Chapter 510
Chapter 510
Entering the system felt similar to a state of semi-consciousness.
It was like that foul sensation of successfully snapping out of sleep paralysis, only to succumb to a wave of drowsiness and fall back into a lucid slumber.
‘“Being sucked in” is the perfect way to describe it.’
Just as Keun-dal had explained.
It seemed Keun-dal was still sending messages, but that was all.
The sounds thrummed with a dull vibration, as if I were listening to the outside world from underwater, before even that faded into silence.
Like falling into a deep sleep.
Like plunging off a cliff.
The sensation of sinking into the furthest reaches of the deep sea.
‘...Phew.’
For a moment, a dizzying sense of being overwhelmed washed over me, but I quickly shook it off.
‘I already expected this.’
There was no need to be flustered by the familiar. I stilled my consciousness once more and focused on grasping the structure of this system.
After a while.
‘...!’
As if slowly opening my eyes, I began to perceive where I was.
And I was horrified.
‘My god.’
Masses.
Glowing masses of various sizes were packed randomly in every direction, filling the space to the brim. They were connected to one another in complex webs, flickering irregularly.
The interior of the system was as cluttered as layers upon layers of overlapping circuits.
‘What is this?’
It felt like a system coded by a complete novice. I almost thought that naming it a "system" had been a generous choice.
At the same time, the connections—clinging together like spiderwebs or synapses—felt like a bizarre, chaotic architectural blueprint that had been cut and pasted together.
In short, it was a massive... clusterfuck.
To think he first implemented this as a clean status window? Keun-dal must have ground his own brain into dust to pull that off.
‘Do I have to look through every single one?’
I approached a nearby mass and focused my consciousness.
I was able to access it like a database.
This was...
[Company Grade Measurement]
I see.
‘So it’s divided and connected by function.’
I briefly speculated that it had ended up in this messy state because functions were tacked on whenever they were needed.
From then on, I began my exploration in earnest.
‘There’s still plenty of time until morning.’
I intended to stay holed up here for at least a few hours.
After what felt like a considerable amount of time.
I had identified the names of all sorts of masses.
Perhaps because I was on the outskirts, there were many company-related functions that seemed to have been created recently.
‘There are so damn many.’
It wouldn't have been strange to feel annoyed, but perhaps because I was satisfied to be digging into the guts of this damn system, I didn't feel particularly pissed off.
Regardless, I patiently continued checking my surroundings, and it wasn't long before I found what I was looking for.
[☆Search☆]
Unlike the other masses, this one had a flashy label attached to it.
This wasn't something the system had made. It was a trace left behind by Keun-dal when he implemented it last time.
‘He implemented this during the Building Collapse Mission failure.’
Connected to various other masses in a complex way, this looked less like a mass and more like a terminal.
‘Good.’
Through this, I could directly access the functions I wanted.
And if I wished, I could even create applied functions by connecting them properly.
—Actually, it’s not really an "application," I just changed the way it’s displayed...
No, Search was a truly incredible function.
Recalling Keun-dal’s words, I accessed the ‘Search’ terminal.
‘So this is how it’s made.’
After thoroughly examining the implementation method, I concluded that I could create an applied function in a similar way.
Then, as I had originally intended, I used the search function.
My goal was to grasp the operating principles of this system’s updates.
—Search.
—...All information related to updates.
Give it all to me.
In that instant, my consciousness began to be pulled rapidly toward destinations in every direction.
I grit my teeth and began to take in the flood of information.
And then, I realized.
‘...!!’
This bastard’s goal is...
*
‘Hyung! Are you okay?’
Keun-dal, who was currently in Park Moon-dae’s body, couldn't bring himself to shout out loud, but he was practically screaming internally.
‘I knew I should have gone instead!’
TeSTAR’s Park Moon-dae, who was originally Ryu Gun-woo, was exceptionally skilled at subtle logical manipulation and persuasion, and in the end, Keun-dal had inadvertently succumbed...
The argument that ‘it’s more satisfying to do it myself’ was a matter of subjective sentiment. Keun-dal, who still had a soft side, couldn't rationally deny those words.
Furthermore, Keun-dal already had a record of failure.
—Hyung, the pressure was so strong that it was impossible to find specific information. Even if you go in there...
—...? If someone has already failed once, it seems rational to change the person and try again.
—Huh? Yes, well, that’s true, but...
And so, the moment he uttered a vague affirmation, he was bewitched, and before he knew it, he was in this crazy situation where their bodies had been swapped.
‘Ugh...’
Thus, Keun-dal couldn't bring himself to enjoy a good night's sleep in the bed; instead, he came out to the living room sofa and waited for news of Ryu Gun-woo with his eyes wide open...
But he knew.
Tampering with the system was easier said than done; in reality, it was an incredibly tricky and grueling task.
‘He probably won't be able to come out for a long time...’
[Keun-dal.]
Thump.
“Gah!”
Keun-dal nearly tumbled off the sofa and had to clap a hand over his mouth.
In the air, a flickering, wavering message from TeSTAR’s Park Moon-dae had arrived.
‘Did... did he come out?’
[Not exactly.]
The message replied nonchalantly.
[I found your search function. I tried to revive the message function in a similar way. It seems a bit... unstable, though.]
“...??”
Did that mean he was sending messages... from inside the system right now?
Why would he even think of that? No, more importantly!
‘Hyung! Come out quickly! I think I made a mistake!’
[No, things are going smoothly here. I don't think that'll be necessary.]
Keun-dal wanted to wail about how he could be so calm inside that monstrous thing, but the messages continued to arrive.
[I have something to report.]
[I found the reason why the system performs updates in this manner.]
“...!!”
Keun-dal even forgot to wail.
“W-what is it?”
To the question he had unconsciously muttered aloud, a sharp reply returned.
[To make me use the system frequently.]
“...??”
Pardon?
[Think about it.]
[During the last update when Cha Yu-jin’s memories vanished. I tried many times to use the system in any way possible to get information.]
That was true.
In that absurd emergency, Park Moon-dae had clung to the system—which was supposedly suspended for updates—and repeatedly tried to see if even a few functions could be activated.
Of course, it had been impossible.
‘Hyung...’
Just as his heart was about to be moved.
[It seems to have learned from that.]
“...??”
Then, a long message arrived at a terrifying speed.
[This bastard judged that erasing my members' memories, like it did then, is the most efficient way to lure me in.]
[That’s why it’s pulling this shit. Because it expects me to use the system frequently if it does.]
Gasp.
[It saw me desperately pounding on the system to use it back then, you see.]
“.......”
The choice of words was unusual.
‘H-Hyung.’
And Keun-dal realized why this hyung had gone through the trouble of reviving a message function that would be inefficient for him.
This hyung was so furious that he just had to tell someone about this...
[Do you remember how it crammed all those extra features in during the last update?]
[As if telling me to try using them.]
‘Yes...’
Keun-dal knew as well.
After the update was finished, he had seen all the surveys, new features, and flashing pop-ups through the vision sharing.
But.
‘But it didn't work...’
That hyung had coldly ignored every single one of them.
[Exactly.]
[Since trying to look useful didn't work, it decided to make me desperate instead.]
“.......”
[That’s what this whole situation is.]
‘My god.’
In other words, the system had judged that cornering its target was far more efficient than being useful.
It was a chilling conclusion.
‘It wasn't safe just because Hyung became the owner instead of being subordinate to the system...’
Even a rattlesnake will die of its own venom if it bites its tongue. Possessing the poison doesn't mean one is immune to the harm it can cause.
After a moment of reflection, Keun-dal, having realized this, quickly shouted.
‘Hyung, now that you know, you’re coming out, right? Please come out now!’
He intended to beg him to just throw this system away the moment he came out.
However.
[Wait.]
“...?”
A surprisingly calm message returned as an answer, as if he had composed himself in the meantime.
But the content did anything but calm Keun-dal down.
[I just found something else.]
‘What on earth now?’
What could he have possibly found in that short time?
Keun-dal felt like crying now.
Inside that system, what exactly was his hyung doing right now?
*
Inside the system.
‘You crazy bastard.’
I was barely managing to suppress my anger.
The results of my exploration led to the infuriating conclusion that, beta version or not, this system bastard was not much different from how it was before it broke.
‘Still, obtaining a result is a harvest in itself.’
The path to get here hadn't been easy. I won't pretend otherwise.
First of all, using the ‘applied function’ of Search that Keun-dal had created consumed an immense amount of mental strength. I thought my head was going to explode from the sheer pressure.
‘Damn it.’
I’d been thinking this for a while, but how on earth did Keun-dal endure this while working?
It wasn't strange that he hadn't been able to find specific details about the updates until now.
I only managed to endure because I judged that coming all this way and returning empty-handed would be a foolish move.
—I’m doing this anyway, goddammit!
...That’s how I felt.
Besides, now that Keun-dal knew the situation, if I came out without succeeding, he would definitely try to access this place and do this again.
‘That would be inefficient.’
A waste of both time and pain.
So, I just did it. And although I didn't particularly like the conclusion I found...
‘This son of a bitch, seriously.’
Suppressing my irritation, I looked at a portion of the update information floating before me.
[Frequency of Use: 0]
- Re-update initiated
: Apply the most optimal situation based on ‘Frequency of Use’ (Duration: 365)
So the goal was to increase the frequency of use.
‘That’s why it became this clusterfuck.’
However, the first update that served as the basis for this mess—namely, Steer Cha Yu-jin’s case—was slightly different.
: Apply Command to improve the abilities of entities belonging to ‘Company’
In Steer Cha Yu-jin’s case, it seemed to be an attempt to return his experience from his Steer activities to promote the ‘improvement of the company artist’s abilities.’
But the process of erasing his original memories had been included during the update.
‘But since the frequency of use suddenly increased during the update, it achieved its goal by accident.’
It was absurd.
—Get lost.
My will echoed through the void, and the information scattered. I composed my consciousness and calmed my anger once more.
But there was also a strange sense of catharsis, like untying a knot.
At any rate, knowing this bastard’s goal meant a path was visible.
‘Once I know, it won't be hard to handle.’
The ‘Fragment Record Viewing’ function I was currently using to enter Ryu Gun-woo’s body probably wasn't something the system just gave me for free either.
It likely analyzed that my dependence on the system would be high in the desperate situation of a mission failure. Did it want to remind me of the experiences from back then?
Sorry, but you failed.
‘I’ll make you regret giving me this function.’
I smiled fiercely and swept the damn information away from my sight.
My mind whirred as a plan formed. It seemed my business here was done.
‘Now, time to head out... wait.’
But just then.
I noticed a single item, the most recently added one, dangling at the very end of the scattered information.
This was it.
[Ver. 2.2 Update (Planned)]
- Implementing data
‘Is this... the next one?’
In terms of modern concepts, it felt like content that had been ‘reserved.’
‘Let’s check it.’
It would be best to know exactly what this bastard was preparing. I attempted to analyze that information one more time.
As I focused my consciousness and tried to grasp the specific details...
A message echoed in my head.
—Who is it?
“...!!”
I lost my focus.
‘Just now.’
Something had squeezed into the ‘Message’ application I had implemented.
‘What is it?’
I struggled to implement the ‘Message’ function more precisely to make it more visible.
‘Damn it.’
For a moment, it felt like my non-existent teeth were clenching against a bizarre pressure, as if the system were resisting.
Then, a name appeared before the message.
—Lee Se-jin A: Who is it?
“...!”
I realized.
Lee Se-jin A. The name tag Bae Se-jin had received during <Idol Inc.>. In other words... Bae Se-jin before he changed his name.
And a planned update.
‘There’s only one possibility.’
—Lee Se-jin A: Where is this?
I had just accessed the memories of ‘Steer Bae Se-jin.’