Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Kami No. 2, Contact
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[Whoa, what the hell is up with new Molrangmol??][Author: السماء والأرض]
Slipped into the server real quick
Firewall's fucking impenetrable lololol
Holy shit how'd they pull that off
Did they poach some S-rank tech expert or what
-How'd you even manage that...
-NWhat's with this guy's nick? Arabic? You can't even set it to Arabic normally right
ㄴ(Author): lol
ㄴ(Author): Nothing's impossible in this world
ㄴGet over here on your main account you fuckin' gay
ㄴ(Author): comin'
-What, did they throw up some massive sturdy wall or something?
ㄴ(Author): Nah, it just sucks mana right in like a black hole
ㄴFr?
ㄴ(Author): Yeah I was scared shitless it'd fuck me up so I bailed lol
**
Kami and Jina's collaboration had worked perfectly.
Thanks to that, the Molrangmol, Baekya, and Han Saebyeok galleries had finally achieved eternal peace.
But.
One issue had cropped up.
Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
An alarm blared out of nowhere. I cracked open my heavy eyelids, only to be greeted by the pitch-black world.
It was dawn.
The kind of dawn that felt way closer to midnight than sunrise.
“......Mm.”
I tried to drift back to sleep.
Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
But my tactless smartphone kept ringing.
Weird. I could've sworn I'd set it to Do Not Disturb and silent.
Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
“Ugh...... stop already...!”
Complaining did nothing.
What the hell was this racket in the middle of the night? It wasn't like it was begging for food or anything.
In the end, I fumbled around.
And grabbed my smartphone.
The screen that greeted me.
The usual interface was nowhere to be seen. All I could make out was some bizarre furball.
Nyaang!
The thing, curled up like an armadillo, poked its head out.
It was Kami.
......Or more precisely, something derived from Kami.
A sort of mutation.
Hadn't something similar happened with the slimes that grew by eating Kami's mana?
This was very much like that.
Nyaang!
Kami's mana meeting Jina's ability. The firewall born from that union had developed a sense of self.
Well...... in a way, it was a useful existence.
'Thanks to it, we identified the hacking suspect.'
I'd only told it to defend...
But it went beyond that and straight-up breached the attacker's side.
A beneficial mutation, sure, but it came with its share of annoyances.
Ding-a-ling!
Like nagging for food in the dead of night.
No clue why it crawled into my phone instead of Jina's.
Maybe because the parent body, Kami, was linked to me?
Either way, when it started fussing, I had no choice but to give it what it wanted.
It was an incredibly dangerous creature, after all.
It seemed to obey my commands for now, but it was a feline monster with an oversized ego, just like Kami.
And one that lived in the digital world, no less.
If I pissed it off somehow, who knew what it'd do. I couldn't even imagine.
Swoosh......
I pressed my fingertip to the smartphone screen and channeled some mana.
Even though I had no abilities that could interfere with information systems—
Nyaang!
It gobbled up my mana just fine.
While Kami No. 2 enjoyed its meal, I checked the time.
The thing was covering the clock on my phone screen, so I had to crane my neck all the way to squint at the glowing LED clock.
[AM 3:15]
Sigh. My sleep score's toast today.
My drowsiness had vanished by now, but I lay back down anyway.
Busy day ahead tomorrow.
Nyaang!
But No. 2 wouldn't let me go.
Food's done, now play with me till it's digested—was its message.
Squeeze. Squeeze.
So I rhythmically tapped the volume buttons, stroking it diligently.
What can I say. Felt like raising a Tamagotchi.
Never actually played with one of those toys, but this had to be the vibe.
Could make a Molrangmol toy like this someday.
Just cut the internet connection for safety.
......Probably.
“There. Now I'm sleeping.”
Nyaang!
No. 2 curled up into a ball again, tail swishing lazily.
Looked like a sleeping pose at a glance, but after multiple tussles, I knew better.
“Sigh.”
I let out a sigh, then placed the phone on my chest.
Nyaaaa......
Only then came the contented purr.
Seemed like it wanted to bond with me all night—always needed this to settle down.
Sure, sleeping with electronics pressed to my chest felt sketchy...
But way better than tossing and turning from those merciless alarms.
**
Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
The relentless barrage of alarms.
He couldn't ignore them forever, so the man finally checked the messages.
[XXP: What the hell happened?]
As expected, from the client.
He understood the urgency. Things were veering off from the contract.
[XXP: What happened?]
[Me: Can't do it]
[XXP: What?]
[Me: Can't. Impossible with my abilities.]
[XXP: What nonsense is that?]
Sorry, but it's not nonsense.
He was certain: No one could hack Molrangmol now.
[Me: If it's impossible, it's impossible. Looks like they hired someone better.]
[XXP: Never heard of an ability like that]
[Me: Anyway, request's off the table now]
[XXP: Hah]
[Me: But I fulfilled 30% of the contract, so pay me that much]
[XXP: Sorry, can't do that]
[Me: What...?]
[XXP: Choose]
[XXP: Complete the job and get paid, or bail and get nothing]
“Fuck......!”
These crazy bastards. Playing hardball like this?
Even shady backroom deals had some code of honor.
'Just launch a full terror attack on 'em?'
He nearly acted on impulse in his rage but held back.
The opponent was Hwayeon.
The client wasn't directly from Hwayeon, of course.
Classic case of sub-sub-sub-subcontractor...
Hwayeon was second to none when it came to cutting off tails.
He'd traced it up the chain to Hwayeon at the top, but that was it.
Even if he exposed the whole request chain to the world, he'd be the only one taking the hit.
And the scarier part?
'They know who I am......'
It wouldn't be strange if they came after him.
Hell, there was that joke about Yeonhwa Palace being built with blood instead of red paint.
If not for the Hunter Association Chair, Hwayeon would've swallowed Korea whole by now.
[Me: You fucking asshole]
[XXP: Then pretend it never happened.]
[Chat room ended.]
“These fucking psychos......”
Grit.
[Account deleted.]
Crash!
Fuming, the man hurled his smartphone.
Ended up with nothing from the job—just massive damage.
No pay. Gave it his all and still lost. Even got traced back.
“Shit......”
Like hell I'll take jobs from them again.
Tap tap tap.
Spitting curses, the man sat at his computer and booted up the internet.
Cash was running dry—needed to snag some decent gigs...
Click.
“......What?”
His monitor screen went pitch black.
Power was fine, so it hadn't shut down.
Like black paint had been slathered over it.
“What's wrong with this thing.”
He mashed buttons, rebooted—nothing. Screen stayed black.
Baffled, he blinked dumbly at the void—
Tick...!
A video popped up on screen.
[Ah, can you hear me?]
Distorted, alien mechanical voice. A blue pictogram lounging on what looked like a sofa.
He'd seen it somewhere before.
'......Molrangmol's owner.'
The bizarre ability the Molrangmol boss used for public appearances.
And what it meant was crystal clear.
No way, he thought—but what had to come, came.
[Asked if you can hear me?]
“Y-Yes! Loud and clear!”
The man answered quick. They'd found him.
No idea what they'd do if he pissed them off.
So he straightened his back and neck, legs politely together.
Didn't know if they could see him, but still.
[Like the posture.]
......They could see him.
No webcam or anything hooked up. What ability was this?
[Let's see...... Name: Seong Yi-jin. Age 34. Top graduate of Seoul Information University. Even did your PhD abroad? How's an elite like you end up......]
The pictogram rattled off his personal info.
'What the fuck...... shit.'
The man's face went pale.
How the hell did they know all that?
Did Hwayeon hand over his files?
No. Unlikely—they were enemies.
Then when his PC traced back?
He hadn't stored personal data on it...
[You listening?]
“Yes! L-Loud and clear!”
[Then, Seong Yi-jin. S-rank Awakener, I have a question for you. With your talents, you must understand.]
His heart pounded wildly.
His body shook so bad his teeth chattered.
The pictogram dragged it out, as if reading his panic.
Waiting.
For fear to consume him completely.
Gulp!
As Seong Yi-jin's mind frayed...
The pictogram spoke again.
[Who commissioned you?]