episode_0052

A research facility with no one there.

Behind a barrier that not even a damn lizard can penetrate.

Foundation Council #8. Robin leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.

CREEP-201, [Tracker] spat out information, and took 2 liters of her blood in return.

Losing that much blood in an instant means death.

Even if you receive a blood transfusion right away, all organs in your body will have suffered irreparable damage from shock.

“Cough!”

Robin vomited onto the cold concrete floor.

The internal organs, which had already died, were collapsing and releasing blood.

Immediately, my vision becomes dark, and a dizzying sense of pleasure fills my mind.

A flash of light passes by.

However, it was not death that Robin feared.

moment of death.

There is no sign of the family.

There is not a single scene of a life unrelated to the foundation.

As a human being, I have lived too long.

Robin laughed bitterly.

The Foundation does not allow Council members to die.

Soon, his clone sleeping in the basement of Valhalla, the foundation’s Scandinavian branch facility, will wake up, take over his memories, and continue the work he must do.

Yes, it takes time for resurrection.

Even if they are genetically identical, inheriting the memories of another individual is another matter.

About a week at the earliest.

Even if you could save time traveling to the professor’s hideout to Iceland, more than 6 days would be wasted.

A century has passed since Robin outlived his natural lifespan.

For the first time, Robin felt afraid.

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

I lose strength, and my eyes slowly close.

My head feels cold.

professor. What on earth are you doing?

***

The next morning.

I walked down the hallway holding hands with Choi Se-rim.

An apartment full of danger and irrationality. The 7th floor is almost the only reliable residential area within it.

Today will be my last time here.

“Shall I talk?”

“No. I will do it.”

When I asked as if I was worried, Serim Choi answered quickly.

“It’s what I have to do.”

Strength goes into our joined hands.

“Do you have the confidence to persuade others?”

“I don’t know.”

“Da-ju will say that he will follow even if he dies. Can you handle it?”

I smiled and waved my arms.

“Let’s all go together.”

… … This is what we talked about yesterday.

“Dabin.”

A hallway in the dusk.

There was starlight in Choi Se-rim’s eyes as she looked at me.

When I talked about going outside the apartment, I said I didn’t want to do it in the corner of a narrow warehouse.

The cold night wind blows.

Choi Se-rim leans against the railing, bending down as if she will fall down at any moment.

“Should I get away from here?”

“You’ll end up here again anyway.”

“Yes! That’s right.”

I thought she was a quiet older sister, but Choi Se-rim has become more charming.

“Ah. Don’t do it, just.”

“Yes.”

“… … .”

Stop laughing and look up at the sky.

It is said that the universe is so vast that not even light can reach it directly.

I wonder if that star I’m seeing now is from 10 years ago. Is it from 100 years ago?

Perhaps, it may be the light of a star that has now died and disappeared.

So what is the scenery out there?

Even now, it feels like I can get out right away if I stretch out my hand.

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

perhaps.

The entire outside world may have been erased.

All cities and continents have long ago been submerged in the waters of oblivion, and we may be holding out on the last remaining island.

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

I looked at that mirage with Choi Se-rim for a long time.

No matter how much you think about it, this isn’t just about escaping from one building.

That thought kept coming to me.

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

“Huh?”

Under the starlight, I suddenly speak out.

“There is no such thing as an exit anyway. The only way to get out of here is by telling me. Wouldn’t it be better if we all went out together rather than just the two of us?”

“… … .”

Choi Se-rim just looked outside without saying a word.

“Well.”

After saying one word quietly, he fiddling with the hem of the gray cardigan he was wearing.

“Dabin. Aren’t you cold?”

Morning hallway again.

We decided to gather together again today to have breakfast.

Next to him is Choi Se-rim. I stretched out my arms and stretched.

“Ugh.”

“Huh? Dabin, why?”

“No. Just.”

I was momentarily surprised as my heart leapt out of my chest.

It makes sense that my heart would sink.

“… … Hmm.”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

With a quick walk, I escaped Choi Se-rim’s gaze.

I reached the front door after passing through a sunny hallway.

“Are you here?”

Heo Yoon, who still knows nothing, welcomes us.

“Dabin. I came with Serim.”

Next to him, as expected, is Seok Hyeon-min.

Nowadays, the two of us are together all the time, almost like a married couple.

“Hello sister!”

After receiving a cursory greeting from Jeong Hae-won, I took off my shoes and entered the house.

“Didn’t Daju come?”

“Daju? Lie down there.”

The place Heo Yoon pointed to was the sofa inside the living room. Daju was lying straight down.

Wearing an apron, Heo Yoon comes over and lowers his voice.

“They say the menstrual pain is really bad.”

“Ah… … .”

Even though my face gets hot, it also feels like it’s no one else’s business.

Is it because it hasn’t even been a month since I became a woman? If you think about it, it’s only about two weeks.

A lot has happened since I moved into the apartment, but not much has actually passed.

Real compressed survival. Something like this.

It’s nice that Daju is quiet, but it still bothers me.

I crossed the living room and approached the sofa.

“Uh… … . Are you here?”

Dajoo weakly lifts his head and checks my appearance.

“What is it? My sister came too… … .”

The Daju Yoon I know is one of the two. The tension is either crazy high or you’re digging into the ground like crazy. Either way, the point of laughing and crying intensely is the same.

But lying down with my face so white doesn’t really suit me.

“Did you take the medicine?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it better to go in and rest?”

“You have to eat rice.”

I asked because I was worried, but Daju answered without even a second of hesitation.

okay. This is Yoonda.

I didn’t need to do anything else, so I just went back to the table and sat down.

The meal was simple rice and beef radish soup.

It’s really delicious, but my heart is so heavy that I don’t know whether it goes into my mouth or my nose.

I put a spoonful of rice in my mouth and then looked up. I made eye contact with Choi Se-rim, who had the same worried face.

Finally, by the time the meal was over.

Choi Se-rim, who hesitated, spoke up.

“Me. I have something to say, so please listen to it all at once.”

“Huh? What is it, Serim?”

Heo Yoon stops putting away the dishes and looks back.

Choi Se-rim continued speaking with difficulty.

“You went to the library yesterday. Then I found a way to get out of here.”

“Uh, really?”

Jeong Hae-won reacts loudly.

Everyone else turns their gaze to Choi Se-rim and each shows a surprised reaction.

“Serim. Is it true?”

“Yes. But, I’m not sure about that. It’s also very dangerous. If you think about the chances, it’s almost 99% likely to fail. So,”

Choi Se-rim’s shoulders tremble slightly.

“What I was thinking was that it was just me and Dabin walking around outside together. The chance of other people dying is too high.”

“What?”

It’s something that came out of nowhere, without any context. Heo Yoon raises his voice.

“So, should we just stay here?”

“Yes… … .”

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

Seok Hyun-min speaks clearly and clearly.

Still, Choi Se-rim does not change her attitude. Rather, he conveys his position clearly and clearly.

“It’s completely different from how we used to walk around looking for an exit together. Until now, you’ve been able to return to the 7th floor. You won’t be able to do that anymore. I keep walking around the apartment, looking for a temporary place to stay. Put on alert. I can’t sleep properly, and I can’t get together to eat or rest comfortably like I do now.”

“… … .”

There is silence.

Heo Yoon firmly holds Seok Hyun-min’s hand and pulls him as he tries to leave again.

“We will stay. If Serim says that, I. I think it would be better to just stay here.”

I thought Heo Yoon would say he would follow me right away.

I remember what Serim Choi said yesterday.

I just answered, “Well,” with an ambiguous expression. I think I finally know what it means.

“Then I will go.”

It was Jeong Hae-won who stepped forward.

“You can’t just send two sisters. We should go together.”

I’m grateful, but it’s a bit weird to see a kid who doesn’t even have a ID like that.

“Yes. Yes.”

I answered roughly and looked towards Daju.

It was the same for Jeong Hae-won.

“And I’ll take Daju noona too. I was sick today, so I would have said I would definitely go. Right?”

Jeong Hae-won frowns and looks away.

Daju seems to have regained some energy and gets up from the sofa.

“Yes. I’ll go with you.”

At first he woke up awkwardly, but now his movements are quite agile.

“I will definitely go with you, so please wait. Take some medicine.”

What remains are Heo Yoon and Seok Hyeon-min.

The rest all decided to follow.

Choi Se-rim seemed to be concerned about that too, but I pushed for this.

“Please come back safely. Don’t die.”

Seok Hyun-min taps my shoulder and says goodbye.

Heo Yoon holds each person’s hand tightly, almost crying.

“Yes. I’ll come find you when I’m done. To the 7th floor.”

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

A warehouse at the end of the hallway on the 7th floor. It is a place where various items necessary for survival are collected.

We packed our bags.

flashlight. Medicines, emergency food, minimal cooking utensils, self-defense weapons, etc.

We were almost done packing our bags and everyone was gathered together.

Choi Se-rim quietly pulled the hem of my clothes.

“Yuni unni. I’m pregnant.”

Serim Choi speaks calmly.

“Yes?”

“That’s why I couldn’t make them come together.”

“What.”

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

‘So you were manipulating the thoughts of these two people?’

Choi Se-rim quietly shakes her head.

“From the beginning, it seemed like he wouldn’t come. In particular, Yuni wanted to stay here. You may have noticed changes in your body. Or maybe Seok Hyun-min liked it.”

Daju lowers his head.

“Pregnancy… … .Mind… Broken… … .”

Daju mutters in a weak voice.

Choi Se-rim does not stop there.

“But… .”

He purses his lips as if he’s about to say something, but then looks away.

“No. Just, nothing much will happen.”

There will be no danger to your life. Saying in a whisper, Choi Serim started walking again.

Come out of the warehouse and head toward the elevator.

I took one last look back down the hallway.

In the future, it will be quite rare to see such an ordinary hallway.

There is no need to return to the 7th floor anymore.

Slurp-

The door opened, and I got into the elevator.