Chapter 202 – Trading (1)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
Fortaleza, Brazil.
In one of Brazil’s largest port cities which had a coastline 7,000 kilometers long, a ship was moored in the harbour.
That was all.
This port, which had once been crowded with ships and tourists, now looked so desolate it was almost like an entirely different place.
The same was true for those who had arrived in this port city.
Most of them looked as though they were pigs walking into a slaughterhouse.
“Samba!”
Among them, only one large man was different.
“Dalalala, lalala lalala.”
He was humming a tune like he was a normal tourist coming to Brazil for the first time.
“Lee Jin-ah.”
Seeing him like this, Kim Woo-jin couldn’t help but look at him with a questioning gaze,
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Mhm, it’s my first time coming to Brazil to sightsee.”
“Sightsee?”
Kim Woo-jin’s expression became incredulous when he heard that.
“You came here to sightsee?”
Lee Jin-ah gave a slight smile at Kim Woo-jin’s question.
“It’s okay to do some sightseeing after we’re finished working, isn’t it? Can’t I do that much?”
Kim Woo-jin couldn’t help but click his tongue.
“Do you know why we came here by boat instead of by plane?”
“Of course I know!”
Lee Jin-ah answered the question with confidence.
“You did it to save travel expenses didn’t you? After all, you guys are super cheap. Ay, cheapskates. Tweh tweh!” (TL: Tweh is kinda representing him spitting at their cheapness)
Only then did Kim Woo-jin realise.
‘He doesn’t know the situation in Brazil.”
In Lee Jin-ah’s mind, Brazil was still in the same state as in 2020.
And it wasn’t really Lee Jin-ah’s fault either.
Most people in the world would have the same thoughts as Lee Jin-ah.
“Lee Jin-ah. Where in the world do you think is the most dangerous currently?”
“Isn’t it Eastern Europe?”
“Why do you think that?”
“There was an accident related to the dungeon gates in Eastern Europe, there were articles and news reports about protests happening there every day.”
“In other words, it means that the situation was under control enough that reporters were able to stay there and send out articles.”
That was why Kim Woo-jin decided to tell Lee Jin-ah.
“Huh?”
“Keep in mind. There aren’t even journalists to write about the situation in the truly bad places.”
Just how bad Brazil was now.
Only then did Lee Jin-ah, who had started getting an idea of what he was talking about, change his facial expression and ask.
“Is Brazil really that bad?”
“Even before the game began in 2020, Brazil was in a state of political and economic turmoil. It was impossible for them to properly deal with the dungeon gates.”
When the dungeon gates appeared, many countries were unable to cope with it because of damage caused by political and economic problems.
“Of course, it wasn’t just Brazil. Most of the countries in South America had similar situations like Brazil, and in the case of Africa, the situation was much worse than in South America.”
Countries in South America and Africa were perfect examples of this.
Among them, the chaos that erupted in Brazil was among the worst.
“However, Brazil was the only country that had to deal with the Amazon Rainforest.” (TL: Not accurate, the Amazon Rainforest in fact spans 8 countries and one overseas French territory(French Guiana), Brazil just happens to be the largest and claims the largest portion)
The Amazon Rainforest.
This place, which had almost no control or monitoring even before the dungeon gates appeared, made it impossible for anyone to notice when the dungeon gates did appear.
“The government has become ineffective since then.”
Thus the Amazon Rainforest basically transformed into a den of monsters and the Brazilian government was unable to do anything.
“And in such a time, anti-government groups, terrorist organisations, etc. who aimed for Brazil’s resources, came to the country.”
The paralysis of the Brazilian government was practically a declaration that Brazil’s rich resources had entered an ownerless state, and countless criminals came to Brazil seeking opportunities.
There was no sign of the desire to sightsee on Lee Jin-ah’s face after he heard that much.
“Ah, then why the hell is the Lightning King here?”
Instead, he began to wonder what was wrong with the Lightning King that made him come to a place like this.
Kim Woo-jin laughed at Lee Jin-ah’s confusion as he said.
“That’s because the Lightning King is the Head of Thunderbird, the world’s number one private military company.”
The Lightning King, Hugh Fry.
As one of the first players in Australia, his other title was the Head of Thunderbird, the world’s leading private military company.
‘That’s why he sponsored Johann Georg to become the center of the anti Messiah Guild faction.’
For the Lightning King, it was unacceptable that the Messiah Guild had an uncontested value in the world, which was why he supported the King of the Undead, pushing him forward to become a rival for the Messiah Guild.
He believed that by making the two of them fight and weaken each other, he would benefit the most.
And in truth, his idea was correct.
From around 2026, when the battle between the Messiah Guild and the King of Undead truly began in earnest, Thunderbird, which was the Lightning King’s company, grew rapidly in the space left by the two top world powers fighting each other.
Eventually, Thunderbird became a force that surpassed the conventions of a private military company to the extent that they were even able to directly challenge a country.
‘The hunt wasn’t easy.’
That made it very difficult for the Hunting Dogs to take care of the Lightning King,
As he recalled that time, Kim Woo-jin smiled bitterly.
And Lee Jin-ah, who had now gotten a grasp of the situation, also smiled bitterly.
“I can’t believe we have to look for unicorns in this place. I bet I’ll have to suffer this time too.”
Kim Woo-jin only gave a simple reply.
“We don’t have to look for unicorns.”
“Huh? What do you mean? Don’t we have to find Unicorn Horns so you can exchange them for skill pages?”
“If I just wanted to get one, I wouldn’t come here.”
Kim Woo-jin paused for a moment before continuing as he brought up his memories.
“I’m planning to make a bigger deal with the Lightning King.”
Lee Jin-ah tilted his head in confusion.
“He only does bartering, doesn’t he? What else can you give him?”
Kim Woo-jin answered without hesitation.
“Isaac Ivanov.”
…
After the Brazilian government lost its function, the dungeon gates appearing in the Amazon Rainforest were basically neglected.
After that, the dungeon gates began releasing monsters constantly, and after adapting to the rainforest’s environment, they began to form their own territories.
Awooo!
Roar!
The Amazon Rainforest was saying that Earth no longer belonged to the humans.
However, that didn’t mean that mankind would just watch on and accept that fact.
On the contrary, many people saw this as an opportunity.
“It’s an Ivory Wolf!”
“It’s 10 million for two pieces of Ivory.”
In an era where the corpses of monsters had unspeakable value, this was an opportunity for non-player hunters to also catch monsters.
It wasn’t just the ordinary people either.
From the players’ perspectives as well, it was an opportunity for them to hunt monsters with modern weapons that were much more powerful than their items.
This was why some people considered the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil to be the true El Dorado(1).
The same was true for the private military company, Thunderbird.
From an early stage, they had seen the Amazon Rainforest as a land of opportunity and invested heavily in it.
This was proven by the fact that the Lightning King had none other than his older disciple as the head of the Brazilian branch.
“Ah, this is killing me.”
Shakira, a latino beauty with a sensual body covered in bronze skin, was that disciple. (TL: Shakira, Shakira)
“This damned forest, I wish I could just get rid of it.”
Of course, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing for her.
Being the head of the Amazon Forest region, where chaos reigned, was enough to drive any person crazy.
Moreover, she now had to deal with another headache.
“When the hell is Isaac Ivanov coming? Huh? Didn’t they say that he would arrive at the port a week ago? Did you get it right? You aren’t losing your mind because of the heat are you?” (TL: as someone who lives in South America…yes…yes I am losing my mind because of the heat…)
“We would have heard from him.”
The Lightning King said it himself.
When Isaac Ivanov arrives, take him to the ‘Unicorn Forest’, a B- rank 4 Floor dungeon, and trade the Unicorn Horn he brings back for the prepared skill pages.
The deal itself wasn’t much trouble.
“Is it possible that he died along the way?”
The problem was if Isaac Ivanov died on his way to them.
“Isn’t it Isaac Ivanov? That monster managed to survive in a 4 Floor dungeon with just his teammate…”
The skill he had displayed far surpassed that of normal people, but the Amazon Rainforest was different.
“No matter how amazing he is, he would still die to a gun. Do you think him and his little skeletons could survive Allah’s magic wand?”
This was a place where monsters and crazy hunters armed with extremely powerful modern weapons roamed about freely.
“If you were to compare the Amazon Rainforest to a dungeon, it would be at least 7 Floors.”
The Amazon Rainforest was a place where even players above level 100 were not able to guarantee their safety.
“I can’t even get a good night’s sleep.”
Even Shakira, who had once been able to experience attacking a 6 Floor dungeon when she was level 165, could not help but be wary of the rainforest.
So it would be nothing strange if Isaac Ivanov died in this place.
“But is it okay if he dies? Isn’t he our responsibility?”
Of course, it was partly the Lightning King and the Thunderbird Company’s responsibility to ensure Isaac Ivanov’s safety.
“I don’t care about that responsibility.”
But Shakira paid no attention to that responsibility.
“The problem is that if Isaac Ivanov dies in the Amazon Rainforest and his items are scattered here, everyone in the world would come. Those American bastards would probably send bombers to raze the Amazon Rainforest immediately.”
What she was worried about was the fact that everyone in the world would rush to the rainforest for the treasure known as Isaac Ivanov.
“Ah, this is insane.”
As she thought about that, she let out a sigh.
It was then.
One of her subordinates walked into her office and reported.
“A person from Isaac Ivanov’s side has arrived.”
“Someone from Isaac Ivanov’s side? Not Isaac Ivanov?”
She immediately asked without missing a singing detail from her subordinate’s words.
“Who came?”
“That… a person named Woo-jin.”
With just those words, Shakira was able to think of a person who had such a name.
“Woo-jin? Isn’t that Isaac Ivanov’s teammate from Japan?”
The moment she recalled the name, Shakira’s expression became grave.
“Does Isaac Ivanov have a skill to create zombies too?”
The subordinate tilted their head slightly.
“He didn’t act like a zombie. He didn’t smell anything either.”
Shakira’s expression crumpled when she heard that.
“Did he come here alone?”
“Yes.”
When she heard the answer, Shakira’s expression crumpled even further.
“So he came here alone, but he has no injuries and he doesn’t even smell of sweat?”
Only then did the subordinate’s face turn pale as he realised the implications behind these facts.
Shakira spoke to her slow subordinate.
“Call the interpreter.”
(Note:
1. El Dorado is a fabled city in South America, rich in treasure and sought by Spanish explorers in the 16th century.)