A Domestic Dispute

We had met once before, on a mission to steal an artifact from a politician.

He wore glasses and a blue tracksuit, looking as if he had just stepped out for a casual stroll.

But his true identity was a master of the sword who wielded a single-molecule cutter. His name was definitely Kang...

"Tracksuit."

"...It's Kang Seongbeom. Long time no see, Goblin."

Kang Seongbeom spoke as he looked at me inside the taxi.

"...You must have made some decent money. Traveling in a taxi."

He narrowed his eyes, peering through the window into the cab.

CC had already vanished.

In her place, a half-eaten Castella Crumble Strawberry Blended was left in my left hand.

And in my right hand was the Caramel Frappuccino I had been drinking.

Naturally, I handed the Castella Crumble Strawberry Blended to Kang Seongbeom.

He looked back and forth between me and the drink for a moment before taking the cup.

"You really must have made some money."

I ignored CC's message as it blocked my vision.

Players usually used public transit.

Because they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were broke.

To make money, they had to work on the Internet, but no player had the luxury to work when they were already busy enough collecting data. Besides, all their registry documents were fake, so finding a stable job was out of the question. Most players were practically unemployed.

Yoo Hyeyeon, who owned a small building in Chungmuro, was an anomaly.

Sipping my Caramel Frappuccino, I said, "And what about you? Did you abandon the path of the sword to work as a security guard? Good choice. There's a limit to being anachronistic. Who uses a sword instead of a gun these days?"

"This is... No, never mind. I don't know what brings you here, but turn back. Entry is forbidden. Driver, the road ahead is closed due to a toxic gas leak. Turn the car around."

As Kang Seongbeom spoke to the taxi driver, CC's message popped up over his face.

"I'll get off here."

Kang Seongbeom didn't particularly stop me as I stepped out of the taxi.

Once the cab drove away, he let out a sigh.

"What are you here for?"

"I have business."

"If you insist on going in, I won't stop you. You take your own responsibility."

He didn't press me on my purpose.

"Is there something ahead?" I asked, looking past the path he was blocking.

Compared to other areas of Seoul, the alleys ahead looked remarkably run-down.

Sipping the Castella Crumble Strawberry Blended, Kang Seongbeom replied with a complicated expression.

"A domestic dispute."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you hear me? A. Domestic. Dispute."

Seeing my utterly bewildered expression, he added, "I believe I told you before about the original owner of this item."

He reached into his tracksuit pants and pulled out a thin metal rod.

It was a delicately crafted golden hairpin, shaped as if a tiny bird had perched upon it.

The Phoenix Ornament Hairpin.

It was the item I had let him have when we first met.

"The couple who exchanged it as a wedding gift but broke it during a fight?"

"You have a good memory."

He slipped the hairpin back inside his tracksuit pants.

...Where exactly was he keeping that?

"Those two are currently having a domestic dispute inside."

"No, I mean, why are they blocking the road just for a domestic dispute?"

"Don't underestimate a fight between players, Goblin," Kang Seongbeom said, his eyes turning serious. "The husband, Player Kim Hun... possesses A-class computation and is at the absolute peak of stealth operations like tracking and assassination in Intra-Asan. In terms of short-term combat ability, he even overwhelms S-class."

"Hmm."

"And the wife, Player Seok Hayeon... she is even more than that."

"S-class?"

"Yes. And her skill... it tends to affect the surrounding environment. That's why I'm here, blocking the residents of the Internet from entering the combat zone. If there are too many witnesses, an F might pop up."

To think a domestic dispute could risk summoning an F.

"Anyway, if you insist on going in, I won't stop you. But you'd better be careful. I mean it."

Leaving the firmly warning Kang Seongbeom behind, I stepped into the alley.

"Take out the quantum processor."

The black, square computing device—the quantum processor of the AC-P—appeared above my outstretched right hand.

Though invisible to my eyes, CC explained that whenever CP, who was somewhere nearby, performed calculations, her logs would flow into the quantum processor in real-time.

Following the flow of that data, CC traced CP's location.

An arrow appeared before my eyes.

I slipped the quantum processor into my pants pocket and began walking in the direction of the arrow.

I hadn't realized a place like this existed in Seoul.

It was run-down to an impressive degree.

Every part of Seoul I had seen so far had been clean and full of life, but this place was heavily draped in a gloomy, depressing atmosphere.

Cracked cement walls that looked ready to crumble at any moment, illegally extended temporary structures... It was as if a back alley of Maetan had been transplanted right here.

To make matters worse, the alleys were strangely sloped and intricately twisted. Just following them made me feel slightly motion-sick.

"I didn't know there was a place like this in Seoul."

CC zoomed in on a section of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the alley and projected it before my eyes.

A brick wall that should have been straight was warped into a bizarre spiral.

Strangely, despite being heavily distorted, the wall wasn't cracked or broken. The squished bricks held their places as if they had always been shaped that way.

It looked as though space itself had been twisted.

"Looks like it."

The warped terrain wasn't limited to just one or two spots.

Telephone poles were curled, iron gates were twisted, and the alleys tangled together like snakes climbing a tree.

Traces of blade slashes and explosions could be seen everywhere.

"With a fight of this scale, saying an F might show up wasn't an exaggeration."

"Exactly. In fact, one actually did show up once."

A strange man's voice echoed from somewhere.

Reflexively, I leaped backward, drawing Karwennan and my Tokarev.

But there was no one in sight.

"Whoa, whoa, don't worry. I don't mean any harm."

The man raised his voice as if flustered.

Yet, he still didn't appear in my field of vision.

Stealth so perfect that I still can't detect him...?

A cold sweat trickled down my spine.

"Here, over here. Can you see me?"

I slowly walked toward the direction of the voice.

Soon, a red-brick villa came into view.

Right in the middle of the villa's spiraling, warped wall, a middle-aged man's face was embedded inside the brick.

"A Goblin... judging by your look, you're a player, right? Can you help me? Get me out of here."

"...Are you Player Kim Hun?"

"Oh! You know me? That's right. I'm Kim Hun."

"...I heard about you from Tracksuit... Kang Seongbeom."

"Seongbeom's friend? Nice to meet you. But first, could you get me out? It's getting a bit hard to breathe."

I inspected the spiral wall trapping Kim Hun.

Though bizarrely twisted, the material was just ordinary red brick.

"If you look closely, near the outer edge where the rotation ends, there should be a spot where a hand or finger can fit. Grab that and push as if rotating it in the opposite direction..."

"Hup!"

Krrrck!

I slipped my fingers between the bricks, channeled the power of Strong Arm, and pulled. The red bricks shattered, cascading to the ground.

After repeating this a few times, I cleared enough space for Kim Hun to slip out.

"You've got some serious strength, friend."

Stepping out of the wall, Kim Hun dusted off his clothes.

He was quite tall, wearing a black leather jacket and jeans adorned with various pockets of different sizes.

"Thanks. If not for you, I'd have been stuck there for an hour or two. Let me introduce myself again. I'm Kim Hun."

He extended his right hand.

"Yoon Juhyuk."

"Yoon Juhyuk! I'll remember that. You said you're Seongbeom's friend?"

"We're not friends."

"Really? Well, all relationships start from somewhere. Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry right now. You understand, right? I'll reward you next time we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meet. Sorry!"

Kim Hun rattled off his words in a rush, then dashed down the twisted alley before even finishing his farewell.

CC displayed a small message.

But rather than his words, his retreating figure caught my attention.

He was clearly running, yet there was absolutely no sound of footsteps.

Even his shoulders didn't bob up and down.

Though he was sprinting away, it almost created the illusion that he was standing perfectly still.

"He's dangerous."

"I'm not talking about his personality."

CC asked, but I ignored her and followed the arrow.

The arrow pointed in the direction Kim Hun had vanished.

For a while, the alley looked normal, but soon, the warped spirals appeared once more.

And a moment later.

Clang!

Screeech!

The sound of a sharp blade scraping against a cement wall.

A black figure shifted in midair, sending sparks flying.

Fast.

I could barely track it with my eyes.

I could only just barely tell that the black figure darting through the air was Kim Hun.

"Hey, woman! I said let's just go home!"

Screeech—!

The ground Kim Hun stepped on instantly rotated, warping into a spiral.

As if chasing him as he leaped away, the air itself swirled, matching his trajectory.

It looked as though the atmosphere was twisting into a vortex.

"I'm not going! I said I'm not going!"

At the end of the alley, a woman wearing a Yakult delivery uniform was screaming.

Boom!

Kim Hun threw something at her, but it exploded in midair as if hitting an invisible wall.

The explosive smoke swirled into a spiral.

This woman had to be the S-class player Kang Seongbeom had mentioned, Seok Hayeon.

All the spiraling distortions I had seen on my way here were undoubtedly her doing.

"You've been gone from home for over a month! I told you it's dangerous! You have to come back now!"

"No! I can't! I told ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you why!"

Explosions erupted, buildings warped, and several black-painted blades were embedded in the ground and walls.

The couple was trading lethal blows, completely indifferent to the destruction they were causing to their surroundings.

I forced my eyes away from the battle unfolding before me.

"It's best not to get involved."

CC stopped me as I tried to walk away.

CC zoomed in on the woman's face and projected it on my screen.

Her face was exhausted, framed by long, unkempt bangs.

Bang!

"Kyaah!"

A small bomb she failed to block exploded near her face.

There was no shrapnel, but as she closed her eyes against the flames wrapping around her head, Kim Hun seized the opportunity.

He lunged forward and pinned her arms behind her back.

"Give up. Let's go home."

"Ugh...!"

The moment the woman's face contorted in pain.

CC zoomed in on the woman's stomach, and reflexively, I kicked off the ground and charged.

Seeing me run toward them, Kim Hun tried to greet me.

"Oh, the guy from earlier. Your name was..."

"Yaaaah!"

Crack!

I threw a punch at Kim Hun with all my momentum.

Caught completely off guard, Kim Hun let out a cracking sound as he was sent flying, rolling across the alley floor.

I chased after him and grabbed him by the collar.

"Cough... What, suddenly what are you..."

"You piece of trash! You beat a pregnant woman?!"

Still holding his collar, I threw another punch.

Pinned down, Kim Hun had no choice but to take my blows helplessly.

"Cough... Hey, wait, listen to me..."

"Listen to what? No matter how bad the fight is, how could you do this to someone carrying a baby...!"

In the corner of my vision, the screen still showed the woman staring blankly at us. Beneath her Yakult uniform, her bulging belly was clearly visible.

Her face and limbs were slender, making the pregnancy undeniable.

"No, seriously! Just wait a second!" Kim Hun said, grabbing my right arm. "Look closely!"

"I did look! She's pregnant!"

"And you still don't get it?" Kim Hun frowned, looking utterly exasperated. "We're inside the Internet!"

Only then did his words register.

I slowly let go of his collar and turned my head to look at the woman.

With an anxious face, she pulled her Yakult jacket tight to cover her belly.

Behind me, Kim Hun's aggrieved voice rang out.

"She's pregnant in the virtual world!"