On the road back from Incheon to Seoul.
Yoon Se-won, the head of the External Cooperation Bureau, sat up from where she'd been leaning against the back seat.
"...Wow."
A single exclamation burst out.
After staring for a moment, she looked at the driver's seat.
"Team Leader Im Woo-gang."
"Y... yes."
"I'm not seeing things, am I?"
"I'm seeing it too. Lakshasha's Fortress... has been canceled."
"Hah."
A hollow laugh escaped her.
Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn't believe it.
It really got canceled?
"Pull over for a bit. I think both you and I need to calm down."
"Yes. Understood."
The car stopped by a quiet dock.
Yoon Se-won rolled down the window and took a deep breath.
The fresh air helped her settle down at least a little.
"Team Leader Im Woo-gang, answer me honestly."
"What...?"
"How sure were you? That Lakshasha's Fortress wouldn't open, just like Runner said. Off the record, so be honest."
After thinking for a long moment, Im Woo-gang cautiously opened his mouth.
"Fifty-fifty."
"Fifty percent? Either you're generous or you're being nice. I was at ten percent."
"Yes...? Then why did you proceed...?"
"Well, Runner's track record was a hundred percent. And he only picked things that seemed impossible to pull off. If I'd ignored that and things went wrong, what kind of backlash would I have faced?"
She let out a deep sigh and sank into her seat.
Only now was the tension starting to ease.
A sense of relief she hadn't felt in a while washed over her.
*Zzz. Zzz.*
Her eyes dropped to her buzzing phone.
Chinese player Hunter Chen's External Cooperation Bureau chief, Lang Feng.
A long smile spread across Yoon Se-won's lips.
"Fucking bastard."
She couldn't help but curse.
They were the ones who needed consumable items, yet during the negotiations, they were so arrogant and acted like they were doing everyone a favor.
If it hadn't been a formal setting, she would have spat in their faces.
She raised her middle finger at the phone that wouldn't stop ringing.
"Stop calling and get lost. Go back to your great nation. Team Leader Im, you're getting calls too, right? From your team leaders?"
"Yes. Messages are flooding in too."
"Don't answer. They're obviously going to try to back out of the deal with some bullshit."
"Is that okay?"
"It's fine. Those bastards are all getting fired anyway."
The deal between China and Korea was an open secret.
By now, the whole world probably knew that China had gotten screwed.
For China, there was no greater humiliation than this. The people involved in the deal might as well have already lost their heads.
"Ah, this is so satisfying."
Seeing Yoon Se-won chuckle, Im Woo-gang also smiled.
It had been a long time.
Seeing Yoon Se-won, who was usually scary and prickly, laugh so freely like this.
"Oh, right. Let's tear this up."
Yoon Se-won pulled her resignation letter from her pocket and tore it to shreds.
If things had gone wrong, she would have been the one losing her job.
"What are you doing? Not tearing yours?"
Seeing Im Woo-gang just gulping dryly, Yoon Se-won narrowed her eyes.
"Don't tell me you didn't write one? I didn't think you were that disloyal, Team Leader Im."
"If I quit here, I'd starve to death. I was planning to cling to the Hunter Bureau Director's coattails."
"Wow. I see you in a new light. I thought you were a bear, but you're a fox."
"Th... that's..."
As Im Woo-gang flustered, Yoon Se-won let out a small laugh.
"Just kidding. Let's go. You need a bit of fox in you to survive in this world."
Stretching comfortably, Yoon Se-won turned her gaze out the window.
The sky was exceptionally clear today.
'Come to think of it, this Runner guy.'
Watching the scenery slide by, she quietly curled her lips.
'He's completely insane.'
She was genuinely curious.
What kind of trick did he pull to predict a situation like this?
No matter how amazing he was, he was still just one player.
"Team Leader Im Woo-gang. If I asked Team Leader Jin Yun-ho to tell me who Runner is, he wouldn't tell me, right?"
"Yes. To them, it's practically a religion. It'd be like asking them to abandon their god."
"Tch."
Too bad, but she'd give up.
If it's not possible, it's not possible.
'Anyway.'
Yoon Se-won licked her lips and wore a faint smile.
'Congratulations, Runner. You just screwed over the entire world.'
She was already looking forward to it.
To how big a wave his wings would create.
---
* * *
---
After showering, I buried myself in the sofa.
Just an hour ago, I was somewhere in far-off Northern Europe.
Being home already felt hard to believe.
I turned my gaze to the garden.
The Frog General standing there majestically.
With Drakan's eyeball embedded in the middle of its abdomen, it looked grotesque, but its performance was solid.
"Home is the best, sir."
Kancho approached with perked ears and sat down beside me.
His fur was super fluffy from just being dried.
"Right? There's no place like home."
"Yogurt is super delicious too, sir. Would the Commander like some?"
"No, I'm going to drink beer."
"I see, sir."
As I peacefully watched Kancho's yogurt-eating show—
"I feel so refreshed!!"
Momo burst out of the bathroom and ran to the refrigerator.
She yanked the door open and looked inside.
"Where's the yogurt I saved to eat after my refreshing shower!!"
I swallowed dryly and looked to the side.
Kancho's perked ears and spoon had frozen like someone hit pause.
Uh... um! I didn't see anything.
I quietly got up and slipped away as if nothing happened.
"Master! Momo's yogurt...!?"
Momo, who had been looking around, stopped moving.
She'd caught him.
The Yordle Ranger who had stolen the yogurt of the Empress of Cats.
A brief silence hung for a moment.
"Yaaaaaah!!"
Momo launched herself.
A dropkick that landed perfectly on Kancho's upper body.
Perfect distance calculation.
As soon as the yogurt spilled, Bungbung Unit 3 and Bungbung Unit 4 sprang into action.
You guys work hard.
I slipped out of the noisy battlefield and logged into Crown Jackpot's site.
Some time had passed, so it should be settled by now, right?
"Holy mother."
The moment I checked my account, I had to cover my mouth.
The number that was ten billion had swelled to seven hundred billion.
"Seventy times from one click."
Good job, me.
I couldn't help but applaud.
After finishing my self-praise, I pressed the withdrawal button.
I needed to pull the money out and go buy gold.
---
Beep! An error has occurred!
---
"Huh?"
No matter how many times I pressed it, the same response.
I called the number listed on the site.
"Hello. I'm trying to withdraw from my account, but I'm getting an error."
Ah, yes. What's your username?
"WinnerWinnerChickenDinner."
Please hold on a moment.
A brief silence followed.
Yes. Confirmed. Withdrawal is not possible.
"Why not? It's my money."
Why would it be your money, you idiot! You deposited it, so it's mine!
"Oh."
I was speechless at the miraculous logic.
"So you're not going to let me withdraw?"
Are your ears clogged? Hang up, wash your feet, and go to bed. Before I come find you and kill you.
The call ended, and I checked my phone screen.
---
Your account has been terminated for fraudulent use!
---
My account, WinnerWinnerChickenDinner, had vanished in an instant.
I thought it was a pretty good name. Sad.
"So that's how you're going to play it."
I'd expected this to some extent, so I wasn't particularly flustered.
Maybe this was even better.
"Too bad. Real shame."
Muttering to myself, I opened the text I'd received from Yoon Mi-ri.
Then I called Black Wings.
"Hello, Captain Dominic. Can you take a flight right now? Yes. Yes."
When Dominic asked for the destination, I smiled broadly.
"Cambodia."
I'm coming to get you now.
---
* * *
---
Crown Jackpot Cambodia Branch.
Branch Chief Chenda threw his cup.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
He didn't know how many cups he'd thrown already, but what could he do?
His anger just wouldn't subside.
He still couldn't believe it.
The system had reversed its announcement.
It was a massive variable he'd never expected.
"Fucking hell!!!"
He swung his golf club wildly.
The dream of a jackpot that had been right in front of him had evaporated like a lie.
He'd have to cancel the yacht and new sedan he'd reserved in anticipation of the big win.
"Branch Chief."
"Speak."
"I've terminated the WinnerWinnerChickenDinner user's account. I've also deleted the record of the 700 billion that hit on the site. Other users won't know."
He had no choice but to cut it off.
It wasn't like he was running a charity. There was no way he was going to hand over 700 billion in cash to some stranger.
'Hah... only 20 billion.'
Sure, he'd swallowed that guy's money for free, but after profit distribution, not much would fall into Chenda's hands.
If Lakshasha's Fortress had just gone through, he would have received hundreds of billions. There was no way he'd be satisfied with this.
"What about the funds that came in?"
"Well... as soon as the system announcement went up, withdrawal requests started flooding in."
He wanted to swallow this too, but he couldn't.
The moment he touched the wrong money, it would directly affect the site's credibility, and if that happened, things would really spiral out of control.
After taking a couple of deep breaths, Chenda walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room.
He needed to see the open view to calm his heart a little.
"Branch Chief. It's headquarters on the phone."
"Tch... can't they wait a little?"
A call came in before he could even calm his mind.
Frowning, he reached out his hand... *CRASH!!!*
The floor-to-ceiling window shattered into pieces, the sound of shattering glass hitting his eardrums.
Branch Chief Chenda and the employees fell on their asses in shock.
Their speechless gazes turned to someone who had entered through the broken window.
"Whoa, that was scary as hell."
Jin-hyeok patted his startled chest.
It had been a while since he'd jumped down, and his heart was still pounding.
He turned around and gave a thumbs-up to the sky above.
Renya, who was slowly descending, dispelled her manifestation.
When Renya reached a certain altitude, she had sent him flying this way.
"Captain. I've arrived safely. I'll go back on my own. Thank you."
He didn't forget to call Dominic either.
Dominic had had a mini-seizure when Jin-hyeok said he was going to jump out mid-flight.
It seemed like it was the first time Dominic had seen a crazy person like this, so he was pretty shocked.
He'd have to buy Dominic some herbal supplements later.
"You, who the fuck are you?!"
Chenda finally came to his senses and shouted.
This guy was ignoring him and just shaking off glass.
And on top of that, he was wearing a mask that looked so shoddily made, like it was just thrown together.
There was no way Chenda wouldn't curse.
"Me?"
Jin-hyeok spun around and looked at Chenda.
"WinnerWinnerChickenDinner."
"!?"
Chenda was speechless again.
Was he hearing that right?
Jin-hyeok stepped forward and continued.
"I'll give you a choice. Either hand over my money quietly. Or..."
Jin-hyeok faced Branch Chief Chenda and the Crown Jackpot members, a smile on his lips.
"Get the shit beaten out of you and hand it over. Your choice."
Stunned by the sudden choice, they stood frozen for a moment.
"G... get this bastard!!"
Chenda and his men all stomped off the ground at once.
"Figures you wouldn't surprise me."
Clicking his tongue, Jin-hyeok lowered his stance.
No choice.
Time to start swinging.
----------
T/N:
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