Episode 144
When Jaeheon Lee opened his eyes after death, that is, the time when he felt that he had opened his eyes.
“…Huh?”
It was none other than a dream.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Cursing came out spontaneously.
Lee Jae-heon was already struggling with the identity and source of this regression. At most, this is my second regression. Last time, I was awake in the other world, and now I’m in a dream again. Isn’t there a need for unity in everything for me to come to my senses?
Moreover, although I instinctively realized, ‘Oh, I’m in a dream,’ it is impossible to confirm what time zone I have returned to. Jaeheon Lee had this horrible dream every time he went to sleep…
“…So, did you start having lucid dreams after you regressed?”
Oh, I’m going crazy.
He mumbled at a thought that suddenly occurred to him and ran his hands through his hair. As it happened, the day I had my first lucid dream was the first day I slept since coming to the other side of the world, so I couldn’t tell whether the starting point of this lucid dream was the other side of the world or the first regression. It was a really fucking ambiguous phenomenon.
He came to his senses as quickly as possible and looked around.
‘The location is the base before entering the pavilion. As expected, there are no other people, animals, or monsters around… The tree is just as creepy.’
I immediately moved towards the green algae lake.
First of all, the main body that is dreaming is sleeping in the second base, so there is a high probability that it has not yet put its hand into the bonfire.
“We need to find the green algae monster.”
I planned to go out and search as soon as I confirmed that the transaction went well.
‘Even though the main character and I each died at different times, the time we returned to the regression point seemed roughly the same.’
I don’t know the exact time difference because we returned while separated in the last episode, but the time period when Lee Jae-heon took the rest of the group to look for firewood and the time period when the main character moved seemed to be roughly similar. This is the time it took to come to my senses, find the blood-tasting larvae, and lure the green algae monster.
Of course, it’s not clear that the main character’s regression trigger is ‘death’, but wouldn’t you be able to guess it when you see that his mentality was so broken in the first place? Although it is still just a hypothesis, Jaeheon Lee decided to think that the condition for regression can only be fulfilled if the main character dies.
And in that case, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Lee Jae-heon woke up faster than usual.
‘Because Jung In-ho would have done something while I was sleeping.’
Right now, Jaeheon Lee doesn’t know what time zone he is in. However, before putting his hand in the bonfire, he had slept for three days, so waking up faster than before could make the protagonist feel uncomfortable. If that happened, I didn’t know if it would be revealed that Lee Jae-heon could remember the time before his return.
However, if Jeong In-ho had suffered a regression due to death and was able to take some action, even if it meant waking up sooner, he would have mistakenly thought, ‘Ah, the situation has changed because I did something.’ Normally, half-smart people write novels without anyone knowing. A representative example is Dr. Ha Seong-yoon.
And if the deal went through properly, Lee Jae-heon could wake up from the dream as much as he wanted.
“….”
The flow of air passing over my skin, as if there was dusk, gives me goosebumps.
“…What is this dream really about?…”
“….”
“What the fuck?”
Before he knew it, a green lump was standing on its own two feet.
“Why do I have to have a dream like this and give myself a headache?”
There were already a lot of headaches in the other side of the world.
After all, the main character remembered the time before his regression like himself, and Ha Seong-yoon, who was a variable but thought to be helpful, was a variable beyond imagination, and it was also unclear why Song In-myeong, who was not so easygoing, had his identity discovered by someone who did not know who he was.
‘Even the trauma regarding CEO Yoon Garam needs to be decided on.’
He had a lot to do. Since I had changed the flow so far, I had to look around the park to see if there were any more people alive, and since I realized that I couldn’t keep my companions on guard, I had to change my strategy, and what on earth was going on with those pale eyes that caused Ha Seong-yoon to suddenly go crazy? How far did the protagonist’s mentality go? I also had to think about how to care for it.
Even though we had vague plans for all of this, that didn’t mean the work that needed to be done went away. In the meantime, Lee Jae-heon was tormented by lucid dreams out of nowhere, so there was no way he could feel comfortable.
“…And… why did I have to ask for your prey?”
The events that proceeded in an unorganized manner were simply horrific.
“You could have hunted as much as you wanted and you could have filled your stomach faster… Why did I have to offer you food?”
“….”
“…Anyway, is it true that our deal was successfully concluded?”
“….”
“
….”
The green algae monster slowly collapsed.
No, it wasn’t falling apart. The large, dull lump gradually took on a shape closer to a human being, and the green algae that had clung to it flowed down like mud. Lee Jae-heon blinked slowly at the mere change.
Soon, all the green algae that had clung to it fell down.
“…huh, that’s gross.”
Jaeheon Lee was given to me and he was able to see the murderer that the doctor had killed.
“What the fuck was this structure…?”
When he saw Song In-myeong’s face with a hole in his neck, he couldn’t help but laugh.
It wasn’t a system that made a lot of sense. In the first place, most monsters that exist in the other world have the power to move on their own, but isn’t green algae just a phenomenon that appears when floating algae proliferate in large quantities? I wondered why something that was not even a living thing had a shape similar to a human.
So, there was just a human inside it.
“It’s really hard to make a living….”
I’m not sure.
I’m still not sure, but Lee Jae-heon’s thought that he died after feeding a huge mess to the main character before his return did not go away. Even if he somehow survives, the protagonist may have been killed by the green algae monster.
‘If you’re replacing the framework inside in this way, wouldn’t the stronger and newer it be, the better the performance will be?’
Aside from his personality, Song In-myeong had excellent physical abilities. Not only was he able to run away, but he was also strong as he was able to cut through thick human bones and cut open wounds with a knife. If my guess is correct, Jaeheon Lee was essentially throwing that guy away as a new battery for the green algae monster.
He couldn’t shake the expectation that when he woke up from this dream, the protagonist’s mind would be in tatters beyond words. What did I do to the chicks who had just entered elementary school?
“…Do not laugh.”
“….”
“Don’t fucking laugh. “Because it’s so fucking disgusting.”
But whatever.
“So is the deal done?”
Anyway, I am now free from this damn dream.
‘It’s just a matter of taking care of the main character.’
In fact, it doesn’t seem like it will end with just this level of resolution, but Lee Jae-heon decided to be shameless. Anyway, if it weren’t for ‘Lee Jae-heon’, wouldn’t they have gone crazy right from the company? At least to this extent, the situation was much better than the original story.
After skillfully brainwashing and rationalizing himself, Lee Jae-heon looked up at the sky for a moment.
“….”
It is an extremely gloomy dream.
“…Wouldn’t it be nice if it was sunny even in a dream?”
He made eye contact with the green algae monster that had eaten Song In-myeong, who was still staring at him quietly.
“So that means there was another body in there before Song In-myeong.”
“….”
“I don’t know why I felt familiar there….”
Well, that’s it.
Lee Jae-heon once again had to wonder why his dreams and the reality in the other world were intertwined. In fact, this incident was like bringing something from the other side of the world into a dream. There were many times when things in his dreams became reality, but this situation was embarrassing even for him.
Lee Jae-heon lightly wiped the corners of his mouth and spoke again to the green algae monster.
“Is the deal done?”
“….”
“Then I’m free?”
“….”
“…So you.”
He continues talking like that.
“What can I do here?”
In response, the green algae monster silently began wrapping its newly acquired skeleton.
There was something physiological about it that drove people crazy. It was a truly inhumane and cruel form, as if something like clay, which should have no emotions or will, had become rational and preyed on healthy people, parasitizing a living being and leaving no trace of its original appearance.
In the end, when the 2m or 3m tall monster was completed, it pulled out all sorts of toothy vines from its torn mouth as if it was trying to answer.
“…Yeah, I see.”
“….”
“That’s not bad either.”
Lee Jae-heon was once again killed by the green algae monster.
Even if it’s in a dream.
* * *
“….”
It was when everyone else had fallen asleep that Lee Jae-heon woke up.
“…Ugh.”
He quietly got up from his seat due to a pounding feeling inside his throat.
The way he died this time was by having his throat ripped off by a green algae monster. Lee Jae-heon was able to wake up when the toothy vines surrounded his neck and gnawed at him, almost separating his head from his body. Still, I tried to stay as still as possible so as not to make a fuss, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
After looking around for a moment, he glanced at Jeong In-ho, who was lying curled up like a shrimp, and then took a step forward. It wasn’t as bad as when I was submerged in the lake, but the feeling of the liquid inside me wasn’t very good.
‘It’s even really blooming.’
Oh, I’m tired.
For a moment, Jaeheon Lee’s body creaked as he returned to his previous state of not being sick, but in order to proceed with the next story, Jaeheon Lee had to move his seat for a moment. The blood that was dripping from my throat kept reaching my nose, giving me an unpleasant feeling.
By the time we got far away from the burning bonfire.
“Boss.”
“….”
Lee Jae-heon turned around, covering his mouth, as a voice called out to him as if he had been waiting.
Jeong In-ho was looking at him with a smile.
“It is dangerous to move alone at night.”
“….”
“You look really familiar. He always disappeared like this, even when I was just sleeping. “You covered Dahoon Park’s mouth last time, but…”
And the neat smile twisted in an instant.
“why.”
It’s awkward to even call it anger.
“How are you going to die this time?”
“….”
“Do you always walk alone like this…?”
Lee Jae-heon consciously looked embarrassed.
Of course it wasn’t very long. For ‘Lee Jae-heon’, rather than showing an embarrassed expression openly, it would have been better for him not to be able to hide it and to show it for a moment and then manage his expression again.
That’s right. I don’t know exactly what time it is, but it must have been before the commotion. At that time, the main character was in a state of mental stability, so Jung In-ho, who did not manage his image so openly, would have been quite unfamiliar to the current ‘Lee Jae-heon’.
“….”
He looked at his eyes for a moment and pretended to be worried, then calmly spat out the bright red blood rising from his neck onto the floor. A much smaller amount of blood dripped down than before.
“Cough hu….”
“….”
“… Assistant Manager Jeong.”
What was ‘Lee Jae-heon’ like before the incident occurred?
“You must be very tired.”
That would have been very conservative and frustrating.
The current ‘Lee Jae-heon’ had not even had a conversation with Jung In-ho about what they thought of each other, and time was passing by as they built castles on the sand. This was also a situation where ‘Jaeheon Lee’, who realized that he was going crazy due to the green algae monster, openly distanced himself from the situation.
‘Seeing as there is no fish grilling rod, I think it was probably before the fish traps were taken out of the small lake…’
If it had been after the incident where the abandoned dog monster attacked, Jeong In-ho would have approached more without hesitation, but the fact that the current situation is not so good means that guy. You would have noticed too. The current ‘Lee Jae-heon’ was just acting defensively and did not approach openly and proactively like he did right before his regression.
But even if you knew that, there’s no way you would have the patience.
“…Yes, I’m tired. “Thanks to someone, I’m so tired I’m going crazy…!”
Lee Jae-heon was inwardly impressed by the face that managed to keep a smile even though his teeth were half-clenched, but he swallowed it down with difficulty because the other person seemed to be more mentally upset than expected.
“Well, where are you going to die this time? I guess I was hoping for too much. Is there anyone who actually goes out and searches just because they tell him to go out and search? yes? “Where is it?”
“….”
“Why are you really doing this to me? Why does it really have to be like this? What did I do so wrong, Manager? Why do I always have to fail like that, unable to even watch you die…! “Then why did I have to come back here?”
Lee Jae-heon’s expression became increasingly dull.
‘I think I’ve really had a mental breakdown.’
Although I don’t know for sure, the difficulty of the situation would have increased even more after his death. The green algae monster became stronger and faster, or Detective Hong Gyeong-jun’s control tower temperament was revealed. In any case, even Lee Jae-heon, who had fallen in love with her, literally went out and searched for her, so it may have affected her mental strength.
And he layered doubt and embarrassment on top of these embarrassing feelings. Doesn’t it seem like he really has no intention of managing his image and has no intention of hiding the fact that he has regressed? There had to be an appropriate response to that.
“…When did you say I died….”
“….”
The main character’s expression returned to its original state at the low cracked voice.
“Aha, that’s right.”
“….”
“I’m the only one who remembers again.”
A neat yet sincere smile. Such a disgusting face.
“….”
“….”
At that moment, Jaeheon Lee was able to decide what he had to do right away.
“…Okay, for now.”
“….”
“Can we… have a conversation?”
This guy had to fix his mentality first.
Even for future survival and escape from the underworld.
