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Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: It’s Working… But This Is Messed Up

Chapter 4: It's Working… But This Is Messed Up

A day passed.

Then two.

Every morning, Do-hyun checked the clone's palm. The stab wound was still there — a little smaller, a little drier — but still healing the slow, natural way. No potions. No spells. Just time.

By the third night, he was lying in bed with the lights off, scrolling through his bracelet panel out of habit. He wasn't expecting anything.

But then—

> [Hidden Stat Unlocked: Regeneration Lv. 1]

Condition Met: Heal naturally from minor injury over time.

Do-hyun sat up fast, phone nearly slipping from his hand.

"...No way."

He blinked. Blinked again.

> Regeneration Lv. 1

Effect: Minor wounds recover slightly faster over time.

Note: Progression through repeated natural recovery.

"It actually worked?"

He looked across the room. The clone was kneeling on the floor, organizing empty water bottles into neat rows. Still quiet. Still obedient.

Do-hyun rubbed his face.

"This is messed up," he muttered. "But it's working…"

The plan wasn't over. Not even close. There were other hidden stats—more he hadn't even touched yet.

But now he knew something big: if the clone suffered, he got stronger.

And no one else in the world seemed to know this trick.

No one… but him.

---

Do-hyun stared at his phone screen, scrolling through his bank app for the third time that day.

₩82,900 left.

Not even a hundred bucks.

He sighed and leaned back in his gaming chair. "That's not even enough for ramen and rice for two weeks," he muttered.

The problem wasn't just him anymore.

The clone — his silent, tireless copy — ate just as much. Maybe even more. And after all the running, squatting, and lifting it had been doing every day, it came home like a wild beast, devouring everything in the fridge.

"Two mouths, one wallet," Do-hyun grumbled. "I should be getting stronger, not going broke."

He glanced at his old gaming setup. Once, he made decent money with auto-farming bots in online games. They ran all night, gathered rare items, and he sold them for real cash.

But the games had changed.

Now, most of them had anti-bot systems or fewer players. His income had dropped to almost nothing.

> "Gotta find something fast… or clone-boy's gonna start eating drywall."

He pulled up an online job board on his browser.

Jobs, jobs, jobs. Most were either high-skill, or low-pay. Delivery driver. Cafe part-timer. Boring office assistant.

Then, one listing caught his eye:

---

[CLOSED SHIFTS? NO WORRIES!]

🔥 Crazy Monkey Logistics Center 🔥

– No experience needed

– Heavy lifting required

– Cash paid daily

– Discretion preferred

📞 Call now: We don't ask questions, just need bodies.

---

Do-hyun blinked. "That sounds like something shady…"

He tapped the side of his phone. Thought for a second.

Then grinned.

> "Perfect."

He didn't need to go.

He had someone else for that.

Someone who wouldn't get tired, wouldn't complain, and wouldn't care if it was sketchy.

Do-hyun opened the system and sent a single thought command.

> "Clone, you've got a job interview."

---

The clone stood at the edge of a dusty warehouse lot, staring up at a crooked metal sign that read:

Crazy Monkey Logistics Center

"We Move Fast — You Move Boxes."

The sun beat down hard. Sweat rolled down his neck, but he didn't move or complain.

He wasn't programmed to.

His name today?

Jeon Dong-gil.

Fake. But good enough.

Do-hyun watched the scene through a cheap secondhand phone he had stuffed in the clone's pocket. The camera feed was shaky, but it worked. He could see and hear everything from home, lying back in bed with snacks.

"Alright, buddy," Do-hyun whispered. "Let's make some money."

The warehouse doors creaked open.

A man stepped out. Middle-aged, thick arms, with a cigarette hanging off his lip. His name tag was bent, but Do-hyun could still read it.

> Oh Deok-su – Shift Boss

The man looked the clone up and down.

"…You the kid who called this morning?" he asked.

The clone nodded.

"What's your name again?"

"Jeon Dong-gil," the clone said, voice flat.

Deok-su snorted. "You sound like a robot."

The clone stayed silent.

Deok-su scratched his head. "Whatever. You breathe, right?"

The clone gave a single nod.

"Good enough," Deok-su muttered, turning on his heel. "Follow me."

---

Inside, the warehouse was stacked with boxes as tall as buildings. The air was hot and full of dust.

Men shouted. Forklifts beeped. Someone dropped a crate, and it crashed with a bang.

Deok-su led the clone to a far wall. "You start here. Stack all this onto that truck. Keep going until I say stop."

The clone walked forward and got to work.

No complaint. No breaks. No questions.

Lift. Step. Stack. Repeat.

Over and over again.

Back at home, Do-hyun grinned.

> "Time to put my clone into full-time slavery."

---

Two hours passed.

The clone didn't stop.

Box after box, crate after crate, he kept moving like a machine. Other workers slowed down. Some sat on crates to wipe their sweat. But not him.

One man whispered, "Yo, who's the new kid?"

"I dunno," said another. "He's not even drinking water. Is he on drugs?"

They watched, confused. Then a little scared.

The clone didn't look tired. His face stayed blank, arms moving like clockwork.

Even Deok-su looked up from his clipboard. "...Huh."

---

Meanwhile, Do-hyun was lying at home, sipping banana milk through a straw.

He checked the clone's vitals.

> [Energy: 14%]

[Calories Burned Today: 4,100]

[Sweat Collected: Too Damn Much]

His stats were slowly ticking up:

> Stamina: 4.3 → 4.4

Reflexes: 5.25 → 5.26

Agility: 4.1 → 4.15

Do-hyun grinned.

"Stats going up… money coming in… and I didn't even move."

Then his phone buzzed.

A message from an unknown number.

> "Yo, Do-hyun?? Is that you?! You working at Crazy Monkey?!"

Do-hyun blinked.

"Huh…?"

Another message came in.

> "I just saw your face. You lost mad weight bro. I'll come say hi!"

His heart dropped.

> "Wait—no. No, no, no!"

He jumped off the bed.

> "Don't go near him, you idiot!"

But it was too late.

At the warehouse, the clone stopped lifting for the first time that day.

A familiar voice echoed down the aisle.

> "Yo! Kim Do-hyun! Bro, you didn't tell me you got buff!"

The clone turned its head.

The real Do-hyun facepalmed in panic.

---

The clone stared blankly at the man now standing in front of him. He was tall, tanned, and grinning like a fool.

> "Dude, it's me! Park Joon-ho! We had econ class together, remember?"

Do-hyun, watching everything from his room, nearly choked on his drink.

> "Crap. Of all people…"

Joon-ho slapped the clone on the shoulder.

> "You look so different, man! What happened? You training or something? Wait, did you awaken?"

The clone didn't answer.

It only gave a stiff nod.

Joon-ho paused.

"Uh… you good?"

The clone said nothing. Just stared.

> "Huh…" Joon-ho scratched his head. "You're acting kinda weird."

Back at home, Do-hyun scrambled to send a thought through the system.

> "Clone — answer with short words only. Don't talk too much. Pretend you're tired."

The clone blinked.

"…Busy," it said.

"Dang, alright, alright," Joon-ho chuckled, stepping back. "Didn't mean to bug you."

He turned to leave, then looked over his shoulder with a smirk.

> "Hey — you still playing League? I'll DM you. Don't ignore me like last time!"

The clone gave a short nod and turned back to lifting boxes.

Do-hyun sighed with relief and collapsed onto his mattress.

> "That was too close…"

He rubbed his temples.

> "I need to give this guy a full backstory or something. What if someone really digs into who Jeon Dong-gil is?"

His stomach growled.

Then he remembered: he had to feed the clone when it came back.

Twice the muscles. Twice the hunger.

---

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