I Regressed but the World Didn’t Fall Apart

Chapter 22

Streaming of the Transcendent Hunter -22-

022.

The progress thereafter was swift.

“Huh? What’s this. This switch just sitting here is quite suspicious, isn’t it? Should I press it once?”

-Is this a family background of inability to act?

-Why the formal language?

Everyone had thoroughly studied the strategy of [It Kills Two] because of Ji-an.

They had also watched the strategy video from the previous broadcast, but that was just to grasp the rough flow.

This time, they had repeatedly watched Black Oak’s videos to fully understand the subsequent strategy.

-Fast progress gg

-Let’s see the boss fight quickly

-If two Murdurs come out, it’s gonna be a reggae concert

Viewers wanted the fast progress of [It Kills Two].

It was to satisfy such public sentiment.

And there were other reasons as well.

“···Uh, oppa, are you not bothered at all?”

“About what?”

“The smell. The smell here is too strong.”

The sewer was filled with a nauseating smell.

Jian wanted to escape this place as soon as possible.

No, even reproducing the smell of the sewer.

Why insert something like this unnecessarily into the game?

Of course, in “It Kills Two,” the smell implementation was a setting that gamers could toggle on and off themselves.

-You guys chose the reality mode, endure it.

-But she didn’t choose it lol

-Oh lol, blame it on oppa

-Info) She pressed it with the mindset of not knowing the difference between game mode and reality mode and thinking real is good.

From Noble mtl dot com

-You’re wrong lol Real is good, isn’t it?

If Ido-hyuk and Jian weren’t playing in reality mode.

In reality mode, true to its name, it’s impossible to toggle realistic settings like smell implementation on and off.

Even the blood and mucus of creatures were implemented, making it uncomfortably realistic.

Thud-

“I found it! Oppa, over here!”

Thus, after numerous efforts by Jian, they arrived at the secret passage they were seeking.

It was a passage that led out of the sewer.

Of course, on their way here, they had engaged in several small battles.

Zombies mutated by the virus, both animal-like and human-like, acidic monsters, and creatures including Neck Huggers.

Naturally, everyone was in awe before Ido-hyuk.

No, today might be described as a whirlwind.

Even as they pierced through the sewer, Ido-hyuk, wielding a pair of axes, entertained the viewers by unleashing whirlwind attacks.

-Kya

-Consistent with the Wheelbarrow concept

-Want to try Diablo? Saw you were spinning well with Wind Wheel earlier

-That’s a bit···

-Kick out the guy recommending Diablo; he’s a troublemaker;

Clang-

Emerging from the sewer, what they saw were iron bars filled with zombies.

And among them···

“···?”

An old man sitting in a wheelchair.

Ido-hyuk narrowed his eyes.

It was quite a peculiar sight.

Amidst dozens of terrifying zombies mutated into various grotesque forms due to the virus, an individual human sitting peacefully in their midst exuded an eerie vibe.

Moreover, unlike the other human-like creatures that had appeared so far, there were no swollen or peeled parts on the body, just an ordinary-looking person.

-???

-Oh s**t lol

-Why are you here?

-What is this? What is this?

But chaos erupted in the chat once again upon seeing that.

“Eek?!”

Not only the chat window, but also Jian, who had watched the strategy several times before the broadcast, let out a surprised sound beside him.

Thud-

Seeing that reaction, Idohyuk stopped the game for now.

It seemed like it wasn’t an ordinary situation, judging by the fact that even the hardcore players seemed surprised.

Before entering the boss battle, it seemed okay to familiarize oneself with relevant information.

“Who is this grandma they’re talking about? The boss monster?”

This question was more like a confirmation process.

Judging by the reactions in the chat window and from Jian, Idohyuk naturally realized that the seemingly ordinary old lady was most likely the boss monster.

Perhaps… the first infected with a variant virus or something like that.

So, he could control other zombies or something like that.

“Actually, there was a guy like that back in the day.”

After the outbreak, China was divided into six countries.

He was a guy who used to be a king in one of those countries.

In fact, it was hardly a country.

It was a place where, apart from himself, there were no living people.

He had awakened some kind of zombie-virus-like ability, which allowed him to control infected individuals to follow his orders.

Due to not being able to properly control his awakened ability, it would spread for several kilometers even if he just stayed still, inadvertently infecting all his relatives, and eventually everyone fled to escape him, leaving him alone in Suzhou.

He became a hikikomori out of pity, with only zombies he created around him as friends.

Moreover, since his surname was Tang, he even attracted all sorts of hate on the internet by claiming to be a descendant of the Tang Dynasty.

“I wonder what happened to him.”

From arguing with Chen Tao on a Chinese website while internet trolling alone, he remembered how the pot was eventually broken.

If we were to put it in a Korean context, it would be like challenging Chen Tao with, ‘Hey, Chen Tao, can you fight so well? Come to Suzhou’ and Chen Tao turning out to be the real deal.

At that time, the internet’s speculation that ‘Transcendental hunters are immune to poison and viruses’ was somewhat confirmed.

“Reminds me of the old days.”

In any case, Idohyuk made such a speculation based on past experiences.

However, a response came that slightly shattered Idohyuk’s expectations.

– The lady of the house

– hahahahaha

– It’s true that she’s a boss monster hahahaha

– Although she’s the lady of the house…

– The lady of the house? She’s a boss monster···

– hahahahaha

“????”

If she’s the lady of the house… in the game context, did Chloe bring the two of them here within a predetermined time?

Idohyuk looked at Jian with a bewildered expression, hoping for an explanation.

In response, Jian nodded slightly.

“Well… as far as I know, if we can’t find Chloe within a certain time, she ages like that. The mutation due to the virus causes premature aging.”

“Did our clear time slow down that much?”

“No, absolutely not. On the contrary, it’s very fast. How did you all end up like this?”

– We didn’t know?

– Is this for real?

– Isn’t this just an AI difficulty setting?

-??? : Ughh.. Spare me.. Stop uploading..

From the very beginning, it was a situation unlike the usual hidden routes in [It Kills Two], and even for the veterans of [It Kills Two], it was something entirely new.

But there’s a reason why they were veterans.

They were able to deduce the reason to some extent.

Ding-

[‘GongGamManBom’ has donated 1,000 won.]

– Isn’t this because we didn’t spray the serum?

– Ah

– That’s right, lol

– Normally, spraying the serum with a sprinkler slows down the infection progress, right?

– Oh? That makes sense

– Especially with this insane difficulty, time was already tight lol

– I’m an AI difficulty and that’s correct

– AI difficulty doesn’t use that tone…

A fairly plausible guess.

Typically, when entering a hidden route, the usual procedure involves spraying serum all over the infected areas.

However, Ido Hyuk and Jee An, without following such steps, simply cranked up the game difficulty.

As a result, despite swiftly moving on to the next stage, this situation unfolded before them.

In other words, if it weren’t for Ido Hyuk, Chloe would have been delayed by the properly sprayed serum, acquired the vaccine later, and eventually healed from the virus.

But due to Ido Hyuk’s insane increase in difficulty, the mutation had already ended prematurely.

Ding-

[‘MaekBanSeokSamgyeopsal’ has donated 1,000 won.]

– So, did you create this?

“Well.. that might not be entirely wrong?”

– You’re dead!!

– You’re a complete murderer, wow

– lolololol

“Anyway.. so that’s a former human who aged due to virus mutation? And now we have to catch that? What kind of story is this?”

According to the setup, they came here with the current humans to rescue the former humans.

Yet, the former human they came to rescue turns out to be the boss monster.

Of course, considering that [It Kills Two] is a two-player game usually played by couples, it’s quite an absurd development, even if it’s hard to accept. Still, it was undeniably bizarre.

“Well, in fact, Chloe was originally the mastermind behind all of this.. You guys okay with spoilers?”

– Yea

– This game’s been out for years, no worries about spoilers lol

– Good to go, go ahead

Jee An’s explanation continued.

In reality, Chloe was a researcher working on bio-weapons within a military organization.

So, in the opening scene of the game, it was when she was wearing a white gown in Ethan and Chloe’s reminiscing.

Now, the culprit of all the chaos, Byeon Jong-gyun, appeared in the world as part of the biochemical terrorism weapon development with her and her organization.

Moreover, here is where Chloe’s trolling ends.

She secretly took the Byeon Jong-gyun from the lab to sell to a rival organization, ended up hiding here due to pursuit by her original organization, and in the process, Chloe got infected by the Byeon Jong-gyun pathogen.

That’s how the situation arose from the Byeon Jong-gyun mutating in her body.

In other words, Chloe was not only the mastermind behind this situation but also the host of the pathogen.

“Thank you, Jian Wegun!”

“Kya, you’ve been studying hard.”

“A quick explanation.”

“Yeah, it’s accurate.”

As you progress through the game’s story, you naturally learn about this truth.

Even if you manage to save Chloe in time, stop the mutation, and administer the vaccine, it’s just a momentary pause; as you continue, the mutation eventually begins.

To resolve this, you further explore the mansion, find some clues about the truth, notice Chloe’s behavior becoming increasingly strange, and eventually, all truths are revealed, leading to the final battle with the final boss.

“So, are we facing the final boss now?”

“Isn’t Murdeur appearing?”

“Itgallers, tell us.”

“We don’t know either, damn it.”

“Ah, hahahaha, we’re newbies at this difficulty level too.”

However, this means that the fourth boss, Murdeur, will suddenly make an appearance.

The bosses in stages 3-4-5, following Kias – Murdeur – Chloe (Pathogen), are known for their challenging difficulty that can make players sweat.

But now, it seems that the transition is directly to Chloe (Pathogen) as the final boss from Kias.

Related questions began to appear in the chat window.

Plop-

However, those questions soon vanished.

Jian, after finishing the explanation, resumed the game.

And then, in a cutscene that followed, the answer was revealed.

Ethan and Ellie, looking shocked at the zombies filling the prison bars.

Thunk-

Then suddenly, as if possessed, Ethan clutched his head.

“I hear Chloe’s voice…”

“I think I heard it too…”

Both Ethan and Ellie shifted their gaze to the center of the bars.

At the same time, Chloe’s seemingly lifeless head also turned.

Her two eyes, with black fluid flowing, seemed like shedding tears.

“Here they come.”

“DGDG.”

-Be careful of your ears.

Oooh, aaah, aah-

Following that, Chloe’s screams filled with agony could be heard.

Accompanied by a rotting sound, Chloe’s body slowly melted from her eye sockets.

Crack-!

A sound of something bursting.

As Chloe’s body melted and burst, black bodily fluids splattered in all directions.

Scattered once, the black bodily fluids gathered again.

And what appeared was···

-??

-hahahahaha

-It’s like that, right?

The cluster of germs, forming a large human face as the melted bodily fluids gathered, was the final boss of “Eat Kills Too,” Chloe (a mass of germs).

However, the reason the chat room went wild was different.

It wasn’t just Chloe that the black bodily fluids transformed into.

-Where did Murdere go?

-hahahahaha

-Final boss + three Murderes? hahahahaha

-Winning with just two hand axes?

Even the fourth boss, Murdere, appeared, not just one but three of them.

A battle where not only the final boss but also three more bosses had to be faced.

Then, a very timely donation rang out.

Ding-

[“Difficulty AI” has donated 1,000 won.]

-All I thought about was crushing you who made me do this from the start.