The Price of a Grudge
"Aigoo..."
"Aigoo..."
"Aigoo..."
A long procession wound its way through the streets of Maetan.
People stepped aside to the edge of the road to let the procession pass, some closing their eyes and bowing their heads in respect.
At the front of the procession, people with hemp ribbons tied around their arms walked while holding framed photographs.
It's a funeral.
The text slowly materialized in the message window.
It was the largest and longest funeral procession I had seen since arriving in Maetan.
This was a joint funeral for those who had lost their lives during the three days F invaded Maetan.
Just those walking at the front holding photos numbered in the dozens, and there were more than twice as many photos placed directly on top of the coffins because the deceased had no surviving relatives.
Though the intrusion had lasted only three days, the damage to Maetan was catastrophic.
They had lost five S-class players, and deaths continued to mount even among those whose neck-hubs had been extracted. There were victims of robberies, people murdered out of personal grudges under the cover of chaos, those shot during looting, and many who died in hospitals because the power grid went down and they couldn't receive timely treatment. In particular, the toxic gas leaks and fires from the Recycling Factory had claimed an exceptionally high number of lives.
I watched the procession while eating a meat skewer near the market.
I scanned the photographs closely, but I didn't recognize any of the faces.
"Looks like Choi Kang-ho survived."
Right after we defeated F and CC wiped all traces of it from Choi Kang-ho'sneck-hub, Kang Yeolchan had returned, leading Maetan's security forces.
"Hyeooong-nim!"
Kang Yeolchan had clung to me, bawling his eyes out. He cried with enough intensity to put out the factory fire with his tears.
Choi Kang-ho had been evacuated by the security forces. I assumed his neck-hub had been extracted, but the absence of his photo in the funeral procession meant he was, at the very least, still breathing.
That's a relief.
CC, who had worked so hard to save Choi Kang-ho, sent the message with an air of satisfaction. Lately, I felt like I could tell exactly what kind of mood she was in just by reading her text.
"That is a relief, but... the real problem is our house."
I munched on my meat skewer and turned my head to look at my house—or rather, the plot of land where my house used to stand.
The company housing Maetan had provided me was now a gaping, hollow space with shattered walls. Because the load-bearing wall had been blown away, the second and third floors had partially collapsed inward.
It was an ammonium nitrate bomb. A fertilizer bomb. In the past, one of the worst explosion disasters in history, which wiped out an entire port, was caused by that exact same chemical.
It was a material easily obtained in Maetan.
Wait, isn't it incredibly dangerous that bomb ingredients are this easy to get?
Since the walls had been blown to smithereens, naturally, not a single piece of furniture inside had survived.
I actually missed the days when my biggest worry was how I was going to use the bathroom after my toilet got smashed. Now, I had to worry about where I was going to sleep tonight.
When I handed Choi Kang-ho over, I had asked a security guard about it, and he told me that if I logged into Intra-Maetan, they would probably sort something out for me.
That was four days ago.
For the past four days, I had been drifting from cheap motels to diners.
The four million won I had withdrawn was rapidly running dry.
The only silver lining was that Intra-Maetan was scheduled to reopen tonight.
"How much do I have left... I can't even remember. Well, whatever. The reward for discovering the Event Zone should be coming in, so I won't be in immediate trouble."
As expected, having money means having no worries.
"Agreed."
Yes, there was a time when I actually believed that.
"You must pay for the house repairs."
"Huh?"
Inside Intra-Maetan, at the Employee Counseling Office of the Maetan Welfare and Benefits Team.
A female employee wearing glasses and a neatly dressed avatar spoke in a dry, mechanical voice.
"You damaged the company housing provided by Maetan. Consequently, Maetan will be filing a claim for damages against you. According to the employee who went on-site, the collapse of the load-bearing wall caused damage extending to the second and third floors. It might... actually, it is almost certain to be flagged for complete reconstruction. In that case, you, as our employee, will have to cover the construction costs."
The woman rattled off these terrifying words like rapid-fire.
It was a sound far more frightening than the minigun mounted on top of a multi-legged tank.
The employee, who had been expressionless until now, suddenly beamed a bright smile.
"But don't worry too much. If the explosion occurred while you were performing official duties, it might be covered under worker's compensation."
"Right? Phew. It's not like I wanted to blow it up... It exploded during this recent F invasion. That bastard F set up a booby trap in my house..."
"Why would F pinpoint your house specifically to set up a bomb?"
"Excuse me?"
"Out of all the countless houses in Maetan, why did it target yours specifically to plant a booby trap?"
"Uh... well..."
Several reasons flashed through my mind, but none of them were things I could say out loud. I went with the safest, most publicly known explanation I could think of.
"Maybe because I defeated Player Kang Sihyeon when he was infected by F...? So it wanted to eliminate me?"
"I see. You fought and defeated F... So it's a grudge."
"Pardon?"
"A grudge. A personal grudge. That makes it a personal matter. I'm sorry, but it will be difficult to process this as worker's compensation."
The smile vanished from the employee's face once more.
She said, "Our staff will draw up an estimate and bill you shortly."
"Uh..."
"You don't need to worry too much. We always leave you with the minimum cost of living when we deduct the fees. You'll still be able to feed yourself."
But I can't survive on just the minimum cost of living.
"Please maintain your daily connection to Intra-Maetan, and make sure to open any messages we send you. Alright, next person!"
I sat on the edge of the fountain in the Intra-Maetan plaza, clutching my head in despair at the harsh reality crashing down on me.
Beside me sat CC, wearing her short, blonde-haired avatar.
Immediately following the consultation, my entire balance—save for a measly 500,000 Maetan Points—had been seized.
I didn't even have the mental energy to check exactly how much they had taken.
The only saving grace was that the reward for the Event Zone hadn't been processed yet.
"Please let the reward be paid in points... The moment it hits, I'm withdrawing it all as hard cash."
I have a feeling it'll disappear the exact millisecond it enters your account, though.
"Ugh...!"
CC's words were so painfully realistic that tears welled up in my eyes.
After scraping by for over two years in Maetan, I had finally enjoyed a brief period of eating my fill, only to be thrown right back into the threat of starvation.
The final amount hasn't been locked in yet. Maybe it'll be a reasonable sum. The building was pretty old anyway...
"That's because you don't understand the sheer terror of real estate."
No citizen of Maetan ever had to worry about finding a place to live.
This was because Maetan provided company housing to all its employees as a basic benefit.
Unless someone lacked a neck-hub or was a mere intern who didn't qualify for housing, everyone had a roof over their head.
But that also meant Maetan could set the price of housing to whatever arbitrary number they pleased.
Even if a single-room studio was priced at one billion Maetan Points, no one complained.
Why? Because Maetan gave them that one-billion-point room for free!
However, if even minor damage occurred to the house, like in my current situation, the repair costs would be astronomical. This was why private home repair businesses thrived in Maetan.
"But you can only hire those guys if the damage is reasonable... When the whole place is blown to smithereens like mine..."
Damn that bastard F... truly the enemy of humanity. I should have finished him off with my own hands instead of handing him over to Maetan.
The sorrow of having nowhere to go and a rising tide of anger swirled inside me.
This wouldn't do. My hands were shaking. I needed to eat something to find some peace of mind.
Even though you barely have any money left...
Ha, this AI just has to get the last word in.
Logging out of Intra-Maetan.
As I logged out, the scenery of the public connection center materialized before my eyes.
It was a facility run by Maetan, equipped with numerous connection cables and sofas for users to access Intra-Maetan.
Its primary clientele consisted of people like me who had no home, or those who found it too tedious to head back to their own places just to log in. They used the space for a small fee.
Though the rates were cheap, it wasn't very popular because users were completely exposed while connected.
While connected to Intra-Maetan, all sensory organs were redirected to the virtual space, meaning a user wouldn't react even if someone touched them in reality.
In other words, they were completely defenseless against pickpockets.
Although there was a manager on duty at the public connection center, they wouldn't lift a finger even if a theft occurred right before their eyes. Their job was to manage the connection cables and the physical space, not the safety of the people connected to them.
Opening my eyes, the first thing I did was check my pockets.
980,000 won.
Along with my 500,000 Maetan Points, this was my entire net worth.
If I lost this, I would have no choice but to go and shake down the Garden.
"You're finally awake."
A handsome middle-aged man was standing beside the sofa I was sitting on.
He was dressed immaculately and held a finely carved wooden cane.
He was a complete stranger.
"I never expected you wouldn't be at home. I waited for quite a while at your ruined house. The owner of the skewer stall told me I might find you here."
Did this guy seriously think I'd be living in a pile of rubble?
"Who are you?"
"You don't recognize me? There's a bit of an age difference, but my virtual avatar was modeled directly after my real appearance..."
I had absolutely no idea.
Had I met any handsome middle-aged men recently?
"I'm sorry, but..."
"Is that so? I'm the man who was defeated by you."
Defeated by me? I stared intently at the man's face.
Then, I noticed a thick bandage seeped with blood plastered on the back of his neck.
Ah!
Kang Sihyeon!
"Kang Sihyeon?"
He smiled gently.
"I didn't know a place like this existed in Maetan."
I followed Kang Sihyeon toward the corporate district.
He led me to a restaurant located in the basement of the headquarters building.
In the center, chefs prepared dishes, while all around them, meat was constantly grilled on iron griddles and alcohol was served.
Every single dish served had a flavor so rich and complex that it felt like something you'd only experience in Intra-Maetan.
I couldn't even begin to guess how expensive it was, especially since there were no prices listed on the menu.
"Eat as much as you like. It's on me."
We sat across from each other at a table slightly removed from the center.
A small iron griddle was set into a table made from a solid slab of raw timber, and staff members periodically came by to grill the meat for us.
"...What is it that you want?"
"What do I want?"
"If someone buys me a meat skewer or a bowl of hot soup on the street, I can accept it as simple goodwill. But when someone brings me to a high-end restaurant like this, I can't help but think they have an ulterior motive."
Mister, hurry up and eat. Look at the color of that meat. *Drools.*
"Is this... a grudge? Because I defeated you...?"
Lately, I was highly sensitive to grudges. If I lost anything more at this point, I felt like I would lose the will to survive in Maetan altogether.
Kang Sihyeon threw his head back and laughed heartily.
He pressed a hand against the gauze on his neck, as if the wound from his extracted neck-hub was throbbing, but he didn't stop laughing.
Mister, please, can't we just eat one piece first before talking?
"Don't worry, it's not because of a grudge," Kang Sihyeon said, looking down at the sizzling meat.
"I was confident in my skills and abilities. I truly believed no one could ever beat me in a one-on-one fight."
(＞﹏＜) Mister... please... I think I'm going to die...
"But then I lost to F... and I was infected, even having my avatar stolen. I suppose that couldn't be helped. F is a disaster, after all."
The aroma of rendering fat tickled the tip of my nose.
"When I realized my avatar had been taken by F, a slight sense of superiority actually welled up inside me. I thought, 'Maetan is finished now. With F and me combined, who could possibly stop us?'"
A staff member came over, flipped the meat, and left.
"But then, right after that, I heard a mere D-class player defeated my F-infected avatar. I'm just curious. How did you fight and win?"
"Is that all?"
"I have another matter to discuss, but we can talk about the rest after we eat."
I picked up my fork and knife.
The moment I put a piece of meat into my mouth, tender juices exploded, and heaven descended upon my tongue.
[✪.✪ Ahhhhhhh rr%@#ga!!!! lol]
Having tasted the meat, CC completely broke down.