The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 70

#Episode 70. City within the City: The Case of the Wanderer (1)

The steam that Zion had raised was the only hope in the frozen city.

A wanderer wearing a shabby robe walked through the ruined city center.

A year has passed since the city border collapsed.

Up until now, there have been quite a few players on the field who have no affiliation and are wandering around the field as wanderers.

The wanderer who came down from Paju, Gyeonggi Province, passed through Seoul and came down towards Gwacheon and Anyang.

But there was a place that stopped the wanderer’s footsteps as he endlessly wandered the field.

It was a city visible from a distance.

“… … .”

The wanderer looked at the city with white snow and green plants from the bridge bursting with frozen cars.

As Round 2 neared its end, plants that had never been seen on Earth began to bloom in the city.

Its size and appearance were completely different from those of the existing Earth.

From giant vines that engulf an entire building, to living plants that spread out on the concrete like damp moss, to flowers in bloom in all sorts of colours.

And in one corner of the city, a lot of smoke was rising.

It was like a factory chimney.

“what?”

The wanderer pouts and takes out a map from his pocket.

I swept the snow off the frozen car and unfolded the map.

“Let’s see… … The requiem of Gwacheon, the warriors of Dong-an… … So, is that Dong-an-gu?”

The wanderer thought that was Dongangu.

The only forces worth watching in southern Gyeonggi were the Jinhon of Gwacheon and the warriors of Dong-an.

But the wanderer who was examining the map soon frowned.

“Oh? It’s not Dongangu… … It’s Manangu. Over there.”

Could it be a colony of Dongangu?

That thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I quickly shook my head.

Wanderer community.

In this world, the Wanderer was the occupation group that acquired the most information among the players.

Within that community, players shared information about the key forces that ruled their world.

And among them, the warriors of the time were also the target of information sharing.

The warriors of the time were currently at war with the forces of the King of Ui, and she had secured their map as well.

So those weren’t warriors of the time.

It was correct to see her as an independent force unknown to her.

“hmm…….”

The original wanderer intended to go through Dongan and then go down to Uiwang and then to Suwon, his final destination.

Because I said that there is a really huge force in Suwon.

Suwon is a place that established its own independent social system with Suwon Hwaseong Fortress as its capital.

Moreover, it is said that the area is called the Wanderer’s Grave, and that they are extremely wary of outside intervention.

But after seeing those performances, it was not the way of a wanderer to just pass by.

“Shall we go and see?”

The wanderer smiled at the fresh, blossoming spirit of adventure and put the spread map back into his pocket.

She tried to move.

But as is always the case on the wanderer’s path, there are bound to be obstacles.

-Krrrrr… … .

Boom, boom!

A bizarre creature that crawled on all fours. It resembled a wolf, but was as large as a hippopotamus.

The Bloody Rake Wolf Tribe is a rare monster that can chew people up and eat them whole.

The wanderer turned his head and looked at the wolf.

“Ah, this is the habitat of the wolf tribe!”

New information.

The wanderer cheered at that information.

The Wanderer has been playing this league differently from other monarchs and players from the beginning.

The Wanderers thought of this extraordinary setting, monsters, and dungeons as an RPG game.

Their main purpose was adventure, not conquest or exploration.

The wanderer took off his robe.

Then, brown-tinged natural hair fell down to her waist.

Even though it had been quite some time since the world had been destroyed, she was dressed in modern clothing.

He was wearing tight jeans and a belt, and a furry fleece jumper over his top.

“Wow. This is already fun.”

Yeah-.

She naturally summoned her artifacts.

Then a black scythe with a huge blade was placed in her hand.

-Krrrrr… …Kuaaaa …

“… … .”

Seo-geuk.

With one swing of her scythe, the background behind her, including Wolf, was cut down in one fell swoop.

* * *

Wanderer Choi Hyun-ji.

She was now standing in line at the immigration office in Man-gyeong.

To enter the city within the city, Man-gyeong, you had to go through immigration.

The immigration office was guarded by armed soldiers, and the long lines showed no sign of abating.

“pooh-.”

Choi Hyun-ji looked at the building on the left while smoking a cigarette during the boring wait.

There was graffiti scribbled in paint.

-To all who come here, labor is a sacred duty, a command from the great monarch who saved us.

-Get out, you bastards of Dongangu.

-Get out, you admins.

Graffiti was written large on the walls of the building, almost like a propaganda poster.

Choi Hyun-ji turned her head slightly and looked at the soldiers of Man-gyeong.

He tied a kitchen knife to a pole and used it as a spear.

Archers with bows were also seen.

Their attire was different, but what they had in common was that they had a red cloth wrapped around their left shoulder.

There were also soldiers wearing blue cloths, which seemed to indicate their affiliation.

‘It’s systematic.’

The wanderer’s duty is to acquire information.

Before entering the city, Choi Hyun-ji had been gathering information by looking around here and there.

The line to get into Man-gyeong lasted for hours.

When it was finally Choi Hyun-ji’s turn, she was guided by the soldiers into the barracks surrounded by cloth.

It seemed that they were dividing the residents here into those who were simply travelers and those who wanted to move in.

The one who greeted Choi Hyun-ji was a young girl with a blue cloth draped over her shoulders.

14 to 16 years old?

He has a young impression, looking like he’s in middle school.

But the girl didn’t even glance at Choi Hyun-ji when she came in and was just looking at the list.

Choi Hyun-ji threw away her cigarette and sat down in front of the girl, and soon a voice was heard.

“name.”

The voice of a girl who is exhausted.

Choi Hyun-ji silently answered the girl’s question.

Because it was a necessary procedure to enter the power.

It was a fairly systematic and planned procedure.

From your original occupation, gender, age, where you are from, and what your purpose is.

The girl wrote down Choi Hyun-ji’s information on a piece of paper.

“How many days do you expect to stay?”

“Uh… … um… … I don’t know?”

When Choi Hyun-ji answered vaguely, the girl glared at her.

Then Choi Hyun-ji answered, “Hahaha,” smiling awkwardly.

“About 5 days… … ? Something like that.”

“… … Straighten your back.”

“yes?”

“Sit back on the chair and straighten your back.”

“Ah… … yes.”

The girl’s tone was cold and majestic.

The girl’s name is Ha Yoon-ha.

He was one of the ‘players’ hired by King Kang Shion.

Ha Yoon-ha’s ability is to store information in her head, so she can access it at any time, like in a library.

That’s why she was appointed as the head of the immigration office, and was in charge of supervising and managing everyone who came here.

All of these were missions given by Kang Shi-on.

Choi Hyun-ji followed the words obediently.

There is a saying that when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Since most powers had developed their own social systems, each time they visited they had to learn a new culture and system.

Of course, this was my first time in a place as systematic and meticulous as this one.

Immigration inspection in a destroyed world.

Ha Yoon-ha continued to talk about the ‘traveler laws’ that must be observed within ‘Man-gyeong’.

“In Man-gyeong, under no circumstances should you commit violence or inflict harm on others. And nighttime movement is also prohibited. Nighttime is from 10 p.m. to sunrise. You may reside in Man-gyeong only for the permitted number of days. If you violate the above, you may be punished according to the king’s edict. … … Lastly, currency is used in Man-gyeong. This is the currency.”

Yoon-ha held a red plastic lighter in her right hand and shook it naturally.

Choi Hyun-ji glanced at the lighter and nodded.

“Basically, without this lighter, you wouldn’t be able to live in Man-gyeong. That’s why there’s a system in place for wanderers, not people who want to live there.”

“Oh… … What is it?”

The city had a strong concept of the vagabond.

This meant that the monarch had a very good understanding of the system.

In fact, just by looking at how the city was developed, one could gauge how capable the ruler of this place was.

Choi Hyun-ji was curious about who the ruler of this force was.

Yoon Ha interlocked her fingers and said.

“It’s a barter. This body. Anything you have that you deem useful, I’ll trade for this lighter.”

“Oh… … How much is one lighter worth?”

“Just enough to receive one serving.”

“Hmm~”

Choi Hyun-ji looked at the lighter and estimated the value of the currency.

One serving per lighter.

In that case, it would be convenient to think of the value of this plastic lighter as roughly equivalent to a bowl of noodles.

Choi Hyun-ji originally classified foods into low-priced foods if they were cheaper than noodles, and high-quality foods if they were more expensive than noodles, based on the price of noodles in the world.

Choi Hyun-ji looked at the girl and smiled.

“Okay. I’m pretty well-known among the wanderers, right? Let’s see… What would be good… .”

Choi Hyun-ji began to rummage through her large bag.

She was a person with abilities that were quite high class even among wanderers.

So, I had a lot of valuable items in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, Seoul, and here in Anyang.

Empty.

And Choi Hyun-ji raised the corners of her lips and placed the cassette on the desk.

Plus 3 cassette tapes.

“How about this? Does it appeal to you?”

In a world where electricity was no longer widespread, cassettes and cassette tapes were expensive items.

In addition, the cassette tape that Choi Hyun-ji has is a collection of the top 100 Korean pop songs, containing relatively new songs.

From the perspective of receptionist Ha Yoon-ha, she can’t help but be attracted to Gu-mi.

“… … .”

Yoon-ha looked at the cassette on the desk and coughed in vain.

He seemed surprised.

In fact, when it came to expensive items like this, Choi Hyun-ji was very frugal.

I only tried to take it out when I was in a really bad situation or needed emergency funds.

But I was curious.

Man-gyeong here.

What on earth did the monarch who built such a city look like?

“… … Okay, I admit this.”

Yoon-ha brought the cassette towards her and started counting the lighters one by one.

The highest amount ever was set.

* * *

After passing through immigration, Choi Hyun-ji immediately thought to herself that it was a good idea to sell cassettes here.

“Wow… … Yahahaha… … ! Hey… … !”

What unfolded before her eyes was the central shopping district of Man-gyeong.

On the sidewalks of the main road, residents were spreading out mats, lighting fires, and cooking food.

The old villa village extending on both sides was now a residential area for people.

There were also quite a few people drying things like blankets on the windowsill or shaking out laundry.

The seventh day, the only day off during the week, was the day Choi Hyun-ji came to Man-gyeong.

The streets were already filled with countless city residents.

“Wow. That’s really amazing. What is that? Is that a well? Did you dig through the concrete floor? Oh my. Oh my. Oh my.”

Choi Hyun-ji was looking around the city like a child visiting an amusement park for the first time.

Check out the goods of the mat vendors or the street food.

What surprised her most was that the people here no longer had to worry about ‘what to eat’ and ‘what to drink’.

All of these must have been accomplished by the monarch of this place.

Ha Yoon-ha, the immigration officer who had been quietly watching the scene, frowned.

And then he looked back at Choi Hyun-ji and said.

“Hey. I’m busy today, huh? So, why don’t you hurry up and go to your assigned room?”

“Hey! Seriously! There’s a bathhouse here too?”

Choi Hyun-ji looked at the sign that said “bathroom” and asked in surprise.

Then Ha Yoon-ha smiled faintly and shrugged her shoulders.

“Yes. There is nothing that is not there in this Man-gyeong. These are all achievements that the Great Lord, Kang Shi-on, has achieved over the past year. If you stay here too… … .”

“Hey! Is this it? The place I’ll be staying?”

A worn, tattered CE convenience store sign read, in red paint, “Vagabond Hostel.”

At the checkout counter, a wrinkled old woman was reading a novel, and the space that should have been occupied by display cases was now filled with waiting chairs and small tables.

“Oh. Yeah… … That’s right.”

Ha Yoon-ha slowly approached the wanderer Choi Hyun-ji with her hands in her pockets.

The second floor was used as a restaurant, and the third to fifth floors were used as accommodations.

This is a place where non-residents of Man-gyeong can stay, and it was originally a motel building.

Before she knew it, Choi Hyun-ji was arguing with an old woman at the counter.

“Room 303. Money.”

“How much is it?”

“Six.”

“One night?”

“okay.”

“Wow- you punk. Six bowls of noodles?”

“If you don’t like it, then sleep on a plank in the alley like those people.”

At the old woman’s words, Choi Hyun-ji looked at the alley across the street.

There, wanderers like him who had come here from other cities were chatting away in the alley, around a campfire.

Choi Hyun-ji pouts and holds out a bag full of lighters.

Iron Duck-!

It’s a huge amount at first glance.

“… … ?”

The old woman looked up at Choi Hyun-ji in surprise.

Choi Hyun-ji said with a hearty laugh.

“About 10 nights. You’ll provide food, right?”

“… … Yes. Once a day. At 6 o’clock in the evening. Check the time at the town square.”

“Okay~”

10 nights is 60 lighters and 60 bowls of noodles.

After looking around the city for a bit, Choi Hyun-ji was convinced.

I’d like to stay here a little longer.

I also wanted to meet the monarch who created this city.

It won’t happen in a day or two.

And Choi Hyun-ji handed over the lighter again.

It was to get the most important information.

“But, Grandma, can we make a deal?”

“… … What is it?”

The old woman at the counter, who was counting lighters, glared at Choi Hyun-ji with her eyes wide open.

Choi Hyun-ji glanced at Ha Yoon-ha and confirmed that the girl was not interested in him before whispering again.

“The ruler of this city… … Ah, so. Was he called Kang Shion?”

“Oh my-! I have to call you ‘nim’! You can’t call the monarch by his honorific title here.”

“Ahaha. Yes. Yes. Lord Kangshion. Can you tell me a little about Lord Kangshion? His achievements. What… his history?”

Choi Hyun-ji was very curious right now.

Who on earth is this man named Kang Shi-on who created this city?

(Continued in the next episode)