And so, we followed Lee Jihye and entered Chungmuro Station. Seeing the platform with its shattered screen doors, Yoo Sangah spoke.
"There's a sinister atmosphere here...."
[You have entered Chungmuro.]
[The 3rd scenario is currently in progress.]
[Channel #GIR-8761 is active.]
[Channel #BIR-3642 is active.]
Just then, some middle-aged men who spotted us waved and approached, then spoke to Lee Jihye.
"Oh, you brought some newbies for the little samurai?"
"Yeah."
Do these people know Lee Jihye's sponsor is Yi Sun-sin? If they knew, they probably wouldn't have that kind of reaction.
"Have you been drinking again, ajusshi?"
Lee Jihye frowned at the smell of alcohol coming from the middle-aged men and spoke.
"Hahaha, with the world in this state, what else is there to do but drink?"
At Lee Jihye's words, the middle-aged men with bodies as warm and comforting as neighborhood uncles answered with a sly smile.
"By the way, did you friends come through the Dongdaemun tunnel? That's impressive. You must have made quite a few coins?"
The gaze of one of the middle-aged men, hiccupping from drunkenness, turned toward Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon, and soon that middle-aged man spoke to Yoo Sangah.
"Hey there, sweetheart, what's your name? I've got a cheap room, want me to rent you one?"
"Huh?... A room?"
At the middle-aged man's words, Yoo Sangah tilted her head in confusion.
"Haha, you don't know the system here yet, do you? This place is—"
"Ajusshis. Stop messing with the newbies and get upstairs already."
Lee Jihye immediately cut off the middle-aged men's words and spoke.
"Hey now, they need to know eventually. We're all just trying to survive...…."
"If you don't want to die."
At Lee Jihye's words, who had already drawn a pale blue *jangdo* (a double-edged knife), the middle-aged men's faces turned pale.
"This... You little brat, learning nothing but bad things already."
"Hey, Mr. Kang. Let's stop and go."
The middle-aged men walked away, looking back at us with a regretful air. Only after they disappeared down the Line 4 transfer passage did Lee Jihye sheathe her sword, look at us, and speak.
"I brought you here, so from now on, figure things out yourselves. I'm not a babysitter."
Saying that, Lee Jihye turned sharply and began to walk her own way. Watching such a Lee Jihye, Kim Dokja opened his mouth.
"Is Yoo Joonghyuk here too?"
At the name Yoo Joonghyuk, Lee Jihye, who was walking away, sharply turned her head. In an instant, Lee Jihye's eyes had changed to a guarded look.
"Who are you?"
"I'm a companion of Yoo Joonghyuk, who has returned alive."
"A companion? That can't be?"
Lee Jihye stared at Kim Dokja with a highly suspicious look. But Kim Dokja shrugged his shoulders shamelessly under Lee Jihye's gaze.
"He'll understand if you tell him that. Where is Yoo Joonghyuk now?"
"The Master isn't here right now."
"Is that so? That's troublesome. I have something I must tell him."
Lee Jihye glared at Kim Dokja while thinking deeply about something, then seemed to make up her mind and called over a boy who had been sleeping curled up in a nearby corner.
"Hey, you there!"
"Huh? Yes, yessir!"
The boy, suddenly called upon, answered Lee Jihye while looking bewildered.
"Keep an eye on these people here! I'm going to see the Master for a bit."
At Lee Jihye's words, the boy, not understanding the situation, asked in a flustered manner.
"Who are these people?"
"The person the Master mentioned."
At Lee Jihye's words, people sprawled around the platform began to open their eyes one by one. They looked at us, half with curiosity, and half with reverent eyes.
"...…The person Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi mentioned?"
Before we knew it, a boy who had come panting leaned his face toward us and spoke.
"Are you really a friend of Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi?"
The boy's bright, round eyes stared at Kim Dokja.
Afterwards, we safely entered Chungmuro, and I and Kim Dokja were able to hear about Chungmuro from that boy from a moment ago.
"...…So, we are following Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi. Um, are you listening?"
"Yes."
"Yeah, I'm listening."
The boy, who clearly couldn't see that Kim Dokja obviously wasn't listening at all, continued to talk about Yoo Joonghyuk.
"To summarize, roughly three days ago, Yoo Joonghyuk appeared here and saved Lee Jihye and a few of you from a horde of monsters. Something like that, right?"
As his personal experience was violently summarized by Kim Dokja, the boy's face became completely dumbfounded.
"Uh, is it really that simple of a story.."
Then Lee Hyunsung approached the dumbfounded boy and asked.
"Um, I have a few things I'm curious about, may I ask?"
"Yes. Please ask."
"How is food supply handled here?"
"Well, it's a bit embarrassing to call it supply...… Some of us, including me, mainly depend on Jihye. Jihye hunts, and we ask Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi to cook it...…"
Lee Hyunsung, who had made a checklist at some point, took out a notebook and began to record something.
"Then how about drinking water?"
"We exchange food or coins for it bit by bit from the 'Landlord Association' upstairs."
"...…Landlord Association?"
"There are building owner ajusshis who originally controlled the Chungmuro area. They occupy the upper floors, and we call them the Landlord Association."
At those words, Lee Hyunsung, harboring doubt, asked the boy.
"What kind of people are in the Landlord Association?"
"....Well, how should I put it...... Sigh. They're just building owners."
Then Lee Gilyoung, who had been quiet, carefully tugged on Kim Dokja's pants and opened his mouth.
"Hyung."
"Hmm?"
"I need to use the bathroom."
"Urgent?"
"Yes."
At Lee Gilyoung's words, Yoo Sangah, who was right next to him, blushed and spoke.
"...Um, may I go with you?"
The boy, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation, soon spoke to us.
"The bathroom is up on B2, but it won't be easy to get in."
"...…Is something going on?"
"Hmm. I think it's better if you see for yourself… Since I was planning to go up anyway, would you like to come with me?"
"Let's go take a look."
At Kim Dokja's words, the party members went up to B3 together.
"Oh, the new faces from earlier. Did you come to see a 'room'?"
Seeing us, the middle-aged men standing near the Line 4 escalator whistled and asked. The boy shook his head in response.
"Ah, sorry. We just have some business upstairs."
"Aw, what a shame. Be careful, then."
The middle-aged man waved his hand without any lingering regret. Jung Heewon, who had been tilting her head while watching the middle-aged man walk away, asked.
"By the way, you...... You've been using the word 'room' since earlier, but what exactly does it mean? It doesn't seem like the room I know."
"A room is... simply put, that over there."
The boy, who had been looking around, pointed to a place where square tiles were laid out.
[Green Zone 0/1]
"Its scenario name is 'Green Zone,' but here, we call it a 'room'."
Right next to those tiles, two men were grappling with each other.
"What on earth is that? Why are those people fighting over that?"
At that question, the boy made a slightly reluctant expression. As if telling us about it would pose a threat to his own survival.
"You'll all find out once we reach B2."
We continued upstairs, and the higher we went, the more people grappling with each other there were.
"Is the area from B3 to B1 all the territory of the 'Landlord Association'?"
At Kim Dokja's question as he carefully observed the surroundings, the boy answered affirmatively.
"...…Yes. There are a few small factions, but the Landlord Association controls almost everything."
At those words, Kim Dokja made a serious expression and asked.
"Has Yoo Joonghyuk taken no measures? Didn't he save you guys?"
"Well...…."
At Kim Dokja's question, the boy's face visibly darkened. The boy's lips, which had been trembling for a while, barely managed to utter words.
"He only tells us to stand up on our own..."
The boy made a gloomy face and then spoke to us.
"You need to be careful from here on."
The B2 level we arrived at after walking and walking had many more 'rooms' than the floor below.
However, unlike before, there were hardly any people soliciting customers. Instead, there were only people guarding the Green Zones with fierce eyes.
We passed by such people and headed towards the bathroom.
"Um... Why have we stopped here?"
Our steps stopped just before the final passage leading to the bathroom. Dozens of people had gathered around the bottlenecked pathway.
"Let's go take a look ahead."
Kim Dokja said that and pushed through the people to advance forward.
"Pildoo-ssi! Please take me back! I'll never do it again!"
"Please, please! Let me stay just one more day. I'll get the coins even if I have to go into debt!"
The front of the line was hot with the excessive fervor of the people.
"Now now, step back. Step back."
Facing them, people who appeared to be members of the 'Landlord Association' were lined up holding makeshift weapons.
Then, something wriggled from under the footbridge and Lee Gilyoung stuck his head out.
Perhaps sensing something dangerous, the moment Kim Dokja tried to grab Lee Gilyoung's shoulder, someone pushed Lee Gilyoung, and
"Ah."
Lee Gilyoung, who lost his balance and fell, placed his hands on the floor.
[Incarnation 'Lee Gilyoung' has trespassed on private property!]
At that situation, the atmosphere instantly turned cold, and some of the 'Landlord Association' members at the front looked at Lee Gilyoung.
"What are you, kid?"
Almost simultaneously, the gathered crowd screamed and stepped back.
"Crazy!"
"B, back! Quickly!"
As if they had seen something they shouldn't have, the people who had crowded close retreated like a receding tide.
Once the people disappeared, a glowing red boundary line was visible where they had been standing. A man looked alternately at the boundary line and Lee Gilyoung and spoke.
"Hmm. Looks like you're lost. Do you know where this is?"
"Isn't it the way to the bathroom?"
"The bathroom? Haha, it once was. So, kid, where are your parents?"
"...Huh?"
"Didn't they teach you not to trespass on other people's land? Or didn't you learn?"
The man stroked Lee Gilyoung's head with an inscrutable gaze as he spoke.
"Brat, seems you don't know. Then I'll teach you right now."
[Incarnation, 'Gong Pildoo's' Stigmata Armament Zone Lv.3 is being activated!]
A *kiiiiing* sound was heard, and mini-turrets resembling gatling guns rose up all over the floor.
[Incarnation, 'Gong Pildoo' demands payment of 500 coins for trespassing.]
[If the recommendation is not followed, all surrounding turrets will immediately open fire.]
The man spoke.
"Pay up, kid."
The turrets, having finished loading ammunition, were all aimed at Lee Gilyoung.
The flustered Lee Gilyoung stepped back hesitantly. Instead of going to Kim Dokja, whom he usually followed, he stuck close to me, who was nearby.
The man who spotted me laughed.
"Ah, so there's a guardian. Then the guardian should pay the 500 coins instead, right?"
Looking at the man's hand suddenly thrust out, I turned my gaze to Lee Gilyoung.
"Hyung, do something, quick."
Lee Gilyoung whispered so only I could hear.
"...."
At Lee Gilyoung's words telling me to handle it, I was momentarily speechless.
'Sigh, whatever.'
I sighed inwardly and looked at the Landlord Association member.