Chapter 90….
At that clear solution,
Baek Bong-su, as well as the viewers, were left speechless.
That was right—Lee Ji-han had never thought too deeply about things.
When it came to matters involving himself—especially sports or games—he often acted foolishly.
But when it came to others, wasn’t he always the kind of eccentric who jumped in without hesitation?
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Lol, Ji-han!]
[But he’s right thoㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[We prefer it when everything just gets smashed apart anyway, right?]
[Yeah, agonizing, brooding, hesitation—that doesn’t suit himㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[This is the Heavenly Demon we’re talking aboutㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Heavenly Demon special: smash first, think later.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ so funny]
The chat window quickly filled with cheerful laughter.
“Ho, hoho. Hohoho. Clear, truly clear. Barco wished to preserve everything through records.”
“Memory isn’t always the answer.”
“Haha, hahahaha! But not forgetting is important too! Truly, you exceed my imagination.”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[He’s right though, memory isn’t everything]
[NPCs can’t understand the logic of a streamerㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[AI still can’t catch up to humans]
[How could AI ever imitate that reckless destructionㅋㅋㅋ That’s when Skynet would be born]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Grandpa, quit with the movie references, how old are youㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
After laughing for quite a while, Baek Bong-su approached Lee Ji-han with warm eyes.
“Yes, such decisions can change the world. But decisions alone don’t change anything.”
He looked at him with a more serious gaze.
“The technology of the Upper Sectors and the Shadow Syndicate is beyond imagination.”
[Nope, that’s wrong.]
[Whenever Ji-han makes a decision, everything changes.]
[You should’ve seen him wreck Ego Clan while cleaning Ironheartㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Forget that—you should’ve seen him dribbling Da-ho and wiping out streamersㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“If you see their technology, then decisions, determination, courage… they’ll all be like eggs against a rock.”
[He’s underestimating Ji-han way too much]
[Why are we getting angry right now?]
[Don’t you dare look down on Ji-han, old man!]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ But wait, judging by the mood, isn’t this…?]
[Yeah, I think I get itㅋㅋㅋ It’s a power-up event]
“Elder, then what should I do?”
“You must gain strength. And I… I can give you that strength.”
With those words, he pointed to a drawer.
“There should be a chipset there, and that chipset…”
Ji-han walked over.
Sure enough, there was a chipset.
And the moment he picked it up—
[Hidden Quest: Creator’s Legacy]
[Danger Level: ★★★★★]
[Details: This chipset seems to be a recipe for ‘something grand and extraordinary.’ If only there were a trustworthy craftsman to handle it…]
“With this, even the Upper Sector’s reinforced suits will crumple like paper. The problem is—whether there’s a craftsman who can handle it.”
Ji-han grinned as he picked it up.
“Of course there is. The guy who made this fishbowl head of mine, back in my hometown.”
The greatest craftsman he knew.
Old man Deok-bae of the Lower Sectors.
It was time to go find him.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ omg he’s actually going to the Lower Sectors?]
[But how tho? The Shadow Syndicate must be crawling everywhere now.]
[And all those streamers must be pissed after the Da-ho Roadrunner show.]
[ㅋㅋㅋ who cares if they’re mad, they can’t log in for half a day anywayㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Everyone who flocked to Sector 6 was greedy in the first place]
Bzzzt, bzzzzzt.
“Ah, those Shadow Syndicate bastards are jamming the signal. My voice… will soon be cut off…”
Bzzzzt.
“I wish you fortune in battle.”
Click.
With those last words, Baek Bong-su’s hologram disappeared.
[So that means the Syndicate’s already moving?]
[This is bad;; what do we do?]
[Just take the safest, most careful route back ㅇㅇ]
[Anyone know the reverse route down to the Lower Sectors?]
[If he leaves now, Syndicate dudes will be everywhere]
[Go scout with another streamer’s broadcastㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“Nah, no need. I think I know the way.”
Ji-han smirked.
[You know the way?]
[Where? How are you even getting down?]
[What about that wall separating you from Da-ho? How are you climbing that?]
Countless doubts poured into the chat.
If his hunch was right—what he’d felt since first seeing this structure—
“It’s right here. See? Right here.”
He pointed at the clocktower.
[????]
[Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[That thing was connected to Ironheart, wasn’t it?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ holy crap, so he’s riding the pipe down into Ironheart?]
[That’s insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Undetected, fast, and safe—solid planㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Alright, let’s do it!]
[But how do we even get down? Is there a door?]
“Well, that’s what we’ll have to find out now.”
Without a shred of hesitation, Ji-han began searching the area thoroughly.
He soon discovered a passage leading into the power core.
But its form was sinister—like an endless abyss.
[Careful with mana poisoning, he’s been in here too long already]
[So Ji-han’s skin is gonna turn blue like those kids earlier?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ what are you even saying!]
[Whatever—he should just dive in]
“Alright then, let’s go. Let’s head back to my hometown, everyone.”
And without hesitation, Ji-han leapt.
Whoosh!
Screeeeech!
The sound of air being torn apart.
And the stomach-dropping thrill of freefall.
[Uaaaaagh!?]
[Holy shit! What is this!?]
[Ji-han, for god’s sake, spare us!]
[Think about your viewers, please!]
He grinned at the flood of panicked chat.
And simply enjoyed the freefall—his second experience of it, not his first.
Screeeech—!
He plummeted through an endless vertical shaft.
Ji-han’s body was instantly engulfed in breakneck speed.
Viewers’ screams filled the chat, but he felt nothing but exhilaration.
[Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Lol, his fishbowl head is more useful than we thought]
In the pitch blackness—
his helmet’s glowing dome was the only light source.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ good thing he has that “fishbowl head!”]
[See? Who said it was a waste of his handsome face?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ This isn’t a waste—it’s creative economy at workㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
That light revealed it all.
A massive central conduit surrounded by countless pipelines, tangled like tree roots.
This was the great artery that pumped Ironheart’s energy throughout the district—like a jungle.
[So this is the inside of the power core!]
[Holy crap… the scale…]
[But if he crashes into one of those pipes, he’s just dead, right?]
[Wait—something’s coming!]
Screeeech!
Something shot up from below.
Drones—eyes glowing red.
[But he has the ID card—shouldn’t that be a free pass?]
[They look… off, don’t they?]
[Is this combat?]
[They’re not slowing down—maybe they can’t read the ID?]
[Or… they’ve been hacked?]
[Yeah, hacked for sure. The Syndicate did it.]
“Intruder detected. Executing elimination protocol.”
[Another fight?]
[Good—I like fights.]
[Yeah, me tooㅇㅇ]
Fwsssh!
The drones opened fire.
But Ji-han grabbed a pipe and surfed along it at high speed, cool and unfazed.
He shifted his weight like a surfer, letting bullets miss and spark harmlessly off the metal.
[What the hell! Is he Tarzan!?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Tarzan omgㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Grandpa’s too hyped lol]
[Forget the cart, it’s pipe-surfing time!]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ this is badass nglㅋㅋㅋ]
Whoosh!
Not just pipe surfing—he leapt, grabbed a drone, twisted its head, and used its bullets to skewer the others.
And of course, he didn’t forget to finish off the one he rode—
Crack!
Stabbing it through with Rhianna’s dagger, tearing it apart before sliding onto another pipe.
[More incoming!]
[This batch feels different though?]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ wtf the power core turned into a dungeonㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
That’s exactly what it was.
A dungeon—
a speedrun dungeon.
Whoosh!
Something surged up.
[Ugh!?]
[Is that sludge again?]
[Looks like the sludge golems from Ironheart!]
[And there’s that many of them!?]
Ssshhhhh!
At the end of his current pipe—
sludge golems were waiting.
[Then where is this?]
[Halfway point maybe?]
[Not like the purification plant tho]
[Of course not! They’re climbing the pipes!]
[Ji-han, what do we do!?]
The sludge abominations were disgusting, evoking pure revulsion.
But Ji-han, as always—
“Well, I’ve killed one before, right?”
[That was only with the valve gimmick! Here there’s no valve!!]
“But we’ve got something else.”
Ssshhhhh!
He ducked low, boosted his speed, then—
Whoosh!
He kicked off, sparks flying from his boots.
Fwoooosh!
Flames spread across the sludge monsters instantly.
But if this power core was damaged, the entire Mid-Sector would stop functioning.
Crack!
Ji-han stabbed one in the chest and dragged it down toward the ground.
Sizzleee!
[Careful Ji-han! Your hands!]
[Even if it’s a game, you’ll still feel pain;;]
[It’ll sting like crazy after…]
But everyone knew—Ji-han valued NPCs’ safety above his own body.
His viewers knew it well.
Which is why they couldn’t help but worry.
[Why go this far tho?]
[Yeah;; couldn’t he just blow them up and move on?]
Newcomers couldn’t understand.
[Hey newbies, watch carefully.]
[Look at what Ji-han’s done until now. He’s carried every dirty job since the Lower Sectors.]
[Right?]
[And because of that, he fixed Ironheart, became a hero, and even made it to the clocktower.]
[That’s true, yeah.]
The veteran viewers defended him—
and persuaded the new ones.
After all, converting nomads from mega-servers into loyal fans always meant growth.
[Remember Zombress? Rhythm Potent? Gangho Sword Chronicles? In every one, he treated NPCs like real people.]
[And that’s why we like him.]
[So if you’re annoyed or uncomfortableㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Just sit up straight, grab some soda, and enjoyㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Crack!
Another sludge golem smashed into the ground, bursting into flaming chunks.
[See? Ji-han always delivers.]
[That’s what catharsis feels like!]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ His physical skills are insane though]
[And with that humanity too…]
[Yeah, I see it now. Okay, let’s watch.]
[He’s off the pipes now…]
Splat splat splat—
Sludge golems began falling from above.
[Now it’s Ji-han’s stage.]
[A proper fight, in open ground. He’ll show us.]
“Haha, like you said. Yes.”
I’ll show you properly.
And with those words—
Whoosh!
Ji-han’s dagger shot forward.
