Chapter 126
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Unmanned Cafe
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Deep into the night.
Ryu Min’s gaze was fixed on the abandoned warehouse.
Chilling screams echoed from inside from time to time, but Ryu Min just smiled.
They were trash who deserved to die, after all.
‘The spot’s perfect. This place is ideal as a trash incinerator.’
It was surrounded by mountains with hardly a soul around, making it great for body disposal.
Plus, he had a compliant janitor.
‘Honestly, I was half-doubting if Ma Kyung-rok would do me this favor, but he’s moving exactly as I want….’
Ryu Min had asked Ma Kyung-rok to handle the trash cleanup.
Even at the risk of exposing that he knew his secret.
‘It was a gamble. Once his secret was out, he could turn hostile at any moment without it seeming off.’
He’d even been prepared to fight Ma Kyung-rok if needed.
No matter how much human trash he supplied as a source of black magic power, no one would be thrilled about a lifelong shame being exposed.
That’s why he’d gone straight at it.
Plenty of people must have been two-faced with Ma Kyung-rok before, so maybe the opposite would work—that was the calculation.
‘And it did. Pretending to open up and being honest was a masterstroke. Well, technically just acting like I was opening up.’
He was glad things had gone smoothly.
‘Of course, it’s no loss for Ma Kyung-rok either.’
Even if he hadn’t won him over, Ryu Min had been confident he could handle it.
With the ability to see seven seconds into the future, he could always adjust to a better path.
Worst case, he might’ve fought Ma Kyung-rok.
‘Anyway, trash cleanup is sorted.’
Ryu Min turned away immediately.
The screams dragged on, so they clearly weren’t dying peacefully, but he had no intention of going inside.
Even sharing a secret didn’t mean he wanted to interrupt Ma Kyung-rok’s private meal.
Hearing the screams was enough for now.
‘Five each in the morning, afternoon, evening, and early morning. Twenty a day—that should be plenty for Ma Kyung-rok to build up his black magic power.’
There were 28 days left until Round 9.
Even luring and killing nonstop for all 28 days would only clear 560, but there was no helping it.
‘Anything more would be too risky.’
Excessive feasting would burden even Ma Kyung-rok, so they’d agreed on that limit.
‘Now, what to do with the remaining 471….’
They’d all be halved in the next round anyway.
If he was going to kill them, better to loot their items first.
‘Maybe I’ll clean up whoever Ma Kyung-rok misses?’
With that thought, Ryu Min headed home and picked up his phone.
He was scanning Yamtti’s hit list for his next target when a familiar name caught his eye.
‘This person…?’
In the quiet night, Ryu Min’s eyes gleamed coldly.
* * *
August summer.
Eight months since the world began to fall apart.
A lot had happened in what could be called a short time.
The economy shook, bringing a financial crisis, and every stock price had plummeted to rock bottom.
Most of those in their twenties—who’d made up a huge chunk of economic activity—were dead, so it was inevitable.
Store owners rushed to replace them with thirties, but labor and customers were both short. That was reality.
Now, part-time jobs were the one thing you could find instantly with a single text.
Unmanned convenience stores were booming, and unmanned cafes were exploding in popularity too.
The cafe Seo Ah-rin and Hong Seon-ah had stopped at was unmanned as well.
“Here, Ah-rin. Caramel macchiato with two extra shots, right?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“The world’s gotten so convenient. Cafes are unmanned now too.”
“You sound like an 80-year-old grandma.”
Seo Ah-rin smiled faintly.
She hadn’t had much to smile about lately.
Chatting peacefully outdoors with a fellow actor felt like pure bliss.
The world had changed that much.
Hell wasn’t far away.
It was right next door.
“Speaking of, our main fanbase is thirties now. Most twenties are gone.”
“...Ugh, why bring up something depressing?”
Seo Ah-rin had wished countless times.
That her reality was a lie.
That the survival game of killing or being killed was all a dream.
“I still think about it every time I come back from a round. What if this is all a dream? What if my old actor friends message me laughing again?”
Seo Ah-rin was sincere about her craft.
She loved her job and the chemistry with her colleagues.
Lucking out by meeting Ma Kyung-rok had brought support from all angles, and she’d risen fast.
A successful life.
But that life was gone now.
Like most industries, entertainment was on the decline.
As the mood sank, Hong Seon-ah apologized.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to bring up the gloom.”
“It’s fine. That’s reality.”
“Rough, huh? Wanna learn to smoke? Or just bum one?”
“Haha, you made me laugh.”
She slurped her caramel macchiato, laughing off the joke.
The sweetness lifted her spirits.
“But we’ve got it better than most. We survived. We’re players.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m still shocked about Gong Sun-bae-nim dying. Who’d have thought they’d go in Round 1? And to a guy, no less.”
“Stats are equal, so gender doesn’t matter.”
“True. A middle schooler has the same strength as an adult now, so what’s the difference? Looking back, goblins were dog food.”
Seo Ah-rin scolded her at the curse from her fellow actor’s mouth.
“Even if no one’s around, watch your language.”
“What’s it matter? Isn’t that my charm? Fans might not know.”
Hong Seon-ah smirked smugly, nose in the air.
Unmanned cafe or not, no one else was around.
“This is a perk of empty places. No need to hide our faces to go out.”
“But revenue’s down.”
“True. But who cares about money now? Survival first.”
She couldn’t argue, so Seo Ah-rin listened quietly.
What could be more important than survival?
“You’ve got it good, Ah-rin. Survival-friendly job.”
“Oh, you mean my summons?”
“Yeah. Sounds totally OP from what you said. Golem tanks, fairy shields. Past level 20, the fairy even fights? They do everything like slaves. So jealous.”
“Yours isn’t bad either.”
“Me? Nah. Assassin’s just decent damage, but turns out it’s super common. Stealth skill’s useless anyway.”
“Why? You can use it in combat.”
“Yeah, but it sucks in fights. Drops after one attack. Long cooldown. Only good for escaping danger.”
“Then it’s great. What’s more important than survival?”
“Exactly. But real life? Danger’s rare. Hard to use. I’m not a voyeur, and banks have countermeasures now—no point robbing them.”
“...”
“Even this cafe’s card-only. Scared of players looting cash, I guess.”
“Seon-ah. You’re not seriously thinking about that, right?”
“What, you think I’m an idiot? That I’d do something that stupid? You can’t tell jokes from real talk.”
Despite the scolding, Seo Ah-rin just grinned.
After filming together so much, even this chit-chat felt good.
Her only surviving actor friend, too.
“But aren’t we amazing? Surviving to Round 8.”
“Yeah.”
“They say entertainment survivors can be counted on one hand now?”
“That many dead?”
“Duh! You really don’t know? Most seniors, juniors, idols—nearly all gone. 70% of celebs, easy.”
“No way. That much…?”
“You were so busy with funerals you tuned everything out.”
Hong Seon-ah clucked her tongue.
“You don’t even know our value skyrocketed?”
“Huh? Our value?”
Twenties dominated entertainment, so its collapse was inevitable.
But surviving players?
They’d monopolize the spotlight as elite few.
That was entertainment’s post-cataclysm reality.
Seo Ah-rin looked stunned at Hong Seon-ah’s explanation.
“We’re worth more and more famous than before?”
“You really didn’t know? Never searched your name online?”
“I don’t ego-search much….”
“Do it now.”
Seo Ah-rin humored her and typed her name.
She let out a dazed sound.
“Huh?”
More articles than expected.
[Round 8 Survivors: 20s Celebs List—Seo Ah-rin, Hong Seon-ah, Goo Yeon-seung, Jang Bok-chul, etc. Total 19!]
[In Gloomy Times, Seo Ah-rin, Hong Seon-ah Top Stars: Player Celebs Flooded with Ad Offers.]
[10-Year Extra Jang Bok-chul Rises After Seo Ah-rin…]
[Unknown Actor Turned Player Star Jang Bok-chul: Ideal Type is Seo Ah-rin. Surprise Confession.]
[Seo Ah-rin & Round 8 Survivors: Ad Rates Up 2.8x Overall.]
All from searching her name.
Eyes wide like a startled rabbit, she hadn’t realized how much coverage.
“W-what’s this? When did my rates go up?”
“Fewer celebs means more ad money and higher rates. That Jang Bok-chul was a nobody extra, but surviving Round 8 shot him up.”
“...”
“And you had no clue? You’re messing with me, right?”
Seo Ah-rin waved her hands in genuine panic.
“N-no, really. Haven’t checked my name, or even gone online in ages….”
“Even without checking, your manager or agency would’ve said something.”
“My manager…?”
She thought of Ahn Sang-chul and shook her head.
“No one told me….”
“Articles everywhere and no word? Who’s your agency head?”
Not a formal agency, but the supporting company’s CEO was Ma Kyung-rok….
Still, no word.
Seo Ah-rin shook her head bitterly.
“No one said anything. About the situation.”
“What? How’s that possible? A celeb not knowing her own rates rose.”
She stared at Hong Seon-ah sighing.
Was that a smirk? Imagination?
“You gotta ditch that agency. Total assholes hiding info to squeeze your contract bonus.”
“...”
“Articles dropped three months ago. They knew that long and said nothing? How?”
“You didn’t say much either. No contact for months, then suddenly today.”
“Hey! I figured you knew! Who doesn’t see online news? Especially celebs!”
Seo Ah-rin was speechless.
She’d opened her mouth and lost ground.
“Been busy. World’s too scary—dodging calls for a while….”
“Ugh, seriously! Dumb, dumb!”
After relentless ribbing, Hong Seon-ah relented.
“Come to my agency instead. Our CEO treats us great. You’d get top treatment. Some name value among rookies.”
“No, it’s fine. Too late to switch. Contract’s still got time.”
“Screw the contract. I’ll talk to our CEO? He’d probably cover your penalty.”
“No, don’t wanna hop agencies like a mercenary.”
Hong Seon-ah’s eyes chilled for a split second.
“Saying that for me to hear?”
“Huh? What?”
“Never mind. Shame, though. Would’ve been great working together.”
“What work? Celeb life’s over. Can’t guarantee surviving next round—how to do long-term dramas or whatever….”
“You know one thing, not two? Work’s plentiful. One good ad pays a salaryman’s ten years. And not just ads—variety shows, programs, we can do those.”
It made sense.
“But your agency blocked even that? No real work since the cataclysm?”
Seo Ah-rin nodded cautiously.
Afraid of a scolding.
“Yeah….”
Sure enough, Hong Seon-ah smacked her forehead.
“Seriously, that place is doomed. How’d you end up there, idiots….”
“Seon-ah, language….”
“Let’s go!”
“Huh?”
Hong Seon-ah stood abruptly and grabbed Seo Ah-rin’s wrist.
“Someone I wanna introduce. Let’s go.”
“Who?”
“Someone to save you from that hell!”