Building Owner (3)
Yoo Joonghyuk was looking toward the group, excluding Lee Hyunseong. The remaining three were huddled together, so I couldn't tell exactly who he was staring at.
「...How could he look like that?」
Who the hell is he looking at?
I wanted to ask so badly, but I held back—he might realize my skill. He still didn't know I could see into his mind.
I could only cautiously guess that maybe he'd looked at Jung Heewon's character info.
Just then, Jung Heewon, who had regained consciousness, met Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes.
"What the hell are you staring at?"
「...」
Well done, Jung Heewon.
「I'll kill—」
"Yoo Joonghyuk."
I quickly cut in.
"I've got a question."
He turned to look at me.
His eyes said, Go on, let's hear it.
"Why are you leaving Gong Pildu alone?"
"A prophet like you should already know."
"I don't know everything."
More precisely, I didn't remember everything.
[Character Yoo Joonghyuk is using 'Detect Lie'.]
[Character Yoo Joonghyuk has confirmed your words are true.]
Damn meticulous bastard.
"...Yeah, I suppose. A prophet's 'foresight' level wouldn't be that high yet."
Think what you want.
Yoo Joonghyuk continued.
"There's a reason I'm letting Gong Pildu live."
"Because of an upcoming scenario, right?"
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't answer.
He looked like he was weighing what I knew.
"I know Gong Pildu is necessary for future scenarios. But only he is. You don't need his whole damn group, do you?"
「...」
"Eliminating what's unnecessary—that's your style, isn't it? So why are you just letting them be?"
「...What a hassle.」
What?
"I have too much to do."
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at me for a moment, then added:
"You'll never understand."
"Hold on. That's not something you can just brush off. If you don't act now, most of the people in Chungmuro will—"
His eyes turned cold.
"I don't care."
I wasn't a humanist or anything. I didn't believe everyone deserved to live. So this anger I felt—it wasn't because of the people.
It was just because I couldn't stand Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Yoo Joonghyuk. Mind if I punch you once?"
"If you think you can."
I raised my fist in anger—but a message popped up.
[Character 'Yoo Joonghyuk' is using 「Body Reinforcement Lv.5」.]
I lowered my fist.
Cowardly bastard.
"Are we done here?"
"…"
"Let's go."
At his call, Lee Jihae flinched. As she followed him out, she glanced at me with a surprised look.
[Constellation 'Bald General of Loyalty' is moved by your chivalry.]
[You received 100 coins.]
Of course, it was a complete misunderstanding.
[1 hour and 30 minutes until the third scenario begins.]
Time was short, and my thoughts were a mess.
[Constellation 'Bald General of Loyalty' is furious at the ruined livelihoods.]
[Constellation 'Bald General of Loyalty' demands a people's revolt.]
That noisy old man was ranting inside my head, but no good idea came to mind.
The third scenario would last exactly a week.
Yoo Joonghyuk was probably planning to exploit that time to gain some hidden advantage.
And I couldn't just let that happen.
I couldn't—but…
[Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband' is curious about your thoughts.]
"Yoo Joonghyuk, that bastard."
[Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband' is satisfied.]
[You received 100 coins.]
Honestly, though, the more pressing issue wasn't Yoo Joonghyuk. It was Gong Pildu.
To get through the third scenario safely, I needed Gong Pildu's help. But if that wasn't possible...
I looked up—and saw Jung Heewon smiling brightly.
"You got scared earlier, didn't you?"
"…What?"
"You know, when you were talking to that Yoo Joonghyuk guy."
I immediately changed the subject to Gong Pildu. She hadn't seen him since she was unconscious. Not that I was avoiding the question or anything. Jung Heewon responded right away.
"…What kind of bastard charges rent for public facilities?"
"They're right upstairs."
"I'm going up there to smash them."
Furious, Jung Heewon drew her Ground Mole Blade. Come to think of it, we really needed to upgrade everyone's weapons soon. So much to do.
"That's not going to work."
"If we team up, we can beat them! Like at Geumho Station, remember?"
She looked confident.
Understandable—Jung Heewon had a trump card: [Hour of Judgment]. She was sharp and adapted quickly; she must've already grasped her skills and attributes.
"Don't hesitate! Let's go take them out right now!"
And as long as the opponent was 'evil,' her [Hour of Judgment] was practically perfect in compatibility.
[Character 'Jung Heewon' activates 'Hour of Judgment'!]
[Constellations of the 'Absolute Good' system remain silent.]
[Skill activation has been canceled.]
Her expression shifted to confusion.
"What the...? Is it broken or something?"
She tried activating the skill again and again. But it didn't work.
"Why… why isn't it activating? They're clearly evil, aren't they?"
I gave her a wry smile.
"That's just what we think."
"…What do you mean by that?"
"The constellations might see it differently. There's no guarantee their definition of good and evil is the same as ours."
"Ah…"
"Justice is just a matter of majority vote."
And right now, that 'majority' was the constellations. Humans no longer had the right to declare what was just. We were merely their puppets now.
"What kind of bullshit..."
I looked around at the others.
They didn't say it, but their thoughts were probably similar to Jung Heewon's. Lee Hyunseong silently cleaned his dented steel shield, and Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung were sitting side by side staring at a cockroach.
That feeling of helplessness—I understood it well.
After defeating the thugs at Geumho Station, they must've thought they were something. But we'd only passed through three more subway stations—and already, we'd met a monster far worse.
Time to offer a sliver of hope.
"There is a way."
"Huh?"
"It'll be difficult, but there is one way to bring those bastards down."
The group simultaneously turned to look at me. Lee Hyun-sung asked:
"...There really is a way?"
"What is it?"
I lowered my voice and glanced around before answering.
"We need to lure Gong Pil-du out of the 'Armed Zone.'"
"What's the Armed Zone?"
"It's his stigma. A skill optimized for territorial defense."
Armed Zone.
The reason it was so hard to fight Gong Pil-du with a group was precisely because of that stigma. Just by activating it, he could construct [turrets] in the nearby area—an absurdly overpowered ability.
It's manageable now while it's just an [Armed Zone], but if his stigma evolves into something like [Armed Fortress] later, we'd need siege-level preparation just to take him down.
But even someone like Gong Pil-du had a weakness.
"His 'Armed Zone' deactivates the moment he steps outside of the area he designated. When that happens, all his mini turrets become useless. Usually, skills that cover a wide area have strict limitations."
Lee Hyun-sung and Jung Hee-won both looked impressed.
"Ah... so that's the weakness."
"You figured all that out just from watching once? Is your special trait 'Mastermind' or something?"
Maybe it was because things like this kept happening, but they seemed to be adapting to me. This time, Yoo Sang-ah asked:
"But how do we get him to move?"
"That's what we need to think about together now."
"Ugh, I hate thinking the most," Jung Hee-won muttered grumpily.
Then, silence fell as everyone pondered. The first to speak was Lee Hyun-sung.
"Maybe we could ambush him while he's going to the restroom or something..."
"Looks like you didn't see the junk pile next to his chair."
Gong Pil-du never leaves his Armed Zone.
Everything he needs is within arm's reach by his 'bench'—his sanctuary.
Sleeping bag, blankets, food, a basin with drinking and washing water, and even a chamber pot from who knows where. Of course, the tenants are the ones who dispose of the waste.
"He's insane. A complete shut-in. Why the hell won't he move? What's he hiding on that land?"
"It's because it's the biggest 'room' in Chungmuro."
"...A 'room'?"
Come to think of it, Jung Hee-won still doesn't know much about the concept of 'rooms.' But there was no need to explain.
[1 hour remaining until Main Scenario #3 is activated!]
She'd find out soon enough.
"We should start looking for a 'room' too."
When our group stood up, people nearby flinched in fear.
"D-Don't come any closer!"
The one who seemed most wary was the knife-wielding man who'd been guarding the one-person room on Line 3. But before we could get near, other men rushed at him.
"Get lost, asshole!"
A barrage of brutal blows. As the man was pushed away, the Green Zone marker instantly changed. Ownership had shifted.
[Green Zone 1/1 → Green Zone 0/1]
Men were now fighting a bloody battle over a single 'room.' Someone was stabbed in the thigh; another had their nose broken.
Jung Hee-won frowned.
"Shouldn't we stop that?"
"Even if we intervene, the result will be the same. Someone will still die."
"But maybe no one has to die?"
"That's not possible in this scenario."
Right as I finished speaking, Bihyung descended from the air.
[Alright everyone, let's kick off Day 3 of the main scenario! We've got some new faces today too—should be fun, right? Hahaha!]
He glanced briefly in our direction.
There were three dokkaebis managing the Chungmuro scenario. Judging from Bihyung's appearance, he'd probably been assigned the grunt work. Not surprising, since his channel was the smallest.
And with that, the third scenario arrived.
Category: Main
Difficulty: C
Clear Condition: Secure a 'Green Zone' within the station and survive the monsters that appear each night at midnight. This scenario lasts for a total of 7 days.
Duration: 8 hours
Reward: 1000 coins
Failure: —
Lee Hyun-sung's eyes widened.
"T-This is...!"
[The rules are simple. Secure a Green Zone before anyone else. Of course, you can also take over someone else's Green Zone. But you better hurry. If you don't secure one by the time the scenario starts... something terrible will happen. Haha, good luck everyone!]
The group's expressions hardened. Meanwhile, screams and thuds continued around us.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Die! Just die already!"
"I-I don't even have a grudge! I'm just trying to survive!"
Everyone probably realized at that point—the desperate fighting wasn't someone else's problem anymore. Yoo Sang-ah asked in a trembling voice:
"Wait... are we going to have to fight each other too?"
"Not if we find a large enough 'room.'"
Green Zones came in various sizes. Some held just one person; others, like Gong Pil-du's land, could hold up to 70.
"Of course, that's only if such rooms are still available."
At that, Jung Hee-won pursed her lips.
"You really have a knack for making people anxious... Alright, let's move now. There might still be rooms left."
"Splitting up will be faster. Let's divide into teams. Hyun-sung, go with Sang-ah. Hee-won, take Gil-young with you."
"What about you?"
"I'll go alone."
No one asked if I'd be alright.
They all looked at me with a fair amount of trust. The last to speak was Lee Gil-young.
"Hyung... what if we can't find one?"
"If we haven't found a room 20 minutes before the scenario starts, let's regroup here."
"Okay. Then we'll head out!"
The group scattered efficiently. Hee-won and Gil-young went to the second basement level, while Sang-ah and Hyun-sung headed to the third.
I watched them go for a moment, then turned on my smartphone. As soon as I opened the Doomsday Book, a line of text appeared:
"There are no 'rooms' left in Chungmuro."
It was a plainly recorded fact. The others would most likely fail to find any available rooms.
Which meant they only had one option left.
To survive, they'd have to take a 'room' from someone else—by force.
But could people like Hyun-sung or Hee-won actually do that?
Not everyone here was a villain. Some, like Gong Pil-du, exploited others, but most were just baring their fangs to protect themselves.
Would Sang-ah or Gil-young really be able to bare theirs in return?
I was about to find out.
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