[{"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-575":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},1848589,2454,"Chapter 575","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-575",575,"\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chapter 575: The Black Zone (7)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Black Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A marketplace for criminals beyond the reach of universal law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that the transaction accident rate was a staggering 58% said everything you needed to know about how lawless the Black Zone truly was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Maybe I should be more shocked that 42% of transactions actually succeed…?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps that was the more surprising part.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren’t even inside the Black Zone yet, and swindlers were already running rampant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘And charging someone a ridiculous markup probably doesn’t even count as an “accident”… right?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo glared holes into the one-eyed guide walking ahead, but the guy just carried on, calm as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about five minutes of walking, the mountains of scrap metal gradually thinned out, and in the distance appeared a massive dome-shaped, ash-colored structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scattered around it were various “vehicles” that looked like scrap heaps themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That must be the shop.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Yeongwoo muttered this, Kejen nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—See how there are metal plates under all the junk?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Those are emergency retrieval pads. So try not to stand on them if you can help it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why? Isn’t the ground only supposed to swallow things when there’s a serious emergency?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo—and Jeonggu—still hadn’t drawn their weapons, following the implicit rules of the place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen only shrugged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You never know. Maybe the shop suddenly changes its mind and decides to trap us underground. Can’t hurt to be careful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…It’s that bad?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the locals couldn’t relax anywhere in this world… Yeongwoo was honestly stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Holy… maybe I’m not a villain after all. Compared to this place, I’m basically a saint.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo was thinking that, Jeonggu pointed at the “vehicles” and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re not saying we’re going to ride one of those, are we?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Swish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ones he pointed at were lined-up vessels with peeling paint, holes in the hull, and whole chunks missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were scrap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pure junk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the—this is way worse than I thought. I doubt these things could move on the ground, let alone fly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Yeongwoo was speechless at how much worse the selection was than expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen looked almost disappointed in them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You really are rookies. Something like this is supposed to fall apart the moment it lands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Muttering, he added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—When you’ve only ever flown above your station, of course you wouldn’t know what real fieldwork looks like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even Mantero wouldn’t ride these.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—His belly’s gotten soft too, so yeah, probably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, the one-eyed guide finally stopped and pointed forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Here. This guy will take you from here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “guy” ran over—a fuzzy, fluffy ratman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What, is this place owned by your kin or something?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo asked, glancing at Kejen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen immediately shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Technically speaking, that one’s not my species. More like a close subspecies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ratman subspecies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Yeongwoo, they all looked the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, still, you feel at least a little kinship, no?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Do you feel kinship with every creature that has two eyes and hair on its head?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Okay, fair.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—I picked this shop simply because it’s close to the Black Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But we have to stop by your hideout too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen spread his arms lazily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—That’s close as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he showed three fingers to the approaching scrap dealer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Three passengers, one small porter. Budget’s twenty million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ratman’s whiskers twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Twenty million…? Then you won’t be able to land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaning: a four-person vessel at that price wouldn’t even have the minimum durability required to survive touchdown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen casually poked his right palm with his left index finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Planning to fall into the lake. Should be fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another unfamiliar slang term, like “scrap.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the dealer nodded and gestured rightward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Let me show you the thirty-million range.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like the one-eyed guide earlier, he walked ahead first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo leaned toward Kejen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay, what now? ‘Lake’? Another coded phrase?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Not slang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—There’s an actual lake outside the Black Zone’s outer wall. And “optimized” visitors often use it as a landing zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Optimized…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—The ideal scenario is for your ship to die the moment you arrive at the Black Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re insane.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—If the ship’s truly optimized, atmospheric entry will kill it anyway. So you can’t land on solid ground. Angle your descent right and splash into the lake—that’s the best case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Or—and hear me out—you could just spend more money and buy a functional ship.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo was growing progressively allergic to Black-Zone logic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen shook his head again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—That soft attitude won’t keep you alive here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, by pretending to be the kind of person who would want an “optimized death-ship,” they’d probably get a lower price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Listen carefully. The Black Zone respects only two things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two? What are they?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen held up two fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Strength. And—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Guts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—If your guts are impressive enough, deals that should’ve gone bad work out smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his whiskers twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Though plenty of fools die showing off their guts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…So it’s not that the world respects guts. Just… applauds your corpse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Those who meet death boldly are honored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s the point if you’re dead? I thought this place was a criminal den. Actually it’s an asylum.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they exchanged this deranged conversation, the scrap dealer stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—From here on, you’ll like the selection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yeongwoo and Jeonggu saw absolutely no difference from the earlier pile of junk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Kejen walked forward with purpose—apparently he did see something he liked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? There’s actually something usable here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ships with giant holes in the hull, both wings missing, or fuselages riddled with bullet-like holes… no sane person would pick a space-faring vessel from this lineup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-Yeongwoo… is this actually okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even normally composed Jeonggu looked terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was suicide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These look like they’d explode in the middle of space before even reaching orbit…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I agree, honestly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But ironically, this proved something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If sellers right at the entrance of the Black Zone were offering these, it meant locals actually did travel in and out using these junk heaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Insane as it is, we won’t get another chance to try something like this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Kejen himself would also be riding it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A freshly escaped criminal wouldn’t throw his life away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant these ships—while horrifying—were at least usable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just trust a thief’s greed. If he wants to sell the Seal, he needs to arrive alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yeongwoo said this, Kejen finally stopped before a piece of scrap with huge claw marks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—This one looks good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BANG!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kicked the hull and looked at Yeongwoo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re paying thirty million for this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a small rectangular craft with long wings on both sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But… one wing was partially torn off and dangling, and the right side of the hull was shredded with three massive claw marks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like a space dinosaur had attacked it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—A dragon, probably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A dragon? This damage?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Yeah. It must’ve been pretty high up when something with claws this big took a swipe. So—dragon’s the most likely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of lunatic flies close enough to a dragon to get hit like this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You have to respect that courage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, for fucks sa—stop respecting the courage and check the condition!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo reached instinctively for his waist, but Kejen motioned for him to calm down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Look. It took a direct blow from a dragon and didn’t break apart. That means its frame is sturdy. Very sturdy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>THUMP.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen kicked it again, then pointed upward at the broken wing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—And see? The original wing is still there—even if it’s mangled. Weld it a bit and it’ll last until we reach the Black Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about the hull? You’re going to weld that too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeongwoo pointed at the shredded claw marks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kejen turned to the dealer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—You guys can patch that up, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaning: could they do some temporary repair?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dealer’s snout twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—We’ll slap something on it. Should be fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he tapped another scrap hull beside them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump, thump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Probably use this one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaning: he’d rip the side panel off this one and slap it onto the dragon-damaged one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Holy shit…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, Yeongwoo understood why every single item here was missing at least one major part.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every piece of merchandise was also a supply of spare parts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were basically constructing one-flight ships out of junkyard leftovers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flick!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dealer stuck a blue tag on the chosen vessel and the one next to it, then pulled out a small device.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—Payment is this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Translator - Night]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Proofreader - Gun]\u003C\u002Fp>",1420,"2026-06-09T07:04:15.797Z",1,"novelbin.me","592be79818d5ab7ee69ede3684e53bf1498b87937b82b7403ed732ae15f7bd3d","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-576","level-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-chapter-574",688,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flevel-4-human-in-a-ruined-world-cover.jpg"]