Chapter 200 : Swift
Chapter 200: Swift
With the final decision made regarding the disposal of the Otherworld Stone, the Avengers’ operation came to a complete end.
They had dealt a major blow to the research facility, seized what appeared to be an important item—the Otherworld Stone—and the Avengers had suffered no losses whatsoever. It was truly a perfect success.
A system message appeared for Baek Woohyun indicating that the [Avengers’ Resistance] mission was complete, officially confirming it was finished.
“Good. Let’s disband for now. I’ll call you again if we get more good intel later.”
Perhaps pleased that they had unilaterally pummeled the research facility without any losses for once, Kim Youngjun said with a beaming smile.
From the signs, it seemed he intended to call back the personnel present here if similar situations arose in the future.
For Baek Woohyun, who had been trying to build sufficient rapport with these people, this was nothing but good news.
He could expand his foothold within the Avengers based on these connections, and gradually use that to uncover the reason behind the boss’s betrayal.
“…Good work.”
“Everyone worked hard! Oh, Lee Jun! I apologize again for getting angry out of nowhere when we first met! I’m sorry!”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“That’s a relief then!”
Soon after the quiet Jang Eunsu and the hearty Seo Dain left contrasting farewells and departed first, only Baek Woohyun and Kim Youngjun remained in the underground parking lot.
It wasn’t that the two had any particular reason to stay. Originally, Baek Woohyun had intended to leave the underground parking lot together with those who went ahead.
It was just that he had failed to leave with them because he was responding to Seo Dain, who was once again apologizing for their first meeting.
“Then I’ll also—”
“Lee Jun.”
Thus, as Baek Woohyun was about to leave after giving a rough farewell, Kim Youngjun stopped him. His expression was serious, as if he’d never been smiling.
When Kim Youngjun had this expression ‘over there,’ nine times out of ten it meant absolutely unavoidable talk was coming, so Baek Woohyun’s expression became serious as well.
He completely turned his half-turned body toward Kim Youngjun and asked.
“Why?”
“I know you have another identity. You’re probably deeply involved with the Otherworld Management Bureau.”
“……”
Currently, there were roughly a dozen or so agents of research facility Test Subject origin at the Otherworld Management Bureau.
If the Avengers set their minds to it, finding out who Lee Jun was among them wouldn’t be too difficult. After all, there would be Avengers members or collaborators among them right now.
Essentially, Kim Youngjun had revealed ‘we know your identity,’ but Baek Woohyun waited for what would follow with a calm attitude.
When he’d laid out his speculation about the Otherworld Stone and asked to be entrusted with its disposal, he had already considered the high possibility that his identity would be revealed.
“Ah, I’m not trying to blame you for that. Even among us, there are quite a few who operate as Avengers while having other identities.”
“That would be the case.”
Even Baek Woohyun had been rescued by the Otherworld Management Bureau and became an agent right then, and hadn’t most agents of research facility Test Subject origin come in through similar routes?
Considering there were also those who had entered corporations while avoiding the research facility’s eyes, or had quietly found employment somewhere to make a living, about half would have other identities.
It was just somewhat unusual that it was an Otherworld Management Bureau agent—having another identity itself was common within the Avengers.
“I just want you to promise me one thing.”
“What promise?”
“A promise that you won’t betray ‘us.'”
Kim Youngjun looked at Baek Woohyun with coldly sunken eyes.
“We don’t care how you use the information or items you obtain through activities with your other identity. If you used them well, that would be a good thing.”
“……”
“However, we absolutely cannot tolerate betrayal that sells out comrades or exposes operations to put them in danger. That would be breaking the organization’s greatest rule.”
“The greatest rule.”
“We banded together to survive. At the foundation of the organization called Avengers is survival.”
Therefore, Kim Youngjun said, betrayal that threatens comrades’ lives through betrayal is Avengers’ taboo.
It was a warning Baek Woohyun had heard when he joined the Avengers ‘over there’ as well.
Back then, Baek Woohyun, who didn’t have much attachment to the organization yet, had responded with “Mind your own business.”
‘It was quite a savage time.’
Baek Woohyun, who chuckled inwardly, opened his mouth.
“I never considered betrayal from the start.”
“That’s an interesting answer. Why did you think that way?”
“Well, ‘Because only we can truly understand each other’s pain.'”
“—Ah.”
Kim Youngjun’s eyes widened.
What Baek Woohyun had said was precisely what he had said when inviting him to join the Avengers.
Because the pain Test Subjects experienced could only be known by Test Subjects themselves, Kim Youngjun had said as much, saying he would trust his comrade Baek Woohyun.
“Haha! That’s right! Betrayal between comrades is absurd!”
“…Yeah, that’s right.”
Betrayal between comrades was impossible.
Both Baek Woohyun and Kim Youngjun, along with everyone else, thought so.
That’s why Jeong Beomu’s betrayal ‘over there’ had struck the Avengers so fatally.
“I’m going.”
“See you later!”
Leaving behind the grinning Kim Youngjun, Baek Woohyun exited the underground parking lot and rummaged through his clothes to pull out Black Devil.
Everything related to the Avengers that he encountered in ‘Reverse Planet’ reminded him of the catastrophe ‘over there,’ becoming an enormous psychological burden.
It was even more so because no clear results were visible yet. He was just enduring with the single hope that things would gradually improve.
Tsschk.
“Sssip, fuuuu—“
The human heart was truly deceitful—there was no way to help becoming increasingly impatient.
Both during the initial operation meeting and when wrapping up afterward, questions about Jeong Beomu had risen to the tip of his throat several times.
If he hadn’t told himself ‘proceed slowly, slowly’ inwardly several times, he would surely have made some mistake.
‘…It’s okay. You’re doing well. Everyone thinks so, right?’
Baek Woohyun stood blankly, gazing at the faintly burning cigarette flame.
Still surrounded by the vengeful spirits that accompanied him.
***
“Come to think of it, didn’t you say you had something to announce in PVP today?”
“Ah! Right! I did say that!”
—I heard youth dementia is a serious problem
—I also have memory issues, I keep forgetting~ By the way, who are you?
—What are you announcing again ㄷㄷ
—Fear for whatever Hackphysical will say through her
“It’s nothing major, just one thing Woohyun asked me to relay.”
‘ㅇㅇ’ donated 1000 won!
[It’s probably nothing by Hackphysical’s standards]
Jeong Nayeon smiled brightly while looking at the chat window.
Naturally, no one believed her when she said it was nothing major.
As the donation pointed out, what was ‘nothing major’ by Baek Woohyun’s standards was tremendous news for viewers.
She grumbled “It really is though…” at their reaction, then said:
“He just said from now on, he’ll seriously aim for Challenger Rank 1 and climb the rankings. That’s all.”
—Challenger Rank 1 climb declaration ㄷㄷ
—You said it’s nothing major ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋ
—Since when did hitting Challenger Rank 1 become nothing major
—By Hackphysical’s standards it is nothing major ㅇㅇ;
“Didn’t Hackphysical say which PVP mode he’ll climb rankings in?”
“For now, he said ‘Duel’ mode! Because that’s the highest!”
‘ㅇㅇ’ donated 1000 won!
[‘For now’ ㄷㄷ]
Since Challenger had become a tier where only current and former Pro Players barely held on, Challenger Rank 1 had always been claimed by Pro Players.
Very rarely, regular players would claim it, but they too would be seen as Pro Players in the league soon after, so it wasn’t much different.
He had essentially declared he was going to retrieve something that had been entrusted to him, but the viewers’ reaction was calm. It felt closer to something inevitable finally arriving.
Well, how much has Baek Woohyun shown in PVP so far?
Complete victory with no defeats—a golden tower built by winning every game without recording a single defeat or death, shining so brilliantly.
Even in the recent SSR Cup, befitting his new title of Demon King, he had exercised overwhelming and unreasonable violence on participants.
‘Hacks’ donated 1000 won!
[Hey, should I go get it now? “Rank 1”]
‘PhysicalBrainphysicalHackphysical’ donated 1000 won!
[Huh? You’re the former Rank 1? Thanks for keeping my seat warm, you can go now]
‘Attona’ donated 1000 won!
[Hackphysical alone can massacre the rankings]
—Suddenly the memes are exploding;
—Poor former Rank 1 ㅜㅜ
—What’s amazing is that’s all true ㄷㄷ
—Can’t even tell them not to make a fuss ㅋㅋ It’s all real ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
“If he goes undefeated to Rank 1, that’ll be a major record, right? What do you think?”
“It’ll be an unprecedented and unrepeatable major record. Unless Hackphysical sets the same record again next season, it’ll never be broken.”
“I bet Reddit will flip out too.”
Jeong Nayeon, along with the panelists and viewers, chattered excitedly, but didn’t think deeply about Baek Woohyun’s declaration that he would ‘do it seriously.’
They just took it to mean that he’d been winning PVP by inertia until now without caring about rankings, but would try winning while paying a bit more attention.
Well, it was natural not to know what would change when he does it seriously, since he’d been achieving overwhelming victories all along.
[Time until first round start – 10 seconds]
—”……”
[3 seconds]
[2 seconds]
[1 seconds]
[First round, start!]
It was right after his first matched ‘Duel’ mode game started that they properly understood Baek Woohyun’s ‘seriousness.’
When the countdown ended and the system message announced the first round had begun.
—”—Huh?”
—”……”
“Huh?”
“Mm?”
—?
—What
—The position changed
—What??
Baek Woohyun, who seemed to be leaning his upper body forward, was suddenly standing behind the opposing user.
It was such a bizarre sight that it felt as if the content between the scene of kicking off the ground and the scene of stopping had completely disappeared.
The panelists and viewers watching were all displaying question marks above their faces without understanding anything.
However, in this absurd scene, there existed one certain thing.
That was—
Swish.
[First round end]
[Winner: Baek Woohyun]
[Loser: (Anonymous)]
—The system message declaring Baek Woohyun’s victory.
It was only afterward that others realized Baek Woohyun had moved at an invisible speed and beheaded the opposing user while passing by them.
They only understood the situation after the opposing user became a Mannequin and the system message simultaneously declared his victory.
Because he was so fast that others’ understanding arrived belatedly!
Truly Swift (神速).
Swiftness like a god.
“No, what is this…”
“I knew Hackphysical could move at super high speed, but, uh, mm.”
“Oh—”
—The round ended as soon as it started, is this right
—The opponent looking around confused not knowing what happened ㅅㅂㅋㅋ
—I’d be bewildered too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ What is this ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
—??? : No, it ended as soon as it started, why isn’t this a bug!
[Time until second round start – 10 seconds]
—”What, is it a bug?”
—”……”
The panelists were at a loss for words, viewers giggled and entered mindless worship mode, and the opposing user still looked around unable to grasp the situation.
Only the producer of all this, Baek Woohyun, calmly gripped his Military Dagger in reverse grip and waited for the next round to start.
His attitude was full of intent to behead them before the opposing user could realize it this time as well.
—”……”
[Final Record — Baek Woohyun 2:0 (Anonymous)]
[Final Winner: Baek Woohyun]
[Final Loser: (Anonymous)]
And so, it didn’t take long for word to spread that Baek Woohyun’s ‘seriousness’ was tearing apart PVP ‘Duel’ mode.