The Automatic Rooting Range Is Too Wide - Chapter 156

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Auto Looting Range Too Wide Episode 156

Episode 156: Extreme East Energy (4)

“Wh-what! What is this? Where did you get such an item!”

As Mincheol expected, Kang Ung-hyeok showed an intense reaction.

He thought not only the item’s effect but even its description would appeal to Kang Ung-hyeok’s heart.

After all, it was blatantly written as a muscle enhancement drug.

“And Iskra! This is the name of a Machine Empire corporation! There’s never been a case of elixirs appearing in the Machine Empire!”

As expected of someone who had survived long in the Tower, he immediately recognized the item’s origin.

“Hurry up and hand that over!”

“Help me. Then I’ll give it to you.”

Mincheol said while shaking the elixir.

Then Kang Ung-hyeok spoke with a displeased face.

“Why should I help you? I could just kill you and take it!”

“Then you won’t be able to get more elixirs.”

At Mincheol’s words, Kang Ung-hyeok’s eyes widened.

“D-don’t tell me you don’t just have one elixir?”

“I only have one right now. But I know a route to get more.”

Kang Ung-hyeok’s brow furrowed sharply. His face was full of suspicion.

“You expect me to believe such nonsense?”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors about me? I’m an unaffiliated Awakened who beat a large guild’s promising member. How do you think I became this strong?”

Kang Ung-hyeok’s face went blank. Soon he gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Ha! Then I’ll torture you to find out that route!”

Mincheol drew his dagger and held it to his throat.

“Wh-what are you doing!”

“Since I’m going to die anyway, I can’t do anyone any favors.”

“Don’t make such ridiculous threats! You think taking your own life will be easy…”

Mincheol slashed his throat with the dagger. It cut quite deep and blood spurted out.

At that sight, Kang Ung-hyeok hesitated.

‘Damn, this really hurts.’

At the pain spreading along his throat, Mincheol shed a few tears.

From the beginning, Mincheol had no intention of actually dying.

He was doing this to survive, so suicide made no sense.

He was just acting tough to draw Kang Ung-hyeok in.

‘Please accept it. Accept it.’

Mincheol looked at Kang Ung-hyeok and desperately hoped.

“…”

But Kang Ung-hyeok only looked at Mincheol with a troubled face.

“Are you guys filming YouTube?”

Then, Jo U-hwan interrupted.

He chuckled and said.

“Hey, Kang Ung-hyeok. You look troubled. I’ll help you out.”

Bang-

With the sound of stomping on the ground, Jo U-hwan charged toward Mincheol.

By the time he heard the sound, Jo U-hwan’s hand was already covering his vision.

‘How is he so fas…’

There was no time to react.

He was about to have his face grabbed helplessly.

Suddenly another loud noise erupted.

Boom-

With the sound of air exploding, Jo U-hwan was sent flying.

And like a crushed can, he rolled across the ground several times.

“Kuk!”

Jo U-hwan got up covered in dust.

Soon he glared this way with a face twisted like a demon.

“Kang Ung-hyeok! What is the meaning of this!”

Kang Ung-hyeok was standing in front of Mincheol.

The moment Jo U-hwan charged, Kang Ung-hyeok had moved and kicked him away.

“You’d mess with Hope Society over some elixir? Have your brains turned to muscle and driven you insane!”

“Hup.”

Kang Ung-hyeok took a deep breath, then exhaled.

“Shut uuuup!!”

Sound waves burst forth, making the entire world ring thunderously.

The Awakened nearby immediately covered their ears.

Even so, some were bleeding from their ears and noses.

“From now on, I absolutely will not allow any attacks on Butcher! If you ignore my warning, I won’t stand idle!”

Mincheol felt relieved inside.

He had gambled with a do-or-die mentality. Fortunately, he had hit the jackpot.

“Crazy bastard.”

Jo U-hwan criticized Kang Ung-hyeok as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Today’s incident can’t just be overlooked! The higher-ups won’t leave alone an idiot who opposed Hope Society…”

“I’ve been thinking since earlier… what exactly are you relying on to act so arrogantly toward me?”

“This moron still hasn’t come to his senses. You still don’t realize how fucked you are…”

“Hmm.”

Kang Ung-hyeok looked at Jo U-hwan with a contemptuous face.

And the next moment-

Kang Ung-hyeok’s massive figure disappeared.

‘What?’

Mincheol looked at where he had been standing with a surprised face.

He felt no sound or presence.

‘Where did he disappear to…’

Then, Jo U-hwan’s scream was heard.

“Kueok!”

Before he knew it, Kang Ung-hyeok was pressing down on Jo U-hwan’s back with his hand.

The pressure must have been considerable as Jo U-hwan’s face was twisted in pain.

“You seem to have forgotten. The fact that I’m an upper layer Awakened.”

Crack-

Spider web-like cracks spread across the ground where Jo U-hwan lay.

The ground had split not from impact, but from simple pressure alone.

‘What.’

Mincheol couldn’t help but be shocked at that sight.

Jo U-hwan was a strong fighter who had unilaterally overwhelmed Lee Min-yeong, a veteran of Righteous Equality.

Though he hadn’t seen the fight, Lee Min-yeong’s disheveled state was proof of that.

Kang Ung-hyeok was treating such a Jo U-hwan like a child.

‘This is an upper layer Awakened?’

There was a reason Awakened were divided into lower, middle, upper, and top layers.

The gap between Awakened widened overwhelmingly according to their layer.

“Kuheoeok!”

Then, Jo U-hwan spat blood from his mouth.

Only then did Kang Ung-hyeok release the strength from his hand.

“Don’t just watch, hurry up and take him away.”

Kang Ung-hyeok shouted toward the factory.

Then several Awakened wearing black masks came tumbling out in a hurry and supported Jo U-hwan.

Like Jo U-hwan, they were Awakened from the Hope Society.

It seemed Jo U-hwan hadn’t come alone after all.

“Get lost now. If you dawdle, I’ll kill all of you.”

One of the Hope Society’s Awakened took out a black crystal and threw it toward the ground.

The crystal shattered and shadows spread widely.

All the Hope Society’s Awakened threw themselves into it.

Only after swallowing all of the Hope Society members did the shadow disappear.

‘What the hell was that?’

Mincheol watched the scene with a curious expression.

They had probably infiltrated the factory interior using a similar method.

‘They say it’s hard to catch Awakened when they’re determined to commit crimes… I can kind of see why.’

With skills like that, even tracking them wouldn’t be easy.

While Mincheol was lost in various thoughts.

Kang Ung-hyeok approached Mincheol.

“Aren’t you going to kill them?”

Mincheol asked Kang Ung-hyeok.

It wasn’t that he wanted them killed, but out of pure curiosity.

For someone who seemed angry, his restraint had been quite mild.

“Don’t talk nonsense. There’s no way I’d kill a Hope Society executive over some elixir.”

He was saying it didn’t match the cost-benefit analysis.

Since Mincheol’s goal was survival anyway, it didn’t matter to him.

“Take it.”

Mincheol readily threw the elixir.

Mincheol couldn’t benefit from it even if he consumed it anyway.

He had already consumed a superior version of the elixir and obtained the Super Soldier trait.

Kang Ung-hyeok checked the elixir, then put it in his inventory.

“You said you could obtain elixirs of this caliber again, right?”

Kang Ung-hyeok stared at Mincheol as he asked.

There was no particular emotion in it. But Mincheol couldn’t help but feel tense.

With the Hope Society gone, there was no one to keep Kang Ung-hyeok in check.

In other words, there was no way to stop Kang Ung-hyeok if he wanted to torture Mincheol.

“That’s right.”

It was actually a lie.

The Hidden Stage where Mincheol had obtained the elixir had already disappeared.

He might be able to discover another Hidden Stage if he had the Electronic Spirit, but there was no guarantee he could obtain elixirs there.

“Hmm…”

Kang Ung-hyeok pondered for a while, then tapped the air with his finger.

【’3vs?’ has requested to add you as a friend.】

Suddenly a message appeared before his eyes.

“When you find elixirs again, contact me first. I’ll pay you a fair price.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“No, don’t think about it! You must contact me! You must!”

After leaving that final request, Kang Ung-hyeok left the site.

Only after Kang Ung-hyeok disappeared could Mincheol finally feel relieved.

‘I, I survived.’

All the strength drained from his body.

It was because he had felt his life threatened and met two monsters.

‘There really are nothing but monster bastards.’

Not to mention Jo U-hwan, an executive of the Hope Society, but Kang Ung-hyeok was also a much more incredible monster than Mincheol had thought.

What was more shocking was that this wasn’t even Kang Ung-hyeok’s full power.

During the Emergency Quest, Kang Ung-hyeok had worn armor to face Go Seok-ho, the guild master of Goseong Guild.

In contrast, today he had remained barehanded the entire time. This meant even this wasn’t his serious effort.

‘If upper layer Awakened are like this, how strong are top layer Awakened?’

They say people fall into fear when faced with beings too immense.

Today Mincheol was in exactly that situation.

An upper layer Awakened.

He had faced a powerhouse beyond his comprehension.

But strangely, he didn’t feel afraid.

‘…Could I become that strong too.’

What filled Mincheol’s mind now wasn’t fear or anything like that.

A longing for strength had taken its place.

“Older Brother!”

Then, Park Du-nam jumped down from the rooftop and ran to Mincheol.

“I’m glad you’re safe!”

“Did anything happen to you?”

“A few guys did come up to the rooftop. I beat them all up.”

Park Du-nam said, showing his blood-stained chain.

Then, Kim Eun-ae appeared belatedly.

Mincheol asked Kim Eun-ae.

“Did you deal with all the other attackers?”

“Deal with them… I did, but…”

Kim Eun-ae couldn’t continue speaking properly.

She just looked at Mincheol with a thoroughly shocked expression.

Then, another presence was felt.

Lee Min-yeong, an executive of Gakdeungjeong, was approaching while being supported by a team member.

“I survived thanks to you.”

She said with a bitter smile.

As she said, without Mincheol, Min-yeong would have died at Jo U-hwan’s hands.

“As a seonbae, I couldn’t protect my junior and only received help, so I’m ashamed.”

“Don’t worry about it. I was just trying to survive too.”

If he hadn’t brought in Kang Ung-hyeok, not only Min-yeong but Mincheol would have died too.

“Still, I received help. It wouldn’t be right to just let it pass. I’ll repay this favor somehow.”

Min-yeong spoke with a sincere voice.

At those words, Mincheol reflexively said.

“Then I’d like to receive an Inventory Expansion Voucher.”

Inventory Expansion Vouchers were so popular that you couldn’t even find them for sale at the Auction House.

But a large guild like Gakdeungjeong should be able to obtain them easily.

“An Inventory Expansion Voucher…”

Min-yeong pondered for a moment, then said.

“If we search through the headquarters warehouse, a few should turn up. But is that really enough?”

He had saved an executive of Gakdeungjeong, no less.

If Mincheol wanted, he could probably receive an even greater reward.

“That’s sufficient.”

Even knowing this fact, Mincheol chose the Inventory Expansion Voucher.

To store the Iron Doll, he needed to greatly increase his inventory capacity.

It was better to solve it in one go like this rather than grinding through Emergency Quests.

‘More importantly, what if I encounter the Hope Society again.’

Through this incident, Mincheol clearly recognized that even outside the Tower was dangerous.

Of course, such a nasty coincidence wouldn’t happen again, but you never know.

“Alright. I’ll send it right away when I get back.”

Lee Min-yeong tapped the air. Then a message appeared before Mincheol’s eyes.

【’Lee Min-yeong’ has sent a friend request.】

Mincheol immediately pressed accept. He had to receive the Inventory Expansion Voucher after all.

“And please take this too.”

Lee Min-yeong took something out of her inventory and held it out.

Mincheol made a bewildered expression as he received the item.

It was a business card.

“It’s such a waste for an Awakened of your caliber to be active without affiliation.”

Lee Min-yeong added with a grin.

“Please think about it seriously.”

It was the third scouting offer of his life.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————