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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: 3. Base Camp. (4)
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I slowly cleared the shelf.
Who knew how many human beasts were out there. I slid it aside without making a sound and slowly opened the door.
Four of them lay dead right in front of the door.
Four.
If four had their heads pierced and died, there should have been an enormous amount of blood.
It should have pooled on the floor.
But the floor was clean.
I recalled the cop at the police substation whose throat had been bitten, spurting blood. In a healthy body where the heart was still pumping and blood was circulating, that's how much blood would come out.
Yet four lay here with their heads pierced, and the floor was spotless?
...So it really had nothing to do with the heart.
It was the head.
"Let's go, So-eun. Get up quick."
Ye-eun was looking after her little sister.
What about the bodies on the floor?
Ha... damn it.
I grabbed the neck of the one in checkered clothes sprawled dead by the door and dragged it inside behind the counter.
I also struggled to drag the one in the school uniform by her collar.
Two were still sprawled by the door, but at least the floor was visible now.
"Hoo, hoo."
I'd used some strength, and now I was out of breath.
Ye-eun and So-eun were slowly walking out.
"...C-Can we really go out?"
So-eun was clinging to Ye-eun's arm, burying her face in it. I nodded toward Ye-eun.
"Watch your step. Don't trip."
I picked up the pipe spear and headed to the convenience store entrance.
Shards of shattered glass crunched under my feet.
It was dawn.
Quiet.
The sun wouldn't rise for another hour or two.
Even with the world in this state, the streetlights stood there peacefully illuminating the road.
They must be automated somehow.
We slipped into the alley beside the convenience store without a sound.
Quiet.
Silent.
Not even the meow of a cat or a dog's bark.
We entered the alley under the glow of the dawn streetlights.
An alley lined with two-story single-family homes.
Ye-eun, who had been following me, tapped my shoulder.
Ah, here it was.
A low brick wall topped with sharp iron spikes, a plain single-family house built of red bricks.
A black iron gate.
I punched in the code, and with a buzz-click, the lock released.
Even this rundown single-family home had an auto-lock installed.
Was this a neighborhood where thieves broke in often?
After watching the women go in, I followed through the iron gate.
A narrow yard with stairs along the stone wall, and two doors on the first floor.
Seemed like two households lived here.
The women climbed the stairs.
Second floor must be their place.
Ye-eun grabbed my hand.
What?
Ye-eun whispered.
"Have some food... before you go."
...Hmm.
Hard to refuse.
I'd only eaten one cream bun in nearly two days.
I nodded and followed her inside.
Unlocking the door with a key, a wave of someone else's home scent hit me.
A slightly musty smell.
Grandma smell?
Click.
Once the door was shut, the two women finally relaxed, collapsing to the floor and panting.
Ye-eun turned to me and bowed her head.
"Thank you for bringing us home."
It wasn't like I'd dropped them off far; it was right around the corner.
The third house down the alley from the convenience store.
Still, in this situation, even a few dozen meters could feel impossibly distant.
I nodded and set down my bag.
The bag held dumplings.
Damn it, what the hell was I thinking?
Frozen dumplings that couldn't even be boiled or defrosted.
If it had been something like hot bars or bread like what the women grabbed, it would've been much better.
"Here, take these."
I pulled out the dumplings.
The women, drained from relief, didn't respond much.
That's when someone emerged from the inner room.
A hunched-over grandmother.
"Oh dear, Ye-eun, So-eun. I told you not to go out."
She spotted me, and her eyes widened.
Ye-eun said,
"He saved us and brought us back."
The grandmother looked at me, her face crumpling as she dropped to her knees.
"Oh, thank you, sir. I was waiting up all night, beside myself with worry. They wouldn't even take my police report. I was dying inside. Thank you so much, sir."
I shook my head.
"No, no need for that."
Gurgle, glug.
...Damn it.
I couldn't control it.
Ye-eun jumped up from her spot.
"I'll get some food ready. So-eun, help your sister."
"Yes, hurry and serve him. Oh, sir, thank you. Truly."
So-eun got up sleepily and picked up the dumplings.
Our eyes met.
Hmm, she looked young.
Definitely resembled Ye-eun.
She bowed her head to me.
She was so shy. Hadn't said a word to me the whole time.
Afraid of men?
The grandmother urged me to come in.
I took off my shoes and sat on the floor.
The house felt...
Old folks vibe.
The deep brown furniture looked handcrafted decades ago, and a plain ink painting hung on the wall.
Just the kind of place middle-class elders would live.
"My son and daughter-in-law live downstairs. They went on a trip to Japan, but no word from them. How about you, sir? Is your family safe?"
The grandmother was prying.
I shook my head.
"Empty house. Can't reach them."
The grandmother sighed deeply, her face falling.
"Oh dear... What in the world is happening? How did it come to this? KBS isn't on. MBC neither. Only SBS works now, and it's all news. Every report is so terrifying."
Oh.
Broadcast stations were still up?
The SBS news building must be holding out.
"SBS is on? What're they saying on the news?"
Would be nice if there was news about SWAT or the military deploying.
The grandmother shook her head.
"Reporters are trapped in the building. Can't go out. Hidden ones send what they see, but it's like riots—thousands surging through the streets. What's the world coming to..."
...Like riots, surging?
...Sounds like human beasts.
If those things moved in hordes of hundreds or thousands...
...Damn, way more dangerous than I thought.
Even with Acceleration, I couldn't handle thousands.
Ah... shit...
A delicious smell wafted over.
They were making dumpling soup with the ones I gave them.
Gurgle, glug.
"Ah... sorry. Haven't eaten all day."
The grandmother patted my shoulder.
"Don't worry. We'll feed you. Bringing my granddaughters back safe—that's more than enough. Eat up, then where will you go? House is far, you said."
"Ah... yeah. Far. Need a plane."
Ye-eun, listening from the kitchen, spoke up with a slightly brighter voice.
"Grandma. He can stay in our rooftop room for a bit, right? No one's there now."
The grandmother nodded.
"Of course, who'd complain? Sir, eat, and I'll get you a key. Stay a while. Whew, really, only us women in the house now."
The grandmother got up awkwardly and left the room.
Hmm...
Yeah.
This was actually an absurd situation.
Feeding and housing a strange man they'd just met?
Impossible.
But with man-eating monsters crawling everywhere, being all women made them anxious.
The outside monsters scared them more than letting in a stranger.
That must be it.
Alone in the room, my thoughts cleared.
For now, I needed to level up.
I needed a place to stay until I secured Acceleration properly. For that, I couldn't have bad relations with the people here.
Especially since it was all women—I had to be extra careful.
Then came a knock from outside.
So-eun toddled over from the kitchen and whispered something at the door.
Then she opened it.
A short young woman with glasses entered.
"Smells good. Eating now?"
So-eun whispered to her.
The woman glanced at me in the inner room, eyes widening as she sized me up.
Then she bowed her head.
"Hello."
I nodded back.
"Ah, hello."
Damn, awkward.
Just then, food was ready, and Ye-eun called me.
Whew...
Only guy among women, kinda uncomfortable, but I was starving, so...
Sitting at the table, it got crowded.
Grandmother, Ye-eun, So-eun, glasses girl, and me.
We gathered around and each took a bowl of dumpling soup.
"Thanks for the meal."
...Five people?
Means there were four before me.
"Mister, you saved Ye-eun and So-eun? What do you do, mister?"
Glasses girl.
I shoveled soup as I shrugged.
"College student. Discharged from military, came back to reenroll, and woke up to this mess."
"Oh, college student. What major?"
Didn't ask which university.
Makes sense—only one around here.
"Journalism. Haven't learned much yet. Took a gap year, got in late, went straight to service."
"I see. How old?"
"Twenty-five."
The glasses girl nodded and said,
"Same here. Mechanical Engineering. Twenty-three, An Su-hyun. Nice to meet you."
She offered her hand, so I shook it without thinking.
...Wait.
"Han Seong-hun. ...Mechanical Engineering?"
"Rare, right? Only woman in the department."
An Su-hyun, the glasses engineering girl, grinned.
She looked cute when she smiled.
Short, a bit plump, big chest—a soft, comforting vibe.
I smiled back and glanced at Ye-eun and So-eun.
The glasses girl caught on and said,
"You haven't introduced yourselves yet? Geez. That's Ye-eun unnie, twenty-four. Japanese tutor at a cram school. This is her little sister, high school senior."
"Ah."
Ye-eun and So-eun bowed again.
I nodded back.
Japanese tutor, high school senior, engineering girl.
Quite the mix.
I nodded and wolfed down the dumpling soup. Ah, freaking delicious.
After starving, it was pure bliss.
Good.
I couldn't cook for shit anyway, but now I had a place for meals and sleep.
A base for leveling up.
A hub to grow stronger.
This place was my base camp from now on.
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