Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 001
Chapter Title: Revenge
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By the time I opened my eyes, I was already in this godforsaken world.
A relentless downpour hammered down.
The asphalt was bitterly cold.
When I lifted my head from the muddy puddle, a flickering neon sign blinked emptily overhead.
Honestly, I couldn't remember much about anything before arriving here.
All that lingered vaguely was the hunch that this place was inside a game.
The message hovering in the corner of my vision proved it.
But that was the end of it.
I had forgotten almost everything—who I was, what kind of person I'd been.
Thrown into this cold world with all my memories wiped clean.
"Hey, you all alone?"
The one who picked me up like that was a woman who couldn't have been much over twenty.
Fiery red hair and stunning golden eyes.
Even amid the neon glow, those eyes sparkled so beautifully that I nodded in a daze, utterly captivated.
Whether it was a fleeting moment of pity or just a whim, I didn't know.
She took me in, and just like that, we started living together.
But later I learned that this place—Dun City's 8th Special District—was overflowing with orphans.
With utterly incompetent police and human scum stripped of any sense of law, desires ran rampant in the city.
At the bottom of it all, kids with living parents were the rarity.
So I wondered.
Why me, of all people?
There must've been street urchins like me underfoot everywhere in the alleys.
When I asked, she just smiled enigmatically and said, "Who knows?"
Honestly, the reason didn't matter.
If she hadn't picked me up then, I'd probably be some black mage's lab rat by now—or sold off to a factory, exploited until death.
Just keeping me from that fate made her my benefactor.
Who was it that said it? Repay favors in full, and enemies tenfold.
So I decided to repay her kindness.
I avoided trouble as much as possible, listened well, and handled the chores diligently whenever she headed out for work.
But that wasn't enough.
"How about I help with your work?"
Years later, one day.
I stared at the back of her neck as I said it.
There was some kind of unfamiliar socket-like thing attached there.
Turned out her job was something like a hacker—she plugged lines into that socket to work.
It sounded bizarre just imagining it, but apparently it wasn't uncommon in this world.
"I'm basically an adult now. If I get an implant like yours..."
She gave me a troubled smile.
"Well... Hmm. Rather than that..."
She gazed out the window at the smog-choked sky over the 8th Special District.
"I just want you to live a normal life."
"Normal...? What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know, going to school or whatever. You've always been smart, so you could study, date..."
"Sis..."
I could only stare at her in disbelief.
School? Really?
"I don't even have citizenship. How am I supposed to go to school?"
"Haha, yeah, good point."
She let out an awkward laugh.
Not just me, suddenly dropped into this world—Sis was a non-citizen too. An illegal resident.
Actually, most folks scraping by at the bottom of this city were the same.
Moths drawn to the city's dazzling lights, denied even citizenship.
For people like us with no guarantees, "normal" was a luxury.
"School, huh..."
"What, got something on your mind?"
"Nah, nothing like that."
An empty bar with no customers.
The hawk-nosed old man emerged from behind the counter, holding a shabby envelope of cash, and handed it to me.
"Here. Payment for your sister's job yesterday."
"Can't you give this stuff right away instead of holding onto it?"
"Kid, we all have our circumstances. When have I ever stiffed your sis on a payout?"
"No need to check the amount, right?"
"Pfft. You think I just started dealing with her yesterday?"
"Yeah, yeah."
As I pocketed the envelope, he glanced at me and asked,
"Why didn't Lena come herself?"
"Job was rough this time, I guess. She's resting at home."
"...I see."
The old man puffed silently on his pipe, then added,
"Bring her by for dinner sometime. I'll treat you to a proper meal."
"Sure thing."
He nodded, waved me off, and headed into the back of the shop.
I turned away, passed through the musty curtain, and stepped outside.
The sky was gradually darkening.
Walking through the city as usual, I happened to glance at my reflection in a puddle.
Dressed properly with clothes from my bag, I could've passed for a college student.
Back when I first arrived in this world, I looked much younger.
"Makes sense. It's been years already."
This alley, reeking of rotting trash, had become familiar long ago.
I passed homeless guys strapped into VR headsets, jerking around like idiots, and climbed up to my familiar shantytown.
Was it even possible to live normally here—go to school like a regular person?
To do that, I'd need citizenship first.
With citizenship, I could escape this shithole 8th Special District and move to a proper administrative zone.
Then school would be an option.
But...
Unfortunately, for illegals like us, citizenship was like grasping at stars.
No clue how much money it'd even take...
"...Huh?"
I looked up to find two men blocking my path.
They had scorpion tattoos on their necks. They exchanged glances, and one jerked his chin at me.
"You Kyle?"
"......"
Kyle.
That was definitely the name Sis gave me.
But—
A chill crept up from my toes. That's when I hurled the money envelope at them.
"Hey! Fuck, it's him!"
As I reached for my self-defense pistol, a deafening gunshot tore into my ears.
Crack—!!
"Guh!?"
My leg buckled from the precise shot, sending me crashing onto the cold manhole cover.
Blazing pain surged through me.
"Ngh...!"
"Figures the bitch's brother would have sharp instincts."
"Hey, finish him quick and clean."
"Got it."
No chance to resist the approaching man.
Bang! Bang!
Just two shots.
Without a hint of hesitation, he blasted my head apart.
*
And then I opened my eyes.
"Haaah!"
Snapping to, I instinctively patted my head.
The sensation of my shattered skull from the pistol rounds lingered vividly.
But I could only gape in shock.
"What...?"
It was fine.
"What the... hell...?"
No matter how much I felt around, my head was perfectly intact, as if nothing had happened.
A d-dream?
No.
That pain, that realism—it wasn't a dream.
Panicking, I checked the leg that got shot too.
"...!"
It was spotless, not a scar in sight. I swallowed hard.
"What in the..."
A thought flashed through my mind, and I bolted upright.
This wasn't the time.
"Sis...!"
Before they shot me, they definitely mentioned Sis.
Which meant...!
I raced up the hill to our house and caught my breath upon arrival.
"......"
The chaos hit me from the front door. Signs of struggle everywhere.
I pushed open the door with trembling steps and entered.
Then I fell silent.
The blood-soaked floor formed grotesque pools.
Inside one lay a corpse—brutally murdered and clearly violated afterward.
Sodden red hair caught my dazed eyes.
"......"
Despite my plummeting heart, I reacted with surprising calm.
Maybe deep down, I'd half-expected this.
Hacking for a living at the bottom meant a life where death could come anytime.
I stepped wordlessly into the pool and approached.
Reaching for those vacant, staring eyes, I gently closed them so Sis could rest in peace.
My gaze shifted to the pistol beside her.
The one she carried for self-defense.
I picked it up, feeling its weight.
Who was it that said it? Repay favors in full, enemies tenfold.
If I couldn't even repay her kindness and now had enemies too, how many times over did I owe them?
"......"
But first, something to confirm.
I pressed the barrel to my neck.
My eyes flicked to the corner message.
I recalled what just happened.
I definitely died, yet I hadn't.
I asked myself silently.
Am I really immortal?
Because this is a game world?
I had no answers.
But one thing was certain: the truth of it would drastically change my path forward.
"Hoo..."
After a shallow breath, I pulled the trigger as if resolved.
Craaaack—!!
*
A week later.
A luxury villa in the upper levels of the 8th Special District, where citizens mostly resided.
Two familiar faces stood guard at the ostentatious entrance.
Mafiosi in suits, scorpion tattoos on their necks.
Confirming that familiarity, I pulled my cap low and approached.
"...Hm? Hey. Stop right there."
I ignored them.
"Didn't you hear me stop?!"
"One more step and we shoot!"
I replied,
"Shoot if you want."
As I got closer, they recognized my face and gasped in horror.
"You...!"
"Hey. Hope you've been well."
"How...!"
Aiming their guns frantically, I unzipped my jacket.
Revealed was plastic explosive strapped around my waist like a belt.
"Nice seeing you again."
I smiled at their bulging eyes.
"You son of a—!"
"See ya."
A beep, and an enormous blast swallowed them.
Kaboooom—!!