I Unleashed a Mad Dog on the Engineering Department That Abandoned Me 19

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Over the past day, I hadn’t even been allowed to go to the bathroom freely; it meant I had lived as that damn ranker’s ornament.

My shabby-looking Rabbit character on the screen was still standing blankly in the exact same spot as yesterday. And the presence guarding it remained perfectly fine.

[0]

Server Rank #1, Cheon Ihyeon’s character.

He hovered around Doyeong’s character like a sentry. Until just before falling asleep, I was definitely deep inside the dungeon, but now I was at the safe village entrance. It seemed the time allowed inside the dungeon had expired and I was forcibly moved.

“…He really didn’t kill me.”

Doyeong let out a sigh of relief as he untangled the headset cord. The worn sponge touching his ear felt all too familiar.

“Hey, Zero. You alive?”

Doyeong’s hoarse voice came through the mic.

“Awake? You were sleeping well. Even snoring.”

Ihyeon’s voice had more life compared to yesterday. No, it was obvious he was enjoying himself. Meanwhile, Doyeong just wanted to hide if there was even a mousehole to crawl into. He’d even snored.

I’d basically shown all the disgrace I could in this damn 24 hours.

[Party] 0: Thanks to you, I actually got a good sleep. Like an insomnia cure. Your snoring sounded like a lullaby.

[Party] Won: Shut up. Ten minutes left.

[Party] 0: Why? Sad to see it end?

[Party] Won: No. I’m thrilled. Ten minutes from now and it’s over with you.

Doyeong was serious.

This 24 hours felt like hell. I had to watch when I went to the bathroom and couldn’t eat comfortably. (Though the food was tasty.) But more than anything, enduring that sly ranker’s suffocating ‘protection’ was the hardest.

Now, freedom.

Once this is over, I just have to rush to the auction house and list my 5,000 pumpkin seeds that have been aging for seven years. Then take that money and cash in to buy the tractor with full options, and seal this crazy game away with my old computer in the storage room.

“One minute left.”

Doyeong began the countdown with grim resolve.

59 seconds… 30 seconds… 10 seconds…

The crimson chain linking the wrists of the two characters on-screen began to gradually fade away.

[System: The curse is being lifted.]

[Item ‘Corrupted Oath Shackles’ has been destroyed.]

Clink-clang!

With a crisp breaking sound, the red ring that had tightened around Doyeong’s wrist shattered and scattered into empty space.

“It’s over!!!”

Doyeong slammed on the desk and cheered. His chair slid back with a dragging sound, but he didn’t care.

“Hey, 0! That was fun, but let’s never meet again! I’m out!”

Without looking back, Doyeong used the ‘Return Stone’ he had carefully searched for during yesterday’s break.

[Moving to village.]

The screen flashed white. Ihyeon’s character seemed like he was about to say something, reaching out his hand, but Doyeong coolly disappeared into the loading screen.

The remaining 0 stared blankly at the empty space. Where the chain had broken, crimson afterimages still shimmered.

“We’re never meeting again?”

In the dark room, Ihyeon rested his chin on his hand and snickered. His face reflected in the monitor’s light didn’t show disappointment over the lost prey, but anticipation for a fun new plaything.

“Does that really depend on you, hyung?”

His fingers lightly glided over the keyboard.

But then, the work smartphone face down on the desk vibrated.

Jing-jing.

[Caller: Manager Kim]

Ihyeon’s expression instantly hardened. The casualness of ‘0’ in the game vanished, and the sharp mask of ‘Director Cheon Ihyeon’ settled over him.

“Speak.”

Director, there’s big trouble. The Chairman plans to propose the sale of your shareholding at this week’s shareholder meeting.

“…What?”

Ihyeon frowned.

The reason is neglect of management participation and breach of dignity clauses. He’s been criticizing you for not coming to the office these past few days and shutting yourself away in your room. If this continues, defending your shares will be difficult.

Ihyeon let out a bitter laugh.

“Ha. Has that old fool finally lost his mind? Who would they take my shares for? That idiot?”

Killing intent sparked in Ihyeon’s eyes.

“It’s ridiculous how they behave as if I were a legitimate heir.”

The main family continually squeezed Ihyeon. Alongside them, close relatives were eagerly eyeing his neck.

Naturally.

Ihyeon wasn’t the legitimate child. The fact he bore the chairman’s blood was considered a disgrace in the family’s lineage—it was a bastard without a family tree. But he had risen to his current position through sheer ability.

But—

“This time, it’s really dangerous.”

His cash reserves were limited. To protect his shares, he needed an excuse. No, a guaranteed ‘big achievement’ to overturn the situation.

Director, you must return immediately and prepare countermeasures.

“Shut up. I’ll handle it myself.”

Ihyeon curtly ended the call.

A headache throbbed with stress. That damn reality felt worse than a dungeon crawling with monsters.

I need… something. One big shot.

[Elysium Square, Capital City]

With a pop, Doyeong’s Rabbit character appeared from the dimension portal.

The surroundings remained noisy. Players looking for parties shouted, merchants yelling their wares, and attention seekers spamming skills all stirred up aggro.

But Doyeong saw nothing. Only the [Auction House Clerk] NPC shining like a savior beyond the crowd.

“Move aside! Out of the way! 50,000,000 Gold is coming through!”

Doyeong ran through the throng. His ten-year-old crappy computer screamed as frames dropped heavily, but his capitalistic desire overcame even the lag.

Finally, at the NPC.

“Sir! I’m selling pumpkin seeds!!”

With trembling hands, Doyeong opened his inventory. He dragged out the bundle of pumpkin seeds stuffed in the corner and placed it into the auction registration slot.

Checked the lowest price. 12,000 Gold each. The price had risen by 500 Gold since yesterday.

“Whoa, insane. Can I really get the tractor with full options? And the best tinting?”

A grin stretched wide across Doyeong’s face. An air-conditioned tractor and Bluetooth audio in the tractor appeared in his mind’s eyes.

Just as he happily reached to press the register button—

Ding.

An alert sound rang out, and a red system message popped up in the center of the screen.

[Warning: Sale Not Permitted!]

[You are under ‘Return User Protection Measures.’]

[To prevent inflation and penalize farming operations, you must clear Main Scenario Act 4 ‘Shadow Canyon’ to access the auction house.]

“…Huh?”

Doyeong’s eyes went wide. The hand holding the mouse froze in midair.

“What? Protection? I’m selling my own items—what kind of protection is this? Don’t protect me!”

He spammed the register button furiously again.

Click, click, click.

But the result was the same. Only the indifferent system message denied his hope.

[No clear record of Act 4 ‘Shadow Canyon’ found.]

[Sale not allowed.]

“Ah, damn it… where’s this bullcrap come from!”

Doyeong grabbed his head.

When he quit, only Act 1 existed. The current latest was Act 6.

“So I have to clear that to sell pumpkin seeds?”

Doyeong urgently opened the [Party Finder] board.

[Search: Shadow Canyon]

The result was dreadful.

Act 4 was an abandoned, seldom-visited part of the content at this time. Rewards were poor and experience efficiency terrible, so even new players skipped it with their jump passes.

[No search results found.]

Naturally. No one sees that stagnant water, and newbies have no reason to go.

“What the hell is going on?”

Doyeong frantically googled the game on his phone. And realized one fact.

“It’s over…”

Doyeong’s face turned pale.

It was absolutely impossible alone. Though his level was 99, his equipment was a seven-year-old relic, and Act 4 dungeon swarmed with monsters at a minimum level of 200. Even trying to rely on skill alone, dealing only triple-digit damage meant the clear time could take hours.

Moreover…

He couldn’t clear only Act 4. He had to push through Act 2 ‘Frozen Ruins’ and Act 3 ‘Lava Cave’ in order.

It was practically an impossible mission.

The tractor was drifting farther away.

“Someone… someone has to help me…”

In this rotten water game, who the hell would be crazy enough to run a low-level dungeon with no rewards?

Rankers for whom time was money? They’d be mad.

“…Ah.”

At that moment, a name flashed through his mind.

Someone with time to spare, loads of money, and most importantly, the only guy obsessed with him.

Doyeong’s gaze slowly moved to the friends list.

[Friend: 0 (Online)]