Chapter 54 – 054. Code: Xtk
054. Code: XTK
Code: XTK
This is a creation that caught my eye.
‘It’s a webtoon I saw back in high school. I think it finished about five years ago?’
Code: XTK was a minor genre, a cyberpunk story. The setting is about ten years ahead of reality, and the stage is Seoul. However, it’s a different world, so different from the real Seoul that there’s almost nothing the same.
‘It mainly dealt with the stories of cyborgs.’
Code: XTK is the codename used by the protagonist, Yoo Han-soo, in the past. He used to be affiliated with the South Korean government, and in the current timeline, he lives as a fixer.
‘He takes on almost any request except for murder contracts.’
Yoo Han-soo was so outstanding during his special agent days that he was called a legend. Thanks to that, he has a huge network of contacts. Sometimes, the government or the police even come to him with requests.
‘But it’s not Yoo Han-soo that I’m focused on. It’s an item that appears in this world.’
The Illusiter.
It’s an item that, when used, temporarily makes the user invisible.
It’s a very rare item even within the story. Only recognized special agents affiliated with the state use the Illusiter.
‘An item that can temporarily make you invisible. It’s the perfect item for operating as Red Light.’
I’ve been feeling it lately while assassinating vampire hunters. The hardest part of assassination isn’t the moment of killing, but rather the moments before and after, the approach and retreat. With the Illusiter, approach and retreat would definitely be easier.
‘The Illusiter is self-charging, and once used, it can conceal your appearance for one hour.’
That’s practically cheating in modern times.
‘I could even go into women’s bathhouses or dressing rooms. Hehehe.’
I’ve made up my mind.
I’ve become obsessed with the Illusiter. I want it so badly.
I turned on my computer and started searching for Code: XTK. I planned to re-read the webtoon from the first chapter and thoroughly examine the posts where netizens analyzed Code: XTK.
‘The most advantageous thing I have is that I know the future of the game world. And even if I don’t delve deeply into the original work… I can use the posts analyzed by netizens. Hehehe.’
I imagined a future where I had the Illusiter in my hands.
Becoming invisible and harassing women in public places. How would a woman react if she was suddenly harassed by an invisible person?
‘I, I want it so bad! The Illusiter!’
•••
[You have selected Code: XTK.]
[An avatar is being generated.]
[There are three selectable avatar settings.]
[1. Kim Yu-jin
-32 years old, a math teacher at Victor Middle School in Seoul.
-Lost her left arm in a robbery in the past and became a cyborg by implanting a mechanical arm.
-Living a depressed life due to worries about the future.]
[2. Cheon Yu-jin
-24 years old. A gangster of the Black Hammer gang operating in the Incheon area.
-A cyborg with 60% of her body being mechanical.
-Dreaming of becoming the boss of the Black Hammer.]
[3. Park Yu-jin
-21 years old. An employee at a mechanical parts factory in a corner of Seoul.
-An orphan, living and working in the factory dormitory to save money.]
I frowned after checking the settings of the three avatars.
“What is this? There’s not a single one I like.”
I grumbled in dissatisfaction. It would be one thing if there were no selectable avatar settings at all. But there were three, and none of them were exactly what I wanted.
‘Why aren’t there any settings for the rich or powerful?’
The average person in the world of Code: XTK doesn’t even know the existence of the Illusiter. That’s how amazing the Illusiter is.
‘If I were a powerful or rich person, I could have gotten the Illusiter more easily!’
Seoul in Code: XTK was in a pretty serious state of corruption. On top of that, mafias, gangs, and yakuza were rampant in Seoul. It wasn’t called cyberpunk for nothing.
‘Should I choose Kim Yu-jin? No, what’s with a teacher? A teacher.’
It was a job that didn’t suit me at all. And the fact that her left arm is a mechanical arm is a bit… I cherished my body. Sung Yu-jin with a mechanical arm? I don’t even want to imagine it.
‘If she were a university professor who could sleep with college girls, I might have considered it positively… but middle school is a no-go.’
Kim Yu-jin was out.
Second, Cheon Yu-jin.
‘A cyborg with 60% of her body being mechanical? Ugh, damn…. Just imagining it makes me feel sick. Out!’
I shuddered involuntarily at the thought of having machines inside my body. I know it’s that kind of world, but I can’t seem to get used to it.
Still, the fact that she’s a gangster was quite appealing. Since the original story itself is dark, it would be convenient in many ways if I were operating in the underworld.
‘The third one isn’t really appealing either.’
Park Yu-jin had less than Kim Yu-jin and Cheon Yu-jin. Kim Yu-jin is a math teacher, so she would have some savings, and Cheon Yu-jin would have various connections she’d built up as a gangster.
But what about Park Yu-jin?
She’s an orphan and 21 years old. There’s no way she’d have a lot of money saved up. Connections? How great could the connections of a mere factory worker be?
‘But she doesn’t have the cyborg setting.’
After some deliberation, I ended up choosing Park Yu-jin.
Money? I have my real-world self. If I take gold bars or jewels and sell them, I can secure funds.
Connections? It’s true that it would be convenient to have them. But it didn’t seem like a big problem even if I didn’t.
The goal of the Code: XTK game is, after all, the Illusiter.
‘All the female characters here are ugly.’
There wasn’t a single female character that even slightly aroused my dick.
I wasn’t particularly drawn to the cyberpunk world either. I just watched this webtoon back in high school to kill time.
‘Once I get the Illusiter in Code: XTK, I should just go straight to the ending with auto-play.’
I was about to start the game after choosing Park Yu-jin, but I paused.
“Oh, right. I need to use my accumulated points.”
[Sung Yu-jin
Level: 20
Strength: 14 Stamina: 13 Agility: 12 Intelligence: 5 Virility: 15]
[Usable Points: 39]
One point in stamina had naturally increased. It was worth the effort of consistently exercising at the Yeongcheon Sword Hall.
‘Should I increase strength or agility? I also want to increase virility and use the heightened sensitivity skill to my heart’s content. Or should I raise my lowest stat, intelligence, to 10?’
After some deliberation, I decided to increase my hacking skill.
[Hacking Lv.7
You can hack electronic devices. The more complex the electronic device, the shorter the hacking duration. The electronic device you are trying to hack must be within 70M. You can hack multiple electronic devices. However, the hacking duration will be greatly reduced.
Cooldown: 3 hours]
[Acceleration Lv.5
Accelerates the body for 10 minutes.
Cooldown: 1 hour]
[Usable Points: 4]
‘Code: XTK is a cyberpunk world. There’s no skill as efficient as hacking. And I’ve been using acceleration a lot lately, and it’s amazing.’
The remaining 4 points.
After some thought, I invested them in strength. I was originally going to invest in intelligence, but it didn’t seem necessary in this situation.
[Sung Yu-jin
Level: 20
Strength: 16 Stamina: 13 Agility: 12 Intelligence: 5 Virility: 15]
‘For a man, strength is next to virility! You need strength to do a surprise fuck!’
After finishing the point distribution, I glanced at the random draw. It was a bit disappointing, but there was nothing I could do. I promised myself that I would use any leftover points for the random draw and started the game.
‘I need to do the random draw at least once a week. It’s quite fun.’
There’s a chance of hitting the jackpot in the random draw. If you’re lucky, you can get an amazing skill like hacking.
‘I wish I could get a space manipulation skill. Just moving my dick to fuck a woman’s pussy…. Hehehe.’
[The game is starting.]
•••
When I opened my eyes, I was in a dirty room. The fluorescent light on the ceiling was off, and the lights from the billboards outside the window were flashing. It was a relief that there was no noise.
‘Ugh. It’s smaller than my old studio apartment before I moved.’
I got out of bed. There was another bed next to mine, and a skinny man who looked to be in his 40s was completely passed out.
I looked around. Clothes and a bag were scattered in one corner, and there was a small refrigerator and a TV. There was no sign of a TV or laptop. And there was a smell of oil.
‘Ugh. Is this the factory dormitory? Where’s my smartphone?’
Luckily, my smartphone was in my pants pocket.
I was a bit worried because smartphones aren’t used in Code: XTK. Most people in this world use smartwatches. Smartphones are treated as antiques.
‘But I have a smartwatch on my left wrist too? Does Park Yu-jin use both a smartphone and a smartwatch?’
That doesn’t make sense.
Park Yu-jin is an orphan and poor. She doesn’t have the luxury. It would make sense if she used only one of them. If she has a smartwatch, why would she use a smartphone, which is an antique?
‘The smartphone is the same model as mine in reality. …Hmm. Maybe the smartphone is something I automatically start with when I start the game. Like a basic item in a game.’
No matter how much I thought about it, that seemed like the most likely possibility.
I checked my surroundings, lay back down on the bed, and fiddled with the smartwatch, clicking my tongue. It was my first time using a smartwatch, so it felt awkward. I was almost startled when the smartwatch projected a beam of light onto the wall, displaying a screen.
‘I’ll just use my smartphone.’
I fiddled with my smartphone with my fingers. This was more comfortable for me. First, I went online. It was a bit awkward because it was different from the real-world portal sites, but I could use the internet without any problems.
-War breaks out between the mafia and gangs for control of Incheon!
-Boss of the Kim Cheol-soo Family attacked.
-The price of ultra-energy Ecluss rises 1.1 times compared to before. The price of Ecluss is expected to rise further.
‘So it’s the start of the original story.’
The starting point of the game was always the same as the starting point of the original story.
‘Then the opportunity to get the Illusiter will come soon. I need to prepare.’
I browsed the internet and came across a game site. The game’s name was ‘Legend of the Blade,’ a name that was beyond cheap.
It was a shoddy web game site. The illustrations were shoddy, and even the actual in-game screen was shoddy. I couldn’t understand why they were still running such a game.
‘Actually, this game is a meeting place for the criminal organization, Laffles.’
I signed up for the game site. Signing up was easy. And this game was a web game that could be played on smartphones or smartwatches.
I created a random game character. The name was Taker. The gender was male. The job was warrior.
‘The character is a frog too. Seriously.’
After creating the character, I searched for public channel 472 and entered.
Ignoring the notification to proceed with the tutorial quest, I manipulated my character to walk around the basic village. Under a large yellow tree, a character wearing a feather hat was running a mat shop. The character’s name was Anything.
‘Found it.’
I clicked on the character to open the shop window.
They were selling various game items. I didn’t know anything about this game, so I didn’t know if the prices were expensive or reasonable. I didn’t care.
I scrolled to the very bottom and selected ‘Negotiate.’
A new window popped up. It was a 1-on-1 private chat window.
Anything: I have no intention of negotiating item prices. If you’re not going to buy, just leave.
Taker: Laffles. Right?
Anything: Are you a customer?
Taker: I want to join Laffles. Is there a separate joining condition?
Anything: I’m a bit taken aback since this is the first time this has happened.
Anything: Do you think our Laffles is that easy?
Taker: Is it impossible? What are the joining conditions?
Anything: Do you really want to become a member of Laffles?
Taker: I’m not here to play around. If I have to meet in person, I’ll go meet you.
Anything: I’m very curious about why you want to join Laffles.
Anything: But more than that, Laffles doesn’t just let anyone in. We don’t need incompetent people.
Anything: Tell me what you can do?
Taker: I’m a mutant.
Anything: Oh.
Mutants are humans with superpowers. The number of mutants is very small. There might be one in 10,000 people.
And the superpowers of mutants aren’t that great. Ordinary cyborgs are stronger than most mutants.
Anything: A mutant. Interesting. But that’s it.
Anything: It seems like you don’t have enough ability to become a member of Laffles.
Taker: Hacking.
Anything: Huh?
Taker: My superpower is hacking.
Anything: Wait. There’s no way such a superpower exists.
Anything: You must think Laffles is a stupid group.
[Hacking successful.]
[You can hack Legend of the Blade for 15 minutes.]
