Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 113

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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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Player of the Ruined World – Episode 113
Jo Yunhwan nodded vigorously and pointed at the photograph.
“See here? There’s text at the top of the building. It says ‘Research Institute.'”
“Yes.”
“And in front of that, you see this statue? The brain-shaped statue?”
“I see it.”
“This is the Brain Research Institute in Daegu.”
At Jo Yunhwan’s words, I reflexively swallowed hard, and my heart began to race.
Jo Yunhwan spoke with such absolute certainty.
Moreover, the confidence with which he stated the location so clearly—Daegu—made him seem like someone who truly knew this place.
The group, who had been about to start drinking, paused momentarily and alternated their gazes between Jo Yunhwan and me.
“Doyun.”
The voice of Elder Chulmin came from beside me.
When I turned my head, Elder Chulmin set down the soju he was holding and asked.
“I’ve been curious about this for a while now, but what’s the benefit of knowing the research institute’s location?”
“Remember the three locations presented in the twelfth episode?”
“Yeah. L Tower, the World Cup Stadium, and Gimpo Airport, right?”
“With this, we don’t need to verify all of them.”
“Isn’t the main episode about verifying three locations within a set time limit?”
“There’s a bug in the system.”
Then Hong Yeonhui, who had been standing by the sink, spoke up.
“What do you mean by a bug?”
“I’ve seen countless endings in No Way Home. Most of them just aren’t the true ending.”
“So?”
“The reason I could see different endings faster and more frequently than other users was because of the exploit sections scattered throughout the episodes.”
“Exploit? You mean glitches?”
Hong Yeonhui, being someone who had played many games, seemed to understand what glitches were.
I shook my head and answered.
“It’s a bit different. Glitches exploit phenomena caused by bugs, but exploits are design flaws.”
“Design flaws?”
“Using loopholes in the system’s design to gain an advantage.”
Everyone’s attention focused on me.
I drank some water and continued.
“From the sixth episode onward, there are several exploit sections and glitch sections.”
“So there are things like that in the twelfth episode too?”
“Yeah, I’ve been saying this all along. If you’re lucky, you can complete an episode by verifying just one of the three locations it provides.”
Everyone had expressions asking for an explanation.
Since they had been following the main episode’s instructions faithfully until now, they seemed unable to fully understand what I had said.
So I explained briefly.
“In No Way Home, anyone who has visited the research institute once can find out where it’s located, right?”
“That’s right.”
“When we go to find the research facility, we only need to bring one trace. With just one trace, we can clear the twelfth episode.”
“…What?”
“The episode settings say to bring three traces, but the system design only requires ‘a trace’ to enter.”
Hong Yeonhui’s expression showed considerable bewilderment.
That made sense.
Since the instructions stated we had to collect three traces and find the research facility, no one would go with just one trace.
I had questioned that part.
If I already knew the location of the research facility, why would I need to obtain all the traces first?
So I had once tried to find the research facility without obtaining any traces.
Without any traces, the system was designed to prevent entry into that area.
But if I had even one trace?
Entry to that location became possible.
Since the game’s settings were brought directly into reality, it shouldn’t be different here.
Jo Yunhwan had discovered the research facility’s location with just one trace, so there was no need to find the other two.
Then Park Sangil, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“So… we can skip straight to the final episode right now?”
“Yes.”
Park Sangil scratched his head and made an uncomfortable expression.
“Jo Yunhwan, are you certain?”
Park Sangil asked out of caution.
“Yes. My friend works there. So I’ve visited a few times.”
“The photograph is heavily damaged. With only circumstantial evidence….”
“It’s not circumstantial. I’m certain. I can tell just by looking at the building’s exterior.”
“….”
“And the characters reading ‘Research Institute’ at the top of the building match exactly with what I remember.”
“….”
“Trust me. I’m an artist. I can distinguish buildings just by the shape and curvature of the letters.”
As Jo Yunhwan spoke with such conviction, no one easily refuted him.
Rather, more and more people were turning their gazes toward me.
Park Sangil, sensing this, held his wife Kim Heejoo’s hand and looked at me.
“Doyun, what do you think?”
“Yes?”
“I’ll follow your judgment.”
“….”
“Does anyone object?”
As Park Sangil looked around and asked, the group, who had been deliberating for a moment, hardened their resolve and spoke.
“We’ve never failed following Doyun’s word so far, so of course we should follow him.”
That was Lee Kwanghyun’s opinion.
“If you say so, Doyun, then that’s what we’ll do.”
Lee Kwanghyun’s wife, Kim Miyeon, added her strength to the cause as well.
“Us too!”
“Me as well!”
“If Doyun says so, we should trust him.”
As the high school students fell in line with my opinion, Hong Yeonhui, who had been quietly stroking her chin, shrugged her shoulders and spoke.
“If the only No Way Home clear player says so… then that must be right.”
Then Kim Hanna, the King of the Zombies who had been observing the situation, spoke while holding her daughter Jeong Siyun in her arms.
“If there’s anything I need to do, just tell me anytime. I’ll help as much as I can.”
In all my years of living, had I ever received the attention of so many people?
Whether from the weight of responsibility or their trust, I felt my heart racing.
When I offered no response, Elder Chulmin pulled out a bottle of liquor he’d been keeping and spoke.
“I thought we’d be opening this for the first time today… guess we’ll have to wait until we reach Daegu.”
“No, let’s drink now.”
“Huh? Is that alright?”
I approached Elder Chulmin’s side and took the bottle in my hands.
“Let’s drink freely today, and we’ll move out starting tomorrow.”
“Ooh!”
Elder Chulmin’s expression brightened at the sight of the liquor.
Park Sangil and the others in the group all approached with their cups in hand.
I poured a sip of liquor into each of their cups as I spoke.
“No matter what happens, let’s all see the end of this game together.”
“No toast? No toast speech?”
Park Sanghun laughed with a playful tone, grinning widely.
I approached Kim Hanna’s side and handed her a cup as I spoke.
“The toast should come from today’s main character.”
Kim Hanna wore a bewildered expression, then gazed at the liquor in her cup and offered a faint smile.
“From now on… I ask for your continued support.”
“Ooh, is that all?”
At Park Sanghun’s words, Kim Hanna lightly scanned the faces of the group and spoke.
“When I say ‘To the ending,’ you all respond with ‘For it.'”
“Yes!”
“To the ending!”
“For it!!”
Clink—!
The group’s expressions held both fear and anticipation.
There wasn’t much left until the ending now.
I hoped for a day when we could all raise our cups without worry, purely in happiness.
With that day in mind, I too raised my cup high.

* * *
“The work is complete!”
The next morning.
The Makers finished reinforcing the modified vehicles and called everyone over.
The group, having finished breakfast and come downstairs, couldn’t close their gaping mouths at the sight of the completed modified vehicle.
A bus shaped like a fortress.
There were spaces on both sides of the bus where saw teeth could be inserted and removed, and blades were also attached to the wheels.
Iron bars were attached to every window, and according to Park Sangha’s explanation, a strong electric current flowed through the iron cage, capable of burning all zombies and mutants that clung to it.
“This is the bus reinforced three times, right?”
“Yeah, both buses and all three existing vehicles have completed the three-stage reinforcement.”
“The name changed from Sandworm to Hellhound?”
“That’s right. And there’s a new skill added as well.”
“What is it?”
“If you’re riding in the vehicle, you become immune to the roars of Resonance Species and Water Demons.”
That’s right.
I clenched my fists and let out a silent cheer inside.
The vehicle had gained an effect that prevented status abnormalities like mental confusion.
Park Sangha continued speaking with a satisfied smile, as if this wasn’t the end.
“Moreover, the effect that blocked strong impacts five times per hour has also increased.”
“By how much?”
“Ten times per hour.”
It had doubled.
The criteria for strong impact remained somewhat vague.
Based on what had happened so far, it seemed that strong impact referred to the level of shock that caused the vehicle to shake violently.
Since it wouldn’t activate unless it was a strong impact from colliding with something, the members responsible for driving had roughly grasped the feel of it.
Hong Yeonhui, standing behind, spoke while scanning the Safe House with her eyes.
“What a shame.”
“Huh?”
“The Safe House, I mean. In the game, the core of the Safe House gets destroyed by mutants, but… we managed to protect it.”
The core of the Safe House.
A blue orb the size of a human head located in the center of the complex.
It was what classified this place as a safe zone.
It had prevented zombies from approaching until now, and even when mutants entered, the defense team handled them all, allowing the effect to be maintained.
“Can’t you just move the core?”
At that, Lee Kwanghyun approached and asked.
I was about to shake my head, but suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
Why not try it?
I gazed at the core of the Safe House located in the center of the complex.
Yes, since it wasn’t destroyed, wouldn’t it be possible to move it?
“Should we try?”
“Did something like this ever happen in the game?”
“In the game, they were destroyed as if by some unspoken rule.”
“….”
“Since there was no concept of an alliance like now, parties of five who could operate together moved around frequently.”
“So the cores were often destroyed while everyone was outside?”
“Exactly. The Mutants could enter the safe zones after all.”
I walked toward the center and gazed at the safe house core placed beside the flower bed.
The core of the safe house, glowing with a blue hue.
There was nothing particularly spectacular about it, but the part touching the ground looked like blue paint had dripped down.
The fact that it didn’t roll away in the pouring rain but held firm was likely due to that dripping paint-like liquid.
To someone unfamiliar with it, it would look like a simple sphere with blue paint sprayed on it.
I carefully reached out my hand toward the safe house core.
Zzzt—
[If you lift the core, the safe zone will lose its effect.]
“Can it be moved somewhere else?”
A System Message with no response.
Was it just a simple warning message?
Since I was planning to leave this place anyway, I ignored the warning and lifted it in one motion.
Thud—
Then came a grand drum sound that resonated throughout the area.
It felt as though all power to the area had been cut off.
‘This is heavy.’
Even with my strength exceeding 200, the weight felt quite substantial.
Holding the heavy core with both hands, I headed toward the nearest bus.
“Hey, you’re not seriously….”
“I need to test it.”
Hong Yeonhui looked at me as if I were absurd, but it was worth trying, wasn’t it?
Thud—
As I set the heavy safe house core inside the vehicle, another System Message appeared.
Zzzt—
[The safe house core cannot be placed indoors.]
If indoors won’t work, then outdoors will do.
I picked up the core again and this time climbed onto the roof of the bus.
Thud—
[System reboot initiated.]
[Confirming safe zone range.]
[Setting safe zone.]
[Error, error, error…]
Then error messages cascaded one after another.
Ding—!
[Specific objects cannot benefit from the Safe Zone effect.]
[Safe Zone applies only to land.]
As expected, it doesn’t work.
If it had worked, that would’ve been incredible.
I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
“Are you done experimenting?”
Park Sangha’s voice from below.
“Yes, the bus won’t work as expected. But it seems like we can move it to a different location.”
“Really?!”
“Since it targets land… it looks like we can turn the research institute into a safe house.”
“Isn’t that incredible?”
“It is. I’ll keep it in my inventory for now.”
The group below suddenly began clapping.
Perhaps because being able to relocate the safe house was such good news?
After placing the safe house core in my inventory, I jumped down from beneath the bus and spoke.
“So, shall we head out?”
“How many hours will it take to reach Daegu?”
As Park Sangil asked, Jo Yunhwan approached from beside him, carrying his seven-year-old nephew on his back.
“If everything goes smoothly, about three hours and thirty minutes.”
“What’s the exact location of the Brain Research Institute?”
“There’s an Innovation City in Dong-gu, Daegu. It’s located there.”

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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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