Chapter 121

Chapter 121

[Flowering night].

Mid-April.

The highway bus carrying the children drove down the Yangyang Expressway.

The view, which was surrounded by the city center until we exited Seoul, quickly turned into a desolate wasteland.

No sign of human habitation.

Only the remnants of monstrous destruction greeted them.

Okay, lets start with the word chain game, starting with the captain!

Im not playing.

Come on, Captain, its going to take forever to get there, lets have some fun!

Hamburgers.

Leeches!

Yttrium.

Huh? Whats that?

Its a rare earth element with the atomic number 39.

How do you know that, Jung Hayang?

I read it in a book!

Eunha was dumbfounded and turned to look at Hayang in the back seat.

Hayang, who was fastening her seatbelt, couldnt lean her face over the backrest.

Instead, she reached out and extended the ribbon tied in a butterfly shape over the backrest.

Okay, okay, Ill go first this time. Actress!

Uranium.

What the hell is that!

Uranium is an element with atomic number 92.

Hayang, do you want to eat this?

Hayang was speechless.

Seo-na, who was sitting next to her, shoved a cookie she had made at church into her mouth.

Meanwhile, Eunha sighed.

The best part of the highway bus ride was stopping at rest stops to explore the food and sleeping until they reached their destination.

The fourth graders were on their way to a two-day, three-night retreat.

It took quite a while to travel from Seoul to Chuncheon.

Even before the <End of Century Destruction> occurred, elementary school students went to training camps and traveled to places like Gyeongju.

Its ridiculous.

How do you even get there?

When Eunha heard the story from his mother, the first thing he did was click his tongue and shake his head.

From Seoul to Chuncheon. It was a distance that took at least four hours by express bus alone.

Considering the time it took for players to deal with monsters on the road, four hours passed easily.

But Gyeongju?

Even when he was a player, he had to camp out at the halfway point.

Man, those old-timers were tough.

Hed brought a neck pillow, expecting a sore throat after four hours.

He even brought a sleeping bag.

You guys play quietly, Im going to sleep now.

Huh? Captain, isnt that a monster?

Eunhyuk pointed out the window.

The other children screamed as they saw the monster on the right side of the road.

Eunha, who was about to put on his eye patch, sneaked a glance out the window.

Several monsters of seventh rank at most were trying to climb over the guardrail.

Oh, no! I think theyre coming this way!

Uncle! Monsters are chasing us!

Come on! Faster!

Some of the children screamed.

The express bus sped up a bit, but didnt pay any attention to the monster chasing them.

No wonder.

Players were waiting at every turn on the highway.

Huh? Players!

Wow, Im alive!

This is so cool!

Players stationed at regular intervals along the highway.

As soon as they confirmed the presence of the monster, they rushed out.

It didnt take long for the party of eight to annihilate the low-tier monsters.

Captain, what clan did those people join?

It depends on the person, but theyre usually either parties or mercenaries.

Except for periods when traffic increased, such as during the Chuseok holiday or Lunar New Year, the players stationed on the highway were mostly in small parties or mercenaries.

For them, there was no more stable job than guarding the highway.

I had worked on the highway a few times before my regression.

The Player Academy would send them out to practice to get a feel for the field as players, or some newer players would be forced to do it because no one would give them work.

Ill be bored if I stay here forever.

Bored as hell.

Eunha knew how hard it was to wait for monsters to appear in an empty wasteland.

Doing nothing and fighting against time was a painful experience.

It was unbearable for him. For a man who lived only to kill monsters, waiting for them was unbearable.

He couldnt stand the thought of waiting for them, because all he could do was stare at the panoramic view.

Why is everything going wrong for me? Seriously?

Why? Why nothing goes according to the plan? Why am I in this situation?

The Dawn Department Store terrorist incident was the trigger that could undermine Lee Jeong-ins support base and shake his position.

If only it hadnt failed.

The terrorism that was supposed to take place in the dark world was exposed to the surface.

Those in the political circles who knew were aware that it was not terrorism but a succession battle within the Dawn Group.

As a result, Chairwoman Lee Yoon-hee returned to the management.

Mother took back all the power and rights her children had.

Since then, the successors had to participate in the management under their mothers supervision.

But that wasnt the only problem.

The Silla Clan, which had always maintained a neutral stance as the guardian sword of the Dawn Group, turned against him and began to support Lee Jeong-in.

Lee Jeong-im also drew his sword.

The younger brother, who had insisted on fair play and had been taken advantage of for his good nature, had changed his mind.

The result was this.

There was no longer any room to back down.

[Dont worry too much].

Is this something I shouldnt worry about?

Gil Sung-jun, you promised to make me chairman, and I promised to support you with vast wealth.

But what is this now?

Lee Byung-in, who had turned away from the window, spoke menacingly toward the smartphone on his desk.

Beyond the smartphone, only the sound of catching ones breath could be heard.

[After that incident, there were times when things didnt go as planned due to the interference of the Silla Clan.

But this time, we will succeed].

Yeah, we better succeed, because if this fails, thats the end of it.

[We will succeed].

Im not going to die alone.

If I die, you die with me, remember that.

[I will keep that in mind.]

Byung-in hung up the phone just like that.

His face, bathed in the light of the switched-off screen, showed his rough breathing.

Huff.

I must succeed. I must.

Swallowing hard, he looked out the window once more, lost in thought.

This was his last chance.

With all his might, he realized his mistake and conveyed his sincere apology to his brother.

He apologized and asked his brother to have a drink with him to strengthen their friendship.

He had been a good-hearted brother since they were children.

As he expected, Lee Jeong-in nodded without a single doubt.

Unaware that it was a plot to drag him down.

Im sorry, little brother.

Lee Byung-in mumbled something he didnt mean.

Suddenly, a laugh escaped him. His shoulders shook as he pressed his hands against the window.

Im sorry,

my good, foolish brother.

He was too good to be bold enough to take advantage of others, too good to be cruel to his own brother.

He was too good to be suspicious.

He was stupid because he didnt know better,

And because he was foolish, he was a fool.

An asshole.

A hotel far away from Seoul.

His foolish brother would drink drugged alcohol and get drunk, and when he woke up, he would find his life had fallen apart in an instant.

A lot of things will happen while hes passed out.

For example, what if a monster attacked the hotel while you were sleeping?

What if, while guests were running for their lives, the owner of the Dawn Hotel was drinking in his hotel room and was too drunk to do anything about it?

What if he was sleeping with a woman?

What if, instead, the eldest son of the Dawn Group had taken his place and led the guests to their safety and stopped the monster attack?

Thats when you know whos in the light and whos in the dark.

No matter how much you plead your innocence with tears, will anyone believe you then?

No one would.

Even if your mother and the people in power suspect him, public opinion will back me up this time.

Even if you were a fairy, no one in Korea could win over public opinion.

There is no failure.

There is no room for failure.

He had been cornered.

There was no next time.

So, boldly and decisively, they must move forward and seize it.

Absolutely,

He clenched the blinds and reaffirmed it.

It would be a delightful night.

A night so beautiful that it could never be seen again, where someones downfall would bloom as fertilizer.

I will succeed.

Lee Byung-in laughed heartily as he looked down below.