episode_0089

As expected, there were many casualties in the areas other than the one where the old man and I were. Fortunately, we were able to kill two more mutants in addition to the ones that the old man and I had defeated.

As if by promise, three of them died and the zombies turned back the way they came.

There was no reason to just let them go, so I poured my firepower into the back of the heads of the guys who were running away, and a considerable number of the zombies, except for the Screamers and mutants, were eventually able to turn back into corpses.

Well, it wasn’t a big deal, since not all the guys stuck in the capital jumped out. If you go from 10 million to 9.9 million, it’s still the same.

None of the victims had bodies. It was natural. No one wanted to make the mutants they had killed into worthless sacrifices.

It seemed like they had all been burned together.

“…”

I made a cross by picking up the rebar exposed between the collapsed concrete. It wasn’t mine, it was my uncle’s work.

The lieutenant’s platoon members and the girls who had participated in the battle stood solemnly before him. Perhaps it was because people had become so commonplace at some point.

No one shed tears or sobbed. They just stood there, staring blankly at the bare cross.

It wasn’t a good atmosphere. It wasn’t a mood I liked.

It was a casual encounter, and I only exchanged a few words with him over the course of a few days, but the fact that this person who had been alive and moving until yesterday had disappeared from the world without a single corpse made me feel uneasy for some reason.

If I’m like this, what about the old man? I looked up at the old man standing next to me. He seemed fine. The old man was staring blankly at the cross like everyone else. His fists were clenched.

“Mr.”

“Why.”

The answer was short. It meant that he had no time to act slyly or joke around like he usually does.

I held that old man’s hand in my own. It’s funny to say that I held it, because only a part of me was covered by my hand.

“I don’t think it’s the uncle’s fault.”

“I know too.”

“Lies.”

It was a well-known fact that the old man was a liar, but it was a new sight for him to be so unable to lie.

Is it because it’s not just a lie he throws out in passing, but a lie he tells himself?

“It’s not your fault, sir.”

“…”

I spoke to the old man again. I told him how I really felt. It wasn’t my fault that Jeong Gyeong-jin died.

It was just that the mutant was stronger than expected and attacked unexpectedly. This was an unexpected accident. It wasn’t a problem that the old man could keep to himself and suffer from.

“It’s not your fault, sir, so. So, please don’t take it to heart.”

“Yeah.”

The old man’s reply was short. Still, I felt like my intention was well conveyed. Soon after, we turned our backs on the cross. We had to go back before the sun set.

*

Hayu seemed happy. It was unpleasant to see her react like that even though she knew that several of her subordinates had died.

However, Hayu seemed not to care how others viewed her. She was busy chatting away with a satisfied smile on her face.

“Do-hoon? You worked hard. Thanks to you, we were able to overcome the crisis with a small sacrifice. I heard you found their weakness this time? The kids came to me and chattered so much.”

“Because it’s a request.”

The old man blurted out the words as if he was doing what he should have done. Hayura’s gaze swept over the old man.

“I also regret that our precious unit members lost their lives.”

“We haven’t known each other long enough to need your comfort.”

“Really? If that’s the case.”

After hearing the old man’s words, Hayu took it lightly. Perhaps, it was just a consolation offered for the sake of appearance. And the old man probably didn’t want to receive that kind of consolation.

“Then shall we go back to the main topic, conservatives?”

As Hayura said that, she began to spread out the files that had been organized on one side on the table. Under the phrase ‘Stock Status’, there was a list of daily necessities, food, hygiene products, etc.

That old woman is trying to take advantage of the old man and eat him alive.

That was the feeling that came to my mind the moment I saw it. It wasn’t that we didn’t need those kinds of things. They were essential elements for living.

However, it would be too much of a loss for us to receive compensation now. For a moment, I thought that the general waiting for us at the dam might act like this too.

Those dog-like people who try to take advantage of the goodwill of the old man.

“Madam, you’re not trying to make up for it with something like this, are you?”

Hayura looked at me with a sinister smile on her face. I held back the urge to slap her cheek.

The man tried to hold me back and tell me to stay still, but I lightly shook his hand away.

“If it weren’t for you, the ladies and their subordinates, you and I, would all have died.”

“Do-Hoon is really great. But?”

“Then you have to pay a price for it. Do you find life funny? You and I are no different from anyone else… No, we risked our lives fighting in a place we have never met.”

I poured out what I wanted to say without hesitation. And it was natural for me to act like this. When I ask for a favor, I act like I’ll do anything if you just listen, but when it comes to paying the price, I secretly stick my neck out. What kind of situation is that?

“Well, I think Mr. Do-Hoon might think differently.”

“No, I think the same as Danhwa. I don’t intend to drag their recognition into receiving the reward, even though my old comrades may have influenced my decision to accept the request. After all, you’re the one paying. If it’s from that guy, Lieutenant, I don’t care. You don’t have a supervisor or anything.”

I nodded to the old man to show my gratitude for his kindness. The old man looked at me and nodded weakly.

Hayura took a deep breath. She watched silently what he was doing, wondering what it meant.

“I tried to get it done a little cheaper, but it was a total dud. As expected, men change when they have a woman. I used to treat them like a sucker.”

“What? Are you crazy, ma’am?”

“Just kidding. Can you stop being so noisy? Of course I’ll pay you properly. I’m not stupid enough to get a grudge from someone like Do-hoon, who is out of the norm.”

“Oh, okay.”

It wasn’t a very believable statement, because just a moment ago, it had clearly looked like he was going to eat me alive.

“Instead, before I hand over your payment, I have three questions to ask you.”

Hayura’s gaze turned towards the old man.

“Mr. Do-Hoon, how much do you dope per week?”

“There are times when I never do something as grandiose as this one.”

“Have you ever felt lethargic or tired for no reason for a month?”

“There’s nothing in particular.”

“That’s strange. Your symptoms are completely different from those of your platoon mates.”

Hayura looked at the old man with eyes full of curiosity and greed, as if she was looking at some strange animal.

I didn’t like the look of it so I decided to step in and block it.

“Ma’am, can I ask you one last question and then go on my way?”

“Is your libido okay? Are you still standing?”

“Huh…?”

My patience is running out with the personal insults directed at you, old man. You’re such a slut, you know what you should and shouldn’t say.

Are you crazy after eating a whole carton of eggs as an old maid? How good is the old man, and you’re a bitch who hasn’t seen him and won’t see him…

“You’re an old pumpkin-like bitch. You spit out whatever you want with your open mouth… slurp!!”

My palm, which was pointed at Hayura, split the air, and my mouth was blocked by the old man’s large hand.

I tried to struggle to get away, but the man was holding me tightly, so there was no sign of me breaking free.

“It’s okay… but I don’t know what that has to do with the salary…”

“Mr. Do-Hoon, have you seen anything strange since you came to our shelter?”

“If there’s anything strange… Well, the girls running around are actually artificially grown clones, or they’re all amazing superhumans. There are so many that it’s hard to even count them…?”

“Phew. That’s not the story, but it’s a story about the existence that should naturally exist in a community where people live together. Isn’t it strange that there are no newborns or children in our shelter?”

At those words, both the old man and I felt as if we had been hit on the head with paper. Certainly, not a single child, who was often seen at the dam, was in sight.

“Well, it can’t be helped since there are only girls…?”

“But your squad members are men. Even if they are clones, wouldn’t they never make eye contact? Except that they were artificially created, they are children who think and act on their own?”

“You must be trying hard to avoid birth control.”

Hayu looked at the old man with an expression like he was looking at an idiot. So I glared back at him.

Why are you opening your eyes like that to me, old man?

“In fact, the plan to create a legion of superhumans had a fatal flaw. Of course, this was something I found out after the superhuman surgery was over.”

Both me and the uncle waited for Hayura to speak. Fortunately, Hayura didn’t hesitate.

“Unlike women, men have reproductive problems. That’s why I filled the shelter with girls. I was hoping there would be at least one sane person among your platoon, but no.”

With those words, the strength in the old man’s hand that was holding me loosened. My feet touched the ground. But I was no different from the old man.

I kept repeating the same words in my head, wondering if I had misheard or misunderstood.

There is a problem with reproductive function. So you can’t have a baby…?

“You’re saying that’s the case for you too…?”

Hayura answered with a damn smile.