The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 3

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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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#Episode 3
“You insane bastard! Ugh!”
The Security Guard spat curses and pushed himself up.
“Quit your whining.”
I let out a snort of amusement.
Just three rounds of riot control rubber bullets.
Besides, they’d struck his ballistic vest—the plate carrier—so the Security Guard wouldn’t be hurt at all.
Beep, beep, beep!
The phone rang.
“Answer it.”
I pressed the gun barrel against the Security Guard’s head with a metallic click.
“Why aren’t you picking up?”
“….”
“Answer. And just so you know, these aren’t training rounds this time. Don’t cooperate, and you’ll have a hole in your skull. Keep that in mind.”
The Security Guard picked up the receiver.
“Yes, this is the security office at Hyunsan Apartment Complex, Building 2. Yes, that’s correct. So right now….”
“Dimensional rift detected. Three-kilometer radius.”
I whispered into the Security Guard’s ear.
“Yes, dimensional rift detected. The estimated radius is approximately three kilometers….”
“Request military and police support. Deploy Hunters immediately.”
“We’re requesting military and police support. Yes, yes. We’d appreciate it if you could deploy Hunters as quickly as possible.”
The Security Guard set down the receiver.
“Good work.”
I grabbed the microphone while keeping the gun trained on the Security Guard.
– Attention all residents. Evacuate as far as possible. We strongly recommend evacuating beyond a three-kilometer radius. I’ll repeat this once more. Evacuate as far as possible….
After repeating it several times, I set down the microphone.
“Your hands.”
“….”
“Now.”
I bound the Security Guard’s wrists with cable ties and sat him down in a chair.
“Try anything funny, and I’ll really shoot. So stay put and behave.”
“What are you thinking? Are you some kind of terrorist?”
“Does it matter?”
“…?”
“Just stay quiet. Later, you can thank me for letting you live.”
After saying that, I leisurely passed the time watching the drone footage transmitted to my smartphone.
Good. Everyone’s evacuating properly.
Buzz!
My smartphone vibrated.
The caller was Father.
As a commander of the Regional Defense Force, he would’ve heard the news quickly.
And the moment he confirmed I’d disappeared with the car, he would’ve made the call.
Father would’ve received orders to return immediately, but by the time that man in Yeongwol arrives here, everything will already be over.
“Heheheh.”
A laugh escaped me unbidden.
The old me would never have acted so boldly.
I wouldn’t have burst into the Management Office without hesitation—I would’ve knocked first.
And I would’ve exhausted every effort trying to persuade the Security Guard.
But things are different now.
Three years ago.
From the moment I swore vengeance against those inhuman monsters, I became someone who would stop at nothing to achieve my purpose.
“What’s with that look? What, do I seem insane to you?”
“N-no, sir.”
Liar.
It’s written all over your face.
“This world is already insane anyway. To survive in a world like this, you have to be a little crazy too. Don’t you think?”
“….”
“Going forward, losing your mind might actually be good for your mental health. The real hell starts this year, after all.”
With that, I turned my attention back to my smartphone.
People were still fleeing frantically.
‘They’re coming soon.’
Police vehicles carrying armed officers and military armored trucks were arriving one after another.
“About five minutes left.”
I could see police and military personnel entering the complex.
“Why don’t you just turn yourself in?”
The Security Guard urged me.
“I understand you’re suffering. This world is insane, after all. But this isn’t the answer. If you surrender now….”
“Surrender? So I can get life imprisonment and rot in prison until I die? Or end up in a psychiatric ward?”
“That’s not what I mean….”
“Just be grateful I let you live. You were supposed to die today, you know.”
“Hah.”
The Security Guard laughed hollowly, as if exhausted.
He clearly thought I was completely insane.
But the truth was, the Security Guard standing before me laughing emptily was the one destined to die today.
I remember seeing it clearly.
The Security Guard’s corpse, his entrails torn out and devoured by monsters.
‘What time is it now.’
Current time: 09:59 AM.
Approximately one minute remained.
I sipped the coffee the Security Guard had been drinking and waited for 10 AM to arrive.
Crack, crackle!
The moment the clock struck ten, the electronic equipment inside the Management Office began to malfunction.
“Look at it yourself.”
I showed the Security Guard my smartphone.
Hum, huuuum!
Whiiiiine!
A pitch-black sphere materialized in the Children’s Playground nestled between the two buildings, and soon the very fabric of space twisted as the surrounding terrain warped and transformed.
“What is it?”
“That’s… a rift.”
“Do I still look like a madman to you?”
….
The Security Guard clamped his mouth shut.
* * *
I freed the cable tie that had been binding the Security Guard’s wrist.
“Ugh.”
The Security Guard furrowed his brow and rubbed his wrist.
“Stop complaining. Grab the equipment.”
“Yes, understood.”
The Security Guard unlocked the armory and retrieved the shotgun stored inside.
An armory in an apartment management office.
Fifteen years ago, from this point in time, such a thing would have been unimaginable.
But now was an era where rifts could occur at any time, anywhere.
It was ‘entirely’ unremarkable for an armed Security Guard to be stationed at a mere management office, or for firearms to be stored there.
After all, luxury apartments in Gangnam sometimes operated their own armed forces.
Moreover, as an affluent district, Gangnam was home to many Hunters, making it safer than other regions even when rifts appeared.
Even in this insane era, the rich grew richer and the poor grew poorer—an eternal truth that still reigned supreme, and the legend of Gangnam’s invincibility continued unbroken.
Until ‘that incident’ occurred.
“Combat experience?”
“A few times.”
“When?”
“During my military service. What about you?”
“I’ve had a few encounters myself.”
More like several thousand times over.
“Completed your service?”
“Haven’t served yet.”
….
The Security Guard cursed me with his eyes.
“Let’s go.”
“Where to?”
“Outside. We stay here, we’re dead.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just hide?”
“Bombardment will rain down soon. Look.”
I pointed at my smartphone.
Centered on the Children’s Playground, monsters were spawning endlessly.
“This is insane.”
The Security Guard trembled, his body shaking with dread.
“That’s why we need to get out of here fast.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
“This way.”
I moved the drone toward the Management Office and began walking.
“How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That the transition would happen—you knew beforehand, didn’t you?”
“When did I?”
“Pardon?”
“The transition happened, so I pressed the emergency bell and reported it to the Regional Defense Force. That’s it.”
“The sequence seems backwards to me?”
“It couldn’t be.”
When I played dumb, the Security Guard’s expression turned bewildered.
“You observed the transition, pressed the emergency bell, and reported it to the Regional Defense Force. Not me.”
“What do you mean—”
Nonsense?
Yeah, it was nonsense.
“You seem a bit confused. That’s understandable. When people are stressed, their memories get all jumbled up like that.”
“Ugh.”
Apparently stressed, the Security Guard tugged at his hair in distress.
“Let’s go.”
I confirmed through the drone footage that it was safe outside, then carefully exited the Management Office.
“This… this is insane. It’s really a transition.”
The Security Guard cursed at the sight unfolding before his eyes.
Where paving blocks should have been in front of the Management Office, dense vegetation now sprawled wildly.
Bang bang! Bang bang bang!
Boom, kaboom!
Gunfire and explosions echoed.
It seemed the military and police who had arrived early were engaged in combat with monsters.
The vegetation was so thick that it was difficult to assess the surrounding situation with the naked eye.
I switched the drone’s camera to thermal imaging.
“This way.”
Awakening was one thing, but survival came first.
I moved in a direction where the likelihood of encountering monsters was minimal.
“Damn it. I’m already pissed about pulling weekend duty, and now this mess shows up.”
“Stay quiet and follow me. No complaining.”
“Yes, sir.”
We’d moved about a hundred meters when it happened.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Argh!”
Screams erupted from nearby.
I checked the drone’s thermal imaging—two people were surrounded by multiple monsters.
Damn.
How long ago was the evacuation order issued?
“What do we do?”
“What else? We help them.”
“Ugh.”
The Security Guard clearly didn’t want to be here.
Fair enough.
Even with firearms, for an unawakened person to face off against monsters required considerable courage.
“If you’re scared, hang back.”
“Is that allowed?”
“Why not? I’m not your superior.”
“That’s true, I suppose.”
“Decide for yourself.”
I left the Security Guard behind and rushed toward the scene.
Bang bang! Bang bang bang!
A Middle-aged Man was firing his pistol frantically at the monsters surrounding him.
God, he wasn’t hitting anything.
He should’ve spent more time at the Shooting Range.
I raised my rifle and aimed at the monsters.
It was a Czech Bren2 carbine, chambered in 7.62mm ammunition.
Against monsters, 5.56mm rounds lacked stopping power—7.62mm had become the standard long ago.
Bang bang! Bang bang bang! Bang bang!
My muzzle flashed with fire.
Bang bang bang!
At the sound of gunfire, I glanced over to see the Security Guard, his face tense with concentration, squeezing the trigger at the monsters.
“Screech!”
“Shriek!”
When only about two monsters remained, I stopped firing and drew my hand axe.
“Cease fire, cease fire!”
Bang!
A bullet grazed past my ear.
Damn it.
I’d nearly died again.
“Cease fire! Remove your finger from the trigger!”
Bang, bang, bang!
“I said remove your finger from the trigger!”
“Aaahhhhh!”
But the Middle-aged Man had lost all reason to the terror of death, wasting precious ammunition on shots that didn’t even connect.
I’d hidden my body behind a parked car, and the moment the Middle-aged Man’s bullets ran dry, I burst forth like lightning and slaughtered the monsters.
The skulls of the 1-star monsters humanity had named [Goblins] split open one after another, white brain matter and crimson blood erupting skyward.
“R-reload, reload….”
Shiver, shiver, shiver!
The Middle-aged Man, oblivious that the situation had ended, desperately struggled to reload his handgun with trembling hands.
“Excuse me.”
“Reload, reload….”
“Excuse me, sir.”
“Reload….”
Crack!
“…!”
Finally, only after the Middle-aged Man received a slap did he snap back to his senses.
“Th-thank you.”
“Didn’t you hear the evacuation broadcast? What have you been doing all this time?”
“I apologize. My wife has mobility issues….”
Oh no.
The Middle-aged Woman sat trembling in her wheelchair.

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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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