Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Chapter 28

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: smol_anon

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 28: Episode 7 - Landlord (1)

We followed Lee Jihye straight into Chungmuro. Upon seeing the platform with its shattered screen doors, Sangah spoke.

"…It feels rather ominous."

As we climbed up along the tracks of Line 3, I could see people sitting in clusters here and there.

[You have entered Chungmuro.]

[The third scenario is currently in progress.]

[Channel #GIR-8761 is active.]

[Channel #BIR-3642 is active.]

From Chungmuro onwards, the scale of the scenarios grew larger, and so did the number of dokkaebi channels. Looks like Bihyeong would have a lot on his plate from now on.

A few middle-aged men who had noticed us waved their hands and approached.

"Oh, it's the little samurai. Did you bring some newbies?"

"Yeah."

Samurai, huh? They could spout such nonsense because they didn’t know about Jihye’s backing.

"Did you drink again, old man?"

"Haha! With the world like this, what else is there to do but drink?"

These middle-aged men, with bodies as comforting as that of a neighborhood realtor, seemed far too relaxed for people facing a disaster. And of course, each one of them was naturally carrying some kind of weapon.

This was definitely different from Geumho Station. These were the real deal.

"By the way, did your friends come through the Dongdae tunnel? That's impressive… You must’ve earned quite a few coins, huh?"

At that moment, one of the men turned his gaze towards Sangah.

"What's the name of that lady over there? I could lend her a cheap room if she needs one."

"…A room?"

"Haha, sweetie, you don’t know how the system works here, do you? Well, let me tell you—"

Jihye cut him off.

"Old man. Stop messing around with the newbie and get up there already."

"Hey, they need to learn too. We're all just trying to survive…."

"...If you don't want to die."

The cold blue gleam of Lee Jihye's blade made the middle-aged men go pale.

"Kids these days… Already picking up bad habits…"

"Hey, Kang. Let's go."

The middle-aged men left, looking back at us with regret. Once they disappeared into the passage leading to Line 4, Lee Jihye sheathed her sword.

"I brought you here, so you're on your own from now on. I'm not babysitting you."

What a brat.

I briefly looked around. Chungmuro. This place, the stage for the third scenario, operated under completely different rules than before.

"Get back! I'll kill you if you come any closer…!"

In the center of Line 3’s platform, a man with a knife glared menacingly at the people around him.

At his feet was a tile slightly larger than a square meter, glowing with a green light. Yu Sangah asked,

"Why is he acting like that?"

"I don't know."

Of course, I had a pretty good idea, but there was no need to scare my companions just yet.

Throughout Line 3, others dressed similarly to the man with the knife were crouched down. Unlike the middle-aged men from earlier, their faces were drenched in despair. Glancing over at them, I asked Lee Jihye,

"Yu Junghyeok is here, right?"

At the mention of ‘Yu Junghyeok’, Jihye, who had started to walk away, whipped her head around, her eyes full of suspicion.

"…Who are you?"

Judging by how she reacted, it seemed Junghyeok had already messed with her. I understood why. A transcendent being of Jihye’s caliber was hard to find anywhere in Korea. If I were Junghyeok, I’d have sought her out the moment I arrived at Chungmuro too.

"I’m a companion of Junghyeok’s who survived."

"A companion? That can’t be true."

Jihye eyed me suspiciously. I shrugged brazenly.

"Tell him that, and he’ll understand. Where’s Junghyeok now?"

"…Master isn’t here right now."

"Really? That’s a problem. I have something I need to tell him."

Jihye scowled at me for a moment, her face full of frustration and betrayal.

Well, I could see how she felt about Junghyeok. And already calling him ‘Master’... I couldn’t afford to let him steal my commander like this.

Jihye called out to a boy who was squatting in a corner, trying to sleep.

"Hey, you!"

"Y-yes!"

"Watch over these people for me! I’m going to see my master for a bit."

The boy looked at us in confusion.

"Who are they?"

"I don’t know, but they said they’re Master’s friends!"

At Jihye's words, the people sprawled around the platform turned to look at us. Half were curious, while the other half gazed at us with reverence.

"…You’re really Junghyeok’s friends?"

A boy, roughly the same age as Lee Jihye, ran up to us, his eyes wide with excitement.

"Are you really Junghyeok’s friends?"

His innocent gaze made it hard to lie. Well, for ordinary people, that is.

"I’m one of his closest comrades."

Lately, I’ve come to realize I’m not exactly what you’d call ‘ordinary.’

At least not here.

While Sangah tended to the unconscious Jeong Huiwon, I listened to the boy's account of Chungmuro.

He was one of the few followers of Junghyeok, along with Lee Jihye.

"…So, we’re following Junghyeok. Are you listening?"

"Yeah."

Of course, I wasn’t really paying attention. Junghyeok's heroic deeds didn’t interest me in the slightest. To sum it up:

"Junghyeok showed up here three days ago, saved you and a few others from a swarm of monsters, and now you’re all following him. Isn’t that the gist of it?"

The boy looked utterly dumbfounded by how I summarized his story.

"Uh, can you really simplify it like that…?"

The kid was clearly infatuated with Junghyeok.

Well, it made sense. If an overwhelmingly powerful figure suddenly appeared and saved you, not following them would be the strange part.

But the boy didn’t know. He survived not because Junghyeok was a nice guy, but because he had the good fortune of being with Jihye at the time.

"Can I ask a few questions?"

Hyeonseong, who had been silent, began speaking politely.

"Yes, go ahead."

"How do you manage food supplies here?"

"Well, it’s a bit embarrassing to call it a supply line… A few of us rely mostly on Jihye. She does the hunting, and Junghyeok helps with cooking…"

Hyeonseong, ever the soldier, had pulled out a notepad and was jotting down notes.

"How about water?"

"We trade for it with the ‘Landlord Coalition’ on the upper floors. We give them food or coins in exchange."

"…Landlord Coalition?"

I sat up. Things were getting interesting. The boy hesitated before answering.

"The landlords who used to control the area around Chungmuro… They’ve taken over the upper floors. We call them the Landlord Coalition."

The Chungmuro Landlord Coalition. They appeared in TWSA too.

"What kind of people are they?"

"Well, how should I put this…"

I didn’t really need to ask. If my guess was right, one of the Ten Evils must have been in control here.

"They’re just landlords."

The boy sighed as he gave his answer, which, in a way, was true. They were landlords. Landlords who simply collected rent. It was at this moment that Gilyeong, who had been quiet, spoke up.

"Hey, hyung."

"Yeah?"

"I need to use the bathroom."

"Is it urgent?"

"Yes."

It was a rather odd timing for such a request. Gilyeong had never interrupted with something like this before, which made it even more curious. But right next to him, Sangah was blushing.

"…Uh, could I go with him?"

I suddenly remembered the sight of Sangah and Huiwon gathering necessities at Yaksu Station. I could guess what was going on. Gilyeong, the clever little brat, had picked up on it too. The boy who had been talking with us said,

"The bathrooms are on the second basement floor, but it won’t be easy to get in there."

"What’s going on?"

"Um. It’s better if you see for yourself… I’m heading up there too, so you can come with me."

"Let’s go."

I was the one who spoke. Not because I needed to use the bathroom, but because there were things I needed to check upstairs.

Junghyeok’s actions were diverging slightly from the third round that I knew. I had to understand the differences. Carrying the still-unconscious Huiwon on my back, I followed the others up to the third basement floor.

"Oh, look, it’s the new faces. You here to check out a ‘room’?"

The middle-aged men standing near the escalators of Line 4 whistled at us. The boy shook his head.

"Ah, sorry. We’re just heading up for a bit."

"Aw, too bad. Be careful up there."

The middle-aged men waved us off without much fuss. Sangah, who had been watching them, tilted her head in confusion.

"They keep talking about ‘rooms.’ What exactly do they mean? I don't think it's the kind of room I’m familiar with."

"It’s easier if I show you."

The boy pointed to a spot where there was a square tile on the ground. It was the same type of tile we had seen on the platform of Line 3 earlier. A green light emanated from the tile, which was slightly larger than a square meter. Upon closer inspection, I noticed something written above it.

[Green Zone 0/1]

"The scenario calls it a ‘Green Zone,’ but we call it a ‘room.’"

Nearby, two men were wrestling with each other, seemingly fighting over the tile. Hyeonseong asked,

"What is that? Why are those people fighting?"

The boy hesitated, as if telling us would jeopardize his own survival.

"You’ll understand once we get to the second basement floor."

As we went higher, the fights over the ‘rooms’ became more frequent. The rooms had different numbers written above them, ranging from small ones marked ‘0/1’ to larger ones marked ‘0/7.’ The numbers likely indicated the maximum occupancy. I carefully observed the surroundings and asked,

"From the third basement to the first floor, is it all under the control of the Landlord Coalition?"

"Yes. There are a few small groups, but the Landlord Coalition controls most of it."

All of Chungmuro’s infrastructure was concentrated between the second and first basement floors, so it made sense that the Landlord Coalition would have a monopoly on power.

"Has Junghyeok done anything? He saved you, didn’t he?"

"Well…"

At my question, the boy’s face darkened noticeably. After a long pause, his lips finally moved.

"He told us to stand on our own…"

I could imagine it. That was exactly the kind of thing Junghyeok would say. He probably hadn’t asked them to follow him either. They were simply clinging to the faint hope he had offered them with his overwhelming strength.

We soon arrived at the second basement floor. The boy’s face grew tense.

"Be careful from here on."

There were many more ‘rooms’ on the second basement floor than below. However, there were no people advertising them, only individuals with menacing glares, guarding their Green Zones.

[Green Zone 7/7]

We passed by them and headed towards the bathrooms.

"Uh… Why are we stopping here?"

We came to a halt near the final passage leading to the bathrooms. A crowd had gathered in the narrow corridor ahead.

"Let’s check it out."

I pushed through the crowd, making my way forward.

"Leader! Please take us back! We won’t cause any more trouble, I swear!"

"Please, please! Let us stay just one more day. I’ll pay for the coins even if I have to borrow them!"

At the front of the crowd, desperate people begged, their voices raw with emotion.

"Move along, move along."

Facing them were members of the ‘Landlord Coalition,’ armed and standing in formation. Instinctively, I knew.

‘The Ten Evils must be here.’

I tried to search for the Ten Evils among them, but they all looked too similar to tell. Do landlords just start to look the same after a while?

Suddenly, I felt something tug at my leg. It was Gilyeong. Just as I was about to pull him back, someone shoved him.

"Ah."

Gilyeong stumbled and fell to the ground.

[The incarnation Lee Gilyeong has trespassed on private property!]

The atmosphere instantly shifted, and several of the Landlord Coalition members turned their attention to Lee Gilyeong.

"What’s with the kid?"

At the same time, the crowd screamed and pulled back.

"Shit…!"

"Move back! Quickly!"

It was as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have, and they scattered like the tide. When they retreated, a glowing red boundary line became visible on the ground where they had been standing.

One of the men looked between the boundary and Gilyeong before speaking.

"Hmm. Looks like you’ve lost your way. Do you know where you are?"

"The way to the bathroom, right?"

"The bathroom? Haha, it used to be. But you, kid… Where are your parents?"

"…Excuse me?"

"Didn’t anyone teach you not to trespass on someone else’s land?"

‘Someone else’s land,’ huh. No doubt about it now. The man patted Gilyeong’s head with an unsettling smile.

"Seems like you don’t know the rules. Well then, let me teach you."

[The character Gong Pildu activates the stigma Armed Zone Lv.3!]

A sharp sound echoed, and from all directions, mini-turrets resembling Gatling guns rose from the ground.

[The character Gong Pildu demands a payment of 500 coins for trespassing on private property.]

[If you do not comply, all nearby turrets will open fire.]