Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

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Chapter 372: Cold But Warm (2)

The All-Planets Handshake Event, held in the central-western region of the promotion grounds.

Although it was a paid handshake event, it had its effects.

-Selling handshakes?

-What nonsense is this?

Suspicious eyes filled with doubt stared at him, but still, Team 033 postponed their retreat and began cautiously approaching, albeit very slowly.

In response, Yeongwoo placed even his sword on the ground and spread his arms wide.

Fwaaat!

"Handshake! Team 004, 30 million! Team 023, 50 million!"

Finally, Team 033, who had approached within about 50 meters, showed curiosity.

-W-What in the world are you talking about? 30 million, 50 million—what does that even mean?

The one speaking was a massive steel golem, seemingly the leader of Team 033.

With disproportionately massive arms compared to its torso and lower body, it brought to mind a mutated version of CEO Kim Taejoon.

"It means if you write a loan note for 30 million, you get the opportunity to shake hands with Team 004. For 50 million, you can shake hands with Team 023."

Yeongwoo gestured toward Team 004, who was sprawled on the ground.

The steel golem swallowed hard.

-You're… selling handshakes for money?

"Yes. Considering planetary promotion, it’s practically a steal, isn’t it?"

-But… handshakes are supposed to be free, aren't they?

The steel golem hit the nail on the head.

Yeongwoo’s expression turned grim, quite unlike before.

"Free handshakes only existed until I came up with the idea of paid handshakes."

-What?!

"If you don't pay, you can’t shake hands with Team 004 or Team 023."

-Th-This is absurd…

The steel golem of Team 033 seemed dumbfounded.

But Yeongwoo wasn’t done yet.

"Of course, other handshakes might be free. Anyone can shake hands to gain favor or negotiate appropriately."

-Right?

"But the handshakes I’m selling—those of Team 004 and Team 023—can only be purchased with money. Do you know what this means?"

The steel golem scratched its head.

-What does it mean…?

"You’re well aware, I’m sure, that ranks 2 through 5 in this promotion tournament will be determined by the number of handshakes."

-Oh.

"In other words, after wandering around the promotion grounds and shaking hands as much as possible, the deciding factor will inevitably come down to the number of paid handshakes!"

-...!

A ridiculous but logically sound statement.

Yeongwoo’s theory of paid handshakes had a persuasive power that made the listener nod involuntarily.

Even if, by the end of the explanation, it left a peculiar sense of unease.

"The price may rise depending on the situation, so you’d better buy while it’s cheap."

-The price could go up?

"Of course. Do you know the official price for planetary promotion set by the planetary court?"

-N-No…

"Exactly. Nobody knows, so the market price becomes the set price."

And Yeongwoo intended to determine that market price himself, right here in the promotion grounds.

-You… You’re insane, aren’t you?

The steel golem of Team 033 glared at Yeongwoo.

It quickly scanned its surroundings.

Because, as crazy as this person sounded, their words weren’t entirely wrong.

And most importantly…

-Wait a second…

The steel golem’s expression turned sly.

-The fact that the handshake is paid was decided by you, wasn’t it?

"This bastard, dropping the formalities now, huh?"

Yeongwoo said this while smiling leisurely.

After all, he hadn’t built up his reputation as the “Ultimate Evil of Promotion” just by stacking debts worth two billion credits in a game of slap matches.

Yeongwoo, self-proclaimed “Ultimate Evil of Promotion,” had thought of more bad ideas, and faster, than anyone else in this tournament.

Which was why he immediately noticed when the golem’s eyes started shifting.

‘This guy’s planning to take me down and offer free handshakes himself.’

And so, as Yeongwoo subtly moved his hand closer to Bastard—

“In the end, if I just take you down, everything’s resolved, isn’t it? I’ll offer free handshakes!”

Finding a clear solution, the steel golem charged across dozens of meters, swinging the blunt weapon in its hand.

BOOM!

Its heavy footsteps contrasted with its nimble movements.

Of course, seeing this, even the skilled warriors of Team 023, as well as the members of Team 004 sprawled on the ground, quickly guessed the outcome.

Team 004, the second-place team overall, had each gone up against Yeongwoo one-on-one and lost.

Did this golem have some special trick up its sleeve?

-Kraah!

With a fierce shout, Yeongwoo swung his weapon in a diagonal arc.

A crimson streak trailed behind, slicing cleanly through the neck of the golem’s weapon.

Skkrrk!

“…Huh?”

The person holding the weapon realized it first, followed by the three members of Team 033 trailing behind.

Thud!

The upper part of the golem’s weapon fell to the ground.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

-My… my weapon?

Seeing its high-grade weapon cut like paper for the first time, the steel golem’s mouth fell open.

Seizing the moment, Yeongwoo darted forward like lightning, driving a knee into its chin.

WHAM!

-Gah!

A decisive blow.

The impact this had on the remaining members of Team 033 was immense.

They now understood why Team 004 had been left sprawled across the ground.

-Wh-What is this?

-So it was this guy who subdued Team 004…

-How did he even cut that weapon?

As Team 033 stood frozen in shock, the silhouette of yet another unit began to emerge in the distance.

Upon seeing this, Yeongwoo hastily raised his hand and shouted toward the newcomers.

“Handshakes for sale! Team 023 for 50 million! Teams 004 and 033 for 30 million each!”

* * *

A Thriving Business.

Yeongwoo’s paid handshake service began selling like hotcakes, barely an hour after its debut.

The key to its popularity lay in the world map’s location marker feature.

By forcing Teams 004 and 033 into submission and turning them into handshake sellers, Yeongwoo created a spectacle on the world map that caught everyone’s attention.

In the map’s middle region, the markers for Teams 023, 004, and 033 were clustered together, neither disappearing nor moving apart.

This unusual sight piqued the curiosity of other teams, drawing them in one by one.

Once they arrived, they found themselves swept up in Yeongwoo’s “Handshake Theory” and, after some deliberation, ended up buying a handshake.

-Fine… We’ll start by buying a handshake from Team 004.

“Very well. Team 004!”

This time, the customer was Team 010.

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Yeongwoo led the members of Team 010 to stand before the members of Team 004, who were positioned neatly for optimal handshaking.

“You know how to draft a promissory note, yes? In exchange for this handshake, you owe us 30 million. The payment is due within two weeks, Earth time. If you fail to pay within this period, you’ll owe us triple the original amount.”

In other words, if Team 010 failed to deliver 30 million to Earth’s Jeong Yeongwoo07 within two weeks, their debt would balloon to 90 million.

-…We agree.

The leader of Team 010 nodded in agreement.

Yeongwoo then lightly traced a line across the leader’s palm with his fingertip.

Swish.

A glowing symbol signifying mutual agreement appeared in the air.

Flash!

This method of verbal contract was something Yeongwoo learned for the first time during this handshake market.

Indeed, cultural exchange had its perks.

“Now, shake hands with the Team 004 member in front of you.”

Yeongwoo gestured dramatically for the teams to shake hands.

Soon, the paid handshake between Teams 004 and 010 commenced.

For the first time, a new interface appeared in the skies above the promotion field.

Beeeeep!

With a sharp signal sound, it revealed itself as none other than a new "Score Ranking" display.

「Due to the accumulation of handshake counts under the new rules, the real-time ranking board is now visible.」

The screen first unveiled the top rank, written in red letters.

「Real-time Overall 1st Place: Team 023」

Below that, the rankings for 2nd through 5th place—the "competitive tiers"—were displayed.

Ta-ta-ta-tang!

| 2nd Place: Team 004 [6 handshakes]

| 3rd Place: Team 033 [6 handshakes]

| 4th Place: Team 006 [4 handshakes]

| 5th Place: Team 026 [3 handshakes]

-Huh?

-What the…?

-Wait, the 5th-place cutoff… is just 3 handshakes?

The participants gathered in the central-western area began murmuring.

While the 2nd and 3rd places, with 6 handshakes each, seemed formidable, the 4th and 5th places required only 4 and 3 handshakes, respectively—a reachable goal.

There were seven teams gathered in this region alone.

Even excluding the team selling paid handshakes, four teams remained.

A couple of mutual handshakes and one or two paid ones could secure a spot in the rankings.

Watching the shifting dynamics, Yeongwoo couldn’t help but smile meaningfully.

‘Heh, the universe favors me.’

After all, the sheer number of teams flocking to this central-western area guaranteed more potential customers.

The map now showed seven teams gathered in this region, with three already in the handshake rankings.

What would other teams, upon seeing this map and leaderboard, conclude?

‘There’s something going on in the central-west! I don’t know exactly what, but heading there could get me closer to the handshake rankings!’

Sure enough, after the rankings were revealed, teams lingering on the outskirts of the central-west began heading toward the handshake venue en masse.

The real sales of paid handshakes were just beginning.

Taking a deep breath and savoring the "scent of money" in the air, Yeongwoo was interrupted by Aldo, who approached cautiously.

-Y-Yeongwoo….

“Yes, Your Highness? What’s on your mind?”

-Aren’t too many teams gathering here?

“Too many? That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

Of course, it was only good for Yeongwoo.

The proceeds from this handshake event would go straight into his pocket.

But Aldo, ever the cautious royal, wasn’t concerned about mere profits.

-Like what happened with Team 033 earlier… someone might decide they don’t need to pay. After all, even you, Yeongwoo, can’t face dozens of teams alone, can you? If that many gather here at once…

His unspoken question was clear: wasn’t this situation risking not just the business but Yeongwoo’s life itself?

At last, Prince Aldo had begun thinking like a true strategist.

“Hah, Your Highness! That’s exactly the mindset you need to survive long-term!”

Grinning widely, Yeongwoo gripped Aldo’s shoulders firmly.

Clasp!

Then, flashing a rare benevolent smile, he murmured quietly.

“In the unlikely event dozens of teams attack at once, we’ll just bombard them from above. Don’t worry.”

-E-excuse me? Bombard them?

“Don’t fret. I’ll protect you with Aratubank.”

Turning away, Yeongwoo fixed his gaze on the silhouettes of more teams approaching from the outskirts.

Finally, those hesitant teams had decided to step into the handshake venue.

Now, as long as he sold handshakes well, Yeongwoo was confident he’d leave this promotion field with a hefty profit and return to Earth.

“Handshakes… no, planetary promotions for sale! Team 023, 100 million! The rest, 50 million!”

Then, pointing a blade toward the remaining teams already present, he declared:

“You too—get down here. Now.”

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