Chapter 54: Black Sheep Exodus #1  

The participants in the Death Circus had a moment when they wished they had refused to join.

It was the time when the fee needed to be paid every hour. Of course, it wasn't pleasurable to risk their lives by challenging difficult attractions or by paying money to other people. But it was a choice they could make with their own will. At the very least, it was their money, not their lives, that was being taken away.

If they knew that there was this nonsensical system in the first place, then no one would have signed the application. But most of them had been thinking about suicide because they didn't have the money to pay off their debts. Some were fooled by the idea of making big money from this.

Yoon Jong-hyun was stuck here for a similar reason.

“I can't die until I kill that Choi Sung-yeol bastard!"

The Death Circus was a hell that appeared in reality.

Yoon Jong-hyun had a fairly good head. He realized that based on the rules of this place, most of the participants would die. In the near future, he might end up suffering from a painful end. Thus, it would be better to commit suicide with his own hands early on.

However, Yoon Jong-hyun's hatred for Choi Sung-yeol kept him alive. Sometimes vengeance was a driving force in life.

But now it was the end. The remaining number on his badge was 5. Five million won. It was the cost of living comfortably for a few months on the outside. However, in here, it wouldn't even keep him alive for an hour.

So instead of getting revenge on Choi Sung-yeol who lied to him, 20 minutes later he would be challenging the attraction of death. Just when Yoon Jong-hyun was in the midst of despair, someone spoke to him.

“I guess you don't have enough money to pay the fee."

Yoon Jong-hyun replied in a loud voice.

“Yes. Are you asking that after seeing the badge on my chest? Stop joking…"

Yoon Jong-hyun trailed off as he saw the badge on the opponent's chest.

"3…300 million!"

If his eyes were wrong, then 360 was clearly written on there. The money needed to get out of here was 200 million. A huge amount of 160 million would remain after he escaped. Yoon Jong-hyun realized that the young man in front of him could save his life.

Yoon Jong-hyun literally fell to the ground. Then he grabbed the pants of the other person.

"P-Please. Can you give me a little bit of money? No, please help me. 30… No, if you lend me 20 million then I will pay back double the amount. Please…"

His life was at stake. Yoon Jong-hyun looked at the person's badge. It stated that his name was Lee Cheol-su.

"Teacher Cheol-su…! It is a request!"

Tae-hyuk coughed a few times and said as smoothly as possible.

“You don't need to do this. First of all, listen to my words."

“W-what…?"

“If you do a few things for me, then I will pay your fee. How about it?"

Yoon Jong-hyun didn't answer right away, since Cheol-su could be trying to trick him. Furthermore, even though he didn't have any money, he might be a bait to deceive others. This was the Death Circus after all. It wasn't easy to trust a person in a place like this. But even so, there was nothing else he could do in his rotten situation.

"I know what you are thinking. You can listen to my words and not do it if you don't like it. I want you to collect all the people who are in danger because they don't have enough money. Of course, we don't want them to play the final game."

"This means…"

"Yes. I will pay all of their fees. If you look at the money I have then you know that it is possible."

“O-Oh my god… God…"

“At any rate, there isn't much time remaining, so please hurry. I will explain more once the people are gathered here."

“……!”

“You can treat me as a scammer, but there is no other choice."

Yoon Jong-hyun nodded as he looked at the face of his saviour.

"Yes! I-I understand!"

Yoon Jong-hyun thought about it as he ran around. If the other person had used more plausible words then he wouldn't have trusted them. However, the man called Cheol-su said that Jong-hyun could doubt him as much as he wanted. It strangely gave him a sense of trust. It was the opposite of Choi Sung-yeol's method of luring people with sweet words.

Tae-hyuk confirmed the time as he was left alone. He had said the same thing to three people apart from Yoon Jong-hyun. If they moved in a hurry, then it wouldn't be too late to gather the people. Every minute and second was precious.

Tae-hyuk looked at the camera and laughed.

@

10 minutes ahead of the payment time, six people were gathered in front of him. They were all people in danger because they didn't have enough money for the fee payment. They looked at Tae-hyuk like he was their saviour.

Tae-hyuk said.

“You were deceived.”

There was a huge uproar.

"W-What?"

“Are you deceiving us now?"

"T-This bastard…"

However, Tae-hyuk's 360 million didn't change. They couldn't do anything but count down the minutes.

Tae-hyuk replied with a smile.

“I had decided to give the fee to you. But in the end, that idea isn't enough."

"W-What do you mean?"

“First of all, let me tell you my purpose.”

Tae-hyuk briefly looked at the six people. Most of them were men in their 30~40s. They had little or no money. They swallowed their saliva and waited for Tae-hyuk to speak.

“I want to escape from the Death Circus with everyone."

“……!”

Tae-hyuk had collected six people using the bait of 10 million won.

The reason was simple. Right now, there shouldn't be a wolf hiding in this group. It was a collection of specifically selected people. 

There were two conditions.

They should have no money. A person who couldn't do anything before the thought of death. 

The people who satisfied these conditions absolutely couldn't be wolves. The only woman among the gathered people raised her hand. She was a timid-looking woman in her early 30s.

“W-Will you really save us?"

“That will be the result."

"Ah… Thank you… Thank you very much…!"

The woman bowed until her head was touching the ground.

'…Ugh. H-Her chest all of a sudden…'

At that moment, Tae-hyuk's conscience showed itself. It wasn't simply through goodwill that Tae-hyuk wanted to help these people escape.  It was so that he could break the Death Circus and Tiwai. He gathered this crowd as part of his plan.

‘You are being used! Don't look at me with such expressions of respect! I'm a bad person!'

Tae-hyuk wanted to shout those words, but he stopped himself. The rules that Kim Joon-young created for the Death Circus were absolute. There were many masked witnesses watching.

However, if the death penalty ended and all guests disappeared, then this promise would be discarded. No matter how much money he made here, he wouldn't be able to take it outside. It would just turn into a piece of data on the badge.

In the end, he had to finish everything while the guests were still here.

Those who didn't know that Tae-hyuk was plotting a wicked conspiracy spoke with touched expressions.

“I-I really want to escape from here…"

"Bringing out all the participants…"

Yoon Jong-hyun, who was mixed among the people, opened his mouth.

“If this succeeds then it will be a miracle like the Exodus.

"Exodus?"

"Yes. The Exodus from the bible. Moses received a revelation from god and took those who were slaves to escape from Egypt. He took them to a land of paradise. Doesn't that seem like the exact same situation now?"

"Ah…"

“Hmm.”

Tae-hyuk coughed at Yoon Jong-hyun. He was now treated as Moses. However, no matter how many crime skills he had, he couldn't split the sea in two.

There was only one thing he could do.

“Then I will give each of you 10 million won and put you in Group A. After this fee settlement is over, I want you to spread this fact to others in the Death Circus. Everybody has a means of escape."

“T-That is all you need?"

"Yes. The next instructions will be in 20 minutes."

"I-I understand."

Those who received money from Tae-hyuk bowed their heads and ran to other places in the Death Circus.

"Hu…"

There was a way for all participants to live. That information would surely spread around the Death Circus in an instant. It was what Tae-hyuk was aiming at.

The participants would no longer need to take part in dangerous attractions or gambling. They had a new hope that they could leave this place alive.

Once that happened, the remaining wolves wouldn't be able to hunt. They would hide their identities and approach Tae-hyuk.

Thus, he invested 20 minutes to gather the Group A. People who couldn't hurt others despite being in a dangerous situation. They absolutely weren't wolves. They would be the main axis for the Exodus.

Tae-hyuk finally contacted Moonlight Flower, who was the most important figure of this operation. He smiled at the surveillance camera and made a shooting motion with his fingers.

It meant to report the current situation. Of course, it also provoked the people watching him.

The reply arrived in seconds.

[P1 Panel]

-It was destroyed by a strong shock.

Tae-hyuk smiled as he saw the message on the Demon Revealing Mirror. The content of the message sent by Moonlight Flower was simple.

-No problem!

Tae-hyuk was inside while Moonlight Flower was outside. The operation to crush the Death Circus was progressing gradually.

@

The wolf hid among the sheep.

Of course, it was in order to eat the black sheep.

@

Tae-hyuk looked at the gathered people.

Group A had done well and almost all of the living participants of the Death Circus were gathered. There were exactly two people missing.

‘Indeed, the Tae-soo and Dae-soo brothers aren't here.'

Wounded wolves would be eaten by other wolves. Maybe they already…

“I think you know why I gathered you here."

Then one participant shouted.

“Are you really going to save us from this place?"

“It could be as a result."

“What do you mean?”

“I am going to escape from the Death Circus from now on. I will take all the people here with me. But there is something you have to do for that to happen."

“……!”

The gathered people started buzzing again.

“You can't escape from here using normal methods. In order to get out, you need to collect 200 million according to Kim Joon-young's rules. I'm not a saviour. I'm just going to give you a definite path."

It was at that moment. The wolf hiding in Group B walked forward.

“Doesn't that mean we have to participate in dangerous attractions after all? How can we believe you? Aren't you a spy sent by the organizers of the Death Circus? Everybody is deceived by that man. If you follow him, then you will die."

“……!”

The words were plausible.

The man who was throwing suspicion towards Tae-hyuk. Tae-hyuk confirmed his name.

'Kim Jun-tae.'

It was strangely similar to someone's name. Tae-hyuk narrowed his eyes and looked at the other person.