Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: 18. The Audi That Went to Space
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"Good. Tier-2 quest."
Dogo's shareholders let out satisfied sounds at Youngwoo's acceptance of the contract.
Then, their bodies began to glow as they traced unfamiliar strings of characters in midair.
Shooo!
These characters resembled wedges scattered in disarray.
'...Ah.'
It was the signature of the pan-galactic weapons brand 'Dogo.'
In other words, Dogo's shareholders had just signed the contract.
Pang!
The signature shot up into the sky, and new system text appeared in Youngwoo's vision.
「Contract: Dogo-49523-IIIII_II-Tier 2 has been established.」
A advertising contract between a mere planetary resident and a cosmic mega-corporation.
And it had happened just two days after the reset.
"......"
As Youngwoo made a bemused face, he could feel Dogo's shareholders starting to relax the energy wrapped around their pillar-like forms.
They were finally planning to leave this place.
Of course, there was still one procedure left, as forewarned.
—We're waiting for your token of gratitude.
Dogo's side requested a gift in their characteristically 'alien' tone, and only now did Youngwoo start worrying about Jongsuh's well-being.
Even here, a single cop couldn't even breathe properly.
Flick.
When Youngwoo glanced at the white Audi parked off to the side, Byeongcheol—who had his gun trained on the sky—widened his eyes.
"What's this now?"
"Before sending the client off, we need to give them a souvenir."
"Sou... souvenir?"
Byeongcheol made another perplexed face.
Still, knowing those things would be gone soon brought some relief.
"Then let's hand it over quick and get them out of here. Hurry up."
Even as Byeongcheol spoke, the panting breaths of Patrol Officer Kwon Taeyoung rasped from the ground.
Youngwoo nodded and raised his hand high.
"Jongsuh!"
As if he'd been waiting, the white Audi started rolling forward.
Vrooom......
A four-seater convertible gliding smoothly down the Ichon City road.
"......"
Youngwoo and Byeongcheol stared blankly at the bizarre sight of the foreign car sliding in under the crimson sky. Finally, Jongsuh's head popped out from the Audi as it pulled up in front of them.
"Looks like you worked it out through talking? I've been dying to know what the hell's going on."
Jongsuh's gaze landed on the pistol in Byeongcheol's hand as he said this.
Byeongcheol, meanwhile, was thrown off by Jongsuh's complete lack of intimidation in front of the gun.
"...Who the hell are you?"
Byeongcheol asked Youngwoo, keeping his gun aimed at some ambiguous point between sky and ground.
"My partner."
Youngwoo gave a curt reply as he looked at Jongsuh.
Unlike the young patrol officer writhing on the ground, Jongsuh's breathing was perfectly steady.
'Is it just that he's bold? Or maybe......'
Could it be because of his original fate, where he was supposed to die today?
The reset had wiped that fate clean, but Jongsuh himself had often spoken in a tone implying he was living on borrowed time.
So perhaps he was more immune to fears than others with a strong attachment to life.
"Time to offer this up, right?"
Jongsuh stroked the steering wheel and flashed his eyes.
"Yeah. Not sure how to hand it over, but... if we park it right in front of the client, they'll take it themselves, don't you think?"
When Youngwoo pointed to the apartment parking lot ahead of the advertiser, Jongsuh's head tilted upward.
He was checking out the soon-to-be gift recipient.
"......"
Jongsuh swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing dramatically.
No doubt, facing that massive lifeform up close was scary.
Of course, Youngwoo had no intention of sending Jongsuh alone.
"Don't worry, I'll go with you."
When Youngwoo actually opened the passenger door and planted his butt on the seat, Jongsuh grinned with a relaxed face.
"You're a real stand-up guy, boss."
"It's not about loyalty... it's my deal."
* * *
The distance from where Youngwoo and Jongsuh were to the advertiser was about 140 meters.
Full throttle would cover it in the blink of an eye, but Jongsuh drove at a near-constant speed.
"By the way, how do we let them know this car is the gift?"
"Just tell them. The contract was basically done through talking anyway."
The only potential issue was whether the recipient would like the gift.
Grrrr......
As the two exchanged brief words, a massive shadow fell over the white Audi.
They had finally arrived before the advertiser, whose bizarre form was just as alien on second glance.
"...What the hell is something like that doing here? I thought the reset was just a human thing."
Jongsuh swallowed heavily again as he looked up at the advertiser. Youngwoo scanned the surroundings with a troubled expression.
"Damn it."
"What is it, boss?"
"Everything around here's the same kind of car."
"Huh?"
At Youngwoo's words, Jongsuh glanced out the window and belatedly slapped his knee with an "Ah."
"Yeah, it's a parking lot."
The spot where they'd parked the Audi was the ground-level lot of some apartment complex.
Naturally, vehicles filled every direction.
Sure, they were all turned to stone, but wouldn't they all look like similar junk to the eyes of extraterrestrial VIPs?
"Man... shoulda picked that yellow car back then. A standout color might've made it seem special."
As Jongsuh muttered in frustration, something flashed through Youngwoo's mind.
"Jongsuh."
"Yeah, boss."
"This thing's got ambient lighting, right?"
Ambient lighting.
Indirect interior lights in cars—Mercedes had made theirs a signature feature, crossing the entire front cabin.
Audi had adopted a similar mood lighting system, and Youngwoo knew it well.
One of his favorite YouTubers back in the day had driven Audis a lot.
Of course, that guy was probably stuck in the mutation queue by now.
"Ambient lighting...? Dunno, I'm not that familiar with Audis."
Jongsuh scratched his cheek and fiddled with the control panel.
Then, moments later.
"Whoa, this must be it."
As Jongsuh spoke, intense lighting reminiscent of neon signs bloomed along the cabin's curves.
Pop!
"Urk... seems kinda bright. Tone it down?"
"No. Perfect. Now open the roof like this."
With that, Youngwoo opened the passenger door and stepped out.
Soon after, the Audi's roof folded back, spilling purple light outward.
Like a treasure chest opening.
"This is my gift."
Right on cue, Youngwoo gestured at the Audi with his palm.
Current time: 8:23 PM.
In the gathering dusk, the fully lit, roof-open Audi convertible looked plenty exotic.
Enough to pique the interest of an alien arms manufacturer, at least.
—What is that?
Grrrr.
Dozens of shareholders tightened their light pillars to get a closer look at the gift.
Youngwoo pondered how to explain, then recalled how they'd introduced themselves first with the proper noun 'Dogo.'
"This is... an Audi. A top-tier transport vehicle."
The shareholders echoed his words in unison, pronouncing it flawlessly.
—Audi.
Audi could now be called a cosmic brand too.
"On Earth, we get around in these. As you can see, we're small and slow."
Youngwoo shuffled slowly in front of the shareholders, wondering if he looked like a wriggling ant to them.
Whatever the case—whether charmed by his effort or the mysteriously glowing Audi—the shareholders gave positive feedback.
—Audi, good.
Then, abruptly, their bodies flashed.
"......!"
That was the telltale sign when they manipulated something.
Youngwoo's spine chilled as he yelled.
"Jongsuh! Get out now!"
His gut told him the shareholders were about to take the gift.
"Hurry!"
At his near-scream, Jongsuh— who'd been staring blankly at the glowing advertiser—leaped from the car in a panic.
And right after.
-Kit!
The golden goblin hiding in the back seat vaulted out too, and almost simultaneously, a laser beam pierced the sky and slammed into the Audi.
Ziiiiing... Boom!
"Hk!"
"Ugh!"
The pitch-black surroundings lit up like midday in an instant.
Those things packed insane physical force.
"C-Crazy."
It was like the 'flesh' flying on reset day one, amplified thousands of times. Youngwoo stumbled back without thinking.
—Jeong Youngwoo07!
The shareholders' voices rang in his pristine white field of vision.
As Youngwoo opened his mouth to respond.
Shoo!
The impossibly bright vista snapped back to normal, and everything vanished.
The Dogo shareholders, the crimson-black light pillar, the massive laser beam... and the Audi.
"...Huff."
Exhaling the breath he'd been holding, Youngwoo spotted Jongsuh on his butt on the ground.
"Y-You okay?"
"Huh? Oh... y-yeah. I'm fine."
Jongsuh blinked up at the impossibly clear night sky.
"G-Gone...? They're gone, right?"
Jongsuh's eyes pleaded for it to be true.
Youngwoo gazed at his partner, then shifted his eyes to where the advertisers had been.
There, something faint and whitish lingered where the crimson-black pillar had stood moments ago.
"......?"
At first, he thought it was an afterimage from the intense light.
"Huh? What's that?"
But since Jongsuh spotted it too, it wasn't his imagination.
Something was definitely left behind.
"B-Be careful... boss."
As Youngwoo approached the shape, Jongsuh slowly drew his blade and flanked him, ready for anything.
Meanwhile, Youngwoo was.
'What the hell is this?'
Pure curiosity drove him straight toward the unidentified object.
Each step sharpened its outline and color.
It felt just like.
'Like the exchange booth. This is for me.'
Similar to how he'd recognized his assigned exchange booth on reset day one.
'Dogo' had left something for their ad model.
In other words.
'A return gift for the gift.'
As Youngwoo stepped right up to it, the object turned pitch-black.
Swoosh!
Once colored, its size was far bigger than expected.
It already towered over Youngwoo's height.
"......!"
Even Youngwoo—one of the boldest humans around—froze at the uncanny vibe. Moments later, Byeongcheol came sprinting from afar, gun in hand.
"What the hell now?"
Because.
Shooo!
The object, spewing steam as if its transformation was complete, was unmistakably an egg.
A glossy, pitch-black eggshell that sent chills down the spine no matter how you looked at it.
"B-Boss."
Jongsuh alternated stares between Youngwoo and the egg with a daunted expression. Byeongcheol gripped his shaking gun, unsure where to aim.
And amid all this.
Crack!