Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Infiltrating Dawn
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Lee Si-woo strode through the city streets, shrouded in fire and smoke.
His leisurely pace, as if he were out for a stroll, starkly contrasted with the cityscape of curses, screams, looting, and murder.
Occasionally, a few crazed individuals would rush him, only to have their necks snapped by a light backhand to the face.
After several deranged looters, who didn't know their place, were instantly killed for charging him, no more fools dared to pose a threat.
Grrr.
With unpleasant cries like scraping metal, white monsters began to emerge.
Their mouths were stained with red, as if they had already feasted on human entrails.
Seeing the white monsters swarming like ants, Lee Si-woo stomped his foot lightly.
Thump!
Leaping high into the air, Lee Si-woo used a nearby telephone pole as a stepping stone to reach the top of the tallest building in the vicinity, a six-story structure.
Then, with feather-light movements, he bounded across the rooftops toward his destination.
As Lee Si-woo headed for the Dawn clubhouse, the groans of the city, turned into a hellscape by the virus he had unleashed, filled his ears.
-Help me!
-Someone, please help. My daughter is at home...
-There's a fire at my house! Someone, please call the fire club...!
Some begged for the goodwill of others.
-They're all dead... They're all dead!
-You can only avoid infection from the white monster's virus if you have mana. In the end... we're all going to die...
Some fell into despair.
-Kill them all and take everything!
-The food warehouse is that way!
-Here! Let's loot the mart first!
-Where do you think you're going, you bastard! If you're leaving, leave your head and your backpack here!
-Don't let them get away alive, just in case! They only drop the items in their inventory when they die!
Some used the despair as an opportunity to fulfill their own desires.
However, not everyone had given up.
-Gather over here! We're forming a vigilante group!
-Don't trust the high-ranking clubs! They're all fleeing to the Chapters. We have to protect our own city!
-Save the people being attacked by looters first!
-Anyone with a suit, come over here!
-We can use scanners to check for infection! Use them to weed out the infected!
Looking down at those still struggling to find hope in the ruined city, Lee Si-woo contacted Luctator on his smartphone.
“Sir.”
-What is it?
“Please take half of the vaccine I gave you and go to District 3. People are forming a militia there. I'd like you to vaccinate them and give them some help.”
-Is there really a need for that? Weren't you the one who caused this whole mess in the first place? And now you want to save them? What kind of foolishness is this?
“Because it will put my mind at ease.”
-Kukuku, at times like this, I see you're not in your right mind either. Good grief, this is... How is this any different from setting a house on fire and then spraying it with water?
“It is different. At the very least, my troubled mind will be a little more at ease.”
-Do you know? In all my long life as an orc, I've never heard of or seen a piece of trash like you. Heh, I only got involved with you because of my disciple, but the more I'm around you, the more I realize what a headache you are... Well, fine. I'll take Plenitas and go help them out.
“Thank you.”
-But what about saving your girlfriend? You don't need help with that?
“I'll handle that part myself.”
After ending the call with Luctator, Lee Si-woo arrived in front of a massive, pristine facility reminiscent of a government building.
One of the three major clubs in the base city.
The Dawn clubhouse.
At the entrance of the clubhouse, members in suits were engaged in a bloody battle against the white monsters.
“Hold them back!”
“Squad 3, take the left flank! Don't spare any bullets! We're heading to the Chapter 7 zone soon anyway!”
“Squads 7 through 9, get ready! You're rotating in ten minutes!”
“We need ammo resupply over here!”
“Supply team, move it!”
“Surprise attack at the rear gate! We have a request for support!”
“Send all reserve squads except one to the rear gate!”
Nearly two hundred club members were moving like intricate clockwork, responding wisely to the situation.
As Lee Si-woo observed the prowess of the Dawn club, where every single member was an elite, he raised his voice and shouted to them.
“I've come to see Adrian, just as you requested!”
Knowing that Dawn and the other high-ranking clubs were looking for him, Lee Si-woo did not reveal his name.
Lee Si-woo's sudden appearance caused a stir among the Dawn club members.
They couldn't tell if the uninvited guest's words were true or just a ploy by looters.
Fortunately, it seemed someone had been briefed, as a man who appeared to be high-ranking stepped forward and called out.
“We've been waiting for you. This way, please.”
At the member's words, Lee Si-woo leaped from the railing of a nearby commercial building, landing inside their formation in an instant.
Some of the members, impressed by Lee Si-woo's extraordinary agility, let out audible gasps of surprise.
However, a few of them blocked his path.
They intended to see the face of the man wearing an unheard-of Frog-Bear helmet.
“Take off the helmet. We need to verify your identity.”
As he said this, the club member tried to point a scanner at him, but Lee Si-woo grabbed his wrist.
“I have no intention of removing my helmet or letting you verify my identity.”
“Then you can't proceed. How are we supposed to let you in without knowing if you're infected...”
Lee Si-woo gave the club member a light shove with his palm.
A touch as light as opening a door.
But the result was anything but light.
Whoosh!
The club member flew backward as if hit by a car.
Fortunately, he didn't seem seriously injured, getting up immediately after rolling on the ground once, but he was too shocked by Lee Si-woo's sudden action to speak.
Click.
In response to Lee Si-woo's surprise attack, the barrels of the nearby members' guns turned towards him.
Lee Si-woo smirked and stomped the ground with all his might.
With a resounding *thud*, spiderweb cracks spread out from where his foot landed.
The club members were left speechless by the display of power from Lee Si-woo, who possessed mana and the physical abilities of a Knight.
In truth, Dawn's full force would not have been overwhelmed by such a show of strength, but most of their core members were currently in Chapter 7.
The lower-ranking members present might have been able to handle the white monsters, but it was impossible for them to deal with Lee Si-woo, who had grown exponentially in Chapter 4.
And that wasn't all.
Distracted by the threat Lee Si-woo posed, some members were even getting injured by the white monsters swarming from the front.
“Everyone, focus!”
“Leave this guy to the others! You just worry about the monsters in front of you!”
“Dammit! Three squad members are infected over here!”
At the news that three of their comrades were infected, the members' gazes shifted in that direction.
Three members, who had been pierced by the white monsters' tongues, were slumped on the ground, gasping for breath.
A reserve squad aimed their rifles at the backs of their heads.
It was a response befitting of Dawn members, who were well-versed in the protocol for dealing with the infected.
The squad leader, looking at his subordinates' wounds with trembling eyes, spoke in a heavy, somber voice.
“...You all know the protocol for handling the infected, right? It's a shame, but it can't be helped. Execute them.”
Just then, Lee Si-woo raised his hand and spoke.
“Wait. I have a vaccine.”
The security team leader standing next to Lee Si-woo asked in surprise.
“A vaccine? Is that true?”
“I don't make lies that can be easily exposed. However, I have a condition. Don't demand that I remove my helmet or verify my identity. Just let me through. If you agree, I'll give you the vaccine. If you refuse, there is no vaccine.”
The security team leader gritted his teeth at Lee Si-woo's attitude, who was calmly negotiating despite dozens of guns being aimed at him.
He needed the vaccine to save his members right now, but letting Lee Si-woo in without verifying his identity was out of the question.
If Lee Si-woo turned out to be a looter or the mastermind behind this chaos, he couldn't guarantee what would happen next.
Torn and unable to decide, the security team leader ultimately made a poor choice after long deliberation.
“You. Didn't you come here to save Ha-yun? Don't forget, we have the upper hand. If you continue to be this uncooperative, things could get unpleasant.”
Lee Si-woo held up one finger.
“You have one chance left.”
Sensing a strange, ominous nuance in Lee Si-woo's words, the security team leader tilted his head and asked.
“One chance left for what?”
“The chance for you to test my patience.”
The security team leader sighed with an expression that said, 'What is this fool talking about?'
“This is driving me crazy. Sir. Do you not know where you are? This is the Dawn clubhouse. Please be aware of your surroundings before you speak. You might die before your time.”
Staring blankly at the security team leader, Lee Si-woo spoke bluntly.
“You're not originally from Dawn, are you?”
“...What's that supposed to mean?”
“I'm saying you're the type who joined the Dawn club only after entering the world of trials.”
“That's true, but what does that have to do with the current situation?”
Lee Si-woo said with a chilling smile.
“You're too cunning to be a member of Dawn.”
“What?”
“The people of Dawn are foolish. To the point of being stupid. So, if you had been a member of Dawn from the beginning, you would have accepted my offer. You would have said to hell with the rules and regulations. You should have saved people first. That's the Dawn I know.”
Lee Si-woo twisted his lips into a sneer and pulled a rocket launcher from his inventory.
Seeing the rocket launcher appear out of thin air, the horrified security team leader shouted.
“Fire! Incapacitate him!”
Lee Si-woo muttered under his breath.
“Thanks for that.”
Click.
Lee Si-woo pulled the trigger of the quad-barrel rocket launcher, and a rocket missile shot out from the muzzle toward the outer wall of the main gate.
Just by destroying the outer wall that surrounded the clubhouse like a barbed-wire fence, it was clear the Dawn members would have a much harder time holding back the white monsters.
KABOOM!
As the outer wall crumbled, a hail of bullets rained down on Lee Si-woo.
But Lee Si-woo dodged the bullets with an agile roll on the ground and then dashed straight ahead.
Behind him, the white monsters were advancing with even greater momentum through the collapsed section of the wall.
Just as Lee Si-woo had predicted, the security team leader and the other members were too distracted by the white monsters to stop him.
“You son of a bitch! You... just you wait! I'll never let you get away with this!”
Leaving the security team leader's desperate threats behind him, Lee Si-woo entered the clubhouse.
However, Lee Si-woo was forced to stop as soon as he stepped inside.
He had come face to face with Rios, the club master of Dawn, who was waiting for him at the entrance.
Rios, a handsome man with red hair and blue eyes, spoke with a pipe in his mouth.
“Quite cunning. But reckless, too.”
When Rios took a step, his form glided as smoothly as ice on ice, arriving right in front of Lee Si-woo.
Having closed the distance to Lee Si-woo in a single step, Rios reached out his hand toward him.
Sensing the immense power contained in that hand, Lee Si-woo leaned back, dodging the strike.
Swoosh.
As his hand cut through the air, Rios remarked, as if impressed.
“Knight-class? Hoh, so you've obtained mana.”
Lee Si-woo, also sensing the scent of mana from Rios, quickly put distance between them and said.
“...You have mana as well. Did you get it in a higher Chapter?”
“Correct. But... a mana wielder who isn't part of a high-ranking club... Interesting. No wonder you caught the attention of that strange fellow, Adrian, or whatever his name is. Alright, follow me for now. I'll take you to Adrian.”
“What? You're just going to take me to him like this? Hmm, I find that hard to believe.”
“Believe it, even if you find it hard to. I'm not happy about this situation either, but that Adrian guy is holding one of our members hostage and dangling the vaccine formula in front of us, so we don't have a choice.”
After hearing Rios's words and pondering for a moment, Lee Si-woo decided that fighting him here in enemy territory offered no guarantee of victory. He decided to follow him.
Of course, it could be a trap, but Lee Si-woo decided to trust his instincts.
Unlike the security team leader he had just encountered, Rios—who was guiding him to Adrian without a care for appearances or anything else—had the distinct, foolish scent unique to Dawn.
'This one's the real deal. What's his position? He looks pretty high-ranking at a glance... Surely, he's not the club master.'
Just as Lee Si-woo was sizing up Rios, Rios was also trying to figure out Lee Si-woo.
'This guy. He seems quite skilled... What's his identity? Where on earth did someone this talented come from? Black Night? Labyrinth?'
As Rios led Lee Si-woo to Adrian, he constantly observed him, and likewise, Lee Si-woo never took his eyes off Rios's every move.