Chapter 9 – T-Bastard

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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[Player ‘Dopamine Addict’ enters the public chat room.]

[Player ‘T-Bastard’ enters the public chat room.]

‘The one who opened the system… is T-Bastard?’

Although I had impersonated T-Bastard, in truth, I didn’t know him all that well.

From the time I uploaded my first guide to the time I uploaded my last guide, I had only exchanged formal questions and answers with him.

Even so, the reason I thought of T-Bastard first when deceiving CornerHoney was because he only posted questions, so I figured nobody would know his personality.

Since T-Bastard had read all my guides, it wasn’t surprising that he opened the system next after me.

Taejeongtaesebeyonce said T-Bastard would have dropped into the ‘Knife’ zone.

If it was true that he dropped into the Knife zone.

And if he had opened the system by acquiring a meteorite item.

It meant that T-Bastard was currently doing the zone resident massacre clear.

The meteorite item of the Knife zone was a dagger made of meteorite, which was an absolutely necessary item for the zone resident massacre clear.

Because it was a weapon capable of one-shot, one-kill even with the body of a ten-year-old child.

‘No, but if he acquired it only now, does it mean he survived in the Knife zone for two days on his own strength?’

Although I had uploaded the guide, even I hadn’t succeeded in the Knife clear in one go.

I barely succeeded in the clear after getting killed by the psychopaths of that zone multiple times.

It wasn’t a zone where one could hold out for two days in the body of a ten-year-old child without weapons…

The first to send a chat was T-Bastard.

[T-Bastard: Dopamine Addict?]

Ah.

It must be impossible to hide one’s identity within the chat system.

And if T-Bastard had opened the system, he would be able to use Character Inspection, so the moment he looked at me, he would recognize me as Dopamine Addict.

‘How do I send a reply to this?’

Since opening or closing the system was also done by thought, could sending messages also be done by thought?

As if that thought was not wrong, when I thought in my mind the words I wanted to send, the text appeared on the system by itself.

[Dopamine Addict: Yes.]

After I clumsily sent the message, a reply immediately returned from T-Bastard.

[T-Bastard: I see. So you were possessed too, as expected.]

[T-Bastard: Dopamine Addict…]

I was about to ask T-Bastard if he was currently doing the resident massacre clear, or if he had acquired the meteorite item.

But T-Bastard’s message struck down on the chat window.

[T-Bastard: I will kill you.]

Huh.

[Dopamine Addict: Huh.]

[T-Bastard: I will survive here,]

[T-Bastard: and the moment I go outside the zone,]

[T-Bastard: I will come to kill you.]

[T-Bastard: Wait for me.]

“…”

As expected, he resented me.

This guy… has he rolled in the dirt quite a bit in the Knife zone in just two days since being possessed?

Although it was a bit unfair to resent me when I wasn’t the one who possessed him.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand his feelings.

The Knife zone residents were homicidal maniacs.

They enjoyed wandering in groups and killing things weaker than themselves.

So T-Bastard must have faced death threats as soon as he got possessed, and was likely sending this chat while hiding somewhere even now.

Which meant he wouldn’t be in his right mind.

It was impressive that he survived in a body without any perks and opened the system.

That meant T-Bastard was also an outstanding player.

And it also meant he was a person I needed.

Because he was someone who would survive the Knife zone and bring another meteorite item to me.

For now, I tried to soothe him.

[Dopamine Addict: First of all, I’m not the one who possessed you.]

[Dopamine Addict: I was possessed just the same.]

[Dopamine Addict: We are in the same boat.]

[Dopamine Addict: You are doing the resident massacre clear right now, right?]

[Dopamine Addict: If there is anything I can do to help, I will help.]

[Dopamine Addict: I want to go help you in person, but as you know, we can only go outside the zone once the Second Apocalypse comes.]

[Dopamine Addict: Ask me if you have any questions.]

“…”

However, even after a long time had passed, no reply came from T-Bastard.

Was he ignoring me on purpose?

Or did he fall asleep?

[Dopamine Addict: Hey, you asleep?]

[Dopamine Addict: Aren’t you curious why only you and I could open the system?]

[Dopamine Addict: I asked if you aren’t curious.]

[Dopamine Addict: Hey.]

[Dopamine Addict: Hey.]

[Dopamine Addict: Hey.]

[Dopamine Addict: Hey, are you dead?]

Even when I tried low-quality provocations, T-Bastard did not budge.

“Hmm…”

It would be problematic if I couldn’t communicate with the only guy who opened the system besides me.

It seemed he would only react if I released a useful piece of information to him.

[Dopamine Addict: Just to let you know one thing.]

[Dopamine Addict: As you probably already know, you don’t feel hunger, right?]

[Dopamine Addict: Players don’t need to eat.]

[Dopamine Addict: Instead, you can heal wounds by consuming food.]

Only then did a reply return from T-Bastard.

[T-Bastard: That is good information.]

This bastard was watching all the messages I sent while pretending to sleep.

[T-Bastard: The possibility of surviving will increase.]

[T-Bastard: For me.]

[Dopamine Addict: Finally you feel like talking—]

[T-Bastard: If I survive,]

[T-Bastard: I will come to kill you.]

[T-Bastard: I will definitely kill you.]

[Dopamine Addict: …]

‘Does everything end with killing?’

As it seemed T-Bastard was not in a normal mental state to converse right now.

Although he was a guy who declared he would kill me, considering his situation, I only felt pity for him.

Since he chose the resident massacre clear, all that remained for him was a bloodbath.

He probably couldn’t endure it unless he had at least the goal of surviving to kill me.

Nothing can be helped…

[Dopamine Addict: I am in the Cola zone.]

[Dopamine Addict: Make sure to survive and come kill me.]

I waited for T-Bastard’s reply for a while after sending that message, but as if he had gone offline again, no reply returned, and.

I fell fast asleep.

* * *

The next day, I had to open my eyes early in the morning.

‘So sleepy…’

I was sleepy, but as expected, I didn’t feel hunger.

If I had a body that didn’t need to eat but still struggled to wake up in the morning, did I still have a body that needed sleep?

By what principle was this body created?

Anyway, the reason I had to wake up from early morning was none other than the commander’s adjutant, Major General Meursault Pendleton.

Tipped off by the commander that he had found the child, he came at the crack of dawn to see me.

I washed, changed clothes, and headed to the backyard of the commander’s residence with the help of the servants.

There was the commander’s shooting range in the backyard of the commander’s residence, and Major General Meursault called me there.

I might think who dares call me out when I’m the commander’s son, but Meursault was the closest aide who had assisted Commander Hayden for the past ten years.

Meaning that for now, Meursault’s position was greater than mine, the son.

It wouldn’t do any good if the commander heard that I ignored Meursault’s call by relying on my status.

Heading toward the shooting range, I saw the back of Meursault, who had his gray hair neatly tied.

“Hello.”

As I greeted first, Meursault turned around.

He looked down at me intently for a moment, then spat in a stiff voice.

“I also met the one claiming to be His Excellency’s son here yesterday.”

Ah, so he had come to meet SafetyZone8 yesterday morning too.

“Yet to meet the one claiming to be His Excellency’s son once again this morning is truly baffling.”

“…”

‘Look at this guy?’

Not a shred of goodwill was felt in Meursault’s attitude.

Since even the commander believed me, I didn’t think he was doing this because he couldn’t trust me…

‘Is he trying to assert authority?’

Well, it was natural to keep a check on a suddenly rolled-in son who appeared before the lord he served.

But still, to a ten-year-old child?

Although I was checked by the adjutant and the commander’s wife in the game as well, experiencing it in reality wasn’t a very pleasant picture. I stared at Meursault for a moment, then looked around.

Meursault also didn’t seem to want our conversation to leak outside, as only he and I were in the shooting range.

‘Fortunate.’

Whatever I say, there’s no way it will reach the commander’s ears.

I looked up crookedly at Meursault.

“So. What do you want me to do about it?”

“…!”

Meursault’s expression crumbled slightly.

“What did you just say?”

“I asked what you want me to do about the fact that you are baffled, mister.”

Not expecting this kind of reaction from me, Meursault looked extremely flustered and displeased as he pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed his forehead.

“You are quite different from what I heard from His Excellency. His Excellency said he was worried that the young master seemed too soft-hearted.”

Instead of replying to Meursault’s words, I stood crookedly with a face that said ‘is that all you have to say after calling me out early in the morning.’

Yes, with my weight shifted onto one leg, which military superiors hated the most.

Meursault stared at me with a face lost for words.

He must have heard from the commander that I was a ten-year-old kid whose head was naive, who wanted to offer meals to kids of similar age.

So he probably thought I would fear him if he acted even slightly overbearing.

Above all, the reason this guy wasn’t friendly to me was…

“No matter how much of a biological child of His Excellency you are, you had better behave with manners. His Excellency’s official wife is Daphne, after all. You are nothing but a bastard child.”

‘Just like the game.’

The reason this guy was trying to break my spirit was because I was a bastard child.

While not raising issues about me being a bastard child in front of the commander, he internally refused to acknowledge me as the official successor and dreamed of a rebellion.

In fact, in the original bastard child strategy, one had to curry favor with him to a reasonable degree.

Because only then would one not be suspected when poisoning him later.

For the same reason, I maintained a good relationship with the commander’s wife.

Although one couldn’t avoid suspicion if poisoning occurred twice at the commander’s residence, killing just one of them first would make my position irretrievably large.

But I did not intend to do that this time.

In this worldview where highly educated NPCs were rare, Meursault and the commander’s wife were both my precious human resources.

Although Meursault Pendleton looked very strict, fortunately, the method to handle him was very easy.

Because he had a fatal weakness, so to speak.

There was an absolute clearing method.

A simple person whom one didn’t even need to treat with manners, just having to empathize with a single thought.

To Meursault who was looking at me like a bug, I smiled and replied.

“But you have been waiting for such a bastard child, haven’t you, mister?”

“Me?”

“I also heard about you from His Excellency.”

It wasn’t that I heard it, but saw it while playing the game.

When I said I heard about him from the commander, Meursault began to panic greatly.

There was a reason this guy was shaken like this.

In fact, this guy Meursault Pendleton was responsible for a rather high-stimulation episode in this game.

Because he…

“Meursault. Do you still plan to marry Daphne Goodman?”

I spat it out casually as if it were nothing.

To the disloyal one who loved Daphne Goodman, his superior’s wife.