Chapter 32

EP.32 Rising Airplane

"Alright! The time for the second question has ended. The hottest fruit in the world... was the Heavenly Peach! It's a 1000-degree peach, so it must be the hottest! Hahaha!"

"Then, let's move on to the third question. What three-letter phrase do you say to the king when parting ways?"

"The answer was 'Viking.' Bye, King! Hahaha!"

"Fourth question! What five-letter word describes a country without beef?"

"The answer was 'Beefless Country!' Beef 無 國! Hahaha!"

As the questions continued, the passengers' expressions gradually darkened.

Even those who had initially answered correctly began to make mistakes as the questions went on.

And this game, once a mistake was made, it was an immediate out.

So, by the later stages, only a few people remained.

Actually, even this many remaining could be considered a lot.

Egostick himself honestly expected no one would be left by the eighth quiz.

However, surprisingly, three people remained.

A little boy who seemed to have read many humor books since childhood, answering every question correctly.

A high school girl chewing bubble gum, looking completely relaxed.

An uncle who, in his younger days, probably threw a lot of dad jokes at his subordinates during company dinners.

The eyes of the passengers, still holding their smartphones, were focused on these three.

They were the last hope, and everyone was looking at them with more desperate hearts than ever.

With the intense, suffocating gazes flying from all directions in the tense situation,

the uncle, whose head was a bit bald, was looking around nervously, sweating profusely.

Of course, the little boy, who still didn't understand the world, couldn't grasp the situation and was waiting for the next question without any concern. He probably thought it was just a game. Only the mother of the child next to him was looking at him with a worried expression.

And the high school girl in a red baseball cap, chewing bubble gum.

It was unclear why she was wearing a school uniform and taking a flight alone at this time, but she was leaning her chin on her hand, looking at the video being played in front of her indifferently.

And at the same time, on the ground, someone was watching the airspace where they were.

[...Stardust, have you arrived?]

"Yes, I've arrived. For now."

Hero Association Jeju Branch.

In the deep basement of the building, Stardust responded to the communication.

"Ugh, ugh. Ughhh."

"Kim Jahun, are you okay?"

"You, does this look okay to you? Ughhh."

The person vomiting on the side was Kim Jahun, Hero name Shadowwalker.

One of the three A-class heroes existing in South Korea, and among the three, the strongest in specific situations.

Yes, 'only in specific situations' the strongest.

Shadowwalker, a hero who is purely strong only at night.

At night, he can seamlessly blend into shadows and move anywhere without any trouble.

Unlike Egostick, who would likely die from a heart attack after moving 100km, or the teleporter who would struggle to move 100m after being shot, if the place he is in is dark enough and the destination is also dark enough.

Theoretically, he can move to the opposite side of the Earth. Of course, it wouldn't work since it's daytime there.

And the most important thing: at night, half of his body becomes a shadow, making him invincible.

So, he can't die. Whether it's physical attacks or biochemical attacks, he is practically invincible.

He can also pull opponents into his shadow and move them anywhere.

The King of the Night. This is why criminals in South Korea don't commit crimes at night, and villains don't carry out terrorism at night.

People call it the Shadow Kidnapping.

As soon as a report is received, he moves to the location and instantly transfers the criminal to prison.

In other words, if the time is limited to evening, he can be considered top-tier among heroes worldwide.

He was also the person who came closest to being an S-class hero in South Korea.

However, due to his weakness, he could only be an A-class hero.

He is extremely weak during the day.

Instant movement, immortality.

All useless if there is light.

His body, which had good physical coordination at night, becomes weak as soon as it's daytime.

In fact, it's so weak that he can hardly stay awake, so he always sleeps during the day.

Of course, he isn't completely useless during the day.

Instant movement, immortality. If there is enough 'darkness,' he can use these abilities to some extent during the day, though with severe side effects.

That's why the Korean Hero Association built basements under the Seoul, Busan, and Jeju branches.

Creating an artificially very dark environment, allowing him to move other heroes using his shadow movement.

That's why Shadowwalker Kim Jahun, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up in the middle of the day, not the night, and moved from Seoul to Jeju with Stardust using his shadow movement.

Although he seemed to dislike it very much.

"Ugh... Ha... Hey, did we really have to do this? I feel like I'm going to die...."

"Yes, it was necessary. I'm sorry, take a good rest."

"Ha... I feel like I'm going to die..."

Stardust immediately ran off somewhere upon arrival.

Shadowwalker, left alone, took a deep breath while waiting for the staff to come down to support him.

"Ha... Please, villains. Please only commit crimes at night..."

His monologue only sank into the darkness of the deep basement.

Recently, the characteristic of villains is that they only act during the day.

***

[...The answer to the ninth question was Deoksugung!]

"Damn it."

[Oh! Did someone just make a sound? Well, well. I'll cut one wire~ Oh! Now there are only two left!]

The sudden curse from the high school girl, who had just confirmed the answer, caused one of the bomb's wires to be cut. Out of three, only two remained.

All the passengers around her glared at her, but she didn't care and quietly mumbled to herself.

'...I didn't trust that kid anyway.'

Fortunately, she had almost whispered it, so no other passengers, not even Egostick, noticed.

Of course, the situation was not at all fortunate for the passengers. Both the high school girl and the kid had given the wrong answers.

The mother of the child, who looked disappointed, quietly hugged him.

Now, only one person remained.

A middle-aged man, sitting in the middle, with a bald head, was sweating profusely.

Egostick's playful laughter came from the speakers.

[Oh! Now there's only one person left. The famous last one, right? Let's see... Mr. Kim Deokbae! Yes, Mr. Kim Deokbae! You are the only person who has answered all nine questions correctly so far.]

The middle-aged man jumped in surprise when his name was mentioned.

[So, you are the only one! The only one who can challenge the tenth question. Think of the 80 people on this plane, their lives are in your hands. Mr. Kim Deokbae, how do you feel? Say a word.]

Already on the verge of a nervous breakdown, being asked to speak made the middle-aged man, Kim Deokbae, almost faint.

His face was bright red, and he opened his mouth hesitantly, under the intense gazes of everyone around him.

"Ah, well, it's a, a great responsibility-"

[How can this be! Didn't I say I would cut a wire if anyone made a sound? Why are you speaking? I'll cut another wire.]

Then, a wire attached somewhere on the plane was really cut.

People watching this in real-time on the screens in front of their seats.

"!!!.....!"

They were momentarily speechless and wanted to vent their anger.

But with only one wire left, they couldn't even open their mouths, only showing their anger through their expressions.

[Wow, he's really a devil.]

[This is like saying 'Move and I'll shoot! Raise your hands!' and then shooting when they move their hands. Isn't it similar? Haha.]

[Is this... Egostick? What happened to the Mango Stick I knew?]

[???: Get a grip.]

Even the chat window, which was usually friendly towards Egostick, was speechless at his cruelty.

Egostick, however, raised his voice as if it was completely normal.

[Why speak with words? You can use sign language. I mean, you lack common sense.]

Egostick's words, which seemed to find the situation absurd, made people boil with anger, but they suddenly calmed down.

They all realized, in the midst of their anger, that the remaining wire to prevent the bomb from exploding was meaningless.

If the final quiz was answered incorrectly, the bomb would explode.

In this suffocatingly cold place,

only the voice from the speaker was brightly announcing the final question.

[Alright! Here's the tenth and final question! If you get this right, everyone can safely disembark. If you get it wrong... you know. Let's start the question. What is the oil that children like the most? Countdown, starting now!]

[3:00]

[2:59]

[2:58]

...

The final question was thrown.

Everyone's attention was focused on the sweating middle-aged man.

Those who couldn't guess the answer,

those who had some idea,

those who were confident, but couldn't say anything.

They just looked at the middle-aged man, more desperately than ever.

"...."

The man, with his face flushed red, thought for a long time.

[0:03]

[0:02]

[0:01]

At the last moment, he wrote down the answer.

[Three, two, one. Ding! Let's see if the answer is correct. Let's see, you wrote IU. Let's see, let's see. Yes! The answer is...]

The suffocating tension.

The passengers on the plane.

The people watching the broadcast on the ground.

Everyone swallowed hard as the answer was announced.

[The oil that children like the most... is May Oil (5月 Oil)! IU is not the correct answer! What a pity. Well, hmm.]

Egostick thought for a moment and continued.

[That's it, goodbye!]

Boom.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

With a loud explosion,

the plane began to crash.