Season 4: Chapter 118. The Invaders (1)
Three people rode together in the car. Ju-Hyeok drove, Ji-Ah sat in the passenger seat, and Sang-Hyeon squeezed into the back.
Rattle.
The old, used car groaned under their combined weight.
‘Guess I’ve grown attached after all.’
When Ju-Hyeok first bought the car, he thought about getting rid of it as soon as possible. Now, the rickety old thing felt oddly warm, even comforting, cramming in shoulder to shoulder like this.
“Let’s put some music on.”
“Shall we?”
“Cutie Pie’s new solo just dropped.”
“Oh~”
“I’ll hook up my phone.”
“Alright.”
Ji-Ah searched for the song and pressed play. A light, breezy tune filled the car.
“Oh, nice. Feels like... a cat playing to look cute.”
“Huh? What’s with that shady metaphor?” She shot him a sharp glare.
“W-Wait, no, I didn’t mean...!”
Sang-Hyeon chuckled quietly at the scene. In his mind, the music overlapped with another memory when he arrived at school far too early. The classroom would still be cold and dim, but a quiet warmth lingered in the air like something would soon wake up.
Then, a slant of sunlight would slip in through the window. She would arrive, always one of the first.
“Oh? You’re early.”
After a brief greeting, she would sit at the desk in front. Sunlight danced between them like teasing ripples. Sometimes it felt like a sign. Sometimes a taunt. Sang-Hyeon liked those times.
They didn’t talk much. He would just sit there, watching the back of her head, occasionally catching her gaze when she glanced back. Then, more students would trickle in. Chatter filled the room, and the quiet moment would dissolve.
“Where should I drop you off?” Ju-Hyeok’s voice pulled him back.
They had arrived at an all-too-familiar department store looming in the distance.
“Right there is fine, in front of the store.”
“Got it~”
Vroom.
The car surged forward, and Ju-Hyeok added, “So, it’s Hyeon-Ju’s birthday dinner? Nice of them to meet nearby.”
“Yeah. We all grew up around here.”
“Oh right, you did.”
Today, Sang-Hyeon was having lunch with the old archery club. It had been a while. They planned to swap stories and laugh about the past.
“Okay, I’m off.”
“Alright. Take care.”
“I’ll come back on my own.”
“Who said we were picking you up?”
Sang-Hyeon laughed, slammed the door, and walked toward the mall. Inside the car, only Ji-Ah and Ju-Hyeok remained.
“He seems brighter lately. Almond, going to see his friends and all.”
“Yeah. Totally different from when he was working at the company.”
“How was he then?”
“Not bright. Let’s leave it at that.”
Ji-Ah nodded. She recalled the first thing Sang-Hyeon ever said to her.
“Working at a company... Tough, isn’t it?”
She instantly knew that he wasn’t just making small talk.
“Our company wasn’t an easy place.”
She glanced at Ju-Hyeok beside her and poked his cheek. “But this guy thrived even there. Ivy League grad, polished and perfect, huh?”
“Ahem. Anyway, when’s episode one of Welcome to Cheese Village dropping?” He deflected her nagging with a cough and changed the subject.
“Not sure. The teaser went up this morning. Probably tomorrow.”
***
Ding. Ding. Ding.
[SweetPotato: Who dared to blow up our front gate!?]
Meanwhile, a message blared across the server chat in Cheese Village. Zelo froze on his way to sell iron ore to the Nonghyup Union. The culprit... was him.
“P-Potato Servant’s really puffing his chest out, huh...”
— LOOOOL why’s he trembling while talking?
— Your voice is shaking, bro
— Potato Servant is such a poser haha
Ding.
Another message appeared.
[SweetPotato: You dare touch the Knights’ stronghold? Confess and I won’t kill you. Ten seconds.]
Zelo perked up. “Hm. Should I... confess?”
— Yeah do it
— He won’t actually kill you lol
— You’ve got nothing left anyway haha
Resigning himself, Zelo began typing.
[SweetPotato: No, never mind. Don’t confess. There’s no point. I’m not letting this go anyway!]
— HAHAHA
— He said don’t confess lol
— Potato Servant you lunatic
“Dammit, say that earlier!”
Click.
It was too late. Zelo had already pressed enter.
[Zelo: It was me. Please forgive me this once.]
— HAHAHAHA legendary timing
— Bro doomed himself
Ding.
Potato Servant immediately replied.
[SweetPotato: I’ll hunt you down and kill you.]
“Crap... I’m screwed.” Zelo slapped his forehead.
— LOL
— Target acquired
— You’re dead, Zelo
At the same time, Potato Servant slapped his own forehead. “Wait... dammit. I pre-typed that...”
— HAHAHA
— Declared war on Zelo by accident
— Chasing the top streamer to the death, huh
— Classic Potato Servant
He had sent the message before seeing Zelo’s confession.
“Should I... retract it?”
— Nope
— Dignity of a Knight, man
— You gotta own it
Potato Servant held his ground. Meanwhile, Zelo tried to wriggle out of it.
[Zelo: Oh, that was my cat typing. It wasn’t me. I take it back.]
[CreamPuff: LOLOLOL]
[Pickle: Cats play full-dive now, huh?]
[CutiePie: You think you can just take that back? hahaha]
Potato Servant frowned and wondered about playing along with this nonsense.
“So it really was Zelo.”
He scrolled back up.
[Zelo has died from an explosion.]
[Choco Shroom has died from an explosion.]
“What on earth...?”
One thing baffled him above all.
“Why did he blow up our house? And how did he end up dead?”
The attack was strange enough, but killing himself in the process? That made even less sense.
— That’s right...
— What is that??
— Hahaha
— Wasn’t that a mistake??
— Looks like it lol
“Ah. Really? He just dropped it while carrying it? Hmm...”
And so, everyone brushed off the entire incident as Zelo’s clumsy mistake. None of them knew that something still slumbered in the ruins of Sweet Radish’s house. Something Almond had yet to uncover.
***
— Hahahahaha
— Throwing away all your dignity lol
— Zelo, you’re pathetic!
— LMAO
Scratching his head at the chat mocking him, Zelo muttered, “Well, I’ve ruined things with the Knights now.”
“That was already ruined the moment you blew up their gate,” Choco Shroom replied without hesitation.
— LOL true
— Did you really think they’d still be friendly after that? Hahaha
— Shameless
“Uh... anyway, Choco Shroom.” Zelo suddenly grew serious.
“Yes?”
“Take this back.”
Thud.
He set the pile of Iron Ore down, the very same materials Choco Shroom had given him.
“Why are you giving this back?”
“I don’t know when I’ll be hunted down and killed. Better if you keep it safe.”
“Oh... right.”
Just like that, Zelo became a fugitive on the run. It would all be for nothing if he died before selling to the Nonghyup Union. Leaving the ore with Choco Shroom made more sense since the enemies were after him and not her.
“Let’s make sure we sell this to the Nonghyup.”
“Got it.”
With renewed determination, the two arrived at the Nonghyup Union’s headquarters.
Thump, thump.
They knocked on the door.
“Who’s there...? Oh? Zelo?” Donuts appeared to greet them.
“So, you’re the one working with Choco Shroom? Zelo, right? Weren’t you the one who got blown up earlier...?”
— Hahaha
— He knows about the explosion!
— The whole nation knows about that blast lol
“Ah, yes... That’s me.”
“And what happened to Sweet Radish’s front gate?”
“Oh, that... got caught in the explosion too.”
“Ah...”
Donuts gave him an odd look.
— LOL that face
— I’m dying hahaha
— Can’t hold it in
“Well, come in. Have a seat.”
Inside, a few others waited and greeted him in turn.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Horn Ramen, in charge of legislation for the Nonghyup. You could say I’m like one of their assemblymen.”
“And I’m MiddleAgedDetective, in charge of judicial affairs.”
Horn Ramen and MiddleAgedDetective were both big-time YouTubers. Zelo immediately stood up and shook their hands.
“Ah, yes, very nice to meet you. So, you’ve even got a separation of powers. That’s very admirable.”
— Separation of powers? More like separation of nonsense lol
— Why does the Nonghyup need legislative, judicial, and executive branches??
— So Donuts is the president?
— President, prosecutor general, and lawmaker, wow
“I hear you’ve got something you want to sell us.”
“Yes. With this, you’ll be able to stand against Almond.”
At Zelo’s cue, Choco Shroom placed the Iron Ore on the table.
“Hmmm?” Horn Ramen, the most skeptical of the three, raised an eyebrow. “How many of these would it take to arm our people?”
“With what we’ve got, there’s enough for at least a dozen or so people.”
“Ah...” Horn Ramen tilted his head. “Even if we armed ourselves, it’s not like we could beat a monster like Almond. That’s nowhere near enough.”
“They’re only five, and you have over a dozen. Split it up among yourselves even more, and that’s twenty!”
“It’s still not enough. Do you know how badly old guys like us control our characters? Huh?”
— LOL shameless
— Is everyone in the Nonghyup Bubblegum??
— So true hahahaha
“Still, having some means to fight back is better than none, isn’t it?”
“Fine. How many ores do you actually have?”
“About three hundred.”
“We’ll take them for ten silver apiece.”
“What?” Zelo’s face twisted.
After all the trouble he went through, they were only offering him ten silver? For reference, one hundred silver equaled one gold. Crops could fetch five silver coins each on the market these days. A vegetable could fetch five silver!
“Isn’t that a little low?”
“Come on, look at the market price right now.”
“Honestly, the price is whatever we call it.”
“Then, why didn’t you sell it somewhere else?” Horn Ramen crossed his arms smugly. “Why sneak it over here, hmm?”
— God, Horn Ramen is infuriating
— Yeah, you can’t beat these guys lol
— Hopeless
“Wait. Shouldn’t this be handled by the executive branch? Why am I talking to the lawmaker?” Zelo thought Donuts would be easier to deal with, but he was wrong.
These people only looked like pushovers when compared to Almond. In truth, they were anything but that.
“Considering supply and demand, the real value isn’t even two silver apiece,” Donuts added.
“What!?”
“Plus, without skilled blacksmiths in town, we’d have to do the forging ourselves. More importantly, we’re not about to fight the Knights head-on.”
Tap, tap.
Donuts pointed to his own head. “We fight with this, our brains.”
Zelo fell silent.
— Wow, the Nonghyup is ruthless
— Should we even sell to them?
— Might as well dump the lot
Though the chat had lost faith, Zelo pressed on. “Don’t you at least need to defend against monsters?”
“Monsters don’t even come to the Nonghyup anymore. You really can’t read the game, can you?” Horn Ramen cut in again.
“Why do you think the Knights are recruiting? They want to expand their farms. We share ours, so we don’t need that much land per person!”
Zelo had miscalculated entirely and regretted not selling to the Knights instead. Surely they would’ve needed ore as they grew.
“Uh... Zelo.” Choco Shroom nervously looked at Zelo, who began shaking.
— Zelo is about to blow lol
— Incoming rage in three, two...
— He’s really pissed haha
“Living in such peace with their bellies full...” Zelo muttered darkly.
[Bubblegum: What the hell is wrong with those weirdos?! Did you see that?!]
[Miho: Intruder! An intruder has appeared!!]
Suddenly, strange messages filled the server chat. It wasn’t about monsters, but an intruder.
Boom!
A deafening crash thundered through the center of the village. Everyone in the meeting rushed outside, only to find an unbelievable scene waiting for them.