Chapter 96
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Joo Seong-tak's Fury
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"Nngh."
Joo Seong-tak blinked as he regained consciousness.
His vision blurred before coming back into focus.
'What? Was I dreaming?'
He felt no pain, making it truly feel like he'd just woken up from sleep.
'What a fucked-up dream...'
He'd tried to kill the buyer, only to be counterattacked.
And he'd been utterly crushed.
It was the first time he'd met someone his fear curse didn't work on.
'Well, it was just a dream.'
He shook his head to clear the delusion and looked around.
The place felt strangely familiar.
'This is...?'
He was inside the two-story building he'd marked as an escape route.
'Huh? Then it wasn't a dream?'
He tried to push himself up from the floor.
"Huh...? Where's my arm? Ah."
He remembered.
'That buyer bastard cut off my arm.'
But his arm wasn't the only thing he'd lost.
"Ah, shit, my leg."
His leg was gone too.
Suddenly, he was a one-armed, one-legged cripple.
"Ah, ah."
Disbelief, emptiness, rage, despair.
Was it because too many emotions were surging through him at once?
He wanted to scream, but the sound caught in his throat.
'Wh-where are you... where are you, you fucking bastard...!'
He'd confirmed it wasn't a dream.
He wished it were, but this was very much real.
Finally, a cry of indignation, surpassing mere anger, rose from his throat.
"Where are you! You fucking worthless piece of shit!!!"
He looked around frantically, searching for the one who had done this to him.
It was obvious who it was.
"That buyer, that son of a bitch! Tearing him to pieces wouldn't be enough!"
With bloodshot eyes, Joo Seong-tak tried to get up.
But without one of his legs, even that wasn't easy.
"That fucking bastard did this to me? I'll kill him, I swear I'll..."
Just then, a neatly folded piece of paper caught Joo Seong-tak's eye.
When he unfolded it, he found a long letter written in dense script.
[Your name's Joo Seong-tak, right? I saw it on your ID. Your address was on the back, too.
You're not thinking it's my fault your leg's like that, are you? That was your own doing, you bastard.
Why'd you hide a bomb in the clothing donation box, you idiot? Were you trying to kill me with that?
Honestly, I was so pissed I wanted to kill you, but seeing you without an arm and leg... I felt sorry for you, so I'm letting you live.
Who in the world treats a guy who was trying to rob them? You should know you're lucky.
From now on, stop robbing people and live a decent life. I know your name and address, so don't cause any trouble. If I catch you, you're dead for real.]
"Wh-what is this?"
Judging by the letter, it was definitely from that buyer.
But.
'My leg ended up like this because of the corpse explosion?'
A sudden sense of futility washed over him.
To think he'd fallen into his own trap.
He couldn't even blame anyone else. What a shitty situation.
"But does this bastard carry around a pen and paper? What's with leaving a letter?"
Muttering in disbelief, he fumbled through his pockets.
'Huh, it's gone. My wallet's gone.'
The wallet containing his ID had disappeared.
'Shit, my entire fortune was in there!'
He even took the 300,000 won in cash.
And he had the nerve to tell *him* not to rob people?
'That son of a bitch. He thinks he can look down on me, is that it?'
Even if his leg was his own fault, his arm was definitely that bastard's doing.
That was reason enough to hold a grudge.
Not only that, but the guy had taken his material items and his wallet, and even beaten him to a pulp.
How could he not feel resentment after all that?
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuuuuuck!!!"
He screamed until the building seemed to shake, but it couldn't fill the void left by his missing limbs.
'I'll kill him. I swear it! I'll kill that bastard even if it costs me my life.'
His face, his build, his voice...
He remembered every detail about the guy.
He was strong, but Joo Seong-tak was confident he could win in a rematch.
'If only the corpse explosion had hit, *he'd* be the one with a crippled leg!'
He believed he'd lost due to bad luck.
Who would've thought he'd lose because the guy was just one step short?
Vowing to avenge today's humiliation, Joo Seong-tak staggered forward, lost his balance, and fell.
*Thud—*
"Shit."
Leaving his shame behind, he limped out of the building.
Unaware that the very person he was looking for was watching him, invisible.
* * *
Watching from behind and reading Joo Seong-tak's thoughts, Ryu Min smirked.
'Just as I expected, he's trying to get revenge on me.'
Well, anyone would hold a grudge if you cut off their arm and leg.
'Not that there's anything you can do in the real world, though.'
How could he possibly get revenge when he could barely even walk?
Especially against an opponent who had already overwhelmingly defeated him?
'He seems to think he can win a rematch. Not a chance.'
Thinks he would've won if he'd just used the corpse explosion better?
'As if I'd fall for such a cheap trick.'
Of course, the fear curse that inflicted a status effect just by looking was a dangerous element.
But even that couldn't be called a major threat.
'Because I have an 82% resistance.'
That resistance was why the fear curse had been blocked earlier.
'Well, it's not 100%, so I might have been affected if I were unlucky.'
He hadn't been too worried.
'Since the resistance would have reduced the fear's duration by that percentage.'
The fear curse lasted for 5 seconds.
With 82% resistance, that's reduced to only 0.9 seconds.
In other words, even if he'd been hit by that 18% chance, the fear would have lasted for barely a second.
'A second is more than enough time to lose your life, but he was completely off his guard.'
This was why Ryu Min had confidently faced the fear curse.
Even if he had been afflicted, it would've worn off in the time it took to think, 'Huh?'
'Anyway, to be in that state and still be determined to get revenge on me... I'll give him points for guts.'
But since he had fought with Hwang Yong-min's face, there was no way the guy could find him.
'Go on, use that thirst for revenge to do well in the other world. And if you get any items, post them on the market right away. That way, I'll benefit too. You've got to earn a living, especially with that body of yours, right?'
Watching Joo Seong-tak hopping away with difficulty on his single leg, Ryu Min grinned.
* * *
Before the 7th round.
Ryu Min had a meal with Min Ju-ri.
"This Korean restaurant is good, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It's the best I've ever had!"
"I'm glad you like it. Let's come here often."
"O-often?"
He hadn't meant anything by it.
But Min Ju-ri seemed to take it differently, mulling over the meaning and letting her thoughts wander.
Ryu Min had to quickly correct himself.
"Not often, but sometimes."
"Oh. R-right."
Min Ju-ri was inwardly disappointed.
"By the way, Min, you seem busy lately. Whenever I contact you, you say you'll see me later."
"Ah, there's just something I've been dealing with."
Ryu Min answered vaguely.
He was busy, that was for sure.
He had to attend PleSeBa meetings every weekend, and as the majority shareholder, he had to attend PlePle meetings too.
'And I have to deal with being tailed.'
Ryu Min knew that even at this very moment, eyes were watching him.
He had already identified who it was.
'A level 28 assassin, Jeffrey Bishop. And behind him is Christine's father, Nathan Watson.'
The man had assigned someone to tail him for information.
At first, he hadn't known he was being followed.
But with his Presence Detection skill, he realized someone had been on his tail for several days.
'But I couldn't see them. Which means.'
It was an assassin with an invisibility skill.
That was the only possible conclusion.
'The question was who, and why...'
Finding out wasn't that difficult.
He just had to tail the tail.
'He probably hasn't learned Presence Detection. If he had, he wouldn't be following me so obviously.'
If he knew that stealth could be picked up by Presence Detection, he would have tailed him from a much greater distance.
Not so closely and blatantly like this.
It was information one could deduce with a little thought.
So he counter-tailed the assassin and waited for the invisibility to wear off.
'And I found out. The guy tailing me was a foreigner. And that it was Christine's father, Nathan, who sent him.'
By reading his mind, he was able to figure out the purpose as well.
It wasn't for assassination or any other grand purpose, but simply for information gathering.
'Christine must have told her father about me. That's why Nathan was displeased.'
He understood.
Suppose some fortune teller made a wild claim that his daughter would die in the 11th round.
Even Ryu Min would want to find that fortune teller and confirm whether it was true.
'Well, as long as they don't reveal their intentions first, there's no need to deal with them. Let them keep tailing me. To their eyes, I'll just look like an ordinary executive commuting between work and home.'
He had to go to the PleSeBa meetings every weekend, but since he knew about the tail, he was confident he wouldn't get caught.
"By the way, Min. You told me some information about the 7th round last time."
"I did."
"Is that really all there is to it? To not be swayed by temptation?"
"Yep. That's all you need to remember."
Ma Kyung-rok, Ahn Sang-chul, Seo Ah-rin, Russell, Christine, and Min Ju-ri.
Ryu Min had given them all the same information.
Because for the 7th round, that was truly all they needed to know.
'Any more information would be unnecessary.'
They were probably wondering why he wasn't revealing the quest, but it couldn't be helped.
'Because if they know the quest, they'll end up being eliminated from the round.'
And elimination meant annihilation.
He couldn't let the people he needed to protect until the 20th round be annihilated, could he?
'It would be good to save as many people as possible. If we're to have more than five people in the final round.'
Of course, he would only save those worth saving.
"Ju-ri."
"Yeah?"
"Let's survive until the final round."
It was out of the blue, but Min Ju-ri soon smiled shyly and replied.
"Okay..."
* * *
Midnight, July 1st, 2022.
The 7th round began.
Summoned to a grassy plain, the players looked around.
There were fewer people summoned than they expected.
[Hello, humans! Have you all been well for the past month?]
Priscilla spoke with a fresh smile, but the players remained silent.
With people dying in droves every round, it was impossible for anyone to feel any goodwill toward the angel.
[There are 434 survivors this time, I see. As you can tell, there aren't enough humans for a proper game, right? So, we'll be merging the zones again. Right now.]
As soon as the angel finished speaking, the ground rumbled.
*Rumble-rumble-rumble—*
The process of the ten zones merging was fascinating to watch again.
Like pieces of a shattered puzzle fitting together without a single error.
Perhaps that was why the players watched with wonder rather than shock.
Having seen it once, they had already adapted.
[We've merged 10 zones. The total number of people is 4,922, and the new zone name is C2-ESKA003. As you can see, they're all fellow Koreans, so there's no need to be too wary.]
The people nodded at the kind explanation, but only for a moment.
[Now then, before we start the round, we need to choose a Zone Representative, don't we?]
The Zone Representatives from the previous areas scowled, realizing they would have to kill each other again.
All except for Ryu Min.
'So there's a representative selection battle this time, too.'
It happened every time the zones merged, feeling like an annual event.
'This time, I absolutely must become the Zone Representative.'
It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to be the representative before, but this time, he absolutely could not miss the opportunity.
The reward was just that immense.
'Because it allows the Zone Representative to use their authority in the real world.'