Life Mission Chapter 10:
Life Mission
Volume 1 Chapter 10
Cha Jun Sung came back to his senses . He had forgotten while he was busy getting his equipment that these were the actions of someone who was thinking of going back .
“Am I going?”
Thump .
His heart trembled . Because he was scared? It was that, but also… . . out of expectation? Excitement? It was like when he had entered Life Mission for the first time 10 years ago .
“It has only been a day since I said I wouldn’t go back, but I guess I won’t last another 3 days . ”
He could not deny his instinct . His determination was weakening .
He wanted to go inside the mission and get ahead of everyone else . He was actually ahead of everyone now . But only so long as he didn’t stop here .
“It’s too late to go to sleep now . ”
The equipment that appeared as holograms looked at him and seduced him . They were more tempting than a naked woman . It became a night of worry .
***
“I don’t know!”
The equipment Cha Jun Sung had bought in the middle of the night were organized next to him .
The impact tights and plastic armor were okay, but he would be arrested if the red fire and steel katana were found .
“E-class mission list . ”
-[Searching E-class missions . There are 35122 missions available . ]
There was a variety of missions . They all had different goals and rewards .
The lowest were 300-400 points, but there were some that exceeded 1500 . The highest in class E was 3000, but he had no intention on overdoing it from the beginning .
“Since there isn’t a limit on how many I can go in and out of, let’s start from the lowest and make our way up in order . ”
He decided on starting at below 400 points . The 3 goals are annihilation, attainment, and escape . It was simple . Either kill everyone, do something, or run away .
“This looks good . ”
-[E-class mission: Dwarves in the darkness] [Goal: Annihilation]
-[Scenario: Kill dwarves that have gotten past the barricades and occupied a supermarket] [Reward: 350 points]
Since it was class E, the scenario was as simple as the tutorial’s . There was not a lot of thought put into it . It would become more complicated as he went higher in class .
“There are a few more things I need to buy if I want to complete a proper mission . ”
He was short on points, so he could just complete a few E-class missions . He did not want to overdo it .
It was all equipment that he had used when he started playing Life Mission .
“Even if I want to collect more information on the missions, any more than this is too much . ”
It had only been 2 days since the reality version started . Everyone was in a state where they had taken the first step . No one was in a position to teach another . Everyone was in the same situation .
“I’ll advance a step while everyone else is hesitating . ”
Though it was a simple step now, soon it would become a distance that could not be shortened .
***
Wiing .
“Is it that place?”
3-floor supermarket, Cha Jun Sung examined the sign . The writing was unfamiliar .
It looked like the language of developing countries . From the outside, it looked like a supermarket from one of Korea’s major companies . Judging by its size, it must have been large inside as well .
“If they’re Level 1 mutant dwarves that like the darkness, they must be gremlins . ”
They are aggressive . Their darts are toxic .
As they are fairly strong, compared to other weak mutants, they enjoy hunting more than they act as cognate predators . Level 2 mutants also avoid gremlins who attack in hordes .
“I’ll start with the red fire, and use the sword once I get used to battle . ”
This is reality . He did not confuse it with the virtual version and made a clear differentiation .
In the virtual version, he may have been the Overload that killed a Level 9 mutant, but he was just an average person who exercised a bit in reality . He would die if he overreacted just by trusting his equipment .
“Should I wait until the morning?”
It was evening . He did not have equipment for his vision, so everything was dark . Even if he got used to the dark, there was only so much he could do with human vision .
In the morning when it became lighter, he could check the market and its surrounding area .
Nod .
Cha Jun Sung decided to wait it out . There was nothing to lose in waiting .
Kiki!
He heard unpleasant laughter . It was like something was laughing at him .
“Ugh! They’ll be walking around because it’s nighttime, but I haven’t used the odorless spray . ”
Gremlins were nocturnal . They would avoid the sun by staying inside the supermarket during the day, but they would come out at night to move around or hunt . He had forgotten .
Bang!
Chiik!
Cha Jun Sung searched through his pack and sprayed himself . He could not fool the ones who had already seen him, but it would be better to spray it even now . There! Let’s greet some customers .
“1 gremlin?”
Seuk .
He could see a gremlin’s head by the building . Cha Jun Sung took his red fire with a silencer . It was around 30m away .
Pew!
Puk!
The gremlin was shot in the head whether by luck or skill and fell over . There was a bursting sound in the air, but it was not enough to cause trouble .
-[You have earned 12 points . ]
“A gun really is good . ”
It was easy . It died on a shot . He would be able to kill dozens .
Seuseuk .
Cha Jun Sung approached the gremlin . It was carrying a coarse weapon . It was not dangerous . It was a type that can be blocked with his plastic armor .
As he searched the body, he found a dart and tried jabbing his impact tights with it . He had controlled its length so that it would not touch his skin even if it got through the fabric .
“It doesn’t go through . ”
It did not go in no matter how much he pushed on it . It might go in if he pushed against it on a wall, but there was almost no risk of an external attack because that was not likely to happen .
“I’ll still wait . ”
Conceit becomes a trap, and the best situation is to go along with his plan . Nothing lost from being cautious .
***
Pewpewpewpew!
Changchangchangchang!
Every time he shot the red fire, a window of the supermarket engulfed in darkness shattered . He broke each one he saw mercilessly .
Hwak!
Kyak!
Rays of sunlight flooded in . Shrieks followed . The gremlins scrambled to find a dark place to hid from the light .
That was his chance . It seemed they were more averse to the sunlight than they were to gate crashers . The red fire chased their unprotected movement like a swarm of bees .
“There are a ton of them . ”
He stopped counting after he killed over 100 of them .
He had swept the 1st through 3rd floors, and all that was left was the basement . It did not have windows because it was the basement, but it was okay . He had given 50 points to get a photothermal magazine .
Snap .
Cha Jun Sung switched the magazine . It was his last magazine . He had used them sparingly, but he had used 241 bullets . If he failed in the basement sweep, he would have to go into battle .
Sukuk .
He took the dagger out and slit the throats of gremlins that were still alive . There could be ones that were hiding, but he was going to check that after finishing up with the basement .
Tubuktubuk .
Cha Jun Sung got on the escalator with the dagger in his left hand and the red fire in his right . He did not turn it on . He was just following its path .
He left one escalator and stopped walking . Dozens of pairs of eyes blinked from afar at him .
Cha Jun Sung sneered as he took out a round object from his chest .
The photothermal magazine kept a tremendous light for 5 minutes If this went off, it would be as though there was daylight in the basement .
Seuk .
Cha Jun Sung wore the glasses attached to his plastic armor . Its tinted feature would protect his eyes from the photothermal magazine .
Bibibibi!
The timer was for 5 seconds . If he did not throw it within that time, it would go off in front of him .
Pwak!
Kyah!
He closed his eyes because of the light that came in past the tinted glasses . The eyes and skin of the gremlins who had been exposed to the photothermal magazine burned .
It was so painful that they died one after the other .
“If the missions under 400 points are all like this, I can do a bunch . ”
It was advantageous the more points he had . But rash behavior always proved to be ineffective .
The equipment he could carry was limited if he did not have 50,000 points to acquire the space compression bag . A lot of items interfered with his movement unnecessarily .
“I won’t get comfortable, but from what I’ve felt…… I’m embarrassed that I was so nervous . ”
He knew that it was on behalf of the equipment . Other than the exhaustion, he did not have any injuries . All that he had were a few scratches on the plastic armor .
Pewpew!
Cha Jun Sung used the red fire on a struggling gremlin and picked up the photothermal magazine . He could use it more usefully .
The photothermal magazine he had purchased was not to be thrown on the ground, but imprinted .
Swish .
Snap .
Cha Jun Sung threw the photothermal to the ceiling . A strong magnet came out of it and it attached itself to a structure . The interior of the basement became bright .
As the range of light widened, the darkness went away . The gremlins naturally fled into areas where the darkness was weak .
Kiik!
It was pathetic how they were struggling with each other to stay in the shadows .
“So you’re the leader . ”
Deep in the darkness hid a gremlin about a half larger than the rest . The leader gremlin looked at Cha Jun Sung with malice .
“Goodnight . ”
Pewpew!