Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 24

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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 024
Kim Suhan and Kang Haneul shuddered, rubbing their arms with both hands.
Regardless, I continued speaking.
“It stands about 2 meters and 20 centimeters tall, with limbs proportionally elongated to match.”
“Something that stretched shrinks down into a human form?”
“Yes. Mimicry Species have weak attack power but high defense. How much strength do each of you have?”
“25 with protective gear equipped.”
With 25 strength, breaking a Mimicry Species’ bones would be impossible.
Since we’re still in the early episodes, the story would change if the Mimicry Species were weaker than I knew, but that seemed unlikely.
“With your current strength, defeating the Mimicry Species will be difficult.”
“25 isn’t enough?”
“No. So we must eliminate the Mimicry Species while it’s in human form, before it transforms into its true shape.”
“When it’s in human form, is its defense identical to a human’s?”
“Not identical, but far softer than its true form.”
Park Sangil nodded and asked.
“Is there anything else we need to be careful about?”
“If it transforms into a Gakdagwi form… I’ll take the front, so please support from the sides.”
Park Sangil looked back at the Elder and asked.
“Elder, how many Molotov cocktails do we have?”
“Five.”
“Doyun, would it be difficult to burn it to death with Molotov cocktails?”
Burning it to death would be difficult.
But we could create an opening.
“We’ll use them depending on the situation. If its body catches fire, it becomes harder for us to approach.”
“Right, let’s do that.”
“I’ve told you everything to be careful about, so let’s start hunting the Mutant now.”
“Okay!”
Park Sangil clapped his hands and stepped back into the rain.
Following him toward Building 204, I could see the shared entrance door was open.
The glass wasn’t broken—it showed signs of someone opening and entering.
Park Sangil turned back and asked.
“We’ll need to check every single door, won’t we?”
“Yes, we will.”
Building 204 had a corridor-style apartment layout.
It was easier to check than a staircase-style structure.
We began opening every entrance from the first floor, searching for traces of the Mutant and Survivors.
First floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor, and climbing all the way to the twelfth.
Humid air and ragged breathing.
Fatigue that had burrowed into my very bones.
Whether from the relief of successfully activating the Safe House or from the brief rest before coming out, my body felt several times heavier than before.
“Doyun, look at this.”
In that moment, Kim Suhan, who had been leading the way, called out to me.
Being called “older brother” by someone ten years my senior felt strange, and since I’d never heard the term directed at me before in my life, it was also embarrassing.
The Unnamed Female Student had called me “mister” instead.
Feeling awkward but trying to appear composed, I approached Kim Suhan’s side.
Kim Suhan pointed to a footprint pressed into the stairs.
“They turned toward the corridor from up there.”
Our current location was the 12th floor.
Just as Kim Suhan said, there were traces of someone escaping into the corridor from the 13th floor.
I gestured for the group to come closer, and they all gripped their sword handles, pressing in behind me.
“Suhan, you fall back. I’ll check ahead.”
“Yes.”
Kim Suhan appeared oddly excited.
It wasn’t excitement about the situation itself, but rather the thrill of having accomplished something.
I approached the entrance where the footprints were visible, keeping my footsteps as silent as possible.
I carefully turned the doorknob, but the door wouldn’t open.
Someone was inside.
I glanced back and gestured for the three brothers to come closer, and they gripped their curved swords, pressing in behind me.
Click—
In that instant, the entrance suddenly burst open and a man came flying out.
I was so startled I couldn’t even scream.
With my eyes wide as lanterns, I stared at the man who had opened the door, and he too looked at me with equally startled eyes.
“Huh?! Oh, hello?”
An unknown man greeted me with a shocked expression.
He was saying “hello” like it was nothing.
I gripped my sword handle and pointed it at him, and he quickly raised both hands as he spoke.
“Wait, wait! I’m not a bad person!”
“Who are you?”
“I, I heard footsteps and came out.”
The man who had opened the entrance showed me his empty hands as he spoke.
“See? I don’t even have a weapon.”
He appeared to be a man in his mid-thirties.
The man, who was quite large in build, had an unfriendly face and had shaved his head completely bald with clippers.
He looked like a gangster.
My first impression wasn’t good.
Peek—
But when I saw a child peeking out from behind the man, my wariness diminished somewhat.
There were two children who appeared to be between five and seven years old.
The man hid the children behind his back as he spoke.
“P, please calm down. I have no intention of attacking you.”
“….”
“First, put away the sword… Ah, would you like to come inside?”
“How do I know what’s in there.”
“There’s no one here except me and the children. You’re welcome to come in and check.”
I gestured for the man to step back and entered the shoe rack area.
I had the man sit on the sofa, then instructed Kim Suhan and Kang Haneul to keep watch over him.
The three brothers and the Elder hurriedly opened every door and checked the interior.
But no traces of other survivors were found.
With that, I sheathed my curved sword and walked toward the man sitting on the sofa.
The man then spoke with a bitter smile.
“We have a guest, but I have nothing to offer.”
“….”
“Let’s sit down and talk for now.”
What the hell is this guy?
The world’s gone to hell and he’s talking about hospitality.
That’s even more suspicious.
My group kept their guard up, hands still gripping their curved swords.
Park Sangil, who had been observing the situation, looked at the man’s forearm and asked.
“Are you a gangster?”
The bluntness caught me off guard.
Well… I suppose that’s typical of Park Sangil’s straightforward nature.
The man startled, then covered the tattoos on both his forearms as he spoke.
“Oh, no. This is… just something I drew.”
“Is that irezumi?”
“What?! No! It’s only about the size of my palm.”
“Isn’t that a carp?”
Irezumi—the symbol of Japanese yakuza.
Typically, full-body tattoos depicting dragons, tigers, carp, or demons.
The tattoos on the man’s arms weren’t irezumi.
‘Is it a flower?’
The man waved his hands frantically as he spoke.
“A carp? No, this is cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums. And this… I just have low self-esteem…”
Cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums?
I understood cherry blossoms to symbolize purity and artistry, while chrysanthemums represented determination.
Then Gwak Cheolmin, standing behind, furrowed his brow and asked.
“Isn’t that what yakuza do?”
“I told you it’s not irezumi…”
“Why would you draw something like that on a perfectly good body? A big guy like you—flowers don’t suit you at all.”
“Ah, well, they represent purity, artistry, and determination. I’m a painter, and these symbolize what I aspire to…”
“Tsk tsk, even if you’re a painter, that’s no excuse. Scribbling on your body like that—what’s the point.”
When Gwak Cheolmin’s expression turned disapproving, the man’s shoulders sagged and he lowered his head.
His demeanor contradicted his appearance.
I set aside my preconceptions and asked about the current situation.
“What’s going on here? Where are the others?”
“Huh?! H-how did you know there were more people?”
“Just answer the question.”
Speaking firmly, the man fidgeted with his fingers as he replied.
“The others are on the top floor.”
“Why are you down here?”
“That’s….”
As the man’s shoulders drooped and his expression grew troubled, an Unnamed Female Student stepped between him and me, speaking up.
“Don’t be mean to our uncle!”
“…?”
“Our uncle isn’t a bad person! The people upstairs are worse!”
The child’s outburst left me speechless.
This was hardly fair.
Park Sangil and Gwak Cheolmin were the ones who said something, not me—I only asked a question.
“O-our uncle is a good person! Don’t hit him!”
I hadn’t done anything….
Scratching my brow as I looked at my companions, Park Sangha spoke up this time.
“What’s your name, little friend?”
“….”
“We didn’t come here to punish your uncle.”
“Then who are you? Why are you here?”
“We came to check things out. You came from the apartment building across the way, right?”
“…Yes.”
“We wanted to ask your uncle how you all made it this far.”
As the young girl’s lips trembled and she hesitated, the tattooed man took her hand and spoke.
“It’s okay, uncle will explain.”
“….”
“It’s alright, it’s alright.”
Once the young girl calmed down, the man straightened himself and opened his mouth.
“I apologize for the late introduction. I’m Jo Yunhwan.”
Jo Yunhwan waited with his lips pressed together for us to introduce ourselves, but none of us offered our names.
He wore an awkward expression, then scratched his head and continued.
“The people upstairs… they wanted to leave the children behind.”
“….”
“I opposed that, so now it’s just me and the children staying separately.”
They wanted to leave the children behind?
Right, there were definitely two children.
A young girl who appeared to be seven years old was cradled in Jo Yunhwan’s arms, and the other one was…
I glanced around the room.
A five-year-old boy sitting on a kitchen chair.
I stared intently at the five-year-old boy’s expression.
Park Sangil and Gwak Cheolmin, having heard Jo Yunhwan’s story, felt genuinely apologetic and spoke while moistening their lips.
“I apologize. We were rude on first meeting.”
“I’m sorry too. Whenever I see tattoos on Japanese kids, it brings back bad memories.”
As Gwak Cheolmin and Park Sangil apologized, Jo Yunhwan waved his hand with a bitter smile.
“It’s fine. I’m actually grateful you were cautious.”
“Grateful for caution?”
“I’m naturally a timid person… I got the tattoo partly because I wanted to have more confidence.”
“…”
“The fact that you were cautious of me felt like you weren’t looking down on me…”
“Ha, if you want confidence, you should exercise, not draw pictures on your body.”
At Gwak Cheolmin’s words, Jo Yunhwan showed his forearms and spoke.
“I can bench press 500 pounds. No matter how much I exercise… I think I’m just naturally timid.”
“You’ve got a gentle heart, friend.”
Even as I listened to their conversation, I kept glancing at the child in the kitchen.
As I continued staring at the child in the kitchen, Park Sangil tapped my shoulder and spoke.
“Don’t scare him like that.”
“What?”
“Kids get frightened when you stare at them like that.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Huh?”
Park Sangil didn’t seem to have caught on yet.
So I looked at Jo Yunhwan and asked.
“Is that child over there also your nephew?”
“Oh, no. We met at the Safe House.”
“At Dae O Apartment?”
“Yes.”
“Has he always been this quiet?”
As I asked matter-of-factly, Jo Yunhwan looked at the child and smiled bitterly.
“No. He was originally a talkative and bright child. A few days ago, while we were dealing with the zombies… his parents passed away…”
“And that’s how he became like this? Does he respond at all?”
As I asked matter-of-factly, Park Sanghun behind me poked my back repeatedly.
When I turned around, he gave me a faint smile and gestured for me to calm down.
“Doyun, relax.”
“What?”
“You’re being too aggressive right now.”
“I’m not worked up?”
“No, your tone is far too aggressive.”
Is it?
Regardless, I gripped the curved blade and walked toward the 5-Year-Old Boy.
“Baek Doyun!”
Park Sangil rushed to my side with a gasp of alarm.
Everyone in the Living Room froze at my sudden movement.
Jo Yunhwan, startled as well, positioned himself between the child in the kitchen and me.
“W-what are you doing?! Why are you like this?!”
Jo Yunhwan was so shocked that his words stumbled.
I stared at the child’s eyes with piercing intensity and spoke.
“Everyone, step back. I need to confirm something.”
“Hey! What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?!”
At Park Sangil’s cry, I narrowed my eyes and looked at him.
“Hasn’t the child turned into a Zombie?”
“…What?”
“I’m just going to confirm.”
Only then did the three brothers grasp the situation and began watching the child in the kitchen warily.
“Move aside, Jo Yunhwan.”
“Please don’t do this.”
“That child might not be human.”
“No, that’s not true. I checked before I came over here. There are no bite marks…”
“There wouldn’t be any. If he had been bitten and turned into a Zombie, his entire body would have crumbled to dust the moment he entered the Safe House.”
Jo Yunhwan wouldn’t understand the current situation.
He had no information about Mutants.
So I pointed at him with my curved blade and spoke.
“If you don’t move, I’ll have no choice but to use force.”
Jo Yunhwan stood frozen with wide eyes, unable to do anything.
From the way his breathing grew ragged, it was clear he was torn between fear and conviction.
After a moment, as if he’d made a decision, he clenched his fists and shouted.
“He’s just a child! Why are you suddenly trying to confirm something like this?!”
“He might not be human. He could be a Mutant.”
“A… a Mutant?”
“Move aside. I’m just going to confirm.”
“You say you’re just going to confirm, but you’re drawing a sword like… like that?!”
Jo Yunhwan’s legs trembled visibly.
A man unaccustomed to such dire situations.
Just as Gwak Cheolmin had said—a man with a soft heart.
Yet this timid man showed resolve when standing before the child.
Gwak Cheolmin, Kim Suhan, and Kang Haneul, who had been observing, approached and tried to calm Jo Yunhwan.
“Now, young man, I mean no harm.”
“That’s right! I’m trying to help!”
The Elder and the high school students attempted to calm him, but their voices never reached Jo Yunhwan’s ears.
Jo Yunhwan cried out, his voice trembling on the edge of tears.
“A Mutant? What do you mean Mutant! This child has been with me the entire time!”
“….”
“So please… please lower the blade. This poor child has suffered enough… don’t torment them any further.”
Jo Yunhwan spoke pleadingly, his eyes bloodshot and glistening.
Yes, when the Survivors from Dae O Apartment suggested abandoning the children and moving on, it was Jo Yunhwan who insisted on looking after them until the very end.
But this world is no longer one where ethics and morality can sustain you.
“Are you certain?”
“…What?”
“You’re certain they were with you the entire time?”
“O, of course!”
“Even when sleeping, using the Bathroom, eating—you watched them without taking your eyes off them for even a moment?”
Jo Yunhwan’s lips trembled as he struggled to answer.
I looked back and forth between Jo Yunhwan and the group behind him as I spoke.
“Listen carefully, all of you. If you want to survive alongside the children, you cannot take your eyes off them for even a second.”
Surely there were moments when they were separated—trips to the Bathroom, times of sleep.
No matter how careful he’d been, Jo Yunhwan had his own nephew to care for; he couldn’t possibly have watched another child perfectly at all times.
As Jo Yunhwan’s expression grew confused with conflict, I turned to address the group.
“Restrain him.”
The three brothers, the Elder, and the high school students rushed at Jo Yunhwan in unison.
Though Jo Yunhwan boasted a 3-versus-500 advantage, he was no match for our group with our stat values of 25 in stamina, strength, and agility.

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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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