Chapter 45 - I'll take you to a good restaurant
...!! ...!!
A muffled noise buzzed through ears that felt as if they were underwater.
Even in his dizzy state, Jin had a thought.
His eyelids—his eyelids were far too heavy.
Just a single thin membrane, yet it refused to move as he willed.
Jin groaned, letting out weak sounds of pain as cold sweat poured down his face.
Anyone who had ever spent a night battling illness could relate to this solitary struggle.
His body refused to move, as if paralyzed in a nightmare, yet the suffering was unbearable, dragging on and on.
Then, after what felt like forever, he barely managed to crack his eyes open—only to be met with a world bathed in flickering red light.
Jin jolted.
Was this hell?!
Did I die?!
And at that moment, the sins of his past flashed before his eyes like a running reel.
Aros PC Café owner, I'm so sorry for stealing the CD key from seat 22.
I just really wanted to play Warcraft at home.
I was only a kid back then, and my allowance for the week was barely—!
Just as he was about to launch into a full confession, Jin suddenly blinked.
Wait a second.
If I'm dead, how can I be seeing my life flash before my eyes?
His lost sense of reason snapped back into place.
And with that, the emergency alarm that had been blaring at him this whole time finally registered in his ears—
WEEENG!
WEEENG!
Then came an unfamiliar voice.
[Warning. Hull breach detected.]
[Evacuate immediately.]
[Warning. Hull breach detected.]
[Evacuate—]
That kind of repeated, urgent warning wasn't just for panicking puppies.
What the hell is going on?
Jin hurriedly tried to push himself up, but—
"Urgh!"
With a cry of pain, he collapsed again.
It felt like his entire body was being ripped apart.
Correction—this really might be hell.
Otherwise, why would he be in this much pain?
Jin clenched his teeth, veins bulging as he swallowed his agony.
His face, flushed red like a tomato, trembled from the sheer effort.
But he couldn't stay like this forever.
If he hadn't heard the alarm, maybe he would've ignored it.
But the AI's urgent orders to evacuate made it impossible to just lie there.
Forcing himself to endure the pain, Jin pushed himself upright.
The transport ship's interior was clearly tilted.
And over in the corner—
Anna and Eric were sprawled out, one folded into an L-shape, the other in a collapsed N.
Jin had no idea what the hell had happened, but one thing was clear—he needed to get out of here first.
Making a quick decision, he grabbed each of their ankles and started dragging them along.
Not exactly the most graceful sight, but grace wasn't a priority right now.
Besides, his own movements weren't much better—he staggered forward like a drunkard, barely managing to stay on his feet.
After a struggle, he reached the transport's exit—
But the door was acting up, half-opening and closing like it was caught on something.
Timing it just right and slipping through wasn't an option—
Not with two unconscious people to bring along.
Feeling along the wall, Jin pried open a plastic cover and firmly pressed the manual release button inside.
Then, using sheer force, he pushed the stubborn door open and finally stepped outside—only to frown at the unfamiliar landscape.
Where the hell is this?
Under a dull, colorless sky stretched a wasteland.
A barren land swept by dry winds, filled with brittle, unkempt grass.
Okay, but seriously—where was this?
Hadn't he told them to take him somewhere safe?
Jin whipped his head around—
And there it was.
A burning wreck of a transport ship.
"...Hah."
Startled, Jin quickly moved Anna and Eric farther from the crash site, setting them down on solid ground.
At least that part was handled.
But even though he usually wasn't the type to tire so quickly, exhaustion was already creeping in.
Hands braced on his knees, he stared at the blazing transport.
Had they been shot down?
That would explain things.
A perfectly fine transport didn't just crash into the middle of nowhere.
Jin's mind began racing.
Who did this?
Killgit?
Activis Company?
Or maybe some surviving mercenaries?
There was no clear answer—
Any of them were possible.
Jin made up his mind.
Instead of standing here thinking, he needed to check the black box inside the transport—
"Urgh…!"
A sudden groan escaped him before he even realized it.
Instinctively, his gaze shifted to the source of the pain—his right arm.
"...What the hell."
Jin froze.
Was this really his arm?
No wonder—it looked almost twice its normal size, swollen beyond recognition.
And it wasn't just puffiness.
From the back of his hand to his shoulder, his entire right arm had turned pitch-black—so dark, it looked less like a bruise and more like necrosis.
Jin had never seen his body in such a wrecked state before.
Estimating the time needed for full recovery, he figured it would take at least three or four days.
Just as he was thinking that—
Sabak—
Hearing an unfamiliar sound, Jin slowly lifted his head.
At that moment, the approaching footsteps suddenly halted.
A brief, unnatural silence followed, then someone emerged from behind a large nearby rock.
"Got caught, huh?"
The man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth.
He was dressed in tattered clothes, looking like a vagrant.
But unlike a common homeless man, he carried a rifle strapped with suspenders and an ammo belt.
And he wasn't alone—there were about six or seven others with him.
"Which dumbass made noise?"
"Probably Olson."
"Not me, you son of a bitch."
"You're denying it, so it must've been you."
One by one, the men appeared from hiding.
One of them ran his eyes over the unconscious Anna and whistled.
"Whoa, shit. Look at her. She's fucking gorgeous."
The guy next to him widened his eyes in irritation.
"Don't even think about it. I'm first today."
"And why the hell do you get to go first?"
"Because I was dead last last time, you dickwad!"
"Shut up and check that transport first!"
Jin quickly grasped the situation.
So these must be the violent gangs that operate outside the city.
They had probably gathered after spotting the crashed transport.
But why the hell are these bastards so damn loud?
Leaning slightly, Jin watched them bicker.
Despite their heated argument, when stripped of all the profanity, their discussion boiled down to this:
Kill the men.
Rape the women!
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
What's with that helmeted freak?
Dunno.
If it's a man, kill him.
If it's a woman, rape her!
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
Jin decided he'd heard enough.
He immediately smashed the nearest guy's face with Gravis.
BANG—!!
One head burst open.
Jin clenched his teeth.
Just from the recoil, he felt like his body was going to shatter.
It was all because of the mana overload.
His body was already in tatters, and now his internal mana circuits were completely shredded.
Even the slightest movement sent waves of pain crashing through his organs.
But he moved anyway.
Dropping Gravis, now out of bullets, he charged straight ahead.
As one body collapsed, Jin snatched a rifle from its lifeless hand and fired wildly.
Three more dropped.
The last two returned fire.
Jin rolled across the ground.
From that position, he pulled the trigger.
The remaining two fell.
But Jin was also hit—bullets pierced his shoulder blade and the back of his knee.
The fight was over in an instant.
For a moment, he lay face-down, catching his breath.
Then he forced himself up, retrieved Gravis, and holstered it.
As he rummaged through the corpses for anything useful—
KWAANG—!!
The transport exploded.
"...Shit."
Jin didn't even have the energy to be annoyed.
He focused back on what he was doing.
But it was pointless—there was nothing useful on the bodies.
Well, these guys did live outside the city.
They were either outcasts or fugitives.
Either way, their resources were bound to be scarce.
Finding a single bottle of water was the best he could do.
Staggering back, Jin tilted the bottle, letting water trickle into Anna and Eric's mouths.
For Eric, since he didn't know how to remove the visor, he just poured the water into the straw port.
When he finished, he looked at the nearly empty bottle.
Jin only wet his lips before tossing the bottle over his shoulder.
At that moment, a faint voice reached him.
"...Are you... okay?"
It was Anna.
She had woken up at some point and was looking at him with hazy eyes.
"You're awake?"
Again, the same question.
"Are you... okay?"
Jin finally looked down at his own legs.
His pants were soaked with blood.
Under normal circumstances, his wounds would have clotted by now, but today, his body was healing far too slowly.
Yeah, he really wasn't in good shape.
But Anna didn't look much better either.
Clearly, she had pushed herself to the point where her mana circuits were strained as well.
Her face, drenched in cold sweat, was flushed red like a patient suffering from a fever.
And usually, people in that condition were likely to feel chills.
The higher their body temperature, the colder the outside world seemed.
"I'm fine. You wear this."
Jin said as he draped his torn aviation jumper over Anna's shoulders.
Just then, a second explosion erupted from the transport plane.
Jin decided they could no longer stay here.
Who knew what kind of scum would be drawn to those flames?
Eventually, a situation would arise that even he wouldn't be able to handle.
So, despite his heavy body, he forced himself up and turned his back toward Anna.
Just like when they had escaped the building.
Anna climbed onto his back, and Jin, keeping his upper body as low as possible, lifted Eric with his free arm.
Normally, a piggyback ride required supporting the person's thighs for stability, but with another burden to carry, that was out of the question.
Even if it was an uncomfortable position, he had no choice but to keep moving.
So, Jin walked.
He picked a direction and kept walking, again and again.
Before he knew it—
As the sky gradually darkened, Anna's voice reached his ears.
"…Sorry."
"For what?"
"For sneaking out… My family won't find me so easily."
"Your terminal?"
"I think… it melted in the heat."
"This is why purists are a problem."
Jin let out a dry chuckle, and Anna's hand brushed against his temple.
"You're… the same."
"Well, yeah, I guess I am."
The darkness deepened.
By then, Jin was panting heavily.
And the more his breathing grew ragged, the more violently Anna trembled.
Whenever her head drooped onto his shoulder, Jin—despite his exhaustion—would wake her up.
He wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling that falling asleep like this would be dangerous for her.
Anna would answer weakly, "Got it," only to drop her head again moments later.
It happened over and over.
At some point, the stars had appeared in the night sky.
Jin, too, was reaching his limit.
His limbs were going numb.
But he didn't let it show.
The sound of his labored breathing was enough of a giveaway.
Then, Anna spoke again.
"…Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Was that… Walter?"
"..."
Jin couldn't answer immediately.
He hesitated in silence for a while, then finally spoke before too much time had passed.
"One thing's for sure—it wasn't a monster."
"…Right?"
Thank goodness.
Anna murmured softly and let her head fall again.
Jin, afraid she might drift off completely, quickly spoke up.
"Hey, hey. You ever coming back to Downtown?"
"…Why?"
"If you do, I'll take you to a good restaurant. And introduce you to my friends."
"Where…?"
"It's called Rum Pum Pum—"
Jin started rambling.
The chef isn't even human, just a robot.
A humanoid?
No, just mechanical arms moving around.
But because of that, the place is open 24/7 all year round.
It's really great.
Only downside?
The chef's got no sense of seasoning.
But he's a good guy.
Works nonstop, doesn't even take breaks.
Wait, does that mean he should be good at cooking?
Anyway, the music!
The music there is amazing.
I set up the second-floor speakers myself—
Jin kept talking.
Because if he didn't, he felt like he'd collapse right then and there.
Even when he realized there was no response from behind him, his lips kept moving.
At some point—
A faint ember began to flicker in Jin's chest.
A warmth so small it was barely noticeable.
Too insignificant to be called a flame.
But it was there, without a doubt.
At the same time, a status window appeared.
「???」━━━━━━━━━━━
NEO ?? ??? Zahad
??? ?? ???? ????
?? ??? ?? ?? Someone's Ember
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Half delirious, Jin simply kept walking.
And after what felt like an eternity—
He came to a halt, blood streaming from his nose and mouth.
As if it were all a lie, someone approached him.
Click, clack.
The sharp sound of high heels.
Along with a sweet yet smoky fragrance drifting through the air.
"There you are. I'm glad I wasn't too late."
"…How… did you find me…?"
Jin's question was met with a faint smile from Khalifa.
"Didn't I tell you? Controlling variables is a matter of skill."