Chapter 99: Chapter 98

“The name of this unprecedented genius engineer is Baek Il-hong. Just call me H!”

The trembling, frightened girl was nowhere to be found as Baek Il-hong introduced herself with overwhelming self-assurance and a hint of vanity.

After hearing the protagonist mention they were searching for someone called Ocean Butterfly, Il-hong eagerly offered to help.

“This dangerous city feels safest next to you, mister.”

“And why exactly should I bring you along?”

“You can’t find Ocean Butterfly alone anyway. Let’s help each other out!”

“Does she want to join the party? What happens if I say no... oh, I can’t decline.”

“Why would you even think of refusing, Diah?”

“If you leave her alone, she’s going to die. Again. Every time, she dies. 😭”

“You have to save her this time!”

“I swear these NPCs are cursed.”

“Manager, time for some ban-hammering! The spoilers keep flying!”

Although it was true that the protagonist had scoured the city solo with no success, leaving a girl like Il-hong to fend for herself in a perilous mechanical dystopia felt... wrong.

Thus, Il-hong joined the team. Their first destination? A colossal factory referred to as The Harbor.

“I’ll check the CCTV for traces of Ocean Butterfly. While I’m at it, mister, you can...”

—THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

—SCREEEEEECH!

“...deal with that robot dog for a bit.”

“Ah, so ‘be the meat shield’ is what you meant.”

The "robot dog" was anything but cute.

Standing at nearly 5 meters tall with a body length at least twice that, its frame was covered in reinforced alloy plating. Razor-sharp metal fangs protruded from its maw, while turrets and guided missiles adorned its massive form.

It only bore a faint resemblance to a Doberman due to its overall silhouette, but up close, it was nothing short of terrifying.

To buy Il-hong time, the player had no choice but to face off against the monstrous mechanical beast.

—SWOOSH!

—CLANG!

—CLICK!

“C-come here, doggy!”

The protagonist launched their left wire at the robot’s neck, wrapping it tightly like a leash.

“LMAO, doggy’s confused!”

“Breaking and entering and assaulting guard dogs? Tsk tsk, Diah.”

“But it’s okay! Diah is innocent!”

With the right wire, they repeatedly targeted the robot’s joints, maneuvering with acrobatic precision. To a casual viewer, it might have looked like a circus act.

“This is supposed to be Hero difficulty, right?”

“You get one-shot if you get hit, but she’s not getting hit at all!”

“Are we sure she didn’t practice beforehand?”

“Is Diah secretly from the Survey Corps?!”

Sure enough, the chat grew rowdier.

Still, Diah said nothing, her focus entirely on the battle. The robot was a formidable opponent.

—RATATATATAT!

“ACK!”

“What was that pterodactyl screech?!”

“RIP headphone users!”

“She dodged all that?! This reaction time is insane!”

The most dangerous part of the fight was the robot’s erratic machine-gun fire. Predicting its attack patterns was impossible; dodging required lightning-fast reflexes.

After a stray bullet grazed the protagonist, leaving their HP critically low, Ha-eun cranked up her mouse sensitivity for more precise control.

The clash dragged on with dozens of evasions and counterattacks. Finally, the mechanical beast collapsed.

—CLANK!

—CRASH!

—SCREEEEECH!

“Did I... did I get it?”

“No! Never say that line!”

“This time, you did... probably.”

“Phew, we’ll allow it just this once.”

The defeated robot emitted a harsh grinding noise before falling silent. Moments later, a tsunami swept in from the nearby coastline, dragging the hulking mass away.

The protagonist stood still for a moment, catching their breath.

Then they turned to Il-hong, who had approached unnoticed.

“Did you find any trace of Ocean Butterfly?”

“Well, I did, but...”

Hesitant, Il-hong trailed off.

It wasn’t until the protagonist’s tone grew sharper that she revealed her findings.

“It seems they’ve gone into the sewers.”

“The sewers?”

“Yes, the tracking algorithm stopped there.”

The duo ventured into The Anthill, a sprawling labyrinth of sewer tunnels perfect for hiding.

At Il-hong’s suggestion, they split up to cover more ground.

“How are we staying in contact?”

“Here, take this. It’s an old, non-waterproof radio. Don’t drop it!”

Equipped with the radio, the protagonist entered the sewers. They searched diligently until...

“Mister... s-static... there’s something... s-static...”

“What? The signal was fine just a moment ago!”

“NO, NOT AGAIN!”

“Il-hong in danger! Il-hong in danger!”

Panic surged as the protagonist rushed toward Il-hong’s last known location.

—RATATATAT!

—SWOOSH!

The protagonist's wires flew out, carrying them at breakneck speed.

As Il-hong’s silhouette came into view, another figure emerged.

“Unauthorized organic detected. Eliminating target.”

—CLICK!

“Ah... ahhh!!”

A humanoid robot aimed its weapon at Il-hong, who was cowering on the ground.

—SWOOSH!

—SLASH!

—BOOM!

In a flash, the protagonist’s wire severed the robot’s head from its body.

“OMG, she’s Levi IRL!”

“She’s a Captain in this game too, huh?”

“That wire control is god-tier!”

As the dismembered robot collapsed, the protagonist hurried to Il-hong’s side.

“Are you okay?”

Their voice, laced with subtle worry, seemed to ground the shaken girl.

Though Il-hong eventually regained her composure, her next words lingered ominously:

“I thought... you wouldn’t find me this time. But you did.”

“What does that mean?” Ha-eun muttered to herself, her thoughts clouded with uncertainty.

The pair moved deeper into the sewers, reaching an entrance to the Inner City.

“See that triangular skyscraper? The signal leads to its basement.”

“Understood.”

“Finally, Ocean Butterfly!”

“She found something, all right.”

“Let’s see how badly this goes.”

Just as the protagonist began sprinting toward the building—

—GRAB!

"Wait a moment. If we charge in recklessly, we’ll be riddled with holes before we even make it past the entrance," Il-hong warned, blocking the player’s way.

Instead of heading directly to the building’s entrance, Il-hong had them climb aboard a massive security robot stationed nearby. Her reasoning was simple: using the robot to approach the building wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

However...

—Static.

"Unauthorized movement detected. Eliminating anomaly."

"Uh, mister... I think we’ve been found out," Il-hong said nervously.

A colossal centipede robot stood in their path, not merely blocking the way but preparing to annihilate them completely.

"Keep piloting. I’ll step out and assist."

The player swiftly opened the hatch of the security robot and leapt out, charging directly at the centipede robot. What followed was a synchronized attack: the player darted around, creating openings, while Il-hong used the security robot’s massive fists to land heavy blows.

When the player appeared to be in danger, Il-hong intervened, creating opportunities for them to escape.

It was their first time working together, yet their coordination was seamless. Before long, the colossal centipede robot lay in ruins.

"We... we did it!"

Il-hong, her face flushed with excitement, raised her hand for a high-five. But the player, without so much as a glance, walked toward the triangular building in the distance.

There was no time to waste. Just a little farther, and they would finally face the enemy responsible for their daughter’s death.

As they pressed on, Il-hong called out hesitantly, "M-mister... could we... just one more...?"

Her words were a nuisance, and the player barely paid her any attention. At this point, even understanding her request didn’t matter.

"I agreed to travel with you only until we found Ocean Butterfly," the player replied coldly.

"But is revenge really that important? I’m only asking for one more—just one more time!" Il-hong pleaded, her voice trembling.

"Wait... why are her lines being censored again?" the streamer muttered, noticing the distorted dialogue.

“It’s because ㅁㅁ is actually ㅁㅁ!”

“Classic case of not being able to call ㅁㅁ what it really is.”

“Looks like she’s under hypnosis or something. (Deleted message)”

“Why am I already sad? 😭”

While still trying to make sense of the cryptic exchange, the player suddenly froze as a man dressed similarly to them appeared, grabbing Il-hong by the arm.

"That’s enough, Il-hong," the man said firmly.

The player instinctively took a step toward Il-hong, whose face was on the verge of tears, but—

—CRACKLE.

"Take another step, and I’ll turn you into scrap," the man warned.

"Wait, what? Why is he attacking? Aren’t they on the same side?"

The sudden shift in tone and genre sent chills down the streamer’s spine, exacerbated by the abrupt silence of the once-grand background music.

"Don’t touch that ■■!" Il-hong shouted desperately.

"Snap out of it, Il-hong! That’s not ■■, it’s just ■■!" the man countered, his voice filled with frustration.

Their tense standoff dragged on, with neither side giving an inch.

"I’ve been living because I couldn’t die. I’m not afraid of death anymore," Il-hong declared, her voice trembling but resolute.

"Il-hong—"

"Let me go. If you don’t, I’ll die right in front of you."

Her declaration, turning her own life into leverage, intensified the situation further.

The man, clearly torn, finally relented, letting the player go but not without clear reluctance.

As the battered player resumed their march toward Ocean Butterfly, Il-hong’s voice rang out behind them, softer than ever:

"Mister, do what you need to do. I’ll... I’ll do what I have to as well."

With those parting words, she pressed a small remote in her hand. Gray static began to fill the game’s screen.

Even as Il-hong disappeared and the player fought their way through waves of humanoid guards, destroying them all, the weight of her words lingered.

Finally, the player reached the basement where Ocean Butterfly was said to be hiding.

"Am I really supposed to go into the basement now?"@@novelbin@@

The closer they got, the more oppressive the gray static became. Each step felt heavier, as though the game itself resisted progress.

Il-hong’s cryptic behavior nagged at them, and so—

The player turned back.

"I can’t finish the game like this... not with so many unanswered questions."

But what awaited them at the building’s entrance was startling.

"How surprising. I didn’t think a robot could develop a will of its own," the man from earlier said, standing among a crowd of citizens.

The player, referred to as a robot, hesitated, confused by the sight of so many people and the man’s enigmatic words.

"What will you do now, defect?"

"I’ll ask why she helped me. And I’ll hear her answer."

"Information acquisition? Inefficient. Hearing her answer won’t change anything. It’s meaningless."

The man, surprisingly, let the player go without further conflict.

As the player passed through the sea of citizens, something odd happened: a flood of information overwhelmed their mind. Current dates, details about the city, and more—all at once.

By the time they reached the city’s control room, where Il-hong’s signal was located, the truth hit them.

"...Why are you here?" Il-hong’s voice, now cold and distant, greeted the player.

Their AI-enhanced vision began analyzing Il-hong, revealing details they hadn’t noticed before.

What was once a strange girl now bore a deeper, more personal significance.

"Are you... asking me to play with you one more time?"

Her voice faltered, fragments of censored dialogue becoming painfully clear.

"I agreed to travel with you only until we found Ocean Butterfly," the player repeated, now struggling to hold their composure.

"Is revenge really so important? Can’t you just play with me one last time?"

The fragmented truth began to coalesce:

"Don’t touch that person!"

"Wake up, Il-hong! That’s not a person—it’s just a tin can!"

Everything clicked.

"You’re worse at hide-and-seek than I thought. But this time, you found me."

Scenes from the past, the tsunami that engulfed the guard dog, and the flooded sewers all aligned.

"This city... is sinking," Il-hong stated matter-of-factly, still turned away.

The truth unraveled further with each step.

"Butterflies don’t cross oceans. That’s what I dreamed of—an impossible dream."

Finally, Il-hong, her voice breaking, screamed:

"Don’t torture me with meaningless malfunctions anymore! You don’t even know who I am!!!"

Her silhouette crumpled as tears streamed down her face. Yet the player’s rusted metal hand, gentle as a memory, reached out to wipe them away.

"Have you hidden, my daughter?"

"Yes, Daddy!"

The memory of a loving father, long buried, resurfaced.

"I’ve finally found you. Now, you’re it."

The poignant reunion between a broken robot and a long-forgotten memory marked the beginning of an inevitable farewell, underscored by a warning siren and the soft trickle of water into the control room.

The chat exploded with emotion as the player’s shoulders shook, grief transcending the screen.