Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 56

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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 056
The grumbling man stared at the light with both hands shoved into his pants pockets.
“Damn, those bastards finally showed up.”
“Hey, isn’t that flashlight way too bright?”
….
“Wait, that speed seems a bit… fast?”
Vrroooom—
Following that, a mechanical sound reached their ears.
A sound both familiar and strange—one they thought they’d never hear again—was now reaching them.
“Is that a car?”
“What, did they steal a vehicle?”
“For crying out loud… if they bring the zombies here, what are they thinking, that lunatic…”
“Hey, hey!”
“What?”
“That, that thing’s exterior…”
VROOOOM—! VROOM!
Two vehicles climbing up the steep slope.
The moment the man on watch saw the vehicle’s exterior, he frantically grabbed the pistol holstered at his side.
A modified vehicle that appeared to be deliberately constructed.
If he’d only seen the vehicle itself, he wouldn’t have been so startled.
Unidentifiable flesh and blood stains clung to the iron bars and metal plates enveloping the vehicle.
Even under the pouring downpour, the traces of slaughter that hadn’t been wiped away sounded an alarm in their minds.
“Shoot, shoot quickly!!”
“Damn it… this piece of crap pistol! It’s a pain to load!”
“Hey, hey! Get out of the way!”
“Wha—?!”
CRASH!!
The vehicle smashed through the brick wall and burst inside.
Like a bulldozer, it crushed the tent and trampled the drum barrel filled with firewood.
The two men tumbled across the ground, watching the vehicle collapse every tent in its path.
“Are you, are you insane?!”
“Shoot it, you idiot!”
“Here!”
The man holding the pistol pulled the trigger toward the modified vehicle.
Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!
Three shots fired in rapid succession, but they dealt no damage to the modified vehicle.
Screeeeech—!
The modified vehicle then wrenched the steering wheel sharply, changing direction.
It charged toward the men like a rhinoceros.
“Run!”
“Screeeech!”
The two men bolted toward the detached house without looking back, but…
Screeeech!
“Aaaahhhhh!!!”
A blade sliced through both men’s knees as it passed.
Having lost their lower halves in an instant, the two men collapsed to the ground, shrieking in agony.
Thud!
“Ugh… Doyun’s brother.”
Kim Suhan seemed shocked by his own actions, trembling as he hid behind me, his upper body shaking.
I thought his decisive action meant he’d steeled his resolve, but that wasn’t it.
He’d been trying to block the building entrance with the vehicle, but miscalculated the length of the blade embedded in the wheel, ending up severing the men’s legs instead.
Regardless, I approached the two men, grabbed them by the collar, and demanded answers.
“Who did you shoot at?”
“Ughhhhh…!”
“Are you part of a group?”
The man holding the pistol lost consciousness, unable to bear the pain.
With no other choice, I walked toward the man in underwear.
Perhaps because only one of his legs was severed, he remained conscious.
He continued screaming without pause.
Smack!!
When I slapped the man’s cheek, he stared at me with a vacant expression, not even blinking.
“You’re part of a group.”
“Uh… uh… uh…”
Completely out of his mind.
Since communication was impossible, I drew the curved sword from the scabbard at my side.
“Suhan, tie this one up with rope.”
“Should we put him in the car?”
“No, leave him out in the rain.”
I wasn’t certain if these men were part of a group, but I knew they weren’t worth keeping alive.
They were the type who bound people with rope and dragged them away.
I gripped the curved sword and headed toward the building entrance.
Park Sangil and Park Sanghun approached me and asked.
“They must have already heard the commotion. Will it be okay to go in through the front?”
“Suhan and Sangil’s brother should go in. The more of us there are, the louder our footsteps become and the more likely we’ll give away our position.”
“Okay. Then Doyun and I will go in, and Sanghun, check if there’s a back door with the children.”
Park Sanghun nodded and moved toward Kim Suhan.
We needed someone standing guard outside in case reinforcements arrived.
“We’re going in.”
As I grasped the doorknob, Park Sangil nodded, holding both the curved sword and pistol in his hands.
Click!
I kicked the door open and rushed inside.
What greeted my eyes in the next moment was….
Something I couldn’t even put into words.
Naked people were scattered across the living room, bound with ropes.
“These garbage bastards….”
Park Sangil’s face flushed red and blue as he surveyed the interior, then he went back outside and slapped the Man in Underwear across the face.
Still not satisfied, he continued striking him relentlessly with his fists.
I freed the people bound by ropes and checked if there were any other bastards inside.
Thud!
At that moment, urgent footsteps sounded from behind me.
It wasn’t the sound of someone charging at me.
I spotted a man trying to escape through the large window on the first floor.
I gripped the hilt of my sword and hurled it with all my strength.
Thunk!
“Aaaahhhhh!!”
The curved blade embedded itself precisely in the man’s thigh.
I rushed toward him, grasped the hilt in my hand, and demanded.
“Tell me everything you know.”
“W-what… ugh!”
“Where this place is, why you’re kidnapping people, what organization this is, how large it is. Everything you know.”
The bastard only groaned, refusing to answer.
Fine, you’re going to keep your mouth shut like this?
Crunch-crunch-
I grasped the hilt embedded in his thigh and slowly twisted it.
“Aaaaaaahhhhh!!”
The bastard convulsed and writhed in agony.
I shouted toward the entrance.
“Do Sohee!!”
Hearing her name, Do Sohee came running in a hurry.
Upon seeing the people in the living room, Do Sohee’s face turned beet red, and she looked visibly flustered.
Soon after, Do Sohee came running to the window with both hands covering her face.
“You called for me?”
“Heal this bastard’s thigh.”
“In this state?”
“Yes.”
Do Sohee hesitated for a moment, then squeezed her eyes shut and began healing the man’s thigh caught on the window frame.
As the wound closed with the blade still embedded, I moved the curved sword back and forth like slicing meat.
“Aaaahhhhh!!”
“Keep healing, So Hee.”
“K-keep going?!”
Do Sohee let out a small groan, her brow furrowing before she followed my instructions and treated the man’s thigh.
The man thrashed about like a fresh fish gasping for air.
“If you keep your mouth shut, this pain won’t end.”
Speaking flatly, the man glared at me while cold sweat poured down his face.
“Kill… just kill me. You bastard!”
“I’d rather not.”
As I looked at him with a cold smile, the man began making metallic sounds, trapped between agony and desperation.
He was dying from the pain.
But he couldn’t actually die.
I slowly twisted the blade, scraping away at the solid thighbone.
Though I showed no outward emotion, my insides churned with revulsion—it was merely a role I had to play.
But what choice did I have?
The world had come to this.
If I didn’t hold firm, everyone would crumble.
I had to be cold, ruthless, and more cruel than anyone else.
“Here… ugh! No! You bastard!”
Finally, unable to bear the pain any longer, he opened his mouth.
I stopped twisting the curved blade and looked at him, asking.
“Not here? Then what?”
“You damn son of a—!”
“Yeah, that’s right. Keep cursing.”
Crack— Scrape—
“Aaaahhhhh!!”
“Go ahead. Curse all you want.”
“I… I’ll talk! I’ll tell you!”
Finally, pale as a ghost, he told me everything.
I committed every word from his mouth to memory, organized it briefly, and asked.
“So you’re saying you’re part of that group calling themselves an organization.”
“…Yes.”
“This place is like a hideout you made for fun?”
“…”
He glared at me while biting his lower lip.
At that, I twisted the blade slightly.
“Aah! Y-yes. Yes!”
“What do you mean the hunting party hasn’t returned yet?”
“Normally they should’ve come back yesterday, but lately the harvest has been declining, so they’re running late.”
“Harvest? You’re talking about the people here?”
“…”
“You’re not answering again?”
“Y-yes! Yes, yes!”
The guy waved his hands frantically, agreeing vehemently.
I looked at the five people in the living room and asked with a troubled expression.
“Are people crops? You’re harvesting them?”
“We’re short on Makers, so there’s no choice.”
“No choice, huh…”
As I trailed off, he shouted with a stammer.
“What’s different about you?! Just looking at you, you seem like a No Way Home Player too. I was wondering why there are so few Makers lately, and now I found the reason!”
“What?”
“I can tell just from your equipment where you’re from, you bastard. You garbage punk, we’re all garbage anyway!”
“…”
“You kidnapped all the Makers in this neighborhood, didn’t you? Huh?! How else could you already be wearing all protective gear?”
Wow, how could he think like that?
They say people only see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear.
Finding it absurd, I snorted and asked.
“You’re beyond redemption.”
“Equipment-dependent bastard…”
“Feeling sorry for yourself? You don’t even have equipment to rely on.”
“Just kill me. Just kill me, you bastard!”
“Is it true that Jeongneung is your main base?”
“Kill me!!”
“I’m asking you. Is Jeongneung your main base or not?”
Information that came from the man’s mouth just moments ago.
That the main base of the organization called the Group was in Jeongneung, Seoul.
How could they set up their main base in such a place out of all the locations available?
They occupied a royal tomb of the Joseon Dynasty that’s registered as a World Heritage Site.
The man who calls himself the Leader of the organization called the Group.
Yun Taeseong.
Did he think he was a king or something?
“Hey, let me ask one more thing.”
“…”
“Is that guy Yun Taeseong a Player? I heard a No Way Home Player created the Group. Is that right?”
“…”
Instead of answering, the man’s eyes grew moist.
With his lower lip clenched, he shed tears like chicken droppings, as if indignant.
Seeing that, I could instinctively understand.
‘This guy is the one who created the Group.’
He noticed I was a Player from the protective gear I was wearing.
And he’s someone who understands the importance of Makers.
“You… you were the one who created the Group? Did you lose your position?”
“It’s survival of the fittest anyway. What good is information if you don’t have power?”
“….”
“A guy like me just sells information and clings to the strong. That’s how I survive.”
“….”
“Preferences? Right and wrong? You need power to even have those.”
“….”
“Justice, morality—that garbage is useless. You can’t even have a conversation unless the other bastard understands you.”
He seemed to harbor a lot of grievances.
An organization that had twisted from its original purpose.
And at its center stood a man named Yun Taeseong.
“What’s Yun Taeseong’s job?”
“….”
“I’ll kill him for you instead, so just tell me. What’s Yun Taeseong’s job?”
“Didn’t I tell you? Neither you nor I can escape from here.”
“….”
“In the end, everyone has to die for this to end. This damn mess.”
Snap!
In that instant, he snatched the pistol at my side with lightning speed.
Fast enough that I could have grabbed his arm if I’d reached out.
But I didn’t grab his arm.
Because the barrel wasn’t pointing at me, or at Do Sohee, or at the people bound by rope.
The barrel was aimed at his own temple.
Bang!!
The unnamed player who had lived trampled and clinging to others… departed from this world by his own choice.
I pulled the blade embedded in his thigh and took the pistol from his limp right hand.
“Sir….”
Do Sohee’s expression was one of shock.
“You did well, So Hee.”
“This person… why did he do this?”
For Do Sohee, still just a middle school student, the current situation would be incomprehensible.
What could I even say to explain it?
I scratched my head and spoke.
“When people face a reality too overwhelming to bear, they suddenly feel the urge to leave.”
“….”
“When you no longer have the strength to endure, you make a choice like this.”
“….”
“But you can’t do that, So Hee. For the sake of our group, you have to steel yourself and keep living.”
“…Yes.”
The truth is… I know.
When you no longer have the strength to endure.
When you face a reality too overwhelming to bear.
The desire to vanish like dust is remarkably one-dimensional and simplistic thinking.
What they truly want isn’t to disappear from the world, but for someone to acknowledge them.
To say, I’m here, please help me.
But because no one extends a hand, people like this man choose to leave the world.
I understand this man founded his organization with good intentions.
However, to realize one’s ideals and convictions, power is always necessary.
This man lacked both the strength and courage to achieve his vision.
He merely conformed and submitted to the wall of reality.
Peace is like that.
It cannot be protected by words, nor is it preserved by promises alone.
How could a pact between a harmless rabbit and a ferocious tiger ever be upheld?

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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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