Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 152

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

Player of the Ruined World – Episode 152
“Baek Doyun.”
Kim Hanna, the Zombie King’s Daughter, approached my side.
“Yes, Hanna.”
Kim Hanna seemed unable to speak easily, her lower lip trembling as she bowed her head.
Was it an apology for not being able to go with me?
Or gratitude for bringing her this far to the final episode without taking her life?
Whatever it was, I too had received help from Kim Hanna.
Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to leave with such peace of mind.
Surely… there would have been casualties in the process of progressing through the final episode.
“Thank you, Hanna.”
When I bowed first, Kim Hanna lowered her head and spoke.
“I’m truly grateful to you as well.”
“…”
“Thanks to you, Baek Doyun, and thanks to all of you here… we were able to meet our Si Yun.”
A young girl holding Kim Hanna’s hand tightly.
Jeong Siyun, the Zombie King’s Daughter.
I smiled warmly as I looked at Si Yun.
“Si Yun, now you can stay with Mom all the time. Isn’t that nice?”
“Yes!”
“Not ‘yes’, but ‘yes, sir.'”
“Yes, sir!”
Si Yun giggled and nestled into Kim Hanna’s embrace.
I looked at Bae Hyeonseok standing beside Kim Hanna and spoke.
“Bae Hyeonseok, you can continue developing the cure and vaccine, right?”
“Yes, mass production won’t be possible in the current situation… but we can continue making it steadily, even if slowly.”
“Once the cure is complete, I’d like to ask you to prioritize Kim Hanna.”
“Yes, of course.”
Then Kim Hanna shook her head.
“No, it’s not completely finished yet.”
“Still…”
“After we’ve dealt with all the Stage 5 Strengthened Species, then… I’ll return to my original self.”
It seemed she had already discussed this with her family, as her husband squeezed her hand instead of objecting.
The expressions of the group looking at me held countless emotions.
If I continued staying with them… my steps would grow heavy too.
With a slight cough, I glanced around and spoke.
“What time is it now? Does anyone have a watch?”
“About two minutes left.”
Lee Kwanghyun checked his wristwatch and told me the current time.
The system had said so.
The player proceeding to the next game must be inside the Research Institute by 7 a.m., I was told.
I forced a thin smile as I relayed this information.
“I’ll be heading out now. Just to be safe, everyone please step back a few paces.”
Park Sangil pressed his lips together firmly and slowly retreated.
Those moving to the next game filed one by one into the entrance of the Brain Research Institute, and the group that had come to see me off followed Park Sangil’s lead, gradually backing away.
At that moment, Do Sohee raised her hand, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Hey! Um… I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Can’t we take the modified car with us?”
At Do Sohee’s question, Park Sangil, who had been backing away, only blinked in response.
Right?
I’d never actually thought about that myself.
“Let’s try it!”
Park Sanghun, who had entered the entrance, clapped his hands and shouted.
As everyone’s attention turned to Park Sanghun, he shrugged and continued.
“I mean, right? There was never any mention that we couldn’t take items from No Way Home, was there?”
“That’s true.”
“We packed protective gear, weapons, and food for that reason, didn’t we? There’s no reason a modified car would be any different.”
Of course, that logic held.
The only issue was that I had no idea how the game transfer would actually work.
“One minute twenty seconds!”
Lee Kwanghyun called out while checking his wristwatch, and Park Sanghun quickly continued.
“Couldn’t we just ride through the portal while in the car?”
“It might not be a portal. If it’s a method that only summons people, the modified car won’t come with us.”
“Then we just put it in the inventory.”
“…What?”
“What else couldn’t we put in the inventory?”
…He had a point.
The 3-meter barricade that Park Sangha had created went into the inventory just fine, so why couldn’t a car?
“One minute!”
As Lee Kwanghyun spoke urgently, Park Sanghun and Park Sangha took off toward the road without hesitation.
The modified vehicle we had ridden to the Brain Research Institute.
When Park Sanghun opened his inventory, a small pocket dimension the size of a palm materialized.
Park Sangha climbed into the driver’s seat and immediately began reversing while shouting.
“Make it bigger!”
“How do I make it bigger?!”
“Hold it up to the rear of the car! It’ll expand to match the object’s size!”
Following Park Sangha’s instructions, I held the inventory up to the vehicle’s rear.
Whirrrr—
[Living creatures cannot be stored in the inventory.]
A System Message materialized before the two of us.
Upon confirming the System Message, Park Sangha hurriedly descended from the vehicle.
However, as if exceeding standard dimensions, the vehicle refused to enter the inventory easily.
Park Sangha climbed back into the car, shifted into reverse, and dismounted once more.
“Push it!”
“Get in there…!”
Zzzt— zzzt!
Brilliant sparks erupted from the dimensional space Park Sanghun had opened, and the vehicle gradually slipped inside.
“No way. It’s working. It’s working!”
This was the moment Do Sohee’s impossible imagination became reality.
Vehicle Number One had entered Park Sanghun’s inventory.
“Should we put Vehicle Number Two in as well?!”
When Park Sanghun asked, Lee Kwanghyun shouted from a distance.
“35 seconds! We’re running out of time!”
“Let’s do it!”
This time Park Sanghun climbed into Vehicle Number Two, shifted into reverse, and leaped out.
Park Sangha, standing behind, opened his inventory and began forcefully shoving the second vehicle inside.
“10 seconds!!”
As Lee Kwanghyun shouted, Park Sangha and Park Sanghun sprinted toward the Brain Research Institute with all their might.
Ding—!
[The hour hand has reached 7 AM.]
[Confirming all players currently at the Research Institute for channel transfer.]
[Players: Baek Doyun, Gwak Cheolmin, Hong Yeonhui, Do Sohee, Kim Suhan, Park Sangha, Park Sanghun.]
[Are these the correct players?]
“Yes!”
We answered forcefully while gazing at the System Message.
Then.
Ding—!
[Giant Punisher only requires Baek Doyun to transfer.]
[Do Gwak Cheolmin, Hong Yeonhui, Do Sohee, Kim Suhan, Park Sangha, and Park Sanghun voluntarily wish to participate in the next game?]
“Yes, we do!”
[Confirming one final time. Do these players truly wish to proceed with the next game?]
Wait, why is it doing this?
Before, it forced us into impossible situations without hesitation.
Now the system keeps asking for confirmation repeatedly.
Does it have some hidden agenda?
“We will proceed with the next game!”
When the entire group shouted together, the System Message finally advanced.
[In a moment, the above players will transfer to B-1, ‘Giant Punisher’.]
I confirmed the System Message and gazed one last time at the group that had come to see us off.
“Uncle Baek Doyun!!”
Kyeongeo and the children calling out my name.
Whether they were worried or simply reluctant to see me go, the children waved their hands with tears streaming down their faces.
This wasn’t even goodbye, yet memories of time spent with the children flashed through my mind like faded Polaroid photographs.
Moments after clearing main episodes, reading books to the children whenever I had a chance, or playing house in the living room.
The children gripping my hand tightly with their small palms.
When I slept, they’d play with my hair, and at mealtimes they’d roll around on top of me to forcibly wake me.
The reason I could endure this shattered world with my sanity intact was because the children and my companions were by my side.
They awakened the childlike innocence buried deep within me and reminded me of a purity I didn’t even know I possessed.
“I’ll be back soon.”
I bid farewell to my companions beyond the Research Institute in a quiet voice.
Whoosh—!
At the same moment, my vision went dark and I felt a buoyant sensation wash over my entire body.

* * *
Drifting through a vast cosmos, my sense of self and existence grew hazy.
A strange sensation I’d never experienced before in my life.
And at the end of it all appeared….
Whoosh—!
“Cough! Cough, cough, cough!”
My blurred vision gradually returned, and as if I’d held my breath for a long time before desperately gasping for oxygen, coughing came first.
My head was ringing.
A wavering vision and a distant ringing in my ears.
I shook my head vigorously and blinked my eyes.
“Hack…! Cough, cough!”
Park Sanghun came into view, kneeling on the ground and coughing.
Where am I….
Pressing my right temple and looking around, I could make out flying insects dancing before my eyes along with humid air.
‘What is this place, a jungle?’
I couldn’t discern the surrounding terrain due to the ground sinking beneath my feet and the dense vegetation that had grown up to my waist.
‘What is this.’
Then suddenly, I felt a familiar object brush against my feet.
This is… a can?
Why would there be a can in a place like this?
“Is everyone alright?”
First, I checked on my companions’ condition.
One, two, three….
Fortunately, we all arrived at one location without scattering….
‘Huh?’
Someone was missing.
“Sangha! Sangha!”
Park Sangha was nowhere to be seen.
Even in my panic, I spun around in all directions, searching for him.
“Over here!”
I spotted Park Sangha in the distance, roughly sixty meters away.
Why was he standing alone over there?
He’d given me quite a fright.
I exhaled in relief, cupping my hands around my mouth like a megaphone.
“Sangha! Are you alright?!”
“I’m fine! But everyone, come here and look at this!”
Park Sangha waved us over urgently.
Park Sanghun, Elder Chulmin, and Hong Yeonhui regained their composure and walked toward Park Sangha.
As Do Sohee stumbled, Kim Suhan moved to support her.
That boy only had eyes for Do Sohee.
Though a slight dizziness lingered, I was grateful everyone had arrived safely.
Following Park Sangha’s gesture, I could only doubt my own eyes.
“This is…”
Until now, I couldn’t even guess where this place was or which country we’d entered.
But through what Park Sangha had discovered, it became unmistakably clear.
Japan—specifically, one of the most iconic landmarks etched in countless memories.
The figure of a man running with both hands raised high.
“It’s Osaka.”
The surrounding landscape made it impossible to believe this was Osaka.
And for good reason—the Glico Man sign that should have adorned the building’s exterior was now lying beneath our feet.
It was shattered into countless fragments, weathered and worn, as if it had been buried here for an eternity.
The accumulated decay spoke of at least fifty years or more of burial in this place.
“Osaka? How can you possibly tell?”
Park Sanghun stared at the Glico Man sign for a long time, his brow furrowed in disbelief.
Yes, the surrounding landscape bore no resemblance whatsoever to Dotonbori, Osaka’s famous district.
There were no towering buildings, only endless overgrown vegetation stretching in every direction.
At that moment.
Ding—!
[Player Baek Doyun, Park Sangha, Park Sanghun, Gwak Cheolmin, Hong Yeonhui, Do Sohee, and Kim Suhan have arrived at Channel B-1 (Japan).]
[Channel B-1 (Japan) is currently playing the first stage of Giant Punisher.]
[Would you like to view detailed information and stage progress?]
A system message materialized before my eyes, arriving late.
Everyone’s gaze immediately turned toward me.
“Has anyone here played Giant Punisher before?”
“I’ve seen advertisements online, but never actually played it.”
“Same here.”
It didn’t seem like Park Sangha or Park Sanghun had played it before, and from Elder Chulmin’s expression alone, I could tell this was his first time.
“Hong Yeonhui, you haven’t tried it either?”
“I created a character and quit after doing a few Quests at the beginning. It’s just not my style.”
Right, Giant Punisher is a game that blends elements of giant robots, trading monsters, and steampunk aesthetics.
The ratio of male players to female players was overwhelmingly skewed toward men.
At that moment, an unexpected person raised her hand.
“I… I’ve played up to the final episode of Stage 2.”
It was Do Sohee.
“So Hee, you’ve actually played Giant Punisher?”
“Yes. I got stuck at the final episode of Stage 2, though…”
“No, that’s good. That’s reassuring enough.”
So that’s why she stepped forward to participate in the second game.
Meanwhile, Kim Suhan simply stared blankly at Do Sohee without offering any response.
He’d followed her here intending to protect her, but he seemed flustered by the revelation that Do Sohee was experienced.
“Since So Hee is the only one with experience, I’ll explain after confirming the stage progression first.”
“Okay.”
The moment I pressed the accept button on the System Message, information about B-1 (Japan) appeared in my mind.
[B-1 (Japan) is currently playing the first stage of Giant Punisher.]
[Current Faction Rankings]
[1st Place ‘Watanabe Shota’]
[2nd Place ‘Tanaka Kaito’]
[3rd Place ‘Sato Takuni’]
[4th Place…]
[5th Place…]
After reading the system explanation, Elder Chulmin crossed his arms and asked.
“Factions? What does that mean?”
“It’s just a different term, but you can think of it the same as the Alliance.”
“The factions on the rankings look like people’s names though?”
“They’re the representatives of each faction—think of them as Alliance Leaders, if you will.”
Kim Suhan looked at the faction rankings and then at my face, asking.
“Doyun’s brother, does that mean we need to join one of the factions listed there?”
“Let’s assess the situation first before deciding.”
“Or what about you creating a faction here? After all, we’re already bound together as the Hunting Dog Federation, so we could form one quickly…”
“Creating a faction isn’t something I can just decide to do on a whim. And… I don’t really want to.”
“What? Why not?”
Kim Suhan’s expression showed he couldn’t understand.
His expression and tone suggested it was only natural that I become the Leader.
I appreciate his trust, but now that it’s become clear this insane world is the world of Battlesteam, I don’t have time to play faction games.
Especially not with Giant Punisher.
“Creating a faction won’t do us any good. It’ll just paint a target on our backs.”

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