◈ Episode 168

Beep, beep.

An electronic sound came from the sensor attached to the cafe's automatic door. A yellow light blinked for a moment. Then the color changed to green and the door opened on its own.

In less than 3 seconds, the information on citizens recorded on the server was compared to determine whether the person was wanted. If it was determined that the person was a fugitive, an alarm would have sounded.

"Ugh, I can't get used to it…."

Yoo Da-hee entered the cafe with her neck shrugged for no reason. It was said to be an alarm system that had been recently introduced to maintain public order in these chaotic times, but she felt quite uncomfortable.

The city-state of Cilicia.

It was so different from the 'Cilicia' I originally knew. The neon lights that covered the streets and the forest of tall buildings. The city that should have collapsed long ago was still standing.

'It was strange from the start.'

The current year as of today is 2047.

Time-wise, it's the middle of the story. But isn't Cilicia, which collapses in the beginning, intact? And doesn't the parasite that appears in the latter half appear?

It was total chaos.

'There must be a reason why it got so twisted.'

I stared at the kiosk screen, lost in thought.

As soon as I checked the price, all my worries went away.

"Wave, wave, wave, eight thousand. On the subject of Americano…."

Yudahee is a day laborer. She works hard among the men. In the original world, she would have received a good salary for the harsh labor, but things were different in Cilicia.

The foreman's remaining hourly wage is 7,000 credits.

Even if I carry bricks for an hour, I can't drink a single cup of coffee… .

For the poor, the prices of goods in the downtown area were murderous.

I seriously considered pretending to be busy and leaving the cafe.

After much agony, Yoo Da-hee made a tearful decision.

'Let's skip lunch tomorrow.'

It was a necessary expense for the investigation. This is a place with a good view of the Dustborne Corporation, and if you want to use the table, you have to order something. It is an unavoidable expense.

'Oh, I think I'm going to cry like this.'

The situation was miserable.

I sat down by the window and pulled down my beanie. I put the electronic notebook I had recently retrieved from the garbage dump on the table. It was broken and wouldn't turn on, but it was enough for camouflage.

'Dustborne Corporation. Dig down there and you'll find something.'

Even if I have to go out to work hard again in 12 hours and suffer from muscle pain all over my body every day, I am confident in my perseverance, no matter how poor my circumstances may be.

So 5 minutes, 10 minutes… 30 minutes… … .

"...Ugh!"

Suddenly I came to my senses.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but all the ice in the cup had melted. It was so funny to see him drooling and falling asleep that I could hear laughter from other tables.

My face feels hot.

It's embarrassing, but I'm also angry at myself. How can I sleep in this crucial situation, even after paying money? What kind of money is that!

'Mom, Dad. Hong-ah.'

It was a time when I missed my parents and my pet dog.

"Oh, oh, it came out!"

A man appeared in the building that Dustborne was using as a whole. Yudahee watched him closely, clinging to the window in case she missed him.

The black eyes and black hair were very familiar. I could tell that he was a foreigner just by looking at his appearance. However, the way he walked among the citizens did not feel strange.

The distance between them grew closer as the man crossed the street. Yoo Da-hee quickly put her head on the table. She pretended to look at her electronic notebook, but rolled her eyes to steal a glance at the man.

I pass the cafe and get further and further away.

If this continues, we'll soon miss it.

Just blowing money without earning anything.

Tomorrow, I have to start hauling bricks again from the morning. The damn supervisor didn't even show any mercy because I was a woman. There were even rumors that he was betting on when he would quit.

Thinking about her shitty workplace, Yudahee became filled with venom.

'What more can I do to die?'

I haven't been very lucky since olden times.

I get involved with a drunkard once every four days.

As you walk, a steel frame collapses in front of you and a flower pot falls.

If you feel a chill while walking down the street at night, you will hear news without fail a few days later. Something has happened there, whether it's a murder or a kidnapping.

But I've never been directly involved.

Yoo Da-hee was a person who was strong against bad luck.

"...Let's go."

I ran out of the cafe right away. That's how I started stalking in earnest. I had never done something like this before, and my adrenaline was pumping like crazy, lifting my spirits.

The time is already sunset.

As we gradually move away from the downtown area,

Entering a dark alley,

With the number of people gone and CCTV coverage reduced,

'Huh?'

When I noticed that the surroundings were strangely quiet.

"야."

A voice came from right behind.

Phage crackle!

"Eugyagyagyagya!"

Yudahee couldn't resist the current spreading from her back for even a moment. Her vision shook and her body fell down on its own. Her tearful eyes contained dark brown pupils that resembled her own.

"That, that doesn't mean you really said you would die. Didn't you…?"

Before he could finish the sentence, his voice stopped. He completely lost consciousness. Kim Yi-Hyeon got rid of [Pulse Waver] and put his arm around an unknown person from his hometown.

"You're talking nonsense. Is the kid a little lacking?"

Now that I've done it a few times, it's easy.

* * *

Now that Dustborne's fame is spreading far and wide.

Kim I-Hyeon's influence in Cilicia has become much stronger than before. He has become a powerful figure in the city who can pass various suppression measures.

Let's look at a specific example of 'force'.

Kidnapping people to an uninhabited warehouse and destroying evidence was a piece of cake. It was necessary to assume that the citizens would not notice and report him, but Kim I-hyeon was not that foolish.

To be exact, it has become less messy. It has been several years already.

'I don't plan on killing you out of the blue.'

Kim Yi-hyeon looked at the unconscious woman with complicated eyes, not knowing what was happening. No matter what angle you looked at her, she was from the same hometown. For him, she was a dangerous person who was burdensome in many ways.

'Actually, it wasn't unexpected.'

Why did he use the name Dustborne? There was a bit of sarcasm towards the developer and the person who threw him into Polaris, but there was another reason.

To put it simply, it was aggro.

If there were a 'drifter' like me in Polaris, or if there were a new person coming in, I had the feeling that they would approach me after hearing a familiar name.

At first, we were planning to cooperate with each other as much as possible… … .

'The world isn't that easy.'

Even in the same situation, the environment and values ​​are different. Even the abilities that they possess are different. If the risk is greater than the merits of carrying it, then they may have to make a ruthless choice.

'Let's try floating first.'

Kim Yi-hyeon put on the gas mask he had brought in advance. He even wore his dull military uniform without fail. He looked at himself in [Glitch Knife] and nodded.

It was a legion that looked like a painting.

"Get up, kid!"

Bam!

Kim Yi-hyeon shouted and kicked the chair the woman was tied to. The chair fell over and hit the floor with a thud. The woman's eyes shot open, as if she had finally come to her senses.

"Huh! What, what is this? This is...."

Under the gloomy crimson light, my eyes swam around, unable to focus. But it only lasted a moment. The blade that was closing in on me caught my attention.

"You're so peaceful. You didn't even know you'd been captured and you were just sleeping soundly, huh?"

"Eek! Re, Legion…!"

"As expected, you know us."

Kim Lee-hyun cackled viciously.

"Answer the question. It'd be better for you to confess honestly. You don't want to have a knife stuck in your throat, do you? I don't want to go around poking just anyone. Please help me out."

The pupils of the mask flashed in the area around the eyes.

"I saw something funny while watching him. He was tailing that kid, Hyun. Do you know him?"

"Uh, tailing? I have nothing."

"once."

Bam!

A dagger was lodged next to the woman's right ear.

"This is your last chance. Don't think twice and tell the truth. We feel bad for him. We can't treat the person involved well."

The shadow cast over the body seemed as if it was going to eat the woman alive. Maintaining the most vicious expression possible, Kim Yi-Hyeon closely observed the other person's reaction.

His face was pale, his pupils contracted and dilated. His whole body was showing confused emotions. It seemed like he still couldn't properly perceive the situation he was in.

'You don't seem to have received any special training…?'

Suddenly, Kim Yi-Hyeon's eyebrows furrowed.

An unnatural change occurred before her eyes. Her eyes, which had been shaking without any warning, straightened up. As if the emotion of bewilderment had been plucked out with tweezers, the woman regained her composure without any warning.

"Eww… I was really surprised."

Until I let out a sigh of relief.

'What's with this woman?'

I couldn't understand what had just happened.

It is possible that they figured out that the threat was false based on some clues. However, the problem was the 'flow'. Normally, as the incident unfolded, some kind of reaction should have occurred.

The entire process of doubting and worrying was omitted.

As if a sudden realization had come to me like a bolt from the blue.

It didn't end there.

"Is this… [Glitch Knife]?"

The opponent turned his head slightly and stared at the knife.

"It's an item that I wouldn't take even if given, but it's different when I see it in person. Where did you get it? I heard that it's supposed to be hard to get even a 1-star item. This is my first time seeing it."

As the conversation grew longer, I could tell that his voice was shaking uncomfortably. I could clearly read the fear that he was unable to completely let go of while talking about this and that.

Still, the woman is confident.

The monster in front of you is not a member of Legion.

A user of Polaris who comes from the same world as you.

At this point, Kim Lee-hyun also noticed an important fact.

'Don't you know about [special weapon production]?'

It is also possible that he is bluffing. It was too convenient to assume that he is the only one who has the ability when he is also a drifter. If that is the case, there is one other possibility.

'There is a completely different spell.'

The woman just used an unknown spell. With it, she understood the situation she was in and regained her composure. So fast that Kim Yi-hyun, who was watching right in front of her, missed the reaction.

"Hey, you're the current Polaris user of Dustborne Corporation. Are you?"

There are many clues to infer from.

The physique, the eyes visible through the gas mask, the situation where he was kidnapped by the Legion while chasing Kim Yi-Hyeon is very random.

[Glitch Knife] is the most decisive evidence.

'I took it out so you could find out.'

I never thought I would be seen through so vainly.

'Is it similar to Nephritus?'

It is not a matter of possessing the ability to foresee. It is a spell that is predicted to be manifested and completed within oneself without affecting the outside world, such as creating equipment or creating flames.

'This is true.'

This kid is hilarious.

Kim Yi-hyeon took a hit and put his sword away. After stepping away from the woman, he raised the chair again. Since he had become stronger after becoming a 5-star, this was easy.

"I'm sorry for being harsh. I sincerely apologize."

He took off his gas mask, revealing his bare face.

Only then did the woman breathe a sigh of relief.

"You can also untie the rope… right?"

"That would be difficult. I just saw you for the first time today."

I pulled over to the chair across from me and sat down.

"And as you probably know by doing your own research, I have more than one family member. If I let my guard down and something happens, I'll be in trouble."

"Huh? No, I don't really have any such thoughts."

"If you wanted a healthy conversation, you should have come to the company confidently. At a time when there are a lot of pedestrians, you would have made witnesses, and you would have been caught on CCTV cameras all over the street."

The viciousness from a moment ago disappeared from Kim Yi-hyeon's attitude. In its place was filled with impeccable coolness. The woman felt a different kind of pressure than before.

"Even if it feels unreasonable, bear with it. The moment you're caught while following someone, it's already been decided who will have the upper hand. This isn't a world where you can be kind to just anyone."

Korea is no different, but we have to be more cautious and sometimes aggressive than there. We don't know when and how I and my people will be in danger.

The woman felt a strong will from Kim Lee-hyun, who spoke like that. He was so different from her, who lived day to day by working hard.

If Yoo Da-hee is drifting and wandering.

Kim Lee-hyeon was adrift, but he had already finished adapting.

"…Are you the person who played the game?"

"That's right. I'm Korean, and my name is Kim Lee-hyun. And you?"

"Oh, yes. My name is Yoo Da-hee. I'm 25 years old."

Kim Yi-hyeon flinched at the familiar name.

"...If you want to laugh, laugh. I'm used to that kind of reaction."

"It's not worth laughing at."

If you think about it, it's not that unusual of a name.

"By your standards, I was born in 1998. I'll just say it like this."

moment.

There was a nickname that crossed Yoo Da-hee's mind.

'Surely there's no mom or dad born in 1998…?'