Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 81

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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 081
Siyun’s Father gently caressed his unconscious wife’s cheek, his brow furrowing deeply.
“I should have gone with her….”
“….”
“Why, why did this happen to our Hanna… why did this have to happen to her….”
As tears welled up in the man’s eyes, Hong Yeonhui, who had been observing the situation, cautiously approached him.
“It’s alright, Siyun’s Father. Kim Hanna can become human again.”
“…What?”
“There is a way.”
“Really? Is that actually possible?!”
“Yes. I will make it happen. I can do it.”
The man bit his lower lip firmly, then finally unable to hold back his tears, he bowed his head deeply.
Following that, a girl cautiously approached their side.
Jeong Siyun.
When Siyun discovered her collapsed mother, she seemed startled and hesitated, unable to approach easily.
“Um, M… om?”
As Siyun wavered, Hong Yeonhui approached and gently stroked Siyun’s head as she spoke.
“Siyun, call out to your mom loudly so she can wake up.”
“Um, is our mom okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine. Right now… she’s just a bit tired.”
Siyun carefully moved forward, then sat beside her father and gazed at her mother, who remained motionless.
“M… om?”
“….”
“Mom.”
“….”
“Mooooom!”
Then the Zombie King’s eyes slowly opened.
“M… om?”
The moment Siyun approached closer and looked at Kim Hanna.
Flash!
The Zombie King’s eyes widened as she raised her upper body.
Upon discovering her child, the Zombie King’s rationality returns and her aggression disappears—such was the setting of No Way Home.
This setting had already been explained to Jeong Siyun’s Father beforehand.
Yet no matter what, anxiety about whether his zombie-transformed wife might attack their daughter was evident on his face.
Upon seeing the Zombie King raise her upper body, Siyun appeared somewhat intimidated.
Her left arm was severed, and the veins across her entire body were stained black—the appearance of her mother.
It would be difficult for young Siyun to accept.
But… Siyun did not shrink back and gazed at her mother.
The mom who always smiled brightly at her.
She would smile again when she saw me.
With a warm touch, gently caressing me.
A mother like that wouldn’t attack me.
“Ah… Ahhhhh….”
At that moment, a grotesque, rasping voice emanated from the Zombie King’s mouth.
Park Sangil, Park Sanghun, and Hong Yeonhui watched the situation unfold without releasing their tension.
Their hands holding pistols remained hidden behind their backs.
“Ah… Child… I… I….”
“Mom?”
“Child….”
“Mom, is it you? It’s me, Si Yun.”
“Ahhh….”
“It’s Si Yun! I… I’m Si Yun….”
I had thought she would smile upon seeing me, but from my mother’s lips came only the repulsive, grating sound of her throat.
She was not the mother who would call my name warmly and embrace me.
Faced with a response so different from what I expected, Si Yun began to weep.
At that moment, the Zombie King extended her right arm toward Si Yun, trembling violently.
“My… child. We… we….”
But upon discovering her own hands covered in wounds, the Zombie King froze in place.
Did she finally realize what kind of being she had become?
The Zombie King’s expression conveyed her bewilderment unmistakably.
She touched her own cheek, gazed at her missing left arm, her expression vacant and hollow, as if on the verge of panic.
Thump—
At that moment, Si Yun sat down upon the Zombie King’s leg.
Si Yun stared at her mother, now transformed into a zombie, tears streaming down her face like raindrops.
“Mom.”
There was so much I wanted to say, yet before any words could come, this day arrived.
“I missed you so much.”
Si Yun wept in her mother’s embrace, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
Then, slowly, the Zombie King’s right arm rose.
That touch was no longer the hand of a zombie seeking prey.
It was a careful, tender hand—as if cradling something fragile and precious, afraid it might shatter at any moment.
The Zombie King gently patted Si Yun’s trembling back, tears streaming down her face with her eyes squeezed shut.
Though her voice remained that horrifying, grating rasp, this time it was unmistakably clear.
The Zombie King was crying.
Where once bloody tears had flowed, transparent tears now streamed from the Zombie King’s eyes.
It was Kim Hanna, who had searched so desperately, finally holding her daughter in her arms.
Ding—!
[The Survivors of the Hunting Dog League have completed the emergency episode ‘Lost Child’!]
[2,000 points are awarded to the Hunting Dog League Members and the Survivors of Majang-dong Shelter who assisted in clearing the episode.]
[An additional 2,000 points are awarded as a first-clear bonus to the Hunting Dog League Members and the Survivors of Majang-dong Shelter who assisted in clearing the episode.]
Ding—!
[The Zombie King’s Frenzy has subsided.]
[The Zombie King’s rationality returns.]
[Upon consuming 100 or more human brains, the Zombie King will be able to use language.]
Ding—!
[Currently 96 brains have been consumed. The Zombie King can now vocalize simple words.]
[Please consume 100 brains for complete sentence formation.]
Ding—!
[Additional Reward: All Survivors of the Hunting Dog League receive 2 Skill Books.]
[Players from the Shelter in Majang-dong who provided assistance are granted Second Awakening Rights and League Composition Coupons.]
System Messages cascaded before my eyes in rapid succession.
These were not messages that appeared only to Survivors.
The Zombie King, Kim Hanna, also had Player messages displayed before her eyes.
A message stating that upon consuming 100 human brains, she could form complete sentences.
“Hong Yeonhui.”
Park Sangil called out to Hong Yeonhui, and she turned to him with a bewildered expression.
“Yes?”
“It seems messages are appearing before Hanna as well… Could it be that Kim Hanna is also registered as a Player?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen a case like this before.”
“You’ve never seen this case before either?”
“No. There’s no zombie mode or anything like that in No Way Home. But the fact that System Messages are displayed for Kim Hanna…”
“Kim Hanna is the only exception?”
At Park Sangil’s words, Hong Yeonhui nodded with an uncertain expression.
“That seems to be the case.”
“Then… could we even form a party with Kim Hanna?”
“I’m not sure about that, but ultimately, the final goal of this game is to create a vaccine using the Zombie King’s blood.”
“…”
“It wouldn’t be strange even if the Zombie King were recognized as a Player.”
“In that case…”
“Should we ask just in case? Whether Hanna can join a party.”
At Hong Yeonhui’s words, Park Sangil looked toward Jeong Siyun’s family.
“We’ll ask later.”
Jeong Siyun’s family, embracing each other and shedding tears of joy.
System Messages were not important to them.
What mattered was that their family had reunited.
Hong Yeonhui watched them silently for a moment, then snapped her fingers and asked belatedly.
“Oh! Wouldn’t Baek Doyun know something about this?”
“Now that you mention it, where did Doyun go? And I don’t see Sangha either.”
Hong Yeonhui, having been so focused on the Zombie King Kim Hanna, had forgotten about the existence of the Giant Zombie.
Hong Yeonhui’s eyes widened in alarm as she looked toward Solbit Island.
And I could discover it.
A Giant Zombie whose head had already been severed.
Park Sangil beside me checked the System Message and spoke.
“We don’t need to worry about the Giant Zombie. It looks like Doyun already took care of it.”
“You knew?”
“Yes. I received a message that the Giant Zombie was dealt with.”
“What? You, Sangil?”
“When you form a League, you can share the accumulated points. Didn’t you know?”
“No way—there was no League system in No Way Home. And now this League Formation Coupon suddenly appeared, so I don’t even know what this is….”
“You didn’t know?”
Park Sangil’s mind belatedly registered an “Oh no” moment.
That’s right. When they formed the League, Baek Doyun had said that.
That such a system didn’t exist in No Way Home.
It seemed Gaia had introduced new systems to the existing No Way Home.
Following that, Elder Chulmin, who had been observing the situation, looked around and asked.
“So where are Doyun and Sangha?”
The Giant Zombie was dead, but where on earth were those two?
“Oh! There!”
At that moment, Do Sohee, who had been gazing at Solbit Island, called out loudly to the group.
Park Sangil, the first to hear her voice and rush over, frowned when he saw Park Sangha on Solbit Island.
“What is he doing over there?”
Park Sangha was straining with all his might to move something massive.
But it seemed far too heavy, as he was gasping for breath.
“Sangha!”
When Park Sangil called his younger brother, Park Sangha looked toward Sebit Island and shouted.
“Hyung! Hurry over!”
“What?”
“Come quick!”
Park Sangha, frowning, gestured urgently for him to come.
Everyone except Siyun’s family crossed over to Solbit Island.
Blood splattered in all directions and chunks of the Giant Zombie’s flesh hanging here and there.
The ground completely devastated by grenades and the Giant Zombie’s foot smashes, and the collapsed remnants of buildings.
The traces of the fierce battle on Solbit Island remained intact.
Blub blub blub—
At that moment, the sound of bubbles rising came from somewhere.
Park Sangil turned his head to the side and looked at the tank behind Park Sangha.
“What are you doing? Trying to eat sashimi?”
“Look at what’s inside.”
The moment Park Sangil walked around and discovered the existence in the tank, his jaw fell open.
“D-Doyun!!”
As he hurried to pull me out, Park Sangha stopped him.
“Don’t pull me out.”
“Are you insane?! I look like I’m drowning!”
“If I really thought I was dying, I’d smash the glass or break through the ceiling.”
“….”
“Did you forget? With Baek Doyun’s stamina stat, do you think his lung capacity is the same as a normal person’s?”
“….”
“Holding out underwater for 30 minutes would be nothing.”
When Park Sangil offered no rebuttal, Park Sanghun turned to gaze at the tank and asked.
“Doyun.”
“….”
“Doyun, can you hear me?”
Even when called loudly, Baek Doyun showed no response.
He simply stared blankly at the fish swimming in the tank.
Hong Yeonhui observed Baek Doyun quietly for a moment, then turned to Park Sangha and asked.
“Don’t tell me… Baek Doyun went in of his own volition?”
“Yes.”
“Because of the Frenzy?”
“It seems that way.”
Hong Yeonhui made an exasperated expression and shuddered as she muttered to herself.
“Anyway… he’s completely insane.”
“….”
“Though if he were sane, he wouldn’t have chosen the Baster in the first place.”
Hong Yeonhui chuckled softly and explained to the others.
“Baek Doyun used his head.”
“That… counts as using his head?”
When Elder Chulmin asked with a puzzled expression, Hong Yeonhui looked at Baek Doyun, whose eyes were the only thing blinking in the tank, and explained.
“When in a Frenzy state, the sense of smell becomes absurdly heightened. He tracks and pursues zombies by their scent.”
“….”
“Even with rain pouring down like this, if there’s a zombie within 200 meters, he could track its scent.”
“So Doyun….”
“Numbed his own sense of smell intentionally.”
At Hong Yeonhui’s words, Elder Chulmin scratched his head and asked.
“If he does that… what happens?”
“He becomes stupid.”
“Huh?”
“You know how in games there are cases where you disable a character or monster that excels at a particular ability and use them that way. Everyone knows what I mean, right?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
However, one person—Elder Chulmin—cleared his throat and spoke up.
“Well… I don’t know about that, so would you mind explaining it?”
“Simply put, it’s converting a specific character’s outstanding strength into a weakness.”
“Converting it into a weakness?”
“For example, suppose a specific character loses their reason when they smell blood, but in exchange gains a 3x increase in movement speed. What would you do?”
“What do you mean ‘what would you do’? They’re 3 times faster, obviously.”
“No. People who enjoy games don’t think that way.”
“Then?”
“They use it as a means of transportation.”
“…What?”
Elder Chulmin’s expression went blank.
By common sense it made no sense, but in a game with high degrees of freedom, common sense didn’t matter.
The joy of breaking what’s impossible in reality.
That was what a game was.
Hong Yeonhui shrugged and continued.
“Think about it. You attach a pouch reeking of blood to the end of a stick, and ride on that character’s back.”
“….”
“Then they’ll run trying to grab the blood pouch at the end of the stick, won’t they?”
“I sup…pose?”
“That character will keep running, trying to grab something they can never catch. At 3 times the speed.”

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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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