Chapter 193

Chapter 193. Wandering Steps (1)

I waited at my residence for a whole day, in case of any unforeseen events, hoping for contact.

“Sigh.”

As I released a long sigh, the ice in my glass clinked and started to melt.

Brigadier General Kim Jonghwa rubbed his eyes as he poured more whiskey into his empty glass. He checked his phone after, but there were no new messages.

‘This is strange.’

Though no official reports had been released, photos of a high-rise penthouse half-destroyed overnight had circulated on Chinese social media.

He didn’t have a clear understanding of who resided there or what exactly had occurred, but it seemed certain the Americans had made their move.

‘The ultimate target of the association, which has hitherto remained unknown, might have been eliminated.’

But why hadn’t the person dispatched to Beijing reported back?

‘I feel like I’ve become a dog chasing a chicken.’

Sitting and drinking made his insides churn.

‘I can’t even determine who the association’s target is.’

Three people among Korean players were influential enough to access important information about the association.

Yang Hyewon, the head of the Korean branch affiliated with the association, and Kim Yul, who had no direct ties to the association but seemed to be getting close to some important figures recently.

Lastly, there was K, who had gathered key figures from the association at the early stage of the game and played a significant role in the association’s establishment.

Thanks to him, K still wielded considerable influence over the people of the association.

Yet among the three, not a single one worked for the Korean government.

More precisely, there wasn’t anyone who could provide information to the Ministry of National Defense.

‘That proud girl, Yang, has aligned with the National Intelligence Service instead.’

Despite being a military academy graduate, she chose another government agency over the military.

As a result, figures like Brigadier General Kim Jonghwa and others in the Ministry of National Defense couldn’t verify who the association was targeting.

It was only speculated to be a young player from the Communist Youth League.

This made Kim Jonghwa’s resentment towards K grow even more.

It was well-known that K was part of the investigative team.

‘Damn it.’

He felt like K was withholding crucial information he should be providing to his homeland.

Could he just dismiss it and exclude them like this?

There wasn’t a single thing he found pleasing about the man.

Grinding his teeth, Kim Jonghwa downed his whiskey in one go.

With a rough gesture, he slammed the glass down, his anger rising.

This time, his fury wasn’t directed at K, but at Kim Muwon.

‘When did I send him to capture, and I still have no contact?’

Could he have failed? I should have known when he made such bold claims.

“What a useless man. I should have sent a more capable one… perhaps…”

“It wouldn’t have made any difference.”

At the voice coming from the side, Kim Jonghwa immediately grabbed the glass beside him and hurled it through the air.

Yet the glass stopped abruptly mid-air.

If it weren’t for the unmelting ice inside spinning around, it would have been hard to believe the glass halted mid-flight.

Kim Jonghwa, too, was caught by a strong grip before he could move.

“You rascal! Intruder!”

Hoping his shout would alert the players stationed at his residence, Kim Jonghwa called out.

Soon the players would rush in to apprehend the intruder.

As he widened his eyes in a hostile glare, a figure slowly materialized in the distorted space.

“Whoever you sent wouldn’t have stood a chance against me.”

It was K. Though not entirely familiar, the white man’s face was recognizable.

Could it have been Invisibility magic?

I heard about traps being set up meticulously in advance.

How did he bypass them?

As Kim Jonghwa mulled over this, K greeted him with a relaxed demeanor.

“Long time no see, Colonel.”

“……”

“Oh, you’ve had a promotion? Then, Brigadier General?”

“……”

“It seems I surprised you by suddenly dropping by. I’m here because I thought I’d return the favor for the gift you sent.”

It was only after a thud that he realized K had brought along a large bag.

K unzipped the kind of bag typically used for body transport and nudged it with his foot.

“Step out.”

The things crawling out of the bag, squirming, were—in quite a surprising state—Kim Muwon, bound hand and foot and only wearing his underwear.

He said a word without glancing at Brigadier General Kim Jonghwa and kneeled next to the bag.

As Kim Jonghwa swallowed hard at the sight of Kim Muwon’s wrecked face.

“The rest, I left in China. It was too cumbersome to carry them all.”

He assured, as if casually, that they weren’t dead, they can rest easy.

“I’ve found that humans seem to fall into types over time.”

K then perched casually on the armrest of the sofa where Kim Jonghwa had been sitting.

“One type is those who can’t properly grasp reality, who think they’re more impressive than they are.”

“……”

“You know what sets such people apart?”

Instead of answering, Brigadier General Kim Jonghwa glared viciously at K.

“No matter how much you tell them, they don’t get it until they experience it firsthand themselves.”

With a chuckle, K let out a light laugh and murmured at ease.

“It seems you, too, are just like that. I came because I thought I’d try explaining it again after trying to push it my way once more.”

K began placing various broken stones where the glass had been earlier.

Kim Jonghwa then remembered the players stationed at the residence hadn’t appeared yet.

“You recognize these, right? A barrier magic stone.”

Thump, thump, thump.

As the heart rate increased, he couldn’t move a single finger.

He even trembled slightly. The fear of potential death gripped him.

“It’s hard to even tell if this has been used here or left from somewhere else. Just like not knowing if there’s a barrier here right now, either.”

So why keep interfering in player matters?

“If you can’t even sense mana, don’t put your face where you’re looking for death, stay out.”

K gave a low warning.

Feeling the fear of death, Kim Jonghwa clenched his eyes even harder, denying and turning away from his current state.

“It doesn’t matter how well you talk; in the end, you’re just a parasite trying to gain personal profit even in a national crisis! If the situation projects war, naturally you ought to follow military control! Your talk of freedom and cooperation are doing nothing but blackmail because you don’t want to sacrifice the small for the big!”

After spewing out venomous words, his fear seemed to diminish slightly.

“Haah, you still don’t understand, do you…?”

Appearing frustrated, K murmured and extended his hand.

“It seems you won’t understand, no matter how many times I explain it.”

He continued, saying he didn’t want to waste more time on such a person.

K murmured quietly as he gripped the back of Kim Jonghwa’s neck.

The general protested fiercely, shouting all the while.

“Do you really think I’ll die obediently?!”

Even as he shouted defiantly, he reflexively glanced towards the doorway.

Wasn’t there security, players set around here to save him?

It was as much as admitting he couldn’t get out of this situation by his own strength.

“Hah, who said I’d kill you?”

At that, he heard something that made him doubt his ears.

General Kim Jonghwa, who had been flailing, stopped cold and looked up.

Then K nodded his chin forward, indicating ahead.

“Over there.”

Turning his head, he saw someone he had momentarily forgotten.

Kim Muwon, who had crawled out of the bag meant for corpses, bound and kneeling in his underwear.

Realizing the fate awaiting him, Kim Jonghwa’s cheeks twitched involuntarily.

* * *

“Before meeting you, I stopped by your study, which was quite fascinating.”

From the documents or account statements it seems you’ve done some budget embezzling.

“Does your wife know someone named Lee Jumi?”

There were explicit messages with a mistress left on the phone, along with numerous swapped photos and videos of a revealing nature.

“Recently, a new text came from your son who seems keen to see you. Also, I apologize for peeking into your private messages.”

The contents suggested he might even have an illegitimate child.

‘He does create quite a mess.’

Shaking my head in disbelief, I filmed all the documents and phone details in a video.

Naturally, I didn’t forget to film Brigadier General Kim Jonghwa kneeling beside Kim Muwon.

‘It seems he thought I would kill them.’

I will not commit to killing civilians using the power of a player.

That is a boundary I absolutely refuse to cross, a conflict that should not occur if players and ordinary people are to cooperate harmoniously.

‘The world of players and that of ordinary people should remain distinct.’

From the start, taking Brigadier General Kim Jonghwa’s life wasn’t an option for me.

Therefore, my chosen alternative was to suppress them by exploiting their weaknesses.

‘If they continue to interfere in player matters, I can’t let them be.’

After capturing enough footage on Kim Muwon’s and my own phones, I rose from my seat.

“Soon there will be talk of appointing a player as the head of a new military department. If you don’t want this to reach the news, let’s work well together.”

I spoke calmly while handing Kim Muwon’s phone back to him.

“Once things settle internally, start training with the players. Don’t forget to report the situation regularly. If that guy causes trouble, use what you have to shut his mouth appropriately.”

If he doesn’t want his groveling in underwear, asking for life, to be shared worldwide, he should do well.

The other five players who hurried over to rescue me after receiving Kim Muwon’s chat while I was still in Beijing were no different.

“Yes, sir! I will remember!”

Kim Muwon replied with crisp military discipline.

After casting one last glance at Brigadier General Kim Jonghwa, who was trembling in shame and humiliation with his head down, I walked away without regret.

‘I already informed Namkyu, so squad leader Yang Jochul, will step in soon.’

Then we can remove the civilians above the players assigned to the direct military unit under the Ministry of National Defense.

‘For now, that should suffice.’

Among the players transferred to the Ministry of National Defense, some probably volunteered due to vague notions and the mere fact it was the military.

‘In the NIS, most except for Yang Hyewon’s party are under probation.’

Members most likely assumed they’d gain specific roles and affiliations by joining the military.

Yet the military is certainly not a favorable choice at this point.

The control in wartime should be upholding power to fully manage all situations, which is where those with command authority reside.

‘Unlike the player team led by Yang Hyewon, the direct military unit is commanded by regular humans.’

Most soldiers have instinctively prepared for times of war.

But the problem with such preparations assumes the war targets humans.

Will those preparations help in a war against monsters wielding mana?

‘I don’t think so.’

Ordinary people can’t even fathom the limit between players and monsters.

That’s why I come directly to make sure Kim Jonghwa stays out of it.

‘As the general said, control is certainly necessary.’

The outcome of systematically organized responses versus the lack thereof is vastly different.

The critical issue I point out about control is that it’s being attempted by an ‘ordinary human’.

The war approaching minute by minute is not an issue to be tackled from a human perspective.

Currently, human society can’t tackle even one single problem spawned by players effectively.

There are people robbing banks using Stealth or Invisibility-type magic.

People putting on private vendettas, some organizing monsters or players privately for coups or civil wars.

However, no significant control or management of these actions exists.

They’re merely shelved by information suppression.

They can’t even begin to control or manage their actions.

With ordinary folks, there’s no power to restrain players.

‘Once people realize the issue they face isn’t their field of expertise, they should back off.’

Damned System