라이프 미션

Curiosity solves something whenever something unknown appears. Even if this is the
current state, everything will become known by learning each one by one.

“Should we look for it? Or call it?”

“Call?”

“Didn’t I tell you? This was the mission area for my tutorial.”

Cha Jun Sung explained about the drunk person. The Caicus appeared after he
screamed, and it is possible to do this again.

“Always be on alert. It’s 600,000. 2 of them could come out.”

Cha Jun Sung threw the bait.

“We were saying that too because there are too many points for catching 1. How are
you going to divide the people up? Half and half?”

When Cha Jun Sung went up to the transmission tower, the party members talked
about the mission amongst themselves. Their conclusion was that there are 2 of them
and not 1.

“Koharu, Ms. Violet, and me in the front. Jin Hyuk, just harrass.”

“Jun Sung, what about me?”

Kyoko asked. Though she is a medic, she engages in battle.

“You stay in the rear with Hercules and then join in wherever there’s an unexpected
situation. Help us concentrate on fighting.”

Kyoko also has a battlesuit. Even though she holds a scalpel, she is strong than a level
4 and can take on a level 5 if she combines her strength with Hercules’.
“Anyone who doesn’t understand?”

There is no one. Fine and detailed? It is more important to know what they each need
to do and what their roles are, rather than getting into the messy aspect of it.

It is obvious to help each other in a party, but it is possible to create the best scenario
with these people who are plenty able to take care of themselves.

“So let’s call it.”

“It’s a bother to go looking for it.”

“I agree. It’s something for us to be thankful for if it comes looking for us on its own.”

The decision has been made.

They will call the Caicus. It would be better if 1 came, but they do not care even if there
are 2. As long as they have an appropriate place for battle, all they have to do is use
force.

Cha Jun Sung selected an open space where they would be able to go into a
concentrated attack if surrounded by mutants.

He thought about the Caicus. A narrow space is bad for it, but it also becomes
restricted for the party. He would rather fight so that neither side has that handicap.

If it shows its desire to kill, mutants will be too scared to come out of the buildings.
Kawods will be the same, won’t they?

4:2 is a perfect match. The party has become so strong that a 600,000 point mission
does not scare them. It is true that the level of difficulty is relative.

[Are you ready?]

Park Jin Hyuk raises his thumb from the roof of a 7 floor building. He distracts the
Caicus with his Head Hunter. The 3 people will lead the main battle.

“Let’s start.”
Koharu and Violet breathe. They shake the anxiety and fill that with confidence
instead. The two emotions mixed to harmonize their thoughts.

Bang!

Wiing!

Cha Jun Sung threw a noise grenade. It flew hundreds of meters and made noise. If
they see a reaction, they will narrow the distance and make it come to them.

Kyak!

As the noise grenade cut off, the mutants made a fuss at the phenomenon. It is out of
the blue in the middle of the night.

“It’ll take the bait 100%. It’s pride won’t allow for intruders.”

There are a few reasons for it if it does not take the bait. It either cannot come or is
not here, but it must be here because there is a mission.

Kung!

It is intense and thick. A giant’s scratchy roar encroaches the closed area and the
chirping mutants quiet.

They were frightened off by the sound of a predator. All living beings treasure their
lives, so they must disappear if they are weak.

Bang bang!

Boom boom!

“It’s coming.”

A building collapses and debris flies out. They can hear the screams of the mutants
living there. It viciously destroys everything in its path.

“Why is it overdoing it so much?”

Park Jin Hyuk can see the Caicus from his high position.
It is pretty far. Over 1km. He is able to make it out because of the battlesuit’s abilities
and the Caicus’ size.

Wiing!

Noise grenades show it the way. Its strides are large, so it goes 1km within seconds.
Its body became clear once it was only 100km away.

“It’s not that one.”

Its looks are indistinguishable from a human or animal. But the atmosphere of its
physical characteristics are subtly different.

Is it alone? Good. 4:1 – it will only take 10 minutes to handle it if the 4 of them go.
Taking them on one by one is better for the party’s safety.

Grr!

“…Well it was good while it lasted.”

Boom!

A giant monster jumped down from the trees and grass behind Cha Jun Sung. A
diversion tactic, they are caught in the rear.

A heavy tree is uprooted and flung across. Cha Jun Sung’s group leapt away to avoid
being hit.

Tatang!

Park Jin Hyuk shoots. The Head Hunter’s bullets are unable to pierce through the
Caicus’ skin and bounce off. The Caicus is one of the highest of physically strong
mutants.

It is an upper level 5 on strength, stamina, armor, and bodily characteristics alone, but
it cannot be at the top with just a sturdy body.

That is where the Caicus falls short 2%. There is a better balance as the level becomes
higher. Getting closer to level 7 is nearing perfection.
Level 8 is where they become perfect, and level 9 transcends perfection. The Caicus
cannot reach the highest level.

“It’s show time.”

Papapat!

It is the one from then – the one that squeezed potential Lifers into a pulp. As soon as
Cha Jun Sung pulled back, Koharu and Violet ran forward.

Their opponents were automatically decided.

It is a coincidence that the Caicus that the Cha Jun Sung met approached them from
the back. Diversion tactic? It is not related to using their minds.

Not too long ago, the Caicus brothers claimed the area because mutants of comparable
strength came near the Closed Area.

A boundary formed around the area. They only met and did not overlap directly, so
they just watched each other and pretended the other were not there.

But this guy, no this girl was a female but mated somewhere and had children. Dozens
of them at that – it was like cell division.

They grew and became level 3 at some point. Mutants do not have a sense of level, but
they instinctively determine strength.

The Caicus brothers felt danger. What if they grow and get unbelievably powerful?

Even if it does not get to that point, they are a bother because there are so many of
them. They need to take care of them while they can.

Area invasion. It would not have mattered if they had not known, but if they did it
knowingly, they have practiced more than 50% of the intent to kill that area’s owner.

They exterminated them – ripped them apart into pieces. The mother is as strong as
the Caicus brothers, but they could handle the children by bleeding them out because
they are immature.
It is just that one of the brothers went back to its usual area and one stayed behind to
make the area stronger.

That is when Cha Jun Sung entered and set off the noise grenades.

It had wanted to avoid battling for the time being as it is almost completely recovered
but the enemy had appeared, so it was extremely angry and acted more wildly than it
normally did.

The other Caicus was coming back when the enemy appeared, so it quieted its
movement and sandwiched them.

They had unknowingly exposed their backs to them, but nothing has changed.

They already had it in mind that they might need to take on 2 at the same time. The
important thing in this situation is only whether or not they win.

Bang!

It is above average strength, 100 times that of humans. It swings a large tree around
as though it is a stick. Each time they avoid it, there is wind pressure that sounds like
it is tearing through the air.

Just like in the virtual version and training room, the Caicus has the human form and
employs its extensions well.

It is a tricky weapon when even the weak use it, but it is even cunning when it is with
a strong mutant. Its attack range is so wide that they cannot even approach it.

“Do you remember me?”

Kung!

His face is covered by the battlesuit. Even if he were not wearing it, the Caicus would
not remember a human’s face. Cha Jun Sung knows this as well.

“The repair costs are a waste, but shall we see some blood?”
The part around the battlesuit’s eyes flash. The battle core thunders. He is going to
reproduce the battle from the training room.

Bang!

The tree flashes like an arrow in the speed it is thrown. Cha Jun Sung did not move and
faced it instead. It happened in a very short moment.

A kick from his left leg drives force from the booster and bursts through the middle of
the tree. The obstacle disappears and the Caicus’ chest is wide open.

“Take one… no a bunch.”

Wiing!

Bang bang bang bang!

Cha Jun Sung approached, stuck to it, and went for the unprotected stomach.

Dozens of stabs went into the steel muscle and gave intense shock. He felt repulsive
force against the rubber-like toughness, but he did not give in.

Kuk!

The Caicus straightened its chest and inflated. It is like a wall is coming at him. Cha Jun
Sung went flinging out at the unexpected attack.

Bang bang bang!

[Impact 7.5t, battlesuit damage rate 3.9%, system is shaking.]

Chest bump? Stomach bump? There was an error in functionality with an attack that
is not use the arms or legs. It would be something to see if he gets caught and thrown.

Tap tap.

Grrr!

The Caicus strokes its stomach. It is bruised. After dozens of blows that could scrap a
car, it was only left with bruises.
“It hurts, right?”

They cannot converse, but he can tell that it is in pain. The Caicus’ body is hard. He can
only beat it as though he is tendering meat.

He has not taken the Wolf Kill out yet. Its cutting force is incredible but because it is a
level D weapon, the energy will drop quickly with that steel lump.

The Caicus had even broken it during training. He intends to use it at a decisive
moment. When he can wound it even if he cannot kill it?

Tatang!

Bullets fired from the Head Hunter bother the Caicus’ face. There is an effect because
it is comparatively weaker than the muscle armor it has.

Bang!

A grenade comes flying. The Caicus is covering its face, so the grenade explodes
against its unprotected stomach. Fragments fly and scratch its skin.

Even after the grenade’s impact, the Caicus’ stomach is fine. The bulging muscles
absorbed the shock.

“It’s time to change you too.”

Park Jin Hyuk flew up with the booster and moved to another building. The Caicus
threw the building debris around and roared, but could not find him.

Cha Jun Sung is flitting around from below while Park Jin Hyuk is bothering him from
above. It is being driven mad by the tantalization.

“That side’s doing well.”

Papapat!

Park Jin Hyuk bought time, allowed Cha Jun Sung some freedom in his movement.

Koharu and Violet are battling much more easily because they are a team of 2. It is
obvious that they have the advantage.
Koharu circled the Caicus and concentrated on attacking its lower body while Violet
did not think about such things and faced it head on.

Their combat styles are distinctive.

Cha Jun Sung rolled on the ground. The Caicus left Park Jin Hyuk and tried to grab at
him. Is it trying to squeeze him like it did with the drunk person last time?

Papat!

It does not adjust its power. There is no room for doubt. It is clearly trying to kill him.
It has accepted the fact that Cha Jun Sung is small but powerful.

Tatatang!

It decided on a target. He put Park Jin Hyuk aside and only goes after Cha Jun Sung.

‘It’s fast!’

A giant 10m tall flies up like a butterfly and shoots forward like a bee. It is faster than
when it was coming at him with a tree. It has various methods of attacking because it
has joints.

It must have a lot of experience fighting because it does not just push forward with its
strength, and instead changes its position in a timely manner to make Cha Jun Sung
dizzy.

“Damn it!”

He falls behind in basic physical aspects even with a battlesuit, so his bare hands are
not enough. He took the Wolf Kill out and swiped it horizontally.

A solid line is drawn across its chest and blood flows out. The Caicus is surprised and
crosses its arms to protect the wound. The bruising and blood are incomparable.

‘It’s shallow. It didn’t touch the muscle and only cut the skin a little.’

To compare in terms of humans, it is like making a cut on the finger with a box cutter.
It is not truly like that, but there is almost no damage.
Kung?

The Caicus rubs the blood. It is frequently wounded these days.

It is not easy for mutants to easily get past seeing blood. The strong do not see blood.
Why? Because they are strong. Only the weak see blood.

The Caicus’ eyes become red. It is going mad. Lifers say that it is going bezerk, and this
is where it is a true Caicus.

It puffs out its muscles. As though composed of tens of thousands of threads, the
rhythm is clear.

The wound that Cha Jun Sung made becomes covered with the tightened muscles. In
battlesuit terms, this is like employing 100% of the power.

It cannot maintain this for a long period of time because it has gathered all of its
internal strength in one place, but its battling power is stronger than usual for a short
time.

Kung!

As one Caicus roared, the other one went crazy as well. Well, the situation on the other
side was worse off.

[Battle core 100% deployed! Booster output rate 100%, battle option in full
operation!]

He had not won once against a Caicus of normal strength in the training room. It is too
difficult to take on with a basic type battlesuit.

However, it is not a one-on-one this time. Park Jin Hyuk is covering him from the top
of a building. He will not be able to avoid getting hurt, but he will not lose.

“We’ll start going through level C with this mission as a starting point.”

They will go forward on skill and reduce the number of workers. The important thing
is advancement. Though they have a lot of points, they cannot purchase items from
the upper level store.
Knock knock.

Boom!

The Caicus drools as it walks toward him. Its face is full of confidence and eyes say
death. From looks alone, it is a bigger monster than the devil.

“Die for me.”

Become a small step for a high place called advancement.

Violet’s javelin came at full power and buried in the Caicus’ heart as it was on its knees.
It is so hard that it did not go through.

Boom boom!

[You have earned 200,000 points and 80,000 achievement points.]

Koharu made the lower body into rags. She chopped it up like as though she were
cutting up meat. The lower body is the center of mobility. It is just a figurehead if that
collapses.

Hah!

Thump!

Koharu sits down. Her battlesuit’s energy is under 10%. She can just charge the
energy, but she needs to rest in order to regain her bodily strength.

Violet was also standing up by leaning on the javelin as if it is a cane. She is not severely
hurt anywhere. She is only tired as if she has run a long distance.

Ah!

Swish!

A meteor falls. The booster multiplied the speed of falling.

Cha Jun Sung became a ray of light and passed by the Caicus, cutting its shoulder in a
moment of inertia. Due to this, his shoulder muscle was ruptured.

Bang!

The Caicus held back the awful pain and punched Cha Jun Sung. The impact could
crumple the battlesuit, and he was pushed back as though he could drag through the
ground.
Boom boom boom!

Grenades dig in where its arm is cut off and its shoulder is showing.

It may be tough on the outside, but there is nothing to do about the inside. Its shoulder
is dug into and red flesh splatters out. The amount of bleeding is enough for 4 or 5
people to die.

The Caicus stumbles. Bleeding out is one thing, but he is blinded by this kind of
extreme pain it is feeling for the first time. Is this death? Is it dying?

Park Jin Hyuk pours out the attacks. Cha Jun Sung is not in that great of a state either.

He took all of the hits head on unlike Koharu and Violet. He had not been able to
protect his body properly like the state of the battlesuit.

With repeated attacks on its weakness, its shoulder rips. Its other parts are still hard
and tough. There is no point in attacking those places.

The Caicus falls over. As it is a giant, it took a long time.

It is not dead. If they leave it alone, it can live even though it will be handicapped. It
may be weaker than before, but it it will still be able to bring out the strength of a level
5.

Cha Jun Sung dragged his ruptured shoulder and broken leg near the Caicus’ brain,
and embedded the Wolf Kill in its eye.

The Caicus trembled with hollow eyes and then stopped breathing.

[Congratulations. You have cleared level C mission Closed Area. You have earned
200,000 points and 100,000 achievement points. With mission completion, you have
earned 600,000 reward points and 300,000 achievement points.]

Park Jin Hyuk, Kyoko, and Hercules came down to the battlefield. They are fine but 3
battle personnel are about to collapse – no – they have collapsed.

However, there is still a result. They left their reserve power as is and completed a
600,000 point mission without issues. This means that they can afford to do more.
“It’s a single shot even though it’s a level C, so we were able to finish it in a day.”

“We need to pick out missions like this, though it is a disadvantage that it’s so tiring.”

They need to repair their battlesuits and weapons, and they need to rest for a few days.

As short as the time for completion is, the greater the danger is. That is why they need
to be careful. But it is still more comfortable than an ongoing mission.

“Let’s go back. I’m sure everyone will be able to purchase the weapons they want if we
just do a few more?”

Violet is fine for now because she has a 3 million point weapon.

The problem is Cha Jun Sung’s group. They realized for sure while fighting with the
Caicus that they need to get rid of level D now. Level C has become more desperate.

“It’ll be quick.”

There is not long left once the points they already have and the points they earned in
Closed Area are combined. And as long as they are purchasing, they will be buying
other items.

He attacked Closed Area, the mission he had vowed to complete, with perfection. It
had not even been difficult. It is proof of how much he has advanced.

Cha Jun Sung went in and out of 500,000 to 700,000 point missions with his party
members because of the time limit and to purchase other items.

If levels D and E are just tastes of Life Mission, level C is where they can really start
seeing the super scientific abilities in the items.

There is no longer any need to fight with battlesuits and vibrating weapons.

If they have a lot of points, they can become owners of artifacts they see in fantasy
stories. It is just that they are created with science instead of magic.

They each want different gear because everyone’s style of battling is different, but
there are 3 things that they all want in the level C store.

[Protect ring: 6 million points, 1.2 million achievement.] [Description: A ring that
forms a magnetic field defense with a 3 meter radius, with maintenance time and
strength determined by energy emission.] [Rapid charging device: 5 million points, 1
million achievement.] [Description: An upgrade on the average charger, this is able to
charge the basic battlesuit to 100% in 10 minutes.] [Emergency return portal: 7.5
million points, 1.5 million achievement.] [Description: Once every month, it is possible
to abandon a mission under level B without restrictions regarding rules set by the
assistant.]

They need 30 to 40 million points for the time limit, 3 things, and other items. The
serious aspect is that this is Cha Jun Sung alone.

With 5 people, it is a total of 150 million! Assuming they switch their equipment over
time like in the virtual version, there is no end.

They are short by a lot, so Cha Jun Sung’s group put their all into missions.

After working for a few weeks, their cumulative existing and gathered points reached
15 million. They thought for a bit and then purchased the time limit and protect ring.

Excluding Violet, the party members also finished setting to top level C weapons. Their
power had increased even more.

As a result, they completed a 950,000 point attainment mission within 2 days

yesterday. 4 level 5s appeared, but they each took on 1.

They each received 1.5 million reward points. It would be good if they achieved this
each time, but their energy is low because they have been working hard.

Cha Jun Sung stopped activity so that they could rest, but there had been a lot of
changes in Mechanic City while they were focused on missions.

First, the inflow of people into Mechanic City had multiplied by more than 10. Lifers
had begun to enter in earnest with differences in time.

Is that why? There are more instances of people looking for real estate, places to live.

Therefore, Cha Jun Sung used his remaining points to purchase properties located on
the path from where he is, zone A area 25, to area 24.

His party members followed suit. Violet in particular, used the Florence clan’s power
to basically absorb area 25.

No matter how trivial of an area it is, each area has a representative center. The center
of area 25 is the way to cross into area 24.

It is because facilities are there. Lifers who want to reside in area 25 will try to get
near area 24.

Fortunately for all Cha Jun Sung knows, the count for large guilds in zone A is low.

Even if they are there, they are late and Cha Jun Sung’s group was moving one step
ahead. His goal is clear. He cannot take over an entire zone and area.

Cha Jun Sung wants the 5 training rooms in areas 1 through 5 of a zone. They are
scarce, so he will somehow scrape up the points to buy them.

The cheapest training room in area 5 is 120 million points. If he keeps this pace up
however, it is not impossible.

Other large guilds are focused on other zones and are not paying attention to zone A.
It is a large piece of land without an owner. It is the key to a niche market.

While Cha Jun Sung was just hanging out, something happened that would gain the
attention of all Lifers including himself.

It happened quietly, but the stirring became the beginning of an auction war.

“There are a lot. Shall we go?”

A man in his mid-30s mumbles as he looks at dozens of lucky boxes.

They are what he has gathered until now by riding buses. He is a typical bus Lifer. He
is able to count the number of mutants he has killed on his own with one hand.

He focused on using the reward points to increase his wealth in reality. He knows his
place well. It is impossible for him to fight a mutant and survive.

No one dies pleasantly after not knowing their place and getting involved. Lifers and
friends who entered the reality version around the same time screamed.

If he had gone through missions normally? There is nothing that says the same would
not have happened to him.

Even still, he persisted in missions and became a level C Lifer a few days ago. This is
not as easy as one would think. There needs to be luck to cruise through it.

Ring!

He opens a lucky box. He had gathered them as a hobby. He has exactly 42. He was
going to sell them, but decided to open them for fun.

His expression goes sour. He heard that they have a terrible probability.

Opinions on lucky boxes are plastered with swears and insults on Lifer World. They
are called 1 second boxes. It only takes 1 second to change $100,000 into 1 cent.

That was true. After 30 seconds, 30 boxes became worth 30 cents. Tissue, ramen, a
bullet, a pencil.

“Ugh. I just wasted $4.2 million.”

If he had sold them as is, they would have brought him enough to buy a mansion. It is
all about to disappear. He just has 3 lucky boxes left.

He earns about 3 million in a month, has over 20 million saved, and can raise more
from now on, but the disappearing 4.2 million in front of him seems like a waste.

Ring!

[What! No way!]

“Huh? Why are you surprised?”

When he opened the 2nd lucky box, the man’s helper coughed. It is possible for
artificial intelligence to be surprised. It is a wonder as to what surprised it.
“What is this? Is it a card? Argos, did you see this and get surprised?”

The man picked up the black card in the lucky box and scanned it on the PDA. He could
just ask his helper, but he can also do this.

[Top store opening card.] [Description: If you put this card in the PDA, you can open a
higher store than Lifers that are higher up can.]

“…Open a store?”

The man cocks his head. He is a level C Lifer. One level? Is he able to take a look at the
level B store with this card?

It seems like a good thing, but it is not completely to his liking. What is he supposed
to do after opening it? Even the level C store has items that are priced at millions of
points.

If it is level B, it will reach over that. There is no point in it for him.

Ring!

The man opens the last lucky box. This time, a 300 point pistol came out. Ultimately,
all he got out of this is this strange card.

[There’s a 1 out of 10 million chance…]

“You’re saying there’s a 1 in 10 million chance to pick out this card? No way!”

[I’ll have to tell you since you don’t understand what that card is. It has a value that
could shake up the balance in Life Mission.]

Helper Argos is making a fuss. A card to open up the top store, the name and
description are simple. On the other hand, its true meaning is not that simple.

It is in the description, but not included in the conditions. It may be garbage that opens
up level D in level E, but it is a treasure that opens up level B in level C.

If he uses it in level B…?

[It opens level A. According to the circumstances, it could even open up S.] [A Lifer’s
power comes from the store. Rather than being a step ahead of others, you could
transcend an entire level ahead of everyone.]

It might be unattainable to the man as he thought, but it is an invaluable treasure to a

Lifer with ability.

What would happen if this fell into the hands of a top Lifer, someone like Cha Jun Sung?

There is just one chance. If they gather as many points as they can to go through level
B body modifications and purchased items from the store, there is no guess as to how
far they could advance.

“So this is an incredible thing?”

[It is beyond that. You are someone who has come out above atrocious probabilities.
If you decide to take the path of a Lifer now, you could come out on top.]

He is falling far behind as a level C, so he cannot catch up to rankers.

But if he continues with level 2 body modifications and purchases a battlesuit to gain
experience, the card will handle the rest.

Even if Argos cannot tell him, level B mission will become Lifers’ graves when they
need to start fighting mutants that are nearly perfect level 7s.

Only those who advance and show potential for advancement will go to the top.

“I have to sell it.”

[Se – sell it? You’re going to sell that? What are you selling?]

If Argos had been human, it would have fainted from high blood pressure. He is going
to sell the card! This is an action that helpers cannot understand.

“You think I’m crazy? If level C has level 5 and 6, isn’t level B level 7? I know from the
virtual version that I can’t handle them. I’m going to sell this for a high price.”

[*&^*%$$$#$^***^(%$$##.]

The man did not want to hear Argos screaming, and shut the PDA off. He made his
decision regarding the card.

It is true that it makes him ambitious, but he does not want to get caught up in a dream
and take a rash challenge. He will sell it for a high price. He will hand it over to rankers
or a large guild.
{Writer: Anonymous}

{Title: Top Store Opening Card}

{Subject: I am attaching a certified description from my helper. It is a card that allows

the owner to open a store on a level higher than the one he can access now. I will create
a group chat room under helper name Argos on the designated date. We can discuss
in detail there.}

{Crazy!}

{Is this a joke? A top store opening card? Who’s he trying to scam!}

{Are you blind? There’s certification from a helper. It’s real.}

{So it opens level B when used in level C?}

{Rankers and large guilds are going to go nuts. What is the selling method going to be
like?}

There are tens of thousands of comments. There are also Lifers in large guilds who
monitor. Information is relayed through them in real-time.

All of the comments were hot, but the most interest lay in the method of buying it and
its price. It is an item that warrants kidnapping while trying to sell.

It is better to filter through the people in a group chat room and go through with a deal
from there. It would be better to do this in reality than it would be in Mechanic City.

Since direct trading is impossible, the owner needs to cope with it or get paid a
reasonable price.

Everyone agrees that the number one item in the Level C store is the battlesuit. Even
with 10 battlesuits combined, they do not reach the potential power of the card.
It is not an item that should appear at this point. It has a worth that destroys common
sense!

Even if a normal transaction is not possible, he will try to do it anyway. The large guilds
who already got this news were moving in the dark.

He will decide on a price after discussing its worth in an autonomous meeting. It will
be in points or items.

Cha Jun Sung, who had been spending his time leisurely, showed interest as well. He
needs the card too. It is the perfect opportunity to remodel his battlesuit.

Cha Jun Sung looks through the notebook in haste. He is looking here and there to see
if there is any information on the card.

“December 2021…”

December 23, the day the writing came up. He looked for the date. The group chat
room was opened on the 27th. There are 10,000 people.

“This is it.”

Cha Jun Sung skimmed the text with his finger. There are only a few short lines that
lack sincerity, but there is mention of it.

{December 23, 2021. The beginning of an auction war in Lifer World.}

{December 27, 2021. A group chat opens with 10,000 people and Lifers gain interest
to start a bidding competition.}

{He wants to be paid with something that has the value of the card.}

{January 4, 2022. Expected to take an official position in the world federation, but died
under the Blood Kingdom’s attack. Card missing.}

Cha Jun Sung kept his eyes wide open for any special information. The main point is
missing. This is weak. He needs a link to the seller.

{Zone H area 1. The incident occurs on the roadside to Black City.}

It does not have a description of the seller, but it does say when and where the incident
occurs. He is better off than others with just this.

“Why did he ask to meet here? It would have been more comfortable to meet in a
mission.”

It is safe inside a mission. They can be free from others’ eyes. They would not have
been interrupted if they decided on a place to meet in a level E mission.

Cha Jun Sung thought about it from the seller’s point and interpreted it as an ‘official
meeting with a world federation,’ especially the ‘official meeting’ part.

It is the same as intending to go through with the deal where others are watching. It
would have been harder for the world federation to believe as interest became more
focused.

Since it is official, an open location is the obvious choice. It is highly likely that Blood
Kingdom killed him by accident while trying to attack him in order to steal the card
away from him.

Cha Jun Sung memorized the contents and closed the notepad. There is nothing more
to look at.

If his predictions are correct, the seller was doing something foolish. But he cannot
admonish him. Humans are not beings who always make the correct judgement.

Blood Kingdom will definitely be involved. Rankers are bound to be interested. The
card opens up level B at the least. It is a boosting item.

{This is seller Argos. I ask that we go through with a smooth auction.}

As though planned, not a single person spoke. They all wanted him to hurry up and
start. Argos was almost embarrassed.
{I don’t know where to start because it is impossible to make a point transaction.
There isn’t a determined market, so I’ll hear the conditions first.}

The Lifers could not speak up easily. They must be iffy about laying their cards on the
table first.

Though not visible to the eye, it is obvious that they are all wary of each other. They
can determine the approximate standard through the first offer.

‘I didn’t mean to, but I guess we’ll be able to see the bottom of a large guild.’

Cha Jun Sung does not fall behind as an individual, but he is at a disadvantage in
numbers. There is nothing he can do if they come at him with numbers of people.

In the case of a large guild, the card will belong to the master. How many points will
they have accumulated? How much would guild members be willing to sacrifice?

“Will large guilds in the world federation work together or separately?”

Park Jin Hyuk is asking. Cha Jun Sung’s group is gathered in zone A area 25’s park.
There is no restriction on their actions because the auction is being done through a
chat.

“That’ll be different based on the situation. I’m sure they came up with a plan amongst
themselves.”

“What?”

“They’ll hide their cards and play separately and then come together if the card is
about to go into the hands of a random person. No one can beat the world federation
in normal ways.”

It is a supergiant that holds 40% of rankers. Whether they go at it as individuals or a

group, they have the quality and quantity to take anything on.

“If I can’t have it, I’d rather let my ally have it than an enemy?”

If an ally has it, I can benefit from it. If rankers gather around a powerful individual,
advancing level C is a definite and they can even go after level B.
“The comparison is appropriate.”

“Can we win like this? Blood Kingdom is second in influence to the world federation.
We’ll have to stay quiet.”

The only person with personal power in this party is Violet. Even so, her clan falls far
behind Blood Kingdom.

It is a PK group with 6 or 7 rankers. And what is the world federation like when it is
more rigid? They need to go after the win with something that is not material.

‘No matter how I look at it, normal tactics are a disadvantage for me. I have no choice
but to employ an expedient.’

He does not have the ability to outbid the competition when they are large guilds. He
is thinking of doing what only he is capable of doing.

[Hello. I am Touvergon of Black Song from Spain.]

Black Song, the representative of a nation just like Korea’s Seven Stars.

If it has a fault, it is that it does not have any rankers? There are 2 rankers in Spain, but
they are not in the guild. They work individually and in the world federation.

{I will pay with 3 level C items and 20 million points.}

The man is trying his best. His effort is clear. His offer is obviously impressive, but it is
lacking to hand over ownership of the card.

{Our guild… }

{We also… }

Once one person spoke up, the dam broke and the bid competition finally started.

First is the individual competition They all became enemies and tried to move the
seller’s heart by revealing the best benefits that their respective guilds could provide.

The true competitors did not get involved in the beginning. The meat needs to cook
before they can be the ones to eat it.
Tens of millions of points are discussed as though a joke. Even the great masters are
going over the amounts that they can spend individually. The entire guild is going to
get stuck.

There is no difficulty in this because all they need to do is to let a few people on their
bus. There is not much of a difference in the offers that they are making.

‘The seller isn’t saying a word. Does he feel that there is nothing worth responding to?’

It is the opposite. Argos is rendered speechless by the bidding competition. Items that
he could not have even dreamed of as a bus Lifer are being poured down on him.

The battlesuit, the most popular item in level C, is the basic option. Brazil’s guild says
that they will push him for 30 million points. How much is that if he exchanges that
for money?

1 point is $20. The market has fallen a lot, but 30 million points $600 million. 3
generations could live comfortably without doing missions.

Argos is more surprised that there is no ceiling to the offers. He suspects that this may
never end.
Whew!

Kyoko rubbed her hands together and breathed out. Her actions show how the party
feels. Violet shakes her head as well.

She would make the same offers too if she could become the owner of the card. The
problem is that there is nothing that distinguishes her from the other large guilds.

Say they took the top 20 students in a class and created a class of their own. Will all of
them be in 1st place? It is not so. They become separated into 1st through 20th places.

Based on this principle, this chat room is a gathering of the 1st places.

The Florence clan is one of the groups with the most influence in England, but they
are just considered pretty impressive in the scope of the world.

{I am the world federation’s Uranos, a.k.a. Strategist of the 36 rankers.}

{What! Strategist!}

{K!}

When Strategist appeared, the chat room cooled down.

He is a Lifer who was known for his intelligence in Life Mission. Since he has just
gotten involved after watching, he must have something that can flip the whole ordeal
over.

{I won’t waste my time talking about items or points. If it isn’t unreasonable, we’ll hear
out your demands.}

{Whatever it is? What are you going to do if I ask for you to push for 1 billion points to
me.}

{1 billion!}
{Ho ho!}

Argos spoke for the first time since the bidding began. Does he want 1 billion points?
The Lifers are taken aback at the nonsensical number.

However, Strategist’s response was more surprising.

{We will put you in the ranker party. You should be able to gather that much in a couple
years.}

Strategist looked to the future. 1 billion? It is impossible to push that much to him in
a short period of time. But if they open level A or B stores with the card?

They advance and go into level B. Reward points will skyrocket to over tens of millions.
The issue becomes time, not the points.

It is an internal secret, but the world federation already reached 1 million points.

They also fought against level 6 a few times. It took 6 rankers to take on 1. If it was
strong, 10 rankers would face it. Strategist felt it.

If they want to advance, the force needs to have battlesuits even if they are not rankers.
He has the same thinking as Cha Jun Sung in various aspects.

2 weeks ago in a 1.1 million point mission, 2 low level 6s and 7 high level 5s had come
out at the same time. It was the greatest danger they had felt in the mission.

15 rankers were caught up by 9 level 5 and 6 mutants, and 12 took on 2 level 6s. They
still could not handle it.

Since it was not a situation where they could face off one-on-one, Strategist enlisted
support from 85 Lifers they had brought in as auxiliary power.

The ranker power was half killed and 40 regular Lifers died.

There were even 5 with battlesuits among the 40. Think about it. How many level 5
and 6s would come out in a 2 million point mission?

Strategist thought hard about how to advance safely, but danger and sacrifice were
inevitable. This is it. This is when the card that would relieve him of his worries
appeared.

There is just one chance. They will accumulate as many points as they can and open
the store.

They will go through body modification, upgrade their battlesuits, and purchase the
items that they each need. If they just advance to level B, rankers will be able to figure
the rest out for themselves.

Whatever they do, whether it is labor, it is not difficult to gather specs again.

‘The world federation will take the card.’

The competition is fair. Other large guilds have the right to participate.

However, they cannot hand it over to those who cannot even get past level C. They will
use everything available to them and take it even if they have to overdo themselves.

{Of the offers proposed, the world federation’s is the best.}

Argos’ mind is the same. There is no guild that can offer more than the world
federation can.

Everyone who can be is gathered. Rather than dragging it along with his ambitions, it
is better to end it at the right timing and create a close relationship with the world
federation.

{In addition to the points, we intend to support you with level C items and create a
small position for you with the world federation as is within my authority. Please
reference.}

Following Strategist, the large guilds put their tails down. The scale of this is different.
It felt like they would be buried to death if they tried to keep digging in.

{Uh. Is Nine Tail in the world federation as well?}

{No, but I will try to arrange for a meeting if I can.}

Life Mission’s rankers are a target of envy. Argos personally likes Nine Tail’s ability to
use 9 skills freely.

Strategist caught on that Argos is a fan of Nine Tails.

{Tha – thank you.}

{We’ll push 2 billion points for you if you give us the card. We could even completely
outfit level C and B items since reward points are given to everyone.}

A third person intruded in Argos and Strategist’s friendly conversation. The proposed
offer is incredible. It outdoes that of the world federation.

{Introduction…?}

{Pilados, I am Death Fear of the 36 rankers.}

The chat room becomes noisy with Death Fear’s entrance. It is a different reaction
than there was with Strategist. For Lifers, he is one of the worst murderers they know
of.

{Does Blood Kingdom want the card too? You don’t know your place. Want to get in
trouble?}

{Who is this?}

{Me? Nuclear. How many of you came in here? Do you want to meet and face off?}

It is a conversation between rankers. It is a fight that is as fun to watch as a fire is. Cha
Jun Sung also monitored it with interest. They really were in the chat room.

{You don’t think your guild is capable?}

{I’m sure you have the ability, but there’s no way to know if you’re willing to maintain
it or not.}

{We’ll maintain it.}

{Bullshit!}
Nuclear laughs. There is no way to look at them in a good light. Maintain it? It is
nonsense.

PK is just another content in the virtual, but it is murder in reality. Blood Kingdom is
a PK group, it might as well be a lair of killers.

What is the greatest crime in reality? Burglary? Rape? Violence? Scamming? They are
all crimes, but they are lighter than murder. The weight of the sin itself is different.

To credit the words of a murderer. Not even an insane person would believe that.

{Sor – sorry, but I will leave Blood Kingdom out of the candidates for the deal.}

There are things that Argos heard about too. No matter how courageous he is acting,
he does not have the pluck to go through a deal with Blood Kingdom. They might really
go through with it, but their credibility is the lowest.

The world federation is linked to countries. There is no reason for countries to try to
scam him.

{You’ll take us out and choose them even with this kind of offer? Think about it again.}

{Your words are full of thorns.}

Nuclear interfered. Is it because they were rejected? There is a threat in Death Fear’s
tone. The chat room’s atmosphere becomes rough.

{Strategist, you said that your helper’s name is Uranos?}

{Yes, that’s right.}

{I will contact you separately. There is no reason to stay in here any longer.}

{Oh, then we will tune the details then.}

Argos ended the chat room. The Lifers showed up to the public. It was not different
for Cha Jun Sung either.

“Ugh! We came out without being able to get a single word in. They’re just throwing
their points at him.”
“I expected as much.”

Cha Jun Sung stretched. Their competitor is the world federation. They do not have
the means to overtake them and present something that Argos would want more.

‘January 4th.’

It is the day that Argos is attacked on the Black City roadside.

He does not know how Blood Kingdom figure out who he is. The important thing is
that the whereabouts of the card become unknown due to that incident.

They cannot take an item with thorough security by force. If it did not fall into the
hands of Blood Kingdom, it is highly likely that it was just lost.

‘What does it matter if there are a lot of points? There’s no use for them if you die.’

He cannot match even the average for material payment, but there is something
special he can give instead. That is life, Argos’ life.

Give and take.

I will save you, give me the card.

“I thought it’d be impossible, but it was possible after a bit of digging.”

“Even if a helper name hides a Lifer’s identity, there are limits to it if he let loose here
and there.”

Death Fear responded to Hell Sword. There had been 5 Blood Kingdom cadres in the
chat room that Argos opened.

As soon as Death Fear was rejected in the chat room, he gave the seller’s helper name
to the guild members as a hint and ordered them to reveal the identity. The other
cadres did not apply sanctions either.

After about 4 days, they got a call from Sweden. Seller Argos’ active area is Sweden, so
it is highly possible that his nationality is Swedish as well. They tracked and went on
a small clue.

His mention of Nine Tail was the decisive factor. She is Swedish.

They cannot find personal information because they cannot hack into the PDA, but
one Lifer said that he is a man in his early 30s with blonde hair and blue eyes, 180cm
in height, who is a bit chubby.

It is a tremendous result with just the name Argos. The exact time and location of the
deal had not been decided on yet. They will find out as much as they can until then.

Everyone needs it, but Blood Kingdom also needs the card. They reached 1 million like
the world federation did, but they had to quit the mission without completing it.

It seems like they need 20 people with battlesuits to be able to complete it.

The numbers are increasing by the day.

But as they aim for the top, they are not worried about now but the future.

The immediate future is 2 million points. If they get the card, they can get an
advantageous footing. They cannot leave it so the world federation takes possession
of it.

“If we can’t have it, neither can they.”

“Of course.”

Blood King turned his wine glass as he spoke, and Hell Sword agreed. If the gap
becomes wider, they may be overtaken. The enemy’s advancement means the decline
of their allies. If there is nothing they can do, they will block it with force.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

“A location and date have been decided in Lifer World. It won’t be easy.”

The cadres turned on the internet on the PDA and went on Lifer World. Just as Death
Fear said, there was a message regarding the deal.
“Zone H area 1, the top floor of Black City?”

“Zone H is under the world federation’s influence. You’re saying we need to get
through this?”

Hell Sword’s tone is negative. It is inevitable. All of the rankers in the world federation
will be dispatched. They have twice as many as Blood Kingdom has. They do not have
the odds to win if they come face to face.

“There’s no reason to make a mess.”

“Right. We can end it before he gets close to Black City. Whether we steal it, kidnap
him, or kill him.”

Dark Side gained strength from Blood King’s words. They will handle it before going
inside. It would be easiest to kill him, but they will push that to the back and leave the
first 2 at the top.

“January 4th.”

“He’ll move hidden among Lifers. Or with an escort troop.”

“The card…”

Opening a higher level store. It is a treasure and lightning that has fallen from the sky
out of nowhere. The world federation will have prepared as well. They need to prepare
the awl to drill through their preparations.
It is a gigantic gymnasium. It is arranged so that tens of thousands of people can watch
from spectator seats as though watching a baseball game.

Over 10 Lifers are sitting in those seats and watching the tremendous battle below.

Bang bang bang!

2 Lifers use battlesuits and are in an endless conflict.

They seem to be basic battlesuits, but one had different kinds of weapons, changing
his battle style every hour, and even pulling a new weapon from his space compression
bag every once in a while.

Another person had a long and wide sword to cut down weak points, but fell into a
close encounter. They were England’s Weapon Master and China’s Chamma Sword.

“Those 2 are the only left.”

“Since they each won once, it’s the final.”

Sonic Boom and Nuclear had their hands behind their heads and watched the fight.

“Who will win?”

“Chamma Sword?”

“I think it’s Weapon Master.”

This battle is a scramble for the card. There are a lot of rankers, but there is just 1 card.
Someone – no – everyone except 1 person will need to give up the card.

The majority gave up possession of the card for different reasons, but 4 people did
not. Weapon Master, Chamma Sword, Boom Buster, and Dual Blade.

There can be no end with words, so they decided to reach an end with the abilities of
Lifers and came to fight like this.

The 1st round was Weapon Master and Dual Blade, the 2nd was Chamma Sword and
Boom Buster. In each round, Weapon Master and Chamma Sword won.

The 1st round took a fair amount of time. It is because Dual Blade was strong.
However, the 2nd round ended in much less time.

Boom Buster was unable to get distance in the battle against Chamma Sword and was
suppressed.

The same battlesuits, body modifications, and level C items. All conditions are the
same, but the strange thing is that it was separated into ranking like in Life Mission.
They were able to see the lowest rankers being pushed back by the highest.

The principles behind it are unknown, but it is like a kind of psychology. Or there is a
difference in the type of person regardless of the items.

“It’s brutal.”

“There’s no choice but to be. The person who wins is the one who gets the card.”

Weapon Master is an aristocrat in England, so he does not like when others are
positioned above him. That is why he cannot give up the card.

Chamma Sword? He seeks pure strength. He does not put anything to it. ‘Get stronger’.
That is all.

Rankers generally gave up the card because of the burden. If one of them gets it, the
others will complete missions with the card holder at the center. If that happens, level
B missions and the store will open.

It is just a matter of whether it is opened first or later.

They are birds, but they want to be baby birds and not the mother birds. There is 1
card and 15 rankers. Even if they make a fuss, 14 people become convictions. In this
case, it is better to give the card up tidily and lean on 1 person.

This place now is not the inside of a mission or in reality. It is a training room in zone
H. Why would they bear the danger and use weapons when they are really fighting?
They can show their abilities to the fullest even if it is virtual.

“Won’t it be dangerous even if we do it in our zone? He revealed the location and date.
Is he insane?”

Nuclear is grumbling. It would have been good for everyone if it had been handled
quietly, but Argos had revealed the whole thing on Lifer World.

He cannot trust the world federation. He means to do the deal in a public place in front
of countless Lifers.

“You can’t say that from the position of the person with the treasure.”

“It’s weird.”

“He didn’t think much of it when he didn’t know the value, but he must have seen the
whole world as the enemy from the moment he found out the value.”

Strategist is a Ph.D. who majored in psychology.

In an extreme situation or when a decision needs to be made, people show 2 reactions.

They either hide themselves and shrink back or open up boldly.

Argos simply thought that it would be better to reveal rather than hide it for his own
safety.

‘On January 4th, a tremendous number of Lifers will gather to zone H. I’m sure they’ll
come too.’

People tend to interfere in matters that are not much of a big deal. He expects that
Lifers who think something interesting might happen will swarm in.

It is obvious that Blood Kingdom will also be there to try to steal the card away.

“What if he rejected an escort too?”

“He said he would come on his own. He is acting under his helper name and PDAs
cannot be hacked, so unless he reveals it himself, there is no way to figure out his
identity.”
“Really?”

Nuclear batted his eyes and asked. There are a lot of implications in the word ‘really’.
In this circumstance, it means ‘Is that 100% correct?’.

“…No.”

The world federation found out that he is Swedish. There is various information
beyond that.

They were going to tell Argos, but did not want him to get the wrong idea that the
federation had been looking into him.

“We’re going to have 2 rankers and Lifers dispatched to each zone so that we can
gather in if something happens.”

“It’s complicated. Let’s do it simply. Huh? It’s ending.”

Bang!

When Nuclear clucked his tongue, Weapon Master’s Blunt weapon hit Chamma
Sword’s stomach.

The battlesuit parts shattered and flew out dozens of meters like bullets, embedding
in the gymnasium wall.

Weapon Master barely steadied himself and moved to end it. Chamma Sword did not
even budge.

Chamma Sword was embedded in the wall and fell to the ground.

He did not move from his knees and looked for the chance to counterattack.

Weapon Master and he are on the brink of being logged out. Their battlesuits have
been destroyed and their bodies inside have reached their limits.

The training room is a type of game. If this was real, they would have felt tremendous
pain. Right now, it is just a sting.
Chamma Sword stuck his sword. Weapon Master slowly approaches him from the
front.

‘If he just wins…”

If he gets the card and overturns the ranking, he will become the strongest ranker of
the rankers in the world federation. He can see 3 effects with 1 win.

‘I’m going to win.’

Weapon Master thought the same thing. No one likes to lose. He has never lost before.
He was born to a noble family and won in whatever he put his hand in.

The only thing he lost in was Life Mission. 2nd place ranking. He is not in 1st place on
the ranking. He fought Overload to try to raise his ranking, but he lost and joined the
reality version. He needs to look forward and keep moving.

Excluding him, Chamma Sword is the highest in the world federation, coming in 7th
place. That is why he can come this far and fight against him.

‘The last is this guy.’

A long sword comes out.

It is the sword he can handle best of all of the weapons he has.

The moment he nears, Chamma Sword is sure to attack. He wants to end it easily from
afar with a bow, but his pride will not allow for that.

Papat!

After he walked about 10 meters, Weapon Master activated his booster and narrowed
the distance in high speed. Following that, Chamma Sword pulled his sword and
brandished it upward.

Chamma Sword’s sword cut Weapon Master’s arm. Weapon Master barely moved his
body to the side and avoided having the sword cut across his chest. Weapon Master’s
sword penetrated the opponent’s heart.

“I won. Ten xiao.”

“I lost.”

Chamma Sword’s body starts to fade. It shows he is being logged out as the training
mode ends.

“Weapon Master won. Once the card deal is over, he is the card’s owner.”

As soon as Strategist said that, he logged out. The owner has been decided. All that is
left is the matter of getting the card.
Only 10,000 people entered Mechanic City at first.

With time, this number grew exponentially. Struggling Lifers were finally getting over
the subtle boundary they were caught on.

That number is now over 10,000. It will become stagnant later, but it is expanding by
the thousands according to the current trend.

Is it still a small number compared to the amount of area, but the situation is better
than when they are alone in the area. If they just walk a little, they will run into several
people.

January 4th. Zone H area 1.

Tens of thousands of Lifers are gathering to Black City. The world federation will be
getting the card from Argos with everyone watching today.

It is a place where an incredible number of people are watching. They cannot have
other thoughts.

The world federation had no thoughts of doing that, but people do not have the same
thoughts. Honestly, Lifers were hoping that the deal would not go through.

They have the foolish dream that an opportunity might come to them.

There is no decided time. They decided that if Strategist is waiting in Black City, he will
go at random to go through with the deal.

As is evident from this, Argos is considering his safety the top priority. It is a pity that
he is so suspicious.

“How is it?”

“There really are a lot of people. Lifers are waiting in Black City’s vicinity.”
Park Jin Hyuk is watching the situation in Black City as per Cha Jun Sung’s request.

It is a big crowd. Any place where people can rest like restaurants, cafes, and parks,
are full of people. There are even people standing in alleys and on the street.

“Jun Sung, what are you thinking?”

“I think something is going to happen.”

Koharu asked what she is curious about, but Cha Jun Sung just spoke vaguely. The
party is waiting on the road where Argos is supposed to be attacked.

It is located about 30 minutes away from Black City. It is the time that it would take
not on foot, but with transportation or battle suit.

“A force in the world federation is waiting every distance, and it seems like they’re
concerned about security. There is a significant number of people with battle suits as
well.”

As the head of the force, Strategist will have dispatched rankers just in case. He would
have handled it well because he is smart.

‘This is clearly the optimal place.’

The roadside is relatively quiet. It is a good place to attack. Argos is not a strong user.
He is a bus Lifer. He does not have stark protective means, so is weak enough to be
overpowered if left defenseless.

Blood Kingdom’s influence is rigid, but they cannot go out into an all out war with the
world federation.

Even if it is Mechanic City, which does not reach a nation’s power.

It is a place where they can end it with a swift attack. If rankers belatedly realize the
situation and rush in, it will already be too late. That is why they lost the card.

‘Hercules will take Argos away. How long will the 5 of us be able to hold them off for?’
This is the strategy. Once they see Argos, Hercules will fall back. Then, they will buy
time and go towards Black City.

If they fight in one place, they will run out of supplies. Blood Kingdom’s side has more
rankers and they have a lot of people with battle suits, so they cannot even run away.
They need to go as much as the world federation comes.

‘10 to 15 minutes according to a simple calculation.’

Since both sides are narrowing the distance, they will have to withstand 15 minutes.

‘I’ll be at the very front.’

It is a dangerous mission. Since it is something that he himself is bringing onto them,

he will take responsibility for the front.

‘Since we can’t recognize him first, we’ll wait until they move first.’

Cha Jun Sung does not know Argos’ identity. He does not know how but if the Blood
Kingdom attacks him, it means that they know who Argos is.

A large number of people are needed to take on world federation Lifers. If hundreds
appear near the road, it will be immediately recognizable.

Cha Jun Sung’s group is watching below from the roof of a 40 floor building. They can
get caught, but it does not matter. It is probable that Blood Kingdom will just pass by
because they have their focus on Argos. They will have no idea that Cha Jun Sung’s
group will provide an obstacle to them.

‘When is he coming.’

Cha Jun Sung is getting fresh air while waiting for a sign.

Koharu, Kyoko, and Violet do not show signs of fear of a dangerous situation, and are
chatting amongst themselves. Park Jin Hyuk is the only loner.
 j

Papat!

Blood Kingdom mobilized thousands of guild members for the seize operation. They
spread out wide and blocked the entrances into Black City.

They have not made it impossible to get into Black City. If they do that, the world
federation will pressure them by widening their protection range.

Blood Kingdom only watched. They compared the appearances of people entering
Black City to Argos. The world federation knows this as well, but they only defended
the inside more and did not try to push Blood Kingdom out. They think that it is fine
to leave them since there is no room for them to challenge.

“What a drag. Will we even be able to find him?”

“We’ll have to.”

Hell Sword sighed out of boredom. Dark Side said something without heart and
watched the Lifers walking below them.

Death Fear and Palbi Blood, and Blood King and Makung got into pairs and watched
their assigned areas. The pairs were designated by style.

They are in the same guild, but there are those who cannot mix like water and oil. Palbi
Blood and Blood King are the types who cannot mix.

Dark Side is about 700 meters from Cha Jun Sung. It is a distance where they are not
discovered in a field scan or search and they are unidentifiable by the naked eye, so
they do not know of each other’s presence.

“The fact that he’s doing such a public deal means that’s how little he trusts them.”

He created this ordeal because he wanted to make the deal in front of everyone, but it
is inevitable that he cowers when he has the card.

There is a saying that a guilty conscience needs no accuser.

“Do you think it’ll be possible to find him by knowing that his nationality is Swedish,
he has blonde hair and blue eyes, and will be cowering?”

“There’s no reason to pick him out 100%. We’ll try anyone who seems suspicious.”

Even now, they are consistently picking out the people who seem to match the
description to question them.

It is in vain. Each person they grab a hold of says that he is not Argos. There is a
difference when people lie.

Unless they are actors, average people can tell that difference as well. Those who have
gone through body modifications have the increased physical ability to notice the
slight change in expression that occurs when someone lies.

“Blonde, blue eyes. Huh?”

[Team 1, catch a man trying to go through the road.]

Hell Sword subconsciously turned his head and discovered a man with blonde hair
and blue eyes. He has his arms crossed with his body hunched forward, and is walking
toward Black City. It is a very passive behavior.

Dark Side saw him as well and sent a party of 10 people to the man.
‘It’s okay. They won’t recognize me. How would they know who I am?’

Argos comforted himself as he walked to Black City.

Unless the PDA gets hacked, Lifers’ identities cannot be revealed. Even as this goes on,
they are just normal Lifers to the subversives going after the card.

He wanted to do the deal in public for his safety, but he did not ask for protection, as
he did not want to do anything unnecessary and become a target.

Argos usually uses a level E space compression bag. There is the danger that he could
be robbed because the bag does not have owner recognition, but he had not really
needed that until now.

However, as the card came out, his situation changed. Because he needed thorough
security, he upgraded to the level D space compression bag. From level D, no one can
open it unless they are the owner. The bag is expensive, but cannot be compared to
the card’s worth.

His steps quicken. Argos was expressing his tension without intending to.

His judgment became cloudy because he has an item that he cannot handle.

Beep beep!

He turned the PDA on and measured the distance to Black City. It is about 40km away.

‘I guess I’ll have to get in a car now.’

The day before the deal, Argos returned to reality from near here. He had come here
already. He wanted to go further, but he cut it off midway.

It is not a distance that he can walk. He can rush there if he rides a car.

“Seller Argos.”
“What! Who?”

When Argos was about to hail a car, he heard someone call him from behind and
reacted. He was trying to be careful, but the subconscious is really scary.

“So it is you.”

“What? No. I’m just someone looking around Black City! I was just surprised because
you appeared out of nowhere.”

“Swedish, blonde, blue eyes. And you’re still not Argos?”

“Good – goodness!”

How did they know that he is Swedish? He had not even told the world federation that.
While Argos was taken aback, the murderers besieged him.

They thought they might be going back empty-handed again, but they had gotten it
right. There are Lifers who react without meaning to if surprised from the back. They
can realize the truth by really surprising someone through inductive interrogation,
but the man in front of them is 100% Argos.

Look at how surprised he is.

“I can’t tell you if you’re smart or stupid.”

“Sav – save me!”

“Hurry out.”

“Yes!”

A murderer, who appeared to be the leader, covered Argos’ mouth with his hand. There
was no way to fight him off because the attacker is wearing a battle suit.

“Are you wondering how we knew?”

Argos’ eyes are rolling back. He is frightened, but he wants to know.

“It’s impossible to hack PDAs. But, you went around saying your helper name too
much.”

You are bound to get caught if your tail is long. Bus Lifers come into contact with
countless Lifers because of the way that they fight. Since reward points are their aim,
there are cases where a force will bring on more than 50 Lifers on a bus.

He did that for close to 2 years, so how many people has he met until now?

This would not have happened if he had sold the card with a deadline of several
months, but it has just been 1 week since he picked it. There are bound to be as many
problems as little preparation there is. Even the murderer understands that thought.

He must have been excited and nervous from getting an impressive item. He wanted
to quickly take care of it and free himself.

“Though it is good for us.”

The murderers were about to drag Argos away when a few Lifers passing by saw him
and started pointing. Something about the atmosphere is not good. Rumors spread
within moments. If they delay, the world federation might send rankers.

[We’re going back to headquarters.]

Dark Side is sending the signal. Blood Kingdom’s headquarters are in the last zone Z.
It is hundreds of kilometers away from where they are now in zone H.

The murderer frowns. Argos is flailing his arms and legs. Even a small fish is a bother
if it flops. It is concerning even with a difference in physical ability.

He put up his hand. He is about to knock him out.

Woong!

[Warning! A reaction of energy detected from the sky!]

The murderer looks up after the battle suit’s notice.

“Watch out!”

“Where to? Leave the person and go.”

Koharu came down and cut through one person, while Violet’s javelin speared through
another person. She settled and ruined a second person’s face with a right hook.

Cha Jun Sung also went after the murderer with the time limit battle suit, but he
activated the booster and avoided him. Instead, he lost Argos.

“Hercules! Take him towards Black City!”

“Mission confirmed!”

“Huh?”

Hercules turned the booster on and runs along the road. It is heavy but the space is
open, so it went faster than 100km/h.

“Who are you guys!”

“I don’t know, asshole.”

Papat!

Cha Jun Sung did not fight, and followed behind Hercules. His party members did the
same. They will follow on their own. They do not have to stay in this place.

“Ugh! Get them!”

Tatatang!

When the murderers were about to chase them, bullets were shot at a few of them
from the roof of a building. It was Park Jin Hyuk.

“Hi!”

Papat!

Park Jin Hyuk did not move with Cha Jun Sung, but moved separately from high places
and took the duty of keeping the enemy in check. He means to divert their attention.

Bang!
They heard a thundering noise and stone fragments flew above their heads. Dark Side
and Hell Sword read the situation and were running in the direction Cha Jun Sung’s
group was going in.

“Damn it. How did they know?”

“We’ll think about that later.”

Dark Side raised the output of his battle suit’s power. Blood King’s group will appear
soon as well. If that happens, it is inevitable that the world federation will take notice.
They need to catch these people before them.

[Black City, 40km to the rear on the left. There is an engagement between Blood
Kingdom and regular Lifers.]

Strategist took action as soon as he heard the radio come in.

Zone H is currently dense with the world federation and all different kinds of large
guilds. There must be something going on for Blood Kingdom to make a fuss while
knowing that.

[Breaker, Wind Wing, War Hammer. It’s close to where you guys are. You heard, right?]
[We were on our way anyway.] [We’ll join as well.]

Dual Blade and Sonic Boom, and Longinus spoke from behind.

[Take care of it.]

Strategist and the other rankers will protect this place. He wanted to send everyone if
he could, but he needs to leave half of their power nearby just in case. Those 6 and the
Lifers in the world federation should be able to take Blood Kingdom on. Even if they
are pushed back, it will not be to the point where they cannot request support. He can
dispatch additional force then.

“I can understand in the game. But why are those assholes like that even in reality? Is
it normal to kill people and take others’ things?”

Nuclear spoke to himself as he looked in the direction of the fight. He could not for the
life of him understand it. He calls them crazy, but they must be in their right minds as
well.

“There’s no end to it if you pick at it. They either really are crazy, or they just think it’s
a game.”

“Geez.”

“This all happened in the first place because of Life Mission and the helpers. If that
hadn’t happened, everyone would have gone on living their lives.”

“That’s true.”

They themselves created the process and results, but the cause is Life Mission.
Everyone is a victim.

“Where are you going?”

Nuclear calls out to him. He is a traditional noble. In past eras, people would not even
have dared to look at him properly.

“I’m going to rest.”

“If you’re bored, do you want to go wreak havoc on Blood Kingdom with me?”

“6 people went. If we go too, the empty spaces will be too big. We don’t want to be in
unnecessary fights. If you really want to go, go with Chamma Sword.”

Chamma Sword felt a pang at Weapon Master’s words and smiled. His body is itching
to go. He looks like he is about to bolt out at any second.

“I just said it for fun. We have to stay if Strategist tells us to.”

“Call when you need me.”

Weapon Master disappeared. Ice Queen and Boom Buster’s groups are fulfilling their
duties and guarding their appointed areas. They cannot move freely.

Strategist does not give rankers commands. He just uses his intelligence and makes
requests. It is an equivalent relationship. They do as he asks them to do because they
know this.

They will watch for now. As a team, they are a force that cannot be pushed back if there
are 6 of them.
Cha Jun Sung, Koharu, and Violet were busy blocking attacks flooding in from
everywhere. Park Jin Hyuk covered them from above, but it was hard to expect much
from that because dozens of people have gone to fight him as well.

Fortunately, they had kept running away as they fought, so they had not been
surrounded. If they had gotten surrounded, they would have either been taken captive
or killed before long.

Cha Jun Sung’s group watched each other’s backs. They each took on a different
direction and made sure no one’s backs were showing. No matter how many there are
of the enemy, there is a limit to the number of people who can attack at the same time.
They cannot use firearms or bombs as they normally do either. The only thing without
restrictions are their vibrating weapons.

Bang bang bang bang!

The party members honestly do not know exactly what it is that Cha Jun Sung is trying
to do. All they know is that on the day of the deal, they watched from a rooftop, saved
a man being attacked, and they are now fighting with Blood Kingdom.

They are not sure if he meant to fight from the beginning, or if he just came to save the
man while watching.

Even still, they did not ask questions and followed his lead because they trust him.

On the other hand, Violet found meaning in the chance to kill Blood Kingdom rather
than her trust in Cha Jun Sung. She does not need a reason for a situation like this to
arise. It is just important that there is a chance to clean these guys up.

The battle became more violent as more Blood Kingdom fighters swarm in. Cha Jun
Sung’s group started to use more power as well. It was not visible to the eye, but they
were sweating profusely and their hands and feet were becoming tangled. A few
attacks scratched their battle suits.

“Ack!”
“What – what is it!”

Lifers walking on the street are startled by the wave of battling coming towards them,
and scatter in different directions. They felt like they would be torn up and killed if
they got swept up in the fight.

[Battle core energy 32%. If you keep going like this, you will not last more than 4 more
minutes.]

Odin warns him. It has been less than 10 minutes since the battle started, but he
already used 68%. According to a simple calculation, 4 more minutes is the limit.

He fully activated the combat function in order to detect the attacks coming from all
directions, and strengthened the outer armor to 100% to withstand the external
attacks. He would have distributed the energy to last a long time if they had been
fighting one-on-one, but the consumption is severe because he has it on even while he
is running away right now.

The energy of a basic form battle suit is premature. The total amount is small, and it
is consumed quickly and it is slow. This makes the output of power weak. That is why
they desperately need to upgrade to the next level.

[Jin Hyuk! Come down!]

Cha Jun Sung called for Park Jin Hyuk. He needs to join them now. Unless the world
federation’s contact network is down, they will meet midway.

Papat!

Park Jin Hyuk threw his body from a skyscraper. Right before he hit the ground, he
used the booster to slow down and set down.

“What’s the plan!”

“Once the world federation joins, let’s join them and sweep these guys.”

They will not be cowards and run away after leaving their opponents to someone else.
Imagine if that happened to you? How angry would you be?

The world federation’s power is much stronger than that of Blood Kingdom’s. If they
get help, it is likely that they can make Blood Kingdom collapse.

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”

A thin thread snaked out from the air and tried to wrap itself around Cha Jun Sung’s
body. He put his sword up and swiped at it with his strength.

It did fling out, but did not break. It was a level C weapon. The thin thread is made up
of nanos of machinery.

“Death Fear.”

“Are you Overload? It’s a pleasure.”

While attacks were coming in from everywhere, Violet pushed the enemy back and
blocked the attacks with her javelin. At some point, the number of enemies reduced
and four rankers approached Cha Jun Sung.

“Palbi Blood?”

“Oh! It’s an honor. You recognize me.”

Palbi Blood is taunting him. Cha Jun Sung wanted to punch him in the face, but he held
back.

‘We’re surrounded.’

In a short moment, in the time when they were trying to block Death Fear and Palbi
Blood’s attack, they were surrounded by Blood Kingdom’s guild members. The rough
estimate is that there are a couple hundred of them, but there must be thousands
coming in from afar.

‘Four people in just the front.’

The direction they are looking in is the front, but the back is the direction that they
are running away to. Rankers and people with battle suits are gathered in one area. If
they get through the rear, they can still run away.

Cha Jun Sung nodded to his party members. They know what he is thinking just by
looking into his eyes. As soon as he acts, they will align.
“It’s been a while.”

“Makung!”

“You…”

A path forms in the rear. It is not a path for Cha Jun Sung’s group, but one for 2 people
walking towards them.

Park Jin Hyuk grinds his teeth. Makung, who he lost to, is walking through the path.
And he was with him.

“Campbell.”

“It’s not my real name, but since you’re calling me that.”

Blood King is chatty. They thought that it might not be his real name, and they were
right.

‘The retreat is blocked too. What’s the world federation doing?’

Cha Jun Sung is thinking. Now, there are 6 of them. Run away? They cannot. They have
gone beyond the limit of not just rankers, but also regular guild members.

Woong.

He reduced his battle suit’s energy to save it. It is a temporary measure. He needs to
charge it if he wants to recover, but they will not allow for that.

“How did you know that we would raid here?”

“Do I have superpowers? It was a coincidence.”

“Is that right? Well, it doesn’t really matter.”

Hercules pointed a cannon at the approaching murderers. Those with battle suits
laughed, but those without were scared and retreated to the back.

It has the power to go through steel. Even those who went through body modifications
will die if hit.
“Is that Amhu and Empress of Light? Hi, kid. You grew a lot after body modifications.”

“Shut it, you asshole.”

Park Jin Hyuk threatened Blood King with a new gun he had bought, but there was no
use. The flow was gone over. Cha Jun Sung’s group cannot overturn it with their
strength.

“There’s no time, so let’s end it quickly.”

Wiing!

The 6 rankers including Blood King activated their battle suits. They are thinking of
coming at them all together.

[You guys!]

It is not the radio. It is the sound of someone who has amplified his voice with a
speaker.

Boom boom boom!

Rankers from the world federation climb a wall and are running at them. Under them,
Lifers from the world federation are flooding in.

“We’re late. There’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll divide the power in half.”

Blood King gives out orders. One side will block Cha Jun Sung’s group and capture
Argos, while the other blocks the world federation.

“It’s 1, 2, 6 people? Only four of us will go.”

They can tell who is who by the weapons they are coming with. Their goal is not to kill
them. Their goal is to buy time. Four people are plenty to buy time.

Papapapat!

Death Fear, Dark Side, Palbi Blood, and Makung lead the murderers to face the world
federation. The world federation also discovered the murderers and flooded in.
“Argos?”

Argos was terrified from seeing Blood King for the first time after only hearing about
him. He could not understand why this was happening to him.

“Hell Sword, focus on dragging that guy away. I’ll block these people.”

“Great.”

“Go.”

Hell Sword flew to Hercules. Simultaneously, murderers attacked Cha Jun Sung’s
group.

Papat!

While Cha Jun Sung, Violet, and Park Jin Hyuk fought the murderers, Koharu fell out
and blocked Hell Sword’s path.

“Amhu!”

“Let’s go.”

The melee began.

Zone H area 1 turned into a battlefield. Thousands of Lifers tangle up in a fight. The
points consumed reaches over the hundreds of thousands of points.

The world federation and Blood Kingdom’s power are level. They would of course be
able to sweep through this if all of the strategists in Black City join, but they kept
getting caught going back and forth because they were cut in half.

If Cha Jun Sung’s group had not blocked Blood King and Hell Sword from the center of
the 2 groups, Blood Kingdom could have overpowered those under them.

They killed their enemies through any means possible even if it was cowardice and
they were shielding themselves with their fellow members.

As people used to doing PKs, they were not picky about the means they used to extract
results.

The fiercest place on the battlefield. Both sides’ Lifers did not approach within the
radius of 10 fighting rankers. Tacitly, each side’s leader is trying to provide them with
an appropriate environment.

“It’s fun! It’s fun!”

“Crazy asshole. You’re all crazy, but you’re the worst.”

War Hammer brought a hammer with a metal head as large as his body down on Palbi
Blood. Due to the type of weapon it is, the hammer is slow though it has the highest
power.

Bang bang!

Palbi Blood avoided it and a crater formed in the ground.

“Idiot.”

Ping ping ping!

8 daggers fly at War Hammer.

Bang!

From behind War Hammer, Sonic Boom rises up and blocks all of them with his legs
that are covered with alloy boots.

Woong!

The daggers return to Palbi Blood as if they are alive. He is wearing gloves that make
him one with the daggers.

There is a recognition device so they find the owner again even if they go a far distance.

“This won’t do.”

Death Fear, Dark Side, and Makung are busy with 4 rankers as well. They just need to
capture Argos, but the situation does not look good.

It is manageable now, but it becomes questionable once other rankers join in.

‘If it becomes dangerous, I’ll have to fall back.’

There is no such thing as camaraderie in Blood Kingdom. The Blood Kingdom rulers
only joined forces because their plays are similar and that makes their active area
overlap. They do not risk their lives for each other. That will be the same for everyone.

Bang!

Cha Jun Sung and Blood King fling out in opposite directions. Distance was forcibly
created through the repulsive force of the vibrating weapon and battle suit’s strength.

Cha Jun Sung thought of a way to get out while Blood King thought about how to get
Argos.

‘Kill him.’

Blood King decided to kill Argos.

It is a messy situation. The enemy desperately blocks them and they have considerable
strength. From one side, it looks like the members of Blood Kingdom are being pushed
back by the number of rankers.

They need to have the room if they want to catch Argos, but they do not have that now.

‘We’ll use that.’

They bought it in advance in preparation for the last and worst case scenario. Half of
these people die if it is set off in the middle of the city. It is one of the strongest level C
weapons with its kill radius reaching hundreds of meters and one-off power.

Beep beep!

[We’re using it. Everyone get out once I send the signal.]

Blood King changes the radio channel. It is the one that Blood Kingdom’s top cadres
and mid-level cadres with battle suits use.

It is fully secured, so other guild members cannot get into it.

[You’re going to use it? Crazy! Send the signal properly!] [Gulp!]

There was even the sound of mid-level cadres gulping. It is obvious who would be
using it, and they will use waste a lot of points with that one hit.

[Are you going to kill everyone?] [I’m setting it to kill Argos, but it’ll be good to reduce
the world federation’s power too… It’s good.]

Regular guild members? There are murderers everywhere. They can fill those
numbers at any time.

They do not really want to use it, but it is the best method if they want to overturn the
situation or complete the mission and retreat.

[I’m sure you’re all listening?] [Ah, everything is ready. We’ll lose a ton of points.]
[We’re going to gain a lot, too. We’ll have to sacrifice to a certain point.] [Yeah. Call the
location.]

Blood King called out the location. It is pretty far away and inconvenient to carry on
the body. It is perfect to keep in one place to use.
[I input it. It will be fired in 5 minutes. Figure out how you’re going to avoid it.]

The responses ended there. The cadres are calculating the time. They need to get away
at least 1 minute before it goes off. If they do not, there will be no distinction between
enemies and allies, and they will all melt. The item is priced similarly to top level C
weapons, and each missile goes for 5 million points.

The weapon that Blood King ordered to be fired is a white phosphorus shell. It is a
compressed white phosphorus shell that is created through Life Mission’s science. It
is a deadly weapon that even melts the battle suit when hit.

The person firing it is Japan’s Murayama Tanaka, the one helping in the shadows of
Blood Kingdom. Cha Jun Sung and the world federation are focused on the battle
without knowing this fact.

Beep beep!

Tyrant input the location coordinates. The white phosphorus shell will be dropped
precisely in the center of where Cha Jun Sung’s group is in the middle of battle. White
phosphorus is also known as the white devil. With 1 hit of this, that area will be
reduced to ruins.

Zing!

As the coordinates are saved, a vertical launch device calculated the distance and
adjusted the direction. The missile(?) is as large as a car and weighs 2 tons.

Tyrant moved the vertical launch device without anyone’s help. This is not possible
with body modifications. He is of course a battle suit owner.

There is something like a handle on the launch device so that one or more people can
hold it.

“He he. They were having fun all on their own and they’re finally letting me cut in.”

Tyrant’s style is similar to that of Blood King’s, but he acts in the shadows for whatever
reason.
He cannot expose himself and make a fuss like they can. If he does, there will be a lot
of restrictions put on him in reality. There will be disadvantages, whether they are
from the world federation or the Japanese government.

That is why he is leading a dual life. It is thrilling in its own right, but he has been
complaining because he cannot get directly involved. He is finally able to fulfill that
desire today.

Tyrant strokes the vertical launch device. It is an item that the rankers of Blood
Kingdom bought just in case. They had hoped that they would not need to use it, but
the situation has changed.

The guild said that they would help fill up the points that he loses from firing the white
phosphorus shell, but it does not seem like they will need to do that.

Tyrant is personally the master of Anger, Japan’s top guild. He basically bought all of
the items he needs and he can accumulate a couple 10 million within a few months.

On top of that, there will be as many Lifers who die as there are points he loses from
firing the shell, so he might even come out even. He will know for sure once it goes
through.

Tyrant mounts the white phosphorus shell. It is almost as big as a person. It does not
go off as soon as it is launched, but divides into hundreds of small bombs. Each of those
bombs has 10 times the power of a grenade. It is like a missile.

It divides in the sky and as it falls to the ground, the primary explosion goes off with
fragments flying.

The real part is next. The white devil billows white smoke, and the phosphorus
component is here. If left at room temperature, it burns. The principle of it is similar
to modern weaponry, but its force is entirely different. It is said to be the basic form,
but it can melt through a battle suit. The best they can do is to not be hit with it.

“Koharu is there?”

Blood King’s group does not know that Koharu is Amhu, but Tyrant knows.

It had been difficult to see her lately, but he did not know that she had gone over to
Overload. They often worked together in the virtual, and they are now completely
stuck together.

“Bitch! I’ll cook you with Overload.”

If he cannot have her, he will crush her. That way, no one else can have her. ‘There’s no
meaning if she’s not mine’.

He he!

[The white phosphorus shell will launch in 5 seconds.]

The countdown began. The numbers go down. When 1 became 0, what is known as
the worst non-nuclear weapon in reality, penetrated the air.

Bang!

Tyrant is dozens of kilometers away from the street in zone H. But it was delivered to
the Lifers with a vibration that he could feel weakly.

“What’s that sound?”

Blood King and Cha Jun Sung look up. The battle suit’s enhanced hearing catches a
loud roar. There is no way to tell what it is. It is not something that can be detected by
sound.

A gauntlet comes flying from the front. He quickly turns his head to the side and brings
his left foot up. A curving high kick is about to hit Blood King’s face, but the opponent’s
other hand blocks Cha Jun Sung’s attack.

Cha Jun Sung is immobile while mid-kick, and Blood King body checks his chest. It is
an iron force that he only saw in the game. Cha Jun Sung is pushed back by the force,
and uses the booster on his back to steady himself.

“Tricky.”

Blood King is a fighter. He drags close encounters out over a long period of time. Cha
Jun Sung is also confident in fighting from the kick boxing and kendo he learned, but
he gets pushed back when the distance is so small. Everyone has a distance that is
more of an advantage to them. Cha Jun Sung’s is one where he can brandish his sword
freely.

“What a pity.”

“A pity? What is?”

“I wanted to keep fighting, but the situation won’t allow for it.”

Cha Jun Sung does not understand. Is he trying to run away? It seems likely from the
way he is slowly backing away.

[There are 2 minutes left. We’re getting out.] [It’ll become hell on earth.]

They can hear the shell slicing through the air with their battle suits.

Blood Kingdom’s cadres know what it is, but the world federation and Cha Jun Sung’s
group do not, so they do not pay mind to it and continue to focus on fighting.

Papat.

“Huh? You assholes! Where are you going!”

“Don’t chase him.”

War Hammer yells at Palbi Blood, who suddenly stopped fighting him and left. War
Hammer stops Wind Wing from chasing him. It is not just Palbi Blood who is
retreating. All of Blood Kingdom’s cadres are leaving at the same time.

It could be a trap. They cannot act alone, and must identify the situation first.

“Why aren’t the regular guild members leaving?”

“They could be cooking something up.”

War Hammer thought there might be something to what Wind Wing is saying and
observes the situation, but the phenomenon unfolding before them is strange.

“They’re surprised?”
The guild members are taken off guard. They do not know what to do, as if they are
children who have lost their mothers. The cadres left all at once and the command
system collapsed.

As time passes, the phenomenon spreads like fire and swallows Blood Kingdom.

The world federation’s Lifers fight accordingly and the situation is reversed.

“I hope you come out alive.”

“I won’t lose you this time.”

In the two heart method, he raised the time limit to the highest vibration.

If the power is turned on, retention time is barely 5 minutes, but he cannot lose this
opportunity. The battle suit’s energy is now under 10%.

“Look up.”

Cha Jun Sung stays aware of Blood King as he looks up at the sky. Something big that
looks like a bullet is coming down like fireworks.

[Unidentified objects approaching. Scanning… Scan complete! Lifer Cha Jun Sung! You
need to get away immediately! That is a compressed white phosphorus shell!]

Cha Jun Sung’s eyes tremble. He has never come into direct contact with a white
phosphorus shell before, but he knows what it is. It is coming here now?

Papat!

Blood King laughs as he gets farther away from Cha Jun Sung. Cha Jun Sung needs to
catch him, but there is now something more urgent.
[Everyone get out! Get as far away from here as you can! There’s no time!]

Park Jin Hyuk, Koharu, and Violet heard Cha Jun Sung’s urgency, did not ask questions,
and retreated from the battlefield. Cha Jun Sung looked up at the sky again. It is right
in front of them. It is quite far, but it will not take 30 seconds at that speed.

[Switch to voice mode, microphone setting!] [A white phosphorus shell is falling from
the sky! Get away from here immediately!]

Bang!

Cha Jun Sung said that and left with Hercules and Argos.

He wants to explain further, but he would be swept up in it and killed if he did.

“What is he talking about?”

“White phosphorus shell? The sky?”

Was it because there was not enough of an explanation? Was it because the message
was not properly relayed? The Lifers did not leave, and stared into the sky. The white
devil embraced them.

Boom boom boom boom!

The shell arrived at its destination and divided into several hundreds. The pieces are
as small as a person’s fist, and scatter everywhere. White smoke comes out from the
tails. It is the devil’s descent.

Bang bang bang bang!

There was a giant explosion and smoke billowing into the area around the input
location, going through buildings and onto the street. If the attack had been
concentrated in a place dense with Lifers, those on the outskirts would not have been
able to get away. But the explosion and smoke went across the entire defense and
covered a radius. Every way out was completely blocked.

4th stage body modification Lifers are melting. Even an average white phosphorus
would have been difficult to handle, but it is a compressed and enhanced weapon of
mass destruction from the level C store.

More than 1000 people died from the 1st blast, and another similar set of numbers
burned from the smoke.

War Hammer looks down at his stomach. A piece of the shell went into his stomach. It
would have gone straight through if the battle suit had not been there, but the armor
caused him even more pain.

He first felt the pain of his internal organs melting. Then as the shell exploded, blood,
flesh, and smoke splattered out. How could War Hammer of the 36 rankers die so
pitifully.

The situation is pandemonium. Regular Lifers were already annihilated and those who
had barely hung on with their battle suits were dying off one by one.

Bang!

A 4 story building collapses. It had not been able to withstand the shock of 3 or 4 shells
going off. Tyrant lost 15 million points because of this building, but the number of
points coming in is much greater.

“Damn it!”

Ping ping ping!

Cha Jun Sung dodged a shell fragment and cursed. Stopping for a moment to warn the
other Lifers has brought danger to him.

Park Jin Hyuk and the others escaped in time. They keep radioing in, but he does not
have the mind to respond and they cannot come in.

The smoke has already spread throughout the area.

“Save – save me. Save me!”

A Lifer next to Cha Jun Sung is liquifying. A heat that is thousands of degrees high is
sticking to his body, so the battle suit does not provide defense.

[Energy… Under 4%! Lifer Cha Jun Sung! Charging is urgent.]

He moved busily as he stuck the charger in his battle suit. His energy consumption
was severe, so the level did not fall but it did not fill up either.

He needs to get out, but he does not see a path. All he can see is smoke that is trying
to eat him up.

Pew pew pew pew!

Hercules uses a cannon and booster to try to blow the smoke away, but it is not
enough. It does not even buy them a moment of time.

The battle suit’s hologram scans the field and draws out the terrain.

“How do I get out there?”

It is where there is the least smoke. It will soon be filled with white smoke as well. He
needs to get out before then.

“Should I use this?”

Cha Jun Sung looked down at the ring on his finger. It is a protect ring. He had been
saving it, but the time has come to use it.

[Not yet. I will pilot Hercules from now on.]

“What?”

Hercules left Argos with Cha Jun Sung, then ran toward the smoke. Battle suits cannot
withstand it, so a metal armor definitely would not be able to. It melted within
moments and stuck to the cyborg’s body.

[Self-destruct activate.]

“Hey! What do you mean self-destruct!”

[The explosion from self-destruction will push the smoke for at least a short amount
of time. I saved Hercules’ system and sent it to the briefing room, so you can revive the
system with points at any time. But it’s all over if you die.]

It is true. He cannot die in a place like this.

A few Lifers tried to run away into the sky, but were gnawed away little by little by the
smoke.

[Get down!]

Bang!

Hercules self-destructs. He has helped Cha Jun Sung a lot until now, so it is sad that he
has died. He can revive him, but it is not a good feeling.

Fragments hit his body. He embraces Argos and protects him so that he does not get
injured.

[Now! Use the protect ring and escape!]

“Deploy shield!”

A blue and purple magnetic field forms a strong veil. Cha Jun Sung holds Argos and
runs. As the explosion shrinks, the smoke gets closer. It really is persistent.

Bang bang bang!

People use all types of firearms like fever shots and grenades to make a path through
the smoke, but no one was able to succeed because they were not as strong as Cha Jun
Sung’s.

When the smoke touches the shield, it tries to get through in any way possible. If it
goes through, Argos is 100% dead and Cha Jun Sung is in danger.

The shield’s color fades. Its output of power has been raised to 100%, but it is still
eaten up by the white phosphorus shell.

“Ah!”
Cha Jun Sung expands the booster to full power. The energy he has left is 2%, but he
would rather do everything he can if he is going to die anyway.

Cha Jun Sung escaped from a hell covered in white smoke. The shield broke at the same
time.

The battle suit’s energy became 0%. He quickly charged it.

“You don’t think everyone inside there is going to die, are they?”

It is not just 1 or 2 people, but thousands. It goes beyond PK to a massacre.

Cha Jun Sung hears coughing in his arms, and quickly checks on Argos’ state. A shell
fragment is embedded near his heart. Blood flows from there but also from his mouth
because his lungs have been affected too.

“No! Hurry to the briefing room!”

He needs to go to the briefing room himself. He cannot go if someone else sends him.

[It is too late. The lungs do not matter, but the fragment has gone into the heart. It
cannot be regenerated.]

Odin had said before that anything can be cured as long as it is not irreparable.

“The card. What about the card?”

“System… recognition disabled.”

Argos’ space compression bag has an owner recognition system on it, so it locks itself
if he dies. It becomes garbage.

When an animal is reaching its death, it predicts that. People are the same. Argos does
not want to believe it, but he knows that he will die soon.

“Sweden Stockholm… Number 235-5… Payment.”

He handed the space compression bag over to Cha Jun Sung and there is no way that
he does not understand what this meant. In exchange for the card, he has asked that
Cha Jun Sung help his family go on living.
“I understand.”

“Thank… you.”

Argos stopped breathing. There are 2 reasons why he chose Cha Jun Sung. He made an
effort to save him until the end even though it was because of the card, and he is the
only Lifer that he can see as he is dying.

“Did this happen because I got involved?”

Fated to die, it seems he could not have avoided death even if Cha Jun Sung had helped
him. What is more serious is the massacre. There had been nothing about a white
phosphorus shell in the notepad. He could not tell if he had forgotten to write it down
or if Cha Jun Sung himself caused it, but it seems like the latter.

Tutututu!

While Cha Jun Sung looked lost, world federation Lifers run over to him. There are a
lot of faces he does not recognize, but there are a few he knows.

“Mr. Cha Jun Sung!”

Lim Si Hyuk and Han Chang Jin call his name. Cha Jun Sung takes the card from Argos’
space compression bag and puts it in his own. He will deliver the remaining contents
to Argos’ family. He means to pay them the value of the card separately as well.

“What happened?”

“A white phosphorus shell went off.”

“White phosphorus shell!”

Han Chang Jin is appalled. As a soldier, he will know about it in more detail than others
do.

“Fall back!”
The smoke just expanded inside and did not spread outside, but there is no good in
going near it.

“The radio with Lifers who were engaged with Blood Kingdom was cut off.”

“Are you – are you saying that they all died? Does that make sense? There were 6
rankers in there!”

“Rankers are people too. They aren’t immortal.”

Nuclear raised his voice at his subordinates’ reports, and Chamma Sword calmed him
down.

“Chamma Sword…”

“Who are you? This is the first time I’m seeing you.”

His face is the same in reality and in the virtual. There are only 5 or 6 of the 36 rankers
who did not virtually mold their faces, and Chamma Sword is one of them.

“Oh, I guess we’ve never met in reality. This is Korea’s Overload, who you were all very
curious about.”

“Oh?”

“You’re Overload?”

The rankers’ reactions are split in half. They either do not care or are surprised.

Ice Queen and Boom Buster’s group know who he is because they have seen him, but
Chamma Sword, Strategist, and Nuclear’s group were surprised because they did not
know Cha Jun Sung from reality.

Weapon Master’s reaction stood out in particular.

“It’s been a while.”

“Ah, yes.”

Mechanic City is really an interesting place. It locks rankers up in 1 place and leads
them to each other. He had not been able to see a single one before coming here, but
he saw a majority of them today.

“I’m Strategist of the world federation. Can you give us a detailed explanation? It
doesn’t seem possible to enter into that.”

Strategist looks at the white phosphorus smoke. It does not look as though it will go
away anytime soon. They cannot do nothing, so they at least need to hear how this
happened.

Several hours passed until the smoke finally settled. Park Jin Hyuk’s group ran out
through the other direction, so they needed to circle around in order to meet. Cha Jun
Sung explained what he saw and experienced to Strategist. The world federation had
not been expecting Blood Kingdom to go so far, and many kept sighing heavily.

They have too much to consider, while the enemy is lawless. Just as it is much more
difficult to prevent crimes than it is to commit them, it is the same context for the 2
groups.

“Murderers are throwing the real world away and crossing over into Mechanic City?”

“Yes. The real world is not a good place for them because there is law and order there.
This place is paradise for them.”

Mechanic City is the best environment as it cuts off national interference. Blood King’s
group is good at using their heads.

“We are sweeping through them by mobilizing Lifers on a national dimension. We’re
getting a fair amount of results as well because we do not consider killing murderers
as murder.”

But because they can move freely between reality, the mission, briefing rooms, and
Mechanic City, it is not easy. If the murderers completely take root here, there will be
more disasters like that of today.

It is not a pleasant thought to do the same and stoop to their level.

He knows that it is a definite crime, so he cannot steal just because others are doing
it. The world would have already perished if it was overrun with such people.

“How dreadful.”

Nuclear spoke as he looked at the road in ruins. It is another hell from that they have
seen in the missions. A few buildings fell over completely and a few of the large
buildings were ruined.

“The device launch itself is 5 million at the minimum. How crazy.”

“I guess 5 million is cheap for this kind of force.”

There will be no point if the battlesuit is upgraded, but anything below is nothing. It
could be a genocidal weapon.

Strategist gives orders. Lifers turned on their biometric detectors to look for survivors.
Rankers were gathered in one place. Blood Kingdom is bound to sweep through them
if they appear.

“How many points do you think would have been taken off with this kind of chaos?”

“It’ll be in the hundreds of thousands.”

“Phew! They would have earned points while killing Lifers, so it might have covered
what they lost.”

Glare Gun touches a hand cannon. He really does not know how to stop these guys. If
it were up to him, he would put tracking devices on them. If they could know what
they were going to do beforehand, they could at least block them. It is maddening that
they bring on chaos out of nowhere.

“No vitals are reacting.”

“Damn it!”
There are several thousands of people. Does this mean that all of those people died?
Even those who owned battlesuits?

“It’s strong enough to melt through battlesuits. No one can survive it with its level C
standard, ranker or not.”

“I thought that dying is all the same, whether you die honorably or not. But this is too
vain. They couldn’t even do anything.”

They died like dogs. Cha Jun Sung agrees. Putting value on death? It might seem
meaningless, but there are different meanings to different types of death.

Lifers who had scattered out come back with corpses. The best they can do is to check
each person’s identity and send them to their families.

Moreover, they make a distinction between those who have battlesuits. The number
of personnel is in Strategist’s PDA. He is referencing the PDA to find any missing
persons.

“Breaker, Wind Wing, War Hammer, Sonic Boom…”

4 corpses with special marks signify rankers. They barely found War Hammer among
them. He has been reduced to pieces.

“What about Dual Blade and Longinus?”

“We weren’t able to find them yet.”

“Do you think they’re alive?”

“I don’t know.”

A way to stay alive? It is not non existent. They can avoid the white phosphorus if they
return to the real world or briefing room, or go into a mission. It is just a matter of
whether they are able to move from a complex and dangerous situation.

[Strategist?] [Dual Blade! You survived?]

Was it telepathy? Dual Blade read Strategist’s thoughts and radioed in.
[Longinus and I survived.]

Dual Blade and Longinus were pretty far from where the shell went off, so they
returned to the briefing room as soon as they saw the white smoke come out.

A small 1% of Lifers in addition to them came out alive in similar ways. They have not
returned to Mechanic City because there might still be smoke. They went back to the
real world from the briefing room, asked the world federation Lifers what is
happening, and entered again once they were sure that it is safe.

[Are you on the roadside?] [Yeah.] [Near.]

A few minutes passed. Dual Blade and Longinus appeared along with other Lifers.
Everyone looked close to dead.

“Are we the last of the survivors?”

“Fuck!”

Nuclear rages. All lives are precious, but he is most saddened that Sonic Boom died.
They had become pretty close.

The more hurt he was, the more he wanted to tear Blood Kingdom apart.

“Zone Z is their area, right? Assholes. They think we’re not capable of setting of a white
phosphorus shell?”

Nuclear is thinking of paying them back in double. Since they took a hit, he will give
them 2.

“Calm down. They’ll be quiet for the time being after causing this.”

“Take that and calm down? Strategist, are you an angel? Are you out of your mind?”

Opinions are split. Those who say they need to get revenge and those who say they
need to hold back. Cha Jun Sung feels for the situation.

‘It’s like the situation I saw when I was young between South and North Korea.’

The divided nation was united when Cha Jun Sung was in his mid-20s, but it was chaos
before then. North Korea repeatedly provoked and threatened South Korea.

Even still, South Korea remained patient until the end. Why? It is war the second they
respond to those provocations. It seemed weak to hold out but because of that, they
only had 50 million discontented citizens instead of bringing them the pain of war. If
they respond to the provocation of a guy running at them toward suicide, there is no
end to the loss.

Strategist is angry and dejected too. He is smart, but it is not that he has a great
personality. How could it be that he does not want to get revenge? But there is timing
in revenge. They need to find the right moment. For those with similar powers, war
would be a shortcut to self-destruction. They will advance before their enemy and run
over them with overwhelming force. That is Strategist’s plan.

“First, let’s clear the battlefield. I’m going to open a conference right away, so make
sure you all attend. Oh, Overload?”

“Yes?”

“I would like for you and your party members to attend as well. It won’t be bad to hear,
and isn’t Blood Kingdom a common enemy anyway?”

“We’ll do that.”

Cha Jun Sung confirmed attendance. He feels guilt that this might have happened
because of him. No matter what is brought up during the conference, it will not be bad
to hear. His party members did not show aversion to the idea either. The situation is
serious.
11 rankers in the world federation and 5 people from Cha Jun Sung’s group – there are
exactly 16 people. Rankers are debating in a conference room in Black City.

The opposition to take a hit on Blood Kingdom or hold out. Cha Jun Sung did not
interfere and just watched. He is not is a position to interfere and say something.

The strategists did not ask for his opinion either. They do not want to make it difficult
by getting a 3rd party involved. The conference is leaning towards holding out.

It is impossible to get ahead of Strategist with words. Most of the people who want to
attack, just want to get payback without logic.

They cannot think of a way to convince others because they are so angry. Strategist
took control of the situation and calmed each of them down.

He explained why it is not the time in different ways so each of them could understand.
As time passed, they gradually calmed down.

“Level B, level A if we go further. If we open them up before Blood Kingdom does, we’ll
be opening the store first as well. We’re just pushing it back until then.”

With fully modified bodies and battlesuits, they can beat all of Mechanic City’s Lifers
even if they all come at the same time. The level of strength becomes different.

If they each have the strength to take on a level 8, they can knock buildings over like a
breeze and kill level 6s. They will be able to do anything if they have the power.

“But the card went missing when Argos died. Opening level B. Fine. We can fill the
force up with rankers and people with battlesuits.”

An advance mission with 100 battlesuit Lifers? There will be sacrifices, but it is worth
trying out. The problem is that Blood Kingdom is the same.

If they had the card, they would consider different cases and choose the optimal
timing. If they do not? They cannot dominate the departure line.
Strategist is listening to the rankers’ conversation, and looks at Cha Jun Sung. Cha Jun
Sung is nervous and gulps. He can figure out why Strategist is looking at him like that.

“You got the card from Argos, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Huh?”

Nuclear points to Cha Jun Sung in surprise. A few had the same reaction and a few
looked on as though they had been expecting as much.

“…I assume you have no intention of selling it.”

“I’m going to use it.”

Strategist left out the details of how Cha Jun Sung got the card and how he saved Argos
from Blood Kingdom’s attack.

All that is important in the current situation is that Cha Jun Sung has the card.

It may be cruel, but the world federation cannot put much meaning in Argos’ life.
Everything originated from the card in the first place.

“Overload. It’s originally an item that was promised in a deal with us.”

“What is he talking about?”

Boom Buster’s tone repels Park Jin Hyuk. It sounds like he is telling Cha Jun Sung to
hand the card over. Nonsense! It was only promised, and there was no completed deal.

“What? Kid, get out of the picture.”

“Don’t attack me. I want to shoot a bullet through your head.”

Boom Buster glares at Park Jin Hyuk. Park Jin Hyuk ignores him.

“The world federation can’t claim it as ours.”

“So you’re saying we should hand it over?”

Chamma Sword stops him and Boom Buster raises his voice.

He is holding a grudge from falling to Cha Jun Sung in the past, and is glaring. Is he of
the mindset that he cannot see others doing well?

“We’ll give you twice the amount of points we promised Argos. What do you think?”

“Sorry.”

He will not sell it for any amount of points. He can gather points at any time as long as
he is alive, but the card is an item that is full of endless possibilities.

“Braybourke! Are you just going to watch? That was supposed to be yours!”

“Chamma Sword is right. We can’t claim ownership of it.”

Weapon Master abandoned regrets for the card with his arms crossed. Cha Jun Sung
selling that? Unless he is crazy, he would not do it.

His abilities are at level with the rankers. He might actually be higher. He has the ability
to bring out the card’s value. There is a saying, a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck. To
apply it, if Cha Jun Sung is a king, the card is his crown.

“Ugh!”

Boom Buster storms out in frustration. It is not just that he does not like Cha Jun Sung,
but everything including the whole situation with Blood Kingdom is getting to him.
They are getting hit from everywhere and nothing is going as planned.

“He still has a terrible personality.”

“I don’t think that’s anything for you to say.”

Park Jin Hyuk eyed Violet and responded to her. Boom Buster is dirty, but Violet is
rough around the edges.

“Overload. Do you want to try out a 1 million point mission?”

“We have gone to 900,000.”

Strategist nods. He had a rough expectation.

Overload, Amhu, Empress of Light. The 3 of them alone are enough of a force to go into
a 900,000 point mission. With the support of sniper Park Jin Hyuk and medic Kyoko,
there will not be too much trouble until 1 million.

“We have gone as far as 1.1 million. 15 rankers, 13 battlesuit owners. A full force with
Lifers who have gone through the 4th stage of body modifications.”

Cha Jun Sung listened in silence. If someone is speaking, he needs to show that he is
listening.

“28 Lifers with battlesuits were tied on to taking on levels 5 and 6. They really were
incredible. I can’t even imagine 2 million.”

He has clearly shown that he will not sell the card. Strategist’s words have a different
meaning.

“We were thinking of trying out level B missions in half a year. All of the members are
battlesuit owners.”

4 rankers died. That is a big hit. Someone needs to fill up those spots. Why are rankers
important? What is the difference between battlesuit rankers and battlesuit Lifers? A
simple matter of know-how? No. That know-how is a benchmark of differentiating
between the two.

“When those 4 died, we lost their battlesuit modification methods.”

Basic battlesuits can be remodeled according to the Lifer’s style when upgrading. The
modification method of Cha Jun Sung’s over booster is something that only he knows.

Even if an average Lifer opens up the level B store, they need to go through countless
trial and error before they can remodel their battlesuits in their personal styles. Cha
Jun Sung also wasted a tremendous amount of money while configuring the over
booster in the virtual version.

The battlesuit is destroyed if they fail in the remodeling. He is not sure if it will work
here as well, but he is pretty sure it will be the same. Several thousands of points will
be wasted with 1 failure?
The modification methods converted the rankers’ value. Even if they are similar to
average Lifers now, their potential ability is unmatched.

“According to my calculations, a full force of battlesuit owners and volume can cover
for level C advancement. Though it is like a bee running into a wasp.”

Level B advancement? Thinking of taking on level 7 in pure volume is the same as a

shortcut to massacre. That will be when the rankers’ true power is exercised.

“What is the point?”

“That card. Are you going to use it to open the level B store?”

“I am thinking about it…”

If he is just thinking about his own group, he needs to use it to open level B. This is
because there are only 5 of them. Battlesuit modifications are necessary for the 5 of
them to advance.

‘Aha. I got it.’

Cha Jun Sung read Strategist’s mind. He once thought of joining the world federation
to make an attempt at an advancement mission. The 2 groups have the same goal.

There is no reason to reject them when they are offering to add strength. If they end
up joining forces, they can get through C with volume. They would not need to use the
card to open level B.

The Lifers had slowly taken steps into level C already, and the rankers have gone over
1 million. This kind of item shines brighter as it is kept for longer.

“Do you want to try to advance with us in 6 months? If you do that, you can use the
card to open up level A. As long as you have the points, you’ll be able to gain the
strength to fight level 8.”

“Help each other?”

“Even without the card… The world federation has the strength to open level B. I’m
not as confident about level A.”
Cha Jun Sung’s group cannot open level B without the card. But if they receive help,
they have the capacity to open level A. Strategist wants to arrange a give and take. The
world federation will open level B for them, and they will help the federation open
level A.

‘If we get to level A… I’ll be able to face that guy.’

Underpass.

The level 8 Blood Lord that brings mental collapse. Since it had just been born, it
would have developed and reached near completion.

‘There’s nothing to lose as a party.’

They will receive help once and give help once. Cha Jun Sung is of the personality
where he usually does not want to do either, but that is different by circumstance.

It may be different if they have several lives, but they just have one. If he wants to stay
alive until Life Mission ends, it is right to use everything he can.

Cha Jun Sung looks at his party members. They will all have understood.

“I’m for it.”

“Of course we should if we keep efficiency in mind.”

No one rejects it. They are not so close minded that they are completely against
working with others.

“Alright.”

Cha Jun Sung allows it. It is not an improvised decision. Even though the amount of
time they had to think was short, this is the best option.

“Since you said it’s in 6 months, we can act on our own until then?”

“Yes. That doesn’t matter.”

They will not restrict their actions. They can just help out when they are contacted.
“But are you in contact with any other rankers? If they are preparing for the advance
mission as well, it will be better to have more people.”

“What do you mean by other rankers?”

“People like Nine Tails, Light Shooter, Invisible, and Perforation Eye.”

“I can get in contact with a few of them. I was actually going to get in touch with them
and ask if they wanted to help with the advancement mission.”

There are 14 rankers gathered here. They are all connected and know each other.

Though it may not be necessary in level C, they need to form relationships to increase
their power with modified battlesuits.

“I’ll take it that you will not speak more about the card.”

“Yes.”

The conversation is over. The strategists spoke a little more, but there was nothing
that Cha Jun Sung needed to pay attention to.

“Jun Sung, we lost that guy twice.”

“Who? Blood King?”

“He’ll get stronger from now on. If we knew this was going to happen, we should have
done whatever it took to kill him in Field of Meat.”

“I agree.”

While the world federation rankers spoke among themselves, Cha Jun Sung and Park
Jin Hyuk talked about Blood King. If they had killed him at the time, if they had not
saved him, this would not have happened.

“What are you talking about?”

Dual Blade approached Cha Jun Sung. He wants to get acquainted.

“Blood King. We’ve seen him twice. In the advance level E mission Field of Meat and
today. But we lost him both times.”

Park Jin Hyuk poured out his complaints.

It was then. Weapon Master’s expression changed. He could hear with his enhanced
sense of hearing with body modifications.

“Overload.”

“It’s the first time since PVP. It’s been a while.”

Cha Jun Sung greeted Weapon Master, who was suddenly standing next to him. He
could remember when he came all the way from Europe to look for him.

“What did you just say?”

“About what?”

“Didn’t you say Field of Meat?”

“Oh! Right. But what about it?”

“Blood King was in that mission too?”

Cha Jun Sung got a weird feeling.

How should he describe it? It feels like he is being interrogated? He was annoyed with
the unilateral question, but did not show it.

He thought that there must be a reason for it. Weapon Master has a cold personality,
but he has a strong ego as nobility and courtesy is an innate characteristic.

“We weren’t in the same party, but he was trapped in there after failing to attack.”

There is something to it from the way he is asking. He explained everything in detail

so that there would be no questions.

Weapon Master frowned because his immature brother and special forces had been
attacked out of nowhere and killed by Blood King.
‘So it was him.’

Since his brother’s death, Weapon Master worked to find the culprit.

He had thought that it would be possible with his family’s power, but it had not been
easy. It was so difficult that he would have to give up if the culprit did not admit to it.

But he finally found out the truth today. He knows what happened inside the mission.
He did not think of it as a coincidence. This had been inevitable.

It is a divine order to kill the person who insulted the Venter family. He cannot do it
immediately. He does not have enough power, and it is not a circumstance in which he
could do so.

‘I will get revenge. Not for you, but for mother and the family.’

Weapon Master is not as fond of Carlyle as Isabel is. Though they have the same blood,
they might as well be strangers.

But that is not entirely the relationship. Carlyle is still his little brother. It would have
been different if he had not been able to find the culprit but now that he has, he cannot
leave Blood King alone.

Beep beep!

[That man is English.] [Yeah.]

Park Jin Hyuk watched Weapon Master’s actions and texted Cha Jun Sung for
confirmation. He suddenly experienced an unexplained feeling.

[Doesn’t he look strangely similar to the yahoo we met in Field of Meat?]

Cha Jun Sung finally began to examine Weapon Master’s face closely. He does look
similar. They are both English and yahoos, and he seems to be a noble too.

Beep beep!

[Do you think that’s his brother? Cousin?] [Let’s ask Violet later. She’ll know family
relationships at least.]
It is someone else’s matters, and something sensitive at that. Unnecessary interest can
ruin relationships. Violet will know what is going on.

‘He has sense.’

Weapon Master did not say it. He could tell that Park Jin Hyuk and Cha Jun Sung are
doing something on their PDAs, but he pretended he did not see it.

They have manners. Regardless, he found the culprit thanks to them. He does not want
to be seen as strange, so he needs to wrap it up well.

“It is something related to the family. Since you’ve solved something we’ve been stuck
on, I’ll be repaying you shortly. I will be going first as I have something to do.”

Weapon Master left the conference room. It was a bit lukewarm. The rankers followed
suit and started leaving one by one.

As the rankers were leaving, they each introduced themselves to Cha Jun Sung to get
acquainted. Since he had seen quite a number of them in the virtual, it was not
awkward.

The conference room becomes quiet. There is just Strategist left in the room.

“The world federation will handle the cumbersome issues. Overload, you can just go
on with your daily life until the advance mission.”

“You said that it’s in 6 months?”

“If there is any change, it would be sooner but not later than that.”

The rankers are ready to advance, but it will take some time to fill the force with
battlesuit owners. If they are just filling up the force, it will only take 1 or 2 months.

But it is better to leave a lot of time for everything, so they need to arm hundreds to
1000 people. That way, they can fill the empty spaces of rankers. No one can tell if
something liek what happened today will happen again.

“So have you decided to leave Blood Kingdom alone?”

“I’m furious as well, but it’s premature. Even without us, they will not be able to act
properly for the time being.”

The enemy saw a large amount of damage as well. The cadres all slipped out, but elite
level C Lifers were killed. The biggest problem is separate.

“Blood King abandoned his allies. I don’t know how much camaraderie there is
between murderers, but he will need time to calm them down after abandoning them
like waste.”

The world federation and Blood Kingdom both unintentionally came to find time to
take for themselves. And Cha Jun Sung took the card that made the 2 forces come to
heads in the first place.

“I’ll be going as well now. The conference room will be empty, so you can rest before
you leave.”

Strategist left the conference room as well. Cha Jun Sung’s group are the only ones left
now.

“It feels like a storm has passed by.”

“It was a bit crazy.”

“Oh right. Violet. Weapon Master? Does he have a little brother?”

Park Jin Hyuk could not hold back his curiosity and asked.

“His youngest sibling is a little brother, but he died. It’s been about 2 years. A yahoo
named Carlyle Venter. I think he went into a mission and never made it out.”

Park Jin Hyuk’s eyes widened and exchanged looks with Cha Jun Sung.

He is showing that he was right. Blood King has found a new enemy.

“Is he an enemy anyway?”

Their forces are confronting each other, so there is no meaning in talking about
personal grudges.

“Why?”
“We’ll explain on the way.”

Cha Jun Sung got up from his comfortable chair. They cannot stay here all day and they
need to go back to zone A.
In order to fill the empty spots of rankers, the world federation requested to form
alliances with rankers who act in parties like Cha Jun Sung or those who work alone.

They did not put forth any conditions that these rankers would be reluctant or averse
to and just asked for them to help with a level C advance mission that they are
currently in preparation for.

There were just 3 people. They could not figure out where the rest are or what they
are doing. They could be gathered together, or they could have died. There is no saying
that they might not have died like the 4 who died and had been found had. With Cha
Jun Sung’s group combined, they have 17 rankers.

After about 2 months, Strategist placed a large advertisement in mediums like the TV,
computer, and radio as a last attempt to locate rankers. Anyone with eyes and ears
could see these, and would allow the rankers to come find them on their own.

There were 36 rankers in total. Since 4 died, there are 32 left. 3 people promised to
work with the world federation, so there are still 8 who are hidden. It would be good
if they were all friendly but unfortunately, 3 are bad like Blood King’s people.

As they have become rankers on skill and not character, there is no point in mistaking
them as all heroes who had risen to the top.

The person that the world federation is looking for most is 5th place ranker, Nine Tails.
The battle suit modification methods of the rankers in 1st through 5th places are
special. The reason why the like-level rankers were split into their own ranking is their
battle suit modification and the strength of their weapon enhancement. The strength
of their weapon enhancement virtually disappeared as the game moved into reality.
This is now determined by their abilities to modify their battle suits and bodies.

That is why they need to get in contact with Nine Tails no matter what. Nine tails.
Another name the person goes by was Nine Tailed Fox. 35 rankers have battle suits
that are configured ultimately for one skill, but Nine Tails is a unique ranker who can
destroy an enemy with 9 small abilities.
The interesting thing is that she did not get the name Nine Tailed Fox because of her
fighting style. She is a nine tailed fox in every way.

Stockholm, Sweden. It is the royal store for Panenaly Department Store’s VIP.

Only people with money can come in, and a slender blonde woman is looking at the
large screen TV inside with an interesting look.

[If you are watching this video, I ask that you call the world federation. We need your
help for a level C advancement mission.]

The advertising video that the world federation made was translated into all
languages and was broadcast all over the world. Once the subtitles come up, the names
of the rankers they are looking for also appear.

Her arms are crossed and she uncrosses and crosses her legs. She moves elegantly.
The blonde woman showed particular interest in one of the names that came up.

[Nine Tails.]

“Level C advancement… I am at my limit. Should I give them a call?”

She created a 2-person party with a close friend. The 2 of them went around together
until now, and they have never been stopped. They only get help from those around
them when they need to advance.

Their 2-person party is passable until 200,000 to 300,000. The two gained confidence
after acquiring battle suits, but mission difficulty levels raise with Lifers’ power.

It is comfortable to work alone, but playing solo is difficult no matter how good
someone is in Life Mission. The friend she made the party with has a similar
personality to hers. They worked to get used to level C, but could not go up any further.
They have too few people to do that. Not too long ago, they completed a mission and
discussed recruiting more people.

“Madam, the items you ordered have arrived.”

“Is that right?”

A clerk at the royal store talks to her. The blonde woman brightens and goes to the
items. The store is a comprehensive department store that carries everything that any
woman would go crazy for like a bag, wallet, and shoes. Penanaly is a famous handbag
brand. It is popular because of its simple design.

“Please wrap up everything I set to the side earlier, too.”

“Yes, madam!”

The employee’s voice is full of envy. The blonde woman comes to this store whenever
she is bored, and she has never spent less than 1 million krona ($36 million). She must
spend 10 million krona on average every month.

Not even the rich can easily spend money like this. The employee looks at the blonde
woman’s wrist. She has a PDA – what only those chosen to be Lifers can wear. Even
level E Lifers who are stuck in level E missions earn $20,000 to $30,000 in a day. That
is a year’s salary for a young person in today’s society. That is actually how much the
employee’s salary is.

“Deliver this to my house by tonight.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you for visiting!”

The employee gathered her thoughts. The woman is from a different world. Someone
that she herself cannot become.

Beep beep!

The blonde woman’s PDA lights up. Someone is requesting a voice call.

[You’re out?] [I almost died trying to get past 100,000 points. Ah! Did you see the
advertisement from the world federation?] [I saw it. I was in reality.] [I thought about
it carefully, and it’s difficult for the 2 of us to get through this.]

Levels D and E were possible through separate parties or forces. But they cannot do
that with level C. They will fall to it if they enter a 2 million point mission with people
who float around. They need allies, even if they are not colleagues that they can trust
and depend on.

[You’re saying we should contact the world federation and seek cooperation?]
[There’s nothing to lose. We can’t try out different strategies because it’s not like we’ve
got multiple like in the virtual version. With level C as a start, thinking about advancing
through level A and B, we need to have a team.]

Is it just any ordinary team? It is a team made up of rankers. There are 15 rankers that
the world federation has officially announced. She heard that 4 died in Mechanic City
recently, and it is a large number even without those 4.

[I’m sure there are other rankers who are reacting to the advertisement like we are.
I’m sure there’s actually a lot more.]

That is right. Including Cha Jun Sung’s group, there are 17 rankers.

[Immediately?] [No. It’ll be weird if we show up out of nowhere, no let’s just leave a
note saying that we’ll join in 6 months.]

They have accumulated plenty of points by working through 200,000 to 300,000 point
missions. They can hang out freely for now and put their hands out at the very end. If
they need to, they can join a separate force and raise the difficulty. If there people
willing to help them, they can cover the 2 of them.

[I’ll see you in a couple days.] [Rest.]

The blonde woman leaves Panenaly Department Store.

“I’ll see you in 6 months, cute rankers.”

She winks at the large screen TV.

5th place ranking Nine Tails. Eurasia Delhi.

Just as the world federation had intended, Eurasia saw the advertisement video.
Though there is no way for them to know that.
It has already been half a year since the opening of Mechanic City. What was once a
ghost city is now a hot place for Lifers, where there is no interference from the world.

Nearly 2 years have passed since the 2nd round of Lifer selections, but there seem to
be no signs of a 3rd round. Due to this, they are leveling.

2 years. There are no level E Lifers to be seen anywhere, and there are few level Ds.
Whether through ability or bus, over 90% of Lifers have advanced to level C.

Mechanic City started with a population of 10,000 and has now reached 10 million.
Even now, there is a spur of late comers.

There are over 100 million people from just the 1st and 2nd rounds of selection. Until
now, the survival rate has been about 10%. Most died in advanced missions.

It is unknown how many people will die in the level C advancement, that even those
with battle suits are scared of. What they do know is that buses are out of the question.

Only Cha Jun Sung knows this information, but contributions are added in starting
with level C advancement missions.

It is a border that only those with the skills to can cross. No matter how much they
ride buses, they cannot advance if they do not have the contribution points that the
helpers deem them.

The 3rd round of Lifer selections will open once the level C wall is broken. That will
probably be the day with the rankers succeed in their attempts. There is 1 month left
now.

Rankers gathered to the top floor of Black City 5 months after what Blood King did
during the auction war.

The purpose of the meeting is to converge everyone’s opinions and decide on the
advance mission. Their lives are on the line. They cannot enter in anywhere without a
plan.

Level C Lifers have not been able to advance, so they are externally similar then and
now regarding items. That is the same for Cha Jun Sung’s group as well.

There needs to be something to buy. They have nothing left to buy in the level C store.

Rankers and Lifers who do well are preparing for the level B store. They are expecting
each item to go for at least 1 million points. The mutants are level 7 starting in level B
missions. They will need to fight against mutants that are nearly perfect.

‘There are few level B missions.’

If what is written in the notepad is right, there are less than 2000. It is because the
population of level 7s has declined. The level of difficulty raises as they go higher.

How many Lifers will need to be brought in to complete 1 level B mission? Thousands?
Tens of thousands? It could be even get to more than hundreds of thousands.

Cha Jun Sung listens to the rankers who are in a heated debate.

There is no conflict of opinion. They are choosing between goals of annihilation and
attainment by reading the description details carefully.

“We’ll make the goal annihilation.”

Strategist chose the goal. According to experience, annihilation takes more time than
attainment does, but it is easier than missions of the same difficulty level.

It is not a big difference. It is very subtle, but that subtle difference can make all the
difference between success and failure. Everyone agrees.

They do not have to think, and just kill all mutants they see in their active area. It is
more comfortable in every aspect.

‘Should I make a suggestion?’

Before coming to the meeting, Cha Jun Sung had chosen a mission he likes according
to an extremely subjective criteria. Any how? Of course not. There is a reason for
everything.

[Level C Advance Mission: Public Underground] [Goal: Annihilation] [Description:

Since the birth of the king, the clan of blood suckers raised their momentum from the
ground and went north to pay back the shame they felt in the past. It is just that there
were hundreds of thousands of cocoons left unborn in the empty cohabitation. Thus,
subjects who were not recognized by the king were left behind. It is a deep and humid
place. End the life of the cruel and savage evil that is coiled at the bottom of the abyss.]
[Reward: 2 million points. Lucky box.]

It is a linked mission to Underpass. There will be a tremendous difference in the level

of difficulty, but it is an atmosphere and terrain that they are used to. The keywords to
Public Underground are mutation and evolution.

Keywords exist in other advance missions, but what they have seen and faced is only
Underpass and Public Underground. Could that be why his eyes went to this first?

‘If it’s the king, it must be the Blood Lord.’

He recalls his memory of when he fainted. He will not faint if he hears a level 8 now,
but he will experience severe anemia.

Under the level 8 Blood Lord, there is the level 5 Blood Sucker. The difference is just 1
evolutionary step, but the gap is large. Blood Parasites are extremely fertile and fight
with numbers.

If the king took the military north, the subjects left behind must be Blood Suckers.
Mutation, evolution. They are Blood Suckers, but there is a high possibility that they
surpassed the limit of level 5s and advanced to level 6.

He is not sure. But after piecing bits of information together, he can see a shadow. What
Cha Jun Sung knows is invaluable.

‘I’ll suggest it.’

Among rankers who are of comparative reputation and ability, Cha Jun Sung cannot
come out on top if they oppose him, but it is worth speaking up. Who knows? If he can
convince them, they might choose Public Underground.

“Can I say something?”

“Overload? Do you have a different plan?”

“I looked over all of the missions and there was one that my eye kept going to.”

“What is it?”

“Public Underground.”

Beep beep!

The rankers search Public Underground on their PDAs. He was going to share it with
them, but they moved before he could do it. They are diligent men and women.

“It’s a unique mission. King? Subjects? The king must be level 7 or 8.”

Lim Si Hyun read the mission description and offered a brief impression of it. He got
the main point, so the other rankers just listened.

“Huh?”

Park Jin Hyuk reacts to Public Underground. Something is familiar.

“You get a feel for it?”

“Is this Underpass?”

“I don’t know either, but it seems like it from the feeling you get from it.”

“Overload. Can you explain it to us?”

Cha Jun Sung and Park Jin Hyuk were discussing the mission between the 2 of them.
There is no way for the rankers to understand what they are talking about.

“Oh. What happened is…”

Cha Jun Sung got Park Jin Hyuk’s permission to tell everyone about Underpass, how it
is a repeat mission, what happened inside, and the types of mutants that live in it.
When he was done explaining, Park Jin Hyuk added in a few words.

The rankers nodded in understanding. They cannot be 100% sure, but it all fits
together perfectly. On top of that, the highlight was still to come.

“This guy wasn’t able to hear because he came back first, but I heard it. The roar of a
level 8 Blood Lord that was just born. I passed out because of that.”

Fortunately, he had not been trapped in the mission because he passed out when the
return was complete.

“Blood Lord!”

Glare Gun’s eyes widen. It is the level 8 mutant that he caught. Of the rankers, only he
and Cha Jun Sung have caught the Blood Lord. In the virtual version, mutants beyond
level 7 are not regenerated. It is over once they die. The ones that the 2 of them caught
are different creatures in different habitats.

“The king is Blood Lord, the military is made up of Blood Parasites and Blood Devils,
the army unit is Blood Suckers, the cocoons left in the Underpass are arranged for
defeat. The powerful servant must be a Blood Sucker.”

“Isn’t a Blood Sucker level 5?”

Nuclear asks in response to Strategist.

“Think flexibly. It’s level 5, but the description says that it’s a powerful subject. We
need to think of it as a level 6. And it’s an advance mission. It’ll probably be the top of
its level.”

‘Strategist indeed.’

Cha Jun Sung was innately surprised. Strategist interpreted what he said with the
mission description, and unraveled it perfectly.

“Do you think it’s just one?”

“Of course not. We need to expect that there will be at least 5 or 6 Blood Suckers as its
subjects. Blood Devils and Blood Parasites… How horrible.”

2 million point annihilation. They need to be ready to face dozens of them. The number
of people on his side is 100 with battle suits. Level 1 Blood Parasites and level 3 Blood
Devils are nothing to worry about.
The number of people who will be tied up with battling the Blood Suckers is
important. Top of level 6 – they are an enemy that the strategists have not come across
yet. It takes 10 rankers for even a lower class one. If it is top class and not mid or high,
dozens of people will have to go up against one. They need to pay attention to the
average Blood Suckers and the rest of the force needs to handle the rest of the
subordinates on their own.

‘It’ll be a war.’

Cha Jun Sung could smell war from this mission. It feels like the blood suckers and
Lifers would be putting everything on the line in this fight.

“If it’s hard to decide on a mission, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to go with the one that
I suggested. This much information is better than going in somewhere without
knowing anything.”

“If we complete this well, we might have an advantage while fighting the Blood Lord.
We would be able to see the link in Underpass like you did, too.”

“Probably.”

Cha Jun Sung knows a little more information on the Blood Lord, but he did not voice
them because they have nothing to do with level C. It is not on trend to go too far ahead.

“I don’t think Public Underground is bad. I’m not forcing it. Let’s go with the majority.”

Strategist wants to end these meetings today. It is better to spend less on making a
decision. It could all amount to nothing if they just keep dragging it out.

“I’m for it.”

“I agree.”

The rankers are in 2 categories. Those who actively participate in the meeting and
those who think, ‘If you make a decision, I’ll follow.’ Weapon Master, Chamma Sword,
and Ice Queen belong to the latter.

“Um… Please keep in mind that my judgement may not end up being right.”

Cha Jun Sung took a step back. These guys are coming over too quickly. He is certain
to an extent, but he is slightly taken aback by the way they agree with him without
thinking it over.

“It falls together too well like tetris for us to say that you’re wrong. First, we’ll have to
look into the blood suckers. Things like their habits. Our chances of succeeding raise,
the more that we know.”

With those words, Cha Jun Sung recalled the Blood Suckers he faced in the virtual
version. They are large creatures. High level, the same level as the Caicus they faced in
Closed Area.

“I’ll take it that it’s been decided.”

Strategist is trying to wrap up the meeting. He will let them know of details and any
changes separately.

The rankers scatter as they had done the first time they gathered here. A few speak to
Cha Jun Sung and his party members. They have not met often, but have gotten fairly
used to each other because of their encounters in the virtual game and the few times
they have met.

“Overload, can you stay behind for a moment? Including the other people in your party
as well.”

Strategist calls to Cha Jun Sung.

The 3 new rankers added to the world federation have not gotten up from their chairs.

“I have something to discuss with the people who are not in the world federation.”

“Just to us?”

“No. 2 more people are going to come.”

“2 people?”

“The world federation Lifers have been together for a while now, so they are pretty
cohesive. There could be friction or uncoordination during a mission.”

“You’re dividing us into factions.”

“The intent is a little different, but it’s basically the same.”

Strategist intends to have the rankers without organizations work together like the
world federation rankers work together. With the 5 people in Cha Jun Sung’s group,
the 3 new people, and the 2 who will be arriving soon, there will be 10 and a balance
is forming.

“I’ll explain in more detail once everyone is here.”

Everyone waited with patience. It would be soon.

“Damn it. This woman has no sense of time or punctuality.”

In a cafe near Black City, a sturdy man is complaining as a cyborg serves him coffee.
He is waiting for someone.

They had promised to meet at 3, but she is already 20 minutes late. It is an important
meeting. They should have gotten there early, but she is late! She is always late.

Knock knock.

The man turned his head to the sound of knocking on the glass. The woman he had
been waiting for was waving to him without a care for her being late.

“You’re in full setting. To someone who doesn’t know better, you look like you’re going
on a blind date.”

The man stood up and went outside. And at the moment he was about to say something,

“Ho ho! Don’t nag at me.”

“Uh… Are you joking? Did you forget who we’re going to meet? Why do you look like
that?”

Nine Tails is wearing a dress that is tight on her body. She spins around once to show
off her body. She is attractive, but the man just looks annoyed.

“You’re going to go looking like that when there are all of those rankers there? That’s
why you got that nickname Nine Tailed Fox.”

“I like it. The Nine Tailed Fox is a spirit in Asian stories.”

“What spirit. It’s a monster that eats people’s livers. It’s a demon in the west, a monster.”

“Shut up and let’s go.”

Nine Tails covered her eyes, said what she wanted to, and walked toward Black City.

“How could I have gotten close to that person?”

The man pulls at his hair. Mechanic City is a lawless zone for Lifers. With the number
of people with the 4th stage of body modifications and battle suits increasing
exponentially, they can be taken over if attacked out of nowhere.

Even still, Nine Tails dresses casually unless there are special circumstances.

“Stop looking, huh?”

“Ahem ahem!”

The men staring at Nine Tails’ face and body are embarrassed and cough awkwardly.

They did not get into a fight. Black City is the world federation’s zone. It is the worst
environment for a bad Lifer to act out in.

There is also a patrol that goes on watch frequently, so they can be disadvantaged if
they act out.

“You’re not coming?”

“I’m going, I’m going.”

The man dropped his shoulders and followed behind Nine Tails. He loses all energy
when he spends an entire day with that woman. She is wicked and knows how to play
around with men.
The rankers inside the conference room stare at Nine Tails. Because she is pretty? In
looks, Koharu, Kyoko, and Violet do not fall behind either. They are staring in
wonderment.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Nine Tails, Eurasia! This is my partner, Alfonso Spen!
He’s Swiss and his nickname is Light Shooter.”

“Why are you introducing me? You’re driving me nuts. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m
Alfonso.”

They bicker endlessly. They were always together in the virtual game, and have been
together in reality as well. Rankers really have been in contact with each other.

[She’s a very unique woman.]

[She is unique…]

Nine Tails is free. She is not free because she likes to do solo missions and plays. Her
personality itself is liberal.

She is a very open woman. Excluding Violet’s aggressive nature, they have a lot of
similarities. They can tell what kind of person she is just from the way she comes here
without a battle suit as though she is taking a walk in her neighborhood park.

[He’s Light Shooter?]

[Yeah. He’s the only sniper of the 36 rankers. He’ll be a lot of help if you get on friendly
terms with him.]

Everyone wants to become the best. Park Jin Hyuk is the same. If he wants to become
the best sniper, he needs to beat Light Shooter in Life Mission.

“Strategist, you’re the only ranker in the world federation. Who is everyone else?”

Nine Tails smiles brightly and looks at Cha Jun Sung’s group and the new people. The
way she looks at them is not rough.

“As you said, I’m the only person here who is in the world federation. This is a separate
meeting for just the Lifers who are not in an organization.”

Strategist introduced each person in turn. It is right that each person introduce
themselves, but it is better for him to do it so that they can move along quickly.

Nine Tails’ eyes brighten. Light Shooter looks on with interest as well. There are
people they ran into in the virtual version, but they have a few relationships with
others like Cha Jun Sung and do not know a lot of other rankers.

“Wow! Overload, I always wanted to meet you.”

Light Shooter spoke in a friendly manner. Most of the 36 rankers are equal, but Cha
Jun Sung is the only person who succeeded in a level 9 raid.

It can be said that he has more experience than others in Life Mission. It is evident that
people will jump through hoops to try to get into his party when he takes on the Evil
Queen raid in the distant future.

“Lastly, this is Ms. Violet, who is called the Empress of Light.”

Violet was introduced last because her seat is the farthest.

Nine Tails had already guessed who Violet is because they were all showing their faces.
She has not changed her appearance. Her face is the same in the virtual and in reality.
There is no way she could not tell who she is.

“You’re the same.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

They are familiar with each other because they were both active in Europe, but they
do not have a friendly relationship. They never had a big fight, but they could be
compared to water and oil.

They are strangely awkward. Nine Tails has the personality where she tries to get over
things without much thought. Even today, she was late. She did apologize, but it was
natural in passing.
“I’ll be short. I had all of you gather here so we could separate into teams.”

“Teams?”

“The world federation rankers have grown accustomed to working together over time.
It does not look like it, but there is a strong cohesion. If we mix them in with you in
this mission, there may be things that don’t fit.”

Strategist will make adjustments in the middle, but close rankers will have each
others’ backs.

“A force has 10 parties. We’ll have 100 people. There are 10 people gathered here now
– it’s 1 party.”

“Aha!”

“I see.”

The rankers reacted in understanding. Cooperation among forces? It is important.

If a party is lacking in collaboration, however, having a force spread wide does not
matter. Even when constructing a building, the bricks are not laid first. A foundation
is laid down and pillars are stood up.

“90 people are in the world federation, meaning they have already formed an alliance.
Exactly 10 people are independent. You need to help each other.”

It is too difficult to try to mix in with the Lifers within a short period of time. Putting
people who do not know each other together to get them on friendly terms is a time
saver.

Strategist continued to talk. There are things that he already said and new things.

Most of what he had already said was regarding the description of Public
Underground. Nine Tails and Light Shooter needed to get familiarized with it.

“So for the remaining month, what do you think of creating a party and going into
missions to form teamwork?”

These 10 people would not be able to complete a 1 million point mission even if they
combined their strengths, but the purpose of it is not to try out high levels of difficulty
on their own.

Strategist’s intent is for them to become familiar with each other before going into
Public Underground.

“It doesn’t matter for us.”

“That’s the same for us.”

Cha Jun Sung’s group and 3 rankers spoke up. They would have thought about it if it
was a continuing party, but it is a temporary party for advancement. They are willing
to sacrifice a bit in order to succeed.

Light Shooter takes a glance at Nine Tails. He is secretly agreeing as well. The problem
is what Nine Tails will do.

“I’m against it. I have the kind of personality where I don’t get along with strangers.”

“But don’t you think it’s a good idea to try out working together since it’s something
where our lives are on the line?”

Strategist interfered to convince her. He had thought that everyone would agree to it.
He had not guessed that anyone would reject it.

“I’m sorry. Instead, I’ll follow whatever you tell me to do in the mission well. I’ll work
for the group rather than for myself.”

Nine Tails looks at Cha Jun Sung. She noticed that everyone including the Strategist
looks at Cha Jun Sung when they say something about the party. She is looking at him
because she has realized that he is the tacit party leader.

“Alright.”

“Thank you for understanding!”

Strategist retreated. Pressuring someone to do what they do not want to can cause
averse reactions. Light Shooter’s expression shows that his thoughts are different
from that of Nine Tails, but they will not separate as long as they are a team.
After this, they did not discuss much and spent the rest of the time creating amity.
Lifers always begin to bristle when it is time for them to advance.

Advancing is a type of judgement. If they fail, they die – it is a judgement where their
lives are on the line. 1 month is what you make of it, but it is not a short amount of
time.

It is a fair amount of time where they can do whatever they put their minds to. But as
said previously, it is what you make of it. Time flew by like a bullet as they were
anxious about the advancement.

100 Lifers are waiting for the entry time as they check their equipment.

Their expressions show their anxiety. They are fully armed, and everyone has a battle
suit. 19 rankers have come together to complete Public Underground.

Honestly, the boundary between regular Lifers and rankers is ambiguous until they
remodel their battle suits.

This is because their gear is similar. Even if Cha Jun Sung uses his battle suit, he cannot
take on 2. He desperately needs to upgrade. He must advance.

Lifers who have gone fairly high even if they are not rankers, have their own methods
of modeling their battle suits. Remodeling is achieved by combinations. They apply
various parts and abilities to the battle suit.

Up to 10 combinations are possible, and Cha Jun Sung’s battle suit has 10 while the
other of the 36 rankers have 9. He will need to wait and see if he will be able to go
through with all 3 in the reality version as well.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

Strategist yells from the center of the Lifers. Everyone responds with power. There is
a slight tremor in their voices. It is not good to be too nervous, but appropriate anxiety
gives people the strength to make it out of unexpected situations.
It means that they are ready for anything to come out at them at anytime from
anywhere.

“Please stand with your parties. We will enter in 5 minutes.”

Strategist commands the force. There is a 10 person party of world federation rankers
that the Strategist is in, and the party of Cha Jun Sung’s ground and the 5 additional
rankers. These are the 2 ranker parties. The rest of the members like medics and
snipers are occupation Lifers.

Papat!

The Lifers move in coordination. Since they are the world federation, there is less
individual behavior and they focused on the group. It is like watching well-trained
soldiers.

“We will enter.”

Beep beep!

Strategist applies for admission on behalf of everyone. They hear a notice and
confirmation of group entry comes up on the Lifers’ PDAs. They press ‘yes’ and
everything in front of them disappears.

“Let’s do well, party leader!”

“Let’s all come back safely.”

Nine Tails speaks affectionately as they enter. The rankers wished for safe returns
before they entered. With that, the Lifers next to Cha Jun Sung also disappear into the
mission.

‘Let’s go.’

Cha Jun Sung also accepted entry. The scenery he is looking at is Mechanic City. When
he closes and opens his eyes again, it will be Public Underground where they will need
to fight fiercely for their lives.
“10 people?”

“Where did everyone go?”

The first scenery the Cha Jun Sung sees is similar to the bunker that Park Jin Hyuk
brought him to a long time ago.

The way out is so small that a person would need to crawl out, and the inside is a flat
square that cannot be more than 350 square feet. He is taken aback because 100
people entered, but he is only looking at his party of 10.

[There isn’t a secure area for 100 people to enter at the same time, so we have
summoned you as parties in groups of 10 to bunkers. Each party is 2 to 3 km apart,
and your PDAs are linked so that you can check each other’s locations.]

Odin’s voice comes through the battle suit. Rather than Odin speaking, it is a group
announcement. Each of the Lifers’ helpers relayed the same message verbatim.

“So this means that the party closest to us is 2km away?”

“I guess so.”

The additional rankers Puppet and Black Leopard are going through the situation.
Invisible stayed back. He has a quiet personality. He is too quiet. He has not said more
than 20 words in the month that they have worked together. Nine Tails found
something interesting and has a wide smile. Light Shooter is busy looking around.

“Seems like that’s the only way out.”

Park Jin Hyuk bends down and opens the bunker entrance. The sensors on his battle
suit do not detect mutants.

“Shall we go out?”

“No. We have to wait until they radio in.”

It is a group effort. They cannot act on their own will. If the force is in the same
situation, Strategist, the force leader, will lay out the commands.

[I’m sure you all heard the helpers’ notice?]

[Yes.]

[We can’t see the terrain on the PDA, but each party’s location is roughly indicated
with a dot. Rather than forcing everyone to meet up, it would be better to have each
party search the areas they are in individually and join the parties that are closest to
them.]

He wants them to go from 10 groups to 5, 5 to 3, and then to 1.

The goal of Public Underground is annihilation. They cannot leave a single being alive.
It is dangerous, but it is better to have separate groups in order to search a wide area.

One party is made up of 10 battle suit owners. They can take on 3 or 4 level 5s even if
they are top level. It seems there will not be much trouble as long as they do not run
into level 6s.

“I’ll go out first.”

Cha Jun Sung hunched down and left the bunker. The party members followed him out
in a line. They barely crawled out due to the size of their battle suits. It is not a space
where more than 1 person can squeeze out at a time.

“It’s the Underpass.”

As soon as Park Jin Hyuk came out, he saw the outside foreground and realized that it
is the Underpass he had gone in and out of regularly before. It is a little different, but
there are a lot of things that overlap.

“You know where we are?”

“It’s not close to where I used to work. That’s worth 500 points, so it can’t be compared
to 2 million. It feels like dozens of Blood Suckers could come bursting out at anytime.”

A musty smell tingles their noses. It smells rotten and fishy. The ground is flat but
there is a large crater in the middle where strange dregs float on top of water. The
ceiling is semi-circular, and is without a doubt a groundwater well.

Beep beep!

A red dot blinks on Cha Jun Sung’s PDA. A party nearby is approaching to join them.
They are slow. There is the inclination to be prepared for attacks from Blood Suckers
and the path is not a straight path, but is more complicated like a maze.

“Let’s go in the direction that they’re coming in.”

The directions they can go are forward and backwards. The party is coming from
behind them. They will create more distance if they go forward, so they need to go
backwards and get closer.

“As expected, let’s take turns doing a field scan. We can quickly recharge the battle suit
because we have a rapid charging device, but we should save it.”

Woong!

Cha Jun Sung turned his field scan on. 10 people are bunched together. The effect is
increased if they are far apart and is a waste of energy when they are together.

A radius of hundreds of meters is scanned in front of the battle suit hologram. The
terrain is extremely complex. It is just the one path they see in front of them right now,
but if they go in a little deeper, it forks out in dozens of different directions. Lifers
without battle suits would not be able to find the path and get lost.

“Jun Sung, it isn’t narrowing.”

“I guess it’s because of the maze.”

2 to 3km is not a large distance. It is close enough to be a 40 minute walking distance

at most. However, 20 minutes has passed and they have not gotten through a fourth of
the way. The trip is taking longer than they thought it would because they are going
back and forth in a twisted path.

They do not rush. Not even an hour has passed since they entered the mission. They
do not know how long they will have to stay in here, so they will not last long if they
start to become impatient already.
[What’s wrong with this path?]

[It feels like we’re looking for hidden pictures even though we’re walking with the field
scan.]

The Lifers send messages over the radio. They are all experiencing the complexity of
the path.

Cha Jun Sung halts.

“What is it?”

“Stay here.”

Cha Jun Sung leaves his party and walks forward alone. His heat sensor picked up
something gathered to one place. He cannot tell how many of them there are because
they are at the end of the field scan, but more are being picked up the closer he goes.

He gestures with a finger behind him to tell them to come. Using body language
instead of talking means that there are mutants up ahead.

[Turn on your field scan.]

Woong!

The 9 party members turned their field scans on. Red and yellow marks are dotted in
the scope. There are hundreds of them.

[It seems like this is the Blood Devil’s nest. I told you before, right?]

When Park Jin Hyuk first entered Underpass, his party threw a photothermal bomb
into a hole because they heard strange sounds. A level 3 Blood Devil jumped out and
killed the entire party. The numbers and appearance of it is exactly that.

[Party 4 is going into battle.]

[Party 7 is going into battle.]

When Cha Jun Sung’s group discovered the Blood Suckers, other parties entered into
battle. If the mutants are spread out throughout Underpass, they cannot avoid battling
either.

[Party 10 is going as well.]

Cha Jun Sung is the head of party 10. He cannot just pass by it. They need to kill every
last one of them because it is an annihilation mission.

“Let’s go lightly since we’re in the first half.”

Woong!

Their sight is brightened. Night vision lets him see the dark underpass as though it is
in broad daylight, and the heat detector and infrared sensor scan over the topography.

“I see the hole over there.”

If they use the battle suit, the sound of footsteps is reduced and their smells are
hidden. Blood Parasites’ senses are degenerated. They can only smell. Due to that, the
enemy did not approach them.

Cha Jun Sung goes into the hole. He does not hesitate. The same goes for his party
members.

Cool air raises the hair on their skin. The Blood Parasites that had been asleep inside,
scream. This is an attack out of the blue.

The party slaughtered them easily. They are just level 1. They are helpless against
battle suits that can take on level 5s.

Kyah!

They heard a sharp sound while they were killing for a while. The Blood Parasites had
pinpointed the location of Cha Jun Sung’s party exactly, and are all swarming in at the
same time. They do not even leave a scratch.

They cut through the ones that bite with their vibrating weapons. They even ripped
the parasites apart with their bare hands at times.

Park Jin Hyuk repeatedly hunted from the end of the party and quickly retreated to
the back. A tail that has thorns longer than a human finger all over it, passes by him.
“It’s here. The Blood Demon.”

Kyak!

It is clearly visible even though it is dark. It is 10m tall, with thick skin, and thorns
everywhere like a hedgehog. It is so hideous that it is impossible to find a similar
creature to its face. It is as strange as an alien in a movie.

Its only characteristic is that it looks like a centipede with blades sticking out on either
side of its body like hooks. A long time ago, it was so scary that he almost passed out.

There is 1 Blood Demon. It examines Park Jin Hyuk and circles him. He is so bored that
he yawns.

“Hurry up.”

Kyak!

It is swift. It wraps around Park Jin Hyuk within seconds. If he had been a normal
human being, his entire body would have been punctured with holes.

The Blood Demon squeezes him as a snake would its prey, and its thorns scratch his
battle suit, applying pressure.

“What are you doing. Let’s move.”

“Yes.”

Park Jin Hyuk flexed his arm out. The Blood Demon’s body cannot beat that strength
and rips. As a mutant, it is still alive even though its body is ripped.

“It’s weak.”

“It’s proof that we’ve advanced.”

If Cha Jun Sung and Park Jin Hyuk had come across the Blood Demon when they first
met, they would not have made it this far. They would have died on the spot.

“I think we could take on a couple hundred.”

“If the results are reversed even if the process is easy, the mission is going to the hills.
Don’t let your guard down until the end.”

They need to catch the boss of Public Underground. There is no point in killing all of
the subordinates if they cannot get the big one.

The battle was bland. They came back out of the hole before 5 minutes had passed. It
seems there were about 300 mutants, but the 10 of them had not even warmed up.

“Is level 6 that strong?”

“If we measure the strength with the force as a standard, it’s extremely strong.”

The 3 top level Caicuses that ravaged Cha Jun Sung in the training room could take on
1 low level 6.

The deviation of strength following level is severe, but lowest and low levels have
fairly large effects. But this is the highest of its level. If the difference is unimaginable,
think about the difference between a low level 5 and top level 5.

“When thinking in terms of the virtual version, the basic type battle suit’s limit is low
or mid level for this group.

Koharu helps Cha Jun Sung with his explanation. It is a party with 8 rankers. When
their knowledge is put together, there is more that they know than they do not.

“So the key is for there not to be several level 5 or 6s.”

“Level 6 to be more precise.”

With the force members’ abilities, they can take on mid level 5s one-on-one. Top level
would be two-to-one or three-to-one. Level 6? They will need at least 6 or 7 people. If
they are beyond mid level, they will probably need 10 or 20 people to take them. If
even 5 of them come out, half of the force’s strength will have to be focused on level
6s. It would be a tight face off because there will be a lot of level 3 and 4s as well.

“Let’s do our best. If we can’t do it even after giving it our best, it was an impossible
mission in the first place.”

“There’s no such thing as impossible for us!”

Cha Jun Sung heard Park Jin Hyuk behind him and strut along their path again. He
hoped Park Jin Hyuk was right, that nothing is impossible for them.
[Party 3, joined party 6.]

[Party 5, joined party 9.]

The parties that were summoned to different locations started to meet up. Cha Jun
Sung’s group also finally met up with party 4 after 3 hours. In that time, they swept
through 3 Blood Demon habitats. The frequency at which the 10 parties found habitats
were 2 or 3, with 4 at the most.

Less than sacrifices, there are no people with injuries. Level 3s cannot create much
damage to the battlesuit. It takes a level 4 to make them feel like they have taken a hit.

[Parties 1, 2, 7, parties 3, 6, 8, parties 4, 10, parties 5, 9. We’ve been divided into 4.

There isn’t a particular threat, so let’s gather together slowly.]

Everything beyond level 5 must be in what is called the Public Underground.

A warden and defensive force will be necessary to guard hundreds of thousands of

cocoons. They have an ominous foreboding that all of the difficulty will be saved for
last. If that is right, this right now is the calm before the storm. What the force can do
is to kill as many Blood Parasites as they can.

Droplets from the ceiling fall into rotten waters. A few Lifers subconsciously follow
the sound. They only looked at it because they heard it. 10 parties combined into 4.
Even now, the parties that are close to each other are moving towards each other. They
also found paths into the Underground.

Woong!

One of the battlesuit’s basic functions is to use a field scan, electromagnetic waves, and
echolocation to project the surroundings’ features as a hologram. The farther they go
into the Underground, the less effect the field scan has. It either does not function fully
because it is so far below the ground or because the walls are so thick.

They need to limit the radius to within 30m if they want to be able to see clearly. If
they spread out and each person turns on the field scan to link them, the situation
becomes much better but it is not a wise choice. They need to be together in order to
prevent attacks.

They do not think that they can complete the mission without any sacrifices. However,
they need to maintain a full force until they come face to face with the head of the
Public Underground. If dying is inevitable, it is better to go there and die while helping
the others.

A level C Lifer with a battlesuit is powerful, but the situation changes if the mutant
attacking is a level 5 or 6. They are just 100 people. It may feel like a lot, but it is a
small enough number that it can reach 0 quickly if people die off one by one.

Time keeps passing. There are no attacks. This makes Cha Jun Sung even more
nervous. Where are they all hidden that they do not appear?

[Parties 1 and 2 joined parties 3, 6, 8.]

Party 1 is made of rankers and party 2 includes Strategist. Parties 1 and 10 have the
greatest power in the force. Ultimately, 6 parties have met up on that side. 60% of the
force has gathered, so they can get through most threats easily.

“Why aren’t we getting any closer to parties 5 and 9?”

“Could it be that they’re lost in one place?”

Cha Jun Sung looks at the signal that parties 5 and 9 give off, and reads the distance.
They are about 1.2km away. It is fairly close, but they are not getting any nearer to
each other. The radio is quiet as well. It does not seem like anything major happened
to them.

[Party 5, your movement is slow. Is something happening?]

Cha Jun Sung radios in. They themselves are moving, so they will meet up even if party
5 does not move, but they need to know if there is a reason for it.

[We are at a wall.]

[Wall?]
[We followed a field scan and signals from parties 4 and 10, but all we see is a wall.]

It seems they went into the wrong path. It is a path that they spent hours to get
through. If they want to go back to find a new path, it could take a full day. Instead,
they are standing in place without being able to do anything.

“We’ll go.”

“Alright.”

Cha Jun Sung’s group is finding their way well. They could end up at a dead end like
parties 5 and 9, but they have not been stopped yet.

[Wait where you are. We will go from here.]

[Confirmed.]

Since they are getting closer, they will do what they can. If they need to go back, they
will make that call when they need to.

20 Lifers move in the direction that the water is flowing, with 1 party waiting on either
side.

Knock knock!

“Can they see this?”

“I’m sure they’ll be able to.”

The battlesuit’s punch power is enough to make a dent on an armored car. Breaking a
wall is nothing. Even if it is stronger than they thought, all they have to do is set off a
bomb.

They do not do that though because the commotion could bring Blood Parasites to
them. Since it is an annihilation mission, they need to kill them as they appear. The
problem is that their power is currently divided. They will fight if they cannot avoid a
battle, but 2 parties do not have to take on everything. What if a level 6 hears the
explosion and appears? 4 or 5 people will die at the least.
“We radioed in, so let’s wait.”

“We’ll be 40 people if we join with those on the other side. Since it’s a party made up
of rankers like party 1, our survival rate will go up, won’t it? I really want to go back
alive. Let’s be careful and more careful.”

The 20 Lifers agree with the party leader, and sit with their backs against the wall. It
is simple. They do not need to find the path for now. They can wait like this until
parties 4 and 10 come near.

“How deep do you think this is?”

“I’m sure it’s about 1m.”

Was it because they were bored? 2 Lifers approached the channel. The party leader
did not stop them.

It is all the same whether they stay seated or stay nearby. And it may seem useless, but
it is not a bad idea to have the channel depth measured.

A Lifer takes out a tape measure and looks down into the channel. He will stop if
something gets caught. That will be the ground.

“Wow! It’s 3m! It’s deeper than I thought.”

“Oho!”

It is deep enough for someone to drown in. They cannot even see into it because it is
so dirty with garbage. They cannot identify the situation inside with heat sensors
either because it is cold. And the field scan cannot penetrate through water.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

“The tape measure moved.”

The Lifer looks puzzled. Something bumped into the tape measure as it passed by.
Could it be that his hand was shaky? Or was it hit with garbage?
[Strengthen battlesuit outer armor! Weak movement did hit the tape measure.]

Papat!

The Lifer is surprised and goes backward. The helper in his battlesuit as given him the
information.

“Leader! Something is inside the water!”

The Lifers are surprised and take out their weapons. The party leaders also gulp and
check their senses.

“It’s coming.”

“In the back!”

It is not in the water. Writhing shadows are coming out of the path that they came
through. They are Blood Parasites.

“It seems like those guys used the waterway.”

“Prepared to shoot!”

A party leader raises his hand. The Lifers aim at the Blood Parasites with their guns.
There are a lot of them, but they are all just level 1. They feel stupid for having been
nervous.

“Shoot.”

Pew pew pew pew!

Dozens of submachine guns go off and pelt the Blood Parasites. They cannot get close
and get pushed back by the bullets, rolling away. Some even ran away on their own.

“They’re just Blood Parasites, but we ***

“Thank you!”

The chief is the rank of Strategist in the world federation. They have caught their
enemies while recoiling. Results are results.
Burble burble.

When the Lifers’ attention focused on the Blood Parasites, a bubble the size of a
person’s head formed in the center of the channel. The Lifers did not notice it because
its sound was overshadowed by the sounds of shooting and the Blood Parasites
screaming. And that was a signal for another battle.

Bang!

2 large mutants spring out of the water, coiled like snakes. It happened unexpectedly.
Rotten water wets the battlesuits.

Kyak!

“They’re Blood Suckers!”

Bang bang!

The 2 Blood Suckers that have come on land sweep the Lifers with a strong whip of
their tails. The space is small and they are close to each other, so they all fall over like
bowling pins.

Boom bang bang!

Most of them hit the wall or went flying far, but a few unlucky Lifers fell into the rotten
water of the channel. Battlesuits are waterproof, so the water did not go through. If it
had, that would have been another kind of hell.

If the 1st round was the Blood Parasites’ gimmick, the 2nd is the level 5 Blood Suckers’
surprise attack. It was not even over yet. There is still a 3rd round.

“Over – over there!”

“What!”

The passage that the Lifers took to get here is completely full with hundreds of Blood
Devils. They are swarming in like bees swarming to a hive.

“How dare they! Brace up the battle line and block the front! We’ll take these guys!”
Woong!

20 people’s battlesuits shake. Surprise attack? They have used their heads, but this
much cannot do anything to 2 parties. They had just been surprised for a moment.

“We’ll kill you!”

Bang!

2 party leaders fly at the 2 Blood Suckers. At the same time, 18 Lifers delve into the
Blood Devils coming at them from the front. Underpass does not follow the form of a
regular waterway. It is figured so that citizens can escape if emergencies arise in the
large city, so it is a space where they need to battle in close quarters.

Bang!

One of the thorns on the Blood Sucker’s body is destroyed. It is as thick as a person’s
arm, and grazes a party leader’s battlesuit as it flies by.

The thorn is embedded so far in the wall that it is not visible. While he was turning his
body to avoid the thorn, the Blood Sucker smacked down on the battlesuit.

It is a disadvantageous terrain for everyone, Lifers, Blood Suckers, and Blood Devils
alike. It is complete chaos. They will probably win if they keep going like this, but
battlesuits will be destroyed.

A Blood Sucker straightens its body vertically. Its body is enclosed by the waterway,
but the length from its head to tail seems to reach about 25m. As it is more evolved
than the Blood Devil, it is more unsightly and its coloring is darker. They are exactly
the same as those that Lifers saw in the virtual game.

‘Did they know the force was coming and send an advance team? In order to get an
idea of the enemy’s ability to fight?’

The party leader thinks as he watches the Blood Sucker. It is just a guess. The Blood
race must be pretty smart from the way they used trickery in a feint operation. He
cannot tell if their leader is smart or if these guys are smart.

[Parties 5 and 9! Engaged with Blood Suckers!]

The radio comes in constantly. They do not have the time to report properly. In that
time, they kill one more. Other parties are far away, and cannot even come because of
the wall. These 20 people need to handle it.

“Leader! I’ll support you!”

“What about the front?”

“1 party can handle it!”

10 people are plenty able to block the Blood Devils that are simply coming at them
from the front. As long as they do not experience a concentrated attack, it is easy to
kill several at a time.

8 Lifers attack from behind the Blood Suckers. They brandish their vibrating weapons
or pull out the thorns. As they do so, the Blood Suckers become more frantic.
Papapat!

Cha Jun Sung runs. His party members run after him. They heard the radio regarding
the battle. Parties 5 and 9 encountered Blood Suckers. They will probably not fall to a
few of those guys because the Lifers all have battlesuits, but the battle is happening
nearby. The noise from battling is shaking up the waterway anyway. Mutants would
have already heard this with their enhanced senses.

“Jun Sung! It’s blocked!”

A dead end. Cha Jun Sung’s group is blocked off as parties 5 and 9 had been.

Cha Jun Sung bashes the wall. He can hear Lifers’ explosions and mutants’ screaming
beyond the wall.

“Stand back.”

Bang!

Cha Jun Sung makes a hole in the wall with his fist. He pulls the pin from a grenade
and passes it into the hole. They can get 100% of the effects of the grenade if it goes
off in the center.

Bang bang bang bang!

The wall cracks. But one was not be enough, so it stops along the way. The wall is
extremely thick as it is not a path that they are supposed to be able to take.

Bang bang!

He puts 2 grenades in together. The wall finally explodes and collapses with dust filling
the foreground.

“Support!”
“Go!”

Cha Jun Sung speaks as he flies forward. The Lifers are leaning towards the win after
a long period of battling, but it will end faster with help.

Boom!

‘Tail whip.’

It is a skill that they all use, from the Blood Devils to the Blood Lord. There is a great
difference in the range of power, but they cannot be hit by one from a Blood Sucker.

Bang!

The wall is bashed in under the force of what is like a bat with nails sticking out of it.
Even still, the thorns do not break and are perfectly fine.

Koharu goes on top of a Blood Sucker’s back, and slashes with her dagger. Violet jabs
mostly at the chest and stomach with her javelin. Rankers are faced on the other side
as well.

Boom boom boom!

Koharu and Violet fall away from the Blood Sucker. Dozens of thorns are launched in
all directions. What would happen if they properly get hit with one of those?

New thorns form from where the old ones fly off. They do not form infinitely, but there
is a large factor in stamina. If the Blood Suckers are tired or do not have sufficient
nutrients, they cannot do it. This means that they are still full of energy.

Dozens of Lifers stick their vibrating weapons into the bodies of the Blood Suckers.
Blood splatters. The ones that are really hard to handle are the ones with acid mixed
into their blood. Fortunately, this is not the case for the Blood Suckers.

Ping ping ping!

They rotate their bodies to spin while launching thorns. They are making such a fuss.
No matter how energized they are, there are 40 battlesuit owners. There are a lot of
Blood Devils, but not enough to guard 2 Blood Suckers.
The Blood Suckers pretend to attack, turn their heads to the water, and jump in. They
felt that there is nothing good in fighting a losing battle. The water is rotten but it is
where they were born and raised, so there will be a way out.

“It’s running away!”

“Get it!”

A few Lifers grab the tails of the Blood Suckers trying to get away, and pull.

Bang bang!

Reverse boosters turn on and push the Lifers backwards. The Blood Suckers push
away as much as they are being pulled. The Lifers cannot let them go. They especially
need to kill the level 5s. It is a level that becomes a direct threat to the force. They need
to reduce the numbers while they are separated like this.

Kyak!

Bang bang!

Cha Jun Sung gives a strong kick to the mouth of a howling Blood Sucker. He avoids
their blades and attacks a relatively weak part.

The flesh rips. The kick applied an upper cut. Its head folds back and the Blood Sucker
is looking at the ceiling. With that time, the Lifers swarm in.

They jab, cut, and dig into them. The Blood Suckers become covered in accumulating
wounds. On the opposite side, the Blood Devils have been taken care of for the most
part.

The Blood Suckers draw their breaths. They are on the brink of death, but not dead.

“Who’s going to finish it?”

The party leaders glance at party 10. Killing the 2 Blood Suckers is worth at least
300,000 points.

“Figure it out amongst yourselves.”

“Huh? Okay!”

Cha Jun Sung stopped showing interest. He is not greedy about such things.

[You have earned 180,000 points and 54,000 achievement points.]

The party leaders each kill one. 180,000 points. They are top level, like the Caicus.
They are opponents that they could not guarantee to beat if they had gone one-on-one
instead of with dozens of Lifers. It is chilling to think of things like this swarming to
them with level 6s.

“Are they all dead?”

“Sorry. We lost a few.”

The Lifers cannot pick their heads up. A few Blood Devils ran away. There were several
hundreds of them even if they are weak, so they ran away while their peers died.

[This is parties 5 and 9. We have joined parties 4 and 10. We killed 2 Blood Suckers
and hundreds of Blood Devils! There are no Lifer deaths.]

[You did well. Let’s meet up as soon as possible.]

If they meet up once more, they will become a full force. It would be good if there is
no large scale battle until then.

A bizarre alien creature twice the size of a normal Blood Sucker looks up into the open
ceiling. It has a height reaching about 100m. The shape of the hole is strange, but it
looks to be about 30 to 40m deep. The wreckage from the collapsing ceiling is rolling
around all over the Public Underground.

A trace of the king.

The Blood Lord had come out twice, and created this hole to go outside. Sunlight seeps
in through the hole. It was an incredibly thick wall, but the Blood Lord smashed it with
one blow and ran.

The Blood Lord looking at the hole now is the Blood Sucker tribe’s Elder and born
with their blood. If terms of humans, it would be about the direct brother of the former
king. This is probably why it is a Blood Sucker but is almost 50m tall. The mission
description mentioned that the Elder is the powerful servant.

Grr!

4 Blood Suckers crawl to the Elder’s side. They are not as large as the Elder, but about
one half as greater than normal Blood Suckers.

They are level 6. Cha Jun Sung’s group needs to fight 5 level 6s. They have come to the
worst case scenario in which more than half of the power must fight against level 6s.

The leader Blood Suckers look wide and far around the Public Underground.
Hundreds of thousands of cocoons are growing quickly. They have inexperienced
Blood Suckers and Blood Devils everywhere to guard those cocoons. They are not
normal cocoons. They were born from the king.

The 4 leaders have blood of the invited king. That is why they have surpassed level 5
limitations and reached level 6. If all of those cocoons are born, they can become like
the Elder and leaders. Of course only 0.1% of those develop into adults. The other
99.9% become the nutrients necessary for the 0.1% to develop.

Kyak!

Kung?

Injured Blood Devils come in through the Public Underground’s entrance. One of the
leaders leaves its position in order to get a grasp of the situation. The Blood Devils
explain in mutant language. It is a mistake to think that humans are the only
technically accomplished.

Kung!

The level 6 roars. Enemies have broken in. An enemy at such an important time. The
Blood Devils tremble in dreading at the roar.

Huek!

A leader tells the Elder, ‘I’ll go kill them.’

Kruk.

The Elder does not permit it. They need to preserve power and protect the cocoons.
The Blood Devils and Parasites outside are their eyes and ears, minimal troops to
defend the outside on small scales. The Blood Suckers sent this time were supposed
to make rounds at checkpoints and the Underpass to act as patrols that resolve
problems.

Kyak!

The leader has a fiery personality and reacts. Mutants also have individual personalities.

Kung!

‘No.’

Public Underground is spacious, but Underpass as a waterway is not ideal for Blood
Suckers to fight in. Level 6s are so big that they cannot move easily. Even if the leaders
go out, they will not be of much help.

Koo!

Kung!

The Elder becomes angry when the leader keeps reacting. They will sweep through
the surroundings once the living becomes typified. Those below level 5 surpass
dreading and feel fear, while only the level 6s withstand the moment.

Bang bang!

The Elder’s tail slams down on the ground. It is an attack from a 50m monster. The
floor cracks without resistance. It looks like a 10 story building would fall over if hit
with that.

Kung!

The Blood Suckers listen to the Elder’s orders and move the debris stuck next to the
Blood Devils. They block the only entrance so that no one can come in. They fill the
entrance with boulders that weigh from dozens of kilograms to tons. It is not
something that can be brought down with bombs. No matter how many times they are
smashed, there will be more. It may be uncomfortable, but the Blood Sucker clan can
move through the hole in the ceiling. There is no reason to use the entrance.

[We’ll wait until the king comes in. Avoid any unnecessary battles.]

Power is law for mutants. The weak must bow and listen. The Elder is the strongest
after the Blood Lord. They all obey the Elder’s will, from the lowest Blood Parasites to
leader Blood Suckers. Protecting the cocoons is top priority.
“Wow! We’ve finally met up.”

The force ultimately became whole after 4 days. The place was extremely vast, so they
wandered here and there. There were no battles that caused tension after the attack
from the Blood Suckers. They only ran into Blood Devils and Blood Parasites.

“It’s hard to find the path.”

“We’re using the compact detection robot to create a map. We should be able to find it
after digging through everything one by one.”

Strategist laughs at Cha Jun Sung’s words. The world federation Lifers started
searching everywhere by releasing compact detection robots as soon as they were
summoned to their separate locations. If they don’t do this because it was a bother,
they would suffer the inconvenience of going in circles. There really is nothing to be
so bothered by either. If they just activate it in the beginning, the robot would handle
the rest on its own. They need to be extra careful with them because, even though each
is worth 2 million points, they are weak enough that a bullet can penetrate through
them. They have as many handicaps as they have uses.

“You said that you found a way out?”

“Yes. It looks like each area has one.”

Beep beep!

Strategist showed them a holographic map saved on his PDA. They can see a place
where something like a ladder is marked. That is the exit to get out of Underpass.
Strategist does not intend to go out. Their goal is to go deeper underground, not to go
outside.

“You heard that roar, right?”

“Perfectly.”
A few days ago after they lost a few Blood Devils in the fight against the Blood Suckers,
they heard a hair-raising roar. It was loud enough to ring throughout Underpass.
Strategist analyzed the sound with his battlesuit and calculated its estimated location.

They kept it as an uncertain, unclear indicator. They’re creating the map now. Unless
the Underpass is infinitely large, they will meet at some point.

“Underpass is circular. I’m not 100% sure, but we have searched 60 to 70% from what
we’ve marked until now.”

“So, we just have to go through the rest.”

“The problem is after that.”

How great would it be if the mission was to just find and complete? They cannot even
imagine what kind of monster is waiting for them. The force placed the search as their
priority. Their top goal is to dissect Underpass. That is the only way they will be able
to find the way to Public Underground.

The Lifers had been moving without time to stop, and are now on a break. They have
plenty of stamina, but proper sleep and meals are absolutely necessary. All kinds of
food come out of their space compression bags. As magic bags, they are full of delicious
foods.

Beep beep!

Strategist was resting when he saw an alert from his compact detection robot and
straightened his body. It picked up multiple vital responses. There was a lot. It easily
surpasses tens of thousands. He is certain that it is where the Blood Parasites are
gathered.

“950m northeast, detection of vital responses in the tens of thousands. We’ll go right
away.”

It is too far, so there are limits to how the cameras can be used. If they go within 500m,
they can see what the detection robot is seeing.

The force moves in tension. The detection robot’s information was shared with
everyone. There are more and more being detected. They are going further into the
robot’s range.
Pat!

The camera turns on as soon as they enter the permissible range. The camera shakes
from top to bottom as though it is digging into the ground. They do not see mutants.

“What!”

“Goodness!”

Woong!

The detection robot finishes spelunking and comes out. The force is speechless.
Cocoons stuck all over a wall; it is impossible to count all of them. The cocoons are not
the most shocking part.

“Blood Sucker?”

“Why is it so big?”

A giant Blood Sucker is coiled up in the center of the cocoons. It is a warden, Public
Underground’s boss. Their skin crawls even though they are looking at it through a
camera.

‘Mutation, evolution.’

Cha Jun Sung thinks to himself. It is the image of a top level 6.

Wiing!

The detection robot turns its view. The camera films Public Underground. There are
dozens of Blood Suckers in position everywhere. There are hordes of Blood Devils.

“That’s too much.”

“We have to take all of those on?”

5 huge Blood Suckers. The one in the middle of the cocoons is the biggest and the other
4 are similar to each other. They are variants.

Strategist sent the detection robot in further. Robots do not experience fear.
“There’s a hole in the ceiling.”

“It’s a trace of the Blood Lord, right?”

Cha Jun Sung looks at Glare Gun. They are the only 2 people who have caught Blood
Lords before.

“It’s completed its molting perfectly. It’ll be bigger than 200m.”

Blood Lord is one of the top 10 largest of the Nightmares.

“It must have created a path for itself because it is too big to move around Underpass.”

“Those level 6s over there, especially that big one, they’ll have to move around through
the ceiling.”

“Do you think they blocked the entrance because of us?”

“I think so.”

“Damn it. How do we kill all of them?”

Nuclear grumbles. It is a scene that could make him vomit. There are 5 level 6s.

“We’ll get the detection robot back first, and then come up with a plan.”

Wiing!

Strategist called the detection robot, but a weak sound leaked out.

Boom!

The Elder had been sleeping, but blinked open its red eyes, and launched a thorn. A
thorn the size of a human leg pierced through the robot precisely. It has outstanding
senses. It is 100m away, but was able to hit the robot a size of a fist.

Its thorn regenerates. There is no movement.

“Let’s just plan it out.”

2 million points just evaporated.

Chapter 7 | Inner Madness

Roar!

The Elder was asleep in the center of the cocoons when it heard a beast’s roar and
woke up.

It does not fall asleep in order to always remain active. Its open eyes are not sleepy
either. It is just slightly opened. It can switch to combat mode whenever it wants to.

It is noisy beyond the ceiling. The leaders took the Blood Suckers and Blood Devils
hunting. The clan are living beings. They will die if they do not eat.

Boom!

The ceiling is 100m tall, and dozens of mutants the size of elephants fall down.

They are the double headed giants living above them. They caught a lot of them, but
the noise does not stop.

Roar!

A roar comes out beyond the leaders’ force. They must be fighting strong mutants, and
it is taking much more time than when they were fighting the double headed giants.

The Elder knows what the leaders are going after. The blood clan is the upper line in
power dynamics, so it didn’t have to worry.

Boom boom boom!

Their hunting is was success. Mutants 4 times the size of double headed giants
plummet to fall on top of the corpses. They normally would have died, but they
survived because the double headed giants that died first acted as cushions.

Boom boom!

Double headed kings. They are also top level 6 mutants. The leaders’ bodies are
covered in wounds.
They are unable to hold their bodies up after the impact of falling. No matter how
much cushioning the giants provided for them, monsters weighing tons fell 100m to
the ground. As their bones broke, their organs were ruptured. They will become better
after a few days with mutant resilience, but that is not possible in this situation.

Bang!

The Elder slams its tail down on the double headed kings.

They went rolling because they didn’t have the strength to withstand it. They are
strong enough that they could have tied if they had faced off under normal conditions.
Victory and defeat were easily determined because they didn’t have the strength to
react.

The leaders were done with hunting and climb back down the wall. They need to end
it swiftly. There’s a lot of mutants as strong as the double headed giants above them.
That’s why the leaders doesn’t go around by themselves very often and wanders in
hundreds.

It’s usually a bother, but they survive by going around Underpass to find preys.

Beyond the ceiling is an area of predators that not even the Elder can take on. But, the
Blood Lord killed them before going on its expedition. That is how the blood clan came
here.

Grr!

The Elder looks at the entrance. It can feel that the enemy is close. They have been
sending strange insects for the past few days, but it has been killing them every time
it sees them. There are Blood Suckers covering the entrance just in case. The enemy
will not be able to get through but, if they do, it intends to kill them one by one. It
cannot let them come inside.

The force took appropriate positions and looked for ways to get through the entrance.
They are ready to accept ideas regardless of position.

The problem is that there is no clear count even after holding meetings for several
days.

It might be possible to get through by setting off bombs. The problem is that if they do
that, they will draw the blood clan’s attention.

Also, the entrance is not very wide. It is packed if 2 or 3 people stand shoulder to
shoulder. When they sent the last detector robot a day ago, they saw that Blood
Suckers and Blood Devils were filling the entrance. What could this mean?

“Can’t we go down through the hole?”

“The hole.”

Strategist thought about what a force member suggestion. The giant hole in the Public
Underground ceiling – it would be the best if they could go down through that. They
can create shock from the top or throw bombs. They could take advantage of their
position and make a sweep. That is only if they could get down.

“Leaving Underpass means leaving the mission area. This is level C advancement, but
there’s no guarantee that the area above is a lower level than this.”

Even if it is a lower level than Underpass, they do not know how much they will need
to battle until they get near the hole. They would only need to fight once, but this
would make them fight more than they need to. A lot of people will think that being
the final decision maker is great, but it is good to be an underling at times. They just
have to do as they are told.

[Current location: 952. 266. 85.]

Whether they are under or above ground, only the depth is different and the location
is pretty much the same. If they just follow the locations as a guide, they will be able
to arrive.

“What do you think about just blowing the whole thing up?”

Nuclear makes a suggestion. They didn’t have anything like white phosphorus, but
they brought a lot of powerful bombs like dynamites. They prepared fully because it
is an advancement mission.

“The entrance will collapse if we do that.”

Underpass is not ideal to use bombs in that blow buildings away, excluding basic ones.
If they are misused, they will sweep through everything regardless of enemies and
allies.

“I didn’t know we’d end up in a battle of wits against mutants.”

“I know, right?”

In terms of a war, the force is a siege and the blood clan is the residing. Generally to
bring on a siege, they need to have 3 times the power of the residing. However, the
siege is weaker.

“Let’s go out. It won’t be bad to see some sunlight.”

Strategist spoke after thinking for a while. They have made no progress with the
entrance in front of them for days. It seems like there will be none in the near future.
It would be better to go to the hole rather than dragging out time waiting here.

[Level C Mission: Black Devil’s Shadow] [Goal: Attainment]

[Description: The Black Devil was dealing with the darkness when it was trampled by
the ascending king’s power. A lone shadow left behind. A tremendous host is needed
for a still weak shadow to develop into a Black Devil. When will an opportunity come?
Even today, the shadow hopes to get revenge.]

[Reward: 1.8 million points. Lucky box.]

“…”

“Do we have to go further?”

The force was uncomfortable. The moment they climbed the ladder out of Underpass,
special mission Black Devil’s Shadow was activated. It was 1.8 million points. They
were still wondering how to complete a 2 million point mission, but they have gotten
caught up in one that was almost there. Since it had only been activated and they had
not started, it gets canceled once they go back into Underpass. It was not the worst-
case scenario.

“Black Devil? I think I can tell what it is if it’s a parasitic type.”

The rankers thought of different mutants. Level C means level 6.

There was nothing that matched among level 6s. It said that it was uncompleted. There
was a level 7 that matched the description perfectly.

“Oriax.”

“What’s an Oriax?”

“A level 7 mutant. It’s mostly active at night. It has a meek nature too.”

Cha Jun Sung explained it to Park Jin Hyuk. It is parasitic, but it does not eat hosts or
lay eggs like parasites do. Is it possession? It goes inside the host and brings out the
limits to its potential. That is how it brings out the strength of level 7. Once the Oriax
gives up the parasitism, the host goes back to the normal state.

It does not kill living beings, but is parasitic. It is mild in nature as well. How mild
natured could a mutant possibly be? Unless it is hungry, it does not attack anything
that is not a threat to it. In the virtual version, the Oriax’s influence is higher in the
distribution chart than that of other mutants. This was because it posed a small threat
to survival. It would have been a level B mision if the Oriax had been an adult, but it
must be level C because it had not been able to find a host and is in an immature state.
“Then it must be safe?”

“That’s not it. What if we get caught when it’s hungry? We need to fight.”

They can be guaranteed a certain amount of safety if they only move during the
daytime. The Oriax hates daytime. They are able to show their full potential in
darkness.

“It’ll be mid to top level 6 even in its immature state.”

“Don’t you think it’ll be doable?”

“There will probably be sacrifices, but we should be able to kill it because it’s a level
7.”

Half of the rankers had caught Oriaxes before. Cha Jun Sung had as well. Level 7s are
not particularly separated into low and mid levels. The level is the end. Of course there
was a difference between the strong and weak within the same level. The Oriax is one
of the top level 7s. They needed to be aware of a certain amount of danger.

The force members looked at the hole behind them. It was not too late. If they got
down, they could focus on the Public Underground mission.

“Strategist. There really isn’t a way to get through the entrance?”

“We’ll find a way to get through.”

They couldn’t go in. Say they opened the entrance by blowing it up with bombs. Then
what happens? Blood Suckers were waiting in front to take their enemies down one
by one.

What if they didn’t go down and just throw bombs? Public Underground’s width was
that of a small town. Even if they threw reinforced bombs, the enemies could get out
of the explosion radius. If the enemy attacked right when they were trying to go in, a
few members of the force would have to fight with a large number of mutants.

“Ugh! If only biochemical gas guns worked!”

Nuclear paces. It was as he said. If only the biochemical gas guns had worked, they
could have thrown it inside and cleared out a safe area for them. They would have
been able to use the gas mask function on their battlesuits.

It was the method with the highest possibility until now, but after blowing them up on
the Blood Suckers’ bodies, they didn’t cause chemical reactions. It was not because
they died.

There was no biochemical weapon as strong as the virus. Mutants have incredible
immunity due to their infection with the A virus, so Blood Suckers are able to
withstand biochemical weapons. What happens if they use it anyway, and their gas
masking functions stopped working? If they took even one breath, the force would
lose all attack power.

“Let’s attack the ground like this.”

Weapon Master had been silent with his arms crossed, when he spoke up for the first
time.

“We’ll be able to use 100% of the force’s ability to fight with this terrain.”

He thought it would be better to do this than to try to get through the entrance. It was
wide. They had a full view. Even if mutants came swarming in, they could use all of
their weapons. They would get to the hole in the ceiling without fighting if they were
lucky. The Oriax’s mild personality had a part in coming to this decision as well.

“If we really don’t think we can do it, it’s okay to complete Black Devil’s Shadow and
re-enter Public Underground. Since the top is empty, there’s no reason to risk
everything for the entrance.”

The force members clapped. It was as Weapon Master said. It was a roundabout way,
but it was safe.

“It’s a good method.”

“Yeah.”

Cha Jun Sung agreed. Their actions were easier on the ground. It was a factor that they
couldn’t ignore.

“If everyone is thinking the same thing, we’ll go through with it.”
Strategist made the decision. They might need to complete 2 missions, but it was not
a good method to keep pushing one thing without grounds. Their goal was to complete
the advanced mission. Even if the process was a bit complicated, there was enough
reason to go through obstacles if the results were advantageous.

[Force moving.]

They heard the radio and the battle line moved. 2 parties made of non-battle Lifers
stood in the center, and 8 parties were divided into 2 of east and west to form a
boundary.

The ground was a small city that had been reduced to ruins. Half of it was mixed with
nature because there was no human touch.

[12.7km remaining until the location. Do not put your guards down.]

The goal of the new mission was to find and kill one Oriax, but there would be a fair
amount of level 5 and 6s in this kind of city. It would be better to discover them early
on to avoid engagement and battle only when it was absolutely necessary.

Bang!

Cha Jun Sung jumped into the air. His powerful turning kick, accompanied by the
booster, smashed Congo’s chin.

Its appearance was similar to a gorilla, but it was a level 4 mutant that was almost 4m
in size.

Its chin bone was crushed, but such an injury didn’t kill it. Even so, Cha Jun Sung is
satisfied with the hit and goes in search of another opponent.

The Congo grabbed its chin and ran to catch Cha Jun Sung, who hit it and left. But its
legs were hot. Precisely, it was its heels.

Koharu stabbed at the achilles tendons with her daggers. With painful soreness and
impaired mobility, the Congo looked back. In the time that its attention was turned
away, Violet appeared from the front and penetrated the Congo’s chest with her
javelin.

“Violet! On top!”
“Huh!”

Bang bang!

Violet turns and blocked the body coming from above with her spear.

The impact from the spear flowed through her battlesuit and out through her feet to
hit the floor.

Tang tang tang!

Park Jin Hyuk sniped at the head of the Congo attacking Violet. Koharu also added in
a bit of aid, and focused on trying to get rid of at least another one.

Cha Jun Sung’s group was not the only busy group. The whole force was experiencing
it. It took 4 days to go 28km. It was too slow. It could not be helped because they
protected themselves as best as they could while moving, avoiding mutants.

The distance of 12.7km to the ceiling coordinates was marked in a straight line. The
distance was multiplied because they were going back and forth.

The distribution of mutants here was incredible. It was hard to believe that this was a
1.8 million point mission. One unique aspect was that as Adumoque’s area, the
different species living here had hostile relationships.

So there was no worry of a concentrated attack, but battles were fierce once they start
because the mutants’ levels are so high. Like it was now.

Tutututu!

A few force members handled a machine gun as large as a person, and showered down
on the Congos. They didn’t shoot blindly. They only shot at the heads of those on the
outside. If they shoot wildly, they could hit allies.

“There are so many of them!”

“Kill them!”

Hundreds of Congos were surrounding them. Not all of them were level 4s, and 70%
are level 3. However, there were so many of them that it was a melee. The force fights
divided into parties. If they stuck together in this wide space, there were restrictions
to their movement.

Woong!

The force members avoided the Congos’ attacks, took out rapid charging devices, and
attached them to their battlesuits. They used the devices twice, and they were really
useful items.

They couldn’t expect a full charge because they kept using energy, but there was no
reason for them to become empty cans because they charged as much as they
consumed.

Cha Jun Sung cut a Congo’s arm with his Time Limit. His party members swarmed to
the injured Congo. It was a group battle. They refrained from individual action, and
acted mainly in team play.

Bang bang!

There was an explosion from afar, accompanied by acrid smoke. It was Nuclear’s
doing. Whenever rankers created room, he approached a Congo and shoved a bomb
in its mouth. The head exploded and it died.

Cha Jun Sung sighs and looked around. 10 parties annihilated the Congos. Others are
either done or finishing up.

“I thought I was going to die.”

“You did well.”

They encouraged each other. It was a relief that there were no level 5 and 6s. If they
had been mixed into these hundreds, the Lifers would have ended up with a death
count.

They went into battle 3 times while going 29km. All 3 times were this difficult. As long
as they were not overwhelmingly strong, there was no effect on volume.

“It said that the mission name is Black Devil’s Shadow, right?”

“Shadow my ass! Oy! Is this an attainment mission? It’s annihilation.”

The number coming at them was high level. They didn’t see any level 1 or 2. The lowest
were level 3 and 4. They killed several hundreds and were exhausted.

Beep beep!

[The remaining distance is 983m.]

Strategist calculated the distance. They were close. When thinking of this as the
Congo’s area, there could no longer be any battles until they arrived at their
destination. If they were unlucky, they could step into another’s area.

The force members reorganized and went the rest of the way. They still had slack
because they packed plenty of articles for them. Fortunately, unwelcome guests did
not appear because this was the home of the Congos they just annihilated.

“Is this it?”

“Whew! It’s impressive. This means that blood parasites are swarming under this,
right?”

It was the hole that they saw briefly through the detection robots.

It was like looking at an ant hell that they couldn’t get out of once they fall in. Except
for the center where sunlight seeps in through, the entire surrounding area was dark.

“I’ll take a look around. Prepare for an attack.”

[Night vision activated.]

Woong!

Strategist activated night vision and checked inside Public Underground. He couldn’t
see well, so he moved to the center of the hole.

“Um.”

“What is it?”

[Share view.]
Strategist shared what he was seeing with the force on a hologram.

“Huh?”

“I don’t see anything.”

All they see are mutant corpses and skins. The only things that are alive and moving
must be hiding in corners, because they cannot distinguish them.

On top of that, they cannot measure the ceiling thickness. It is thicker than a line of
apartments. Because of the angle, they need to ride it down if they want to see deep
inside.

‘What should we do?’

Strategist thinks. He had come up with a plan on their way here. It is a good location
to attack Public Underground, but it is in the middle of the city. He needs to consider
the appearance of mutants including Adumoques.

Four parties built a wall to take on the enemies outside and six parties will target the
ceiling. They will first throw a biochemical gas gun in, then a shock grenade to spread
the range. Even if this does not work against Blood Suckers, it will against the Blood
Devils and Blood Parasites to the cocoons.

They can get rid of some of the underlings like this. The blood clan will be furious and
they’ll either come out through the ceiling or around through the blocked entrance.

Whatever situation, it is advantageous for the force. If they come out through the
ceiling, the force can kill them with machine guns, artillery, laser pulverizers, and
mines that have been prepared in advance. The force will become the residing while
the blood clan brings on the siege.

It is alright if they come around through the entrance as well. Mutants on ground are
hostile and if enemies invade, mutants and humans are both considered enemies.
They may not have to do anything to get the job done.

‘It’s all just assumptions.’

These present situations when everything goes as they want without any variables.

“Someone needs to go down and take a look at the dynamics. We can’t just attack
wildly.”

“How many people are going down?”

“One person.”

The force members gulp. He wants one person to go down, not a party unit or even a
few people? If that person is attacked, he or she could die.

“Someone familiar with using the booster will need to go down.”

It is basically climbing down a collapsed wall, but to prevent falling and prepare
against enemy attack, the person needs to be used to the booster’s functions.

The force members look to one place.

“What? Why?”

Cha Jun Sung is taken aback. He is confident in using the booster. His battlesuit fighting
uses the booster as a foundation. But he is also human. He does not want to go in.

“Jun Sung, it looks like you’ve been chosen.”

“Ah.”

Park Jin Hyuk pats Cha Jun Sung’s shoulder. He has been chosen by the others.

“Can we leave it to you?”

“I guess it can’t be helped.”

Cha Jun Sung allows it. He decides to think about contribution. They need to have
enough contribution to advance. He will gain as much as other people are averse to it.

It is deep and dark. Cha Jun Sung takes a deep breath and prepares to go down.

That is when they heard a strange sound. Inside Public Underground? No. It is outside,
on the ground where the force is.

“Oh no. Why now…”

Strategist’s voice trembles. He backs away from the hole and the force members follow
suit.

Chamma Sword, Weapon Master, and the rankers take out their vibration weapons
and watch the front. Cha Jun Sung was the only person who was a step behind with a
late reaction because he had been looking down into the hole.

“Huh?”

He raised his head. He sees something. If Cha Jun Sung is at the 6:00 position, it is at
12:00, directly on the other side. It is small. It will not even be half of Cha Jun Sung’s
height. It is a slimy black liquid, the highest level monster appearing in fantasy novels.

Kik?

“O – Oriax…”

It is the basic form that has not yet found a host. Its battle style is changing its body
into any form it wants from that state. It can split into particles like amoebas and can
create sharp weapons. It is so fast is it difficult to distinguish because it jumps around
like a spring.

There is a reason why it has been ranked in level 6 even though it looks like that.

“Jun – Jun Sung.”

“Sh.”

Cha Jun Sung puts a finger to his lips when Park Jin Hyuk calls out to him. The force
members who already saw the Oriax created distance, but Cha Jun Sung had not been
able to do so because his attention had been elsewhere, and he still could not move
after seeing it.

‘Stay calm.’

It has a meek nature. As long as it does not feel threatened, hungry, or the need to look
for a host, it will just pass them by.

The force will not attack, and the Oriax would not have decided on a human as a host.
In the virtual game, the Oriax used level 6 and 7s as hosts. Its criteria for choosing is a
fresh life with potential, and it does not even look at humans that do not live up to
standards. He just needs to pray that it is not hungry.

‘It’s too close. Will we be able to react?’

Woong!

Cha Jun Sung puts his battlesuit on full activation. 30m is the distance that the Oriax
can go in 0.1 seconds.

‘Go. Please just go.’

If it attacks, Cha Jun Sung is first. He is prey that is alone and closest. There is no reason
for it to go where 99 people are gathered together.

Something black forms in the Oriax’s body. The color and shape are different, but it
looks like an eye. No, it is an eye. That eye looks at Cha Jun Sung. Everyone holds their
breaths as they watch. They did not even open their mouths.

His hand goes to his Time Limit automatically. If it attacks, avoiding it is not enough.
He will crush it as he veers away from it. No matter how strong it is, it is immature
without a host and the force can take it.

The eye comes out. It is still looking at Cha Jun Sung. It should have looked at the force
at least once, but it does not. What is it looking at? Is there something unusual about
Cha Jun Sung to a mutant’s eye?

The Oriax changes. A clear shape is forming from the liquid. Glare Gun shouts. It
changed into Cha Jun Sung’s image.

“That – that!”

“Get away, Overload!”

“Fuck…”

Cha Jun Sung swears. When the Oriax chooses a host, it changes to mirror the form.
They do not know why. It was just known as a habit in the virtual version.

“Kill it!”
Papat!

The rankers got Cha Jun Sung out and ran at the Oriax. The rest of the force form a
large circle so that it cannot escape.

The Oriax’s body becomes thin like a thread and digs in among the rankers. It moved
faster than the speed of sound and only took 0.1 seconds for it to reach Cha Jun Sung
as he had expected.

He brandished his Time Limit and cut a bit of the Oriax, but a small piece touched his
battlesuit. Then, that piece seeped through the battlesuit as liquid into Cha Jun Sung’s
skin.

The Oriax covers Cha Jun Sung. It swallowed everything from the mind to the body like
a blot of black ink of clean white paper.

[Lifer Cha Jun Sung! Stay alert!]

Odin called his name again and again, but it was of no use. Injecting the virus
antibiotics and medicine built into the battlesuit did not slow the process down.

“We need to kill him!”

“Shut up!”

Bang!

Boom Buster aims his hand cannon at Cha Jun Sung, being encroached upon. Park Jin
Hyuk hit his face with his gun. Who is he trying to kill? Koharu, Kyoko, and Violet were
also appalled with the awful situation.

“Boom Buster’s right. We need to kill him now.”

“Um.”

The rankers approach Cha Jun Sung. If the Oriax chose him as its host, there will be a
reason for it. If it somehow becomes a level 7 mutant, the force will be annihilated.

Ahhh!
The battlesuit cracks. It is evidence that it is unable to withstand the changes inside.

Papat!

The rankers flood to Cha Jun Sung at Strategist’s signal. A few force members go to
Park Jin Hyuk, who is making a fuss, and block him so he cannot get involved.

When the vibrating weapons were about to penetrate his body, Cha Jun Sung used his
own will to fling his body into the hole. The attacks slashed through the air.

“…Complete… the mission. I’ll… set it up.”

Park Jin Hyuk’s group saw this and stare blankly. What happened is too tremendous
to understand, and it happened over too short a period of time.

“We’re getting out of here.”

“Where do you think you’re going! We have to go in immediately to save Jun Sung!”

Strategist ignores Park Jin Hyuk. He does not know what Cha Jun Sung will do inside.
He could be killed by the blood clan, or he could kill the clan.

Kyak!

High-pitched screaming, the roars of the blood clan. The clan discovered Cha Jun Sung.

“I’ll go in myself then!”

“Stop him!”

Chamma Sword blocked Park Jin Hyuk’s view. He had heard from Cha Jun Sung that
Chamma Sword is a strong ranker, but did not pay mind and tried to attack him.

But right before he could attack, the force heard sudden roaring and froze.

Kooo!

This is the first time they are hearing a roar like this in all of the time that they have
played Life Mission. The shriek of a level 7 with the potential to make someone pass
out. That is how the devil inside Cha Jun Sung woke up.
The hole that the Blood Lord made is 150m thick, the height from the floor to ceiling
is 100m. Combined, it is 250m. There will be a margin of error, but that is the
estimated total.

The height is like falling off of a cliff. A normal being would be smashed to bits upon
impact with the ground.

Cha Jun Sung was falling that distance while in transition.

The battlesuit is unable to endure the swelling from inside, and breaks. It does not
crumble because of the solid armor.

He looked like a larva that had come out of its skin and was about to become an imago.

The blood clan had been enjoying silence when they looked at the ceiling in concert.
This is not a sound they know. They felt intrusion from outside. Cha Jun Sung had
gotten through the ceiling and was headed for the ground without their knowing.

The battlesuit booster activated right before a crash and slowed him down. Cha Jun
Sung landed on the ground with a small impact.

Odin used its authority to activate the battlesuit. Cha Jun Sung is not dead yet, but that
does not mean he is okay. The changes occurring inside of him are so complicated that
they cannot be explained with words.

[Battlesuit… Destroy rate… 86%. Repair impossible… PDA discharged.]

Odin made the judgement call to launch the PDA off of the battlesuit.

It is usually worn on the wrist, but cannot be done so when wearing a battlesuit. With
this swelling, the PDA will be destroyed.

The released PDA falls to the ground. It flew fairly far, more than 50m. It is the medium
that connects Life Mission and Lifers. It needs to maintain its functions in order to
monitor the Lifer’s state in real-time.
Kyak!

Hundreds of Blood Devils swarm to Cha Jun Sung. They can tell that he is an enemy
even without the Elder or leaders’ orders.

Bang bang bang!

Squeezing, cracking, and throwing. The battlesuit’s outer armor finally shatters like
glass. His impact tights were also reduced to rags.

His body doubled in size once the battlesuit preventing his mutation was gone. His
form is similar to that of a human’s, but his body is black as though he has been stained
with ink. He is subtly and strangely blending into the humid and dark atmosphere of
Public Underground.

Cha Jun Sung opened his eyes. He has 1 on his forehead, 4 on each the left and right
sides, looking around with a total of 9 eyes.

In a mix of red and black, the Black Devils get an ominous feeling when they see his
eyes and retreat as though to run away.

“Enemy… Foe… Kill them.”

The Oriax that absorbed Cha Jun Sung’s knowledge expresses its will in human
language. It will avenge its dead mother.

Koooo!

A murderous roar rings through Public Underground.

The Black Devils shrink in fear against the mental decay phenomenon. Only the Blood
Suckers are able to endure it. Even among them, the Elder and leaders were the ones
to keep their composure.

The wounds that the Blood Devils left heal rapidly. Cha Jun Sung’s body ripples in
waves and it looks like a black flame is blazing.

The Elder sweeps the ground with its tail. The offspring of a predator that the king
killed has found a host that fits its body. It has been resurrected as a complete adult.
It is strong enough to leave a wound on the king’s body. They are not guaranteed to
win even if the entire blood clan charges at him, but they have no choice but to fight.

Kyak!

Hundreds of the clan block the surrounding area and flood to Cha Jun Sung. He is
hundreds of times stronger than the Blood Devils in all aspects.

He looks like he is going to massacre them. Exploring is of no use. They know their
opponent’s strength. They need to concentrate their power and face him from the
start.

Papapat!

Cha Jun Sung steps around Public Underground and keeps moving.

Blood Suckers chase him as though playing a game of tag. When they cannot catch up
to him with speed, they launch hundreds of thorns.

Boom boom boom!

The thorns go through everything, whether it is the walls or the ground. Their size and
strength are basically missiles that do not explode.

The thorns showering down like rain do not hit Cha Jun Sung’s body. They do not even
graze him. It is like he is taunting his opponents.

Boom boom bang!

The Blood Suckers that had been attacking Cha Jun Sung go back and forth and fall in
a tangle. Their steps have gotten mixed up and they are a mess.

The Elder could not just watch anymore, and sent the leaders out. Monsters 35m in
height crush their subordinate Blood Suckers and storm at Cha Jun Sung.

They are level 6s and react quickly. They figure out where Cha Jun Sung is moving and
attack.

One of the leaders shrink down by contracting its neck muscles. Its head passes a few
horns flying in a sharp attack.
If the contraction had been a little later, a part of its head would have been sliced.

Cha Jun Sung shakes his left arm. It transforms into a giant sword that is 3m long. It is
a weapon that the Oriax that absorbed him is familiar with as well.

The Elder watches the flow of the battle and controls its breathing. Then it flew out
within moments. It was as though a spring had been contracted and let go.

Its thorns scratch the stone floor. It rotates its body as it goes, and it is so tremendous
that it can be mistaken for a tornado.

The Blood Suckers quickly get out of the way. Their bodies will be destroyed if they
are hit. The Elder’s size is 50m. Its range is large because it is so big.

Cha Jun Sung was fighting with the Blood Suckers when he saw the attack and flew
into the air. He could feel the wind pressure from the spinning.

“Idiots…!”

The way he speaks is awkward. He cannot speak human language properly now, but
he will be proficient once he gets used to it.

Kyak!

The entire blood clan looks up at the ceiling. Cha Jun Sung changed his feet into what
looks like a hawk’s claws and hung upside down as he looked down.

His thighs, as thick as a man’s waist, swells and sucks the air in.

Bang bang!

Stone fragments shower down from the ceiling under a pushing repulsive force. Cha
Jun Sung falls and sets down precisely in the center of the Blood Devils.

He does not have his vibrating weapons or battlesuit, but he has the power of a level
7 mutant in his current state. He has already transcended humans.

Blood Suckers are slaughtered mercilessly. Their steel-like thorns and tough skin are
cut as their guts spill out. He cuts through them easily with a long sword.
His flesh absorbs the flesh that splatters on him. He is supplementing nutrients with
his skin.

The Blood Devils are terrified and watch the battle in front of them. They cannot find
a way to interfere.

While Cha Jun Sung was paying attention to one place, the Elder’s tail hit his chest. He
went flying hundreds of meters under the incredible impact.

Boom boom boom boom!

The Elder launches thorns in succession. Cha Jun Sung avoided them as he went flying,
but one went through his stomach and embedded itself there.

“It… stings.”

He does not pull the thorn out. He took his body off of the thorn. A hole the size of a
person’s head is left behind on his stomach.

Black liquid fills the hole. It was a wound that should have killed him. Does this mean
he is immortal? It seems like he has received no damage.

It is not that he has not received any effect. There is a limit to regeneration. Other than
the brain and heart, arms and legs can be regrown thousands of times back to normal
as long as the necessary nutrients are there.

The Elder’s neck inflates rapidly. It is a different attack than what has been seen until
now, a skill that only the chosen of the blood clan are able to use.

A disgusting green liquid fills the air as if coming out of a hose.

When a few drops fall, the concrete floor bubbles. It has melted the stone. It is acid
breath.

The black liquid covering Cha Jun Sung’s entire body grows larger like a balloon and
protects him. It is like looking at a shield.

The green liquid melted the shield, but it dripped down as though it had met glass.
Cha Jun Sung has a satisfied expression. He was using the blood clan as test subjects.
It is not difficult to annihilate them.
He has matured, but this is the first time he is fighting. All types of skills come out
because the Oriax and Cha Jun Sung’s knowledge is combined.

They are filling each other’s shortcomings. Of course the principal agent is the Oriax.
Cha Jun Sung is just the host that has been absorbed.

Cha Jun Sung takes a step forward, and the blood clan flinches in fear.

Though there are a lot of the enemy, he has the strength to take that power down. The
mutant world is the law of the jungle. At this moment, Cha Jun Sung is the law.

“I’ll… kill you… and… kill the lord.”

It is not guaranteed that he will win once they come face to face, but it does not seem
impossible. This incredible brain will find the way for him.

Thousands of Blood Devils and dozens of Blood Suckers are cut up.

The leaders are also mixed in there, but they cannot be found. They have been cut up
into such small pieces that they cannot be distinguished.

“Lord… north…”

Cha Jun Sung put his left hand back to the way it normally is. The Elder is passed out
under his foot as though it will die soon.

“I won’t kill you first. I’m killing your kids.”

Cha Jun Sung ignores the Elder and looks at the tens of thousands of cocoons stuck on
the wall. Even if a human has been absorbed, the Oriax is a mutant.

Though they are of different tribes, he can hold basic communication with the Elder.
The Elder speaks to kill it. That the king will get revenge.

“There are a lot.”

There will be no end to it if he tries to kill them one by one. Cha Jun Sung thinks. Even
if it had taken a mutant as its host, it would have acquired the abilities of level 7 but
would not have retained a human’s knowledge. Its state right now is a mutation.

“Human… mission annihilation?”

Cha Jun Sung looks up at the ceiling. The brain of the human he has absorbed is telling
him. He does not have to kill them. If he leaves them, they will come down to take care
of the situation.

“We’re going home.”

The swollen body deflates. A mutant forms with the same shape as Cha Jun Sung’s
appearance. It is just that it retained the black color in its skin.

[Lifer Cha Jun Sung?]

Cha Jun Sung freezes on the spot. He figured out exactly where the sound is coming
from.

[Lifer Cha Jun Sung?]

“I’m not a human. You’re… ack!”

Cha Jun Sung grabs his head. Is the host not completely corrupted?

[A virus level 7 standards, possibility of evolving into level 8 is over 80%.]

Odin reads the changes inside Cha Jun Sung. If he had been absorbed by the Oriax, he
needs to be at the limit of level 7. How is there the possibility of him advancing to level
8? He needs to be taken to the briefing room or Mechanic City for proper testing in
order to get an exact evaluation. It is something that cannot be done right now.

His headache ebbs. Though there was a bit of a reaction, it was a sinking ship. Unless
the Oriax lets him go, Cha Jun Sung is a bird locked in a cage.
[Lifer Cha Jun Sung! If you cannot come back to being a human being, you will become
the subject of the mission. The upper levels are thinking about creating a level B
mission with you at the center through the PDA. Regain your sanity! It is not too late!]

A Lifer who becomes a mutant and is forced to fight other Lifers. It is material that
could be used in a third-rate movie. It is level B if he stays like this, but level A if he
evolves into level 8. The purpose of Life Mission is mutant obliteration.

They need to kill as many mutants as they can, but it would be him bringing a powerful
mutant to life.

[It’s a relief. The brain hasn’t been completely encroached. It’s a possible phenomenon
because it’s an Oriax that is keeping its host alive.]

If it had been a mutant that fed off of the brain like a parasite, there could be absolutely
no expectations. The species’ parasitic method is entirely different in the first place.

[Cha Jun Sung! The Life Mission you played has been virtualized and is not virtual!
How could Overload, who caught Evil Queen, be brought down by just a level 7! Show
the pride that took you to the top!]

Odin’s voice flows into Cha Jun Sung’s ears. He will have heard it if he is still sane. If he
heard it, he needs to fight to go back.

Bang bang!

The Elder had been laying down as if it were dead, and launched a thorn at Cha Jun
Sung. It is a simple attack. Even if he gets hit, he can just use his incredible stamina to
recover.

The thorn gets stuck in Cha Jun Sung’s shoulder. It is so thick that his arm gets cut. The
headache has gone down, but he had not been able to avoid it because the host is not
reacting.

The Elder is out of strength and dies as its body flops down. It is the same for the Oriax
wearing Cha Jun Sung as a mask to find it difficult to do 2 things at the same time.

The Oriax’s attention is divided into subduing the host’s rebellion and into recovering
the arm. In that gap, Cha Jun Sung’s weak subconscious woke up.

“Get… out… of… my body!”

Kung!

A human’s yell and mutant’s roar explode from the same body. The Oriax is taken
aback. The host it has absorbed has regained consciousness?

Impossible. It cannot be possible if it follows the method that its mother showed it.
The host needs to be stronger than the Oriax for this to be possible. But it does not
consider this scenario. The host is just a human.

He is fairly strong, but not strong enough to reverse the current situation.

Boom boom boom!

Cha Jun Sung’s body swells up again. He is almost as large as a 2-story building.

His form is that of a human’s, but he looks terrifying with 4 horns pointing to the sky
and a twisted face of a demon in hell.

He still has 9 eyes. Thick snake-like veins come out through his skin and writhe.

A clear form, which is not normal for the Oriax that can change its body freely. The
image is reminiscent of Red Eye from Infected Tree.

This human is weird. The body has escaped control and is changing on its own. It does
not listen as though mutating into a special body.

It had a strange feeling since the first time it saw Cha Jun Sung. A group of 100 humans
had given off a seductive scent that it could not resist. It had seen a few good potential
hosts.

They all fell short to Cha Jun Sung. It had learned that humans are not candidates for
hosts, but it had gone at him without being able to resist. And then it had been
surprised.
With rapid development, it had taken less than 1 hour to gain the power that its
mother had boasted. It usually takes at least 5 days to stabilize, but it had been
shortened by a lot.

‘Potential power.’

The Oriax borrows Cha Jun Sung’s knowledge to analyze the phenomenon. Human Cha
Jun Sung’s potential power is being revealed through external interference.

To borrow human terms, it is a level 7. It is one of the top predators with its endless
strength. But a potential power that can surpass that top predator. Could he be a level
8 or 9 mutant?

The Oriax cannot know that its prediction is precise. If Cha Jun Sung had been infected
with A virus and had gone through development properly, he would have become a
level 9. That is when he is normal. Right now? It is abnormal.

His potential power has not been exerted 100%. That is why the Oriax is holding on.
It is a suicide mission for a level 7 to try and swallow a level 9.

‘I can’t quit.’

Evolution. Evolution is survival for mutants. It is a world with law of the jungle. The
stronger one gets, the better it is able to protect itself against enemies.

It can become a level 8.

It can become a level 9.

It will do whatever it takes to absorb Cha Jun Sung and gain his potential power. It will
become even more powerful to become a genuine predator that nothing can take on.

Ahh!

The Oriax released control of the body.

Instead, it put all of its strength into overpowering Cha Jun Sung’s mental
consciousness. It could lose 2 rabbits by trying to catch both. It will take care of one
first.
[Level 8… It is the Oriax’s fault, but if level 8 is possible with just an indirect injection
of the A virus, does that mean he is capable of reaching level 9?]

Odin spews airtight secrets that must never be leaked.

It does not matter. There is no one listening. Cha Jun Sung is not paying attention
because he is busy fighting the Oriax over control of his body.

Cha Jun Sung’s body tries to move. He will destroy everything he sees now that the
control has been loosened. Nothing can block him either.

Level 8. The only level 8 within a radius of hundreds of kilometers is the Blood Lord.
That Blood Lord left to conquer the north. This is Cha Jun Sung’s world.

[Release of block on return! Helpers in charge of Lifers who have entered Public
Underground, please quickly send your Lifers back to reality!]

Odin sent a warning signal to the 99 Lifers’ helpers. The Lifers need to be sent back
before Cha Jun Sung goes outside and discovers them. There are a lot of important
people here. They need to avoid a massacre.

Beep beep!

[Lifer Cha Jun Sung has evolved into a level 8 mutant, the mission has advanced to
level A. The block on returning has been released. Will you return to reality?]

“Level 8…”

“Shouldn’t he be a level 7 if he was absorbed by the Oriax? This is at the level of the
Nightmares.”

“He lives up to his name even in death.”

“Shut up!”

Park Jin Hyuk is in a frenzy as he punches a wall near him. It was a fairly high
stonewall, but he punctured a hole and it cracked.
“The mission is a failure. Let’s leave.”

The force members return to reality. There is no hesitation. They are strangers. Only
friends are saddened by the deaths of others. Park Jin Hyuk understands with his head
too, but he feels sick as he cannot understand with his heart.

“Let’s leave.”

“Koharu?”

Koharu led Park Jin Hyuk. Her face does not look good either. Kyoko and Violet are not
very different either.

“You want to leave? What about Jun Sung? You don’t know what happens if we leave
him in the mission?”

“I know.”

“Then?”

“What can we do in this situation? Level 8. The helpers violated the laws and released
the block on returning. You know what that means.”

Lifers grew a lot over 2 years, but they still have difficulty with level 6.

Mutants get stronger by level. But starting from level 7, the mutants are monsters that
can destroy entire countries. Even if there are dozens of top level 6s, they cannot beat
1 level 7. Level 8 is a Nightmare.

Parasite King and Red Eye are on the same level. Mask? Even while wearing a
battlesuit, a person would be ripped apart in a second. They have no choice but to go
back.

“Don’t give up. We can come back. We can come again when we’re stronger.”

“Again?”

“Jun Sung isn’t dead. The Oriax doesn’t kill its host. I don’t know why he advanced to
level 8 from 7, but there’s still hope.”
Koharu pats Park Jin Hyuk’s shoulder.

“Fuck, fuck. I’m going to come back no matter what. I’ll get strong beyond belief and
come back.”

Tears fell from Park Jin Hyuk’s eyes. He cannot endure this without crying. If Cha Jun
Sung really has become a mutant, there will be a level A mission, won’t there?

There are very few level 8 mutants. Even if individuals overlap, there won’t be more
than 100 of them. They will be able to find him just by reading the mission
descriptions.

Kung!

As Park Jin Hyuk was returning to reality, he heard what he guessed was Cha Jun
Sung’s mutant roar. It is stronger than the roar he heard at first. They all hung on to
their shaking consciousness as all of the force members and then Park Jin Hyuk’s
group left the mission.

Bang bang bang!

A black demon roams the city. It is different in appearance alone from the top level
mutants that are created in factories. It destroys everything in its way, whether it is a
mutant or building.

It would be easy for him to take a path going around, but he ignorantly forces
everything out of the way because his sanity has gone blank white. He has grown from
the original 6-7m into about 10m in height. The easiest way to distinguish an
individual mutant’s strength is its size. Mutants grow larger as they go up in level.

Of course this is not an absolute. Cha Jun Sung’s size is at a level 5’s standards, but his
strength is that of level 8.

Cha Jun Sung’s left arm is malformed. It has gotten more than 3 times longer and
thicker. It has multiplied in size so he looks like he has a child’s body with an adult’s
arm. He uses that to smash down a 15-floor building in front of him.

The shock from the blow goes into every corner of the apartments. The giant wreckage
splits in half and shakes the ground as it falls.

Level 1 and 2 mutants had been living there, but that does not matter. Cha Jun Sung
cannot be bothered to fight with the enemies inside.

Kyak!

The mutants who witnessed the destruction site, trembled in fear as they scattered
and ran away. The energy that Cha Jun Sung gives off is full of death.

A tail with hundreds of strands transformed into sharp skewers and pierced through
the mutants running away. They even extended to 300m in length. He must have eyes
on the back of his head because he did not let a single one get away. He repeated this
action 2 or 3 times and killed more than 1000 on the spot.

Ko!

Hiding mutants either passed out or died of heart attacks from his roar. Cha Jun Sung
is drunk with the top priority of mutant instincts, the instinct to slaughter. He felt alive
while killing.

Boom boom boom!

Cha Jun Sung swept through the dense areas of the apartments with each strand of his
tail, moving as though alive. They changed into sharp knives or blunt bats, devastating
the area.

Boom!

Once he destroys an area for no reason, he moves on. A decided place? He does not
have any. He just goes where he wanders in.

Kung?

Cha Jun Sung’s eyes looks dozens of kilometers away, all in different directions.
Something is idling nearby. His senses pick up movement, but it is pretty fast. It does
not stay in one place, and keeps moving back and forth.
A mutant as skinny as a skeleton with muscles split like thread, is hanging from a spire.
It looks really odd. Its most prominent characteristic is a red bead flapping on its chest.
If Lifer Cha Jun Sung had seen it, he would have resented the heavens.

Level 7 Red Heart.

Of the mutants that use their bodies, it enjoys speed. It goes after its opponent with
its sleek form. The red bead is its heart, which protrudes from its body as it evolves.

That is the source of its speed. The heart also functions as the lungs. It helps with
control so that it does not run out of breath no matter how much it moves around.

Kyak!

‘Leave. This is my turf.’

The Red Heart scratches the spire with its fingernails. It is a warning it is sending to
Cha Jun Sung.

It is telling him that their instincts are similar at the least or that it is stronger.

But its pride will not allow it to surrender when it is a level 7 that has been reigning
this area for a long time. It has protected the area from all enemies.

Cha Jun Sung loosens up his muscles. His sanity is paralyzed, but the Red Heart is
different from the trash he has killed until now and will be fun for him.

His combative spirit boils. His appetite also soars. He wants to rip that heart off and
fill his stomach with it. It looks delicious.

Bang!

Cha Jun Sung spurred off of the spot. Red Heart decided to use his big size as a tactic.
It is too much to go at him head on.
The Red Heart tried to injure him by going around him. There is no use. Rapid
regeneration makes him recover within seconds. It really is fast.

All he can see with 9 eyes is a hazy image. The Red Heart surpasses him in speed alone.
But it cannot attack its opponent because it only runs away.

Cha Jun Sung’s body turns. If he cannot hit it, he will attack the whole area. He will not
leave even the slightest gap open. It can only get away if it wants to stay alive.

His tail changed like a thin sword and extended to its limit. The already scorched
apartment complex just blew powder under that attack.

The Red Heart got through the storm, and barely escaped the area of attack. If it had
been a little later, it would have been sucked in among that dust.

Like its left foot.

Its ankle gets cut off whole. Blood soaks the ground. It lost balance, but did not panic.
This will just regenerate. Rapid regeneration is not an ability unique to level 8 and 9
mutants like Cha Jun Sung. It is an ability given to a few special low level 7s as well.

Bang!

It was just one to two seconds. The progression from start to finish was short. Cha Jun
Sung did not miss his chance while the Red Heart had lost mobility.

The 10m height shrinks down to 2m. He had gone from the size of a building to that
of a human. On behalf of this change, he became as fast as the Red Heart. There is
distance between them, so it will either regenerate and run away or reduce the
chances to attack if he does not increase his speed. This is a result of Cha Jun Sung’s
combat experience and the Oriax’s ability to transform.

Kyak!

The Red Heart erects its nails. It can read Cha Jun Sung’s movements with its eyes, but
its body does not follow suit. If it cannot avoid him, it will counter. It has no choice but
to ignore the level and difference in militant characteristics, and go into a second
melee. The Red Heart is extremely thin and weak.

Bang!
Cha Jun Sung enlarged his fist, and hit the Red Heart. A power of hundreds of tons
breaks all of the bones in its body and crushes its skin.

The Red Heart bounces off of the ground as though playing in water. It did not die. A
level 7’s vitality is beyond imagination.

He walks in a relaxed manner. He attacks everywhere and damages its heart.

Quick regeneration is not universal, so the nucleus and source are damaged and
cannot recover smoothly as if its arms and legs have been cut off. He has won.

Cha Jun Sung stepped on the Red Heart’s stomach and picked off its heart. His finger
had changed into a hook and broke it off cleanly.

The blood vessel comes trailing out with it. He cut the vessel with his nail, and chews
on the heart. As soon as the heart is destroyed, the Red Heart’s eyes roll back. It really
is delicious.

Ha ha ha ha!

This is somewhere in Europe. Somewhere in Firenze, Italy to be more precise. The

large city that the Red Heart ruled is now Cha Jun Sung’s.

England, Buckingham Palace.

This palace, constructed by Duke Buckingham through Sheffield in the year 1703,
became a royal building and became the king’s residence at some point.

It is a symbol of England and part of the royal family’s history. But even this place that
was expected to be fated with the English royal family forever, became a mess when
the A virus swept across the planet.

There is just one character from the royal family living in the Buckingham Palace right
now, and everything including that one character is a mutant wearing the mask of
humans.

A lot of time has passed since this happened. But what use is there to consider such
things when the world has come to its end? It is all futile.
 j

“Apparently there’s detection of a new entity in the southwest, near Italy.”

“Southwest?”

Four beings are gathered in the Buckingham Palace’s private royal conference hall.
They are similar in form to humans, but they are just similar, not humans.

A man covered in smooth red fur, speaks on behalf of everyone. It is highest in rank of
the four, and it is accordingly strong.

They have received information on a mutant destroying Italy recently.

There is a means of contact among mutants. Though humans’ technology was lost with
the downfall of science, they maintained living conditions for useful humans and even
received a little help.

“It must have woken up not too long ago, because it’s going around smashing
everything it comes across.”

In reality, they really do not know how long it has been since the mutant woke up.
Generally, ultra high level mutants beyond level 7 have a tendency to make a fuss for
a few months after initial awakening.

“Italy…”

“Hee hee! Medusa, it’s your area.”

A bald man with no nose, ears, or mouth and just a big eyeball, asks a young woman
with a lot of snakes on top of her head.

They look like they are just sitting on her head at a glance, but they are her hair. Each
one is alive and are her treasures as they each have deadly poison.

Medusa. She is a level 8 mutant ruling southern Europe, areas like Portugal, Spain,
Italy, and Greece.

It is under her jurisdiction because an unidentified mutant is creating chaos in Italy.

“Catch it and bring it to me.”

“Alone?”

Medusa frowned at the leader’s words. If it is to the point for him to gather everyone
together to say this, it must be a mutant at their level that has completed evolution.
Capture and not killing. Does he not know how difficult it is to repress an opponent?
There needs to be additional help for this.

“Go with Beholder.”

“Hee hee! Going with Medusa? That makes me happy.”

“Ugh!”

Beholder, the bald man, drools. Medusa is uncomfortable and looks away.

“Can’t I go with someone else?”

Medusa looks at a giant that has been silent in a corner seat. It only listens with its
arms crossed. It has a reticent personality. It does not get involved unless it is
necessary.

“Titan needs to go north.”

“Hedgehog is still alive?”

“Its army is impressive. It came fully prepared. Kimeira is struggling.”

Expressed as a struggle, it is actually a siege of pushing and pulling between matched

powers. The Hedgehog they are discussing is the Blood Lord.

It is determined because of a loss in the past and has come back stronger, with more
power.

“They’ll be dead if Titan is going.”

“We’re not killing it, but bringing it back. Just like the new guy you need to capture.”

“Huh?”
“It’s what the Empress desires. There needs to be a reinforcement of power to widen
her influence.”

“Because of Asia?”

“That’s only a part of it. It’s because of Asia like you said, and Africa.”

Asia’s Red Eye recruited a new face. Black Horse is not interested in battles over zones,
but he is different. He is very aggressive and active.

Of the six continents, Asia has the most land and Black Horse is the most powerful of
the six Disasters. It is lacking underlings. As long as that aspect is satisfied, everything
like individual strength, area, and influence will be complete.

“Africa…”

“He is an ally, but he isn’t trustworthy. We never know when he’ll betray us.”

Medusa recalled Africa’s Disaster, that she came across a few years ago. It is sneaky
and cunning. She gets goosebumps just thinking about it.

“We’re equal with Africa if we capture Hedgehog and Italy’s crazy guy. The Empress
has a lot of expectations riding on this. Give it your all.”

“When do we leave?”

“It’s better to get moving since it’s pretty far away. Go immediately.”

Medusa stood up. Beholder smiled as he followed behind her. The 4 of them, 5
including Kimeira in Latvia are equal in level, but the leader, Heat Wave Inferno, is
special.

He is a powerful mutant that the Empress personally appointed. He can take on any
two of them at the same time.

That is why they follow his orders. There is no reluctance. They can fight and win if
they think it is unjust.

“Titan, I’ll leave it to you. Bring Blood Lord to the Empress. It’ll get over its arrogance
and yield if it sees a mutant more powerful than itself.”
Blood Lord is just interfering here and there because of its arrogance. If it encounters
a true predator, it will surrender because it does not want to die.

“Alright.”

Boom!

Titan also left to complete the assigned mission. Inferno, left behind alone, also
thought intently and then disappeared like a ghost.