“Yeah.”

Finally, it’s happening.

At Pi Seongyeol’s question, Suho answered without hesitation.

“I saw the help request posted by Seogiwon.”

“A help request?”

“Yes, Seogiwon posted a request for help online using his abilities. I checked it just in case, and when I arrived, I found that he was really being held captive, so I immediately started the rescue operation.”

“…You really found him like that?”

“Everyone else didn’t believe it, but I decided to trust it. The help request was so detailed, and I figured if not me, then no one else would come.”

Suho spoke with a calm expression… no, with a look full of conviction.

Was it because of that?

Pi Seongyeol glanced at Suho’s expression and chuckled softly.

“You really have guts, Junior. That’s what makes it good. They say the ones who are meant to succeed will always find a way, but I never thought you’d just blow my words away like that.”

“I think I was just lucky.”

“Luck follows those who are prepared. That’s why I believe luck is also a skill. Alright, since we made a promise, I’ll handle the special recruitment for you.”

“Thank you, Senior.”

Suho bowed deeply, genuinely grateful.

Pi Seongyeol burst out laughing and patted him on the shoulder before giving orders to his staff to handle the thieves.

However, during the process, there was no care provided for the victim, Seogiwon.

For example, there was no mention of sending him to a protection facility.

Suho nodded to himself, thinking,

‘Well, of course.’

Yet, that indifference was actually appreciated.

This way, Suho could take care of Seogiwon personally.

Once the work was completed, Suho quietly led Seogiwon out.

“Shall we go?”

“Where to?”

“To my place.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. We’re a team now.”

Suho smiled as he called a taxi.

***

“Wow…”

When Seogiwon arrived at the Kaiser Cheongdam building, he couldn’t help but stare in awe at its grandeur and opulence.

It made sense.

Suho had been just as surprised when he first arrived here.

Jo Jin-hwi wasn’t present.

He’d contacted him, and apparently, something urgent had come up, so he was out of town for a few days.

However, the matter regarding Seogiwon had been cleared.

- Just make yourself comfortable. I let Mr. Ahn in with this in mind, so don’t worry about it.

Suho was grateful for that.

Naturally, he suggested that Seogiwon take a shower and then offered him the guest clothes that Jo Jin-hwi had prepared.

Seogiwon, putting on the clothes, was impressed.

“Wow, Hyung, you really live in a different class… to be living in such a place.”

“This isn’t my house.”

“Huh? Then whose place is this?”

“This belongs to Jo Jin-hwi, a reporter with PBS. He’s my personal reporter. This is his house.”

“Wait, but is it really okay for me to just use it?”

“Of course. I have his permission. But doesn’t the reporter not know that I’m a psychic?”

“Oh, yes! Of course! He told me only in confidence, so I’ll be sure to keep it quiet unless he gives further instructions.”

Suho grinned as he handed Seogiwon a drink from the fridge.

Seogiwon took the drink with both hands and asked,

“By the way, Hyung…”

“Hmm?”

“I know I joined your team, but what should I be doing now?”

Suho took a sip of his drink and responded,

“You need to level up.”

“Huh?”

“You were kidnapped after reaching level 50 and awakening your ability, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So your growth has been halted for about half a year. That can’t happen. In order to face Overload… Ah, Overload is the nickname of someone who shares the same ability as you. You need to level up as much as I have, not just for that, but also to stop the impending destruction of the world.”

“Does that mean I’ll be joining you to challenge Gates from now on?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“You’ll level up in your own way.”

Seogiwon tilted his head, unable to understand.

“How?”

“You’re going to make full use of Digitization. In that sense, how about we connect to the network first?”

“Together? Can we connect together?”

“Check the description of your Digitization ability. Does it say you can only connect alone?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Your ability is to transfer a player’s mind into the network world. That means you can transfer someone else’s mind as well. Let’s try it. You can use the computer there.”

Suho pointed to the shared laptop in the living room, and Seogiwon, with a puzzled expression, began activating his ability.

Seeing this, Suho nodded confidently.

‘Of course, it will work. You published the ways to use Digitization to the world.’

Suho clearly remembered every detail from Seogiwon’s autobiography, especially the section on Digitization and how to use it.

He was simply reminding Seogiwon of the things he already knew.

At that moment, a notification appeared:

[ Digitization is now activated. ]

[ Seogiwon Player is attempting to transfer your mind into the network world. ]

[ Do you agree to the transfer of consciousness? ]

The system’s question appeared before Suho’s eyes, and Seogiwon chuckled in disbelief.

“This, this is really happening?”

“Of course. Do you think I’d have you do something that wouldn’t work? Alright, now that we’ve confirmed it, I’m going to fiddle with the computer for a bit.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah, right now.”

Suho rejected the system’s question and slid the laptop toward himself, beginning to fiddle with it.

After a while, he smiled satisfactorily and said,

“All set, send me back now.”

“May I ask what you were doing?”

“I’ll explain once we’re in. First, send me.”

“Understood.”

Seogiwon activated his ability again, and the same question appeared.

Suho accepted without hesitation.

[ Connecting to the network world. ]

Boom—

With the announcement, Suho’s body slumped to the side.

***

The blackout-like sensation of his consciousness fading and then returning.

When he opened his eyes, Suho found himself standing alone in a strange field.

‘Where is this…’

A blue field and a high sky.

The vast sky was adorned with white clouds, and in the distance, tall, green mountains curved.

An unfamiliar yet strangely familiar scene.

It made sense.

This was the "desktop" set on Jo Jin-hwi’s laptop in the living room.

Suho chuckled at the strangely familiar view.

“Who would have thought I’d see it in person.”

Suho recalled part of Seogiwon’s autobiography.

- I always woke up to the default screen of whatever device I used, so later on, I set a regular living room picture as my background. That way, even when I connected to the network world, I could sit on the couch.

Suho had briefly considered setting a living room photo or something similar as his background at first.

But then he changed his mind and set the most famous desktop image in the world, one he had always wanted to see in person.

At that moment, a chunk of data appeared nearby and distorted before spitting out Seogiwon.

When Seogiwon saw Suho in the network world, he marveled and walked toward him.

“Hyung!”

“Oh, you made it?”

“This is incredible. This is my first time seeing someone else here.”

“Yeah, it’s my first time being here too. It’s really fascinating.”

“It really is. But, Hyung, why is the background like this? It was all black just a moment ago.”

Seogiwon, who knew about the rules of the desktop, asked with confusion, and Suho casually responded,

“I changed it. I wanted to see it once.”

“Huh? Hyung, do you know about the rules of the desktop?”

“Yeah, I saw it with my psychic ability. That’s why I set it up here. You know where this is, right?”

“Yeah, this is the Windows desktop. But… is this really grapes?”

With those words, Seogiwon picked up a bunch of grapes from the ground.

Indeed, it was grapes.

“Yeah, it’s grapes. Apparently, the desktop background was taken at a vineyard.”

“Huh? I thought it was just a field.”

“Nope.”

“Wow… I had no idea.”

At Seogiwon’s admiration, Suho also picked up a grape and tasted one.

Ugh.

But to his surprise, there was no taste at all.

Seeing this, Seogiwon laughed.

“Haha. Hyung, too bad, but everything here has no taste. There’s no smell either. Everything is just a visual reproduction.”

Suho already knew that.

But he ate the grape on purpose.

It was written in Seogiwon’s autobiography, but experiencing it firsthand was different from reading about it.

Still, Suho feigned ignorance and asked,

“Why?”

“It’s the network world. So, touch, smell, and taste can’t be recreated here.”

Just as Seogiwon said.

In fact, the grape that Suho was holding didn’t feel like a real grape. It had a strange, unfamiliar texture.

‘So that’s why Overload tried to dominate the real world.’

It made sense.

If all

 the senses were replicated in this network world, it would essentially be a utopia, a dream world. Why would anyone threaten nations with nuclear weapons then?

In the end, everything here was an incomplete illusion, so the obsession with reality became inevitable.

Suho nodded and said,

“If all the senses were perfectly recreated, people would all move here to live. In that sense, the advantages and disadvantages of this place and virtual reality are very clear.”

“Yeah. But what do you mean by leveling up here?”

“Oh, that?”

Suho moved as he answered the question.

“What do you think the principle of leveling up is?”

“Well, I guess you collect experience points and grow stronger?”

“Exactly. The leveling system is a way to make infinite growth through experience points. In that sense, the player system recognizes actions no matter where the player is and gives experience points for them.”

“No matter where?”

“Yeah. As proof, I leveled up my swordsmanship skill during the Hunter test.”

“The Hunter test… wait, does that mean you can train even in virtual reality?”

“Yeah, but only for skill levels, not character levels.”

“Huh, why?”

“Because virtual reality is fake. If you die there, you don’t actually die. But here, everything is real. That’s how you were able to hack the digital wallet.”

Suho stopped in front of two doors that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the vineyard.

Seogiwon immediately recognized them.

“Aren’t these new folders?”

Indeed.

The doors resembled new folders from the desktop, and the labels on them read “New Folder 1” and “New Folder 2.”

Suho said,

“You’re right. Everything from the reporter’s laptop background is in ‘New Folder 1.’ And in here…”

Suho pointed to the other folder.

“This one contains some special things I’ve prepared for you.”

“Special things?”

“Yeah, for leveling up.”

Suho opened the folder, and another space appeared inside.

Suho jumped in without hesitation, and Seogiwon naturally followed.

Inside, there was a cute, ordinary door, and when Seogiwon saw the writing on it, he muttered,

“A free file cleaner?”

“That’s a fake name.”

“A fake name?”

“Yeah, what’s inside isn’t a free file cleaner or antivirus program. It’s actually a computer virus.”

A computer virus.

At those words, Seogiwon’s eyes widened in surprise.