The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 421

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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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Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 3, Episode 25

We crossed through the Gate that appeared before Gwanghwamun Plaza, split into three teams, regrouped, and after overcoming numerous obstacles, finally obtained the complete security card.
“After regrouping individually, we will enter the Research Complex when 19 hours and 30 minutes remain.”
It was Kang Han’s directive, made after determining that we needed one final inspection before entering the Research Complex where we would face the boss monster.
Though the time was brief, the hunters were busy with their final preparations—checking their weapons, drinking potions, and the like.
“A card, they said.”
The security card I had just received from Kang Han resembled a flat, rectangular chunk of metal.
It was large enough to cover my entire palm.
I struggled to spread my fingers wide enough to grip it in one hand, then gave up and gazed toward the still-sealed Research Complex.
Except for the brilliant red countdown timer now reading 【 19 : 52 : 22 】, the quiet landscape beneath the clear sky appeared irritatingly peaceful.
“This is frustrating.”
Truth be told, I knew it myself.
This unpleasant sensation gnawing at my nerves wasn’t frustration at all—it was anxiety.
That anxiety stemmed from not knowing what crisis awaited inside the Research Complex.
The strategy was merely complicated, yet it was ultimately just an A-rank Gate.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue once and slowly walked through the space before the Research Complex, observing the guild members.
Remaining idle only allowed anxiety to grow.
“Everyone seems fine.”
No one was seriously injured, and the poison levels were being managed well.
Seeing such an excessive raiding party assembled—more than sufficient for tackling an A-rank Gate—my restless anxiety began to settle somewhat.
I even found myself able to smile naturally at those whose eyes happened to meet mine.
I thought no one had noticed.
“Why are you anxious?”
Kang Han leaned forward slightly, bringing his face close to mine as he asked.
He had deliberately led me to a place away from the cameras and guild members.
“…I thought it wasn’t showing.”
“It isn’t.”
Yet he didn’t ask how he knew.
Just as others couldn’t perceive Kang Han’s emotions, I could read them clearly.
“Then that’s fortunate. It’s not severe anxiety. It’s just… I don’t know what will happen in there.”
Kang Han listened quietly to my words, simply nodding in acknowledgment.
Then he spoke in his usual calm voice.
“Neither do I.”
I flinched.
“We can’t know what the future holds, usually.”
As I cautiously lifted my gaze, deep green eyes were waiting for me.
There was no probing tone, nor any exaggerated attempt to console.
Perhaps that dry, unflinching gaze was itself a comfort.
“Shall we face it together?”
Together.
Such a common word, yet it meant everything.
I let out a soft laugh and nodded, and only then did a faint smile bloom across Kang Han’s face.

* * *

[ “Access granted.” ]
[ “Welcome to the Research Complex, the legacy of Wakelas.” ]

As I brought the security card close to the firmly locked Iron Gate, a guidance tone sounded.
Just as everyone exchanged puzzled glances at the Gate that showed no sign of opening, the formidable barrier—reminiscent of military installations or prisons—vanished in the blink of an eye.
Now only a yellow boundary line remained on the ground.
“The door… disappeared?”
“Nothing about this place is ordinary.”
“That’s what makes it fun, isn’t it?”
Sa Ma Young’s associates whispered excitedly, their eyes gleaming.
Similar to the Yangpyeong Dungeon yet with continuous unexpected developments, their excitement rose, and their bodies itched for a real battle.
“Everyone, stay alert and let’s move in.”
As always, Kang Han took the lead.
Following behind him, Lee Tae Yoon, the second to cross the yellow boundary line on the ground, slightly furrowed his brow at the rapidly changing surroundings.
“This is completely different from what we saw outside.”
The sparse low-rise buildings that had been visible before were gone, replaced by a dense urban landscape of towering skyscrapers greeting the Justice Guild.
And it was all terribly familiar.
“This looks like Jongno.”
At Han Ji Sung’s words, people let out hollow laughs.
“No wonder it felt so familiar.”
“Is this some kind of Fairy Tale Dungeon?”
Fairy Tale Dungeons that mimicked the surrounding environment where Gates were generated were common.
But to reflect only part of the outside environment like this…
After a brief moment of fascination with this unprecedented case, the raid team began moving swiftly under Kang Han’s leadership.
From the rear, Lee Yu Eul, who was responsible for watching their backs, noticed her younger brother Lee Yu Chan’s expression and asked with concern.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You look seriously annoyed right now, I can tell.”
I kept up my usual indifferent facade, but I couldn’t fool Lee Yu Eul’s eyes—eyes that had been with me since before birth, in our mother’s womb.
Lee Yu Chan made that face primarily when his pride had been wounded.
“This Dungeon feels wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“You deliberately copied Jongno, didn’t you?”
“And?”
“Ugh, Lee Yu Eul, seriously.”
Lee Yu Chan exhaled sharply through his nose before explaining.
“That merchant or whatever said it—Wakelas is expanding.”
“Right. I already knew the Dungeon Break was approaching.”
“So the Research Complex already resembling the outside world isn’t a coincidence.”
“If it’s not a coincidence?”
“When the countdown ends, it’s ready to replace the real Jongno immediately.”
Lee Yu Eul’s mouth, which had started to form the words “No way,” snapped shut instead.
The party had stopped moving.
The raid team had arrived at Gwanghwamun Plaza.
It was the exact spot where the Gate had opened in reality.
In a landscape so identical it was disorienting to remember this was inside a Dungeon, only one thing stood out.
A colossal hemispherical structure brazenly occupying the space where Gyeongbokgung Palace should have been.
“I never thought I’d say something like this.”
I stared at the dome as I spoke.
“You might be right about this, Lee Yu Chan.”
My grip tightened around the machete in my hand.
“This Dungeon is arrogant.”
The bizarre city of Wakelas was attempting to invade the world beyond the Gate.

* * *

Given the dome’s immense size, I’d expected monsters to come pouring out the moment the door opened.
That’s why Jang Su Ho, our shield, had taken every precaution and positioned himself at the very front.
Yet the interior was nothing but dark and silent.
The footsteps of guild members walking slowly forward seemed deafening in the stillness.
After we’d walked for some time, Sa Ma Young, who had taken position beside me instead of Jang Su Ho, spoke.
“Interesting. I can sense energy, but there’s no presence at all.”
“Even you can’t detect any presence, Sa Ma Young?”
“Not a trace.”
At Sa Ma Young’s response, Lee Tae Yoon nodded with visible relief.
He seemed grateful that his inability to sense anything wasn’t due to insufficient skill.
“Should I fire a fireball into the distance? Though I suppose that might cause unnecessary trouble.”
“It won’t matter.”
Surprisingly, the answer came from Kang Han.
“There’s nothing here.”
Like Sa Ma Young, Kang Han also sensed no presence whatsoever.
“Are you sure this is the right place?”
“It has to be. Sa Ma Young said he can feel something like energy, after all.”
The guild members exchanged confirmations, but everyone’s impressions aligned.
Then Sa Ma Young poked my cheek and asked.
“What about you, Yeo Joo?”
“If even you and the guild master can’t tell, how would I know?”
“Hmm, fair point.”
“I can barely sense any energy at all… wait.”
I stopped walking and immediately grabbed Sa Ma Young’s arm beside me.
“Everyone, don’t move!”
I wasn’t even conscious of keeping my voice down.
“Don’t go any further!”
Even as I shouted, my gaze was fixed on the System Message that had materialized before my eyes.

[ ! Warning !
The darkness concentration in the surrounding area is abnormally high! ]

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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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