Chapter 16

A meteor shower was pouring down in the starry sky . It was a sight that anyone would admire, but not Yoo Jonghyuk .

「 It is starting . 」

The meteor shower was the precursor to the start of the third main scenario . Now Seoul would be destroyed part by part according to the scenario . Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at the sky before he lowered his head and looked at the Han River . The landscape around Dongho Bridge was quite desolate since the large group of ichthyosaurs had recently moved downstream .

「 It was too much . 」

It had already been three days since Kim Dokja entered the Han River . It might’ve been too much to demand that he catch the ichthyosaur just after the first scenario .

「Indeed, it would be hard for me to catch an ichthyosaur in three days . 」

However, it would be impossible to take him if he couldn’t do this much . If he couldn’t even do this much, he would only hinder Yoo Jonghyuk .

「 A prophet isn’t a big deal . 」

Yoo Jonghyuk closed his eyes with disappointment . He would go on his own again, without any companions . It wasn’t a big deal—he had been alone all this time .

「 This time I will definitely change it . 」

Yoo Jonghyuk turned around—but maybe he had turned away too soon .

* * *

“Wait…!”

[W-What?]

I blinked several times but could only see a grey-white ceiling . I was still inside the ichthyosaur . I turned my head and saw the surprised Bihyung .

“…I had a dream . ”

[Ohu, are you trying to raise curiosity? It isn’t bad?]

I didn’t mean to do such a thing but I didn’t mind the misunderstanding .

[A few constellations want you to move to a new place quickly . ]

I used 500 coins to buy the Ellain Forest’s Vital Force to help me sleep . I thought it was too dangerous to move while exhausted . The Ellain Forest’s Vital Force quickly relieved fatigue and healed wounds in exchange for two hours of sleep . In other words, it was an expensive item .

“…I really want to go out . ”

I talked to myself while stretching my body . The dream I just had was still clear . Maybe it wasn’t a dream .

Kwajijijik!

I heard the sound of an electric current scattering and Bihyung disappeared without a word . Maybe he went to do his job . I sighed with relief . The stream contract with the dokkaebi . It was a gamble that I never would’ve attempted if I hadn’t known about Bihyung from Ways of Survival .

Still, I did it with surprising calm . I never succeeded in any contracts in ‘real life . ‘

[The exclusive skill, ‘Fourth Wall’ is in use . ]

…It was real . I inserted strength to my right hand holding the thorn . I really thought this world was reality .

[A few constellations want you to act . ]

Well, there was no time to worry about it . I swung the thorn as hard as I could at the stomach wall that lost its elasticity . At the same time, there was the sound of something collapsing and water poured out . I plunged into the Han River .

“Puah!”

Fortunately, I didn’t see any other ichthyosaurs . Small seawater species approached with curiosity but no hostility was felt . Not all creatures would attack humans . Dongho Bridge was over there . I used a piece of the ichthyosaur corpse as a floatation device and made my way towards dry land . My skin was cold from the cold water but I couldn’t worry about it . After 30 minutes of swimming, my hand reached land .

[A few constellations are nervously looking at you . ]

Normally, danger would immediately come after this message popped up .

[The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ is making an insidious smile . ]

It was a pity for the constellations but something bad wouldn’t happen to me . It was because I already knew the dangers .

[You have entered the region of the second main scenario . ]

[The land in the scenario area is deeply polluted . ]

[Be careful about your breathing and move underground as quickly as possible . ]

The message said this but in fact, I shouldn’t be above ground from the moment this scenario started . Why? Look at my skin now .

[You have been exposed to a poisonous fog . ]

The skin touched by the violet fog turned black . Once I followed the source of the fog with my eyes, I saw a monster making terrible cries . It was a massive monster over 30 metres big . This fog was the fart of the 7th grade monster, ‘great poisonous rhinoceros . ‘

The rhino snorted and confronted a monster in the fog, which seemed to be an insect king species based on the shadow . The struggle in this new world wasn’t just for humans . The monsters were also fighting for their homes . I moved while holding my breath as much as possible .

They were 7th grade monsters like the ichthyosaur but I couldn’t deal with them right now . In the first place, I could kill the sea commander because I was prepared .

[You have used the Ellain Monkey’s Lungs . ]

The monkey’s lungs was an item I bought in advance that could be used as a substitute for an air purifier for 20 minutes .

[A few constellations admire your readiness!]

The above ground station, Oksu Station, had already been destroyed . The nearest underground station from here was ‘Geumho Station . ‘ Maybe the others had moved there . I moved quickly while avoiding the small species that were eating the corpses . I only had 20 minutes, so I needed to move as quickly as possible while securing supplies .

The first thing I needed was clothes . My outerwear was melted by the ichthyosaur’s fluids so it was necessary . Of course, there were many of them all around but… I felt uncomfortable .

…It couldn’t be helped . I searched some bodies and grabbed clothes that roughly fit . Then I headed to a nearby convenience store . I grabbed a few plastic bags and swept in food randomly . Food would be a valuable trading item after going underground .

I filled three or four bags like this . It seemed that the colour of the monkey’s lungs was becoming increasingly darker . There wasn’t much time left . Then I heard someone’s voice .

“Help…help me . ”

There was someone still alive? A young woman was lying down in a corner . The poisoning was progressing on the surface of the skin, but the toxic condition wasn’t severe due to the mask she was wearing . Her jacket was half removed and a bit of her skirt was torn .

“Are you okay? Can you stand?”

“Uhhhh…”

Was there such an extra in Ways of Survival? I wanted to take a closer look but I didn’t have enough time . I picked up the woman and ran to Geumho Station . I turned and a side street appeared . Now the distance to Geumho Station was 100 metres in a straight line .

I breathed in and started to run with all my strength . I could see the Exit 3 sign in the distance .

… . Closed . Then on the other side? There was a fire shutter down at every exit due to the disaster situation . I could break the shutter with the thorn but if I did it wrong, the people inside might be harmed .

“E-Exit 4…”

Unexpectedly, the woman I was carrying was helpful . I ran towards Exit 4 . Then I found a fire shutter that was rolling down . I placed the thorn in the gap of the shutter that was trying to close . Somebody yelled out, “Shit, what is this?”

“Open the door . ”

“N-No! You can’t come in! Go away!”

“There is a wounded person . ”

“We are already in a full state! We don’t need any more people!”

It was full of people? Strange . Was there such a development?

“I don’t care about that . ”

I used the thorn as a lever and lifted the shutter as hard as possible . Since I used the coins to increase my strength to level 10, I now had the strength of half a dozen adult males .

“Uwaaaaack!”

There was a loud sound and the people on the other side of the shutter became nervous .

“R-Run away!”

The scared men escaped into the darkness of the underground passage . I entered the station safely, lowered the shutter and put the girl down on the floor .

[You have entered the safety zone . ]

The poisonous fog didn’t come down to the underground area . There was no possible scientific explanation . It was just because of the ‘scenario . ‘

“Put this in your mouth . ”

I took off the woman’s mask and handed over the monkey’s lungs . It wouldn’t completely cure her but it would have a neutralizing effect .

“Umm…” A faint groan emerged from the mouth of the woman . The woman who was abandoned . I suddenly wondered about her information . This woman, it was likely that she had died in the original development . A voice was heard as I was about to use Character List .

“There he is!”

Light from a flashlight approached in the darkness . My eyes narrowed as I saw men holding metal pipes .

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ frowns at the appearance of the uninvited people . ]

A big man in the middle opened his mouth . His body was well balanced so he must be a strong person .

“Who are you?”

At this moment, I was strangely struck dumb . What should I say when this happened? I thought for a moment before speaking like Yoo Jonghyuk .

“Kim Dokja . ”

“…Kim Dokja? That is your name?”

“Yes . ”

“Who asked that? What is this bastard?”

It was a more difficult question .

“U-Uh! That woman…” One of the men spotted the woman beside me and shone the flashlight on her . “What, isn’t that woman from the marginalized group? Didn’t you come back with her?”

“T-That is…”

The man’s flashlight moved in a harassing manner near the woman’s waist .

“…Ha, so it was like that . Cute guys . Why did you do that without Hyung-nim’s [1] permission?”

“Hehe . I’m sorry . ”

“No, of course Cheolsoo hyung-nim should be first…hehe, I was going to do that . ”

Cheolsoo? Cheolsoo . Was there a character by that name? I couldn’t remember . He must be insignificant, as opposed to how he looked .

“Hey, hand that woman over to us…huh? What is that?”

The flashlight shone on the convenience store bags on the floor . It was okay to escape the crisis but the flow was turning out bad .

“Leave that as well . Then you can live . ”

To be exact, it wasn’t good for these guys, not me .

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is annoyed at these people . ]

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is angry with the injustice occurring . ]

[A bounty scenario has occurred at the request of the constellations!]

+

[Bounty Scenario – Remove the Interference]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: F

Clear Conditions: The constellations feel great anger at the disruptors who are obstructing your rapid movements . Neutralize them within the time limit .

Time Limit: 5 minutes .

Compensation: ???

Failure: ???

+

I thought it would be like this . Poor bastards . I got up while holding the thorn . There weren’t any minors in the constellations right? I hoped so . It was because it was now the adult broadcasting time .

[1] Hyung = Older brother . Used by a male towards an older male . Adding -nim to the end makes it more polite and respectful