Chapter 28
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 028
Chapter Title: Mindset (1)
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[Eliminated 389 bee larvae and seized 1,556 hours.]
[Star Ground effect applied: Acquired an additional 3,112 hours!]
Moth larvae swarmed across the entire city, but the bee larvae had stayed out of sight for a reason.
Bee larvae possessed pathetically weak combat abilities compared to moth larvae.
Yet the survival time they yielded was exactly the same.
They were pure "honey," plain and simple.
Satisfied with his discovery, Min-jun shook off his great sword and slung it back over his shoulder. Only then did So-hee, who had arrived late, tumble into the hole.
Thud.
"Ow... My butt's gonna be bruised. Min-jun! I said let's go together!"
"Haha... Sorry about that. The situation looked so urgent."
Min-jun helped the fallen So-hee to her feet and shared a third of the time he had just earned with her.
"You seem to need to treat them. Please use this time for their care."
It would be a lie to say he didn't mind parting with the survival time, but their conditions were so dire that even moving would be impossible.
Escaping this place was the top priority, so Min-jun gladly paid up.
'Besides, looking at what I just earned, I can make it up in no time.'
So-hee took Min-jun's survival time, grumbling as she began pulling medical supplies from her bag.
"Whew... I volunteered for this role, but damn, I'm like a shuttle service for treatments. Oh! Hello. We're colleagues of Uncle Dong-gil. You're his team members, right? Line up here in a row."
Dazed as if entranced, they followed So-hee's guidance and began receiving treatment one by one.
As the treatment progressed, a rugged middle-aged man being carried by another team member extended a handshake to Min-jun.
Having witnessed Min-jun's combat prowess, his tone carried a hint of humility.
"I'm Gu Dong-beom. First off, thank you for saving us."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Min-jun. I ended up here after crossing paths with Uncle Dong-gil."
"By the way, one thing I'm curious about. Do you know where our team leader went? And have you seen a guy named Choi Woo-jin? He looks a bit dim-witted. He escaped from here, but since he hasn't been recaptured—"
True to his appearance as the group's senior member, Gu Dong-beom worried about his comrades first.
Min-jun replied that both Uncle Dong-gil and Woo-jin were safe. Instead of handling the rescue, Dong-gil and Choi Woo-jin had taken on the role of luring the bees.
'That guy's always dodged dangerous missions since way back. Talk about the worst luck...'
Gu Dong-beom grumbled and clicked his tongue, but a sigh of relief escaped him from behind. That single remark revealed the deep bond between them.
That brief time for treatment passed.
Among them, Lee Cheol-ho, whose right arm had been nearly unusable from deep wounds, could now move it again. All four had recovered significantly under So-hee's care.
However, even with partial recovery, the broken legs were hard to fully heal. Dong-beom still couldn't walk or run on his own and had to remain carried by Lee Cheol-ho.
"Um, about that..."
Aware of their situation...
Gu Dong-beom hesitated several times before squeezing his eyes shut and finally speaking.
"There seem to be other people trapped here besides us... Could you possibly rescue them too?"
"Ah, hyung! Why make such a request? We can't even guarantee our own escape right now."
Whack!
Lee Cheol-ho recoiled and retorted to his senior, who lightly smacked the back of his head while being carried.
"Hey, you idiot! Even if the world's gone to hell, we're still cops. 'Protecting the life and body of the people is our mission.' Police Service Regulations, Article 3, Paragraph 1. Didn't you study, punk?!"
"But that depends on the situation—"
"It's fine."
Sensing their conversation dragging on, Min-jun cut in appropriately and continued.
"I've already discussed it with Uncle Dong-gil. We'll try, but if circumstances don't allow, our priority is getting you all out safely."
"Sigh, sorry about that. Our hyung here's so stubborn, making you and So-hee go through all this trouble."
Lee Cheol-ho, carrying his senior, apologized on his behalf with a bow.
Min-jun replied it was no problem, then checked his pocket watch and stood before what appeared to be a wax wall serving as a door.
"Alright, no time to waste. Let's head out."
At Min-jun's words, everyone gripped their weapons tightly.
Confirming this, Min-jun thrust his great sword into the wall.
Crash—
The wax wall crumbled powerlessly, revealing a vast, empty cavern.
* * *
Contrary to fears of swarming bees, the enormous cavern—100 meters in diameter—was so spacious that their footsteps echoed hollowly, appearing utterly desolate and empty.
Min-jun and the group cautiously exited the room and moved toward the cavern's center, scanning their surroundings.
The cavern walls were plastered with doors presumed to be nursery rooms like the one they'd escaped. On the opposite side lay a wide passage leading somewhere.
"I thought it'd be crawling with bees... Where did they all go?"
"Team Leader Sung and the maknae probably lured them all away. Our team leader's a pro at provoking the enemy. Heh."
Kang Man-sik scratched his temple with a silly grin in response to So-hee's question.
"The important thing now is rescuing people quick. No bees around? Suits us just fine."
"Agreed. Let's hurry the rescues before those bastards show up late."
Min-jun nodded at Lee Cheol-ho's words, gathered the group, and began explaining the rescue plan that had formed in his mind.
The plan was simple and brute-force, but that's precisely why it was the only viable option.
"First, everyone scatters to gather the people trapped in the nursery rooms here in this cavern. If larvae swarm, take them out and retreat to a room with an air hole—that's step two. Finally, smash the walls with air holes so people can escape through there while I hold the rear. That's the full escape plan."
"Simple plan—love it. Complicated ops always have lower success rates anyway."
Gu Dong-beom nodded in agreement after hearing Min-jun's plan. The others tacitly consented with gestures, then scattered simultaneously as if on cue.
With their high stats, Min-jun and So-hee targeted the upper wall nursery rooms that others couldn't reach.
Min-jun repeatedly punched through wax walls, ferrying people out.
Occasionally, open nursery rooms unleashed larva swarms, but they were no match for Min-jun. Dong-gil's team members, having leveled up in the dungeon, dispatched the larvae without much trouble and rescued the captives.
Roughly one in five rooms held "living people." Each had at least two, up to six.
After explaining the situation and enlisting their help, the rescue pace accelerated exponentially. In under 30 minutes, the group had opened every room and saved everyone.
Gathered at the cavern's center were about 40 people—the total excluding the 10 who had fled alone down the large passage to save themselves.
"Huff... Huff..."
"Gasp, gasp."
Larvae from the rescued rooms, awakened by the commotion, were bursting out explosively, so few appeared unscathed.
"...Fuck, there's so damn many. In this mess, is there even a way out?!"
A middle-aged man in tattered hiking gear yelled at Min-jun and the group who had led the rescue.
"We need to head back into those rooms now!"
"What? Are you insane?! Go back in there? No way! The passage is better!"
The hiker pointed to the dark passage at the rear, immediately rebelling against Min-jun's words.
A large group had its advantages.
But...
'Right now...'
It was proving fatally disadvantageous.
Starting with the hiker's outburst, others voiced opinions, turning the area into a heated debate.
"How do you know what's in that passage?!"
"Anything's better than those larva bastards!"
"What about the bee swarms that caught us? This could be their hive—"
'Damn it, at a time like this when every second counts...'
Wasting time like this, when time was both money and their lifeline, not only jeopardized their escape but also endangered Uncle Dong-gil luring the bees.
'Haa...'
KABOOM—!!
To snap the growing marketplace chaos, Min-jun swung his great sword. The chilling roar accompanying the shattered floor silenced the crowd in shock.
"Even now, larva hordes are swarming in—what the hell are you doing?!"
Min-jun had no intention or will to forcibly stop those insisting on fleeing another way. He'd already more than upheld his own line by helping this much.
"Anyone taking another path, go ahead—I won't stop you! Only those coming with us, follow!"
There was no time to explain why this way, and fleeing elsewhere might not even be wrong.
He was simply taking what he deemed the safest route now; those choosing otherwise bore their own responsibility.
With his thoughts settled, Min-jun turned and kicked off the ground.
- Screeeeeeeee—!!
A ear-shattering screech echoed through the entire cavern.
"Urk."
"Ughhh..."
As the noise lasting several seconds ended, Min-jun regained his senses and felt an eerie premonition from the scene before him.
'Something's wrong.'
The larva waves surging like tides suddenly turned their backs on the group and began retreating into the rooms.
If this were a dungeon entrance, he'd cheer at them returning to their nest.
'But in the heart of their hive, acting against instinct?'
Min-jun had seen mindless monsters act not on instinct, but something else.
Exactly once.
'Arktine...'
The Star Lord at Jamsil Station intersection, leading its apostles—that was exactly it.
'Which means...'
There was something on Arktine's level in this dungeon.
And it was heading straight for them now.