Chapter 282
Chapter 282
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 282
Chapter Title: 64. Retribution (3)
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3:16 a.m.
As Young-woo returned to the suite, Jeong Gu, who had been sleeping in the living room, greeted him.
“What the hell? What time is it?”
Jeong Gu glanced around with half-open eyes, and Young-woo carried the golden goblin and Popu Tenta inside before closing the door.
Thud.
“Just past three. Is the bedroom empty?”
“Yeah. The missus and the kids went to the side room after watching TV.”
“Got it.”
Young-woo nodded at Jeong Gu’s words, then took off “Aerial Etiquette” and placed it on the living room table.
This revealed the new armor hidden beneath it: “Legitimacy,” gleaming brightly.
“Huh? What’s that?”
Jeong Gu’s eyes widened.
His son had wandered around naked before, and now he showed up wrapped head to toe in full plate armor. It was no wonder he was shocked.
“What mess did you get into this time?”
“…Dungeon reward.”
“A dungeon reward looks like that?”
Jeong Gu asked with a tone implying he wanted more details, but Young-woo didn’t elaborate.
He had learned about the background of his current main sponsor, “Dogo,” during his nighttime dungeon run, and this armor was closely tied to it. How could he explain all that?
“Anyway, I need to sleep. Things will get crazy again once the sun’s up.”
Young-woo ended the conversation and headed to the bedroom.
Clank, clank.
With Legitimacy covering him down to his toes, every step echoed like a steel giant.
‘Anyone who sees me would think I’m a monster. At least no helmet—that’s a relief.’
Reaching the bedside, Young-woo drew Illegitimate Child and leaned it against the bed before lying down in his armor.
“Whew.”
Sfx: Squish.
As the bedsheet sank beneath him, Young-woo’s consciousness began to fade.
‘Busy day ahead again.’
The oath with the red-footed orcs, the high-speed highways spiderwebbing across Earth, and the impending war over planetary development rights...
Recalling yesterday’s events one by one blurred his mind further.
And finally.
Pop.
His consciousness switched off completely.
...
...
Ring... ring!
...
Ring ring!
...
A nerve-grating sound pierced the silence.
‘...Fuck.’
Young-woo cursed inwardly.
It was the suite’s morning call, signaling dawn’s arrival.
As a seasoned reset veteran now, the sound didn’t feel so alien in this crumbling world.
Instead.
‘I don’t even remember sleeping?’
A wave of injustice washed over him.
Just like a Monday morning.
Young-woo reluctantly opened his eyes.
Flash!
Update notifications from his adaptive gear flooded his vision.
「Your strength has permanently increased by 100 due to the enraged goblin.」
「The pumpkin-colored whistle has been recharged.」
Then the damn morning call assaulted his ears again, so Young-woo grabbed the receiver.
Click.
What followed was the creepy voice announcing the time until checkout, but this time.
Flash!
《This is a Dogo announcement. You have 1 hour and 59 minutes until checkout.》
“Huh?”
A voice he’d never heard before echoed in his ear.
Clear and polished, too.
“Dogo’s announcing it?”
As far as Young-woo knew, the morning call was part of the reset system.
It was tied to the day-use system, a basic service introduced with resets for residential stays.
So for Dogo to intervene in this “morning call”...
‘What? Related to planetary development rights?’
It might just apply to him as their direct model for now.
But the fact that Dogo could tamper with Earth’s reset morning calls implied a lot.
‘Planetary development isn’t just about paving roads, huh.’
Young-woo set the receiver down and checked his wristwatch.
Swipe.
But instead of the watch that had been there yesterday, a holographic number projected over his armor.
[08:02]
Current time: 8:02 a.m.
A gear tooltip followed.
「Ruler」 - Relic Tool
【Displays the time on the planet you’re on.】
◇ Dogo: Interacts with headquarters products
◇ Dogo: Multi-display
《Congratulations on surviving Day 7.》
So this was...
“A watch?”
More precisely, a special timepiece that worked beyond the planet, customized by headquarters.
It hadn’t been there before sleep, so it must have come with that morning call.
And from the footnote at the tooltip’s bottom.
《Congratulations on surviving Day 7.》
‘A Day 7 reset survival commemorative watch.’
The polite language suggested it was from the staff, not a personal gift from the chairman.
‘Is surviving seven days worth celebrating...? Ah, right.’
Young-woo tilted his head briefly before it clicked.
He also realized something anew.
Dogo had no idea how long their contracted models could survive on Earth.
They might not have worried early on, but at some point, even the company had been anxiously monitoring the reset progression.
《Congratulations on surviving Day 7.》
Why else leave a congratulatory note like that?
‘Ha, anyway, time to tackle today’s shit.’
After admiring the watch for a bit, Young-woo sprang up, grabbing Illegitimate Child.
He headed to the still-quiet living room.
“......”
Seo-ok and the kids in the side room seemed lost in dreamland, while Jeong Gu had rolled off the sofa onto the floor.
Young-woo approached the sofa slowly and nudged his father’s leg with his toe.
“Dad, get up.”
Jeong Gu, sleeping like the dead, barely cracked his eyes.
“...What?”
“Time to get up.”
“Oh.”
Confirming sunlight peeking through the curtains, Jeong Gu furrowed his brow.
He’d barely slept either, with no memory of it.
“What time is it?”
“Just past eight.”
“Then I can sleep more. Checkout’s at ten.”
As Jeong Gu tried to bury his head back on the floor, Young-woo kicked his thigh again.
“Hey, you little shit, kicking your own father?”
“Someone might come by later. I probably won’t be in Seoul, so you’ll have to handle them.”
“What?”
At the news of a guest for Absolute Demon Jeong Young-woo visiting Seoul, Jeong Gu bolted upright.
“That guest even human?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, okay?”
His expression eased at the word “human,” and Young-woo added from the door.
“An old colleague from Busan’s coming with cash. About 8.6 million.”
“Colleague? You have a human colleague?”
“......”
Irritated by Jeong Gu’s endless questions, Young-woo gripped Illegitimate Child tightly.
Creak.
Jeong Gu waved his hands placatingly.
“Alright, alright. So what do I do with the money?”
“Take it and keep it safe. Hand it to me when I’m back. And don’t forget the Incheon pickup tonight.”
As Young-woo outlined his father’s tasks, Jeong Gu asked the most important one last.
“What’s the guest’s name?”
“Kang Yechan.”
“Kang Yechan?”
“Yeah. He’s pretty strong, so stick by him if anything happens.”
* * *
8:11 a.m.
Leaving the hotel, Young-woo headed straight for the “Tower” erected in Gangnam last night.
‘Gotta hurry.’
As Jeong Gu said, safe rest in the suite lasted only until the 10 a.m. day-use cutoff.
The sole reason Young-woo rushed into his schedule anyway?
‘By now, the Politburo Standing Committee in Beijing should’ve scouted all nearby cities.’
For Young-woo, whose business model was “less tribute than before,” now was the time to launch sales.
In the chairman’s words, time to roll out the “violence business transcending limits” on a grand scale.
‘Grab every city around Beijing today, and hit Im Du-pyeong by tomorrow at latest.’
That was Young-woo’s current grand strategy.
“You’ll have to work hard today. High-speed highway to China, back here before 1 p.m.”
Speaking encouragingly to Neggri, the creature lifted its head slightly and chirped back briefly.
-Kweeek!
Was it Young-woo’s imagination, or did Neggri seem excited?
Boom, boom!
Soon, the “Tower” built by the red-footed orcs filled their view.
Crowds of locals already swarmed around it, buzzing.
The boldest even touched its surface.
‘Every bridge site must be like this.’
No telling how far the brothers extended the roads, but whether China, Russia, or Mongolia, no one would ignore a sudden tower.
Probably crowds gawking everywhere like here, or already trying to demolish them.
“No worries! This is ours!”
Young-woo shouted as he charged straight at the tower. Its surface glowed, forming an archway entrance for him.
Whoosh!
“Huh?”
“What, what is it?”
“A door appeared...?”
The residents, still terrified of the mysterious tower, gaped as Young-woo entered.
Day 7 of the reset.
Human adaptability was amazing, but claiming alien tech as their own in a week? Not easy.
Meanwhile, inside the tower, Young-woo.
Fweee!
Light filled his vision as his body shot hundreds of meters into the sky.
“......”
The brothers who built this tower and highway must have ascended the same way.
Swoosh!
Finishing the ascent, Young-woo arrived in a 20-meter-diameter circular space.
‘Second visit, but it still stirs my heart.’
The tower’s summit.
Users could check high-speed highway status or expand roads via the central round table device.
Choose to travel existing roads or become the road yourself.
“Let’s see how much work my brothers did.”
Placing his hand on the table, a holographic Earth globe appeared.
Flash!
It pinned a wedge icon on his current location, Seoul.
Indicating the user was here.
Then.
Shwaaaa!
Silver lines—high-speed highways—radiated from Seoul in all directions.
“......?”
Even merciless employer Jeong Young-woo07’s eyes widened.
“They did all this overnight?”
Young-woo’s initial order was roads reaching across China.
The justification for tasking the brothers: a path of vengeance toward “Mara.”
His sole basis: a hunch that Mara lurked behind China.
Perhaps that’s why.
The brothers had considered cases where Mara wasn’t behind China.
Roads already extended across Japan and Australia, even toward the Philippines.
‘They really plan to pave the whole world?’
He intended to push more construction, but didn’t expect the brothers to go insane with expansion first.
This was.
‘...Madness.’
No wonder—vengeance against those who slaughtered kin and stole their home ran deep.
With newfound reverence, Young-woo gazed at the lines blanketing eastern China.
He tapped “Tongliao,” a city too distant yesterday even by Neggri.
Now reachable in minutes for invasion.
Young-woo slammed his fist on the table. The room flashed; a wall opened to reveal a Milky Way-like highway.
A path of light built by exiles from beyond the galaxy.
Step onto it, and zip to the next tower at near-light speed.
Sfx: Swipe.
Young-woo remounted Neggri, pointing Illegitimate Child at the dizzying void beyond, and shouted.
“Let’s go! My brothers light the way...!”