Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 452

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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452. Home Setup Project (3)
Darkness enveloped the interior.
Within the Laser Survival Ground, where barriers and structures were strategically positioned throughout, a suffocating tension and the weight of impending conflict hung heavy in the air.
“…!”
Someone burst forth from what had seemed like an empty void, helmet clutched desperately in hand. The ballistic vest he wore gleamed with a vibrant green neon patch that identified his team affiliation.
“Where are you going?”
“――!!”
Click.
Another’s gun barrel cut off the path of the one trying to dash behind cover.
Without a moment to savor his same-aged friend’s expression of despair, Yoo Gun, bearing a red neon patch on his shoulder, leveled his laser rifle at Seo Tae-hyun’s left chest.
“Hand over your items. If you’ve got anything useful, I’ll send some your way.”
“Our team doesn’t have anything to spare. Seriously, we used it all earlier.”
“Then it’s points you owe, simple as that.”
Bang!
Yoo Gun pulled the trigger with a bored expression.
Yet somehow, it was his own sensor that wailed—not Tae-hyun’s.
“What?”
An alarm sounded indicating a headshot. As a startled Yoo Gun turned his head, Tae-hyun—who had been waiting for this moment—bolted away in the opposite direction like an arrow.
Only then did Yoo Gun realize that Tae-hyun had been bait from the start. He quickly dropped low and concealed himself behind cover, not forgetting to alert his teammates through the radio clipped to his ear with a crackling sound.
“Sniper confirmed in A sector near the blue container, green team sniper near the blue container in A sector. Seo Tae-hyun was the bait.”
-Confirmed.
Moments later, another alarm sounded from somewhere nearby indicating another hit. Gunfire and the beeping of scoring sensors erupted in rapid succession as the engagement intensified.
One could determine which teams were clashing by checking the large monitor in the center, but Yoo Gun, who fundamentally prioritized safety, chose to remain quietly concealed until the commotion subsided.
“…Is it over?”
As the situation seemed to calm somewhat, Yoo Gun, tense and alert, adjusted his grip on the rifle, his eyes darting about. He figured he should stay hidden a bit longer until his teammates confirmed the all-clear over the radio.
“…?”
Then, in Yoo Gun’s line of sight, the back of someone’s head caught his attention as they hid between structures on the opposite side.
Watching silently, he noticed the hidden figure cautiously peeking out from between the structures, apparently thinking no one was around.
It was Ju Eun-chan, who hadn’t shown a single strand of hair throughout the entire race—no one knew where he’d been hiding.
“Man, has that little guy been hiding there all day?”
In truth, Ju Eun-chan, who was currently in a growth spurt and would soon surpass 180 centimeters, was hardly “little” anymore, but what did that matter.
Huff, huff.
Yoo Gun pressed the PTT button on his radio and lightly checked reception with a breath before transmitting to his teammates.
“Ju Eun-chan is hiding between the wall structures on the opposite side of the blue container in A sector. Can I take him out? Confirm Do-ha hyung’s location.”
An answer in a familiar voice came back immediately.
-I’m near you right now. Come on out, let’s get him. Lee Do-ha is farming items in B sector right now.
“Understood.”
Having received confirmation, Yoo Gun lowered his stance again. The cover he’d ducked into happened to be a low tunnel-like structure, so getting out required him to assume a crawling position again. His awkwardly angled posture felt oddly irritating.
‘That “past life” thing that Dan Ha-ru and Kang Ha-jin hyung were talking about—I barely remember it now…. Is this rejection just instinct?’
Judging by how his body reacted the moment that crazy hyung played the military bugle call in Jeju Island, it very well might be….
As Yu Gun contemplated this, he had half-emerged from the tunnel when he suddenly froze—a nagging sensation that he’d overlooked something critical.
‘Wait, Kang Ha-jin?’
Yu Gun recalled the voice he’d heard through the radio moments ago. That measured, low-toned voice he’d unconsciously assumed belonged to his own team—it unmistakably belonged to Kang Ha-jin.
Ordinarily, Ha-jin should have been on my side, but now….
Crackle!
A burst of static, then Dan Ha-ru’s urgent voice crackled through the receiver in his ear.
-Yu Gun! Don’t come out! Si-woo and I just got hit—we’re frozen for 30 seconds! That wasn’t our transmission…!
Click.
In that same instant, Yu Gun realized someone had a gun trained on his head. He spun around reflexively, but his low crouch made him sluggish, and in his desperate pivot, he lost his grip on his own weapon entirely.
He’d walked straight into a trap. Surrendering, Yu Gun raised both hands beside his ears. Someone leaned down into his inverted field of vision—his former roommate candidate, who’d deceived him flawlessly. Lying on his back, Yu Gun raised an eyebrow at the figure above him.
“Yu Gun, hey.”
“Wow, you got me good. Is this even allowed?”
“Tell Si-woo to keep better control of his radio. Unlike how he looks, he’s a bit sloppy.”
“…Either way, I’m frozen for 30 seconds now, right? I’ll rest up and go after Seo Tae-hyun next.”
“While you’re at it, I’m going to grab Ju Eun-chan over there and reclaim first place.”
In the darkness, where only neon lights flickered intermittently.
Kang Ha-jin, who once wore a red armband but now bore a green light on his shoulder, grinned wickedly at Yu Gun and pulled the trigger. With an oddly wistful expression, Ha-jin shook his head in exaggerated, theatrical melancholy.
“Adios, my potential roommate.”
“Ugh, you troublemaker.”
BEEP! WARNING!
With his second headshot, Yu Gun’s HP gauge bottomed out completely.
Once the gauge depleted, he couldn’t move until a teammate arrived to share theirs or 30 seconds passed for automatic recovery. Yu Gun exhaled sharply and went limp.
Meanwhile, Ha-jin whistled cheerfully as he checked his score, then scanned nearby structures for a sniper vantage point to hunt Eun-chan as promised.
There was no way he could let that slide.
Mischief glinting in his eyes, Yu Gun tensed his abdomen to tease his former teammate—the man who’d almost become his roommate.
“Ju Eun-chan! Kang Ha-jin’s here!! Run―!!”
“Hey! Hey! Can you keep it down? You got hit—that’s cheating!”
“Lee Do-ha! Lee Do-ha, he’s here, Kang Ha-jin, ugh!”
“Damn it, Ju Eun-chan’s getting away! We’ll settle this later!”
Hearing Yu Gun’s shout, Eun-chan bolted with thunderous footsteps. Ha-jin didn’t miss a beat—vaulting over walls, scaling obstacles with fluid precision—he moved with such speed and accuracy that you’d believe he’d cycled through the military three times over. He pursued Eun-chan relentlessly.
Watching Ha-jin practically fly across the arena despite claiming he was terrified of this sort of thing, Yu Gun muttered ruefully.
“Should’ve never let him switch teams so carelessly. Tried to mess with Seo Tae-hyun and look what happened…. Tsk, my bad.”
So the origin of this entire brutal skirmish traced back
to 30 minutes before they’d arrived at the Laser Survival Ground.
* * *
30 minutes earlier.
Kairos and the Production Team had relocated from the studio where they’d filmed the opening to this Survival Ground facility.
They could have simply set up an air bounce in the spacious studio and called it a survival game—it would’ve been sufficient. But the reason they’d gone to the trouble of traveling here was straightforward.
“The venue was provided as a sponsorship!”
Free use? A little travel was hardly an inconvenience!
At first, the group members had simply looked around with the thought of ‘this is an interesting place,’ but the moment they heard the word “venue provided,” their eyes sparkled with stars. There was no one ungrateful when someone was saving on production costs.
“Wow, there’s a large-scale laser survival ground like this within the Seoul Metropolitan Area? That’s really impressive!”
“They said laser shooting is available, of course, but also paintball shooting. There are various leisure modes prepared, including team matches, individual matches, and arcade mode.”
“And the price isn’t that expensive either? It seems perfect for friends like us to come together as a group and have fun!”
“There’s even a kids mode with safety education. They said younger friends can enjoy the game easily by replacing shooting with touch missions instead, so it wouldn’t be bad to come with family either.”
“Most of all, there’s a restaurant and cafe in one space, so it’s very suitable for spending the whole day….”
“Stop, stop! This isn’t product placement! Stop! You don’t need to! We didn’t ask for this!”
Kwon PD flailed his hands in alarm at the Kairos members rattling off promotional lines without being asked. He explained that the sponsorship was simply at the level of displaying the brand logo when uploading the raw footage, nothing more.
Only after hearing Kwon PD’s words did the members stop their over-the-top praise. Watching them, Go Writer quietly whispered to Kwon PD.
“PD Kwon, still, wouldn’t it be fine to include a line or two of those comments? Should I tell the members to cut it out during the preview editing?”
Then Kwon PD answered in ventriloquism so quiet the members couldn’t hear.
“It looks more authentic when someone stops them from the side, you know? It looks better this way than having them recite it like we told them to.”
“Ah, I see.”
So from the beginning, he had anticipated the members would rattle off praise like this and casually mentioned the venue sponsorship.
Even though Go Writer had worked with him for several years now, she found herself impressed anew at how meticulous he was, clicking her tongue in admiration. Meanwhile, Kwon PD himself gathered the members, who were still looking around with curious eyes.
“Alright, let me explain the rules one more time. I gave a rough explanation earlier, but this time I’ll go into detail, so please listen carefully.”
“Yes. Everyone, focus.”
At Ha-jin’s gesture, the members scattered here and there quickly gathered toward the center. I’d felt it since the Miro Maze days, but every time I saw them, their presence was remarkable.
‘So that’s how he’s managing to pull together these incredibly unique individuals as one team….’
He understands the broadcasting industry well, handles social situations smoothly, picks up on subtle cues quickly.
Kwon PD, who had been subtly observing Ha-jin—someone who seemed like he would have excelled at anything—cleared his throat once and explained the rules to the members.
“As I mentioned, the time limit is 20 minutes. During those 20 minutes, you’ll shoot the opposing team’s sensors with laser guns to earn points, and the team with the most points when the time limit ends takes first place.”
This much was no different from what he’d explained in the studio earlier.
So what he was about to say must be the real detailed rules they hadn’t heard before.
“There are four main sensor locations. Head, chest, abdomen, and back. Hits on the arms or legs don’t count, so please be careful.”
“Is there a point difference depending on the location?”
“Chest, abdomen, and back are all worth 20 points each. However, if you hit the head or the left heart sensor precisely, you get a bonus 10 points for a total of 30 points.”
Bonuses for headshots and one-shot kills were standard practice.
When the members nodded in understanding, Kwon PD held up a sensor-type bracelet handed to him by a staff member.
“This bracelet displays your HP gauge. In other words, your lives. This gauge decreases every time you get shot.”
“Is there an elimination mechanic?”
“No, there’s no elimination. Your gauge can be restored by sharing it with a teammate, or it automatically refills after 30 seconds.”
“That means….”
“As long as the time limit hasn’t ended, you’ll be eternally shooting teammates or being chased by them, right?”
Then all eyes turned toward a single person.
“…What, what? Why?”
It was Tae-hyun, who had been saying since earlier that he just wanted to be eliminated early and rest.
With his slow running speed and mediocre athletic ability, he had just become the easiest prey for enemies and the biggest weakness for his own team.
“And one more thing. Hidden within this vast map are item capsules that our production team has placed.”
“…Items?”
“You can use items immediately upon discovery, or store them for later use. There are many varieties—HP recovery, bonus points, additional time, and so on. And….”
Kwon PD trailed off for a moment, then clasped his hands together and spoke with evident delight.
“There are also items that forcibly eject or recruit team members?”
Yes.
This was the genesis of everything.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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