Chapter 165

As soon as I read the words, I had a slightly skewed reaction.

Why would he think that?

That he doesn’t want to be left alone, when I am clearly right by his side.

However, I was a generous master.

Therefore, I decided to overlook a minor mistake made by my subordinate.

Returning to the rally car, Kwak Han-mook kept his head lowered.

I didn’t like the sight of him staring at the ground, but I waited with a broad heart and scanned the hostages again.

I looked closely just in case, but as expected, the man and woman in blue uniforms didn’t seem to be from the Special Task Team.

Even in dot graphics, the vibe they gave off was completely different.

I couldn’t tell who the young boy was either.

Aside from the fact that his hair was black, there was almost no information to be gained from the dot graphics.

While my gaze was fixed on the boy, the opposing racer approached Kwak Han-mook.

Then, he said something.

[■■■ asks Kwak Han-mook if he’s going to play a match he’s bound to lose anyway.]

[He demands that if Kwak Han-mook admits defeat right now, he will try to negotiate with the mafioso.]

It was laughable.

A speech bubble filled with curses appeared over Kwak Han-mook’s head.

The opposing racer kicked Kwak Han-mook’s rally car and left.

Speech bubbles saying ’HAHAHA’ popped up over the mafiosi’s heads.

I didn’t know the story of the game, but one thing was certain.

Just like with Mo Hae-in, no one expected Kwak Han-mook to win.

In fact, it seemed they didn’t want him to.

Between the opponent’s vehicle and attire, the difference was stark; it wasn’t a fair match to begin with Kwak Han-mook slowly turned his head to look at the boy.

At that, the mafioso provocatively tapped the boy’s head with the muzzle of a gun.

It was obvious that if he kept paying attention, the boy would be bullied even more.

Forcing himself to look away, Kwak Han-mook gazed up at the sky.

[Kwak Han-mook knows this is a lie. Nevertheless, he desperately wants to win.]

I could grant that much. I would not betray the trust of my subordinate.

Kwak Han-mook climbed into the rally car.

Then, the car he and I had chosen appeared, filling the screen.

The angular white body of the hot hatch had long blue and red stripes running along the sides.

I read the name of the car displayed in bold letters at the bottom.

Lancia Delta HF Integrale.

For starters, the name was long, which made it sound plausible.

The racing games I had played focused on modern models, so I wasn’t very familiar with classic rally cars like this.

Since Kwak Han-mook seemed to know cars well, there must be a reason he chose it.

Before the race started, I could change some simple settings.

The default setting was 3 laps per race.

Since my goal was a fast clear, I changed it to 1 lap.

After setting the gear to manual, I tested the feel by pressing the brake and accelerator pedals.

Once preparations were complete, I started the engine.

The moment the engine roared to life, the chassis shook violently.

The chair I was sitting in also vibrated, realistically conveying the tremor.

A low, humming engine sound echoed from the speakers attached to the back of the seat.

It truly felt as if I were inside a rally car, driving.

Two rally cars lined up at the start line.

Standing side by side, the contrast was even more apparent. In terms of vehicle performance, we were definitely at a disadvantage.

Still, I had no intention of losing.

A large white number appeared in the center of the screen and began the countdown.

[3,2, 1, and...]

[GO!]

I floored the accelerator.

The sensation of the car lunging forward was transmitted directly to my chair.

I could feel the wheels digging into the dirt and the impact of gravel spraying everywhere and hitting the undercarriage.

The numbers on the speedometer soared to dangerous levels, but the opponent had already overtaken me.

Even though the gap widened, I didn’t feel rushed.

In the straightaways, I was bound to fall behind due to the difference in vehicle performance.

The off-road terrain was desolate.

The only building in sight was an old, abandoned gas station in the distance.

After quickly passing the station with its two rusted pumps, broken neon sign, and plywood-covered windows, nothing but a vast wilderness unfolded.

The only things here were the two cars racing, kicking up clouds of dust.

Despite it being a world made of dot graphics, I felt a strange sensation in that moment.

[Kwak Han-mook thinks the scenery before him is beautiful. He wonders if God is watching this.]

The corners of my mouth curled up at my subordinate’s thought.

I wanted to tell him that I was watching too, but I had to hit a corner soon.

An arrow indicating the first corner appeared at the top center of the screen.

It was a gentle right turn.

I tapped the brakes briefly, and the moment the weight shifted forward, I shifted down a gear.

As I turned the wheel, the rear of the car slid slightly, pushing outward from the corner.

I immediately counter-steered. The nose of the car was already pointing toward the exit of the corner.

The instant I exited the corner, I floored the accelerator again.

The sliding chassis corrected itself and surged down the straight road.

[Kwak Han-mook likes the touch of God.]

I smiled slightly.

I think I’ve figured out the characteristics of this rally car.

The key was to let the car slide and keep it moving rather than trying to force it to stop.

Once I got the feel for it, I began the pursuit.

Whenever the opponent widened the gap on the straights, I caught up during the corners.

As I clung to them tenaciously, the opponent’s movements became increasingly frantic.

Unlike the anxious opponent, Kwak Han-mook chased after them calmly.

The surrounding scenery changed.

We entered a valley with sheer cliffs.

The valley, consisting only of stone without a single tree, was a place where one wrong move could lead to a plunge down a precipice.

Given the nature of the valley, there would be many sharp corners.

’I’ll decide the match here.’

My plan was to overtake using the corners and take the victory for the first race.

Kwak Han-mook wants to overtake the opponent here. He hopes God will grant his wish.

My subordinate was thinking the exact same thing as I was.

I was amused by that fact when...

"...!"

I frowned.

The opposing vehicle suddenly slowed down sharply, closing the distance to a dangerous degree.

Then, they twisted their tires right in front of me.

In an instant, a cloud of thick dust rose and covered the entire screen.

While I couldn’t see ahead, an arrow indicating a left turn appeared on the screen.

It was a hairpin-a sharp corner nearly at a right angle.

Taking a hairpin without visibility was madness.

The opponent’s intention was clear.

They wanted me to get scared and slow down so they could widen the gap significantly.

But I had no intention of acting as they wished.

The performance gap was already significant enough.

If I slowed down here, overtaking would be difficult. I’d have to just give up the first race.

’Absolutely not...!’

Kwak Han-mook does not want to slow down. Rather, he thinks this is an opportunity.

My subordinate was of the same mind.

I watched the opponent’s car disappear into the massive cloud of dust.

Through the dust, the brake lights flashed once.

The opponent seemed to be taking a wide line to exit the corner stably.

It was a relaxed movement, as if they were certain Kwak Han-mook would struggle behind them.

But then, Kwak Han-mook’s car suddenly burst through the dust.

As I dove into the inside line, five exclamation marks popped up over the opponents car.

The gap between the opponent’s side and Kwak Han-mook’s front bumper was barely the width of a fist.

[■■■ lets out a string of curses. He screams for me to die alone if I’m going to die.]

Speech bubbles filled with curses popped up frantically over the opponents car.

At a precarious angle just before colliding, I slammed the accelerator pedal to the floor.

The sliding chassis dove into the gap on the inside of the corner and shifted its trajectory.

If I had made even a split-second mistake, both Kwak Han-mook and the opponent would have plummeted down the cliff together.

But I hated the idea of my subordinate getting so much as a scratch.

Naturally, I would succeed.

At the precise timing when the slide diminished, I straightened the wheel.

The moment the chassis aligned, I floored the accelerator, and the car surged with explosive acceleration.

The rally car shot forward.

Kwak Han-mook overtook the opponent.

I had gained complete superiority in the exit acceleration.

The top of the screen acted like a rearview mirror, allowing me to see behind.

There, the opponent’s car appeared small, wobbling as they hurriedly tried to counter-steer.

A thrilling pleasure surged through the hand gripping the wheel.

[Kwak Han-mook feels joy at the successful overtake. He has absolute trust in the touch of the God who moves him.]

I was happy because my subordinate was satisfied.

I had overtaken the opponent, but the gap wasn’t that large.

However, this was enough.

Every time a winding corner appeared, I continued to widen the distance.

By the time we left the valley and returned to the wilderness, the opponent’s car was nowhere to be seen.

Kwak Han-mook and I raced through the wilderness once more.

I quite liked the moment of racing through a world where no one else existed.

It wouldn’t be bad to live in a place like this with only my subordinates.

Before I knew it, a marker indicating the finish line appeared at the top of the screen.

There was no need to look back.

Trailing a long plume of dust, the rally car crossed the finish line.

The entire screen flashed.

[FINISH!]

The engine sound cut off abruptly. The rank was displayed in the center of the screen.

[FIRST!]

[NEW COURSE RECORD!!]

Below the text announcing the new course record, the lap time appeared.

Since I had broken the record, it seemed I had played quite well.

I let go of the wheel.

"Phew.."

As the tension released, I realized only then that my heart was beating rapidly.

Instead of the ear-splitting engine roar from moments ago, only a low vibration emanated from the back of the seat.

Chaos had broken out inside the screen.

As Kwak Han-mook crossed first, the mafiosi simultaneously popped up a jumble of question marks and exclamation marks over their heads.

The mafioso cannot believe Kwak Han-mook’s victory. They think Kwak Han-mook cheated.

They even swarmed the rally car to inspect it.

Kwak Han-mook stepped out of the driver’s seat and shrugged, leaving them to do as they pleased.

Only after some time had passed did the opposing racer cross the finish line.

With the stark difference in lap times, the atmosphere among the mafiosi grew even more sinister.

The second race began.

Having become somewhat accustomed to the rally car, I broke the course record again.

The opposing racer crossed the finish line much later. The gap in records had widened even further.

One race remained before reaching three wins, but at this rate, it seemed I would clear the game without any trouble.

It was while I was waiting with Kwak Han-mook for the start of the third race.

One of the mafioso popped up a speech bubble filled with curses and suddenly pulled out a gun.

[Bang!]

The opposing racer screamed, clutching his arm. Pixelated blood spurted out.

Starting with that, the other mafioso also pulled out their guns in unison.

The mafioso realized that further racing was meaningless. They intend to break the rules and kill everyone.

Why aren’t they following the rules?

The race was still ongoing, yet they were arbitrarily destroying all the rules.

Furthermore, they dared to try and touch my subordinate.

My face instinctively froze cold.

I felt like I didn’t have to hold back this time...

I reached my hand toward the screen and then I pushed it in.

The mafioso, who were about to fire their bullets, screamed upon seeing a hand suddenly appear in the sky.

The arrogant bastards began to scatter and flee like ants under a downpour.

It would have been easier if they stayed together.

It was tedious, but I crushed them one by one with my fingers.

The sensation of insects being crushed wasn’t particularly pleasant.

Several bloodstains appeared inside the screen.

While killing the mafioso, I also crushed a few rally cars.

I quickly checked to see if I had accidentally destroyed a car my subordinate liked, but fortunately, I hadn’t.

I moved my hand to crush the last remaining mafioso.

Seeing the approaching hand, the mafioso trembled and fell to his knees.

He prostrated himself on the ground, screaming and continuously popping up speech bubbles.

They were speech bubbles calling out to God. Along with the bubbles, I crushed him.

After dealing with all the mafioso, I checked on the opposing racer.

He seemed to be in too much pain to drive, but the game wasn’t over yet.

Just as I was about to push him with my finger toward the rally car...

Kwak Han-mook’s character rushed over and blocked my finger.

I wasn’t trying to kill the opposing racer...

It seemed my subordinate had misunderstood slightly.

A speech bubble containing a dot graphic of a chestnut appeared over Kwak Han-mook’s head.

[Kwak Han-mook saw the touch of God. He became a bit more aware of what kind of being his God is.]

I felt a very faint sensation.

Kwak Han-mook’s hand was touching the tip of my finger.

It was a completely different sensation from when I was crushing the insects.

I liked the soft, warm warmth.

However, fearing that I might accidentally hurt my subordinate, I kept my hand perfectly still.

[Kwak Han-mook accepts his God. Furthermore, he understands how he should raise the young God.]

My subordinate is raising me?

When I am the one taking care of them.

It was a bit puzzling, but this too seemed to be a form of loyalty toward the master.

Following that, he gripped my finger with both arms and pulled, and I followed where he led.

Kwak Han-mook stood before the man and woman who had been held hostage and looked up at me.

[Kwak Han-mook introduces his former team to God.]

I blinked.

"So they were Captain Kwak’s former teammates...’

Only now did I understand why they were wearing the uniforms of the Era Administration Office.

Then who was the boy?

I let my finger hang loosely.

Since he said he’d tell me everything if I waited, I decided not to rush him.

After untying all the hostages, Kwak Han-mook scooped up the boy in his arms.

The boy, so small that I wondered if he had even entered elementary school, was quiet.

He simply stayed silent, holding his breath while being held by Kwak Han-mook.

Kwak Han-mook looked back and forth between the child and me. For some reason, it felt like a comparing gaze.

Just as I was starting to feel a bit annoyed by the way he hugged the child tightly...

[Kwak Han-mook thinks that the being he values most right now is the young God.]

I became a bit more generous.

A ’HAHAHA’ speech bubble appeared over Kwak Han-mook’s head.

Then, at some point, he slowly stopped laughing.

A speech bubble containing an ellipsis appeared.

Kwak Han-mook carefully set the child on the ground.

When the child hurriedly grabbed Kwak Han-mook’s sleeve, he stroked the boy’s head soothingly.

Then, turning back to his teammates, he touched his wrist.

It was the wrist where prayer beads had originally been.

[Kwak Han-mook tells God that his teammates, as well as the child, are all people who died a long time ago.]