The Price of Free Riding (2)
Lee Gyeongbok stood in front of the next carriage door. He had already grasped the bandits' positions through his divine energy, but he glanced into the carriage through the window to check the situation.
It was to inform the viewers.
"Hand it all over unless you want to die!"
"Gentlen? We're only being kind here. If you don't cooperate, we'll kill you and take it ourselves."
Unaware of Lee Gyeongbok's approach, the bandits were robbing the passengers of their valuables.
- Listen to these damn bandits talk, lol
- They don't even know Godple is outside, tsk tsk
- Karma education incoming!
Viewers expected a good response from Lee Gyeongbok. And he didn't disappoint them.
"Fortunately, there are only four."
He said lightly, then flung the door open. The startled bandits turned just in ti.
With successive gunshots, the bandits collapsed.
Not one managed to draw their gun.
- Damn, that was so crazy quick draw, lol
- When he said 'only four,' did he an he only needed four shots?
- Lol, a revolver has six shots
- Since he has dual revolvers, he could take out up to twelve people, lol
- But if the passengers are taken hostage during a reload, then it's a hassle, lol
The viewers admired the clean outco. Lee Gyeongbok smirked and turned back towards the passengers.
There was so bandit blood splattered on the passengers' blank faces.
"I'm from Preston Detective Agency. It's safe back there, so let's move along."
Lee Gyeongbok spoke as he flashed his badge.
Perhaps they snapped out of it, as the passengers sprang up in a hurry.
"Preston...!"
"Th-thank you!"
"Please, be careful!"
They expressed their gratitude and scurried away. After quickly reloading, Lee Gyeongbok moved to the next carriage.
"Damn it...!"
"What the hell happened?"
"Jacob! Go check it out!"
This ti, the bandits' posture was different. Perhaps because of the gunfire earlier, they hunkered behind the seats, on guard.
'They've even got a shotgun in there.'
Cautiously, Lee Gyeongbok pressed himself against the wall by the door. One bandit approached it carefully.
Then ca the creak of the door opening.
"Ghk!"
Lee Gyeongbok grabbed the bandit by the collar and charged into the carriage.
"Shit!"
"Shoot!"
Startled, the bandits opened fire imdiately. The thunderous report nearly deafened him.
But Lee Gyeongbok was unscathed. The bandit he held served as a shield.
The result was no different from before—the bandits, holes in their heads, sat down where they fell.
- Enemy shield deployed!
- Life tip: if you don't have a bulletproof vest, use soone else's body
- Wow, how can he stay so calm in this situation?
- Ah yes, because he owns the perfect liver
- And he even scores headshots, lol
Viewers marveled all over again, but not for long.
"Damn it! What's going on?!"
"How many of them are there?!"
"Surround him, quick!"
"Just shoot!"
With the increasing gunfire, the bandits began to leave the train. Lee Gyeongbok quickly ducked down and pressed himself to the window.
At the sa ti, the bandits opened fire from outside. Glass shattered and flew everywhere.
- Huh?
- This is sothing different now, wow
- It's much better to fight inside the carriage, shit
- Isn't this just too cheap?!
- Well, that's what outlaws are, lol
- But seriously, what should he do now?
Viewers showed their concern for the situation. Lee Gyeongbok answered with action rather than words.
He lassoed over the dead bandit's double-barrel shotgun with his rope.
'As expected, there's one round left.'
After checking the remaining shell, he grinned.
"Is he dead?"
"Let's rush him from both sides."
anwhile, the bandits outside stealthily moved towards the carriage.
Lee Gyeongbok waited calmly for the right mont. As the bandits closed in from one side, he rose and counterattacked.
Shotgun in one hand, revolver in the other.
The buckshot mowed down the bandits on one side, and the remaining bandits on the other side dropped one by one, shot with lead.
- Crazy! He fired a shotgun one-handed?
- Lol, are you new here?
- He showed one-handed shotgunning on the very first PerG-Day broadcast!
- The crazy thing isn't that, it's the simultaneous shooting, lol
- Seriously, how can a human see both sides at once?
- How wide must his field of vision be?
-(Kemalcon)(Kemalcon)(Kemalcon)
- His eyes! Look at those eyes!
- Wow, totally cleaned up a dozen people
Despite the admiration, Lee Gyeongbok didn't look pleased. He tossed aside the spent shotgun and reloaded the revolver.
"There's still one left."
A bunch of question marks appeared in the chat, but he left the carriage and headed for the engine room. Amid the piled-up coal, he saw two figures.
"D-don't move!"
"Uwaaa...!"
The last bandit was holding the engineer hostage. Both showed obvious tension.
"You! Drop the- the gun!"
"Save ! Please, I beg you!"
The bandit yelled, pressing the gun to the engineer's temple. The engineer whimpered in terror.
Lee Gyeongbok wrinkled his nose.
"If the engineer dies, doesn't the train beco useless?"
That would be a problem.
Not only Jerry, but all the remaining passengers would have to walk, wouldn't they?
"If you surrender quietly, no one gets hurt."
Lee Gyeongbok addressed the bandit.
But the bandit seed to think he had the upper hand.
"Don't play gas! If you don't do as I say, one of the three dies, no matter what!"
He pointed the gun at the engineer and Lee Gyeongbok in turn, shouting.
Lee Gyeongbok exhaled quietly and glanced at the engineer.
"You might be a little surprised."
"Shut up! Just drop that damn gun—"
Just as the bandit was about to shout again, a bang rang out followed by a scream.
"Aaaagh!"
It was the bandit who scread.
He rolled on the ground, clutching his hand.
- Huh?
- What happened? Why did the gun go off?
- Whatever it was, it serves him right, lol
- Who does he think he is, threatening people in front of Godple?
Viewers didn't understand what had happened but rejoiced anyway. At least the only one suffering was the bandit.
"I figured I ought to leave at least one alive to arrest. So I shot the gun barrel."
At Lee Gyeongbok's explanation, the chat filled with question marks.
- You shot the barrel?
- You an you shot the gun, not the bandit?
- Crazy! That's why the gun exploded?
- Did he catch him switching guns and shoot at the perfect mont?
- Lol, if he can hit a grenade pin, this should be easy
- Yeah, the distance was short, so it must've been even easier, lol
- The cocky guy got gun-banged!
- Lol, his gun exploded and he lost?
- You get the winner's necklace, lol
Soon, the viewers understood.
His marksmanship was already proven in Gunner Ground.
"You bastard! Die! Die, you jerk!"
At that shout, both Lee Gyeongbok and the viewers turned to look. The freed engineer was venting his rage by kicking the fallen bandit.
- Lol, nPC reactions are amazing
- If it were , I could tap-dance 10 hours on that jerk's face
- Totally self-defense here
Viewers burst out laughing.
Lee Gyeongbok quickly cald the engineer down.
"Now, now. Please calm down and restart the train."
Still fuming, the engineer bowed politely to Lee Gyeongbok as if nothing had happened.
"Of course! I really, truly don't know how to repay you...!"
"It's nothing. Just doing my job. I'll tie up this guy tightly."
While the engineer resud the train, Lee Gyeongbok tied up the bandit—his face beaten and swollen—by the coal pile.
He sat him down beside the coal.
"Just hit him enough he doesn't die."
"Of course! You vermin! You're headed for the gallows!"
The engineer took great pleasure in cursing out the groaning bandit.
- What a considerate guy, lol
- Is this where Sweet Purple shows up?
- Is this what we call being sweet, lol
- Is this the wild west's rule-of-law spirit?
- Damn, this is hilarious
Viewers burst out laughing at the response. Lee Gyeongbok leisurely returned to the carriage where Jerry was waiting.
"Oh! Oh! The detective has returned!"
"The train started moving again...!"
"Thank you so much!"
"You saved us!"
Jerry and the passengers cheered upon his return. Lee Gyeongbok smiled calmly and waved a hand.
"It wasn't anything difficult. You must have been startled, but you can relax now."
The passengers' eyes grew wide at his words.
"You took out all those bandits by yourself?"
"You're a truly remarkable marksman."
"I'd heard of Preston Detective Agency's fa, but I didn't know it was this impressive..."
"To say all this was nothing!"
As the passengers spoke, the viewers beca even more excited.
- Is this Purple confidence at work?
- Even NPCs are falling for the Deceit, lol
- Are you all Troopers? You are, right?
- Hey! Let in, too!
* * *
Soon, the train arrived at its destination.
Just as Lee Gyeongbok was preparing to disembark, the passengers crowded around.
"Detective! This isn't much, but..."
"Thanks to you, I can return safely to my family."
"It was lucky to be on the sa train as you!"
They offered him not just dollars, but jewelry as tokens of appreciation. Lee Gyeongbok did not refuse their kindness.
- These are so smart NPCs!
- Compared to the quest-obsessed NPCs from before, these are like angels!
- Rock'n'Roll AI really is amazing, lol
- I couldn't resist and bought the ga
- Only Godple gets treated like this, right?
- Lol, troopers would probably shoot the passengers instead
- We can still dream, right?
- Student? Take a hint ^^
Viewers were content with the just reward. Lee Gyeongbok smiled as he and Jerry got off the train.
"With my face like this, matching up with the wanted posters might be hard."
"First, let's escort him to the office."
Sheriffs arrived, seemingly summoned by the news, and took custody of the bandit. Two of them approached Lee Gyeongbok.
"Detective? The passengers told us everything."
"You saved many lives. On behalf of all sheriffs, thank you."
They thanked him quietly. As Lee Gyeongbok was about to reply—
"What?! There are so many?!"
"Hey! Get so more people over here! There are over ten bodies!"
Railway workers, cleaning up the bodies left in the carriages, shouted in surprise.
At their words, even the sheriffs' eyes widened.
"More than ten?"
"Did you... face all of them alone?!"
Before Lee Gyeongbok could answer, jerry stepped forward and lifted his chin slightly.
"Of course! Do you know who this is? This is Alex from the Preston Detective Agency! He's a sharpshooter of a whole different caliber than these bandits!"
As he boasted—almost as if it was about himself— the sheriffs even removed their hats and bowed deeply.
"To handle so many alone...! We respect you."
"We'll send separate thanks to the agency as well."
With that, they left.
- Look at Jerry cozying up, lol
- He's definitely a rat-type
- How can you not brag after seeing soone wipe out all those bandits in person, lol
- Even the NPCs are after Godple's coin, lol
- As a banker, he knows all about coins!
Viewers couldn't stop laughing at the situation. Lee Gyeongbok let out a small chuckle too.
When he and Jerry arrived at the bank, jerry bowed deeply.
"I really owe you a lot, detective. If you have any financial or bank-related trouble, please co to anyti."
"I'll rember."
"Thank you! Oh, here's your confirmation of completed request. Bring this to the agency and you'll receive your fee."
Lee Gyeongbok took the docunt and turned away. As Jerry explained, when he handed in the confirmation at the agency, the office manager brightened.
"Oh! So it was you!"
"Yes?"
"The detective who saved not just the client but all those passengers! The story's all over town. Our agency's reputation has soared thanks to you!"
The manager laughed heartily and accepted the docunt.
"At Preston Detective Agency, we reward our agents' achievents appropriately! This is the calculation for your request."
He was given nearly twice the usual contribution and reward as when he first received the request.
Lee Gyeongbok muttered in surprise.
"Oh? Is there a bonus system now?"
- Completing the request must be just the minimum bar, lol
- Not bad, this wild west setting
- If you have ability, it gets recognized—that's just common sense
- But in reality, you always get more work instead of more pay
- Yeah, in real life, doing good work just ans more work, not more reward
- Real life is the real nonsense
- Stop comparing it to real life!
After the settlent, the manager continued smiling.
"After this, the townsfolk will treat you with goodwill. You'll probably get so discounts at shops and facilities."
He glanced at Lee Gyeongbok's holsters.
"I'm sure the process wasn't easy. Rember to regularly maintain your firearms after shootouts. It would be a disaster if your weapon malfunctioned at a decisive mont."
"Oh, I see. Guns can break?"
"Yes, you can do it yourself if you have the tools, but it's better to leave it to the gun shop in town. Why not stop by while I select your next requests?"
Lee Gyeongbok nodded and left the agency.
"I guess this is the shop tutorial."
Viewers agreed with his remark.
Lee Gyeongbok searched for the gun shop via the minimap.
"Oh..."
It was a small building, but inside, it was packed with guns and ammunition. The shopkeeper greeted him warmly.
"Oh! Welco! Looking for sothing in particular?"
"I'd like to get my revolver serviced."
Lee Gyeongbok placed his revolver—with his badge—on the counter. He recalled there was supposed to be a discount.
"Oh! You're the Preston detective!"
The owner brightened at the badge. But that wasn't all.
"Brother! Co out quick! The detective's here!"
"The detective?!"
A clattering ca from the basent stairs behind the counter. The man saw Lee Gyeongbok and his jaw dropped.
"Brother! It's him! He's the one who took care of the bandits!"
"What?!"
His brother turned out to be one of the passengers. The shopkeeper bowed even lower in surprise.
"Thank you for saving my brother! I didn't expect to et you so soon."
"Haha, it's nothing, just doing what needed to be done."
Lee Gyeongbok waved a hand awkwardly, but the owner shook his head with determination.
"No! Most people can't even do what's necessary! Leave your gun to —I'll get it back to you good as new!"
"Brother, how about giving him a gun as a gift?"
"Oh! You're right! I should have thought of that. If there's a gun you want, pick one, and I'll give it to you as a present. A great marksman deserves a great gun!"
The viewers were even happier than Lee Gyeongbok at their offer.
- These people have common sense!
- Doing good brings reward—that's how things should work!
- Why is this ga more realistic than reality, lol
- No card shuffling, fun ga, detailed NPCs—where else can you find this?
- No wonder people get addicted to Rock'n'Roll Gas
- I'll be waiting a long ti for their next release, I'm sure
Grinning at chat, Lee Gyeongbok began looking over the guns.
"It really feels nice to get proper treatnt. What should I pick?"
- Go for the expensive one!
- Didn't that shotgun feel good?
- Might as well get a rifle for long distances
- Repeater? How's that different from a rifle?
- It's just the loading chanism
- Repeaters are quicker to reload, lol
Lee Gyeongbok quickly examined the guns and picked one up.
"This one looks good."
[Bolt-Action Rifle]
He chose a long rifle with a scope.
― Wow! Bolt-action!
― The 'clack' when reloading is so satisfying, lol
― Shot a lot of squids in other gas with this one, lol
― Let's not ntion other gas since this is a howork stream!
Most viewers were satisfied as well.
Back at the counter with the rifle, the owner returned his revolver.
"Excellent choice! Here, take so bullets too."
"Thank you."
"No, thank YOU! Oh—are you interested in custom work?"
"Custom work?"
"Yes, every gun should fit its owner. Since it's a gift, we should tailor it for you!"
Next to the gun on the counter, nurical stats appeared. When he focused on each, the related parts were highlighted.
- Gun customization?
- Another thing I can't resist!
- Scopes should be at least 4x, lol
- It's free—go wild!
- Looks like parts are changing automatically as you tweak the stats?
As Lee Gyeongbok moved the sliders, the parts changed. He grinned.
"Of course, you can't max out every stat."
If you could, the ga would be too easy. Boosting one stat decreased another.
- Must be because he's at expert tier
- Yeah, according to the website's guide video, the ratios are completely different
- Sotis it's better not to customize at all?
- Basic models are the best, lol
Viewers thought there was no reason to customize. But Lee Gyeongbok saw it differently.
He maxed out the 'muzzle velocity' stat.
"Please set it up like this."
"What? But if you do that... The bullets could go anywhere!"
'Accuracy' dropped until it was barely visible. Even the shopkeeper was flustered.
"That's fine."
"If you say so, detective...!"
The shopkeeper got to work imdiately. Viewers were baffled.
- Bro? Are you sure!?
- Surely there's a reason for this!
- But with Godple, he'll probably be pinpoint-accurate anyway
- Don't trust the specs, trust Godple!
- Here we go, lining up another highlight for the broadcast
But soon enough, they felt reassured.
After all, doing the impossible is Lee Gyeongbok's specialty.
* * *
"Please co again!"
Custom job completed, Lee Gyeongbok left the shop amid the brothers' farewells.
As he returned to the agency, the manager greeted him urgently.
"Oh! Thank goodness you're back!"
"What's the matter?"
"That bandit you captured on the train confessed! He said they have a hideout nearby. The sheriffs are preparing to raid it and have asked for our agency's help."
Viewers perked up at this explanation.
- Is this a whole gang?
- Godple took out a dozen, and there are more in the hideout?
- The bandit confessed right away, lol
- No loyalty among thieves!
- After seeing his shield get wrecked like that, who cares about loyalty
- So, are we joining the operation?
But the manager wasn't done.
"More importantly, this concerns you especially, agent Alex!"
"?"
"Yes! The bandit said the boss in the hideout was forrly with the Hired Gun Gang!"
Hired Gun Gang.
Both Lee Gyeongbok and the viewers perked up at those words.
- Saving one alive was a godlike move!
- But if he's 'forr,' he's not currently in the gang, right?
- Still, he might know sothing
- Like the hideouts they use?
- First, let's catch him!
Lee Gyeongbok agreed with the viewer reactions.
"It really is the wild west. There's always sothing to shoot at."
He grinned.
"I should test out my new gun."
Small guns were good, but bigger ones were always better.
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