Chapter 67
Chapter 67
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Debut in the Martial World (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Crunch!
With a loud noise, the man who stumbled out of the motel appeared to be a middle-aged guy in his fifties.
“Huhk….”
He was covered in wounds all over his body, as if he’d been through hell inside the motel, but even so, he immediately tried to pick himself up from the ground and flee.
Then—
Bam!
He slammed headfirst into a patrol car parked right in front of him and fell flat on his ass in the road.
“Ow.”
A sight that perfectly showed just how panicked he was.
“A-are you okay?”
Byung-chul hurriedly got out of the car at this, and the man’s eyes flew wide open.
“…!”
He’d spotted the police uniform Byung-chul was wearing.
But the look in the man’s eyes wasn’t relief—it was fear.
‘What’s that about?’
Young-woo tilted his head in confusion as he caught the man’s gaze.
Running into cops on his way out after getting beaten to a pulp inside the motel—and getting even more scared?
Sure, it could’ve been because he’d seen plenty of corrupt cops, but something told Young-woo the real reason was different.
“Freeze!”
Just then, a group of armed women came pouring out of the motel.
“Huh?”
“W-whoa, everyone, calm down!”
While the two flustered officers waved their hands, unable to draw their guns, the bloodied man tried to bolt again.
Bang!
The women let out furious shouts.
“Ah! He’s running…!”
“Grab that bastard!”
Young-woo, who’d been watching up to this point, sensed something off and gave chase to the middle-aged man.
The women’s emotions were way too heated, and the man—whom he’d assumed was the victim—moved way too fast for a civilian.
Whoosh!
Total stats: 1,600.
Low compared to other First Swords, sure, but the moment he moved, everyone in the area gaped in shock.
It had taken less than a second to catch up to the middle-aged man, who’d been putting some real distance between them.
“Eek!”
The man, nabbed by the scruff of his neck in an instant, didn’t even check who had him before flailing wildly to shake off the arm holding him.
“L-let go! Those bitches are gonna kill me!”
Young-woo couldn’t help but ask.
“Why would they wanna kill you?”
“…What? W-well, that’s…”
The middle-aged man just blinked in wide-eyed shock, unable to answer.
“…….”
That’s when Young-woo saw Im Bong-hee in the man’s shaky gaze.
His roommate, who’d been hacked to pieces for attempted rape when the reset began and then vanished.
‘He’s hiding something.’
It was the same look he’d seen in his roommate’s eyes back then, when he’d desperately begged for his life.
“Come quietly.”
Young-woo dragged the middle-aged man back by the collar, and the riled-up women quickly regained their composure.
“What’s with these guys…?”
“…They’re real cops, I guess.”
Only now did they realize the people surrounding the motel entrance weren’t to be trifled with.
One of the officers was none other than the Icheon First Sword, and the guy dragging the middle-aged man was loaded up with gear.
Thud!
Young-woo finally dumped the man near the patrol car and turned to the women.
“Who are you people? And what’s the deal with this guy?”
Young-woo’s eyes flicked between the women and the motel.
There were seven women who’d come charging out from inside.
It looked like they’d taken over the entire Russo Motel.
And sure enough…
“We’re the Women’s Alliance.”
“Women’s Alliance…?”
According to them, the group Young-woo and the others had run into was the Women’s Alliance of Yongin City’s Cheoin District.
Right after the reset, with survival difficulty spiking to insane levels, the women had banded together.
They’d hunted monsters five against three, with some dying in the process, and the survivors from those two days were the ones standing here now.
“My God.”
Naturally, Young-woo wondered, ‘Why go to such lengths just for women?’—but he soon figured it out.
Drag, drag.
Another group of women emerged from deeper inside the motel, hauling out three male corpses.
“Ah.”
Seeing this, Young-woo got a rough idea of what had gone down in the motel.
The middle-aged man had had accomplices.
They must’ve seen a bunch of women heading into the motel as checkout time approached…
‘Outnumbered, but they figured they could overpower them with raw stats.’
But what they’d run into wasn’t helpless women—it was a battle-hardened group united by gender.
Of course, the middle-aged man’s side had some serious combat power too, judging by what he’d felt earlier, so there were probably quite a few Women’s Alliance bodies inside the motel.
“That bastard’s the last one. Hand him over to us so you can be on your way.”
The woman who’d identified them as the Women’s Alliance jabbed a finger at the middle-aged man, declaring they’d carry out the execution.
Byung-chul, who’d been listening quietly, let out a startled noise.
“W-what are you talking about? This is clearly…”
Illegal. Vigilante justice.
But Byung-chul couldn’t finish the thought.
To properly intervene as a cop, he’d have to punish the Women’s Alliance—who’d already committed murder—before dealing with the middle-aged man’s attempted murder and rape.
But on what grounds?
‘Ah…’
Byung-chul suddenly remembered the fact he’d been trying so hard to ignore.
The reset had wiped out South Korea’s entire judicial system.
Witnessing a crime and punishing it on the spot as a cop was basically vigilante justice too.
No official legal basis or judgment—just straight-up punishment.
In other words, functioning as a cop in this insane world was impossible from the start.
“…….”
Byung-chul’s face twisted in a way words couldn’t describe, and Young-woo, who’d been watching him, lifted the middle-aged man with one hand and handed him over to the Women’s Alliance.
“Do what you want. Looks like self-defense to me.”
Young-woo was exercising judicial authority right in front of a cop.
Yet Byung-chul and Tae-young could only stand there as the criminal was handed over to more criminals.
“No rooms for us here anyway. Let’s look elsewhere.”
Young-woo spoke soothingly to the two dazed officers, and the woman who’d been talking nodded curtly.
“If you’re not heading straight to downtown, you won’t find rooms in time. Most buildings around here are occupied by our people.”
“The Women’s Alliance is that big?”
“Half the old world was women, wasn’t it?”
“…….”
Hard to argue with that.
As Young-woo neither confirmed nor denied it, the woman glanced around and made a bold offer.
“We can spare two empty rooms, so crash here. Payment for helping us out.”
There were already twelve Women’s Alliance members out front.
Most people would’ve politely declined and kept looking, but Young-woo accepted.
He had a pretty good idea why they were offering.
“You really care about your comrades, huh.”
Wasn’t it because if his group left and started rummaging through other buildings, it could cost lives among their allies?
And sure enough, the woman flinched at Young-woo’s words before quickly composing herself.
“You’re sharp. That’s how you’ve survived this long.”
* * *
Finally arriving at the Russo Motel in the Geumnam sector.
Following the woman past the counter slick with glass shards and blood, Young-woo heard a lively clamor.
It was coming from the stairs leading to the second floor.
The twelve they’d seen outside weren’t all there were in the motel.
“How many people are holed up here, exactly?”
When Young-woo asked, the woman grinned.
“Who knows when or how we’ll cross paths again? Best to keep our forces secret, right?”
She gestured for the women blocking the second-floor stairs to make way.
They eyed Young-woo’s group warily but slowly lowered their weapons and stepped aside.
“Are you the leader here?”
“You ask a lot of questions. What about you?”
“I’m…”
Earth human. Gyeongbuk’s strongest. Jeong Young-woo07.
Young-woo reflexively recalled his cosmic intro but erased it.
Like she’d said, who knew when or how they’d meet again—no need to spill everything.
“I’m… Jeong Young-woo.”
“Boring.”
The woman, pushing through the crowd, chuckled at his answer and glanced back.
“I’m Seong Ye-rin.”
Then she added,
“Remember it—we might meet again once you’re a First Sword.”
“…First Sword? You can’t become one in Yongin anymore.”
“That’s why you need to get out of here fast.”
Ye-rin spoke with grim resolve.
To fend off external threats, the Women’s Alliance needed a First Sword.
Problem was, every other region’s First Sword titles were probably taken by now.
Meaning they’d have to duel and steal one.
‘Killing them with sheer numbers like monsters won’t be easy.’
To Young-woo, Ye-rin now looked like a potential corpse-to-be.
“This one and that one—two rooms should do.”
Ye-rin, guiding Young-woo’s group, finally stopped on the fourth floor.
Rooms 403 and 404, which she pointed to, glowed bluish like the riverside motel they’d visited yesterday.
“Which one’s bigger? We’ve got three in one room…”
Jong-su glanced at Young-woo as he spoke, and Ye-rin pointed to 404.
“404’s larger.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Jong-su bowed his head to Ye-rin.
Young-woo took his place in front of 403.
Click.
The door frame glowed even brighter blue, projecting a day-use interface in the center.
「Would you like to use the day-use service?」
[Russo Motel Room 403]
|Space: Narrow
|Facilities: Bathroom
|Day-use Fee: 3,000 Karma
|Duration: Until 10 AM tomorrow
Luckily, the price matched the riverside motel in Gumi.
‘Prices aren’t higher just ‘cause it’s Gyeonggi.’
「How many people will be staying? Please enter the number of guests.」
His first chance to crash alone since the reset.
Young-woo glanced at 404, where they were arguing over splitting the fee, then reached for the holographic keypad.
Ding.
「1」