Chapter 19
You all worked hard. Get some rest.
The three drones had gathered mana stones and items.
I told the drones to rest comfortably in the hangar and lie down on the bed.
At first, I thought I'd just sleep like this—
“Guess I’ve gotten used to it...”
But because I'd gotten into the habit of using my phone before bed, I couldn't fall asleep, so I eventually took out my smartphone and logged into the Survivor Gallery.
---
[Title : Is the Yeouido area still safe?]
My wife and I are hiding with our kid on the outskirts of Seoul, but we've run out of food.
I heard soldiers and Awakeners drove the monsters out of Yeouido, so it's safe there. Are there any entry requirements?
Will you take in non-Awakeners too?
---
[Title : Sharing the situation at Incheon Airport.]
We successfully secured the inside of the airport.
The bridge to Yeongjongdo has been cut off, so it'll probably be hard to get in from the mainland.
We've set up barricades inside and around the runway, and things are running in a fairly organized way.
Please keep that in mind if you live on Yeongjongdo.
---
“A safe zone...”
I scrolled down and read the posts with interest.
Right after the world ended, everyone was too busy trying to survive, but humans are creatures of adaptation.
Awakeners who had opened status windows and gained skills were gradually beginning to build safe zones here and there.
Places like Yeouido in Seoul and the Yongsan War Memorial seemed to be steadily expanding their safe zones with the help of the remaining military forces and many people working together.
---
[Comments]
Ansan Man : I'm jealous of people in Seoul... damn, only the ones with something going for them survive even in a place like this
ㅇㅇ : My ability is to water the plants around me just as much as they need. Will you take me in?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : lol A sprinkler's legit
ㅇㅇ : Is there no safe zone in Daejeon?
Master Angler : At this point, let's please band together, us rural gallery users.
---
The situation in the provinces wasn't nearly as forgiving as Seoul's.
Even in so-called safe zones, most were just places where a few people who had Awakened by chance gathered together to defend a large mart or an apartment complex.
“Looks like everyone's banding together and trying to find a way to survive.”
I stroked my chin.
Unlike me, who traveled around on a train, traveling was basically a suicide mission for ordinary survivors.
Maybe that was why the gallery had so many question posts asking which safe zone was good to live in and which route was safest to get there.
And when the main topic of the posts changed, the trade posts naturally followed along with it.
The trade tab, where mana stones and food usually showed up.
New kinds of trade posts I'd never seen before started appearing there.
---
[Looking for Awakeners to travel with me from Hongik Univ. Station to the National Assembly Station!]
- I'll give you items worth about 300 credits! Recruiting up to 3 people.
[Awakeners who want to help build a safe zone.]
- Food, gear, and lodging provided. Combat-oriented Awakeners only.
[Anyone want to come to Yeouido with me?]
- I have a combat-capable class, but I'm a little scared to go alone.
- Lots of food. Drinks can be provided.
---
“Hmm...”
I muttered, unable to take my eyes off the monitor.
Once safe zones started appearing, the demand from people who wanted to move there exploded.
But outside was a hellscape swarming with monsters.
Naturally, people weak in combat would try to hire powerful Awakeners to protect them.
Reading posts like that naturally made me think of something.
“If I had my train...”
If it were my train, I could easily solve their worries.
But I was also a little uneasy.
About my train's information leaking, and about the very fact of bringing people onto the train.
Before, I'd avoided requests like that, saying I was already too busy just trying to survive alone, but now I didn't feel that way.
“...Have I really gotten this soft-hearted?”
I want to help.
I tore my eyes away from the screen as I scrolled through the trade board and let out a sigh.
With the world ruined and people pushed to the brink, was it really okay to let strangers onto my train?
What if I picked them up to help, only for them to go crazy after seeing the train's facilities and try to seize it?
“Yeah, that really is fishy...”
Just as I was clicking my tongue and thinking maybe I should give up, a memory flashed through my head.
I remembered the modification I'd ignored without a second glance back when I used to get excited about picking up a few lowest-grade mana stones, because it offered too little for its cost.
It was the item listed right under Train Car Addition.
I immediately brought up the panel in the cockpit.
[Modification : Add Train Car]
[Standard Train Car], [Standard Cargo Car], [Standard Passenger Car]
Without hesitation, I touched the detailed description of the Standard Passenger Car.
I read the text laid out before my eyes.
[Standard Passenger Car]
- Passengers in the car cannot do any harm to the conductor or the train's fixtures. The conductor can forcibly expel passengers from the train.
- When passengers disembark, their satisfaction with riding the train is measured in points.
- Additional modifications are unlocked according to accumulated satisfaction.
“...So that's what it was.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
There was a safeguard that blocked the very possibility I had worried about most.
On top of that, the line about hidden modifications being unlocked according to customer satisfaction piqued my curiosity.
It felt almost like the skill was pointing me in a direction.
Like it was telling me to carry survivors around and help them.
“Yeah, safety's guaranteed... in that case...”
I went back to the trade posts.
My finger, scrolling through countless posts, came to a stop in front of one listing.
---
[Title : Please help, I'm in the bathroom of a PC room near Siheung Station]
Please save me. I'm 12, and my little sister is 7.
I came out looking for my mom and hid in a shopping center, but some huge wolf-like thing came in and I ran into the bathroom.
My little sister is crying so much that I'm covering her mouth, so I'm typing with one hand and making a lot of typos.
We're at Siheung Royal PC Room.
---
“...”
The reward section was blank, and even the spacing and spelling were a mess.
It wasn't even a post asking to be taken somewhere.
And yet I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen.
“Siheung...”
It was right near where I was.
Of course, Siheung itself is pretty large, so I'd have to look for the exact location a little more—
“Find a place called Siheung Royal PC Room.”
At my words, the drones that had been resting slowly rose into the sky.
If the drones moved, they'd be able to find that place in no time.
“Sorry. Once this is over, I'll let you rest properly.”
What would I have done if it had been the old me?
I might have turned away, saying I didn't have the luxury to help others.
“Now that I can make a living, I'm getting more and more meddlesome... right, it's close by...”
I muttered as I wiped my face.
Yeah, I can make money later by sending the drones through dungeons.
If I didn't rescue them when it was this close, I'd only end up with a restless night's sleep.
I rationalized my sentimental decision like that and brought up the system window.
[Would you like to add a Standard Passenger Car?]
[Cost: 100 days' worth of fuel, 30 lowest-grade mana stones]
“Yeah.”
[Approval complete. A third car will be connected to the rear of the train.]
Rumble—!
The entire train shook with the vibration.
A dazzling blaze of light spilled out from behind Car 2's cargo hangar, and in an instant a huge passenger car clad in sleek jet-black armor plating materialized and connected itself like magic.
I immediately got up from the cockpit, passed through Car 2, and opened the door of the newly added Car 3.
“It's huge. And... a little too nice.”
The admiration slipped out of me the moment the door opened.
When they said passenger car, I'd been thinking of something at the level of a normal subway car.
The floor was covered in thick carpet that swallowed sound, and comfortable-looking velvet seats were lined up on both sides.
The seats could recline all the way back and be used like beds, and simple things like water and tissues were set in one corner of the car.
“...At least the seats won't lower satisfaction.”
I took out my smartphone.
And then, to the 12-year-old who was waiting in despair for someone to contact him, I sent a private message.
[Hold your little sister's hand tight, and wait in the bathroom for exactly 30 minutes.]
[Big bro's on the way.]
After sending the message and returning to the cockpit of Car 1, I realized something was wrong.
“...Ah, right. I'm not big bro, am I?”
Just in time, the drone sent me a notification that it had found the place.
It seemed the sniper drone had found the target from long range.
Only one more station remained.
I roughly yanked the lever in the cockpit upward.
“Let's hurry.”
***
“H-hic... big bro...”
The second-floor PC room of an old shopping center was pitch-black because the power had been cut.
In the innermost stall of the women's restroom, 12-year-old Jiwoo hurriedly clamped a trembling hand over 7-year-old little sister Sua's mouth.
“Shh, shh. Sua, you can't make a sound. Please...”
Jiwoo's voice was trembling too, thick with tears.
The cold seeping up from the tile floor through thin pants wasn't what was driving Jiwoo insane right now; it wasn't the cold or the bathroom's stench.
Grrr...
The breathing of the beast outside, audible through a single thin door.
A giant wolf monster that had been prowling outside for prey had crawled all the way into this PC room.
Jiwoo covered Sua's mouth with one hand and held a phone in the other.
A site Jiwoo had gone into after receiving a notification by chance.
There were many people inside who could kill monsters.
'Big bro... said he'd come...'
Right after Jiwoo had shakily posted on the Survivor Gallery with the last bit of battery left, a reply had come back like a miracle.
A message telling Jiwoo to wait with little sister for just 30 minutes.
“Just 30 minutes... wait just 30 minutes, Sua... okay?”
Sua still couldn't stop crying, but Jiwoo could hold back tears.
Because big bro would be there in about 30 minutes.