And.
Time passed.
-Everyone! Have faith in the Sacred Tower!
Ring, ring.
A gentleman wearing short-sleeved clothes walked around the square ring a handbell.
-Why is the [Tower] called the Tower of Babel? Do any of you know why? The reason is simple. Because every human in this place can communicate with each other. It is a miracle cast down by God!
-God once destroyed the Tower of God. But after thousands of years, he has mercifully granted humanity the opportunity to ascend to heaven once more. We should all be thankful for God's mercy!
That day, Kim Gong-ja was in the guild.
Yoo Soo-ha had created the [Yoo Soo-ha] guild. His vanity could be seen in the fact that the three characters of the Guild's name were the same as his own. There were only four names written on the register. Yoo Soo-ha. Ja Soo-jung. Kim Gong-ja. And a pet slime.
Despite having only four members, the location of the office building was amazing.
Babylon, the city on the 1st floor of the Tower of Babel. The Central Square Intersection was commonly referred to as the prime real estate in Deungcheon City. They used a three story office building that was built there as the guild building.
It was a waste of money.
But one person's waste was another person's happiness. Kim Gong-ja sat elegantly on the guild terrace which overlooked the square drinking a white mocha frappuccino venti quadra shot java chip half and half chocolate drizzle that he'd ordered through a delivery app.
-What kind of bullshit is that?
-What do you mean? It's a pseudo religion.
As expected, Ja Soo-jung who also sat on the terrace answered shortly.
She was drinking carrot juice with a straw while doing work on her laptop.
-Don't listen to those people, Mr. Kim Gong-ja. They snatch up prey by making them curious about their bullshit, then they boil them one by one .
-Heh.
-The things they say that don't make sense are all bait. They make use of battles of wit. You'll walk in thinking [Since I'm smart, I can refute their nonsense!], get trapped, brainwashed, and one day, you'll find yourself spreading the word of God in the middle of the square.
-Do those people use such sophisticated strategies? Really?
-Mr. Kim Gong-ja, religion sprouts from people's guilt, pseudo religions build their nests in human arrogance.
-Hey!
Suddenly, Yoo Soo-ha walked up and looked over the terrace.
-There are still jokes like that in Babylon. I saw those guys a lot outside. Was it in Myeong-dong? Hey, part timer. Have you ever been to Myeong-dong?
-No.
-It looks kind of like hell. Anyways, it's amazing. There are a lot of pseudos in Ten Thousand Temple. What will they think of someone propagating their religion in the square like that?
Sure enough.
Before Yoo Soo-ha could even finish speaking, the sound of a whistle resounded across the square. Beep beep! Beep beep beep! And Ten Thousand Temple members in white uniforms ran out.
-You can't do that here! It's against the rules!
-Ohh. I would like to ask what you all are doing here. The Tower is the holiest miracle in millennia. Brothers! Everyone is standing in the middle of a miracle. And yet, we're still not grateful.
-No, this gentleman, really…
-Repent! Everyone. Look back on your prejudice and arrogance. The Tower is not a hunting ground or a playground! Everyone, we are all brothers experiencing the miracle of God together! Be humble! God is giving you a second chance!
-What are you doing? Hurry up and piss off!
The Ten Thousand Temple members dragged the evangelist away.
Even while being dragged away, the evangelist was still reverent. With a face full of confidence, he shouted, 'Repent! Everyone, you still have time to repent!'.
-Ahem.
After a while, the commotion subsided.
-That's suspicious.
Ja Soo-jung murmured.
-Huh?
-They're too intelligent.
While answering Kim Gong-ja's question, Ja Soo-jung tapped away at her laptop.
-Usually, the pseudo missionaries are full of hostility. They have a clear enemy in the world, and that is the birth of sin, so they believe it is their duty to fight it. However, this evangelist was a bit different.
-What do you mean?
-He didn't display any hostility.
Tap tap tap.
Ja Soo-jung looked down at her laptop expressionlessly.
-He only displayed the attitude of being genuinely concerned about everyone and trying to convince them. This is a stance that religious groups of any size can take. They don't have to assume that there is an enemy, and instead have the confidence deep in their core that [They are right]…
Ja Soo-jung tapped the keyboard.
-Indeed. That person entered today.
There were multiple pictures of the man on the laptop's screen.
It was the man who had been ringing the handbell in the square just a moment ago.
-The fuck?
Yoo Soo-ha, who was watching the two of them from behind, was surprised.
-President Soo-jung. No, Deputy Soo-jung. What are you doing?
-I searched the identity of the man who was just taken away by the Ten Thousand Temple.
-I know. I also have a pair of eyes. The question is, which server did you steal it from? Huh? Soo-jung. I'm not saying this cause I'm scared, but you know how troublesome it is to touch the Civil Militia, don't you?
-Don't worry.
Ja Soo-jung closed the laptop.
Then she went to the desk drawer and pulled out another one.
-Regardless of how exaggerated Mr. Yoo Soo-ha's impression of hacking is, this one didn't break into any servers, nor did I touch the Civil Militia.
-Hah? Then how did you steal that guy's information?
-I simply looked at the legitimate ID information stored in the Entry Management Office.
Ja Soo-jung opened the second laptop and accessed a certain place.
-The basic personal information of those who enter the Tower from the outside is stored in the Entry Management Office for a while until they are officially registered as residents. At least one hour. At most one week. Once their resident registration is complete, that data will all be destroyed and transferred to the Civil Militia's Management Office.
-Uh…
Kim Gong-ja's expression wasn't so good.
This was because it felt like this was information from a world that he didn't know.
-That data is easily accessible?
-Yes, relatively. You just need an Entry Management Office ID.
-Where did you get that ID…?
-Office workers are humans too, Mr. Kim Gong-ja. There are many ways to persuade humans.
Kim Gong-ja got a glimpse of this guild's darkness.
-Of course, since the security is poor, the information isn't that great. At best, it would only contain very basic information, such as the country in the outside world they are from, the school they went to, and so on.
However, Ja Soo-jung continued.
-That basic information sometimes contains their SNS ID.
A blue screen appeared on the laptop.
Ja Soo-jung nodded.
-There is.
Ja Soo-jung showed her colleagues the screen.
On it was the picture of a familiar man on the profile of an SNS account.
+
Following 26.
Followers 5,313,046.
+
Kim Gong-ja's eyes widened.
-Eh. 5 million people…? Isn't that a lot?
-It's quite a lot. He's the vice president of an organization known as the Three Tower Society. Let me do a little search.
Ja Soo-jung's eyes became serious.
-This organization has been active since 7 years ago. It is one of the internet religions that has grown popular recently.
-Internet religion…?
-They are religions which do not make branches in any particular country, instead, they use SNS accounts or video site accounts as their [branches]. They do their evangelism through the internet. For example, when the religious leader uploads a specific video, the members of the religion attract as many viewers and subscribers as possible. This is what they call [evangelism].
Ja Soo-jung even found the group's official video account.
-Look. This is a video of a service.
-…
-It seems the active believers in this regard are limited to the Religious Leader and Vice Religious Leader. Like this…
Ja Soo-jung played a video.
It looked like a live broadcast in which a well dressed gentleman was showing the scene of a disaster in a country.
Many similar videos were uploaded.
[Earthquake Relief], [This is how your donations are used], [Top 10 Examples of Evangelism], [Meeting and Talking to a Tibetan Monk], [Going to see if the Himalayas are really melting], [Is the Tower Proof of Divinity?!], and so on.
-This…
-Their accounts can't be banned because they mix in a lot of volunteering videos. It's also not like they make radical arguments in their videos. When the Religious Leader or Vice Religious Leader uploads a video, it will quickly spread across SNS, which will then develop radical arguments on their own.
-…
-Mr. Kim Gong-ja, you asked if pseudo organizations utilize such sophisticated strategies, right? Yes, that's right. Not all of them, but some do.
Kim Gong-ja had an ominous feeling.
Similarly, Yoo Soo-ha frowned.
-So? This self proclaimed star Religious Leader with over 5 million followers chose to abandon the glory and honor of the outside world and crawl into the Tower?
-The Vice Religious Leader to be precise.
Ja Soo-jung corrected.
-And here is his reason for entering the Tower.
Tap.
Ja Soo-jun pressed the enter key.
-From now on, I will jump into the Tower. Brothers.
A video started playing on the laptop.
The man speaking in the video was the Vice Religious Leader.
-As you all know, tomorrow is the day the Tower of Babel collapsed in the ancient past. Tomorrow, God will decide whether to destroy the Tower of Babel again, just like he did thousands of years ago. In order to ask God for mercy, and to prove that there is still hope for humanity, I will personally go into the Tower and raise the awareness of the inhabitants of that corrupt Tower.
The Vice Religious Leader spoke reverently.
-I will probably be arrested. I might die. However, if my evangelism succeeds, I will prevent the collapse of the Tower, and if I fail my evangelism and die, God will know that there is at least one believer on this earth who sacrificed himself for humanity. If I live then I live for humanity, and if I die, I die for humanity. This is my way of worshiping God.
The Vice Religious Leader made a triangle with his hands.
That seemed to be their symbol.
-Everyone. We have watched the atrocities of the Tower for too long. We waited for them to repent and purify themselves. But with the collapse of the second Tower of Babel around the corner, we can no longer just watch and wait. If my sacrifice is confirmed, everyone should immediately enter the Tower as well.
Kim Gong-ja opened his mouth.
-Do not fear death. What we need to fear isn't the death of each individual, but the tragedy of mankind betraying God's mercy once again. Everyone, we need to stop this tragedy with our bodies and blood. We will cleanse the Tower by eliminating as many of the corrupted as possible! Ah, I will go first. Even if I die. Everyone! I…
[getid]
Then the video stopped.
Yoo Soo-ha had reached out and stopped the video.
-Are they psychos?
The television in the guild office was broadcasting Korean baseball.
Ahh, he's out! Out! The anchor shouted.
Next to the television sat Yoo Soo-ha's baseball cap.
-This, is a declaration of war.
Kim Gong-ja murmured.
-Something big might happen.
-Mr. Yoo Soo-ha. You have to go to the Ten Thousand Temple right now and tell them.
-Hmm.
Yoo Soo-ha reacted indifferently.
-It's fine. Things like this have happened once or twice before. Crazy people have been crawling into the Tower since a long time ago.
-…
-If you want to go, go on your own.
Kim Gong-ja and Ja Soo-jung did just that.
The two of them ran out of the guild office. The Ten Thousand Temple also knew how to waste money. They built a temple in a place with high land prices, and the two were able to meet the Lord of the Ten Thousand Temple easily by using the name [Yoo Soo-ha's Secretary].
-Good day, Ms. Secretary! And the newly elected part timer too! How may I help you!
-It's been a while, Lord of the Ten Thousand Temple. I'm sorry to bring this up right after meeting you, but I have something to tell you right away.
-Oho.
The Heretic Questioner's hands were dirty as if he'd stopped what he was doing and come over in a hurry.
To be precise, the Heretic Questioner's left hand was covered in red liquid.
The Heretic Questioner smiled while wiping his hand with a handkerchief.
-What's the hurry?
-Didn't you just drag a believer of a pseudo religion from the square?
-Yes. He was arrested according to the rules!
-That believer, is he still in good health?
-Ah. He was intact.
The Heretic Questioner smiled brightly.
-Until about 40 seconds ago!
-…
-Ms. Secretary asked to meet, saying it was urgent, so I quickly took care of the work I was doing. Ah. You don't need to worry! Everything was done according to the proper procedure!
-Did you kill him?
-Yes!
The Heretic Questioner was very vivacious.
He didn't give an excuse or an explanation. There wasn't any mention of the other party being stubborn or that he had no choice.
-You…
It wasn't clear who started speaking.
But before they could continue, there was a sound from somewhere.
Woowoong.
-Hmm? Mr. Part timer. It seems you have a call!
Kim Gong-ja bowed his head. As he said, the smartphone in his pocket was vibrating.
Kim Gong-ja had followed the video account and SNS account that Ja Soo-jung had found. And he'd received a notification.
Getting an ominous feeling as he expected, Kim Gong-ja took out his smartphone.
-…A new video has been uploaded.
Ja Soo-jung also took out her smartphone.
While the Heretic Questioner watched on with a tilted head, the new video was played.
-Brothers.
The person who appeared in the video had an unfamiliar face.
It was not the Vice Religious Leader, but another member of the religion.
The young man spoke grimly.
-The Vice Religious Leader was just dragged away by the hands of the heretics. As expected, they are hopeless. The Vice Religious Leader didn't resist, not even a single punch. He only continued to preach out of concern for them till the very end.
The young man's face was unfamiliar.
But the background of the video was very familiar.
Kim Gong-ja furrowed his brow.
-That place… isn't it Babylon Square?
-That's right. This isn't good. This is really not good.
Ja Soo-jung muttered.
The young man in the video continued.
-Now, I will begin the promised purification. Brothers! I love you.
The young man tucked his hand into his coat.
-I love you. I love humans, humanity. I love God. Please love everyone too. Please do not betray God's love. I love you!
Then the video cut off.
There was no need to wonder why it cut off.
A huge roar was heard through the walls of the temple.
-…
It came from the direction of the square.
There was a moment of silence.
-Ahh. I understand.
The Heretic Questioner chuckled.
-It seems I made a stupid mistake!
Immediately after, a siren blared.