Life Mission

Editor: Hungry Panda

Jigneon flicks his finger.

A hologram appears in the air, showing a mission area.

Boom boom boom!

Thousands of Lifers are engaged in a vicious melee against mutants.

Cha Jun Sung saw this and remembered fighting in the ocean. The battles are the same, the only difference being land and sea.

“What mark is that?”

A familiar guild mark. It is on the tip of his tongue, but he cannot recall it. He said that it would be Bloody Kingdom, but that isn’t the mark of Bloody Kingdom.

“It’s a level A mission.”

“Huh?”

Was Bloody Kingdom big enough to go into level A? Something that even the World Federation has been putting off? Are they pushing through with volume?

It’s level 8 if it’s a level A.

The World Federation could technically go into a level A. If all of the Rankers go up against level 8s, they would be able to complete the mission at the cost of great damage. They haven’t attempted it yet because they want to complete it without making sacrifices.

“That’s the Lifer Borteth chose. He gave him benefits under the table.”

Boom!

A giant explosion occurs far from the Lifer and mutant battlefield. It is like the power of a missile falling.

Boom boom boom boom!

Even after the giant explosion faded, there were continuous explosions. The point of view changes.

A Lifer is fighting against a large mutant.

“Scorpion? Ugh! I think I can remember what that is! What was that called?”

“Rogue Scorpion Monarch.”

“Oh right!”

A giant scorpion with an equal mix of black and white, brings down four pairs of pincers and three poisoned tails in order to crush the enemy.

Black fog floats near the scorpion in a 30 to 40 meter radius. It is an extremely poisonous fog that burns skin just from contact.

Level 8 Rogue Scorpion Monarch.

He is sure that it is the mutant that Poison King succeeded against in a one-person raid in order to enter the disaster ranking. Cha Jun Sung watches the Lifer fighting against the Rogue Scorpion Monarch. He will know who it is right away if he is a Ranker. Rankers have unique combat styles. It isn’t because they are strong, but because they have individuality.

“Tyrant!”

“Ha ha ha ha! Die!”

A hologram comes up in response to a harsh voice coming out of the battlesuit. It seems this is how the Lifer is being watched.

Tyrant is a terrorist.

He battles using bombs like Nuclear, who he is affiliated with. That is why the guild mark had been so familiar.

He is part of Bloody Kingdom, but he also runs a guild called Rage. This means he doesn’t have to go around with the guild members of Bloody Kingdom.

Zing!

A bomb in Tyrant’s hand becomes red. A red membrane was covering the bomb. A haze flickers around his hand.

“Red light bomb.”

9 combination battlesuit red light bomb. It isn’t a bomb that is sold in the store.

It is handmade by buying the materials. It is Tyrant’s unique skill to coagulate his own energy into a special bomb. It is similar yet distinct from similar terrorist Nuclear’s energy explosion with a pure energy ball.

It is a skill that can be used if it is combined with a level B battlesuit.

It isn’t fascinating, but its power bothers Cha Jun Sung.

The red light bomb left Tyrant’s hand and every time it exploded, the Rogue Scorpion Monarch’s fog trembles.

It is one against one.

To be able to battle one-on-one against a level 8.

“Did he reach completion?”

“Tyrant is on the exact path that you are on.”

Jigneon said it in a roundabout way, but Cha Jun Sung understood him.

There is one way of reaching completion without going through advancement. If Borteth had given Tyrant the choice of following him for benefits.

“... Did he give Tyrant an opening card? Why to someone like him?”

Nod.

“Because there’s no better tool. Think about it. He’ll be easy to control because he’s greedy and selfish. More so than Blood King or Dark Side.”

He agrees with what Jigneon is saying.

It isn’t that Tyrant isn’t smart. He’s the type who is willing to give mutual help if he can get what he wants.

When limited to the two-dimensional world of Life Mission, which isn’t touched by modern earth’s power, then he is someone who can do whatever it takes.

“It’s strange. Forget the card. How did he do his body modifications? What about the side effects? It isn’t something that can be done easily.”

Did he withstand the side effects?

Even the World Federation Rankers had been stuck at stages 7 and 8 before he helped them. It is normal to hesitate more when it comes to stages 9 and 10.

“We created Life Mission. The items and body modifications – all of it. The supervisors know how to weaken the side effects that come with body modifications. There is a different way for each person. Borteth used that on Tyrant. That’s how that guy got through stage 10. The only difference between you and him is the 1 combination battlesuit.”

Jigneon didn’t mention Cha Jun Sung’s mutation.

He is only comparing them as humans, with what can be seen to the naked eye.

“I told you before, didn’t I? You’re my challenger. I can’t leave them to be so reckless. This experiment needs to flow naturally. The only subjects are Lifers and mutants. Anything beyond is unnecessary.”

Cha Jun Sung could get a glimpse of Jigneon’s personality. He is an old-fashioned type who is stubborn and places a lot of importance in principle.

Those who aren’t would see this is as frustrating, but he doesn’t seem to be a bad person.

‘Though I can’t tell what you’re really like.’

He didn’t show it on the outside.

Rather than respond to Jigneon, Cha Jun Sung watched Tyrant fight against the Rogue Scorpion Monarch.

He is strong. He has found his strength from the virtual version.

From the way he is switching items, it seems he scraped together everything he needed with his ample points as a foundation.

If he fights as Jigneon’s pawn, he can win.

He can win narrowly. The difference in Ranker strength is like a sheet of paper.

Even with 10 combinations, it is difficult to take on two Rankers at the same time.

It is a win if if is one-on-one, but a loss if it is two-on-one.

If fighting strength has to be calculated, Cha Jun Sung is 1.5 and 1 is a Ranker. That difference becomes distinguished amongst Rankers, but this is the average.

“You said that I’m a pawn. Why do I need to fight with Tyrant?”

They were enemies in the virtual version, but they have not come across each other in the reality version. There’s no need to bring up old feelings for no reason.

“Are you confident you can be free from Borteth? We may not like what he’s doing, but he’s a supervisor. Level S Lifer? That’s nothing compared to a supervisor.”

For the conversation to go like this, something has gone seriously wrong.

“So your point is that you’ll watch my back from Borteth.”

“I can’t give you the benefits that Borteth gave to Tyrant. That goes against the purpose of Life Mission. However, I can protect you from Borteth. That doesn’t go against the rules.”

‘A threat...”

Honestly, Cha Jun Sung is suspicious as to whether he really will be threatened and if what Jigneon is saying is the truth. He doesn’t want to become a pawn.

But it also doesn’t seem right to ignore all of this.

He might go completely berserk if there is another incidence like Heavy Gravity.

‘Let’s say I accept. How do we kill Tyrant? If he has the same tendencies he did in the virtual version, he’ll always have a string of subordinates with him.’

The World Federation will accept if he asks them for help. The two powers are enemies. There are a lot of people who have an axe to grind against Bloody Kingdom.

But it isn’t something he can bring up to them easily.

It’s related to survival. He doesn’t want to bring Park Jin Hyuk’s group into it either. He completely took them off the list.

Should he just hit and retreat by himself?

This is the most comfortable method, but he wants to take care of the situation without revealing his identity. He is desperate for a sparking idea.

“Are you considering what will happen when you accept or reject in your mind?”

“Well...”

He didn’t deny it.

As important as this is, he needs to be that much more cautious.