Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 13

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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 013
Instead of answering, Kim Heejoo looked at Park Sangil and Park Kyeongeo.
I didn’t need to ask to understand.
My husband and my son are what matter most to me.
Then Park Sangha spoke, alternating his gaze between Kim Heejoo and Park Sangil.
“They’re people with enough leadership and courage to bring children here.”
…
“Don’t you think it’s arrogant for us to judge whether they’ll survive?”
Kim Heejoo lowered her head, her lips pressed firmly together.
Her inner turmoil was written plainly across her face.
Then Park Sangil, who had been in the kitchen, spoke up.
“I know you’re not wrong. But we need to think about this coldly.”
“I’m not speaking emotionally either. Let’s not act like we’re something we’re not.”
…
“We’re not in a position to take people with us or leave them behind. The right thing is to give them the choice.”
“What if they ask to come with us?”
“If we worry ahead of time and make decisions for them, how are we different from those politicians back at the elementary school?”
At Park Sangha’s words, I opened my mouth.
“I don’t know about the situation at the elementary school, but I don’t think we’re a group that harms others.”
…
“Park Sangil brought them here because he was concerned about them. To give them a place to rest, even if just for a moment.”
“Right. That was his consideration. Sometimes consideration comes back as gratitude, but sometimes it comes back as resentment. You brought them here knowing that much, didn’t you?”
…
Is being excessively rational a good thing?
Or should I say he has an almost frightening ability to objectify situations?
When no one answered, Park Sangha continued calmly.
“The judgment is each person’s responsibility, not something someone else decides. If those people upstairs were unreasonable, I wouldn’t say anything.”
…
“But they’re people we can communicate with, people who’ve survived this far while maintaining their humanity.”
…
“The emergency episode itself was about survival qualifications. Haven’t they proven they deserve it?”
None of them are saying anything completely wrong.
Since their opinions showed no sign of converging easily, I looked at Park Sangha and asked.
“You’re saying there’s no need to push those people away, right?”
“That’s right.”
“If they ask to come with us, what will you do then?”
“There’s no rush to decide now. We can judge after this episode ends, once we see the condition of both us and those people.”
Yes, that makes sense.
But there was one thing I was curious about regarding Park Sangha.
“If we end up in a situation where we can’t take them with us, could you turn away coldly?”
“….”
“I’m asking whether you’re trying to avoid making a decision, or if you genuinely believe what you’re saying.”
Without blinking, I stared at him, and Park Sangha rose from his seat, stepping closer to me.
All three brothers were over 180 centimeters tall.
I wasn’t short either, and our eye levels were roughly similar.
Around 183 centimeters, perhaps?
Park Sangha spoke calmly.
“Do you remember what I said?”
“Which words?”
“When I said you were the Protagonist.”
“…I remember.”
“We’re betting everything on your information. It’s not simply because you possess ‘information.'”
“….”
“There must be trust, there must be faith, and you must live up to that trust and faith.”
“….”
“You’ve proven it. You led the charge against the zombies more than anyone, and you didn’t even give us time to hesitate.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“We’ll follow your will.”
At Park Sangha’s words, Park Sangil, Park Sanghun, and Kim Heejoo offered no objection.
Park Sangha hadn’t supported Park Sanghun’s hand to avoid the current situation.
A person with a terrifyingly good sense of self-objectivity.
Someone who speaks plainly—what’s lacking is lacking, what’s done well is done well.
He was cold and rational.
At Park Sangha’s resolute expression, Park Sanghun swallowed dryly and opened his mouth.
“Doyun… what do you want to do?”
Everything rested on my words.
No, it rested on the information and memories I possessed, my actions and judgments.
The 32 survivors above.
Among the 20 minors, 5 were around Kyeongeo’s age.
Five children who appeared to be between four and eight years old.
The remaining 15 were at most middle and high school students.
There were only two people in their forties, and the remaining 10 were elderly in their sixties.
Surviving by normal means with such people was….
‘Impossible.’
But….
The children’s expressions weighed on my mind.
Weak and helpless beings who couldn’t survive without adults.
But because they were such beings, my heart ached for them all the more.
If I abandoned the children and left, how would I be any different from the parents who abandoned me?
Wasn’t there a way to take them with me without abandoning them?
I knew countless endings to No Way Home.
I furrowed my brow, lost in thought.
After synthesizing the causality of countless endings, one solution existed.
A single method to bring everyone with me.
A way to reach this world’s ending without me, possessing the Buster’s power, having to endure solitary, brutal growth alone.
There was a route that was somewhat dangerous, but whose success rate increased if 32 people joined.
I organized the current situation and spoke.
“To summarize, we can’t abandon them, but bringing them along is burdensome, right?”
“That’s right.”
“There’s a way to satisfy both opinions.”
At my words about a method existing, the three brothers’ gazes fixed on me.
I opened my mouth with both hands shoved into my pants pockets.
“But it’s highly speculative.”
“Highly speculative?”
“Yes. It’s either all or nothing.”
“What’s this method.”
“Earlier, didn’t you say I proved it?”
“….”
“This time, you’ll have to prove it.”
At my words about proving it, the three brothers swallowed hard and looked at each other’s faces.
Before long, they hardened their resolve and looked at my face.
Seeing their determination, I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.
“I’m not sure how it’ll proceed in reality, but in the game, there’s an episode called The Weeping Wall.”
“The Weeping Wall… is it called that because the difficulty is high?”
Concern was evident in Park Sangil’s expression.
“Yes. It’s a ridiculous episode.”
“What kind of episode is it.”
“The fourth episode, Walking Daddy.”
Then Park Sanghun, who had been listening quietly, tilted his head.
“Walking D-something? Isn’t that a famous zombie drama from abroad?”
“Not D-something, but Daddy. To be precise, Walking Daddy is more like a nickname made by No Way Home Yanben, and the real name is King of the Zombies.”
At the mention of King of the Zombies, Park Sangil’s eyes twitched.
“If a king of the zombies exists… wouldn’t the game end if we kill that king?”
“It’s not quite like that.”
“Why?”
“If you kill the King of the Zombies in the fourth episode, you can’t see the true ending. That creature is necessary for developing the cure.”
“You can’t finish the game if you kill the king?”
“I don’t know about killing him later in the game, but you can’t kill him in the fourth episode.”
Park Sangil’s expression turned blank, his lips moving like a fish’s.
I quietly stroked my chin and continued speaking.
“And above all… killing him is impossible as well.”
“Slim chances? Impossible? You’re saying there’s zero possibility?”
“In the fourth episode, the Zombie King’s power is overwhelming. That’s why we call it the Weeping Wall. A being that cannot be killed, and must not be killed.”
“….”
“Most players gave up without clearing the fourth episode.”
Park Sanghun, who had been listening quietly, swallowed hard and asked.
“Since you’ve seen the ending, you must know both how to kill the King of the Zombies and how to escape from him, right?”
“I do know.”
“Then why not just do that? Kill the King of the Zombies in the fourth episode….”
“Because then I can’t see the ending.”
“Then what are we supposed to do? How did you do it in the game?”
“In the game, I ran away. Later, after my character grew stronger and became powerful enough to overwhelm him, I faced him again and saw the ending that way.”
“Ah….”
“We won’t proceed like the game.”
At my words, everyone in the living room wore blank expressions.
No Way Home. A roguelike open-world game.
It had multiple versions of endings.
I had seen No Way Home’s endings many times.
Most weren’t the true ending, but just before the world became like this, after two long years, I finally saw No Way Home’s true ending.
Based on that, there was one approach most suited to our current situation.
I looked directly at the three brothers and spoke.
“Do you know what an easter egg is?”
“An easter egg?”
“We need to use that. It’s the only way to take everyone with us.”
An easter egg.
A hidden element of fun deliberately placed by the creator.
To see No Way Home’s true ending in our current situation… using the easter egg was the best method.
It’s a method no one would imagine, and it’s insane.
I looked back and forth between the three brothers and asked.
“The episode is called King of the Zombies, so why would users call him Walking Daddy?”
Park Sanghun scratched his head, then asked with a skeptical expression.
“Does the Zombie King… have a child?”
“Right. If things proceed according to No Way Home’s lore, the Zombie King has a young daughter.”
“What do we do with that daughter?”
“That daughter is the easter egg.”
Park Sanghun tilted his head in confusion and asked.
“The daughter is an easter egg?”
“If we find that daughter, we can have a rational conversation with the King of the Zombies. That’s when we negotiate.”
“That’s like finding a needle in a desert. Do you even know where the daughter is?”
“Since the system called us survivors belonging to Seongdong-gu, she must be somewhere in Seongdong-gu.”
“….”
“Since I don’t know how much time is allotted for the fourth episode, I’ll need to find out starting from the second episode.”
At that, Park Sangil, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.
“You said we’d negotiate after finding it? What exactly are you talking about? Do we have to haggle using his daughter’s life as collateral?”
“We need to request an alliance.”
Park Sangha asked with eyes wide as saucers.
“An alliance with a zombie? Is that even possible?”
“It is. The King of the Zombies is someone who wants to survive as human as anyone else.”
“…How did that person end up becoming a zombie in the first place….”
Park Sangil seemed to have empathized with the King of the Zombies, clicking his tongue sympathetically.
I shared what I’d learned from the character settings.
“The Zombie King is someone who was betrayed by a group of survivors. He’s full of anger and hatred toward humans, but he understands that for his daughter’s emotional stability, he ultimately must live alongside people.”
“….”
“Among the 32 survivors, there were many young children. Since there are kids his daughter’s age, the Zombie King won’t be able to ignore our words.”
“….”
“Plus, there are many elderly people, which helps even more with the child’s emotional stability.”
“So you’re saying….”
“We need to show that we’re a group of survivors capable of providing emotional stability to the Zombie King’s Daughter.”
“….”
“In exchange, we’ll receive the Zombie King’s protection. Then, without having to experience the brutal episodes that come in the late game, we can reach the ending quickly.”
The three brothers stood with their mouths agape, only blinking.
Why is this method so risky?
Because if the negotiation fails, we’re wiped out.
Park Sangil moistened his dry lips and asked.
“Doyoon, did you actually pull that off in the game?”
“No. I failed.”
“What?”
Bewilderment flickered across Park Sangil’s face.
I responded with a bitter smile.
“I’m not good at that kind of guardian role.”
“….”
“As you all know, I’m not exactly the most sociable person either.”
“….”
The three brothers began exchanging glances with each other.
If we succeed, we gain an advantage in survival.
But if we fail… we’re annihilated on the spot.
Of course, I have a plan.
‘Other classes might not work, but Buster can do it.’
At my current growth rate, I can reach a stable trajectory before entering the fourth episode.
Once I bring Buster’s power to a stable level, even if I face the Zombie King, I won’t go down easily.
A heavy silence settled over the living room, and Kim Heejoo, who had been listening to the conversation, opened her mouth.
“If Doyun failed… isn’t that an extremely dangerous method?”
“That’s precisely why bringing 32 people could be advantageous.”
“Ah.”
“My failure to persuade him wasn’t because I couldn’t demonstrate that it would help with the child’s emotional stability.”
….
“There are people here who can empathize with the Zombie King’s perspective, and there are many children.”
I had failed to sway the Zombie King’s heart even at No Way Home.
I couldn’t understand or empathize with his emotions or thoughts.
That’s why I pushed Buster’s abilities to their absolute limit and struggled through to see the ending.
If I could only turn the Zombie King’s heart around, if I could utilize the Easter egg… I could clear this far more smoothly.
I spoke while looking at the three brothers.
“So this time, you must prove it. You need to show the Zombie King that humans can survive with dignity.”

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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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