Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 121

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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 121
So… when genetically modified mosquitoes from the research facility feed on primate blood, problems arise?
More importantly, Project X.
Where have I heard that name before?
Bae Hyeonseok spoke with a bitter expression.
“I heard that countless researchers pooled their efforts to solve the problems, but… the X Virus proved far too unstable.”
“….”
“I heard it was eventually disposed of, but it seems mosquitoes infected with the X Virus escaped into the world during the disposal process.”
Then Park Sangil suddenly jumped to his feet beside me and called out.
“Wait, the X Virus? Doyun, take out that research facility record you brought.”
“The research facility record?”
“Quickly.”
Following Park Sangil’s words, I pulled out the research facility record.
As I unrolled the aged scroll, Park Sangil rapidly scanned the text written upon it.
“Wow… damn.”
Park Sangil then slapped his forehead and laid the scroll down so everyone could see it.
And the text written at the top of the scroll was….
Two years since the X Virus consumed the world, we have finally succeeded in developing antibodies that grant immunity to the X Virus.
I was so shocked I could barely speak.
It was the first sentence I had read, yet I had completely forgotten the virus’s name.
While the top of the scroll proclaimed success in antibody development, the bottom contained sentences saturated with despair from the adverse effects.
Antibody development failed, and the seventh Mutant appeared.
Bae Hyeonseok examined the research facility record carefully, then covered his mouth with both hands and wore a grave expression.
“Who wrote this?”
“Perhaps one of the researchers who lived in 2030?”
“Who writes on scrolls these days?”
Bae Hyeonseok’s point was valid.
Writing on a scroll… that’s far too ancient.
Then Park Sangha, who had been wearing a serious expression, sighed and opened his mouth.
“Let’s stop the scientific approach here.”
“Pardon?”
“After all, the game’s creator is Gaia, and we can see System Messages.”
“….”
“We can only conclude that scientific explanations and fantasy elements are intertwined.”
Park Sangha briefly summarized the current situation.
He looked at me and asked.
“You said it before, didn’t you? That someday we’d learn the truth. That Gaia told you so.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“We’ll understand when that time comes.”
Bae Hyeonseok looked like he wanted to object.
However, the System Message was scientifically inexplicable, so I chose silence instead of refutation.
Park Sangha interlaced his fingers and opened his mouth.
“First, thanks to Bae Hyeonseok, the possibility of vaccine development has opened up. Now let’s discuss what we need to do.”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
“What’s the situation at the research facility?”
Park Sangha’s tone was cold and measured.
But because of it, everyone’s attention shifted from idle speculation to concrete plans ahead.
Bae Hyeonseok exhaled a long sigh and spoke.
“Earlier… I mentioned that a subway station had opened between Sinseo-dong and Gaksan-dong, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
“There’s an apartment designated as a safe house there. Of course, it has no safe house effect.”
“…”
Except for the Han Apartment in Haengdang-dong, which was the first to successfully activate a safe house, every safe house across the nation had lost its effect.
Bae Hyeonseok continued matter-of-factly.
“The safe house activation failed, and the survivors there scattered in all directions.”
“Were there many survivors?”
“Yes. This area doesn’t have the population density of Seoul, so there were relatively fewer zombies. Many people managed to find their way to the safe house.”
“Then it would be better if they stayed together. Why did they scatter?”
“There were many conflicting opinions, and too many cooks spoiled the broth.”
“…”
“Then Mutants appeared. That’s when Junhyeok and I came over with like-minded people.”
As Bae Hyeonseok looked at Song Junhyeok, he wore a bitter expression and spoke.
“I wanted to save as many people as possible… but it didn’t work out that way.”
I nodded slowly and rose from my seat.
I walked to the veranda and lightly surveyed the apartment complex.
Though the fog obscured a clear view, I recalled what I’d seen on the way in and asked.
“On the way here, I noticed this place looked like a shelter. Did you two find it?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
A shelter.
In No Way Home, shelters existed to support users, in addition to safe houses.
Just as Hong Yeonhui had used a shelter to protect the survivors of Hongryeon.
Song Junhyeok smiled faintly and spoke.
“Finding this place was purely luck.”
“How did you find it?”
“While moving with the children, we were attacked by zombies. We originally intended to go to the apartment across the street, but couldn’t because of the zombies.”
“…”
“With no other choice, we rushed in here… and that’s when a System Message appeared before my eyes.”
“It was the shelter entry message.”
“Yes. Since we could strengthen the shelter with points, we settled here and continued reinforcing the outer walls to survive.”
At Song Junhyeok’s explanation, Park Sangil, who had been quiet, asked a question.
“Why were you trying to move to the apartment across the street?”
“Because that building has larger units. This one only has small apartments, so it’s difficult for all of us to stay together.”
Thirty-two Survivors.
True enough—for them to remain unified, larger units would certainly be advantageous.
Most apartments in this complex were in the hundred-square-foot range, and even seven people made the living room feel cramped.
This was a common trait among Survivor groups traveling with Children.
Children were unpredictable, liable to bolt at any moment, so there was a natural tendency to stay clustered together.
We were no different.
Park Sangil nodded slowly before asking.
“Have you been continuously monitoring the surrounding situation?”
“Yes, we keep watch on their movements. We also need to secure food, so we’ve been venturing outside regularly.”
“What about the Safe House and Costco areas right now?”
“Mutants and Zombies are swarming there. It’s extremely dangerous.”
“But didn’t you say there weren’t many Zombies or Mutants in the vicinity?”
“Only up to here. Beyond that point, the situation is different. When a Mutant entered the Safe House, there was bleeding.”
“Bleeding? What kind of bleeding?”
“Mutant blood. A Mutant’s blood attracts other Mutants like ant pheromones.”
Song Junhyeok was right.
When we were in Haengdang-dong, that’s why we burned the Mutants that entered the Safe House.
Since Song Junhyeok and Bae Hyeonseok—those who possessed this knowledge—had left the Safe House, the Survivors remaining there would never have cleaned up the Mutant corpses or blood.
That’s what brought this catastrophe.
Song Junhyeok continued with a bitter expression.
“I never thought it would escalate to this point.”
“….”
“The Mutants and Zombies from the southern areas—Gaksan, Banyawol, Singi, Yulha—gradually gathered one by one. Now it’s reached a level we can’t handle.”
These were unfamiliar place names to me.
Noticing this, Bae Hyeonseok pulled out a folded map from his pocket and spread it across the table.
A paper folding map.
It appeared to be one taken from a subway station.
Thanks to it, I could conveniently verify the terrain.
Park Sangil examined the map as well, then asked with a troubled expression.
“This location doesn’t seem safe either.”
“That’s right. With Zombies and Mutants swarming just 1.5 kilometers away.”
“If you know it’s dangerous, why don’t you leave?”
“Where would we go?”
Bae Hyeonseok’s expression turned hollow.
I had no answer to his words.
Then Song Junhyeok beside him opened his mouth with a somber expression.
“The Main Episode suddenly jumped to the twelfth one, and the Zombies and Mutants became excessively powerful.”
“….”
“We don’t even have modified vehicles, and we’re barely managing against the zombies on the streets.”
“….”
“All we can do is reinforce the shelter’s outer walls with the points we’ve earned and hold out… there’s nothing else we can do.”
At this rate, even scavenging for food would require risking our lives.
Unlike us, who had grown continuously by focusing on clearing main episodes, survivors in other regions likely weren’t faring much better than these people.
In fact, they were probably in even worse conditions.
This place could only maintain its system because Bae Hyeonseok and Song Junhyeok, the Three Elders, were here.
As Park Sangil looked at Park Sangha, he opened his mouth along with a dry swallow.
“Then… you don’t know the situation inside the research facility either?”
“We cannot ascertain the internal situation.”
At Bae Hyeonseok’s answer, Park Sangha nodded readily and asked me.
“Doyun, what do you want to do?”
“The answer’s already decided.”
I spoke with a bland smile, and Park Sangha also lifted the corners of his mouth as he looked at our group.
“Let’s dispatch the search party.”
At that, Bae Hyeonseok and Song Junhyeok widened their eyes as they stared at the group sitting on the sofa.
“You’re saying you’ll move to the Brain Research Institute right now?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not possible. If you happen to find yourselves in a difficult situation, this place….”
“Whether it’s mutants or zombies, we won’t bring them back here. If problems arise, we’ll handle them there.”
“….”
“And the twelfth episode hasn’t ended yet.”
Speaking matter-of-factly, Song Junhyeok, who belatedly felt confused, tilted his head and asked.
“Wait, now that I think about it… the twelfth episode isn’t finished either, so how did you get here?”
Song Junhyeok finally asking the most crucial question.
At that, I drained the remaining water in the glass in one gulp and spoke.
“You said it yourselves. That Baldo would know the exploit section.”
“…!”
“We’re going to skip the twelfth episode.”
Song Junhyeok and Bae Hyeonseok with bewildered expressions.
Regardless, we decided who would go on the search party.
The Park Brothers and I would take Vehicle 1.
Elder Chulmin, Hong Yeonhui, Kim Suhan, Do Sohee, and Park Youngsu would board Vehicle 2.
Bae Hyeonseok came to his senses belatedly, stood up from his seat, and swallowed dryly as he asked.
“What should we do?”
“Do you have sufficient food supplies?”
“Well….”
The Hunting Dog Alliance had 36 members in total.
Honglian had 14 members in total.
With 50 additional mouths to feed all at once, the food reserves here wouldn’t last long.
I shrugged and continued, “We’ve brought supplies with us, so we won’t have to worry for two days. Still, it would be good to secure more provisions in advance.”
“We have some things we brought with us, so we should be fine for two days. Still, it would be good to get some in advance.”
Speaking matter-of-factly, Bae Hyeonseok nodded vigorously.
“Understood. We’ll do our best to procure additional food supplies.”
“And Bae Hyeonseok.”
“Yes?”
“I’d like you to come with us as our guide.”
“…!”
Bae Hyeonseok looked taken aback.
He swallowed hard and glanced at Song Junhyeok, then moistened his lips before asking.
“Will I… actually be helpful?”
“We don’t know the interior layout of the Brain Researcher facility. We need a guide.”
“If I can be of use, then of course I should go. However… my physical abilities are slightly inferior to street-level zombies.”
“We’ll protect you. Since you’ve formed an alliance, I assume you’ve completed your second awakening?”
“Yes, I have awakened.”
“That’s sufficient.”
Since Bae Hyeonseok’s class was Shooter, having completed his awakening would make him valuable enough.
I looked at Song Junhyeok and spoke.
“When you go to secure food, please move together with Kim Hanna from our group.”
“Kim Hanna?”
“She’ll be quite helpful in many ways.”
With Kim Hanna accompanying them, the food procurement team would face no danger.
Kim Hanna also needed to restore her subordinates, so it would be beneficial for her to go along.
“Let’s move immediately. We’ll check out the Brain Researcher facility and return before sunset.”
“Okay! Let’s go!”
Park Sanghun, who had been sitting quietly, clapped his hands and headed toward the entrance first.
If I succeed in exploiting the twelfth episode… there’s a high probability it will lead directly to the final episode.
The Zombie King is already with us, and it seems Bae Hyeonseok can develop a vaccine, so instead of progressing to the thirteenth episode, the final episode should begin.
Variables always exist, but this time I’ve prepared everything to eliminate them.
Calming my racing heart, I hurried down to the first floor.

* * *
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes!”
The search team gathered in front of Vehicle 1 and Vehicle 2.
Beside the group seeing off the search team, I could also spot those heading out to procure supplies.
Five from the Hunting Dog Alliance’s base and five from our defense team had decided to go out together for supply procurement.
Unlike Lee Kwanghyun, who seemed excited about the outing, Han Hye-ri’s expression was somewhat tense.
Most of all….
“Kim Hanna, please take care.”
“Baek Doyun, have a safe trip.”
The survivors here were bewildered upon seeing the Zombie King Kim Hanna.
Even Bae Hyeonseok and Song Junhyeok hadn’t anticipated this, their expressions turning awkward as they looked at Kim Hanna.
“Sir.”
Han Hye-ri, having finished her preparations, approached my side.
“Sir, you have that Safe House Core, right? Can’t you leave it here?”
“Let me check with the Brain Researcher first.”
The Safe House Core in my inventory.
I had briefly considered leaving it here, but having the Brain Researcher gain the Safe House effect would be far more helpful for clearing this episode.
So my plan was to test it with the Brain Researcher first, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll turn this place into a Safe House.

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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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