Ryu Seung-kwon ran a hand through his hair as he stepped into his room, letting out a low breath.
The cold shower had barely managed to suppress the fury that had been boiling inside him.
Getting angry now won't change anything. No need for it. I'll crush him starting tomorrow.
Yoo Jin-hyuk.
Some nobody who'd crawled out of who-knows-where. A stray mutt with more guts than sense.
He'd give him that—he had nerve.
But there was one thing the bastard had overlooked.
Every single person who had dared challenge Ryu Seung-kwon before—every last one of them—had ended the same way.
They all started out brave.
Acted like they weren't afraid of anything.
And before long?
They were on their knees, crying and begging, clutching at his pant legs.
Yoo Jin-hyuk would be no different.
No—he'd suffer worse.
He'd crossed the line. And not just a little.
"Ha!"
Just imagining Yoo Jin-hyuk kneeling and groveling made him feel better.
Humming to himself, Ryu Seung-kwon picked up his phone. Let's cool off a bit.
It hadn't even been a minute before the humming stopped.
His hands began to tremble.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
He hurled the phone across the room.
The rage he'd thought he'd buried surged back up, hotter than before. His eyes burned red as he grabbed the desk lamp and smashed it onto the floor.
The phone lay face-up.
On the screen was a real-time trending post on TopSite.
#RyuSeungKwonTheScumbagGetsTaughtALesson
There was a video attached.
He didn't even need to play it to know what it was.
Still seething, Ryu Seung-kwon snatched up the phone and scrolled through the comments he hadn't finished reading.
LOLLLLLL that piece of trash. Knew this day would come.
└ Karma, baby.
└ Isn't it "what goes around comes around"?
That's his favorite car, right? Always showed up to clubs in it to flex.
└ Yep. Same one he freaked out over when an old lady's cart barely brushed it.
└ And there wasn't even a scratch. Total scumbag.
└ Absolute cockroach. Wait—cockroaches are too good for him.
Glug glug. Feels like I just chugged two liters of soda. But who did it? No fear at all LOL
└ Justice incarnate. Should've smashed his skull too. Hehehe!
Bet he's reading this right now. Hey Ryu Seung-kwon, you psycho who trashed our store—live like a decent human being!
└ Is that too specific?
└ Nah, he's been a menace everywhere. Could be anywhere LOL
└ Irrecyclable garbage.
"Those little insects…!"
It wasn't just TopSite.
The video was spreading across every social media platform.
This was the 21st century. The world thrived on outrage.
A forty-billion-won Rolls-Royce being smashed to pieces with a baseball bat.
And the owner? Ryu Seung-kwon—already infamous for his garbage behavior.
It was the perfect kindling.
"Ghh—!"
He clutched his burning head.
And who the hell was that freak with the weird tone?
On every post, the same person had replied to every comment, taunting and jeering with that bizarre, cutesy phrasing.
It was infuriating—like they had a gift for scratching at his nerves.
"In real life, they wouldn't dare say a word…"
He leaned back in his chair.
Tomorrow.
He just had to wait until tomorrow.
You fearless little bastard. You'd better have something backing you up.
Grinding his teeth, he glared at the clock.
All he wanted was for this night to pass.
At that very hour, in a Japanese restaurant in Hannam-dong.
Cheon Se-yeon, Jin Yoon-ho, and Yoon Mi-ri sat together.
It was partly to relay an official notice from the Player Hunter Administration—and partly to celebrate Cheon Se-yeon clearing the 91st floor.
The food had arrived.
None of them had touched their chopsticks.
Mi-ri replayed the video again.
After swallowing nervously, Se-yeon finally spoke.
"That's Jin-hyuk, isn't it?"
"So I wasn't the only one who thought so."
"Pretty much one hundred percent."
They exchanged looks.
He'd worn a mask and hat, but it wasn't hard to tell.
More than that—the force behind that baseball bat swing was abnormal.
That car had been customized with Tower-grade items.
And he crushed it with a single blow?
No one who was merely "strong" could do that.
"Wow," Se-yeon muttered, brushing her hair back.
"What?"
"Look at the comment section."
"Whoa… that's brutal."
Yoon-ho let out a low whistle.
One person had replied to practically every comment.
Judging by the strange tone, it was clearly the same individual.
"Why is it so infuriating? Is it the way they talk?"
"They've got talent. I'd recruit them as a professional provocateur."
"If it were me, I wouldn't have held back. I'd have asked for a location trace immediately."
"I would've cooperated enthusiastically. How do you not smash that guy?"
Se-yeon and Mi-ri shook their heads.
The comments were vicious.
Mi-ri chuckled.
"Director Han Ji-won must be thrilled. She absolutely hates Ryu Seung-kwon. Thinks he's worse than a bug."
"Worse than dog crap, honestly. She's blocked any branch of the Player Hunter Administration from supporting him. That says enough. And she's the one who sent us this video."
"Guess he's racked up a lot of sins. And no luck."
"Definitely no luck. Of all people to pick a fight with… he chose those two."
Se-yeon tilted her head after swallowing a piece of sashimi.
"Wait. Jin-hyuk said he's moving tomorrow, right? Packing tonight? Team leader, you heard it too?"
"Yes. He called suddenly. Said he bought a house and thanked us for letting him stay in the officetel. Said the Administration's support felt… burdensome. No, that doesn't sound right. More like it didn't suit his taste."
Se-yeon stared at Yoon-ho.
"Am I being too shameless? I was planning to freeload in the Administration's officetel for the next twenty years."
"You could stay a hundred."
"That's a relief. But seriously—what a fiery 'outing' for someone who was just packing."
"Agreed. Classic Runner."
"Indeed."
"We'll pretend we don't know?"
"Of course. It's his private life."
"Right. Private life."
Agreement reached, the three returned to their seats and resumed eating.
We should visit his new place sometime, Se-yeon thought.
Jin-hyuk surveyed the room.
His companions bustled about, packing up their belongings.
Especially Momo—her nimble hands flying as she shuttled items into the Infinite Warehouse and back.
She grabbed another box and turned—
"Yaaah!"
Mid-spin, she unleashed a dropkick.
Her target: Kancho, vice-captain of the Yodel Ranger Unit.
"Guhk!"
Caught off guard, he went tumbling across the floor.
"What was that for, Momo?!"
"Stop playing on your phone and help, you raccoon!"
"I'm busy!"
He'd been glued to his phone for a while now.
Jin-hyuk crept over and peeked at the screen.
'Oh wow.'
Sometimes, when you read something especially vicious, it feels like your ears are bleeding.
Right now, it felt like his eyes were.
Colorful insults and relentless taunts filled the screen.
Kancho, who always left five-star reviews and encouraging comments on delivery apps—
On TopSite, he was a full-blown keyboard warlord.
The temperature difference was staggering.
"Unbelievable."
Camelia passed by, shaking her head.
"You will surely fall into the Hell of Severed Tongues."
"Severed what now?"
"The realm where those who sin with their mouths go after death. Their tongues are burned."
"I just won't die, then. Now move along before I pelt you with a slingshot."
Camelia retreated with a grimace.
They'd already nearly come to blows over popcorn earlier that dawn. Neither wanted a repeat.
Jin-hyuk vigorously patted Kancho's twitching ears.
What a dependable little raccoon warlord.
"Why won't this move?!"
"Momo, don't take that. It belongs to the officetel."
He hurried over and lifted the greedy Momo off the appliance.
Left alone, she'd strip the fully furnished officetel down to bare walls.
Did we get everything?
He took one last look around.
There hadn't been much to begin with.
Time to start buying.
The new place was one hundred twenty pyeong.
A yard. A swimming pool.
There was a lot to fill.
Appliances. A bed. A rocking chair.
He was mentally drafting a shopping list when—
Beep. Beep.
Midnight.
"Alright."
Stretching, he said, "I'm heading to the Mythical Tower with Renya. Keep packing."
"Call us if you need us!"
"Will do."
He opened the balcony door.
Renya, the goblin, stood on the railing.
Good thing Camelia had set up a concealment barrier earlier.
Otherwise, someone would've called the police by now.
"Let's go."
"Already midnight."
He pressed the entry button.
[Entering Mythical Tower, Floor 14: The Goblin's House!]
The space materialized around them.
A deep mountain wilderness.
It was so dark it felt like a ghost might appear at any moment.
Maybe he should've brought Camelia.
Renya scanned the surroundings, a faint smile on his lips.
"It's been a while."
"You couldn't come because you were sealed, right?"
"No. I left long before that. I never liked staying here."
"Really? Then let's just grab the scale and go."
Renya shrugged.
"That was a long time ago. Now it's just dull and trivial."
He took the lead up the mountain.
They could've leapt or dashed to the top, but Jin-hyuk didn't rush him.
Though he called it dull, Renya's face carried a trace of nostalgia.
"If my memory serves me right…"
Renya stopped.
"Here."
Jin-hyuk looked up.
Near the summit was a hollowed-out cave entrance.
He clasped his hands together and prayed.
Please let the Black Dragon's scale be here.
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T/N:
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