Without a hair’s breadth of hesitation, Yoo Joonghyuk strode on ahead. He didn’t say where he was going.A step or two behind him, at varying gaps, followed Lee Hyunsung, Kim Namwoon, and Lee Jihye.We tailed Yoo Joonghyuk’s party, keeping a set distance.How long did we follow like that?Walking at my side, Gyeong Sein spoke up in a furtively worried voice.“Is it really okay to keep following them?”“He’s not telling us not to.”Instead of affiliating with “Chungmuro Station,” we chose to be “Wanderers.”It was a dangerous decision, and because of that, before making it I asked for the opinions of Gyeong Sein, Uncle Dansoo, and Jung Heewon.—Chungmuro would be safer for now, but if I’m ever in real danger, I think the one who’ll save me will be you, Mr. Inho.Gyeong Sein.—Would it be all right if I keep traveling with you while I look for Jiyoon?Uncle Dansoo.—If I leave you alone, you feel like the type to die somewhere.And lastly, Jung Heewon.At this point, I started to wonder if maybe we’d been together in a previous life.“Mr. Inho, thanks for the new sword. Sorry the thanks are so late.”“Do you like it?”Jung Heewon sliced Mikazuki Munechika a few times through the air.“Very much.”Even as she did, she didn’t take her eyes off the back of Yoo Joonghyuk’s head.To be burning for a fight even after seeing that Yoo Joonghyuk’s might… that was so very Jung Heewon.Barring special cases like regressors or reincarnators, among ordinary humans the strongest was probably Jung Heewon.Right after we left Chungmuro Station and fully surfaced to street level, Yoo Joonghyuk halted.With indifferent eyes he surveyed the ruined cityscape, then stopped his party.“Wait.”Jamming a large spear into the ground, Yoo Joonghyuk looked back and forth, measuring west and north, and fell into thought.West and north from this point—Something came vaguely to mind, but there wasn’t enough information to be certain.If only I could look up Demon-Slaying Law.Right now, all I had were readers’ comments and scraps of notes that surfaced now and then.In the distance, Kim Namwoon, who’d been kicking at the ground, looked over at us.He grinned and started to amble our way, but Lee Jihye’s voice cut in, cool as ice.“Don’t go picking a fight for no reason. Unless you want to die by my hand.”“Huh? Okay.”Instead of the dithering Kim Namwoon, the one who came over to us was the most gentle and good-natured man in Yoo Joonghyuk’s party.“Hello. None of you are hurt, are you?”“Ah, no. Thanks to you.”“I’m sorry. Our captain isn’t much for words.”“It’s fine. We’re the ones tailing you on our own.”With steady eyes, Lee Hyunsung smiled, chest muscles sturdy beneath his armor.Looking at his guileless expression, it hit me again that I had really entered Ways of Survival.So this was the real “Steel Sword” Lee Hyunsung.Earlier I’d had no time for awe in the middle of battle, but seeing him like this, I was moved all over again.Something occurred to me and I glanced at Jung Heewon.But meeting Lee Hyunsung didn’t seem to stir anything in her.If anything, the odd mood was coming from the other side.“Mr. Sein. Have you done weight training?”“Pardon? How did you know?”“It showed in your shield work. When you braced, you went into a wide-squat stance. And when you guarded the upper line, you seemed to use a hammer-curl posture. Am I right?”“Woooow, you noticed!”[Character ‘Lee Hyunsung’ takes a liking to the incarnation ‘Gyeong Sein.’]…Is this fine?I glanced at Jung Heewon again.“What?”“Nothing at all.”Well, thinking about it, there’s no law that says Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung have to end up together.The 41st round is not the 3rd round.And yet, still, this is…[A Constellation who likes gender-bending watches with keen interest.]I decided to just ignore it.For now, checking the newly arrived scenario came first.+Category: MainDifficulty: C+Clear Conditions: (There’s a lot of content, so the window is hidden.)Time Limit: 14 daysReward: 2,000 coinsUpon Failure: ???+As expected, the fourth scenario was the same “Flag Capture Battle” as in the main run.When I tapped the clear conditions, a window popped up with a long message written on it, just like in the main story.+[Clear Conditions]1. Every station’s representative has a “flag.”Only a station’s “representative” may hold the flag.2. If you seize another group’s “flag,” you seize all stations owned by that group. Conversely, if your “flag” is seized, you lose all the stations you own.3. Even if you don’t seize the flag, if you kill a station’s representative it is considered as seizing the flag; in this case you gain bonus points.I suspected as much—and sure enough.This time, too, a new rule had been added.You don’t even need to take the flag; killing the representative suffices—and they even give you extra credit.I’d felt it in the “Theater Dungeon” scenario as well, but the 41st round’s scenarios had a strange sense of disharmony.As if someone had read the original of Ways of Survival and tweaked the scenarios to their own taste.…Probably overthinking it.4. There are locations outside the stations where a “white flag” is hidden.Second new rule.There are “white flags” hidden in places outside the stations.Looks like the hidden piece of this scenario.5. Within 14 days, you must obtain the flag of your “target station.” If you fail, all members of your group die.You currently have no “target station.” You cannot carry out this scenario.The final condition was largely the same as I remembered.[You are currently a ‘Wanderer’ with no affiliated station.][You cannot participate in the ‘Flag Capture Battle.’][A Hidden Scenario has been imposed.]I checked the follow-up “Hidden Scenario” window.+Category: HiddenDifficulty: CClear Conditions: Enter a new group, or kill a group’s representative and steal their flag.Time Limit: 3 daysReward: Entry right to the “Flag Capture Battle” scenario.Upon Failure: ???+The Wanderer scenario.You could call it a kind of “loser’s bracket” scenario.I gathered Uncle Dansoo, Gyeong Sein, and Jung Heewon and began.“You’ve all checked the scenario, right?”“Yes.”“For now, there are three choices we can make. First, we find another station and ask its representative to take us in.”As long as we found a “group,” we could shed the Wanderer penalty, so clearing the scenario itself wouldn’t be difficult.Gyeong Sein shook her head.“If we were going to do that, we should’ve just joined the Chungmuro group. What’s the second?”“The second is to raid another station and take its flag. And the third…”“Find the hidden white flag. Right?”“Yes. That’s right.”“Then the third option, surely? Usually the third is the right answer.”So it was. In Kim Dokja’s Ways of Survival.Watching my expression, Gyeong Sein asked in a whisper.“Do you know where the hidden white flag is? Like how Kim Dokja knew the hidden ‘Green Zone’ location?”If only things flowed that smoothly.“No. I don’t.”“Eh? Then what are we going to do?”“We’re going to take another station’s flag.”In the end, one way or another, the “Flag Capture Battle” was a fight to take each other’s flags.Conflict was unavoidable, and we had to destroy another station.Only then would the Hidden Scenario “King’s Road” open, and later we’d be able to earn the challenge right for the “Absolute Throne” decider.Uncle Dansoo spoke in a low voice.“It sounds like it will be a difficult fight. It would be nice if we could only seize the flag… but things won’t go that easily, will they.”A station that lost its flag would have its rule seized by the taker.Even in that Chungmuro Station, fights broke out over this; how much worse would it be elsewhere?Jung Heewon added a word.“If we have to kill anyway, it’ll weigh less on the conscience if it’s people we don’t know.”At the killing intent in that cool tone, Uncle Dansoo and Gyeong Sein flinched.I soothed them.“If possible, it’d /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ be best not to kill—but situations where we have no choice will come. Steel your hearts.”Compared to what lay ahead, the fight we experienced in Chungmuro Station was child’s play.Our enemies would be cleverer than Ye Hyunwoo, less considerate than Han Sooyoung, and more brutal than Gong Pildu.Even the “Misread Alliance” we met a while ago proved as much.They were relentless, too many to count, and a criminal group that didn’t observe social norms.[The Constellation, ‘Tail-Shedding Serpent,’ makes a snide remark at you.]Right on cue, an indirect message sounded. Constellations of the Misread Alliance.[The Constellation, ‘Plague-Calling Rat,’ tells you to struggle all you like.]I remembered Asmodeus had chased that rat out last time; looks like it wriggled back in already.[The Constellation, ‘Tail-Shedding Serpent,’ warns that even if you die, you’ll never so much as brush a star’s shed skin.]It was shaping up to be a very uneven fight.During channel broadcasts, those Misread Alliance bastards could monitor us all they liked and leak info to their incarnations.After a moment’s thought, I called Bihyung by “dokkaebi comms.”—What. What do you want.‘I have a favor to ask.’I listed the Misread Alliance Constellations I’d identified so far and asked if he could block their entry to the channel.—Are you out of your mind? How dare a mere incarnation talk about our heaven-like Constellations! You—‘Hear me out. I’ve heard channel finances have taken a big hit recently. True?’At the sudden topic of finances, Bihyung bit his tongue for a beat.—Impudent brat. Not your business.‘It’s all because of sponsorships. The sponsorship volume’s dropped a lot compared to before, hasn’t it?’—It has dropped… I’m still looking for the cause.Channel finances had worsened because the Apostles kept blabbering filtered talk and the Constellations bailed.Our dim Bihyung didn’t seem to know that yet.‘Did you check the Constellation list I gave you? I’m betting those guys have no sponsorship record.’—They do happen to be ones without sponsorship records, but…As expected.‘Isn’t it about time for some water-quality control on the channel?’—Mm. Not wrong, but sanctioning them just for having no sponsorship record is a bit…‘Of course that alone wouldn’t be grounds for sanctions. What worries me is… there are rumors recently that the Commission’s channels were breached.’—And where did you hear that?There are facts you can know without “hearing” them.‘My guess is those guys didn’t come in through normal channels.’

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