Damn System

Episode 28

Chapter 7 Murderer (3)

smart.

Director Yang Jo-cheol, who was looking at the USB on the table, swallowed.

“Are you here?”

“As you have heard.”

Since you’ve already made the call, you should be able to hear her voice.

Yang Jo-cheol’s hands, which were neatly placed under the table and on his lap, could be seen tightly curled up.

“As I have said repeatedly, we do not intend to oppress the players unconditionally.”

He spoke in a calm yet powerful voice, as if on the phone.

I looked at him and replied.

“But you are on guard.”

“that… … .”

“I would have told you to understand each other.”

I repeated what I said over the phone.

“If you decide to understand each other’s positions, then you should also understand that I am a little annoying.”

“… … I understand.”

“Me too. It means that I have no intention of getting angry even if I am offended by you playing a joke here.”

Tok tok, I said as I broke the USB on the table and touched it.

Yang Jo-cheol responded by watching the USB move on the table alone.

“You don’t have to worry about that part as we discussed trust first.”

“Do you think I would believe that?”

I have a lot of doubts.

I warned not to play with the USB, but I have no trust with this side to believe it as it is.

Who knows, if you talk about trust, you will be blackmailed and shot.

“I’m warning you just in case you don’t know, so don’t be clumsy.”

As a warning, I grabbed the edge of the table and tightened my hands.

“Then I have to respond at least as a defense.”

Yang Jo-cheol’s expression hardened terribly as the piece of wood fell with a loud sound.

“If you judge a player based on common sense, you could end up in big trouble.”

I tossed the corner of the table I had ripped off, and picked up the USB and said.

“I’m sorry for the first meeting, but please take care of the compensation. Then I’m fine.”

“… … I look forward to hearing from you.”

While I turned around and left the place, there was no miracle chasing me.

But it was still too early to be relieved.

‘Now I’ll have to check if there’s something like location tracking here.’

It will be cumbersome and will take some time.

If I can hide my identity, I’ll have to deal with any hassle.

* * *

It seems that the words about trust were not a complete lie.

Yang Jo-cheol and the NIS did not do anything to USB.

I ran around for more than 4 hours, and went around three PC rooms, plugged the USB into the PC and played the contents, but I couldn’t feel any sign of following.

‘But just in case.’

I’m not a major, so there’s nothing wrong with being careful.

So whenever I visit a PC room, I always cover the cam.

It was the same even now when I sat down to check the contents of the USB in earnest.

Heading to the farthest corner, I was conscious of the CCTV and wrapped my mask and hat more carefully.

‘Already 5 PM.’

When I connected the USB and opened the folder, I was greeted with a scene I had seen many times.

One text file, one video file, and one folder titled Original video.

When I play the video, white text appears on a black background.

「Please check the notepad file first.」

It was something I had already checked in other PC rooms.

I skimmed through the text files I had only turned on and never read.

「The original video was saved in a separate folder, and the integrated video was sequentially connected to the CCTVs in the building to make it easier to understand the context of the incident.」

The content was neither long nor short.

“Audio was used from the radios and tape recorders of the agents at the scene at the time, and the transcripts of the interviews.”

I read it carefully.

“Even though you heard the not-so-good news, we thank you for trying to understand the case without prejudice, and we want to clarify our position more clearly.”

After that, it was listed what support the NIS was planning for this game.

Things like how we’re probating our players and how we’re handling this situation.

After I understood the contents, I put on my headphones and played the video.

The place presumed to be a police detention center was the first to be seen.

‘It looks like he’s wearing a body cam.’

The field of view was at the height of a human upper body.

Soon, in the video, two men in suits came out with a certain man.

The subtitles that appeared at the bottom of the video were showing the date.

“June 13, 11:34 am, first player contact.”

It was the day when the 1st players had their 2nd tutorial.

「Player #1, Han Chang-sik, 32 years old, lives in Daerim-dong.」

“It is estimated that he conducted the second tutorial while imprisoned in a detention center for causing a commotion at a bar on the night of the 12th.”

「Transfer of duties from the National Police Agency to the National Intelligence Service.」

The scene changed as I was reading the brief biographical information of an unfamiliar player.

“Is this the NIS?”

My eyes narrowed. It was because the accent of a man named Han Chang-shik was unfamiliar.

‘Korean-Chinese?’

I’ve often heard it in media like news and movies, but I’m not used to it.

“Yes, you can go this way.”

A person who appeared to be an NIS agent took Han Chang-sik with him.

After that, the interview continued in a place like an interrogation room.

It was all I knew. Because it was related to the game.

I was patient and listened to everything.

And in the next scene, the Korean-Chinese man sitting alone in the room disappeared.

“June 18th, 6:00 am, 3rd tutorial summon confirmed.”

「Sending official letters of cooperation to the National Police Agency and hospitals in each region. Request for reporting when a patient is found with bloodstains or unexplained injuries.”

Next, it was a CCTV video of a place presumed to be a hospital.

「At 8:06 pm on June 21st, reports were received about three people who were hospitalized with serious injuries of unknown cause in Seoul, Ilsan, and Daejeon. Dispatch of personnel.”

It is the same as the date Kj’s party carried out the mission.

So those three people who were hospitalized must have been players in the same party as him.

『Player number 2 Baejun Yang will be arriving soon. Please wait for the doctor.”

『Arrival confirmed. Start moving.』

A person entering a building on a portable stretcher, like an ambulance would have.

People wearing suits stood around the person as if to protect them.

The scene was repeated three times. Baejun Yang, Joorim Yeo, and Taehwan Kim.

They were all moved to the same space.

『All treatment that can be done right now has been completed at the hospital.』

The doctor who was waiting there checked the condition of the players.

“All patients are conscious. We’ll have to keep an eye on it, but there are no negative signs of recovery right now.”

What came next was a space that at first glance looked like an interrogation room.

There are two people sitting there.

It was Han Chang-sik, wearing plain cotton pants and a cotton tee, and a man wearing a suit with a laptop.

“Can I meet you too?”

“hmm? Are you curious?』

『Of course, they say they are the same people as me. Did you catch a tiger too?”

“Because of the serious injury, I haven’t been able to have an interview related to the game yet. If you’re curious, I’ll ask them once and let you know.”

After that, it was a video asking the players face-to-face in the hospital room.

『Maybe you came here right after the second tutorial, so you are curious about players in the same situation. Would you like to meet me?”

“There’s nothing that can’t be done.”

『They say they are Korean-Chinese, aren’t they dangerous?』

“Could I just get beaten? We are players too.”

“Our agents will also be present, just in case.”

“That is good. i agree Maybe you need someone like that. We didn’t even know how to hold a knife.”

“Then let’s meet!”

“okay.”

“When can we meet?”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll pick you up right away in the afternoon.”

I could barely read the sharp atmosphere in the videos and conversations I’ve seen so far.

Not only Han Chang-shik, but also Yang Bae-joon was polite.

It means that up until this point, the NIS had not been very wary of players.

The problem started when Changsik Han arrived at the hospital room with three players.

Kim Tae-hwan, who had been reluctant to meet him because he was Korean-Chinese, was lying in bed as if he had fallen asleep.

Instead, the other two took the lead in talking with Han Chang-shik.

“You mean you’ve already done the mission?”

“Yes, I almost died there.”

『I guess that mission is dangerous?』

“I can’t say no. Because three people died.”

Han Chang-sik, who was staring at Yang Bae-joon who answered in a bitter voice, crossed his arms and asked with a more serious face.

『Are you gathering magic there? How much does it cost per round?”

“I’m not sure, but it seemed to give each individual 40 or 50 mana. It was absorbed while splitting up according to the number of party members.”

“There are more than I thought.”

“Not necessarily. I need to buy a cleanser.”

『Purifier? Aha, I guess I need that down there?』

“yes?”

“Ah. thank you for letting me know.”

The incident happened while talking about magical powers was in full swing.

Right after he said thanks, Han Chang-sik untied his arms.

A dagger was in his hand.

Han Chang-sik jumped at Yeo Joo-rim, who was right next to him, and cut his neck in half.

From that point on, blood was splattered in the hospital room.

『Emergency, emergency! Number 1 has started to riot!』

“manager! Permission to shoot… … Kuck!』

Yeo Joo-rim’s next victim was the NIS staff who accompanied Han Chang-sik to the hospital room.

Han Chang-sik swung his dagger before they could even draw their guns.

And he took out the gun that was in the arms of the two agents who died in vain.

bang-! Bangtan-!

『You son of a b*tch! Kim Tae-hwan, wake up!”

Yang Bae-jun grabbed his stomach and turned the bed over to create cover.

Blood was seeping out of his stomach, probably because he had opened a wound from moving in a hurry.

While Yang Bae-joon stepped away, Han Chang-sik killed the doctor and nurse.

The fourth victim was Kim Tae-hwan, who was in a dreamy state as if he hadn’t woken up properly.

He was hacked to death by a dagger without even getting out of bed.

At least I wondered if Yang Bae-joon, who quickly hid behind the bed, could hold on a little.

In the end, he was shot dead.

People flocking to the hospital room.

Han Chang-sik running down the hallway and shooting.

The sight of people collapsing and bleeding.

The back view of Han Jeong-sik who broke the window and jumped down.

Even the NIS vehicle chasing him passed one after another.

“Around 2:00 PM on June 22, 3 players, 3 medics, and 8 agents died.”

“As of 10:00 am on June 25, the whereabouts of Han Chang-sik are unknown.”

That’s it, the video ended.

I, who had been gritting my teeth for some time, rubbed my face with both hands.

‘Damn it.’

If this had happened, it would have been natural for him to show up last night with a firearm.

Even if the Korean government and the players put the first button wrong, they will do it wrong.

I checked the original video with a complicated expression while chewing curse words in my head with my face buried in my hands.

The meta information of the video file all matched the date viewed as a subtitle.

“I’ll turn… … .”

After watching this video, I’m pretty sure why the system put a bounty mission on me.

The system hopes that the incident caused by the player in the NIS will be settled.

It means putting the wrong button back together.

There are not only players who kill, but also players who cooperate.

‘If things go well, I won’t be unconditionally wary of or oppress Nam-gyu, so I can take care of him.’

Yang Jo-cheol, who I personally experienced, seemed to be trying to remain as neutral as possible.

He recognized that the player was dangerous, but he did not seem to be unconditionally hostile.

Helping out with this task and being friendly will help reduce the hostility towards the player.

The intent of the visible system was quite blatant.

But even though I found a way, I wasn’t happy at all.

“Why are you giving me such a mission and damn it… … .”

Today, without fail, the system’s behavior has been criticized.

It could not be denied that this method proposed by the system was the most efficient.

Even so, the body does not move easily.

With the mission window open, I blankly watched the timer decrease.

Then the moment the front seat changed.

‘It’s now 9 hours and 59 minutes.’

I took a deep breath and regained my composure.

‘There is no way to avoid the mission.’

About 10 hours later, my location is notified to Han Chang-shik.

Even then, there is no guarantee that this bounty mission will remain.

In the worst case, it means that there is a possibility that only my location will be exposed without knowing the location of Changsik Han.

‘That’s not allowed.’

I can’t see that madman coming around me.

The twins or Mr. and Mrs. Seo may die like the people in the video.

I pulled out the USB and walked out of the PC room faster than usual.