The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 156

156. Duke (1)

The Tattooed Orc, defeated by Choi Myung-joon, knelt and offered his hand.

The promise of a duel had to be kept, no matter what.

The Orc readily admitted defeat and slammed his palm against the ground.

Thud-!

The Tattooed Orc pulled a knife from his waist and plunged it into the ground.

Then, bowing deeply, he said,

“…I lost.”

Everyone was shouting in unison to cut off the loser’s arm.

In Orc duels, the winner takes all.

That’s why the defeated Orc willingly offered his arm.

But there was no need to go that far.

After all, this was just a simple game, and furthermore, they were valuable combat resources for the faction.

However, Choi Myung-joon’s thoughts were different.

After Choi Myung-joon, who had lived as a loser for a while, seized victory, he reverted to being a fiercely violent gangster.

The feeling of being a winner, which he had forgotten for a long time, surged back.

Thud-. Swish-!!!

Choi Myung-joon, bleeding, held the dagger and aimed it at the Orc’s arm.

Then he muttered.

“You son of a bitch. Did you think I was a joke?”

Swish-. Thwack!

Blood gushed like a waterfall from the dagger stuck in the Orc’s hand, splattering on Choi Myung-joon’s face.

Then, he twisted the blade to finish it off properly.

He was ruthless.

He thoroughly crushed anyone who opposed him without a second thought.

That was Choi Myung-joon.

“Kuhhh…”

The Tattooed Orc gritted his teeth and endured.

* * *

The next day.

The scattered expedition team wandered around Mangyeong in different directions.

While wandering through the ruined downtown area in the morning, a familiar shopping mall caught Jin Jae-hee’s eye.

It was a place that held quite a bit of meaning for Jin Jae-hee.

This shopping mall was where she had played the first round with Kang Si-on.

Rebuilt after the war, it had now become the core building of the free market.

Many residents were coming and going, buying various goods.

Seven years had passed since the first round.

There had been many changes.

The space that used to show movies was now like an opera house, with a play being performed.

The store interior, once filled with corpses, had been transformed into a store selling various foods.

Moreover, there were traces of Kang Si-on everywhere in the shopping mall.

The elevator where corpses were stored had become a tourist attraction.

Also, Kang Si-on’s barricade that had stopped the goblins was still there.

This place had now become a place of deep meaning for the residents of Mangyeong as well.

“How did you usually dress?”

“Just appropriately.”

“I need to buy some pants. No, the color has to match well.”

“……”

“What would look good on my little brother? Casual? Innocent?”

“Just buy ripped clothes. Like pants or shoes.”

Jin Jae-hee picked out clothes that looked sturdy from the piles of clothes.

She valued practicality over appearance.

Clothes with many pockets, waterproof material, and resistant to tearing.

Jae-hee picked up a military uniform.

It was a military uniform top with the name ‘Jang Hak-seon’ stitched on it.

It was a black name tag, probably from when he was discharged.

She tore off the name tag with her hand.

Tear-!

At that moment, Choi Hyun-ji asked her with a puzzled expression.

“…A military uniform? Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Want one too?”

“I’m okay…”

Choi Hyun-ji turned her head as if she had lost interest.

Jae-hee looked through the pile of clothes again and picked up a pair of jogger pants that looked similar to the pants she was wearing.

Lastly, shoes.

In some ways, shoes were the most important.

Shoes were the first thing to wear out when walking around the rough city all day.

What she had prepared to prepare for the apocalypse were work boots.

Because they were sturdy and didn’t come loose easily.

But the superior version of work boots was, coincidentally, military boots.

Jin Jae-hee picked up two more pairs of military boots.

Jin Jae-hee, wearing her newly shopped clothes, was tidying her collar as she came out of the bathroom.

Choi Hyun-ji’s lips twitched as she watched her.

She covered her mouth and giggled.

“Hehe. Wow. Look at your fashion. Even if the world is destroyed, who dresses like that?”

Of course, that was just Choi Hyun-ji’s opinion.

After the world was destroyed, military uniforms were items that sold for quite a high price among people.

In particular, the actual soldiers of Mangyeong would trade with wanderers to buy high-quality military uniforms.

As Jin Jae-hee had assessed, military uniforms did not tear easily, were sturdy, and were waterproof.

However, Choi Hyun-ji was a woman who could not give up the style she pursued even after the world was destroyed, so she thought Jin Jae-hee looked too eccentric.

Of course, they say the completion of fashion is the face [meaning that a person’s appearance is what truly makes the outfit].

Jin Jae-hee’s beauty stood out even more, even when she wore such clothes.

Enough to make the people walking around glance at her.

Click-. Click-.

Jin Jae-hee adjusted her belt and said to Choi Hyun-ji.

“Let’s go if you’ve bought everything. Time is precious.”

“Huh? Ah- what are you saying! We’ve only gone around once. There are a few places I’ve marked. Let’s just look around those places a little more.”

“Look around more?”

“Ah- okay. We’re supposed to go around at least seven times. Just three more times.”

“No.”

“Rejection is rejected.”

Choi Hyun-ji ran over and started pulling Jin Jae-hee.

“Okay. I’ll walk, so let go.”

Jae-hee subtly released Choi Hyun-ji’s arm.

Choi Hyun-ji led Jin Jae-hee and walked down the crowded hallway again.

At that moment.

Jin Jae-hee’s eyes slowly moved from the front to the left.

“…Ho-seung?”

Lee Ho-seung, her friend and the man she had asked to protect Kang Si-on in her past life.

A colleague who should have been playing this league together until now.

His silhouette was briefly captured in her eyes and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

“……”

Jin Jae-hee stood blankly in the crowd, staring in the direction where his silhouette had disappeared.

Ho-seung was not there.

In the first place, it didn’t make sense for Lee Ho-seung to be in Mangyeong.

Lee Ho-seung had started in the Busan area and should be on an expedition to Gyeongbuk by now.

Jin Jae-hee stopped there and thought for a moment, then turned her head.

‘…I must have seen wrong.’

And approached Choi Hyun-ji, who was busy looking at clothes.

“……”

Lee Ho-seung was breathing slightly roughly.

He had a black hood on his face and handcuffs on his neck and hands.

The prisoners were dragged along the central street, quickly attracting attention, but unfortunately, they did not meet Jae-hee.

Lee Ho-seung kept muttering as he was dragged away.

“Kill me, someone.”

* * *

Choi Hyun-ji opened the door violently, carrying bags full in both hands.

Clatter!

“Tada-! I’m here! This place is really amazing. There are all kinds of luxury clothes! A luxury bag is only 3 liters [referring to the cost in liters of fuel or another valuable resource]. Awesome.”

“……”

Unlike Choi Hyun-ji, who entered the room with a cheerful atmosphere, Jin Jae-hee entered leisurely.

Choi Hyun-ji greeted them with a lively atmosphere, but as expected, the two men’s room was quiet.

Choi Myung-joon, wrapped in bandages and gauze all over his body, clenched his fist and threatened.

“Be quiet. Hyung-nim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend] is reading.”

At Choi Myung-joon’s words, Choi Hyun-ji looked at Kang Si-on, who was sitting by the window reading a book.

Then, looking at Choi Myung-joon again, she asked.

“What the hell did you do to end up in that state?”

“What do you care? Go out and buy some alcohol.”

“Fuck off.”

Choi Hyun-ji gave him the middle finger and walked towards the bathroom.

Flap-.

Kang Si-on was turning the pages, whether the two women entered the room or not.

Choi Myung-joon was lying on the bed wrapped in bandages all over his body.

Jin Jae-hee took out a small box of snacks from her arms and placed it on Kang Si-on’s desk.

“Did anything happen?”

She looked at the title of the book he was reading.

It was a novel titled ‘The Old Man and the Sea’.

Flap-.

Kang Si-on turned the page again and replied.

“What could happen? I’ve been in the room all day. Thanks to you, I got a good rest.”

“That’s good. I didn’t know you liked novels.”

“I just borrowed a book displayed in the lobby on the first floor. But it’s more interesting than I thought.”

Jin Jae-hee opened the small box and took out the snacks she had bought at the market in their packaging and placed them on the desk.

“There are many wanderers who come to Mangyeong because of these snacks. An old man makes them, and the line is huge.”

“You bought them?”

“Yeah. I tried them too, and they were delicious. I hope you like them.”

“I’ll enjoy them.”

Kang Si-on picked up a snack and took a bite.

The snack was sweet and delicious enough to understand why people were lining up to buy it.

Jin Jae-hee naturally sat on the chair opposite him.

“Oh, right. I saw soldiers moving on a large scale in the market street. It seems like they’re looking for you? What should we do.”

“Really?”

The wind blew and his book pages turned to the other side.

Flap-.

‘They’re looking for me…’

Si-on thought.

The reason would be one of two things.

The first is to arrest him.

Anyway, he had been missing for 5 years, and he didn’t know what laws had been enacted and implemented in Mangyeong while he was gone.

If it was the first reason, it would be those within the faction who did not recognize Kang Si-on’s existence.

The second is that Ha Yun-ha gave the order directly.

In fact, it had to be seen as almost impossible.

Ha Yun-ha is the king of a city-state that does not have the ‘edict’ [official order or proclamation] of the monarch.

As a result, there would naturally be difficulties in governing citizens and officials. Any race or nation has forces that are hostile to the government.

‘I should see how the situation unfolds first.’

He wasn’t too worried.

Even if they arrested him, he still had the power of the edict.

All that was left was to observe and respond to how they came out.

The sunlight was shining through the bars on his book.

A picture of an old man’s boat floating on the sea caught his eye.

Jin Jae-hee hated novels terribly.

From her student days, she was the type to fall asleep after reading just a few lines.

Again, Kang Si-on was immersed in the story.

‘….’

Jin Jae-hee stopped talking.

She just leaned comfortably on the backrest and watched him silently.

After he lost consciousness, he had a mental change.

If he was originally obsessed with having to go see his younger sibling without rest for even a day, now he seemed to be enjoying life leisurely.

Could this action itself be included in the ‘plan’ he mentioned?

‘I don’t know.’

Jin Jae-hee picked up a cookie, took a bite, and fell into thought.

To be honest, when she first heard Kang Si-on’s plan, she was half-doubtful.

Because it was a plan she had never heard of in her past life.

But Jin Jae-hee already trusted him completely, and in that strong belief, she could now understand all his actions.

The league was now entering the middle stage.

The main forces were appearing, and there would be quite a few players who had already entered the 4th round.

If based on the league, Kang Si-on’s group might be behind.

Even Kang Jun-ho had cleared the 3rd round and entered the 4th round.

Jin Jae-hee pondered Kang Si-on’s words.

-Don’t focus on the rounds anymore. It’s meaningless. If you’ve decided to trust me, just follow me. Don’t worry. I’ll send you all back to the original world.

Kang Si-on’s plan required three major conditions, he said.

The upcoming expeditions would be a path to fulfill these three conditions.

The first was resources.

Completing a national map recording the distribution of resources across the country.

That was what Kang Si-on had ordered Choi Hyun-ji.

Now, to complete the national map, Choi Hyun-ji would travel around the country, just like Kim Jeong-ho of the Joseon Dynasty had completed the Daedongyeojido [a detailed map of Korea] in the past.

In that way, Kang Si-on would have an overwhelming advantage in geographical information, making it easier to achieve the remaining two conditions.

Jin Jae-hee spun the 500 won coin she was holding.

The coin spun around and fell to the floor.

Thud- Tururururu……

Anyway, once the second and third conditions were met, Kang Si-on’s impossible goal would be completed.

That is.

To ‘destroy’ this league.

‘No matter how I think about it, it’s impossible… For Si-on, just a player, to subdue the administrators and destroy this league. There must be a limit to his abilities. But he must have something in mind.’

Jin Jae-hee picked up the coin again.

At that moment, as if reading her thoughts, Kang Si-on turned the page and said.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ve already set up the plan.”

“……”

“Like I’ve always done.”

Only then did Si-on close the book and look at Jin Jae-hee.

“To achieve my goal, you just need to protect me.”

Jin Jae-hee’s eyes trembled slightly.

How long had the silence lasted?

At that time, a group was running down the hallway with heavy footsteps.

Everyone in the room looked at the door at the same time.

Several screams were heard from outside.

At the same time, a rough man’s voice was also heard.

“Kyaa-ack!”

“Get out of the way! Hey! You check room 407 over there!”

“Yes!”

“They couldn’t have left the building. Search every nook and cranny and capture them!”

“Yes!!!”

The footsteps of the unidentified group were getting closer and closer to Kang Si-on’s door.

Soon they broke the doorknob with a hammer and burst inside.

Bang-!!!

Si-on looked at them and thought.

In the end, the answer was that they were coming to arrest him.

(To be continued in the next episode)