Chapter 98

“The name of this unprecedented genius technician is Baek Il-hong. Please feel free to call me H.”

The girl, who until a moment ago had looked terrified, now introduced herself with a self-adoring expression.

Upon hearing that the player was looking for a certain figure known as ‘Baranabi’, Baek Il-hong readily offered to help the player.

“In this dangerous city, it seems that the safest place is next to you, uncle.”

“…Why do I have to take you with me?”

“Anyway, you can’t find Baranabi alone. So let’s help each other.”

“Are you asking to be my companion? What happens if I refuse… ah, I can’t refuse.”

– What are you talking about, Diah?

– If you leave her alone, she’ll die ㅠㅠ she’ll die ㅠㅠ

– I have to protect her this time ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– Ugh, all these teachers were useless

– Manager!! Let’s dance the sword dance!!

– Diah can’t ban her even though she spoils everything since she doesn’t even realize it’s a spoiler.

Regardless, it was undeniable that the player, having investigated various places alone, had gained nothing.

It felt a bit off to leave a girl like Baek Il-hong alone in a dangerous city where various mechanical monsters popped up here and there.

Thus, eventually, they set off together.

The first place Player and Baek Il-hong headed to in search of Baranabi was a massive factory called [Port].

“I will check the CCTV here for traces of Baranabi. While I search the CCTV, you…”

– Thud. Thud. Thud.

– Keeeeeh─!!

“I’m just playing with that robot dog for a bit.”

“You’re implying I’m the meat shield.”

At least 5 meters tall, with a body length that seemed two to three times longer.

A shell made of a special alloy harder than steel.

Enormous, sharp teeth.

And finally, automatic rifles and guided missiles attached all over that massive body.

Everything about it did not resemble a cute expression like ‘puppy’.

The reason it could be referred to as a robot puppy was merely because of its overall appearance resembling a Doberman.

Even that, when seen up close, looked so hideous that one wouldn’t think of a Doberman at all.

Anyway, Baek Il-hong had to face that bizarre robot puppy to buy time for her to find the trace of Baranabi.

– Whoosh─!

– Boom!

– Click─!

“Hey, puppy, come here!”

Toward the robot puppy ahead.

More specifically, I fired my left wire at the neck of the robot puppy as if it were on a leash.

– Dog surprised ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– A suspicious person trespassing on private property is now assaulting the guard dog.

– Aww, 1-year-old baby doesn’t know about such things.

– Anyway, puppy, come here!

Then, I simultaneously fired my right wire at the joints of the robot puppy, attacking and attacking again.

To a person unaware, my wire action seemed so flashy that they might think I was performing in a circus.

– Isn’t this clearly a hero difficulty?

– One hit and it’s a death sentence, but I’m dodging that one hit ㄷㄷ

– Is he really not a first-timer? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Are you perhaps from the Diah scouting squad?

As expected, the chat window became noticeably more lively.

But even so, I was solely focused on dealing with the robot puppy because it was such a formidable opponent.

Especially.

– Rat-a-tat-tat─!

“Ugh!!”

– What’s that shriek of the pterodactyl?

– Oh no, the sunset is splitting my ears.

– It really sounded like a gunshot.

– This is a surprise attack.

– In the midst of it, response speed ㄹㅈㄷ dodged it all.

The bullets from the automatic rifle firing irregularly at the player were the most vicious.

I had to perform evasive maneuvers by controlling my wires purely based on instant reactions, not by predicting patterns.

Soon after not long, I mistakenly got hit, resulting in the player’s HP plunging to near death.

Startled, Ha Eun quickly increased the mouse sensitivity by several levels to achieve more precise control.

After repeating ‘dodge and attack’ dozens of times with the player’s two wires, the battle with the robot puppy finally ended.

– Clank!

– Bam. Bam. Bam.

– Keeeeeh─!

“Did we… did we defeat it?”

– Huh?

– You should never say that line!!!!

– But it does seem defeated, right?

– Whew… just this time.

What stood in front of me resembled massive metal gears grinding against each other as the robot puppy fell.

Immediately, a tsunami surged from the nearby coast, sweeping the robot puppy away.

Thus, I stood quietly in the moment where the robot puppy disappeared in an instant.

I then asked Baek Il-hong, who had come up next to me without me noticing, about the results of the CCTV investigation.

“Did you find any traces of Baranabi?”

“Um, well, I did find something…”

Baek Il-hong began trailing off for some reason.

When the player pressed more with a sharper voice, Baek Il-hong finally spoke up again.

“It seems like it’s hiding in the sewer.”

“The sewer?”

“Yes. The location tracking algorithm was cut off in the sewer.”

In the end, she led the player to the massive sewer nicknamed [Ant Hole].

She speculated that Baranabi had fled into the complex maze-like sewer, which was perfect for hiding as there were no CCTV cameras present.

After walking and walking, the player and Baek Il-hong finally reached the entrance of the sewer.

However, it was too vast and complicated a place to recklessly search for Baranabi.

“I get that splitting up for the search would be faster. But how do you plan to stay in touch?”

“Here you go. This is a waterproof walkie-talkie, so don’t drop it in the water.”

Baek Il-hong suggested splitting up for search near the sewer entrance, and the player agreed.

After receiving a vintage walkie-talkie from Baek Il-hong, the player immediately entered the sewer, investigating all around.

However.

About 10 minutes passed since parting with Baek Il-hong.

“Uncle… zzt… is there… zzt…”

“Wait? The walkie-talkie worked fine just a moment ago?”

– Huh?

– No, not another explosion (message deleted).

– Il-hong is in danager!!!

Suddenly, with the poor sound quality of Baek Il-hong’s radio, an ominous intuition filled my mind.

– Tap tap!

– Whoosh─!

With superb operation skills, I activated the player’s wire and hurried toward where Baek Il-hong was.

Finally, just as I began to see Baek Il-hong’s silhouette.

– Unauthorized organism. Excluding.

– Click─!

“Ugh, ugh…!!”

A humanoid robot was pointed its gun at Baek Il-hong, who was sitting on the sewer floor.

And almost simultaneously.

– Ta-da!

– Bang!

Players’ wires were fired at lightning speed by Ha Eun, whose fingers pressed the keyboard with great force as if to break it.

In less than a second, the humanoid robot’s head and body were no longer aligned.

– No, this is just Revive.

– On that side a Sergeant, and here it’s a Lieutenant, huh ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– The wire firing skill is clearly not from a first-time shooter;;;

– Hey, Diah, did you just shoot a shotgun?

After the humanoid robot was sliced into pieces.

The player rushed to Baek Il-hong, who looked pale.

“Are you okay?”

I asked about Baek Il-hong’s condition with a voice mixed with some worry.

However, after meeting the player’s gaze, her breath became even more ragged.

Baek Il-hong couldn’t calm her astonished heart for quite a long time.

But.

“…I thought you couldn’t find me this time. But you did.”

As time passed and she returned to her original state, Baek Il-hong’s meaningful words kept bothering me.

There was a vague feeling about what it meant, filling Ha Eun’s head.

The player and Baek Il-hong entered the [Inner City] beyond the sewer shortly after.

Hearing Baek Il-hong’s voice once again beyond the view of the city with puddles of water everywhere.

“Do you see that triangular skyscraper? The signal mark of Baranabi is detected underground in that building.”

“Got it.”

“Baranabi, we finally found you!”

– Wow, our Diah is amazing.

– Well, they did find something ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Is it coming? Is it coming? Is it coming? Is it coming? Is it coming? Is it coming?

Just as they were about to rush toward the building that Baek Il-hong indicated.

– Grab!

“Wait, wait. If you rush in without thinking, you’ll get swarmed before you even get through the entrance.”

For some reason, Baek Il-hong stopped the player, leading them to climb onto a nearby giant security robot instead of the building’s entrance.

Because a giant security robot could arrive at the front of the building without raising any suspicions.

But.

– Crackle─!

– Unprogrammed movement detected.

– Eliminating variables.

“Ugh, uncle, it seems… they might have found us.”

A giant centipede robot blocked the path of the giant security robot with the player and Baek Il-hong on it.

Not just blocking but preparing for annihilation.

“…Keep controlling it. I’ll go outside and assist.”

Finally, the player opened the entrance of the giant security robot in one go and charged toward the centipede robot in front.

What followed was a joint attack by the giant security robot controlled by the player and Baek Il-hong.

– Whoosh─!

– Bang!!

As the player created an opening with their unique swift movements, Baek Il-hong didn’t miss and landed a straight punch with the giant security robot’s fist.

When it seemed like the player was in danger, Baek Il-hong created an opening for the player to escape from the giant centipede robot.

Even though it was clearly the first time these two were working together, their coordination was seamless.

In no time at all, the giant centipede robot was completely wrecked.

“We did it!!”

With an ecstatic expression, Baek Il-hong attempted a high-five with the player.

However, the player ignored her and walked toward the triangular building in the distance.

There was no more time to lose.

Soon, they would confront the enemy who killed the daughter they’ve been searching for desperately.

So.

Therefore.

That’s why.

– Grab!

“Um, uncle… can I ask you one more time?”

Once again, Baek Il-hong asked for something, which felt just bothersome.

I no longer cared what she had to say.

“The promise we made to accompany each other was until we found Baranabi.”

“Is revenge really that important? I’m only asking for one more time, can’t you do that…?!”

“Uh…? The lines are getting censored again?”

– That’s exactly why ~~~~~

– Can’t even call it a premise ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– It’s like a hypnosis (message deleted)

– What do I do, I’m already so sad ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Thus, while observing the increasingly puzzling conversation between the player and Baek Il-hong.

– Step.

“This is as far as we go, Il-hong.”

The moment a man dressed similarly to the player suddenly appeared and forcefully grabbed Baek Il-hong.

More precisely, just as the player, for some reason about to cry, took a step toward Baek Il-hong.

– Crackle!

“…If you take one more step closer, I’ll turn you into a complete wreck.”

“Uh, uh? Why are you attacking all of a sudden? You were on our side, right??”

Once again, I sensed that the genre and atmosphere of the game had shifted dramatically due to the unexpected scene.

Also, there was the fact that the grand background music that had been playing since entering the inner city had completely ceased.

“Don’t touch that girl!!”

“Wake up, Il-hong. That’s not a girl; that’s just a piece of tin.”

With emotions surging, Baek Il-hong’s face twisted as she tried to distance herself from the man.

The man, attempting to reassure Baek Il-hong, tried to take her somewhere.

After an eternity of stalemate that changed neither over time.

“I’ve lived without dying all this while. I’m not afraid of death at all.”

“Il-hong.”

“Let me go. If you don’t, I’ll die right in front of you, uncle.”

With Baek Il-hong taking her own life hostage, the atmosphere became increasingly intense.

Ultimately, the man had no choice but to grant Baek Il-hong’s wish and let the player go.

Then, with the battered body that had been utterly wrecked by the man.

As the player set off to search for Baranabi, whom he had so longed to find.

“Uncle, you do what you have to do. I will… do what I have to do.”

With a voice sadder than any other time, she said her farewell.

Almost simultaneously, a small remote control was pressed toward the player, and gray noise began to gradually fill the game screen.

Even when Baek Il-hong vanished somewhere.

When the player arrived at the building marked with Baranabi’s signal.

When he swept away all the security humanoids pouncing from the entrance of the building without leaving a single one behind.

When he finally reached right in front of the basement where Baranabi was hiding.

“Is it really okay to just go down to the basement like this?”

As the closer player got to Baranabi, gray noise intensified, making it hard to take another step forward.

Baek Il-hong, who seemed to be hiding some secret, kept worrying him.

Thus, in the end.

– Step.

He began to move not forward but backward.

He felt it would be unsettling to see the ending while bearing some unknown secret.

However.

“…This is surprising. I didn’t expect a robot to have any inclination.”

At the entrance of the building, the player couldn’t help but feel momentarily flustered by the man waiting for him and the many citizens beyond him.

The man who referred to the player as a robot, along with the strange crowd of citizens he hadn’t seen before, made for a bizarre scene.

“What do you intend to do going forward, defective product?”

“To ask the real reason that child helped me. And to hear the answer.”

“Calling it simple information acquisition… seems inefficient. Hearing the answer won’t change anything, so it’s meaningless.”

Thus, parting ways with the man who unexpectedly let the player go with a “good luck,” the player passed by the multitude of citizens he had never seen before.

The problem was that information, which had previously been unknown, started to flood in instantly.

Not only the current date but also information about the city began to ‘update’ the player’s mental data like a tsunami.

“……………”

Thus, struggling in the vast ocean of information.

Time passed until at last, the player reached the city control room where Baek Il-hong’s biological signals were located.

“…What are you doing here?”

Reuniting with Baek Il-hong, who had noticeably grown colder since they last met.

At the same time, with the player’s AI eyes beginning to analyze ‘Baek Il-hong,’ information started to update once more.

Baek Il-hong, who had merely been a stranger the player met for the first time today, began to take on a different meaning.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the original significance she had was starting to reveal itself belatedly.

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