Ch.2424. Addiction.

Humanity in the 21st century can only access the future where Mori lives through fragmented drone footage.

Historically, when humans discovered unknown phenomena or objects, they examined them from multiple angles over long periods to reach conclusions that most people could agree upon.

The basis for judgment was always technical and historical background. When objective evidence was lacking, people found causes through research based on personal experience or knowledge.

That’s why scholars and craftsmen who spent their lives honing knowledge in a specific field have been respected throughout history.

And because ordinary people knew that experts wielded power in their respective positions, they could maintain their normal lives by entrusting judgment and solutions to these specialists when problems arose.

Moreover, people are surprisingly slow to react to external changes.

Even when hearing about a massive tornado destroying villages and shutting down cities on the opposite side of the globe.

Even when oceans turn white due to rising temperatures, or when previously unseen insects swarm urban areas.

Unless it directly affects their daily lives, like a pandemic that shakes the entire world, or unless it’s a field they were already interested in, people don’t try to learn what’s happening in the world.

Despite being able to quickly access world events through news and newspapers, most people either don’t care from the start or only glance at the information before quickly forgetting it.

Because it’s not their problem, and they’re not in immediate danger.

Because they can’t see with their own eyes what the problem is and what consequences it brings.

Leave it to the smart people and everything will be solved eventually. Just like always.

—But this time was different.

All of humanity can only access the future through a single method: “watching videos.”

Everyone, regardless of their wealth or technical capabilities, can only perceive this strange world from the same viewpoint, from the same position.

The biggest problem was that these videos kept appearing at the top of popular video sites whenever Mori activated the drone.

Just as with Mori’s life, the apocalypse had become everyday reality for humanity in the 21st century.

Society quickly fell into chaos, as if the peace until now had been an illusion.

“What are the experts doing?”

Moreover, the experts who should provide clear answers and guidance were, for whatever reason, refraining from making statements. Although rumors circulated about a project underway to save humanity, there hadn’t been a single official announcement in the month since the videos first appeared.

As a result, people remained anxious, continuing to discuss the apocalypse and Mori through word of mouth and community posts.

Amid the accumulation of countless analyses, predictions, superstitions, and lamentations falling like snow on a destroyed world.

If there was one analysis that unusually united the opinions of many people, regardless of whether they were experts or not.

It was that the city and land where Mori wandered seemed extremely artificial.

“An ark for humanity’s salvation…”

And Eugene thought as he read the draft of the project that would unfold over the next several hundred years.

…What comes first?

24. Addiction.

To reiterate, walking through deep snow is incredibly exhausting.

With each step, you have to lift your foot up to knee height and slowly place it down, repeating this endlessly—it’s only natural to be tired.

And since there’s no warm, safe place to rest when desired, conversation naturally diminishes to conserve energy.

I wonder if people watching my broadcast would be surprised at how quiet I’ve become.

“……”

I’ve heard that people in the past would attach woven bushes or wood to their shoes to walk on snow. I’m amazed at how they discovered and made such things.

Out of curiosity, I once tried tying paper and metal sheets to my shoes with cut wires, but far from walking on snow, I fell forward as soon as I took a bold step.

If I had those, I could cross this snowfield a bit more easily—truly regrettable.

“Looking at the weather… I probably won’t be able to sleep for days.”

Buildings buried in snow that I can’t move forward through, or half-constructed buildings.

I wish something would catch my eye, but all I can see is darkness and snow.

I’m not even sure if I’m moving forward properly.

“…Sigh.”

When I open my mouth wanting to express my frustration, cold air penetrates even through the scarf covering my mouth and enters my body.

Perhaps because I was basking in relatively warm sunlight just hours ago, the air feels colder and more painful than usual.

So I keep my mouth tightly shut and walk with my scarf pulled up to my nose, and gradually, a sense of suffocation builds in my heart.

It’s painful.

For me, talking was a way to alleviate loneliness and escape falling into deep thought.

The longer my thoughts continue, perhaps because of the harsh environment, they get consumed by the surroundings.

Even if I start with positive thoughts, just as maintaining a white canvas is much harder than creating a black one, my thoughts unknowingly transform into negative ones.

Like how the clear sky from earlier suddenly turned into a snowy night.

“Whoa, almost fell again…”

Although I said all I can see is snow, this was ultimately a path where people lived and walked.

In the darkness, beneath the snow, my feet keep catching on invisible edges or objects.

Thanks to my walking stick, I don’t fall badly.

Even if I did fall hard, since my only luggage is what’s in my bag, I could just get up and keep walking.

“…This is annoying.”

In an environment where I can’t see an inch ahead, being constantly threatened by invisible dangers is inherently nerve-wracking.

It drains me mentally when I’m already physically exhausted. Curses keep circling in my mouth.

But turning on a flashlight in a place like this wouldn’t make much difference.

Snow, which makes everything look pure and peaceful, is like a clown’s mask.

You never know if there’s a smiling face behind it, a crying face, or an angry face until you remove it yourself.

“How long has it been since I last smoked…?”

There’s no escape from this terrible darkness and cold.

The only thing that gives me even a feeling of escape is… biting down on a cigarette.

Burning paper, burning my body, and burning depressing thoughts along with it.

I know it’s not good for health. Cigarettes, though mainstream, are still drugs.

Depending on such substances won’t bring peace, only dragging body and mind into the abyss.

I know this intellectually. How much is burned away just for a moment of comfort. How pathetic and miserable this looks to others. I used to look down on people who drank and smoked, wondering why they lived that way.

But God. There is no salvation here. If I am to survive now. If I am to stay sane. I need a little heat and light.

People don’t call it addiction when someone who’s about to collapse from iron deficiency takes supplements.

I’m in a similar situation. In this world without a single doctor, this is the only prescription I can give myself in my suffering.

So, just for now, it’s not addiction, it’s unavoidable.

With this pathetically inadequate excuse, I put another cigarette in my mouth, one of many I’ve smoked today.

And just as I’m about to light the end of the paper in my mouth, hoping for light.

[Hey Mori. I’ve been wondering for days, why are there fences around the city?]

“…Ah.”

—A blue light bloomed in the darkness.

A message appeared from the controller in my shaking hand holding the torch.

The cigarette falls from my mouth, entranced by the suddenly appearing light.

But I didn’t care whether it fell to the ground or not.

The light I had been craving so desperately appeared before my eyes, and my loneliness vanished as well.

There was no need to rely on such things in this situation.

“Ahem, ahem. Fences… fences. Since I’m neither the person who built this city nor someone who lived in it, I can’t give you a definitive answer.”

The more I think about my situation and myself, the deeper I sink into darkness.

This is because it’s not so easy for humans to create new emotions or thoughts on their own.

Being alone makes me depressed, and being alone makes it impossible to escape that depression—a vicious cycle that can only be described as terrible.

But that suffering comes solely from being alone.

So when someone reaches out with even a single word during these painful and difficult times, I can quickly smile again.

“But—since you’re curious, I’ll tell you about it. About a special experience I had regarding the city and its fences.”

The city and fences.

And designated entrances.

I too once had questions about this clearly artificial and suspicious combination, just like the people watching the videos.

“I really thought… I was going to die then. Yes.”

And as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.

I too almost lost my life due to curiosity beyond my understanding.

It’s a somewhat embarrassing story, but I’m happy to share it with the kind people who saved me.

I began to continue speaking with a bright smile.