Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Virus (1)
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“Haa, I'm exhausted.”
“My legs hurt...”
The twins returned, utterly spent, likely from clearing their daily quota of gates.
While Jo Min-ah, who didn't have to exert herself much physically, was merely tired, Jo Min-woo was drenched in sweat.
Today's quota was a bit high.
I'd given them good gear, which meant they had to work that much harder.
“Still, wearing good equipment must have made it a lot easier, right?”
“But you're making us train that much harder!”
“If you don't like it, I can reduce it.”
“...I-It's not that I don't like it...”
I chuckled, and Jo Min-woo averted his gaze with a complicated expression.
He complains, but he's also diligent about getting stronger.
The sight of him grimacing, clutching his head and groaning, looked like a war was being waged in his mind between the desire to take it easy and the need to work hard.
“Ah, Oppa. I heard a strange rumor on my way back.”
“A rumor?”
Wondering if it was about what Seong Woo-hyeon had said—that the 'game had become reality'—I feigned ignorance and asked.
However, Jo Min-ah mentioned a completely different rumor.
“A rumor that... there's a gate that spreads a disease.”
“...Where did you hear that?”
“On the way back. I overheard some people who looked like players whispering about it. Ah, I wasn't trying to listen in, it's just that I was using my Detection skill while walking around...”
“No. That's not what I was getting at.”
My brow furrowed.
Why was that rumor spreading?
According to Seong Woo-hyeon, they were keeping it thoroughly under wraps.
‘Did the situation prevent them from controlling people completely?’
With so many gates to handle, they were probably short on manpower to deal with that as well.
Not that sloppy work was excusable.
“Actually, I just heard about it myself at the Jamryong Guild. I was going to tell you about it anyway, so this is good.”
Jo Min-ah clasped her hands and swallowed hard.
I almost laughed at her serious expression, but I suppressed it.
“The gate itself is a problem, but it seems there's someone out there spreading the virus that came from it.”
“You mean someone is intentionally spreading the virus!?”
“Yes. They're scum.”
“That's...”
She fidgeted with her hands, a sorrowful look on her face.
Having experienced the pseudo-zombies from the Disaster of Verdure in many ways, the news seemed to hit her particularly hard.
...Is Jo Min-woo still mulling it over?
What could he possibly be thinking about for so long?
“They've crossed the line. Are they insane?”
Choi Yeon-su emerged from another room with an incredulous look on her face.
I nodded.
“They are insane. It looks like they're trying to become kings by intentionally spreading the virus.”
“What's the point of being king of a country where all the subjects are dead?”
“Their way of thinking is different from ours.”
Not that Choi Yeon-su was a saint herself.
No, even I couldn't claim to be a good person.
I was prepared to use others for my own benefit if necessary.
However, I had no intention of crossing the line like they did.
“I'm going to look into them. The Jamryong Guild has also agreed to provide support behind the scenes.”
“Huh. The Jamryong Guild? Looks like you went there and talked about something like that.”
“Various things will be sent to my email address. You organize it. And do some digging on your own, too.”
“What if I investigate myself?”
“What?”
“You know my specialty.”
Choi Yeon-su pointed to herself with a grin.
I see. She planned to disguise herself as one of them and extract information.
It was risky, but if successful, it would be the most effective method.
As long as it wasn't the Dark Moon's main base, she could probably find a way to escape.
And if by some chance she was caught and couldn't return...
I stared at Choi Yeon-su.
Her expression was so confident that I didn't dwell on it any further.
“I want to go, too.”
“It'll be dangerous. Besides, you must be tired.”
“I rested a little, so I'm fine now. Look!”
Jo Min-ah made an exaggerated gesture.
Both Jo Min-woo and Jo Min-ah.
It seemed these twins were desperate for my approval.
“Alright. Then Min-woo...”
“Aaargh!!”
Just as I was about to ask Jo Min-woo, Choi Yeon-su, who had gone into the room, slammed her fist on the desk and screamed.
“What's wrong?”
“Damn it! Someone's hacking in and locking all the files!!”
The word 'hacking' immediately brought someone to mind.
...It can't be. Surely not.
[I can't take it anymore! Dimension Stone!]
[Dimension Stone! Dimension Stone!]
[Aaargh, Dimension Stone!!!!]
[Please, Dimension Stone! Please!]
“Who the hell is Dimension Stone that they're screaming like this, damn it. I don't know if they're a celebrity or what, but why are they bugging me? Leader. Do you know anything?”
“...”
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
How did he find this place... No. With his hacking skills, finding a place like this with no particularly tight security would be easy.
“That's not a person's name. Open a notepad and type this. 'I'll be back soon with more.'”
“Just writing that will solve it!?”
“No. Add one more thing.”
“What?”
“'I'm planning to bring a gift, too.'”
Frowning deeply, Choi Yeon-su doubtfully typed my words on the keyboard.
A moment later, Choi Yeon-su poked just her head out of the room with a bewildered expression.
“'Okay...' That's the reply, along with a bunch of excited emoticons?”
“That's enough. You can ignore it now.”
“What the hell was that? Damn it. Explain it so I can understand, too.”
Choi Yeon-su grumbled, scratching her head.
There was no reason to go around broadcasting Min Gyeong-hoon's existence.
Why would I throw away the advantage of having a resource others didn't?
*Thud.*
It was then.
Jo Min-woo, who I thought was just lost in thought, suddenly collapsed.
“Jo Min-woo!?”
Jo Min-ah, startled, caught him, then flinched and took a few steps back.
Then, with a helpless look on her face, she turned to me.
“O-Oppa... Min-woo, his body... it's like a ball of fire...”
“Step aside for a moment. I'll check.”
I approached Jo Min-woo and, pretending to reach out, used Extreme Eye.
‘This is...’
No doubt about it.
Mana oversaturation.
There are several causes, but for someone who's usually fine to suddenly become like this, there's only one reason.
I subtly raised a corner of my mouth, making sure no one else could see.
[Innate Ability: (On the verge of blooming)]
The process wouldn't be comfortable, but Jo Min-woo had finally reached the starting line.
***
There are always people who go where they're told not to.
That's how the rumor about the virus-spreading gate got out.
As the number of restricted areas grew, those who couldn't contain their curiosity snuck in, discovered it, took pictures, and spread them.
Naturally, those individuals all ended up infected with the virus, either dead or on the brink of death.
The unsettling photos.
The silence from the uploaders afterward.
Public opinion naturally turned sour, and negative rumors were bound to spread even faster.
“What in the world is going on! At least give us an explanation!”
“Is the situation getting any better!?”
“Please calm down. We don't know the full details either, so there's not much we can say. But the access control is for your own safety...”
Perhaps because they'd experienced it once before.
The number of people shrewdly hoarding food also increased rapidly.
“The guilds are having a tough time.”
Clearing gates, devising countermeasures for the virus, controlling the populace.
With the guilds taking on tasks that the police or military should be handling, a manpower shortage was inevitable.
After all, the police and military were non-players, just ordinary people.
Most of them had died in the line of duty during the last chaos, so their roles had inevitably been passed on to the players.
I turned my gaze to Jo Min-ah, who was walking beside me with her head bowed.
“Are you worried about Min-woo?”
“...Yes.”
I'd explained his symptoms to her, but I guess she couldn't help but feel anxious.
Then again, with their parents' fate unknown, he was her only remaining blood relative.
“It's okay. He'll be up soon.”
Jo Min-ah slowly nodded.
Jo Min-woo would wake up when the time was right.
If it took too long, I could even force him to wake up.
But right now, there was something else I needed to focus on.
“This is pretty bad.”
I'd come directly to the place where the virus was rampant.
The scene was enough to make me scowl.
The reality was even worse than the photos, and a wave of nausea washed over me.
“It's dreadful.”
The closer I got to the gate, the more an unpleasant feeling crept over me.
I expected a foul stench, but it was surprisingly odorless.
Standing a few steps back from the purple smoke, I looked around. The air was thick with the scent of death.
For those guys to spread the virus, they first had to collect it from the gate.
That's why I'd come to the nearest Dark Moon Guild branch marked on the map.
‘A wild goose chase?’
Even if they had Dimension Stones, they couldn't have many.
There's no way they would have distributed them to every single grunt.
Yet if they were collecting the virus, it meant they must have some way to protect themselves from it.
My plan was to capture one and find out exactly what that method was, but if they weren't here, it was better to move on to another location quickly.
Just as I was about to move.
“...A child?”
I spotted an unexpected person.
A boy, looking no older than an elementary school student, was cautiously approaching the gate, nervously glancing around.
He wasn't wearing even minimal protective gear, just a worn-out sleeveless shirt and shorts.
There was no crescent moon symbol on his shoulder either.
As I watched with a frown, the child spotted me and jumped in surprise.
Something was unnatural.
I quickly moved to the child and grabbed him before he could run.
“Kid. This is a restricted area. It's dangerous, why did you come here?”
“H-Hic.”
Not a player.
Just an ordinary person.
He wasn't here to hunt monsters, and judging by his state, he didn't seem to have wandered in out of curiosity either.
Nor did he have any kind of tool to protect against the virus.
Then why?
“Kid. Answer me. Why are you here?”
“Oppa. He can't possibly answer properly if you talk to him so intimidatingly!”
Jo Min-ah hurried over and soothed the child with a reassuring smile.
I obediently stepped back and watched her.
“Why did you come here? This place is very dangerous.”
“B-But...”
He bit his lower lip.
He looked at me, at Jo Min-ah, and at his surroundings.
His eyes darted around for a long while before he finally answered.
“I... left something here...”
“You left something?”
While glancing warily at me, he tightened his clenched fist.
A child is a child.
His lie was too obvious.
“You didn't leave something. You came to get something.”
“Ugh!?”
I forced the boy's hand open and picked up what was inside.
It was something that looked like a small gun.
But a closer look revealed it was designed not to shoot, but to suck things in.
“Oppa, is that...?”
“Probably.”
“Then this kid...?”
If he had left something behind, he should have been empty-handed.
Instead, the boy was clutching something in his hand and refused to let go.
On top of that, constantly avoiding eye contact is a classic sign of hiding something.
“Ah, no! Give it back!”
Fending off the boy, who was flailing his arms trying to get the gun back, I maximized my senses.
Not far away, I could feel the presence of several people.
Using Extreme Eye, I peered through the wall.
A few people were watching us.
“No, this kid isn't one of them. If anything, he's being used.”
They've finally shown their tail.
I smirked slightly.