[{"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-461":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},1848025,2454,"Chapter 461","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-461",461,"\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chapter 461: High-Growth Stock (5)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>2, 4.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then 8.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything changed with just two calculations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Eight… you say?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Contrary to Maon’s assumption that the penalty would accumulate at 2 billion karma per day, the head of the Renaissance family had presented a formula where the amount doubled daily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant by the fourth day from the contract, the penalty would be 16 billion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the fifth day, 32 billion… and within a week, it would exceed 100 billion karma—a completely insane rule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You’re insane. Do you even know what the penalty would be on the tenth day under that formula?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t. I never intended to let it get that far,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo replied calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time, Maon’s expression showed anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—What did you say?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this rate, the negotiation was bound to collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, Emel had already noticed the shift in the room’s atmosphere and was now wearing a triumphant smirk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He probably thought that this was the perfect chance to eliminate that crazy family once and for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—D-Do something. There's no one behind us now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiseon, too, was visibly shaken by this utterly unorthodox negotiation tactic and looked around in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gone were Chairman Dogo and the guests who had once filled the other side’s ceremonial hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Currently present in Gwangjin-gu were only the heads and representatives of powerful families known across the galaxy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, if they chose to launch an all-out attack, the Renaissance and even the planetary ship would be destroyed, and Jeong Yeongwoo07’s story would end here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then finally—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo took a step forward toward the family heads and opened his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This wasn’t a formula meant to collect money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still visibly irritated, Maon asked again,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Then what was your true intention?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I urge you to do your best to reduce the penalty. If the contract is fulfilled quickly, the penalty won’t be an issue at all, will it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—What?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exactly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In theory, if Jeong Yeongwoo07 could raise his prestige level by two stages in a single day, no penalty would be incurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even by the third day, the penalty wouldn’t exceed 10 billion, meaning they had about three or four days to work with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As the family head put it, I take steps equal to a hundred million years each day. It means I go through more in a day than others do in an era.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—And?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why I have no time. I can’t afford to wait to grow stronger.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo then looked up at the sky once again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If there weren’t a penalty that doubles every day, how could I expect anyone to act with urgency?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the contract only asked for the knowledge to raise his prestige level by two stages, the process would inevitably be delayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Yeongwoo, with his limited time, would feel the pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knows what might happen tomorrow?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knows when he’ll encounter an enemy far stronger than himself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other hand, the family heads like Maon had a completely different perspective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the contract was signed, a mutual non-aggression pact would take effect, so they had no reason to rush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These families had existed for thousands, even millions of years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To them, a single ‘day’ was nothing more than a fleeting moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There is a phrase on this planet Earth—yeokjisasaji.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[TL\u002FN:\"Yeokjisaji\" (역지사지) is a Korean word meaning \"stepping into another's shoes\" or \"putting yourself in another's place\"]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Yeokjisasaji?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It means to truly understand someone, you must put yourself in their shoes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Hah. So you're saying this outrageous penalty is part of that concept?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To make beings who lived for centuries or millennia feel what it’s like to live a single human day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why Yeongwoo chose a penalty that doubled daily—to create urgency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you accept this condition, you’ll come to feel what my ‘every day’ is like. And then…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You’ll force us to do our utmost to help you grow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maon finished his sentence for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo bowed respectfully in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s right.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maon then rested his chin on his interlocked hands and spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Yeokjisasaji, huh… Then it’s your turn to understand my position, isn’t it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Why should I, someone destined to live for ages, feel your fleeting ‘days’? What urgency do I have?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was asking why he, as someone from a powerful, long-lived lineage, should be rushed for the sake of a mortal like Yeongwoo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The non-aggression pact with Yeongwoo was only meant to prepare for the Renaissance’s potential future strength—there was no need to hasten that timeline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, not from the perspective of Maon and his family, Tisef.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…That…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything he had said until now had been a logical twist, while Maon’s argument was just plain common sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Since you cannot answer, I suppose the young heir was right—you’re an arrogant fool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maon had already mentioned that many families had been destroyed over matters of ‘disrespect.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So his words just now were essentially a farewell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo had crossed the line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunch…!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maon’s body, encased in a massive metallic sphere, began to expand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His ribcage and facial structure grew larger, and the muscles in his arms and shoulders swelled to incredible proportions in real time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emel, too, gripped his sword tightly and glared at Yeongwoo, clearly ready for combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—So there is balance in the universe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Earth terms, it was poetic justice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything had returned to its rightful order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Damn.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sensing the imminent destruction of his faction, Yeongwoo quickly looked to his right shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Dogo emblem, which should’ve been glowing brightly, remained still and quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a clear sign that the company would not be intervening in this matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Well, this is my own fault!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then what should he do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo’s eyes scanned the galaxy’s family heads standing nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By some miracle, Bioto and Zeana had yet to show any intention of fighting—but Maon and Emel alone would be more than enough to pose a threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough to wipe out the Renaissance family right here, right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Two against one? I can barely win a solo fight — is this even possible?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo reached a swift conclusion and moved immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With incredible speed, he threw himself flat to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—What the...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emel, startled by the sight of House Leader Jeong Yeongwoo07 suddenly slamming his head into the ground, looked over at Maon with a confused expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw that Maon, who had been ready to engage in battle, was now peering down at the new family head with an oddly intrigued look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, the old head still had some interest in this bizarre family that only appeared once in a galactic cycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—A truly unpredictable creature. What are you plotting now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Maon loomed over Yeongwoo with his grotesquely inflated body, Yeongwoo slightly lifted his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then, Lord Maon, how about I give you a compelling reason to help me grow quickly?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—What?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mutual non-aggression during my term, and…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo gulped hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew full well that once uttered here and now, his words could never be taken back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But without a first investor, there would be no second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without one, there would be no future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he would die here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Yeongwoo unfolded the future that was about to collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mutual defense.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Mutual defense?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By tomorrow, we’ll be stronger than Satral. By the day after, we might rival Shirach. And the day after that…? We’ll be a formidable ally to your great house.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no escape behind him, Yeongwoo threw out his lines with reckless abandon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maon burst out laughing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—To dare mention Shirach in front of the vice head—how truly insolent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, the tone of \"insolent\" carried a different nuance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Emel, whose face now looked as if he'd bitten into a sour bug, Maon was now laughing heartily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Very well, you lowly and brazen one. If you’ve got that much spirit, growing that small body of yours shouldn’t be a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It meant Maon knew a way to help Yeongwoo's prestige leap two levels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Draft the pact. I shall make a vow to be upheld during your brief lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, as Maon agreed to Yeongwoo’s proposal, Emel, marked with the \"General\" symbol on his forehead, clenched his jaw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If things went this way, his visit to this planet would amount to nothing but disgrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, behind Yeongwoo, space split open and Renaissance’s administrator, Kubu, opened his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Lord, the vow and the treaty documents are ready.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? Kubu, you were watching all this time and didn’t make a sound?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo frowned, but Kubu didn’t reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he conjured the Renaissance artillery seal in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the temporary pact to be signed with House Tisef.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The mutants will appear soon. I suggest you hurry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prompted by Kubu, Yeongwoo reached out and touched the artillery sigil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The symbol was absorbed through Yeongwoo’s fingers, then imprinted onto his palm in radiant light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“W-What is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—A handshake. Every family has different contract laws, but due to the urgency, I set this one myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Handshake? Oh…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon seeing his own palm, Yeongwoo finally understood Kubu's intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The handshake, which in the reset Earth was a way to befriend mutants, had now been adopted as the method to form pacts within the Renaissance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, not a bad idea.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the artillery symbol branded on his right hand, Yeongwoo looked toward Maon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maon, in turn, glanced down at Yeongwoo’s palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Why is the pact seal in your hand?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Usually, the pact seal would hover in midair between the parties, to be jointly activated — hence his question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo extended his right hand toward Maon and answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mutual defense is essentially having each other’s backs, right? So, before that, shouldn’t we try holding hands? It’s the way we do it on Earth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maon glanced down at the mechanical arm attached to his spherical body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He understood that a handshake via mechanical arm wasn’t what the other party wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You people sure have a lot of demands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maon rolled the sphere forward, lifted his massive upper body, and reached out with a colossal arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack, crackle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Maon's muscle-laden arm moved, a sound like twisting wood came from beneath his skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then finally—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maon grasped Yeongwoo’s right hand — along with the pact seal — in his massive grip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—It is done. The pact is now in effect. Peace shall reign during your tenure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, a radiant energy burst forth from their clasped hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flaaash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tisef and Renaissance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pact between the two houses was now etched into the cosmic ledger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that exact moment, a massive energy began to surge from the top of the bluish pillar of light cutting through the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was time — the monsters had begun their descent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—What the…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Huh?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sensing the ominous energy, the other house leaders all drew their blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Maon, who had just concluded the pact, raised his head toward the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—What kind of planet is this…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Yeongwoo, drawing his bastard sword from his waist, answered politely:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord Maon, let us show you how we’ve managed to survive so far.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>",1882,"2026-06-09T07:03:45.910Z",1,"novelbin.me","cfeb0bd09c6bd497b54c754cc66b4e70310986c7f8b2187b28ad660a58a657c9","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-462","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-460",688,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flevel-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-cover.jpg"]