Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 63
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Chapter 63: Audi on its way to space
-Good. Grade 2 quest.
The shareholders of Dogo seemed satisfied with Yeongwoo’s acceptance of the contract.
Then, they drew a string of characters in a form that Yeongwoo had never seen before, illuminating their bodies in the air.
Swaat!
These characters, arranged like scattered wedges, were the signature of the intergalactic weapon brand ‘Dogo.’
‘Ah.’
In other words, the shareholders of Dogo had signed the contract.
Pang!
Following that, Dogo’s signature soared into the sky, and a new system message appeared in Yeongwoo’s view.
「Contract: Dogo-49523-IIII_II-Tier 2 has been concluded.」
An advertising contract between a planetary resident and a cosmic-scale corporation, executed in just two days after the reset.
“…”
As Yeongwoo made a shocked expression, the shareholders of Dogo, wrapped in a pillar of light, began to weaken.
Finally, they seemed to be leaving this place.
Of course, one more procedure remained as announced earlier.
-Return the favor, waiting for you.
Dogo requested a souvenir in their unique ‘alien-like’ tone, and Yeongwoo only now worried about Jongsoo’s safety.
Even here, it seemed like not a single police officer could breathe properly.
Swoosh.
As Yeongwoo looked at the white Audi parked on the other side, Byungcheol, who was pointing the barrel towards the sky, widened his eyes.
“What’s this now?”
“Before sending the advertiser back, you have to give them a gift.”
“A… gift?”
Byungcheol made another puzzled expression.
But anyway, it was a relief that they would be leaving soon.
“Then let’s quickly give it and send them off. Hurry up.”
While Byungcheol said this, Detective Kwon Taeyoung’s labored breathing was coming up from the ground.
In response, Yeongwoo nodded and raised his hand.
“Jongsu!”
As if waiting, the white Audi started rolling.
Vroom…
Approaching under the red sky, a 4-seater convertible glided smoothly on the Icheon City road.
“…”
As Yeongwoo and Byungcheol stared blankly at the strange scene of a foreign car sliding under the red sky, Jongsu’s head popped out from the Audi that had just stopped in front of the two.
“It seems to have been resolved through conversation? I was curious about what was happening.”
Jongsu’s gaze, saying this, was focused on the gun that Byungcheol was holding.
On the other hand, Byungcheol was bewildered by Jongsu’s completely unshaken appearance in front of the gun.
“…Who are you?”
Byungcheol asked Yeongwoo while keeping the gun at the ambiguous point between the sky and the ground.
“He’s my partner.”
Yeongwoo gave a brief reply while looking at Jongsu.
Unlike the young detective wandering around on the ground, Jongsu was in a state where not even a single breath was disturbed.
‘Is it simply because he’s bold? Or perhaps…’
Was it because of the original fate that was supposed to die today?
Even though the original fate was reset, Jongsu himself had often talked about the nuance that he was living as an extra.
Therefore, he might be more immune to various fears compared to others who are strongly attached to life.
“Now is the time to present this?”
Finally, Jongsu stroked the steering wheel, and his eyes sparkled.
“Yes. I don’t know how to convey it… If we park in front there, won’t they just take it themselves?”
As Yeongwoo pointed to the apartment parking lot in front of the advertiser, Jongsu’s head lifted into the air.
It was time to observe the appearance of the advertiser who would soon receive the souvenir.
“…”
With a gulp, Jongsu’s Adam’s apple moved noticeably.
Even if he didn’t know, facing such a giant creature must have been frightening.
Of course, Yeongwoo had no intention of sending Jongsu alone.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go with you.”
As Yeongwoo opened the passenger seat door and sat on the seat, Jongsu smiled with a relaxed face.
“Indeed, you are loyal, sir.”
“Rather than loyalty… it’s my deal.”
* * *
The distance from the point where Yeongwoo and Jongsu were to the advertiser was about 140 meters.
Although it would be a distance that they could reach in the blink of an eye by stepping on the accelerator, Jongsu almost drove at a constant speed.
“By the way, how do we let them know that this car is the souvenir?”
“We can tell them verbally. The contract was practically done through conversation.”
If there was a problem, it would be whether the other party would like the gift or not.
Vroom…
While the two were having a brief conversation, a heavy shadow was cast over the white Audi.
Finally, they arrived in front of the strange-looking advertiser again.
“…Why on earth is something like that here? Wasn’t the reset supposed to end among humans?”
While Jongsu swallowed another heavy spit and looked up at the advertiser, Yeongwoo looked around with a troubled expression.
“Shit.”
“What’s the matter, brother?”
“All the cars around here look the same.”
“Yes?”
When Jongsu, who was absentmindedly looking out the window, heard Yeongwoo’s words, he belatedly slapped his knee.
“That’s right. It’s a parking lot.”
Currently, the two had placed the Audi in the underground parking lot of an apartment.
Therefore, it was natural that there were vehicles everywhere.
Although they were all turned into stones, in the eyes of the extraterrestrial visitors, they would all look like similar objects.
“Ah… I should have chosen a yellow car back then. Even if it’s just a noticeable color, it might have looked special.”
While Jongsu mumbled awkwardly like this, something crossed Yeongwoo’s mind.
“Jongsu.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Does this car have ambient lights?”
Ambient lights.
Indirect lights inside a vehicle, and for Mercedes-Benz, a competitor, the illumination crossing the front side of the car interior was once a signature.
And Audi, too, Yeongwoo knew, had introduced a similar form of mood lighting.
He was well aware of this because a YouTuber he used to follow enjoyed driving an Audi.
Of course, there was a high probability that the person was now somewhere in the lineup for mutants.
“Ambient lights…? Well, I don’t know much about Audis.”
Jongsu scratched his cheek, fiddling with the control panel.
Then, after a while.
“Oh, this seems like it.”
With Jongsu’s line, a vibrant neon sign-like lighting along the curves inside the car increased.
Pop!
“Uh… it seems a bit too bright. Should I lower it?”
“No. It’s just right. Open the roof in this state.”
With these words, Yeongwoo opened the passenger door and stepped outside.
Soon after, the ceiling of the white Audi folded backward, and a purple light spilled out, as if a treasure chest were opening.
“It’s my souvenir.”
Yeongwoo pointed to the Audi with his palm, timing it perfectly.
The current time was 8:23 PM.
The Audi convertible, with the roof fully open, and the lights shining brightly in the darkening twilight, looked quite precious.
At least enough for a weapon manufacturing company from outer space to find interest in it.
-What is that? That.
Vroom…
As dozens of shareholders began to tighten the light pillar to get a closer look at the souvenir, Yeongwoo debated whether he should explain more.
He then remembered that when the other party introduced themselves, they mentioned the unique noun ‘Dogo.’
“This is… Audi, a special means of transportation.”
With Yeongwoo’s words, the shareholders echoed in unison with fluent pronunciation.
-Audi.
Perhaps now Audi could also be considered a cosmic brand.
“On Earth, we move with this. As you can see, we are small in size and move slowly.”
While Yeongwoo pretended to walk slowly in front of the shareholders, he thought that to them, it might look like a single ant wriggling around.
Anyway, whether Yeongwoo’s efforts were virtual or if the Audi emitting a mysterious light pleased them, the shareholders gave positive feedback.
-Audi, good.
Then, suddenly, their bodies twitched.
“…!”
That’s a characteristic seen when those guys are touching something.
Yeongwoo felt a chill down his spine and shouted.
“Jongsu! Come out right now!”
His intuition told him that the shareholders seemed to be attempting to take the souvenir.
“Hurry!”
As Yeongwoo urged with a scream, Jongsu, who was staring blankly at the advertiser enveloped in a glow, hurriedly jumped out of the car.
And then.
-Kit!
The golden goblin hiding in the back seat leaped agilely, and almost at the same moment, a laser beam descended from the sky, striking the Audi.
Swoosh…
Paaaang!
“Gasp!”
“Ahh!”
The pitch-black surroundings suddenly became as bright as daylight, to the extent that the dark sky appeared in broad daylight.
Those guys indeed possessed tremendous physical force.
“C-Crazy.”
It was like the spectacle on the first day of the reset when ‘lives’ were flying, amplified thousands of times.
Unconsciously, Yeongwoo took a step back.
―Jeong Yeongwoo 07!
Voices of shareholders echoed in the bright white view.
Just as Yeongwoo was about to respond.
Shooo!
The excessively bright view returned to its original state in an instant, and everything disappeared.
The Dogo shareholders, the crimson light pillar, the enormous laser beam, and the Audi, all gone.
“Ugh.”
As he exhaled the breath he had been holding, Yeongwoo noticed Jongsu sitting on the ground, rubbing his buttocks.
“A-Are you okay?”
“Yes? Ah… yes, I’m fine.”
Jongsu blinked his eyes, looking at the clear night sky as if it had become clear just now.
“Gone… right? They’re gone?”
Jongsu’s eyes seemed to plead, wishing it to be true.
Yeongwoo looked at his partner, then shifted his gaze to where the advertisers were.
There, something faintly remained in the place where the crimson light pillar had been just a moment ago.
“…?”
At first, he thought it was an afterimage due to the intense light he had seen, but…
“What is that?”
Seeing Jongsu discover the same thing, it seemed not to be an illusion.
Clearly, something remained.
“Be, be careful… Hyung-nim.”
Gradually, as Yeongwoo approached the mysterious entity, Jongsu also stepped to the side, drawing his sword, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances.
On the other hand, Yeongwoo was thinking.
‘What on earth is this?’
Completely captivated by curiosity, he continued to approach the unidentified entity.
With each step he took, the outline and color of the target became clearer.
This felt similar to the first day of the reset when he could recognize the currency exchange assigned to him.
‘Dogo’ must have left something for their advertising model.
In other words.
‘This might be a return gift for the souvenir.’
Finally, when Yeongwoo took a step right in front of the entity, the problematic object turned dark.
Srrruuuk!
And as the color rose, the size of the revealed object was much larger than expected.
Since the height of the object had already exceeded Yeongwoo’s stature.
“…!”
Even Yeongwoo, who belonged to the bold group among humans, was momentarily stunned by the overwhelming sense of unease emanating from the situation.
Shortly after, even Byungcheol, who was observing the scene from afar with a gun in hand, rushed over.
“What on earth is happening now?”
Because.
Shwaaat!
The shape of the object, which emitted a fierce steam as if it had completed its mutation, was undeniably an egg.
Despite the shiny surface, it was a gigantic pitch-black egg that gave an inexplicable chill.
“Hyung-nim…”
Jongsu alternately looked at Yeongwoo and the egg with an expression of astonishment, and Byungcheol, with a shaky gun barrel, couldn’t figure out where to aim.
And in the midst of this chaos.
Squeak!
The souvenir left by the extraterrestrial munitions company began to crack open.
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