Chapter 13: You're a Bug, and I'm the Operator (3)

“Rock, isn’t that guy Lukaken Junior?”

Fumito whispered in a voice so low it was barely audible. Rock gave a short nod, her gaze locked on the narrow gap in the container.

Lukaken Junior. President of Lukaken Pharmaceuticals.

Rock’s head throbbed at the sudden appearance of such a big shot. But he wasn’t the main reason for her confusion.

A lopsided stance with legs spread wide, a grinning face. A man whose tattoos covered more of him than bare skin. The way he casually chatted with Lukaken Junior.

‘Triad’s boss, Haiyen.’

Until three years ago, the Triad had been just another small-time gang lurking in the back alleys. Then one day, they started absorbing local gangs of similar size en masse. Their method of unification? Violence, of course.

Under their boss Haiyen, they transformed from street punks shaking down small businesses into one of Lake City’s top ten gangs. Their explosive growth had even put them on the watchlist of ordinary Resistance members. That’s why Rock had memorized Haiyen’s face beforehand.

But how Haiyen had grown so strong overnight remained a mystery. Only rumors circulated wildly. Anyone who clashed with the Triad ended up stuffed in oil drums and sunk somewhere along the docks.

Haiyen eliminated enemy factions without leaving a single witness to his power. Even accounting for exaggeration, his notoriety for atrocities stood out.

In the brutal underworld where blades flashed before three words could be exchanged, Haiyen was marked as someone to avoid. Because of that, despite their size, the Triad struggled to make money—their dealings were cut off. Word of it even spread through Resistance circles.

Rock furrowed her brow, lost in thought. From here on, it was less about analyzing the situation and more about inferring causes.

‘I never got word that District 7 was under control. But Lukaken Junior shows up. And all those thugs barge into the factory without permission? That doesn’t add up…’

An inside agent missing all signs? Impossible, given their position. Putting the pieces together, it meant the agent had deliberately withheld the report.

Which implied…

“Fuck.”

The curse shattered Rock’s concentration. It was Lee Taebaek who spat it out. He stared at the rendezvous point, his hand trembling around the umbrella’s handle.

Rock flinched.

A chill ran through her, shoulders hunching. Lee Taebaek, who had worn an indifferent expression since yesterday, was seething with rage. Wrinkles creased his delicately handsome face—far more terrifying than when Kang Hyeonseong got angry. It was the dramatic contrast.

What the hell did he see to react like that? Rock’s eyes slid in the same direction, widening as she took it in too.

“…!”

Lukaken Junior directing a subordinate to pull a packaged bundle from the carrier. Slicing it open with a cutter knife, semi-transparent granules spilling out. Handing one pack to Haiyen with a flick of the wrist.

Black market deals were commonplace. Nothing surprising. But the item itself was shocking. Megacorp had explicitly banned its sale.

“Those motherfucking bastards… how dare they…”

Lee Taebaek ground his teeth viciously. The dark fire igniting in his eyes showed no sign of fading.

‘Those sons of bitches are dealing drugs.’

In Lake City.

‘Poisoning the world I created.’

The culprits were right there.

Almost from the very start of Laykuns’ development, Lee Taebaek had argued vehemently, veins bulging in his neck: no drugs in the game.

Even knowing drugs were inseparable from a dystopian world. That’s when his rebellious streak kicked in. Why couldn’t there be a near-future dystopia without drugs? Did it have to be that filthy?

‘I just don’t like it.’

With society’s habit of scrutinizing games whenever a scandal broke, better to avoid them. He wasn’t spreading good influence, but he sure as hell didn’t want the stigma of promoting social ills.

Thus, as a fresh twenty-something new hire, Lee Taebaek boldly opposed in-game drugs. He even showed up to work with a red headband on his forehead.

– …We never planned to include them anyway?

‘Pardon?’

Team Leader Seo had given him a bemused look. Embarrassing memory. It taught him a valuable lesson: excess zeal could turn into recklessness.

– But who knows. Our game boasts infinite freedom, so elements like that might emerge in Lake City regardless of developer intent.

‘You think that’s possible?’

– Didn’t Assistant Manager Lee say it before? Laykuns isn’t just a game—it’s another world where all characters act and interact organically.

‘Did I really say something that cringey?’

– Youthful bravado. Anyway, as Assistant Manager Lee put it, in another world, new elements appearing isn’t strange. We can patch them out then.

Team Leader Seo had been spot on, annoyingly accurate every time. Was she clairvoyant?

It must have been around year four of development. Upper management was preparing to announce the launch date, while developers scrambled to squash endless bugs.

And the bug tormenting Lee Taebaek most was drug-related.

While leisurely exploring Lake City with a test character, he spotted NPCs with bloodshot eyes one by one, then in droves. He was baffled at first.

Drugs rampant without code or data traces? Unbelievable, but he did his job.

Possessing a SeXco employee, he set out to eradicate the bug.

Upon thorough investigation—it was called Berserk. It dulled cognition but amplified physical prowess and aggression as a tradeoff.

A doping agent squeezing out power beyond potential in bursts. Nearly boosting levels by 10. Potent stuff.

Withdrawal and side effects inevitably followed, varied and numerous. Zombie transformation topped the list.

‘Zombiefication.’ Need explanation? Just as imagined. Anyway.

In the end, Berserk delayed launch by two years. Fixing it took that long. Wasted youth on a bug…

That’s when he unwittingly spat the curse.

“Fuck.”

Damn Berserk. Damn drug peddlers. And damn junkies drooling like dogs after buying from those peddlers.

‘If I catch them…’

He vowed in his sleep to uproot the drug source and subject them to personality annihilation.

‘I’ll crush them all.’

And now.

He’d found them. The ones who stole two years. Who defiled the Lake City he created and cherished!

“Those motherfucking bastards… how dare they…”

“……”

Rock swallowed hard watching Lee Taebaek. This guy’s scary. I wanna go home. The words tickled her throat, but the mask held them back.

Swoosh.

A faint breeze blew. Lee Taebaek turned to her, shadows trailing, eyes piercing coldly. Rock nearly hiccuped in fear.

“Got smoke grenades?”

He asked abruptly.

“Ah! Yeah, I do! Hang on.”

Fumito eagerly rummaged through his cello case, lining up five or six smoke grenades.

“This enough?”

“Kinda short, but it’ll do.”

Lee Taebaek nodded, sliding them toward Rock’s feet as she crouched. Then he said,

“Toss one every minute over there. If it gets tough, roll them close.”

“…?”

Rock panicked. He meant to charge the enemy lines without hesitation. She wanted to communicate, but personal reasons prevented her from speaking.

First, contact Kang Hyeonseong and Yu Dahui! But Lee Taebaek showed no patience for waiting. Nor did he intend to.

‘Pest control and cash grab.’

His eyes caught the contents of the tattooed thugs’ carrier. Bundles of bills stuffed inside. Not cybermoney or checks—pure cash!

Saliva pooled under his chin. Crush them he would, but grab what he could. Suddenly, his battle lust felt fueled by those stacks.

Have to take it. Sneakily. Minimize witnesses. Finish before Kang Hyeonseong and Yu Dahui arrive.

Thump, thump.

Red granules raced through his veins. Blood surged to his brain, forehead heating. Reason hid in darkness as primal instinct reared.

Enemy assessment was instantaneous. Gaps in their lines and blind spots etched in his mind.

Influence of unconsciously acquired Assassin Swordsmanship (Beginner). Battle instincts overrode reason. As muscles warmed fully.

“Can you deflect bullets with your blade?”

He asked Fumito.

“Shotguns are tough. SMGs, somewhat? Even if hit, beef builds muscle.”

“Then you take Vera.”

As he replied, Lee Taebaek pressed the umbrella’s open/close button firmly. Click—the umbrella unfurled like stretching, dust scattering from the fabric. His other hand now held a sheathed sword.

Rock and Fumito blinked. Lee Taebaek lifted the round camouflage slightly. Only his lower face peeked out, lips curved faintly.

“I’ll block with this.”

“Man, President Lukaken. The last batch was way better than the one before—super fresh!”

Haiyen grinned dangerously as he spoke.

“Thanks to it, I swallowed a rival gang next door in a single day last week. How can I ever repay you?”

“No need for thanks—I’m selling for a price. You helped me secure donation funds for ten thousand underprivileged kids. Win-win, right?”

Lukaken Junior smiled thinly, chubby cheeks twitching.

“Kekeke, donations to poor kids? Come on, our president’s too modest. Everyone knows the donations are a front—you’re just bribing city officials with fancy toilet paper.”

“No time for chit-chat. So, what about my previous proposal? Given it thought?”

“Ah, that.”

Haiyen glanced back, sighing. His gang members were visible. Eyes glazed, drooling. All suffering withdrawal side effects. Only fix: more Berserk.

Haiyen continued, eyeing his men.

“Not a bad deal. Laundering and securing cash for Lukaken, plus… we become your private mercenaries. And monthly Berserk supply, right?”

“Frankly, even I’m stunned by how generous it is. Producing 1kg of Berserk costs more than the cash we launder.”

“That’s why I’m curious. Why’s esteemed President Lukaken going this far for lowly punks like us? Seems too suspicious.”

“Nothing suspicious. I need blades. To climb higher, bigger ones.”

“How high does our president want to soar? Accepting means we’re bound by fate—let’s hear the details!”

Haiyen slipped a hand into his belt.

“Megacorp.”

But that word forced it back out. His jaundiced eyes widened in shock.

“…You serious?”

“Think I scatter drugs without a plan—”

The moment.

Roll, roll.

All eyes turned to the sound. Two cans rolled like acorns between them. A dazed instant.

Hiss—sssss—

Pffft—ssss—

Two smoke grenades spewed fog, spinning into each other. Mist thickened instantly, but radius limited—about 30 meters.

“What the fu—…!”

Lukaken Junior coughed. Gray haze everywhere. Eyes watered, air stung.

Thud-thud-thud!

Screech—!

Footsteps amid the smoke, a glint flashing. Clustered dust parted circularly. The light pierced a hole, elongating.

Squelch. The blade pierced fat and collarbone, splitting them, protruding from the shoulder blade.

“Guh…!”

Lukaken jerked like a broken toy. Taebaek kicked the plump belly, retrieving the blade.