The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 192

Episode 192. 3 days (3)

Lee Ho-seung slowly opened his eyes.

There was a girl with a red scarf around her neck, wiping something with a rag.

Looking closely, the girl was wiping the urine spilled by Lee Ho-seung with a rag.

And with bare hands, too.

Lee Ho-seung was startled and got up from his seat.

“?!”

Crunch!

But he was not free to move because of the iron chain around his neck.

Woo Ji-hye, who was wiping Ho-seung's urine, looked at him with surprised eyes when he got up.

Lee Ho-seung couldn't see Woo Ji-hye well because his vision was dark.

Woo Ji-hye realized something, took out her glasses from her pocket, and handed them to him.

Lee Ho-seung carefully took the glasses and placed them on his eyes.

Only then did everything seem bright.

It was as dark as an underground coal mine, but thanks to the lanterns that were occasionally lit, everything was visible.

Lee Ho-seung thought.

'The underground of Metro forces… … .'

I had only heard of it through rumors, but seeing it in person was incredibly creepy.

Metro citizens who live only underground.

Having not seen sunlight for years, their skin was as white as jade.

Woo Ji-hye asked cautiously.

"are you okay?"

Lee Ho-seung was still in a state of confusion and couldn't answer her right away.

He fiddled with the leash around his neck a few times, feeling it was too tight.

Then Woo Ji-hye said as if she was sorry.

“You had no choice but to do it to survive. The old man said that if you didn’t put a leash on you, he would kill you right away… … .”

Woo Ji-hye trailed off.

Lee Ho-seung covered his head and thought deeply.

I asked her soon.

“How long… … was I unconscious?”

“About four or five hours.”

“What about the soldiers of Man-gyeong? They should be on the ground. Did they invade?”

“I heard this morning… … that they went back down the mountain without any particular results.”

It was a big deal.

Lee Ho-seung has now become completely distant from the main force.

According to Kang Shi-on, they were going to launch an all-out attack within three days, but it didn't seem like we would be able to get out of here within three days.

Woo Ji-hye said as she took out some food from the box of cookies.

“By the way, aren’t you hungry? I brought you some food.”

What she handed me was something that looked like nan bread.

Lee Ho-seung felt uncomfortable with the food offered by the hunters of the Metro forces.

In fact, Woo Ji-hye's gun was on the desk, so she couldn't just carelessly accept food given to her by the enemy due to the threat emanating from the gun.

But before that could happen, Lee Ho-seung's stomach started to shake.

Gulp-.

Woo Ji-hye looked at the orchid and then took out Lee Ho-seung's bag.

Then he took out some rat jerky from it and handed it to him.

Woo Ji-hye said with a smile.

“I know. The food the enemy gives you is hard to accept and eat. But you still eat it. You’re hungry.”

Woo Ji-hye smiled bashfully.

The lantern light illuminated her face, and her smile was truly beautiful.

Lee Ho-seung's guard was broken by that laughter.

Then he started munching on the rat jerky.

Not only that, he started stuffing the orchid that Woo Ji-hye had handed him into his mouth.

* * *

Woo Ji-hye looked at Lee Ho-seung, who was devouring his food greedily, and asked.

“Are you from Man-gyeong?”

“… … Brother?”

When Lee Ho-seung asked, Woo Ji-hye covered her mouth with both hands and apologized.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you by any chance my younger brother?”

“Oh, no. It doesn’t look like that. No, it’s just that the title feels a bit awkward.”

“… … Thank goodness. I was wondering if I made a mistake.”

Lee Ho-seung ate his fill and felt satisfied.

But the situation did not change.

Still, he was chained and a prisoner of the Metro.

Lee Ho-seung asked Woo Ji-hye.

“But why Man-gyeong?”

Jihye smiled slightly at Hosung's question and continued.

“I’m from Anyang.”

“Huh?! Really? But why on the Metro… … .”

Lee Ho-seung was so surprised that he shouted loudly.

Woo Ji-hye nodded her head, giggling.

Then he started introducing himself.

“The first round was held in Anyang. The current hero of Man-gyeong is Kang Si-on, right? I spent it with him.”

I spent the first round with Kang Si-on, the hero of Man-gyeong.

That was quite a shocking fact for Lee Ho-seung as well.

In fact, Lee Ho-seung had learned various histories about Kang Si-on even while he was in Man-gyeong.

At that time, of course, I heard the story of Kang Si-on's first round, and that only five people survived there.

So, that means that out of those five, excluding Kang Si-on and Jin Jae-hee, only three remain.

I honestly couldn't believe that the girl in the red scarf in front of me was one of those three.

Lee Ho-seung said, adjusting his glasses.

“I’m really surprised.”

“I was also surprised when I heard the news that my older brother had become a hero of Man-gyeong.”

“Then you could have been with Kang Shi-on at that time. Why did you break up?”

“I went to the shrine to look for my grandmother. But… … I don’t really want to talk about what happened in the first round.”

Woo Ji-hye lowered her head with a bitter smile.

In fact, there was something that everyone in the league had in common.

That's something no one wants to remember from Round 1.

Because most of them lost their families at that time.

After hearing Woo Ji-hye's words, Lee Ho-seung thought that this was an opportunity.

Because it seemed like if I could flirt with her well, I might be able to return to Man-gyeong with her.

Lee Ho-seung asked.

“… … Then don’t you want to go back to Man-gyeong?”

Woo Ji-hye surprisingly answered that question firmly.

“I don’t want to go back that far.”

“Ah… … . Why? If I spent the first round with the hero, I could have gotten a piece of the action when I returned to Man-gyeong.”

Lee Ho-seung tried his best to persuade Woo Ji-hye.

Because the only way he could get out of here was to convince her.

But Woo Ji-hye was firm.

“I’m not that interested in status or wealth. Besides, I like the people here… … If Metro and Man-gyeong can reconcile and interact with each other. I would like to find one person.”

“Who is it?”

“The person who put this scarf around me.”

Woo Ji-hye said, gently holding the red scarf around her neck.

In fact, this underground mine was quite hot.

Including Woo Ji-hye, the man who priced Lee Ho-seung was also wearing short sleeves and shorts.

But Woo Ji-hye insisted on wearing a scarf.

This red scarf had a special meaning to her.

At the end of the first round, when she was about to give up everything, the woman who put this red scarf around her was kind.

That kind of detail was something that could never be found again in this world.

The people around Woo Ji-hye who are protecting and believing in her are far from being kind.

Lee Ho-seung swallowed hard and asked.

“What is your name?”

Then, Woo Ji-hye scratched the back of her head and smiled awkwardly.

“I don’t know. I can’t even remember your face anymore.”

"ah……."

Lee Ho-seung nodded slightly and remained silent.

Woo Ji-hye added her final words.

“The person who gave me this red scarf is still very kind. I believe so.”

“I hope so.”

Lee Ho-seung quickly adapted to Woo Ji-hye's soft voice and gentle appearance.

After all, Woo Ji-hye was a hunter from Metro who protected her before she died so absurdly.

Lee Ho-seung recalled the conversation he had with Jin Jae-hee before coming here.

Lee Ho-seung told her that he didn't know the meaning of life, but he was still alive thanks to her.

But the moment Lee Ho-seung met Woo Ji-hye, he felt like he knew the meaning of life.

It's warmth.

The warmth of people.

The warmth of giving up your seat to an elderly person on the bus.

Volunteers carrying briquettes to help the underprivileged.

People who can help those who are having a hard time and cry with them.

Lee Ho-seung saw that warmth in Jin Jae-hee, and now he confirmed it in the woman in front of him.

The world has changed.

It's a world where if you don't kill others, you die.

A world where you can't find any humanity.

Lee Ho-seung has been searching for that humanity all along.

And looking at Woo Ji-hye, I could see the answer.

Lee Ho-seung smiled slightly and spoke to Woo Ji-hye.

“You are so kind.”

At those words, Woo Ji-hye looked slightly surprised and lowered her head.

Woo Ji-hye's voice rang out low.

"……at all."

"yes?"

But Lee Ho-seung couldn't listen to Woo Ji-hye's words until the end.

Because the rough man who knocked Lee Ho-seung unconscious walked back here.

A rifle slung over the man's shoulder.

Lee Ho-seung became very nervous at the man's appearance and stepped back.

The man placed Woo Ji-hye's gun on the desk and handed it to her.

“The order to sortie is given. Jihye. Let’s go.”

“… … Yes, sir.”

Woo Ji-hye received the rifle, put it on her back, and gathered the boxes around her and stacked them in front of Lee Ho-seung.

Woo Ji-hye pushed her face into the box and gave a firm order to Lee Ho-seung.

“Never make a sound when someone comes. Our password is um… … Kiwi. Keep quiet until I say Kiwi. If the other hunters see you, they’ll kill you.”

Lee Ho-seung swallowed dry saliva and nodded.

Woo Ji-hye smiled at his nod.

“See you later.”

She left those words behind and covered the box with a blanket.

Now Lee Ho-seung was squatting alone in a completely dark space.

He waited and waited.

Until Woo Ji-hye returns.

* * *

A dark hallway.

This is a space created by the assault-type monster Dudu, and is currently being used as an underground passage by the Metro Hunters.

Kim Kang-seok sighed as he looked back at Woo Ji-hye, who was walking next to the passage.

“You will regret it one day. Feeling pity for your enemy.”

Woo Ji-hye didn't respond to Kim Kang-seok's words.

He just walked forward without saying a word.

Already, many hunters were walking in a line along the narrow passage.

The commander of some hunters shouted to his subordinates.

“We! We will definitely occupy Mankyung and survive. That is the command given to us by God. Do not hesitate! We will definitely win!”

"yes!"

"yes!"

At the commander's heated voice, the hunters responded in short, thick whispers.

As Woo Ji-hye and Kim Kang-seok approached, the hunters holding rifles parted like the Red Sea.

Woo Ji-hye and Kim Kang-seok walked in between them.

The commander's voice was heard over the loudspeaker again.

“Listen carefully! When you get to the ground, first, look for the remaining bullets in the bodies of your comrades! And when you find the bullets! Do not fire, but bring them to the unit! I say it again! When you get to the ground… … !”

Woo Ji-hye walked between the hunters and went to a room.

This place had a structure with several rooms in a single passage, just like an ant hole.

The room was dark, but there was a doctor under the lantern light, and someone was lying in front of him.

As Woo Ji-hye entered the room, the doctor inside laughed like a crazy person and said.

“Player of the Man-Gyeong era. Jeong Hyeon-Su. Finally defeated the Red Devil. Wow-, haha. Should we give a round of applause?”

Woo Ji-hye looked down at the dead red devil lying on the bed.

He was found dead, his whole body struck by lightning.

He was a colleague who hated and was hostile to Jeong Hyeon-su, but in the end, he was unable to overcome Jeong Hyeon-su's wall.

At that moment, a female commanding officer in military uniform entered the room where the Red Devil was dead.

She handed over four magazines, each containing 30 rounds, to Woo Ji-hye and Kim Kang-seok.

“Even though the Red Devil is dead, it seems that Jeong Hyeon-su has also suffered a lot of damage. Even if you meet in Man-gyeong, you will be able to win. More importantly, is the leader’s special order going smoothly?”

The woman looked at Woo Ji-hye and asked.

Woo Ji-hye silently looked at the red devil's corpse, then sighed softly and spoke to the woman.

“Kill ‘Jin Jae-hee’?”

The female commanding officer nodded.

“Yes. With your two abilities, it will be possible. You must kill Jin Jae-hee. That is the special order the cult leader gave you.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

When the two did not answer, the female commanding officer spoke again.

“If we can’t kill Jin Jae-hee, there is no future for our Metro force. She is the strongest player in the league who cut down Mapo Bridge with a single stroke. The story that the leader heard from God is that if Jin Jae-hee were not there, Man-gyeong would fall apart. That’s why you must kill Jin Jae-hee. Among the remaining players in the Metro force, you are the last hope.”

Woo Ji-hye listened to the commander's words, reattached the magazine to the pistol, and pulled back the bolt.

Woo Ji-hye, who confirmed that there was no problem with the pistol, glared at the commander.

Woo Ji-hye's voice was quite threatening.

“Okay, I got it. Stop talking.”

It was a nervous reply, but the female commander was unable to say anything to Woo Ji-hye.

This is because the current most important person in Metro is Woo Ji-hye.

“Jin Jae-hee… … I will definitely kill you.”

Woo Ji-hye left the room, leaving only those words behind.

Kim Kang-seok also escaped following Woo Ji-hye.

The path that Woo Ji-hye takes was paved by hunters.

And she was also receiving the respectful gazes of the hunters.

The red scarf moved steadily with her steps.

A ray of light was pouring in from a distant passage.

Beyond that light.

So, as Woo Ji-hye climbed the last tire step, light poured into her eyes.

“… … .”

Once again, the ruined sight of Man-gyeong was revealed.

Woo Ji-hye wore a gas mask.

Gas mask, red scarf, pistol.

Woo Ji-hye was the leader of the hunters.

And he was also a problem solver.

On the other side of the street, Man-Gyeong's soldiers came rushing out, holding spears.

Woo Ji-hye fired her pistol without hesitation.

Bang! Bang!

(Continued in the next episode)