Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Ark Shandy Rendezvous (4)
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The agonizing mealtime finally came to an end. If I'd stayed at the table any longer, I felt like I'd evolve from cool-as-ice stoic to a sweaty Bibibig mess, so I bolted.
Lee Gyeo-ul's mansion had a whopping three bathrooms. One was for Lee Gyeo-ul and Han Cheong-ah, another for Mimir and Yubyeol-ha, and the last one was designated for my use.
While brushing my teeth, I logged into Secret Society on my phone for the first time in ages. I was curious what the society's reaction was to this Irregular incident.
Honestly, keeping up the pussyfooting act indefinitely was getting tough. I'd revealed myself directly way too many times while resolving the incident.
At this point, someone in the society probably knew that the vampire Baek Do-hyun had betrayed them.
So I'd figured I'd be banned from Secret Society by now, but there were no signs of that yet.
I quickly scrolled through the posts.
📰 Mibang: Latest Scoop from Academy City... Sin Corpse Found & Monsters Dead (Gore Warning) A post from one of the monsters showed scenery from the redevelopment zone where Lee Gyeo-ul, Yubyeol-ha, and Mimir had been fighting. The ashen wasteland was littered with countless monster corpses. — Mibang A ton of monsters from the society headed to Academy City this time... I was one of them. Can't spill the details since it's classified, but we had a big project underway. As you can see from the pics, it went straight to hell. Lots of reasons for the failure, but the biggest? The bitch in charge, Mimir, betrayed us. Everyone knows who Yubyeol-ha and Lee Gyeo-ul are, right? Those fuckers raided the site. Just thinking about it still makes my hands and feet shake... Pretty much all the monsters got wiped. I barely scraped by... Honestly, Zero One's a piece of shit too... He put Mimir in that spot. Got death wishes? Fine, I'll say it. It was a post from a monster involved in the Irregular incident this time around.
The reactions were explosive, with a flood of comments from countless monsters below.
— PapePoPo Sin died too??? — Enfin Alchemi and Fran went totally radio silent a while back... Guess they're dead. — JeongJungDong Hmm... Lee Gyeo-ul and Yubyeol-ha are that strong, huh... — Hungrydam Honestly, the vibe lately has been super tense. Last time too, and now the news is dropping hints about monsters left and right. — HaghHagh What if this incident drags monsters into the spotlight? ⭐ Top Comment — MyangMingMyong ㅠㅠㅠ... We're totally screwed now, aren't we? — Kristjanuronaldu Siuuuuuuuuuu. Things had gone seriously sideways since the Experimental Awake mess. This project's failure was the worst in society history. Zero One wasn't as sharp anymore. And so on.
The comments were packed with negative sentiment. Everyone was fretting that the monsters' hidden existence might get exposed to the world.
I kept scrolling.
— Sprite_278 Ogo-gok~ Ogo-gok~ Dropping some omni-sex smut to celebrate the society's downfall~ What a dumbfuck.
I ignored the weird post and kept scrolling.
Then I spotted one with a seriously ominous vibe.
📰 KAWON: About the Protagonist of That Viral Human-Site Video Lately Everyone's gotta have stumbled on this video while surfing the net, right? The post had a short video attached. It was footage of me in the middle of a fight.
I'd figured it had some traction since even YouTube reckers were picking it up, but I hadn't expected it to spread to the monsters' site too.
— KAWON Remember the guy from that Satyros fight vid? Site was buzzing that he was a monster. Pretty sure it's the same dude. Looking back, he kinda resembles 'Dracula.' Quick rundown for monsters who don't know: This guy's the only 'monster' who's also a 'Psyker.' That's why he's in Academy City legit as a student, not smuggled in like the rest of us... His powers match the video guy's perfectly. Rational suspicion: He messed up the Experimental Awake shit and this incident too. The post came with a wall of text and a photo of my face uploaded.
I checked the comments.
— Simmya Thanks for the essay. — Lemon44 So who's Dracula? — KokumaJohnaHate ㄷㄷㄷ Low-tier post! — Coffee752 Never seen or heard the name... If he's a monster that strong like in the vid, admins wouldn't just let him be, right? — GreanTeaRoll Overthinking it much? — Deception Academy City's got more than a few strong Psykers anyway. Wasn't even confirmed monster back then. — Ren_shard Dracula's Baek Do-hyun. Know him. ㅇㅇ Dude grovels to the weak and licks boots of the strong. — Malay Hmm... — EarthSpiderSky So who's Dracula? — MelBelb (Cute emoticon). The post was popular enough to hit the hot list, but opinions were all over the place.
Some dismissed it as "Who's Dracula?" and ignored nobodies like Baek Do-hyun.
Others ramped up the aggression: "Traitor? Dox him and beat his ass."
Then the ones venting grudges: "All because of incompetent admins."
Before logging off, I left one last comment on the post.
— Dracula Honestly... Defaming innocent people isn't cool... — Goat What're you on about, Drac-u-la... "?"
The Goat was supposed to be slaving away in prison right now. How was he posting?
I shot the Goat a private message for the first time in a while.
📱 Private Messages Dracula: Hey. Goat: Hey. Dracula: Goat bro, shouldn't you be doing hard labor in prison right now? Why you on your phone? Goat: Ah, so big bro Drac doesn't know── This is the limit of this country's 'justice' system. Looks like he was living it up in prison.
Now I had a reason to suggest to Cheryl that we make the Goat's life hell.
Dracula: How's the vibe in the shiny new Psyker detention center? Goat: Place is dead empty... This incident wiped out like 4/5 of the inmates lol... Oh, those pals you told me to watch? Dracula: Kang Chang-soo and Lee Chika? Goat: ㅇㅇ Those guys miss big bro Drac... I'd been planning to visit anyway, to check on the Goat's mug and all.
No time like the present. Dragging my feet wasn't my style.
Dracula: ㄱㄷ Heading over now. Goat: For real today? ㄹㅇ? I finished brushing—three times longer than usual—and rinsed my mouth.
A faint mint lingered on my lips.
Just as I was about to confirm heading over to the Goat right now, a message arrived from an unexpected sender.
Zero One [Admin]: Hello, Dracula. Have a nice afternoon. My mind blanked for a second. My head went pure white.
I'd figured I'd run into Zero One eventually, but the timing was sudden.
Why message me now? I wanted to read the intent behind that casual greeting.
Fear warned me to ignore it, but curiosity demanded I reply.
The two impulses brawled in my head.
Dracula: Hello. Curiosity won out in the end.
I quietly decided to continue the conversation with him from the bathroom.