Chapter 164 : Reunion
Chapter 164: Reunion
“······.”
Early on, Baek Woohyun had postponed his concerns about how to deal with past connections he would reunite with in ‘Reverse Planet.’
He couldn’t bring himself to cut them off as merely data scraps—NPCs—nor could he accept them as they were, leaving things awkwardly in between.
But with his half-hearted mindset that he’d figure it out when they met, it seemed this game wouldn’t let him off easy.
Seeing how those presumed to be past connections appeared at completely unexpected places in completely unexpected moments.
‘Should I… refuse?’
“······.”
The reason Baek Woohyun maintained silence after his lips twitched several times was because he knew all too well that avoiding it wouldn’t change anything.
He still planned to investigate the secrets of ‘Reverse Planet’ and ‘that side,’ so in the process, he’d inevitably have to face his past connections anyway.
Moreover, even if he ran away talking about preparing his heart, no matter how much time passed, it seemed he wouldn’t be ready.
“In case you misunderstood, let me clarify.”
Did Baek Woohyun’s contemplative silence come across differently to the ‘Owner’?
He quickly continued, saying he’d clear up the misunderstanding.
“We didn’t sell ‘Avenger’ customer’s information. They came looking directly.”
“······.”
“To be precise, the request was to find the person who attacked the Geumshin Electronics building.”
There was no need to question how they knew Baek Woohyun was the one who attacked the Geumshin Electronics building.
After all, he had visited Manmulsang in the exact same outfit from the building attack incident, so there was no way the ‘Owner’ wouldn’t recognize him.
The fact that he openly displayed hostility toward research facilities and corporations also played a part.
“So, what will you do?”
“···I’ll meet them.”
After the prolonged silence broke, Baek Woohyun’s answer was finally accepted.
Because he acknowledged that refusing here and postponing the problem would be like covering his eyes and pretending everything was fine.
Moreover, if he cooperated with his old comrades, destroying the research facility-corporate alliance would become much easier, making it an utterly natural choice.
“Understood. Since you’ve accepted, I’ll contact them right away. And.”
Clatter.
Soon, the tray that had gone into the hole beneath the partition popped out again. This time, it carried a latest-model smartphone.
As Baek Woohyun only moved the eyes visible through his mask to glance at it, the ‘Owner’ spoke as if it were no big deal.
“This time, there was a slight problem since there was no means of contact between Manmulsang and ‘Avenger’ customer, right? From now on, I’d like to contact you through this smartphone.”
“Hmm.”
“Ah, of course, there’s absolutely no tracking device installed. You’re welcome to inspect it separately. It’s truly purely for contact only.”
Based on his experience from ‘that side,’ the ‘Owner’s’ bold assertion was likely true.
Manmulsang was called the conscience of the underworld precisely because they thoroughly kept faith with customers. That’s how they could reach this position.
Above all, when Baek Woohyun actually cooperated with Manmulsang, the smartphone he received had no tampering either.
‘I can just put it in <Shadow Storage> anyway and only take it out when needed.’
Even if there was a tracking device, what problem would there be if he put the smartphone in a subspace where no signals could reach?
Rather, he could plant false information through it. Manmulsang also knew about the subspace storage, so they deliberately wouldn’t tamper with it.
Between tampering that could be easily detected and even exploited versus building trust by handing over a clean smartphone, which to choose was obvious, wasn’t it?
“······.”
Having finished all calculations, Baek Woohyun wordlessly took the smartphone Manmulsang handed over. This time too, using telekinesis.
Every time he used his ability, the armed guards flinched with uncomfortable expressions, but that held no value worth caring about for him.
Being busy enough looking after people inside his fence, he didn’t care what happened to people outside it.
“Contact me if there’s work to screw over research facilities and corporations.”
“Understood. I’ll contact you soon.”
Baek Woohyun casually turned his back and left Manmulsang. It was behavior oozing with confidence that if they wanted to ambush him, they were welcome to try.
Of course, since Manmulsang wouldn’t betray the trust they’d built up just for an ambush that might not even work, he could reach outside without incident.
***
“Whew···.”
Jeong Nayeon, who had been watching the screen in rapt attention without realizing it, exhaled after Baek Woohyun completely left Manmulsang.
Glancing around the studio, she confirmed the other two were concentrating with expressions no different from her own.
Well, if all three panelists hadn’t kept their mouths shut, the studio wouldn’t have become as quiet as a movie theater.
‘Ah, right. A movie theater. I wondered why it felt familiar—it was exactly like a movie theater.’
Jeong Nayeon blinked, finally realizing the identity of the déjà vu she felt.
Because it was hard to judge whether the fact that a personal broadcast studio felt like a movie theater, even for a moment, was good or bad.
Usually, unless in special cases, dead air in personal broadcasts—especially collaborative streams with multiple people—wasn’t a good sign.
-So freaking fun lololol
-That standoff with Manmulsang was intense af;
-So when does the test subject group appear
-Another exclusive reveal only on the Hackphysical route? Seriously why is the story so packed~
‘ㅇㅇ’ donated ‘1000 won’!
[If there’s a third, there’s a fourth. Fourth faction incoming]
‘Hmm.’
Since the actual viewers seemed not to care at all that the panelists had been quiet, it was even more so.
The viewers were satisfied, chattering among themselves about story appreciation and speculation.
Still, they couldn’t keep their mouths shut indefinitely, so Jeong Nayeon was the first to speak.
“I’m starting to see how amazing it is when the Fully Responsive AI and story system intertwine.”
“Didn’t it feel like watching a movie?”
“Yes. Exactly. I thought the same thing.”
-For real lol
-Had noir film vibes
-Honestly Manmulsang story >>> Management Bureau story
-In terms of tension alone, I agree
“It’s truly amazing that even before editing, we could feel such gripping tension.”
Jeong Nayeon nodded, saying it was no wonder comments on ‘Nuclear Tourism’ story videos uploaded to iTube said they looked like old movie shorts.
If they could feel this much entertainment from the raw, unedited version, how much more movie-like would a properly cut and spliced edited video be?
The fact that story videos were growing as much as PVP videos was proven anew today for good reason.
-I’d subscribe and follow immediately if it was a channel uploading videos like this
-Watching the live stream then iTube again doubles the fun
-After raw, gotta eat the cooked version
-Finish with a PVP video and I’m turning on replay mode
“Hmm. I think Mr. Cheater immersed himself well in the story, which is why we got impressions like ‘it’s like a movie.'”
“What do you mean···.”
“If you two were in Mr. Cheater’s situation, would you have thought Manmulsang would misuse the Tempest-L Specimen?”
At Chloe’s question, Jeong Nayeon and Cha Seongcheol seemed to think for a moment, then soon shook their heads.
After pondering ‘What would I have done?’ they concluded they wouldn’t have made similar judgments.
Probably anyone else besides them would have been the same. They likely would have just passed it off thinking it was a request for a quest item.
But Baek Woohyun, through the context, saw there was plenty of room for Manmulsang to misuse the Tempest-L Specimen too.
That’s why while handing over the item, he could warn them not to pull any tricks, and thus the standoff with Manmulsang was established.
As Chloe said, thanks to him immersing himself well in the story and proceeding, it became a scene with such gripping tension.
“It’s not for nothing people say Mr. Cheater seems like someone who lived in the RePla world and came back.”
This was one of the jokes circulating in the community.
That Baek Woohyun progressing suspiciously well on his unique route was because he fell into the ‘Reverse Planet’ world and came back.
It was just a joke that neither the speakers nor listeners believed, but within it lay a truth no one could realize.
“Indeed so. ···Oh?”
Cha Seongcheol, who had been responding to Chloe, widened his eyes.
Because he saw Baek Woohyun beyond the hologram screen receiving contact through Manmulsang’s smartphone.
At his reaction, the studio’s attention focused back on the video.
***
“······.”
Baek Woohyun quietly looked down at the smartphone.
The content in the message from [Sender: Restricted Display] contained only a location.
Since it was content clearly showing the will not to have any conversation over the line, he didn’t even think of trying to call.
Because he could guess before even pressing the call button that the other party would ignore it.
‘Should I go for now?’
After flying through the sky holding his body with telekinesis as usual, the place Baek Woohyun reached was a warehouse district established on Seoul’s outskirts.
Standing atop the warehouse written in the text message, passing similar-looking warehouses, he narrowed his eyes while looking at it.
He sent waves with telekinetic force to examine the inside of the warehouse, but no life forms were detected.
“······.”
However, instead of texting them asking why he hadn’t arrived yet, Baek Woohyun slowly descended and landed in front of the deserted warehouse.
He knew well that his detection wasn’t perfect. If they concealed their presence through various means, there were plenty of ways to deceive it.
Therefore, there was definitely a probability someone was inside the warehouse. He just couldn’t confirm it.
‘It’s dark.’
What greeted Baek Woohyun as he entered the warehouse was pitch-black darkness.
Inside the warehouse where multiple windows were firmly blocked to prevent sunlight, it was terribly dark without even dim light.
At best, only the light from the door he left open. Even that only brightly illuminated a small part.
Step.
“······.”
Baek Woohyun slowly stepped inside.
The moment he opened Manmulsang’s smartphone and sent a brief text saying he’d arrived.
Click.
Breaking the silence that had settled in the warehouse, a sound came from Baek Woohyun’s ‘right.’
Clearly the sound of someone who had been hiding moving.
“···!”
But strangely, the place Baek Woohyun looked wasn’t the ‘right’ where the sound came from.
He instead turned his head to the ‘left,’ catching with telekinesis a blade stealthily approaching him from there.
He stopped the person trying to gain advantageous ground by ambushing with sound as bait.
Though it was truly perfect handling, his expression—though hidden by his mask—wasn’t very good.
Because this method of drawing attention from one side then ambushing from an unexpected place was extremely familiar to him.
To the point where when a sound suddenly came, he immediately guarded the opposite direction.
‘Could it be—’
“······.”
“······.”
Confirming the masked opponent beyond the blade he caught, Baek Woohyun’s eyes wavered.
Though there wasn’t much he could confirm with the mask covering it, he could clearly see the ponytail that was like his symbol.
No, he couldn’t fail to recognize him just because his face was slightly covered with a scrap of cloth. After all, he was a comrade in arms he’d fought alongside for years.
‘Youngjun.’
Kim Youngjun. Or the man called Test Subject No. 81.
The person Baek Woohyun was with until the very end on ‘that side’ was right there.
And too coldly, with eyes looking at a complete stranger.