episode_0148

There’s a constant noise.

Just hearing it makes me feel weak.

Phrases that bring out and amplify the negative aspects of a person’s mind.

This ‘sound’ being transmitted by the Foundation is part of a plan to wipe out humanity.

The Foundation, which manages anomalous entities and memes and protects humanity.

At some point, such a foundation completely turns around and tries to wipe out humanity.

That makes it all the more dangerous.

Because the Foundation knows exactly what anomalies are, and they use them for the clear purpose of ‘wiping out humanity.’

I wiped away the tears that had formed in my eyes without realizing it.

If it affects me to this extent, it must be incredibly dangerous for other people.

This is especially true for Heo Yun.

Heo Yun lost Dr. Chen, who was like family to her.

I watched countless survivors die, and even now, just before I escaped the apartment, I feel a sense of futility when I think of them.

You must be mentally unstable anyway.

If external factors are added to this, safety cannot be guaranteed.

As I continued to block Heo Yun’s ears, Daju asked in a perplexed manner.

“What? What’s going on?”

“You guys, cover your ears too. Everyone else, too. Quickly!”

First of all, blocking this ‘sound’ is the most important thing.

The signal is weak now, so you can solve it by covering your ears, but the signal will gradually become stronger.

Covering your ears is only a temporary measure.

You must move immediately to avoid danger.

“No. First, you have to go into a nearby building.”

First of all, a building with thick concrete walls.

This can reduce the amount of brainwashing signals coming in from outside.

“If possible, it should be somewhere with a radio or loud sound device.”

It doesn’t stop there, it mixes in other sounds.

If you do this, even the brainwashing effect will be greatly reduced.

“And also… … .”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Jeong Hae-won asks again with his ears tightly covered.

Daju also screams as if he is frustrated.

“You told me to cover my ears!”

I was like, “Oh no,” but I still couldn’t take my hands off my ears.

I cannot guarantee the safety of others if they are exposed to that noise even for a moment.

Heo Yoon wasn’t the only one who was mentally unstable here.

“Ah… … . Ugh… … .”

“Hey. Im Ye-bin! I told you to cover your ears!”

“Dabin… … . I’m so scared… … . I’m so scared… … .”

Yebin sits in the corner and starts sobbing.

I’m so panicked I don’t even think about covering my ears.

“First, keep covering your ears. Never take them off!”

After giving Heo Yoon and the others some serious advice, I ran to Yebin.

“Dabin. Can’t we just stay here? I don’t want to go out and I want to stay here.”

“Why.”

“I’m too scared to go outside. I don’t know what might happen. And I have no place in reality to begin with… … .”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Yebin is shedding tears.

“You’re doing that because of the noise you hear outside. You’re fine.”

“No. I’m just a nuisance. I can’t search anymore. My role as a librarian is gone. And… … .”

I held Yebin’s hand tightly and lifted her up.

And with great force, he made Yebin cover her own ears.

“There’s no problem, so keep it like this.”

So why did you close your ears so late… … .

It wasn’t just Yebin who was in trouble.

I have been checking the condition of the people around me for a while now.

Everyone was in a state of shock, and some were even shedding tears.

The most serious one, surprisingly, was on the Daju side.

Although he usually only showed his bright and crazy side, he must have been going through a lot on the inside.

Rather, it was Yoon Da-ju who did even stranger things because of the hardships. To forget the pain for a little while.

Daju is crying quietly, with her face buried between her knees.

At the same time, I feel sad –

‘Ugh.’

-My teeth grind by themselves.

The Foundation’s plan to exterminate humanity has not even begun in earnest.

But are you already using such vicious methods?

The noise continues.

Strictly speaking, this is not a sound.

Information with anomalies.

That is, it is a meme.

Once the message is transmitted, the meme travels across the air in the form of radio waves.

In the absence of special variables, memes continue to propagate, and can be transmitted over distances of several kilometers.

Memes change form only under certain conditions.

When you discover a nearby intelligent being.

Memes change their form when they discover intelligence.

From radio waves to sound.

And the sound penetrates deep into the mind of the intelligent being.

old milk

A blue-haired man

endlessly, melting away

I hear a sound.

I have a lot of tolerance so I can handle it to some extent, but other people can’t.

I covered Yebin’s ears even tighter.

It would be nice to have something like earplugs.

I just remembered that I had packed earplugs for the reading room in my bag.

Cone-shaped earplugs with rounded ends, made of orange sponge.

It was to counter the anomalies that were transmitted through sound like now.

First, I looked for earplugs in my bag and gave them to each person.

After making sure everyone had their earplugs on, I too, albeit belatedly, put them on.

“Whew… … .”

As the noise stopped, I felt like some of the energy that had been draining away was coming back.

My depressed mood has also improved a little.

Now we have to think.

What should we do going forward?

How can we survive in this situation?

I think.

Earplugs are a decent form of protection, but they don’t last long.

The sound of sobbing can still be heard here and there.

Yebin is still shedding tears.

Even though Da-ju wore earplugs, her condition did not improve much, and she was still lying on the floor.

That means it’s not completely safe even now.

This means that even earplugs cannot completely block the effects of ‘sound’.

Ultimately, we have to find another way, and this is not something we can do alone.

frustrated.

I thought about taking out our earplugs and talking for a moment, but that just wouldn’t work.

How to have a conversation with your ears blocked. That’s… … .

“Sister Se-rim.”

Sister Se-rim’s ability.

Sister Se-rim can interfere with other people’s thoughts.

It is possible to either inject your thoughts into another person or read another person’s thoughts.

So, if you borrow Se-rim’s help, you can have a conversation without having to listen.

It was the moment when I turned my gaze to find Se-rim Noona.

“Ehhh.”

I felt like my blood was running cold.

Sister Se-rim was smiling with her head down.

I’m sure I can’t hear anything because of the earplugs, but I can hear laughter.

“Hehe, hehehe. Hehe.”

The fitful laughter became more intense as time went on.

My older sister keeps laughing as if she might suffocate at any moment.

His head is tilted back and his eyes are bloodshot.

Sister Se-rim starts muttering nonsense and staggering around like she’s lost her mind.

“No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. ”

“Sister… ?”

“This won’t do. Ahaha. Hahaha. Ahahahaha.”

Sister Se-rim is also wearing earplugs properly.

Then why on earth?

Something flows out from the corner of Se-rim’s mouth.

It was blood.

“Sister!”

My sister even hits her head hard on the railing next to the stairs.

There is no sound.

But the railing can be seen shaking violently.

It seemed as if sounds that would normally not be heard were hallucinations.

thud.

thud.

thud.

I held on to my sister with all my might.

I can’t do it on my own.

I looked around at other people, but they were all just crying and lying down.

There seems to be no one to help.

“Sister. Stop it.”

“Heeheeheehee. Hee. Hee… … .”

“Stop it please!!!”

Thousands of question marks overlap in my head.

Why all of a sudden?

I was fine until just now.

What happened?

Something white flashed before my eyes.

and.

Sister Se-rim collapses in front of my eyes.

“… … ?”

It was Robin.

I couldn’t hear the voice because of the earplugs, but I could hear it.

You knocked out Sister Se-rim.

“Thank you.”

I conveyed my meaning with the shape of my lips.

Robin nods curtly, arms crossed.

“What should I do now?”

“… … .”

Robin just shrugs. There’s no answer.

If you think about it, the shape of the mouth doesn’t really mean anything.

Robin and I won’t be able to communicate anymore.

English and Korean.

Not only are the languages spoken different, but the apartments that used to serve as interpreters are now almost disappearing.

I guess he understood what I meant by thank you.

I sat down, leaning against the wall, feeling like I was collapsing.

The reason why Se-rim became strange was because she had the same thoughts as me.

‘Use your ability to interfere with thoughts to communicate with everyone.’

My sister tried to read other people’s minds, and as a result, she became more exposed to the effects of ‘sound’.

no.

Maybe it’s my fault.

I thought so, so maybe my sister read it.

Then what should I do?

On the one hand, it’s a scary thought.

It’s already like this.

How can I survive?

Depressing thoughts creep in.

Rather, wouldn’t it have been better to go with the ending the professor suggested?

Let’s all die together.

I might be making the wrong choice and causing everyone pain.

So, rather.

“No.”

He shook his head, muttering to himself.

“Absolutely not.”

Before I knew it, I was also being influenced by ‘sound’.

At times like this, we need to renew our resolve.

I clenched my fists tightly, then opened them again when my skin turned white.

You may be skeptical.

The thought that it is impossible may occur to you.

It is even easier to be shaken by the numerous variables interfering with our minds.

Even so, I do not give up on this path.

The ending I chose is different from the professor’s.

I got up from my seat, thinking that I had to do something.

Bam.

Then something falls to the floor.

A white clump spreads across the floor, like spilled milk.

A white piece of paper spread out on a dotted concrete floor, with pictographic symbols drawn on it.

Communication symbol cards created by Robin.

It looks like it spilled and fell out after I put it in my pocket earlier.

I flipped through the cards and checked them one by one.

Robin’s quickly drawn picture symbols come into view.

Although there is no language involved and only pictures, it is designed so that anyone can quickly understand the meaning.

If it’s this, you can do it.

He indicated this by placing his fingers on several cards.

And to everyone, I held up my first card.

[sound]

The next card features a creepy picture.

As anyone can see, this means danger.

[Dangerous]

As I continued to flip through the cards, I was able to form a few sentences.

[Sound is dangerous]

[Exit from here and move to another building.]

[I need a machine that makes sound.]

[Move to the building with the sound machine.]

Of course, not everyone understood.

People who were severely affected by the ‘sound’ just blankly watched me and showed no other reaction.

Daju. Yebin. Heo Yoon. And Serim.

We can’t expect much help from this side.

However, I was able to get help from the rest of the people.

Rico. Dan. Jeong Hae-won. Robin.

People who don’t have any serious trauma or who are strong-willed.

Even so, three out of four people are foreigners.

Nowadays, simply writing letters and showing them is not enough to communicate.

Since I don’t know English or Japanese, the only answer is picture cards.

When I explained it, including the shape of my lips and gestures, the four of them seemed to understand.

Robin also picked up the card.

As she repeated the action of turning over several cards in order, I was able to understand the general idea.

[You can’t move right now.]

[Wait a bit, and when the other people’s condition improves, then move.]

This time, there was no need to use a card.

I shook my head vigorously.

[No.]

The longer you wait, the worse the situation will become.

And I have a leg injury. I can’t even walk.

Robin passes the card back.

[Then what other way?]

I took a ballpoint pen out of my bag.

The solution is very simple.

It can be solved with one word.

But no matter how many times I flipped through the cards, the word was not there, so I had to draw a new picture.

[automobile]

Robin’s expression changed.

[Can you drive?]

Robin holds out his hand and takes the pen.

It looks like I need to redraw this picture too.

And after a while.

The new drawing that Robin showed us was of a man wearing a fur hat and a black eye patch.

He looks exactly like a thief.

[I can do it.]

[If you steal it.]

[I’ll go and come back.]

Robin poked Dan in the ribs and then walked out of the apartment with him.

She had a pistol in her hand.

How much time has passed?

A pair of headlights illuminated the road ahead.

bread-!!!

The sound of a horn piercing through my earplugs.

” and… … .”

I was so touched that I almost cried.

I looked up and saw a sturdy gray van had arrived outside the front door.