These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me-Chapter 169

“…!”

The bullet I fired was aimed right at Max Bryan’s head. But something deflected it so fast I couldn’t even see it, and it was blocked by a sword. I widened my eyes, staring at the person who had stepped in front of Max Bryan.

“Baek Si-hoo…!”

“…”

He wasn’t someone I expected to see. Didn’t Max Bryan come alone? Baek Si-hoo looked just the same as when I last saw him.

His pale, almost ghostly face gave off a cold, chilling vibe, and his jet-black eyes locked on me. Meeting his icy gaze, I felt a sharp sting in my neck—the spot where he had bitten me.

Get a grip, Han Yi-jin. I need to stay focused right now.

I glared at Baek Si-hoo and reloaded my gun.

Click!

Baek Si-hoo’s eyes stayed fixed on me before he finally spoke.

“Kang Yoo-hyun will be here soon. We should back off for now.”

“…!”

He wasn’t talking to me. Baek Si-hoo didn’t even turn his head as he addressed Max Bryan.

So Baek Si-hoo had been holding off Kang Yoo-hyun all this time? What a scary bastard.

No matter how bad their matchup was, an S-rank holding off an SS-rank—that was insane.

As expected, Baek Si-hoo was an extremely dangerous villain.

I swallowed hard and kept my eyes on him. At that moment, the dark sky suddenly began to brighten. The change was abrupt.

[The core of system channel AA-123 has been destroyed.]

[The player who destroyed the core of system channel AA-123 will be rewarded.]

[The connection to system channel AA-123 will be terminated shortly.]

“…!”

Kang Yoo-hyun destroyed the core. The pop-up dungeon vanished, and the surroundings returned to normal. As his pair, I could sense Kang Yoo-hyun drawing closer.

“Then, see you next time.”

“Max Bryan…!”

I snapped back to my senses and fired, but Baek Si-hoo blocked every bullet. Moments later, both of them were gone from sight.

“Damn it!”

I should’ve finished Max Bryan off right here and made sure he could never go after Yong-sik again. As I stood with my gun in hand, biting my lip, Kang Yoo-hyun walked up to me.

“Han Yi-jin!”

Kang Yoo-hyun scanned the area with a serious look on his face. He seemed stunned to find all the hunters, except me, lying on the ground. He quickly turned to me and asked,

“You okay?”

“…Yeah, I’m fine.”

I replied slowly, catching my breath. The nullification skill had drained me, and I’d only managed to endure thanks to my high mental strength stat. As the tension eased, my legs wobbled.

“Han Yi-jin!”

“Ugh…”

My legs gave out, and I fell into Kang Yoo-hyun’s arms as my vision blurred.

“Han Yi-jin, wake up!”

“Ugh…”

Kang Yoo-hyun’s voice sounded distant as I lost consciousness.

“…I.”

“Ugh…”

“…I said!”

Someone shouted right by my ear. I frowned and slowly opened my eyes.

“Hey, Park Ho-su!”

“…!”

I looked up in surprise. A man I’d never seen before was staring down at me with a displeased expression. Or wait… did I recognize him? Blinking slowly, I hesitated, then the name that suddenly came to mind escaped my lips.

“…Jin Myung-seop?”

“What, you bastard?”

Jin Myung-seop frowned in annoyance and crossed his arms. He glared at me and clicked his tongue.

“How much did you drink to still be out cold, huh?”

“What?”

Alcohol? He thinks I’ve been drinking? But I’ve never touched alcohol in Han Yi-jin’s body.

As I thought this, an “Ah” escaped me as I parted my lips in realization.

What was I even thinking… Han Yi-jin?

“Ugh, this small room reeks. Move aside so I can let some air in.”

“Uhh… okay…”

Jin Myung-seop’s scolding made me move slowly. Annoyed, he opened the curtains across from the bed and opened the window a bit.

I got off the bed and noticed a phone lying on the floor. It was an outdated model, long past its prime. I picked it up and turned on the screen.

Just before turning it off, the display showed what I had been looking for: an app with a blue background where I could read novels of all genres. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

『The Only SS-Rank Returnee in the World.』

"…"

It was the popular web novel I’d been reading lately. I must have been reading it until I fell asleep drunk, and I even dreamed that I had possessed Han Yi-jin.

“What, you were reading that even after drinking so much? Seriously.”

Jin Myung-seop glanced over my shoulder at my phone screen and clicked his tongue. I felt a little unfair. After all, the one who had recommended this novel was none other than my so-called friend right in front of me, Jin Myung-seop. He had kept persuading me to read it when I wasn’t interested at first. And now he says that?

“Why, what?”

“Sigh, it’s nothing.”

The dream felt incredibly real, but I soon shook off the uneasy feeling. Now, it seemed I was truly back in reality.

My name is Park Ho-su. I’m a college student who started late. When I was a senior in high school, my family went bankrupt, and I couldn’t afford to go to college.

I spent five difficult years struggling to make a living, then joined the military and eventually cut ties with my family.

After my discharge, I worked to pay my tuition, and now I’m just starting college. Slowly, my memories began to return, and it seemed I had been dreaming very vividly.

“Hey, did you finish reading that novel?”

“Not yet, I’m about halfway through…”

I clearly remembered falling asleep after reaching the middle section of the novel. The screen I was looking at showed I had used about half of the access pass, and many chapters still remained unread below.

“You know what? The ending is seriously shocking.”

“Ah, don’t spoil it, you bastard.”

“Huhu.”

Jin Myung-seop chuckled in a way that annoyed me. That’s his problem. He kept pushing me to read because it was fun, but as soon as I got into it, he got eager to talk about the ending.

What a jerk. I shook my head and let out a sigh. If I want to avoid getting spoiled by him, I need to read faster…

“Hm?”

As I thought about it, something came to mind—the ending of this novel. Surprisingly, I already knew how it ended. I looked back at Jin Myung-seop and asked cautiously.

“…Does it end in an apocalypse?”

“Huh? What? How did you know?”

“…!”

“Don’t tell me you’ve already read to the end? That’s impressive.”

Wait—so it really ends like that? I haven’t even read that far, so how would I know?

When I stayed silent in confusion, Jin Myung-seop frowned and spoke in an irritated voice.

“Isn’t that just crazy? It was so popular, and yet it had an apocalypse ending. You read it after it was finished, but I was following it in real time. Seriously, it was like… wow, I never saw it coming.”

“So, you wanted me to be just as blown away by the ending as you were?”

“No, haha, that’s not it, sir.”

“Haa…”

I sighed, and Jin Myung-seop fidgeted, unsure what to do. It looked like I’d hit the mark. When I kept staring at him in silence, he suddenly shouted as if he were the one wronged.

“But it was still fun, don’t you think?”

“Well… yeah.”

It was definitely fun. The author was skilled at writing. If it hadn’t been for that damn apocalypse ending, it would’ve been even better. Then I wouldn’t have had to go through all that trouble…

Wait, what am I even thinking? I’m Park Ho-su, damn it.

Inwardly, I scolded myself like someone with split personalities. Jin Myung-seop, oblivious to my thoughts, kept chattering beside me.

“Hey, you know what? After ending it like that, the author says they’re going to write a side story.”

“What? A side story?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that nuts? How are they even planning to fix things? Still, I’ll read it.”

“…”

Jin Myung-seop spoke shamelessly, basically admitting he was a sucker for the story. I stayed silent for a moment, then looked at him and asked.

“When’s the side story coming out?”

“Not sure. I don’t really know about that. Why?”

“No reason…”

A side story, huh. I hadn’t seen that coming. I fell silent, lost in thought.

If the author really wrote it, what kind of effect would it have on the world I’d transmigrated into…? No, why am I thinking like this again? It was just a dream, nothing more—just some ridiculous dream I had.

Once again, I found myself slipping into my usual habit of overanalyzing and inwardly scolded myself. That was when Jin Myung-seop fixed his gaze on me and said—

“But before worrying about what’s in the side story, shouldn’t you focus on staying alive first?”

“…What?”

“Am I wrong, Han Yi-jin?”

“…!”

Jin Myung-seop’s face contorted. Everything in sight warped and shook like a broken TV screen. Feeling dizzy, I closed my eyes and heard someone calling my name in my ear.

“Open your eyes, Han Yi-jin!”

“Gasp…!”

I blinked, closing my eyes for a moment before opening them again. My body was drenched in sweat, and I grimaced from the discomfort as someone grabbed my shoulder and shouted.

"Han Yi-jin! Are you awake?"

"Kang… Yoo-hyun?"

"Haa…"

Kang Yoo-hyun let out a deep sigh, still watching me with a frown. Flustered by his intense gaze, I stammered a question.

“Uh… what is…?”

“You were rambling so much nonsense, I thought something was wrong.”

“Nonsense…?”

Only then did I remember the dream I’d just had.