novelraw Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14 : Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Park So-yul's balance was 30 million won.
If she paid 50 percent of her balance, she had to pay a whopping 15 million won as boat fare.
She had planned to put out the urgent fire with the 30 million won, so since the amount was set to decrease by half, a setback in her plan was inevitable.
Park So-yul glared at July with a look full of venom.
“It is a price tag that is hard to accept. Are you going to say again that it is something the higher-ups did, so it is useless to complain?”
July let out a small laugh as if lightly brushing off Park So-yul's sharp gaze.
A clear eye-smile lingered within the shadows inside the mask's eye holes.
“That is not exactly so. Don't all products in the world always maintain the same price? It is the same here.”
He slowly raised his hand and pointed to the standing signboard placed at the entrance of the ticket office.
“The regular ship ticket price is scheduled to drop slowly as the game progresses. It is 50 percent now, but later it will drop to 40 percent, 30 percent…… and finally to 0 percent.”
There was a subtle leisure contained in July's voice.
Like an audience member stepping back to watch a play from the stands.
On the other hand, Park So-yul looked like she inwardly disliked the policy set by the organization.
“Survive until the end if you don't want to lose a single penny? You've worked hard to figure out a way to hold on to the players as long as possible. Although I don't like that the result of your pondering is a petty trick.”
“We only provide opportunities. What kind of strategy to use within the given environment is up to you.”
“Umm.”
Park So-yul fell into thought while keeping her mouth shut tight.
One could tell that July's words were logically sound with just a little thought.
It was a rule set with the logic that those who survive for a long time should see more profit, and to deny the rule itself was the same as denying those who chose to remain in the game.
July shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head.
“Now, what will you do?”
A faint gleam glistened inside July's mask eye holes.
It was the gaze of a director watching to see what choices the actors would make on the stage he drew.
After much deliberation, Park So-yul made a decision.
“One unpleasant experience is enough. I will return.”
In the drama, Park So-yul returned to society once, and in this world, Park So-yul was following the flow of the drama to some extent.
She probably thought like this.
‘Let's not think about what was lost, but think about what was gained. Come to think of it, I got 15 million won in just one day. Since I got money I wouldn't have obtained if I hadn't participated in the game, it's a profit in the end.’
July placed his right hand on his left chest and bowed his waist 45 degrees.
He expressed respect for Park So-yul's choice by taking a polite posture.
“Buying a ticket right now would also be one of many wise choices. The regular ship arrives in two days. Please wait in the safe house prepared by the organization until then.”
“Safety house?”
“Since you haven't noticed yet, I must have overestimated you, So-yul.”
“I don't know about anything else, but I can tell that those words were thrown on purpose to make me angry.”
“So-yul says she didn't notice. What do you think, Ju-seong?”
A safety house is, as the name implies, a space prepared for safety.
Conversely, it also meant that all players were currently in an unsafe situation.
Even though it was not during a game.
Seeing is believing.
I closed my eyes and drew an image.
‘I am the type whose hands get soaked in sweat when I am nervous. So I must imagine a tense situation so that I can artificially get sweat on my hands anytime and anywhere.’
I tried imagining it as a test.
The injured people I saw in the hall lobby earlier.
I imagined myself becoming one of them and being on the verge of death.
The rebellious temperament that hated dying at all costs collided with the imagination, and sweat beaded on my hands.
The moment I felt certain that an appropriate amount of sweat had beaded, I overlapped both hands so that the palms met.
Ability to turn bodily fluids into blades.
When I opened my overlapping palms, a dagger the size of a fruit knife was generated in my hands.
Park So-yul's eyes grew wide.
“It is not during a game right now. Can you still use abilities?”
“There was a hotel among the shopping mall stores. Looking at that, I thought that maybe one can only secure a safe place to sleep by paying money. I gained certainty because I could use the ability when I actually tried it.”
In fact, I knew it thanks to the prior knowledge gained from binge-watching the drama, but I acted as if I found it out by pondering on my own by cleverly creating an excuse.
Acting as if I were intelligent was the right choice.
Park So-yul puckered her lips and let out a small exclamation.
In Park So-yul's brain, the perception that I was a competent person she could rely on would have deepened further.
July also liked my answer, so he spoke in a tone that showed plenty of enjoyment.
“I wasn't trying to hide it, I was just about to explain it later. If you stop by the gym at night, you can receive a blanket and a pillow. Just like the free food distribution, you can sleep without spending money. Instead, the fact that the sleeping place is very uncomfortable is something you have to handle on your own.”
“The organization doesn't intervene even if a massacre breaks out inside the gym, right?”
“We have set a rule to impose a strong penalty for killings outside of the main game. With that, it can be said that the organization has done everything it can do.”
I almost snorted at the mention of a strong penalty.
What part of being banned from participating in one next game was a strong penalty?
It was certain that no one knew when or what danger would strike if they slept inside the gym.
In fact, in the drama, large-scale gang fights broke out several times inside the gym, and every time a fight broke out, a large number of dropouts occurred.
There was no law saying the same thing wouldn't happen in this world as in the drama.
“I know the gym is not safe. That's why I'm asking, is it certain that it's safe to sleep at the hotel?”
“Inside the hotel, you basically cannot use abilities. This should serve as an answer.”
In the gym, players with insufficient funds would gather, and since they could use abilities, they could attack each other at any time.
If this fact were applied, one could earn money in various ways without even playing the main game.
So, rather than consuming mental energy in a place that wasn't even the main game, it might be better to sleep comfortably with both legs stretched out at the hotel.
Whether to shoulder a risk to save money, or to secure safety even if it meant spending money.
Even the lodging method was forcing a choice upon the players.
Park So-yul listened carefully to the conversation between me and July, and then she slinked her arm forward and pointed at the ticket office.
“Then what happens if a fight breaks out between a player and an organization member?”
In front of the ticket office, the players' protests were becoming increasingly intense.
The protesting players overlapped with the image of nuisance customers who just file a complaint recklessly.
The habit of shouting first remained the same even after entering this Money Game.
“Damn it! You've been saying no, no, only the same things since a while ago! Are you a retard or what, can you only say the same words?”
“Is it that hard to listen to the request to set the ticket price properly, whether it's 1 million won or 2 million won? Is it hard!”
“We got blood on our hands trusting only your words, but it's troublesome if you act this way! Bring the person in charge quickly! I must get an apology for the part where you deceived us first!”
Eventually, one player could not overcome his temper and caused a scene.
It was a youth in hip-hop coordination wearing a snapback with piercings, a 5XL T-shirt, and ripped jeans.
The youth with a giant frame who looked like he would exceed 120kg turned his hat 180 degrees and wore it backward.
Then, a wireless microphone was generated in the giant youth's hand.
“Ah, I'm getting pissed! Should I just break everything?”
It seemed to be an ability that could generate a dedicated tool when taking a specific pose.
The ability to generate a microphone when turning the hat backward.
The giant youth took a deep breath.
It was a preliminary movement to emit a high pitch.
It was estimated to be an ability that could apply an impact to a certain range in proportion to the volume when shouting into the microphone.
Although the player was right on the verge of causing a disturbance, July, a person on the organization's side, did not even flinch.
Far from being flustered, he rather felt pity for the giant youth.
“How pitiful. He's leaving the world without even being able to spend the money he worked so hard to earn.”
For saying it was pitiful, his voice was full of life.
Thanks to the contrast between the chosen words and the voice, I could realize anew that July was a cranky fellow.
Just as the giant youth was about to use his ability to attack the ticket office employee wearing a copper mask.
The giant youth suddenly vomited a handful of blood and collapsed.
“Cough! Gurgle.”
He fell forward, and his face hit the floor.
Blood pooled under his face, and bubbles swarmed on both sides of his lower face.
July clicked his tongue with a mocking intent.
“Tsk tsk, when you use an ability against someone wearing a mask, the nanomachines in the blood run wild. His desire to go out got ahead of him and he made a mistake.”
I already knew, but experiencing it in reality made the organization's deviousness feel doubled.
If they had notified them in advance, the giant youth wouldn't have died a sudden death.
In the first place, the players wouldn't have even protested.
However, the organization purposely did not tell the truth.
Because it is much more intuitive when a victim actually occurs.
In fact, those who were protesting moved back one step at a time from the giant youth's corpse with pale complexions.
“D-is he dead?”
“How can this be! You didn't say we would die if we used an ability against an organization member!”
“Shh! Be careful! You might end up the same way!”
In the end, the organization's intention to crack down on resistance against the organization by planting fear through a vivid experience hit the mark exactly.
The players consumed by fear were divided into two groups.
Those who accepted the ticket price set by the organization and bought a ticket.
Those who backed away because they couldn't even dream of paying the price.
Park So-yul shivered at the organization's deviousness and spoke to me.
“Ju-seong, if you stay in a place like this, you might also die a hollow death at any time. Let's just leave. Together with me.”
It was Park So-yul suggesting with sincerity because she recognized me as a comrade.
I was grateful for her consideration.
But I shook my head firmly.
“I will stay.”
At my firm answer, Park So-yul bit her lip.
Then she slowly scanned my face with a gaze filled with anxiety.
“Ju-seong……”
Park So-yul swallowed a sigh and stepped closer.
And she held my hand.
Her hand was warm but trembling minutely.
“Are you really planning to stay? No matter how much I think about it, it's dangerous. The Money Game isn't the only way to earn money.”
I looked at her with a soft smile and shook my head.
“It's not that I don't know it's dangerous, it's just that I have no choice but to take the risk. Even if I return like this, it's not much different from being dead.”
Park So-yul put strength into the hand she was holding.
Her voice shook, but she tried hard to maintain her composure.
“Then…… please be careful. Never join hands with someone you can't trust, and survive until the end even if you are alone.”
“I promise. You go back safely too, So-yul.”
Her eyes shook slightly.
She had realized she could no longer persuade me.
“Thank you so much, Ju-seong. I was able to hold on thanks to you.”
Park So-yul took a short breath and wore an awkward smile.
She looked at me one last time with a gaze full of regret, then slowly turned around.
Then she never looked back once while heading to the ticket office.
When Park So-yul took her place at the end of the queue, July turned his body 180 degrees coldly as if he had no interest in those who would leave soon.
“So another person has thrown away their opportunity. Let's forget the dropout and move on to the next store. Next, I will guide you to the hotel desk.”
I knew the price for one night at the hotel.
5 million won per night.
It was excessively expensive for a lodging fee, but it was cheap if you thought of it as the price of a life.
If one didn't stay at the hotel, they had to spend a night in the lawless gym.
July naturally assumed I would stay at the hotel.
“Since you have secured a significant amount of funds, Ju-seong, the hotel lodging fee won't be a burden. The cheapest room is 5 million for one night……”
I cut off July's words and said lightheartedly.
“I don't want to pay as much as 5 million won just to sleep comfortably for one night.”
July's steps stopped abruptly, as if his void was properly pierced.
His silence, trying to hide his surprised expression, felt very ridiculous.
I slinked a spiteful smile toward July.
It was minor revenge for mocking the players all along.
“Instead of paying a rip-off price, I will sleep at the gym.”
To be clear, it wasn't because I found 5 million won to be a waste that I chose the gym.
If the flow of the drama scenario was still being maintained, a large-scale event would occur on the first night.
An event where the early villain, Yoon Ji-ho, would spread madness and take an overwhelming profit was scheduled to happen.
I intended to use Yoon Ji-ho's crazy act in reverse.
‘Yoon Ji-ho, in the drama, you caused a scene at this timing and earned a huge sum. But not in this world. I will use your plan in reverse.’