Labyrinth Exploration 101 - Chapter 284

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Labyrinth Exploration 101 Episode 284

Can You Hear The Music(1)

Artificial Hot Spring in Iceland. Im Hae-jun watched the live broadcast with great interest.

“Wow, but Ha-woon master also knows how to bow his head like this.”

“Surprising, right?”

“Yes. But my dad often says this too. You have to know when to bow your head to succeed. You have to distinguish between pride and recklessness…”

He was focusing on watching the Seol Ha-woon and Askal parts, and as soon as the commercial break came on.

“Oh right.”

He suddenly took out whiskey from his backpack and made a cocktail.

“I sometimes drink cocktails by myself.”

He leaned against the glacier and spoke in a low, leisurely voice.

“It’s a cocktail called Northern Lights.”

It’s a very artificial action. Blatant image management.

Though it doesn’t seem like managing it will change anything, well.

“Would everyone like to try some?”

Im Hae-jun poured the cocktail into glasses. The staff each had a drink together in the hot spring.

“How is it?”

Everyone gave thumbs up.

“Hehe.”

Im Hae-jun was extremely pleased. Since they said it was delicious, he couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

“Then let me ask you a question for a moment. Hae-jun.”

“Yes.”

He lowered his tone even more.

I wondered what it was, but he was imitating Seol Ha-woon’s tone.

“What are your dreams, Hae-jun?”

Im Hae-jun suddenly set the mood. With the beautiful glacier scenery as a backdrop, he made a wistful expression.

“…Well. The world’s richest person. The world’s greatest entrepreneur. Either way, I want to try being number one once.”

Honest and grand.

Though that’s true.

“Pfft.”

“…What, why are you laughing.”

“No. It’s just so cool.”

“…Hmm~”

He quickly puffed up with pride and then looked at the staff again. He was waiting for the next question.

“Do you have any plans for what you’ll do after this Mitamnan ends?”

Still, Im Hae-jun is someone who doesn’t change. People who don’t change are cool. Despite how he looks, he’s also one of the 11 people who never dropped out of any labyrinth in Mitamnan.

“When Mitamnan ends… I’m suddenly getting sad.”

Im Hae-jun sighed and swept his hair back.

“…Well. I’m thinking about establishing a guild.”

Professor Arkal.

He, whose stock has been rising as a named Labyrinth People since last week, was walking while receiving a rare camera one-shot for a Labyrinth People when he suddenly stopped.

─Arkal: …

A beheaded eagle was placed in front of the entrance. Arkal’s expression twisted as he looked at it.

─Arkal: It was placed in front of my mansion last night.

Arkal threw the eagle onto the workshop floor. Seol Ha-woon blinked and looked back and forth between the eagle and Arkal.

─Arkal: The eagle is the symbol of the Demonian family.

Seol Ha-woon’s face twisted belatedly. Very angry and furious.

─Seol Ha-woon: What bastard did such a thing!

-Hahaha Seolhaun is being funny these days too

-Isn’t he slightly picking it up from Im Hae-jun? Those two are pretty close

-Hahahahahaha

-So funny him acting

─Arkal: The Corrupt Council. It must be those bastards. They seem displeased with my recent moves. Those damn bastards.

─Seol Ha-woon: How dare they do such a thing to Demonian. Aren’t they afraid of the consequences!

Seol Ha-woon’s voice tone is intense. It feels like something from a historical drama.

-No way lol

-For real lolololololol

-What a sly bastard lol

-For real, they don’t care about the means and methods

─Arkal: …Vermin-like bastards. But these days, people are reluctant to even mention those filthy bastards’ names. Even among the higher-ups of the board of directors, there are quite a few who take bribes from them.

-Ah~ There’s a reason Seol Ha-woon keeps Arkal around

-This guy doesn’t take bribes

-Arcal is rich so they can’t be bought with bribes lol

─Seol Ha-woon: We cannot stand by and watch, Professor.

The camera closes up on Seol Ha-woon’s eyes. Blazing- blazing- fire burns in his ice-cold eyes.

─Seol Ha-woon: This is a direct challenge to the honor of the Demonian family. We must not yield.

─Arkal: Yield?

Arkal dramatically swung his arm like in a play.

─Arkal: Demonian yields to no one!

-Hahaha oh shit hahahaha

-Hahahaha that guy is fucking hilarious too

-He just looks like nobility but he’s just Imhaejun lol

─Seol Ha-woon: You speak correctly, Professor Arkal.

Seol Ha-woon nodded seriously and manipulated Arkal.

─Seol Ha-woon: So achieve what you desire. I will help you.

Arcal looks at Seol Ha-woon. Seol Ha-woon also looks at Arcal.

Arcal’s face is shown in close-up. Very serious, sharp, and stern, but somehow his features seem to resemble Im Hae-jun.

─Seol Ha-woon: I will conduct shadow operations behind you, Professor. I will make sure those bastards can’t breathe.

Gritting his teeth, Arcal finally gives Seol Ha-woon the answer he most wanted to hear.

─Arcal: How much do you need?

-Wow lololol

-This actually worked crazy lolololol

-Mission successful lmao lololol

-lolololololololol

-So this was the goal

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Huge sacks of magic stones are delivered one after another in front of Seol Ha-woon’s duty room. Seol Ha-woon writes a check for the delivery person.

─Seol Ha-woon: This is a check with the Demonian family seal. Please verify it.

The amount is a whopping 2 million Caring. It’s a blank check entrusted by Arcal.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

After that, machine parts are delivered like Coupang packages. He makes drones, GPS, radios, communication devices, etc., and pockets the remaining money.

[Money Held: 3,352,123 Caring]

-Wow

-Woah

-Crazy lolololol

-Je Mal-ol is catching up to Seo Ji-woo lololol

-This guy is just good at this

While doing this, he efficiently proceeds with work to eliminate those bastards called the ‘Corrupt Council’ or whatever.

─Silo: Ha-woon sir. There will be an intrusion this time. Please pretend to miss that person. They will have a conversation with me.

─Seol Ha-woon: Don’t do anything dangerous. Just attach this.

Seol Ha-woon hands Silo a GPS.

─Seol Ha-woon: This will automatically track the enemy’s location.

He is surprisingly gentle with Silo. He even seems caring at a glance.

─Silo: …Yes. Thank you.

-Does he trust him?

-Half suspicion, half trust

-Seol Ha-woon is scariest when he’s being gentle

-The atmosphere is similar to when he was with Eldia?

Ha-o Gate

This time it’s Ha-o Gate.

The sect has developed quite well by now.

Clack. Clack clack clack. There’s even a beggar processing receipts while typing on a typewriter.

─Lee Jun-ho: There are no blank spaces, right?

─Receipt Beggar: No, there aren’t!

─Informant Beggar: News! There’s news!

“What’s an informant beggar now.”

Then the informant beggar runs over to deliver information.

─Informant Beggar: News about a casino jackpot!

─Lee Jun-ho: Jackpot?

Lee Jun-ho strokes his chin for a moment in thought, then chuckles.

─Lee Jun-ho: Ah~ she came.

-She lololol

-It’s definitely her lol

-Absolutely her

-I’m really jealous of Ji-woo

-Someone let Seo Ji-woo play games lol let’s see if she’s good at enhancement

─Lee Jun-ho: Let’s go! To collect tribute.

Lee Jun-ho moves to the casino and hides in the back alley to wait.

After waiting a bit, a blue-haired woman comes out.

Ji-woo’s hair isn’t just blue, it’s actually the color of magic power, so it really stands out.

-Blue hair really stands out

-That hair has a sad story behind it

-When you see her taking photos with Kate and Yoon Hwa-rim, the back of her head is fucking funny lol it’s blue yellow red lololol

By the way, Yoon Hwa-rim has reddish-tinted dyed hair. She wasn’t like that in the early episodes, so it seems like she deliberately dyed it that way on purpose.

─Lee Jun-ho: Oh? Seo Ji-woo!

Lee Jun-ho approached and called out, pretending not to know.

─Seo Ji-woo: …What. Why did you become a beggar?

Seo Ji-woo grins as if such Lee Jun-ho is pathetic. It’s the smile of a wealthy person.

─Lee Jun-ho : No, hey Ji-woo. I’m speechless, you know? I got totally screwed over. My job is beggar. Does this make any sense?

─Seo Ji-woo : …Just abandon the job and go hunting.

─7-year-old Beggar : Hyung. I brought money.

Just then, a clueless young beggar comes over and hands Lee Jun-ho a tin can. Seo Ji-woo’s eyes narrow.

─Lee Jun-ho : Ah~ This looks kind of suspicious, but it’s not abuse or anything. I somehow ended up being responsible for these kids. Ji-woo, you know Wang Cho, right?

─Seo Ji-woo : …Good luck with that.

He firmly grabs Seo Ji-woo as she tries to turn away.

Riiip. Her clothes are about to tear.

-Hahaha you messed with the wrong person

-Lee Junho can’t change his personality lol

-Hahahahahahaha

-Ah why are they so funny

-Isn’t this just extortion?

─Lee Jun-ho : Ji-woo. We met after so long, you should do some charity before you go.

At the same time, the little beggars also cling to her. It’s not just one. They appear from somewhere like bamboo shoots after rain and surround Seo Ji-woo.

─Lee Jun-ho : You seem to have made a lot of money? You’re the one who just hit the jackpot, right? I’ll use it for good causes, so donate just a little.

─Seo Ji-woo : …Sigh. Fine. I’ll give you some.

She eventually takes out 10,000 caring for charity, but.

─Lee Jun-ho : …Hmm. Ji-woo. I’m responsible for 13 kids, you know? The oldest among them is barely 12 years old.

His face doesn’t look satisfied at all.

─Seo Ji-woo : Ah, fine.

She takes out three more bills.

─Lee Jun-ho : I said 13 kids?

─Seo Ji-woo : …Here. Is this enough?

She just gives him all the bills in her wallet.

─Lee Jun-ho : 300,000 caring… Hey, this is really good. Ji-woo, here, take this.

─Seo Ji-woo : What is this?

─Lee Jun-ho : Beggar signal. It’s like a flare, when you’re in danger, spill this on the ground. I’ll come running.

-hahahaha

-What the hell is a beggar signal

-hahahahahahahaha

-Shit lol

-He’s providing service.

─Lee Jun-ho : We’re the Hao Gate here. We’re actually managing the security of this street too. You’ve never been pickpocketed once, right? We prevented it.

─Seo Ji-woo : No-

─Lee Jun-ho : Let’s go, kids! We’re eating out today.

Lee Jun-ho leaves with numerous children.

♬♩♬♩♪♬~

Suddenly youthful background music flows. Flower petals flutter around them as they walk, and the camera sequentially shows Lee Jun-ho and the children smiling brightly.

Direction that would only appear in martial arts comics. Like some kind of photo shoot.

─Seo Ji-woo : This is ridiculous….

Seo Ji-woo lets out a hollow laugh.

-Lee Jun-ho’s ranking will go up too;

-The later it gets, the more their character shows

-Seol Ha-woon’s 1st place is still uncertain.

-Yeah, the initial voting gap was so huge that there’s still not much difference

Seol Ha-woon is not in a safe 1st place.

This was because Lee Jun-ho and Kang Hyeon, who were 1st and 2nd place respectively during Seol Ha-woon’s 96th place days, still had many accumulated votes.

“…I’m getting nervous for no reason.”

Lee Si-ah has been feeling a sense of crisis lately. At times like this, Seol Ha-woon needs to pull off something big….

Just then.

Seol Ha-woon’s workshop appears on screen again.

For some reason, the atmosphere is bleak and heavy.

He stands in the middle of the workshop with his eyes closed, leaning on his walking stick.

────-

A melody composed of violins flows.

Seol Ha-woon : …I feel the flow of magic power.

Seol Ha-woon’s voice resonates low like a cave. Around him standing quietly, blue magic power rises like mist.

Like some kind of CG.

Seol Ha-woon : One particle sprouts and collides with another particle. From that collision, yet another particle is born.

A magnificent orchestra spreads as background music.

Seol Ha-woon : It is infinite collision and harmony at the same time, discord and melody simultaneously.

The sounds of string instruments intertwine and drip down.

Seol Ha-woon : The chain reaction of magic power finally becomes a single piece of music.

Thud, thud, thu-du-du-du-duk. Thu-du-du-du-du-du-duk──!

The magic powers spreading in the air bounce off each other and create sparks.

Seol Ha-woon: It is manifested through a formula.

At that moment.

The countless magic power particles floating in the air condensed into a single point, creating a massive explosion with a flash of light.

Kwaaaaaa───

From within that mushroom cloud rising to fill the screen!

───Always Right Chicken

A chicken leg appeared.

“…Are you insane?”

Lee Si-ah’s eyes narrowed.

Kate finished the simulation. It was a state-of-the-art, ultra-modern, massive-scale training facility located near her family home in California, Hailford.

“…Stage 3 complete.”

This was her variety show filming.

“From Stage 4 onwards, it’s going to be incredibly tough. It’s A-grade field situation level.”

Kate told the staff.

“Yes. We’ll keep that in mind. Are we done for today?”

“Yes. You all need to monitor the main broadcast too. Rest today, and come back at the same time tomorrow.”

“Yes~! We’ll head back to the dormitory.”

Kate provided them with 5-star hotels and first-class accommodations at her own expense. It was essentially family money, for future relationships.

Given Labyrinth Exploration’s tremendous success, maintaining good relationships with the production team was essential. The small favors shown now would return as greater benefits to the family later.

“Haah…”

After the staff left, Kate relaxed and picked up her smartphone.

[Think it over carefully]

[Showing a harmonious appearance wouldn’t be bad either]

It was a message from her father. Both her mother and father wanted to get involved in Labyrinth Exploration.

Even though they knew Kate’s ‘real purpose’ for appearing on Labyrinth Exploration, it was because of the success that far exceeded imagination.

Even the prominent social leaders of Global Village were watching Labyrinth Exploration. Beyond the matter of entertainment, there was no precedent for this level of success in broadcast program history.

[Please separate business from personal matters. There’s no reason for father to appear.]

Kate replied only with that.

In truth, her reason for appearing on Labyrinth Exploration was singular: to uncover the ‘secrets hidden in Labyrinth Exploration.’

To find out the source of how this program operates so magically.

“Master?”

Suddenly, the butler approached her. Kate quietly nodded.

“The documents.”

It was the background investigation Kate had commissioned.

Since there was almost no information left about Percival, they changed direction and tracked Seol Ha-woon. Specifically, they dug into his ‘final mission before discharge.’

Records about that desert where his body was damaged and he permanently lost function in his left leg.

“Underground of the desert. Why did he go there?”

“Based on various records, witness accounts from the area, and testimonies from related personnel, there was a soldier who went to the desert before Seol Ha-woon…”

Kate listened silently.

“…It seems Seol Ha-woon was following that soldier’s route.”

“Who was that soldier?”

“Seo Ji-hyuk. A soldier who already died in action.”

It was a familiar name. Kate said quietly.

“…Seo Ji-woo’s blood relative.”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

She fell into thought for a moment.

Strange.

So subtly, we are all intertwined with each other.

Seol Ha-woon has secrets. So does Labyrinth Exploration NaN. Seo Ji-hyuk, Seo Ji-woo, Seol Ha-woon, Percival, and even myself.

Kate suddenly felt like this whole thing was one giant puzzle.

“Hmm…”

Sipping her black tea, she turned on the main broadcast of Labyrinth Exploration.

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