[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world":3,"chapter-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-426":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Level 4 Human in a Ruined World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1848114,2454,"Chapter 426","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-426",426,"\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chapter 426: Sole Candidate (8)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s not a single easy thing, is there?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo slumped to the ground, spewing poisonous blood from his chest, Jiseon approached in her human form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— A… are you okay?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had just witnessed a blade drive into her son’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo glanced up at his mother and said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I really almost died this time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— Yeah, anyone could see that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiseon nodded and turned her gaze toward the bisected corpse of Chairman Nezra.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— That guy’s really dead, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Probably.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chairman Nezra.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An alien of unknown origin, dispatched to Earth to prevent its worst moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— You did well. But wasn’t this guy supposed to be the strongest being on Earth? Not anymore, though.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he only the strongest on Earth?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nezra was, in truth, the planet's final bastion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As someone who would stand at the front lines during planetary crises, his martial prowess was practically cosmic in scale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By nature, he was not an opponent that a mere native should have been able to face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Yeongwoo07, long since derailed from his original trajectory, was far too powerful to be considered just a native.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, Nezra died in the line of duty—a casualty of occupational hazards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What kind of conviction did he have to stake his life on stopping me? Did he really think I was the planet’s greatest threat?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following his mother’s gaze, Yeongwoo’s eyes rested on Nezra’s corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The alien worker’s sole purpose was the preservation of his assigned planet, Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the fact that he ignored the board’s 73% support rate and proceeded with the duel anyway meant that he had been genuinely committed to the planet’s safety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In a way, he might have been Earth’s last loyalist… but now he’s gone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— What do you mean by that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"From Earth’s perspective, I mean. After all, Earth itself isn’t human, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— That’s true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, the only one truly on Earth’s side, despite being an alien, was Nezra.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nezra had already lived through at least one complete life cycle and was now granted his final existence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo knew this for certain because Nezra had said it himself:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— For us directors, there is no such thing as resignation. This is our final cycle. There is nothing after this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our final cycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the thousands of other board members were the ancestral spirits of different eras, nations, and bloodlines, Nezra was likely an alien who had left a significant mark somewhere in the universe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if that were the case…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Wait, does that mean there’s some form of reincarnation in this universe?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a lingering question that had nagged at him throughout the fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that individuals who had presumably died in the past were now serving as planetary directors suggested that others—himself included—might also be assigned a new life after death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Come to think of it, I did meet Im Bonghee again at the bottom of that dungeon, even though he died on the first reset day.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mutants were possibly no different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, his mother and his second uncle had also seen their first lives end when they became candidates for the reset’s erasure vote.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps, by choosing mutation, they had voluntarily selected their second lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— What? Why are you looking at me like that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing the change in her son’s gaze, Jiseon tilted her head, puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo shifted his eyes back to Nezra’s corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, I was just wondering… What kind of being was Nezra before he reincarnated as a chairman?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— Maybe he was a famous warrior or something? Judging by how he fought, he was no ordinary combatant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Nezra had shown a deep reverence for higher beings, which hinted at a great deal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo, on the other hand, had carelessly tossed aside the 3rd-class existence’s signboard during the battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One could call it quick thinking, but it could just as easily be described as uncouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he had no formal education about the universe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He simply learned how to win, no matter how vulgar the methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In contrast, Nezra…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The chairman had a certain dignity. He was definitely well-educated. That’s probably why he died, though.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, even fortune abandoned him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mysteriously, fate—the energy of the cosmos—sided with Yeongwoo07.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And finally…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish…!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two halves of Chairman Nezra’s corpse began dissolving into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— Hey, what the hell? Where’s he going?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sight was eerily similar to how mutants disintegrated upon death, prompting Yeongwoo to blink rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If what Nezra had said was true, then this was the absolute end of his life cycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— This is our final cycle. There is nothing after this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘There is nothing after this…’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo mulled over the deceased’s words, the chairman’s hand, still clutching his sword, was pulled into the void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shwoosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey, wait!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the sword Nezra had used to pierce Yeongwoo’s heart began dissolving into nothingness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike with other foes, there were no spoils to be claimed from the chairman’s death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"W-wait! My Twenty-One Sword Mountain…!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alarmed, Yeongwoo hastily grabbed Nezra’s sword, but by then, half of the blade had already vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No way! He’s seriously leaving without leaving anything behind?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo cried out in disbelief, even the chairman’s sword sheath faded from his grip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fwoosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything that once made up Chairman Nezra vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without leaving a single trace in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Earth has lost its chairman.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A brief notification message appeared, and the directors, who had been murmuring among themselves, simultaneously turned their eyes toward the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— What, are they sending him off?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the entire board observed a moment of silence, it became clear that they were indeed bidding Nezra farewell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had come from a different origin and held a different political stance, they still honored him, as he had now reached the end of his final cycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— S-shouldn’t we do something too?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Awkwardly removing her helmet, Jiseon glanced around, unsure of what to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Song Jungho, who had quietly joined the board members in their silent tribute, muttered under his breath:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>∴ The universe is starting to grow on me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You crazy bastard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Yeongwoo grabbed Bastard left behind in the chairman's place and addressed the directors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How far has the vote progressed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The directors, who had been silently bowing their heads, slowly looked up and displayed their respective colors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Paah, pa-pat, pat!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Roughly 30% were green, 10% red, and the remaining 60% gray.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—...Pretty intuitive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiseon’s remark was spot on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because they were all originally humans, they were using signals that would be easily recognizable to any Earthling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most likely, green meant approval, red meant opposition, and gray indicated those who had yet to cast their vote.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, only 40% of the total members have voted, with 30% in favor and 10% against?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo’s brow twitched with displeasure, and the directors who had displayed red signals quickly concealed their colors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You bast— No, Directors. Are you still not thinking straight? You just witnessed it with your own eyes, didn’t you…?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo raised Bastard and pointed it at the directors filling the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sorry the chairman is dead, but honestly, isn’t this just a workplace accident? The chairman, in reality, was just a combat power gauge, wasn’t he?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—...?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a claim difficult to agree with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiseon quietly turned to look at her son, while the thousands of Earth directors, clearly flustered, seemed to share the same sentiment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why was the chairman so strong? Wasn’t it because the universe granted him physical power so that Earth could maintain its planetary dignity?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was that really the case?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no way of knowing, as the directors offered no answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, the directors had never once spoken directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the chairman is now dead. Why? Because he was defeated by a human like me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo raised his thumb and pointed to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, what does that mean?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He posed the question to the directors but didn’t wait for an answer before continuing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It means that humanity has finally attained full sovereignty over this planet. It means that the chairman can now be replaced by a human.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Yeongwoo couldn’t claim a vote in the council, he had nonetheless proven that he could assume the chairman’s core responsibility: serving as the planet's final line of defense against external threats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The chairman was bound to this planet for life, meaning his combat power was fixed. But I’m different.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, Yeongwoo raised Bastard and pointed to the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I, we, will venture into the universe and continue to grow in a much larger expanse. One day, even the chairman will seem insignificant by comparison.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fwaaaah!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Golden light suddenly burst from Yeongwoo's eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a manifestation of his overwhelming aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Vote for me. From now on, Earth’s dignity will stem from humanity's stature.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the bandit lord, Jeong Yeongwoo07, declared this with his golden eyes blazing, the directors, who had been staring at him in a daze, began murmuring once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the fact that a human like Jeong Yeongwoo had defeated Chairman Nezra was a remarkable feat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with the chairman gone, it was true that they needed a powerful figure to replace him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in return, what they would have to offer was...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The directors must be facing a dilemma. If they really are ancient wraiths, doesn’t that mean they’re all people from the old era?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other hand, Jeong Yeongwoo embodied progress itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was already half a spaceman, with one foot firmly planted in the vast universe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>∴ But wasn’t his approval rating already at 73% before the duel with the chairman?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Jungho scratched his chin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>∴ Humanity’s history is steeped in war. Those directors, who would have lived their entire lives in the era of conflict, would have no reason not to follow overwhelming power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—What?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>∴ You can only cry for peace when you have strength. If I were one of the directors, I’d have voted in favor too. That lunatic would be terrifying as an enemy, but as an ally, there would be nothing more reassuring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Song Jungho could even finish speaking, the council resumed its vote.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pa-pa-pat!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wraiths, who had been displaying gray signals, rapidly began shifting to a single color.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pa-pat, pat, paah!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That color was—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The color of approval.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The council had ultimately decided to place Earth in Jeong Yeongwoo’s hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Paaah!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, the last of the thousands of council members turned green, concluding the vote.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The council has completed the vote.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>≪On the matter of granting Earth negotiation rights to Bandit Lord Jeong Yeongwoo07.≫\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Approval: 89%. Opposition: 11%.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘89%? Overwhelming.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo nodded in satisfaction at the result, a new message appeared before everyone’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The council has granted Jeong Yeongwoo07 the right to negotiate on behalf of Earth. |l||I, comply with the rightful authority.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>|l||I was Earth's unique code.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the system was ordering Earth to comply with the council's decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, right after, a message unlike anything anyone on this planet had ever seen appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Paaah!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>『Fucking hell.』\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>『So much for good days.』\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>",1883,"2026-06-09T07:03:45.907Z",1,"novelbin.me","a238fe810876753983ae6002f55c7d8286c85b0c9fa37ae66f37d6e929906217","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-225","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-224",688,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flevel-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-cover.jpg"]