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chapter 16
“Identity?”
An irresistible piece of bait.
Hanbit moved his finger and tapped the title.
I’ve been watching Roper’s stream nonstop since yesterday, and I realized something.
It’s definitely one of the following.
1. RP developer (Team Zero)
Probably a former dev. The sheer amount of info and how he plays make it plausible.
2. Corporate player under a major conglomerate, ex–special forces
As you know, corporations barely release information. They’re probably raising the ultimate vanguard with all the data they’ve collected.
3. Original web novel author
This is the most likely. Black Dragon mentioned reading a web novel called Erfort on stream. The title and circumstances line up almost perfectly.
(Couldn’t find the author, though.)
-What a load of crap;
-If he were a former dev, ops would’ve banned him already, idiot.
-Ex–special forces my ass LOL
-He’s not special forces, he’s a contract killer.
└For real LOL
-Is that web novel even real? Isn’t it made up?
‘The effort is admirable, at least….’
As the person in question, Hanbit scratched his head.
Even if he suddenly said he’d experienced regressions, possession, and reincarnation,
they’d just call him insane.
In the end, letting them speculate freely was easier.
A web novel that didn’t exist in this world would never be found anyway.
Bzzz—
Just then, his phone vibrated.
It was a call from Yeonwoo.
(Hyung!)
His voice boomed the moment Hanbit accepted.
Pulling the phone slightly away, Hanbit lowered his voice.
“That hyung is dead.”
(Just get in the RPG community already! It’s all about you right now!)
Yeonwoo brushed off the familiar joke and sounded extremely excited.
“I already saw it. Think we’ll get even more viewers today?”
(Of course! Ten thousand is basically guaranteed!)
“My ears are going to fall off.”
Hanbit chuckled at his excitement.
Since the stream was growing, it made sense.
(Ah, hyung. Can you meet up for a bit after work? There’s something to talk about.)
“Talk about what?”
(I’ll explain in person. Want to grab dinner?)
The sudden suggestion was unexpected, but Yeonwoo wouldn’t bring it up without reason.
“Where should we meet?”
***
“Good morning.”
Arriving at the office, Hanbit greeted briefly and collapsed into his seat.
His mentor, Lee Minho, had left a company message saying he’d gone to R&D.
Meaning there was no one to talk to.
Rustle—
Hanbit secretly pulled out the materials Lee Minho had given him and began reading.
The content was difficult, but it was organized so thoroughly that it was understandable.
“Hey.”
A voice came from afar.
It was the team leader, brows deeply furrowed.
“Intern, you bastard. You gonna move your ass or what?”
He looked in a foul mood.
Standing up, Hanbit hid the documents and walked over.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“Why aren’t you moving faster? Is this company a school?”
“I’m sorry.”
There was no point expecting reason from someone just venting irritation.
After a brief wait, the team leader tossed him a card.
“Go downstairs and buy coffee.”
A reasonable errand.
Picking up the card, Hanbit met his eyes and asked,
“What kind of coffee should I get?”
“Everyone here drinks iced Americanos. Didn’t Lee Minho tell you?”
“…Sorry. I forgot. I’ll go right away.”
Sensing danger for his mentor, Hanbit quickly apologized and turned around.
“Tsk.”
The clicking of the team leader’s tongue and the burning gaze followed him.
Childish and blatant hostility was easier to deal with than subtle types.
Ding—
After buying coffee on the first floor, Hanbit returned via elevator.
But—
“For fuck’s sake, I told you to do it somehow, you bastard!”
For some reason, the team leader was shouting at Lee Minho.
“Team Leader, with my current workload, I really don’t have the time—”
“Back in my day, I worked several times harder. I barely slept an hour a week. Don’t blame workload—your grit is just lacking!”
“…….”
Faced with one-sided abuse, Lee Minho fell silent.
The team leader scoffed at him and threw a stack of documents onto the desk.
Using too much force, the papers scattered across the floor.
“Whatever. Organize it and submit the report by the day after tomorrow. Got it?”
“…Understood.”
Bowing his head, Lee Minho bent down to pick up the scattered documents.
Hanbit hurried over, set down the card and coffee, and helped.
“It’s okay. I’ll do it.”
“It’ll be faster if we do it together.”
Despite Lee Minho’s objection, Hanbit moved quickly.
Looking down at them, the team leader snorted.
“Birds of a feather, you idiots.”
Taking his coffee from the holder, he stood up and left the office.
The other employees, used to the scene, paid no attention.
“All done.”
“Thank you.”
After finishing, they returned to their seats.
“…….”
Seated beside him, Lee Minho stared blankly at his unlit monitor.
His face showed confusion.
Watching him, Hanbit glanced at the stack of documents.
‘I’m sure it said Record Project.’
The letters RP he’d seen repeatedly on the scattered pages.
From the fragments alone, it seemed the company was developing something related to the Record Project.
Tick—
Time passed in silence, soon reaching lunchtime.
Everyone but Hanbit and Lee Minho had already left.
Confirming they were alone, Hanbit spoke first.
“Senior, the task the team leader assigned—was it related to RP?”
“What? How did you know…?”
Lee Minho looked slightly startled.
“I’m sorry. When I helped pick up the papers earlier, I caught a glimpse. I thought this company wasn’t related to RP?”
“…Originally it wasn’t, but things changed. The decision came down to develop RP-related gear.”
“Gear?”
N-C Technology manufactured semiconductor components.
It wasn’t directly tied to games.
But with RP being such a massive cash cow, interest was inevitable.
If anything, they were late compared to other companies.
‘Clearing the game now would be too late.’
Owning RP through a clear was possible, but they were already two years behind.
In that case, investing in gear for the future might be the smarter choice.
“But isn’t it too early to push this onto the design team? R&D should finish first.”
“The instruction came down to all departments. We’re supposed to actually play RP and find technical improvements and solutions relevant to our fields.”
“…Find improvements?”
The absurdity stripped the situation of realism.
Modern science still couldn’t properly analyze RP gear’s principles.
Yet they were told to find improvements?
It was utterly unreasonable.
“I’m really busy these days… it’s going to be tough. I’m sorry, but it’ll be harder to look after you going forward.”
Lee Minho sighed deeply, clearly apologetic.
Watching his despair, a question arose in Hanbit’s mind.
‘Is there something in the gear too?’
RP’s secrets couldn’t be limited to one or two things.
If something hidden lay within the mysterious gear itself, wasn’t this the perfect chance?
Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to tamper with technical aspects anyway.
Having decided, Hanbit looked at his gloomy mentor and said,
“Should I help you with that?”
***
Leaving the company, Hanbit took the bus back to his neighborhood.
His destination was the tonkatsu restaurant near his house.
“Hyung!”
Yeonwoo was already seated in a private room.
Hanbit sat across from him and placed an order first.
“What, you didn’t sleep?”
“I slept four hours. More importantly, look at this.”
With a tired face, Yeonwoo placed his phone on the table.
The call log was filled with unfamiliar names.
“These are streamers and companies?”
“Yeah. Top individual players too. Anyway, I got an insane number of inquiries.”
Scrolling as he explained, Yeonwoo’s eyes sparkled.
Hanbit sipped water, looking away from the list.
“Is it really to that extent?”
“Of course. Anyone with a bit of insight is trying to buy low right now. You’re at your cheapest, hyung.”
“Cheap my ass.”
The phrasing was absurd, but he understood the meaning.
These contacts were different from community chatter.
They were people driven purely by profit.
“By the way, I even got a call from a major company scout.”
“A major company?”
The word made his eyes open wider.
Seeing this, Yeonwoo grinned and continued.
“It’s a company called Yeonhwa Gaming. They have two vanguard teams. Even as a rookie, the starting salary is probably around 100 million won.”
“…That’s a lot.”
A hundred million won a year.
A number with almost symbolic weight.
Paying that to a rookie went beyond ordinary conglomerates.
“They’re scouting just me? Or both of us?”
“Obviously just you. I’m not aiming for that. More importantly, let me tell you about the Yeonhwa Group. Yeonhwa Electronics is the most famous, but they’re also investing massively into RP—”
Hanbit watched Yeonwoo’s earnest explanation.
Something about his tone and atmosphere felt slightly off.
It was a sincere recommendation, but he was hiding something.
Scrape—
Hanbit stood up and moved toward Yeonwoo.
“Huh? Hyung, what are you doing? Wait.”
Sensing something strange, Yeonwoo backed away.
But he was grabbed first.
Clench—!
“Ugh!”
Hanbit wrapped both arms around his torso.
It looked like wrestling, but it was a technique learned from an otherworldly expert.
An extremely painful stretch, perhaps.
“Joo Yeonwoo.”
“Hyung! Talk while letting go!”
“I’ve known you for years. You’re not telling me something, are you?”
“Alright! I get it, just—!”
Clack—
At that moment, the door suddenly opened.
A server pushing a trolley froze at the sight.
“Uh… I’ll come back later.”
Slide—
The witness quietly closed the door.
“Wait!”
Hanbit released him and rushed after the server.
Only after clearing the misunderstanding and having the food set did the conversation resume.
“Enough buildup. Get to the point.”
