Chapter 33: Flyer on flyer on flyer!

The ultimate dream of every man.

A harem surrounded by women.

In the face of that legendary temptation, my mind seemed to short-circuit for a moment.

Like a man with his brain replaced by his dick, I reached out without hesitation at the offer.

***

And then came the next morning.

The fervor of the previous day felt like a distant memory as I forced myself back to my senses in the cold light of reality.

Squeeeeak…

“L-Levi… Serika… It hurts…”

“Chanwoo, you’re being too much.”

“That’s right! I could’ve taken care of your sexual needs too! But instead, you tried to stick that huge dick of yours into some infected bitch with nothing but big tits before me…!”

Desire is terrifying.

I hadn’t slept a wink since dawn, yet I wasn’t tired at all.

In fact, even though I’d been solving the notoriously tedious ‘puzzle circuit connection mission’ from the original story for hours, my focus hadn’t wavered.

However, the two androids who had been assigned as my “escorts” grew increasingly sullen the longer I immersed myself in the puzzle.

And finally, the moment I paused and turned my head, they grabbed both my cheeks and pulled.

“Ow… Hey, guys, listen. This is really something that benefits us too—”

“Bene.fits.you.say?”

Serika’s sharp glare pinned me in place.

“Then even if this problem gets solved, you’re saying you won’t have sex with that infected woman, Flacia?”

“Th-that’s! I mean—”

Squeeeeak!

“Ah, damn.”

‘Honestly, when she was coming onto me so blatantly, of course I wanted to fuck her.’

‘But if I admitted that now, my cheeks would literally get torn off.’

“That’s not happening. And she’s an infected being, Chanwoo.”

“Exactly! What if your dick gets bitten off mid-act? Then what?”

Honestly, whether it’s zombie media or apocalyptic stories, male villains getting themselves killed because they couldn’t resist fucking infected creatures is a tired trope.

Let’s think rationally.

In this situation, what really matters isn’t sex—it’s technology.

“Fine. I won’t get involved with Flacia like that from now on.”

“If it was that easy to promise, you should’ve said so earlier!”

“More importantly, Chanwoo, your semen has already been allocated for other purposes.”

“…Other purposes?”

Levi’s tone was somehow both chilling and strangely suggestive.

“Anyway. We have to solve this puzzle. That much is certain.”

“Huh?”

“Is there a reason it’s absolutely necessary?”

“Yeah.”

I pointed at the workshop wall and spoke quietly.

“Our current base is barely scraping by on solar power. Even that’s not enough. Communication with R.P.M. will be possible in a month, but… what then?”

“What then?”

“Right. Even if we contact R.P.M., all we can do is confirm I’m alive and request extraction. But to survive in this world, we need what comes after.”

Exactly.

To live through this apocalypse, we need infrastructure and resources.

And Flacia was an infected being who had created all of that by herself.

From the ceiling display simulating the sky to the underground power grid, agricultural systems, and communication tech—she had it all.

Someone like that has to be on our side.

“But… she’s still infected!”

Serika shook her head again.

“She’s just a monster wearing the skin of a dead android! Whether she’s intelligent or not, she’s dangerous!”

“I agree.”

Levi nodded.

“And even if she says she’ll share her technology, there’s no guarantee. What if Flacia breaks her promise?”

That’s a fair point.

But I looked up at them and smiled.

“Don’t worry.”

I picked up the puzzle again and muttered.

“From the moment I stepped in here, I never trusted her to begin with.”

“…Huh?”

“What?”

Both androids stared at me in unison.

As I studied the scattered wires on the puzzle, my lips curled.

“The more untrustworthy someone is… the more you keep them close.”

The wiring puzzle Flacia had requested wasn’t something that could be solved just by spending time on it.

Upon closer inspection, there were gaps in the tangled wiring where a few components were missing.

The problem was, those components weren’t something that could be crafted in this world of Doll of the Stars.

They were rare materials—only obtainable by defeating aberrant lifeforms and looting them.

In other words, we’d have to go outside and hunt to get our hands on them.

“Some of the internal wiring requires patches made from aberrant flesh. Do you think there’s any left in this village?”

“Unfortunately… those were just remnants I scavenged from the corpses of aberrant lifeforms scattered around when I first discovered this place. There’s none left now.”

If the village’s technology and infrastructure were rated at 100, its combat capability was practically zero.

It was only fortunate that most of the aberrant lifeforms here were the type that stayed above ground.

If there were burrowing variants that dug through the earth like moles, this village might not even exist by now.

At least, from what I’d seen so far, the underground villages were in that state.

“To fully restore the circuit, we’ll have to go outside and gather the materials ourselves.”

“W-wait, that means… you’re planning to go out at night!”

Hearing that, Flacia’s hands trembled slightly where she sat in the workshop.

She carefully set down the teacup she was holding and glanced at the two androids beside me.

Then, as if recalling a distant memory, she pressed her lips together and spoke cautiously.

“This might be an impertinent question, but… are the two androids traveling with you accustomed to operating at night?”

“Probably not.”

“I’ve never been active at night.”

“Me neither. Never had a reason to. But is that really such a big deal?”

“Of course it is!”

In Doll of the Stars, ‘night’ was synonymous with the peak activity period of the monsters that had overrun Earth.

The time when aberrant lifeforms were most aggressive.

Even when clearing the game, there were routes where you could avoid nighttime entirely if you played carefully.

That alone showed how much of a hidden hardcore challenge the night was—something best avoided if possible.

Judging by Flacia’s reaction, she had clearly experienced that night firsthand.

“This is why I can’t stand rookies who’ve never seen the night…”

For a moment, the corner of her mouth twisted bitterly.

Though her tone was casual, a flicker of anguish crossed her eyes.

“Ahem…”

Flacia straightened her posture and forced a calm tone.

“At any rate, if you’re seriously considering going out there at night… I might have to withdraw this request.”

“Flacia…”

I quietly studied her.

Her fingertips were still trembling faintly.

“Not that I doubt your capabilities, but… that night is truly dangerous. If something were to happen to you…”

Her voice trailed off.

Then, under her breath, she muttered something else.

“…She would…”

“…She?”

I frowned.

That wasn’t just a slip of the tongue.

There was clear intent behind that word.

But Flacia averted her eyes and quickly covered it up.

“N-no, it’s nothing. Just… I’m worried, that’s all.”

Flacia was supposed to be this village’s leader.

‘So who was this ‘she’?’

“I meant Lila! She’s been so happy lately, always looking for you all. I just don’t want her to be shocked if something happens.”

“That won’t happen.”

“Exactly. Levi might be questionable, but I graduated at the top of the R.P.M. Elite Unit!”

***

Thud. Thud.

The two androids resumed their usual bickering, but one thing was clear—there was something else in this village we hadn’t uncovered yet.

And to figure it out, we needed to step outside and organize our thoughts.

“Don’t worry. I know my limits better than anyone.”

“…Huh?”

I flashed my usual bright smile to reassure her.

“We’ll hunt the aberrant lifeforms during the day.”

“But daytime variants are rare. Won’t they be hard to find?”

“It’s fine. I have a plan.”

I had once unlocked the achievement “Fully Upgrade All Weapons” by grinding aberrant lifeforms.

‘Did she really think I’d done all that only at night?’

In a game where death meant losing your entire inventory, stable daytime farming routes were essential.

Knowing those routes made all the difference in a situation like this.

“Three days should be enough to gather what we need. We’ll be back soon.”

“…Alright. Please be careful.”

I nodded and stepped out of the workshop, with Levi and Serika following silently behind.

Finally, some fresh air—just the three of us.

I thought this would be a good chance to clear my head and gather materials.

…Or so I’d assumed.

“Ah, there you are! Mr. Chanwoo, Serika, and Levi too!”

A cheerful voice rang out unexpectedly.

Standing at the entrance was the village’s mascot—

No, more like a mascot planted there by someone.

“…Lila?”

With a small hop, she raised both arms and beamed at us.

But the timing, the location, the tone—

Everything felt too perfectly staged to be a coincidence.

In that moment, I realized something.

…The three of us had been part of someone’s plan much earlier than I’d thought.