The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 14

Flag Capture (1)

“It’s Flag Capture!”

Whirr-.

Once again, the shopping mall’s hologram map unfolded.

The residential areas of each team were marked.

First, I looked at the map and noticed something strange.

The unease that I had been feeling little by little since the game started.

There was no indication of the ‘Black Team’s’ residential area on any floor.

Of course, the Black Team’s target flag was marked.

The Black Team’s number of members and strength are unknown, but they are definitely inside this shopping mall.

That is a fact that cannot be denied because it is the rule.

I examined the hologram map.

The Blue Team’s flag on the 3rd floor.

The Black Team’s flag on the 6th floor.

The Red Team’s flag on the 9th floor.

They were planted on different floors.

“Each team’s flag is on a different floor. The 3rd floor is the Blue Team’s target, the 6th floor is the Black Team’s target, and the 9th floor is the Red Team’s target. Easy, right?”

In conclusion, the Red Team had to capture the flag on the 9th floor, which was close to the Blue Team.

Conversely, the Blue Team had to capture the flag on the 3rd floor, which was close to the Red Team.

It was easy to say, but in the end, it was a game where you had to consider both offense and defense.

“A huge penalty will be given to the team that fails to collect their target flag. So, you absolutely must capture your target flag.”

Spin-, Spin-.

K spun around in the air and then lay down.

She literally lay down in the air.

I didn’t know what the penalty was, but just listening to her, it sounded like a fate worse than death.

Maybe that will turn the tide of the game.

This game, we had to retrieve the flag no matter what.

“Since you guys don’t fight, I had no choice but to make this choice. So, you should have fought sooner! With blood splattering and guts spilling out! Huh?”

K glanced at me.

I was glaring at her too.

She was consciously watching me.

From the moment we first met, until now.

I couldn’t figure out why.

K twirled her finger and continued the explanation.

“The time limit is four hours from now. For reference, if you kill the King in this game, the first round ends immediately. The rules are simple, right?”

Pop!

Popcorn appeared in K’s hand.

She rummaged through the popcorn container and then poured some into her mouth.

Then she said nonchalantly.

“Then, game start.”

She said it as if it were nothing.

And the moment she finished speaking, two people came running down from the escalator leading to the 2nd floor.

They swallowed their gasping breaths and shouted.

“There’s something! There’s something!! There’s a rat with a flag stuck in its head!”

“There are monsters on the 3rd floor!”

It was the two people who had been assigned to keep watch.

I looked at them once, and then at K once.

Lee Se-beom, who was next to me, asked cautiously.

“What are you going to do?”

At that moment, his question sounded strangely odd.

What am I going to do?

Is there another option?

Other than facing the situation in front of me.

“We have to start.”

I called the people back together.

The people gathered around me, their faces flushed.

The full-scale battle with the Blue Team had now begun.

In a fleeting moment, I came up with an idea.

“Wait. Lee Se-beom, Lee Joo-yeon.”

I called the two siblings.

* * *

11th floor, Blue Team, residential area.

“Okay. Do you understand? Then please start right away. I will not accept any questions.”

K, who was here, also finished explaining the rules of the special game to them.

Then, Kim Dong-gil looked at K and said.

“There is a huge penalty, what is it?”

Then K frowned and looked back at Kim Dong-gil.

“I am not obligated to tell you such things. If I were going to tell you, I would have told you a long time ago. Didn’t I say a few seconds ago that I wouldn’t accept questions? Think a little before you speak, Mr. Dong-gil.”

“……”

At her words, Kim Dong-gil quietly lowered his hand.

‘Damn bitch.’

It became complicated.

The Blue Team was ultimately trying to overwhelm the Red Team by controlling food and water sustainability.

But that plan was completely ruined by K.

In this case, they had to start a fight even knowing that the Red Team had guns.

A reasonable sacrifice had to be made.

“What should we do, Branch Manager?”

“……Pick 10 people. Only healthy ones. We have to protect the 9th floor first.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The subordinate bowed politely to him and selected people.

They picked 10 tall, sturdy men.

They were a gang of troublemakers within the Blue Team.

They were a group that occasionally rebelled against Kim Dong-gil.

Even Kim Dong-gil had trouble organizing them into an attack squad.

That’s why they were assigned to the defense squad.

Kim Dong-gil instructed the others to grab weapons.

They armed themselves with kitchen knives and utility knives.

At least in terms of weapons, they would overwhelm the Red Team.

But that was just Kim Dong-gil’s idea.

A subordinate who had finished preparing for the attack approached Kim Dong-gil and said.

“We are ready, Branch Manager.”

“Depart.”

Under his command, a total of 89 attack squad members began to descend the escalator.

* * *

Time limit: 4 hours.

The game must be decided in a short time.

As such, we must move as quickly as possible.

In any case, the Blue Team has the upper hand in terms of manpower and available resources, and they also have the upper hand in terms of individual armament levels.

“I, is this enough?”

“I’ve collected everything over here too.”

“Hyung [older brother/male friend]. Is this enough? Fire extinguisher.”

A team of 3 students gathered fire extinguishers from various stores.

It would be nice if they could carry them on their backs, but there was no time for that now.

I said to the three students.

“You just have to spray those fire extinguishers according to my orders. Keep that in mind. Only move according to my orders. And always stay by my side.”

“……Yes!”

“Yes……!”

The children nodded.

[Fire Extinguisher Unit (1) has been created.]

I quickly looked at the next people.

Three people using completed crossbows.

Lee Se-beom, Lee Joo-yeon, and me.

It was right for people who had used them even once to hold them.

We carried bags that were stocked in the store and filled them with arrows.

While I was filling the arrows, one person ran to me.

“Hey, student. We are all ready over here too.”

I turned to the other side after hearing the middle-aged man’s words.

There, a total of 22 main attack squad members were standing, each carrying two spear throwers on their shoulders.

Most of the adults except for the students.

Still, it was made up of people who could be said to be healthy here.

Even so, they would not be able to stand up to the number of Blue Team members.

The Blue Team would have at least 70 troops.

“Good. Line up and wait in front of the escalator.”

“Okay, student.”

[Spear Throwing Unit (1) has been created.]

Whiiik-!

The three of us put 17 arrows each into sports bags and carried them on our backs.

[Crossbow Unit (1) has been created.]

Lee Joo-yeon, who was excited for some reason, smiled and said.

“I feel excited for some reason? It feels like I’m in a survival game.”

“Life is on the line, and you’re excited? Noona [older sister/female friend], is that what you’re saying?”

“Ah, why are you getting annoyed again? I was just saying it.”

I squeezed out from between the noisy siblings and approached the people with full combat power.

I looked around at the people.

1 scout / 4 food producers / 6 watchmen / 3 crossbowmen / 22 spear throwers / 3 fire extinguisher soldiers.

It is the Red Team consisting of 39 people.

The 6 watchmen were ordered to defend the base.

In any case, since we could not identify all of their infiltration routes, we also needed troops to defend the base.

There are also barricades here, although they are still unstable.

First of all, the most important thing is to occupy the flag on the 9th floor.

The flag defense on the 3rd floor was entirely luck.

We had to avoid the penalty at all costs.

The people were all full of determination and ready.

I left them and said.

“Please move only as I instruct you.”

I continued to explain this operation to them.

The people who were listening to the explanation seemed surprised, flushed, and then nodded as if they agreed.

“We will definitely survive. I will make it happen. Please trust me and follow me.”

With those words, I walked out between them.

And I was the first to get on the escalator.

28 people followed me.

* * *

7th floor, food supply depot.

Kwon Kyung-soo, who was making goblin jerky in the bathroom, carefully looked at the entrance when he felt someone approaching.

Then, a woman who was blowing air into the embers from inside approached him and asked.

“Kyung-soo, what’s wrong?”

“Shh, someone is coming. Turn off the lights.”

Whoosh-.

At Kyung-soo’s words, people hurriedly put out the embers.

They waited for Kyung-soo’s words.

Kyung-soo carefully came out of the bathroom and looked at the 7th floor.

And he was able to easily identify the Blue Team members.

“……”

Kwon Kyung-soo’s eyes widened as he checked them.

The Blue Team was coming down in formation.

At least 50 people, or even more, were coming down, each holding a weapon.

Their appearance was dignified and confident.

And at the front of the line, Branch Manager Kim Dong-gil was walking.

I had thought about the escape route.

If you turn immediately to the left from here, there are stairs.

“Let’s hurry. The Blue Team is moving.”

Kwon Kyung-soo hurriedly picked up the goblin jerky.

Following him, the others also hurriedly prepared to leave.

I had to let Si-on know this fact as soon as possible.

Kwon Kyung-soo and his team hurriedly went down the stairs.

Then, Kwon Kyung-soo stopped on the way down and said to the people.

“G, go down first! There is something I need to check.”

“K, Kyung-soo?!”

And he quickly went back up.

Not long after, Kwon Kyung-soo joined his team and went down to the floor where Kang Si-on was.

There was a little blood on the hem of his clothes as he came down to the 1st floor.

* * *

Kim Dong-gil placed defense personnel on the 9th floor.

And his main force went down to the 6th floor, passing the 7th floor.

“……Damn it.”

The first words that came out of Kim Dong-gil’s mouth when he arrived on the 6th floor.

Kim Dong-gil looked at the monster with the flag stuck in its head, wandering between the displays.

Ttong, ttong, ttong.

It was less than 1m tall.

It had smooth skin and legs, but no arms.

And it had a flag stuck in its head.

The flag on the 6th floor was black.

The flag monster didn’t seem interested in this group.

Even so, it continued to wander around this floor.

‘Damn it, what the hell is going on in this world.’

Gritting-.

Kim Dong-gil gritted his teeth.

It had only been three months since he became the branch manager of the shopping mall.

He had started from the bottom and climbed to this point, bowing his head to the strong and ruthlessly trampling on the weak.

That was the way Kim Dong-gil, who was born with a dirt spoon [born poor], lived.

He had finally reached the top, and he was finally in a position to be looked up to by anyone.

It was absurd that the world was going to be destroyed.

But he still had some mercy left.

It was the mercy that remained because he was human.

“Don’t attack first. Capture those who give up fighting alive.”

“Yes, Branch Manager.”

They are also people like us in the end.

Under the principles defined by the system, they were placed in a position to kill and be killed by each other.

But if there was a way for Kim Dong-gil to win without bloodshed, he would choose that method.

The first attempt was also to avoid bloodshed as much as possible.

This time too, he induced their surrender.

That was Kim Dong-gil’s way.

“It’s the 3rd floor, Branch Manager.”

“Get ready.”

Everyone swallowed at Kim Dong-gil’s words.

The Blue Team’s main force slowly walked onto the 3rd floor.

Their flashlights illuminated the dark 3rd floor.

It was quiet.

So creepy.

It smelled like rotting corpses somewhere.

And in front of the store on the opposite side was the Blue Team’s flag monster.

“Branch Manager. It’s over there.”

“Don’t move yet.”

There is a very dangerous man in the Red Team.

He would not simply hand over the monster without any resistance.

That’s why Kim Dong-gil was cautious.

Soon the change began.

Fsssh-! Fsssh!!!!

The sound of something being ejected was heard from the front.

The Blue Team members, surprised, flinched.

And a white cloud began to fill their eyes.

It was more like moving like scattering flour in the sky rather than smoke.

Even when illuminated with a flashlight, the view was obscured by the cloud.

The Blue Team was instantly disoriented.

Kim Dong-gil covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve.

And he realized what the identity of the cloud was.

“……Fire extinguisher?”

It was the very moment he realized what the identity of the cloud was.

Shwaek-!

An arrow came flying through the cloud.

‘Arrow?!’

As if in slow motion, the arrow passed by Kim Dong-gil and pierced the forehead of a subordinate next to him.

Thwack!

Bright red blood splattered into the air.

“Uh…… Uh……?”

The subordinate touched his forehead with a bewildered expression and then fell backwards.

Thud!

The subordinate died with an arrow stuck in his forehead.

Before they could even prepare for the situation, another arrow flew in.

Shwaek-!

This time it grazed Kim Dong-gil’s right cheek.

“Ugh!”

If it had missed even a little, he would have died instantly.

Blood flowed from his right cheek.

Kim Dong-gil touched the blood with his trembling fingers.

And only after confirming the bright red blood did he open his mouth.

“T…… Th……!”

Kim Dong-gil staggered.

Soon the people around him supported him and raised him up.

The white cloud made it difficult to secure visibility in all directions.

Originally, he had to respond rationally.

But at this moment, he was not rational at all.

It was because of the thought that he was trying to keep the Red Team alive with human judgment.

It was arrogance.

It was greed.

In the end, they were just ‘enemies’ who killed and were killed by each other.

Just like the life Kim Dong-gil had lived so far.

Survival of the fittest.

A new world needs a new strongman.

Excessive compassion only leads to death.

The blood vessels in his temples stood out.

The streak of blood flowing down his cheek formed on his chin.

He muttered.

“Kill…… them all……”

“B, Branch Manager?”

Shuk!

Another arrow flying in.

It hit the woman’s shoulder behind him.

The woman screamed and fell backwards.

Only then did Kim Dong-gil shout.

Desperately.

“Without missing a single one! Kill them all-!!!!! Charge all of them!!!!”

With his desperate shout, a total of 79 members of the Blue Team’s main force rushed into the fog all at once.

They all had kitchen knives in their hands.

(Continued in the next episode)