Chapter 89….
“Sir! Then take this!”
The kid who had been fed by Lee Ji-han took something out of his arms and handed it over.
It was a thin card — an ID card that looked almost like a citizenship card.
[??? That’s oddly different?]
[Right, the design.]
[That’s not the kid’s face, is it?]
[Probably grandma or grandpa, yeah]
[So is it something from before Pungsulli? This?]
[No lol look, it’s Upper District citizenship]
[??? Whoa, amazing; why does the kid have that?]
“What’s this?”
“My grandma and grandpa said it’s something you use when you go into the clocktower to fix the heartbeat. You need this so it’s safe.”
Trust filled the kid’s eyes. He believed this wasn’t someone who came to ruin their lives. The kid believed that, and Lee Ji-han carefully took it so as not to break that trust.
“Thanks. And thanks for worrying about me, too.”
[LOL wow, with this he could probably get into the Upper District?]
[So this is how the story unfolds]
[Did the Pungsulli staff plan this?]
[Building a huge server and bringing in Punk Loader’s lore too, it seems?]
[Wow;;; this is deep.]
[Tastes like an old soup lol familiar but comforting]
[Nice, now that he has the item, let’s go, Ji-han.]
Lee Ji-han put the ID card into his pocket and walked slowly.
Thud, thud, thud.
He headed toward the deepest part of this communal area. With every step the ticking became louder and clearer.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Tick-tock, tick-tock!
Thud, thud, thud.
Every time he stepped, the blue patterns on the floor and walls lit up. They guided the way. And at the end of that path—
[Wow…]
[Insane… is that… the clocktower?]
[The dungeon scale is just… wow…]
[How was that built? Is it some ancient civilization?]
There stood a gigantic tower — a massive tower tangled with pipes, gears, and neon.
[Is this Pungsulli’s power source?]
[Looks connected to the Steel Heart too from how it stretches out]
[Feels like it isn’t just starting here, like it’s connected to the Lower and Middle Districts]
[Like an elevator?]
[OK I get it (actually I don’t)]
[lol, you kinda get the vibe, right?]
“This is something I’ve never seen in my life.”
Lee Ji-han’s genuine awe. The viewers in the chat spammed “k” like it was cute.
[We’ve never seen it either lol]
[This is awesome lol]
[You can see that bridge. You could probably ride it over]
[But don’t you think there’s something over there?]
WEE-oo! WEE-oo! WEE-oo!
A siren blared all of a sudden.
“Intruder detected…”
“One who would defile our heart.”
“Eliminate, eliminate.”
From the bridge entrance, things began to surge forward at high speed. Things coming across the bridge. They were—
[Whoa;;; what, robots?]
[Isn’t that a golem?]
[lol whether it’s golems or robots, one thing’s for sure]
[They look so cool; seriously, what is this lol]
[Is it turning into mecha?]
They were golems. Antique but stylishly designed golems. They began sprinting threateningly.
[So what now, fight them?]
[Why fight lol]
But neither the viewers nor Lee Ji-han panicked. The reason was simple.
[Why fight? He’s got a free-pass card lol]
[Ah, the ID card! lol awesome]
[But what if it doesn’t recognize it?]
[Then you fight, what else lol]
“Eliminate! Eliminate! Eliminate!”
Thump thump thump thump!
The golems moved even faster. But he remained calm, took out the ID card from his pocket, and held it up — like a referee showing a red card, or a cop showing his badge.
Screeeeek!
The biggest change happened to the lead golem. It came to a sudden stop, then powered down the red light in its eye and started scanning the ID card.
[What will happen? Huh?]
[Fight?]
[Fighting wouldn’t be bad, but aren’t you tired from tussling with the big tiger?]
[If you can get it free, you might as well free-ride it]
[lol should we call that free-ride?]
[Is that really free-riding? lol]
The viewers watched the screen leisurely.
“ID scan in progress.”
Lee Ji-han tensed himself for whatever might come. But—
“Confirmation complete. Direct descendant of the ‘Creator.’ Set access level to S.”
[????]
[Creator?]
[Whoa, that’s bigger than imagined?]
After that mechanical voice, the golems bowed politely. Lee Ji-han was a little startled but then slowly stepped forward.
[Whoa, they all move aside?]
[Amazing lol]
[Treated like a king lol]
[King, lol, that’s an understatement. They say he’s a direct descendant of whoever made this clocktower]
[So they have Upper District citizenship, but were exiled and live here?]
[Aww; so sad;;;]
[Probably politically entangled with megacorps. Upper District is corporate city, after all?]
[They exiled the one who made the power source? Smells fishy]
The chat buzzed, but Lee Ji-han didn’t hesitate or get shaken. Once inside, all truths would be revealed anyway.
“Creator, huh.”
He repeated that strange title to himself as he entered. At the entrance to the clocktower he held up the ID card.
Beep!
A transit-card sound rang out, and:
Rrrrrr-rattle!
The door slowly opened. He looked inside and, without a hint of hesitation, walked in.
It was literally a power conduit, and at the same time—
[Wow;;;]
[That’s got presence; seriously]
[What is this lol wow;;;]
[How should I describe it? An archive? A library?]
It was a sort of library. Numerous screens intertwined like video art installations, filling the tower.
A truly powerful energy source. Every time those things pulsed, Lee Ji-han’s skin tingled.
[The atmosphere really changes;]
[I thought it was a dungeon, but maybe it isn’t.]
[Or maybe there’s a trigger that forms dungeons separately.]
The treasure they were after might end up being anticlimactic. But no one there said that. This grand, magnificent sight alone felt like a treasure.
“Guys, this is really cool.”
At the front was Lee Ji-han. His face gleamed like a boy’s on camera. And HAN’s flame on the screen flared into all kinds of colors.
[lol Ji-han’s excited]
[Ah lol so cute lol]
[Are you amazed too? I’m amazed]
[Pretty awesome lol]
[But isn’t that dangerous?]
One viewer cautiously typed. Lee Ji-han, looking slowly around, soon found what that viewer was referring to. The power sources were spitting bluish flames and arcs of electricity.
[If that explodes it’s game over]
[Should we do repairs?]
[Is there a repair perk?]
[lol hey, who is this? The hero of the Lower District isn’t he lol]
[Right, even before clearing Steel Heart he was a Lower District hero.]
[Watch the influxes: this Ji-han hasn’t put any combat perks on.]
Proving the chat’s admiration, he began to walk slowly and inspect the shorted spots.
[Really no combat perks?]
[So how does he move like that?]
[Just basic physical ability lol]
[So what perks does he have?]
[Roleplay charm skill, drinking skill? And repair and crafting?]
[lol what’s drinking skill?]
[Passive that makes you not get drunk, lol]
[To pick up girls?]
[Right, his starting concept was a playboy lol]
[But why isn’t he picking up girls!]
[Can he even drink with that fishbowl head? lol]
[Honestly, watching this is more fun than him picking up girls lol]
Separate from the noisy chat, Lee Ji-han examined them seriously. He pulled out tape and wrapped the shorted bits with electrical tape, constantly tightening screws as he began to repair the power source.
Squeak, squeak, squeak.
The flickering blue flames calmed. The arcs of electricity faded. The interior that had been glowing deep blue was now bathed in a brighter blue.
[Oh, ooooh]
[Amazing lol he really fixed it?]
[Always tightening pipes, that Lower District guy lol]
[If he couldn’t fix that, that’d be weird lol]
Zzzzt, crackle!
[Hey? What’s that back there?]
[Is a hologram turning on?]
[lol wow, the screens lit up when he fixed it?]
[Amazing lol]
[Who is that? A sister?]
[Sister my foot lol look closely, it’s an old man lol]
[If the hair were long he’d be a sister to them]
Zzzzt, weeeeee!
“Can you hear me, one who has entered here?”
As the hologram of an old man fully formed, his voice echoed grandly throughout the clocktower.
“You have stabilized my heart. I feel no need to be on guard. Direct descendant of the Creator, that card should prove it.”
He spoke calmly and slowly stepped closer to Lee Ji-han. Lee Ji-han looked at the hologram with curiosity.
“I am the manager of this place, Baek Bong-su.”
[lolololol]
[That name lol]
[Ah, Pungsulli-style name lol this is wild]
[Not a Punk Loader event, but a Pungsulli event? They set a storyline for streamers to compete, it seems lol, but it’s fun for us.]
“What is your name?”
“HAN.”
“HAN, that’s a not-bad ring to it.”
[lol what does “not-bad ring” mean]
[What if Ji-han’s ID was something like ‘StarbucksStrawThief’!]
[‘StarbucksStrawThief,’ that’s a not-bad ring to it.]
[lol focus! It’s a game!]
“Anyway, then.”
He waved, gathering the holograms together.
“The truth of this world. Why my descendants had to hide underground. And why they guarded this place even as they fell into arcane addiction.”
He spoke calmly and showed the video.
“I, the recorder, showed these memories to Barco as well. I shall show them to you.”
The trailer that played—
[Whoa, that looks like the outfit Dae-ho was wearing earlier?]
[Wasn’t it Shadow Trading Co., or something?]
[Yeah, they were in Kaiser Kim’s stream too, told him to block the Lower District’s heart]
[So they’re in the Upper District then?]
[Seems not affiliated with a megacorp?]
A black shadow — their story.
They used to move between the untainted Lower, Middle, and Upper Districts. One by one, as they carried out their operations, the world shifted into the Pungsulli everyone knew.
Contamination — insidious contamination. The CCTV-like footage had no sound, so details were unclear, but one thing was certain.
“Those bastards are the problem. So we just beat those bastards, right?”
After watching all the footage, Lee Ji-han made a very simple and clear decision.
