Surviving Among the Entities

『Then I will begin hacking.』

My smartphone’s battery began draining rapidly.

[70%]

The battery level, which had been 96% moments ago, instantly dropped by 26%.

‘Maintaining Sarang’s AI consumes a lot of power, but using her functions drains it even faster.’

As the hacking commenced, information about the entity appeared on the smartphone screen.

[WK Custom Perpetual Power Device – Avici]
[Thank you for purchasing our product! This device has been customized with the functionality to eternally punish sinners as you ordered, using them as fuel to power the train, and features an auto-pilot AI system to track and summon sinners based on set conditions!]

The information displayed was akin to a manual included with the purchase.

[Sinner Punishment Function – An eternally burning hellfire furnace has been installed inside. The flames directly sourced from Avici Hell will completely incinerate sinners’ bodies and souls, but simultaneously regenerate them. This allows sinners to suffer eternally.]

[Fuel Supply from Sinners Function – Collects the screams of sinners and converts the anguish energy into thermal energy remotely supplied to the train. Energy Generation Formula: Scream Decibel (Objective Intensity of Anguish ∑ Soul Size)]

[Sinner Tracking & Auto-Pilot Functions – An installed hyperdimensional AI system automatically operates the train. It tracks and summons only those matching set sinner conditions to the train’s interior. If no conditions are set, it will summon random individuals, so please be mindful of that.]

[Self-Repair Function – An automatic self-repair function has been added. This applies not just to the furnace but also to the physically connected train.]

[Damage Prevention Function – Capable of withstanding energies below 2.092×10^17J.]

[Sinner Recovery Function – Accidentally summoned an innocent person mistaken for a sinner? Already put them inside with no way to remove them? In that case, use the Sinner Recovery Function. Upon activation, it will perfectly restore their physical body and erase all memories inside the train, returning them to the location they originally boarded. (Caution! – This function operates based on the anguish energy generated by the furnace. If energy is insufficient, the furnace will self-destruct to compensate, so please be mindful.)]

“Quite a detailed manual.”

It also provided information about the technology used and history, but I skipped over the meaningless parts.

『Hacking complete. I will now stop the fuel supply and halt train operations.』
“Sarang, wait a moment. Instead, I’d like to use the Sinner Recovery Function.”
『Understood. Activating the Sinner Recovery Function.』

Along with Sarang’s voice, the screams from inside the furnace subsided.

‘The people are disappearing.’

Upon closer inspection, those suffering inside gradually vanished one by one. Not turning to dust like the pig-headed Desirous judge, but regenerating their physical bodies in a brilliant light before disappearing.

‘Thank goodness.’

However, likely due to insufficient energy, the furnace shuddered as its size gradually diminished.

‘Please, just a bit more.’

The last person disappeared from the furnace. Its size had halved, but I succeeded in freeing everyone trapped here.

“What a relief.”
『But for you, it is not fortunate.』
“!?”

Turning around at the sudden voice, the conductor was glaring at me.

『You have committed a sin.』

Though his head was obscured by shadows making his eyes invisible, I somehow felt his piercing gaze.

『Freeing the sinners is the utmost sin, a grave wrongdoing that cannot be atoned for even by enduring an eternity across the entire cycle of existence.』
“It doesn’t seem 20 minutes have passed yet, you returned quickly.”
『There is only one way to resolve this: I will shred your soul and body into countless pieces to be used as fuel. Even then, as long as time exists your sin will never end.』

What can I do now, with no remaining options?

‘Fleeing seems difficult.’

My physical condition is still not optimal. But I should at least try.

『Will you struggle? Very well. Struggle, for you will eternally taste the ugliest of deaths and torments.』
“No matter the outcome, I must try.”
『Do you regret it? You must. Foolish insects always regret in the end.』
“Regret means going back in time and not making the same choice as the present.”

I took a drag of my cigarette first.

“In that sense, I do not regret it.”
『Just putting on airs.』
“For if I could go back, I would choose the same path.”
『Even if it leads to a meaningless death?』
“Meaningless, you say? Did I not save those suffering people?”
『They will simply return there. More sinners than before will be put inside, and this time you will join them.』
“Even so, the fact that I saved them will not disappear.”

Since this may become my final cigarette in life.

『The insect is being insolent.』
“If that is how you perceive it, so be it.”

At the very moment I tried to gather strength in my legs to escape the engine room.

[Call connected.]

-Yes, this is Chief Director Sho-ko-dai-o (Initial River Great King) of the Karma Call Center.

The call had been answered.

“Please excuse me, I need to take this call.”
『……What?』
“Yes, I’m taking the call.”
-Yes, you’ve called the Karma Call Center, correct? The records show you called from the dedicated phone, is that right?
“Yes, that’s correct.”

While on the call, I did not let my guard down. But something seemed amiss.

-Ahem, first let me explain that the Karma Call Center service confirms your karmic causes to inform you where you will go and what judgement you will face in the afterlife. Normally a 49-day waiting period is required to prepare the proxy authorization for the karmic mirror’s use, but since you called from the dedicated phone that process is omitted.
“I see? It’s good that the work is expedited.”

Though I had intended to flee while continuing the call in preparation for an attack, the conductor simply stood there dumbfounded.

『……』
-We’ve been quite busy lately. Any unnecessary processes are being completely omitted.

It seemed she was focused on the voice beyond the receiver, likely a woman’s.

-Then let me just get your verbal consent – do you permit the proxy use of the karmic mirror?
“Yes, I permit it.”
-Very well. Then let me confirm your karmic record right away. Your name is Seung-hoon Lee, age 25, from South Korea, and hmm, your karmic record is……

The woman with a refreshing voice who had introduced herself as Sho-ko-dai-o began listing my karmic causes one by one.

-You have some negative karma. A bit related to violence. And hmm, it seems during puberty you had rather excessive carnal curiosity?
“I did have quite a vigorous sexual inquisitiveness during that time.”
-That falls under the puberty safety clause so it’s not negative karma, but if you try it again as an adult it will be, so be careful going forward. Understood? Even without victims, that level of lewd inquisitiveness is a bit much.
“Yes, I understand.”
-Next is ah, I need to check the new regulations for this one, just a moment.

The sound of her rummaging through documents could be heard beyond the receiver.

-Found it! According to the new ordinance on cyberspace disputes and novel negative karmas, sins committed through verbal acts against others in cyberspace will be called ‘finger karma’ instead of ‘verbal karma’.
“When speaking of hell, I had imagined something antiquated, but this is quite modern.”
-Times change and humans change, so we must change too. In any case, for finger karma we prioritize these four aspects:

She informed me of the new laws of the changing world.

-First, intentionally showing obscene images to the general public 3 or more times, negative karma points +100.
-Second, intentionally showing writings with obscene depictions to the general public 3 or more times, negative karma points +100.
-Third, using debates as a pretext to mock or harass the general public, negative karma points +50.
-Fourth, intentionally fabricating someone’s personal information or false stories to put them in distress or trouble, negative karma points +100.

I was quite intrigued that they had newly established provisions related to internet communities, never expecting that.

-The higher the negative karma points, the deeper and longer you fall into hell. These days not just negative karmas in reality, but those committed online by humans are also significant, yet we couldn’t manage that aspect leading many to fall into the depths of hell. In any case, combining those four with 56 other offenses, your negative karma log is quite long from the looks of this scroll, you really racked up a lot didn’t you?
“I don’t understand. I have never once committed any offenses in online communities.”
-Well, we’ll see about that. The log is…… really long? Let me just check the negative karma point total first.

Then her astonished voice loudly rang out from the receiver.

-Huh!? 0 negative karma points!? That can’t be right!?
“As I said, I have never committed any offenses in online communities.”
-Impossible! Even just briefly skimming the log there were hundreds of cases of ‘malicious community post authoring’! Wait, huh? This is…….

She seemed to have realized something.

-It’s only been 5 days since you called!? But for the connection to already be made, you must have accumulated immense positive karma!
“Does faster connection happen with more positive karma?”
-Yes! Why would we quickly inform those full of negative karma? It’s better to quickly contact those with abundant positive karma to put their minds at ease by informing them of their karmic record.
“Quite reasonable.”
-For those loaded with negative karma, it’s a form of punishment to scrutinize them endlessly while making them wait for the connection. Of course, it’s not an actual punishment that counts as karmic retribution.

The conductor slowly, very slowly retreated backwards. As if not wanting his movements to be noticed.

-Now then, what immense positive karma did you accumulate……
“Why do you ask?”
-Huh? Uhh? The most recent positive karma points are 2,672,000!? What deed earned that!?

The sound of scrolling with a mouse wheel came through the receiver.

-Rescuing sentient beings suffering in hell despite having no sins, 10,000 points per rescue, 2,672 rescues? Hey, Seung-hoon? Did you recently visit hell by any chance?
“Not actual hell, more like a temporary hell I suppose? I’m currently in a train-shaped hell. There were people burning in a furnace there, so I freed them all.”
-A train? Temporary hell? You’re there right now?
“Yes.”

The conductor, who had been surreptitiously retreating, stopped in his tracks. As if having accepted his fate and given up.

-Is there perhaps a soot-faced train conductor there?
“He’s right in front of me.”
-Could you pass him the phone for a bit? I have a request.

I approached the conductor and handed him the phone.

“It’s for you.”
『……』

As he took the phone, the woman’s voice beyond the receiver turned chillingly cold.

-Hey there, Vexation Demon? I appreciate you cooperating with our work delegation request, but according to a new report you seem to have created more work instead?
『I did not!』
-Quiet.

Her voice carried a bone-chilling coldness that felt like a blade piercing the heart.

-While we have a cooperative work relationship, in the realm of judgement you are clearly our subcontractor, you know? So does that mean you can freely imprison and judge innocent people like this?
『But!』
-We asked you to swiftly send humans with minor sins through an abbreviated trial for reincarnation. But reincarnation my ass, you just tossed a bunch of sinless beings into the hellfire furnace!
『However!』
-Were you going to spout more nonsense about humans being insects again? We in the Desire Realm know that’s how you viewed humans long ago. But that was ages ago, wasn’t it? When was that exactly? Most others in the Desire Realm have properly adapted, but you’re still stuck in that outdated mindset?
『My words!』
-Hey there, Acting Judge.

Hmm.

-Should I just report this to the Transformation Lord directly? That the personnel you dispatched has smeared the Desire Realm’s reputation by completely botching the assigned work at their whim? Should I tell him the Desire Realm is so lacking in talent these days? I bet the Transformation Lord would really love that.

Is this what corporate life is like?

『Not that!』
-Ah, my apologies. I already reported it.
『What!?』
-I hotlined the Desire Realm right after seeing Seung-hoon’s positive karma log, since there was no doubt where this incident occurred.

This certainly seems quite entertaining, making me want to experience it once too.

-They’ll be contacting you within 10 minutes. Please wait.

Maybe I should start preparing for job hunting after leaving here?