Chapter 27 : Chapter 27
Chapter 27
‘If you encounter a person who has no reason to be in this place, attack immediately. You must never hesitate. Never.’
Ju-seong's words flashed through Bang Su-hyeok's mind.
To procure a weapon, he threw a piece of scrap metal he was possessing at his feet.
The rod-shaped scrap metal fell to the ground, and simultaneously he used his ability.
Ability to turn scrap metal into traps.
The rusty iron rod turned into a launch-type trap consisting of a tripod stand, a string-hanger, wire, and a short spear.
Bang Su-hyeok detached the short spear from the wire and gripped it with both hands.
He executed an application method on the spot, detaching the threatening part from the trap to utilize it as a weapon.
The sharp spear blade pointed toward the player who took the form of his wife.
“You’ve properly crossed the line. Even playing with people has a limit.”
The player borrowing the wife's appearance wore a gentle smile.
It was exactly the image of her coming out to the foyer to greet him whenever Bang Su-hyeok returned home with a tired body.
How much salvation had he received from that welcoming appearance.
“…….”
The opponent said nothing.
Instead, she took the action of spreading both arms wide to hug him.
A sob almost burst out.
How much had he endured steadfastly in the past days to protect this image.
Bang Su-hyeok shouted at the top of his lungs to remind himself that the opponent was a fake.
“There’s no way my wife is here! It’s obvious she can't be here, so do you think I'll fall for such a predictable trick? What do you take me for!”
It was closer to a battle cry to pull himself together rather than a threat toward the opponent.
He tried shouting with emotion, but the opponent didn't care and narrowed the gap step by step.
In his wife's form. Silently.
Infinite tolerance was felt from the posture of spreading both arms.
And because the front of the body was opened, the slightly protruding belly stood out even more.
“…….”
That is not his wife.
He must stab.
Right now! Without hesitating!
The moment he tried to thrust the spear forward while setting his resolve, suddenly his breath didn't come as if his throat was tightly blocked.
“Urgh!”
It was a sensation as if the muscles inside the throat contracted at will and blocked the hole without a gap.
Cold sweat flowed from his face, and he felt stifled and pained as if a stone was caked inside his chest.
The memories of when he was most happy in his life came to mind, flashing through his head one by one like a film.
When he first heard the news from his wife that they had a new life.
When his wife looked at him intently from the side and patted him as his eyes turned red while looking at the ultrasound photo.
When she called out the fetal name softly countless times.
All those moments came to mind in an instant, and his body froze solid.
He had felt the gut-wrenching feeling even if only as a fragment while sending away the child who couldn't come out into the world.
But to think he had to reproduce that situation.
Moreover, this time with his own hands.
He felt as if his whole body was bound and restrained by invisible ropes.
Inside the irony where the happiness of the past shackled his current self, the opponent who took his wife's form suddenly changed and reached out her arm.
Thud!
A small knife was held in the opponent's hand.
The knife was stabbed deep enough for the blade part to enter completely into Bang Su-hyeok’s abdomen.
After a while, the wife's appearance cleared and the opponent's true form was revealed.
The opponent's identity was Seo Ji-hye.
While Seo Ji-hye was trembling because she wasn't used to the sensation of stabbing, her face was smiling.
“Haha, hahahaha, I did it, right? I removed a prominent competitor. With this, Ji-ho will recognize me too.”
Her eyes were empty somewhere.
Inside the hollow pupils, the illusion that she could be loved by someone was still staying.
“Now only one person remains. Only Lee Ju-seong. Before that, going back and informing that person of this happy news is the priority.”
Reflecting her true nature, Seo Ji-hye left the place while making a witch-like laughter.
While Seo Ji-hye’s cackling laughter gradually became distant, Bang Su-hyeok collapsed on the spot and clenched his molars.
“Lee Ju-seong…… you were right…… I can't end it like this…… like this…… never…….”
At the same time, Yoon Ji-ho’s group was being miserably toyed with enough to make their numbers meaningless.
Yoon Ji-ho urged the players from the safe rooftop of the police substation.
“Even with ten people, you’re struggling against just one person! Why aren't you ending it quickly!”
The players whose lives were held hostage by Yoon Ji-ho sprinted with all their might, biting the bullet.
“Heff heff! He’s too fast. What on earth has he been doing to have feet that fast?”
“He must have had the same cheap meals, so why is only that fellow overflowing with strength?”
When I, Lee Ju-seong, perceived that I was trapped in the encirclement, the action I took was simple.
Running toward the oldest person among the players forming the encirclement was everything.
I found out the abilities of all the players staying inside the gym through the incident last night.
The players in this place were no exception.
The old man's ability was ‘Ability to treat the opponent's wounds in exchange for taking on the pain’.
In other words, he was not in a position to exercise stopping power against me.
When I brought the Hwando forward, the old man ran away headlong, and the encirclement where a hole was created no longer served as a proper encirclement.
Afterward, I occasionally displayed my ability while running toward the center of the game site.
I scattered various scrap metals I had secretly packed toward the players chasing me.
Ability to turn scrap metal into traps.
‘The trap installation ability increases the traps that can be installed depending on the user's imagination. Bang Su-hyeok is struggling because he lacks knowledge about traps and installs mainly classic traps, but I am different.’
Small scrap metals were placed in the corners of ruins and in the shadows of structures along the road, turning into traps.
They were mainly scrap metals with small particles, but they changed into traps of much better quality than the traps Bang Su-hyeok used to install.
Classic-type caltrops, small gas traps that spray tear gas, metal glove traps using springs.
I implemented them by referring to traps that surprise participants with smoke sprays in entertainment horror specials, or traps like a toy clown popping out when a box is opened.
The effect was immense.
The more minor the trap, the easier it was to strike the psychological blind spot unexpectedly.
Like players who were chasing me stepping on caltrops while turning a corner.
“Ack, it hurts! Heff, what is this? Something pierced through the shoe sole and poked the sole of my foot! Doctor! Doctor!”
While passing in front of a featureless mailbox, they were exposed to tear gas sprayed from under the mailbox.
“Aaaaack! My eyes sting! I can't see ahead!”
Or their faces were struck by a metal glove that popped out from a gap in a collapsed wall.
Smash!
There were no traps leading to instant death, but they fell into bodies full of difficulties in taking the next action.
I must not kill.
Because I am not the class president right now.
I, Lee Ju-seong, entered the branch school playground while losing the players.
‘Ideally, I wanted to reduce Yoon Ji-ho’s currency possession…… but for someone pretending to be a madman on the outside, his core is quite calculating.’
Getting out of the encirclement alone didn't satisfy me, so I aimed for two moves.
1. Maintain a distance where they can barely pursue and induce Yoon Ji-ho to abuse the currency.
2. Keep Yoon Ji-ho fine but inflict minor damage on the players to induce internal strife.
Yoon Ji-ho would consider the players who returned with only wounds without catching me as incompetent, and I tried to make the players consider Yoon Ji-ho, who achieved no results despite talking big, as incompetent.
I tried to manipulate the situation proactively, but I could only achieve half the purpose because Yoon Ji-ho was wary of me more than I imagined.
‘With this, I’ve provided the room for internal strife to occur. Seo Ji-hye, you only need to jump on the bandwagon of the situation I’ve set up. If you can't even do that, you don't deserve to move on to the next round.’
I took out the ballot paper, wrote my name, and put it in the ballot box.
And I looked around to check if Bang Su-hyeok was nearby.
3 minutes left until the second vote ends.
Since he was Bang Su-hyeok who moved around without pressure unlike me, it was clear he would have already finished voting and be lying in ambush in this vicinity.
But no matter where I looked in all directions, not to mention Bang Su-hyeok, even his shadow wasn't seen.
“Su-hyeok! Where are you!”
I raised my volume and called his name, but the silence was the same.
The moment I felt a sense of incongruity, the voting time ended and I could hear the voting results through the announcement broadcast.
[Announcing the results of the second vote for the Class President Election Game.]
-Yoon Ji-ho : 12 votes
-Lee Ju-seong : 1 vote
-Abstain : 1 vote
As expected, the survivor of the public office building had been discovered by Yoon Ji-ho and absorbed as a member of the group.
However, the important thing was not the survivor of the public office building.
Abstain 1 vote.
It meant that Bang Su-hyeok ultimately failed to reach the ballot box.
He wouldn't have decided to voluntarily receive a fine of 50 million won.
It was correct to see that he was placed in a situation where he couldn't reach the ballot box because an accident occurred due to others.
I, Lee Ju-seong, placed a small piece of scrap metal on my palm and used my ability.
Ability to turn scrap metal into traps.
The scrap metal I placed on my palm turned into a caltrop.
‘The copied ability is being maintained. This means he’s not dead but in a state where he can't move because he’s injured.’
I decided to tally what I gained rather than what I lost.
What can I gain, and what can I utilize.
The person who was the only one not present in the encirclement earlier was indeed Seo Ji-hye.
Inferring based on this, the conclusion came out that the person who harmed Bang Su-hyeok was Seo Ji-hye.
First thing gained, information that Seo Ji-hye is on Yoon Ji-ho’s side.
And I could tell that Bang Su-hyeok hid in a place where ‘all players’ cannot find him in order to save his life.
Thanks to that, the state of providing the ability to me continued to be maintained although he could no longer act.
Second thing gained, the copied ability is maintained as it is, but I can monopolize the reward alone.
Because there is no right to claim to divide the reward with Bang Su-hyeok who dropped out in the middle and stopped acting.
Rather, he will be grateful just for me continuing to remain as an ally.
Because if I defeat Yoon Ji-ho, it's the same as proving that I am a much more dangerous existence than Yoon Ji-ho.
From Bang Su-hyeok’s perspective, it’s a gain to acknowledge his own mistake and keep me as an ally rather than coveting the immediate prize money and making me an enemy.
‘From now on, everyone I encounter is an enemy. It’s good that it’s become simple. I’ve also become able to monopolize the prize money. I like it very much.’
Of course, all these gains could only be obtained when I defeat Yoon Ji-ho’s group ‘alone’.
Thinking conversely, it meant I deserved to monopolize the prize money since I exerted myself to handle Yoon Ji-ho’s group alone.
It was time to synthesize all the strategic puzzles I’ve accumulated until now and let them burst in one shot.
I placed my hand on the ballot box and pushed up the corners of my mouth.
Grin.
“It’s a relief that the arrangement I laid out while being placed as the first turn hasn't faded, isn't it?”
When starting the game, I had overwritten the warning message on the ballot box using blood.
The only person who knows the content of the warning message inside this game site was me.
To think I would use the insurance prepared for the case where Bang Su-hyeok doesn't become my ally in this way.
As the first step of the operation, I grabbed the edge of the ballot box lid and tore it off strongly.
Crack!
Subsequently, I repeated damaging and reassembling the ballot box exquisitely in several places.
In a situation where the replacement of the ballot box was certain soon, I was there in the middle of the branch school playground, laughing under my breath.
Laughter didn't stop as I imagined the appearance of Yoon Ji-ho and Seo Ji-hye, and even the organization members, being shocked.