Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Frozen World - 3
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The brutal cold snap that struck the central-northern Korean Peninsula was a catastrophe for the survivors.
Even those who'd joked that a cold wave was better than a heatwave fell silent after days of relentless blizzards.
Temperatures plummeted past -20°C, with the wind chill evoking Siberia.
Combat was nearly impossible in these conditions.
Even outdoor activities were a struggle; they had no choice but to minimize skin exposure and move as quickly as possible.
In the midst of it all, one government shelter agent got stranded.
The agent's identity was Oh Seung-yeon, who had been stationed in northern Incheon on a critical mission.
She'd been ordered to monitor the fuel depot on Ganghwa Island.
Her paper airplane, controlled via her Doll-Making trait, had a short range, so she had to get close to the island—and that became her downfall.
The blizzard isolated her completely.
Oh Seung-yeon huddled in an empty building by the national highway, staring blankly at the auction house.
"Save me... It's so cold..."
"I can't see anything outside... I'm on the national highway east of Ganghwa Bridge... Near the convenience store..."
Two days stranded, and no one came.
She shivered violently, rubbing her hands and feet.
The clothes she'd brought were soaked in snow and frozen solid; now she was making do with a thin windbreaker and socks.
Even a draft through the broken windows felt like it would freeze her lungs.
She still had some food left, but her extremities were numb.
Continued exposure like this, and frostbite was inevitable.
Yet she couldn't move a single step.
Stepping outside felt like certain death.
In a world where everything was frozen, moving without proper cold-weather gear was suicide.
President Jang Won-taek had assured her that, in an emergency, Blink users would be deployed to bring her back from Incheon.
But his words were useless against the blizzard.
The government shelter's comment section overflowed with pleas for rescue teams.
Northern Gyeonggi Province was hit hardest, buried under a meter of snow.
No one could overcome the onslaught and return to the shelter on their own.
The government shelter wasn't sitting idle, either.
They mobilized their scant Blink users in a desperate effort to retrieve field agents.
But the blizzard ruined every plan.
One Blink user mistook sunlight glinting off snow for a rooftop, teleported, and fell to his death.
Hearing the news, Jang Won-taek closed his eyes and covered his face with his palm.
"Hoo..."
It was hopeless.
This wasn't what he'd had in mind when sending out agents.
He wanted to dispatch rescue teams, but they would just get stranded too.
The few Blink users in the shelter refused to go out, confused by the uniform white landscape.
Jang Won-taek leaned back in his chair with a groan after checking the comments.
He hadn't expected the secret to hold forever.
But he'd thought he could control when it came out.
Revealing it once they had enough power and preparations in place would be effective.
That plan shattered thanks to the cold snap and blizzard—his head spun.
Someone pounded roughly on the office door.
"Jang Won-taek! Jang Won-taek!"
Their eyes met.
Beom-seok's gaze said it all.
Don't let them in.
It made sense.
Calling him by his full name meant serious anger.
What reason would someone holed up in the shelter have to be mad?
It had to be about a stranded comrade on dispatch.
A dilemma no one could easily solve.
But Jang Won-taek didn't dodge.
"Let them in."
"But..."
"It's fine. Think of them as reporters and assemblymen rioting in front of the Blue House. Actually, purer than that. At least it's about saving lives."
"...Understood."
Beom-seok opened the door, and three men stormed in aggressively.
They surrounded Jang Won-taek in his chair.
"My friend's dying. When are you sending the rescue team?"
"If we send a team, they'll die too."
Veins bulged on their foreheads at his words.
"So we're just supposed to watch? You promised to bring back our field agents! And yet..."
"Are you kidding? Abandon them?"
Jang Won-taek expressed his regret, then laid out the facts.
"You know Kim Jo-won? The Blink user... He's dead. Only one left, and he refuses to go out—says he can't tell one spot from another in all the snow."
The news of the Blink user's death softened their aggression a bit.
Few would risk their lives for others.
The burliest of the three jabbed a thumb at his chest.
"Then at least open the entrance. We'll go."
"You'll die. I can't send you to your deaths."
He barely contained his rage.
"Whether we die is our choice. You think you can control everything just because you're ex-president?"
Jang Won-taek sighed deeply.
Hard to refuse when they pushed like that.
He nodded, and they demanded the entrance opened before leaving.
They flinched upon encountering a lunatic with bunny-ear headband.
"Seok-hyun... What brings you here...?"
Jang Won-taek and Lee Beom-seok were startled by Bunny Duo's appearance.
Relations were strained after some clashes.
Not fully split, but giving orders felt awkward.
Bunny Duo slammed his hands on the desk.
"Tell me where the stranded survivors are. I'll go."
"...I know your skills, Seok-hyun, but it's dangerous out there."
He shook his head.
"A friend gave me this. I'm good."
He crunched on a winter strawberry.
Around his neck hung a cold-resistance neck gaiter borrowed from Sung-ho.
Now, he could wander the blizzard half-naked.
He'd always shrugged off cold anyway.
Unaware, Jang and Beom-seok were baffled.
From Kimbap Lover, maybe?
"You sure you're okay?"
"Told you, fine. Give me the map. Open the entrance too."
They exchanged glances and decided.
Beom-seok handed him the map.
"Gate 2 it is. But..."
"No rescue team needed. And I'll use rope from storage."
Seok-hyun left coolly; Beom-seok grumbled.
"That guy's casual speech..."
"He didn't decide alone."
Jang Won-taek thought of whoever backed Bunny Duo.
Time to repay this favor appropriately.
The fuel depot too—they stripped it clean from afar.
"But... isn't that guy directionally challenged?"
"..."
Silence.
We sped down the national highway from Ganghwa Island toward Incheon.
No obstacles in sight.
The snow sled flew along, but the ghouls and fuel were the issue.
The unfed ghouls were tiring.
Those trailing behind drained energy from the constant cold.
Some collapsed mid-run and didn't get up.
By Ganghwa Bridge, only 18 ghouls remained.
We gathered them for a huddle.
"Big trouble. They're losing stamina fast."
"Makes sense, charging through the blizzard."
Their excess energy went to preserving body heat.
Even now, their skin flushed red, steam rising nonstop.
Once depleted, they'd drop.
I suggested to Dajeong.
"Pick the most energetic few. Have the rest push our boat."
"Ditch 'em in the sea?"
"Better to arrive fast and warm up."
Dajeong eyed the ghouls bittersweetly.
Decided pre-departure, but still reluctant.
Her loyal minions, after all.
She nodded eventually.
I opened a dimension gate, dragged out the boat, and launched it.
Small boat meant multiple trips with the lively ghouls.
The sea-pushers lost strength one by one, drifting away.
An hour later, we hit Gimpo's highway.
The vinyl-and-cloth wind shield flapped wildly in the gale.
Dajeong gripped my leg tight.
"How far we going?"
"Gimpo Station! Some buildings should still be standing!"
"We rest there?"
"Obviously!"
She was worn out too.
Not used to snow sleds, hours of racing—no wonder.
The white ice plain drained me too.
"Go!"
The rope yanked the ghouls.
Mid-highway, disaster struck.
The sled hit ice, flipped.
I hugged Dajeong instinctively, tumbling.
Cold wind battered us; disorientation.
"Oof, my back..."
Frame shattered.
Pulling ghoul sprawled, immobile.
End of the line.
I pulled dazed Dajeong up from staring at the wreck.
"Let's hit that gas station first, warm up."
"Ugh, seriously! I can't take it!"
Up to the second floor, a body in the corner.
Windbreaker in this cold? Where's your brain?
Dajeong examining the body turned to me.
"She's alive!"
"For real?"
Glasses-wearing woman, faintly conscious—eyebrows twitching.
"Perfect, was gonna rest here anyway."
I dumped rice and mackerel on the floor.
Ghouls scarfed it, moved aside.
Short shelter from wind recovered them.
Bonfire lit; Dajeong dragged her near.
"Gimme a blanket. Sis is soaked."
"Anyone can see you're the sis."
"Hey. Still in my twenties."
During our short sled trip, we'd swapped ages.
She was 30, one year older, but insisted her heart was twenty-something.
Call her noona, she got goosebumps—friends only.
Bunny Duo calls you by name. He's 30s too.
But you wanted oppa...
Fire roared, warmth filling the room.
I briefed Dajeong importantly.
"Can't care for her long. Once she's alert, we boot her."
"Duh. I'm busy surviving myself."
She said that, but kept massaging the woman's limbs.
More compassionate than me.
I prepped essentials from the cave into my bag.
Her eyebrows twitched; she croaked.
"S-save... me..."
Dajeong smacked her frozen cheeks.
"Not dead? Then wake up."
"Hic!"
She took ages to fully come to.
"R-rescue... team... rescue..."
Rescue team?
Waiting meant affiliation with a big group...
I spotted a paper airplane on the floor.
...Spying on us?
No other reason to collapse here.
President's orders, monitoring us, then blizzard-stranded.
Whispered to Dajeong; her face darkened viciously.
Before "kill her," I grabbed her ear.
"Doesn't know who we are yet. Bet she has good intel."
"Ah..."
Paper planes made her the president's eyes and ears.
She knew plenty.
I left her to Dajeong, checked auction house.
If a talent like her was stranded, government shelter must be chaos.
They dispatched many for intel.
But no promo auction item from them.
Why pull it?
Other auctions gave clues.
Hmm... so that's the situation.
Checked Seok-hyun's panty auction on a hunch—he'd commented asking for cold-resistance items.
No timestamp, but...
He replied instantly—watching.
Ah...
Help now, president owes Seok-hyun.
People trust Seok-hyun more, boosting his influence.
Cracks the shelter—returnees won't trust the president who left them.
...Wasn't my original plan, but no reason to let opportunity pass.
Not my blizzard or abandonment.
Handed over neck gaiter and strawberries.
Cold resistance gone—bone-chilling.
The spy finally woke from Dajeong's slaps.
"Wh-who are you?"
Who are we...
Before I spoke, Dajeong did.
"Just a passing couple."
Nope.
Frozen World - 3 End