WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: smol_anon

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 30: Episode 7 - Landlord (3)

Junghyeok was reviewing the information on the rest of the group, excluding Hyeonseong. Since the remaining three were grouped together, I couldn't tell exactly who Junghyeok was observing.

「Why is he...?」

Who is he staring at?

I wanted to ask him so badly, but I held back, worried that my skill might get exposed. Junghyeok still didn't know that I was aware of his thoughts. Judging by the direction of his gaze, it seemed like he was looking at the character information of Huiwon. At that moment, Huiwon, who had just woken up, made eye contact with Junghyeok.

“What are you staring at?”

「……」

Well done, Huiwon.

「Should I kill……」

"Junghyeok-ssi."

I quickly cut in.

"I have a question."

He turned to look at me. His eyes seemed to say, 'Go ahead, let's hear it.'

"Why are you leaving Gong Pildu alone?"

“If you’re a prophet, you should already know.”

“Not all prophets know everything.”

More accurately, not all of us ‘remember’ everything.

[The character Yu Junghyeok has activated the skill Lie Detection.]

[The character Yu Junghyeok confirmed your statement as the truth.]

As always, a meticulous bastard.

"…I suppose so. Even a prophet’s Foresight would still be at a low level."

Think whatever you want. Junghyeok continued speaking.

"I have a reason for keeping Gong Pildu alive."

"Is it because of the upcoming scenario?"

Junghyeok did not respond, as if he was trying to gauge how much I knew.

"I know Gong Pildu is necessary for the future scenario. But it’s only 'Gong Pildu' who is necessary, not the entire group following him."

「……」

"Isn't it your style to eliminate unnecessary elements? Why are you just letting them be?"

「…So annoying.」

What?

“I have a lot to do.”

Junghyeok stared at me intently before speaking again.

“You will never understand.”

“Wait! This isn’t something you can just brush off. If you don’t act now, most of the people in Chungmuro will…”

Junghyeok’s eyes glinted coldly.

“I don’t care.”

I wasn’t exactly a humanitarian. I didn’t believe that everyone in the world deserved to live. So why was I so angry right now? It was because I was simply irritated by Junghyeok.

“Can I punch you just this once?”

“Do you think you can?”

Just as I raised my fist, a message echoed in my head.

[The character Yu Junghyeok has activated the skill Tiger God Aura Lv.5.]

I lowered my fist. What a cowardly bastard.

“Are you done?”

“……”

“Let’s go.”

At Junghyeok’s call, Jihye flinched. As she hesitantly followed him, she looked back at me with a curious expression.

[The constellation Bald Army General is moved by your sense of justice.]

[You have been gifted 100 coins.]

Of course, it was a complete misunderstanding.

[One hour and thirty minutes remain until the beginning of the third main scenario.]

Time was running out, and my head was a mess.

[The constellation Bald Army General is furious at the ruined livelihood of the people.]

[The constellation Bald Army General is calling for a people's uprising.]

Although Samyeong Daesa’s voice echoed in my head, no good ideas came to mind.

The third scenario was set to last exactly one week. Junghyeok was likely planning to take advantage of this period to scheme and gain some other benefits. Naturally, I couldn’t let that happen. Not that I had any intention of letting it, but...

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is curious about what you are thinking.]

"Junghyeok, you bastard."

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is satisfied.]

[You have been gifted 100 coins.]

The immediate problem wasn’t Junghyeok, but Pildu. To smoothly clear the Third Scenario, we absolutely needed Gong Pildu’s help. However, if that help couldn’t be secured…

I looked up to see Huiwon smiling brightly.

“Were you scared earlier?”

“…What?”

“You know, when you were talking to that guy, Junghyeok.”

I quickly shifted the conversation to 'Gong Pildu.' After all, Huiwon hadn’t seen Gong Pildu because she was unconscious. And no, I wasn’t just trying to change the topic. Huiwon responded immediately.

“What the hell is wrong with that bastard? Charging rent on a public facility that everyone uses?”

“That bastard is right upstairs.”

“I’m going to go up there and beat him up.”

Huiwon, who was furious, drew her Ground Rat knife. Come to think of it, it was about time to upgrade the weapons for our group. There was so much to do.

“That would be difficult.”

“If we combine our strength, we can win. We did it at Geumho Station, right?”

Huiwon’s expression was full of confidence. And she had a point. She had her trump card, the skill [Hour of Judgement]. A quick learner, she had already fully grasped her traits and skills.

“Stop hesitating! Let’s go take care of him now!”

And as long as the opponent was an 'evildoer,' her [Hour of Judgement] had the highest compatibility.

[The character Jeong Huiwon has activated the skill Hour of Judgement!]

[The constellations of the Absolute Good alignment are silent in response to the character Jeong Huiwon’s request.]

[The skill activation has been canceled.]

Huiwon’s face turned to one of confusion.

“What…? Is it broken?”

She tried activating the skill several more times, but it wouldn’t activate.

“Why won’t it work? They’re definitely evildoers.”

I chuckled bitterly at her confusion.

“That’s just our human perspective.”

“…What does that mean?”

“It means the constellations might have a different view. There’s no guarantee that their sense of good and evil is the same as ours.”

“Oh…”

“Sometimes, justice is merely a verdict made by the majority.”

And right now, the ones who could make that 'verdict' were the constellations. Humans no longer had the right to define righteousness. Humans were merely puppets under the patronage of the stars.

“What the hell…”

I glanced at the rest of the group. Though they were silent, they were likely thinking the same as Huiwon. Hyeonseong was silently polishing his rusted iron shield, dented by magical bullets. Sangah and Gilyeong sat side by side on the floor, staring at a cockroach.

That feeling of despair was understandable. After defeating the thugs at Geumho Station, they probably thought they had become something. But after moving just three more stations, they were now facing monsters that couldn’t even be compared to those thugs.

Well then, how about I start offering a little bit of hope?

“There is a way, though.”

“Yes?”

“There’s a way to take them down, though it won’t be easy.”

The group looked at me all at once. Hyeonseong was the first to ask.

“Is there really a way?”

“What is it?”

I glanced around and then lowered my voice.

“We have to lure Gong Pildu out of the 'Armed Zone.'”

“What’s an Armed Zone?”

“It’s his stigma. It’s a technique optimized for territorial defense.”

[Armed Zone]. Just by using it, it allowed him to construct [Turrets] throughout the area. The reason fighting a group battle against Gong Pildu was so difficult was precisely because of this stigma. For now, it was just an [Armed Zone], but if it evolved into an [Armed Fortress], capturing him would require preparations on the scale of a siege.

But even Gong Pildu had his weaknesses.

“Once he leaves the area he designated as his 'Armed Zone,' it deactivates. That means his mini-turrets will be useless. Broad-area defensive skills like that usually have many limitations.”

Both Hyeonseong and Huiwon reacted with admiration.

“Oh… so that’s his weakness.”

“You figured that out after just seeing it once? Maybe your attribute is 'Mr. Know-It-All,' huh?”

Having gone through similar situations repeatedly, it seemed the group was gradually adjusting to me. This time, Sangah asked the next question.

“But how do we get him to move?”

“That’s something we’ll have to figure out together from now on.”

“Ugh, I hate thinking.”

Huiwon grumbled. And then, there was silence for a while. The first to come up with an idea was Hyeonseong.

“What if we ambush him when he goes to the bathroom…?”

“You must not have noticed the junk piled next to the chair earlier.”

Gong Pildu never moved out of his Armed Zone. Next to his bench, which he considered his sanctuary, he had everything he needed: a sleeping bag, blanket, food, a basin for washing, and even a chamber pot. Of course, he made the tenants take out the trash.

“That’s insane. He’s a total shut-in. What, did he bury treasure in that spot or something?”

“It’s because that spot is the biggest ‘room’ in Chungmuro.”

“A ‘room’?”

It occurred to me that Huiwon still didn’t fully understand the concept of 'rooms.' But there was no need to explain.

[There is one hour remaining till the beginning of the third main scenario!]

They’d find out soon enough.

“We should start looking for our own ‘room’ now.”

As the group simultaneously got to their feet, I noticed that the people around us flinched in surprise.

“D-don’t come any closer!”

The person who showed the most wariness was the knife-wielding man who had been guarding a one-person room on Line 3 earlier. But before we could even approach, other men rushed toward him.

“Get lost, bastard!”

A barrage of blows rained down. As the man was pushed away, the Green Zone marker suddenly changed. Ownership had been transferred.

[Green Zone 1/1 → Green Zone 0/1]

The men fought a bloody battle over a single 'room.' Someone got stabbed in the thigh, while another’s nose was broken. Huiwon scowled.

“Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“Even if we intervene, the result will be the same. In the end, someone is going to die.”

“But there’s a chance no one would die, right?”

“That’s not possible with this scenario.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than Bihyeong appeared, descending from the air.

[Alright, let’s start the Main Scenario for Day 3, shall we? Since we have some new participants today, things should be even more interesting. Hahaha!]

Bihyeong glanced in our direction as he spoke.

There were three dokkaebis overseeing the Chungmuro scenario. If Bihyeong was the one handling the scene, it meant he was likely assigned the clean-up duty. Among the three, Bihyeong’s channel was the smallest, so it was no surprise.

The details of the third scenario soon appeared before my eyes.

+

<Main Scenario #3 – Green Zone (Day 3)>

Category: Main

Difficulty: C

Clear conditions: Secure a ‘Green Zone’ within the station and survive the onslaught of monsters that will swarm from midnight until dawn. This scenario will last for seven days in total.

Duration: 8 hours

Rewards: 1,000 coins

Penalty for failure: —

+

Hyeonseong’s eyes widened.

“T-This is…!”

[The rules are simple. Secure a ‘Green Zone’ before anyone else. Of course, you can also steal another person’s ‘Green Zone.’ But you’d better hurry. If you still haven’t secured a Green Zone after midnight, you’re in for a terrible fate! Hahaha, good luck to all of you!]

Bihyeong’s announcement caused the group’s expressions to grow more serious. Meanwhile, the sounds of screams continued to echo around us. I could hear the sound of flesh being pounded to a pulp.

“Die! Just die already!”

“I-I don’t have anything against you! I’m just trying to survive…!”

By now, everyone must have realized. The struggle unfolding in front of us was no longer just someone else’s problem. Sangah’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“D-does this mean… we’ll have to fight each other like those people…?”

“We won’t have to fight among ourselves. We just need to find a room that can accommodate more people.”

The size of each Green Zone varied. Some could only house a single occupant, while others, like the one controlled by Gong Pildu, could accommodate up to 70 people.

“Of course, that’s only if there are still rooms available.”

Huiwon’s lips twitched at my words.

“Why do you always have to make everything sound so ominous…? Let’s get moving. There might still be some rooms left.”

“It would be faster if we split up. Let’s form teams. Hyeonseong-ssi, you go with Sangah, and Huiwon-ssi, you take Gilyeong.”

“What about you, Dokja-ssi?”

“I’ll go alone.”

No one questioned if I would be alright. They all looked at me with trust in their eyes. The last to speak was Gilyeong.

“Hyung, what if we can’t find one?”

“If we still haven’t secured a room 20 minutes before the scenario starts, let’s regroup here.”

“Got it. Then we’re off!”

The group dispersed efficiently. Huiwon and Gilyeong headed to the second basement floor, while Sangah and Hyeonseong went down to the third. I watched them disappear from sight for a moment before turning on my smartphone. As soon as I opened TWSA, a single line of text immediately appeared.

「There are no rooms left in Chungmuro.」

It was a fact stated so clearly that it left no room for doubt. Most likely, my companions wouldn’t be able to find any vacant rooms. Which meant, essentially, there was only one option left for them: to survive, they would have to take a room from someone else.

But could Hyeonseong or Huiwon actually do that?

Not everyone here was an ‘evildoer.’ There were those like Pildu who exploited others, but most were just showing their fangs to protect themselves.

Would people like Sangah or Gilyeong really be able to bare their fangs against others in such a situation?

I would soon find out.

Footnotes:

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