Chapter 144

CHAPTER 144

The moment the Bull quietly dropped the grenade and Seojun took cover—

"Ah! He won! He actually won! This is an unbelievable play!"

Cheers erupted from the casting desk.

They came from Arin and Bangju.

"I mean, blocking bullets with a frying pan! You all clearly saw the look of utter disbelief on Bull's face. To be honest, there are two people here making that exact same expression."

As she continued speaking, Arin glanced to both sides.

Those two were Penggwon and Taeyang.

While Penggwon and Taeyang had explained Seojun's fast and accurate aim, they had also said that choosing to fight the Bull was the wrong decision.

They had argued that equipment was too difficult a gap to overcome, and that it would have been better to recover his health first or somehow leave the area.

A perfectly reasonable assessment.

There had been no personal bias in it.

But what Seojun had shown afterward was—

"It's amazing that the game can be played like this with a frying pan! In the end, he wins! He wipes out two entire squads! Sure, he can't take their vests or helmets, but who cares?"

Bangju asked,

"Why's that?"

"Because he has a frying pan!"

The chat responded much the same way as Seojun's stream.

• Exactlyyyyy.
• If you've got a frying pan, you've basically finished looting.
• It literally blocks bullets. Isn't that the ultimate legendary item?
• Calling it a legendary item is a stretch when frying pans are everywhere lol.

The impact of Seojun's performance had been that strong.

Suddenly enlightened, Bangju puffed out his chest.

"That's true! But did you know? I actually expected this outcome."

"You expected him to solve everything with a frying pan?"

"Of course. The moment he picked up that frying pan, didn't everyone feel that something extraordinary was about to happen?"

"Not at all."

"In fact, records from the ancient Goguryeo Subakdo murals describe people blocking bullets with frying pans, so this isn't an entirely unprecedented tactic."

Subakdo was a Goguryeo tomb mural.

"Ah! Is that so?"

• If it's in the Goguryeo Subakdo, I accept it.
• So it's a time-honored technique lol.
• That's why they made frying pans so durable. People are finally using them as intended!
• Did frying pans even exist during Goguryeo?
• What, you think they didn't, idiot?
• Why are you so confident lol.

It was a festival of nonsense.

"Yes. Using a frying pan as an improvised shield during emergencies is hardly unheard of. In fact, that's why frying pans were originally forged from a mixture of orichalcum and titanium."

Complete nonsense.

"Wait, the primary materials were orichalcum and titanium? That explains everything!"

Regardless, the point got across.

The thing could stop bullets.

"Of course, until now it was usually used as a last-resort way of protecting the head from long-range shots. People rarely stand there and openly block bullets, especially at this kind of distance, and multiple times at that! Those reflexes are unbelievable."

He wasn't literally reacting to bullets after seeing them.

If someone could do that, they'd be superhuman.

Even so, being able to read the muzzle and swat the shots away was still an incredible display of reflexes.

"So what exactly are you trying to say?"

"What I'm saying is that once a Sword God with reflexes like that obtains a sword, the game is already over."

• Here we go again with the sword thing lol.
• The viewers in his stream were saying the same thing. Everyone associated with Seojun insists the frying pan is a sword lol.
• Did Seojun corrupt everyone around him, or did he just naturally befriend people like this?

"Perhaps today's tournament will mark the beginning of the Frying Pan Revolution in Ground Zero. And as I say that, a fight is breaking out elsewhere!"

The screen switched.

The location was the Airfield.

The Hospital was quiet.

Seojun's squad was leisurely looting.

And only Seojun remained at Camp.

As a result, the Airfield was practically the only place where fighting could occur.

Players were firing frantically while hiding behind cover.

After quickly assessing the situation, Arin explained.

"It looks like Team Mental suddenly ambushed Spoon, who had been waiting at the bunker entrance! As expected, there was no way things were going to stay peaceful."

The fact that no conflict had occurred until now was the truly surprising part.

"They landed together at one of the most popular spots, divided the loot zones, and nearly walked away peacefully. For streamers, that would've been disqualifying."

So the two teams finally clashed.

Team Mental's A-rank player was Wave.

Using Seojun's terminology, he was a true veteran—a hardened game addict.

The viewers knew it too.

At least in this game, Wave was considered one of the absolute best.

The fight began when Wave landed the first hit on Spoon.

Airfield Spot

The bunker entrance was located beyond the outer wall surrounding the airfield.

Viewed from inside the airfield, it resembled a traditional Korean burial mound—a rounded hill of piled-up earth.

But up close, it was much larger than expected.

And from the opposite side, a hollowed-out entrance leading underground could be seen.

As a side note, the Hospital bunker entrance was located on Basement Level 1.

After being shot at the start of the engagement, Spoon retreated into that recessed entrance and began using healing items.

Meanwhile, his teammates took cover behind nearby crates and their parked vehicles, firing at the enemy to keep them from advancing while they waited for Spoon.

"Ah, it looks like Spoon's team plans to hold out a little longer before entering the underground area. A very defensive approach. Both teams have already deployed smoke grenades."

"That's right."

"The bunker will be opening soon. If Spoon's squad enters first, the latecomers will naturally hesitate to follow. Team Mental needs to do something before that happens."

Bang!

Bullets flew through the thick smoke.

"Ah! Wave lands another hit! This is exactly why you need to change positions after deploying smoke. The enemy will naturally shoot at the last place they saw you. If you're still standing there, then what was the point of throwing the smoke in the first place?"

The three casters continued breaking down the battle.

"Ah, and at that moment! Wave's teammates are getting into a vehicle. Are they really planning a frontal breakthrough?"

A car burst out from the dense smoke.

Naturally, Spoon's teammates positioned around the bunker attempted to fire at it.

However, the hail of suppressive fire from Wave's teammates prevented them from stopping it effectively.

Furthermore, instead of charging directly forward, the vehicle circled around the bunker.

"Are they giving up on the bunker? A quick decision?"

"No, they're not."

"Ah! The player in the back seat is preparing to throw something!"

It was a grenade.

"But at that distance, even if they throw it over, it won't reach the team positioned in front of the bunker— Ah! Spoon is there!"

The grenade flew from the vehicle toward Spoon, who was nearly finished using his healing kit.

However, the grenade failed to clear the ridge and got caught near the edge of the slope.

"What an unfortunate bounce! Player Japcho looks completely devastated!"

"Of all places, it had to get caught right at the edge! Hahaha! What an incredible coincidence!"

"Seriously... huh?"

It was then.

Pantyman—no, Wave—the one behind the wheel, stuck his arm out the window and fired at something.

Bang!

The bullet struck the grenade lodged on the edge of the hill.

It didn't explode.

The physics engine didn't work that way.

Instead, the grenade fell downward.

The screen switched to Spoon's perspective.

Spoon had just finished healing and was getting back to his feet.

And the moment he looked up—

The grenade, having run out of time, exploded in midair.

Directly above his head.

"Ah! Instant kill! They lose an A-rank player to a grenade!"

"Wave's team is heading straight back to the airfield! While receiving enthusiastic cheers from the back seat, I might add! Though the lack of shoulder pats and other physical contact is probably because he's shirtless."

They cheered for him.

They just didn't get close.

Not because he was driving and they wanted him to focus on the road.

Simply because he was shirtless.

"Anyway, it looks like they never intended to claim the underground area in the first place! They caused a little chaos and are now heading for the airplane as though this had been the plan all along!"

"So they're planning to fly around and secure supply drops! Well, it's not like you absolutely have to enter the Secret Room, right?"

The biggest advantage of the Airfield was the airplane.

Flying through the sky had the drawback of making you an easy target.

But there were very few players left in this area.

Most of them had already gone underground.

In that case, any supply drops falling from the sky were practically guaranteed to belong to them.

"So it'll be the underground winner versus Wave's team."

"A very reasonable strategy! And if Wave pulls off another one of his insane improvised plays, I could absolutely see them taking first place. Hahaha. To think he instantly came up with the idea of shooting the grenade the moment it got stuck. Truly, you have to be careful around veterans."

"I don't even know how many highlight-reel moments this game has produced already."

• That's veterans for you.
• A-rank class really is different.
• Wasn't Spoon also A-rank? He got killed while healing.
• Don't compare him to Spoon.
• Everyone's insane lol.
• But Seojun's playing his first match. Is it really right to call him a veteran?
• Yeah, it is.

[The storm will soon engulf the surrounding area.]

A lull settled over the match.

Arin began summarizing the situation as the cameras started following the players descending underground.

The first entrance was the nearest one.

"And here we have the two remaining members of Spoon Squad, looking just a little empty without Spoon!"

The camera showed the two of them hurrying underground.

"And then we have the fully looted Hospital Squad! Especially loaded up on stimulants!"

The Hospital team was also descending.

Into the dark, sprawling underground area.

"And finally, our last player. Personally, I think this player is going to conquer the underground zone and eventually face Wave in the final showdown. After all, he deflected bullets with a frying pan and wiped out two entire squads—huh? What's he doing? He just threw his gun behind him. Huh? Huh? He's going underground just like that?"

Faced with a completely incomprehensible situation, Arin froze.

"Can the observer check his inventory?"

Bangju quickly requested it.

When Seojun's inventory appeared on screen—

"Hmm. No Level 3 vest, no Level 3 helmet, and most importantly..."

Arin spoke.

"...he doesn't even have a gun. What is going on?"

Bangju burst out laughing.

At this point, Seojun seemed determined to do something unbelievable every few minutes.

"Hahaha! Looking at the viewers' chat, I think I understand! Apparently he threw it away because he said he'd prove that a frying pan is a sword!"

• Is he insane? lol
• Is he always like this?
• He's always like this! LOL
• Seriously, you guys need to watch Seojun's stream too. It's hilarious.
• He's about to show us what a true sword really is.

Then Penggwon let out a sigh.

"Ah. If that's the case, then winning the tournament becomes much less likely."

"Huh? Penggwon, what do you mean by that?"

At the same time, Seojun's voice could be heard talking with his viewers.

["Taewoo's coming down? Ha... no matter what happens, I'm killing that guy. Absolutely."]

After finishing a leisurely round of looting at the Hospital, Taewoo was descending the stairs when a sudden chill ran down his spine.

He looked at the chat.

The underground passage was so dark that the only things he could clearly see were the chat window and the game interface.

'What the hell? Why is everyone laughing?'

The feeling unsettled him.

Badly.