Chapter 110
Jung-seok's house was busy these days. His father, who had successfully been re-elected as mayor, was now aiming for an even higher position.
"Hey, isn't that Mayor Jung? You're looking great. You seem to get younger every time I see you. Is that hair loss medication you're taking working well?"
"Look who's talking, you're almost bald. Don't you take medication? What's the point of enjoying wealth and prosperity if you don't take care of yourself?"
At a golf course near Gaeryong Metropolitan City, the boring conversation between the older men began.
Jung-seok was already bored and wanted to check his phone. He had a lot to discuss with the pirate crew.
But this was an important meeting, and Jung-seok wasn't allowed to use his phone. Seemingly unaware of his feelings, Congressman Jin-jang patted a girl's shoulder and pushed her towards Jung-seok.
"Wow, Jung-seok. You've grown into a fine adult already. I hear you're doing well in your studies? Say hello. This is my daughter Seo-yeon. Jin Seo-yeon. You two used to play together often when you were young. Remember?"
She was a girl with her hair tied back. Her face looked a bit sharp due to her lack of double eyelids. She seemed slightly skinny, perhaps because she was as tall as Jung-seok.
Her skin exposed outside her dress was tanned, either naturally or from the sun. Perhaps because of this, she gave off a healthy impression despite looking a bit thin.
"Our Seo-yeon used to follow you around like a duckling. If you're not interested in playing golf, why don't you two go to a nearby cafe?"
Swish-
The older men handed Jung-seok a handful of 50,000 won bills from their wallets.
Jung-seok looked at the unfamiliar girl he was meeting after 10 years. Honestly, he didn't remember her well.
They had supposedly met once at a family gathering of the prosecutor's office 10 years ago, but it was from such a young age that he couldn't recall anything.
'She's a plain girl. Doesn't seem to wear makeup. Maybe she thinks she doesn't need to, or came out like this on purpose.'
The girl also glanced Jung-seok up and down before extending her hand.
"Long time no see. Do you remember me?"
"...No, honestly, I don't remember."
"Really? Wow, that's shocking. Don't you remember playing games at the arcade and soccer in the playground? You even gave me a nosebleed when you hit my nose."
Jung-seok tried to recall his childhood. The idea of him going to an arcade with a girl in his childhood was news to him in many ways. Then, something flashed in his mind like an electric current.
"The territory conquest game?"
"Yeah. The one where sexy pictures would appear when you conquered territory. We played it a lot at the arcade."
Jung-seok suddenly felt dizzy. He remembered a snot-nosed kid with a buzz cut.
'That was her? I thought it was a boy.'
The world was full of surprises. As Jung-seok was feeling confused, Jin Seo-yeon, who had returned as a woman after 10 years, flashed her white teeth and slapped Jung-seok's shoulder.
"Should we go to an arcade like old times? Are there still arcades these days? Or we could go to the Gaeryong bakery. There's Jeongsim-dang. Let's go."
Whoosh-
As the tanned girl Jin Seo-yeon grabbed his hand and pulled, Jung-seok was dragged along without resistance. Watching this, the older men laughed heartily.
"Seo-yeon is quite lively. They say girls these days have more leadership."
"It's different from our time."
"Taxi!"
Jin Seo-yeon, who had come out of the golf course, hailed a taxi. Jung-seok kept looking at his phone. Soon, a noticeable message arrived.
「Ha Young-won. Damn I escaped too damn Everything's fucked」
Boing-
It felt like yellow stars were springing up in his head. Ha Young-won, who had given his talisman to Yang Juhee, had escaped from the corridor? He couldn't understand how this was possible.
「How did you do it?」
He was very curious. But as he was tapping on his phone, Jin Seo-yeon, sitting in the front seat, took the straw out of her mouth while drinking an Americano and said indifferently.
"Are you bored being with me? Why do you keep looking at your phone? Is it a girl?"
"No. It's not that, it's a guy. There's an urgent message."
「Ha Young-won. Pirate crew assemble!」
"Seo-yeon. I think I need to leave first."
"Really? Can I come along then? Introduce me to your friends."
"...That's not possible."
Whoosh-
Jung-seok stood up from his seat. Watching Jung-seok hail a taxi and leave, Jin Seo-yeon frowned.
***
The "Capsule Drawing" items were delivered to our front door. But it was different in the nightmare corridor.
Pop-
A round capsule appeared out of thin air right in front of me. So this is direct receipt!
[Rabbit Piggy Bank. A rabbit-shaped piggy bank. It was very popular with girls because of its cuteness. When carried, it allows you to gain random points at regular intervals.]
"......"
What kind of item is this? It really was a rabbit-shaped piggy bank.
Gaining points at regular intervals. Whatever it was, it seemed like a good item since I could get free points. But it wasn't the item I was hoping for.
"Talisman!"
Clatter, rattle-
I tried the capsule gacha again, consuming 80 points. The result this time was....
[Mysterious Talisman. A talisman made by mysterious methods. As the name suggests, it has mysterious effects. Looking at the characters written on the paper makes you feel slightly dizzy.]
"Aaaagh!"
I was so happy that I screamed as if wailing. How could this be possible! To think there was a way to get talismans like this!
One out of every five capsules is a talisman! In other words, we could get one talisman for every 400 points we consumed! If I had known this, I would have spent points and drawn a bunch of capsules earlier!
"Money not spent is like dung, and a function not used is like not having it at all."
Status window and shop. I realized again that these were my strengths and hope as Ha Young-won. I went down to the second floor with the talisman.
"You bastards! I'm leaving! I'm going!"
"I'll suck your brain!"
"Fuck off!"
I danced and laughed loudly in front of the ghosts approaching to catch me. It was to mock them as much as they had mocked me.
"You stupid bastards! You can't beat me! Muhihihi! Hihihihihi!"
Boom-chik boom-chik-
After dancing for a while, shaking my shoulders and hips, I tore the talisman. With that, I was able to escape.
"That's how I was able to escape."
This is Ms. Hong Mi-ri's office. The secret base of the Ha Young-won Pirate Crew. Ms. Hong Mi-ri, who heard my story, was greatly impressed.
"To think you could get talismans like that. It's really amazing, isn't it? It's not just amazing, it could completely change the strategy. And you say you went to the third floor? Even I don't know anything about the third floor."
The third floor of the nightmare corridor. She said it was a place unknown even to Ms. Hong Mi-ri, who had been trained as an Observer.
"You've reached a completely unknown territory? Teacher will praise you."
Ruffle ruffle ruffle-
Ms. Hong Mi-ri ruffled my hair vigorously to boost the mood of her excellent student. To have my hair ruffled by an adult woman. I wasn't a child, but it felt really good.
"And this is the 'Rabbit Piggy Bank'. When I woke up, it was delivered in front of our house. It even gave me 100P around 7 AM. This is also a really amazing item."
Swish-
I took out the rabbit piggy bank from my bag. It was a rabbit piggy bank that laid random points like golden eggs every day, and it was a completely overpowered item. Even if it only gave a minimum of 10P per day, it's like getting 100,000 won daily.
"Oh, that!"
Yang Juhee, who had been sulking all day as if something was bothering her, was startled.
"That's my piggy bank!"
"What? How is this yours? I drew it from a capsule."
Is Yang Juhee coveting my golden egg? She doesn't even have anywhere to use the points! As I was slightly on guard, Yang Juhee quickly added an explanation.
"There's a scar on the rabbit's ear here! And there's a trace of a name written and erased on the belly here! It's my piggy bank! The one where I diligently saved my New Year's money! My sister stole it!"
"Really?"
The day Yang Do-hee disappeared. They said the rabbit piggy bank where Yang Juhee had diligently saved money disappeared too. Because she left with her younger sister's money, Yang Do-hee's running away was considered a simple runaway.
"Why is my piggy bank that my sister took coming out of a capsule?"
Yang Juhee seemed to feel puzzled. I was puzzled too. Maybe... the capsules... are selling items that someone lost inside the old school building? Anyway.
I wanted to tell everyone about 《Trait Enhancement》 too. And I wanted to talk about wanting to put Yoo Dahee and Ms. Hong Mi-ri into the corridor to definitely get their player sheets. But at today's meeting, some pirate crew members were absent.
"Jung-seok's not here, and neither is Bong Ji-yeon. Are they all busy?"
Everyone has their own lives. I was living with 'conquering the corridor' as my top life priority, but for others, they were just caught up in it unlike me. As I was feeling that disappointment, Yang Juhee chuckled.
"Hey, Bong Ji-yeon will be back soon. The oppa she was seeing started dating another girl. It was a two-timing flirtation. Bong Ji-yeon got totally dumped."
"Really?"
Since Bong Ji-yeon got dumped, it meant Jung-seok had another chance. That would be good news for Jung-seok.
"Seok seems to be on a date with a girl? He's tagged here on Instagram."
Swish-
Yoo Dahee, who had been constantly looking at her phone today, showed me something. I saw a picture of Jung-seok sitting and eating bread with a tanned-looking girl.
Is this for real? That bastard Jung-seok, is he ignoring my summons to date?
I had been thinking of Jung-seok as the vice-captain of our pirate crew. How dare he ignore my summons and go on a date with a pretty girl. I felt slightly indignant. Moreover, to think he'd be dating a girl who's not even Bong Ji-yeon! What if Jung-seok escapes being single before me? Where did this girl even come from?
Date. The mention of a date reminded me of Kwon Sua.
"Speaking of which, I think we should add Kwon Sua to our pirate crew."
"Because she's a pretty idol?"
Swish-
Yoo Dahee opened her narrow eyes. And Yang Juhee also looked at me with narrow eyes. For some reason, I found myself responding defensively.
"No, she's learned too much about our secret. Now that she knows there are hostile organizations like Gong Ye-rin's party, it's better to keep someone like Kwon Sua who knows our secret under our watch. It's even better if we can make her an ally."
"I'll pretend that's the case."
Yoo Dahee chuckled. It was her usual cheerful laugh, but her eyes weren't smiling, which was a bit scary. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I spoke to change the atmosphere.
"Then I want to keep an eye on Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon. Among us, you're the only one who has a connection with them, Juhee. Can you approach them and try to probe a bit?"
"Me?"
Yang Juhee showed obvious dislike.
"Hey, it has to be you. It would be weird if I approached them and hung out with them. Dahee is in a different class, so she has no connection at all. Ms. Hong Mi-ri is a teacher. If you don't do it, I'll have to do it."
I imagined myself approaching Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon. Just imagining it sent chills down my spine and made my butt tingle.
"That's... true."
Yang Juhee seemed to think it would be stupid for me to infiltrate too. Okay, let's say that's settled for Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon's side.
"Ms. Mi-ri. Are there any other good places to earn points? Getting points from Jang Hee-bin's tomb last time was amazing. If we all meet ghosts together again, we might earn a ton of points."
What I realized from this Random Matching is that the more points you have, the better your chances of survival. We really needed to gather a ton of points. I wish we had about 10,000 points. As I was thinking it would be good if we could hunt ghosts as a party and earn more points, Dahee spoke up.
"Me! I know!"
"You know, Dahee?"
"It's about my house. Remember they said not to wander around the first floor at night? I think I know why. It seems ghosts appear in our mansion! My sisters told me!"
Come to think of it... I remembered that terrifying housekeeper ajumma warning, "Never wander around the first floor of the mansion after 10 PM." Soon, Ms. Hong Mi-ri nodded too.
"The mansion's ghost, you mean. I think I've heard the housemaids gossiping about it too. Strange things have been happening more frequently lately. It seems to have gotten especially worse after the earthquake."
Alright. This was the moment when today's task was decided.