Chapter 280
Chapter 280
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 280
Chapter Title: 64. Retribution (1)
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“One hundred million?”
“You’re telling me... to cough up a hundred... million?”
“What...?”
One hundred million karma.
The sheer scale of the number—starting with a hundred million—made it a hefty sum even for Yeong-woo, who was currently squeezing the continent for all it was worth.
“You sure about that? One hundred million?”
Yeong-woo asked in a tone laced with concern.
Sure, gouging them for a fortune in exchange for their lives was fine and all, but it had to be money he could actually collect.
If the amount was so absurd that they didn’t even bother trying to scrape it together, or if they just told him to shove it and dropped dead, that’d put Yeong-woo in a real bind.
‘Can’t exactly backtrack now that I’ve thrown out the number and ask for a discount.’
Yeong-woo shot a glance at ‘Early Bird,’ the guy who’d blurted out the one hundred million right off the bat.
‘What a lunatic this guy is.’
Then, cautiously, he sized up the debtor’s face.
Wondering if this was really a mug that could cough up that kind of cash.
‘Hmm.’
The participant who’d landed himself in the hot seat of owing one hundred million after one wrong curse at Early Bird was a tough-looking Westerner.
“Uh... where are you from? What country are you with?”
Yeong-woo asked politely to his hundred-million-karma customer.
The man furrowed his brow and scanned the rest of the participants.
“...America.”
“America? Which part?”
“Guardian of Vermont, Andrew Bolton.”
“...”
Yeong-woo had a habit of smashing the skulls of people who talked down to him, but he held back this time—for the sake of that one hundred million.
“Vermont, huh...”
Yeong-woo rolled his eyes upward at the unfamiliar name, and Ottavio chimed in.
“Vermont. Northeast U.S.”
“Oh? You know your American geography.”
“Nah, it’s Ted Bundy’s hometown.”
Ted Bundy.
The infamous American serial killer from the 1970s.
Yeong-woo had heard the name, but not the hometown, so he tilted his head.
Anyway, if Vermont was up against the northeast of America...
‘Probably means the North American continent’s bumped up against Europe and Africa, so getting there’ll take some time.’
That was because his brothers’ highway under construction was headed toward China, not the Pacific.
So the next leg of the road would likely cut across Eurasia.
‘That means Europe and the Middle East before hitting America. Pretty far.’
As Yeong-woo mulled over these bizarre thoughts, Vermont Guardian Andrew beat him to the punch.
“How exactly do you plan to... collect the money?”
Grateful that Yeong-woo had explained first, he replied.
“At the right time, I’ll come visit wherever you all are and pick it up myself.”
“Oh, so then.”
This time, it wasn’t Andrew but another participant who spoke up.
“P-post payment?”
“That’s right. Hard to believe, I know, but it’s post-payment. You get out alive first, pay me later.”
“...!”
The participants’ eyes widened at Yeong-woo’s words.
If that was really the deal, what reason would there be to say no?
‘Ha, what an idiot?’
‘There’s gotta be at least three or four countries represented here—how’s he gonna track us down?’
‘Just don’t pay up once we’re out. He’ll get his gear back outside too, same as us.’
Stunned by the staggeringly naive proposal, the participants inwardly sighed in relief.
But Yeong-woo, who could guess their thoughts, memorized each face and issued a warning.
“Let me be clear. You will see me again. And I will collect that money.”
“...”
For some reason, the warning sent chills down their spines, but they still chose to get out alive.
“A-alright.”
“Better than dying.”
“So the American pays one hundred million, and we renegotiate our prices?”
Someone in the crowd said that, and Yeong-woo grinned, raising his hand again.
Swipe.
Then he spread two fingers.
“But hey, I do have some common sense. I’ll just double the starting price.”
“W-what?”
Second place: twenty million, third: forty million, fourth: eighty million.
“Rules are the same as before. First come, first served, one per tier.”
As Yeong-woo shook his two raised fingers, the participants shouted over each other.
“Tw-twenty million!”
“Me! Pick me!”
“Then I’ll do thirty million!”
Some even offered to pay more, but Yeong-woo stuck to his guns.
“No. Latecomers pay forty million next round.”
“F-fuck...”
Anu Bawa, watching this dog-eat-dog spectacle from a step back, started rethinking his own thirty-million life price.
‘What the hell? That guy... he’s got something up his sleeve.’
Even with command of the escort soldiers inside the dungeon, that power would vanish once they left, right?
And yet here he was, toying with the world’s top martial artists...
‘Either he’s a madman living for today, or he’s really got something.’
Republic of Korea.
A small peninsula clinging to somewhere in the East.
That was all Anu Bawa knew of the man’s affiliation.
Which only made him...
“...”
...feel even more terrified.
The line between unknown mystery and outright horror was razor-thin.
And this crazy Easterner? Definitely horror.
“Next up, forty-million customer!”
As Yeong-woo’s life auction hit the forty-million tier, Anu Bawa even felt grateful for his bargain.
If things had gone just a bit differently, he might’ve ended up sprawled out there paying forty... or hell, even eighty million.
‘What the fuck’s going on over in the East?’
* * *
“I’m truly glad to have forged this bond with you all, even in this way.”
Yeong-woo gushed, moved, after collecting all the debts—but most of the room still looked like they’d eaten shit.
And who could blame them? Most had just saddled themselves with debts from tens of millions to a full hundred million.
“Alright, you’ll all be out of here soon. But first, let’s call roll.”
Yeong-woo cleared his throat and recited the list of survivors who owed him money.
『White Deer of Lubelskie』
|Burlza Zanobski, Poland.
*10 million karma.
『Swordmaster of Hampshire』
|Ricky Brown, UK.
*20 million karma.
『Stone Wall of Huánuco』
|Lerana Castillo, Peru.
*40 million karma.
『Medina Mahdi』
|Bin Ali, Saudi Arabia.
*80 million karma.
『Vermont Guardian』
|Andrew Bolton, USA.
*100 million karma.
And finally, Anu Bawa from Assam, India. 30 million karma.
“Any issues? If your affiliation’s wrong, I’ll cut you some slack once—just speak up now.”
Yeong-woo checked, but no one objected, and the debt collection wrapped up.
“Thank you all.”
From Peru to Poland.
Could this guy really travel the world and collect it all?
A few in the room were certain.
They’d forget half those names by tomorrow.
But as if peering into their minds, Jeong Yeong-woo continued right away.
“No one like that here, right? ‘There’s so many people, I’ll forget quick. He won’t mind me specifically.’”
“...”
The participants clamped their mouths shut, stung, and Yeong-woo warned them firmly.
“I never forget money owed to me.”
Swipe.
He pointed his command sword at Andrew Bolton, the hundred-million debtor, Vermont Guardian.
“So prepare it. Or you’ll learn that sparing you today wasn’t mercy—just a delay.”
With that, Yeong-woo signaled the escort soldiers, who released their charges.
“Go! You’re all free!”
“...!”
Before he’d even finished, the participants bolted for the exit.
Toward the blue portal that had opened in one side of the fortress wall.
Anu Bawa stamped his feet and looked at Yeong-woo.
“Uh... can I go too?”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
Yeong-woo nodded, and Anu Bawa dashed for the portal with uncharacteristic speed.
Thud-thud!
And then...
“...”
Only Yeong-woo and Sicily’s Ottavio remained before the exit.
“I hoped we’d meet in a dungeon again someday, but not like this.”
“No idea what you were hoping for, but... next time might exceed expectations even more.”
At Yeong-woo’s words, Ottavio shuddered.
“You really gonna collect from those guys?”
“Of course.”
“...How?”
“There’s a shortcut being built just for me. Might even stop by Sicily someday.”
“Please don’t.”
Leaving behind words that could’ve been joke or threat, Ottavio bolted for the exit too.
“See you alive another day!”
Thud!
The Sicilian vanished into the portal.
Yeong-woo stared at his retreating back, then stepped toward the exit himself.
Step.
‘Guess I can finally catch some shut-eye today.’
All that remained was a short nap at the hotel, then checking how much work his brothers had done the moment he woke.
He’d nearly wrapped up that endless week.
‘Tomorrow makes exactly reset day 7. Feels like seven years.’
Morality score: 14 points.
Likely the highest among participants. Yeong-woo threw himself into the portal.
Flash!
The portal’s brief disorientation wrapped around him, but instead of instant return to Earth, it held him in standby.
‘Ah, settlement!’
Sensing the dungeon settlement, system messages scrolled into view right on cue.
[Moral Lecture]
|Dungeon Grade: Ancient
|Difficulty: B
|Required Personnel: 8
|Recommended Personnel: 16
「Dungeon completed.」
「For rewards, evaluators begin grading.」
“What...?”
Then, a name he hadn’t expected to see again popped up.
「Black Eye, Desirak Logistics Director is preparing the grade sheet.」
「The Encroacher, Talgia Development Director is preparing the grade sheet.」
「Thousand Eyes, Doggo Shareholder Alliance is preparing the grade sheet.」
「Destroyer King, Doggo Chairman is preparing the grade sheet.」