Descent with a Universe-Tier Operator Account Chapter 4 : The World I Created (4)

Chapter 4 - The World I Created (4)

I'll be honest.

Speaking informally was a mistake.

'Shit.'

The plan had been to force a breakthrough with a direct confrontation instead of beating around the bush. But he had overdone it, and for a mont, his subconscious had gotten ahead of his rational mind.

Lee Taebaek bit his lower lip. anwhile, the air between the two n was rapidly growing cold.

In truth, speaking informally probably wouldn't have had that much of a negative impact on the situation. The problem was that it had been too rash.

Kang Hyunseong's killing intent squeezed his heart like a rope. It was agonizing, both ntally and physically.

“...Where did you co from?”

Kang Hyunseong spat out in a low growl. As if his earlier goodwill had never existed, a dark blue demonic aura rose from his eyes, making him look like a dokkaebi.

“Depending on your answer, you could die today. So answer carefully, Lee Taebaek.”

'Don't get overwheld by his spirit. This was the plan, anyway.'

The die had been cast. Whether this opening salvo would be a turning point or just an empty bluff all depended on how well he could talk his way through it.

“Seeing my na and appearance, I thought you would have guessed. That I'm from Korea, just like you, Kang Hyunseong.”

For a brief mont, an eyebrow twitched. Lee Taebaek did not miss that minute change in expression.

“It might be different here in the Western city of Lake City. But back in Korea, it's rare to find soone who doesn't know the na Kang Hyunseong. At least, not among those with a foot in the underworld.”

“Hah.”

“Am I wrong? The One-Man Army of a Thousand Kills... no, should I call you Kang Hyunseong, the Mad Dog Butcher?”

When he brought up the nickna 'Mad Dog Butcher', the change in his expression was clear. Lee Taebaek continued to speak.

“Of course, I only know your face because the organization I was with investigated you separately. A normal person wouldn't know. Ah, and don't worry. When I left the organization, I burned everything, including the files on you. Now, the only person who knows Kang Hyunseong's true identity might just be in this very prison. And since that one person will be gone in six days, no one outside the Resistance will know the face of the One-Man Army of a Thousand Kills.”

“...Lee Taebaek, what organization were you a part of? Make no mistake, that wasn't a question, it was a threat.”

I can't get swept up in his pace. I have to take the lead.

“Kang Hyunseong, do you know what cri I was convicted of?”

Lee Taebaek's pupils were half-hidden by his brow.

“I was arrested for participating in a terror attack in Seoul and charged with National Disturbance. After escaping from Siesta, I cut the throats of ten regular soldiers from the Seoul municipal governnt. Before that, I was a guard dog for the Siesta Group. A hunting dog.”

As soon as he heard that, shock filled Kang Hyunseong's eyes. Escaping from Siesta, one of the gacorps.

“It's a bit late, but I apologize for casually speaking informally to the One-Man Army of a Thousand Kills. As you probably know, the guard dogs from Siesta are raised and indoctrinated from infancy. I just never had a chance to learn formal speech. You know the saying, 'Rudeness is a sin, but ignorance is not.' I simply don't know how to speak formally.”

Apologizing a beat late was also part of Lee Taebaek's calculation. First, explain the circumstances, then overturn the awful first impression. It was for the reversal effect, so to speak.

“For soone like that, you're quite eloquent.”

“They say a long tongue leads to a short life. I guess that's how I ended up on death row in the flower of my youth.”

If you're going to commit to a role, you have to be consud by it. A half-assed performance will only backfire.

Lee Taebaek began to hypnotize himself.

'I was a hunting dog for a gacorp.'

The Siesta Group is our god. We are indebted to them for their grace.

Therefore, control everything under the pretext of order and eradicate chaos. Even if it ans staining your hands with blood.

"Below one man, but above all others." This was the creed of the Siesta guard dogs.

“A guard dog who escaped Siesta and drifted into Lake City. An interesting script.”

Kang Hyunseong, who had crossed his arms at so point, spoke with a snort. He still looked like he didn't believe a word Lee Taebaek said.

“The strategy of trying to sway by being from the sa country wasn't half bad. I may have raised hell back in Seoul, but my love for Korea hasn't gone anywhere.”

...Did I get him?

“But that alone isn't enough. Bring sothing more enticing.”

Shit. He's so damn cautious.

Then again, he was in a position where he had to be suspicious. Lee Taebaek hadn't designed Kang Hyunseong to be a fool.

“Let's assu what you're saying is true. How did you escape Siesta's grasp? As you said yourself, you would have received a thorough ideological education.”

“I grew disillusioned.”

Lee Taebaek feigned a bitter smile.

“It's embarrassing to say it myself, but I was a talented assassin. I was promoted to a full-fledged guard dog before I even turned twenty. Until that day ca, I lived with pride as an assassin.”

Lee Taebaek hung his head low. Looking at the floor, he let out a strange, emotional cry.

To deceive others, one must first deceive oneself. It was a role he had improvised on the spot, but his thod acting was so good that even he was becoming confused.

'The effect of the Spirit buff really is incredible.'

In Recons, Spirit was a unique stat that affected both the speaker and the listener. The speaker's mind would remain unshaken, while the listener's would be swayed.

Even so, this feels too real.

Or could it be that this body he possessed really was a forr Siesta guard dog? That would be creepy as fuck.

“I was on a mission. As usual, I was about to eliminate the target, and he begged to spare his life. But a guard dog doesn't have a choice. I took his head in a single stroke.”

Lee Taebaek murmured with his head still lowered. He let out a pained groan, as if dredging up a painful past.

“Then, his desk ca into view. There was a picture of him with his daughter, who had just celebrated her first birthday. In that mont, I felt like I'd been hit hard over the head. It was the first ti I'd ever seriously contemplated the act of killing.”

“What was the reason he was targeted?”

“He was about to expose Siesta's corruption from the inside.”

“Killing people over such trivial matters. That's a gacorp for you.”

Kang Hyunseong clicked his tongue. He seed quite absorbed in Lee Taebaek's inspired bullshit.

Good, I'm almost there.

He leaned his back against the stone wall, feeling its chill. With his eyes closed, Lee Taebaek elevated his own imagination into a concrete blueprint and brought it to life.

“That Siesta, to which I had dedicated my entire life, was evil. That my life had been polluted by the superficially glamorous word 'order.' That the gacorp simply wanted to control people through fear, and we guard dogs were nothing more than components to that end. Only then did I realize it.”

Lee Taebaek looked at his palm. He could almost feel the sticky texture of greasy blood.

“Let's say I accept your escape from Siesta. Then why did you kill the regular soldiers?”

The narrative had been established. Now was the ti. Ti to prove Lee Taebaek's worth to Kang Hyunseong.

“Just because.”

“Just... because...?”

The madman strategy.

It's one of the thodologies of foreign policy, where one presents oneself as a madman and warns others not to provoke them. You know, like how a chihuahua bares its teeth and growls at everyone it sees. That should make it easier to understand.

“They ca to capture after I escaped Siesta, so I killed them all. I was born and raised as an assassin. I never learned formal speech, which is why I'm speaking informally to you even though we've just t. And what am I supposed to do when soone who's only ever learned to communicate with a knife has a gun pointed at them? I killed them.”

“All of them?”

“Yep.”

“Even if they take a salary from the Seoul governnt, those regular soldiers are soone's precious sons. Are you saying you felt no guilt in taking their lives? Do you think what you're saying makes any sense right now?”

“I don't think that's sothing I need to hear from the One-Man Army of a Thousand Kills, who killed a thousand regular soldiers himself. And Kang Hyunseong, let warn you about one thing...”

He glared, his eyes cold. Of course, it was a bluff.

“Don't preach to . It's even more unpleasant hearing it from a traitor who uses an alias from the neighboring country of Japhon, of all things. Have you no sha?”

Kang Hyunseong's lips curled into a grin. It was a sign of favor. To think he'd enjoy being insulted like that.

It was one of two things. Either he had stimulated Kang Hyunseong's nationalism, or the man was just crazy. Co to think of it, it could be both.

“And on top of that, you're here in the Neuro-prison, hiding your na and your cri. I have 'absolutely' no idea what you're plotting, but I'm sure it's sothing trivial. Anyway, I don't have ti to entertain you anymore. Stop bothering and go jerk off to a wall or sothing. Kang Hyunseong, or should I say, 'Yamamoto-san'.”

“Kuhahahahahaha!”

Kang Hyunseong suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. It was a chilling sound. It seed he was also using the madman strategy.

“You, you've got a few screws loose. You were too talented to rot away in Siesta! Just like that soup in the food slot.”

That's it, the madman strategy worked!

“Thanks for finally recognizing it.”

“What's the point? In a few days, you're scheduled to beco a ghost anyway. But to commorate our little chat, let ask you sothing. If, and only if, you could get out of this place, what would be the first thing you'd do? Let's hear the grand ambition of a death row inmate.”

Kang Hyunseong rested his cheek heavily on his fist.

“Get out of the Neuro-prison? Goddammit.”

Lee Taebaek said with a deep scowl. Just a little more. Just hold back those twitching lips a little longer.

“They say a tiger leaves its skin when it dies, and a man leaves his na. Think of it as your last words and tell .”

“First, I'll bring down the Siesta Group. That's why I ca to Lake City, where their headquarters is located.”

He aligned his "last words" with the Resistance's goal.

“And while I'm at it… all the other gacorps, too.”

“Hah! That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard all year! So, why the other gacorps?”

The last line, yes.

This would be the perfect finishing touch for the madman strategy.

“No particular reason. Just because they're shit.”

“......?”

“That's all.”

“......”

They reached a stalemate.

Kang Hyunseong looked speechless. At the sa ti, the sound of guards' footsteps began to approach from a distance.

Thump, thump.

Lee Taebaek shifted impatiently. He waited for an answer so intensely his eyes felt like they would pop out. Had his gamble paid off?

Soon, Kang Hyunseong parted his lips again. A wide grin spread across his stubbled mouth.

“Lee Taebaek, the day of your execution, at 15:00 hours.”

Finally.

“Let's continue our chat then.”

Success.

......

[#1 Small-Scale] 1.1 Patch Notes

Based on 「Operator Mode」 and 「Favor of the Chaos Goddess」, the world's background and settings will be updated.

Additional ergency fixes or setting changes will be applied while 「Operator: Lee Taebaek」 is asleep.

The contents of the update will evaporate upon the player's awakening and will be completely erased from mory.

※If the update's contents twist the world's lore too severely, the probability of a ga error, or 'bug', occurring will increase.

◈ Main Patch

• The character's background setting and profession have been modified from 「Death Row Inmate → Death Row Inmate, forrly a Guard Dog of Siesta」.

• The 「Life」 proportional value has increased ( 4.7%). Pain tolerance increases along with health.

• The 「Faith」 proportional value has increased ( 5.5%). Recovery ability slightly increases.

• The 「Strength」 proportional value has increased ( 6.8%). Athletic ability slightly increases.

• Acquired 「Assassin's Swordsmanship (Beginner)」. The proficiency of the ability is affected by the user's level.

◇ Miscellaneous Patch

• Acquired 「Concept: Psychopath (True)」.

• Concepts can be selectively equipped to your personality. Try using them at your discretion to suit the situation!

〉〉 Auto-saving…….

〉〉 Applying patch.