But after Pax’s analysis post went up, everything changed. His win rate plummeted because his weaknesses were laid bare. Not only that, but past incidents he’d committed resurfaced and he received fierce criticism. His contract ended, but no team contacted him.
Having become a civilian, Nam Cheolsu made a living by bussing low-ranked players or selling game items. His income was substantial given his skill level, but because he still had the habit of spending money lavishly on sponsorships he’d received secretly from his team, his wallet was always empty.
When he went on SNS, he saw his former colleagues who used to be worse than him living in apartments with Han River views, driving foreign cars, and dating pretty women. Living barely scraping by in a studio apartment the size of his palm, Nam Cheolsu was angry that his life seemed to have been stolen.
Nam Cheolsu planned to trample Pax miserably so he would feel the exact same humiliation he had felt. Very slowly, painfully. That’s why he didn’t need buffs even more.
“Finally coming out.”
Whether the front door of the blue-roofed building had collapsed, the back door burst open and a group of survivors rushed out frantically.
The men wearing rubber gloves each grabbed a fence at the front and pushed away the zombies crowding the back door. Then nearby zombies, sensing the commotion, shrieked and rushed at them.
“Can’t have that, can we.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Nam Cheolsu pulled the trigger. His bullets accurately pierced through the zombies’ skulls.
There were a total of four men holding fences. They pushed the others inside the fences as if protecting them, and quickly moved toward the Viking.
[Pax]
Red letters rippled among the huddled people. A black gas mask seemed barely visible.
If a player hurt or killed NPCs, major points would be deducted, so it seemed he was deliberately sticking close like that to use the NPCs as shields.
“Think I can’t shoot?”
Click! He cocked the revolver hammer back. Nam Cheolsu found it laughable that Pax was acting cocky relying on mere scraps of data.
“…Tsk, wait.”
Nam Cheolsu hesitated as he was about to pull the trigger. If he shot now, Pax would die too quickly. Moreover, he couldn’t even imagine how many points would be deducted if he injured that many NPCs. Normally he wouldn’t care about point deductions, but if Pax’s team won in the end, it couldn’t be perfect revenge.
Bang! In the end, he turned his gun elsewhere. Nam Cheolsu used his rapid-fire skill toward the zombies threatening the group of survivors. Thanks to that, they were able to safely step into the safe zone without any sacrifices.
“W-we made it…!”
“Hurry up and get on, hurry!”
“Huk, huuk, mommyy…!”
The survivors hurriedly boarded the Viking. Most were women and children. Excluding Pax, there were only five adult men.
Four of them wore rubber gloves in various colors, and the remaining one was a patient. A man with his face wrapped tightly in bandages was weakly slumped on Pax’s back.
Bang!
“Kugh!”
Nam Cheolsu shot a bullet into the thigh of Pax, who was the last to board the Viking. Pax let out a pained groan and staggered, then gritted his teeth and lifted his opposite leg onto the Viking with a thud.
Clank!
At that moment, the Viking began to move. Pax lost his balance and tumbled into the footrest space between the seats. The man on his back fell covering Pax’s body as well.
Nam Cheolsu stepped on the seat back and jumped high, approaching Pax closely. Hidden by the build of the man with bandages wrapped around his face, Pax underneath was barely visible.
“Hey, NPC. Get up if you don’t want to die.”
“…Huk!”
Click! Nam Cheolsu aimed his gun at the man squirming on top of Pax’s body. He flinched greatly as if startled, then shot up. It was quick movement for a patient.
[Pax]
The red letters indicating an enemy team moved following above the man’s head. Nam Cheolsu’s gaze also followed that moving nickname, but because he believed the person wearing the gas mask was Pax, his reaction speed had to be a beat slower.
“…Damn it, fuck!”
Bang!
By the time Nam Cheolsu pulled the trigger, the man wrapped in bandages had already sprouted fox ears and tail and strongly twisted his wrist. The bullet flew toward the sky.
Bam!
“Keurgh!”
The man’s—Pax’s—fist struck Nam Cheolsu’s forehead. It was a strong punch that even utilized shoulder rotational force. Just as the Viking had climbed halfway up, Nam Cheolsu tumbled rolling to the opposite rear end.
“Skull.”
The fox tail swayed gently in the wind.
*
Screech!
“Uhuk!”
As the Viking descended rapidly, Pyeonghwa’s body, which had been standing in a cool pose after landing a hit on Nam Cheolsu, tilted. Pyeonghwa frantically waved his arms and grabbed the backrest.
“Hyung-nim, give me the gas mask! Before that bastard gets up, hurry…!”
The man wearing the gas mask was silent. The skill duration shouldn’t have ended yet, so did he faint?
He’d been uneasy from the start. He had forcibly used the Agitator skill to drag along this man who had no will to live after his daughter died. Having sustained both burn and gunshot wounds, it wasn’t unreasonable that he couldn’t endure.
Sorry for using you… but please give me my gas mask…. Pyeonghwa crouched awkwardly and groped his body. He’d covered even his eyes completely with bandages to prevent his face from being exposed on the broadcast, so he couldn’t see well ahead.
<Warning! This action violates ethical regulations, and repeated violations will result in account sanctions.>
A warning message appeared, but since he couldn’t see it, he had no way of knowing. Pyeonghwa diligently groped the man, moving upward.
[crazyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[someone tell him to stop touchingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[welcome to pax gay]
Pyeonghwa didn’t even know he was being mocked by the viewers.
<Warning! This action violates ethical regulations, and repeated violations will result in account sanctions.>
When another warning message appeared, someone handed Pyeonghwa the gas mask.
“Oh, thanks.”
Pyeonghwa curled up his body so his face wouldn’t be exposed on the broadcast and unwrapped the bandages. While putting on the gas mask, he glanced at the chat window. Everyone was unanimously chanting ‘ㅌㅌㅌㅌ’.
‘Run?’
Pyeonghwa’s only exercise during the years he’d been holed up at home was hitting a punching bag. He’d swung wildly whenever he was angry, so he didn’t know about other things but he was confident in his punches.
Judging from the sensation remaining in his hand, Nam Cheolsu had at minimum a concussion. So there was no way he’d gotten up already… only one person remained.
‘CardCaptorChanmi!’
Pyeonghwa’s plan had been this. First, swap clothes with the bandaged survivor and hide among the survivors while moving.
Nam Cheolsu was a player who preferred close combat while using the long-range weapon revolver. Pyeonghwa was confident that given his usual play style, he wouldn’t attack from a distance.
Even if by chance he did shoot, what he’d aim for wouldn’t be himself but the NPC wearing the gas mask. Pyeonghwa didn’t lose the thread of tension, drawing an escape route in his mind.
As expected, Nam Cheolsu didn’t pull the trigger at Pyeonghwa. Rather, as if hoping Pyeonghwa would arrive safely, he even cleared out the surrounding zombies. Very graciously too.
Second, when Nam Cheolsu approached closely, use the Fox Transformation skill to smash his skull with all his might.
Above players’ heads, nicknames floated visibly, and Pyeonghwa used that point. He made him mistake the NPC wearing the gas mask for Pax, and aimed for the momentary gap when recognition was misaligned.
Up to the second plan was successful, but because the NPC wearing the gas mask fainted, time was delayed. If Tral, who he’d sent to the opposite side, marked CardCaptorChanmi as planned, it wouldn’t have been a big problem, but things seemed to have gotten tangled.
‘Where is Tral and what is he doing?’
When a player dies, a notification window appears. Since there was no word of death, he must be alive and well… Well, it’s fine. He hadn’t placed much expectation on the elementary schoolers from the start.
Pyeonghwa immediately swung his left arm. Heavenly silkworm thread that shot out from his bracer flew toward CardCaptorChanmi.
The heavenly silkworm thread wound tightly around CardCaptorChanmi’s staff. As he tried to finish her off with a follow-up attack, a semi-transparent system window appeared before Pyeonghwa’s eyes.
<Will you accept CardCaptorChanmi-nim’s friend request? Yes/No>
Pyeonghwa stopped moving and blinked his eyes as he looked up at her. CardCaptorChanmi smiled brightly and opened her mouth. It was a bouncy, cheerful voice.
“Please accept my friend request, Pax-nim.”
“Wh-why?”
Pyeonghwa stammered as he replied. Since he’d hardly ever talked with girls his age in his life, he felt inexplicably shy.
“Obviously because I want to get close. It’s good for BJs to be friendly with each other. We seem to be around the same age too.”
“U-uh…”
Pyeonghwa accepted the request with reddening cheeks. An embarrassed emoticon (>//<) sparkled on his goggles.
[u, u, uh~ what bullshit]
[getting instantly nerdy in front of girls is so annoying]
[lololol that bastard saying he has a girlfriend is probably a lie]
Pyeonghwa cleared his throat while looking at the chat window. He was just flustered for a moment; his heart toward ‘DdoHaeNuna’ hadn’t wavered. Pyeonghwa thought he should maintain his composure well so she wouldn’t misunderstand if she happened to be watching the broadcast.
