Capítulo 144: Chapter 144
The 108th Form originally consisted of 108 Shaolin monks and was the strongest formation they had, but Li Long with his 'Shaolin Abbot' Gift was the only one who could use it in-game.
He'd only been able to use the reduced 18th Form until recently, but Li Long had recently reached level 250 and unlocked the ultimate formation.
"We were planning to use it as a trump card against the Sword King, but having to use it on a Gold player is humiliating!"
Everyone in the operations room felt a cold sweat trickling down their backs. The 108th Form was the pride of the Shaolin monks and something they'd specifically prepared for use against the Sword King. It was hard to believe they were considering using it on a Gold.
"If we lose to Korea, it'll be impossible for us to place 1st this season. We have to do our best."
"What if we just think of it as a trial run before we use it on the Sword King?"
"Hmm… That's not a bad way to look at it… Okay! I'll use it on him!" Li Long exclaimed.
"Understood," China's Battle Net Strategy Director said to the head of national security, "and… we need to know something to make the form more effective."
"What is it?"
"I would like you to investigate the origin of Sung JiHan's martial arts. Martial arts are fundamentally of Chinese origin. If we trace his abilities, I'm sure they will somehow be connected to our homeland."
"Understood. I'll start the investigation immediately. Should we also mobilize the intelligence cell we have in Korea?"
"Identify anything that could be considered a weakness."
"Understood."
With that, the Chinese strategy meeting ended. They didn't seem to be particularly worried about the other Korean players.
* * *
After JiHan's game against Russia, donations started to randomly pour into his channel, and some simply donated because they were huge fans.
['I'm Korean' has donated 10,000 GP.]
[JiHan, could you tell me which sect you belong to?]
"Sect?" he mumbled. Why were people suddenly asking weird questions? "There's no such thing. This is Battle Net."
He was busy sweeping away the undead on 'One Bridge' again when the strange donations appeared.
['Martial Arts Expert' has donated 10,000 GP.]
[You'll become stronger if you learn the origin of your martial arts. I'll look it up if you tell me its name.]
At some point, those kinds of strange messages began appearing more than anything else.
- What's going on?
- Why are people suddenly asking for a martial arts name?
'Ah, could it be…' JiHan thought of before his regression when he'd participated in the World Champions League with the USA against China in the semi-finals.
Back then, he'd also received all sorts of donations asking about the name of his martial arts.
"Are you Chinese?" he directly asked.
['大少林寺' has donated 10,000 GP.]
[JiHan, I can't believe you'd ask if someone is Chinese just because they asked the name of your martial arts. Reveal your sect if you have nothing to hide.]
- The moderator has banned '大少林寺' for hate comments.
The moderator HaYeon had chosen to look over his channel took immediate action.
- So JiHan's a coward.
- He wouldn't keep his sect a secret if he had nothing to hide, right?
- He should at least have some shame if he's using our country's martial arts.
Comments urging him to reveal the origin of his martial arts began pouring in from people with Chinese flags as their profile picture.
- What? Since when did so many Chinese viewers watch our country's channel? Lol.
- I thought something was fishy when they kept urging him to reveal his martial arts name.
- I'm sure there's an organization behind this. They weren't interested in his martial arts before, and this is happening right after the game against Russia. Lol. Sus.
- I used to be part of the Sword King Fan Club. They did the same to him and kept insisting that he reveal the origin of his martial arts while telling him not to copy Chinese techniques, lol.
The chat fell into chaos while the chat manager had a field day banning people who went overboard.
'This is great,' JiHan thought. It was a good opportunity for him to raise the limit on his donations.
"Things can't continue like this. I'll be increasing my minimum donation limit to 100,000 GP."
- Woah.
- 100,000 GP? That would make his donation limit the highest in the world. ㅜㅜ
- This is all because of these idiots.
"I appreciate everyone who has donated so far and look forward to receiving your well-wishes in the place of donations.
It looked like the increase was unexpected, and his channel stopped receiving donation messages about his martial arts after that. It didn't stop the discussions between the Korean and Chinese players in his chat, though.
'This is better.'
Since he couldn't see the chat while in-game, he put aside the incident and decided to focus on leveling up.
Unfortunately, the Chinese Intelligence Service wouldn't give up on the matter that easily.
"Oh… so there was an incident with the Triads?"
Something notable popped up as they investigated any information related to JiHan. In particular, they noticed Xin YouHua's death. Though it looked accidental, they knew of Late Bloomer's special condition.
Xin YouHua's father, a senior member of the Triad, had talked to a member of the National Security Agency.
"Was there really such a condition? One of them had to die for Late Bloomer to rank up?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any evidence or documents?"
"No, there's nothing… since it was written off as a heart attack."
"There isn't even a photo of her Gift?"
"Right…"
"She went there to kill Sae-ah and ended up dying due to a heart attack…?" the NSA agent asked.
"Yes, but even I believe it was just a coincidence. She died in the bathroom of a heart attack while JiHan was receiving a reward in front of everyone, after all."
The head of the NSA nodded. Even if JiHan was talented, there's no way he could kill someone who was in a completely different place.
"It doesn't matter. Just figure out a way to link this to JiHan."
"But they don't seem to be related… and there's no evidence."
"Just do it. It's to open up a potential weakness."
"Understood."
"Uncle?" Sae-ah asked.
"Yes?"
"I went to the underground supermarket today and saw these flyers plastered everywhere as soon as I got off the elevator!"
- Sung JiHan, reveal your martial arts!
The flier was written in bright red letters.
JiHan frowned. "This isn't the work of an individual. There's an organization trying to figure out the name of my martial arts."
"Yes. I thought it was strange from the moment they started donating 10K each… and there's also this." Sae-ah carefully took out a second flier.
- What's the truth behind Xin YouHua's death?
- A woman with the Late Bloomer Gift faces death in South Korea!
It was unlike the first type of flier in that it was trying to frame YouHua's death as being suspicious and link it to Sae-ah, who had the same Gift. That wasn't all…
"There are people with picket signs outside who are claiming to be related to YouHua."
She flipped the TV to the news channel, and they saw live coverage of what was happening.
- Reveal the truth behind Xin YouHua's death!
The so-called relatives were all bulky and fierce-looking.
"So they've gathered members of the Triad…" JiHan said.
"It seems so."
It had only been three days since the Russian game ended. Judging by how quickly they were acting out, it seemed like the Chinese government was involved.
"Most people don't believe anything they're saying and are wondering why they're linking us to the victim of a heart attack…" Sae-ah frowned down at her smartphone. "They're really spamming and trying to hype up the news, though."
"Really?"
"Yes. They want to connect us to the incident."
"Just ignore them," JiHan smirked. He could understand what they were trying to achieve. "They're trying to force people into having suspicions in the hopes of making a deal where they'll promise to stop pushing the news if I reveal the name of my martial arts."
"Uncle, you aren't going to accept that deal, right?"
"Of course not. They will only get more annoying if we give in."
"Why are they so insistent on learning the name of your martial arts? Will knowing its name change anything?"
"Hmm. I'm not sure… but they're annoying." He feigned ignorance, but he already had a hunch about what was going on.
'Is the 108th Form ready?'
It was China's secret weapon that allowed them to completely trap a player. They could maximize its effects by knowing as much about the target as possible, so that's probably why they were so persistent.
'I couldn't escape the 108th Form last time…'
Back when he'd joined the USA's team, China had used the 108th Form against him in the World Champions League. He hadn't been fully accustomed to Martial Power at the time, so he'd been trapped.
When he'd grown and wanted to challenge the formation again, Li Long had already died. Not defeating the 108th Form was one of his biggest regrets.
'I'll take this opportunity to challenge it again.'
If he wanted to make them feel despair, it would be best to break through the 108th Form they believed in so much.
The news channel showed police arresting the protesters, who were now shirtless and lying on the ground.
"Sae-ah, there's a chance they will bother you as well. Don't deal with them and always walk around with Akari, okay?"
"I understand. Either way, weird people have been flooding my Battle Tube channel and spamming the chat."
"Just increase your donation limit to 100,000 GP. You don't need donations, right?"
"It's not like I don't need them… but I guess I'll have to do it until things calm down."
Thus, the internet was noisy for the next few days about JiHan's martial arts and YouHua's death.
- These guys are acting the same way they did with the Sword King.
- The Sword King got so annoyed that he ended up showing them the name of his skill.
- That's their goal. JiHan shouldn't give in.
- We must defend him.
A war between Korean and Chinese netizens was brewing, but JiHan simply ignored it, and more time passed as the Korea-China game approached.
Within Holy Monk Li Long's residence, a muscular man with a shaved head got up from a bed as big as three king-sized beds put together.
The two women who were under the blankets smiled at him.
"Ah, Mr. Long, are you awake…?"
"He woke up early."
"He used so much strength yesterday…"
"Ah, you two should sleep more. I have a guest," Li Long said.
He looked like a monk with shaved hair due to his Gift, but he enjoyed alcohol, women, and meat more than anyone. Before becoming a player, he'd been a commoner with no relation to Buddhism.
He'd shaved his head due to his Gift, but he was still a greedy man on the inside.
"Mr. Long, I'm sorry. We couldn't find out anything about JiHan's martial arts. He didn't react at all," the civil servant said.
"It's okay. He's just a Gold, after all… I think using the 108th Form should be more than enough." Li Long made a clumsy prayer pose. "Let me spread the teachings of Buddha to that guy." His breath reeked of alcohol.
The civil servant quickly glanced behind the man and saw two famous Chinese women walk out in bathrobes. In his mind, it made sense for Buddha's teachings to come from such a heavenly place.
"Ah, yes…" The civil servant nodded with a sour look on his face.
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