Future War (3)

The fourth main scenario appeared before my eyes. But the content was so long I didn't even want to look at it.

"It's fucking long.... Basically, it boils down to this."

"Lazy dokkaebis, the lot of them. Don't they know Koreans love a three-line summary?"

Running a business on the Korean server without knowing Korean habits. It was enough to make me sigh. And these people still called themselves storytellers?

First things first—I should find Hyunsung. I still need to hand him a reinforcement ampule.

I headed toward the place where people had been gathered before I stepped through the door earlier, looking for Lee Hyunsung.

The twenty-four people I had sent out earlier and the twenty-four who had decided to stay at Chungmuro Station were all clustered in one spot, so the platform was packed and noisy.

Ah, finally found him.

With the platform so crowded it was a little hard to spot Lee Hyunsung, but luckily he was standing not far away.

Dokja's over there talking with Gong Pildu, who was still sprawled on the floor from earlier.

I walked over to where Kim Dokja, Lee Hyunsung, and Jung Heewon were.

"Think it through carefully. Think about the family you'll be separated from."

"You—how do you know about that…!"

Kim Dokja just mentioned Gong Pildu's family. That means the uninvited guests will be showing up any second now.

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than system messages floated up.

Vroom! Vroooom!

Beep! Beeeep!

Several headlights lit up along the Line 4 tracks leading toward Dongdaemun Station, and right after that came the distinctive roar of motorcycle exhausts and the blare of horns.

"I'm not hearing things, right? That's motorcycle engines?"

I popped out from behind the group with a perfect I just got here, I know nothing act, and Jung Heewon nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to look at me.

"Ah—you startled me! Make some noise when you walk around, Jinwoo!"

"We don't know either. Let's just wait for them to arrive."

Kim Dokja had looked startled by the sudden roar of engines and horns, but she quickly composed her expression and fixed her gaze on the direction the sound was coming from.

Knock, knock.

While the others kept their eyes on the tunnel, I opened a door to My Room and tapped lightly on it to call Yoo Sangah.

Click.

"What is it, Jinwoo?"

Not long after I knocked, Yoo Sangah opened the door and stepped out. Her eyes were still a little swollen from crying earlier, but her expression looked much better than before.

"I'm not completely sure, but it looks like survivors from another station have come looking for us. I figured I should let you know just in case."

"People from another station…?"

Yoo Sangah's eyes went wide at my words. She hurried over to stand beside the others.

Tsk… I wanted to let her rest a little longer.

But without her, the group wouldn't be able to land safely off those motorcycles. There wasn't really another option. You couldn't just jump off a speeding bike relying only on a body that had gotten tougher from raising its stamina stat, could you?

Someone might get hurt and then I'd have to waste extra potions. Mm-hmm. Exactly.

It was absolutely not because I hated spending coins to heal party members who jumped off moving motorcycles.

While I was lost in my own thoughts, the sound of motorcycle brakes screeching cut through the air. The headlights went dark, and then the murmur of voices drifted over.

"Ah, finally cracked Chungmuro open."

"Man, they sure took their sweet time clearing a scenario that simple."

"Hey, keep it down. They can hear you. And don't you know the scenarios differ by station?"

Kim Dokja stood silent for a moment, then gave the rest of us a look. At her signal, the group raised their weapons and aimed them at the uninvited guests ahead.

A short while later, four men and women emerged from the darkness and walked toward us. Confirming their approach, Kim Dokja called out.

"Stop right there."

"Oh? Well, well."

The man at the front froze in place, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠startled by the sight of our weapons pointed at them.

Apparently the people behind him had also seen us draw steel—there was the scrape of weapons being pulled in the dark—but the man in front quickly started restraining them.

"Hold on a second. Let's all just calm down. This is getting so scary I can barely talk."

"Put your weapons down and come over here slowly."

"That's right. Unless you want a sniper round through the forehead."

Click.

The moment the man and the people behind him saw me leveling a sniper rifle at them, their faces went stiff and cold. The man moved with rigid, careful motions, set his weapon on the ground, raised both hands, and approached.

"Please don't be so wary. We didn't come here to fight."

"Then…?"

The man placed one hand over his left chest and introduced himself with formal politeness.

"Allow me to introduce myself first. I'm Kang Ilhun, vice representative of the Dongdaemun Group."

Kang Ilhun looked a little awkward when Kim Dokja simply stared at him in silence despite his courteous introduction.

"Um… and your name is…?"

"Kim Dokja."

"……Pardon? Ah, Kim Dokja…?"

A flicker of panic crossed Kang Ilhun's face at the name, but he quickly smoothed it over and put on a friendly, approachable smile.

"A pleasure to meet you, Kim Dokja. Seeing that you're carrying a flag, I take it you're the station representative?"

As he spoke, Kang Ilhun carefully studied Kim Dokja's appearance, then let his gaze sweep over the rest of us standing around her. I did not like that one bit. And then I noticed something on the motorcycles they had ridden in on.

Looking at my people with those eyes? I don't like this guy. And those marks on the bikes they rode…

Bang!

"………!?"

I fired a round into the ground right next to Kang Ilhun's feet. His face and his companions' faces locked up hard. I ignored them and said exactly what I wanted to say.

"Keep your eyes to yourself. There won't be a next time. Next time it's straight through the forehead."

"I-I'm sorry. Ha, haha… Your companions are all just so remarkably good-looking…"

"At least you've got eyes. Our group is full of beauties and handsome faces, after all."

"Jinwoo… Hah. If you've finished looking, how about we get to the point? Our companion here isn't exactly the patient type."

"Ahaha… My apologies. The truth is, we also have to be concerned about our own safety."

Kang Ilhun watched my face carefully as he began to speak again, choosing his words with care.

"I'll say it again—we did not come here to fight. We came only to offer you a 'good proposal.'"

"And why should we believe that?"

"If you've checked the rules, you already know. If we had come to fight, we would have brought our representative with us. Only each station's representative can perform the 'flag planting.'"

Kim Dokja studied Kang Ilhun for a moment, then opened her mouth.

"What's the proposal?"

"We've come to request an alliance."

"An alliance…?"

At Kim Dokja's questioning tone, Kang Ilhun nodded and continued.

"To put it bluntly, Chungmuro Station is not our target station."

"And why should we believe that?"

Kang Ilhun shrugged.

"Believe it or don't—that's up to you. But think it through carefully. If Chungmuro had been our target, we would have brought the entire main force. Honestly, the most vulnerable moment for 'flag planting' is right after a station opens."

There was a certain persuasiveness to that. Kim Dokja nodded, then asked him,

"And what if our target station happens to be Dongdaemun?"

"Haha, no need to worry about that. We already know which station has us as its target."

"So since our target stations are different, we help each other clear the scenario… is that what you're saying?"

"Exactly. And though Chungmuro only just opened so you may not know this yet, the fourth scenario has actually been running for two days already. The third scenario's content and duration vary a little from station to station."

Kang Ilhun looked Kim Dokja straight in the eye as he spoke.

"So if you form an alliance with us, we can share all kinds of information with you, can't we?"

He talks a good game…

Thanks to Kang Ilhun's attribute, Rumor Expert, and his skill, Rhetoric, his words sounded pretty convincing.

In the webtoon, Kim Dokja ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had also said that Chungmuro entered the scenarios later than the other stations. Being short on information compared to the others was an unavoidable reality.

"In fact, our group knows the hidden secret of this scenario. We have a 'guaranteed winning solution' for it. If you ally with Dongdaemun, you will not regret it."

"…May we discuss this among ourselves for a moment?"

"Of course. But I'd prefer it not take too long."

Kang Ilhun said it with an easy, unhurried expression.

"Everyone, gather up for a second."

At Kim Dokja's gesture, the rest of us clustered around her. Among the gathered group, Yoo Sangah spoke first.

"What should we do? Should we form an alliance with them for now?"

Jung Heewon immediately voiced the opposite opinion.

"I'm against it. I don't trust those people. Something about this feels off."

Wanting to back her up, I whispered quietly to the others.

"Don't react to anything. Act completely natural."

They gave small nods.

"I'm against the alliance too, same as Heewon. And I've got a reason."

"What is it, Jinwoo?"

Kim Dokja asked. I flicked a glance toward the motorcycles the Dongdaemun people had ridden in on.

"Five people deserted from our group earlier, right?"

"Yes. Five members of the Landlord Alliance ran off. Why bring that up?"

"…There are small bloodstains on the bikes they rode here."

"…What?!"

At my words, the others moved only their eyes to sneak a look at the Dongdaemun motorcycles.

"It might not be the case, but… looking at those bloodstains, there's a real chance they killed those five deserters and came straight here."

"Then how should we play this? Like Heewon said, they don't feel trustworthy—but it's also true they have information we don't…"

"What do you think, Dokja?"

At my question, everyone's gaze turned to Kim Dokja. Feeling the weight of their attention, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠considered for a moment before answering.

"Then for now… we pretend to form the alliance and go along with them while we feel things out. The second anything seems off, we pull away immediately."

"…Sitting here waiting won't get us anywhere. That's probably the best we can do."

The others nodded in agreement with Kim Dokja's plan. With the discussion finished, we walked back over to Kang Ilhun.

"We've decided to meet your representative first and then make a decision."

Kang Ilhun's face lit up at Kim Dokja's words.

"Ah, is that so?"

"Where is the representative?"

"At Dongdaemun. If you'd like, we can guide you…"

"Please do."

Then Yoo Sangah suddenly raised a hand and asked Kang Ilhun a question.

"Um… there's one thing I'm curious about."

Kang Ilhun turned to her with a bright smile.

"Yes? What is it, pretty lady?"

"Why did you come to Chungmuro? If you came from Dongdaemun, you could have formed alliances with other stations as well."

At Yoo Sangah's sharp observation, Kang Ilhun looked a little flustered and started scrambling for an excuse.

"Ah, that… as I mentioned, Chungmuro Station only just opened. What I mean is… um, the other stations already have alliance relationships in place."

Kim Dokja and the rest of us looked at the flustered Kang Ilhun with something close to pity. But he kept desperately trying to explain himself.

"But I figured Chungmuro would be different…. Haha, yes, that's right. The details, we'll share once you agree to the alliance."

"I've got a question too. That okay?"

"Yes, if it's something I can answer."

"Nah, I'm not asking you. I want to ask the ladies standing behind you."

"Pardon?"

The two young women who had been silently watching us from behind Kang Ilhun looked at me with slightly widened eyes, as if surprised.

"Us?"

"What do you want to ask, young oppa?"

I walked over to the women behind Kang Ilhun, took each of their hands in turn, and asked,

"Got boyfriends? If not, I'd like to throw my name in as a candidate."

"What…?"

"Huh?"

The two sexy women reacted like they'd just heard something completely unexpected. Then they both grinned and answered.

"Sorry~ young oppa. Unfortunately I've got someone. My boyfriend's back at the main base."

"I'm sorry too. My boyfriend died not long ago, so I'm not really looking to date anyone right now…"

"Ah, well. You two are so beautiful I just had to take a shot even knowing the fruit was out of reach. My bad for being rude to someone who's already taken and someone who just lost her partner. Really sorry."

"It's fine. Thanks for the comfort, at least."

"Ahaha! This oppa's funny. You really think we're that pretty?"

"Of course! Why else would I bother talking to you?"

"Hmm~ thanks for saying that. This is a free service."

The two women exchanged a look, grinned, then latched onto my arms and pulled them in against their chests. Soft, warm, plush softness pressed against my arms.

"Ahaha! Fresh off a rejection and I'm already getting this kind of service? Not sure I deserve it."

Feeling the soft, warm press of both women's chests against my arms, I couldn't help grinning like an idiot. At my reaction they giggled and clung even tighter.

"Ahem… sorry to interrupt while you're enjoying yourselves, but we're running short on time…"

"Ah, ah. Sorry, Kang Ilhun, was it? These pretty ladies completely scrambled my brain and I wasted too much of your time. Ladies? Sadly, it's time to say goodbye."

"Heehee! Young oppa, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you planning to stay here?"

"Yeah, why don't you come with us? If it's you, our representative might even take you in?"

"I'm really sad to part with you ladies too. But someone's got to hold down the fort here, right? If we get another chance, let's talk again."

The two women looked genuinely disappointed as they let go of my arms. Freed from their (voluntary) captivity, I walked back to the group…

…only to find Kim Dokja, Jung Heewon, and Yoo Sangah staring at me with ice-cold eyes.

"………Did I do something wrong, you three? Why are you looking at me like that…?"

The three of them said nothing, just kept staring at me with freezing gazes, then finally sighed and spoke.

"Horny bastard…"

"Jinwoo, are you the type who likes any woman as long as she's female? You were grinning like an idiot just from linking arms…"

"Jinwoo… I'm disappointed."

One after another, Kim Dokja, Jung Heewon, and Yoo Sangah glared at me with frigid eyes and tore into me. Under their cold condemnation I turned to Lee Hyunsung and pleaded.

"……Hyunsung. You understand me, right? This is just a man's natural instinct."

"…I really wouldn't know about that… I'm sorry, Jinwoo."

Ah, right. Lee Hyunsung had gone the all-boys middle school, all-boys high school, engineering college, military track, hadn't he…? I had picked the wrong person to ask for a lifeline.

"Ahem… I'm a man too, you know. I'd appreciate it if you could be a little more understanding…"

I put on the most pitiful face I could manage, secretly pinched my own thigh hard, and forced tears into the corners of my eyes. Even so, the three of them still looked down at me with pure ice.

But apparently the gods do exist, because someone reached out a hand of salvation.

"Um, everyone…? We really should be getting ready to leave now…"

"Y-you heard him?! Our Ilhun is in a tough spot here! You all need to get going already!"

I seized the chance without hesitation, latched onto Kang Ilhun's side like a bat, and enthusiastically agreed with him.

"Tsk… Fine. Let's head out."

Kim Dokja frowned, clicked her tongue, and walked toward the Dongdaemun group's motorcycles with a look that said she had no other choice.

"The four of us will go to Dongdaemun. Jinwoo, you stay here on standby. Gong Pildu, you keep a good watch on this place too."

"Tch."

Gong Pildu clicked his tongue and turned his head away at Kim Dokja's words, but he didn't refuse.

"Heehee! Young oppa, looks like we got you in trouble. Sorry?"

"See you next time, oppa?"

"Yeah, see you next time! Heheh."

The sexy women whose names I still didn't know waved at me and said they'd see me again, and I found myself grinning like an idiot and waving back without thinking.

Completely unaware that there were people who did not appreciate the sight one bit.

Thud! Thud!

"Ack!"

"Tsk…"

"…Degenerate."

Jung Heewon and Yoo Sangah kicked me hard in both shins as they walked past. They put real force into it—the pain hit hard.

"Urgh…"

I grabbed my aching shins and sank down on the spot. Kim Dokja stepped up beside me, smiled coldly, and said,

"Serves you right, Jinwoo."

"…I feel weirdly wronged, though."

"We're going to Dongdaemun for a bit. You just keep Chungmuro Station safe."

"Got it. Be careful out there, just in case."

And so Kim Dokja, Jung Heewon, Yoo Sangah, and Lee Hyunsung climbed onto the back seats of the motorcycles the Dongdaemun people had brought and set off toward Dongdaemun. I watched them go for a moment.

Time to get ready. Ready to kill some uninvited guests.