Read Novel Full Chapter 680
Chapter 680: What Life Is (3)
[You are given initial settlement funds!
- 1,000UI (1 million won)
- 5,000UI (5 million won)
- 10,000UI (10 million won)
- 50,000UI (50 million won)
- 100,000UI (100 million won)
- 1,000,000UI (1 billion won)]
A new message window popped up. The gap between 1 and 6 was ridiculous. One million won would barely cover my team’s food expenses for a week. I toyed with the white die and looked at Seong Hyunjae. There was no way he’d roll a 6 again in a row, right? He threw the die.
[6!]
“That is straight–up cheating!”
How the hell was it another 6! Did Crescent Moon bless him to live rich for the rest of his life or something! Not just my team, but even his own were giving him weird looks.
“Same team or not, you’re kind of pissing me off.”
Moon Hyunah muttered. I mean, right?
Swallowing from the tension drying my throat out, I threw my die. No 1, no 2, give me at least a 3…
[5!]
“One hundred million!”
So my luck wasn’t absolute garbage after all! Sure, it was only one–tenth of what Seong Hyunjae got, but it was still a hundred million! Guys, we could actually start out comfortable too! I threw my hands up and cheered, and not only my teammates but even Hyunah and Mari clapped for me. Swept up in the mood, Samir clapped awkwardly, and Chief Song hesitated, like he was wondering if he should be congratulating me. The guy who got a billion, please refrain from clapping. It grates on my nerves.
[Your base of operations for success!
- Truck
- Small 5–pyeong commercial unit on the 5th floor (no elevator)
- Tiny back–alley shop
- Second–floor office on the main street
- Large commercial unit in a busy district
- Three–story building in a busy district]
Wow, 6 made you an actual building owner. I mean, I was a building owner back outside too, but still. Seong Hyunjae threw his die. Okay, but there was no way he’d hit 6 three times in a row. This time, I was going to roll a 6 and become the landlord. Ten billion or whatever, a three–story building in a prime district blew that away…
[6!]
“…”
I couldn’t even get words out. This was insane.
“Does the black die only have 6s on it or something?”
Yerim narrowed her eyes, suspicious.
“Yeah, looks like someone tampered with the die.”
Liette chimed in. Backing up their accusations, Seong Hyunjae smiled and tossed the black die toward me.
“Borrow it.”
I don’t need it! …is what I wanted to yell, but my hands were honest. Just one more 5. Please. I won’t even ask for a 6, just let me roll 5 twice in a row too! I hurled the black die with all my strength. Tap, tap, tap, tumble–
[1!]
Silence fell. Dear God…
“…Hyung, it’s okay. Really.”
“Y–yeah, Mister! Even if Han Yuhyun rolled a 1, anywhere my brother is, I’m happy! I agree too!”
“Wow, you really have no luck~.”
“Noona!”
Liette cackled and Noah flusteredly tried to rein her in. Seong Hyunjae looked at me with a face that clearly said he hadn’t expected a 1 either. I didn’t need his pity. Hyunah, please don’t look at me like I’m some tragic case. Chief Song, I’m fine.
“If it’s really luck, should I try rolling it? I can make it come up all 6s.”
Yerim suggested a test and rolled the white die. 3, 5, 3, 6, 1. Looked like it really did come out evenly with no regard for S–class abilities. Ha. Ha. Ha.
[Lastly! We’ll provide transportation for a comfy commute~. The team leader’s vehicle cannot be changed.
- Kick scooter
- Bicycle
- Motorcycle
- Compact car
- Luxury full–size car
- Private helicopter]
A helicopter fit Seong Hyunjae perfectly, but even he couldn’t roll a 6 again now. No way. This time, seriously, no way. I handed the black die back. He casually tossed it.
[2!]
“Oh yeah! Bicycle!”
Right! There was no way a 6 would come up four times in a row! But instead of 3, 4, or 5, he got 2. So his dice luck was finally running out?
“You’re going to be biking around this whole game. Great cardio, at least.”
I wondered what kind of bike it’d be. You weren’t supposed to enjoy other people’s misfortune, but I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from creeping up. The guy had a house, money, and a whole building already. Being a little salty about this much was nothing. Feeling pleased, I threw the white die. I didn’t need a 6. Anything 3 or higher was fine! Just give me something!
[1!]
“You–!”
I barely swallowed the string of curses that tried to leap out. Excuse me? What? Another 1? Are you kidding me! Yuhyun, Yerim, and Noah all scrambled to comfort me, flustered. Liette was doubled over, clutching her stomach, laughing.
“N–no, it’s fine, guys. We’ve got a truck.”
We’d just ride in the truck. Anyway, I had a hundred million and a villa. It was just that stacked against Seong Hyunjae, he’d rolled absurdly well. This wasn’t bad, actually. A big truck could easily be worth hundreds of millions. Not that I expected them to give us something that nice.
[Victory will be decided by job achievement!
You may change jobs as the game progresses.]
[? Good luck! ?]
The message sparkled and vanished, and the wrecked street around us was neatly restored. BEEEP–! At the blare of a horn, we hurried off the road and onto the sidewalk. Then people started appearing. Or, more accurately—
“Inflatable tube men?”
Yerim tilted her head. They were people, technically, but looked like those wobbly inflatable figures outside stores with simple faces drawn on. They had two legs and even fingers on their hands, but their bodies were round and puffy, and their clothes and faces were extremely simple. Those balloon people bustled along the street and drove cars.
“…So the native race here is balloons?”
“I don’t remember it like that. They don’t feel like living beings, so the system probably whipped them up temporarily.”
“They’re pretty cute, though!”
Yerim suddenly grabbed the arm of one that was passing by. The drawn–on face crumpled.
“Hey, that hurts! What are you doing!”
“Gasp, I’m sorry!”
The balloon grumbled and hurried off again.
“Hello, new immigrants!”
A big, bear–sized balloon lumbered over to us. Under its round dot eyes, a moustache was literally drawn on. It reminded me of a certain potato snack brand.
“Welcome to Miranglune! Mr. Seong Hyunjae, yes. Here is your bank card with 1 billion won in local currency and the keys to your home and building.”
Then he handed me a bank card loaded with 100 million, plus a house key and a truck key. Behind Mr. Moustache, a truck pulled up. A 2.5–ton. So that was our truck, huh. 2.5 tons wasn’t bad.
“Here is the bicycle you’ll be using to get around.”
A bright yellow, cheerful–looking bike was set down in front of Seong Hyunjae. It even had a basket. Wow, that was cute.
“And the kick scooter.”
Thankfully it wasn’t a kids’ model. The sky–blue scooter was pretty big and looked sturdy. Not bad.
“Both are extremely sturdy and will almost never break! Here is a city map. Your house and building are marked. What line of work are you immigrants planning to take?”
Line of work… With a truck that size, we should probably go into logistics. A 5–ton would’ve been great, but 2.5 tons was a bit awkward for five people to cram into. Still, with a truck, the obvious starter was—
“Local moving service. Heavy loads welcome. We’ll deliver them perfectly and spotless, not a scratch!”
We could change jobs later, so I’d run a moving service for a bit while scoping out promising industries.
“We’ll…”
Looking around at his team, Seong Hyunjae continued.
“Start out safely with food service.”
“Boss! I’ll give you a good deal!”
I rushed over to him.
“With food, ingredients are everything. We’ll do dawn deliveries straight from the market~. For a three–story place, you’re gonna need a truck. We’ve got a refrigerated one coming soon too, and if you sign a long–term contract, we’ll take another ten percent off the lowest market price~.”
“I’ll consider it.”
“Ah, I don’t have a business card. Want me to write my number on your palm?”
I didn’t even have a phone yet. First order of business: set up phone service and print some cards. Then plaster the number and company name on all sides of the truck… What should we call it. Recycle ‘Dodam’? Or go with ‘Haeyeon’. Haeyeon sounded pretty cool.
“Don’t forget to use your assigned transportation when you move around!”
Moustache said.
“I can still ride in the truck though, right?”
“You may not.”
“Why not!”
“Please use the kick scooter. Then, good luck!”
He toddled away on stubby balloon legs. Damn it. Climbing onto his bicycle, Seong Hyunjae looked back at me.
“Tomorrow, 4 a.m. We’ll meet at the nearest dawn market.”
“Yeees~ I’ll have the truck standing by~.”
I winked at my dear customer. Just watch, I’d turn logistics into a goldmine and lock down this city’s entire distribution network. Distribution was king. Seong Hyunjae tossed his bank card to Song Taewon, telling him to grab a taxi, then shot off down the bike lane. That thing was as fast as a motorcycle.
“Well then, hyung, take care.”
His teammates also headed off. We had to get going too.
“Mr. Noah, if you would.”
“I’m good with trucks too!”
“Mister, I wanna drive the truck too!”
Yerim and Liette both shot their hands up, but I ignored them. Noah accepted the keys with an understanding look. And me… I had to ride the scooter…
‘…At this rate, how long is it going to take us to get home.’
A sigh leaked out of me. Maybe we could hitch the scooter to the truck.
“Hyung, you think this can take two people?”
Yuhyun grabbed the scooter’s handlebar.
“You’re not supposed to ride double, but I don’t know the laws here. That moustache guy didn’t even give us helmets.”
“So you just kick off the ground like this, right? I’ll push you, hyung. They didn’t say you had to ride it alone.”
“Huh? Well…”
Wait, with S–class strength… we’d be going as fast as a car, easy. They did say it was super sturdy, so it probably wouldn’t break.
“Ah, Mister! Me too!”
“Park Yerim, you’re shorter than hyung, so no. You wouldn’t be able to see in front.”
“Then Mister can sit in the back.”
“You might fall. The front is safer.”
“Then I’ll ride on top of Han Yuhyun’s head!”
Yerim, this is not a circus. And you, Liette, why are you trying to butt in again. Don’t even think about building a three–tier scooter tower. The truck pulled out first, and I hopped onto the scooter with Yuhyun.
“Taking off.”
“Yeah. Hrk!”
With a stomp that felt like it was driving us straight into the ground, the scooter shot forward like a bullet. The wheels screeched loudly and in an instant we closed the gap with the truck that had been far ahead. Yuhyun. Hey, Yuhyun!
“Y–you’re gonna crack the pavement! Go easy!”
“Okay.”
Screeech, the scooter carved a savage turn and sped up again. Light! There’s a light ahead!
“You can ride a scooter in the crosswalk, right?”
“Huh? Uh, I–I mean, it’s not electric so maybe, hey! Watch it!”
He blew the light. The crosswalk was empty, sure, but still! Since it wasn’t electric, we might’ve been able to pop up onto the sidewalk and slip by, but still!
“At a crosswalk, you’re supposed to get off and walk it!”
“Got it.”
We hit another red. When we reached the crosswalk, Yuhyun lifted me with one arm as he stepped off the scooter. Then he crossed in a blur and hopped back on. I wasn’t sure how different that was, but he did good, so… good boy.
“This is the right place, yeah?”
Faster than the truck, which had to stop at every light, the scooter reached the spot marked on the map. A five–story, timeworn villa building came into view. I wasn’t sure there’d be anywhere to park the truck. We might have to pay for a lot.
“Nice building.”
Pushing open the glass door, Moon Hyunah whistled. A brand–new three–story building in a busy commercial district. The kind of place where rent alone would net you tens of thousands a month.
“But a restaurant? You’re seriously gonna sell food?”
“For a start, with no local knowledge or connections, it’s the easiest path. It’s also the simplest for surveying preferences.”
He could create any flavor he wanted, so all he had to do was visit a few popular restaurants nearby. You didn’t need any special licenses, and if you picked the right location, you could pull in plenty of opening–day customers without any special advertising.
“Looks like the system does the interior for you the first time.”
A wide kitchen popped into existence along one side of the first floor. Eyes sparkling, Mari ran toward it.
“If your skills are good, food service does settle in easily. But still, weren’t you supposed to be picky? As far as I know, except for your big bro and the Chief, you never cooked personally for anyone. It was more like you just made a little extra for them when you were cooking anyway.”
There was a Song Taewon here too, sure, Hyunah added with a glance toward Chief Song, who was watching the kitchen with a faintly troubled expression. The corners of Seong Hyunjae’s mouth softened.
“Only for Mr. Song.”
“What? Ah… right, was it.”
“Mr. Han Yujin never let me in easily. That doesn’t mean I didn’t want to feed him properly, though.”
His golden eyes curved to match his lips.
“Unfortunately, in this place.”
He wasn’t here. Or rather, the same person and also not the same person at once.
“So I’m planning to act a bit lighter.”
His tone was bright enough it almost sounded like he was joking. But Hyunah’s expression hardened.
“Seong Hyunjae, you…”
This wasn’t where he was supposed to be. He was like a ghost dragged from the future and the past, and he knew that fact better than anyone.
“Why are you here.”
And the man named Seong Hyunjae, the one she knew, wasn’t the type to forcibly plant himself where he didn’t belong. Even if he was standing on the tip of a needle with nowhere to put his feet, he was someone who carved out his own place to stand.
“Let’s just say I couldn’t refuse.”
“I thought you thought the you here – in other words, this you – was also you.”
“No way. There’s only one ‘me.’”
Hyunah shut her mouth. It wouldn’t have felt strange if the man in front of her shattered and scattered into pieces on the spot. He didn’t belong to this place. And because no one knew that better than Seong Hyunjae himself.