Chapter 62: Chapter 62

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[Proofreader - Gun]

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Chapter 62: Personality Test (2)

[Failure to enter within the time limit will result in automatic disqualification.]

[10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds...]

The announcement played.

Just as the yellow-haired man and the security guard had been called earlier, this time it was me and Lee Yeji being summoned.

【An anonymous observer is curious about the choice of participant 'Lee Eunho'!】

Step. Step. Step.

I crossed the red line with indifferent steps.

Following me, Lee Yeji entered hesitantly, her steps heavy with reluctance.

At that moment:

[Participants have entered.]

[The match will now begin!]

— Flash!

The gun that had disappeared from the yellow-haired man's hand reappeared on the table.

Seeing this, Lee Yeji panicked further and stepped back in fear.

"Where are you going?"

"I-I want to stand next to Sola!"

"You’ll get hurt if you do that. Stand here."

"...Okay."

I positioned the terrified Lee Yeji in the center of the red circle.

I couldn't risk her standing near others and having a stray bullet hit them.

[You have 30 seconds.]

[Hit your opponent to win; getting hit means defeat.]

[Match two, begin!]

With that, the match started.

00:30

Before the remaining time could change to 29 seconds...

"Make sure! To miss! I really don’t want—"

"Acceleration."

"Whaaaaaaaaa—?!"

Snap!

I grabbed the gun.

And then...

— Slide!

I also grabbed Lee Yeji's hair.

Her long, wavy hair that cascaded down to her chest—I pulled it taut and horizontal, parallel to the ground.

Holding her hair tightly in my left hand to keep it from slipping out, I fired the gun.

Bang!

The bullet passed through her hair and embedded itself in the asphalt below.

[Hit your opponent to win; getting hit means defeat.]

This was enough.

The rules only mentioned hitting the "opponent."

There was no stipulation that it had to be the arms, legs, or torso.

Tick-!

The 20 seconds gifted by the acceleration skill ended.

At that moment, Lee Yeji, who had just regained her normal speed, continued her unnecessary pleas.

"...You know I can’t stand messy things. Got it?"

With her eyes squeezed shut, Lee Yeji repeated her reminders over and over.

[Match over!]

She was so scared that she didn't even realize the match had ended.

"Excuse me, Lee Yeji?"

"Gasp...!"

"When exactly are you planning to open your eyes?"

"When Lee Eunho shoots the gun!"

"I already fired it."

"What?!"

Lee Yeji’s tightly shut eyes flew open in shock.

If you keep your eyes closed like that and suddenly open them, they'll hurt from the light.

…Distracted by such pointless thoughts, I realized the gun in my hand had disappeared.

My turn was over.

"…?!"

Still clueless and blinking in confusion, Lee Yeji felt my tap on her shoulder before I returned to my spot.

Back to my position, which had turned green from red.

"What?! How did you do that?"

"Did you actually shoot?"

The spectators, who initially wore the same puzzled expression as Lee Yeji, started pointing to the bullet lodged in the ground.

"It's stuck in the ground... Ah!"

"He shot at her hair?!"

Such a simple solution.

This is why you need to read the problem carefully.

After leading the bewildered Lee Yeji back to her seat:

[The third participant has been selected.]

[Please enter the arena!]

"Did you see that just now?!"

"Yes! Let’s do it like that too!"

There was no longer any need for 'proof.'

* * *

[Choi Seung! Where’s the backup data for Sector 12?!]

[I’m on it!]

— Clatter!

At a conference table big enough to seat dozens of people, a small girl and a man in a suit were scurrying about.

The neatly dressed girl with twin braids made an unusually loud clatter as she moved.

[The director is arriving soon.]

[!!]

[Already?!]

Having to present to higher-ups felt more like a competition than a meeting.

...All thanks to the mad scientist at the center who demanded more research data.

[Hurry up—Run!]

[Yes!]

Harona was in complete disarray.

She hurriedly checked the nameplates at each seat and laid out the prepared documents one by one.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Upon discovering a missing file, she gave instructions to Seung, just a moment ago.

And at the same time—

[Let me just… run and grab—]

[Wait! Who’s handling Lee Eunho’s mission as a substitute?]

Even in the chaos, a sudden thought crossed her mind.

Who was managing the mission she was supposed to oversee?

Seung answered casually:

[Oh, uh… It’s running automatically!]

[What?! Why?!]

Harona frowned deeply.

[Is there no one available to manage it?]

[No! It’s deadline season, so no one has time...]

[Argh! Of all times...!]

Why do they always come up with competitions and whatnot when things are so busy?

Harona unknowingly clenched the document in her hand, almost crumpling it, before she flinched in surprise and shook her head.

Seeing this, Seung furrowed her brow and asked cautiously.

[But aren’t most of the other sectors operating automatically? Is there a problem…?]

[That sector just doesn’t feel right.]

‘That sector.’

Though Harona didn’t elaborate, Seung understood.

It must be "that sector," where an unpredictable individual was constantly breaking through in unexpected ways.

Even systems that worked perfectly in most situations could be twisted by that person.

[What should we do, Harona? There’s no immediate solution. We can’t suddenly find replacement personnel…]

[For now… I got it. Let’s just finish this as quickly as possible.]

[Understood.]

But that was as far as it went.

Harona drove her subordinates, who had become uneasy because of her, to action and personally stepped in to get things done.

The priority was to handle the immediate tasks at hand.

For now...

[I hope that bastard, Lee Eunho, doesn’t cause any trouble.]

She could only hope today would end without incident.

* * *

Thud!

A man stumbled and collapsed, unable to steady his shaky legs.

It wasn’t surprising, given that a bullet fired by a large Black man—reminiscent of someone you’d see on the streets of Itaewon—had grazed just above his head.

“Hah… ha…”

“Is it over?”

“No one’s left, right?”

With the foreigner and the man, all verifications were now complete.

[Attention!]

[Please act honestly for accurate personality verification!]

Of course, that wasn’t what the system had intended.

[The ‘verification’ for the first question is complete.]

[Mission success.]

[You have earned 1 point as a mission reward.]

A success was still a success.

“We did it! It’s a success!”

“Whew… no one died.”

The tension visibly eased from the people’s faces, even if just a little.

It felt like the air of suspicion was beginning to dissipate.

“What should we do? I doubted him earlier…”

“Shouldn’t we thank him?”

Especially when it came to the man in question.

“Um… thanks to you, we made it through safely!”

“I think we might’ve misunderstood. A person who hates harming others like this…”

“Sorry for doubting you!”

The people who had arrived at the tower with Yurina apologized.

Though I didn’t quite understand what they were sorry for, well, whatever.

“You’re Lee Eunho, right? The guy who came first in the last mission!”

“We’re survivors from the Yongsan Station group. Nice to meet you.”

“From East Ichon-dong.”

Even some representatives from other groups approached to exchange pleasantries.

While I was greeting some of the more amiable groups…

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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“Cha Jinsol!!”

A shrill, high-pitched voice pierced my ears.

The owner of the name, a blonde guy who had been scuffling with a security guard earlier, was now facing a young woman in her 20s.

She wore a short leather skirt and a tank top, with lettering tattoos on her collarbone and shoulders.

“Ah, what?”

“You’re not dead, right?! You’re okay?”

“I’m not dead, so stop yelling! It’s embarrassing!”

“You took the bullet out, right?”

“Yeah.”

‘They must be close.’

They didn’t seem like a couple…

While I didn’t particularly care about their relationship, what mattered was:

“…Damn it, it hurts more now that I’m talking about it.”

“Wait. I’ll put some medicine on it.”

The woman knelt in front of the blonde, who was frowning in pain, and extended her palm.

“Summon.”

She summoned a flat, round tin case.

Then…

— Swish!

She applied the white coagulated substance inside to his wound.

‘!!’

The bullet wound began to heal instantly.

“That’s…!”

It was just like Sola’s healing skill.

“Could she be a healer?”

Jieun, who had been watching, murmured as if to herself.

“It seems to be an item.”

“You’re right. I’ve never seen an item like that before.”

Neither had I.

I hadn’t seen a coagulated ointment like that, even in mid-tier shops.

While I wondered about the unfamiliar item’s origin…

“Use more! What are you saving it for?”

“What if you guys get hurt again?”

“Ah, I told you, we won’t get hurt anymore!”

“Shut up. I know you’ll come crying later, demanding I make more.”

The woman’s words provided the answer.

‘She makes it?’

That must be her ability.

“Seventy percent? Is that enough?”

“Yeah. This much will heal on its own.”

“Ugh, useless.”

“Wanna die?”

An ability to create healing medicine.

Not as impressive as Sola’s skills, but still useful.

It might even extend to other types of medicine.

Also…

‘That guy earlier seemed to use a skill too.’

He had shot with pinpoint accuracy from quite a distance.

As I continued observing the conspicuous individuals one by one…

— Ding!

[Attention all survivors in the Yongsan-gu area.]

[The second mission, ‘Cooperation,’ will now begin!]

An announcement informed us of the next mission.

‘Cooperation,’ following ‘competition.’

“Damn it! Is it starting right away?”

“If it’s cooperation… I guess we’re supposed to help each other?”

“Mr. Song! Hurry over here, now!”

As I wondered what kind of mission would test our humanity this time…

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a violent gust of wind swept through, shaking me where I stood.

"Ahhh! What's with this wind?!"

"Is this a typhoon?!"

The few skirts fluttered wildly, the power lines hanging from the utility poles swayed as if ready to snap, and the gust was strong enough to lift someone like Yura off the ground.

This wasn’t just a passing wind.

Definitely not.

Thinking as much, I barely managed to open my eyes and look around, shielding them from the dirt carried by the gale.

And then, through the hazy cloud of dust, something came into view.

"!!"

A lump so white it seemed to radiate light.

Boom—!

Encased in a glass-like nest.

No, it seemed more like some kind of transparent, special material rather than glass.

Given it had fallen from the sky and remained intact, it must be something extraordinary.

But more important than that was what was coiled up inside that nest.

Sssssssss—!

Sensing the vibration, it lifted its head sharply, sticking out a massive tongue.

And the identity of ‘that thing’ was—

"A s-snake?!"

"Ahhhhhh!"

"You said it was an aptitude test! Cooperation, you said!! What’s with the sudden snake?!"

A massive shadow loomed over the panicking crowd.

It wasn’t just because of its length—its sheer bulk was considerable, too.

Even compared to the distant Namsan Mountain, it didn’t seem out of place.

"Holy crap! A dragon in the sky!!!"

Well, it was massive enough to be mistaken for a dragon.

So it made sense for those with weak nerves to be completely terrified.

"Don’t worry. It’s blocked off."

"That’s right! It’s sealed... Wait, huh?"

Luckily, there was a barrier between us and the gaping-mouthed snake.

Though the problem was that the barrier was a transparent ceiling of unknown thickness.

"Good thing the nest is there. Otherwise, we might’ve been crushed to death."

"Uh, isn’t that more like… a funnel than a nest?"

"Huh?"

And then Jieun, with her sharp eyes, pointed out another problem.

The transparent nest holding the snake wasn’t flat at the bottom.

What’s more—

"Ohhh! Now that you mention it… It’s a funnel supported by transparent cylinders, ma’am!"

The area around the stadium where people had been firing earlier was surrounded by invisible pillars.

In other words, a cylindrical exit planted into the ground.

It was obvious just from looking: this was a call to go inside.

"The ceiling… it’s sealed, right? If it shatters, we’re in big trouble."

"Maybe it’s meant to be dangerous?"

"Huh?"

Jieun’s question to Jaehyuk was answered by me instead.

With a bitter tone.

"It wasn’t sent down for us to just sit and watch."

"!!"

Of course, it was designed so we’d encounter it.

With us.

"……."

A moment of silence followed, and then, as my words sank in, people began screaming one after another.

[Mission Start.]

[Eliminate the White Snake and survive!]

Their faces turned as pale as the white snake.

[If the first player fails the mission, the next player will have a turn!]

“A turn,” huh…

For a life-or-death mission, that term sounded oddly off.

And yet, I couldn’t help but agree.

It was a pretty decent opportunity.

▣ Venom Pouch of the White Snake

-A venom pouch extracted from a venomous snake.

It is filled with a deadly poison that, when absorbed, spreads through the body within a minute, shutting down metabolism and hardening internal organs.

-Usable Count: 10

The lethal venom injected into me by Yurina.

That venom came from the White Snake.

Which means—

‘It’s a living treasure trove of items, that thing.’

A smile crept onto my face for a moment.

Its stark white body glowed with an almost sacred brilliance.

In any case, from my perspective, it was both intriguing and desirable.

"Shit! Don’t tell me they’re expecting us to go in there?! I-I refuse! Not me!"

"I won’t do it either…! I get chills just from small snakes; what the hell is that?!"

"Ahhhhhh!"

Apparently, the others weren’t interested.

The indifferent broadcast commanding us to defeat the monster seemed all too familiar, yet everyone recoiled at the idea.

Their desperate faces, brushing their arms as if snakes were crawling all over them, didn’t make ‘opportunity’ seem like the right word.

‘There aren’t many who can actually fight properly…’

Only three or four people seemed to be watching the enemy with sharp eyes.

‘I should assume they’re potential competitors.’

If that’s the case—

[Participant Lee Eunho, please enter the stadium!]

…Fine, it’s better if I take care of it myself.

I don’t know why they’re calling this “cooperation.”

‘Surely, they don’t mean to cooperate with that thing.’

All right, let’s give this a shot.

Snake hunting.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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