241: Chapter 242 "Order Wars" [Clone City]: The [Random Man] Who Fell into the Underground Junkyard

A figure plummeted rapidly down a "special conduit" specifically designed for discarding trash.

Along the way, he smashed through layers of glass baffles that had become brittle with age due to lack of replacement.

The piercing sound of shattering glass intertwined with the whistling of the airflow, echoing through the "special conduit" accompanied by the screams of the [Passerby Man].

Having fallen an unknown distance, a layer of viscous liquid began to appear on the inner walls of the conduit.

As the Passerby Man detached from the end of the conduit and entered a dark space, the anticipated hard ground and body-shattering impact did not occur.

Instead, he collided with a soft, viscous obstacle; with a muffled "pop," the Passerby Man bounced off the soft, uneven, viscous ground several times as if he were on a trampoline before finally coming to a stop.

A sweet scent instantly flooded his nasal cavity—it was the smell emitted by the unknown viscous liquid he had gotten on himself during the fall.

In this pitch-black, soft expanse, this sweet scent drifted from all directions.

The Passerby Man, who had been called a "jinx" since childhood, was already accustomed to encountering various situations due to his bad luck.

In the past, he always carried various "emergency tools" on him.

During one unfortunate event, the Passerby Man "accidentally" became the Host of the [Dream System] and saw his awakened B-rank Talent on the [dream system panel]—[Beset by Misfortune]: A natural-born "jinx" that passively absorbs all misfortune in the surroundings and acts upon himself.

Upon seeing his high B-rank Talent, the Passerby Man's first reaction was that he could finally turn his life around and escape his unlucky Physique.

However, when he saw the description of his Talent, the Passerby Man felt as though his entire being had turned gray.

The Talent, certified by the [Dream System], seemed to be telling him, "You are a 'true, natural-born jinx.'"

The exclusive Dream Spirit manifested by the Passerby Man also fit his unlucky Physique well; it was a pitch-black egg named [Unlucky Egg].

Normally, it would passively absorb and store a portion of the Passerby Man's own misfortune, though it could also actively absorb and store his misfortune.

When it reached its limit of absorption and storage, it would randomly choose between the two abilities: [Compress - Strengthen Misfortune] and [Burst - Release Misfortune].

During a certain time in a [Dream Mission World] called [Deep Sea Gambling Ship], he accidentally obtained misfortune from his counterpart in another spacetime.

Under the influence of this double misfortune, his Talent was reforged and evolved into the A-rank Talent [Person of Calamity]—a natural-born "star of calamity" that continuously generates calamity and passively absorbs all calamity in the surroundings, forcing it upon himself and everything around him.

Before entering the [Dream Mission World] of Battle of Sequences, the Passerby Man's Dream Spirit, [Unlucky Egg], had already continuously absorbed and compressed three full capacities of calamity.

The calamity, strengthened three times in a row, was suddenly released while the Passerby Man was riding in a hovercar, causing him to plummet all the way into a massive "dump" deep underground in [Clone City].

The Passerby Man skillfully pulled a flashlight from his trouser pocket.

With a "click," a bright white beam of light illuminated the dark underground dump.

As the Passerby Man's eyes adjusted to the change in light and he saw the countless "trash" in front of him, he couldn't help but gasp.

As that sweet scent filled his nasal cavity again, the Passerby Man couldn't help but cough a few times, trembling as he shone the flashlight toward the several "trash mountains" in the distance.

Broken metal, discarded motor oil, cold food—countless varieties of trash fell into this dump through the numerous special conduits overhead.

The viscous liquid emitting the sweet scent was exactly what these trashes transformed into.

One could see small drones in the air spraying the viscous liquid onto the trash, and these trashes were assimilated into the sweet, viscous liquid at a speed visible to the naked eye.

What shocked the Passerby Man, even causing him to feel the urge to vomit, were the countless human bodies covered by the viscous liquid; strictly speaking, they were the bodies of [Clones].

The Passerby Man had just taken a cautious step when he fell onto the viscous liquid.

With wide eyes, he stared at the face of a [Clone] that was almost touching his own.

The Passerby Man panicked, bracing his hands on the ground to stand up, but his palm inadvertently slapped the [Clone]'s face.

The [Clone], which had originally been breathing with its eyes closed, suddenly opened its eyes, scaring the Passerby Man into a cold sweat.

Looking at the other's vacant eyes, the Passerby Man tentatively extended a finger toward the tip of the other's nose.

After feeling warm breath and seeing the other's chest rise and fall, he confirmed that the [Clone] had fallen into a state of forced dormant sleep.

While observing the other's body, the Passerby Man was surprised to find that these sleeping [Clones] still possessed breath, and this viscous liquid acted as a buffer to offset gravity and provide life-sustaining nutrients between the [Clones], allowing tens of thousands of forcibly dormant [Clones] to be piled up into "trash mountains."

Watching the [Clones] slowly absorbing the viscous liquid through their skin, a flash of helplessness crossed the Passerby Man's eyes.

He stood up slowly, took the pitch-black [Unlucky Egg] from his trouser pocket, and while sighing, muttered to himself: "So, what terrifying conspiracy have I accidentally gotten dragged into this time?"