Chapter 236 – Negotiation
After giving orders to Cha In-cheol, I started running carrying my empty backpack.
There was a time when I killed someone with my own hands.
I felt disgusted, but I had no regrets.
But now, for some reason, I felt very stuffy.
Didn’t I force him to die?
Didn’t he end up throwing his life away on hopeless hope?
It seems like I still have some humanity left in me.
I could feel all the remorse.
“Ha, ha, fuck. “Is it time for me to worry about others?”
I ran out of frustration, but I only lost my strength.
The chainsaw is shaky, the ground is bumpy. It was not an environment where one could run for a long time.
I slowed down my running steps and changed them to fast walking.
“Ha, chirp. Is it still far?”
-Beep.
For some reason, I felt like I could understand what the tweet was saying more and more these days.
“What you just said is, ‘Just run fast, you idiot,’ right?”
-Beep!? Beep beep beep!
“Okay. I knew. “If Cha In-cheol rips out his liver, please let me know.”
I felt a watery smell.
We are getting closer to the island where our first destination, Pia, is located.
“Whoa.”
I kept walking.
Let’s forget about people who are already dead (even though they’re not dead yet)
Now was the time to focus on my work.
At least in order not to make Cha In-cheol’s death in vain (even though he is not dead yet)
After walking for a while, we arrived at the edge of the swamp.
I lightly replaced the three wolves I encountered on the way with a saw.
The swamp was no different from before. A gloomy swamp, an island floating strangely in the middle of it, and even a flimsy wooden bridge that looks like it’s about to collapse.
“Cha In-cheol… “I guess it hasn’t started yet.”
Isn’t it 15 minutes yet?
It was difficult to set the time because I had to rely solely on my senses.
… I guess you didn’t run away because you didn’t want to die?
I swallowed my discomfort and crossed the creaky wooden bridge.
On the other side of the wooden bridge, the hologram Pia was waiting, looking the same as before.
『Welcome, player Kang Chang-jae.』
The uncanny valley with a blank expression and a forced smile greets me.
『What happened this time? Aren’t you going to hunt Kushtapa?』
“Oh my shoulder.”
I ignored Pia’s words as if she was intentionally trying to scratch me and put down the chainsaw I was carrying.
When I let go of the burden that was pressing on my shoulders, I felt like I could live a little longer.
… By the way.
Will this strategy really work?
With Pia in front of me, I faced hesitation again.
No matter how hard I tried my head, I couldn’t come up with a sharp number.
Let’s be honest.
I’m not very smart.
I didn’t study hard either.
I thought hard with my limited brain, but I couldn’t come up with an answer.
I don’t know if this is a problem that has an answer in the first place.
As for the strategy I had finally come up with, all I could think was, ‘Is this right?’
“Fufu.”
With a sigh, I chased away the hesitation within me.
This is not the time to hesitate.
The die has already been cast.
Whether it’s oatmeal or rice, just do it.
“Pia. Let’s negotiate.”
『Negotiation?』
Pia looked exaggeratedly surprised at what I said, then smiled even deeper.
『We are always open to our players. I am willing to accept any reasonable offer at any time.』
The reason that smile looks like a mockery is probably not due to my mood.
I suppressed my true instinct of wanting to hit him and spoke softly.
“It is impossible to kill Kushtapa. Please change the mission content.”
『I see. How would you like to change it?』
Beneath that kind attitude, there must be endless contempt for humans.
I will definitely eat you like a dog.
“They say that having a child die before their parents is more painful than dying yourself, right? Kushtapa also has eggs in the nest, right? In any case, Tyrannosaurus eggs are Tyrannosaurus in the grand scheme of things. “I’ll go and crack the egg and come back, so count it as hunting a Tyrannosaurus.”
Hologram Pia has stopped working.
He seems to be thinking about something.
The answer is probably decided.
『I’m sorry, but I cannot accept that offer.』
As expected.
As expected, it was as expected.
“Why? You said it was open? “Tell me why it doesn’t work.”
『The mission is to hunt Kushtapa, not Tyrannosaurus. Also, breaking eggs is very less difficult compared to hunting Kushtapa. Therefore, even if player Changjae Kang sacrifices all of his belongings, this mission cannot be changed.』
“A sacrifice? What is that?”
『Nothing is free in this world. Just as we provide rewards only when we succeed in our mission, when we give something, we receive a corresponding fee. For example, things like coins, belongings, or partners.』
Partner.
I have three partners now. It meant that it would not be acceptable to sacrifice those three people.
My head is hot.
“Under… Okay. Then you can’t do it.”
I turned around for a moment and walked around pretending to think.
Is Cha In-cheol still there?
Judging by the quiet chirping, I think it’s still there.
I’m scared.
“Yes! Then how about doing this?”
I said, hitting my palm with my fist as if a good idea had occurred to me.
“I stole Tyrannosaurus eggs and then hatched them and raised them. As soon as the baby Tyranno is born, I am the first person it sees, so it will think I am its mother and follow me, right? After raising the cub until it becomes an adult, it fights with Kushtafar. So even if Kushtappa wins, he won’t be fine, so I just have to hit the last blow.”
-Beep…
Did it sound similar to my situation? The chirping bird sitting on the tree let out a small cry as if it was pitiful.
Pia’s reaction was not much different from Tweet’s. She was smiling quietly with her eyes saying, ‘Why are there so many lowly people?’
Either way, I just continued with what I had to say.
“But that takes a lot of time, right? Even though animals grow quickly here, how many months? How many years will it take? So give it time. It extends the mission time limit to unlimited time and unlocks terminal functions while you wait. That way, I will be able to wait until the Tyrannosaurus cub grows up.”
『Not possible.』
Pia answered right away as soon as I finished speaking.
『Raise a Tyrannosaurus cub to fight Kushtapa. This is also a story that has never come up during testing so far. That’s an interesting idea. But there is a major problem.』
“A major problem?”
Pia’s eyes sparkled for an instant.
Did you do something?
『Tyrannosaurus is an animal with strong maternal instincts. In particular, Kushtapa never forgives the thief who stole his eggs. I will chase the egg thief even to the ends of the earth, kill the egg thief, and retrieve the egg.』
I see. Tyrannosaurus was a very maternal animal. This is my first time knowing.
But was there really an original plan that Kushtapa would chase the egg thief until the end?
Didn’t you just listen to what I said and make it up?
I also doubt that Tyrannosaurus can really recognize that it is an ‘egg thief’. Hmm.
『Of course, even if we ignore such issues, we cannot accept the mission modification proposal. This is because Kang Chang-jae currently does not have enough possessions to offer as a sacrifice.』
I thought so.
You didn’t even expect it in the first place? Something like a dog.
“Ha, fuck. “Then what should I do?”
I wandered around again, pretending to think of another way.
… Not yet?
Looking at the quiet chirping, it seems like it’s not over yet.
What on earth is Cha In-cheol doing? Even if 15 minutes had passed, it would already have passed.
-Beep! Beep beep!
At that time, the signal I had been waiting for finally came.
The chirp that was quietly sitting on a tree began to chirp loudly and flap.
-Kooooong──
A huge howl that shakes the ground along with it.
Even though I was far away, I could tell. That is the howl of the Tyrannosaurus Kushtapa that I must hunt.
Like a chirp, Kushtappa also smells the liver of a giant wild boar.
“Shit… Has it already started?”
I was restless, moving back and forth in place.
The chirp twirled in front of me as if telling me to hurry.
Pia was looking at me with a very relaxed expression, as if her victory had already been confirmed.
In fact, it seems like Pia’s expression was the same from beginning to end.
I feel like the contempt for humanity in those gazes is getting deeper and deeper.
“Ah! Fuck! “I don’t know!”
I screamed as if I was desperate.
“Let’s go to the Tyrannosaurus nest first, chirp!”
And then, with chirps leading the way, we headed towards the wooden bridge.
He carried a spear in his hand and an empty backpack on his back.
The heavy chainsaw was left where it was for now.
『Good luck to the player.』
Pia giving a formal greeting.
Pia saw me off without any intention of taking care of the forgotten items.
In the eyes of a smart AI, it will probably look like a stupid human going to die on his own.
But wait and see, Pia.
I’ll show you how stupid humans prey on smart AI.
“Hey fuck. Tweet. What did you think? Do you think it worked well?”
After crossing the wooden bridge, I asked the tweeter flying ahead.
-Beep?
The answer came back, ‘What are you talking about, you idiot?’
“But. What are you thinking? “It’s a new thing.”
-Beep! Beep beep!
“Okay. “I knew.”
I headed to Kushtapa’s nest with a chirping sound.
I hope it lasts as long as Cha In-cheol.
