A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 6 Three Rewards

“Then, the one who is addicted to dopamine is not the deceased brother but the living one…?”

Since TaejongTaese didn’t have a system, I thought he wouldn’t immediately believe that I was the one addicted to dopamine.

It seemed more plausible that I, who was just acknowledged as a son by the commander a moment ago, was the real dopamine addict, rather than the one he believed in who retired after failing the strategy miserably. Thus, he accepted it easily.

“It did feel strange.”

“What felt strange?”

“The way of speaking…”

Thank goodness.

At least he didn’t think my real way of speaking was that annoying.

“But how did you know that person was Safe8?”

“Oh, I have a system. I saw it through the character viewing feature.”

“A system?! Even when I shouted ‘status window,’ nothing came out. But you have a system?”

“It seems to unlock under certain conditions.”

The system message appeared right before the system was unlocked.

[You have taken a step closer to the secret of the apocalypse…]

Considering this message and the situation back then,

The condition for a player to unlock the system was related to the ‘secret of the apocalypse.’

Though I had never seen any script hinting at a secret related to the apocalypse while playing in the Safe Zone.

I knew that the ring of Luna Moon, which I got while opening the system, was made from a ‘meteorite’ that brought the apocalypse to this world.

In other words, the ‘secret of the apocalypse’ was related to the ‘meteorite item.’

I knew about eight items made from the meteorite besides the ring.

Yes…

There were exactly as many meteorite items as the number of Safe Zones.

All were necessary items for clearing each zone.

If only those who obtained these items could unlock the system, then there would be only nine players who could unlock it.

Revealing to TaejongTaese that I had a system was to show him that I was ahead of him as a player, making it easier to deal with him.

But I didn’t intend to tell him that only nine players might be able to unlock the system.

It was still just my speculation.

“Ooh… A system… As expected, the real brother is different…!!”

Right now, he was looking at me with those sparkling eyes, but human greed knows no bounds.

An event item that exists only nine in the world?

Any Safe Zone player would want to get their hands on it.

Anyway, although I let him know that I was addicted to dopamine, I had to make sure to keep it a secret.

“As you experienced, players who haven’t unlocked the system can’t see the other’s information. So I don’t plan on revealing that I am ‘Dopamine Addict.’”

“Why not?”

“Not all players are as friendly to me as you are. If the opponent has already unlocked the system, there’s nothing I can do, but if not, I don’t want to reveal my identity unnecessarily. So you should call me ‘Hayden Goodman’ from now on, not by the nickname ‘Dopamine Addict.’”

“Ah, yes. I understand. But if it’s a player on your side, it’s okay to tell them, right?”

That’s exactly why I’m trying to make you keep your mouth shut.

“Hmm… Actually, there is one more player helping with my strategy besides you.”

“Oh, who is it?”

“Someone called BangguseokYeoBo.”

“Ah, that person… No, that person with a rough tongue!”

That guy was also somewhat famous in the community.

Although it seemed he was famous for bad reasons.

“For certain reasons, I’ve told him my name is ‘Tbalrom.’ So, don’t reveal that I’m Dopamine Addict yet. I plan to tell him directly later.”

“Ah… Come to think of it, you blocked him after posting the last strategy…”

TaejongTaese nodded as if he understood, then suddenly started talking as if he remembered something.

“But Tbalrom might be here too.”

“What?”

“He’s not in this Cola Zone, but he should be in another zone. I saw him.”

“You saw him?”

“Well, since you posted the last strategy, heavy users stopped appearing? Then a strange rumor started spreading.”

“A strange rumor…”

“They said heavy users stopped appearing because of the convenience store address you spread around. When that rumor spread, everyone tried to get that address and went to the convenience store.”

No, instead of playing the game, why did they all go to the convenience store and get possessed?

“I was one of them, and there was one more person at the convenience store, so we exchanged names. He said he was Tbalrom.”

Ah… So that’s why he said he ‘saw’ him?

Then it’s confirmed that Tbalrom was also possessed.

Judging from the fact that he wasn’t in the Cola Zone, did he see what Tbalrom bought?

“What did that person buy?”

“Well, it seemed like he bought a knife…”

A knife?

Then did Tbalrom fall into the Knife Zone?

…That psychopath’s lair?

“Why would he buy a knife at the convenience store?”

“He said it looked cool because it was a hidden zone symbol. He said he was going to start conquering the Knife Zone since the strategy was posted. Though he probably didn’t mean to conquer it after being possessed…”

He brought this upon himself.

“So his starting zone is Knife… Is he alive?”

“Thinking about it, it’s right to hide that you’re Dopamine Addict. I fell into the Cola Zone, but if I had started in a place like Knife, I would have resented you no matter what…”

No, I only told one person, HomeProtector, about the location.

How many people actually went to that convenience store?

‘But that convenience store was in Korea, so maybe the overseas users didn’t get possessed.’

I hated overseas users.

I saw them stealing my strategy, translating it as if it were their own, and posting it.

“But if Tbalrom bought the knife first, couldn’t you have avoided being possessed?”

“What? How?”

“When you get possessed, you get hit on the head with a barcode scanner. If you saw Tbalrom get hit, you could have walked away…”

TaejongTaese answered with an even more puzzled look.

“You get hit on the head with a barcode scanner? I got possessed while leaving the convenience store.”

What?

Other people didn’t get hit by the barcode scanner?

Then why did that clerk hit my head?

Did BangguseokYeoBo also get possessed politely like these guys?

I felt somewhat wronged.

“By the way…”

TaejongTaese asked me cautiously.

“Is the dead brother, no, Safe8, really dead?”

“Well… Wouldn’t it be more comforting to think he just logged out?”

“Hmm…”

He looked like he couldn’t be comforted no matter how he thought about it.

“Just focus on the strategy for now. We need to survive first and prepare for the apocalypse.”

“That’s true… I don’t want to burden you, so I’ll do my best.”

“Good. If the commander suspects you, just say you thought Safe8 was the real Hayden Goodman. Say you were deceived too. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Not long after I prepped TaejongTaese, the commander entered the room, unable to hide his disturbed expression.

A child who had been fine just moments ago suddenly died, so it was natural for him to be shocked.

However, since the child tried to deceive him by pretending to be his son, the commander’s empathy wasn’t strong.

‘It would be natural to ask what happened to that kid here.’

“What about the kid? What happened?”

“He seemed unwell, so I sent him back.”

Surprisingly,

He lied instead of saying the child was dead.

Was it because he thought I might feel guilty if he said the child died?

Or did he worry I’d think he caused the child’s death by pressuring him?

Or maybe he just didn’t want to scare me.

Either way, the fact that he lied meant he cared about me, so it was clear he had accepted me as Hayden Goodman.

The commander, not paying any attention to TaejongTaese, spoke to me directly.

“Things have turned strange, but you are the real Hayden, the child of Luna Moon, correct?”

I nodded to confirm.

The commander seemed to relax, then looked down at me warmly.

“You might not believe this, but I have always been searching for you and Luna Moon… But that boy said Luna Moon passed away long ago… Is that true?”

“Yes, it is.”

A hint of disappointment flashed across the commander’s face.

“There’s a grave for her behind the slums. I hope you can visit it.”

“Why are you only coming to me now?”

The commander asked, puzzled.

“Did she hold a grudge against me? Did Luna Moon tell you not to come to me even after her death…?”

Why am I only coming to you now… Because I got possessed yesterday.

I wasn’t even his real son.

No need to answer such questions.

I just kept my mouth shut and lowered my gaze, as if there were circumstances I couldn’t explain.

“…”

“…I see. It must not have been easy to come to me. You must have thought I abandoned you.”

He interpreted it however he wanted.

Silence was golden.

“I couldn’t keep my promise, so you lost your mother. I want to make up for those lost years.”

“…!”

Oh.

This was the line he said when I successfully conquered the illegitimate child strategy.

The commander’s promise of rewards.

The next line would be his declaration to make me his successor.

“Stay here and tell me anything you desire. I will

make you my successor and pass everything to you.”

As soon as the commander finished his line, the system message popped up before my eyes.

[You have successfully conquered.]

[By successfully conquering, the ‘Three Rewards’ strategy is now available.]

[Please choose your rewards carefully.]

[Three Rewards 0/3]

Three Rewards.

This was linked to the illegitimate child strategy.

The commander said he’d make me his successor and fulfill any desire, but that wasn’t entirely true.

Even if I wasn’t his successor, he’d take care of me because I was his child.

But to become his successor, the commander of the Cola Zone, I had to succeed in the ‘Three Rewards’ strategy.

He would judge my character and abilities based on what rewards I chose.

The first reward to ask for was clear.

“What I want is… for you to visit my mother’s grave often.”

“Now that I know where she is, of course, I will.”

[Three Rewards 1/3]

As soon as the commander agreed, one of the three rewards was used.

The commander never broke a promise to fulfill a reward once agreed upon.

But if I asked for something he couldn’t grant, I’d fail the strategy immediately, so I had to be careful.

Asking him to visit Luna Moon’s grave often was to act like a pure child, but also because the more he visited, the more widely known it would be that he favored me.

Moreover, sending the commander to Luna Moon’s grave often would help him see the conditions in the slums and control public sentiment.

It was a reward for solidifying my legitimacy as his successor.

The remaining two rewards had to show my character and abilities respectively.

In the game, even with high freedom, there were limits to what I could ask for, so it wasn’t a long consideration…

But now that it was reality, there were more options, making it a bit more complex.

If only there was a loop system, I could try everything, but it’s a pity.

“More than that, you must be hungry. You probably haven’t had a proper meal until now…”

As the commander said this,

I felt a sense of incongruity.

‘Uh…?’

Since being possessed in this world, I realized I hadn’t felt hungry at all.