Chapter 41

2 I felt powerful energy rush through my body when I grabbed the flag in my hand. Junghyeok was supposed to get this during his third regression, but…it should be fine. I mean, he’s plenty strong already, right? [Dokja Kim has taken the white flag.] [If the owner of the flag does not change for five minutes, Dokja Kim will have control of Chungmuro Station.] [Should someone take the flag from him, the five-minute timer will reset.] A timer appeared in midair. [5:00] Pildu turned pale and pointed at me. “Take the flag from him! We have five minutes to do it!” The Coalition members jolted back to their senses and came after me. Oh, so this is how you want to play it? Hyeonseong was looking at me. “Dokja!” “Hyeonseong, take this!” The Shield of Hercules flew from my hand and latched on to his. “Th-this is…!” “I got you a new one. Throw away the old one.” A grin of pure joy spread over Hyeonseong’s face. [Character Hyeonseong Lee has activated the special skill “Wide-Area Defense.”] A translucent defense barrier spread out from the Shield of Hercules and surrounded our group. Items grade-A and up came with useful bonus skills. “Ack! What the—?” People who ran headlong into the barrier that appeared out of thin air groaned in pain. They struck the barrier with their worn-down weapons, but their paltry grade-E or grade-F gear had no chance of breaking through. In the end, there was only one person the landlords could rely on. “Mr. Gong!” “Everyone, out of the way!” It looked like his “Militarized Zone” had improved quite a bit. I saw a small version of the ability already being deployed under Pildu’s feet. I surmised that he was trying to limit the area of effect to circumvent the long setup time. How clever. Looks like I’ll have to teach him a proper lesson this time. “I haven’t told you to get up yet, Pildu!” “Urk?” He dropped down again and banged his head on the ground. [You have exercised your authority to command Pildu Gong.] “Keep your head on the ground until I tell you to get up.” Hearing their leader’s screams, the rest of the Landlord Coalition went into a panic. “M-Mr. Gong?!” “H-help me get up! Hurry!” The Coalition members rushed to his side and tried to pull him up, but it wasn’t easy because he was a big guy. “And…those turrets are getting on my nerves, so turn them off.” [Character Pildu Gong’s “Militarized Zone” has been deactivated.] “Y-you son of a—” “And shut your dirty mouth. Be quiet for thirty minutes.” [You have exercised your authority to command Pildu Gong.] “Mmmmf!” Seeing their mighty leader neutralized with a few words, the landlords looked like they had lost the will to fight. Of course, my companions looked just as shocked. I put on a friendly smile and spoke. “I hope we’re on the same page now. Let’s talk…” I saw some people stepping back nervously. There were twenty-nine left. Out of that number, twenty were part of the Landlord Coalition. That left nine others, including my group. It was a modest number, but that was actually better. Having too many people would just make things more complicated. I looked back at them. “You have two choices.” Time to find out who’s on my side. “Leave Chungmuro and take your chances at another station, or stay here with me.” “Wh-why so suddenly…?” “Just give me an answer. Will you stay with us or try your luck elsewhere? You should decide before the main scenario starts. Otherwise, your life will be in danger.” People’s eyes darted everywhere. Some looked at me, while others looked at Pildu Gong or the tunnels connecting other stations. I could easily guess what they were thinking based on their looks. “I won’t stop you if you want to leave. But if you decide to stay, you’ll have to do as I say.” “Do as you say…?” “I won’t allow anyone to act like the Landlord Coalition. Also, I won’t allow a small group of people to act like tyrants.” A small number of people began coming over. They probably had a rough time under the Coalition’s rule and decided it couldn’t be worse with me. Some of the Coalition members were yelling. “I knew it! You’re gonna act like a king!” “I won’t deny that. But unlike a certain someone, I won’t collect taxes or survival fees.” “Can you guarantee our safety if we join you?” one of the Coalition members asked me. It was natural to worry about that since they had bullied the tenants. “I’ll protect you from outside threats as best I can, but I won’t interfere with what happens within the group. You’ll have to sort that out among yourselves.” “Th-that’s…” “I’ll give you one minute. You must decide by then.” I didn’t even have to wait that long. Everyone had already made their decision. Some of the Coalition members looked solemn and lowered their heads. They were relatively young members. “I know we’ve done some bad things in the past, but I hope you’ll forgive us.” “Welcome, though I’m not the one you should be asking for forgiveness.” [Some of your group members show trust in you.] However, some people made the decision to leave Chungmuro. They tried hard to pull Pildu up. I turned to speak to them. “Oh, you can leave him behind. He’s my property.” “What the…?!” “If you’ve made up your mind, leave here now.” My cold declaration made five of the Coalition members frown and step back. “Mr. Kang, you really aren’t coming? Nothing good will come of you staying with that bastard!” “Are you really going to work for him? You already saw what kind of nutcase he was! Everyone, let’s go!” But there were no more deserters. The five men who swore at us glanced back several times, looking like they weren’t so sure about leaving. They then headed to the tunnel toward Myeong-dong Station. They probably planned to go to another station to become new landlords there, but unfortunately, their plan would fail. Drifters like them were prey for predators in the fourth scenario. Five minutes passed, and system messages came up. [The sub scenario has ended.] [You have received 1,000 coins as a reward.] [You have become the true leader of Chungmuro Station thanks to the power of the white flag.] [The current size of your group: 24] [You have insufficient fame to gain the title of a king.] King, huh? Well, it was hard to get the title of a king with the white flag. To go through the King’s Path properly, I’d have to keep changing flag colors. But with the white flag came certain authorities. [The power of the white flag grants you the authority to command the Chungmuro group.] [You have the ability to punish members who disobey.] [Five people escaped from your group.] I was briefly tempted to give the deserters a taste of punishment but decided not to. Reign of terror was effective to rule people, but it didn’t suit me. “Let’s work together.” I made eye contact with everyone. Hyeonseong looked at me with trust in his eyes. Huiwon and Sangah seemed relieved. The rest of the people looked at each other with similar expressions. We still needed to work on some things, but it wasn’t a bad start. Bihyeong soon appeared overhead. Ooh, a leader has been selected. Then let’s get back to the main game! [The fourth main scenario has been activated.] <Main Scenario #4 - Capture the Flag> Category: Main Difficulty: C Mission: (Hidden because the list is long.) Time Limit: 12 days Reward: 2,000 coins Penalty for Failure:??? I tapped on the mission. A message containing a long list came up before my eyes. [Mission] 1. Each station possesses a flag that can be planted in a flag slot. *The flag can only be held by the leader of each group. 2. You must defend your flag slot from other groups. If a flag from another station is planted in your flag slot, you will lose your station. The group taking over the station gets to decide the fate of the group that lost the station. 3. You may plant your flag in another station’s flag slot, but only the station leader has the authority to do so. If a leader dies, their authority will be transferred to the person who retrieves the flag first. If a flag is captured by another group, they get to decide the fate of the group that lost their flag. 4. You must plant the flag in the flag slot of your designated station before the time limit. Failure to do so will result in the deaths of everyone in your group. 5. Your group’s designated target is [Changsin Station]. Huiwon thought for a bit, then opened her mouth. “Guard our flag and flag slot and at the same time, plant our flag in another station. At least, I think that’s what it means. Did I get it right?” “That’s how I understood it as well. And Changsin Station is where we have to plant our flag,” Hyeonseong added. “Should be about right. Good to see we’re on the same page.” Huiwon narrowed her eyes and shot me a look. That was her way of reminding me that she knew that I knew. Since she found out I knew the future, she might find that annoying. I beamed at her. Sangah crossed her arms and spoke softly. “Do we…have to fight other people again?” Hyeonseong thought about it a bit and answered. “It says that once we plant our flag in their flag slot, we can decide what to do with the people there… So if things go well, we may be able to finish without any casualties.” “Oh, you’re right. It doesn’t say a group that loses their station has to die. Once we take over a station, we can let them join us instead…” “Yes, we may be able to clear the mission without killing anyone.” Hyeonseong answered with a smile. But I wasn’t comfortable with that. Sometimes, I thought Sangah and Hyeonseong tended to be far too idealistic. There was no such thing as a scenario without bloodshed. The fourth scenario would result in more casualties than any that came before. Huiwon cut them off while frowning as if she knew how I felt. “Which line is Changsin Station? We should find that out first.” Hyeonseong checked the subway map. “It’s on Line 6. If we’re using the tunnels, we can go through Yaksu…” “Then we’ll have to split up into two groups. A few people can go scout out our target while the rest stay here and guard our base. How’s that?” Watching the team discussing our options without any input from me, I felt an inexplicable sense of pride. [Chungmuro Station’s barrier will be deactivated for this scenario.] [You can now move freely between stations.] I approached Pildu Gong while others continued their discussions. “You may talk now, Pildu.” Although the restriction was lifted, he bared his teeth at me instead. “I know you hate my guts, but it’s time to adapt to the situation. Your days as a landlord are over.” “…” “I know why you’re so obsessed with owning land. But you have to let it go if you want to survive. You still have something you need to take care of, right?” Pildu seemed to waver. I continued talking. “I’m leaving you in charge of defending this place.” He was key not only for the third but also would be for the fourth scenario. Chungmuro would be safe with him as long there were no attacks from a monster on the level of Junghyeok Yu. “Why should I do as you—?” “This time, I won’t force you. And I promise you’ll be rewarded if you help me.” “……” “Give it some thought. And think about your family, even though they aren’t here.” Pildu’s eyes grew wide with my last comment. “How do you know about—?” Just then, we heard a noise from the tunnel. Headlights and loud honking came from the tunnel to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station. The sound of a motorcycle engine. A smoky smell. Something was approaching Chungmuro Station.