“How do you know that?”
Hyun-woo asked with a dumbfounded look. That’s right. Hyun-woo heard from Timosi that the Red Man’s goal was to resurrect the Dark Lord. Of course, Alan controlled the demons so he knew this incident was related to the Dark Lord.
However, the situation being related was very different from actually resurrecting the Dark Lord. And the only way to prevent it was to stop the Red Man. But how did Ho Myung-hwan know the Red Man’s purpose?
“In fact, I also received the information not long ago. And I’ve been worrying about whether to consult with Ark-nim.”
“Consult with me? What is it?”
“That is…… It is hard to explain.”
Ho Myung-hwan sighed again before opening his mouth.
“Then I’ll tell you honestly. In fact, the chief of the Planning Department ordered absolute secrecy regarding this matter. However, Ark became aware of the issue after meeting with the Avenger members. No, we have to explain so that Ark-nim will keep it quiet.”
Ho Myung-hwan said.
“Actually, our security agents found the residences of Alan and the Red Man not long ago.”
“You found their homes?”
“Yes, I can’t explain how we found it.”
“So where is Alan now?”
“We’ll talk about Alan later but for now I’ll explain about the Red Man. The perpetrator of the Red Man and the one behind this incident is Park Woo-seong.
“Park Woo-seong?”
Hyun-woo frowned and tilted his head to one side. The name was familiar to him somehow. Ho Myung-hwan added in a heavy voice after seeing Hyun-woo’s confused expression.
“He is the one who created the main system of New World.”
“The creator…..that’s right, I heard that name in the TV commercial before New World was officially opened……!”
Hyun-woo finally remembered where he heard the name Park Woo-seong. Park Woo-seong had been called the best game designer of this century on the TV two years ago! New World wasn’t the only game that Park Woo-seong designed.
Even before New World, Park Woo-seong was known for other online games. Some of Hyun-woo’s questions regarding the Red Man would be solved if Park Woo-seong was behind it. The Red Man knew everything about New World and proceeded with his plan. And it was natural that he would be able to control the demons. It was why the Red Man’s gameplay transcended beyond that of an ordinary user. It was possible if Park Woo-seong the creator of New World was behind the Red Man.
“Then Park Woo-seong is the Red Man?”
“That’s not it.”
“Huh? But you said just now……”
“……He is the one who made it. The Red Man is a type of hacking program that Park Woo-seong made.”
“Hacking? The Red Man is a hacking program?”
“That’s the part I can’t explain in detail. Anyway, the important part is that the Red Man is a character that Park Woo-seong created and it is currently active in the game.”
“But why would he……?”
Hyun-woo asked in an expression that indicated he didn’t understand. That’s right. Why would he do this?
If the Red Man succeeded in resurrecting the Dark Lord then it was possible to shake Global Exos and gain enormous benefits. So Alan and the Avenger members thought they were betrayed so that the Red Man could monopolize the profit now that it was in the final stages. Timosi also thought like that. Yet the Red Man was the game creator? Then wouldn’t the Red Man have major stocks in New World? If New World fell into chaos then he would suffer a loss.
‘There must be some other circumstances……’
Anyway, Park Woo-seong was New World’s creator. If he made up his mind to throw New World into confusion then he didn’t need trial and error. He knew all the systems of New World. If he connected to the main server then everything would go as he planned. Hyun-woo was thinking that when Ho Myung-hwan muttered in a low voice.
“Originally the Dark Lord didn’t exist in New World.”
“Huh? What…… Timosi said the Red Man……”
“Yes. The goal of the Red Man is to resurrect the Dark Lord. But the Dark Lord just originally existed as a scenario in New World. The resurrection of the Dark Lord was never supposed to be possible in New World until Park Woo-seong. This means no one can predict what will happen to New World when the Dark Lord is resurrected.
“It can’t be predicted?”
“That’s correct.”
Ho Myung-hwan replied with a heavy look. In fact, Global Exos had browsed through various data that they obtained from the villa. But if the information leaked then it would cause chaos in New World. Therefore Ho Myung-hwan had to be careful about every word.
“Then Ark-nim, please connect the user Timosi to outside.”
“Connect? You will accept Timosi’s offer?”
“We honestly weren’t thinking about taking legal action against them. Even if we had such aims, that isn’t possible now. It is important to track the Red Man’s movements so we need information of every Avenger member.”
“You want information from the users involved in the Avenger guild?”
Hyun-woo tilted his head to one side. Timosi said most of the Avengers had already died. Thanks to the Token of Darkness, their characters were completely deleted. Now those users were completely removed from this event. So why was information needed from them.
“Are you considering laying charges against them?”
“Didn’t I already say we aren’t planning to do that?”
“But why do you want their information if you don’t want to sue them?”
“That……”
Ho Myung-hwan struggled for a while before replying.
“Actually, a problem occurred while searching for Alan.”
“A problem? There’s another problem?”
“…… Currently Alan is in an unconscious state.”
“Huh? U-unconscious?”
Hyun-woo asked with a dumbfounded look. Ho Myung-hwan rubbed his forehead like he had a headache.
“We’ve recovered Alan’s unit but it is possible that he might have used an illegal program to join this event. The Token of Darkness that deleted their characters is a type of hacking item. The Token of Darkness clashed with the illegal program stored in Alan’s unit and caused the current problem. This is our opinion after some investigation. Then there is a possibility that other Avenger members have experienced the same thing.”
Therefore Global Exos entered an emergency state. Of course, Global Exos’ biggest problem was to stop Park Woo-seong and the Red Man. But if more users fell unconscious like Alan then it would be a huge problem. Although they were unconscious, they could die from the slightest slip and then Global Exos would become responsible. A user dying from the game. The backlash from that would be enough to close down New World.
‘What the hell is going on?’
It was a problem Hyun-woo never realized would happen. The Red Man’s identity was the game creator Park Woo-seong.
Alan who worked with Park Woo-seong was in an unconscious state. Why did he feel like he had suddenly become entangled in a huge conspiracy?
“People’s lives are at stake. The Avengers are a secret society so wouldn’t they contact each other offline? Currently their characters are deleted so the fastest way is for Timosi to get in contact with them.”
“I understand. We decided to meet in New World after speaking with Global Exos so I will connect to the game and let you know the situation.”
Hyun-woo answered immediately. This problem concerned other people’s lives. But while Hyun-woo was standing up from his seat, he suddenly flinched and stopped. Too much had happened in a short period of time and there was still a question that hadn’t been answered.
“Why is Park Woo-seong doing this? Do you know?”
Ho Myung-hwan worried over the question for a while before extending an object that was hanging on a string. It was a nail-sized flash drive. Ho Myung-hwan pressed the flash drive into Ark’s hand and spoke in a heavy voice.
“This is a copy of the data obtained from Park Woo-seong’s villa. Like I said a while ago, the chief of the Planning Department ordered the information to be locked down tightly. I’ve been continuously worried so I copied the files. But……Ark-nim knows about this incident and has experienced more than any other user. If this information will help you stop the Red Man then it is better than you not knowing.”
It was like an information window floated in front of Ark.
-Hyun-woo has obtained Park Woo-seong’s Data file.
—————————————————————————————————————————
“I-is that true?”
The Schudenberg King asked in a quivering voice. And the Dark Elf surrounded by 10 guardsmen nodded.
“That’s right.”