WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth
[Translator – Aren]
Chapter 60 - The Master of Floor 8 (4)
Park Minho left Seol Suyeon and Nicola at the construction site and set out with only Ivan accompanying him.
"What are you planning to do?”
At Ivan’s question as they walked through the mine tunnels, Park Minho stroked his chin before replying.
"I checked with the biological system, and it says it can provide several Minecarts. I think we should make Minecarts our main force after all. If we rely only on the Miner entities, we’ll probably lose quite a few of them. After all, there are over 30 Awakened on the other side.”
“The Minecarts are powerful, but they have a problem."
After thinking for a moment, Park MInho asked,
“You mean the fact that they can’t leave the rails?”
“Exactly.”
Minecart entities possessed tremendous power, but they were beings bound to the rails.
They couldn’t deal with enemies beyond the reach of their mechanical arms.
In ordinary tunnels, that wasn't an issue because the passages were narrow. But in wide tunnels or caverns, if an opponent simply clung to the walls, there was little they could do.
“Couldn’t the Miner entities compensate for that weakness?”
“They could. In fact, even if the arms can’t reach, there are several solutions. As you suggested, Miner entities can assist. Or we can use locations like intersections, where multiple rail lines run across the floor and greatly expand their area of operation. But that’s not the real problem.”
“Then what is?”
“The noise and vibrations. The moment people realize a Minecart entity is coming, they’ll scatter. Things may not go according to plan.”
“Ah, I see."
It was a simple point, but an important one. Park Minho pondered for a moment before nodding.
“…I think I can solve that problem.”
“What method are you planning to use?”
“Before that, I have a question. Ivan, can you take down that Deputy Director?”
The name of that Deputy Director, as confirmed through telepathy, was Venanth.
“Yes, I know him. He’s a mid-rank Awakened like me, but if I catch him by surprise, I can definitely subdue him.”
Ivan occupied a role similar to that of an assassin. He claimed that if he committed to an ambush, there were almost no opponents of the same rank who could withstand it.
“Good.”
Park Minho immediately informed the biological system and ordered it to prepare something.
[Administrator request acknowledged. Minecart deployment in progress.]
* * *
Rahul’s group advanced without encountering any major obstacles. Miner entities were harmless as long as you didn’t provoke them, and they hadn’t lost their way. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before they met the brat who had risen far beyond his station.
Sure enough, before long, they heard a human voice from ahead.
“Ah! Not that way! Over here!”
The voice sounded thoroughly irritated.
“No, for fuck’s sake! Fuuuck—!”
The speaker was repeatedly cursing in a distinctly Korean way.
Rahul and Deputy Director Venanth exchanged meaningful glances. Then they led their party forward and soon found Park Minho. He was drenched in sweat at an intersection where several tunnels met.
In the spacious junction chamber, he appeared to be struggling to direct a group of Miner entities.
“Hey! I said stack them over here!”
Park Minho was struggling on his own. But it seemed the Miner entities weren’t obeying him properly. Some of them placed stones in completely different locations than he ordered, while others misunderstood his commands entirely and wandered off beyond the tunnels.
“God damn it!”
Anyone could see that he was incredibly exasperated. The chaotic traces scattered around the area suggested he’d been trying to build some kind of defensive line.
Rahul smiled.
‘Just as expected, he still can’t properly control them.’
His assessment of the brat hadn’t been wrong after all.
Soon, Park Minho spotted Rahul and looked pleasantly surprised.
“Rahul!”
"Minho-nim.”
Rahul returned the greeting with a warm smile. Then, spreading his arms slightly and tilting his head from side to side, he approached Park Minho.
“It’s good to see you again, Rahul. And what’s with all these people?”
The welcoming look on Park Minho’s face faded as he noticed the more than 30 Awakened standing behind him.
Rahul maintained his friendly smile.
"Please don’t be alarmed. I thought perhaps I could help you, so I brought some manpower with me.”
“What? Really?”
“Yes. To be honest, this Rahul felt that perhaps you and I could accomplish something remarkable together here on Floor 8. Or am I mistaken?”
At those words, Park Minho lit up like a man who had found water in the middle of a desert.
"You came at just the right time! Really, perfect timing. I was just in need of extra hands.”
Rahul quickly surveyed the area. There were only about a dozen Miner entities present. They certainly were strong, but from a security standpoint, there were openings everywhere.
And as he’d just witnessed, Park Minho couldn’t even control them properly.
On top of that, Ivan, the man Rahul had been most wary of, was nowhere to be seen. He was probably off handling something elsewhere.
'Lucky me.'
Rahul smiled to himself and glanced toward Deputy Director Venanth standing beside him. The two already understood each other perfectly.
There was no need for further discussion. The moment their eyes met, they intended to signal the attack.
But then…
-Thud!
A heavy impact rang out. Deputy Director Venanth’s waist folded forward violently.
"......!"
Ivan suddenly appeared from concealment and drove a fist into Venanth’s solar plexus.
The punch had been utterly merciless, as though Ivan didn’t care whether the man lived or died. Struck right in a vital spot, Venanth’s eyes rolled back as consciousness left him instantly.
“What are you doing?!”
A shocked Rahul shouted, but it was already too late since Ivan had seized Venanth by the hair and pressed a dagger against his throat.
“Don’t make any sudden moves!”
The icy warning caused the Awakened, who had already begun raising their weapons, to freeze in place. Every one of them looked stunned and confused. Rahul was the most shaken of them all.
“You lunatic! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Do you even know who that man is?!”
Venanth belonged to the Brahmin caste, the highest tier. Moreover, he was directly under Director Advik, the leader of the Indian faction.
If anything happened to such an esteemed figure here, Rahul’s life would be forfeit.
“Don’t move, Rahul! Unless you want to see what happens to this bastard!”
Rahul didn’t know what to do as he heard Park Minho’s warning, nor could he hide his resentment.
"Minho-nim! What is the meaning of this?! We came here in good faith to help you, and you’re taking one of us hostage and threatening us? I can’t believe this!”
Park Minho found that remark quite absurd.
“Good faith? Give me a fucking break.”
Honestly, the whole talk about the Incan Emperor had rubbed him the wrong way. So he had decided to return the favor by taking their leader hostage first.
"I said don’t move! Rahul! Aren’t you going to control your men? Want to see this bastard’s head come off?”
At that moment, Deputy Director Venanth let out a scream.
“Aaaaargh! Do what he says, Rahul!”
Ivan’s blade had dug deeper into his neck. It hadn't reached an artery yet, but thick blood was already trickling down.
“What do you want?! Let’s talk like civilized people! Violence is for savages! Taking hostages isn’t the conduct of a gentleman!”
Rahul desperately tried to persuade Park Minho. He absolutely had to save Deputy Director Venanth.
Then suddenly, the entire intersection chamber trembled.
"What the…?!”
"It’s a Minecart! A Minecart!”
Judging by the vibrations, there wasn’t just one or two.
Park Minho had activated all 5 Minecarts he’d stationed outside their detection range. Each one was racing toward the intersection at full speed through a different tunnel.
And the Miner entities had arrived as well. Unlike before, they weren’t stumbling around or ignoring orders. They moved with military precision, forming a complete encirclement.
Naturally, panic erupted.
“We have to do something!”
“We’re dead if this keeps up! Rahul! Hurry!”
But everyone was in a state of utter panic and confusion. If they attacked, the Deputy Director might die. If they stood still, the terrifying Minecarts would run them over.
In the end, several people made their choice. To hell with the Deputy Director. They began fleeing to save their own lives.
“Where are you going, you crazy idiots?! Get back here!”
Rahul shouted, but deserters appeared in an instant. Everyone knew that once the Minecarts arrived, it would be over. As one person ran, it started a chain reaction of others fleeing as well. Before long, nearly half the force had fled.
Par Minho was pleased to see events unfolding exactly as he’d intended. He issued a command to the biological system.
'Take out every one of the ones running away.'
[Confirmed]
An enemy scattering in panic wasn’t difficult to deal with. What Park Minho feared was 30 Awakened acting as a disciplined unit.
But now that they’d split in half, they were nothing more than easy prey.
"Damn it! Attack!”
Unable to endure the pressure any longer, Rahul finally gave the order. The Deputy Director was important, but they couldn’t stand around doing nothing. Praying they could somehow rescue him, he ordered the assault.
But his hopes were shattered before the battle had even begun.
-Slaaaash!
Ivan immediately slashed Deputy Director Venanth’s throat with his dagger.
The moment the artery was severed, blood erupted like a fountain.
"Deputy Director!”
Rahul screamed. Then the fierce battle began.
-Ratatatatatata!
Gunfire exploded through the tunnels. At the same time, the Awakened unleashed their abilities.
-Whooosh! Boom!!
But by then, Park Minho had already retreated behind the mass of Miner entities that had gathered around him.
The moment bullets struck their bodies, the Miner entities changed in an instant. The vacant, absent-minded expressions vanished. Veins bulged across their bodies, and their faces twisted into those of bloodthirsty fiends as they charged the Awakened.
“Aaaaagh!”
One Awakened screamed as a pickaxe pierced straight through his chest. He immediately drew a handgun and emptied it point-blank into the Miner entity standing before him, but it didn’t seem affected in the slightest.
Yet that was only the beginning of the hell to come.
-Screeeeeeeech!
A deafening metallic shriek echoed along the rails as massive Minecarts emerged one after another, their mechanical arms thrashing violently. They proceeded to grind human beings apart, mincing them like meat.
-Whiiiiiiiir!
The tunnels became a scene from hell, severed limbs flying through the air in every direction.
* * *
Rahul died with his eyes wide open.
“That’s what happens when greed gets the better of you…”
In the end, Rahul had begged for his life. When Ivan looked at him as if asking what to do, Park Minho simply made a cutting gesture across his throat.
If he was going to harden his heart and do this, he wasn’t about to do it halfway.
A moment later, Rahul’s life ended with a shrill scream like a pig being slaughtered. Thus came the pitiful end of his dream of capturing Park Minho and controlling Floor 8 through him.
“Haah......?”
Just as Park Minho let out a small sigh after finishing the job, the biological system contacted him again.
[Warning. A group of organic entities displaying unusual activity has entered Floor 8]
Park Minho couldn’t help but stare.
“What? Who is it this time?”
[Organic entities previously encountered by the Administrator several days ago.]
A certain face immediately came to mind. Park Minho instantly felt bitter.
'Wang Wei…you too?’
After Rahul, now Wang Wei had come looking for him. Once again, Park Minho requested to listen in on them.
[Confirmed. Relaying via telepathy]
Soon, the voices of Wang Wei and his companions filled his mind.
[Boss! Are you sure this is the place? It feels like we’ve been wandering in circles.]
[Ah! Shut up! There should be a path around here leading into the Entity Rift. Did the terrain change or something? Why can’t I find it?]
[Shouldn’t we take a break? All of us are exhausted from carrying all this stuff...]
Sure enough, they appeared to be weighed down by enormous amounts of supplies.
[Fine. We’ll rest for a bit. Damn it, making a living isn’t easy.]
[Still, do you think that guy will agree to trade with us?]
[He'll love it, right? His group wasn’t that large, remember? It won’t be easy for him to send people back to the city. A middleman will be exactly what he needs.]
Park Minho silently listened. Before long, he realized Wang Wei’s group hadn’t come to fight, but to do business. There was excitement in their voices, revealing their dreams of making a fortune and establishing regular trade relations with Park Minho.
[Come on, get up! That guy is loaded, like seriously loaded! If he’s got that much money, he’s going to need people selling him goods, right?]
[Yeah! Yeah!]
At that moment, Park Minho finally relaxed. He had been biting his lips, wondering if he’d have to kill another group.
“Well, I do happen to need a trader."
Park Minho’s group was small. He’d had no choice but to send people out this time, but even losing a single member was troublesome. On the other hand, if there was someone who could regularly bring supplies, there was no reason not to trade with them.
Park Minho relayed what he had learned to Ivan. He was positive about the idea as well.
“Then he’s worth meeting. Still, we should bring plenty of entities with us when we do.”
“Agreed. Let’s go.”
They set out in Wang Wei’s direction with over a dozen Miner entities in tow. About an hour later, they finally met him.
“Oh! It’s that guy!”
The moment Wang Wei spotted Park Minho, he brightened and waved enthusiastically.
“What? Is that you, Wang Wei?”
Park Minho greeted him as though the encounter were a complete coincidence. Wang Wei immediately frowned.
“You greedy bastard. Enjoying hogging everything for yourself?”
“What exactly have I been hogging?”
“Cut the crap! My instincts are telling me you’ve scored something huge. Still, I’ll let it slide this once. You saved my life, after all.”
“Very generous of you.”
“More importantly, I came with a proposal. Interested in doing business with me?”
"Business?"
“That’s right. If you’re interested, I’ll make regular visits. Guys! Unpack the merchandise!”
To Park Minho’s surprise, Wang Wei had brought a huge stockpile of ammunition, firearms, grenades, and explosives. There was even an RPG-7, Allah’s Magic Wand.
All of them were valuable items that couldn’t be obtained in the Abandoned Mine Shaft.
"These are the kinds of goods my people deal in. Well, what do you think? Exactly what you want, right?”
As though he had already read exactly what his customer wanted, Wang Wei’s eyes gleamed with confidence.
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