Chapter 32 – The Second Imposter

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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[T-Bastard: Dopamine Addict, is that really not you?]

[T-Bastard: To call it an impersonation, he knew all the contents of the 1:1 conversation we shared.]

[T-Bastard: Since we were already friends, I thought he was you and even had a conversation with him.]

[T-Bastard: What is your true identity?]

‘T-Bastard is already mutual friends with another Dopamine Addict……?’

I cautiously sent a chat to T-Bastard.

[Dopamine Addict: Isn’t it because you’re an idiot who accepted two friend requests at once?]

[T-Bastard: If we ever get out of here, I’ll kill you.]

This guy was indeed fun to tease.

[Dopamine Addict: Just kidding. There’s no way you could know the 1:1 chat contents just by accepting a friend request.]

Out of the chats T-Bastard sent, this was the part that bothered me the most.

How did that guy know the chat contents T-Bastard and I had shared privately?

Had they hacked the system or something?

Could it be that T-Bastard simply made a slip of the tongue?

[T-Bastard: I’m saying this because I think you’ll treat me like an idiot again, but I only gave short answers.]

[Dopamine Addict: Who said anything?]

[T-Bastard: But, is that guy really not you?]

[Dopamine Addict: Of course not.]

[T-Bastard: Then who is it?]

[Dopamine Addict: How should I know?]

I was even more curious.

Just which bastard was impersonating me now.

Why on earth they were impersonating me.

‘It’s not like my image is that great either.’

What on earth could one possibly gain from impersonating me?

[Dopamine Addict: You said you talked to him.]

[Dopamine Addict: Was there nothing strange?]

[T-Bastard: You’re always strange, so I didn’t feel anything different.]

[Dopamine Addict: ^^;]

Compared to me, a good-natured player, T-Bastard, who threatened to come kill me with every word, was surely a much stranger fellow.

[T-Bastard: There is one thing that is certain.]

[Dopamine Addict: What is it?]

[T-Bastard: That guy is in the Unicorn Zone.]

‘So it is indeed the Unicorn Zone player.’

I had already anticipated that they would be a player from the Unicorn Zone.

Of course, I only had a hunch, but since T-Bastard said it was “certain,” he must have received concrete evidence.

[Dopamine Addict: The proof?]

[T-Bastard: Because I received tangerines through item trading.]

[Dopamine Addict: You received… tangerines?]

‘Are they really a Unicorn Zone player……?’

As mentioned before, the Unicorn Zone was a region of mad scientists who floated the entire zone into the air just to survive on their own.

Their level of science overwhelmed the other eight zones, and a self-sufficiency system was already established within it.

To the extent of producing luxurious food like tangerines.

Since the entire world was covered in snow, it became hard to find plants or animals that grew in warm climates, but Earth’s ecosystem would still be preserved in the Unicorn Zone.

Therefore, the fact that they gave ‘tangerines’ was clear evidence.

Evidence that the guy was in the Unicorn Zone.

[Dopamine Addict: I told you I was in the Cola Zone, but you just ate the tangerines that bastard gave you without any suspicion?]

[T-Bastard: That Dopamine Addict was kinder than you.]

[Dopamine Addict: You should have found it suspicious from that point on.]

[T-Bastard: …When I received and checked the tangerines, they were undoubtedly real.]

[T-Bastard: So I thought you had already cleared all the way to the Unicorn Zone, but I guess not.]

Anyway, if they gave tangerines, it seemed certain that they were a Unicorn guy.

If so…….

[T-Bastard: Are you going to check?]

[Dopamine Addict: No?]

[T-Bastard: Then?]

[Dopamine Addict: I will just leave them be.]

[T-Bastard: You’ll just… leave them be?]

Believing T-Bastard didn’t understand my intention, I sent an additional explanation.

[Dopamine Addict: I will let him clear the zones while pretending to be me. It’s like leaving it in his hands until I go to take over the Unicorn Zone later.]

[T-Bastard: …Where is this confidence coming from? The fact that he is impersonating you means he also knows your strategy.]

[T-Bastard: Even if the name Dopamine Addict is an impersonation, if he acts according to your strategy, he is no different from a second Dopamine Addict. Besides, wasn’t Unicorn originally your main base? Can you defeat that?]

What? It was funny hearing this guy speak like this.

[Dopamine Addict: Weren’t you originally a player who counter-strategized after seeing my guides? Why are you speaking as if there is no way to win?]

[T-Bastard: Do you… know my play style?]

[Dopamine Addict: Of course I do. You show up most frequently in my AI. You target-play me.]

[T-Bastard: I show up frequently. I see haha]

…What was wrong with him?

I thought I had provided some mental care in my own way, but he still seemed to be out of his mind.

‘But seeing this, I think I understand the reason for impersonating me a little.’

Safety8 was like that, and so was the Unicorn Zone player.

It was a kind of ‘bluff.’

Just as Safety8 tried to use my name to make naive players like Taejeong their subordinates.

They probably thought that no player would want to make ‘Dopamine Addict,’ who started in the main base of the Unicorn Zone, their enemy.

At the same time, it was also a provocation directed at me, the real Dopamine Addict.

‘If I fight the Unicorn Zone player now… is my chance of winning around sixty percent?’

Since I had the privilege of clearing all zones, there was no way I would lose, but.

A gap in technology that I could not overcome through my individual ability existed between the Unicorn Zone and the Cola Zone.

To bridge that gap, the Second Apocalypse had to occur so that flying monsters would pour out.

[Dopamine Addict: Anyway, send a chat if anything happens.]

[T-Bastard: Yeah.]

[Dopamine Addict: Let me know too if you get another message from that guy.]

[T-Bastard: Will do.]

…He seemed strangely obedient, but it must be my imagination.

After closing the chat with T-Bastard, I opened the chat window of HomeProtector, who was still sending messages even now.

[Dopamine Addict: Stop sending them.]

[HomeProtector: You could just check them quickly;]

[HomeProtector: Is that really not you?]

[Dopamine Addict: Yeah, it’s not me. Just leave it alone.]

[HomeProtector: Just leave it alone?]

[HomeProtector: Why are you so easygoing? That guy is no different from a second Dopamine Addict who started in your main base!]

HomeProtector was saying the exact same thing as T-Bastard.

[HomeProtector: You said you would take me to Unicorn later?]

Although he was the one unilaterally asking to be taken there, and I had never said I would.

[Dopamine Addict: I’ll win anyway.]

[HomeProtector: What is up with this confidence, seriously…….]

[Dopamine Addict: Never mind that, you should check if there really is no barrier to other zones.]

[HomeProtector: To see if what that guy said is true?]

[Dopamine Addict: No.]

[Dopamine Addict: Because if there really is no barrier, the lower difficulty zones will be raided by the higher-level zones first.]

[HomeProtector: Ah…….]

[Dopamine Addict: Wasn’t the closest one to the Cigarette Zone the Love Zone? That player named God gave off a bad vibe.]

[HomeProtector: Ah… I was a bit uncomfortable with him too.]

[HomeProtector: Fuck, we’re screwed…….]

With that chat as the last, HomeProtector disappeared.

He probably hurried to check if there really was no barrier.

‘I should finish preparing for the subjugation battle as well.’

While subjugating monsters, I could check the presence of the barrier as well.

And if there really was no barrier…….

‘Is the closest one from here the Candy Zone?’

It wouldn’t be bad to go take a look at the newbie’s face.

* * *

Returning to the operations room, I sat Meursault down and spoke of my plan.

“The core of this operation is high efficiency. A strategy to minimize combat time and reduce the loss of edible parts by targeting only the gems with a minimum number of personnel.”

“Is that possible?”

When I explained the method of discerning the location of the monsters’ gems, Meursault wore a half-believing, half-doubting expression.

“I’ve never heard of there being a pattern to the location of the gems. Did you find this out during your days in the slums as well?”

Since the days in the slums seemed to be overused by now, should I change my repertoire?

“No, my mother told me this.”

“Ah, Lady Lunamoon……. Since she was a hero of the subjugation battles, it is plausible that she had her own know-how.”

Well, since Lunamoon was also a player, it wasn’t a wrong statement either.

Even though the game she played was a dating sim.

‘…It bothers me that she active as a hero of the subjugation battles despite being a dating sim player.’

The title ‘Hero of the Subjugation Battle’ was a title name from the Safe Zone.

It was not a title that should be attached to a dating sim player.

Of course, since subjugation battles were held every year, it wouldn’t be strange for at least one soldier with the title of Subjugation Battle Hero to appear.

But it was bothersome that the title happened to be attached to Lunamoon, who was a player.

Did Lunamoon indeed have something else more to her?

“Even if it was taught by Lady Lunamoon, we must go through a verification process at least once. Since we cannot put the soldiers in danger without even verifying it……”

“You’re right. I was planning to go out on a hunt once before the subjugation battle anyway.”

Although the commander had denied my request to hunt last time, now that he had heard my fake regressor declaration and verified my skills, he would probably gladly let me go out.

“Come to think of it, how is the development of combat rations going?”

The development of easy-to-carry combat rations entrusted to the director of the Zone Security Research Institute.

I knew that Meursault, who became an obedient NPC after my meeting with Daphne, had been communicating with the director ever since.

“I was actually about to tell you.”

“Was there some progress?”

“Yes. They said they focused on food that even young soldiers could carry. It’s not the finished product, but I happen to have a prototype, so I will show you.”

Saying so, Meursault pulled out and showed the prototype.

“…Star Candy?”

Sitting cutely on Meursault’s palm was something shaped like star candy.

It was larger than the star candy I knew, and it did not look like sugar was the main ingredient at first glance.

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“The name of this combat ration is ‘Star Candy’.”

“It’s not real candy, is it?”

“They say the main ingredient is protein, and nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and so on are evenly compressed. However, due to the nature of high-temperature dried food, it is inevitably hard, so they chose this shape so that it would break easily when bitten with teeth.”

“Hmm. Have you tried it?”

“At least it didn’t taste like combat boots.”

At least it didn’t taste like combat boots?

It must still taste bad even if it got a little better.

‘But it’s better than I expected?’

When players bring food to their mouths, it turns into blue particles and is absorbed into the body.

However, what I learned through testing multiple times so far was that the food touching the lips had to be bite-sized.

For example, even if it was possible to heal our bodies by eating monster meat, it didn’t mean that putting our mouths to the monster itself would automatically turn it into particles and absorb it.

In that sense, this Star Candy was bite-sized, making it highly suitable for us players.

They seemed to have made it small because young soldiers would eat it, which was just right.

“It seems you like it.”

“Yeah. Can you get some more of this? Since I’m going to test the method of discerning gem locations, I think it would be good to test the performance of the Star Candy as well.”

“I will let the research director know.”

Meursault handles things so well that it makes my life really easy.

Combat rations have been asked of Meursault, and the commander will allow me to go out and hunt.

‘I should call that guy too.’

The player who seemed to argue that if there is a well-performing NPC, there must also be a poorly-performing player to keep the world in balance.

CornerHoney.