Shadow Hack - Chapter 34: Distributing The Loot

Some crowns are forged in blood. Others are drowned beneath it.In a city strangled by smoke and silence, where children are shackled to machines and shadows rule behind gilded masks, Keiran is just another forgotten soul—until the mark appears.Buried beneath the factory’s foundations lies a world long erased from history. Ancient oaths whisper through stone and water, and something older than memory begins to stir. As Keiran is drawn deeper into the abyss, he uncovers a legacy not meant for mortal hands—a crown shattered in defiance, a flood sealed by sacrifice, and a power that demands a price.Hunted by tyrants, haunted by echoes, and bound to secrets he never asked for, Keiran must choose: drown in the tide of what came before, or rise against the current and reclaim what the world was forced to forget.But the deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels…And beneath it all, something still breathes.

Catching arrows, running up walls, crushing boulders and bending metal, these are but petty parlour tricks in the eyes of martial artists. But where can a genuine martial artist stand in an era where martial artists are nothing more than a myth?

“Ah, him? He’s just Daeyeong’s acquaintance.” He hated those words. Choi Seolwoo is trying to leave behind his teens and twenties, which he spent as Won Daeyeong’s shadow. Won Daeyeong (gong), the national team captain who became the first Korean track and field athlete to qualify for the Olympics in the 400m, and Choi Seolwoo (soo), a newly qualified Certified Public Accountant, are childhood friends of over a decade. Choi Seolwoo, weary of the pain of his obsessive unrequited love for Won Daeyeong, impulsively enters into a contractual relationship with a sub-seme and declares a break-up with Won Daeyeong, intending to completely remove him from his life and start anew. Won Daeyeong is displeased with Choi Seolwoo trying to end their friendship over a relationship. Just how much attention had he demanded since they were young? Even he himself acknowledged how incredibly well he’d treated him. It wasn’t as if he had expected anything in return for looking after him, but still, this is absurd. To take him for granted and push him aside like this. Won Daeyeong proposes that if Choi Seolwoo appears on five episodes of a segment called “An Acquaintance” on his Xtube channel, which has 1.1 million subscribers, he will agree to the break-up. The filming of a variety show exposing every detail of Won Daeyeong’s life begins. Unexpectedly, the view count explodes due to the spicy and entertaining talk with frequent bleeps, the genuine bromance chemistry and realistically fierce fights, and Choi Seolwoo’s idol-like visuals. Choi Seolwoo, the “break-up guy,” ends up advertising himself to the entire nation as Won Daeyeong’s best friend. Wait, somehow this… seems to be moving further away from a break-up…?

It’s a trend to take your grandfather along with you when passing through to another world, but we have kind of been cheated—have you ever experienced buy one get eight free?

Hong Xiaobao: “This opponent is a bit formidable. All you old-timers, hurry up and save me please! If you don’t appear, then this prince is going to get angry!”

Demon Emperor Meng Xianji: “Mockers, kill! Those who defy me, kill! Strong people, eat! Valuable treasures and materials, eat! Good equipment, steal!”

Wine God Xiao Sanshao: “Why must you be so brutal? If there’s something wrong, can we not just all sit down and have a nice chat? I’ll teach you how to taste wine, youngster!”

Medicine Immortal Tian Can: “You guys chat first. My condition today isn’t very good, so I’ll go rest first…. If you want to concoct some medicine, tell me after I wake up….”

Godly Craftsman Xi Hong: “Didn’t I just upgrade your equipment yesterday? What are you afraid of? Attack, youngster! Isn’t that right, Chen Nan?”

Formation Spirit Chen Nan: “En…. How about you go ask Mao Yue.”

Beast Emperor Mao Yue: “Today’s sunshine is too bright. I’m recalling that cat of mine who died because of menstrual pain….”

Hong Xiaobao: “Can you guys not be so misleading?”

- Description from Novelupdates