339 – Past (Complete)

Jeter could not find any trace of the President. When I say Michael Jeter could not be found, I mean that there was no trace of him on the Internet, he did not appear at any public functions, and no one saw him. Of course, the airport databases were already searched, and every little news story was reviewed.

“…”

The only clue we can find is that at the same time, leaders from all over the world headed to China. Each had a different reason and planned length of stay, but it was obvious that they were all gathered in China, and after their visit to China, their whereabouts were unknown.

By this point it was obvious. Some leaders were getting together and doing something in China. Perhaps they were trying to use the book.

China is a very strange country among the countries that are members of the Players Association. Compared to the population, the players registered in the association are all weak and relatively small in number. The most likely guess was that ‘the government is directly nurturing players who show signs of potential’, but this has not been confirmed.

Probably. They probably formed their own teams to climb the tower. There was testimony that they saw a few Asian players on the 26th floor for the first time, so it’s probably true.

Anyway, China was a country that the Association could not reach, and there was nothing Jitter could do. If we went in right away and smashed things up, we could find them. If we threatened a few people, killed them, tortured them, and extracted information, it would be possible. I think that would be efficient. We don’t know what the President will do, so do innocent Chinese lives matter?

“Let’s look into it more closely.”

But that was the old Jitter’s way of thinking. Now, he tried his best to find the president in the most peaceful way possible.

“The news.”

“…doesn’t exist.”

Of course, the president was nowhere to be found and his efforts were in vain.

-I want to meet you.

In the midst of all this, the regressor even called him.

“Jitter. Do you know why we asked to meet?”

“I heard it vaguely. Isn’t it because of Soohee?”

I couldn’t tell the truth about Dok Soo Hee. I’m not ready to tell the whole truth yet.

“You didn’t intend to harm me?”

“Not at all. Rather, I think it is safe to say that I am moving for you all.”

“Is it true that Soohee had nothing to do with what happened on the 26th floor?”

“I can’t say there was no relationship at all. On the other hand, I didn’t give her any orders.”

This is… an act of covering up a lie with a lie. Judging by their determined expressions, they must have prepared a notebook that can detect lies. Since Jitter caught them, they can’t be caught. The ‘Adaptation’ trait effectively chose what to say to get through this situation.

But is this right? Is this really the right path? To deceive them, to deceive them, and, and…

“I’m rooting for you all. I’ll be going now.”

When I came to, Jitter was back in his usual office.

“…”

I couldn’t tell them the truth. I couldn’t tell them everything.

Yes. After Jitter has resolved everything, reconciled with Dok Soo-hee, and successfully persuaded the president to ‘not use the book’, then he will proudly say that this happened.

Yeah… that would be fine.

Jitter was not aware of it.

“… This is correct.”

This is the height of inefficiency.

**

How much time had passed? There was no progress in the search for Jeter, the world was in turmoil over the disappearance of all the world’s leaders, and the mood in the United States was getting worse by the day.

“Aren’t you at war?”

“I have some free time.”

Michael Jeter, mentally exhausted, goes to see Kim Jun-ho and tells him his story.

“To be honest, I have given up on seeing the top of the tower. I am not qualified. A leader who doubts himself should not be a leader. I have lost faith in myself.”

“… Mr. Jitter.”

“I think every day, ‘Will I be okay without you?’ I think it probably will be okay. Just having that proof makes me happy.”

After confessing to the regressor rather bluntly, ‘I am not a good person. You have to do it.’

The point at which the regressor barely managed to defeat the Heavenly Horse and head to the 29th floor. The first day of reaching the base where the warrior is.

“The preparations are complete.”

China. In the underground warehouse there, the American president nodded. Of course, it was the warehouse that the chairman had given.

The commentator thought that since the president brought up the ‘regressor’ story, he should not leave the regressor alone. If he can use it, he should use it unconditionally. Why leave it alone?

That man was originally a man with nothing. Is there a need to respect a man with no talent, no money, or anything just because he was lucky enough to have great abilities? In the eyes of the chief who has lived a hard life and reached this position, the regressor was just like a monkey who got lucky and got a jewel. That was definitely a ‘waste’.

“This much…”

“That’s amazing.”

Leaving aside such a commentary, there was a truly enormous amount of wealth stored in this underground warehouse. From the most basic gold, of course, to items, and even various metals that had their own value. All of them were offerings to the book.

In fact, the offering itself as a book could have been done remotely. However, there were leaders who could not come to this place at the time, and this warehouse was originally intended to store Chinese treasures, so this spectacle was created. Regardless of the reason, most leaders were speechless and gaped at the overwhelming spectacle.

“Mr. President.”

“…”

“Mr. President?”

“Ah. What’s going on?”

The president, who had been quietly looking at the warehouse, finally answered his secretary’s words. Although he had clearly answered with a smile, for some reason the secretary gulped as she looked at that smile.

With sparkling eyes and strangely twisted lips… there was an overwhelming atmosphere.

Yes. In fact, the president was buried. Only three words existed in his head: ‘regressor’.

At first, it was just… curiosity.

Just a simple curiosity that something like this is possible, that you can know the existence of a regressor. A guess that you can use a book that provides infinite information. Yes, that was it. In fact, the president had given up. He thought that America was more important than the regressor and all.

After that, Jitter made a plan, and was swayed by it, after the existence of the true regressor was revealed… it was natural to focus all of his attention. With such a powerful power, it would be strange not to pay attention. Time travel is a power that can change everything. It is inevitable to closely observe the owner of such power. It is an action that a person in power should naturally do.

But now.

“Are you ready?”

The President was ‘obsessed’ with the regressor. If someone had been watching the President closely, they would probably have commented that he was ‘out of his mind.’

He had reached his limit. He had tried his best to adapt to the changing world, but the aging politician could not move mechanically like Jitter.

With the physical strength of an old man, he only slept for three hours a day and carried out his work. A large number of people with supernatural powers appeared, and he had to study them, control them, and use them. His body screamed, but he endured it until now.

There were frequent assassination attempts that could not be stopped by modern science. Although he was able to save his life thanks to the players sent by Jeter, he could not even go to the bathroom in the White House. His life was in danger at every moment.

Crime rates skyrocketed. Police resources were stretched to their limits, resentment was directed at the president, and the vacuum of security was filled with the goodwill of the players. At the same time, resentment against the government was growing, and the president had to deal with it within a limited budget.

Meanwhile, the entire country, including the association, was groaning, saying, “We need more money,” and the chairman of the Federal Reserve was clutching his trouser legs, saying that if we print money now, the dollar will become a piece of paper. Here, the regressor also had to be concerned, so the president’s mind was already at its limit. There were really, really, too many things to consider and worry about.

Still, there was hope. I believed that one day, the Regressor and Michael Jeter would end it all. At least the players would solve the destruction of humanity, and after that, the president’s efforts would be rewarded. I believed that he would go down in history books as ‘a great president who tried to protect order.’

“Hehehe…”

Who would have thought that Michael Jeter, who he thought was his most trusted companion and steadfast protector, was a crazy psychopath? Who would have thought that he had already sacrificed all of America’s lives, and that he had forfeited the president’s afterlife. Who would have thought that he had lost 10% of his remaining life.

Because he wasn’t stupid. Because he had a strong sense of responsibility. Because he wanted to create a better society. Because he believed that ‘I have to do it.’ Because he knew too much. Because he saw hope in the midst of all that.

The president has fallen.

The delusion that Jitter would cause strife. The delusion that the regressor would fall for Jitter’s sweet talk. The delusion that the president himself would make an ugly exit. The impatience to do something.

Now, all he could think about was ‘I want to end it’, even though he himself was not capable of ending it all.

“Book.”

The regressor will do it. He will solve everything. He will conquer the tower, stabilize society, and eliminate all crime. Because he is a regressor. Because he is a regressor, it will be possible. That is what he believed.

“I will give everything I have here. Tell me the fastest way for the returner, Kim Jun-ho, to climb the tower. Tell me the way for him to become the strongest.”

Figuring out how to make the regressor stronger is the only thing the president can do…

“No response.”

“…I see.”

Of course, the book did not answer. It was not just the United States. China, France, Korea, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, India… There were countless countries that scraped together their resources and said they would ‘offer’, but the book did not answer. The value of the question about the regressor was greater than all these countries put together.

Of course, this is a president that was somewhat expected. In the first place, why would Jeter have sacrificed Americans? How would the traces left in the book have been engraved?

“Let us offer up the criminals.”

“yes?”

“Let us offer the criminals to the book. First, the death row inmates.”

The reluctant leaders soon agreed. (The president did not mention the risks of sacrificing people.)

“…there is no answer.”

Despite all these goods and the offer of death row inmates, the book still did not respond.

“Then let us offer up the felons.”

Still, the book did not answer.

“Prisoners serving more than 20 years.”

still.

“More than 10 years.”

still.

“The prisoners currently serving their sentences.”

At this point, even the leaders began to show signs of reluctance.

“Wouldn’t that rather arouse the regressor’s antipathy?”

“Isn’t this a bit excessive?”

“Are you sure time is going back? This is… going to be unmanageable.”

The President did not know the conditions for the return. He only knew that Kim Jun-ho was not at home, and he did not even know that the returner could reverse this.

“Yes. I’ll go back.”

But I believed. I believed that if I was a regressor, I could do it. It was a blind faith, a fanatic faith. There was no reason for it. I just believed.

“Oh, is that so?”

“All right…”

But that firm belief, in turn, gave confidence to the leaders. They thought that if someone as high as the President of the United States came out like that, he must know something.

Because he is a president who has built trust by using ‘books’ up to now. Because he is a president who made the existence of the regressor known in the first place. Because he is a president who has taken on the position of world leader well. The leaders followed his words. They interpreted this current behavior as part of what the president said in the past meeting, ‘I will let everyone know when I take action.’

Yes, if you were to pick a regression expert in this place, it would be the US president. You have to trust him, or who else? Since this is completely unknown territory, the other leaders agreed.

In this way, the scope of ‘criminals’ gradually expanded. As a result, the amount of sacrifices was barely enough to provide all people who had been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, as well as ‘citizens who were not needed by the country’.

The book finally answered.

□The more people rely on the regressor, the stronger he becomes.□

“…dependence?”

“The more we rely on him, the stronger we become?”

“So, something has been decided.”

The president laughed.

“Let’s make a video and spread it. About the regressor.”