WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 29 - Goshiwon (5)

Park Minho answered the call immediately.

"Hello?"

A hushed yet urgent voice came through.

-Mister……!!

"Yumi? What’s wrong?”

-Something really bad happened.

"What is it? Calm down and tell me.”

-I think the raiders are heading toward where you’re staying.

"What...?"

Yumi explained that she’d been hiding, as usual, in a vent shaft she’d turned into a safe spot to avoid the manager. But she heard multiple people moving. When she carefully checked, she saw the raiders leaving their base and moving out.

-I can’t say for sure since I don’t know exactly where you are…but it looks like they’re heading that away. I saw them near Hanna Goshiwon.

"Yeah. That’s in my direction."

And it wasn’t that far away too. The order of goshiwons was Hanna Goshiwon → Evergreen Goshiwon → Sungil Goshiwon → Good Stay Goshiwon.

'Can I avoid them if I just hide? No, wait, my name is written in the registry, isn't it?'

They must be sweeping the area knowing that.

"How did they figure out I was here…?”

-I don’t know. Mister, you’re not suspecting me, right?

"I don’t think so. If you sold me out, you wouldn’t be calling to warn me.”

-That’s right. It’s really not me! I’ll help however I can.

"Thanks. But don’t try to fight them. I’ll think of something I might need from you.”

Lee Yumi hadn’t even properly aimed or fired her gun. If she tried to help, she’d be killed instantly.

"Hang up for now. I’ll call you back.”

-Okay, got it! Please be careful, Mister!

After ending the call, Park Minho immediately shook Seol Suyeon awake.

"Suyeon. Wake up.”

"......Ugh"

But she didn’t move at all, like she was completely knocked out.

It probably was because of the universal antibiotics.

‘Even if I wake her up, she wouldn’t be much help anyway.'

Par Minho left her as she was and grabbed his rifle, grenades, and skihye.

However, this wasn’t a fight he could win. The enemies were experienced killers, used to fighting in tight spaces like goshiwons. And there were three of them. There was no realistic chance of victory.

That meant he had to rely on anomalous items.

He pulled out the Eviction Order.

[Eviction Order / Mid-tier / Anomalous item]

[Allows you to evict a person who violates Goshiwon rules.]

[The target’s name must be written.]

It could remove an opponent instantly. But the problem was that he needed to know their names.

'How the hell do I…?’

While thinking, something suddenly clicked in Park Minho’s mind. He immediately called Lee Yumi.

-Mister!

"Yumi, do you know the raiders' names by any chance?”

-I think one of them is called Dongmin, but I don’t know his last name. I don’t know the others.

"Then can you do me a favor? It might be dangerous, but if you succeed, I’ll pay all your rent.”

-What?! Seriously?

"Yeah. Sneak into their base and find out their names.”

-Ah…! You’re going to use the Eviction Order, right?

“Exactly. Their names should be on the goshiwon’s registry where they’re staying. You don't have to go in deep. Just peek from the entrance and text me right away. Can you do that?”

-Okay! I’ll try. But it’ll take some time.

"I’ll hold out as long as I can.”

After ending the call, Park Minho stepped outside.

'If I use smoke grenades, I can stall them for a while.'

Instead of waiting inside Good Stay Goshiwon, Park Minho decided to go out and intercept them first.

"Haah..."

His hand was slick with sweat from the tension. He steadied himself again and again.

'It’s fine. I can do this. I’ve got three anomalous traits now.'

Among them, only ‘Damage Suppression’ and ‘Adrenaline Pump’ would help in combat, though.

"Let’s do this."

Park Minho planned to fight while buying as much time as possible. When he reached Sungil Goshiwon, he heard footsteps in the distance.

He hid around a corner and readied a grenade.

* * *

"Nothing here. Let’s move on.”

After checking Evergreen Goshiwon, the youngest raider, Yoon Seyi, spoke. The leader, Ha Dongmin, nodded.

"Alright, Seyi, keep leading the way."

At the front was Yoon Seyi, with his sharp senses, in the middle was Ha Dongmin, the ex-special forces operative and their leader, and at the rear was Kang Mincheol, who was as unreliable as ever.

Truthfully, Ha Dongmin had often considered getting rid of Kang Mincheol. But the thought of being left alone with that cannibal, Yoon Seyi, stopped him.

On the surface, he acted tough and bossed Yoon Seyi around, but deep down the look in that guy’s eyes gave him chills more than once.

Seyi’s razor-sharp senses were useful, but Ha Dongmin couldn’t help wondering how long he could keep working with him.

And that instinct was spot on. Yoon Seyi was already beginning to turn into an entity from repeated cannibalism. Consequently, he had senses far beyond a normal human, especially when it came to detecting prey.

‘Honestly, it wouldn’t be the worst thing if that creepy bastard got taken out here…’

Just as Dongmin was thinking that, Yoon Seyi suddenly shouted.

"Grenade!”

At the same time, something rolled down the hallway, bouncing like a ball.

The three raiders instantly dove behind cover.

-Claaaang!

A loud explosion rang out, sending shrapnel flying everywhere. The air filled with the sharp smell of gunpowder and choking smoke.

"Damn it…!”

Kang Mincheol flinched at the sight of the walls riddled with shrapnel holes.

Ratatatatatata! Bang!

Soon after, bullets started flying in. They shouted to each other over the gunfire.

"How many?!”

At Ha Dongmin’s question, Yoon Seyi answered instantly.

"Just one, Hyung-nim! Near the back entrance!”

Dongmin smirked at that.

"Just one guy? Not bad.”

Kang Mincheol, who was nearby, yelled, trembling.

"Not bad?! Even though he’s raining bullets down on us like that?!”

Ha Dongmin frowned.

“Ugh, you useless idiot! Just fire in that direction or something!”

At that moment, a smoke grenade went off.

-Boom!

Thick smoke quickly filled the goshiwon hallway. With visibility gone, neither side could land proper hits. They just kept firing to suppress each other.

-Ratatata!

-Bang! Pow! Pow!

Yet in the middle of that, only Yoon Seyi stayed calm. He barely exposed himself, focusing solely on the sound of gunfire. It wasn’t easy, but with his inhuman senses, he pinpointed the position beyond the smoke and fired.

-Bang–!

“Agh!”

A scream echoed from the front, followed by the sound of someone collapsing.

A twisted grin spread across Yoon Seyi’s face.

"Hyung-nim, got him. We can slowly tighten the net now.”

"Nice shot, Seyi!”

Kang Mincheol asked nervously.

"What if he escapes while the smoke’s up?”

Yoon Seyi shook his head, confident.

“You can’t fool my ears. The moment he moves, I’ll track him.”

* * *

"Kgh..."

Park Minho, shot clean through the chest, crawled across the floor and dragged himself into a nearby room.

'No way. I even used a smoke grenade, and he still nailed me with one shot.'

At that distance, the bullet had over-penetrated, passing straight through his body. Blood poured out from both entry and exit wounds.

But at that moment, his anomalous trait, Damage Suppression, kicked in.

It minimized bleeding as much as possible, which was invaluable in situations like this.

"Ugh...!"

A sudden pressure tightened inside his torso. The bleeding did not completely stop, but it slowed drastically. It felt like the wound itself was clamping shut.

Then his next anomalous trait, Adrenaline Pump, activated.

It temporarily blocked pain and boosted stamina and strengths when injured, letting him fight like a zombie. But the downside was that after 15 minutes, all the suppressed pain would hit all at once.

'I’m a bit dizzy, but I can still move.'

Normally, a chest wound like this would make breathing difficult, narrow your vision, and send you straight into shock. But Adrenaline Pump ignored all that, forcing his body to keep going.

Park Minho quickly downed some sikhye, then opened fire back into the hallway.

-Ratatatatat! Tatata!

Then he heard the raiders shouting.

"Are you sure you hit him? He sounds fine!”

"Maybe he’s wearing body armor.”

"Fucking hell…!”

Park Minho anxiously checked his phone, but there weren’t any messages yet.

'I need to buy more time…'

For now, he had to urgently relocate.

'Problem is that one guy’s got insane senses.'

Even through smoke, he’d landed a clean shot. That wasn’t anything an ordinary human could do. Move carelessly, and he’d get shot again.

Fortunately, Park Minho had something useful.

It was the ‘Shh! Silent Tape!’

First, he tossed another smoke grenade.

-Boom!

Now the air was so thick with smoke that it was hard to breathe. He could hear curses flowing from the other side immediately.

"Fuck, are you for real?! Even more smoke!!”

"You smoke-spamming bastard! Let’s see how long you last!”

Taking advantage of the moment, Park Minho quickly stuck the tape onto the soles of his boots and around the noisy parts of his rifle, then slipped away silently.

Yoon Seyi tilted his head slightly at the odd sound of tape, but he didn’t catch Park Minho’s escape. Naturally, the raiders assumed he was still holed up near the back entrance.

Leader Dongmin immediately gave his orders.

"Mincheol, flank around and cut him off.”

Sungil Goshiwon had a square-shaped hallway layout, which meant there was another route to the back entrance.

"Wouldn’t it be better if Seyi went instead?”

"Are you stupid? Can’t you see Seyi’s focusing right now? I’m fucking telling you to get your useless ass moving! Now!”

Kang Mincheol hated the idea of going alone, but he couldn’t argue.

"...Understood, Hyung-nim.”

With that, he moved out to flank. After some time, the smoke began to clear, restoring partial visibility.

“Seyi, you hear anything?”

At Ha Dongmin’s question, Yoon Seyi frowned.

"Something’s off. I don’t hear anything.”

"What? Did he get away?”

"No, I didn’t hear any sound of movement—”

"Maybe he wasn’t armored after all and just bled out?”

"Could be. Let’s close in slowly.”

"Yeah. Carefully.”

They cautiously approached the back entrance. And they soon realized that their target was gone without a trace.

"There’s blood here…When did he get away?”

As Yoon Seyi muttered in confusion, Ha Dongmin sneered.

"Wow, look at this dumbass. Acting like hot shit earlier…!”

"No, Hyung-nim. That’s a bit harsh…”

"What, idiot?! Who told you to stare at me like that? You’re the one who screwed up and let him escape!”

The raiders wasted precious time arguing, completely missing their chance.

Sensing something unsettling in Yoon Seyi’s gaze, Ha Dongmin deliberately raised his voice, more aggressive than usual.

“Enough. We’re going after him right now. Got it?”

"......Yes, Hyung-nim.”

Ha Dongmin gestured to Kang Mincheol, who was still hiding around the corner.

"For Pete's sake, that idiot’s even worse! How long are you gonna stay there? He’s already gone!”

"Really, Hyung-nim?”

"Fucking hell!”

The three of them moved out, heading into Good Stay Goshiwon through the back entrance.

* * *

Park Minho returned to Good Stay Goshiwon and took up a new position.

"Haah..."

Thanks to Damage Suppression and Adrenaline Pump, he could still move despite being shot.

‘The problem is time.'

Adrenaline Pump’s major drawback was the backlash after it wore off. He’d probably be unable to move a single finger then.

'About five minutes left, I think…'

If the message didn’t come by then, everything would fall apart.

“Please…Yumi. Hurry…”

At times like this, all he could do was pray. Park Minho anxiously kept watching both the entrance and his phone.

"Please, please…”

Then his phone vibrated.

-Bzzzt!

He almost dropped it in surprise.

"Huh...!"

He quickly checked and saw the message he’d been waiting for.

[Ha Dongmin, Kang Mincheol, Yoon Seyi]

The moment he saw the names, Park Minho pulled out the Eviction Order and wrote their names down. Under ‘reason’ he put “Violation of quiet hours/Property damage.”

Immediately after, the Eviction Order began to emit an ominous aura. The ink on the paper melted like flowing blood, and new words appeared.

<Guests Ha Dongmin, Kang Mincheol, and Yoon Seyi have been evicted.>

The paper crumbled to dust. They no longer had the right to stay in the goshiwon.

Park Minho immediately sent a message to the Manager.

[Manager, there are unauthorized occupants causing trouble at Good Stay Goshiwon. Please take care of it completely.]

After sending it, he waited for the raider party to come.

Soon after, they appeared, shouting curses.

"Hey! You piece of shit! Wherever you’re hiding, you’re not dying peacefully!”

"Hyung-nim, over there! Look at the board! Their names are listed.”

"Two of them? One’s a woman.”

Thinking they had cornered their prey, the raiders grew cocky. They stayed hidden, shouting out threats.

“Try running again, you bastard! We’ll chase you to the ends of hell!”

But instead of responding, Park Minho quietly shut the door to the room he was hiding in.

-Click.

Yoon Seyi instantly reacted to that sound.

"Got you!"

-Ratatatatatatata!

He opened fire at the room where Park Minho was hiding. The bullets tore straight through the flimsy wooden door without resistance.

But Park Minho had already dropped into a blind spot on the floor, so he wasn’t hit at all.

Instead of returning fire, he sent a message.

-Ding!

Outside, the gunfire continued.

-Ratatatat! Ratata!

Bullets punched through the door, shredding the interior.

-Ping! Piiing! Trring!

Ricocheting bullets rang loudly inside the room. From beyond the door, the raiders shouted again.

“So this is where you ran to, huh?!”

"You’re a real fucking idiot! You really ran yourself into a dead-end, trapping yourself like a rat, huh?”

"Seriously, people all do the same dumb shit when they panic, don’t they?”

But in their excitement, they failed to notice something.

A cold chill was creeping in. One by one, the fluorescent lights nearby were going out.

-Bzzzt.

At the same time, Park Minho’s phone buzzed.

[Complaint received.]

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