Chapter 247
Chapter 247
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 247
Chapter Title: ACT.49 The Embers of War (1)
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[How can someone change so much in a single day?]
Besial marveled as he watched Cha Eun-ha return to her room.
[Wasn't she the one crying her eyes out yesterday? Seriously, humans are the most predictable creatures, yet at the same time, the hardest to figure out.]
I mulled over the information I had just seen about Cha Eun-ha.
Her unique ability was now undeniably S-rank.
Her stats and other traits and skills still needed development, but that was a problem time would solve.
A large vessel will eventually be filled.
Unlike a small one, which cannot hold more no matter how much you want it to.
That’s what it meant for the rank of a unique ability to increase.
An improvement in potential.
Perhaps Cha Eun-ha really could surpass Jeon Do-jin.
‘Not bad.’
Honestly, she was an asset I hadn't considered in the slightest.
For that matter, Jeon Do-jin wasn't in that category either.
The basic condition for those who could immediately join ‘Rebellion.’
They must trust and follow me absolutely.
Aside from those bound by a ‘contract,’ it was impossible for anyone other than the twins to meet that criterion right away.
Cha Eun-ha had lacked the potential and ability, but in that respect, she passed.
The trust between people built through a series of incidents, including the one at Dongdaemun. And now, trust in my abilities as well.
The fact that she had come to me first, turning down many other options, strongly supported this.
In that situation, her only flaw had not just been corrected, but had returned beyond the passing mark.
“It feels like a good morning for a change.”
The slight fatigue that had lingered was completely gone.
I stretched and went out for a light jog.
***
Three from L Team. All five from A Team wiped out.
A total of eight people.
That was the number of key figures from the Pentagon Eagle-affiliated organizations I had encountered as enemies, starting from Paradise until now.
No, to be precise, it was a total of nine.
Santiago had confessed that Jacob had, in fact, been part of A Team.
“I don’t think we can let Pentagon Eagle be anymore. What do you think, Kim Se-hyeon?”
“If you’re asking what I think, we obviously can’t just stand by. We haven't had a chance to confront them because we were busy with other incidents, but we could have held them fully accountable.”
“Yes. That’s right. The world fell into this state, and we had no way to contact them.”
Kim Ji-hyeon nodded.
“We almost had a way, but we destroyed it to block their reinforcements.”
“It couldn't be helped.”
“I’m not blaming you. You did what you had to do. It’s just absurd how perfectly it fits, as if this was what they were aiming for from the start. Think about it. If we hadn’t blocked the warp gate, their reinforcements… guys like L Team, would have come and caused more damage. But by blocking it, we’ve eliminated our own means of holding them accountable.”
Kim Ji-hyeon let out a frustrated sigh.
What Kim Ji-hyeon suspected was probably correct.
They were meticulous.
They would have designed things so that no harm would come to them, no matter which way things went, allowing them to cut their losses at any time.
Though it seemed A Team hadn't actually expected me to be able to destroy the warp gate.
I fidgeted with my fingers before speaking.
“…It’s possible to restore the gate.”
“What did you say?”
“I’ve already tried. It can be restored.”
“Why didn’t you say so sooner!”
Kim Ji-hyeon shot up from her seat.
But realizing she had gotten uncharacteristically excited, she cleared her throat and slowly sat back down.
“For you to say it like this means there’s another problem. What is it?”
“It requires an activation code.”
“A code? Are you saying the gate has some kind of electronic key?”
“Upon closer inspection of the area where the warp gate was, I found a machine that generates it. I don’t know the principle behind it, though.”
“To think they can artificially create a gate, even if it’s a different type… No, come to think of it, I believe something similar happened in the past.”
Kim Ji-hyeon fell deep in thought.
I had an idea of what incident she was referring to.
DH-02. The incident Seong Woo-hyeon had mentioned, presumed to be the cause of my parents’ disappearance.
There was a major difference in that it had created a real gate, not a variant like this one, but in the grand scheme of things, they were similar in nature.
“…My head isn’t working so well, probably because of all the things that have been happening lately.”
Kim Ji-hyeon narrowed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.
I considered speaking up for her, but she changed the subject as if something else was more important.
“Is there any way to find out that code?”
“There is one thing. I have an idea.”
“You do? Huh. I was just asking on the off chance, I didn’t expect you to say yes.”
Before talking with Kim Ji-hyeon, I had already told Cha Eun-ha to temporarily restore the communication network.
Busan was short on power.
Maintaining the network constantly consumed a great deal of electricity, so it was normally only restored briefly for regular reports.
This time, it was to report to the Hongryeon headquarters about this major incident and to take care of my own business.
‘The Taegeuk Guild should still have the communication item that Seon Woo-jin used to contact the Bonghwang.’
I would contact Choi Yeon-soo and have her look for the communication item.
After that, if I could get in touch with Sie, then perhaps.
“It’s not certain. It’s just a possibility…”
As I was speaking, a phone rang.
It seemed the communication network was back up.
I checked my phone, thinking it was Cha Eun-ha calling to let me know, but I saw it was from a completely unknown number.
‘Who is this?’
Moreover, the number wasn’t in the format used in Korea.
It was definitely from a foreign country.
After a moment's hesitation, I asked for Kim Ji-hyeon's understanding and chose to step outside to take the call.
-You finally answered! Kim Se-hyeon, it’s been a while! How have you been?
“…Sie? How did you get my number?”
-Jun Bo-ra gave it to me. As a condition for what I sent her last time.
So the deal she mentioned was for my number.
What timing, to call just as the communication network was restored.
No, wait a minute.
A strange feeling made me check my call history, and I saw a considerable number of missed calls had piled up.
…I’ll just pretend I didn’t see that.
“So, what’s up?”
-Can’t I call without a reason?
Her sulky tone left me dumbfounded.
What’s with her?
“It’s not that, but…”
It suddenly clicked. The current situation.
The warp gate’s activation code.
I had wondered if Sie, being a member of Salvatio, might know it. Wasn’t I about to contact her anyway?
“Perfect timing. I was just about to contact you myself.”
-Our minds are in sync. You’re the man I’ve chosen, after all.
“…Anyway, I have something to ask. Is that okay?”
-What is it?
“I need the activation code for a warp gate.”
-Oh, that?
To my surprise, Sie answered right away.
It seemed her claim of being high up within Salvatio wasn’t an empty boast.
Then again, she was the leader of a faction that had swallowed half of China.
Considering her influence alone, there was no way she’d be in a low position.
-You managed to snatch that? I have no idea how to reset it. In fact, I just learned it could be reset right now.
“The person who made it didn’t tell you? Did the creator not know either?”
-The person who made it? Hmm…? I’ve never seen the Master not know something. He probably knows.
“The person who made it is Salvatio’s Master?”
-Oops. Sorry. Please pretend you didn’t hear that.
Just as I thought. Something is strange.
Salvatio’s Master is someone presumed to have progressed through the game the most, aside from me.
But to explain it simply like that, there were things that fell outside that scope.
-So where are you planning to go with it? Ah, now that the Disaster of Defying Heaven is over and you’ve wrapped things up in Busan… is it time to head to the U.S.?
“You’re well-informed.”
-Right. So you’re going to the U.S., huh…?
Sie suddenly trailed off.
In EOA, you go to the U.S. through a different process.
The reason for going is the same—to wrap up that case after the Busan incident—but there was an intermediate step to secure the means of travel.
Because the warp gate appeared earlier than in the original chapter, that process would be skipped.
[What!? The U.S.!? Using that!?]
Besial, who must have been eavesdropping on the call, suddenly shrieked.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
[N-no, it’s not that. Hehe. Wouldn’t it be better to travel by plane or ship, you know, like you’re on a trip? Relaxing in a VIP seat with your legs stretched out.]
A plane or ship, my ass.
Either route would be interrupted by S-rank monsters more than a few times.
The plane route even had the hassle of retaking an airport overrun by a monster horde.
Whether by plane or ship, there was no issue with piloting since you’d happen to help a pilot who was there, but the frequent interruptions would eat up a lot of time.
One mistake, and the vehicle could be destroyed, leaving you stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Following that route would grant some additional coins, but I had no desire to do that.
“Why bother when the warp gate gets you there in the blink of an eye?”
[…You’re right, aren’t you?]
Besial moved a fair distance away, then disappeared around a corner.
I subtly focused mana into my ears, enhancing my hearing.
[Argh, this is driving me crazy! Why are there so many variables with these second-generation players!? Did they all read the future or something!? Things that shouldn’t be appearing yet keep popping up and messing with the original progression, making it so hard for me to clean up the mess!]
He’d never dream it was actually true.
As I chuckled to myself, Sie spoke again.
-Salvatio’s main base is in the U.S. That means, if things align, you could even meet the Master.
Salvatio’s Master.
A figure shrouded in mystery, whose true identity even the members of Salvatio didn’t know for sure, despite the rampant rumors.
The fact that he was an enemy I had to defeat remained unchanged.
However, just how strong he might be…
That was something I had to be wary of.
-Try not to do anything that stands out. The U.S. has the largest number of Salvatio members. You could probably win if one or two of them picked a fight with you, but if ten of those guys, who are stronger than your average S-rank, came at you, even you couldn’t be sure of the outcome.
Sie warned me several more times before hanging up.
The fact that she muttered at the end that she would go to the U.S. too, as if she couldn't help it, bothered me, but I dismissed it as nothing serious.
China would soon face the emergence of the ‘Four Fiends’ and suffer considerable damage; she wouldn’t ignore that to come here.
“Sorry about that. The call took a little longer than I expected.”
“…”
“Kim Ji-hyeon-nim?”
“Ah, my apologies. I was lost in thought and didn’t hear you. Did you find out the code?”
Kim Ji-hyeon, who had been deep in thought about something, shook her head.
Was she still thinking about that matter?
“I did. I’m heading over to reactivate the warp gate now.”
“Then I’ll leave that to you. I think I need to head back to Seoul.”
After speaking, Kim Ji-hyeon fell back into her thoughts.
Well, with the drug cartel wiped out, it was unlikely Busan would face any greater danger for a while, so the people originally stationed there should be enough.
“Unni, is it true you’re joining us?”
“Yeah. It looks like I will be from now on.”
“Wow!”
“Hmph. Unlike before, I’m probably stronger than you now, Nuna. If you join our party, you’ll have to act like the rookie.”
“Hey, what kind of talk is that to your Unni!?”
“Oh? So strength determines the hierarchy?”
“Of course! Who cares about age?”
“Unni, just ignore this idiot. If you humor him, he’ll never stop.”
“No, no. If my ‘senior’ says so, I have to follow. Ah, then I guess we need to sort out the pecking order.”
“Oh? Is that a challenge? My fists don’t go easy on girls. The Fiery Fist of Eunpyeong District is none other than… Gack!! Agh! Agh! Using a weapon is cheating!!”
In the lobby, Jo Min-woo was getting beaten one-sidedly by Cha Eun-ha.
The three of them had always been on good terms, so it seemed Cha Eun-ha would have no trouble fitting into the party.
I walked past the three of them and headed to where the warp gate was located.