Chapter 79
A post exposing the Green Zone Hunters by Jobless Troublemaker suddenly appeared in the Gallery.
The post he threw out was more than enough to cause a huge stir—it caused an outright uproar.
No... Fuck...
ㄴ Seriously, after everything... Isn't this too much...?
ㄴ Exactlyㅋㅋㅋㅋ
While we were busting our asses outside, they just stood by and watched....
ㄴ And all they did was finally come forward and say they would accept us...
ㄴ Just so they could use us as batteries...?
That alone was enough to set the Gallery ablaze.
Title : Fuck... These Hunter bastards are fucking psychopaths...???
Honestly, I thought it was suspicious when they suddenly said they would accept people after sitting around doing nothing all this time...
But I didn't know they were this fucking insane ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Is this really something human beings would think of...????
They built themselves up as paradise, planning to accept us periodically and suck us dry??
And they kidnapped the Head Mod in advance so they could take control of the Gallery....??
You fucking crazy bastardsㅋㅋㅋ
You guys couldn't be cleaned even if you ran through a washing machine for twenty-four hoursㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Fuck, I knew this would happen...
ㄴ They say there's no such thing as a favor without a price ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ And sure enough, they immediately started pulling this biological-battery shitㅋㅋㅋ
Fuck, the fact that they kidnapped the Head Mod first is creepy <<< Seriously
ㄴ These bastards were insanely meticulous;;
ㄴ They're fucking psychopaths with no emotions;;
When we were sucking up to them, calling them gods over and over,
ㄴ They must have been laughing at us and calling us idiotsㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ They must have thought we were a bunch of pigs and dogs ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Ah, I'm fucking pissed off;;
ㄴ Seriously, just thinking about it makes my blood boil...
Where did all the Hunter fanboys go?
ㄴ They hid like cockroaches
Just then, another post appeared, pouring oil on the flames of their rage.
It was Jobless Troublemaker's second exposé.
Title : [Jobless Troublemaker] Apparently... these people are secretly kidnapping ordinary people and even children...
(Roughly, the contents. JPG)
They say they're accepting people in the Gallery...
But apparently, behind the scenes, they've been secretly kidnapping every child and ordinary person they can find...
Speedrun investigated and is confirming it personally ㅇㅇㅇ
I've never seen such Great Mega Verminmon bastards in my entire life...
Even I think I'll have to bow out of this one...
??!!!!
ㄴ W... What?
ㄴ What the fucking hell...!!!!
ㄴ The rumors were true!!!!
[Speedrun] According to my investigation, it is true. I can confirm the survivors' locations.
ㄴ ???!!
ㄴ [Speedrun] I personally confirmed that people who entered are being held inside.
ㄴ How did you...???
ㄴ You entered the place?
[Speedrun] You should respect me. I entered at an incredible speed when the barrier opened, and I am currently fighting inside. I will rescue everyone one by one and make all the Hunters become good people. I mean this sincerely.
ㄴ Speedrun is fighting inside!!!
ㄴ Gasp
ㄴ Gasp
Is this really the time for this...?
ㄴ We need to beat the shit out of every last one of those bastards ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Is this the revolution...?
ㄴ Is it time for a revolution?
ㄴ Is it time for a revolution?
We have to rescue everyone who has entered!!!!
ㄴ We need to kill every one of those bastards ㅇㅇ
ㄴ The security gate and barrier are still open!!!!
ㄴ Shouldn't everyone go!!!!!!!
ㄴ Gather up!! Everyone gather up!!
ㄴ It's a fight!!! Everybody gather!!!
And while the Gallery's atmosphere was undergoing such a drastic reversal.
Something similar was happening in the real world as well.
“Fuck... This is all true....?”
“Those bastards really aren't human...?”
“My kid who disappeared while playing in the vacant lot the day before yesterday!! He might be in there!!!”
A vacant lot in a safe zone where a System restroom had been installed.
Stalkers who had seen Jobless Troublemaker's exposé had gathered there.
“We need to storm in right now!! I heard the barrier is still open!!!!”
“People like that deserve to be killed!!!!”
“Are we just going to sit here?! Those bastards openly deceived us!!!”
Their eyes too flickered with rage, but no one seemed willing to take the first step.
“...Our opponents are Hunters... Awakeners who were recruited from the very beginning of the apocalypse...”
“They fought Red Zone mutants... Can we really do this...???”
“No matter how many of us there are...”
Just as the gathered Stalkers hesitated, reluctant to charge into the Green Zone.
Clomp, clomp-!
The sound of a crowd's footsteps came from somewhere.
At the same time, countless Awakeners appeared.
“Th-That's...??”
“Mythos? Ares...?”
“The Ironclad Corps and White Night are here too!!!!”
“Even Gaboong!!!”
All the major guilds in the Capital Area were marching together.
“!!!”
“Th-That person!!”
But what shocked the crowd even more was this.
The fact that all those major guilds were following behind a single person.
The identity of the small woman with a battered hood pulled low over her head.
Mythos Guild's youngest member, Lee Si-yeon.
“S-Saint... Saint-nim...!”
“The Saint is here!!”
“She must have received a revelation from the System!!!!”
The crowd split to either side, making a path.
Si-yeon stood in the middle of them and thought.
‘I can do this. I have to do it!’
She soon steadied her trembling breath and shouted.
“Everyone!!!! Don't be afraid!!!!”
Si-yeon's resolute voice rang across the plaza.
“I did not receive a revelation from System-nim. Everyone!!!”
“What...?”
“Th-Then why...?”
The crowd's gazes focused on her in an instant.
Si-yeon met their eyes head-on and cried out.
“Everything happening right now is part of a plan devised by Jobless Troublemaker!!! I stand here to tell you all about that plan!!!!”
“J-Jobless Troublemaker...?”
“The NEET devised this entire plan...!!!”
The unexpected revelation caused the people to begin murmuring.
“H-How do you know that, Saint-nim!!! There was no such post!!”
“We didn't know about it.”
“There isn't even a separate chat function!!!”
Several of them questioned Si-yeon, and she confessed the truth to them.
“My Gallery nickname is Healer Union...!!"
“Huh...?”
"I am the assistant moderator Healer Union!!!!”
“???”
Silence descended upon the plaza in an instant.
“T-The Saint... was Healer Union?”
“That newbie with the gimmick was the Saint!!!”
Si-yeon stretched out a hand and shouted at the stunned crowd after her completely unexpected confession.
“Jobless Troublemaker told the other assistant moderators about the plan he had devised! And everything has been unfolding exactly according to his plan!”
“Jobless Troublemaker's plan?”
“Now that I was informed of the plan in advance, I gathered the guilds together in place of the Head Mod, and I stand before you now!!”
“...!!!”
“Everyone! Speedrun and Shop Wiki have already gone inside to draw the Hunters' attention!!!!”
“...!”
“The Head Mod is still trapped inside!!! We have to go!!”
Si-yeon's voice gradually grew stronger.
“This moment, while the barrier is still open, is our only chance!!!”
“Our only chance...”
“If we don't go now, we may never be able to rescue the kidnapped people!”
“!!”
“If we don't go now, we may never be able to bring down those rotten Hunters!!!!”
“...”
“...”
Silence descended upon the plaza once more.
“So... don't be afraid, everyone...!”
The people slowly raised their heads and looked at Si-yeon standing before them.
Si-yeon raised her fist into the air and shouted.
“Be angry!!!! Be angry at their horrific evil deeds!!!!”
“Angry...”
“We will rescue the Head Mod and bring down their rotten city!!!”
At her cry, sparks slowly began to kindle in the eyes of the Stalkers who had only been hesitating.
“...Let's do it.”
“...Yeah, let's do it.”
“Let's go...!!!”
That emotion transformed into pure rage.
“We can do this!!! Let's go!!!!!”
“We're going!!!!!”
At that moment, the Mythos Guild Master raised his flaming sword and roared.
“Everyone, follow Healer Union... no! Follow the Saint to the Green Zone!!!”
United by rage, the crowd began marching toward the Green Zone in unison.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!”
“Let's go! Let's fight!!!!”
"Can you hear the song of our rage!"
The Hunters forming a defensive line before the barrier could not hide their bewilderment at the sight.
“C-Crazy...! How did all those bastards gather together!!”
“We definitely secured the Head Mod...!!!”
“Tell them to let the people entering in now through, then close the barrier immediately!!”
“Hold them back until then!! Hold them back no matter what!!!!!!!”
Just as the Hunters hurriedly formed a line and blocked the way.
“People!!! Let us punish them!!”
Lee Si-yeon stepped to the very front and began running.
“Drag those bastards down!!!!”
“Bring those bastards down!!!”
Countless people charged after her.
“Break through!!!!”
“Hold the line!!!!”
And so the defenders and those trying to break through.
The two sides collided.
****
Meanwhile, on the second-floor gardening terrace of Starplex.
“...”
I was looking at the breaking-news comments being posted.
Anyone see the speech Si-yeon just gave in the plaza...?
ㄴ It was fucking spine-chilling ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Fuck, I got chills and joined immediately
Breaking news!!!!!
ㄴ Si-yeon succeeded in rallying the major guilds she had gathered in advance
ㄴ and all the Stalkers gathered in the plaza!!!
ㄴ They're besieging the place right now, trying to get everyone inside before the barrier closes!!
But the truly shocking little detail in all this...
ㄴ Are you saying Si-yeon was Healer Union;
ㄴ Seriously, I heard it at the scene and was shocked...
No... Saint-nim... Why did you use that kind of gimmick in the Gallery;;
ㄴ The Saint's secret hobby ㅗㅜㅑ
ㄴ If you search the Gallery for Si-yeon's identity, the gimmick... comes upㅋㅋㅋ The gimmick is no joke. ㅋㅋ If you have fantasies about the Saint, don't search itㅡㅡ Her identity is insane
ㄴ What kind of meme template is this now
Everyone gather here!!!!!
ㄴ Let's smash those bastards' heads in!!!
ㄴ Can you hear it?
ㄴ The sound of the enraged crowd!!
I shouted when I saw the comments.
“Yeeeeeees!!!”
The plan I had devised was very simple.
I needed solid evidence that could decisively turn the Gallery's public opinion around.
To do that, someone had to infiltrate the place.
That role had to be handled by Shop Wiki.
- [Shop Wiki] : I keep telling you, I'm not a combat specialist...!!!!
- [Shop Wiki] : But I cannot disagree with what Jobless Troublemaker says...
- [Shop Wiki] : ...Leave it to me...
“That's right! You always do well when you try, Wiki bro!”
Fortunately, Wiki bro performed his role perfectly, which was a huge relief.
I wanted to go myself more than anything, but.
“Jomssaem, can I go?”
Grrrrrrrrrr-!!!
Of course, I couldn't go, and I couldn't send Speedrun in either.
Her combat power was beyond question, but her ability to carry out an operation was questionable.
“She probably would have killed everyone...?”
Half joking and half serious, I wondered if she would have started wreaking havoc the moment she entered.
Besides, judging from the fact that they attacked the Head Mod first, there was a good chance they knew what Speedrun looked like.
- [Shop Wiki] : As expected, what they value most is the barrier...!!!!
- [Shop Wiki] : It seems she designates an area and spreads a barrier over it...!! Their tone suggested that they also realize they cannot hold out if everyone joins forces.
- [Shop Wiki] : Therefore! We have a chance of winning if we push in now...!!
- [Jobless Troublemaker] : Goooot it!!!
That was why I chose calm, brainy Wiki bro and successfully stole the crucial information.
After that, I combined the information Wiki bro gave me and exposed their atrocities.
Then I asked Si-yeon in advance to rally everyone in place of the captured Head Mod.
Fuck, I'm unaffiliated... Can I join in?
ㄴ Absolutely, hurry up and come
ㄴ We're going if you come
ㄴ We're going even if you don't comeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Rise to prominence by hunting Hunters
ㄴ Who am I? Hun-ta Killer S-bro
ㄴ Follow Healer Union!!
Baam~~ ba-ba~~ ba-ba~~ baaam~
ㄴ Baam~~ ba-ba~~ ba-ba~~ baaam~
ㄴ Baam~~ ba-ba~~ ba-ba~~ baaam~
ㄴ “Si-yeon and Healer Union are legends.”
ㄴ “Seo-jin is crying.”
ㄴ Kyaa
ㄴ This is it
“Si-yeon does a good job when she tries too.”
She too had carried out her assigned role thoroughly and effectively.
I refreshed the comment section again.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the comments had changed.
“What the hell.”
Guys... We're... we're fucked...
ㄴ Why, what happened?
ㄴ I'm running there right now???
ㄴ Is something wrong?
The barrier... closed...
ㄴ What?
ㄴ It closed...?
ㄴ Yeah... Their own people were outside fighting too, but they just closed it
[Mythos] We're pouring on the firepower!!!!
ㄴ [God of War] We can break through! Attack!!!!
ㄴ What the fuck is that barrier, seriously;;
ㄴ Seriously, it's a one-trick defense barrier;;
ㄴ Fuck, that's ridiculously overpowered
It seemed the Hunters had succeeded in closing the barrier.
“Oh dear.”
But even after seeing those users' comments, I wasn't particularly flustered.
The claim that everyone had to enter while the barrier was open had merely been one of the pretexts for rallying them together.
I had prepared a countermeasure for the barrier from the very beginning.
[Mana stones currently held: 1,645,650]
Besides, I had just gathered all the mana stones needed for the plan I had devised.
“Good.”
Whatever else might be uncertain, I was confident about this part, at least.
“So...”
Shall we give it a try? Let's see who wins.
Without hesitation, I pressed the upgrade button.
[Blueprint Copying LV. 7 > Lv.8]
[Upgrade Cost: 400,000 mana stones]
[Copyable Tiles: 90 > 200]
“Hmm.”
After upgrading without hesitation, I brought up the 3D map.
What came into view was the entrance to the small city, where thousands of dots had gathered in confrontation.
A huge barrier blocked it, displayed on the map as a translucent wall.
“Shall we give this a try?”
The coordinates where I decided to copy a tile were none other than the exact center of the barrier.
[Would you like to copy the tile?]
Yes.
“Who am I?”
An Awakener from the Black Zone.
There were far too many things the Hunters did not know.
*****
Meanwhile, at the Green Zone entrance.
“Push through!!!!!”
“Force your way in!!!!”
The crowd gathered there, including the major guilds, was already engaged in an all-out battle with the Hunters defending the gap in the open barrier.
“Break through!!!”
“Stop them no matter what!!!”
Just as the battle between the Hunters trying to protect the barrier and the people trying to force their way inside was reaching its height.
Whiiiiir-!!
The barrier the Hunters had opened to receive the victims suddenly began to close.
“Huh...?!”
“The barrier is closing!!!”
The Stalkers and guild members who had not managed to get inside were pushed back as they retreated.
The same was true of the Hunters who had come outside the city to fight.
“Why are you closing it!!”
“Yu-jin-nim!! Let me in!!!!”
“Hunter Park!! Please let me in too!!!”
The Hunters stranded outside clung to the barrier and wailed.
“Shut up!!! You stupid bastards!!!!”
But the Hunter controlling the barrier, Park Yu-jin, did not even spare them a glance.
Thus, the inside and outside were separated.
Taking advantage of the moment, the Hunters quickly regrouped their broken formation and prepared for battle.
“...This situation has become troublesome.”
Jeong Myeong-hak, who had approached at some point, spoke with his hands clasped behind his back.
“It's fine. We can still control it!!!”
Park Yu-jin shouted at him.
“Those bastards can't break through my barrier!!!”
But contrary to her words, the inside was gradually turning into complete chaos.
“You Hunter bastards!!! I'll kill every last one of youuuuuuu!!!”
“Kki-kk-kiyooooooot!!!!!!”
Speedrun, who had already entered, was literally slaughtering the Hunters.
“Graaaaaagh!”
“I-I can't even see her...!”
Her speed and combat power were beyond the ability of ordinary Awakeners even to react to.
“Wiki! We're going to where the Head Mod is nowww!!!”
“I do not agree with moving at this speed!!!!”
Ha Do-jin sighed when he saw the scene and spoke.
“...I'll go. Just focus on maintaining the barrier.”
Ha Do-jin flew toward Speedrun, while Park Yu-jin turned her gaze toward the enemies bombarding the barrier from outside.
Boom-! Kwoooom-!
All kinds of abilities and magic hammered the barrier, but the barrier itself did not even twitch.
“How cute...”
Park Yu-jin snorted and checked her status window.
[Barrier Mage Main Quest 274: Possess 25,000 mana stones]
The amount of mana stones invested in Yu-jin so far was beyond imagination.
‘Those pathetic bastards think they're going to break through my barrier?’
The stats she had accumulated and the barrier's strength were on a level those people could not even hope to challenge.
“Come in if you can, you idiots!!!! Kyahahahaha!!!”
Just as Park Yu-jin was laughing boldly.
Fwoosh-!
Blue, glowing gridlike tile patterns suddenly appeared in the sky.
“Huh....?”
The grid tiles appeared directly above the area Park Yu-jin had designated for her barrier.
More precisely, they overlapped the barrier while piercing straight through its exact midpoint, inside and outside alike.
“W-Wait... The System? Why...??”
The space began to distort strangely.
And a massive structure slowly revealed itself.
“A-A hallway...?”
Several empty hallways stretched horizontally across the area.
The hallways, as though made by joining huge blocks in a line, appeared while ignoring the barrier, as if they had existed there from the beginning.
“W-What is that...? That's an area I've designated for my barrier...!!”
The section of barrier corresponding to the hallway's area vanished without a trace, connecting the inside and outside of the city.
A passage into the city had been created.
Park Yu-jin was horrified, but hurriedly thrust both hands forward.
“All I have to do is cover it again!!!”
She raised her mana and tried to designate the space occupied by the hallways as a new barrier area, but.
Crack-! Crrrk-!
The structure suddenly began expanding at an exponential rate.
“W-What is happening???”
A single hallway began extending madly to the left and right, forcibly prying open gaps in the barrier elsewhere as well.
The other hallways soon began following the same process.
The barriers in other areas disappeared too, and cracks began spreading through the entire barrier.
“No!!!!!!”
Yu-jin gathered and concentrated all the mana in her body to stop the barrier from vanishing as the structure expanded, but.
“Uuuuuugh!!!!! I can't be pushed back!!!!!!”
Her mana soon began to flow backward, and blood poured from her nose and ears.
“Gaaaaaaah!!!!”
But despite the scream that escaped Yu-jin's mouth.
Sizzle-! Shatter-!
Every part of the barrier near the structure split apart and vanished completely.
“Ah... Ah...”
A complete defeat.
Her eyes began rolling back until only the whites showed.
“Uweeegh....”
Yu-jin vomited bright-red blood and collapsed face-first like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Beyond her, dozens of hallways stood wide open, connecting the inside and outside of the city.
*
*
*
Meanwhile, the guild members and Stalkers who had witnessed the scene clearly.
“The barrier collapsed!!!!!”
“It vanished....!!”
“Th-The System... System-nim helped us...”
“System-nim was watching over us!!!!!!”
Every one of them stared blankly at the scene, but no one dared to enter the hallways.
“Wh-What is that... A hallway...!!”
“The very hallway that Jinhyeok bro was ejected through...!!!”
“I-If we go in, we'll die...!!”
As everyone stood there trembling in fear.
“It's just an ordinary hallway...! There's nothing inside!"
Si-yeon stepped to the very front of the crowd and shouted.
“I-I can't do it...”
“...How are we supposed to pass through that...?”
But even after her cry, the people continued to hesitate.
“...I'll go myself.”
In the end, Si-yeon decided to prove it herself.
She would be the first to pass through the hallway.
........
Behold.
The gatekeeper, unable to withstand the System's power, vomited blood, and the arrogant one's barrier crumbled to pieces.
The crowd who witnessed this cried out in awe, yet could not advance, frightened by the unknown passage.
Then Si-yeon, who had rallied everyone and stood at the very front, stepped forward herself to prove it.
“...Hup.”
She then raised a hastily scribbled piece of yellow cloth high into the air.
Written across it in crooked letters was [Systam].
Gripping that sacred flag, Si-yeon charged toward the passage wrought by the System and cried out solemnly.
“Let's punish the evil forces inside and restore order throughout the Capital Area!!!!!!”
She soon set foot in the hallway, and a miracle occurred: she passed through safely without suffering any harm.
“...It's just a hallway!!”
"S-System-nim... is watching over us...!!!”
Only then did those who had been holding their breath realize that the path was truly safe, and they erupted into commotion.
“System-nim personally opened this path for us!!!”
“Let's follow it!!!”
“Let's follow Healer Union... no, the Saint!!!!!”
“Follow the Saint!!!!!!!!”
“According to System-nim's will!!!”
“For the greater good!!!!!!”
The army, emboldened, completely cast off its fear and followed behind her.
Si-yeon Stir-Fry, Chapter 3, Verse 7