Chapter 98
And the answer that came back again was the kind that completely cut off the flow of everything.
“Well, if it doesn’t decrease, that’s good. It means there’s still food left.”
“….”
I stared at him for a moment, then replied,
“Even so, it’s not like you can bring in new fish, right? That’s why it’s strange that the number stays the same.”
Kim Daejin quietly looked at me.
Then he shrugged.
“I think it’d be better to ask the owner or Mr. Sungho about that instead of me.”
The answer was too simple, and I couldn’t get a handle on it.
No matter how much I asked, it felt like the answer would stay the same, so I stepped back for now.
Lee Hoin also turned away, as if to say we should just go.
Until we were completely out of sight, Kim Daejin kept watching us.
Even without turning back, I could tell.
I could feel his gaze stabbing into my back.
—
[How fascinating. This is a very fascinating place.]
—
After that, the time I had to talk with Lee Hoin subtly decreased.
Whenever we were about to talk, someone would show up and ask something.
Whenever I tried to say that something felt off, someone would appear and ruin the mood.
That didn’t mean it was completely cut off.
It wasn’t gone entirely.
It had just… decreased.
Something about this kept feeling off.
As those uneasy feelings piled up, everything started to seem suspicious.
And then, the dreams.
‘Why do I keep dreaming?’
They weren’t particularly pleasant dreams either.
Not that I’m trying to be gloomy, but there were hardly any “happy” times in my life.
So even when I dreamed about the past, instead of feeling happy, I just thought…
‘So what?’
What am I supposed to do with this?
Even so, the fact that my body felt strangely well-rested afterward was even weirder.
“Hey, Lee Hoin. Let’s just leave. We’ve pretty much recovered by now.”
When something feels off, it’s better to just leave.
Thinking that, I started packing.
Lee Hoin glanced out the window for a moment.
“Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit more?”
“What do you mean by ‘better’? You said it feels strange too.”
“It is strange, but we sleep well here, and they feed us well. Do we really need to leave? If we go outside, we’ll just have to fight again.”
At those words, my hands, which were packing, slowed for a moment.
He wasn’t wrong.
In an apocalypse like this, anyone would think that after finding a place like this.
But hearing ‘him’ say it… it caught me off guard.
“You’re saying you want to stay here? Seriously?”
“I’m saying I want to. Think about it. Is there any place safer than this?”
“….”
Had I been pushing Lee Hoin too hard all this time?
Was that why he was like this?
I thought about it seriously for a moment.
I grabbed his hand and activated resonance therapy, but his sanity stat was still full.
‘It’s not that his sanity dropped… he really thinks this way?’
I know people can think like this.
Still, it was unbelievably unsettling.
“You know this could just be a fabricated peace, right? And if it’s fabricated, it’s even more dangerous.”
“But nothing’s warning me right now. That’s what my gut says.”
Ha, that damn gut feeling.
Ever since he got the “Intuition” skill, Lee Hoin relied on it heavily.
The skill wouldn’t be wrong, so if he said it was fine, it should be fine…
Then why did I feel so uneasy?
—
[Something inexplicable and strange… the hardest kind to empathize with.]
—
Was this some kind of status effect?
Hypnosis, something like that?
Damn it, I really don’t know.
What am I supposed to do…?
—
[Perhaps you should have learned a skill related to status effects? Haha.]
[There is a very simple answer. A way to break out of this situation! (light bulb sound effect)]
[The narrator says this place makes him uncomfortable, while his companion does not.]
[Very simply, you can just abandon your companion and leave!]
[If something dangerous happens, you can call Leon Wolf, so it’s not like you have no one to rely on anymore, right? That’s great. Continuing to drag around someone who clashes with you like this only exponentially lowers your survival rate!]
—
I ignored all of the long messages.
Looking at Lee Hoin, I let out a long sigh.
“Everything you said is right.”
Lee Hoin looked at me as if to say, “See?”
“If this were a normal place.”
If this apocalypse were something like a zombie virus, then staying holed up like this would actually help.
But in this apocalypse, staying put is poison.
“You have to keep moving. I know you’re tired. But you have to move, keep moving forward. That’s how you survive. Staying stagnant here isn’t the answer.”
For now…
I should give Lee Hoin time to think.
And me too.
I stood up and roughly put on my hoodie.
“I’ll stay in the car and come back around dinner. Let’s both sort out our thoughts.”
***
I sat quietly in the car, a cigarette in my mouth.
I didn’t even know where to begin, so I just felt frustrated and stuck.
When I looked at my buzzing phone, Shin Giyeon was talking about how many chapters of the Apocalypse they had unlocked.
—
Shin Giyeon
We’re at Chapter 8 now. It’s harder than expected.
No matter what, we really can’t do anything too dangerous. (3:13 PM)
—
If they were already delayed anyway, taking it slow without pushing too hard might be better.
Shin Giyeon and Kim Woohyun were chatting about what had been difficult.
Seeing how the read receipts disappeared instantly, Lee Hoin was definitely reading the chat too.
Neither of us said anything for a while, then Lee Hoin sent a message first.
—
Lee Hoin
Where are you guys? (3:24 PM)
Shin Giyeon
We’re in Nowon right now!! (3:34 PM)
—
Nowon.
Do they have a car or not?
Seems like they’ve been moving around a lot.
—
Lee Hoin
We’re in Banghwa. If you have a car, you could come here. (3:34 PM)
—
Lee Hoin ended up inviting them.
—
Lee Hoin
We’re here
#Location shared (3:34 PM)
Shin Giyeon
Gaehwasan?!
When did you get all the way there?? That’s really far. Isn’t that near Gimpo?! (3:35 PM)
Kim Woohyun
We’re moving without a car… but why did you go all the way there? (3:35 PM)
Lee Hoin
Just happened (3:35 PM)
Kim Woohyun
Why are you telling us to come there?
3:35 PM
—
Lee Hoin didn’t respond for a moment.
The typing indicator showed, then only after four minutes did he reply.
—
Lee Hoin
There’s this loach soup restaurant run by some owner… they give us three meals a day, and there’s not much to do
Giyeon, you said you have a big family… wouldn’t it be better to come here? Even if it takes some time
It’s safe (3:39 PM)
—
The chat fell silent for a moment.
—
Kim Woohyun
Wait, a place like that exists? Is it like a survivor group? (3:51 PM)
Lee Hoin
No, I don’t think so. If it were, they’d make us work or something. We’re basically just freeloaders (3:52 PM)
Shin Giyeon
Does a place like that exist? To serve three meals a day, how much food must they have stored…
How many people are there? (3:53 PM)
Lee Hoin
10, including us (3:53 PM)
Shin Gihyeon
10, including you? That’s not a small number
Even if you estimate roughly 10 portions, three meals a day means over 30 portions total, right?
Does a place like that really exist? (3:53 PM)
—
It was a reasonable point.
A rational one, too.
Just as they said… 30 portions.
Providing that much every day without money or labor in return was almost unbelievable.
I waited a moment to see what Lee Hoin would say.
—
Lee Hoin
It exists (3:59 PM
—
That short answer… “it exists.”
That brief response made it seem even stranger from Shin Giyeon’s perspective, and she immediately mentioned me.
—
Shin Giyeon
@Nam Muyeong, is it true?
Does a place like that really exist? Something feels off
Isn’t it like Hansel and Gretel or something? Fattening people up and eating them lol (4:01 PM)
It exists (4:03 PM)
—
When I answered vaguely, Shin Giyeon kept firing off questions.
Then where do they get the food?
Lee Hoin explained about the garden and the fish farm.
—
Shin Giyeon
Even so, plants take time to grow…
Are you really getting that many vegetables? Is that even possible?
Is it not just a garden but like a farm-sized field? Really big? (4:06 PM)
—
The garden was just an ordinary-sized one.
After I said that, Shin Giyeon seemed even more confused and stayed silent for a while.
After quite some time, she spoke again.
—
Shin Giyeon
Hmm… but I heard from my cousin that there’s an event where things pretend to be human
They act human, then once you let your guard down, they turn into mutants (4:17 PM)
—
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