Chapter 28 : Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Yoon Ji-ho grabbed his jaw with his hand and pretended to twist it left and right as if assembling the jawbone.
“Ah. Aaaah.”
An action that seemed meaningless on the outside had the effect of imprinting on other people that he was a nutjob.
Until now, this method had worked effectively.
However, the situation changed starting from the chase with me, Lee Ju-seong, just a while ago.
The equation that always worked suddenly stopped working.
Until not long ago, they were players who got scared and their shoulders shook even if Yoon Ji-ho just coughed.
But now, no matter what Yoon Ji-ho did, they were silently walking toward the branch school.
“How long does it take to get to the branch school? 10 minutes? 15 minutes?”
“We set up camp in a place that’s too far. It would have been better if we had taken a spot inside the branch school instead.”
“Ah, I’m tired. I want to end this quickly and rest.”
While heading toward the branch school to hold the last election, not a single person feared Yoon Ji-ho.
Even though they were following him because they had no choice since there were coins in their stomachs, the image of recklessly regarding Yoon Ji-ho as an object of fear like before could not be glimpsed.
It was fatal that he couldn't inflict a single wound on me and only shouted from behind.
Because he was excessively wary of me, the fact that ‘What, Yoon Ji-ho was also just an ordinary person who knows his life is precious.’ ended up being exposed.
‘Damn it, according to the information, it was a situation where I could have caught and crushed Lee Ju-seong. If that idiot Kwon Jin-woo hadn't given me the wrong information, it would have all been over!’
The reason for the setback in the plan was self-evident.
It was the fact that I, Lee Ju-seong, possessed the ability to install traps.
Kwon Jin-woo, the sole survivor of the bounty hunter group, had said.
He said that I had used the ability to summon the Hwando against Lee Ik-hwan at the 12 o'clock direction in the early stage of the game.
And he said the ability to set traps was definitely Bang Su-hyeok’s ability.
However, in reality, I used the ability to turn scrap metal into traps.
It didn't add up.
Either I deceived Kwon Jin-woo, or Kwon Jin-woo leaked false information.
Whichever it was, it was a fact that the reliability toward Kwon Jin-woo within Yoon Ji-ho hit rock bottom.
“Keuh!”
While moving, Kwon Jin-woo covered his mouth with his hand and then exhaled his breath all at once.
Depending on how one heard it, it was an ambiguous action that could be taken as a sudden burst of laughter, or as a cough by chance.
To Yoon Ji-ho, whose nerves were sharp, it came across as the former.
Yoon Ji-ho approached Kwon Jin-woo by treading strongly step by step, as if stomping his feet, and then flat out landed a punch on his face.
Thud!
Kwon Jin-woo’s head twisted to the opposite side of the direction he was hit.
At the same time, he staggered without being able to pull himself together and then fell on his buttocks.
“Why…… why are you doing this!”
While he appealed with a voice full of grievance, Yoon Ji-ho tilted his head crookedly and displayed his madness.
“Wh~y~ ar~e~ I~? Are you asking because you don't know? You just laughed at me.”
“W-Who laughed! I coughed because the influence of the tear gas remained! I never laughed at you!”
Even the appearance of being aggrieved sounded like he was being sarcastic.
As if filters were added to his ears at some point, free translation ran rampant inside his brain.
He thought that the mad image until now was not enough.
Yoon Ji-ho added one more spoonful of madness to his behavior. To regain his dominance.
“Oh? Didn't we decide to be friends? We promised not to betray each other, right? But why is the ability of Lee Ju-seong that you mentioned different from Lee Ju-seong’s actual ability?”
“I-I was wrong! I don't know what it is, but I must have been mistaken! I never intentionally leaked wrong information!”
“Hey, forget it. Why do you keep making excuses like that~. It makes a person's heart ache~.”
What is the point of nitpicking the rights and wrongs one by one against a ‘stranger’ who committed a mistake.
Analyzing things in various ways is itself a waste of effort.
Submit and you are an ally, resist and you are an enemy.
Since there were easy means of dominance called violence and fear, there was no reason to bring in other standards.
Efficiency is best.
The fellow members of the band he was in together were like that too.
They said they only chose the shortest route to go to the major scene.
In fact, those fellows succeeded.
Therefore, I will persist in efficient methods just like those successful fellows’ ways.
I’m only following the formula of the successful fellows? It’s not my fault, is it?
Yoon Ji-ho chuckled and raised his right hand, bringing his thumb and middle finger together.
“I gave you a chance. It’s your fault for not catching the chance.”
As a person who experienced the incident at the gym, there was no way he didn't know what Yoon Ji-ho's gesture signified.
Kwon Jin-woo’s pupils dilated to the maximum range of motion.
The desperate voice wishing for survival was a bonus.
“I didn't betray you. I really didn't. I said I didn't!”
The low posture that Kwon Jin-woo showed was breath and food for Yoon Ji-ho.
His airway opened wide as if he were wearing an oxygen mask.
He felt as if his own self was being affirmed by his persisted method working.
Soon, strength entered Yoon Ji-ho’s fingers.
“Bang~.”
Pop!
The other players turned their heads all at once.
It was to protect themselves from the shock of the explosion.
Mainly the mental aspect.
However, no matter how much they looked away, they couldn't consistently feign ignorance toward the fragments that splattered and stuck to their bodies.
The sogginess transmitted to the skin through the clothing revived the fear that was dying out.
If I disobey Yoon Ji-ho, I will also be like Kwon Jin-woo…….
As if coinciding with the revival of Yoon Ji-ho’s dominance, a young-looking woman ran out from between the ruins.
“Ji-ho~! I did it!”
It was Seo Ji-hye.
She was the only woman who truly followed Yoon Ji-ho in this game.
Yoon Ji-ho also placed a point of differentiation for Seo Ji-hye compared to other players.
The tone of Yoon Ji-ho’s voice rose by one octave.
“Ji-hye! You did it!”
“Yes! I did it!”
“You killed Lee Ju-seong, right?”
“No!”
He had been excited thinking it was news that she had disposed of me, but he cooled down immediately upon hearing her say no.
From a beam to a straight face.
Seo Ji-hye chuckled upon reading Yoon Ji-ho’s sudden emotional change.
“Bang Su-hyeok. Lee Ju-seong’s companion Bang! Su! Hyeok! I came after settling him.”
The leather holster hanging at Seo Ji-hye’s waist was empty.
Originally, the knife she received from Yoon Ji-ho should have been inserted there.
As soon as he perceived that this time it was genuine information, his mood went from one extreme to the other.
From a straight face to a beam.
Yoon Ji-ho supported Seo Ji-hye’s armpits with both hands and lifted her high.
“This lucky charm! I’m telling you it’s a relief I discovered you in this game. Other fellows are just not useful at all.”
“But I’m sorry. Because I considered now, while he is separated from Lee Ju-seong, as a chance, I had no choice but to kill Bang Su-hyeok even though I’m not the class president.”
“It’s a bit regrettable but it can't be helped. Let’s just consider that the 100~200 million won he possessed was given away as small change to be used on his path to the afterlife.”
“Oh my, your heart is so big. Anyway, I was helpful to Ji-ho, right?”
“Of course!”
Since Bang Su-hyeok dropped out, the only remaining enemy was Lee Ju-seong.
Since he confirmed that my ability was the ability to turn scrap metal into traps, he only had to be careful of traps from now on.
He already felt like he had the 1.5 billion won prize money of this game in his hand.
While the chuckling laughter did not stop, Yoon Ji-ho’s group arrived at the branch school.
Yoon Ji-ho put in his own paper first and then stood in front of the ballot box, playing with his hands.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
He intimidated the players by snapping his fingers without exercising his ability.
Every time the cheerful sound popped, the players’ shoulders shook.
He was essentially keeping the trigger of a revolver, with an unknown number of bullets in the cylinder, against their temples and continuing to pull it.
So they had no choice but to be terrified.
“Now, now~ you wrote my name, right? I’m going to inspect before you put it in~? Bring it spread out wide so I can see it well.”
Yoon Ji-ho was committing an act that even a dictator wouldn't do, inspecting the ballot papers before voting.
The players could only finish voting after being inspected on whether they wrote Yoon Ji-ho’s name.
One person, two people, three people…… ten people.
Including Yoon Ji-ho’s share, a total of eleven ballot papers entered the ballot box.
Now, no matter what I did, the results of the last vote could not be overturned.
Immediately after the voting ended, Yoon Ji-ho smirked and brought his thumb and middle finger together.
“You guys, even after this game ends, you’re going to listen to me we~ll from now on, right?”
The players gathered both hands as if praying and begged and begged again.
“We will listen well! Please just spare our lives!”
“If you just spare my life, I will take the lead and become Mr. Yoon Ji-ho’s dog! Pant pant! Pant pant pant!”
“I will never let you down! Please trust me!”
Everyone competed to swear obedience for fear of suffering the same fate as Kwon Jin-woo.
In the middle of the scene where obedience and servility coexisted, Yoon Ji-ho trembled as if writhing in pleasure.
The thrill of dominating the majority flowed through his whole body.
Yoon Ji-ho laughed as if the sky would fall and opened the fingers he had brought together.
“I get it, I get it. I know your hearts well so stop it.”
Hope drifted over the players’ faces.
Though it was pathetic, they were rejoicing in having survived.
The moment the atmosphere relaxed as relief became contagious, Yoon Ji-ho tossed out a word.
It was a heartless swear word like a straw cutter cutting a thick rope where various lives were hanging in clusters.
“I’d rather trust the neighbor’s dog than trust you bastards.”
Snap!
Pop! Po-pop! Bang! Pop!
Nine consecutive explosions occurred.
When the explosions stopped, the only people standing fine near the ballot box were Yoon Ji-ho and Seo Ji-hye.
Yoon Ji-ho rubbed Seo Ji-hye’s backside with his palm and expressed his desires freely.
It was a part where one could glimpse that not only his personality, but even his tastes were twisted.
“Wow~ finally the vermin are gone.”
“How much bonus came in?”
“Roughly 300 million? But I won't give any to you. Don't expect that you’ll be able to receive it.”
“Of course. I’m fine as long as I can be by Ji-ho’s side. Please use me however you want.”
Quite a lot of time remained until the game ended.
He thought about going around leisurely and hunting me from now on.
Since my ability was certain, it wasn't difficult to attack.
“Let’s continue the rest at the hotel later. More than that, finishing off that bastard Lee Ju-seong is first.”
“Hmph, I also encountered him for a moment and he had a very unpleasant personality.”
“I don't like his attitude of acting all high and mighty as if he knows everything. Especially since he’s a loner bastard who can't even form a group.”
The very moment they were about to leave the branch school to find me.
A drone slowly descended from the air.
The claws attached to the drone were holding a new ballot box.
Before they could even have a doubt, an announcement broadcast was heard.
[The ballot box is damaged and will be replaced with a new one.]
[As previously informed through the warning message, the existing ballot box will be collected upon replacement.]
Damaged? Replacement? Warning message?
It was all news to them.
After a while, the drone placed the ballot box on the playground, grabbed the existing ballot box, and flew up.
The doubts that were sprouting up like mushrooms were solved in one shot as soon as they saw the new ballot box.
A warning message in red letters marked on the front of the ballot box.
The existing ballot box had its front painted entirely in red without a gap.
They finally realized that the person who entered earlier had played a trick while passing the ballot box.
There was only one person who could play such a clever trick.
Yoon Ji-ho screamed until his throat was hoarse as his anger boiled over.
“I! Ju! Seong! You son of a bitch!”
Then, he barely organized his breathing which had become steep with excitement and asked Seo Ji-hye irritably.
“How many papers are left!”
“Yes? Yeees?”
“Ballot papers! I’m asking how many are left right now!”
“Th-there are none! The one I just put in was the last one!”
“Ah! Kwon Jin-woo’s share! One remains that I took after killing that fellow!”
Yoon Ji-ho took out a blood-stained ballot paper and hurriedly entered his own name.
After putting the ballot paper in the new ballot box, he urged Seo Ji-hye.
“Quickly find a ballot paper! At this rate, it will be a tie with that fellow!”
Since the existing ballot papers became void votes, they had to put in new ballot papers.
Since he just secured one vote, if he could just secure one more vote for Seo Ji-hye’s share, he could surely win the election.
Yoon Ji-ho and Seo Ji-hye ran around in all directions to find ballot papers.
Since the number of people was twenty at first, the calculation was correct only if a total of 60 ballot papers were prepared inside the game site.
Among them, six people died in the early stages and couldn't vote, so it was normal for eighteen spare ballot papers to remain.
But there were none.
There were none no matter how much they searched. Even the hints that flew in every 15 minutes didn't mark the location of the papers.
As if someone had swept away most of the spare papers in the vicinity.
“Ah! I found it! Ji-ho! I found it!”
“Well done! Run to the branch school! Not much time left!”
The two people barely found one ballot paper in a secluded corner of the game site.
Even that felt like someone had intentionally placed it in the farthest place from the ballot box.
However, time was too tight to nitpick every minor(?) part.
The two people went back to the branch school to finish voting in a hurry.
The time remaining until the game ends is 3 minutes.
In the middle of the urgent situation, a man was standing in front of the ballot box.
It was me, Lee Ju-seong.
Countless traps were scattered irregularly across the entire branch school playground.
Essentially a fortress surrounded by traps.
I flicked my index finger inside the fortress.
With meanings of mockery and provocation.
“You, if you keep acting stingy, you can't beat me? It would be better to use all the currency you have and struggle even now, wouldn't it?”