I Became a Monster in a T*ash Game

A handful of kindness and a bundle of malice
The hand he opened and closed was covered in scars and calluses. And not just his hands. Roll up his sleeves and you’d find marks here and there from a life of hard work.
The healthy, vibrant young engineer had vanished forever on that day. Even his passion had been crushed against the wall of reality until it flickered out.
“You’ve managed to stay alive somehow”
“Yeah. I thought it was all over too”
Apparently Boss Gil himself felt that Goryeo City’s response had been lenient. Though he’d lost his social standing, his fortune, even his health, at least he was alive.
He eked out the rest of his days in the slums with a job that kept him from starving. His ability brought in money, but it was Central that’d left him enough breathing room to do so.
“So what happened to your research…”
“There’s no environment for it. Try buying a few extra parts and they’ll swarm you with surveillance”
Boss Gil muttered as he lit another cigarette. His chest rose with each drag, until the ember hissed away.
Chain smoking, I heard he’d cut back a lot given his condition. Professor Jeong would probably faint if he saw this.
“Anyway, we sifted through every bit of the Solar City researchers’ records”
“And?”
“That’s where we found traces of Seopung. Looks like he’d been funding their work”
The moment Gil heard that, his face froze. He went silent for a long moment, smoke curling from his lips.
A sharp light flickered in his eyes, as if he’d realized something at once. And then it was gone.
“If he betrayed us at the end, wouldn’t he have lost interest in Return’s goals? Why show up in the research now…”
“Muhae”
“Yes”
“There’s something you’d want to hear. Some of it’s hard to share, and the rest I can’t say”
He blew out a long, uncertain sigh—or maybe he was just finishing his cigarette. He closed his eyes as if bracing himself.
Like someone ready to stop him by the collar. He always hesitated like this before dredging up the past.
“You’re perceptive. You’ll understand better if I don’t spell it out”
His words hung there, and Gil fell silent again. As Muhae watched him, a soft voice drifted in from the side.
“People can share a [N O V E L I G H T] goal even if their beliefs don’t align”
Joo-o held up his emptied cup with a faint smile. Gil nodded toward him with a complex look.
Even without help, Muhae could now roughly piece together what had happened. He frowned at the remains of his untouched health juice.
“Looks like he didn’t like the direction things were heading”
“Looking back, it wasn’t just Seopung. Again, he was exceptional at managing people. But that’s just my view”

Gil pulled the cigarette stub from his mouth and rubbed his forehead several times. Then he abruptly stood up and turned away.
“Don’t go spreading what I just said. Especially not to Professor Jeong”
His tone had been stronger than a passing remark. Even though it wasn’t directed at him, Joo-o answered crisply, “Got it”
“If the next thing you spill is about my smoking, then you’ve gotta tell me”
“Damn. Did he tell you to?”
“It’s been years. When you’re weak and sickly, he says to contact him for odd jobs”
At Joo-o’s half-joke, Gil’s hand froze in his pocket. He grumbled and gathered various tools, proving he really did have work piled up. In the hush of the guest room, Muhae rose with Joo-o in tow.
“By the way. About the Solar City research records. I’ll need some help with those too”
“You said you wouldn’t understand even if I explained?”
“So I’ll hand over the documents in full. When you have time, I’d appreciate a look at any of those weird formulas”
“Then I’ll be off. Take care”
Faced with this absurd pair, Gil’s frown nearly deepened but then relaxed as he spotted a box of pies on the table.
When I first heard he liked those, I thought it was just Joo-o’s ploy after the meat sandwiches. Now it seems to be genuine. Feeling justified in his reckless spending, Muhae strode out of the electronics shop.
Even though this area was a hot spot for drunks, the metal shutters they’d pulled down were covered in more obscene graffiti.
It was only two days before Boss Gil called again. He’d seemed busy, yet he’d somehow already pored over the research files and phoned in a hurry.
—Hey, you just dumped everything as soon as you saw the numbers, didn’t you
“Interpreting those strange words is already overwhelming. What did you find?”
—On the sixth Untitled file, there’s a scan of handwriting. Not formulas but something like a contact number
When Muhae rushed to open it, he saw a mixed string of numbers and slashes like a code. He brushed Joo-o off his lap with a tap.
“Thanks. I’ll look into it”
—And did you tell Professor Jeong I gave you juice
“No. I stopped by to say hello, but he seemed busy, so I left for Jaegang District”
—Then how did I know to be scolded
“The reduced amount must’ve looked odd”
Joo-o had downed a whole mug, and Gil wouldn’t have poured the untouched juice back into the bottle. It did look disgusting, so Muhae was glad he’d ignored it.
After hanging up, Muhae stared at the mysterious number for a long time. Gil had called it a contact, but he’d never seen a number formatted with so many slashes.
‘Then…’
He input the scrawled digits into the network address panel. A white window blinked open on the wall display.
Muhae watched the spinning loading icon, pushing away the ever-climbing Joo-o on his lap.
“Stop climbing”
“But I have to sit here to hug Muhae”
“Who said you could hug me anytime you want”
Only then did Joo-o slump to the floor beside him, pouting. Even though there were chairs and couches free in this underground space, he insisted on sitting next to Muhae.
Just as Muhae was about to scold him, lines of text appeared in the white window.
Connection timed out
The briefly flickering blue background showed something had tried to load and failed.
“Nothing working?”
This was the kind of site Goryeo City blocked—sites not approved by the city. Likely only accessible via satellite. Not just here, but most cities preemptively censor such connections.
“We’ll need special equipment”
From meeting various people while working on Return’s affairs, Muhae had realized that Central’s banned list didn’t really apply to every citizen. Theories on Blue Energy, for instance, were commonplace among elite researchers.
The site probably existed; it was just unreachable via the standard network. Muhae didn’t have the money, status, or expertise recognized by Goryeo City—but he did have one backer he could count on.
He checked his familiar Link-Watch contacts.
‘How long has it been since I last called’
It’d been some time since he passed on Olga’s information, so a message from Cloud was due. Though Cloud’s identity remained veiled, she was the sort to even tweak the city’s lights. If anyone could solve this connection, it would be her.
He could always claim the address came from Return’s records. Cloud had been one of Return’s participants too, but after hearing about Seopung, Muhae now felt he couldn’t trust everyone.
It was ironic that Cloud had given a similar warning. He sent her a message for the first time in ages.
[19:20]
Her reply came surprisingly fast, and by that evening they’d arranged a call.
—Long time no see
Joo-o waved cheerily as they heard Cloud’s mechanical voice. When Muhae didn’t move toward the sofa, Joo-o fetched another chair and beamed in satisfaction.
“I’m reaching out for a favor. This time it’s not information but permissions or devices I need”
—Tell me what you’ve got so far
“Is there a way to access those blocked sites in Goryeo City?”
Hmm. Cloud sounded intrigued. After a moment she switched topics.
—I ran into Kang
“You already know”
—He was out of the competition long ago and left Goryeo City. But he seems settled in Seogyeong City, so he’s not incompetent
Her offhand assessment continued, but it wasn’t what she’d really meant to bring up.
It was both a heads-up and a warning that Muhae’s actions were on her radar. It felt unsettling, but in Cloud’s way, it was kindness.
—Anyway, good move reaching out. I can handle this. And I might have something lined up—might assign you to it
True to form, Cloud’s help came with a catch. Muhae wondered what job she’d give him as she thought over the equipment checks he’d done days before.
—I didn’t expect much after years as a mercenary… but you’ve got a knack for this. So I need you on the Company side this time
An unexpected directive.
“Wow”
At Muhae’s exclamation, Joo-o formed a circle with his hands like glasses and looked thrilled.