Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Rule Release
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Click.
The faint sound of a scabbard dropping made the faces of the gathered crowd harden.
"Crazy bitch."
Seeing that, they all drew their knives without hesitation.
"These punks are scared shitless."
I split open some fruit pulp I'd brought to feed Baekseol and placed it above her. Soon, a crunching sound followed.
"Yummy!"
"Eat up."
As I chatted with the little rabbit right in front of them, their expressions turned to utter disbelief.
"Let's not waste energy. Just go."
I'd thought it was just a trickling stream, but it was bigger than expected.
"Baekseol, wanna play in the water?"
"Yeah!"
"Heh..."
Ignoring them, I headed to the water's edge with Baekseol, and a hollow laugh echoed behind us.
"Can you swim?"
"Yep!"
I gently set Baekseol in the water, and she started paddling with her tiny legs.
💬 Comments — Anonymous LOL so cute — Anonymous Rabbit's swimming "Baekseol's a great swimmer, huh?"
"Whee!"
Baekseol splashed her legs happily, circling around me.
Is this a house rabbit or what? She swims like a pro.
Splash!
"...?"
— Anonymous Whoa — Anonymous We're screwed I looked up to see the guy who'd talked to me earlier standing next to someone tossing a pebble and smirking.
Classic light-skinned Black guy.
"Baekseol, let's play over there behind them."
"Okay!"
I gave her butt a light nudge to point the way, and she paddled off.
After sending Baekseol away, I glanced at the pebble-thrower—he was pulling a slanted-eye gesture.
Whoosh!
I kicked off the shallow water, closing in on him in an instant.
"Fucking racist."
Palm heel strike.
—Crunch.
Crash!
I shoved his jaw up with my palm, and he flew back without a sound.
"You psycho!"
The guys lounging around the rocks jumped up as one when they saw it.
Can't cause a big scene. Too many eyes watching from the bushes.
Light nut tap.
Thud.
"Gurk."
He clutched his groin, trembling.
Light eye poke.
Poke!
"Aaaagh!!"
He covered his eyes, staggering back.
Light slap.
Smack!
"—..."
Corn kernels scattered into the air.
— Anonymous Damn, squad leader's brutal — Anonymous One-shotted lol — Anonymous That even possible? Lmao can't stop laughing — Anonymous She fights so dirty lol "Whew. Don't make me spill blood. Just leave."
The lone guy glanced around, face paling as he drew his knife.
"You think that'll help? Just go."
He was treating his knife like a last resort.
His eyes were wild, unhinged.
"Master."
Looking down, Baekseol had swum back.
"Baekseol, go play over there."
"Play!"
"Yeah. I'll finish this and we can play together?"
"Okay!"
Baekseol kicked off again toward where I'd pointed.
"These scrawny bastards who can't even eat properly, why make a fuss over one person like me."
Me, them—we're all ghosts haunted by money.
They can't give up on the huge payout they'd never dream of otherwise.
"Aaaagh!!"
After taking hits, his eyes rolled back as he charged with the knife.
Power surged to my left eye instinctively, and the world slowed.
He really meant to kill—thrusting the knife at my throat.
—Clack!
I struck his wrist with my hand blade; his face twisted in pain as he dropped it.
Uppercut to the jaw.
—Crack!
Crash!
"Whew."
I gestured to the air, and the drone buzzed toward me.
"Gotta clear these guys out."
The drone bobbed up and down like a nod before shooting back into the sky.
"Play!"
Baekseol was back already.
"Alright, let's play."
I pushed the water to make waves, and she bobbed up buoyantly.
"Boing!"
"Fun!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Nella."
"Back?"
After washing up with Baekseol and returning to camp, Nella was stacking huge leaves in layers.
She was drenched in sweat.
"Making a bed."
"Saw vines by the water, so I grabbed some."
I handed her the stems, and she stared blankly.
"What?"
"Killer figure."
"Pervert."
"Hahaha."
She laughed heartily.
"Nice. We can make something good now."
She finally took the stems, grinning ear to ear.
Her leaf bed looked rickety, like even a beggar wouldn't touch it.
But with all those layers, it'd probably be cozy enough to lie on.
"Took Baekseol for a walk—no natural caves or anything. Would've been perfect."
"The other players are toast."
"Yeah."
As we dressed and talked, Nella tinkered away at something.
"Ta-da. Hammock."
"Ooh, looks good. But isn't it a bucket hammock? Needs to be higher."
"Huh?"
She started adjusting the hammock.
Whatever she did before, she's got skills.
"What'd you do out there, Nella?"
"Soldier."
"Makes sense. Russia's a military powerhouse. Good job—why come here?"
She gave a bitter chuckle at my words.
"Ga-eul, ever been to Russia?"
"No."
"Roads are full of potholes. Vast land, but mostly unlivable tundra. Even the decent spots suck."
"Russia that bad?"
— Anonymous Yeah brutal — Anonymous Squad leader's never been but speaks Russian fluently? Wild — Anonymous First thing you see in Russia: pothole-riddled asphalt lol "Can't even fix roads, how rich can it be? My salary was 80,000 rubles—decent by their standards."
"Calculate that, guys."
— Anonymous About 1.2 mil KRW — Anonymous Lol calculator on point Poverty everywhere, and the flip side is the filthy rich.
Her tone suggested she earned above average, so national income must be low.
"Racists crawling everywhere. White supremacists and Nazis give civilians headaches; murders pop off constantly."
"Heard security's been bad since the Soviet collapse."
"Exactly."
Her face filled with bitterness and helplessness.
"See this?"
She suddenly lifted her top.
Her torso was scarred head to toe.
"Running through conflict zones, barely survived intact because..."
"Yeah."
She paused tinkering with the hammock and stood, staring at me.
"When danger's near, my heart races."
"What're you on about?"
"Ga-eul. Seeing you, my heart goes wild. Feels like it'll burst out. You're dangerous."
— Anonymous Lmaoooo — Anonymous She's a beast too? Our squad leader's one helluva beast Didn't seem dangerous, so why's she saying this now?
All I did was swing a knife at coconut raiders once.
"I'll help you win, Ga-eul. Share the prize with me?"
"Just win it all yourself."
"I... can't. Realized it hard here."
"Hmm."
Groups were already forming.
They quickly realized solo survival in this extreme environment is near impossible.
Especially on this deserted island with bizarre food scarcity. From experience, traps for land critters or fishing to fill your belly—like in shows—is impossible.
Even standing still chokes you; constant movement for survival is absurd.
Sea too risky, coconuts too damn high.
Survivors so far probably found water sources, drank to hold out, or ate bugs.
"How much?"
Her eyes sparkled at the question.
After agonizing, she spread both hands.
"A hundred grand?"
"Gasp! No, ten grand's plenty."
Ten grand seemed a hard-won figure.
Matches her annual salary.
Suffer on the island a bit, pocket a year's pay—not bad.
—Hiss, hiss.
"Whew—I'll give you a hundred grand."
Her eyes went wide. Unexpected, huh?
That's about 130 million KRW.
"You're betting blind on me. Gotta show some good faith."
"Haha! Thanks, friend."
"Not regretting? Most players suck compared to you. You could go far."
She shook her head.
"This is how I survive. My heart's racing."
"What?"
"Haha. Life's worth more. Can't win solo anyway. I'm betting on you, Ga-eul."
Issue resolved, mood lifted—she lit the cigarette I'd shared.
"Whew—nice."
Beep!
"Hm?"
Just as I thought her dilemma sorted, her wrist device beeped.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Rule 8 Restriction Lifted "Number eight? What's that?"
I picked up the nearby rulebook and skimmed it—things clicked.
───
8. Looting other participants' items.
───
In this situation, humans are scariest.
Organizers want players to grasp and use it.
That was the intent.
—Pew!
A sharp whistle pierced the air on cue.
Flare after flare burst, blanketing the darkening deserted island sky completely.
"Nella, grab seashells or coral washed ashore and grind 'em up."
"On it."
She got up without question, committed now.
— Anonymous Why tho? — Anonymous What's the message? Tell us — Anonymous Why flare all sudden? "Looting rules lifted. Flares? Don't wanna die. Grinding? Mix with coconut oil. Coral calcium plus coconut fat makes adhesive."
Next to me, Nella had piled the trash she'd brought earlier.
"Net here's tangled with fishing line."
— Anonymous Yeah — Anonymous What for? I slowly untangled the line—it kept getting longer.
Clink!
The glass bottle I'd questioned her about earlier came in handy.
"Ga-eul!"
"Got it?"
"Yep."
"Roast it lightly over fire and grind."
"Gotcha."
"After that, set the line at ankle height."
She stepped back slightly, piecing it together.
Beep!
Another device message.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 9:00 A.M. Mini-Game Commences Real deserted island survival's about to kick off.