[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world":3,"chapter-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-573":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Level 4 Human in a Ruined World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1848587,2454,"Chapter 573","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-573",573,"\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chapter 573: The Black Zone (5)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bridge of the Earthship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo, Jeonggu, and the new prisoner—Kanaph Izori—appeared, everyone’s attention focused on a single point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Namely, Madam Kanaph.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Who… is that person?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Jiseon asked on behalf of everyone in the bridge, Madam Kanaph shrank back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Jiseon looked human, she essentially carried the aura of an ice dragon, and the tremendous cold radiating from her instinctively terrified an amphibious being like Madam Kanaph.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For her, Jiseon was a natural-born predator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh… this is Kanaph Izori. She’s the younger sister of Duke Dalqui.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Duke Dalqui?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s some noble living somewhere. I’m planning to return this lady to him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Wait, you mean she’s a hostage…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even before Yeongwoo could bring up the topic of payment, Jiseon dropped the word hostage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It made sense—there was no way Jeong Yeongwoo would keep someone like this without compensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She assumed he intended to demand ransom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh… hostage? Let’s just say she’s a prisoner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Prisoner, hostage… same thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiseon folded her arms and shook her head, and at that point Yeongwoo pointed with his finger and introduced his family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That person you just saw is my mother. Song Jiseon—no, Jiseon Song Renaissance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Ah, then she’s human too?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well. You could say that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—…As expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Kanaph’s prejudice about humans only grew stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, Yeongwoo pointed at his father, Kim Jeonggu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve already met him, right? My father.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his finger moved toward the seat behind the captain’s chair, toward Taeyang Moro.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And that person is… my mother-in-law, Taeyang Moro.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Taeyang… Moro?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s a star. She’s also the power source of this planetary ship.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—…!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Madam Kanaph hid half her body behind her transparent cloak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—A st-star… is right here? Isn’t that forbidden?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The principle of non-interference between celestial bodies and families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she had lived in a small corner of space, she was well-educated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She immediately understood how unnatural this situation was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo scratched his chin casually and replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well… the very concept of a planetary ship is unnatural anyway.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—S-so on a planetary ship… it isn’t forbidden for celestial bodies to gather together?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No one’s scolded us yet, so who knows. Anyway, it’s hard to operate a planetary ship without interacting with celestial bodies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Yeongwoo pointed toward Parina, seated next to Moro.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That red one is my wife, Parina. She’s a candidate for stellar ascension. Basically, she’ll become a star someday.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Good heavens…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Kanaph looked like she couldn’t believe anything anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But an even scarier fact dawned on her—she wasn’t the only prisoner here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And over there…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo pointed toward Mantero, who was seated at the helm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes met midair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Ah.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Kanaph widened her eyes—she could instinctively tell he was a fellow captive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mantero also showed a faintly sorrowful expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is Mantero, our Earthship’s chief navigator and acting captain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo introduced him, Mantero—befitting a royal navigator—offered Madam Kanaph a flawless, formal greeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Good heavens…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Kanaph whispered another “good heavens,” but for a completely different reason this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the first proper etiquette she’d seen since arriving here, and she was genuinely moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Where… did you bring that man from? He doesn’t look like someone who should be near a rogue like you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo replied without a hint of shame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our acting captain? He was the chief navigator of the Delcen royal family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Delcen…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one in the universe would fail to recognize the name of that dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Kanaph’s mouth fell open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, he’s probably the most educated person on our ship.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo laughed heartily and pointed at the next “prisoner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That one over there is our Earthship’s prospective tenant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Prospective… tenant?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s got a lot of enemies chasing him. This is Koatu the Arms Dealer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Koatu raised a hand lightly in greeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Koatu. Welcome to the Moving Abyss… though it’s unfortunate you ended up here. You look like an important person, which is… regrettable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—…….\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Koatu’s bleak and nihilistic greeting, Madam Kanaph looked horrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of them were normal—contrary to what Yeongwoo had said earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now, lastly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo pointed at Kejen the swordsman, who bowed elegantly in some half-remembered formal gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Kejen Gialto, thief of shadows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—…Kanaph Izori.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the final prisoner finished greetings, Yeongwoo clapped loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clap!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now it’s finally time to depart. Let’s hope all three of us return alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen tilted his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Three…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m taking my father too. Four, technically. We’ll need a porter to move the ingots.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo pointed at the golden goblin, who pulled out the Katangdal ingots from his subspace pouch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Kiii!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, walking around with those ingots would draw the attention of every criminal in the sector.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—A porter would be necessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen nodded after seeing the sheer number of ingots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, the ingots they planned to exchange in the Black Zone totaled 25 pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten were Koatu’s slush fund, and fifteen were Yeongwoo’s share.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You’re going to convert all of that into Karma…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty-five ingots is 37.5 billion worth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen grimaced, and Yeongwoo asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? The Black Zone can’t handle that volume?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—It’s not that. But since it’s such a huge sum, the buyer will be one of two types.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Kejen raised two fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—A con artist… or a major big shot. The former is a hassle. The latter is dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is 37.5 billion in cash that big even in the Black Zone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Of course. That’s enough to buy a mid-to-low tier heavy cruiser in a single payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well… if we can’t find anyone suitable, we’ll just split it up and sell it in parts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo wasn’t very worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no need to unload all of it today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, there was another transaction planned in the Black Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still needed to retrieve Kejen’s hidden royal signet of the Kardal Royal Family and sell it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s find the signet first. Then we’ll decide what to sell.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Right. If you’re planning to cause trouble, you might not be able to return for a while… so we should take care of everything in one go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen looked out the bridge window into space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You heard this already, but first we need to rent a ship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where do we rent one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen replied in a quiet voice only he could hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—This is the outer rim of the Tuani Galaxy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…So?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The natives here all know. Almost everyone who comes to this region is headed for the Black Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he lifted a finger to his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—And they know many of them don’t want their identities revealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s why rental businesses were so developed around this sector.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The Black Zone is shady. That’s why prestigious families especially want to hide who they are.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So no one enters using their own family’s ship?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Of course not. That’s why the rental market is thriving. You can even rent bodyguards if you want.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They rent bodyguards…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Everyone knows the Black Zone has a high incident rate. So newcomers hire guards for emergencies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, people who weren’t used to dealing with criminals would hire local mercenaries before entering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then most of those customers must be newbies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Not just newbies. Rich newbies from well-off families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then those rental bodyguards… are from the Black Zone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Right. Which means you should be more wary of the guards. Many of them betray their clients.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…So the entire Tuani outer rim is basically the Black Zone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing all of this, Yeongwoo had another question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then how do you trust the rental companies? Aren’t they shady too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Which is why you shouldn’t act too noble or rich. But you don’t qualify as either, so you’ll be fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen twitched his long rat-man whiskers and grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo also laughed loudly and playfully pointed his sword at Kejen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop talking crap and let’s go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—At last, I can touch my signet again…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen wiggled his fingers as if the signet were right before him, and Earth stood before the navigation device.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>『Where should I drop you off? There are too many planets nearby.』\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, who better than our resident thief to pick a spot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo looked at Kejen, the only real guide for this mission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen stroked his small chin and said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—How much can you spend on the rental ship?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? How much do they usually cost?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Since there are only four of us, we just need a vehicle with a thruster and maneuvering controls. Those usually cost 200 million to rent, plus a 400 million deposit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s pretty expensive. Why is there a deposit?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Because lots of people rent a ship… and never come back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah. Makes sense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaning they died after entering the Black Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if there’s a set fee, why ask our budget?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Because if you plan on returning on someone else’s ship… there are cheaper options.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>",1486,"2026-06-09T07:04:15.797Z",1,"novelbin.me","5bf9fc2a7696abcaed33d3e8644c532e1bceee54428813b7d33aa269e70b8dde","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-574","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-572",688,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flevel-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-cover.jpg"]