thefictionvixens Chapter 73 : Chapter 73
Chapter 73 : Chapter 73
Chapter 73
A thin crack momentarily seeped into Kim Ju-han’s face.
But he soon covered his lower face with his palm.
As if covering a scratch on a mirror with a palm.
“Did you just say you want to betray us?”
Kim Ju-han himself knew well how absurd those words were.
Lee Ju-seong.
That name was no longer just a player on this island.
A monster who rose above adversity, an alien survivor, the ‘demon’ that the followers spoke of with fear.
Such a guy, now, betrayal?
Does that make sense?
Inside, he sneered.
‘What a joke. Him betraying. He is the one who calculates the most profitable path between the organization and the players.’
But he couldn't openly sneer on the outside.
Because I, Lee Ju-seong, was not a person whose appearance was everything.
Perhaps, really...... no, not perhaps, he might be bringing up such a ridiculous fake proposal on purpose to test what kind of reaction this side shows.
Cold sweat flowed down his spine.
Whether this was a simple joke, a smokescreen hiding sincerity, or part of a more complex scheme.......
He couldn't judge right at this moment.
‘It must be a move proposed on the premise that this side won't accept it. But if I don't believe it, that will lead to another move in its own way. The problem is how far this guy is calculating.’
Pretending to be calm on the outside, he wore a deliberately sarcastic smile.
However, behind that smile, a sense of caution and a feeling of crisis toward the existence of me, Lee Ju-seong, which he had forcibly suppressed, were squirming.
“You want to come to this side? Well. Do you think I will believe those words?”
He laughed lightly, but that laughter returned to him in vain like a hollow echo.
Right now, he had already lost the first card in the battle of wits to a single word from me.
I, Lee Ju-seong, played it slick without concern.
“I am fighting for my own profit. If siding with the Red Team is more profitable, I can join anytime.”
“To provoke me so much until the start of the game...... you really are thick-skinned.”
“I would appreciate it if you could say I have thick nerves instead. And wouldn't you say that making the best move to win anytime and anywhere is rather professional?”
“Indeed, a demon-like idea. I don't think it fits our Taepyeong-gyo. You are just the top priority for salvation.”
The salvation or rescue mentioned here was a fact known to both sides as meaning exclusion from this world.
I shrugged my shoulders and turned my body.
“The negotiation has broken down, then. But I will always leave the possibility of joining the Red Team open. If you change your mind, please come find me without hesitation.”
In the attitude of openly exposing my back to return, a boldness that felt no threat at all from the Red Team was felt.
Gulp.
Who would welcome such blatant disregard?
Well, putting emotional parts aside, it was undeniable that now was the perfect opportunity to attack me, Lee Ju-seong.
There should be at least over 2 billion won in my Money Watch account.
The debt I shouldered right after Round 4 was 900 million won, and by playing Round 5, 100 million won was written off, leaving my current debt at 800 million won.
Even if my holdings were set at a minimum of 2 billion won, 1.2 billion won remains even after paying off all current debts.
It would be even better if it was over 2 billion won.
A surplus of at least 1.2 billion won!
Kim Ju-han’s eyes turned sharp.
As if a hungry hunting dog was baring its teeth, he poured out the condensed hostility all at once.
“Did you think I would let you return safely? No way. Everyone, attack that man!”
As the command fell, the followers around moved without hesitation.
They didn't even need to exchange signals with each other.
They were already those bound by a single consciousness under the name of followers.
Unfolding their respective abilities, they pressured me from the front and both left and right flanks.
One follower took out a plastic bottle containing a black liquid, opened the cap, and sprayed the contents toward me.
Ability to turn carbonated drinks into sticky glue.
Since it was liquid, it was hard to avoid, and even if blocked, the sticky glue would cling to the whole body, so the movement was likely to be restricted from the opponent's perspective.
However, I responded in a unique way.
“Oops, if possible, you should have prepared carbonated drinks from Company C instead of Company P. The polar bear will get angry like this.”
After spouting a word like a promotional ambassador for Company C, I took out a small iron bead and flicked it with my thumb.
It was an iron bead heavily covered in rust.
The iron bead changed into a large iron sphere in the air and fell down.
Thud!
It was a piece of iron with a familiar appearance.
It was similar to a part used in an iron sphere trap that rolls down a downhill corridor in a place like a labyrinth and crushes intruders.
I used the iron sphere as cover and disappeared into a blind spot, and a large amount of sticky glue only ended up sticking to the surface of the iron sphere.
At the same time, a heavy impact sound occurred behind the iron sphere.
Bang!
The iron sphere rolled quickly toward the point corresponding to the right wing of the siege.
There was a dent on the surface of the iron sphere.
It was rolled by kicking it with a foot.
The three followers gathered on the right threw their bodies in different directions.
“Uwah! Avoid it!”
“Watch out! Hurry and throw yourselves!”
“Aaaaargh!”
The three followers barely saved their lives, but in the process of avoiding, a bad sound was made as one follower's arm was hit by the iron sphere.
Crack!
Meanwhile, the two followers in charge of the left side of the siege activated their abilities simultaneously to pressure me.
One person took out a 2-liter transparent tumbler.
Inside the tumbler were rotten banana peels, and it was swarming with fruit flies attracted to the banana peels.
The follower opened the lid and released the fruit flies.
Ability activation. Ability to turn personally caught fruit flies into guided missiles.
Another person also took out a 2-liter transparent tumbler.
Inside the tumbler were about ten pill bugs.
Ability activation. Ability to turn personally caught pill bugs into suicide bombers.
They were abilities similar to the ant army that Sim Yong-hun had faced in the previous Round 5.
It was a part where it could be seen that most abilities using insects as a medium were suicide weapon creation abilities.
I took the move of pulling out a flashlight against the bug duo.
“Fruit flies and pill bugs. Even as a hollow compliment, they aren't abilities that look good in appearance.”
I turned on the flashlight.
Fruit flies and pill bugs caused explosions at every spot my flashlight's light touched.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Phenomena occurred one after another as if firepower exceeding the insects' durability was applied.
The intercepted bugs exploded, and black smoke formed here and there in the air.
Kim Ju-han carefully watched my movements from the front and then swung his fan.
Ability to turn the wind from a fan into wind blades.
The wind became a sharp weapon and flew low.
Like a swallow flying as if skimming over the surface of the water.
Seeing that my gaze was fixed on the followers, he was certain.
‘It hit!’
It was worth the effort put into capturing the gap.
The wind blade struck my leg.
He expected me to suffer a serious injury to my leg, but.......
Thud!
The sound of air bursting occurred, and the wind blade vanished.
“Just what kind of guy is he?”
A word mixed with doubt and anger in a golden ratio leaked out of his mouth.
The tension that had been formed loosened in an instant, and suppressed suspicion surged.
Normally, one ability per person was normal.
However, even just the abilities I showed seemed to be at least four.
His capability could not be gauged at all.
The followers also fell into panic.
Sticky glue attack, bug explosion, wind blade.
The moment they realized that all the attacks they had unfolded so far were meaningless, the confidence in their hearts was extinguished in an instant.
“He blocked them all? How?”
“A demon. A real demon is here.”
“Cult leader! What did we just see? Just what kind of guy is he!”
Their desperate voices broke out one by one.
At that time, I, appearing leisurely from inside the black smoke, said with a smirk.
“Mr. Ju-han, I hope you think about my proposal once more. Considering the debt you have, it will be an option that isn't bad to consider holding hands with me.”
Every single word of mine turned the situation into complete ridicule.
I turned around with steps light as a feather and began to leave leisurely with my back turned.
No one, nobody could pour an attack toward that back.
Because they realized too painfully that the attack was meaningless.
Kim Ju-han growled, revealing his clenched teeth.
The fan he held in his hand trembled.
“Abominable fellow.......”
But his voice only scattered into the air.
Already, the eyes of the followers were full of a sense of defeat, and even the momentum to move had disappeared.
With a back that was gradually moving away, I disappeared over the wall at the edge of the game site.
It was like a storm that disappeared without leaving a single speck of dust after stirring up the battlefield.
Could it be that I also withdrew because it was burdensome to fight more?
Usually, he would have had time to rationally contemplate my retreat.
However, the words I threw as I withdrew erased the room to judge rationally.
The followers chewed on the meaningful words and threw questions at Kim Ju-han.
“Debt? Debt? Cult leader, wasn't the balance quite plenty right now?”
“Maybe he talked big to shake us up.”
“With all the money the followers have remitted so far...... if anything it would have piled up more, there’s no way there’s debt.”
The followers were dismissing it as me talking big because they trusted Kim Ju-han.
However, although they were expressing that they trusted him with their mouths, they were restless while peeking at Kim Ju-han with their actions.
In reality, they were hoping he would clearly explain the controversy by revealing the balance.
It was beyond embarrassing for Kim Ju-han.
There was no way he could say that he had blown all the money the followers had worked hard to collect and, furthermore, that he owed a huge debt.
The moment the truth is revealed, his credibility as a cult leader would fall to rock bottom.
Since Kim Ju-han was also no ordinary person, he exerted his wit in an instant.
Kim Ju-han, pretending to be angry at being toyed with by me, swung his left arm horizontally and struck the wall.
Crack!
In the process of striking, a part of the Money Watch’s liquid crystal screen broke.
A white crack formed in the center of the screen.
Like a window pane pierced by a bullet.
Kim Ju-han panted for a while, then pretended to compose his breathing and said in a much calmer voice.
“I ended up getting excited unintentionally. That demon fellow really turned my stomach upside down.”
“A-are you okay, cult leader? That...... we can win, right?”
“Hahaha, of course. Just trust me. By the way, since it seems there are those who are shaken by his words, let’s take this opportunity to point it out clearly. I will show you my balance.”
After finishing his words, he manipulated the Money Watch to float the balance on the screen.
And he put his left arm forward and showed the screen to the followers.
As indicated on the screen.
[Current Balance : *800 million won.]
Because a crack had spread in the space between ‘:’ and ‘8’ on the screen, in the eyes of a person who didn't know the circumstances, it looked as if Kim Ju-han possessed 800 million won.
The followers felt relieved as they stroked their chests.
“As expected, he was trying to bewitch us with words.”
“But why did he propose to betray? Right now, it’s bothersome that he approached us saying he would betray first.”
My intention and my true ability.
While many questions were still piled up, the flow of the game went in a direction unfavorable to the Red Team.
[The superiority of the collection box amount has changed.]
[The seesaw tilts.]
The Blue Team had put additional gems they acquired into the collection box.
As the game site tilted toward the west, the environment changed to be unfavorable for the Red Team.
While the followers were anxious, a flash of insight arrived to Kim Ju-han momentarily.
“I have a good idea. Our opponent is not Lee Ju-seong.”
“What do you mean by that? Not Lee Ju-seong.”
The corners of Kim Ju-han’s mouth twitched.
Attacking me, Lee Ju-seong, might be impossible.
However, it is I who am outstanding, not the Blue Team members who are on the same team as me.
The Blue Team members will soon become my shackles.
“I almost overlooked the point that our opponent is the entire Blue Team. Let’s intensively attack the rest of the idiots except for Lee Ju-seong.”