Chapter 25
Hmm...
My finger, which had been scrolling up and down the screen, paused at a recommended post.
Some posts were praising me to the skies and sending their thanks.
They were probably the department store people who had taken me to the safe zone.
"Sigh, they've written some kind of heroic tale..."
I gave a small cough out of embarrassment and looked at the screen.
In the comments, there were people marveling at whether a girl Awakened who used drones and a sledgehammer really existed, and interest in the train kept pouring in.
"...Reading it in text does make the combination seem kind of strange."
I didn't want to draw too much attention in the gallery, but seeing those posts written with such heartfelt gratitude, calling me their lifesaver, didn't feel bad.
"..."
Since it had come to this, I lightly tapped the recommend button at the bottom of the post. A small message appeared on the screen saying, 'Recommendation completed.'
"Ah, right."
I turned off my smartphone and got up from my seat.
"Sua, Jiwoo."
I opened the door to the second car and shook the department store shopping bags full in both hands.
There were clothes in the suitcase too, but I'd separately packed the outfits I thought they'd want to wear right away into the shopping bags.
The two children, just awake and rubbing their eyes, fixed their gaze on the shopping bags, and their eyes went wide.
When I took out the new clothes and shoes from the shopping bags and spread them out, the kids let out small cheers.
"Wow..."
Sua hugged the light pink outfit tightly to her chest.
Jiwoo, who usually took care of the younger one, also seemed satisfied with the new sneakers.
"Noona, thank you!"
"Sure."
Seeing them smile brightly while touching the new clothes made it feel worthwhile to have cleaned out the department store.
"If the sizes don't fit, let me know. I brought plenty."
The kids looked ready to try on every single piece of clothing and pair of shoes in the shopping bags, so I stepped away for a moment.
I returned to the first car and started checking the gallery's trends.
The board still had the department store rescue post from just before at the top of the recommendations, but when I looked away from the recommended posts and checked the general posts, different topics were starting to surface.
"Hmm..."
My expression gradually hardened.
In fact, if you looked at the gallery's recent trends, more and more vicious posts were appearing.
It was good that more and more Awakened people were learning how to fight monsters, and that safe zones of all sizes were springing up.
But now, there were even occasional situations where humans were literally tearing each other apart over territory, food, and usable strongholds.
[We ended up abandoning this stronghold and running because of some thug bastards...]
[Fuck, for real, I'm starting to hate humans.]
[You can't fix people. Never take in anyone with a shady face or a tattooed punk into a safe zone.]
[Humans are scarier now... any beastkin slaves around?]
The situation had turned lawless, and some humans had begun using it as an excuse to openly commit robbery, assault, or worse.
I had thought that people like that might show up someday, and sure enough, they really had.
"I didn't think they'd show up this soon..."
To me, it still felt too early for that.
It wasn't like things were truly in a hopeless apocalyptic state yet—the gallery was there, the exchange was there, and safe zones were springing up one after another.
Maybe it would be different if the monsters got even stronger later on...
I couldn't understand them attacking humans, but the gallery survivors said:
[They're weaker than monsters, but the rewards are generous, ㅇㅇ]
[Just hit them and money comes out.]
[Don't try to understand it.]
"...Maybe they're eyeing my train too after seeing the recommendation posts?"
To those guys, rumors about my train would be an irresistibly tempting target.
I was a little tense, but then I changed my mind.
"Fine. Come at me instead."
I tapped the sturdy wall of the train with my finger and muttered coldly.
Honestly, fighting humans is still something I hesitate about.
Still, if a situation comes where I have to fight, I won't hesitate.
I checked the panel in the driver's cab.
350 satisfaction points earned from safely transporting and caring for 14 passengers.
It was time to check the special upgrade options unlocked only through satisfaction.
There were two upgrades newly unlocked this time.
The first was a blueprint added to the Car 2 armory. It unlocked schematics that let me directly craft bombs and various traps.
The second said that by further upgrading the drone hangar, I could attach a mechanical arm that would modify the drones.
By paying extra mana stones, I'd be able to equip the drones with special additional functions.
I stroked my chin and slowly went over the list.
"The drones have been a huge help until now..."
Without hesitation, I further upgraded the drone hangar.
As soon as I selected the upgrade, small mechanical arms appeared beside the hangar.
"...I guess I can only upgrade the reconnaissance drone for now."
For now, I decided to start with the reconnaissance drone, since among the three drones it had the cheapest upgrade cost.
When I decided to pay the lowest-grade mana stones it required, the mountain of mana stones piled up in Car 2 vanished in an instant.
100 lowest-grade mana stones—that was the upgrade cost.
"Sssshhh—!"
As the upgrade began, the mechanical arms started modifying the reconnaissance drone in a dazzling flurry.
Whirr.
At first, the reconnaissance drone seemed startled, but soon it let the machine arms handle it.
The armor covering the reconnaissance drone's exterior changed into a smoother matte black finish.
Other than that, there didn't seem to be much change in its appearance.
[Reconnaissance Drone Upgrade Complete]
[Silent Flight and Eavesdropping Functions Activated]
Whoosh.
The reconnaissance drone slowly emerged from the hangar.
There was a faint sound, but compared to the previous hornet-like buzzing, it was practically silent.
"It really doesn't make any sound."
On top of sharing its vision, it had gained the ability to eavesdrop on sounds as well.
It seemed to have been upgraded to suit the name reconnaissance drone much better.
Then I was curious to see how the combat drone would change, but—
"80 low-grade mana stones, huh..."
The road ahead was long.
I dusted off my hands with satisfaction and returned to the plush sofa in Car 1's driver's cab.
After checking the posts just now, this time I looked at the trading tab.
"Bold text..."
Bold-text posts, which I assumed were written by Constellations, had a vibe completely different from ordinary survivors' trade posts.
The biggest difference was that there was no desperation in the writing.
Their requirements were specific, and the rewards they offered were enough to make your jaw drop, but the more I read, the more strangely ominous trade posts I saw.
And today's bold-text trade posts went beyond ominous.
"What in the world is this kind of post..."
There had been a message before when I rescued the people at the department store.
[Good-aligned Constellations are paying attention to the train.]
I should have realized then. If good-aligned Constellations existed, then naturally evil-aligned Constellations existed on the opposite side too.
As if proving that, there was one trade post pinned at the very top of the board in thick, red text.
---
[Title: 2,000 credits for eliminating a specific Awakened individual.]
- Awakened Hwang Taeho, age 40, residing in the Yeouido safe zone.
- Reward: 2,000 credits
---
Short and impactful.
With such a chilling title written among posts asking for supplies or escort requests, the view count was enormous.
Of course, the comment section under that post was practically exploding.
---
ㅇㅇ : ? Is this for real? Is it just bait?
ㅇㅇ : What is the gallery star doing? Hurry up and delete the post, or aren't you going to ban him?
생갤러1 : That's kind of creepy.
ㅇㅇ : Why are you trying to kill our Forty-hyung... why are you doing this...
---
People's criticism and curses were pouring out.
But I could only click my tongue quietly as I looked down at my smartphone screen.
The administrator, Signal, had once mentioned it himself in the notices.
That neither the bold-text posts nor the people who wrote them could be deleted or interfered with, even by the gallery star's own authority.
It was a helpless situation where, even if you wanted to delete the post, you couldn't.
"...What?"
As I read the comments, I frowned.
The more I scrolled, the more other opinions began to timidly poke their heads out from among the condemnatory comments.
---
ㅇㅇ45 : Hey... but it says the reward is 2,000 credits?
ㅇㅇ : Isn't 2,000 credits enough to buy four skills from the vending machine? If it were me, I'd give it a shot ㅇㅇ
ㅇㅇ : I'm in the Yeouido safe zone, though...
ㄴ 생존마 : I'm jealous.
---
A few comments seemed tempted by the reward.
Some were joking, but there were really a few people who—
2,000 credits.
Even if you risked your life fighting monsters, you might make 10 credits per kill at most, so it was definitely a big amount.
But I immediately looked away from the post and flicked past it.
Hoping nobody would be blinded by credits and take that post, I decided to look for the trade post I had originally been searching for.
The one that offered a reward tied to skill leveling.
There was a skill I really wanted to level up.
I looked at Jiwoo, who had put on his new sneakers and was slowly walking around inside the train.
I was planning to upgrade Jiwoo's luck skill.
With only a level 1 luck skill, I'd already seen it pull a whole heap of vegetables out of a box.
If I raised that skill to level 2, level 3, or higher, and then opened a skill box, what would happen?
"Let's see... a trade post that boosts skill levels..."
I glared at the screen and swiftly sifted through the posts.
Soon, my finger came to an abrupt halt above the screen.
[Looking for brave Awakened individuals to retrieve a relic from a dungeon.]
One title shone in a uniquely brilliant silver among the many red ones.
And when I checked the reward list written beneath it, a satisfied smile appeared on my face.
"Found it. My skill upgrade voucher."