performance. To think I’d actually see it in use.”

Even the man and woman were spouting nonsense.

This kind of situation really brings a sense of disillusionment.

What am I even doing here right now?

Why has the world turned out like this?

Do ghosts really exist?

Or has humanity collectively gone insane?

I let out a small sigh. Then I grabbed the heads of the woman shaking the bell and the man waving the flag and made them kiss each other.

Of course, the overly aggressive kiss left them both with nosebleeds, and they collapsed right there.

As I looked down at their fallen bodies, I commented,

“Wow, these talismans are pretty strong.”

Hearing this, the old man shouted,

“He’s a formidable opponent! Pour all your strength into the talismans! We can’t win in a direct fight. We need to leverage our talisman advantage!”

And so, the spectacle began.

One guy started playing cards, a woman began stabbing a doll with needles, and another lunatic held up a mirror to my face, proclaiming certain victory.

In moments like these, I never know how to react.

Suppressing my disillusionment, I said,

“Oh, that hurts so much.”

And with that, I genuinely made them feel pain.

At one point, the man playing cards started sweating as he completed a royal straight flush, causing me to pause for a moment. Seeing his proud expression, I couldn’t help but applaud.

Of course, it was tragic that the applause ended with his head in the middle. Now, only the old man fervently spinning his rosary beads remained.

“Urrrrgh!”

The sound of his rosary beads spinning furiously filled the room. But spinning a rosary wasn’t going to make me collapse suddenly.

Wham-

And with that, the old man fell too.

With everyone except Gujeon and me knocked out, I scanned the office and said,

“Alright, grab anything valuable.”

***

After an hour of searching the office,

we discovered quite a bit.

First, there were documents.

According to these documents, this place was one of the offices of a cult called ‘Mireukgyo*.’

A quick glance at the papers revealed that Mireukgyo was a religion claiming that a messiah named Mireuk* would soon appear.

There were also documents hinting at support from celestial Immortals.

In the office’s storage, we found boxes full of retort food products.

And in the center of the storage, in a shrine sealed with talismans, were the retort food products that had caused all this trouble, reverently enshrined.

I packed the retort food products.

Then I instructed Gujeon to cook some of them.

This office had a kitchen-like area, after all.

The men who ate the curry were in the process of being healed with talismans stuck to their eyes.

There was a bundle of talismans nearby, so I took those as well.

As I gathered the talisman bundle, I asked,

“Do you know how to use these?”

“Yes, I learned at Cheonji Academy. Judging by the spells written on them, they seem to repel traces of a very great being. Anyway, I think they’ll work on my sister. But implying such a great being, what on earth is inside that curry?”

Anyway, this should be enough to heal Gujeon’s sister.

Alright, have we searched everywhere?

No, I haven’t searched their pockets yet.

After searching, I found nothing significant.

They didn’t even have cell phones.

But they had wallets, which I claimed as the victor’s right.

“Nothing much here. Should I call the headquarters to pick these guys up?”

Finally, it was time to search the old man who seemed to be the leader.

The old man didn’t have a cell phone or even a wallet.

All he had was a single, worn-out book.

The title of the book was in Chinese characters.

A quick search revealed the title: The Sutra of Maitreya’s Majesty (彌勒莊嚴經).

“The Sutra of Maitreya’s Majesty.”

I turned to the first page of the book.

The next page contained a photo of a girl. To be precise, it was a photo of a girl being worshipped by numerous people.

My hand trembled as soon as I saw the photo.

“No, why? Why is her photo here?”

Beneath the photo were the words “The revered face of Maitreya*.”

I, I knew this girl.

She looked exactly like my younger sister, Harin.

So, without realizing it, I said,

“Ha, Harin’s photo.”

“Do not utter her revered name carelessly.”

The old man, who had been lying down, muttered.

Then he stirred and got up.

Afterward, he shouted in anger,

“Do not utter her revered name carelessly...!”

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

TL: Maitreya: Maitreya is a future Buddha prophesied in Buddhist eschatology. He is believed to be the successor to the current Buddha, Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama), and will appear on Earth in the future to achieve complete enlightenment and teach the pure Dharma. Maitreya is often depicted as a figure of hope and is associated with the coming of a new era of spiritual prosperity.

Mireukgyo and Mireuk: Mireukgyo is a Korean religious movement that centers around the worship and belief in Maitreya (Mireuk in Korean), the future Buddha. It emerged in the early 20th century, blending elements of Buddhism, shamanism, and Korean folk religion. Followers of Mireukgyo believe that Maitreya will come to establish a paradise on Earth, bringing peace and prosperity. The religion emphasizes moral living, spiritual cultivation, and preparing for the advent of Maitreya.

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