To be honest, I didn’t think I could lie down forever. After all, this body was controlled by the system, and the system attached to me desired the destruction of humanity. I knew it wouldn’t just sit back and watch me do nothing.

But I thought it would at least give me enough time.

If you’ve lived a hard life, shouldn’t you get at least one break?

So, considering the time I went back due to forced execution, I’ve suffered for over 10 years. I thought it would allow me to rest for at least a year without thinking about anything.

But forget a year, it’s been barely a month since I started lying down, and this absurd quest popped up.

I guess the sting from Han Geon-joo’s backstabbing made me forget.

How cruel the system invoking the true evil of humanity could be.

‘Death of your four closest confidants.’

I knew exactly what that sentence in the penalty referred to. If I had to name four closest confidants right now, it could only be the Night Rat executives.

In other words, those four who have been coming to my room recently, putting on tearful shows trying to cheer me up – dancing out of nowhere, bringing pets, or shaking toys.

Those four who bring me food for every meal, trying to feed me even by force when I refused to eat. Those four who skillfully manage the guild’s affairs that have stagnated while I’ve been bedridden, controlling potentially chaotic situations.

Those four who, every time they come, cast worried glances while pretending not to, who try to lighten my mood by badmouthing Han Geon-joo, who, instead of disparaging their weakened guild master lying in bed, try to comfort me in their own ways – those four, frustratingly benevolent people, could die because of my quest.

“If you’re going to go crazy, at least do it in moderation.”

Even thinking about it again made my blood boil, and I cursed. As if my powerless bedridden state had been a lie, anger filled my body.

Were they targeting those four because there was no one else to mess with?

Since the first quest, the system window had never ordered me to kill my closest confidants or included their deaths as a penalty. So I had unconsciously felt at ease, but of all times, this penalty appeared now. It would be a lie to say it wasn’t infuriating.

Jongsik had been more devoted to me than anyone. Gyeongjin, though swayed by capitalism, was a trustworthy person, and Yen, though suspicious, had performed his duties admirably without showing any signs of betrayal for years. Chanhee was the most skilled in handling combat-related tasks among the Night Rat members.

And all four of them had spent quite a long time with me.

I didn’t want the death of those four. Especially not Jongsik, who knew about the system.

Without him, who would I complain to about the system, who would join me in cursing the system, who would understand my situation?

‘So try to understand.’

Fuck, why this again?

I don’t know why that phrase suddenly came to mind. Furrowing my brow at Geon-joo’s words that popped up unexpectedly, I first cleared the unsightly system window from my view. Just before the quest window disappeared, the penalty section seemed to shake as if emphasized.

Damn it.

They were mercilessly good at exploiting people’s weaknesses.

With the death of my closest confidants as a penalty, I couldn’t just lie here anymore, so I got up without hesitation.

I had hoped to lie down and indulge in self-pity for at least half a year even if a quest appeared, but the impatient system’s quest wouldn’t allow it.

Gritting my teeth as I stood up straight, my body swayed dangerously, having been lying down for so long. My rank had also dropped too much. It felt like I was back to square one, bringing a wave of emptiness.

Even though I got up because of the severe penalty, the futility and emptiness I had felt hadn’t disappeared. I still wanted to reject life and just lie down if I could. Now that I had experienced it, I knew how comfortable, sweet, and cozy it was.

But the system helped me understand my place.

Comfort, sweetness, and coziness were far from my life. Far from the true evil of humanity, and far from a life of resisting this damned system.

It was something unattainable from the start, like a pie in the sky.

The past few weeks had been nothing more than a midsummer night’s dream.

“What a nasty personality.”

They could have informed me in other ways, but they chose this shock therapy to help me realize my place. Still, they had helped me regain my senses that had fled due to the aftermath of loss, so I felt I should definitely complete the quest in return.

As I leaned against the wall to support my swaying body, determined to complete it perfectly, the closed door of the room opened.

It was the Night Rat executives.

“…Hyung?”

All four of them stared at me with wide eyes, seeing the person who should have been lying down standing up. Gyeongjin called out to me as if he couldn’t believe it. I frowned at the four executives who were staring at me blankly with surprised expressions.

“What are you standing there for? Aren’t you going to help, you bastards?”

It was difficult to raise my voice after not using it for so long. My cracked voice must have sounded quite hideous, as they snapped out of it and rushed to my side.

“Hyung! Are you alright now?”

“Hyung! It’s me, Jongsik. You remember my name, don’t you?”

“You’ve been lying down for so long, our Hyung. Can you tell how many fingers this is?”

Gyeongjin, Jongsik, and Yen bombarded me with noisy questions, distracting me. I broke away from the three making a fuss and reached out to Chanhee, who still had a blank look.

“Support me.”

At my command, Chanhee, despite his dazed expression, diligently moved to support me. Even in the midst of confusion, the thought that he should follow my orders was ingrained in his body. Satisfied, I looked at the four executives with focused eyes. As our gazes met, their emotions were conveyed. Some were overly moved, some were relieved, some showed interest, and some were holding back tears.

It’s been what, two months since losing Han Geon-joo?

With my sense of time blurred, I checked the calendar on the wall and retraced my position that the system had reminded me of.

I was the ‘true evil of humanity’, living under the system’s control for 26 years, and the guild master of Night Rat who had brought in and raised a B-rank to activate the ‘resistor’, only to be backstabbed and lose my mind for two months.

A month of despair and another month of resignation made two months in total, so I had suffered enough. It was regrettable that I couldn’t rest more, but two months was enough to act like an idiot, stumbling over one Han Geon-joo.

So it was time to take responsibility for the Night Rat guild master title that I had temporarily set aside. I had tempered my mind enough over the past two months. I steeled myself, taking in the four by my side, believing that I wouldn’t be swayed so weakly like this in the future.

What mattered now wasn’t the one insolent bastard who had fled far away to an invisible place, but the lives of these four who had stood by me while I was mired in despair.

I had to save them first.

Dealing with Han Geon-joo would come after that.

I gave up on reactivating the resistor. I had no intention of finding him again to create a friendly relationship.

However, I would make him pay for daring to stab me in the back and run away.

Deciding to no longer care about understanding or equality, I looked at the four executives and smirked.

I had no intention of thanking them. I wasn’t that grateful to begin with. However.

“Good job.”

I could at least say that much, and when I did, the executives’ eyes widened before each reacted in a way fitting their personalities. They either laughed, cried, or asked for money if they were grateful – one of the three.

I briefly received an update on the situation from Jongsik and stroked my chin.

“For now, let’s maintain the activity suspension for about another month.”

“Will a month be enough?”

“It’s sufficient.”

Had his intuition improved while I was lying down? Even without further explanation, Jongsik seemed to understand what maintaining the activity suspension meant.

Nodding calmly at his worried gaze, I assigned new tasks to the four executives.

As always, Yen was put in charge of disciplining and training the guild members, Jongsik was tasked with administrative work to ensure the guild could operate normally in a month, and I handed over gate management authority to Chanhee.

“While managing the gates, have a C-rank gate ready for entry by the day after tomorrow.”

“Why suddenly a gate…”

Chanhee trailed off, looking me up and down. “Guild Master, you can’t mean…” He opened his mouth, seemingly dumbfounded. Predicting what he was about to say, I pulled out a dagger from my inventory.

“I need some rehabilitation after resting, don’t I?”

At those words, everyone except Yen shouted in opposition, but my stubbornness was unyielding. However, this time, the executives who had suffered for two months were equally stubborn.

They berated me, saying how could I even think about gates when I couldn’t even stand on my own without support. I sighed. The conclusion reached after negotiation was that I would undergo rehabilitation in my room for at least three days before heading to a D-rank gate.

“Come on, I’m the Night Rat guild master, isn’t a D-rank too ridiculous?”

“We were going to suggest an E-rank, but held back because you’re the guild master.”

“You should recover somewhat in three days,” Chanhee added, rolling his eyes. His personality was more stubborn than Jongsik’s, so this time I backed down and finally looked at Gyeongjin.

As our eyes met, Gyeongjin made an ominous expression. I moved my lips a couple of times before speaking.

“Gyeongjin, I want you to investigate Han Geon-joo again.”

“…If it’s your request, Hyung, I have to comply.”

After a thoughtful expression, he answered a beat late. I felt a familiar nostalgia at Gyeongjin reverting to his casual tone now that I had gotten up, and smirked.

“Don’t worry. I’ve given up on the idea of bringing back the runaway.”

Asking him to investigate Han Geon-joo was just to capture him.

After all, to make him pay for backstabbing me, I needed to catch him first.