Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: 67. Hero (1)
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The ones who stopped Yang Sang-gil's final desperate struggle were the people of the camp who joined hands with the soldiers, forming a human chain to resist.
There were men, of course, but also women—and even small children—who willingly linked arms in the chain, halting the advance of soldiers who weren't entirely heartless.
The contributions of the other camp members who appeared right on cue behind the soldiers, blocking their retreat and shouting loudly, can't be ignored either.
If they hadn't gathered people at just the right moment to hold the soldiers back, the human chain resistance might have all been for nothing.
There were also rumors that some men no one had ever seen before approached the soldiers and gave them orders, causing them to hesitate—but that's just hearsay.
No matter the truth, I had nothing to do with what actually happened.
I simply heard the facts from a friend who knew about the plan and passed them on to Foxgame. That's it.
I don't think I qualify as a hero.
And yet, I became one.
...
...
Currently, there's no one on Failnet who doesn't know the name Skeleton.
Overnight, this Skeleton went from a perpetual nobody to a national celebrity.
It'd be a lie to say I didn't feel good riding this wave of popularity.
...
...
I indulged in it a little.
The life of a named user.
The days of a perennial unpopular user, where no post ever got even a single comment, felt like a dream from long ago.
The reason perennial unpopular user Skeleton became a named user overnight is because he saved the lives of 15,000 people as a hero.
But am I really a hero?
"Today's rations."
A family on the brink of death stared at me with faces full of despair.
"I-Is this all? What about firewood?"
I turned away from them, my face a mask of indifference.
"......"
The real hero deserving of praise was inside the hastily pitched tent.
*
"Oh? What about the daughter? Hasn't hanged herself yet? Oh my. She kept saying she'd kill herself if they got kicked out, but looks like she didn't have the guts after all."
For a moment, I mistook Woo Min-hee for someone else.
She seemed a bit softer with me, but she was still cruel and merciless to others.
"Need some stimulation? Know any raiders nearby? I want that family to feel the exact pain ordinary people suffered at their hands. Oh, none? Hmm. Well, time is on our side."
Every morning, she ordered me to report on the Yang Gil-sang family's daily life.
Exchanging messages with her daily was a positive sign for survival purposes, but still.
Is the mind of someone who reports on others' downfall like a diary ever at ease?
At least it was fortunate that Yang Gil-sang didn't recognize my face.
"Y-You...?"
He seemed to vaguely remember me, but I wasn't important enough for him to recall my name or details.
He saw me as a watcher sent by Woo Min-hee.
There was only one thing he was curious about from me.
"When can I leave here?"
Yang Gil-sang firmly believed he'd get out of here.
"I'm close friends with Supreme Committee Member Gong Kyung-min in Jeju. Please contact him. If he knows about this, he'll definitely get me out. Some mere colonel like Colonel Gu Min-cheol exiling the presidential deputy like me is a violation of military law—no, the constitution! Please, contact him somehow. I'll take responsibility and send you, your family, and relatives all to Jeju!"
Yang Gil-sang didn't even know who sent him here.
Well, there were plenty of things I wanted to ask him about.
About the past, the present, or my comrades.
But I couldn't say anything unnecessary to this man.
Yang Sang-gil had preserved his position and risen through betrayal and backstabbing his entire life.
Like those who lived despicably their whole lives, he had no self-awareness that he was a betrayer who did wrong.
He was under endless self-hypnosis that everything he did was righteous, convincing himself he was moral.
Crucially, Yang Sang-gil also had a radio.
He could report everything I said straight to Woo Min-hee.
I provided them with just enough food for the family to barely get by and fuel to warm themselves for about 10 minutes.
Nothing else—no interference, conversation, or contact.
I just monitored whether they tried to leave the golf course, but I knew the Yang Gil-sang family wouldn't escape this narrow world.
Even ignoring external threats, without me providing that pittance of food and fuel, how many more days they'd survive would depend on the nutrients stored in their bodies.
That didn't mean Yang Gil-sang wasn't struggling to survive.
Beep—
"CQCQ! This is Presidential Deputy Yang Sang-gil of the Republic of Korea. This is the man himself!"
Here we go again.
His struggling.
"Yang Sang-gil here is currently kidnapped by unidentified terrorists and locked away in a remote place! I've fallen victim to an anti-government coup! Captured unilaterally without any trial or explanation and exiled here! Please! Save me and my family! I'll reward you generously! The maximum I can offer..."
Except for the day he arrived, he broadcast rescue signals in all directions almost every day.
But random broadcasts to multiple channels only attracted not saviors, but raiders.
A car approached the golf course.
An unfamiliar car.
In this world, any unknown car could safely be assumed to be raiders.
I immediately contacted Woo Min-hee.
She usually didn't pick up right away, but not this time.
"Yeah. Sunbae. What's up?"
She answered promptly.
"Raiders are heading to Yang Sang-gil. What should I do? They might kill them."
"That could be a nice ending too. Oh, wait. Can you handle it there?"
"Me?"
"Sunbae, I already gave you synthetic oil and food as an advance, right? Need more?"
"N-No. It's enough."
"As expected, Sunbae gets it quick."
By the time I arrived on the motorcycle, the raiders had already invaded Yang Sang-gil's makeshift tent and were causing havoc.
Yang Sang-gil and his wife were rolling on the ground, his son was cowering in the corner shaking, and his daughter was being dragged into the tent by two raiders.
"Hey. Didn't you hear something just now?"
The man with the shotgun who had been dragging the woman into the tent turned and yelled, scanning the surroundings.
"What? Hear what?"
"No, there was an engine sound!"
On the way here, I never revved the engine once.
I came at a steady 50km/h and shut it off in that state.
Human ears are sensitive to changes but ignore familiar sounds.
So, they must not have heard me clearly.
Still, these guys had sharp instincts.
Most raiders with easy prey in front of them get tunnel vision, but at least one was keeping watch.
But luck wasn't on their side today.
I pulled out my axe and threw it at him.
The axe arced through the air, flying slowly like my motorcycle, and embedded in the man's occiput.
Thud!
The moment I saw the blade sink into his skull, I grabbed my gun, leaped from cover, and aimed at the raiders.
One in sight.
The other was inside the tent, beating the woman.
He seemed experienced.
From the merciless violence before stripping her.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and the raider outside the tent toppled over, blood pouring from his head.
"What?! Who's there?!"
These raiders were seasoned, alright.
Just from not rushing out but yelling from inside, you could tell.
Probably grabbing his gun inside, planning a counterattack.
However.
Bang!
I'd already spotted his silhouette.
The tent might hide his form, but it wouldn't stop bullets.
After seeing blood splatter on the tent fabric, I stepped out in front of the Yang Sang-gil family.
"Hyeon-ah!"
Yang Sang-gil and his wife rushed into the tent.
Yang Hyeon-su, who had been frozen, finally grasped the situation and followed inside.
Soon, the family emerged hugging each other and sobbing.
They bowed their heads to me.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
"......Don't misuse the radio. You got lucky this time. I might not be able to save you next time."
I tried not to look at their faces.
I avoid eye contact with those leaning on me.
A habit I picked up operating in China.
After experiencing multiple times how expectations turn to resentment easily, anyone develops the same habit.
Not just me—other comrades were cold to civilians in war zones too.
Only one person, Kim Daram, kept showing them kindness to the end.
When I asked why, she snapped back curtly.
"Can't just pass by someone in trouble, right? Doesn't feel like someone else's problem. Why, didn't you have tough times too, Sunbae?"
The fact that she, the most humane among us, turned into the coldest person gives plenty to think about.
"......No need for thanks. I'll send tomorrow's food at the set time."
I saw Yang Sang-gil hesitate, about to say something.
I didn't give him the chance.
I mounted the motorcycle and left.
His voice faintly echoed in my ears amid the scattering wind.
"I think I know who you are!"
Hearing that, I muttered without thinking.
"......What if you do."
The wind felt cold—not just from the dropping temperature.
*
They say you wake up famous. I've experienced that recently myself.
But what if you wake up to your reputation in the gutter?
...
...
Suddenly, all the hate poured onto Skeleton, savior of 15,000.
I closed the laptop for a bit, drank some cold water to calm down, then checked the board.
I quickly found the culprit.
Keystone.
What the hell is this guy?
Wasn't he the one always whining about refugees at his doorstep?
Why hasn't he died yet and is posting this crap?
Harboring these doubts, I checked his proof.
"What the hell."
What Keystone posted as proof was a status screen from Foxgame's ambitious project—Monster Park.
But the in-game nickname on the screenshot was,
Skeleton.
"......"
No more, no less.
Just Skeleton.
This Keystone bastard, who wouldn't die no matter what, saw my popularity soar and immediately snagged the Skeleton nickname to impersonate me.
"This guy...?"
Come to think of it, back when I played Monster Park, I couldn't use the Skeleton nickname.
Because my account was a super account, Foxgame banned it to avoid upsetting other players.
I'd forgotten about it since, but who knew Keystone would pull this sleazy stunt.
Must've really burned him that I became famous.
And there were more.
Others impersonating Skeleton too!
m9 and Unicorn were impersonating me too.
By mangling the English for nicknames.
I immediately reported this to Foxgame.
Not long after sending the complaint to Foxgame, a reply came.
Of course they should correct it.
I hammered out those 700 keystrokes of divine typing to save 15,000 people, after all.
But why this hesitation?
"......"
I replied to Foxgame.
This Park Gyu hasn't fallen so low as to get pleasure from online hate.
Just... something felt off.
Being suddenly treated like a hero is nice, gaining followers is nice, but becoming a hero without any buildup or major deeds felt out of order.
The real center of that incident was still Yang Hyeon-su, waiting for death on that golf course.
Moreover.
"......Hoo."
Maybe the whole incident was a carefully staged play.
It might be overthinking, but seeing Yang Sang-gil abandoned there without any trial or procedure right after it blew up brings that thought to mind.
-Crackle
The radio buzzed.
Public frequency.
Signal from very close range.
Yang Sang-gil, huh.
"CQ! CQ!"
Yep, Yang Sang-gil.
What pointless attempt is he making now?
"Hunter Park Gyu. You're Park Gyu Hunter, right? The one they called Professor."
Damn, he remembers fast.
"I definitely remember talking to you before the war. Why pretend not to know? I was too busy to recall, but it just clicked! Why don't you come over here for a bit?"
This guy.
He's persistent.
Always worming into cracks in people's hearts with that sly tongue, searching for a weakness.
"I was trying to send you to Jeju! Even if you're old-school, with your record, knowledge, and surviving over two weeks in the rift zone, how could I leave a great man like you here?"
I sighed and was about to turn off the radio when—
"But Kang Han-min opposed it fiercely!"
This bastard.
"......Ha."
Guess he didn't stick around Jeju for nothing.
<End of 67. Hero (1)>