Drifting in the Yellow Sea
Warm water poured down pleasantly from the showerhead.
It was just hot enough.
After finishing with a thorough cold rinse, Jin-hyeok stepped out of the shower room.
"Now I can finally breathe again."
He'd been drenched in sweat—on top of being covered in blood here and there—so he'd felt filthy enough to go crazy.
If he went out now and downed a cold cola, that would be perfect… right?
Coming out of the bathroom, Jin-hyeok paused with a puzzled look.
Jin Seo-hee was sitting on the sofa.
She had definitely shown him to the room and left earlier, hadn't she?
"Rooms assigned under the same invitation card can all be opened with this card."
"I see."
Thank goodness.
At least he hadn't walked out half-naked like he used to.
Living with Seira had drilled into him the habit of getting dressed properly before coming out—and it paid off.
"You took a long shower."
"I like to soak myself. If I go to a hot spring, I won't come out for three hours."
When he took a cola out of the fridge, Seo-hee stood up.
"Shall we go to the buffet first? Everyone's gathered there."
"Sure."
He naturally turned and left the room with her.
If they'd ended up sitting side by side on the sofa like that, it might've been awkward—so honestly, this was better.
"Each floor is being managed by the New Kali's crew. They're also gathering the bodies in one place for now."
Seo-hee briefed him on the ship's situation without being asked.
"And the bridge…"
Her voice trailed off, and Jin-hyeok nodded.
Just as Oh Min-soo had said, the bridge had already been wiped out.
At the moment, there wasn't a single person aboard the New Kali who could actually operate the ship.
On top of that, whatever had been done had taken out communications as well—they were still dead.
A glass elevator, surrounded by transparent walls, offered a full view of the ocean as they descended.
Seo-hee let out a small breath.
The sea was still frozen solid.
Even as she watched it with her own eyes, the sight refused to feel real.
She quietly turned her gaze to Jin-hyeok.
She didn't know how it was possible.
But there was no doubt he was the one who had done all of this.
"Mr. Yoo Jin-hyeok. The people in the event hall didn't really see the battle outside. They were just huddled in a corner, shaking in fear. And with the blackout, they couldn't see anything anyway."
"That's good, then."
"But I'm not the same."
The image still flickered before her eyes.
That blue aura that had embroidered the darkness.
"But you're not asking anything."
"If I asked, would you answer? How someone at the level of a 30th-floor player can fight like that, or what kind of miracle it takes to turn the ocean into that."
"No."
"I figured. That's why I didn't ask."
"…Nice."
"The people in the event hall think I protected them. They're saying I wiped out the enemies during the blackout—'As expected of the Jin family!' and all that. I'd love to correct them, but you don't want that, right?"
Jin-hyeok nodded with unshakable firmness.
An endless barrage of questions and unwanted attention.
He wanted to avoid it at all costs.
"Ha…"
Leaning back against the elevator wall, Seo-hee closed her eyes.
Taking credit for something she hadn't done was the last thing she wanted.
But if Jin-hyeok hadn't been there, she—and everyone else in the hall—might already be dead.
She wasn't shameless enough to pretend she didn't owe him her life just because it felt uncomfortable.
"Would it be okay if I at least say we fought together? They should know that they lived because of you."
"That's more than enough."
"I guess I'll have to put a little gloss on it. Telling lies really isn't my thing."
"It's not a lie. You did fight too, Ms. Seo-hee."
Her lips tightened.
"With a unique-grade sword and still couldn't even cut them down properly?"
She hadn't been able to take a life.
Each time she swung her blade, she'd twisted the line of the strike to miss a vital point.
It wasn't mercy or the composure of a strong fighter.
It was the cowardice of someone who had never killed before, running away.
And that made her angry—angry at herself, and frustrated beyond words.
"If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have lasted ten minutes."
"And if it hadn't been you, by the time I arrived, the people in the hall would already have been taken hostage."
"That's…!"
"That's the objective truth. It doesn't matter whether you held out for minutes or not. Ten seconds, thirty seconds—it makes no difference. Because for that brief moment, I was able to fight without worrying about hostages."
After finishing his words, Jin-hyeok smiled with a carefree innocence.
Seo-hee, who had been about to reply, fell silent.
One look at his face told her nothing she said would get through.
Turning toward the doors, she let out a long sigh.
'…He really knows how to talk.'
She'd thought he didn't say much.
But when he did, his words were direct and crystal clear.
Just as a quiet pause was about to settle in, Jin-hyeok spoke again.
"The ice will start melting soon."
No matter how powerful Dark was, his mana wasn't infinite.
Freezing such a vast ocean couldn't be maintained forever.
"With the ship dead in the water like this, I don't know who'll reach us first—but depending on how it goes, we may have to fight again."
He didn't think they'd lose.
With Seira, Dark, and Kancho on their side, they had plenty of strength.
But protecting a massive cruise ship with so few people was another matter.
If enemies boarded, battles would erupt all over the ship.
What came out of it would depend on everyone's actions.
"Since I've already put the crown on, I'll make it clear. If they want to live, they fight."
"Thank you."
Ding!
The doors slid open.
"Then I'll head this way. Thanks for getting the food ready."
With that, Jin-hyeok turned on his heel.
She wanted to ask why on earth he needed so much food—but decided against it.
"Yes. See you in a bit."
With a light nod, she headed for the buffet.
Yoo Jin-hyeok was a walking question mark.
And even if she got answers, she doubted they'd make sense in any normal way.
So she chose simply to accept it.
That this was a world where anything could happen.
Jin-hyeok climbed up to the very top of the New Kali.
"Brr…"
He wrapped himself tightly in the blanket he'd brought.
Dark's ice had completely engulfed the area.
If he didn't do this, he felt like he might freeze to death.
Carrying a huge bundle, Jin-hyeok squinted his eyes.
'A campfire?'
He thought he was seeing things—but no, there really was a bonfire burning.
Seira, Dark, Kancho, and Momo sat around it.
He did wonder if it was okay to light a fire on such an expensive cruise ship, but it was too cold to care—so he joined them anyway.
"The Commander-in-Chief is here!"
"Food! Food!"
Kancho and Momo sprang to their feet in greeting.
Rising to the occasion, Jin-hyeok dropped the bundle by the fire and opened it.
The buffet food he'd had Seo-hee prepare separately.
He'd skipped the vegetables and piled up only what looked like main dishes.
"Perfect timing. I was starving."
Smiling, Dark tore into a rack of ribs.
Jin-hyeok sat down beside him and bit into a chicken leg.
Same chicken leg—but somehow, it tasted incredible.
Clearly, this was what astronomical amounts of money bought you on a luxury cruise.
"Commander. It was warm just now, but now it's freezing again."
"Warm it by the fire and eat."
"Yes, sir!"
The whole area had turned into a natural refrigerator.
Either eat quickly, or reheat it.
"The ice will melt soon. My mana's bottoming out."
"You did well, Dark. That's enough."
They gazed out at the frozen sea.
Nothing was visible yet.
But once the ice began to melt, something would come—for better or worse.
'Most likely the enemy.'
The ocean freezing solid out of nowhere was an absurd phenomenon.
Korea would've noticed by now, but probably hadn't grasped how serious it really was.
"What about the necklace you wanted to get?"
"The auction probably won't happen, so I asked Seo-hee if there was any way to purchase it separately."
"And if they say no?"
Swallowing hard, Jin-hyeok placed a hand on Kancho's shoulder.
"Then I'm counting on you, Kancho."
"Are we stealing it?"
"Let's not use such a criminal word. We'll call it accepting rightful compensation. You disarmed all the bombs. Seira, Dark, and I took care of the bad guys."
"Momo delivered notes and slipped in bombs too!"
"Momo did great too."
"That's right!"
"Perfectly reasonable, Commander. There were so many bombs."
Kancho pulled out a huge lump of clay.
"After converting all of them, it ended up about this size."
Judging by the destructive power of his creations, if that thing exploded, the New Kali would vanish without a trace.
"Kancho, you brought the minigun, right?"
"It's in Momo's bag!"
"Okay. Kancho, stay here and get ready to move."
Kancho's eyes gleamed ominously.
"Does that mean I get to blow everything up now?!"
"Not everything. Just the enemies. I'll tell you when to open fire."
"Roger that!"
Kancho let out a gleeful puhehehe.
Because they were inside a cruise ship, he hadn't been able to use his clay.
Being stuck with limited weapons must have been frustrating.
Dark, sipping a beer, turned his head.
"It's disappearing."
No sooner had he spoken—
Crack!!
Fractures raced through the ice that covered the sea.
Moments later, it shattered into tiny pieces and scattered away.
The engines had been shut down early on, so the ship itself didn't move.
And so the New Kali began to drift.
"Hm."
Jin-hyeok let out a low hum as he stared into the pitch-black ocean.
He had bought as much time as he could.
Now, all that remained was to wait.
In the middle of the Yellow Sea, on the deck.
"We can't establish a connection with the New Kali."
"And Oh Min-soo?"
"We've lost contact."
"Hah."
Ban Ho-yeon, leader of Vesta, furrowed his brow.
On his first operation back in his homeland after a long absence, things were developing in a strange direction.
—This is the New Kali. Due to an unidentified situation, we are switching to Plan B for insurance purposes.
The last transmission from Oh Min-soo.
As soon as they received it, Vesta had immediately set sail for the New Kali.
Plan B included not only taking hostages but also linking up with their forces.
But not long after, Vesta was forced to stop.
Because of this cursed ice that had suddenly appeared before them.
It radiated such brutal cold they couldn't even approach it.
"What about Genex's movements?"
"No noticeable action yet. But they're definitely making moves under the surface."
"That figures. Chairman Jin Tae-gon wouldn't just sit back and take it…?!"
"Chief!"
"I see it."
Ban Ho-yeon leaned over the railing.
The ice, which seemed about to crack, began to shatter and dissolve.
"Start the engines. The path is open."
"Yes, sir!"
Abandoning the New Kali was never an option.
Since they'd gone this far, they would see it through to the end.
'Whatever's on that ship.'
A chilling smile crept across Ban Ho-yeon's face.
'They'd better get lost—if they want to live.'
With a thunderous blast of horns,
More than thirty of Vesta's vessels began cutting through the waves.
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T/N:
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