The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 50

The road back to the police station felt like walking through a field of thorns.

Shion was drained of all strength, making it hard even to walk.

It was even more grueling because he had to carry Jin Jaehee on his back.

But with a desperate spirit, Kang Shion carried her back to the police station.

When they arrived, a crowd had gathered at the entrance, surrounding something.

Everyone wore expressions of terror.

“Haa… haa…”

Shion’s vision was blurred, and he didn’t have the strength left to make sound judgments.

He stared at the gathered citizens, shivering, and finally collapsed with Jin Jaehee onto the snowy ground.

Thud!

He had exhausted all his energy.

Several people rushed out from behind the barricades to rescue them.

* * *

After the Level 2 cold wave was issued, a wind of change swept through the Round [the game-like environment the characters are trapped in].

Even the largest faction in the Dongan area of Anyang City couldn’t withstand the cold.

Deaths from frostbite were increasing.

Park Jisoo, the lord of the 1st Faction, had to make a choice.

And that choice ultimately led the citizens of Anyang to ruin.

Anyang City Hall, the stronghold of the Dongan 1st Faction.

Warlords gathered in front of the burning Central Park.

In the center of the park, documents, trees, and corpses from inside City Hall were being burned.

The flames soared high.

The snow around it began to melt, but it wasn’t enough to melt all the snow.

The warriors of the Dongan 1st Faction covered their faces with towels, masks, or bandanas.

Park Jisoo, the lord of the Dongan 1st Faction, looked around at the warriors.

In the 1st Round, Park Jisoo had quickly gathered people and seized City Hall.

As soon as she took over City Hall, her power expanded rapidly, and as soon as the 2nd Round began, she was granted the title of ‘1st Faction’ by the system.

Park Jisoo possessed the qualities of a lord.

She had a remarkable talent for gathering the weak and turning them into warriors.

Like Kang Shion, she was a lord chosen by the system.

Park Jisoo shouted to the warriors.

“I command you!”

Her voice echoed through the plaza.

It was the input of the lord’s ‘command’ by decree [a system-granted power].

Anyang Grand Park, once a haven for families and dog walkers,

was now their strategic residence.

There were dozens of warriors assisting Park Jisoo, and thousands of warriors listening to her.

A system notification window about the decree appeared in front of those thousands of warriors.

The lord’s command is protected by decree.

Therefore, it is absolute.

“We will defeat the 2nd Faction in Hogye and take over Dongangu.”

The warriors of the 1st Faction were bound to Park Jisoo by decree, but they were already mentally dependent on her.

Park Jisoo, who was just a college student, was now a lord with absolute authority and power.

In fact, thanks to Park Jisoo, they had survived even after the world had ended.

When humans are in despair, they need someone to rely on.

Park Jisoo exploited that.

“With the start of the League [likely a reference to the system’s organized events], order and law have collapsed. Now it’s our world, yours and mine, and we can do everything we couldn’t do before. The end of the world? No, this is change.”

Park Jisoo’s faction did not expand rapidly by mere luck.

Her faction was quick to act.

While everyone else was denying the system, despairing, and running away, Park Jisoo quickly understood the system and expanded her power.

Just like Kang Shion.

The only difference was that Park Jisoo was on the streets during the 1st Round, and Kang Shion was in a building.

“Kill me… kill… me…”

A naked man was crawling beside Park Jisoo.

Park Jisoo put her foot on the man’s back.

It was the former mayor of Anyang.

The mayor was enduring the extreme cold naked.

His lips were blue, and his whole body was trembling.

It had been the day before yesterday that they captured the mayor, who had been hiding in the shopping complex next to City Hall.

And he was the leader of the Dongan 3rd Faction.

“To withstand the cold, everyone must end this damn Round. To end this Round, we must capture the lords of other factions. That is the only way the system has defined for us to overcome this cold. So let’s fight for it! Let’s fight against everything that oppresses us and gain freedom!”

The cause of Park Jisoo’s faction is one.

Freedom in the truest sense.

Not the freedom defined by the constitution, but the freedom to live as you truly want.

The world changes, and the meaning of freedom also changes.

That is what they defined as the apocalypse.

Park Jisoo emphasized that.

And people were easily swayed by it and followed her.

“We will kill all the beasts that infringe on our freedom and trample on all existing laws.”

Park Jisoo raised a sword.

It was a kitchen knife.

She grabbed the former mayor of Anyang’s hair and pulled him up.

The mayor was terrified like a child and made weak noises.

“Haa…!”

It was a proclamation.

A proclamation that they were rejecting the existing order and law by executing the mayor.

“Go and fight. And conquer.”

Thwack!

Park Jisoo immediately stabbed the knife into the mayor’s neck.

Splat!!!

Blood gushed from his neck, scattering across the pure white snowfield.

Park Jisoo, who had stabbed the mayor, who was old enough to be her father, in the neck, smiled.

“Puhahaha…!”

A smile bloomed on Park Jisoo’s face as she stabbed the knife into the mayor’s neck.

The one who symbolized the existing power had died before her eyes.

At that sight, the commoners, who had been trampled by power in the existing society and had never been able to flap their wings, were enthusiastic about her actions.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!!!!!”

“Euaaaaaaaa!!!!!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!”

They are now warriors.

Warriors for slaughter, for conquest, for change.

The apocalypse is great.

Thank you for the end of the world that has finally made everything equal.

That was the definition of the 1st Faction.

Lord Park Jisoo quietly commanded from the center.

“1st Army, begin the advance.”

[Decree by Lord Park Jisoo of the Dongan 1st Faction, Article 1, Paragraph 1]

[Article 1, Paragraph 1: All members included in the faction must obey the Queen’s words.]

[Penalty will be imposed if not executed within 60 seconds.]

A notification window appeared in front of everyone.

The warriors began to move at her command.

The warriors had begun to advance.

A total of 7,834 troops.

The sight of them moving was spectacular.

Crunch! Thud!

Park Jisoo tore off the mayor’s head and threw it on the snowfield.

-Woof, woof! Woof!

A Doberman dog nearby ran over and bit the mayor’s cheek.

At the sight, Park Jisoo smiled and wiped the blood from her cheek with the back of her hand.

The warriors began to advance.

It was southeast from here, towards Hogye-dong, Anyang.

To take over Hogye and unify Dongan.

And to escape from this damn cold.

Anyang Dongangu is an area full of countless apocalypse resources.

Food, weapons, apartment complexes, shopping malls, and even flatlands where crops can be planted when the snow melts.

If she could unify this place and seal off the city, Park Jisoo could build her own kingdom anew.

Their march was like a giant wave.

A giant wave that nothing could stop.

Watching their march, Park Jisoo smiled like a child.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

Park Jisoo moved to the side.

Lee Sebeom was sitting there, half out of his mind.

Lee Sebeom was wrapped in a blanket, and he was half out of his mind.

Next to him, Park Jisoo’s subordinates were roasting a whole pig, and an elite warrior unit was guarding his surroundings.

Park Jisoo slowly approached and sat on Sebeom’s lap, who was wrapped in a blanket.

And she leaned her head against his chest and looked up at the snowy sky.

“You’ve never seen anything like this, have you? That kind of grand march, you only see it on TV or in historical dramas. Seeing it in person is truly spectacular. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Park Jisoo looked up at Sebeom.

Her expression as she watched the advancing warriors was as bright as if she were looking at the stars in the night sky.

On the other hand, Sebeom still had no focus in his eyes.

“Hogye is over now. According to the search team, there are only about 1,000 people at most? Just go and kill them all. Then Dongangu will be ours. And if we can just kill all those damn cops in Manan, we can survive this winter.”

“……”

Park Jisoo lowered her head slightly and looked at her notification window.

There were a total of 6 faction armies in the 2nd Round of Anyang City.

6 lords among the 6 faction armies.

Dongan 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Factions.

Manan 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Factions.

Only two lords could survive this Round.

Only two faction armies.

And the real purpose of this 2nd Round, which is only passed down to the lords.

[Winter ends when only two lords remain under the sky.]

Eventually, a bloody war will break out.

To survive the hellish winter, they had to wage war.

The lord of the Dongan 3rd Faction died today.

The lord of the Dongan 2nd Faction will also die soon.

Since only two lords could survive, if she only took over Hogye, the 2nd Round of Dongangu would end in Park Jisoo’s victory.

Of course, Park Jisoo had no intention of ending it there.

Park Jisoo hates the police.

She loathes them.

She really hated the government’s dogs who protect the existing power that had uprooted her entire life.

Park Jisoo was planning to kill all the police in Manangu as well.

Every single one of them.

At that time, Sebeom said weakly.

“Just… just save my sister. Then… I’ll do anything.”

At that voice, Park Jisoo looked up at Sebeom without a word.

Park Jisoo stared at him for a moment and then grinned.

“Why would I? You already do whatever I want you to do. Isn’t that a request, not a proposal?”

“……”

Park Jisoo, who was carefully looking at Sebeom’s face, smiled and continued.

“Haha. But you’re really damn handsome. Ah, damn it. You’re more handsome than most celebrities. But you’re not my perfect ideal man yet. You need to try harder. Huh?”

Sebeom looked down at Park Jisoo in his dim vision.

She was wearing makeup and red lipstick, even though the world was in this state.

And those red lips were grinning from ear to ear.

“Then I’ll give you everything you want. Puhuhu… Puhahaha. Puhahahahaha!”

Along with her laughter-filled tone, the shouts of the 1st Faction warriors filled the plaza for a while.

A flock of crows that smelled blood filled the sky.

* * *

I instinctively knew that something had begun.

“……”

When I opened my eyes, I was in the room.

I raised my upper body.

When I checked the time, it was early dawn.

I was thirsty, so I quenched my thirst with the bottled water nearby and sat on the bed.

Gulp, gulp.

I drank the whole bottle of water and looked at Jin Jaehee, who was lying on the other side.

She was sleeping soundly.

As if nothing had happened.

‘Guardian.’

I couldn’t figure out what that was.

Jin Jaehee at Anyang Station was like a weapon.

A weapon that moves according to the owner’s command and will.

That was a fact she hadn’t told me.

Perhaps my past life had designed this so that even she wouldn’t know.

But I couldn’t figure out why.

Why my past life had to keep it a secret from her.

I wiped the water flowing from my mouth with the back of my hand.

‘…Protection, huh.’

After a little thought, I thought I knew a little about why my past life had made such a design.

Since I was the one who had that thought anyway.

Perhaps my past life had tried to use her as a tool.

A tool to protect only me.

That was a skill that was still valid in this world, even if the ‘Kang Shion’ of that world died.

The reason why she came to me first after the regression was probably because of the skill that Kang Shion of that world had placed on her.

‘…….’

Squeak-.

I squeezed the plastic water bottle tightly.

Whatever the reason, it was clear that my past life had not seen her as a person.

She was just a tool.

But what is she to me now?

Is she really just a tool?

I don’t know.

I still don’t know anything.

Whether my past life had injected this skill, or whether it was just her instinct.

When I thought about that, I felt a strange emotion towards Jin Jaehee, who had risked her life to protect me.

I got out of bed and grabbed the doorknob.

The murmuring of people could be heard from outside the door.

I hesitated for a moment and opened the door.

Clang-.

* * *

When Shion opened the door and looked outside, many citizens were lingering in front of the door.

And a young man found Shion and approached him in an instant.

“Ah, Manager…! The Manager is awake!”

At the young man’s voice, the people around him stood up one by one.

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

“The Manager is safe.”

“I’m so glad, so glad.”

People flocked around Shion.

And one by one, they tried to grab his hand.

“I survived thanks to you, Manager… Thank you so much.”

“Is your body okay? I was so worried. I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“A-Are you okay with the cold? We brought a lot of warm clothes, but…”

“This is warm water. Manager. Please take it.”

Shion received the water in the paper cup that the old man handed him.

As the old man said, the water in the paper cup was warm.

Recently, the citizens’ impression of Shion had changed.

Even the people who were skeptical when the boiler was first turned on had now all turned to Shion.

To the people, Shion was a savior.

A savior who freed them from the fear of death called cold.

People want to rely on something more in the face of death.

So people were completely relying on Kang Shion.

Shion had spent the day outside yesterday and collapsed upon returning, so from their point of view, they must have been very worried.

“I’m okay.”

People continued to flock around Shion, and it was not easily controlled.

People were making a fuss, trying to grab his hand even once, or wanting to say thank you even once.

Even though it was early dawn.

“I’m going to pass through.”

Shion tried to break through them and get out.

Before the world was destroyed, Shion had never received such great attention from others.

Especially attention with this meaning of ‘gratitude.’

This scenery only felt awkward to Shion.

‘I need to control the citizens’ access to the 5th floor.’

Shion thought as he barely escaped from the people.

He had to control it for the freedom of his activities.

Shion was about to go down the stairs.

At that moment, there was a man coming out through the crowd from the far corridor.

It was Kim Sukyung.

“Ma, Manager!!”

Kim Sukyung barely broke through them and approached Shion.

And he smiled brightly and saluted.

“You’re safe. I was so worried.”

“Yes.”

Shion listened to his story and went down the stairs.

It was to come up with a plan to capture the ogre.

The two went down two floors without saying a word, and Kim Sukyung was the first to speak.

“Manager. First of all, there is something I need to check. The Chief is very angry about this matter.”

Kim Sukyung spoke in a very subdued state, and I asked him back.

“Angry? Why.”

“Ah… it’s not because of you, Manager… it’s… haa. First, I’ll take you to the first floor.”

Kim Sukyung led the way, stepping out of the stairs first.

Shion followed him with a sense of doubt.

He didn’t know what had made the police chief so angry right now.

(To be continued in the next episode)