Ugh...
A dull ache pounded in his skull, and his stomach growled with hunger.
Ken was slowly regaining consciousness, but a crushing weight seemed to press down on his entire body. He tried to open his eyes, but…
What's going on?
A strange sensation ran through him. That gentle swaying, the constant vibration beneath him... He knew that feeling all too well. He was moving.
A car?
Still unable to open his eyes, he could only guess at what was happening. But one thing was certain: he wasn't on a bench anymore. No—he was sitting… in a seat.
And he was right.
Ken was currently in the back of a black van—the very same one that had stopped in front of him just before he passed out. In other words…
He had just been kidnapped.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
He tried again to open his eyes, but it was useless. It wasn't the pain holding him back. No…
My eyes... Why can't I...?
A brutal realization struck him.
They're covered. Shit!
His breathing quickened. He tried to speak, but only a muffled groan escaped his throat.
Ugh! Ugh!
His mouth was taped shut.
He tried to move his hands—nothing. They were tightly bound together. His legs too.
What the hell is this?! Can someone tell me what's going on?!
He struggled, thrashing wildly in his seat. His strained muscles screamed in protest, but the restraints didn't budge an inch.
Then suddenly—
"Easy there, big guy... Settle down."
A mocking male voice echoed right beside him.
Ken froze.
An unpleasant shiver ran down his spine. A cold, metallic pressure had just pressed against his forehead.
A gun...?
His heart skipped a beat. The object against his skin—there was no mistaking it. It was a gun.
A Desert Eagle.
The man in front of him increased the pressure of the barrel, as if savoring his helplessness.
"...Before you end up with a nice little hole in your head ahead of schedule."
The threat was crystal clear. And yet, something felt… off.
Ken should have been terrified. He should have been shaking, overwhelmed with adrenaline, his survival instincts screaming at him to react.
But none of that happened.
Huh?
His mind was racing, unable to grasp what was happening to him.
Why... why am I so calm?
His heart was beating normally. His breathing was steady. Not a single drop of sweat. No trembling.
It was… strange.
Is this a joke?
He tried to assess the situation logically.
Okay, let's break this down. I've just been kidnapped. I'm tied up, gagged, blindfolded, and now there's a gun pressed to my forehead. So, can someone tell me...
Why the hell am I this relaxed?!
He forced his mind to scan his own body, searching for some rational explanation. His pulse wasn't elevated. His breathing was controlled, effortless. He didn't feel the slightest trace of fear.
Have I gone numb to fear?
No. That wasn't it. He still remembered what fear felt like. His past was full of it.
Fear… he knew it all too well.
But now—
It was as if his entire body was whispering:
A gun? So what?
The man beside him hummed a cheerful tune, occasionally tapping Ken's forehead with the barrel of the gun.
But Ken… still felt nothing.
No fear.
No anger.
Not even curiosity.
Just… a cold, chilling indifference.
An absurd thought crossed his mind.
So this is what it feels like to lose your mind...
Yeah… that made more sense than anything else.
Maybe I've finally gone insane.
After everything he'd been through… it wouldn't be surprising.
The van kept moving, the atmosphere inside just as heavy, unchanged. But in truth, Ken was experiencing something completely new.
I'm not dreaming, right?
Just a few hours ago, his instincts were those of a normal human being. But now… something had shifted.
His body—or rather, his intuition—was whispering something utterly insane.
If I wanted to... I could neutralize the guy next to me.
Not just him.
I could take down the driver too—probably his accomplice—and get out of this vehicle without a scratch.
And that… despite the restraints.
A thought like that should've made him laugh.
How could he possibly fight, tied up the way he was?
No… this wasn't just a thought.
It wasn't some desperate escape fantasy conjured by a panicked mind.
It was a certainty.
This is insane…
His mind was already sketching out a precise plan of attack—each movement, each strike, each possible reaction from his enemies. Everything was clear.
It was like… a pre-installed program in his brain.
A faint smirk, barely visible beneath the tape sealing his mouth, tugged at his lips.
Since when... have I started thinking like this?
Then, suddenly, a memory surged to the surface.
CQC.
His heart skipped a beat.
No matter how I look at it... This pattern—it's exactly like the CQC I saw in that movie!
Images flashed through his mind. Close-combat scenes, takedown techniques...
But why?
Then, like a distant echo, another memory resurfaced.
[ Permanent privilege 'CQC Expert' granted.
Free trial ended. ]
...Huh?
He remembered.
Or rather—he had seen something. A blue screen.
So I wasn't hallucinating...
He didn't know why, but he could feel that this voice was closely tied to the abnormal calmness he was experiencing right now. To this absurd, almost supernatural sense of confidence.
He still doubted himself. But one thing was crystal clear:
I can take them down.
He knew it.
Not just a vague hunch. Not a theory.
An absolute certainty.
His instincts weren't lying. Somehow, he could win.
It's one thing to imagine a plan... but pulling it off is something else entirely.
He took a deep breath, intentionally slowing his heart rate.
I'll wait a little longer.
Everything happening today was insane—a string of events no logic could explain.
He no longer understood anything.
His sense of reality, his beliefs... all of it was crumbling.
No... This can't be real. It's a nightmare.
A twisted, delirious dream he desperately hoped to wake up from.
… Sigh.
He exhaled slowly, trying to stay calm.
But as if the universe had it out for him, something else shattered that fragile balance.
A glowing blue interface suddenly appeared before his blindfolded eyes.
What…?!
He couldn't see—and yet, the blue screen was perfectly visible.
Ken felt a strange sense of déjà vu. But this time, the message came with a mechanical voice:
---
[ Job Interview: Become a Bartender ]
Duration: 1 week
Reward: Fixed-Term Contract – 1 month
Penalty: -$100,000 (Unpaid debt → IMMINENT DEATH)
Bartender Starter Kit ($5,000 value) – Valid for 1 week ]