Chapter 31
I fixed the train's route toward Yeouido and showed the smartphone screen to the mother of the siblings, who was sitting on the sofa in Car 1.
"I'll let you know this first, since we'll need to contact each other later. This site is called the Survivor Gallery. I'll write my nickname here too, so if you ever need help later, send me a message here anytime."
"Uh... does the internet still work?"
"Not the internet—just this site—"
The mother stared at the screen as if spellbound, unable to hide her amazement.
To explain further, I told her that my train, the Gallery, and everything else were all skills.
As the mother of the still-young Ji-woo and Su-a, she probably already knew that 'skills' was a game term, so I didn't need to explain that.
I also went on to explain in detail how to bring up a translucent status window in front of her eyes.
"A status window...?"
The mother was checking her own status window, groping at the air with trembling hands.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a particularly good ability.
It was a modest support-type skill that made her vision much clearer than before, allowing her to see far and distinctly.
Unfortunately, not everyone got amazing skills.
Which was probably why the trade posts kept looking for Awakened fighters.
"S-still, it'll be very useful for spotting danger ahead and running away..."
"Yes, exactly. This alone is already a blessing. I even brought the kids' phones, so I'll have to teach them how to use this site too. Then they'll be able to contact people..."
She nodded with a solemn look on her face.
Maybe the siblings would be the ones to contact her first.
While she browsed the Gallery, I also searched the Gallery for the current situation in the Yeouido safe zone.
As expected of a safe zone in Seoul, where the population was dense, Yeouido was rapidly expanding into a huge safe zone.
But when I dug deeper, its own troublesome issues were already festering.
"Faction fighting, huh... I guess when people are doing well enough to get by, they'll fight over anything..."
After piecing together the anonymous boards on the Gallery, the factions in the Yeouido safe zone appeared to have split into two broad camps, locked in a tense standoff.
One faction consisted of government officials and soldiers trying to preserve the existing power structure.
The other was the newly rising Awakened faction, which had emerged after the apocalypse by protecting civilians with overwhelming force.
The civilians, too, seemed split between those who insisted things should be kept as they were and those who argued that most of the work was being done by the Awakened anyway, so they kept butting heads over everything.
No wonder I could find even that argument on the Gallery.
---
ㅇㅇ : Do these Yeouido bastards think Awakened are volunteer workers or something? They're calling them even at night.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Why not give them any benefits?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Benefits my ass. It's just us using what we earned ourselves; we're the ones expanding the safe zone and clearing dungeons.
JustHidOutYouth : The soldiers don't do anything and just point their guns at people. They should be shooting monsters with them instead;
ㄴ MagicalGirl : Don't be scared! That's an empty gun! ㅎㅎ
ㄴ SurvivalKing : Seriously?
ㅇㅇ : But... even if things turned out like this, they're politicians we elected. Is it really right to change that?
---
"Hmm..."
I clicked my tongue and closed the smartphone.
Given the situation, it would be better if they could cooperate with each other.
I decided I didn't want to get dragged into that pointless fight and checked the location.
"I'll make a brief stop at Singil Station, one stop before Yeouido Station. From there, walking in will be less conspicuous and safer."
The Gallery said the safe zone had already expanded to near Singil Station.
It seemed like a good way in, while drawing less unnecessary attention with the train.
At my suggestion, the mother nodded too.
Before long, the train glided smoothly onto the tracks at Singil Station.
‘...So there are people here too...’
I had thought there'd be no one at Singil Station, but contrary to my expectations, two soldiers already dispatched to guard Yeouido's outskirts were standing watch on one side of the platform.
They were nodding off.
Normally, no one would ever come here, so it made sense that they'd fallen asleep.
Chiiiik—
"Uh, uh...?"
"Huh...?"
Jolted awake by the train coming to a stop, the two soldiers stared at the train parked before them and gaped as if their jaws were about to hit the floor.
The spikes mounted on the front of the train, and the turret above it.
The two soldiers were startled by its imposing appearance and hurriedly pulled the guns from their backs.
"Th-tha... what the hell is that! Halt! Halt!"
"...What is that thing...?"
"How should I know, damn it..."
They raised their guns, faces drained of color, and approached us in small, cautious steps.
The barrels were shaking, and thick confusion colored their voices.
I picked up my mace and slowly stepped out of the train, leading the tense mother and the siblings after me.
The soldiers had looked fully on guard at first.
But when the haggard mother and the young Ji-woo and Su-a trotted out after me, the shoulders of the two soldiers, which had been rigid until then, visibly relaxed.
"...Everyone got off?"
"Yes."
‘It was a setup that would naturally make people lower their guard.’
They still seemed tense because of the train's turret-and-spike exterior and my mace, but the mood had loosened a little.
They soon lowered their guns and came over, firing questions at me.
"W-what is this huge train? Where did it come from, and what are you here for?"
"Uh, I'll answer one at a time."
Most of it was within the range I'd expected.
I answered calmly and sincerely.
I explained that this train was my unique skill, and that I'd come to escort this family, who had been stranded in the Siheung area, all the way to the Yeouido safe zone.
At my straightforward explanation, the soldiers nodded and then guided us somewhere, saying that exact identity verification was essential before entering the safe zone.
After a short walk, a middle-aged man came over and took over guiding us.
"So you're the people trying to enter the safe zone?"
"Yes, we came by train..."
"By train?"
"Yes."
"I've seen bicycles and cars, but... a train... Anyway, follow me."
He led us to a district office building near Singil Station.
As we moved, I quietly admired the scenery around us.
‘It's better than I expected...’
The Yeouido safe zone was trying far harder than I'd expected to restore its pre-apocalypse appearance.
The wreckage of collapsed buildings and abandoned cars had been neatly cleared to one side of the road, and inside the district office I could see people busily moving around with documents in hand.
‘It looks just like it used to...’
The Survivor Gallery really was noisy with faction fights, but it looked like the old district office was still functioning at least somewhat.
At a temporary desk set up in one corner of the district office, a basic identity check began.
The siblings and their mother finished without trouble and were issued something like temporary residence permits.
"Alright, next. What's your name and age?"
The man handling the guide work asked me, holding a file folder.
But I lightly waved him off and declined.
"I'm fine. I don't plan to go inside the safe zone."
At my firm refusal, the man looked extremely disappointed.
"You're really not coming in? I heard you control a train... An Awakened with a skill like that could enjoy quite a few benefits in our safe zone too."
"Benefits? Like what..."
"If you take on work or help expand the safe zone, we pay something called credits as compensation. With those, you can buy food beyond the standard rations inside the safe zone... buy other things you need... and use them like money."
Then he also quietly whispered in my ear.
He said they could also be used or obtained at the Gallery's Exchange, or at vending-machine-like machines inside the safe zone—apparently there were two or three of those as well.
I already knew about credits.
However, I hadn't known that if you put items into a vending machine and turned the change-return knob, the remaining credits would come out in voucher form.
So that's what he meant by them being used like currency.
"Still, you need to be careful. The vouchers are printed in 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 denominations, so it's best to match the denominations."
That was pretty useful information.
While listening to the man's explanation, I glanced at the siblings' mother, who was packing up her things in the back.
‘Nice. Maybe I can give the mother some credits later...’
It seemed like I'd need a certain amount of credits to live comfortably inside the safe zone.
I wasn't planning to give them away for nothing.
Either way, I had no intention of cutting this connection off completely here. No, if anything, I needed to manage it even more carefully.
‘Luck and dungeon scouting are skills I'll need going forward, too.’
Just because I was leaving the children in the safe zone didn't mean I could give up those skills.
Su-a's scouting skill that let her see through dungeon information, and Ji-woo's level 3 Luck skill needed for gacha.
It would be wise to invest early if I wanted to borrow their help later, whether when rolling gacha with several worthwhile random boxes or when scouting a dungeon that looked dangerous.
"Thanks for the explanation, but I'm more suited to roaming freely outside."
"I see..."
I gave the man a light nod, then turned toward the mother and children, who were looking at me with faces full of regret.
"Noona, you're really leaving? We can't see you anymore?"
"Unnie..."
Ji-woo and Su-a clutched my clothes tightly, on the verge of tears.
They were looking up at me with expressions as if they might burst into tears at any moment.
I crouched down and took turns patting the two siblings on the head.
"Hey, I have a train, remember? You know it didn't even take a few hours to get here, right? I'll come often, so listen to your mom and stay safe here. Okay?"
At my words, the children's expressions finally brightened a little.
Why wouldn't I come?
I was the one who would end up looking for the siblings first.
I gave the mother, who kept bowing and thanking me, a light smile with my eyes, then quietly slipped out of the district office while they went through the explanation about the safe zone.
‘They're not being nearly as strict as I'd expected.’
Honestly, I'd expected something a little more dramatic.
For now, the most important goal had been completed safely, so it was time to go back and check on my skill.
‘Next is...’
I was thinking of properly testing the artisan's touch.
For now, I planned to head out toward Siheung or Incheon and run through a few dungeons.
Boss drop items always performed well when used in making equipment or drones.
I was planning to do the same this time.
As I walked, I wondered whether I should trust my Weapon Mastery this time and make a slightly harder weapon to handle.
But the moment I came up the platform stairs.
I tilted my head at the completely unexpected sight spread out before me.
"Wow, is that a turret?"
"Stand right here next to it. I'll take the picture for you."
"Wow... what kind of Awakened even drives something like this around?"
"I think I saw this on the Gallery—"
"By the way, did you hear?"
"Of course."
The soldiers from earlier, and two male Awakened who didn't seem to be soldiers, were huddled together in front of my train.
They were busily taking pictures of the train with their smartphone cameras.
One of the soldiers was even striking a pose, leaning against the train.
‘...What's going on here?’
I quietly scratched my chin as I watched the scene from a distance, my mace resting on my shoulder.
I felt like I could somewhat understand how people felt driving supercars back when the world was still normal.