Chapter 160
Chapter 160
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: 38. Hot Night (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon 8 PM: Day-use notice posted.
Afternoon 9 PM: Day-use service begins.
Afternoon 10 PM: Tax collection.
Young-woo mentally mapped out the timeline as he entered the Parnassus Hotel lobby.
-Queeeee!
Riding the Iron Horse Negig, which let out a bizarre screech.
Kwaaa!
As Negig skidded to a halt, ripping half the carpet in front of the lobby, the Taewon Group employees standing by the entrance hurriedly backed away.
Then, belatedly recognizing Young-woo's face, they bowed their heads.
“Y-Young-woo sir……!”
“First Sword, it's an honor to meet you!”
They recognized his face thanks to the commemorative coins he had scattered.
“Day-use is about to start, but you're still on duty?”
As Young-woo dismounted from Negig and asked, the employees habitually bowed again.
“We were instructed to guard the lobby until you arrived, Young-woo sir.”
“…Ah.”
Of course. From Taewon's perspective, Jeong Young-woo was someone they absolutely had to keep as an ally.
That's why they were fussing over even these minor protocols.
“Anyway, now that I'm here, go ahead and clock out. Is Seon-ah up there?”
When Young-woo asked about Assistant Manager Im Seon-ah from the secretarial office, the employees grabbed their walkie-talkies.
“Yes. She's probably preparing the room. We'll call her right now…….”
“No need. I was heading up anyway, so I'll handle it.”
When Young-woo gestured that they could really leave now, Jeong Gu looked at him with a puzzled expression.
The Jeong Young-woo who was out there—among the First Sword and other powerhouses—felt so different from the one in front of civilians.
‘What the hell's up with this guy suddenly?’
Was this really the same maniac who had just cut off his own arm moments ago?
At least since arriving in Gangnam, Young-woo had been acting like the most ordinary citizen imaginable.
Perfectly socialized speech at just the right level, and a humility and easygoing nature that was hard to believe came from Seoul's strongest First Sword.
If not for the title hovering over his head and all the gear draped over his body……
‘He looks completely normal.’
Of course, rice bends as it ripens.
But Jeong Young-woo wasn't just ripe rice—he was closer to a carnivorous plant, some freak variant.
‘Well… still way better than rampaging like a madman inside and outside his turf.’
In any case, through this incident, Jeong Gu realized anew that Jeong Young-woo was at least born human.
“Let's go. Power won't be back until 9, so we have to take the stairs.”
As Young-woo signaled for Jeong Gu to get off, the Golden Goblin and golden trail zipped to their master's side first.
“…….”
Then, as Jeong Gu finally jumped down, Negig curled up in front of the hotel entrance and switched to parking mode.
“Eek? What the hell is this……?”
Jeong Gu freaked out at the sight of Negig transformed into what looked like an egg.
No creature on Earth changed like that. It was a habit that screamed otherworldly origins.
“It does that when it's gonna stay still for a while.”
“But the anomalous weather's coming soon……?”
“It's fine. Probably because it's not from Earth.”
「Negig」 - Grade Unknown
【Adapts to any planet.】
Negig. The grade-unknown mount gifted by 「Dogo」.
No matter how much experience you gained in this world, you were bound to encounter the inexplicable.
And one of those was the Iron Horse Negig.
“Just leave it. If it breaks, we can take it up with the chairman.”
After saying that, Young-woo suddenly thought.
‘Wait. Then where's the Audi I gifted? Does the chairman have it?’
* * *
Parnassus Hotel, Room 3233.
The former residence of the previous Gangnam First Sword and Taewon Group executive director Jeong Hyun-sik, now serving as the suite for Joseon First Sword Jeong Young-woo07.
Even without power, the room's grandeur was immense—it had cost 15 million won per night before the reset.
“Wh-what kind of room is this huge……?”
As Jeong Gu slowly toured the dim suite with his mouth agape, Im Seon-ah followed, illuminating the area with an electronic lamp.
“It's the largest suite available in all of Gangnam District right now. Traditionally, it's been used as an office by Gangnam First Swords.”
Im Seon-ah explained in a steady tone, like a museum curator.
To Young-woo, the word ‘traditionally’ felt a bit amusing, and he quietly chuckled to himself.
Wasn't it just a polite way of saying the successor had seized the predecessor's office?
“Your son has provided tremendous help to our Gangnam District. So, out of gratitude, we're covering the room fee through Taewon Group.”
“Er, my son… I see. Well, thank you anyway.”
Jeong Gu, who also tended to show a softer side around civilians, couldn't bring himself to correct her ‘son’ reference and just fidgeted awkwardly.
“So, how much is one night here?”
When Jeong Gu followed up, Seon-ah answered as if she'd been waiting.
“Yes, 62,000 karma, Father.”
“…62,000 for one night?”
Of course, to his son—or rather Jeong Young-woo, who shopped in the millions daily—62,000 was pocket change.
But to Jeong Gu, who had survived in Dobong District's harsh wilds since the reset, 62,000 karma was no small sum.
Especially for just crashing for a night.
Thud!
Then came the sound of Taewon employees setting down shelves full of coins outside the door.
They had brought cash to cover this room's day-use fee.
Seeing it, Jeong Gu said to Young-woo with genuine concern.
“You… aren't you pushing these people too hard? It's spare change to you, but for ordinary folks, that's weeks of survival funds.”
Young-woo grinned.
“You're more compassionate than you look, Dad.”
Young-woo had thought the same on his first day in Gangnam.
But now, as Seon-ah said, hadn't he provided plenty of help to the district?
He'd distributed 30,000 karma to every resident via the golden coins.
“The money I sprinkled around Gangnam today alone is hundreds of millions. So yeah, scoring a room like this is fair game. Plus, Taewon Group isn't exactly ordinary.”
Young-woo paused there, then asked Seon-ah.
“Did you tell Jong-soo and Officer Kwon Tae-young? About watching some TV.”
“Yes. Both are scheduled to arrive right on time for day-use.”
“And the representative's family?”
“I'll escort them here myself in 20 minutes.”
“Perfect.”
Tonight, the ‘Young-woo crew’ would finally all gather in this room for the first time.
Jeong Gu slipped in.
“What's this TV that's got you summoning everyone……?”
“You'll see soon enough. That's why this room's so pricey.”
Young-woo skipped explaining what TV meant in this world—he lacked the words.
Jeong Gu was a First Sword anyway; he'd get it once he saw it.
Just not the channel showing Returnees' rooms.
“Seon-ah.”
“Yes, Young-woo sir.”
“Could you give us the room for a bit?”
Seon-ah glanced between the First Sword father and son, then stepped back.
“I've overstayed my welcome without reading the room. I'll leave the light here. Rest well.”
As Seon-ah quietly closed the door behind her, Jeong Gu eyed the freak with unease.
“She has to stick around nearby until day-use starts anyway—why send her away?”
Truth was, he was scared to be alone with his son.
And sure enough, the psycho orphan said something terrifying.
“Time to swap the spine.”
“……!”
“No telling what'll happen, so can't do it with the kids here. If blood sprays everywhere…….”
“Then it's okay in front of me? I'm your dad, aren't I?”
“Wasn't your official stance ‘I have no kids’?”
“Th-that's…….”
Jeong Gu was at a loss for words.
He'd just used ‘dad’ himself, so how could the orphan play pretend only when it suited him?
‘This insolent little orphan bastard.’
As Jeong Gu unconsciously scowled in anger, Young-woo's gaze shifted to empty air.
「Would you like to equip the Unique Grade Spine ‘Body Modification’?」
|Warning: This involves an unconventional equipping procedure. You must be shirtless to equip.
Now it was time to respond to the system's warning.
Young-woo removed his cloak and armor from his upper body, then stared at the warning.
“I'll equip it.”
The moment he finished speaking, something astonishing happened.
Ziiing!
A white laser shot from the living room floor, starting to form a massive rectangular frame.
Tsssh!
The frame was designed about 2.5 meters wide, longer horizontally than vertically, looking just like……
“W-wait. What is this? You're seriously swapping spines?”
Jeong Gu instinctively backed away from the stark white, surgery-table-like cuboid.
And at that moment, even Young-woo broke a cold sweat.
Cornea replacement? Basically just lenses—doable.
Eating someone else's organs? Creepy, but manageable.
Cutting off his own arm? Easier than the previous two.
But.
‘Lying on some space-beam surgery table for a spine swap……? Even I'm scared.’
Maybe it was being shirtless, but a chill ran through him, and he unconsciously shrank.
Seeing it, Jeong Gu shook his head.
“See? Even you're hesitant this time. This is a no-go. I'm not really your dad, but don't lie down there—I mean it.”
Advice from one adult to another, one human to another.
But hearing it only made Young-woo more determined to climb on.
He'd already shelled out big for the gear and planned to equip it no matter what, but Jeong Gu's ‘not really your dad’ jab irked him too.
“You're not my dad anyway—mind your own business.”
Young-woo marched to the table with an unmistakably sulky face, and Jeong Gu clutched his forehead.
“You pathetic brat. Fine, swap your damn spine. Lie there and croak for all I care.”
Fuming, Jeong Gu plopped down on the living room floor, muttering ‘dumbass bastard’ repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Young-woo had reached right in front of the table.
Paat!
Recognizing him, the table projected a hologram into the air, slowly rendering a bizarre silver-white metallic object.
None other than.
「Body Modification」 - Unique Spine
【Martial Arts Slot +1】
The Unique Grade spine Young-woo was about to equip.
‘…F-fuck.’
Seeing it made him swallow hard, a curse slipping out.
But equipping it would let him deploy two martial arts at once from now on.
‘The path to mastery is truly perilous.’
Young-woo took a deep breath, then carefully climbed onto the table.
Swoosh.
The table, which had looked like an empty laser frame inside, naturally levitated and supported his body.
「Please lie down with your back facing up.」
‘Th-they're really removing and replacing my actual spine?’
Space-style procedure.
So even physically extracting the spine wouldn't be surprising.
‘Even so, swapping gear this insane way?’
Well, when equipping the mutation disguise, hadn't he sliced open Jeong Hyun-sik's gut and swallowed the gear attached to his stomach?
「Correct posture confirmed. Surgery will commence shortly. Please remain still.」
“……!”
The ominous instruction made Young-woo's eyes widen, and Jeong Gu mouthed ‘dumbass’ at him.
Then.
Pyyyuuuung!
A massive laser beam shot down from the room's ceiling with tremendous force, slicing along Young-woo's spine line.
Ziiiiiing……!
“Kraaaagh!”
Unsurprisingly, excruciating pain followed, but the mutation talisman's ‘Berserker’ pain-nullification didn't trigger.
His agony fell just short of the activation threshold.
“You fucking shit! At least numb it……!”
As Young-woo ground his teeth and yelled at the air, the next message appeared before his eyes.
「Things will get a bit uncomfortable now. Please remain still.」