Ch.52Truth Game (2)

The deserted research facility.

Behind the barrier wall designed to be impenetrable even by damned lizards.

Foundation Council #8. Robin leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

CREEP-201, [The Tracker] had spewed out information, and in return, it took 2 liters of her blood.

Losing that much blood at once means death.

Even with an immediate transfusion, all organs would have suffered irreversible shock damage.

“Cough!”

Robin vomited onto the cold concrete floor.

Her already dead intestines were collapsing, releasing clots of blood.

Darkness immediately filled her vision, and a sharp pleasure flooded her mind.

Life flashed before her eyes.

However, what Robin feared wasn’t death.

At the moment of death.

She couldn’t see her family.

Not a single scene of life unrelated to the Foundation appeared.

She had lived too long as a human.

Robin smiled bitterly.

The Foundation doesn’t let Council members die.

Soon, her clone sleeping in the basement of Valhalla, the Foundation’s Scandinavian branch facility, would awaken to inherit her memories and continue the work that must be done.

Yes. Resurrection takes time.

Even if genetically identical, inheriting memories from a different entity is another matter.

At best, about a week.

Even saving travel time to the Professor’s hideout in Iceland, over 6 days would be wasted.

It had been a century since Robin lived beyond her natural lifespan.

For the first time, Robin felt fear.

Before her eyes, two completely contradictory pieces of information overlapped.

Her strength faded, and her eyes slowly closed.

Her head grew cold.

Professor. What on earth are you doing?

***

The next morning.

I walked through the corridor holding hands tightly with Choi Serim.

The apartment filled with danger and absurdity. The 7th floor, almost the only trustworthy residential area inside.

Today would be our last day here.

“Should I talk to them?”

“No. I’ll do it.”

When I asked worriedly, Choi Serim cut me off.

“It’s something I need to do.”

She squeezed my hand firmly.

“Are you confident you can persuade the others, noona?”

“I don’t know.”

“Daju will insist on coming along even if it kills her. Can you handle that?”

I smiled and swung my arm.

“Let’s just all go together.”

…That was our conversation yesterday.

“Dabin.”

In the corridor where dusk had fallen.

Starlight filled Choi Serim’s eyes as she looked at me.

She said she didn’t want to discuss leaving the apartment in a cramped storage corner.

The cold night wind blows.

Choi Serim leans against the railing, bending her body as if she might fall at any moment.

“Should I jump from here?”

“You’d just end up back here anyway.”

“Yes! But still.”

I thought she was a quiet noona, but Choi Serim had grown more playful.

“Ah. Just don’t do it.”

“Okay.”

“…”

After laughing, I looked up at the sky.

They say the universe is so vast that even light can’t reach immediately.

I wonder if the star I’m seeing now is from 10 years ago. Or 100 years ago.

Perhaps it’s the light of a star that has already died and disappeared.

Then what is that scenery outside?

It feels like I could reach out and leave immediately.

As I read in the book at the library, escaping from the apartment was impossible.

Maybe.

The outside world might have been completely erased.

All cities and continents might have long sunk into the waters of oblivion, and we might be holding out on the last remaining island.

The scenery we see now might be the last trace of reality.

I stared at that mirage with Choi Serim for a long time.

No matter how I thought about it, this wasn’t just about escaping a single building.

I kept thinking that.

“Then shouldn’t we all do it together?”

“Huh?”

Under the starlight, I suddenly spoke up.

“There’s no exit anyway, right? If the only way out is what noona mentioned, wouldn’t it be better for all of us to go together rather than just the two of us wandering around?”

“…”

Choi Serim silently stared outside.

“I don’t know.”

After muttering one word quietly, she fidgeted with the hem of her gray cardigan.

“Dabin. Aren’t you cold?”

Back to the morning corridor.

We had agreed to gather for breakfast together today.

With Choi Serim beside me, I stretched my arms out wide.

“Ugh.”

“Hm? Dabin, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just…”

I was startled when my chest suddenly felt tight.

So this is what it means when your heart sinks.

“…Hmm.”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

I walked quickly to escape Choi Serim’s gaze.

Passing through the sunlit corridor, we reached the front door.

“You’re here?”

Heo Yoon, who still knew nothing, greeted us.

“Dabin. You came with Serim.”

As usual, Seok Hyunmin was with her.

These days they’re always together, almost like a married couple.

“Hello, noona!”

Casually accepting Jung Haewon’s greeting, I took off my shoes and entered the house.

“Isn’t Daju here?”

“Daju? She’s lying over there.”

Heo Yoon pointed to the sofa in the living room. Daju was lying flat.

Wearing an apron, Heo Yoon approached and lowered her voice.

“She says she has terrible menstrual cramps.”

“Ah…”

My face flushed, but somehow it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.

Maybe because I’ve been a woman for less than a month. Just about 2 weeks, actually.

Though we’ve experienced a lot since entering the apartment, not many actual days have passed.

Survival compression training. Something like that.

It’s nice that Daju is quiet, but I’m still concerned.

I crossed the living room to approach the sofa.

“Uh… oppa, you’re here?”

Daju weakly raised her head to confirm my presence.

“Oh. Unnie is here too…”

The Yoon Daju I know is one of two types. Either insanely high energy or digging herself into the ground. Either way, she’s equally intense with laughing and crying.

But seeing her lying there with a pale face doesn’t suit her at all.

“Did you take medicine?”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to go rest in your room?”

“I need to eat.”

I asked out of concern, but Daju answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Yes. This is Yoon Daju.

There’s nothing else I can do, so I just returned to sit at the table.

The meal was simple: rice and beef radish soup.

It’s really delicious, but my heart is so heavy that I can’t tell if the food is going into my mouth or my nose.

I put a spoonful of rice in my mouth and looked up. My eyes met Choi Serim’s, who had the same worried expression.

Finally, as the meal was ending.

Choi Serim, who had been hesitating, spoke up.

“Um. I have something to say, so please listen, everyone.”

“Hm? What is it, Serim?”

Heo Yoon turned around while clearing the dishes.

Choi Serim continued with difficulty.

“I went to the library yesterday, remember? I found a way to get out of here.”

“Really?”

Jung Haewon reacted loudly.

Everyone else turned to Choi Serim, each showing surprised reactions.

“Serim. Is that true?”

“Yes. But it’s not certain. It’s also extremely dangerous. The chance of failure is almost 99 percent. So,”

Choi Serim’s shoulders trembled slightly.

“What I thought was, only Dabin and I would go out together. The probability of death is too high for others.”

“What?”

It came out of nowhere, without any context. Heo Yoon raised her voice.

“So we’re just supposed to stay here?”

“Yes…”

“What are you saying? Of course we should go together.”

Seok Hyunmin spoke firmly and decisively.

But Choi Serim didn’t change her stance. Instead, she clearly articulated her position in a distinct voice.

“This is completely different from before when we searched for exits together. Until now, we could always return to the 7th floor, right? Now we won’t be able to do that anymore. We’ll have to keep moving around inside the apartment, finding temporary places to stay. Setting up watches. Not being able to sleep properly, not being able to gather comfortably to eat or rest like we do now.”

“…”

Silence fell.

Heo Yoon firmly grabbed and pulled Seok Hyunmin’s hand as he was about to step forward again.

“We’ll stay. If Serim is saying this much, I… I think it’s better to just stay here.”

I thought Heo Yoon would immediately say she’d come along.

I remembered what Choi Serim had said yesterday.

She had answered with an ambiguous expression, just saying “I don’t know.” Now I understand what she meant.

“Then I’ll go.”

Jung Haewon stepped forward.

“I can’t let the two noonas go alone. I should go with you.”

I appreciate it, but it’s a bit ridiculous coming from a kid without even an ID card.

“Yeah. Sure.”

I answered casually and looked toward Daju.

Jung Haewon did the same.

“And we should take Daju noona too. She’s just sick today, but she would definitely want to come. Right?”

Jung Haewon winked.

Having regained some strength, Daju rose from the sofa.

“Yes. I’m going with you.”

At first she got up groggily, but now her movements were quite nimble.

“I’m definitely coming with you, so wait. Let me gather some medicine.”

That left Heo Yoon and Seok Hyunmin.

Everyone else had decided to come along.

Choi Serim seemed troubled by this too, but I pushed for it.

“Make sure to come back safely. Don’t die.”

Seok Hyunmin patted my shoulder as he said goodbye.

Heo Yoon was almost in tears as she held each person’s hand tightly.

“Yes. When everything is over, I’ll come find you. On the 7th floor.”

Looking at the two people who decided to stay, I made another promise.

The storage room at the end of the 7th floor corridor. A place where various survival supplies were gathered.

We packed our bags.

Flashlights. Medicine. Emergency food. Minimal cooking equipment. Self-defense weapons.

When we were almost finished packing and everyone had gathered,

Choi Serim quietly pulled at my clothes.

“Yoon unnie. She’s pregnant.”

Choi Serim said calmly.

“What?”

“That’s why I couldn’t let her come with us.”

“What the…”

I cut off what I was about to say and asked with my eyes.

‘Did you manipulate their thoughts?’

Choi Serim quietly shook her head.

“I thought they wouldn’t come anyway. Especially Yoon unnie, she wanted to stay here. She might have noticed the changes in her body. Or maybe she just liked Seok Hyunmin oppa.”

Daju hung her head low.

“Pregnant… My heart… is breaking…”

Daju muttered in a weak voice.

Choi Serim didn’t stop there.

“But…”

As if about to say something, her lips moved slightly, then she turned her gaze away.

“Never mind. Nothing will happen.”

Whispering as if to say “their lives won’t be in danger,” Choi Serim started walking again.

Out of the storage room, toward the elevator.

I took one last look at the corridor.

From now on, seeing such an ordinary corridor would be rare.

We wouldn’t be returning to the 7th floor anymore.

Swoosh-

The door opened, and I stepped into the elevator.