Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 236

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

Labyrinth Exploration 101 Episode 236

Dangerously(2)

The mid-show commercials end, and the screen fades to a night filled with drifting fallout.

Highway Gang

The Florida Highway Gang headquarters is shown. Many gang members in bizarre armor patrol the area.

─Zaken : We can really get to the moon, right?

In the deepest HQ building, boss Zaken and sub-boss Aken sit facing each other.

─Aken : It’s possible, man. The car’s ready, so we just need to drive to that Space Center.

─Zaken : What about those Chemical bastards? I heard they got wiped out this afternoon.

─Aken : Those guys were always gonna die anyway.

Crackle! Suddenly the radio buzzes.

─Sub-boss. Jace is dead.

Zaken and Aken exchange glances, and Zaken picks up the radio.

─Zaken : Dead?

─Yes. Looks like he just died. There were no gunshots though…

Zaken sighs deeply and stands up. He’s huge. Probably over 2 meters tall.

-Look at that build ㄷㄷ

-What kind of warrior-level physique is that

─Zaken : I’ll go handle it.

─Aken : Alright.

The giant sub-boss slings his gun over his shoulder and heads outside.

Rustle!

From then on, it’s Kate’s sequence as she begins full infiltration of the Highway Gang headquarters.

Slice!

She kills the patrol guards silently. Sometimes slitting throats in close combat, sometimes throwing mana daggers to pierce lungs.

Whirl! Whirl!

Kate’s weapons spin through the air. The gang members die without even screaming. Kate nimbly weaves between them.

Rustle! Rustle!

The camera moves with a rhythmic beat, and the music has a hip rhythm, making the scene incredibly stylish.

-So fucking cool

-Insane

-Wow hahahaha

-Fuck this is gonna hit 100 million views

-Crazy

-The slaves are dancing lololol

-Now it’s getting interesting, fuck

-Screw the Lunar Labyrinth~

Kate, who stylishly traversed the highway, discovers a car in the parking garage.

Opening the hood, she finds it packed with parts. She opens the oil container and sniffs it. She nods as if there’s no problem.

-Definitely a real upper-class elite

-Everything she does is just elegant..

-Shouting again today. Kate will be first place anyway!!!

-Nope, go back

Kate carefully gets in the car and grabs the steering wheel, but something feels off.

─Kate : Ah. I need the keys.

-Hahahaha

-Because I’ve never been without a driver hahahaha

-Upper class moment lololol

-Hahaha I don’t go anywhere without a driver

-So cute lol

Kate looks toward the Highway Gang headquarters. A place built like a building from patched fragments of highway.

Getting out of the car, she heads there to find the keys.

─Gang member : …Hey. Do you believe in that doomsday stuff?

─Gang member : Would I believe that? That’s just to make the survivors kill themselves.

There are many patrolling gang members in the area. Kate first hides between the structures.

-Why hide? Just kill them

-She’s probably low on magic power

-The know-it-all said magic power doesn’t recharge

-Listen to what the know-it-all says;;

-The others are fine but you should listen to the know-it-all. They give core labyrinth info a lot

─Gang member : Right? That’s bullshit, right?

─Gang member : Of course. Shit. It’s just a scheme to reduce mouths to feed when we’re already short on food.

Thud thud.

They pass by Kate without properly searching.

Rustle rustle.

Kate successfully approaches right near the Highway Gang HQ.

─Gang member 1 : Where is it? Is there really an intruder?

Just then, voices are heard nearby.

─Gang member 2 : There is. If you find them, fucking kill them immediately. Five guys are already down.

Kate quickly hides behind abandoned cars.

-Kate’s getting a lot of screen time too

-According to insider rumors, the protagonists are Kate, Kang Hyeon, and Seol Ha-woon?

-The know-it-all always talks about protagonists

-So were you good at it then lol

-To get first place, you have to always be the protagonist

Inhale.

Kate holds her breath. A gang member passes right by her.

Wow, this is tense.

─Gang member 1 : They probably already left. And isn’t it good that five guys died? We get to eat meat today…

-Meat?

-Huh lol

-The realism is insane

-There’s no apocalypse without cannibalism

Just as the two gang members pass and Kate is about to move again.

Thud─ Thud─

Sounds approaching from the side.

Footsteps crushing glass shards scattered on the road surface.

─Kate : ….

Slowly approaching.

Kate takes a silent deep breath and materializes a mana dagger in her grip.

Stop.

The moment the opponent’s footsteps halt.

Found you──-!!!!

A shout echoes loudly.

The enemy spotted Kate first!

“What!”

Lee Si-ah was startled too.

─Kate : Shit-

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Bullets pour in from all directions. Kate also returns fire with mana daggers while running.

Whiiiiiing-!

The siren wails, and the searchlight’s pure white beam pours down on Kate.

She quickly slides. She slips between the guardrail of collapsed road and hides.

-Holy shit

-Crazy

-Can’t breathe

-This stealth action is insane

-It’s not stealth action, it’s stealth failure

-Shut your mouth

Thump, thump.

The heartbeat sound echoes like sound effects, and as Kate grits her teeth and devises a strategy.

Click!

The chilling sound of a steel trigger being activated.

─Kate: ….

Kate’s gaze slowly turns in that direction.

The shotgun’s muzzle. That vicious barrel is aimed at her.

Soon, the camera rises to show her opponent.

─Zaken: Stop. Move even a little and your head explodes.

Dock boss Zaken. A 2-meter tall giant, bald black man.

In short, scary as hell.

-Thanks for your hard work hahaha

-Hahahahaha

-Kate straight to ending

-hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

-Wow retiring like this?

-Hahahahaha

-Hahahaha

-Wow you guys are really one-dimensional lol Do you think Kate would be turned on by this?

-Don’t talk shit

-Yeah she’ll win if she fights~

-Fucking bastards

-These fucking idiots shut up

-Fucking annoying

-Fuck no

-Hahahahaha

The proportion of mockery and profanity in KakaoTalk increased dramatically.

The slaves have accumulated so much karma after all.

Seol Ha-woon

“Oh? It’s Ha-woon.”

Next up is Seol Ha-woon. I’m happy about it, but the slaves are probably going crazy.

[The Howdy Grill]

Crackle- crackle- a broken sign with sparking electric current comes into view,

Trickle trickle trickle.

The old man’s wrinkled hands pour coffee into a teacup.

Seol Ha-woon is sitting on a restaurant chair.

─Old Man: You’d better not go out at night if possible. There are wicked creatures out there.

It seems the standoff between the old man and Seol Ha-woon ended peacefully.

-Ah what the hell it’s Seol Ha-woon, show us Kate

-What happened to Kate

-Hahahaha wow I was right, ended up winning this time too

-Seol Ha-woon didn’t seem to want to fight from the start. He’s amazing at reading people.

-That elder looks kind.

-Ah show us Kate

As expected, the slaves, no, the butlers are very distressed.

─Seol Ha-woon: That object.

Seol Ha-woon points to the landmine still being crafted, placed on the restaurant table.

─Seol Ha-woon: You made an M14 anti-personnel landmine from tableware. You even simplified the firing mechanism to reduce malfunction rates. You must have been in the military for quite a while.

The old man smiles at Seol Ha-woon’s expert words.

─Old Man: I was there for 30 years. Though the last 3 years weren’t really military.

The atmosphere between them is peaceful.

I guess you could call it a bonding moment between veterans.

People with quite specialized professions can apparently become friends quite easily just from the fact that they had the same job.

-He’s lucky too. Meeting another ally right away.

-What do you mean lucky, idiot, he went through landmines

-Please, I was wrong, PDs, please show us Kate, please ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Yeah Seol Ha-woon is better~

-These fucking mantises…

─Seol Ha-woon: Do you know about Doomsday?

When Seol Ha-woon asks while sipping coffee, the old man wears a bitter smile.

─Old Man: Of course I know. It’s the end of our world. You came from a bunker, didn’t you?

─Seol Ha-woon: …How did you know?

Just as Seol Ha-woon tilts his head in puzzlement.

Grrrrowl!

From the darkness beyond the dining hall flows the cry of something that might be beast or monster.

─Old Man: Follow me.

The old man goes up to the restaurant’s rooftop.

Tap. Tap. Seol Ha-woon also follows, leaning on his walking stick.

It’s a bit heartbreaking that he walks slower than the elder.

On the rooftop, two chairs are placed.

─Old Man: There. Do you see the one with green eyes?

Where the old man points, there’s a creature with green eyes. A vicious zombie that breathes out green vapor with each breath.

─Old Man: Human mutants pickled in radiation, ghouls. They’re active at night and sleep during the day. If you get bitten even once, it’s a lethal dose of radiation, so be careful.

Seol Ha-woon nods while looking at the ones scattered around this area.

─Old Man: But ghouls are still manageable. The ones that are more fucking annoying to deal with are-

─Seol Ha-woon: Humans.

─Old Man: …Right. Ghouls are actually my shield.

Suddenly moonlight flows down onto the rooftop.

The old man sits in a chair. Seol Ha-woon also sits in the chair across from him.

─Old Man: That was where my wife used to sit.

The old man wears a bitter smile, and Seol Ha-woon faces him and asks.

─Seol Ha-woon: Are you planning to accept Doomsday?

─Old Man: …I’ve lived long enough. Though a young person like you should live.

-Fuck show us Kate

-Ah just shut up

-These guys are fucking whining so much

-If you die you die, if you live you live, shit

─Seol Ha-woon: Then by any chance. Do you also know about Noah’s Ark Project?

─Old Man: ….

The old man looks at Seol Ha-woon silently. His expression is somehow meaningful.

─Old Man: It’s a human cloning project. I don’t know the details.

And then he suddenly looks up at the stars in the night sky.

─Old Man: Leave before dawn breaks. That would be better for you too. Ghouls have poor eyesight, so you can avoid them if you’re careful.

─Seol Ha-woon: Is it because of those guys lurking nearby, spying on this place?

The old man’s eyes widened at those words.

─Old Man: How did you know?

─Seol Ha-woon: When I mix Ki Sensing with magic power, I become extremely sensitive. I can even feel the heat from human bodies carried on the wind.

-Wow, so cool

-Look at how he talks lol

-Just fucking tell that bastard to become a mage

-As expected of Seol Ha-woon. As expected of Jemal-ol.

─Old Man: …Yes. You’re right. There are many who covet this place. Foolish ones who think Doomsday is a lie.

Then Seol Ha-woon looks at the old man again. He studies the old man’s profile and hits the nail on the head.

─Seol Ha-woon: You’re hiding something.

─Old Man: …What?

─Seol Ha-woon: That’s why the enemies only watch without attacking. They’re afraid of damaging ‘that thing’ you’ve hidden.

The old man looks at Seol Ha-woon.

─Seol Ha-woon: I’ll protect this space from them. I’ll destroy them for you.

Seol Ha-woon’s face gleams brightly in the moonlight.

-Seol Ha-woon is so perceptive

-This scene is good too…

-Is he a human lie detector?

-But those expert mages who used to hate on Seol Ha-woon disappeared lately lol

-lol When a mage gives a shoutout, who are they to hate on him

─Seol Ha-woon: So if I succeed, give that thing to me.

And… scene change.

Kate

It’s Kate.

─Zaken: Stop. Move even a little and your head explodes.

SilTalk’s butlers start going wild again.

─Zaken: Gas mask. Slowly.

-Fucking bald bastard giving orders

-Asking to get beaten

-Ah, I want to kill him

When Kate removes her gas mask, Zaken lets out a hollow laugh.

─Zaken: …What’s a kid doing here? Hey! I caught one! Everyone come!

Zaken shouts to his comrades while aiming his shotgun at Kate.

-This is over

-Infiltrated so coolly only to get one-shotted

-Is Kate getting eliminated the fastest?

-lol That would be legendary

-Stop talking bullshit you XXX bastards XXXX like XXXXX

-XXX is XXXX that XXXX

-XXXXXXXX

Why is everything censored for profanity.

─Zaken: Little thing came alone. Your skills are decent, but what were you trying to steal?

─Kate: ….

─Zaken: Or is this an initiation? Did you want to join Highway? Say something.

“…What’s this.”

But this is strange. Indeed, the conversation is going on too long.

Shouldn’t the ‘guys’ that Zaken called be coming?

Zaken also seems frustrated and shouts loudly.

─Zaken: What are you doing, you fucking bastards! I said come here!

Rustle.

As if responding to his words, someone steps forward.

─???: I’m here.

The voice echoes deeply. It’s a voice I’ve heard somewhere before.

Very familiar, but somehow with a slightly different tone.

─Zaken: What the…!

Zaken’s face contorts instantly. He tries to roll his body immediately as if sensing death, but.

Bang!

A precise shot shatters his head. Brain matter, blood, and skull fragments scatter across the road surface.

─Kate: ….

Kate, who narrowly escaped death, turns to look there. Her eyes widen greatly.

Whoooooosh

The wind blows.

Rustle. The camera shows military boots stepping on glass shards on the road surface.

─???: Where.

This voice, as Lee Si-ah, is one she’s heard tens of thousands of times.

But this is an impossible situation.

He was definitely with some old man in the previous scene.

Unless he has two bodies…

Wait.

Two bodies?

A clone?!

─???: Is actual combat a bit different from simulation?

The camera angle slowly rises.

Military boots, two healthy legs without a walking stick, long flowing hair.

The one in military uniform from last week’s preview…

─Seol Ha-woon: Is actual combat a bit different from simulation?

-?

-??

-What??

-What the fuck??

-?

-Huh?

-?What??

-Huh??

-A clone??

-Seol Ha-woon was cloned??

-??

-What the fuck?

-Fuck

-??????????

-??????????????????????????

-???

-No, what is this?

-??

-What is this?

Question marks flood the screen massively.

[To be continued next week]

“…Huh?”

Lee Si-ah blinked her eyes.

Suddenly she couldn’t accept reality. All kinds of curses swirled around in her mouth.

“What the hell!”

She shouted angrily and shot up to her feet.

“What is this!”

[Next Episode Preview]

Oh, it’s the preview. Lee Si-ah quickly sat back down.

Whoooosh…

The aftermath of nuclear winter, scenes of fallout sweeping across all countries flash by in sequence.

Kang Hyeon: If I go there, will I be able to reach the moon?

Kang Hyeon asks someone. That someone answers like this.

If the you that you believe in is real, then it’s possible.

Now the screen shows Seoul. Im Hae-jun, who seems to have just emerged from the subway, walks while looking around cautiously like a squirrel.

Im Hae-jun: …What’s that. Isn’t that Yeon-hwa hyung?

The side profile of Ryu Yeon-hwa standing on the roadside. Im Hae-jun stealthily approaches him.

Im Hae-jun: Yeon-hwa hyung. Over here. Here.

As he whispers, Ryu Yeon-hwa turns around.

…It’s grotesque.

His right eye is attached way down low.

His left eye is normal, but only his right eye is right next to his nostril.

Im Hae-jun: …Yeon-hwa hyung. Did you take the wrong magnesium?

The next moment, Ryu Yeon-hwa’s face melts down like lava.

Im Hae-jun: Aaaahhh!

Im Hae-jun, run. Almost sobbing, he goes back down into the subway.

Rumble!

Next scene. Somewhere in the sea where lightning strikes and waves surge.

Seol Ha-woon is looking at a desktop in some facility.

Seol Ha-woon: The Noah’s Ark Project had a critical flaw…

He seems to be reading important documents recorded there.

Seol Ha-woon: …The probability of producing a finished product strictly identical to the DNA holder was remarkably low. Therefore, they established criteria to distinguish between ‘replicas’ and ‘the real thing.’

Whoooosh- The sound of rushing water crashes in.

Seol Ha-woon: Only a very small number of replicas that met those criteria were judged as successful works, and specimens that exceeded the standards and perfectly reproduced 99.999% or more of the original…

Seol Ha-woon’s voice sinks like narration.

Seol Ha-woon: Were called ‘Masterpieces.’

Preview, end.

“…”

Lee Si-ah was dazed for a moment. She blinked like someone who had lost their soul, then raised both hands and placed them on her cheeks.

“…This week’s going to be chaos too.”

Just in terms of plot hooks, it’s way more than last week.

YouTube, internet broadcasts, terrestrial and cable variety shows will all be plastered with it.

Definitely.

Lee Si-ah turned off her smartphone’s silent mode.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

These SNS notifications already ringing like crazy are proof of that.

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