Chapter. 17. Travel Preparation (5)
****
After eating well and shaking hands with people who asked me to hold their hands just once, I followed the woman for a few minutes while shaking people off.
“It’s a bit shabby to serve, but since everyone lives without it…”
“No, whatever. I didn’t come here to be treated well. “It’s nice and cozy.”
The woman invited us to a small single room, saying it was her house.
To be honest, it was shabby.
A shabby one-room room located in a very secluded area even in the refugee zone, in an area worthy of being called a crime-ridden area.
The house was so small that a desk could only fit on a bed where I couldn’t spread my legs, so I was sitting on the desk, Dana was sitting on the bed, and the woman was standing between them and talking.
We ended up talking face to face unintentionally.
“It’s not really a place where I would invite others, but I can’t think of a place around here where I can talk without being seen by other people.”
“You have to avoid other people’s eyes… After all, it wasn’t just made out of fan sentiment, right? Gwangmyeong Bridge Wasteland Branch.”
“….you’re right.”
what. It almost seemed like that. A group is what makes you think, ‘Shall we do this?’ It can be made, but growing it is a completely different story. Even more so if you have some money flowing in.
“Let’s see. This narrow room shows the extremely poor situation there… Ah, what is your name?”
“It’s called Camilla No….”
The impression and the way you speak are the same. He seems like a very awkward person with respect. He might have been a leader before coming here.
“Yes, Camilla. Anyway, seeing as our President Young lives in such poverty despite being the head of a group that makes donations to the point of making people laugh, it doesn’t seem like he is doing it out of greed for money. Let’s see… you’re a scavenger?”
“How about that? Could it be that the dome was watching me?”
“What is surveillance? Anyone can do this if they have observation skills and some tricks. “Do you think the inspection department guys know how to do this?”
I thought it would be strange if they showed me the house where I eat, sleep, and live, but my personal information wasn’t revealed, but Camilla and even Dana seemed like strange people, so I gave them a brief explanation.
“That thing hanging over the head of the bed over there. “It’s going out clothes, right?”
“yes. It’s a layered outerwear that people in the wasteland usually wear…”
“It’s in rags, has lots of pockets, and is crumbly… They all look similar, but the clothes worn by scavengers leave some unique marks. That one there. “It’s a pocket. It’s a pocket.”
This is something I heard directly from Vex, who has lived as a scavenger for several years.
“Scavengers sleep in half-destroyed buildings. They said it was cold at night. So, he said that he sleeps with his pockets, which are hanging on his clothes, filled with lumps of plastic scraps or cut-up plastic bottles. If you do that, an air layer will be created and it will be less cold. That’s the first thing we teach new scavengers when they come in. That’s why scavengers’ outdoor clothes have pockets that extend outwards.”
“Oh, that.”
“Anything else than that. Refugees usually bring their most precious items with them, right? Since Dom is active in commerce, it is easy to process such items. If you’re from a shelter, you won’t be able to survive like this even if you just took a broken shield generator or a broken generator. Ah, one of the characteristics of scavengers is that there is nothing in the house. Scavengers view sleeping places as ‘a place exposed to other scavengers’ and often hide valuables in intermediate locations that only they know about. “I was convinced because it was obvious.”
When I first met Bex, things were piled up in what seemed like the middle floor of a building.
Anyway, this woman is a former scavenger and has no greed for money, and yet she has raised a group that is half mixed with religion.
Let’s see. If it weren’t for money, what would be the reason for creating this group? The part called ‘Avoiding others’ eyes’ is a bit difficult. Since the money donated by poor refugees ultimately goes into refugee camp development, is this a kind of investment management concept? It’s too sloppy and uncertain to say that.
“What is it? “The reason I came here.”
“…I wanted to provide a place for people like us to lean on in some way.”
Camilla, who hesitated a little at my words, took off the shawl she was covering and began to undo the bandage that bound her armless shoulder.
Just by looking at his exposed shoulders, you could see that he was a person who had overcome hardships. Should I call it a living muscle? She looked like she was in her late 40s, had a face with dark wrinkles, a body full of lean muscles, and had no arms, giving her the impression of a female warrior.
And by the time the cut surface of the empty arm was revealed beneath the shoulder full of lean muscles.
“uh?”
“This is…”
Dana and I met our eyes, and our eyes alternately looked at the traces of the shiny skin still attached to my exposed knuckles and Camilla’s shoulder.
Now that I think about it, among the people gathered at the dinner party, there were especially many people wearing rag-like capes or shawls.
Mr. Kang Geum-pil. This is someone I met in the past when something like a ‘BDSM town’ was just emerging near my personal shelter, but I stopped hearing from them after the Area 38 incident that occurred shortly after. Likewise, the hood is deeply pressed down.
People covering their bodies.
Kang Geum-pil was unable to convey news to the outside world even though he was alive.
And what is now revealed is what Camilla’s shoulder and I have in common.
“I didn’t know it would grow this big, but the people who heard about it and gathered already filled D sector and there were still more.”
Her arms showed signs of being roughly cut, and there were traces of skin that was clearly different from human flesh.
“For us, you are the only person who has recovered from this condition.”
One more characteristic of the scavenger came to mind as I watched her, as if she was resentfully pinching the piece of blue skin that remained even after cutting off her arm.
Most of them live homeless in half-destroyed buildings.
After the Area 38 incident. The Orpheus wave that the crazy District 38 Executive Director spread through the radio tower was so weak that even the shield of the personal shelter could sufficiently block it.
In other words, most people who do not have it are exposed to its effects.
“Please do me a favor. Professor, please don’t abandon us! “We… are being hunted!”
dump!
Camilla kneels down and looks up earnestly with eyes full of wrinkles.
“…Damn it. “I should have gone to the restaurant after all.”
With a sigh-like mutter, he turned his face towards Dana and our pretty informant.
“Seeing as Cynthia is here, don’t you think it’s safe? “I must have done quite a bit of research.”
“I did. We investigated everything, from the size of the assets in motion, to who is at the center, what kind of business they are doing, and in what direction they are growing. But… I couldn’t find anything.”
“nothing? you?”
“huh. “There is no one who can be said to be the focal point, and before Camilla spoke out today, there has never been anyone who influenced people like that. All they do is collect the rations they receive, make a meal for everyone, and talk while watching your videos.”
“Hmm….”
“Personally, I thought it was a group that was grown to encourage poor people with uncontrolled consumption habits to reinvest in their environment. Most of the money raised here is used to improve the conditions of underdeveloped slums. So I brought you here because I thought you would like a place like this. “I used to visit and meet up with people from chat room number 47 often…!”
Dana’s eyes became colder and colder, and she began to glare fiercely at Camilla, who was kneeling. Oh my gosh, that’s mad. I guess my lady wanted to introduce me to these people and also show off her personal abilities. Actually, I also thought, ‘Are you from a scavenger background?’ When I was saying this over and over again, I was a little shrugged on the inside.
“Don’t be so mean. Because I don’t feel particularly bad. In any group, each person has a goal that they pursue. However, even though there is no informant, it is suspicious that it was secret enough not to be investigated by ‘Speed Wagon’, who was once famous in the wasteland.” ”
No-”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. That could be because we lost all of our informants. “Isn’t the world like that, with monkeys falling from trees and unexploded bombs coming out of Metal Joe’s hands?”
“therefore! Unless there is some other intention-!”
“A mutated body. hunt. Because it is a secret meeting… this kind of information is not easily exposed unless you dig deep inside. It’s a secret that depends on your personal safety. If it leaks out, you’ll die, but who will open your mouth? “This is information that does not come out through an external investigation.”
For some reason, I thought I heard only good things about the mutant by-product business. It is ridiculous that there is no noise during this industrial revolution-like transition period.
“Ac. “I got caught.”
I looked down at Camilla, whose head was stuck on the ground like a pumice stone, and counted down the plans I had made for a week, even if just for a moment.
Let’s see….
7 days until April World is ready.
The longer you delay, the more the pollution accelerates, and you can’t be late for risking your life just to have a little more fun.
After listening to Eoyeongbuyeong’s inside story, go to sleep. After waking up, there are still 6 days left.
‘hunt. It looks like it’s illegal at first glance, but can we just deal with those guys? Then about a day? No. What is the current treatment method for by-products? Should I go have a drink with the president again? Then two days? Three days without luck? ‘If you work hard to finish it, four days?’
A week of vacation that was my blood.
It seems like there’s an ambiguous size issue, but if you provide after-sales service, you’ll probably lose five days and have about two days left over.
Oh, there are also interviews with our ‘completer candidates’. It really isn’t just a place to say hello, so it’s just a day.
Then there is only one day left. 24 hours.
“….mother.”
The problem is that we have already heard the keyword ‘hunting’ to just ignore it.
I’m sure they won’t legally allow people to be arrested in the dome.
It seems like some bad friends trickled in from somewhere and started a new business…
“I knew it would be like this. I knew it would be like this. I thought I wouldn’t be able to rest in peace for a week. “When I pass by, something happens.”
Of course, to be precise, there are always problems in the world. The problem is that I can’t get past it. It’s like a fucking mental illness.
“…what can I do? “I have to do it.”
As I looked back and forth between the kneeling middle-aged one-armed woman and her pale-white girlfriend, I erased the colorful date plan I had drawn up in my head.
“Let’s see where it goes.”
“What you’re saying is…”
“Anyway, they dragged me in because they thought this was my personality. The baby is unusually weak. I’m a busy person too, so I’ll just summarize the main points! “Tell me what happened from the beginning until now.”
“thank you! thank you!!”
Camilla, who repeatedly bowed her head in response to my permission, soon stuttered and began to reveal her past.
****
name. No Camilla. female. 43 years old.
From the Area 50 survivor group. My role is to collect external resources and fight.
When I asked if there were any survivors living in Area 50, they said there weren’t that many because the radiation was somewhat faint. It is said that there are usually people who give up their desire to live a long life and live a little more comfortably in a place where there are no people, rather than being stabbed or shot and dying in a crowded place.
“The subway base where I lived was fairly well-blocked and had five sets of protective clothing for outdoor activities, so it wasn’t a place where there was that much hope. Since there are few people, there are a lot of parts and scrap metal to collect. “If you just sell it through the exchange, you can live comfortably, so there are many things that are better than other areas.”
One day when I lived so peacefully. Suddenly, people came running in from above, and he felt like someone had hit him three times in the face, and he heard terrible tinnitus ringing in his head.
“Was this when the radio tower was activated?”
“yes. “It felt like a fluffy awl was piercing my eardrum and digging into my brain.”
“…Are you a soldier?”
“Not me, but most of my subordinates…”
Somehow. They say it’s a hardness I’m used to hearing. By the way, if a survivor from the military was to be treated as a subordinate, it would be safe to say that the subway base was owned by Camilla. You’re more of a girl than I thought, right?
While I was thinking about something else for a while, the useless history of life in Area 50 was over and I was back to the main topic.
Shock. And tinnitus.
People fell and she fell too.
While I fainted for a moment, the subway had already become a hell with various monsters running rampant and gunshots echoing. I escaped and joined another group of survivors I knew. They wanted to escape Area 50, which had become a place full of monsters, and join Area 47, which was still broadcasting breaking news in real time. It would be better if there was at least one person to shoot, so they gladly accepted the girl they knew.
And it is said that a person appeared on the edge of District 48 who was suspicious of her ‘big scab that wouldn’t fall off’.
“At first, I thought it was a festering or open wound inside the skin, but that wasn’t the case. For the first time, I covered it up because it was a skin disease… but as it spread to my fingertips, I couldn’t hide it.”
The skin, which seemed to be a mixture of blue and purple, was noticeably tougher than the rest.
The first thing that got infected was one of my index fingers, but that one thing got particularly thick and even a pointed fingernail grew at the end, so now no one has any choice but to wonder what it is.
“These people escaped after seeing the person next to them suddenly turn into a monster, so the outcome was obvious.”
He was expelled, saying he might turn into a monster at any moment.
He somehow managed to survive for five days with only a bucket of water and a day’s worth of food, and as he wandered around wearing large rags that could hide his arms, he naturally became a scavenger.
Just as I was adjusting to that life, another incident occurred.
‘Hey no, ma’am. I know that?’
‘….Phil. At least you, as we have been living together for the past month. I thought you were the trustworthy one among these scum.’
‘yes. I also pride myself on being more faithful than other scavengers. But… these days, there’s been a lot of fuss in the Dome over whether it’s a [Type 2.5 by-product]. With my cheap cheap pipe gun, I can’t catch type 1 or 2, but I can’t catch type 2.5… The lady has a human body, right? Sorry. ‘The money is too big in this case.’
Taang –
.
.
.
.
“It’s common among scavengers for homemade firearms to explode in one’s hands. “Because they use so much trash.”
“…You managed to come out alive.”
“I cut off my arm myself. Unfortunately, it didn’t fall as spectacularly with a single large-diameter bullet as it did in the movie.”
“…Without anesthesia?”
Could she be the daughter of Guan Yu and Sarah Connor?
“I went crazy when I heard the gunshots and saw the scavengers rushing in.”
When the arm rolled down, the scavengers began fighting among themselves to take it, and she took advantage of the opportunity to crawl out.
The shoulder that had been stopped bleeding with a dirty cloth healed without even festering.
Her arm was sold at a high price at the auction house.
And the mutation that I thought was eliminated has now spread again to the approximate area of my shoulder
….
.
.
.
After listening to this point, I could roughly guess the rest.
“Your will to survive is above average.”
“It was nothing.”
“Since cutting it didn’t work, I started thinking about treatment.”
“…I have been a fan for a long time. So I looked into it in many ways. “It occurred to me that my condition was somewhat similar to that of the professor, who was in such a state long before me, and that the professor had no problems leading a daily life.”
So, like a beggar without an arm, I joined the dome like other refugees. Since he had no money and couldn’t easily reveal himself, he naturally became a poor generator worker.
And the culture of the ‘Professor Park Fan Club’ at the time was to encourage the poor in the refugee camp to have a bowl of rice. She would naturally flow into it.
“What about direct help from Dom? “If the crazy people there had seen Camilla, they would have rushed at her and not thrown her away, drooling, right?”
“It is difficult for refugees to even access the upper levels of the dome. There is a bit of discrimination. There is a wall between the residents living in the existing dome area and the residents living in the expanded area with new refugees coming in, so even when I try to get help, they don’t listen….” It’s a
typical situation. Refugees pouring in, many times the number of people we were in charge of right now, we have to manage them all with the existing staff. Why do refugees cause so many accidents? It’s not just simple accidents, but most of them are crazy people, and most of them lead to murder. My nerves are on edge. They’re adding new staff. The kids from the inspection department who were hired don’t know how to do anything about work… Since
this happened not only to the management staff but also to the residents of the dome who lived peacefully, it was probably natural for discrimination to arise between refugees and existing dome residents. It is the government’s role to coordinate it well, but our president is working so hard that even three bodies are busy. This is because the subordinates are incompetent.
“Still, I managed to talk to the head of the inspection department…”
“Oh, you did? “You’re very resourceful. It must not have been easy in that situation.”
“Unfortunately, they said there is not enough room in the dome to compensate for all environmental disasters.”
“….who?”
“I don’t remember the name. When the manager looked at my discolored arm, the look in his eyes was exactly like that of the survivors who chased me out, so he covered his face and ran away…”
Correction. The subordinates were not only incompetent, but also rotten. No. Is it because of excessive incompetence?
The classification system for type 123 has already been destroyed and temporary names such as type 2.5 have been used, but now it is gradually being classified. Seeing the mutation of a new trait and saying things like, ‘Ah, let’s hit Sam who was struck by lightning~’ is either incompetent or sabotage.
Anyway, that’s how Camilla got rejected from the dome.
If you stay still, the mutation will spread again and you will be able to see it outside, and then there will be a lot of people who will attack you and try to eat you up again.
Even if that’s not the case, I’m afraid that I’ll really turn into a monster at some point.
I want to live.
“So, the ‘Wasteland Branch of the Gwangmyeong Church’?”
“…It was a story that often came up as a joke among fan clubs. “Is there a law that says only poor people get together? Don’t you think it would be more fun if we just got together like this, share food with each other, watch today’s video, and whoever drinks alcohol brings some to share?”
“Hmm….”
“I have believed for a long time that the professor would clear World 3 and return. Since we don’t even know the identity of this mutation, let alone a cure, the only hope left is you. I wanted to make a connection somehow, so I gathered people little by little and thought that if
I made a donation in the name of the Gwangmyeong Church, word would spread and people would come visit me somehow….”
.
.
.
That’s how it happened. That’s how it happened.
“You sure are resourceful.”
This is a female Rambo, but isn’t everything she does like a fox?
“In the end, you’re saying that they dragged me in because they knew I was stupid? Ah, are you a saint? but. I lived a really good life. Right? As soon as something catches my eye, I help by changing my body. I’m so happy that I got covered in blood. Hehe~ I’m laughing. “You’re a hog, you’re a hog.”
“That definitely doesn’t mean….”
“That may have something to do with the broadening of our religious affiliation. Because I know I take good care of my people. “Just as tickets to the District 47 chat room were once sold for hundreds of thousands of shillings, half of the people who registered their names on the ‘Gwangmyeong Bridge Wasteland Branch’ thought that if they became related to me, they would be able to receive help in some way.”
“Among them, those of you with similar illnesses~ gathered together carefully, avoiding the eyes of the sun, like a group of warlocks, and expected me to somehow open the blocked passages from above and below, didn’t you?”
“Let’s talk openly and honestly.”
As I listened to my voice pointing out each item one by one, Camilla lowered her head more and more and then hit the floor again.
“That’s right… That’s right… It’s lame, but there’s no place for people like us to cling to, even though it’s rough, but there’s no place like this… Refugees are people who have seen the transformation from the sidelines, so people like us. They try to kill us if they find us, people from Scavengers and Raiders go out of their way to kill us, and Dom, who was our last hope, is busy with other things, so he treats us like we don’t exist… Now there’s nothing left for us to hope for other than you… ..”
People who suddenly become monsters among other people.
First of all, most of their hopes came from incorrect knowledge. It is said that I have an unusual arm because of Hyde, but these people cannot all be people suffering from special schizophrenia like me, so it can be seen as a completely different mutation from mine.
If there is any resemblance, it is that they have external characteristics that ordinary people do not have. Like the alloy storage compartment on the chest or the traces of the outer shell left on various parts of the body.
“For now, I think I’ve heard enough. “Can I go now?”
“If you go…”
“It’s not too late yet, so I’m thinking of going to my friends’ place. Dana, I heard the night market here is good? “It’s not time to sleep yet, so let’s stop by and take a look.”
When I got up from the desk, Camilla hesitated for a moment, but then seemed resigned and opened the way. Dana followed behind me with her usual expressionless expression, without any particular reaction.
“going. “I had a delicious dinner.”
“….Thank you for listening.”
Camilla, like a strong person, quickly shook off her regrets and saw us off with a calm appearance.
Rattling!
As I opened the narrow door and lowered my head to avoid hitting the threshold, I suddenly noticed a phrase that looked like it had been drawn with a knife.
[Pray. Light is everywhere, so what you look at proves that it is there.]
Oh. this. That’s a strangely welcome phrase. This is a passage that Gregory read to me until my ears were exhausted.
“Are you really my fan? “You know all this.”
Hmm… I was wondering what to do. Pan. It’s not a particularly famous phrase, but I’m a die-hard fan who even remembers the phrase I passed by on the carriage
….
“Hmm!” “Wow, it’s narrow, but I crouched down and it was sore, so this is it.”
Crack, clap!
Relax your arms, relax your neck, and turn your waist a little.
After leaving the door open and relaxing, I spoke to Camilla, who was still standing blankly in the room.
“Do you remember the face of that guy who is the head of the inspection department?” “…Yes?”
“Even if you don’t know the name, you probably know the face. I must have thought about it and resented it quite a bit. “If I bring you here, I can recognize you, right?”
As if it was taking a while for her to understand what I was saying, Camilla’s face began to brighten little by little, as if water was seeping into her.
“You mean…!”
“Honestly, Professor Park, the saint, he is a god. This is a joke and a meme, but being a professional broadcaster is my job. “Wouldn’t it be considered an extension of the job to just give them a few days of trouble as a fan service?”
….Yes, I am a fanatic.
Happy hogu. Happy Hogu.
“I heard that someone I know is doing a big business selling by-products, so I went and asked him about it. I will stop by again if necessary. Until then, please keep it confidential. see you later. Oh, next time, please call Mr. Geumpil too. Because I have to take care of that person. In a way, he moved here just for me, but an accident happened when I went out to earn money to install a shield in that neighborhood.”
“Thank you! Thank you professor!”
Ah, damn it. Why on earth did it become like this? GG must have ruined me for a while.
It looks like I’ve wasted all my vacation, but I can’t believe I’m moving so lightly. Have fun baby
I looked to the side and saw Dana, who had been expressionless a moment ago as if nothing had happened, smiling brightly and clinging to my arm.
“You like that.”
“You have unique tastes.”
In any case, Dana and I both ended up happy, so we can say it was a fairly successful date.
As we left the refugee camp with light steps, Camilla’s words of gratitude gradually faded away.
It seems like ‘Thank you’ was changed to ‘Latura’ in the middle, but whatever. He himself said it wasn’t really a religion. I guess it’s okay.
****
