“Huh?” Jiang Shang was a little confused, then remembered that his translation helmet not only scrambled other people's words but also his own.
“Uh, sorry, I’m not very good at speaking Korean yet.”
“You’re not Korean?”
Number 240 was a bit surprised and walked forward, then added, “You understand Korean but can’t speak it?”
“I’m Chinese. Uh, as for your second question, while the specific situation is a bit complex, that’s generally the case.”
Seeing the other party walk forward while talking to him, Jiang Shang followed.
“How strange.”
Number 240 didn't know if she was talking to herself or to Jiang Shang.
“By the way, when you voted earlier, you voted to continue, right?”
After a moment of silence, Number 240 asked again.
“Hmm, why, did you vote to stop?”
Jiang Shang felt there was nothing to hide about this.
“I also voted to continue.”
Number 240 seemed to be making conversation just for the sake of it, and this way of talking made Jiang Shang feel a bit uncomfortable.
“Why did you participate in that game?”
Jiang Shang decided to take the initiative and control the conversation.
“I think if you can’t speak Korean, you don’t have to speak at all. It’s really too tiring talking to you like this.”
Number 240 complained, then replied, “What else could it be for? For money, of course.”
“To be honest, I don’t quite believe you went for money.” Jiang Shang thought to himself. Jiang Shang didn’t sense that feeling of being crushed by debt from Number 240; instead, she felt very similar to himself, someone who had just been released from prison and felt lost in life.
“What about you? Never mind, I don’t want to play this boring permutation and combination game with you anymore.”
Number 240 instinctively asked Jiang Shang, then shook her head, telling Jiang Shang not to speak, which made Jiang Shang curious about how his helmet was translating his words into such a mess.
“Fun.”
Jiang Shang still answered Number 240. He found that if he only said one word at a time, it was highly unlikely to be scrambled, so he directly and concisely stated a secondary reason that had just emerged after the first game.
“Hmm?”
Number 240 seemed a bit slow to react.
“Reason.”
Jiang Shang added another word.
“You’re an interesting person. You make something so terrifying sound like a children’s game.”
Number 240's expression was calm, but the corners of her mouth were upturned, making it difficult for Jiang Shang to tell if she was smiling or not.
“But it is quite interesting.”
Before Jiang Shang could respond, Number 240 agreed with his view.
Jiang Shang glanced at Number 240 but said nothing.
“Hey, by the way, why would a Chinese person like you come to South Korea to play this game? Are you here for tourism?”
Number 240 suddenly asked.
“My mother married into South Korea.”
Jiang Shang tried to be as concise as possible.
“Then you must have been in South Korea for quite a while, right?”
Number 240 looked at Jiang Shang, who was about her age, and asked.
“Ten years.”
Jiang Shang was referring to the experience of the identity Pocket had given him.
“You haven’t learned to speak Korean in ten years?”
Number 240 said with some surprise.
“You just got out of there too, right?”
Suddenly, Jiang Shang asked.
“Ah, um, huh?”
Caught off guard by Jiang Shang’s question, Number 240 instinctively hummed, then reacted. However, before she could speak, Jiang Shang spoke again.
“You give me a different feeling from them. I can sense a similar sense of confusion in you as I have.”
Of course, the sense of confusion mentioned here refers to Jiang Shang’s personal feelings, not Number 444’s feelings.
“You mean, you just got out too?”
Number 240 was a bit bewildered by the sudden information.
“Yes, eight years.”
Jiang Shang didn’t know why he was telling her this. Telling her this might not only fail to gain trust but also easily arouse suspicion, as those who get in are generally not good people, something Jiang Shang also admitted.
But Jiang Shang still said it. Perhaps after closing The Indifferent, the loneliness suppressed for over twenty years had made him feel suffocated. Perhaps he was just desperate to find a kindred spirit.
“What about the other two years?”
After Number 240 reacted, she didn’t distance herself from him as Jiang Shang had expected. Instead, she remained her carefree self, even asking him with interest what he had done in the remaining two years.
“I was abused. When I couldn’t stand the abuse anymore, I resisted. Otherwise, how do you think I got in?”
Seeing her like this, Jiang Shang inexplicably relaxed, and an emotion called joy began to grow within him.
“So you also got in for killing your father?”
Number 240 looked up at Jiang Shang.
“My mother and stepfather.” Jiang Shang replied to Number 240.
“Ah, your mother too? Oh, I see.”
Number 240 seemed to understand something halfway through her sentence and didn’t continue to ask.
“My mother was dumped by my biological father, and then she took out her resentment towards him on me. And my stepfather was an alcoholic who liked to throw a few punches and kicks when he was bored.”
Jiang Shang explained.
“Oh.”
Number 240 just said “Oh” and then said nothing more, burying her head and continuing to walk forward.
Jiang Shang also said nothing more, just followed behind her.
After walking for an unknown period, Number 240 suddenly stopped. “One day, I came home from school and saw my mom lying dead on the floor of her room. Beside her, a man called Dad was standing there with a knife.” After saying this, she continued to walk slowly forward.
“Later, my father died, and the person holding the knife beside him was me.”
Number 240 spoke as she walked, her tone devoid of emotion, as if she were not talking about something that had happened to her.
Jiang Shang didn't respond, just silently followed behind her, waiting for her to continue.
“That man’s profession was a pastor. After he hit my mom and did that thing to me, he always prayed for God to forgive our sins.”
Sure enough, after a pause, Number 240 spoke again.
“But he didn’t pray the day he killed my mom.”
Number 240 suddenly stopped and said this, then continued walking forward, “Was it because he knew his sins couldn’t be forgiven?”
Afterward, neither of them spoke again, just silently wandered aimlessly through the streets.
【Random Task: Redemption and Destruction】
【Content: Save important characters in Squid Game who should have died, or kill important characters in Squid Game who should have survived】
【Reward: Random (The higher the task completion, the richer the reward)】
【Penalty: None】
Suddenly, Pocket’s voice rang in Jiang Shang’s head, startling him.