We woke up around noon in the motel, still lying in each other's arms.
The moment we entered the motel, we had transformed into beasts. Though we hadn't touched a drop of alcohol, we had become nothing more than a male and female, rolling around until dawn.
The place was a complete mess. We hadn't confined our passion to the silk sheets; the bathroom, shower, desk, chair, even the entryway... we had made love in nearly every corner, in every conceivable position. Hera's vulva was now swollen and red.
"Oppa, I'm going to quit Yeong Hyejeong."
"Huh?!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Why are you so shocked?"
"I just... I thought you'd stay at Yeong Hyejeong."
"Yeong Hyejeong is a good place. The Madam treats us well, and we get paid more than anywhere else. But it's not really a place you'd want to work for life, you know?"
"...Yeah, I guess not."
Most of the girls working in the rooms do it for the money. Entertainment establishments are great for earning a lot quickly. But considering social stigma and future prospects, it's not a place you'd want to stay long-term.
What surprised me most was that Hera was quitting so soon.
"Are you quitting today?"
"No, I'm working until the end of the month. I've already told the Madam."
"What will you do after you quit?"
"My parents keep pressuring me to get married, but I'm not even thirty yet. I want to use the money I've saved to open a clothing store."
Hearing her words, I was struck by a sudden realization:
For me, this world is a game, but for the people here, it's their reality.
And a question lingered in my mind:
Do Shin Hyejin's parents in the real world look exactly like Hera's parents? I really want to know, but I don't know what Shin Hyejin's parents look like.
"So, does that mean our sex partner arrangement is over too?"
To be honest, I didn't want to let her go. But I had no desire to force myself on her.
We were already deeply attached. If Hera wanted to end things, I would let her go.
"...Hmm. No. I don't think I'll ever forget your dick, Oppa. My pussy still aches, but even just thinking about it makes it tingle."
"I won't forget your pussy either."
This was also genuine. Hera's pussy was a perfect match for my dick.
Even though there were undoubtedly tighter pussies out there, after fucking them, they always felt inferior to hers.
"Call me when you open your shop. I'll give you a commemorative fuck."
"You'd fuck me even if it wasn't a commemoration, Oppa."
"True enough."
I grinned.
I couldn't quit the room salons. I was already addicted.
If this were reality instead of the Pleasure World App, I would have quit the room salons. They were fun, but they were also a destructive indulgence that ruined lives.
But this wasn't reality. My life in this world didn't matter. And going to the room salons didn't hinder my goals.
In short, I had no intention of stopping my visits to the rooms until I achieved my goal.
The problem is money.
I wanted to go to the rooms, but I didn't have the funds.
Sitting in front of Kang Yujin's computer, I fell deep into thought.
There were many ways to earn money I could simply get a job. But methods for making a large sum quickly were scarce.
I had already sold all the marketable information Kang Yujin had gathered, and the remaining data was too dangerous to handle. Selling information was therefore not an option.
Robbing a bank was another possibility, but I didn't want to provoke the police unnecessarily.
That leaves... taking money from criminals again, just like before.
Finding the operators of illegal sports gambling sites is easy with hacking. Since they're involved in illegal activities, they likely keep large sums of cash on hand.
"...Wait a minute. I have the clown mask."
Originally, I only planned to wear the clown mask when killing vampire hunters. But now that I think about it, there's no reason to limit its use.
Since things have already gone this far... let's just go all out.
I started rummaging through Kang Yujin's computer. She didn't just collect information on corrupt public officials; she had a commendable habit of saving any interesting data she came across.
"...Found it."
What I found was information on a member of the National Assembly named Kim Chunseok. A six-term legislator, he serves as the floor leader of the Sky Party.
In the original story, he's mentioned as a corrupt politician. However, his power was so immense that even Moon Ji-Hyeok couldn't touch him. All that was said about him was that such a dangerous politician existed.
He's the dirtiest public official in the Republic of Korea.
To illustrate how corrupt he is, the amount of data stored about him is at least five times greater than that of other politicians.
Bribery and influence-peddling are just the tip of the iceberg. He treats political thugs like his own limbs and is even suspected of ordering contract killings.
Surprisingly, he's recently stopped frequenting entertainment establishments like Yeong Hyejeong. This is quite a change for someone who was embroiled in scandals involving such places seven years ago.
...No. It's not surprising at all.
There's a secluded villa near Yeongdeungpo, hidden from public knowledge. Kang Yujin hacked nearby CCTV cameras to identify the individuals entering the villa.
Most were executives from major corporations, making it clear that this was where favors were being exchanged.
A famous entertainment agency CEO and several celebrities were also frequent visitors.
It was a sex bribery operation.
Though there were no explicit videos of sexual acts, why else would celebrities visit Kim Chunseok's secret villa? Anyone who didn't understand was a fool.
The celebrities visited about once a week. Soon after entering the villa, they would either start filming a movie or suddenly receive glowing media coverage. With this pattern, it was impossible not to be certain.
The reason Kim Chunseok didn't frequent hostess bars like Yeong Hyejeong's was simple: the secret villa itself was his private playground.
But that wasn't the end of it. He was also meeting with lobbyists from Japan and China on occasion.
A congressman being publicly shamed by the media and the public for treason? He was nothing compared to Kim Chunseok. It was estimated that Kim Chunseok had been consistently accepting bribes and favors for at least ten years.
It's a relief there's no one like Kim Chunseok in real life.
But was that really true? I couldn't answer that question so easily. I just wanted to believe it wasn't.
There's a place this bastard has his aide check on once a month.
For the record, Kim Chunseok's aide was a former political thug. He had likely committed multiple murders as Kim Chunseok's right-hand man. They were from the same middle school, and Kim Chunseok trusted him more than his own wife.
"Given the circumstances, the locations the aide checks every time are almost certainly where he's hiding slush funds."
Kang Yujin hacked into the aide's phone and computer to uncover these locations. By analyzing the aide's credit card statements, she deduced their whereabouts.
Kang Yujin sealed this information.
It was too dangerous for a mere hacker to attempt stealing Kim Chunseok's slush funds.
The funds were undoubtedly guarded by the Baekjeonpa, the political thugs Kim Chunseok frequently employed.
For the record, the Baekjeonpa publicly masqueraded as the "Great Sky Association," a support group for the Sky Party.
"The slush funds amount to at least 200 billion won? Fuck. The stench of corruption is so overwhelming I feel like vomiting."
The locations contained only materialized assets. If non-materialized assets were included, the total would likely exceed 600 billion won.
"They're letting him get away with this?"
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) knew about Kim Chunseok's corruption but remained silent.
Confronting Kim Chunseok now would inevitably lead to bloodshed, affecting far more than just a few individuals. In the worst-case scenario, the entire Republic of Korea's government could be paralyzed. This meant Kim Chunseok had entangled countless members of the National Assembly and corporations in his web and the NIS was undoubtedly among them.
"It's a miracle this country is still functioning."
I wrestled with my thoughts.
Should I storm the secret slush fund location immediately and seize the money? Or would it be better to simply give up?
"...Prepare and strike. Let's use this opportunity to turn the Republic of Korea upside down."
As a citizen of the Republic of Korea, I couldn't stand by and watch a scumbag like Kim Chunseok continue his depraved acts and line his pockets with impunity. ...That wasn't exactly how I felt.
Nor was it the thought of my taxes going to a piece of shit like him. After all, I don't even pay taxes.
To be honest, what I really thought was:
This bastard's living off the fat of the land. Fucking scumbag. And celebrity sex scandals... I'm so fucking jealous.
Celebrity sex scandals were unforgivable.
I'm so fucking jealous I could die. Shit...
[Hacking Lv.6]
[You can hack electronic devices. The more complex the device, the shorter the hacking duration. The target device must be within 60 meters. You can hack multiple devices simultaneously, but the hacking duration will be significantly reduced.]
[Cooldown: 3 hours]
I invested the points I had into the Hacking Skill. Using this skill was essential for what I was about to do.
It'll be especially useful in this modern setting.
If I could, I'd level it up to 10, but each additional level required a staggering 25 points.
I only have 3 points right now.
My options were to either boost my stats or save the points for later.
I might suddenly unlock a Trait like Yeongcheon Ryu did.
Just like how you suddenly need money in life, there might be times when I'll suddenly need points.
But ultimately, points can always be earned again.
After much deliberation, I decided to raise my lowest stat. If I was going to upgrade my stats eventually anyway, there was no reason not to do it now.
The fact that my intelligence stat was so much lower than my other stats also bothered me.
And I was genuinely curious whether raising my intelligence stat would actually make me smarter.
[Sung Yujin]
[Level: 19]
[Strength: 14 Stamina: 12 Agility: 12 Intelligence: 5 Vitality: 15[
After upgrading my intelligence, I put down my smartphone and sat still.
"...What's changed?"
I didn't feel any clearer-headed, nor did the world look any different. I decided to run a few experiments.
I randomly thought of several numbers and tried adding, subtracting, and multiplying them in my head. The results showed that my mental calculation skills had indeed improved.
It also seemed my memory had improved.
Searching for "intelligence"... Learning ability, cognitive ability... Well, a whole bunch of stuff comes up.
I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd wasted points on intelligence. Then, belatedly, I discovered a new window tucked away in a corner of the Pleasure World App:
[Skill and Trait effects are slightly increased.]
[Skill power consumption is reduced by 0.1%.]
[Skill cooldown time is reduced by 0.1%.]
"Fuck."
That was my immediate reaction.
Intelligence.
Come to think of it, in games, it's a stat related to skills. In games, higher intelligence means stronger skills.
"Ugh. I should've leveled up intelligence sooner."
0.1%.
Even if it seems like a small percentage to others, it's definitely not insignificant to me. I remember once being obsessed with a mobile game and spending 300,000 won believing in a 0.3% chance.
In the end, I managed to achieve my goal. That experience taught me that a 0.3% chance is actually quite manageable.
"If I raise my intelligence, the percentage will likely increase."
Even a 1% chance is something you can't ignore. And the phrase "slightly increased effectiveness of Skills and Traits" keeps nagging at me.
The Yeongcheon Ryu and Hacking Skill are already incredibly effective this means they'll become even better. From now on, I need to focus on raising my intelligence too.
I had thought that increasing my intelligence might change my values or personality, but...
Ah, I want to roll around with a woman at Yeong Hyejeong.
It seems that's not the case after all.