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Chapter 237: Death Cult (1)

"Hey, you\'ve become super famous, you know? You even have a fan club."

On the way back to Korea.

Lee Seoyoon, who was on the plane, casually mentioned.

"A fan club?"

"Yeah. Don\'t tell me you didn\'t know?"

"I didn\'t. Are there a lot of members?"

"13 million in Korea alone, isn\'t that a lot?"

"....There\'s a cafe like that?"

"Yeah, here."

After unlocking the fingerprint recognition, she handed over her phone.

[Fan Cafe, Welcome to the Death Cult. Necromancer aspirants, civilians, and ordinary Awakened are all welcome. Let\'s share information~]

The cafe\'s message was visible.

[Kim-men. Checking in today as well.]

— 1 second ago.

[Kim-men. 12th day of checking in....]

— 1 second ago.

[I\'m a beginner Necromancer. Anyone willing to help me with my build?]

— 1 second ago.

.

.

Dozens of posts were being uploaded every second.

"Why is this place so popular?"

"They give out items."

"Huh?"

"The cafe owner gives out items. They did the same after they caught the Japanese Spirit King last time. They gave out S-rank skill books and all sorts of equipment back then. Look, here\'s the article."

"....Really? Are they rich like me? Giving away all those things."

"What, you really didn\'t know? The rumor is that you\'re sponsoring this place."

"No, what nonsense is that."

He felt inwardly wronged.

It was the first time he had even heard of this cafe.

And besides....

\'Death Cult. Come to think of it, that name is awfully familiar.\'

Wasn\'t this the name of the cult that served the Death Lord?

In fact, the group formed by the Necromancers who gathered at the Necromancer Symposium was the Death Cult.

Kim Minwoo was the leader, and the 12 Necromancers who gathered there were the members.

\'After that... I think I half-abandoned it?\'

The reason was that he was too busy.

He had decided to discipline the Necromancers later when he had time and put it on the back burner for now.

But....

\'Why do I smell that group here?\'

Just looking at the cafe\'s hierarchy alone was enough.

[Cafe Ranks]

[Legion Commanders - 4 people including the most great and beautiful \'Merhen\'.]

[Diocese Heads - Those who serve \'Him\' most closely.]

[11 Apostles - \'His\' escorts.]

[Highest-rank Believers - Cafe members who have diligently proven their \'loyalty\'.]

[High-rank Believers - Those who have proven their \'loyalty\' to some extent....]

[Mid-rank Believers - ....]

.

.

Starting from Legion Commanders to Diocese Heads and 11 Apostles, along with various ranks from Highest-rank Believers to the lowest-rank Believers who have just joined and need to overcome the hurdle of checking in.

Various ranks were distributed.

\'Diocese Head is a position I saw in my past life.\'

And the 11 Apostles....

\'Isn\'t this, that?\'

The 12 SS-rank Necromancers who gathered last time. Could it be that they\'re all in this together?

That aside.

Why 11 Apostles instead of 12?

He looked at Lee Seoyoon.

"About this cafe. Did they gather just by giving out items?"

"No, if it were just that, this many people wouldn\'t have gathered. Look here. There\'s an information sharing section, right?"

"Yeah. There is."

"I\'m a low-rank believer right now, but the information shared is quite substantial for that, right?"

"So, it\'s a kind of information sharing group?"

"It seems similar. If you share good information, you get promoted faster. They say that being a high-rank believer is very satisfying. I heard... you can see Merhen\'s daily photos?"

"....What?"

Why is Merhen suddenly mentioned out of the blue?

"Anyway, on top of that, they say there\'s a lot of overseas information shared."

"....But, why did you join this? You said you hate me."

"To catch the enemy general, aim for his horse first. Don\'t you know that saying? I thought you might be behind this, so I wanted to check it out. But I didn\'t know you\'d be completely unaware like this. Is it because it was created recently?"

Indeed, it was.

The cafe\'s creation date was June 12th.

It had only been about 1.5 months, practically a newborn baby.

....But how did they gather so many members?

He took out his phone.

\'Liang Xiaojun\'s number is....\'

He searched his contacts and found his number.

He called him right away.

The call connected before it even rang three times.

"Liang Xiaojun?"

— Yes, it\'s me! Kim Minwoo!

"Did you, by any chance, create a cafe or something?"

— Ah, you saw it too, Kim Minwoo?

"Yeah, I saw it. Just now. Why did you create this?"

— Hehe... Are you busy, by any chance?

"No. I have some time, but why?"

— Then can I visit you in person and explain it then?

"Come quickly."

Judging by his sly voice, it seemed like he had something up his sleeve.

It seemed like he needed to hear him out this time.

* * *

After the call.

In less than three hours, Liang Xiaojun set foot on Korean soil.

"I\'m here! Mr. Kim Minwoo!"

"Sit here."

"Yes!"

He sat in the opposite chair and bowed politely.

"Have you been well?"

"Why has he become so friendly?"

Was he always like this?

He was like a eunuch from history, the emperor\'s flatterer. Suddenly, Liang Xiaojun\'s face became infinitely serious.

"....Originally, my life was in your hands, Mr. Kim Minwoo. A life where I couldn\'t refuse any order."

"That\'s right."

Was it when the Chinese kids came for training?

At that time, he realized that Liang Xiaojun was a follower of the Death Lord, and like Lee Seoyoon, he couldn\'t refuse absolute commands. From then on, as he said, his life was in Kim Minwoo\'s hands.

There was no reason not to take it.

"At first, I was troubled. Every time that loyalty, like brainwashing, suddenly popped up, I was filled with hatred."

"And then?"

"I received generously. Information and resources. Thanks to that, I\'ve made good connections among the Chinese factions, and I\'m rising faster than anyone else in the younger generation. The president\'s seat may no longer be a dream. So this is my repayment."

"Repayment?"

"You\'re popular, Mr. Kim Minwoo. Just looking at your NewTube subscriber count, you can guess that. But these are just shallow followers. No, they\'re not even followers. They\'re just light fans."

Then Liang Xiaojun took out a piece of paper and drew something on it.

The drawing resembled an hourglass.

"This drawing is the power structure of Mr. Kim Minwoo as I see it."

"This hourglass?"

"Yes. Look. The top and bottom of an hourglass are thick. But the middle is infinitely thin. That\'s how your power is, Mr. Kim Minwoo. You have close ties with those above. You\'re also popular with the public. The top and bottom are thick, but what about this middle layer?"

"How do you define this middle layer?"

"Your die-hard fans, Mr. Kim Minwoo, or those who offer comparable loyalty. That\'s how I\'d like to express it."

"Hmm."

It wasn\'t an unreasonable statement.

Certainly, it would be a bit ambiguous to consider NewTube subscribers as die-hard fans. There must be many who simply subscribed for light entertainment, like Shorts.

No, in fact, 90% of them would be like that.

"The cafe you created is different, is that it?"

"Yes. Of course, right now, it\'s fundamentally not much different from your NewTube subscribers, Mr. Kim Minwoo. Most of them are drawn by wealth and information. But they have a very big advantage that subscribers don\'t have. It\'s a sense of \'belonging\'."

"A sense of belonging?"

"Yes. Religion is the same. It\'s not for nothing that they give gifts when they proselytize. You have to \'try it out\' first to decide whether to believe in the religion or not."

"So?"

"Even if they\'re drawn by wealth and information, the fact remains that they joined a cafe for you, Mr. Kim Minwoo. To get promoted, they have to prove their \'loyalty\'. Right now, we\'re considering things like attendance checks, prayer counts, and contribution levels."

"You think this will be helpful?"

"I think it will. Numbers have a terrifying power. It\'s not for nothing that organizations like the Association have great power. Right now, it\'s a Korea-only cafe, so it\'s mainly important in Korea... but that will change later."

"You want to make it like a religion?"

"Why not? Mr. Kim Minwoo, you\'re at a level where you could be called the \'god\' of Necromancers. We just want to humbly position ourselves as devoted believers who assist the god."

Liang Xiaojun\'s eyes, as he spoke, were burning with blind loyalty.

"About the 11 Apostles."

"Yes."

"Are they the Necromancers I know?"

"That\'s right. It consists of the twelve who gathered at the last symposium, minus one, making it eleven."

"Who\'s the missing one?"

"That Mikhail bastard."

"Ah, the Russian Necromancer?"

"Yes, him. He showed the most disloyal attitude at the symposium. Even after recalling his memories as a follower... his eyes were truly arrogant. So all of us apostles agreed. To give Mikhail a penalty."

"What is it?"

"It\'s simple. Mikhail will have to compete with the Necromancers who will join later. Of course, it would have been better to inform you first and get your permission, Mr. Kim Minwoo... but knowing how busy you are, we got permission from the Chairman instead."

"Wait a minute. Chairman? Are you talking about my father?"

"Yes. I\'m referring to Chairman Kim."

"When did my father find out?"

"Ah, he visited before the cafe was created. It was shortly after you entered the world rankings, Mr. Kim Minwoo."

It seemed he had been busy going around here and there.

"Wait a minute. Then the material support and information support, did you get that from the group as well?"

"Yes. I\'m sorry, but that\'s the case. We tried to do it ourselves, but when the Chairman heard about it, he said he really wanted to help..."

Liang Xiaojun said, scratching his head.

"But when it comes to information, the apostles put in a lot of effort. As you know, they\'re all promising figures in their respective countries. The overseas information was all handled by the apostles."

Ah, so that\'s it.

The skill books and equipment giveaways and domestic information were supported by Ilsung, and the overseas information was provided by the apostles using their respective positions.

If they received not only domestic and international information but also Ilsung\'s support, it was no wonder the cafe grew so rapidly in such a short time.

The basic foundation was already laid, wasn\'t it?

It might sound self-congratulatory, but the name Kim Minwoo in Korea had long since reached the realm of the sacred and inviolable.

Since they were operating under that name, the speed at which members gathered must have been fast.

And it\'s the only \'official cafe\', isn\'t it?

No, wait a minute.

"But why is this the only official cafe? I\'ve never allowed any cafe in the first place."

"Well, Merhen readily agreed to share her photos. Thanks to that, it was a great help in securing legitimacy despite the numerous imitations."

"....When?"

"Right before the cafe opened. At that time, thanks to the Chairman, I got her number and asked for her opinion."

He called Merhen.

"Merhen."

— Yes, Minwoo.

"You know him, right?"

— Yeah. I know him. He\'s one of your followers, Minwoo.

"Have you ever chatted with him on KakaoTalk?"

— Yeah. Last time when he was making the cafe.

"Did you also give permission to upload your photos back then?"

— Yeah. They said it would help Minwoo, right? Isn\'t that so? I saw the membership count, it\'s over ten million.

"Yeah, it must have helped."

— Right? Actually, I thought so too! The photos floating around on the internet are all from paparazzi. But the photos uploaded to the cafe are all taken at home.

"....Are you managing the sharing well?"

At those words, Liang Xiaojun spoke resolutely.

"Merhen\'s daily photos are our cafe\'s greatest asset and are all top secret. Only high-rank believers who have proven their loyalty can see just one. And anyone who shares them is severely punished."

"Punished? How?"

"It\'s simple. Each photo has a different special treatment at the bottom. They can edit and upload it, but there will always be traces left. We then investigate to catch the culprit and permanently ban them. There are more than five high-rank believers who have been banned that way."

— Yeah, yeah! I saw it, and they\'re pretty good at catching them. Liang is quite capable.

"Haha. Thank you. Thanks to that strict punishment, no more \'foolish\' believers are leaking photos. So, about that..."

Liang Xiaojun, who was looking at him cautiously, spoke.

"Could Vulcan also share some photos? He\'s quite handsome. It will be a great help in attracting female members in the future."

— Ah, don\'t worry about that. I already got permission.

"Really?!"

— Yeah. I hit him a few times, and he\'s obedient now. I even have a list here!

"Oh, ohhh!"

Liang Xiaojun\'s eyes sparkled as he received the photos from Merhen. Vulcan\'s popularity had soared recently thanks to the live broadcast. He had gained immense popularity, rivaling that of the former member and skeleton, Cedric.

At least among women, that is.

This was a magical trump card to attract them.

"Thank you! Thank you! Mr. Kim Minwoo, can I use these photos?"

"Sure, why not."

It\'s not like Vulcan\'s photos will wear out if they\'re shared.

He looked at Liang Xiaojun.

"You said that cafe would be helpful to me, right?"

"Is there something you\'d like me to do...?"

"Let\'s see your information gathering skills. It\'s not difficult. There\'s a company called Joongyong Pharmaceuticals. Can you look into them?"

"Joongyong Pharmaceuticals? Is it a Korean company?"

"Yeah."

"Then it\'s no problem. I\'ll instruct the believers. Please wait a moment."

Soon, in less than 5 minutes, Liang Xiaojun spoke.

"I found it. The insiders there. I heard they\'re on the verge of collapse?"

Wait a minute.

He found out that quickly?