Chapter 16
The users had suddenly started searching for me like mad.
- Shop, I'm proving I've stacked one good deed a day ㅇㅇ [223]
- Shop, here's a list of everything I did today [554]
- System, here's proof that I cleaned up a corpse today [331]
....
“What the fuck is wrong with these guys?”
What on earth had happened while I was groaning with an upset stomach and eating ramen-seasoning shabu-shabu?
I rewound the gallery's post list a little and checked each topic that had come up while I was away.
- [Head Mod] From this moment on, the system and I shall be regarded as one
The starting point was, as expected, the proof of the supplies I'd sent to the Head Mod (instant rice, Spam, and Powerade).
How did you get it how did you get it!!
ㄴ Fuck, I can't believe this...
[ShopWiki] It's not in the shop right now...!!!
ㄴ [ShopWiki] You really didn't buy it, Head Mod?
ㄴ [Head Mod] I really didn't...
ㄴ Wow...
ㄴ This is the biggest piece of bait in history...
ㄴ Can the system send food too...?
The Head Mod saved me...
ㄴ The shop really delivered to me...!
ㄴ Gasp
The gallery went completely berserk as soon as the Head Mod said they'd received food from the system right after dismantling Oasis (physically)..
“Yeah, yeah, I saw up to here.”
But what the hell did this have to do with anything?
ShopWiki couldn't resist the bait in the Head Mod's proof post and ended up writing a post.
Title *Featured [ShopWiki] An Analysis of the Shop Based on the Recent Oasis Incident [Update History] (Ver 0.1)
1. Stock limit expansion
Just like the second membership-capacity expansion last time, the stock of Oadasu 500ML was expanded from 100 >> 700 bottles along with an announcement.
[System Upgrade] - NEW!!!
‘Thanks to our members' enthusiastic support and purchases, our shop's inventory management system has been successfully upgraded.’
Judging from the shop's official announcement, it seems to upgrade the more we use it >>> Further research needed!!
Nothing seemed strange up to this point.
“Mm-hmm, that's right. It does upgrade the more we use it.”
You understood it perfectly, but it means the system upgrades only when you people buy things.
What on earth could the problem be? I read on through ShopWiki's post.
The important part was the next paragraph.
[The System's Intent and Philosophy] - Important
The most important thing is the timing and intent behind this system update.
The stock increased sevenfold at the exact moment those Oasis bastards were trying to monopolize bottled water and gouge everyone? Is that a coincidence?
I don't think so >> Continued in the paragraph below
System >>> Made Oasis, a group that had been profiteering by controlling water prices all along, fall to ruin >> Oasis is a group opposed to the system's intent
What we can learn from this incident is that the system ultimately wants to stabilize prices ㅇㅇ
At the same time, it can be seen as encouraging us to actively use its shop >> Because it upgrades the more we use it
Things started to get a little strange.
“Uh... That's not completely wrong.”
It would be nice if people's lives got easier and prices stabilized... right?
But that wasn't the only reason I did it.
However, the Head Mod took things a step further here.
[Head Mod] I think you're right too. The system clearly has a vision of the future and an intention it wants to realize
ㄴ [Head Mod] But ultimately, I think the system's grand cause is rebuilding this ruined world
ㄴ [Head Mod] And I believe it rewards people who act in ways that bring them closer to what the system wants, like me ㅇㅇ
[ShopWiki] But the shop announcement said it updates the more we use it. The more we use it, the more it updates, and those updates themselves are our reward
ㄴ [Head Mod] If it's nothing but the law of strict equivalence according to your logic, how do you explain the miracle of the food I received?
ㄴ [ShopWiki] That's merely a one-time response for eliminating an organization that was disrupting the market ecosystem. Calling it the essence of the reward is a leap
ㄴ [Head Mod] That makes sense too, but I see it differently
....
And so the Head Mod and ShopWiki began a lengthy debate in the comments about the system's philosophy and grand cause, like the philosophers of ancient Greece.
The Head Mod School claimed that the system's great cause was rebuilding the world, and that people had to understand that cause and put it into practice themselves.
The ShopWiki School agreed that understanding that cause was important, but emphasized utility, arguing that people should use, consume, and support the shop strictly for practical purposes rather than putting it into practice.
[Head Mod] Ultimately, the system's grand cause is stabilizing prices in the outside world and...
ㄴ [ShopWiki] It would not be wrong to say that it is both the stabilization of prices and the reconstruction of the world...
ㄴ [ShopWiki] We need to understand and study a system with such a grand cause and continue learning more about it...
ㄴ [Head Mod] Agreed. We should always explore it and examine it deeply ㅇㅇ
ㄴ [ShopWiki] But I cannot agree with the Head Mod's claim
....
Influenced by them, several offshoot schools began to appear.
Title : I focused on the fact that the Head Mod praised the system ㅇㅇ
(Roughly, a crude stone tower smeared with blood. JPG)
System!!
I understand the profound cause behind you!!! (I don't understand)
To think you had such profound intentions...! I'm deeply moved!
I shall worship such a system!!!!
So please grant me your blessing too!!!!!
Wait, you're just going to worship it???!!
ㄴ This bastard is shamelessly worshipping it for real...!!!
Saying '(I don't understand)' like that lol
ㄴ Ah lol, if he understood it, he'd be off debating with the Head Mod and Wiki lol
ㄴ For real;;
Where did you get the blood;;
ㄴ Don't tell me you went human hunting?
ㄴ I sprinkled Walker blood around and came back ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Good lol
The Unthinking Praise School.
Title : Hey, you idiots, you keep thinking the system is a person
Don't you get it? It sent a reward right at that dramatic moment after smashing Oasis and saving the survivors.
This guy is definitely a Constellation, and a vicious one addicted to dopamine at that ㅇㅇ
We only get sponsorships when we fight desperately and do spectacular shit.
Ah, is it a streamer?
ㄴ You're watching us bust our asses while eating popcorn?
ㄴ I totally get it
I'm going to fight a Heavy one-on-one tomorrow, no weapons ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Starting tomorrow, I'll get infected bit by bit and put on a show of being immune to all poisons ㅇㅇ
I went all-in on Bitcoin after reading this
ㄴ Does that even exist?
ㄴ Is there any left?
And so a Dopamine-Addicted Constellation School appeared, claiming that people received rewards for providing spectacular entertainment.
“Pfft.”
- I picked up 3 pieces of trash today ㅇㅇ [455]
- I killed my opponent painlessly in one shot today ㅇㅇ [44]
- Came back from cleaning up corpses at the refugee camp hehe [224]
...
The most influential school right now was the Good-Deed School.
In other words, they believed that the system was absolute good and therefore loved good deeds.
“No, the Good-Deed School is fucking...”
This was seriously hilarious.
I read through the posts with a faint grin.
Title : System, I'm certifying today's good deed ㅇㅇ
I helped an old ragpicker who had fallen on the road back up and cleaned trash from the Orange Zone security gate ㅇㅇ
Kya, what a good deed...
ㄴ For real, you have to start with the little things ㅇㅇ
Did you receive food?
ㄴ Nope, didn't get any;;
ㄴ Fuck, was that too small a deed;;
Starting today, I'm going to stop swearing
ㄴ The system might be able to see me swearing in the gallery, so I'll only use kind and beautiful words ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Your mom
ㄴ Fucking asshole, do you want to die?
ㄴ What if I swear?
ㄴ Ah.
Title : Hey, I came to a refugee camp
(Roughly, a proof photo. JPG)
Why is the Blood Tears Guild Leader distributing gruel here?
These guys are the type who won't move without mana stones...?
Don't you get it?
ㄴ The small guilds quickly caught on and started following the grand cause and stacking up good deeds ㅇㅇ
ㄴ 'Stacking up good deeds,' my ass
ㄴ You guys should do it too. You never know
I actually got fed, and the guild leader was like, 'Please eat slowly...' ㅇㅈㄹ;;
ㄴ It's obviously forced enthusiasm even without seeing it lol
ㄴ Ah lol, hypocrisy is still goodness lol
But perhaps the users were sincere at heart, because they were taking it surprisingly seriously.
“No, they're actually doing it.”
Even after the apocalypse, they could still maintain such good deeds.
Title : [Head Mod] Hey, you bastards...!! It's not like I give you things just because you pretend to be good!!!
You have to show the will to rebuild the world and put it into practice yourself!!
I'm not pretending to be good...
ㄴ But you really are good...?
Fuck, how much better do I have to be?
ㄴ For real lol
ㄴ I even gave away bottled water;;
[ShopWiki] No;; I'm saying you have to work to stabilize prices;;
ㄴ I went and flipped over a merchant stall that had quietly raised the water price back to 40 mana stones ㅇㅇ
ㄴ You contributed to stabilizing prices lol
ㄴ lololol
[Head Mod] ....
ㄴ Woo-woo, S-bung doesn't know anything about the system's grand cause and philosophy...
ㄴ A single can of Spam right now matters more to meee...
I thought inviting people to the shop couldn't hurt, but never mind... woo-woo...
ㄴ Maybe it'll really send you something at this rate...
Of course, with the board plastered with mindless good-deed proof posts, the most flustered people seemed to be the Head Mod and ShopWiki themselves, but the users stubbornly pretended not to know anything.
“Heh heh.”
So while I was sitting in the bathroom with a stomachache, they were debating grand causes and philosophies and doing good deeds in hopes that they might receive food.
“...I just want to grill 1++ Hanwoo in a frying pan.”
Woo-woo, all S-bung wants is to unlock the Living section and get a gas burner and frying pan.
And I'd never once said that I was the system.
Strictly speaking, I'd only maintained my mystique for my own safety.
“But? If the result is good, that's all that matters!”
Hypocrisy is still goodness, and the end justifies the means.
Whatever the process, there was no reason for anyone to feel bad if people had started doing good deeds because of me.
Besides, if those actions made life easier for people in the outside world, I stood to benefit too.
Naturally, I supported them.
“Fighting!!! Get stronger! Uh! Survive well!! Let's do this!!”
And let me eat some Hanwoo too!!! That's right!
Of course, there was only one reason they were acting this way.
Hey, forget the schools and grand causes—whatever the case?
ㄴ Right now, the system <<< has food
ㄴ Isn't this what's important?
ㄴ That's right
System! Hand over the food!!!
ㄴ Is the system your friend?
ㄴ Please... give us some food...
I'm hungry...
ㄴ I don't wanna eat bug blocks...
ㄴ Eat mutant meat the wrong way and you'll get infected
ㄴ For real?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ I once saw an entire family get infected after eating mutant jerky
ㄴ Gasp, fuck
I'm not even asking for the Spam the Head Mod got, System...
ㄴ At least sell us some Jjondeugi, System...
It was all for food—for everyone to get food.
“I had been aware of your needs too.”
So I pulled my chair right up and opened the status window.
[Reward 2: 1 additional sales-slot expansion ticket]
For my sake and theirs, I decided to willingly give them what they wanted.
“Let's draw some aggro first.”
Title : [★Starplex★] New Stock Arrival and Update Notice
Thanks to our members' enthusiastic support, we would like to announce that new products are scheduled to arrive at our shop.
The next scheduled product is food.
!!!!
ㄴ ??!!
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ An... update???
ㄴ Now???
Wait a second...
ㄴ Food??
ㄴ You're selling food???
Food... can we buy it??
ㄴ From the gallery shop?
ㄴ It says available for purchase!!!!!!!!
Breaking neeeews!!!
ㄴ The system updated!!!!
They could have anything they wanted.
“Mana stones are goooood.”
If they could pay a few mana stones.