Lee Hyunsung, having finished reading the scenario window, opened his eyes wide.
"T, this is......!"
[The rules are simple. Occupy a 'Green Zone' before others. Of course, you can also take someone else's 'Green Zone'. But you should hurry. If you fail to occupy a 'Green Zone' after the scenario starts, you'll experience something truly terrible. Haha, well then, everyone, do your best!]
The expressions of the party members who heard Bihyung's words hardened. Meanwhile, people's screams continued.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Die! Just die!"
"I, I don't have any grudge against you! I'm just trying to survive too..."
By now, the whole party must have realized it... that the bloody struggle before their eyes... was no longer someone else's story.
Then Yoo Sangah asked in a trembling voice.
"Don't tell me we have to fight each other like those people too?"
"We don't have to fight amongst ourselves. We just need to find a 'room' with a high occupancy limit."
The size of Green Zones varied by type. From places where only one person could reside, to places like Gong Pildoo's land that could accommodate as many as 70 people.
"Of course, that's assuming such a 'room' is still available."
At Kim Dokja's words, Jung Heewon twitched her lips.
"Anyway, Dokja-ssi has a talent for making people anxious... Let's move right now then. There might still be a room left."
"Moving separately will probably be faster. Let's split into teams. Hyunsung-ssi, you move with Sangah-ssi. Heewon-ssi, please take Gilyoung with you."
"What about Dokja-ssi and Yuseong-ssi?"
"Yuseong-ssi and I are better off moving alone. That seems more prudent."
No one asked if it would be okay. They all had quite trusting looks.
The last one to speak was Lee Gilyoung.
"Hyung, I... What if we can't find one?"
"If you still can't find a 'room' by 20 minutes before the scenario starts, let's regroup here."
"Got it. I'll head out then!"
With those final words, the party members scattered in an orderly manner.
Jung Heewon and Lee Gilyoung went to B2, Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung to B3.
Kim Dokja watched the departing party for a moment, then turned on his smartphone and began reading the 'Way of Killing Evil', while I sat down and continued practicing my skills.
About ten or so minutes after Kim Dokja started reading the 'Way of Killing Evil', casualties began to appear.
There was only one 'room' currently on the Line 3 platform.
Because Line 3 had no overwhelmingly strong fighters, the weaker ones, refusing to back down, were emitting killing intent towards each other and engaging in a bloody fight.
"Die! Just die!"
[30 minutes remaining until the start of the third main scenario.]
Even as the surroundings turned into a hellscape, Kim Dokja was quietly looking at his smartphone.
"Gyaaak!"
At that moment, a final scream echoed. Finally, the owner of the 'room' on the Line 3 platform had been decided.
[Green Zone 1/1]
"...Don't come any closer."
A boy awkwardly pointing a knife at me.
Surprisingly, the winner was that boy who had guided us earlier. A boy whose name I didn't even properly know yet.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of taking yours."
I said that, turned my body, and looked at Kim Dokja, who was already talking with Lee Jihye who had appeared.
"Oh? You're pretty relaxed, ajusshi. You wanna die or something?"
"Seems like you're being relaxed too, though."
At those words, Lee Jihye smiled and said.
"Nobody touches my room. Everyone knows they'll die if they do."
Having said that, Lee Jihye spoke to Kim Dokja.
"I hope you don't die, ajusshi. The way you stood up to my Master earlier was quite impressive."
"I won't die, so don't worry. And not finding a 'room' doesn't necessarily mean death."
At those words, Lee Jihye asked in surprise.
"! Don't tell me.... Are you strong, ajusshi? As strong as my Master?"
No sooner had she said that than Yoo Joonghyuk appeared behind Lee Jihye.
"That's enough. Return to your room."
"Ah... Yes. Master."
At his words, Lee Jihye disappeared, and Yoo Joonghyuk, who was likewise about to turn away, gave Kim Dokja a glance.
"Do you plan to fight the monsters?"
At Yoo Joonghyuk's words, Kim Dokja shrugged his shoulders.
"You will die. And your companions too."
"We'll have to see about that."
[20 minutes remaining until the start of the third main scenario.]
A few minutes after the message appeared, the sound of party members coming down the transfer passage stairs could be heard.
Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, and Yoo Sangah... Seeing their uniformly dark expressions, the result seemed to be as expected. There were no more Green Zones left in this Chungmuro to begin with, so it was only natural. Soon, Yoo Sangah opened her mouth with a gloomy face.
"We...... couldn't get a room."
"It's okay. More importantly, where's Heewon-ssi?"
"Well, she said she was going to negotiate upstairs."
No sooner had she spoken than Jung Heewon came running down, shouting at the top of her lungs.
"Two thousand coins for one night? Are you kidding me right now? I feel like just chopping them all up, seriously."
Jung Heewon, seemingly excited, snorted and said.
"Dokja-ssi. Do you know what they're saying upstairs? I mean, seriously—"
"They suddenly raised their demands, right?"
"Uh...... You knew?"
It was entirely predictable. If the tenants don't find a room within the next 20 minutes, they die. Since the landlords have the leverage, it's only natural they'd raise their demands.
"Did you find something, Dokja-ssi?"
"No, I couldn't find one either. Yuseong-ssi probably couldn't find one either. He ended up staying with me by chance."
"Ah...…."
Kim Dokja looked over each of the party members' faces one by one. Finally, the time for a choice had come.
"There are three methods."
The party members' eyes sparkled at the words 'three methods' from their director.
"The first is an easy method that lets all of us survive."
"What is it?"
At Jung Heewon's question, Kim Dokja looked at me.
"We use Yuseong-ssi's power to subdue Gong Pildoo and use his Green Zone."
"Ah.... Certainly, if it's Yuseong-ssi...."
Soon, the party's gaze focused on me, and I smiled as I moved somewhere.
"Heya~ Pildoo-ajae! We need a room, see? So hand it over(?)"
"Haa?"
As I barged in too confidently and told him to hand over the room, a speechless Gong Pildoo glared at me.
"Ah~ If you don't like it, bring it on! Want to be toyed with again?"
"Fuck....."
Gong Pildoo, remembering what happened earlier, shuddered.
"Of course, I won't borrow it for free. How about some super expensive wine and sashimi made from a super expensive fish, huh?"
"....Haa.... Fine, come in."
And so we entered Gong Pildoo's Green Zone, and I promptly prepared the detoxified blowfish into sashimi and handed it to Gong Pildoo.
"Here, try some."
"Hmph.. I know without you telling me."
Gong Pildoo immediately snatched the sashimi from me, took a bite, and soon shed tears in astonishment.
"Wh...what!!! There's sashimi like this!! The taste of the fat is simply amazing! The flavor keeps coming even as I chew! I'm chewing so much my jaw hurts, but it's so delicious I can't stop!"
Gong Pildoo, having eaten the blowfish sashimi I offered, shed tears because it was so delicious, then exclaimed in shock.
"What!? All the fatigue I've built up just flew away in an instant!?"
The astonished Gong Pildoo moved his body here and there as if he were about to fly away, and to him, I offered the fin wine.
"Delicious... This is amazing fin wine.... It feels like the aroma is wrapping around and circulating through my entire body!"
Gong Pildoo, sincerely moved, devoured the wine and sashimi.
[Many Constellations want to eat the fish called blowfish.]
[Many Constellations are staring intently at you.]
[The Constellation 'God of Wine and Ecstasy' wants to try the fin wine.]
[Wine-loving alcoholics are asking you how much you would sell it for.]
"....Unfortunately, blowfish is a special cooking ingredient, so even if I wanted to give more, I don't have any..."
[Many Constellations ask what the problem is.]
"Well, you see.... Blowfish have poison sacs in their bodies.... The slightest stimulus can burst the sac, making them inedible... and the location of the poison sac is random, making preparation even harder.... The one prepared portion I have now is the last one."
[Many Constellations express regret.]
[Some Constellations who enjoy cooking say they will prepare it themselves and ask for the blowfish.]
"...Hmm.... Alright. I'll sell 30 blowfish for 500 coins each."
[Constellations who enjoy cooking shout that they will buy them.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' has sponsored 2500 coins.]
[Incarnation 'Kang Yuseong' has offered 5 blowfish to the Constellation 'Secretive Plotter'.]
I barely managed to sell all the blowfish 10 minutes before the scenario started. Since one blowfish costs 100 coins in the shop.... I made a final profit of 12,000 coins.
"Well then, I'll be going for a bit."
"Huh? Where are you planning to go in this situation?"
Lee Hyunsung, flustered by my statement, asks.
"Where am I going.... Hmm... Let's just say I'm going to save people..."
I promptly left the Green Zone and went down to the Line 3 platform.
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