Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: A Deal for Revenge
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Jo Youngki said to me, stroking the map.
“Your plan is too dangerous.”
“Anywhere in this city is dangerous.”
“No, I can advance to the next round even without winning the main event. I don’t have to fight those guys.”
Our stories flowed differently.
He was saying he chose the safe path, forfeiting the rewards.
I lit a cigarette with an indifferent expression and asked him.
Tsssh. Tzzzz.
Sssip.
Puff—
“…Don’t you want revenge on those Mukai and Noda bastards from earlier?”
“If the chance comes. But I don’t want to risk my life for it.”
“You were ready to follow them to prison earlier to catch them. What’s with the change now?”
“I’m in my right mind now.”
What’s he rambling about?
It was just like Chakan i from the PC game, spouting nonsense.
How did I handle it back then…?
Ah!
The word that came to mind with Chakan i.
Money.
I recalled a few incidents in the game where he obsessed over cash.
The usually meek Chakan i turned thorough and cold when dividing up loot.
I decided to leverage that and made a proposal.
“Youngki, how about this? You handle just Mukai and Noda. I’ll pay you ten thousand Jenny as a success fee.”
“Ten thousand Jenny?”
“Yeah. Lump sum.”
“…You’ll give me ten thousand Jenny just to take out those two?”
“Yes. It’s not a bad deal at all.”
Jo Youngki’s dark expression brightened.
Chakan i in the game was soaked in capitalist ways.
A player who only went where the profit was.
So the real-life Jo Youngki wouldn’t be any different.
I was certain.
Chakan i would accept this offer.
“Ten thousand Jenny… What about fifteen thousand?”
“Nah, forget it. Just go.”
“Huh? Why? Fifteen thousand for two enemy leaders. Fair trade, right? They’re no ordinary guys.”
“Ten thousand is plenty for them. They said they’re heading to the next round once this event ends anyway.”
“…”
I shot up from my seat.
“Leaving them alive means we’ll meet again later. Wonder who’ll come out on the losing end…”
Jo Youngki scratched his head, then grabbed my wrist.
“Fine, ten thousand Jenny. I’ll take them out.”
“…Deal.”
* * * * *
Night had fallen.
No more spies seemed to be around, as no Japanese or Chinese players had shown up here.
I called Ma Jeongwoo to the rooftop of the building.
“Jeongwoo. You can handle things here on your own, right?”
“…Don’t worry. Just go.”
“Don’t push yourself and die somewhere no one knows about.”
“You too—don’t die. We’re safe inside the city.”
“Safe my ass. It’s crawling with enemies.”
A golden light circled above my head.
That made twelve.
“Leveled up again?”
“Yeah.”
“What level now?”
“Forty. You? You must’ve gotten some EXP too.”
“Thirty-three. All the summons I left at the hunting grounds are still alive?”
“Yeah. Not a single one’s dead.”
“Good.”
We looked out over the castle grounds twinkling with lights.
The battle between Japan and China that started at lunch didn’t end until after dinner.
In the end, Chinese players had briefly succeeded in retaking the prison.
With the Chinese prisoners freed from the west and east sides.
Now, no one knew who would win the impending three-way war.
Everyone’s forces were evenly matched.
That meant the outcome of victory or defeat rested in my hands.
“Alright, I’m heading out first.”
“Yeah. Watch out for monsters.”
I left the hideout and headed outside the castle.
Considering the wanted poster on me would make Japanese NPCs hostile, I sought out a back exit from the castle.
Slipping past enemy eyes to the east side of the castle, I spotted a man leaning against the wall.
He had a leaf in his mouth, scanned me up and down, and tossed out casually.
“Want to go outside?”
[‘Entry-Exit Broker’ offers you a deal.]
[Yes/No]
An NPC guiding players out through a broken gap in the east wall.
“No.”
“Huh? Then why come here if you’re not going out?”
“I am going out.”
“Then follow my guidance—”
“No need for guidance. Scram.”
“…”
I shoved the NPC aside and slipped through the cracked gap.
I knew all the paths here anyway, so I didn’t need his directions.
Once inside the gap, stairs leading down came into view.
They were barely worthy of the name—more like a rough pile of mud and rocks.
But we’ll call them stairs here.
Exiting the gap on the other side led to a misty ravine.
[Welcome to the ‘Misty Ravine.’]
“…”
The air grew cold.
A presence stirred nearby.
-Shiririririk. Shiririririk.
The source of the sound didn’t enter my sight.
Insect-like, animal-like.
Unclear what it was, but I moved away from the direction of the noise.
Silently.
I had to stay as quiet as possible until I reached the ravine’s exit—no footsteps allowed.
Getting caught meant the end.
I moved as quietly and slowly as possible, ascending along the ravine.
-Kuweeek!
Monster cries echoed.
Kwachik. Waduk. Kwachuk. Woduk.
The sound of something being chewed.
Hiding flat behind a rock, I saw them.
Three goblin-like monsters, all flesh rotting from Z Virus infection.
They seemed starved, devouring one of their own.
‘…If they catch me, I’m dead.’
I thought I’d gotten used to seeing monsters, but my heart raced again.
Not out of fear of death, though.
I couldn’t say why.
-Kieek? Kieeeek.
-Kuweek.
-Kuwek!
They made eerie noises at each other like a conversation.
Then they sniffed the ground like dogs.
‘What?’
The distance between us shrank.
No way.
Did they smell me?!
* * * * *
[Underground Prison Beneath the Castle]
Chinese players infected with the Z Virus thrashed in their cells.
Japanese players laughed at them.
“Hey, look at that bitch drooling.”
“What about this one? The guy we injected yesterday—he’s totally gone.”
“Puhaha!”
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
A round bald man in a white coat and glasses entered.
The Japanese players bowed in greeting.
“Hello, Dr. Gu.”
“Yeah, yeah. Everyone doing well?”
“Yes.”
“Ooh—my cute little ones are doing fine too.”
Dr. Gu circled the virus-infected Chinese, a satisfied look on his face.
“I heard the west and east prisons were taken by the Chinese?”
“…Yes. But we retook them quick, so no worries.”
Dr. Gu stroked his chin.
“The main event’s about to start, and this mess happens…”
“They probably saw the test subjects there and fell into despair.”
“Yeah, they go to rescue and find them all zombified? Must’ve been a shock.”
“Exactly. They were probably retaking it to prep for the conquest event. Allies turned zombies? Puhahaha! I can picture their twisted faces.”
Everyone clutched their stomachs laughing.
“Heh heh—true enough. Those in the prison were done with experiments anyway—trash to dump in the ravine.”
“Yes. Weirdly, after dumping test subjects there, they stopped attacking.”
“Hmm… Maybe the virus mixed in?”
Dr. Gu lit a cigarette and blew smoke at the zombies.
“My cute ones. Thanks to you, the experiment succeeded.”
“You mean the X Virus?”
“Yeah. By the time we reach the next round, it’ll be ready for full use.”
“Oh…”
-Kieeeeeek!
One zombie player in a cell reached out.
Trying to grab Dr. Gu, but too far.
Dr. Gu pressed his cigarette into the zombie’s hand, chuckling.
Click. Click. Click. Click.
Someone descended the stairs.
-Hanjo-nim!
-L-Leader Hanjo!
-Greetings, Captain Hanjo.
A man wrapped head to toe in bandages. No ninja garb—just white wrappings.
“Doctor. I told you to contact me when coming to the castle.”
“Heh heh—I moved alone since you were injured.”
“This place has zombies locked up. One slip and it’s dangerous.”
“…True. But who else moves in places as dangerous as you? Sacrificing your whole body for us.”
Hanjo gestured, and the other players cleared out.
“Doctor. Is the research really complete?”
“Yes.”
“…Can I be the first to get the injection?”
Dr. Gu tilted his head.
“You? It’s not safe enough for you yet.”
“We’ll meet him in the next round anyway.”
“…You mean ‘Assassin Gothi’?”
Psycho Hanjo nodded.
“Yes. In my current state, I can’t win a straight fight. But lingering in this round too long means he’ll pull ahead.”
“…Then you’ll need to brace yourself. If it goes wrong, it’ll all be on me.”
“I know.”
Dr. Gu wore a reluctant expression as he pulled a syringe from his white coat and handed it over.
It contained purple liquid.
“Here. Success rate’s 70%. Meaning 30% failure.”
“Success or failure, I get powerful either way, right?”
“Yes. But failure means your mind flies away. You become a monster, literally.”
Hanjo smiled as if he knew.
“Understood. I’ll save it for emergencies.”
“And… pretend I know nothing. Say you stole it from my lab.”
“Any reason?”
“That Gunkichi keeps hounding me for this syringe. I’ve been holding it back from him, but now it’s yours.”
“…Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility.”
* * * * *
After his talk with the doctor, Hanjo went to find Gunkichi.
Entering the topmost room in the castle, he found Gunkichi rolling in bed with female players.
A muscular man with a mushroom-cut head.
He shoved the women aside and sat up.
“Oh, Hanjo-nim! Feeling better?”
“Does it look it?”
Hanjo waved his bandaged hand.
“Guess not.”
“I wrapped it in healing bandages to recover fast as possible. But the wound’s deeper than thought.”
“…Were they that strong?”
“No, I got careless.”
Hanjo perched on a chair and sent all the female players out.
Gunkichi winked farewell with a regretful face.
“See ya, babes!”
“I heard when the Chinese raided earlier, you spotted one of the Chosens who fought me?”
“…Yes.”
Bang!
Hanjo slammed his fist on the desk.
“But why let them go? Mukai and Noda could’ve handled him.”
“Calm down. Yesterday, guarding the west prison mattered more than chasing them.”
“What?”
“Think about it. They’ll come attack us during the conqueror event anyway.”
“…”
Gunkichi dressed as he continued.
“We can deal with them then. There’s an order to things. Guarding the west prison was priority.”
“Capturing the guy who tried to kill me was less important than the west prison? That what you’re saying?”
“…Honestly, yes. If we hadn’t rallied fast during the Chinese raid, the damage would’ve been huge.”
“…”
“Hanjo-nim. Revenge can wait for the next round. Let your loyal men take the lead in the strategy.”
“…I get it.”
Bang!
Hanjo kicked the chair as he stood and stormed out.
Gunkichi clicked his tongue at his back.
“Damn bastard…”
Thud thud thud thud!
A Japanese army NPC rushed in, panicked.
“Gu-Gunkichi-nim!”
“What? Again! Again!! Again!!! What now?”
“Can I report?”
“I’m in a bad mood—spit it out.”
“The… north prison…”
“North prison?”
“Got ambushed… by Chosens.”