Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 125
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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 125
Hong Yeonhui comforted Bae Hyeonseok as he wept.
Do Sohee treated the members of our group who complained of aftereffects from the traffic accident.
Fortunately, the injuries weren’t severe, so the treatment didn’t take long.
After finishing treatment, everyone boarded their respective vehicles, and Park Sangil, who took the driver’s seat, picked up the radio and spoke.
“Vehicle 2 takes the lead. Vehicle 1 will follow behind.”
-Roger!
Because Bae Hyeonseok boarded Vehicle 2, Vehicle 1 ended up covering the rear.
Hong Yeonhui, sitting beside me, fastened her seatbelt and asked me a question.
“Did you bring the Research Lab Remnant?”
“I did.”
“Start preparing. I heard the research lab is near here.”
From our current location, the distance to the research lab was merely 500 meters.
A little further ahead, a barrier would appear that made entry impossible without the Research Lab Remnant.
Due to the earlier commotion, all zombies and mutant zombies in the vicinity had been eliminated.
We couldn’t know the situation near the research lab, but there would be nothing difficult for us.
We survived Seoul itself—a place with such low population density would be child’s play.
Unlike Seoul, where tall buildings were packed densely, the mist here had a different hue from the start.
While Seoul’s mist appeared dark gray due to the lack of sunlight, the mist here was a much whiter light.
I never thought the day would come when white mist would bring peace of mind.
With a somewhat absurd feeling, I let out an involuntary chuckle.
“It’s clean.”
“No zombies?”
“Right. Thanks to our loud fighting, it looks like we’ve eliminated all the zombies that were on the streets.”
Zombies from the area had gathered after hearing the commotion.
Over nearly forty minutes, we must have eliminated several thousand zombies at minimum.
Vehicles 1 and 2 moved along the main road, maintaining constant vigilance.
Whenever we spotted remaining zombies on the streets, we unhesitatingly ran them over with our modified vehicles.
There was no need to be careful anymore.
“What is that?”
How much further had we traveled?
Park Sangil, gripping the steering wheel, looked straight ahead and reduced speed.
Vehicle 2 ahead also slowed down, and soon Kim Suhan’s voice came through the radio.
-Uncle Sangil, there’s something ahead.
“Vehicle 2, stand by. We’ll go in first.”
Park Sangil stepped out of the vehicle and stared at the barrier visible before us.
He cautiously extended his right hand forward.
Crackle!
Sparks flew from his fingertips, and Park Sangil grimaced and stepped back.
“Damn… that startled me.”
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s incredibly sharp. No person could get through this.”
A barrier that looked like aqua glass.
The interior was invisible, and a strong electric current seemed to flow through it, preventing anything from entering.
I picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the barrier.
Boom!
With a short explosion, the stone shattered into pieces.
Not only living creatures couldn’t enter—objects couldn’t either.
“Will you be okay? We only have one Research Lab Remnant.”
“…We have to try.”
“You might get fried during the experiment.”
“I have a passive Skill, so I won’t die.”
Trusting in my regenerative ability, I pulled out the Research Lab Remnant I’d stored in my inventory.
“Wait!”
Do Sohee called out urgently and jumped down from the second vehicle.
“I’ll prepare to heal you.”
Do Sohee stood ready with both hands extended forward, prepared for any situation.
The timid Do Sohee from before had vanished, and now she’d become a reliable support.
“Doyun, just in case.”
Park Sangha then descended from the vehicle and approached, offering me a rope.
Since a strong electric current seemed to flow through the barrier, Park Sangha told me to tie the rope around my waist.
There was no harm in proceeding safely, so I obediently tied the rope he offered around my waist.
Once everyone was ready, I took a deep breath and gripped the Research Lab Remnant in my hand.
I hoped this would go smoothly, like No Way Home.
“I’m going in.”
I stepped into the barrier, holding the scroll and the research lab photograph in my hands.
Crackle—!!
My entire body tingled with electric current, and the smell of grilled squid wafted through the air.
Even with my physical abilities pushed to their limit, I felt the pain.
If I’d been an ordinary person, I would’ve been charred long ago.
“Pull me out!”
“Pull!”
Park Sangil and Park Sangha were startled and yanked on the rope.
I braced myself firmly with both legs against the force pulling at my waist and shouted.
“Wait… just wait!”
“…!”
“The electric current… it’s gradually weakening!”
At first it stung sharply enough to knock me over, but it was slowly subsiding.
Soon, as I felt no more pain, the opaque barrier itself began to gradually peel away.
Ding—!
[Congratulations! You have discovered the Research Lab!]
[The Hunting Dog Alliance and allied forces have reached the final destination… the last episode…]
Zzzzzt-
[Error, Error, Error, Error, Error]
[Insufficient Research Lab Remnants.]
Zzzt-
[Congratulations! You have discovered the Research Lab…]
Zzzt- Zzzzzzzzt-
Distorted sentences accompanied by deafening noise, like a broken radio.
Congratulatory messages and error messages kept repeating.
It was the same in No Way Home.
If reality truly progressed like a game…
Ding-!
[You have completed #12-0 ‘Searching for Remnants’!]
[Clearing reward: 30,000 Points granted.]
[You have completed #12-1 ‘The Great Migration’!]
[Clearing reward: 30,000 Points granted.]
[You have completed #13-0 ‘Checkpoint’!]
[Clearing reward: 40,000 Points granted.]
[You have completed #13-1 ‘Checkpoint Escape’!]
[Clearing reward: 40,000 Points granted.]
As expected, messages appeared indicating I’d skipped the main episodes.
Ding-!
[Now beginning the final episode ‘Securing the Research Lab’ (#14-0).]
“That’s it!”
Seeing the message appear before my eyes, I reflexively clenched both fists and shouted.
Thanks to exploiting the sequence, I’d cleared the twelfth and thirteenth episodes in one go.
The thirteenth episode—the checkpoint.
In No Way Home, there were reckless gangs occupying the roads, and dealing with them entangled me with all sorts of Mutants.
It was one of the reasons I’d desperately wanted to exploit the twelfth episode.
Since there might not be reckless gangs in reality, I thought Mutants would take their place instead.
If we encountered all sorts of Mutants along the way, the children on the bus could be endangered, so I wanted to skip past them if possible.
“What? Did it work?”
My companions, reading the message belatedly, wore expressions of bewilderment.
I looked at them and nodded vigorously.
“It worked. It’s like a game now.”
“Incredible!”
Hong Yeonhui covered her mouth with both hands, her expression one of disbelief.
Bae Hyeonseok was equally astonished.
Meanwhile, Do Sohee approached my side and placed both hands on her chest as she spoke.
“I can’t save your hair.”
“Huh?”
“Your hair… it’s all burned, sir.”
I hadn’t cut my hair in months, so it had grown quite long.
When I touched my head with my right hand, my hair crumbled like powder.
Park Sanghun laughed at the sight and spoke with amusement.
“You’re saving money. No need to visit a salon.”
“Want to use a free salon too?”
“Whoa, whoa.”
Park Sanghun stepped back with an awkward smile.
Meanwhile, Park Sangil, who had been staring at the research lab, widened his eyes and bent his upper body down.
“Everyone, duck.”
The group, who had been feeling relieved, hurriedly bent down at Park Sangil’s words.
There was a brain-shaped statue right in front of us, so we hid our bodies behind it.
With dense vegetation surrounding the area, we could hide ourselves with just a slight bend.
Park Sangil peeked his head out slightly to observe the Brain Researcher, then swallowed hard and muttered.
“Damn it… there’s another one.”
“Another what?”
“You know, the one we saw at L Tower. The one with the huge head.”
The one with the huge head we saw at L Tower…
The seventh Mutant?
It’s here too?
The one that was still alive even after falling from the top of L Tower.
It didn’t die from ordinary attacks, and its needle-like sharp hair was incredibly troublesome.
Ding-!
[#14-0 Secure the Research Lab]
[The researchers who set out to develop a vaccine against the X Virus hit a dead end.]
[Unable to obtain living test subjects needed for primate testing, the researchers injected unstable antibodies into their own bodies and abandoned all hope.]
[The antibody development failed, and the research lab has now become a den of Mutants.]
[Eliminate the Mutant horde that has taken over the research lab and secure it.]
[Time remaining until research materials are incinerated: 8 hours]
[Clear Reward: Legendary Skill Book]
[Failure: All materials incinerated]
The final episode clear condition appeared before my eyes.
And the penalty that occurs upon failure.
The incineration of all materials mentioned here is not something to take lightly.
You think it’s a good condition since lives aren’t on the line?
Not at all.
I have a memory of failing to secure the research lab in No Way Home, so I know better than anyone what problems arise afterward.
If all materials are incinerated, information about the original source of the virus outbreak will be provided.
The episode that would unfold if we failed to secure the research lab was to find the source and restart from the first stage of vaccine development.
Throughout that process, we’d have to hold back increasingly powerful Zombies and Mutants, eventually reaching our limits and failing.
Not killing them outright, but being worn down to death.
After I explained this to the group, Park Sangil pulled a rifle from his inventory and asked.
“Option 1: Break through with Hunting Dogs. Option 2: Snipe as much as possible from here and then enter. Which do you want to do?”
“Let’s go with option 2. We don’t know the situation inside, so we can’t just rush in blindly.”
Park Sangil looked at the rest of the group after hearing my answer.
It seemed he was asking for everyone’s opinion.
Worried that someone might object, I continued speaking.
“Inside, there won’t be enough distance to build up sufficient speed. The modified vehicle’s effect won’t activate either.”
“But if we’re in the vehicle, we become immune to status abnormalities.”
I nodded at Hong Yeonhui’s counterargument and spoke.
“That’s why we’ll split into two teams and move.”
“How exactly?”
“We snipe from here, and when the stimulated Mutants come outside, Team 2 immediately returns to the vehicle.”
….
“Team 1 will receive support from Team 2’s modified vehicle, deal with the Mutants that came outside, and then enter the building.”
“And after that?”
“Team 2 waits here. If it gets dangerous, we’ll exit and come back out, so be ready to provide covering fire at any moment.”
“Are you taking Bae Hyeonseok with us too?”
At Hong Yeonhui’s words, I looked at Bae Hyeonseok and could see his pupils trembling.
Without him even saying it, I could sense his desire to stay in the vehicle.
But without Bae Hyeonseok, we couldn’t find the data room.
“Bae Hyeonseok, please guide us.”
….
“That’s why you came all this way, isn’t it?”
Looking directly into Bae Hyeonseok’s eyes as I spoke, he swallowed hard and nodded.
“I… understand.”
After hearing Bae Hyeonseok’s response, I took out the Safe House Core I’d stored in my inventory.
If this activates… even if the Mutants can’t be dealt with, the Zombies in the Brain Research Institute will be completely annihilated.
Holding onto that hope, I placed the Safe House Core on the ground.
Zzzt—! Ding!
[This research lab cannot be designated as a Safe House.]
A message cutting me off immediately.
But interpreting this sentence differently… it means there are places where a Safe House can be designated.
It seems we might be able to convert the Daegu group’s shelter into a Safe House.
After confirming this, I looked at Park Sangil, and he shouldered his rifle and spoke.
“Elder Chulmin, Hong Yeonhui, Park Youngsu—do you see the Mutants at the third-floor window?”
When all the Shooters nodded, Park Sangil fixed his gaze on the Mutants visible through the window and murmured.
“Aimed fire, multi-hit, headshot. Explosive fire, snipe.”
“Brother, we can’t use explosive rounds.”
“Ah, right. Disabling explosive rounds.”
The target is the Mutants, not the research facility itself.
If we’re careless, the research data could be destroyed along with it, so we can’t use explosive rounds.
Park Sangil adjusted his sights and asked the Shooters beside him.
“Is everyone locked on?”
“Yes.”
“Going in on my mark.”
The Shooters aimed at the Mutants, and then pulled their triggers.
Bang!!! Rat-a-tat!!! Bang!!!
Four gunshots rang out as bullets flew in a straight line.
I had no way of knowing whether they hit or missed.
But.
“Kieeeeeek-!!!”
The piercing screams echoing from inside told us the result.
Hong Yeonhui and Park Youngsu rushed to the second vehicle with Team Two.
Elder Chulmin was also part of Team Two, but remained here to the end, firing relentlessly at any Mutants that came into view.
Crash!!
Followed by the sound of a window shattering.
“One got through! It’s coming!”
At Park Sangil’s shout, I gripped my hwarang and rushed forward.
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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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Amethyst End
Hey Lunox, you have the free chapters unlocking from the wrong direction. They’re unlocking backwards from the newest ones.