725 Episode 28 House (3)

I looked closely at the faces and actions of my companions.

There were a total of four people without masks.

Kyung Sein, Dansu ahjussi, Ye Hyunwoo, and Cha Yerin. It's hard to express, but apart from their appearance, it felt like something had changed. It feels like the 'story' that makes up their essence, so to speak, has changed.

In simple terms, it would mean that they have become 'animals'.

But for some reason, the moment I heard that, the expression 'beast' had a slightly different meaning.

—These guys are now prisoners of the story.

Prisoners.

—Let’s go out together for a while.

Killer King spoke in a serious tone. I once again realize that this person is someone who can speak normally.

I followed Killer King outside under the pretext of wanting to get some fresh air. Little Yoo Jonghyuk was also there.

Outside the wooden villa, rain was falling steadily. The sound of a building collapsing was heard from afar.

The screams of incarnations were heard one after another. A horribly spreading sibilant sound. The sound of hard flesh being torn apart.

Killer King seemed familiar with all of this and calmly took out a cigarette from his chest and asked.

Has this person always smoked?

"We were honestly confident when we first came up, because it was us and not the other incarnations."

Killer King's confidence was not strange.

These people were all 'complete readers', that is, readers who survived by going through as many as seven scenarios. Even if an unfamiliar scenario appeared, they now had the power to go through it.

Some had a good sponsor, and those who did not have a good sponsor had their own specialties.

"The positions were perfect as well. Kyung Sein is Lee Hyunsung. Lee Dansu is Lee Gilyoung. Cha Yerin is Lee Jihye. For me, Yoo Jonghyuk."

Even though the last one was a little strange, it was a group composition that would definitely not be overlooked anywhere.

But that's what happened to them.

"It might have been a little different if you had been around, but it would be meaningless now."

"What on earth happened?"

"It’s an obvious story. We let our guards down and got caught in an unfortunate event scenario."

The hazy smoke melted into the air.

"We had no idea what losing one’s mask meant. The first to suffer was Kyung Sein. Next was Lee Dansu. Ye Hyunwoo. And even my younger sister."

Killer King's voice became heavier with each word.

"They were no longer able to live as humans."

"What does that mean?"

"I’ll show you."

Killer King took the lead and started walking down the alley as if telling me to follow him.

Why?

The sight of him walking ahead was unfamiliar. In just one month and a week, Killer King seemed to have become someone else I didn't know.

It was then that the event scenario contents arrived.

As expected, this scenario is about finding a safe home where you can avoid the 'wolves'.

According to the explanation, this area is never safe until the 'hunt' is completed.

But Killer King spoke in a carefree voice.

"Don’t worry. The wolf has already chosen its prey."

The place where Killer King arrived was an old house located one block away from the guesthouse.

To be exact, it was an old tent that was embarrassing to call a house.

Killer King rang the bell installed in front of the tent.

"Who are you?"

Killer King responded to the voice coming from inside.

"It’s the wolf."

I looked at Killer King in surprise. Next, I heard a system message in my ear.

A frightened gasp was heard from inside the house. The one that stuck its head out was a pale prairie dog.

"Yes, are you here?"

"Yes."

"Preparations are complete."

"Good night."

Inside the tent were several small animals, including prairie dogs. And there was a hippopotamus chained to a chair.

The prairie dog said, pointing to the hippopotamus.

"This is the 'prey' volunteer for this time."

The hippopotamus cried, shaking his shoulders. Killer King slowly approached the hippopotamus.

"Let’s get started."

What do you want to start with?

A ferocious energy flowed from Killer King's right hand as he took off his half-mask.

Feeling ominous, I grabbed Killer King's shoulder.

"Wait."

Killer King's eyes flickered as he looked back at me.

At the same time, someone grabbed my hand. It was little Yoo Jonghyuk.

"Leave it alone."

Little Yoo Jonghyuk was speaking.

"It’s none of your business."

In fact, the prisoners in the tent didn't look like they were happy with my dissuasion.

"I don’t know who you are…"

As soon as the prairie dog opened his mouth, the meerkat beast next to him helped.

"Please don’t get involved."

"Please."

As I looked at the trembling beastmen, I let go of Killer King's shoulder.

Then Killer King spoke.

"Don’t worry. I’ll finish it soon."

With those words, Killer King stood in front of the hippopotamus. The moment the hippopotamus closed his eyes, Killer King let out a long cry into the air. It was a long, lonely howl reminiscent of a real wolf.

At the same time, Killer King grabbed one of the hippopotamus's arms. With a clunking sound, the hippopotamus's arm was torn off in an instant, and blood splattered out.

Other prisoners grabbed the hippopotamus struggling in pain and quickly began providing first aid.

Killer King put the torn hippopotamus's arm to his side, took out a jingling sack from his chest, and handed it to the prairie dog.

The prairie dog that checked the inside of the bag became happy and muttered.

"Thank you. Thank you."

"This is another week…"

The bag was full of recycled coins.

Killer King looked at the prisoners gathered around the coin bag for a moment, then turned his back and walked out of the tent.

Little Yoo Jonghyuk and I hurriedly followed him.

A message that comes one step late.

Only then did I understand what Killing King had done.

"This is the core of this scenario. If the wolf hunts the prey, the event conditions are met, and the remaining beasts can survive."

"Is it possible that you have survived this way?"

"Yes."

The reason why the group was able to survive so far in the old wooden villa.

That's because Killer King has been working as a 'wolf' and hunting other preys.

"The other party members chose the pig camp. They planned to form a community with the beastmen and fight against the wolves."

If you think about it, it was natural.

The group read Kim Dokja's story, and above all, he took the side of the 'little people' in Peace Land. So, it was natural to take the pig's side in 'The Three Little Pigs'.

Above all, 'The Three Little Pigs' is a story where the pig wins in the end.

"They failed."

"That’s right. And their mask was taken away."

"And you?"

"I chose the wolf."

"But there was only one choice."

Apparently, all I got was the message 'you can choose the pig side'.

"The wolf camp has hidden options. It is designed so that you can only join the wolf camp by harming other 'beasts'."

In other words, Killer King chose the 'wolf camp' despite harming other prisoners.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because this scenario is a game the pigs can’t win."

I had no idea that Killer King, let alone anyone else, would say such a thing. I was puzzled and disappointed at the same time. Is it because I believed in Killer King that much?

"You don’t know what Zone 13 is."

"I asked you why you did that."

Killer King's eyes, seen through the mask, were slightly widened. He said as if it had been a long time since he had heard anything like that.

"Yes, you can say that. You are indeed Kim Dokja."

"There is a strategy for every scenario. You know that."

Even if you choose the pig camp, there are many ways to attack as long as you use the original story well.

There were even many smart people among the group. Neither Ye Hyunwoo nor Cha Yerin were people to be taken lightly. But why—

"I know what you’re thinking. I also know the origin story of this scenario."

"Then why—"

"I guess you checked the other houses on the way here. Did you notice anything strange?"

I looked around.

The street I walked with little Yoo Jonghyuk. The inn we entered when we first warped, the wooden villa where the group lived, and the old tent house. and…

"No way."

Goosebumps slowly appeared.

A cigarette fell on the floor. Killer King took out a second cigarette, lit it, and said.

"There are no brick houses here."

The original content of 『The Three Little Pigs』 is clear.

This is a story about the youngest pig who built a sturdy 'brick house' in preparation for the wolf and ultimately manages to prevent the wolf from attacking.

"I don’t know why, but no matter what I do, I can’t find bricks in this area."

However, in Zone 13, there are no 'bricks' to build a 'brick house'.

In other words, it was a place where it was impossible to reproduce the original story.

"So you chose 'Wolf'?"

Killer King nodded.

"Zone 13 is divided into a total of 64 districts. Once hunting activities are met in one district, no more 'event scenarios' will occur in the same district that night."

By 'hunting' different preys, you meet the scenario clear conditions in this area each time.

Killer King has been protecting his companions like that for as long as a month.

"This is the solution I chose."

Killer King, who was staring at the distant sky, looked at me once, then looked at little Yoo Jonghyuk and smiled bitterly.

"If it were Yoo Jonghyuk, it’s a choice he would never have made."

Explosive sounds were heard again amidst the rain. The sound of a tent collapsing and flesh being torn apart. The sound of ominous footsteps was getting closer.

"Wolf Harvest House. I’m coming to collect today’s rewards."

Killer King said, shaking the hippopotamus arm in his hand.

"It doesn’t matter since the hunting in this area is over, but just in case, take him and hide."

I hid behind the tent with little Yoo Jonghyuk.

After a while, harvesters wearing wolf masks appeared one by one. At a glance, they were incarnations with unusual physical strength.

I could tell just by feeling their stories. They were all incarnations that had ruled this area for a very long time and survived.

"Newbie. What’s the harvest today?"

"It is here."

Killer King snapped and threw out the hippopotamus paw.

After checking the front paw, the wolf harvester took a piece of flesh and chewed it lightly.

"It’s a stinky part. Doesn’t this guy even have a proper story?"

"If you got it, get out of here."

The wolf harvester spat on the floor and laughed bitterly.

"You're still rude. Are you overconfident in your abilities?"

"If you want to check, I’ll show you."

The wolf harvesters flinched and backed away at the growling voice of Killer King.

One of the harvest officers said with a hardened expression.

"Ever since you took over this Earth, harvests have dropped significantly."

"So?"

"I heard a rumor that you were secretly raising skins."

"It’s a rumor."

"I’ll know if it’s a rumor or not when I check."

With those words, the Wolf Harvester looked towards the wooden villa. Only then did Killer King realize the true intentions of the harvesters and frowned.

"The beastmen of this Earth belong to me."

"The newly arrived leather belongs to the central district. You cannot take it as you wish until it is assigned."

"This is my Earth. I decide that."

I guess he has already collected a lot of stories, so the stories flowing from Killer King's body were unusual. At that level, he is on par with the other top-tier incarnations I met at the Washington Dome.

At that moment, a strange thought occurred to me.

Even though Killer King had reached such a level, why did he have to choose the 'wolf camp'?

If you think about it, the answer was simple.

An entity he cannot dare to confront belongs to the 'wolf camp'.

From behind the wolf harvest stands, an individual that was two heads taller than the other wolves slowly walked out.

The moment I heard the mantra, the fluff on my forearms stood out.

According to the explanation in 'Ways of Survival', the 'Recycling Center' was clearly a place where incarnations gathered.

But why does someone like that exist here?

There was a 'constellation' in Zone 13.