Chapter 87
Chapter 87
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: ACT. 16 Virus (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Aargh!”
“R-Run!!”
The organization members, unable to move easily because of the obstacles I’d set up, were mercilessly cut down by the elites of the Jamryong Guild.
They said they’d be ready to move as soon as I called, but this was incredibly fast.
“Tch. Am I too late?”
“I won’t let you escape.”
I clicked my tongue in an exaggerated fashion and prepared to flee.
Kim Ji-hyeon, in turn, radiated an intent to attack me.
A well-rehearsed play.
At that, Park Jeong-dae ground his teeth, his eyes darting between me and Kim Ji-hyeon.
“...Keke. So, in the end, the grunts are just pawns to be used and discarded. I wondered why you came straight here without going through the main body. Is your purpose to cut off the tail in advance so those bastards can’t dig up any more information?”
Park Jeong-dae seemed to be under the impression that I had been sent by the higher-ups to eliminate all the lower-level cells.
That was the very misunderstanding my act was designed to create.
With Kim Ji-hyeon playing her part perfectly, vowing not to let me escape and pointing her sword at me, there was no way Park Jeong-dae wouldn't fall for it.
As I remained silent, he seemed to think he’d hit the nail on the head and gave a twisted smile.
“But did you really think we wouldn’t have anticipated something like this?”
His hand moved.
It was a swift motion, but Park Jeong-dae’s hand froze just before it reached his pocket.
His entire body had been bound by darkness.
“I can’t have that. Since it’s come to this, you’ll have to buy me some time.”
“Guh…!”
His mouth now gagged, Park Jeong-dae could do nothing but glare at me, the veins in his eyes bulging.
But that, too, was brief.
*Shunk!*
Kim Ji-hyeon closed the distance in an instant and pierced Park Jeong-dae’s chest.
The light in Park Jeong-dae’s eyes slowly faded as life left him, and his body gradually crumpled.
“Was that act really necessary?”
Kim Ji-hyeon asked, flicking the blood from her blade.
I waited until I confirmed that everyone who didn’t know my identity was down before answering.
“Because I need to continue the plan with this identity.”
The effect of the ‘Forger's Brush’ disappears the moment someone looking at it recognizes it as a ‘fake’.
Everyone present would sense the incongruity and awaken from a kind of illusion.
Therefore, Park Jeong-dae, who had seen it, had to believe until his last moment that I was indeed from Geumeumdal.
That was also why I hadn’t shown it to anyone but him.
“It’s a lot of money. It’d be a waste if the effect wore off so soon, wouldn’t it?”
I tore open the pocket his hand had been reaching for and pulled out what was inside.
An MV Gun containing a virus sample.
There were two more inside his clothes.
They must have already collected several samples, yet I hadn't seen a single one. So, he was carrying them himself.
It seemed he planned to release it and take everyone down with him.
“The equipment they used to collect the virus is in a box on the desk in the room to the left on the second floor.”
“And you’re planning to head to the next organization up the chain right away?”
“I have to. The faster I move before they can do anything, the less damage there will be.”
Our relationship was very different from before, but I knew Kim Ji-hyeon rarely used formal speech with anyone, so I let it slide.
‘I’ll keep one cylinder and give the other one to Min Gyeong-hoon along with the MV Gun.’
I wasn't the one who could figure out how they processed the dimensional stones to control their power at will.
Research on the MV Gun would also proceed faster if they could compare one before and after capturing the virus.
I took one of the items Park Jeong-dae had and handed the rest to a player who had come with Kim Ji-hyeon.
“What do you plan to do with them?”
“There’s still more for them to do.”
Lee Chang-jun and the other four stood rooted to the spot, swallowing dryly.
The players Kim Ji-hyeon had brought with her paid them no mind, leaving them untouched.
It was because I had instructed them beforehand not to attack anyone wearing a black scarf around their neck.
The player who received the MV Gun from me narrowed one eye.
“I wouldn’t trust those people too much. They might say they joined a place like this due to circumstances, but that’s all just an excuse.”
“I’m aware.”
When I replied with a slight smile, she said no more and stepped back.
Lee Chang-jun, whose heart had been pounding in anxiety, let out a long sigh of relief.
“H-Hey. Like I said before, we don’t know anything more than this. There’s nothing else we can tell you even if you ask. It’s true.”
Lee Chang-jun pleaded desperately.
I knew.
In a cell-based structure, it would be strange for someone like Lee Chang-jun, a grunt in a low-level unit, to know the location of the higher-ups.
You have to be the head of the snake to know the location of the cow's tail; the snake's tail itself knows nothing.
“From now on, your concept is ‘the last survivors’.”
“The last survivors…?”
The ones who barely survived the surprise attack by the five major guilds will run to the ‘main body’ and inform them.
Then, even if they are just grunts, it’s a significant loss of manpower, so the main body won't just stand by.
A large number will leave the base to provide support, and that’s when I’ll launch my surprise attack.
I was familiar with the layout of the ‘main body’s’ base.
After the war with Geumeumdal, during the cleanup, I used to wander around their base looking for hidden items.
“The main body is straight in that direction…”
I calmly surveyed the five men’s bodies.
The wounds I’d already inflicted were clearly visible, but it wasn’t enough.
If they only had bruises instead of sword cuts from a surprise attack meant to kill, anyone would be suspicious.
I have no choice.
“If you understand, start running toward the main body now.”
“H-Huh?”
“One minute. For one minute, if you don’t run for your life, you’ll be cut by the sword I’ll be swinging from behind. After a minute, I’ll just chase you, so for that one minute, run with the thought that you could really die if you slow down.”
The sword I slowly drew glinted.
Sensing I wasn't joking, the five men started running with silent screams, and I followed right behind them.
‘The Jamryong Guild’s combat unit has started clearing out the other low-level cells, so I can focus on the main body.’
Infiltrating the main body with a simple trick like before would be difficult.
The problem was the people themselves.
As the main body communicates directly with the head, they would surely be suspicious if someone they didn’t know showed up.
So, I had to use multiple methods at once.
‘Which means the leader here is likely to know something.’
Where they got the dimensional stones.
How they figured out how to use them.
I recalled the words the woman with the psychometry ability had added a while ago.
‘Oh, these people are taking this… huh?’
‘What happened?’
‘They threw it into a gate and left. Do people normally go all the way to a gate just to throw away a rock?’
‘Are you sure they were the people with the crescent moon symbol?’
‘I couldn’t see that clearly. But they’re definitely in on it together.’
Strengthening the gates was also their doing.
I had to uncover every detail of why they would do such a thing, even though a powerful monster appearing would put them in danger as well.
“U-Uwaaah! Help me! Please, help!”
“It’s a surprise attack! They ambushed us!!”
Lee Chang-jun and the other four convincingly half-stumbled, half-rolled into the building, shouting at the top of their lungs.
Their backs were covered in shallow sword wounds, their clothes caked in blood, and signs of injury were all over their bodies.
It was so realistic that even I would have been convinced.
“A surprise attack?”
“A-All our positions are being attacked at once! You have to help us, quickly…!”
Lee Chang-jun couldn’t say any more.
A claw had pierced his stomach in the blink of an eye, causing him to vomit a large amount of blood as he died.
The other four turned pale at the sight and tried to run back out, but they couldn’t move a single step before losing their lives, each in a different way.
The woman wearing the claws clicked her tongue, her eyes unkind.
“Stupid fool. Coming here when it’s obvious you were followed.”
“What should we do? We can’t just leave them.”
“We have to go. Have the underlings form teams of ten and move out separately. Tell them to focus on destroying the data rather than winning the fight. They were disposable pawns anyway, right?”
Even if they were grunts, important evidence remained.
If the situation ended before they could dispose of it, it would be the same as having the enemy’s blade at their throats.
The people inside the building scattered and rushed out.
That was a remarkably quick decision.
I waited until they were out of sight, then deactivated Extreme Eye and made my move.
‘About 70% of them seem to have left the building. Shall we begin?’
Shady bastards always have a rat hole to escape through.
Moreover, for a place conducting illegal activities, it was disguised as an ordinary building located in the city, making it easy to escape.
When I played the game, I had identified at least four secret passages in this building.
Among them, the one located in the least-frequented area was…
‘It’s still here.’
*Rumble.*
I touched a specific brick.
A section of the wall rotated, revealing a passage.
It was near a storage room for miscellaneous items, a place even the people here rarely visited.
I succeeded in getting in. Now I just needed to get to the upper floor without running into anyone if possible…
“Huh? Hey, what are you doing over there?”
Just as the wall returned to its original position, I came face to face with someone who happened to be passing by.
I barely managed to suppress a curse.
Dammit. I had deliberately not used my mana to avoid detection, and I ran into someone at this exact moment.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing, just saw a new face. If I don’t know him, it means he’s a low-rank, but he’s still here instead of being deployed.”
I had already revealed the part with the crescent moon symbol.
Thanks to that, it seemed I wasn’t treated as an outsider, but it wasn't a good situation either.
“You should deploy, too. Don’t try to slack off like this because you’re too lazy to go.”
“…Yes.”
“Stop.”
For now, getting out of this place was the priority.
Just as I was about to obediently head to the main lobby, the person who appeared later called me to a halt.
“Is there a problem?”
“You can’t fool my eyes. That symbol is a fake, isn’t it? Who are you?”
“What?”
The crescent moon symbol faded and lost its light.
Its effect had disappeared because someone had recognized it as a fake.
I never imagined someone in the ‘main body’ would be able to see through it.
“Then who is this guy? How did he get in?”
“That’s not important. Could this guy be…”
*Shunk!*
Spikes erupted from the floor, piercing the backs of the two men who were wary of me.
“Keoheok!”
I looked down with cold eyes at the man who collapsed, pointing at me and gasping for air.
The process had just become more troublesome.
The result wouldn’t change.
“What was that sound just now!?”
“Dammit, are we being ambushed here too?”
The place had been quiet since many people had left.
There was no way a scream of agony would go unheard.
“The targets are all enemies within this building. Begin.”
I drew upon my mana to its fullest and used Army of Darkness.
Seven soldiers appeared, exuding an intimidating aura, and began their assault without a word.
‘I’ll make this quick.’
As they were mimicking a mid-sized guild, the building had four floors, and the lobby was crowded.
My dark soldiers, already engaged in battle, were easily defeating the C-class players.
No matter what kind of blow they landed, the soldiers would immediately recover and counterattack.
It was impossible to win against an enemy that could not be defeated.
‘Fourteen left in the lobby.’
The problem was the B-class players who were always stationed in the building.
Even when the dark soldiers charged, the damage they took was greater than their recovery speed, rendering their regeneration useless.
At this rate, they would only serve to rapidly drain my mana.
It was better for me to deal with them myself.
I immediately gave an additional command to the dark soldiers to retreat instantly if they encountered a strong opponent.
“There he is!”
“Kill him!”
There were a total of 36 people in the building.
Among them, only one, who seemed to be the leader, was A-class or higher.
There was no way he hadn’t detected the commotion.
Was he daring me to come to where he was?
*Clang!!*
I dodged a sharp claw strike.
A bit of poison on the tip of the claw splattered, but it vanished before it could reach me.
It was the same woman who had killed Lee Chang-jun.
A wide grin split her face.
“Coming here all by yourself. You must have wanted to see your own guts with your own two eyes, huh?”