A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 

Instead of Lee Hoin, several cries answered back.

“Lee Hoin!!”

Despite my shout, the mutants continued to pass me by.

That was because the ones gathered at the dish section were already making an even louder noise on their own.

Bang!

At that moment, a sharp sound struck my ears.

A faint smell of gunpowder brushed past my nose, and at the same time, I grabbed the back of Lee Hoin’s neck, whom I had barely managed to find, and yanked him backward hard.

Losing his balance, Lee Hoin looked at me with a dazed expression.

A completely blank stare. As if he had no idea why I was here. After causing all this trouble, he seriously doesn’t get it?

“…Nam Muyeong?”

He asked in an awkward voice.

As I glanced downward, I saw the portable gas burner he was clutching tightly, as if it were more precious than his own life.

The guy who could find metal rods better than a dog on a walk.

“Hey, you…”

“Get up.”

For now, I pulled Lee Hoin to his feet.

“You… how did you get here?”

Lee Hoin’s condition was a mess. His uniform was completely torn, and his arms were soaked in blood.

I looked back and forth between Lee Hoin, holding the burner in his ragged state… and Lee Hyun, who was calmly pulling the trigger again.

Relatively speaking, Lee Hyun looked fine.

That itself wasn’t the problem. What bothered me was why Lee Hoin, who didn’t even have a weapon, was standing in front of Lee Hyun.

No way… did he use him as a meat shield? That bastard.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere else. Follow me.”

We couldn’t stay here anyway after Lee Hyun fired the gun. Despite looking dazed, Lee Hoin followed me more obediently than expected.

Behind us…

Bang!

Bang–!

Bang!

Several loud gunshots rang out.

“Ah, fuck.”

Useless. Seriously.

 

—

[Ah, this is unfortunate.]

—

 

The narrator’s voice, filled with amusement, echoed.

 

—

[You’re completely surrounded.]

—

 

The corridor, our only escape route… was packed with approaching mutants. The same ones I had passed earlier.

Dragging their feet, long claws scraping the floor with dull sounds.

This was the only exit. But we couldn’t fight through all of them. We had to avoid them as much as possible. First, find a solution.

‘At least their aggro isn’t on me.’

The mutants could see me, but they weren’t focused on me.

What they were looking at was…

“…Lee Hoin.”

Lee Hoin.

 

***

 

In many apocalypse-themed stories, the most commonly used cliché is, first, recruiting companions. The second is a companion-in-danger scenario.

There are different types of danger. One is a literal life-threatening danger. The other is psychological danger.

‘In this case…’

It was life-threatening.

 

—

 

[Chapter 3, Shelter ▼]

Hmm, if you were alone, you might be able to escape somehow.

Survival is always lonely…

[〉 Run away alone.]

[〉 Escape together.]

—

 

Two simple choices.

Honestly, in a world like this, I didn’t think saving everyone was necessary… even if they were companions.

I knew it wasn’t a righteous way of thinking. But to survive, righteousness had to be abandoned.

Even the protagonist, Sa Jaeheon, had a grand and righteous cause. But if you asked whether the path toward that cause was righteous…

No.

Sa Jaeheon was far from righteous.

If someone were useful to him, he would save them… even if they were evil. If not, he would ignore them, even if they were good.

More accurately, he didn’t distinguish between good and evil at all.

‘Being good doesn’t mean staying good in every situation.’

And being evil didn’t mean staying evil either.

Some “good” characters who protected the weak, children, and the elderly would stab Sa Jaeheon in the back.

Meanwhile, some “evil” characters who drove others to death would fight for him to the very end.

After witnessing countless contradictions, Sa Jaeheon’s boundaries had become blurred.

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean everything he did was right.’

Still, I understood.

In an apocalypse, pursuing justice required too much effort. That’s why those who upheld it seemed noble.

‘If it were him…’

What would he do here?

The answer was clear.

He would abandon Lee Hoin.

Sa Jaeheon never gambled with his own life.

Because there was no guarantee the next loop would be better than this one.

‘…Ha.’

My temples throbbed.

I had only ever read choices, never had to make them myself.

 

—

[Isn’t this what an apocalypse is? No matter how far you struggle, everything can still become meaningless.]

[That is what is always given to those who stand within ruin.]

[It’s time to choose…]

—

 

The narrator urged me.

Lee Hoin, who had been silently watching me, spoke.

“…Hey.”

Without turning, I answered,

“What?”

“Maybe… this…”

His voice sounded heavy, almost like a sigh.

“…Is this because of me?”

I turned my head. Only then did I properly see him.

His face was pale, whether from blood loss or fear.

“…I did something pointless, didn’t I?”

“Lee Hoin, calm down.”

I tried to interrupt his rising emotions, but he wasn’t listening.

“Lee–”

“Hey, Nam Muyeong.”

His mouth shut tightly.

Then, as if making a decision, he spoke again.

“If you’re alone… You can get out, right? Then…”

 

—

[Would you like to begin ‘Counseling’?]

—

 

There was no time for that.

Even if we entered the counseling space, time would still pass outside. Right now, I have to get him out and treat him.

So…

 

—

Pop!

[(Lightbulb turning on sound)]

[Ah, I think I know what you’re going to say. That is indeed the better choice.]

—

 

Blink. Blink.

The choices flickered, urging me.

Survival was important. Yes, that mattered most.

“Lee Hoin.”

Exhaling, I dropped my bag to the ground.

I didn’t like gambling. I wasn’t lucky.

Lee Hoin himself was a gamble. His base stats were high, but his [Trauma] trait was even more dangerous.

And with his self-sacrificing nature, this kind of situation would definitely happen again.

Blink. Blink.

The light kept urging me.

Still…

‘If I decided to take care of him…’

Then I had to take responsibility.

I was the one who brought him to this shelter.

 

—

[As expected.]

[If you’ve come this far, you might as well see it through.]

[He is a companion with a kind heart, after all.]

—

 

I pulled out a black hoodie from my bag.

If we could at least cover the bloodstains, it might reduce the mutants’ aggression.

“Put it on.”

“….”

Lee Hoin stared at me silently.

“Hey… does this even matter?”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

“You’d be better off escaping alone. How are both of us supposed to get out?”

“Don’t give up before even trying.”

I said it firmly again.

“I’m not giving up on you, so why are you giving up on yourself? Get it together, Lee Hoin. I don’t want your sacrifice. Not even for a second.”

Self-destructive thinking had to be cut off completely.

At my firm tone, his eyes widened briefly…

Then he slowly put on the hoodie.

I smacked his back to hurry him, and he moved faster.

Looks like he finally came to his senses.

“We’ll move along the shelves. Stay close. Don’t create distance. Once we get to the corridor, you know the stairs from basement level 1 to the ground floor, not the moving walkway?”

“…Yeah.”

“That’s where we’re going. Move.”

Lee Hoin swallowed dryly, nodded, and started moving first.

“How will we proceed?”

At the sudden voice beside me, I turned to Lee Hyun with disbelief.

Was he seriously treating me as a teammate now?

Does this bastard have no shame? This is all because of you.

It was obvious he tried to use Lee Hoin as bait to draw aggro.

And now he’s acting like this?

It was almost impressive how someone with such a trustworthy face could be this underhanded.

‘Was he always this kind of character?’

Even the Muryang sect had its own sense of justice. He seemed to follow it, at least outwardly.

Unless that was all just a façade.

 

—

[People are unpredictable. Things happen.]

—

 

Annoying, but…

‘For now, he’s still useful.’

Before he uses me as a meat shield, I’ll just use him first.

Be as underhanded as you want.

Let’s see which one of us is worse.