Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 44

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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 044
The rain made detection difficult enough, and if they were moving with such caution, I had no chance of winning here.
Besides, this was their hideout.
Why not just turn back without confronting them?
There was no guarantee they’d let us leave easily.
Once they saw us fleeing, they might follow us discreetly.
From their perspective, we were intruders who had set foot in their den, and they’d pursue us just to gauge the enemy’s strength.
If that happened, the students could be put in danger too.
“If I go outside, you run toward Cheolmin and the Elder.”
“Doyun…”
“It’s fine. I won’t get hit.”
“You’re not faster than bullets, so how are you not going to get—”
“Do you know something, hyung?”
“What?”
“If a cockroach were human-sized, humanity would go extinct.”
Park Sangil stared at me with a blank expression.
The look of someone hearing complete nonsense.
I continued with a wry smile.
“It means you can’t hit them with bullets.”
“…Are they armored vehicles or something? They don’t die even when shot?”
“No. The human eye can’t follow the speed at which a cockroach runs, so you can’t hit it with a gun.”
“Where did you hear such a strange thing?”
“I saw it on the internet.”
“How can you believe something from the internet and say something so absurd—”
“There’s no other way anyway.”
When I looked at him seriously, Park Sangil swept back his rain-soaked hair and sighed.
He then looked at Gwak Cheolmin and spoke in a low voice.
“So I just pick up the Elder and run straight, right?”
“Yes. Please do that.”
“Alright, let’s move on three.”
“Three.”
Crack! Snap!
I had to go out first and draw their attention, so I kicked off the ground and bolted forward.
Bang! Bang bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted from all directions simultaneously.
Eyes wide open, I ran while using the surrounding cover.
My current strength stat was 80.
My agility stat was somewhat lacking, but running speed came from strength anyway.
My movements were already beyond human speed.
At a pace that covered 100 meters in five seconds, they wouldn’t even be able to aim their guns at me.
Ting—!!
A bullet grazes my earlobe the moment I duck behind a parked vehicle.
That was close.
Dodging gunfire is proving impossible after all.
I glance toward where Park Sangil and Gwak Cheolmin’s Elder are—I spot Park Sangil already sprinting away with the Elder on his back.
Bang! Bang bang!
Several shooters fire at Park Sangil, so I dash out from cover again and cut across the alley.
In the moment I sprint at full speed, scanning the first floor of an unfamiliar villa.
Bang!
At that instant, I watch a bullet meant for me ricochet off the ground.
Is this thanks to my increased physical abilities and improved dynamic vision?
Because of it, I can now gauge the enemy’s position.
And there—a glint of light catches my eye.
Clear and distinct even through the heavy downpour.
‘Fourth floor window.’
The source of that glint.
The fourth floor of the villa I’m hiding in.
For just a moment, I catch the silhouette of a human—their head and shoulders barely poking out the window to take aim at me.
I rush up to the fourth floor and head toward the entrance where I saw Inyoung.
Tap tap tap—
Footsteps from inside.
Are they running to the shoe rack to lock the door in time?
Without giving them a chance, I shove the entrance open and spot a startled figure.
‘…Huh?’
They’re shocked, but so am I.
A boy who looks no older than a middle school student.
The Unnamed Male Student frantically aims a gun at me, so I quickly slam the entrance shut.
Click—click—
But the gun only makes a dull sound—the magazine is empty.
Click!
Confirming he’s out of ammunition, I burst through the entrance and charge inside.
Smack!
I strike the pistol from his grip and subdue him in one motion.
“Ugh!”
The boy collapses on the living room floor, groaning in pain.
I held back as much as I could, but it still must hurt.
“Let… let go…!”
“Who are you?”
“Let me go!”
“Why are you shooting at people?”
A boy thrashing about desperately.
But to me, his struggles were no different from a worm’s futile writhing.
I scanned the surroundings quickly, but I saw no sign of anyone else.
With no presence of other people felt, it seemed the only person here was this boy.
‘This sloppy?’
Even if he possessed a gun, they’d only stationed one person?
Then suddenly, I noticed the boy’s pistol lying on the living room floor.
That’s… a police-issued handgun.
Did he steal it from a police station?
“Where did you get that gun.”
“…”
“What kind of bastard are you!”
“…Just kill me! Just kill me!”
At that, I clenched my fist and drove it straight toward the living room floor.
Boom—!!
My fist passed right past the male student’s nose.
At the vibration that shook the building, the boy’s face went blank with shock.
I shook out my tingling fist and questioned the boy again.
“Tell me about your allies—how many people are here in total.”
“…”
“It wasn’t just you who fired that gun. Where are they all, tell me.”
“I… can’t tell you.”
“If you don’t talk, your head gets smashed here.”
“Just kill me! I’m alone here, so kill me!”
Thud-thud-thud— thud—
At that moment, a sound from the inner room.
It sounded like someone tapping on a wardrobe.
There’s no way a person couldn’t open a wardrobe and get out.
Then that meant…
‘A Zombie is here?’
Yes, if he’d hidden a Zombie, that would make sense.
If his family had turned into Zombies, there was a possibility he’d hide them rather than kill them.
I lifted the boy’s upper body while keeping his arm twisted.
I dragged him to the inner room door and opened it.
“…Huh?”
I was at a loss for words at the unexpected sight.
Could he be around four years old?
A child in pajamas was struggling to climb down from the wardrobe.
“Don’t come out!”
When the boy shouted at the child, the child who had been climbing down from the wardrobe hurriedly tried to go back inside.
However, with short limbs and lacking strength, the boy couldn’t climb back up and wore an expression of helpless desperation.
The boy thrashed against my grip, trying to break free, but realizing escape was impossible, he spoke in a trembling voice.
“Just… just kill me.”
“….”
“Don’t touch my little sister.”
“….”
“Please.”
The boy hung his head low, as if surrendering everything.
The child who had been near the wardrobe looked back at this place, then came running over with tears streaming down her face.
“Wahhhhh… big brother….”
“Go back inside. Don’t come out.”
“Wahhhhh….”
All the child could do was cry.
A 4-year-old with her hair braided neatly.
How could I possibly….
Tap-tap-tap! Clack! Tap-tap!
Followed by urgent footsteps echoing from beyond the entrance.
The boy’s companions were coming.
As I positioned the boy in front of me and stood before the master bedroom door, a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties, a young man and woman in their twenties, a middle-aged woman in her thirties, and an elderly grandfather who looked to be in his seventies entered the living room.
They all wore expressions of shock at the unbelievable situation.
“Let go of him!”
The middle-aged man pointed his gun at me and shouted, so I hid behind the boy and spoke.
“You attacked first.”
“Let him go!”
“Why should I?”
“I’ll shoot if you don’t!”
“Go ahead. If you’re confident.”
As I crouched slightly and pressed closer against the boy, the 4-year-old began kicking at my leg.
Like a crying child throwing a tantrum, yet without loud sobs—only tears streaming down like drops, she kicked at my leg with her foot.
“Suyeon, come here.”
The middle-aged man called to the young girl.
But the child ignored him and continued kicking at my leg.
“Suyeon, come here!”
“Sniff… big brother….”
The young girl wiped her tears with both hands and walked toward the middle-aged man.
But speaking of that, the clothes the middle-aged man was wearing….
“Are you a police officer?”
“….”
“And here you are pointing a gun at someone. What kind of guardian of the people does that?”
“Shut your mouth, you piece of garbage.”
A man with a deeply angry expression.
Wait, this is really unfair, isn’t it?
“I didn’t do anything. You’re the ones who shot at people first.”
“Don’t you think I can tell you’re some kind of organized group just by looking at you?”
“Organized group?”
“Yeah, you bastards.”
Why is he suddenly cursing at us like this?
As I stared back with a blank expression, the man continued speaking.
“You… you call yourselves human? You actually call yourselves human?!”
The man’s cry filled with resentment.
He seems to be seriously misunderstanding something.
“Let me ask you one thing. In the alley, you made scarecrows out of corpses—did you do that too?”
“…What?”
“Those bodies—couldn’t tell if they were Zombies or humans. They had blade wounds on them. Did you do that?”
“….”
The man didn’t move, his brow still furrowed.
After studying my face and gear for a long moment, he raised his eyebrows and asked.
“You… where are you from?”
“Seongdong-gu.”
“You came from Seongdong-gu?”
Then a middle-aged woman standing behind the man stepped forward slightly and asked.
“Did you perhaps… come from Haengdang-dong?”
“I can’t discuss that.”
“Haengdang, you came from Haengdang-dong, didn’t you?! I saw a message that the Safe House activation succeeded there. You came from there, didn’t you?!”
“No, that’s not it….”
“You’re a Player too, aren’t you? Please help us!”
I said I wasn’t….
For some reason, words Kim Suhan had spoken came to mind.
-Wow, you really can’t lie, can you? It shows right away.
I clearly said I wasn’t… where did I give it away?
Maybe it’s because I’m not good with words….
But more importantly, help them?
Something I don’t know about seems to be happening in this place.
“What is this ‘organized group’ you’re talking about?”
“…You don’t know about the group?”
The middle-aged man looked even more flustered, then slowly lowered his gun and asked.
“You really… came from Seongdong-gu?”
“What is the group?”
As I asked with a frown, the middle-aged man spoke with a troubled expression.
“They’re madmen who kidnap people.”
“They’re abducting people?”
“They take Survivors who possess abilities useful to the group. Regardless of age or gender.”
“Why didn’t you all just join them? Shooters are useful abilities, after all.”
“They already have plenty of Shooters. They’re abducting Makers now. But those bastards….”
The Middle-aged Man ground his teeth with a grating sound, his fists trembling with barely contained rage.
Then the Elderly Grandfather standing behind him spoke up.
“It sounds like they’re working women and children like slaves.”
“….”
“They’re not just taking people with useful abilities. They’re just… a pack of beasts.”
“….”
“Everyone in this area knows about them. But since you don’t, we were surprised too.”
“….”
“You said you came from Seongdong-gu? Since Haengdang-dong succeeded in activating a Safe House, they’d have the resources to scout out this far.”
The Elder’s expression and tone were calm and measured.
But his eyes were clouded with sorrow.
“Please tell me about this group.”
As I looked at the Elder and asked, he closed his eyes gently and recounted the events of the past.
During the time we were progressing through the Safe House episode.
The Survivors who had lost the Safe House’s protection were apparently in complete panic.
An emergency episode that began abruptly the moment the Safe House’s effect disappeared.
Survival of the fittest.
It was then that a man began recruiting people with combative tendencies, or so the story goes.
He was a Player from No Way Home, and he made passionate arguments that strong people were necessary to survive.
The problem was that he lacked the ability to lead everyone, so he was pushed around by those beasts and had his information stolen.
My initial reluctance to share information stemmed from this very situation.
When people gain information, they scheme.
When they gain even a small amount of power, they reveal their true nature.
“Where exactly is this group located?”
“I don’t know the exact location. All I know is they’re somewhere in Seongbuk-gu.”
“They came all the way down here from Seongbuk-gu?”
“I told you. There’s a Player among them. With their information advantage, those things… became far too strong.”
“….”
The Middle-aged Man studied my face intently, then let out a long sigh and continued.
“Your comrade… are they alright?”
“I don’t know if they’re alive or dead.”
As I answered matter-of-factly, the Middle-aged Man’s expression grew troubled as he spoke.
“I’m sorry. I thought you were one of them just from your clothes….”
My clothes?
Could it be because of the protective gear we were wearing?
“Does this group also wear protective gear?”
“Up close, they don’t look exactly identical, but they’re similar.”
“What color were they?”
“Huh?”
“The color of the protective gear the group was wearing.”
Had I pressed too hard with that stare?
The Middle-aged Man’s expression grew flustered. He scratched his head uncertainly before answering.
“They were soaked from the rain, so I couldn’t see them clearly… but they were a dark brown.”

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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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