Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 64

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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 064
The man closed his mouth, tears streaming down his face like drops of bird droppings.
“Doyun.”
Park Sangha’s voice came from behind.
“Did you notice anything strange about the steering feel of this car?”
Park Sangha, who had been checking the vehicle’s condition, pointed to the front wheel and asked.
Steering feel?
I wouldn’t know.
“I was sitting in the passenger seat, so I couldn’t tell. Suhan was the one driving.”
“Just now when I checked the vehicle condition, the camber on the left front wheel appears to be tilted inward.”
A blueprint-like image of the vehicle materialized before Park Sangha’s eyes.
The left front wheel marked in red.
“So what happens then?”
“With this, the car would have been continuously tilting to the left. You really didn’t notice? It was tilted quite significantly.”
If Kim Suhan found out how Park Sangha discovered his driving… he’d probably be shocked.
The fact that the car was driven like that with no apparent issues was itself the strange part.
I responded with a bitter smile.
“I didn’t notice at all. How long will the repairs take?”
“Thirty minutes. Just rest for now.”
“Oh, and hyung. This too.”
When I opened my inventory and pulled out the twin swords, Park Sangha tilted his head in confusion and asked.
“What is this?”
“I picked it up on the way.”
“…This?”
“I’ll explain the details later. Could you possibly repair this as well?”
“Repairs are possible.”
“Then I’ll ask you to fix this too. Thank you.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful.”
Park Sangha quickly set about repairing the twin swords and the vehicle.

* * *
I helped with the body recovery while the vehicle repairs were being completed.
Seeing Kyeongeo and several children staring at the corpses being dragged away, I hid the bodies behind me and approached the children.
“Kyeongeo, you’re getting wet. Go inside.”
“I heard a sound.”
“A sound?”
“Bang! Bang! An incredibly loud sound.”
She seemed quite startled by the gunfire.
The children’s emotions were laid bare across their faces.
I responded with a bitter smile.
“You and your friends don’t need to worry. Your uncle and aunts, your older siblings will take care of everything.”
“Is uncle okay?”
Kyeongeo looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
Unlike her clear gaze, her brows were filled with concern.
I wanted to stroke her hair, but I couldn’t touch Kyeongeo’s body after moving corpses.
So I smiled brightly to ease the children’s worries.
“Of course? Your uncle is very strong.”
As I puffed out my chest and smiled cheerfully, Kyeongeo grinned and nestled into my arms.
Startled by the sudden embrace, I stepped back and spoke.
“Kyeongeo, uncle is dirty right now, dirty. You can’t get close.”
“Doyun uncle isn’t dirty!”
“Well… I’m not dirty, but my clothes are right now. So you can’t get close.”
Kyeongeo’s expression grew downcast.
I could tell how much love Park Sangil and Kim Heejoo had poured into raising her.
I felt my heart warm at Kyeongeo’s desire to return the affection she had received.
I met Kyeongeo’s eyes and spoke.
“Uncle will wash up and then give Kyeongeo an airplane ride. Will you let me hug you then?”
“Yes! Okay!”
Kyeongeo’s face brightened again.
The other children also asked for airplane rides, so I kept smiling and promised I would definitely give them all rides.
Looking at the children, a smile naturally spread across my face.
Pure beings untainted by corruption.
I wanted to help them keep their smiles like this.
“Doyun, the repairs are done.”
Park Sangha’s voice calling me.
I waved at the children and approached Park Sangha, who glanced at them and smiled along with me.
So the children would think our conversation wasn’t heavy, that we were having a pleasant discussion.
But as I arrived, Park Sangha dropped his smile and brought up a serious matter.
“What are we going to do with that one? The one in the vehicle.”
“I’m planning to send him to The Great Dominion once we arrive. We should be able to confirm the internal situation there.”
“That’s just scratching the surface.”
“Pardon?”
“Do you know what that bastard will say once he’s inside The Great Dominion?”
“….”
“If The Great Dominion tries to kill him, he’ll spill everything about us without hesitation. He’ll beg for his life.”
Of course, that was far more likely.
But I had a method.
“I understand. That’s why I’m taking Sangil’s Hyung and Sanghun with me.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“When we send that bastard in, we’ll be able to figure out what The Great Dominion’s headquarters looks like.”
“….”
“We’ll assess the situation and cut them off beforehand.”
As I spoke calmly, Park Sangha tilted his head and asked.
“Cut them off? Cut off what?”
“Once that bastard enters The Great Dominion, he’ll leak information about us. That’s practically a given.”
“….”
“Once they realize we don’t have many people, The Great Dominion will make their move.”
“Don’t tell me you….”
“The scouts will move first. We’ll capture them and learn more details about The Great Dominion.”
Park Sangha laughed hollowly and shook his head.
“So that’s why you said that guy over there is bait?”
“Yes. To set The Great Dominion in motion, we need a loach to slip inside.”
“Hmm….”
“The scouts will know more about The Great Dominion than that bastard anyway.”
“….”
“And if the scouts don’t return, someone with real power in The Great Dominion will move. That’s how I plan to slowly wear them down.”
Park Sangha massaged my shoulder instead of answering and asked.
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
“More people might come targeting the Safe House. Please focus on rifle and crossbow production.”
“We have rifles, but you want us to make crossbows… is it because of the noise?”
“Yes. In places where we can’t make loud noises, we can’t use firearms. Crossbows will continue to be useful in many situations.”
Park Sangha walked to the 1st Floor of Building 118 and brought back a crossbow and bolts.
“Take these. You might need them.”
“Thank you.”
As I climbed into the vehicle with the crossbow, Park Sangil, who had been dozing in the driver’s seat, opened his eyes.
“What is it? Is the repair done?”
“Yes. And Hyung, please take this.”
“A crossbow? Give it to Sanghun for now.”
Right, he couldn’t hold a crossbow while driving.
Park Sanghun took the crossbow and bolts, and Park Sangil started the engine as he spoke.
“Should we leave right away?”
“Yes. Let’s go now.”
The sun was beginning to dip toward the horizon.
Once night fell, it would become difficult to monitor The Great Dominion’s movements, and finding places for us to hide would be equally challenging.
Vroom— vroom—
Park Sangil, understanding this as well, turned the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator.
I never thought I’d ever find myself heading to Gangnam, a place I’d assumed would remain forever beyond my reach.
I suppressed my mounting tension and gazed at the man being dragged toward the slaughterhouse.
The man with a gag in his mouth, no longer even resisting.
I felt no guilt.
He was the one who tried to kill us, the one who pointed a gun at me.
When you draw a blade, you must be prepared to be stabbed by it; when you point a gun at someone, you must be prepared to be shot.
My heart wasn’t magnanimous enough to love my enemies in deed.

* * *
We crossed the Seongsu Bridge heading south.
Like the Eungbong Bridge, the major bridge had a low frequency of zombie appearances.
However, irregularly parked vehicles were obstructing our passage.
“Should we just push them all out of the way?”
Park Sangil turned to look back and asked, so I gripped the front seat’s backrest firmly and nodded.
The Eungbong Bridge hadn’t had many vehicles, but the Seongsu Bridge was completely blocked with parked cars.
Since it was too late to turn back anyway and there weren’t many zombies nearby, making some noise seemed acceptable.
Park Sangil pressed a button on the dashboard, and the front bumper split left and right, transforming into a triangular spike formation.
Crash!! Bang!!
Slam!! Thud— crash!! Crunch— bang!!
The modified vehicle pushed and overturned the parked cars, advancing forward.
I could even see a bus that toppled over break through the bridge’s railing and plummet into the Han River.
Splash—!!
As the bus fell into the Han River, it sounded like a bomb exploding.
Park Sangil lightly tapped the brakes and glanced at me.
I could tell what he wanted to say just from his expression.
“It’s fine. This area should be safe.”
“I’m worried they’ll swarm here after hearing the noise.”
“Even if they swarm, they’ll head toward the riverbank, not up onto the bridge.”
“That makes sense.”
Park Sangil leaned against the car window and observed the situation below the bridge.
I could spot zombies rushing along the Gangbyeon North Road.
Fortunately, none were climbing up onto the Seongsu Bridge; they were all rushing toward the riverbank where the splash had sounded.
“They’re all gathered down there.”
“Then let’s wait a moment before moving. If we make noise now, the ones below might climb up here.”
We’ve only crossed halfway through, but if I rush recklessly, I might end up cutting off both our advance and retreat routes.
If only ordinary Zombies swarm us, we can push through, but if Giant Zombies or Mutants charge at us, that would be problematic.
I activated the 3D terrain map and checked the location of the Giant Zombie.
“Huh?”
But what’s going on here?
Before, the Giant Zombie’s location was marked with a red dot, but now there’s no marking at all.
Could it be….
‘Does the 3D terrain map’s marking change depending on the episode?’
When the episode to hunt the Giant Zombie was in progress, the Giant Zombie’s location was definitely displayed on the map.
But after clearing the episode, there’s no marking whatsoever, so it’s certainly a plausible theory.
Since the only episode so far that asked me to deal with a specific target was the Giant Zombie, maybe the marking only appeared then.
If that’s the case….
I clenched both fists and let out an inward cheer.
Then Park Sangil, who had checked the rearview mirror, smiled faintly and asked.
“What, did something good happen?”
“I figured something out.”
“What is it?”
When I shared my hypothesis, Park Sanghun in the passenger seat nodded with a short exclamation.
“Doyun, I think your theory is right?”
“Right?”
I nodded at Sanghun’s words and spoke.
“The 3D terrain map is going to become much more useful going forward.”
“Much more useful? Are there many episodes where you need to deal with specific targets?”
“Starting from the third episode itself….”
I stopped mid-sentence and glanced at the man beside me.
The guy with a gag in his mouth, staring blankly at my face.
At this, I smacked my lips and spoke.
“Let’s talk about it later. There are ears listening.”
“Ah, right.”
My companions know about it to some extent, but the third, fourth, and fifth episodes all involve episodes where I need to deal with specific targets.
The third is a Mutant.
The fourth is the King of Zombies.
The fifth is a Giant Zombie.
All of them are episodes related to specific targets.
Of course, variables can exist, but the overall framework of the episodes doesn’t change, so there’s no need to be overly anxious.
“Mmph! Ugh! Ugh!”
At that moment, the man beside me widened his eyes and began to struggle.
Everyone in the vehicle turned to look at the man.
“Stay still, you bastard. Didn’t you hear me say to be quiet?”
Park Sanghun furrowed his brow as he spoke, but the man’s struggling didn’t stop.
“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”
The man pointed straight ahead with a jerk of his chin.
Without waiting for anyone to speak first, we all stared forward.
“…!”
They say that when people are truly startled, no sound escapes their throat.
Upon seeing the creature perched atop the triangular bollard, we froze in place.
A Water Demon with its left arm twisted sat atop the triangular bollard.
When had it approached?
I hadn’t heard its cry, nor sensed its presence.
Could it be….
The same one that was wailing atop Samseong Bridge?
The triangular bollard and the raised vehicle chassis had obscured the Water Demon from our view.
The bursting sound of the vehicle being pushed aside had drowned out its cry.
Buaaaang!!!
As the startled Park Sangil stepped on the accelerator anyway, the creature atop the bollard rolled onto the hood.
Crash!
It was fortunate the vehicle had a metal grille in front of the windshield—without it, the creature might have tumbled across the hood, shattered the glass, and crashed through.
“Stop, hyung, stop!”
I called out urgently to Park Sangil, and he gripped the steering wheel with both hands, slamming on the brakes.
Screeeech—!!
The vehicle came to a halt, leaving a long skid mark.
“Shrieeeeeek….”
The Water Demon thrashed about, its head caught in the metal grille, unable to fall free.
“What do we do?! Get out and kill it?!”
Park Sanghun grabbed the door handle with his scimitar in hand, so I quickly seized his shoulder.
“No, this is our chance. Try it out.”
“Try what?”
“The skill I just learned—Phantom Sound.”

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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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