A burning pain was felt from my cheeks several times.
我的脸颊好几次感到灼热的疼痛。
“Kim Dokja! Hey! What is this?”
“KimDokja!嘿!这是什么?”
My vision blinked and my consciousness slowly rose to the surface.
我的视线闪烁着，我的意识慢慢浮出水面。
[The exclusive skill ‘Fourth Wall’ is strongly activated!]
[独家技能‘第四面墙’被强烈激活!]
“Uh…”
“呃......”
My voice didn’t sound like me. It was only a moment but it felt like I had become a different existence and came back. A terrible sensation remained in my entire body. The shoulders being touched by Jang Hayoung’s fingers trembled.
我的声音听起来不像我。那只是一瞬间，但我感觉自己变成了另一个人，又回来了。一种可怕的感觉在我的整个身体里挥之不去。张海英的手指触到了他的肩膀，他颤抖着。
“What’s wrong with you?”
“你怎么了?”
I couldn’t clearly remember what had happened. I asked the Fourth Wall to check the Attributes Window and then I heard a voice…
我记不清发生了什么事。我要求第四面墙检查属性窗口，然后我听到一个声音..。
I rubbed my temples and asked, “…How did I faint?”
我揉了揉太阳穴，问道:“......我怎么晕倒的?”
“I don’t know! I came running because of a sudden lightning bolt!”
“我不知道!我跑来是因为一道突如其来的闪电!”
“Lightning?”
“闪电?”
“Do you know the sparks that appear when you break the probability? That…”
“你知道当你打破概率时会出现什么火花吗?那个......”
“Did it strike like lightning?”
“是不是像闪电一样?”
Jang Hayoung nodded. “It was the first time I had seen something so big.”
张海英点点头。“这是我第一次看到这么大的东西。”
My coat and other clothing were charred black. I couldn’t believe that the coat with the automatic restoration function was damaged like this… The ceiling of the office looked like it had been hit by a meteorite.
我的外套和其他衣服都被烧黑了。我简直不敢相信这件有自动修复功能的外套竟然被损坏成这样......办公室的天花板看起来像是被陨石击中了一样。
“Are you okay?”
“你还好吗?”
“I’m fine. Of course, I’m fine…”
“我很好，当然，我很好......”
Rather, I felt lighter. It was impossible. My body was burnt like this but my spirit was clear. The power of my stories felt fuller.
相反，我感到更轻松了。这是不可能的。我的身体被烧成这样，但我的精神是清晰的。我的故事的力量感到更加充实。
[The effect of the exclusive skill ‘Reading Comprehension’ has increased understanding.]
[独特技能‘阅读理解’的效果增加了人们的理解。]
I saw the message and a previous memory emerged. That’s right. I had obviously seen such a message.
我看到了这条信息，之前的记忆浮现了出来。没错。我显然看到过这样的信息。
[Your understanding of the character ‘Kim Dokja’ has increased.]
[你对‘KimDokja’这个角色的理解增加了]
The message marked me as a character. It was something that never happened before. Cool energy filled a corner of my chest.
这条信息把我标记为一个人物。这是从未发生过的事情。清凉的能量充满了我的胸口。
I had seen the presence of ‘characters’ many times.’ They were those who came from outside the original novel but was eventually assimilated with the original. They were mostly those who stopped reading the novel.
我已经多次看到“人物”的存在他们来自原著之外，但最终被原著吸收。他们大多是那些不再读小说的人。
I urgently summoned the Attributes Window. ‘Attributes Window.’
我紧急召唤属性窗口。属性窗口
However, the Attributes Window didn’t easily open. The reason was obvious.
但是，属性窗口不容易打开，原因很明显。
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you.]
[第四面墙在看着你。]
I started sweating.
我开始出汗。
「 Kim Dok ja look ed for 15 se conds. 」
“金道子找15度”
‘I’m sorry, really.’
我很抱歉，真的
Who knew who much time had passed? In fact, 10 or 15 seconds to look at the Attributes Window was a tight time frame.
谁知道过去了多少时间？事实上，10到15秒看属性窗口是一个紧张的时间框架。
「 I wi ll no t see you for the mo ment. 」 ‘Wait, let me ask you something.’ I grabbed the Fourth Wall before it was about to disappear. ‘What the hell is behind that wall?’
“本次航班见不到你了”“等等，让我问你一件事。”在第四面墙快要消失之前，我抓住了它。墙后面到底是什么
It was a vague memory but I definitely saw something before I fainted. I looked a bit closer and it seemed I had been talking to someone. There were clearly a few shadows.
那是一个模糊的记忆，但是在我昏倒之前我确实看到了一些东西。我走近一看，好像是在和什么人说话。很明显有一些阴影。
「 …Sleep y. 」
“...睡觉y”
Then the Fourth Wall fell asleep. The function was still working but the consciousness had turned off. Shit.
然后第四道墙睡着了。功能还在工作，但是意识已经关闭了。该死。
[You have acquired a new story!]
(你有了一个新故事!)
[The story ‘Looked into the Abyss’ has been acquired.]
[《深渊探秘》这个故事已经获得。]
[This story doesn’t have a rating.]
(这个故事没有收视率。)
I stared at the messages in the air with blank eyes.
我茫然地盯着空中的信息。
Looked into the Abyss. I knew the existence of this story from the original novel. I couldn’t prevent the goosebumps.
看着《深渊》，我从原著中就知道了这个故事的存在，我不禁起鸡皮疙瘩。
Unrestrained questions flooded my head. Why did I get this story here? What was the relationship between that story and being called a character? Was I now a character or was I still a reader? I… Was I still able to change the future?
无拘无束的问题充斥着我的脑海。为什么我会在这里得到这个故事？这个故事和被称为一个角色之间的关系是什么？我现在是一个角色还是一个读者？我。.我还能改变未来吗？
“Kim Dokja?” Jang Hayoung was staring at me with emotional eyes.
“KimDokja?”Janghayyoung用充满感情的眼睛盯着我。
How much better would it be if my situation was as clear as his eyes? If I could read myself like I read these eyes…
如果我的处境像他的眼睛一样清晰，那会有多好？如果我能像读懂这双眼睛一样读懂自己..。
At this moment, there was a flash in my head.
这时，我的脑海中闪过一个念头。
「 What if I use Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint on myself? 」
「全知读者视角」
I never thought of it before. There was clearly something lurking inside me that I didn’t know. I didn’t know if it was something the author left behind or if it naturally permeated me during the process of the world changing. The obvious thing was I needed to figure out what it was.
我以前从来没有想到过。很明显，我内心深处潜伏着一些我不知道的东西。我不知道这是作者留下的东西，还是在世界改变的过程中自然而然地渗透到我的脑海中。显而易见的是，我需要弄清楚这是什么。
However, I hesitated to use Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.
然而，我对使用全知读者的视角犹豫不决。
…Could I figure it out using this? In the first place, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint was a skill that read the thoughts and movements of the target…
我能用这个算出来吗？首先，无所不知的读者视角是一种阅读目标的思想和动作的技能。
[…Kim Dokja? Are you okay?]
[...KimDokja?你还好吗?]
I barely escaped from the mire of thoughts thanks to the dokkaebi floating in front of me. “Bihyung?”
多亏了漂浮在我面前的dokkaebi，我才勉强从思想的泥潭中逃了出来
I stared at Bihyung with a stupid expression. Didn’t he say he was leaving earlier? Bihyung started stammering.
我用一种愚蠢的表情盯着Bihyung，他不是说他要早点离开吗。
[Ah… after the sudden storm…]
[啊...在突然的暴风雨之后...]
He said he was busy but he must’ve been observing in the vicinity. In any case, he was a sneaky fellow. I couldn’t trust him.
他说他很忙，但他一定是在附近观察。无论如何，他是个狡猾的家伙。我不能相信他。
[D-Don’t get me wrong. I forgot to tell you that I came back.]
别误会，我忘了告诉你我回来了
As I spoke to the dokkaebi with calm eyes, Jang Hayoung looked over here with the frightened eyes of a rabbit. I patted his shoulder with a gentle gesture and asked Bihyung. “What aren’t you saying?”
当我用平静的眼神和多卡比说话的时候，张海英用一双兔子般惊恐的眼睛看着我。我轻轻地拍了拍他的肩膀，问比亨。“你有什么话没说?”
[As you know, the Demon King Selection will be a very big event.]
[如你所知，恶魔王选择将是一个非常大的事件。]
It was already expected. The story of what happened at the Gourmet Association must be spreading between the constellations. Some of those present would certainly participate in the Demon King Selection.
这已经在意料之中了。在美食家协会发生的故事一定会在星座之间传播。在场的一些人肯定会参与魔王选择。
[It isn’t just getting bigger, there is also a fight over the broadcasting rights. You might’ve expected it but I’m not the only one dispatched to the Demon World.]
这不仅仅是越来越大，还有一场关于转播权的斗争。你可能已经预料到了，但我不是唯一一个被派往恶魔世界的人。]
“Then?”
“然后呢?”
[You know the dokkaebi on the other side.]
你知道另一边的dokkaebi
I knew the dokkaebi?
我认识dokkaebi？
[It is a guy with a huge grudge against you.]
这是一个对你怀恨在心的家伙
There were two of them. However, one was in Murim so there was only one more left. “…Is it Dokgak?”
他们有两个人，其中一个在Murim，所以只剩下一个了
[Yes.]
是的
Dokgak. The dokkaebi, who was in charge of the Japanese channel, had been humiliated by me and Bihyung.
负责日本频道的dokkaebi被我和Bihyung羞辱了。
I was lucky at the time but now it was different. Among the dokkaebis mentioned in Ways of Survival, Dokgak was a person with outstanding talent regarding channel management. If he was chosen as one of the dokkaebis to lead this ‘Demon King Selection’, the future schedule would never flow smoothly.
那时我很幸运，但现在不一样了。在《生存之道》中提到的多卡比斯中，多卡克是一个在渠道管理方面拥有杰出才能的人。如果他被选为dokkaebis中的一员来领导这次“魔王选择”，未来的日程将永远不会顺利进行。
[In any case, be careful. The channel management is good so… wait a minute. What about your dokkaebi?]
无论如何，要小心。渠道管理很好，所以......等一下。你的dokkaebi怎么样
“Dokkaebi?”
“多卡比?”
Come to think of it, I felt very lonely. Through the cracked ceiling, the constellations shining in the sky could be seen. It was strange. I might’ve ordered the blocking of the channel but I should be hearing their complaints. Yet I didn’t hear any messages.
回想起来，我觉得很孤独。透过裂开的天花板，可以看到星座在天空中闪耀。这很奇怪。我可能已经下令封锁了这个频道，但我应该听到他们的抱怨。但是我没有听到任何留言。
“Biyoo?” I called out a name with an uneasy heart.
“碧柳?”我心里忐忑不安地喊出一个名字。
Biyoo didn’t appear. At first, I thought she was sleeping again. However, minutes passed and there was no Biyoo. An ominous premonition struck me.
碧柳没有出现。起初，我以为她又睡着了。然而，几分钟过去了，没有比约。我突然有了不祥的预感。
…Don’t tell me?
别告诉我？
“Biyoo!”
“毕尤!”
Biyoo had disappeared.
碧柳不见了。
***
***
[A new constellation has entered the #BI-90594 channel.]
[一个新的星座已经进入#bi-90594频道]
.
.
[The constellation ‘Bald General of Justice’ is greatly moved by your return.] [The constellation ‘Maritime War God’ is welcoming you with a smile.]
[你的归来使“正义的秃头将军”这个星座深受感动。][“海上战神”星座正微笑着欢迎你。]
[Many constellations are welcoming your return!]
[许多星座欢迎你的归来!]
I entered Bihyung’s channel and familiar names greeted me. I couldn’t rejoice at all despite the baptism of cheers.
我进入了比亨的通道，熟悉的名字向我招手。尽管受到欢呼声的洗礼，我还是不能感到高兴。
[The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ is asking the whereabouts of the dokkaebi ‘Biyoo.’]
[星座‘救世魔王’正在询问dokkaebi‘Biyoo’的下落]
Some of the constellations answered immediately.
有些星座立刻回答了我的问题。
[The constellation ‘Bald General of Justice’ is wiping his head like it is difficult.] [The constellation ‘King Heungmu the Great’ is coughing and placing his thumb and index finger together.] [Some constellations say they are willing to answer if you give them coins.] …It turned out that the constellations of the Korean Peninsula had little money. I rummaged for coins in my pocket while Jang Hayoung opened his mouth. “Perhaps she was caught in the storm?”
[“光头司法将军”正在擦他的头，好像很难似的][星座‘伟大的Heungmu国王’咳嗽着，把拇指和食指放在一起。][有些星座说，如果你给他们硬币，他们愿意回答。]原来朝鲜半岛的星座没有多少钱。我在口袋里翻找硬币，张海英张开了嘴。“也许她遇上了暴风雨?”
Biyoo wasn’t from the bureau and didn’t have a mighty story to protect herself from a great storm. I couldn’t rule out the possibility that she was swept away by the storm. However— “It can’t be. There were no signs.”
碧玉不是联邦调查局的，也没有什么强大的故事来保护自己免受暴风雨的袭击。我不能排除她被风暴卷走的可能性。然而ー“这不可能。没有任何迹象。”
If that happened, terrible debris could be seen. However, there were no traces of Biyoo. It felt as if someone had completely ripped away Biyoo’s existence. Who was it? Who took Biyoo…?
如果发生这种情况，可能会看到可怕的残骸。然而，这里没有Biyoo的痕迹。那种感觉就像有人完全剥夺了碧玉的存在。是谁？谁带走了毕尤...？
Bihyung looked up from where he was biting his nails. Our eyes met and we realized that we had the same idea. Biyoo was the only dokkaebi with an independent channel.
比亨从咬指甲的地方抬起头来。我们的目光相遇，我们意识到我们有着同样的想法。比约是唯一一个拥有独立频道的dokkaebi。
[Fuck, it’s those guys.]
[操，是那些家伙]
“The wenny people.”
“温柔的人。”
The sentences of the original novel flowed into my head.
那本原创小说的句子在我的脑海中闪现。
「 The only scenario area that isn’t under the jurisdiction of the dokkaebis. It is the Demon World. 」
「唯一不在多卡比斯管辖范围内的地区，是恶魔世界」
As written in Ways of Survival, the Demon World was essentially the area of the wenny people. In such a zone, they confirmed there was a dokkaebi who wasn’t a member of the bureau.
正如在《生存之道》中所写的那样，恶魔世界本质上是温柔的人居住的地方。在这样一个区域，他们确认有一个dokkaebi，他不是该局的成员。
-The soul is mine.
灵魂是我的。
The first time we met, he had coveted the Dokkaebi Egg. The value of an independent channel was so large that it couldn’t be calculated at present.
我们第一次见面时，他就觊觎多卡比蛋。一个独立信道的价值是如此之大，以至于目前无法计算。
A giant story event was currently taking place in the Demon World. There was no way the wenny people would miss something happening in their sphere of influence. They had definitely stolen the channel for the Demon King Selection.
一个巨大的故事事件正在恶魔世界上发生。这些温柔的人不可能错过他们势力范围的一些事情。他们肯定偷走了魔王选择的频道。
The wenny people were inherently resistant to probability. Thus, they would’ve been able to take Biyoo when I was unconscious and there was a storm around me. Dammit… why at this point?
那些温柔的人天生就抵制概率。因此，他们本可以在我昏迷的时候，在我周围有暴风雨的时候，带走碧玉。该死...为什么在这个时候？
[Leave it to me. I’ll find them.]
交给我吧，我会找到他们的
I could see anger in Bihyung’s eyes.
我可以从比亨的眼睛里看到愤怒。
[The dokkaebis’ honor is at stake. She might not be a member of the bureau but I can’t see this.]
[多卡比斯的名誉岌岌可危。她可能不是调查局的成员，但我看不出来。]
“Let’s go together.”
“我们一起去吧。”
Bihyung shook his head.
比亨摇了摇头。
[It isn’t long until the Demon King Selection. In the meantime, aren’t there certain things you should be doing?]
(不久之后魔王选择就要开始了。与此同时，你不是应该做一些事情吗?)
That’s right. The remaining time was really short. If I misused this time to find Biyoo, I might be defeated at the start of the competition.
没错。剩下的时间真的很短。如果我这次滥用这个时间去找碧玉，我可能会在比赛开始的时候被打败。
“…Why are you doing this?”
“你为什么要这么做?”
[You belong to my channel now.]
你现在属于我的频道了
Bihyung avoided my gaze while replying.
比亨回答时避开了我的目光。
[I’m just moving for my channel. You have to win. That way, the constellations will like you and my channel will become bigger.]
我只是换个频道而已。你必须赢。这样，星座就会喜欢你，我的频道就会变大
Then Bihyung disappeared into thin air.
然后Bihyung消失得无影无踪。
Jang Hayoung asked, “…Is it okay to believe in him?”
张海英问道:“我们可以相信他吗?”
There was nothing as stupid as a question about believing a dokkaebi. Putting aside my belief in Bihyung, there was no race as mysterious as the dokkaebis in all of the Star Stream.
没有什么比相信多卡比这个问题更愚蠢的了。抛开我对Bihyung的信仰不谈，在整个星流中，没有比多卡比斯更神秘的种族了。
I sighed briefly. Yoo Jonghyuk’s situation wasn’t good right now and Jang Hayoung wasn’t strong enough to pursue Bihyung.
我简短地叹了口气，柳永玉的情况现在不是很好，张韩英也没有足够的力量去追求比亨。
A presence that could help me was in the night sky but the problem was that I was now in Bihyung’s channel. In other words, all messages I sent through the channel would be inevitably read by Bihyung.
一个可以帮助我的存在出现在夜空中，但问题是我现在进入了Bihyung的通道。换句话说，我通过这个渠道发送的所有信息都不可避免地会被Bihyung阅读。
If so… there was only one way. “Jang Hayoung, call the wall.”
如果是这样......只有一个办法。“张海英，打电话给长城。”
***
***
There were quick footsteps in the darkness.
黑暗中传来急促的脚步声。
[Baat, baaaat!]
(叭，叭!)
Biyoo burst out crying as she was trapped in a cage.
碧柳被困在笼子里时，突然大哭起来。
[Baaat! Baat…!]
[啪!啪...!]
An elderly man with a small lump on his left cheek was running along a dark road. There was an excitement in his urgent steps. The old man was in a very good mood.
