Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 34

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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 034
At Park Sanghun’s question, every eye in the living room turned toward Park Sangil.
Park Sangil wore an uncomfortable expression and scratched his forehead.
“I haven’t heard anything either. He just said he had a plan and asked us to go back first.”
“Really?”
“We were all together. Why would I lie?”
“Since Doyun talks a lot with you, I thought maybe you’d heard something separately.”
….
“Anyway, the Doyun I saw was… creepy enough that I wouldn’t call him human.”
Then Kim Suhan and Kang Haneul vigorously agreed and reenacted the situation.
Baek Doyun attacking the Mutant with a writhing posture, his head tilting in an eerie manner, his expression brightening at the sight of the Mutant.
“He was just hitting the Euitaejong like this, so violently!”
The image was so intense that Kim Suhan reenacted the scene without blinking, his excitement palpable.
Park Sangil let out a groan and rose from his seat as he spoke.
“For now, Sanghun, Suhan, and Haneul should stay here. You all need treatment first.”
“Where are you going now?”
Kim Heejoo frowned as she spoke, and Park Sangil gripped protective gear in his hand.
“I need to go find him. If I leave Doyun like this, there’s no telling where he’ll end up.”
“The young master and Elder Gwak already went out. You stay here.”
Park Sangha and Gwak Cheolmin had left immediately after laying Park Sangil down here.
They said they’d bring back Park Sanghun, Kim Suhan, and Kang Haneul, but it seems they got separated along the way.
With Kim Heejoo opposing so strongly, Park Sangil could only wear a bitter expression and do nothing.
Then Lee Kwanghyun, the middle-aged man from the kitchen, spoke up.
“If Sangha and Elder Gwak are out there, they’ve definitely found Doyun already. Don’t worry and get some rest.”
….
“You need to think about Heejoo and Kyeongeo too, you fool.”
Lee Kwanghyun untied his apron and came into the living room, gripping a blunt weapon from the shoe rack.
“You handle the cooking, Sangil. Since you’re so anxious, I’ll go out, take a look, and come back.”
As Lee Kwanghyun quietly slipped out of the kitchen, his wife grabbed him by the neck.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Ow! My legs are itching! Let me go out for a bit!”
“Didn’t you hear?! There are Mutants out there!”
“Look at this! The Safe House status!”
When Lee Kwanghyun showed the Safe House status board, it displayed that there were no more danger zones.
“I’m not saying I’ll go outside the Safe House! I’m just going to find our Survivors’ Association representative!”
As Lee Kwanghyun spoke indignantly, his wife finally sighed and said.
“Don’t go outside the Safe House. Don’t forget you have no weapons and no protective gear.”
“Why do I have no weapons? Don’t you see this club right here?”
“I’ll have to get angry in front of everyone for you to listen?”
“Fine, I just won’t go outside.”
Lee Kwanghyun was the type of man who lived under his wife’s thumb.
Then the Unnamed Female Student sitting in the living room raised her right hand and spoke.
“I’ll go with you too.”
It was Han Hye-ri.
Han Hye-ri continued in a somewhat deflated voice.
“It’s because I went to Building 105 to bring refreshments that things turned out this way… Please let me take responsibility too.”
“We can’t send a student alone. We’ll go with her.”
As the Elders rose up in a rush, Park Sangil scratched the bridge of his nose and spoke.
“All of you… thank you so much.”
“Don’t say such things. We’re the grateful ones.”
….
“Even if we can’t face Mutants, we should still do something, shouldn’t we? We’ll search and bring them back, so wait here.”
The Elders, Han Hye-ri, the other high school students, and Lee Kwanghyun all stepped forward.
Park Sangil was so moved by their sincerity that he pressed his lips firmly together and nodded.
“Please bring them back safely.”

* * *
“Elder Cheolmin, take a look at this.”
Park Sangha called Gwak Cheolmin over upon seeing the crushed corpse of a Mutant.
He had come outside to search for Park Sanghun, Kim Suhan, and Kang Haneul, but their figures were nowhere to be seen in Building 121.
Consumed by worry, he was checking the entire complex.
Then he confirmed there were no danger zones on the Safe House status board and intensified the search.
In the process, he discovered two corpses of Euitaejong.
Gwak Cheolmin examined the Mutant’s corpse and quietly stroked his chin, his expression filled with doubt.
“Are these… really wounds made by a human?”
“I’m not sure. No matter how I look at it…”
“These aren’t even wounds to speak of—this thing was beaten to death. With something the size of a fist, no less.”
There were no traces of blade cuts, nor any signs of other tools being used.
The broken joints, crushed bones, and pulverized skull… anyone could see these were the marks of blunt force trauma.
The problem was whether an Euitaejong could be killed with a blunt object.
Both men had already experienced Euitaejong firsthand, so they knew that ordinary tools couldn’t crush its bones.
Gwak Cheolmin scratched his eyebrow and spoke.
“Wouldn’t it be possible if Doyun used a skill?”
“The skill we saw from Doyun was said to increase physical abilities by twofold. Even with that, crushing an Euitaejong’s bones seemed difficult.”
“Isn’t it possible he has more than one skill?”
….
Park Sangha crossed his arms and stared intently at the Euitaejong’s corpse.
“The techniques we witnessed were already at an absurd level. Are you saying he has an even better skill than that?”
“Otherwise, there’s no way he could have entered a place with three Water Demons alone.”
….
“A skill that doubles power… was it called Balhwa?”
“Yes, that should be it.”
“After using it, Doyun collapsed. If he’d used a stronger skill, he’d surely be on the brink of life and death.”
“….”
“We need to find Sanghun, Suhan, and Haneul, but we have to find Doyun too. He might be lying unconscious somewhere.”
The two of them repeated various theories standing over the Euitaejong’s corpse.
Hoping everyone was safe, they continued walking through the heavy downpour.
“Park Sangha!! Cheolmin!! Baek Doyun!!”
At that moment, a voice calling out to them pierced through the rain.
The survivors from Building 118.
Among them, Lee Kwanghyun’s resonant voice reached the two men’s ears.
Park Sangha and Gwak Cheolmin jumped to their feet and rushed toward the source of the voice.
Then Lee Kwanghyun, spotting them, waved his right hand vigorously.
“Oh?! Park Sangha! Cheolmin!”
“What is it? Why did you come out?”
It wasn’t just Lee Kwanghyun who had come out.
The high school students and elders had all come out together.
As Park Sangha looked at the survivors and asked, Lee Kwanghyun shrugged and spoke.
“We confirmed the Safe House was secure and came out, so don’t blame us. But where’s Doyun?”
“Have Sanghun, Suhan, and Haneul returned?”
“They’re being treated in Building 118 right now. The middle school students are taking care of them, so don’t worry.”
“Treatment?! Are they badly injured?”
“It’s fine. The middle school students said they can handle it.”
Park Sangha finally let out a sigh of relief and brushed back his bangs.
Gwak Cheolmin, standing beside Park Sangha, patted his back and then looked at Lee Kwanghyun with a question.
“It seems like you’re looking for Doyun too—hasn’t he returned yet?”
“That’s the thing….”
Lee Kwanghyun relayed what he’d heard from Park Sanghun, Kim Suhan, and Kang Haneul at Building 118.
Then Park Sangha and Gwak Cheolmin exchanged glances without anyone needing to speak first.
They didn’t need to say anything to understand.
Their hypothesis was correct.
Baek Doyun possessed another skill.
One that was extremely dangerous and made him violent.
“We need to find him quickly. He might have collapsed in the rain by now.”
As Park Sangha spoke, Lee Kwanghyun tilted his head and asked.
“Collapsed?”
“Regardless of how long the skill lasts, once the duration ends, he’ll definitely be lying unconscious somewhere.”
“Somewhere? You mean it might not be the Safe House?”
“It could be, so we need to find him quickly. Let’s all split up and search.”
Finding him was one thing, but they had no idea when another danger zone might appear.
To prepare for any unforeseen threats, the Survivors each opened the Safe House status board and began searching for Baek Doyun.

* * *
During the search, we disposed of all the severed corpses between Building 104 and Building 105.
Concerned about leaving the Mutant’s corpse in the complex, we disposed of all the Mutant bodies as well.
The disposal method wasn’t difficult.
We moved them to the underground parking garage, poured gasoline over them, and burned them all.
The problem was that Baek Doyun never appeared, even as all the corpses burned to ash.
“Sangha, no matter how much we search, we can’t find him.”
Kim Suhan, who had joined the search, entered the underground parking garage with the others.
Park Sangha, who had been burning the bodies, fell into deep thought upon hearing Kim Suhan’s words.
The Baek Doyun they had seen hunted Zombies like a ravenous beast, or so they said.
The Safe House had stabilized, and no more Zombies could enter.
Since all the Mutants inside the house had disappeared, there was only one conclusion we could draw now.
“Suhan, I need a favor.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Gather the people wearing protective gear.”
“An elite team?”
If we called it an elite team, what would that make everyone else?
Park Sangha spoke with a bitter smile.
“Don’t give it such a grand name. Let’s just call it a search party.”
“Ah, yes. But why?”
“It seems we need to venture outside the house.”
“What?! Ah, outside the Safe House?”
“Doyun seems to have gone outside.”
“Ah, then….”
“There’s no obligation, so if you want to rest in the Safe House, you can.”
As Park Sangha spoke calmly, Kim Suhan waved his hands vigorously in response.
“No, no! Of course I have to go.”
….
“The last time I saw Doyun, he was scary… but if it weren’t for him, Haneul, Sanghun, and I would have died there.”
….
“We might have to sleep outside, so I’ll bring food and water!”
Kim Suhan came forward far more spiritedly than expected.
Park Sangha smiled faintly and patted Kim Suhan’s shoulder.
As Kim Suhan left the parking garage to call the search party, Gwak Cheolmin, who was beside him, spoke up.
“I’ll bring the food and water.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me for every little thing. Is there anyone here who hasn’t received help from Doyun?”
….
“I need to settle this debt. Before it’s too late.”
Gwak Cheolmin turned back toward Building 118, while Park Sangha steadied his breathing as he gazed at the charred corpses.
Though the Mutant had kept them in chaos, these past few days had offered respite from the threat of Zombies, granting them some peace of mind.
There was no need to wander aimlessly through mist so thick he couldn’t see a step ahead, and no sudden threat of Zombies bursting forth without warning.
Now he was voluntarily stepping back into that danger.
Park Sangha rolled his stiff shoulders to steel himself, gripping the hilt of his blade in his hand.
The chances of finding Baek Doyun were extremely slim, but if he did nothing, the heavy weight in his heart would never lift.
He could only pray that Baek Doyun hadn’t strayed far from the Safe House.
With that silent prayer, he steadied his resolve.

* * *
They combed through every location within a one-kilometer radius centered on Haengdang Station.
After more than ten hours of continuous searching without rest, there was still no trace of Baek Doyun.
Would the search have been easier if there were more Zombies outside the Safe House?
They could have narrowed their search range by treating fallen Zombie corpses as signs of Baek Doyun’s passage.
But with the Safe House activation episode completed, most Zombies in the area were already dead, leaving no clusters of them and few sporadic ones emerging.
The day had come when the absence of Zombie threats became a disadvantage.
Though anxiety and impatience gnawed at everyone’s hearts about whether they could find Baek Doyun, they pressed on without showing it outwardly.
Until they found Baek Doyun.
Until they found even a trace of him.
Thud, thud.
At that moment, the sound of multiple people approaching came from the opposite alley.
Human footsteps in the pouring downpour.
It meant more than one or two people.
Had the footsteps been irregular, they would have suspected Zombies, but the steady, measured pace could only belong to humans.
Park Sangil, at the front, turned his head toward the alley and spoke to his companions beside him.
“Wait, everyone stop.”
Following Park Sangil’s command, Park Sangha, Park Sanghun, Lee Kwanghyun, the high school students, and the Elders came to a halt.
Park Sangil narrowed his eyes as he peered into the alley, swallowed hard, and spoke.
“People… I think?”

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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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