novelraw Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Chapter 132: MacGuffin (2)
DUDUDUDU-
An SD lizard was rushing towards us with its neck frill spread wide on both sides.
Before I could even be surprised by its somewhat realistic appearance.
“Deputy Bureau Chief!”
A voice came from the creature.
It was speaking clearly in human language.
SCREECH-!
The lizard braked sharply, scratching the floor with its chubby claws in front of me.
“Phew! I ran so much.”
The creature caught its breath and stared at me intently.
The round eyes unique to realistic reptiles took aim at me.
‘This is a bit burdensome.’
Plus, the tongue flickering ceaselessly.
It was a lizard itself.
“Camel! Were you working?”
As Jin Cheonglim greeted lightly and asked.
“Yeah! Saw you connected and ran over immediately.”
He looked back and forth between me and Jin Cheonglim and nodded.
Jin Cheonglim turned to me and explained.
“This is Gwak Camel, the News Department Chief.”
Gwak Camel.
His name was already floating above the lizard like an ID.
[Gwak Camel]
I do know who he is.
A character who often appeared in the game too.
Since he's not a common extra but the News Department Chief of Zero Times.
For reference, the name Gwak Camel is his real name.
One might wonder how a person's name could be Gwak Camel.
But this person is a Chameleon Beastkin even in reality outside MacGuffin.
Of course, that doesn't mean one must name their child like that.
The game developers are really too much.
‘Just because it’s a game, they named characters carelessly, so it feels damn awkward when seeing them in reality…….’
On the other hand, there's a strange guy named Park Sonic who isn't even a Beastkin.
Thinking of that guy, Gwak Camel might be decent in comparison.
“This is Ryu Jinwoo, just promoted to Official Journalist today. He was curious about what MacGuffin is, so I came to show him.”
Jin Cheonglim introduced me to Gwak Camel.
As soon as he finished speaking, the frilled lizard's neck frill spread wide like an umbrella.
Is surprise expressed in this way?
“Uh-uh! You’re Ryu Jinwoo? Seeing the next Bureau Chief here!”
“Yes? Next Bureau Chief?”
What is this sudden nonsense?
“Ah, I say it like a joke. Haha, actually half-serious too.”
Jin Cheonglim tugged at my back.
It seems he wanted to put his arm around my shoulder, but his arm length was insufficient because he was an SD character.
Setting that aside.
They seem to be overestimating me too much.
“Such jokes are a bit... It’s slightly burdensome…….”
Just as I was about to say something, Gwak Camel's mouth opened wide.
“A joke! Established media referenced the article written by a student reporter exactly as it was 4,000 times! Just the places that bought the article officially numbered in the dozens. Heard it was taken overseas too? Just with that performance, you've already surpassed me, the Department Chief!”
Gwak Camel rattled on like firing a machine gun with his mouth.
4,000 times? Bought officially? Overseas?
“Is that real?”
When I asked Jin Cheonglim, he nodded.
I only heard it went well, but I didn't know it was to that extent.
Looks like he didn't say I'd get a hefty information fee for nothing.
“What’s the secret? I want to write at least one big scoop and graduate too. Even if it’s not a News Department article!”
Gwak Camel asks me for the secret.
But even if he says secret, I have nothing to say.
Since I just wrote what happened exactly as it was.
It's just that the events themselves were too massive.
Mystery Hall, Hero Land……. Both were major incidents where the social spotlight poured down.
I was just at those places thanks to knowing the game story and the [Reporter's Sense] passive.
So even if he asks for a secret, I really have nothing to say.
While I was frozen, Jin Cheonglim chuckled and opened his mouth instead.
“In the end, it’s instinct. Instinct as a journalist. Because rather than writing well, biting the bait well is the real talent.”
Jin Cheonglim turned his gaze towards me.
“In my view, Jinwoo has excellent instincts. With a little teaching, he might become a talent on the level of the first Bureau Chief.”
Jin Cheonglim made a dopamine-filled expression like a kid who found an interesting experiment subject.
In that appearance, Jin Cheongha was faintly reflected.
A spoon of madness was added.
‘Burdensome.’
Somehow Jin Cheongha overlapped.
Officially a collateral branch, but still a bloodline belonging to the Cheongryu Family. So there are strangely similar corners.
Jin Cheongha, who as a battle maniac, looks for a rival to fight on equal footing with herself continuously.
Jin Cheonglim, who as an information maniac, is frantic to grow power based on media and information.
The common point is the style of driving the surroundings without compromise once they set their minds.
And the fact that once targeted, it's a personality that inevitably becomes troublesome.
But the name calling me from behind is the next Bureau Chief?
Perhaps I was already bitten properly.
However, excessive expectation and interest are usually poison.
It was when such a thought flashed briefly.
“How much guidance did you receive? Did you learn how to use this space?”
Gwak Camel asked, slightly inflating his neck frill.
It's sudden, but damn realistic.
How did he customize it?
“No. Not yet. Only heard roughly what kind of space it is.”
At my answer, Gwak Camel's two eyes spun round and round.
“Oh really? Then I’ll show you! Since I was working anyway!”
Gwak Camel stretched his hand upward and manipulated something.
Immediately after, a square window appeared in front of him.
“This is the basic system window. There are various functions, but the most important one is of course the store. You try opening it too!”
The MacGuffin system wasn't complicated.
I was already used to this type of system window thanks to the Tactical Manual anyway.
[MacGuffin]
[Information Store]
[SEARCH:____]
“You search for the information you want in the Information Store. The interesting point is that no matter how vaguely you write, MacGuffin suggests appropriate information on its own.”
Gwak Camel immediately searched for [Zero Academy 2nd Dormitory Theft] in his Information Store window.
Seemingly an incident posted on the bulletin board recently.
The culprit wasn't caught, and the incident itself was said to be in a fog.
Such a question might arise.
Is there any meaning in searching?
Usually, search engines can find incidents where articles are already plastered or information is circulating enough.
If it's the 2nd Dormitory theft, which just became an issue and is a locally occurred commotion, nothing comes out no matter how much you search on the internet.
At most, complaints from Zero cadets saying their stuff got stolen would appear.
But the MacGuffin I know provides more than that.
“And from now on is important.”
Gwak Camel licked his lips with his tongue and manipulated the store window.
[How much price will you pay?]
“Do you know what the price used in the virtual world for journalists, MacGuffin World, is?”
“Wouldn't it be information?”
“Correct. As expected, smart. Information is used like currency. The unit is Credit.”
Gwak Camel paid 10 Credits first.
RING RING-!
Soon after, a hedgehog riding a bicycle popped out from behind the building.
The creature pedaled furiously, rushed over, and threw a letter envelope.
THWACK!
Gwak Camel snatched the letter lightly.
“This is stage 1, breaking news.”
Inside the letter, a photo was enclosed along with simple text.
[Suspicious person for trespassing captured near 2nd Dormitory.]
“If you pay a small price, this much. It’s not hugely helpful, but enough to get a sense of where to start coverage.”
What if more is paid here?
“You! You wondered what would happen if paid more now, right?”
Perhaps he didn't become the News Department Chief for nothing; Gwak Camel pierced through my mind.
This time too, he demonstrated immediately.
What he paid next was 1,000 Credits.
“It takes about a week to gather 1,000 Credits. I have to earn it by selling information I found out directly to the hedgehog residents here. Essentially, it's a structure where we bring information to MacGuffin to obtain Credits.”
About a minute passed after Gwak Camel paid 1,000 Credits.
DUDUDUDU-!
WHIIIIR-!
Following that, the sound of a motor approached from the air.
A sky-blue mini helicopter was flying in the air.
A hedgehog wearing goggles sitting in the cockpit checked Gwak Camel.
CLACK-!
Along with the sound of pulling a lever, a thick parcel package with a parachute dropped.
The parcel landed accurately in Gwak Camel's arms.
When he opened it, vast data incomparable to the previous note poured out.
Site image packets, campus security logs, situational organization by time zone, and even self-analysis articles.
On one side, a letter that looked handwritten was enclosed.
[To you who wish to make the truth known. - MacGuffin]
“This is it. If you pay enough price, you can receive full-package information. Since it’s not a fixed price system, usually we increase the paid Credits little by little.”
Gwak Camel examined the data with a satisfied expression, then soon his voice turned dumbfounded.
“Oh dear, it was someone I knew.”
He laughed hollowly and held out a paper.
There, the content of a secret SNS account where the culprit boasted about his exploits was shown.
The place where stolen items were hidden, even verification photos were revealed nakedly.
“To think the janitor was the culprit. They say it's darkest under the lamp. He seemed like a good person.”
Gwak Camel shook his head from side to side.
“Did you catch the real culprit now?”
“Right? Though it wasn't a large-scale incident. So solved it completely with 1,000 Credits.”
Verification is needed, but the process won't be difficult.
Since evidence at a level where no excuses are possible overflows just by glancing at the data.
“Anyway, do you get how cheat-like MacGuffin is?”
Gwak Camel asked boastfully.
Of course, I have no choice but to know.
The fact that the virtual world MacGuffin can influence reality was the interesting part.
Besides, this case is a comparatively honest use of functions.
In the game, MacGuffin was even utilized for information manipulation, hacking, or illicit transactions entirely.
In other words, it was a cheat-like space even beyond what I saw now.
‘Of course, to do that, one must raise the rank and pay the price, but.’
The virtual world MacGuffin doesn't distinguish between good and evil.
It only grants requests corresponding to the price paid appropriately.
“Then, since I showed the demonstration too, I’ll get going slowly. Think I need to finish this case first and write an article.”
Gwak Camel greeted me and Jin Cheonglim and logged out just like that.
The sight of him scattering into pixels and disappearing was somewhat worth watching.
“How is it? Impressions on coming here for the first time?”
Jin Cheonglim asked me while looking at the spot where Gwak Camel disappeared.
“Fascinating, and I’m a bit bewildered.”
It was sincere.
No matter how much I played the game, when it unfolded before my actual eyes, it approached completely differently.
Besides, I couldn't get used to Jin Cheonglim's appearance in SD character state no matter how much I looked.
“I was like that at first too. You’ll get used to it as you come and go.”
SD Jin Cheonglim pulled my back again.
“I’m thinking of leaving slowly, what will you do?”
I looked around for a moment.
The answer was decided.
Because there is something I want to do while remaining alone.
“Can I look around a bit more before leaving?”
“I knew it. Usually everyone does that. I tend not to stop them either.”
Jin Cheonglim grinned.
He said it's common for new journalists to run around this virtual space here and there whenever they come.
“There are probably many restricted areas. Many functions are still deactivated too. Don't try to enter forcefully. You’ll get forcibly logged out. If that happens, you might get marked by MacGuffin. Access gets blocked.”
That would be big trouble, right?
Let's not do foolish things.
Jin Cheonglim, who left words of caution until the end, soon scattered into pixels.
Only hedgehogs were moving diligently around now.
‘Shall I start slowly.’
The usage method Senior Gwak Camel showed was certainly interesting.
To catch even the culprit of a real incident based on data if the cost is paid.
Just that alone can be called a crazy system.
But MacGuffin's potential is beyond that.
I opened the MacGuffin system window and opened the ‘Auction House’ instead of the Information Store.
[F-Class, entry is restricted.]
[Auction House can be used from C-Class and above.]
A restriction notification followed immediately.
This is the problem.
As a Zero Times journalist, I can enter this world and use basic functions.
However, this world was a rank system.
If the rank is not met, restrictions are placed on functions and movement.
Of course, if I continue activities steadily, the rank will eventually rise, but.
‘There is a way to raise it without being steady.’
3 more days were needed for the Moonlight Stone to activate.
It's good to do whatever I can in the meantime.
Above all, the Auction House was a necessary function exactly 3 days later.
Auction House system operated directly by MacGuffin.
It takes ages to use this system from outside.
Only after acquiring a hero license and building up performance or proving strict qualification requirements does MacGuffin's contact occur, and then one can participate barely.
However, MacGuffin specially allowed journalists to access the Auction House even if they become C-Class.
So I decided to try.
‘Shortcut walkthrough method to raise rank quickly.’
A hedgehog trotted past me.
I reached out without hesitation.
POP-!
Pulled out one of the creature's quills.
“Squeak!!”
The hedgehog jumped in surprise and looked up at me.
The creature, tilting its head as if grasping the situation for a moment, discovered the quill held in my hand.
“Squeeeak-!”
The creature, whose face turned red, stomped its feet and got angry.
The moment it was about to press a dangerously looking red button immediately.
“Sorry.”
I lowered my face near the hedgehog's ear.
“This is a secret but…….”
“Squeak?”
As my words continued.
“Squeak-”
The creature's expression relaxed.
And finally.
“Squeeeak!”
The hedgehog sparkled its eyes and gave a thumbs up.
“No, I don't need more.”
After that, I had to stop the creature from trying to pull out more of its own quills to give me.
It seems it valued the information I gave quite highly.
When I refused the quill, 1000 Credits entered my balance.
As if payment must be certain.
‘Then let’s see…….’
I slowly grasped the quill in one hand.
The length was appropriate, a little longer than a 30cm ruler.
Light and hard.
‘This is enough.’
I turned my gaze slowly.
A clock tower stretching high came into view.
That place was exactly where I should head.