novel
| ← Ch.069 | Ch.071 → |
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
Breathing nervously, Ho Sung stared intently at the laptop.
"Is that what I think it is?"
After looking around to make sure that he was safe, Ho Sung, scratching his chin, walked toward the laptop and opened it. At that point, a green background appeared, and a wave of undecipherable code and numbers filled the screen. Although startled initially, Ho Sung narrowed his eyes and looked closely at it. Soon, the code and numbers disappeared and were followed by a crackling screen and a video.
Although the video was too dark to make anything out of it, there was a noticeable but strange audio coming out of it. The sound resembled long, shallow breathing, and it was more than enough to make Ho Sung's hair stand on end.
"What the hell?!"
Still unable to make out what was on the screen, Ho Sung walked closer to the laptop. At that moment, the screen changed all of a sudden and showed a picture of a footprint, which seemed to be about four hundred millimeters long and didn't exactly look like it had been made by a human. After that, the screen changed once again and showed what appeared to be a cave within a dungeon. There were nail marks across the walls, along with what appeared to be hieroglyphs, which Ho Sung could only infer as being extraterrestrial.
Then, the screen changed yet again. That time, the screen showed an image of land. It was black, as if it had been scorched, and on it, was an enormous black tower of soaring height. With that, the screen crackled with static once again and went dark. At that moment, the sound of metal doors opening echoed throughout the factory.
Startled, Ho Sung turned toward it sharply. A man in a black robe was there, and his face was completely covered by the fabric. Seeing him, Ho Sung's heart started to thump.
"Who are you?" Ho Sung asked nervously, his eyes widened. After a brief silence, the man in the black robe replied in a low voice, "You'll learn more about demons and the Tower of Demons in the labyrinth."
Pointing toward the laptop, Ho Sung asked, "Are you telling me that what I saw in the laptop were traces left by demons?"
"That's right."
"What the hell are demons anyway? And the tower?"
"All I can tell you is that you'll find all the answers in the labyrinth, and soon, the Tower of Demons will open up, " the man in the robe said. With that, he turned around and left the factory. As the metal door closed and the factory fell silent, Ho Sung breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "Holy shit, that guy scared the crap outta me! What is this, a horror movie!? And why did he have to be so damn cryptic? Son of a bitch..."
Then, upon remembering something, he tilted his head. Ho Sung didn't recall seeing the man's name or level.
'Wait... Does that mean he's a miscellaneous type? No, that's not possible. The only miscellaneous type left in the country is Ji Yoo Kim from the Central Institute. Maybe he's just a civilian, and I'm getting scared for nothing. '
Shaking his thoughts away, Ho Sung walked closer to the laptop. No matter what he did, he simply couldn't get the laptop to function. Then, just as he was starting to think that it was out of battery, the laptop suddenly exploded.
"Agh!" Ho Sung let out, backing away and falling on his butt. Staring at the scorched remnants of the laptop, Ho Sung blinked rapidly.
"Son of a bitch! What the hell was that!?" Ho Sung let out, putting his hand on his chest while looking in the direction the man in the robe had gone.
—
"That's all you got?" Min Sung asked, and Ho Sung nodded affirmatively.
"Yes, sir. But it seemed like that man knew more than he let on, " Ho Sung said, looking as if thinking back to that moment. Giving him a look of disapproval, Min Sung asked, "And you just let him go?"
"... Uh... He was kinda creepy. The place gave me the heebie-jeebies too..." Ho Sung said, dropping his head in shame.
"All right, then. Go on, " the champion said, his eyes fixed on the TV while he waved Ho Sung away.
"Aren't you gonna eat dinner?" Ho Sung asked.
"Of course."
"Seems like you already know what you're having."
"That's right."
"Where are you going? I'll give you a ride."
"It's close by. I can go by myself."
"Of course! Well, enjoy the rest of your evening, sir, " Ho Sung replied, rushing out of the house before Min Sung changed his mind. After watching TV for a little while, Min Sung checked the time.
'Five till six. '
It was time for him to get ready to go out.
—
When Min Sung left the house, it was raining heavily outside.
'I didn't know it was going to rain today, ' Min Sung thought, caught off guard by it. Looking down at the raindrops falling on the ground, Min Sung picked up a large umbrella. Although having planned on a simple bibimbap dinner initially, Min Sung decided that was no longer a fitting choice for the weather.
'What else is there?' Min Sung thought, staring out into the rain. Taking his phone out, he called Ho Sung, who answered almost immediately.
"Yes, sir."
"It's raining."
"Sir?"
"I said it's raining."
"... Yes, I believe that's what I heard the first time."
"I'm getting something else. Something better suited for the weather, " Min Sung said.
"Hm... One moment." A few seconds later, Ho Sung said, "How does spicy seafood noodle soup sound?"
At Ho Sung's recommendation, a subtle smile appeared on the champion's face.
"Where?" Min Sung asked.
"Tell you what, I'll pick you up."
"No need. I wanna be alone tonight."
"Not a problem, sir. One moment, " Ho Sung said. After a brief pause, he added, "OK. I sent you the address to the restaurant. The place is pretty well known, so if you tell the cab driver that you wanna go to the Chinese restaurant next to the Sem Sem Building, they'll know what you're talking about. Otherwise, you can always give them the address."
—
Following Ho Sung's instruction, Min Sung described the location of the restaurant to the driver, who agreed with the champion's choice emphatically and said, "Ah, yes! Perfect weather for a bowl of spicy seafood noodle soup!"
Looking out the window at the rainy view of the city, Min Sung waited patiently for the cab to arrive at the destination. After about fifteen minutes later, the cab stopped at the restaurant. When the champion got out of the cab after paying the driver, the restaurant's sign came into view.
[Shin Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup]
Judging from the name, the restaurant didn't appear to be just an ordinary Chinese restaurant, but one that specialized in spicy seafood noodle soup. Not only did the frankness of the restaurant's name give the champion confidence, but it also gave the champion an idea of just how spicy its seafood noodle soup was going to be.
'Come to think of it, I haven't really had anything that spicy. '
Anticipating a fiery, spicy experience, Min Sung walked into the restaurant, which was already booming with customers. Thankfully, there was an empty seat available in the middle of the restaurant. Taking a seat, Min Sung rang the bell and placed an order, "One Shin spicy seafood noodle soup."
As soon as Min Sung finished placing an order, a wave of customers came flooding into the restaurant. Should he have arrived just a few minutes later, he would have had to wait in a seemingly endless line.
'Seems like I got here just in the nick of time. '
Fitting to its popularity, the restaurant was bustling with dinner customers waiting in line for their numbers to be called.
Then, two men who had been standing in front of the line walked toward Min Sung's table. Since there were no other seats available, Min Sung had no choice but to share the table with the strangers. Although it wasn't preferable to do so, the champion had to embrace the way the restaurant ran. Without looking in the two men's direction, Min Sung poured himself a cup of water and drank it as he waited for his food patiently. Soon, his bowl of noodle soup arrived at the table.
"Here you go, sir, " the server said, setting the bowl of spicy seafood noodle soup along with small bowls of pickled radish, fresh onion, and black soybean sauce in front of the champion.
Looking down at the fiery red soup topped with an assortment of fresh seafood and vegetables, including green onions and fresh chili, Min Sung smiled subtly, thinking, 'A bowl of spicy seafood noodle soup on a rainy day, ' and mixing the noodles with the steamy broth. Feeling the warm steam on his face, Min Sung picked up some noodles with his chopsticks and slurped away.
The thick yet tender noodles filled his mouth, and as soon as his teeth sank into them, an explosion of spicy flavors filled his mouth yet again. It felt as though the heat was spreading all the way up to the top of his head. On the other hand, the spiciness wasn't to the point of being painful or overbearing.
Though rather spicy, the heat was still quite enjoyable, warming up the champion's body. After chewing the noodles, Min Sung picked up the bowl and drank from it. Right off the bat, the rich seafood aroma wafted toward him from the broth.
With steam coming out of his mouth, Min Sung ate the small octopus in the broth, which had a satisfying chew to it. After that, while his mouth was still on fire, he moved on to the pieces of squid. Though similar to the octopus, the squid had a texture distinct from it.
While chewing the pieces of the squid, Min Sung's mouth sucked the noodles like a vacuum. The noodles seemed to have been made using less flour than most restaurants used, filling the champion's stomach with a comforting sensation. The saturated flavors of the broth absorbed by the noodles engrossed the champion, making him eat faster and faster.
The spiciness in the broth doubled when followed after the noodles. Then, taking the meat off of the mussels, which were still in their shells, Min Sung ate two pieces of them at a time. Unhindered, he moved on to even more noodles, and then on to the vegetables steeping in the spicy, seafood broth. A refreshing crunch filled his mouth, cutting through the grease and the spiciness.
Leaving only the broth, the champion looked down at the bowl of spicy seafood noodle soup.
"Whew!"
Downing the spicy broth felt like the perfect finale to the meal.
'Let's do this. '
Then, just as he was about to finish off the broth...
"What the!?"
"What's that!?"
"Ahhhh!"
... a commotion broke out in the restaurant.
| ← Ch. 069 | Ch. 071 → |