Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Dead End In Ark (2)
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Irregular Alex, cloaked in a black hood, pondered.
From the moment a person is born, so much is already decided for them.
Physical traits like appearance, athletic ability, and performance capabilities... intellectual aspects like perception, cognition, and comprehension... and even further, the environment they'll live in, determined by who their parents are. In a way, half of a person's life is set from birth.
In that process, many people sense the unfairness.
They say effort and grit can improve one's life to some extent... but who knows.
Without heaven-sent luck, a person can't dramatically escape their predetermined path.
Alex had already accepted that.
He figured that if he hadn't awakened as a Psyker, he would've lived out his days contentedly, like a hamster spinning its wheel.
So why had he joined the Irregulars and started committing acts of terror?
The reason was simple. Once he became a Psyker, society grew envious and jealous, blocking his future.
At 16, he awakened the Hand of Midas—the ability to turn any material he touched into gold and manipulate it.
For someone who'd spent his life as a slum-dweller in the hood, trembling in fear from the constant gunfire echoing around him, it was like striking gold. Literally.
With this superpower alone, he could escape the wretched hood.
He could live prosperously in a better environment with his beloved brothers, family, and friends.
Driving a supercar down LA's roads—a lifelong dream—would no longer be just a fantasy.
But none of that happened for him.
Society shoved all sorts of harsh laws at him, stripping away his freedom to use his power.
"The reckless abuse of superpowers by Psykers causes social inequality and chaos..."
"James Peter Jr., who turned into a Dimensional Beast from unchecked superpower use, killed six people in a New York shopping district..."
"The physical reactions caused by materials created with superpowers remain unknown..."
Society slapped him with an injunction banning superpower use and precious metal sales, then notified him to head to Academy City.
As Alex packed his bags in his rundown home, he thought:
What's so wrong with using the ability I was given?
Inequality? What's that supposed to mean?
Aren't the kids born into nice homes living freely and messing up society too?
Why don't they say anything to them, but restrain me?
Just because it's a superpower?
Alex clutched his starving belly.
His little sister's whiny voice begging for food, his mother's groans from her sickbed where she couldn't work—those sounds made something deep inside him writhe.
"Screw this."
The diligent young Alex, trying to live honestly in an unequal society, vanished that day.
Arriving in Academy City filled with resentment and darkness, he lived as a delinquent in this distant land until he met Kang Chang-su.
"If you're dissatisfied with society and this city, join us."
"There are lots like you in the Irregulars. Let's change society together."
He extended his sturdy hand, and from that day, Alex became an Irregular.
And now.
"I've never liked this city from the start. How dare it try to control us...?"
Superpowers are our basic right—something we can use freely.
Today, we'll unleash disaster on this city and make damn sure no one ever infringes on our rights again.
The drug he'd absorbed earlier was starting to kick in. Alex, his tension rising, issued orders to the 83 Irregulars gathered in the 5th District.
"Civilians, the city, everything in sight—smash it all! Let's send a proper warning to the whole world today! That this society is broken!"
Boom boom boom!!
Explosions were going off.
Guys like him, dissatisfied with the current system.
Or those innately impulsive and destructive.
The Irregulars—a ragtag group of misfits—were tearing the 5th District apart.
The sky was blood-red, just as Kang Chang-su had said back at the abandoned factory.
The Irregulars unleashed their powers freely, pulverizing everything around them.
Buildings crumbled, people screamed and fled—it was like a scene straight out of a disaster movie.
Was it the drugs, or were they just wired that way?
To Alex, the sight felt incredibly satisfying.
"Heh heh heh..."
He let out a sneer as he advanced.
Over there was the guy who'd caught his eye.
"Guys, this is legit real life! See the blood-red sky? No cap, pure Real 100%! You seeing the buildings crumbling left and right!?"
He was holding a smartphone, filming the terror scene from every angle.
Didn't look like a reporter. School uniform, talking to a crowd—seemed like he was live-streaming the terror online.
"Terror alert just went off! When the hell does this damn city get a quiet day? Anyway, this is the Psyker battle you all wanted..."
"Hey."
Alex closed the distance in an instant, blocking the male student's path.
"If you're gonna film, do it right."
The male student looked up at Alex in bewilderment.
"Uh, uh, wha?"
Alex clenched his fist and smashed it into the guy's face.
Thwack!
The student rolled across the ground. Alex picked up the fallen smartphone.
The broadcast was still live.
🔴 LIVE CHAT — Viewer1 What the fuck?? — Viewer2 What just happened?? — Viewer3 Streamer??? — Viewer4 Who are you? Alex glanced at the flood of chats—viewers asking about the streamer, panicking, questioning his identity.
He grinned and let his actions speak.
Terror and proving one's existence should be flashy.
Behold the terror the Irregulars are unleashing on Academy City.
This scenery is the price for oppressing us.
Alex turned the camera to film the city.
"Burn this sight into your memory! Remember the power we hold! Or next time, it'll be the city where you live...?" White vapor escaped Alex's mouth.
Puzzled by the sudden drop in temperature, he scanned his surroundings.
Explosions still echoed, but the area around him was eerily quiet.
Why had this whole zone gone silent all of a sudden?
As Alex's gaze and the smartphone camera wandered, he discovered the reason.
"No way..."
The massive collapsing building was now blanketed in ice, frozen solid.
The Irregulars who'd been wreaking havoc nearby were swept into the extreme cold, encased in ice.
And at the center, a mysterious androgynous boy exhaling white breath was staring straight at Alex.
He cradled a pink-haired girl in his arms; both wore masks, hiding their faces.
Alex felt his heart freeze as those sharp red eyes gleamed faintly through the boy's mask.
Finally realizing the situation had gone sideways, Alex slammed his hand to the ground and unleashed his power.
The ground surface turned to gold, massive spikes erupting like thorns.
Boom boom boom!!
The golden tsunami surged toward him, but halted just short of reaching.
Frost coated the golden wave. Cracks spiderwebbed—crack, crack—and it crumbled powerlessly.
Step step. He lightly crushed the golden debris as he approached Alex.
"Hah, haaah..."
Alex exhaled.
The phenomenon before his eyes was inexplicable.
Alex was a B-rank Psyker—strong enough to apply to top hunter training academies in Academy City. His power's output ranked in the city's upper echelons.
No way that rare A-rank... But even an A-rank couldn't freeze and halt a collapsing skyscraper.
Only Yubyeol-ha, the city's sole S-rank Psyker, could...
Crack, crack...
Frost began enveloping Alex's body.
He couldn't move. It spread from his toes, creeping over his entire form.
As his body froze, he desperately wanted to scream he didn't want to die, to beg for mercy—but his mouth was sealed in ice.
He stared at him with eyes wide in terror.
Was the trembling from the cold... or fear...?
His thoughts ceased.
Everything but the hand clutching the smartphone had frozen solid.
The masked girl hopped down from the boy's arms.
She dashed over, snatched the still-broadcasting smartphone, and muttered:
"Thought it'd be some contact... a live stream? Pretty novel."
🔴 LIVE CHAT (Viewers: 5,800) — Viewer5 What the hell's been going on... Did the terrorist just freeze? — Viewer6 Who the heck is this now? Eyeing the viewer count at 5,800, the girl scratched her head, then brightened as if struck by a great idea.
"No clue why you're watching this stream, but greetings, viewers." Fascinated by the live feed, she started scanning the rapidly scrolling chat.
"Huh? Streamer? Oh, you mean the guy lying there? He's doing just fine, alive and kicking." "Hey... turn that off and hurry up. Still a long way to go."
The boy sounded impatient, urging her to come back, but she was too engrossed in the chat to hear.
"Don't worry about Academy City getting trashed. AOD's got it covered. What's AOD? Fair question, so I'll answer." "Hey."
The boy spoke coldly, and only then did she glance at the phone and wave.
"It was short but fun, everyone. We're A.O.D.—the heroic group fighting the vile monsters pulling strings from the shadows! Remember A.O.D..." The boy snatched the smartphone and smashed it.
He scooped up the girl again and headed off somewhere.
She muttered wistfully.
"Aw, I didn't even get to say good night."
"Shut up."
And so, the two began sweeping through the 5th District.