WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 50 - Shell Casing Plaza (2)

After they cleaned up the junk shop that had been turned upside down, they called it a day.

Park Minho and Seol Suyeon sat huddled together inside the boy’s cramped shop. Ivan said he would wait outside.

The boy’s name was ‘Nicola.’ He was from Romania and only 14 years old.

"Nicola, what did you mean earlier?”

Seol Suyeon couldn’t hide her excitement in her voice. People had often told her she looked a lot like her younger brother.

“Ah, that’s…”

Nicola answered while sipping the sikhye, an anomalous drink Park Minho had handed him.

"I know this Korean Mister I was close with. He looks a lot like you, Miss.”

Seol Suyeon tried to steady her trembling hands as she asked.

"Do you know his name? What was it?”

“Korean names are hard…what was it again? Solshuhok…? Solsu…?”

"Ah.......!"

The pronunciation wasn’t quite the same, but it sounded an awful lot like her younger brother, Seol Suhyeok.

"Wait a second, Miss. That Mister left this with me a few months ago…he said it was important.”

Nicola hurried inside and brought something back. The moment Seol Suyeon saw it, tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

"This......."

What Nicola brought out was an old handheld game console called an MDS. On the back, ‘To Suhyeok, from Noona.’ was engraved on it.

It was a birthday present she had bought for her younger brother years ago.

She could still vividly remember the look on his face, his eyes widening in shock before he started jumping around in excitement.

"Sniff…hic…!”

When Seol Suyeon finally broke down and started crying, Nicola panicked.

"M-Miss? What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

Park Minho, sitting beside her, explained in her stead.

"No, that’s not it. Suyeon’s been looking for her younger brother who disappeared into the Backrooms. His name’s Seol Suhyeok. I think he might be the same guy you know.”

"Ah......"

“Where is he now?”

"I haven’t seen him in a few months. The last time was when he gave me this game console. He used to come by the shop a lot."

“Did he go on an expedition?”

"I’m not really sure…He was preparing a bunch of stuff though……”

A Backrooms explorer not returning for several months? And leaving behind something he treasured?

None of that sounded like a good sign.

Nicola suddenly looked guilty for no reason.

"Ah......"

Seol Suyeon’s face had gone pale. She had struggled so much to make it all the way here, only to miss her brother by several months.

Park Minho gently held her hand.

"Don’t worry too much. Maybe the expedition just took longer than expected. We’ve come this far already, so we can’t just give up now, right?”

"...You’re right, Oppa.”

Afterward, they were able to hear various things about Seol Suhyeok from Nicola.

Apparently, he had been a capable mid-level Awakened and very popular too.

"Girls especially liked him. As far as I know, he was the most handsome guy in this whole city.”

Seol Suyeon nodded as if it were nothing unusual.

"He was always like that, ever since he was little.”

Listening beside her, Park Minho sank into thought.

'A mid-level Awakened?'

If that were true, he should’ve been able to return to the real world through Floor 11. Or at the very least, contact his worried older sister.

But Seol Suhyeok hadn’t done either.

'I heard they were really close… Is there some circumstance behind it?'

The simplest possibility was that he had enemies and needed to hide his family’s existence. After all, if someone in the Backrooms hired people outside to capture Seol Suyeon and use her as leverage, he’d be completely screwed.

'Of course, that’s just speculation. I’ll need to find out what really happened.’

They eventually started talking about Nicola as well. Interestingly enough, the kid possessed an ability related to modifying anomalous objects.

“Basically, what it does is…I can graft together two different anomalous objects.”

Park Minho couldn’t help but be surprised.

"There are abilities like that as well?”

"Yeah, I can even combine three. I’ve never tried four though…Hehe.”

"That’s amazing.”

Apparently Nicola’s junk shop had done fairly well thanks to that unusual ability. He also mentioned that the gang from earlier had apparently stayed away because of his uncle.

"Uncle Drago went on an expedition a few months ago, and there’s been no word from him since..."

"Oh…Did he go with Soel Suhyeok?”

"No, he didn’t.”

Nicola’s had found himself in a difficult predicament as well. With his protector gone, people picking fights with him was inevitable. The only reason he’d lasted this long was because of Drago’s reputation. But if Drago never returned, then Nicola probably wouldn't survive much longer.

"......."

"......"

The mood instantly turned gloomy. Trying to change the subject, Park Minho asked,

"By the way, do you happen to sell Phase Compression Backpacks, too?”

“Yeah, I do! You want one?”

"Yeah, we lost our gear, so we need two.”

"Perfect. I’ve got some in stock. The ones I sell are a bit special.”

Surprisingly, the Phase Compression Backpacks Nicola sold had a biometric locking function.

"What’s that?”

"It means nobody except the registered owner can take things out of it.”

"Wow! How much are they?”

"Normally they’re two gold coins each, but since you helped me, I’ll just charge one.”

Considering the extra feature, it was a very reasonable price.

Park Minho immediately bought two backpacks.

On the way back…

Ivan suddenly appeared and voiced his concern.

“I don’t think this will end here.”

"The gang?"

"Yes, I checked their tattoos earlier. They’re affiliated with Los Muertos.”

That would translate to ‘The Dead.’ They seemed to be a Latino gang operating in Shell Casing Plaza, and they were known for being extremely persistent and cruel.

“I’m sorry to say this, but I can’t handle them by myself. Especially their boss, El Carnicero. He’s not someone to take lightly."

"Hmm......"

“I think this goes beyond simply taking over the shop. It seems they’re after that little kid, Nicola. His ability to modify anomalous objects is quite special.”

"What do you think we should do?”

Ivan gave a cold, objective answer.

"The best option is to pretend not to notice and walk away. If you stop getting involved now, you won’t be dragged deeper into it. As for the incident with their members, I can smooth things over through connections and reach some sort of compromise.”

Listening to their conversation, Seol Suyeon looked uneasy.

“Oppa......”

Since Nicola knew her younger brother, it no longer felt like somebody else’s problem to her. And the kid waiting for his uncle’s return was pitiful enough as is.

"Ivan, if we ask Director Yoon, could he deal with Los Muertos?”

"Certainly. But then Director Yoon’s enemies would start noticing you, Minho-nim. They’ll start asking questions about who exactly you are that Director Yoon cares this much about you.”

"......"

Park Minho thought about it briefly, but the conclusion was simple.

“If I were concerned about that, then I would’ve ignored all of that from the beginning.”

"...Is that so?”

"Pass along a message to Director Yoon. Tell him to clean this up.”

"Understood. Though first I’ll see if some compromise is possible. If El Carnicero isn’t specifically after Nicola, we may be able to settle things with compensation.”

“Then there’d be no need to make a big fuss, I suppose.”

* * *

The next day, Park Minho and Seol Suyeon practically set up camp at Nicola’s junk shop. They were just sitting there, guarding it.

"Are you sure it’s okay for us to stay here?”

"Huh? I don’t mind…but those guys might come back, Mister.”

"It’s fine. This Mister’s not that easy to deal with. By the way, do you sell guns here as well?”

“Yeah. We’ve got firearms with anomalous properties.”

"Sounds nice.”

From what Nicola explained, they had practical modifications like reducing noise by half, flashlights that stayed lit without batteries, and recoil suppression. They weren’t anything flashy, but all of them were incredibly useful.

"I guess we should buy our guns here too.”

While they were chatting and joking around, the area outside suddenly grew noisy. Then more than 20 Latino men appeared.

At the front was a Mexican man who looked exactly like some cartel mid-boss straight out of a movie.

He had an impressive mustache and a cigar hanging from his lips. His upper body was bare, covered with skull and Virgin Mary tattoos, and his left eye had been replaced by a crimson prosthetic eye.

As soon as he stopped in front of the shop, his subordinates immediately brought him a chair.

The man plopped down into it, then looked at Park Minho and grinned.

"So it’s you? The one who made my boys come back bawling their eyes out like little kids?”

Park Minho nodded calmly.

"Yeah. That was me.”

“What’s your name? Mine’s Marco Silva.”

"Park Minho.”

Marco exhaled cigar smoke toward Park Minho and curled his lips into a smirk.

"Mino. Right. That guy, Ivan standing behind you is a strong man…. But don’t you think you’re biting off a little more than you can chew just relying on one guy?”

At some point, Ivan had already moved to stand behind Park Minho. Seeing that, Marco looked quite amused.

"I don’t get why Ivan’s serving some scrub like you. You’re not even awakened yet…What? You’ve got a few anomalous traits or something?”

His tone was friendly, like he was chatting with a neighbor. But the killing intent gleaming in his eyes was no joke. Anyone could tell from this look that this was a man who had killed a lot of people.

The old Park Minho would’ve probably shrunk back and broke into a cold sweat. No matter how much someone tried to act calm, meeting a serial killer face-to-face was enough to scare any ordinary person.

But the current Park Minho had already met the Hanging King. After everything he’d gone through, his nerves had leveled up tremendously.

Even while staring straight back into Marco’s intimidating eyes, he didn't so much as flinch. Seeing Park Minho looking at him like he was just some stray mongrel, Marco couldn’t help reevaluating him.

“Well, look at that, so you’ve got something going for you after all…? Nice. Hehehe.”

Grinning, Marco raised both his hands, gesturing peace.

"Then let’s settle this peacefully. 10 coins and one of your arms. How’s that? Considering our side’s reputation, that’s a bargain. Originally I was gonna bury you, but I lowered the price a ton, seeing that you’ve got quite some spirit. You’ll take it, right?”

It was a ridiculous demand. Naturally, they had no intention of accepting.

But then Marco noticed Seol Suyeon standing behind Park Minho, and his eyes widened.

"Huh...?"

Instantly his gaze filled with greed.

"No. No, scratch that, Amigo! Hand over that girl and we’ll call it even.”

Even with her thick glasses, messy unkempt hair, and completely makeup-free face, Marco, a man very familiar with women, recognized it instantly.

How beautiful she’d be if she dressed herself up properly. And now that he looked closer, even her figure wasn’t anything ordinary.

One of his subordinates hurriedly cut in from the side.

“Marco, the boss specifically said…”

“Shut up! I’m the one making the calls here!”

Marco glared at him.

“Who’s the one with the authority to make decisions while we’re out in the field, huh?!”

"W-well…”

“You brain-dead idiot! Is that tiny head of yours really incapable of understanding? Open your mouth one more time, and I’ll rip your tongue out and mail it to your mother outside the Backrooms, so shut the hell up!”

"I-I’m sorry.”

After putting his subordinate in line, Marco smiled again.

“Sorry, guy’s lacking in the education department. Our guys tend to be a bit rougher around the edges, unlike you Koreans. Anyway, should I assume you’ve accepted?”

Park MInho no longer had any intention of negotiating. He simply crooked his finger backwards. Ivan leaned closer.

“Ivan, proceed.”

"Understood.”

Ivan nodded and made a call somewhere. Marco’s expression immediately hardened.

"Amigo? I try talking nicely, and you still can’t read the room? Up until now, nobody in the Shell Casing Plaza has ever disrespected this Marco. Got that?”

Marco’s crimson prosthetic eye began to glow.

"Ivan, how about we trade a few blows for old time’s sake? Let’s see if you’ve still got it.”

But then he abruptly turned around in shock.

-BOOOOOOOOM!

With an explosive roar, three or four of his men were blown away.

"Gyaaaagh!”

"Aaagh!”

A thick cloud of dust spread through the aftermath of the blast. And from within it, five men in suits slowly walked out.

Leading them were Team Leader Kim Sungjin and a group of TBU Awakened.

Recently, Kim Sungjin had moved under Director Yoon’s faction and had been put in charge of a newly formed elite team. The four Awakened under him were no pushovers either.

"Clean it up.”

At Kim Sungjin’s words, the Awakened moved. In an instant, the area turned into a bloodbath.

"Gaagh! Bastards!”

"Shoot! Shoot them!”

-Ratatatatatata!

-Ratatatata!

The gang tried to resist, frantically firing their guns a bit later, but it was meaningless against four battle-hardened Awakened. Watching his subordinates getting slaughtered in moments, Marco couldn’t even manage to stand back up, cold sweat streaming down his face.

"..."

Kim Sungjin slowly walked over and sat down beside Marco. Then he casually draped an arm around Marco’s shoulders and asked Park Minho,

"How far should we go with the cleanup?”

Looking at Marco, whose eyes had gone wide in terror, Park Minho answered indifferently.

“Just clean up everything.”

"Understood. I’ll dispatch armed units to their headquarters as well.”

The only reason why gangs could operate in Shell Casing Plaza was because TBU turned a blind eye on them to begin with. But if the TBU seriously decided to move, a gang like this could be erased in the blink of an eye.

Nicola, who had been silently watching the entire situation while barely breathing, cautiously looked at Park Minho.

"Mister…? Mister, who exactly are you?"

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