Chapter. 10 Lead and Silver Coins (11)
****
Beep-. Beep-.
[Check signal. Signal (40.384.72630) / (40.384.57106) / (40.384.22498) 75 meters to concentration point.]
Crackling –
[Road surface good. There is a large plastic panel on the left, so stick to the right.]
Chijik-
“Confirm. “Communication ends until the signal point is visually confirmed.”
Crackling-
[Confirmation.]
Crackling-
[Confirmation.]
After Ian’s hushed voice, only the faint sound of the wind and the sound of the engine filled my ears.
Oh one more thing. The sound of my pulse pounding loudly, as if someone was drumming behind my ears.
The moment the wheels of the large armored truck hit something like a tree branch or shards of glass, goosebumps appeared all over my body, and I had to move my hand to the loaded pistol several times.
Numerous rescue signals confirmed at the entrance to Area 40.
The closest signal was located less than 20 meters away, and we soon identified the signal point and drove between the cemetery-like signals as if we were crawling slowly, making as little noise as possible.
Crackling-
[Check signal point. Old generation van. Buggy. Shelter. Not a target.]
Crackling-
[Radar overheating. Approximately 5 minutes to limit operating time. If you use it more, it may break down.]
Crackling –
Ezel’s voice, which had been quiet until now, came from the communicator. The devastation at the entrance to Area 40. After seeing the endless procession of vehicles that had lost their owners and only had rescue signals flashing, the talkative guy started to keep his mouth shut. Me, Ian, and Bex. Even though people had seen the tragedy so many times that it would have caught their eye, they couldn’t stop themselves from breaking into a cold sweat in front of that bizarre scene.
‘It would have been better if there had been a body.’
There was no one in the group who was unfamiliar with the massacre, but they had never experienced or imagined a scene of massacre where not even a trace of blood was left, let alone a corpse.
A variety of vehicles, camping trailers, shopping carts full of miscellaneous items, and even large backpacks.
The source of the signal was a pile of luggage that someone had packed in a hurry, but the owner of the item had disappeared somewhere without leaving behind a single drop of blood.
There is one reason to assume it was a massacre.
Corpse too. Although there was no blood, everything remaining at the signal point showed clear signs of being torn and shattered.
The professor lifted the telescope to check the status of the shelter and whispered quietly to the communicator.
Crackling –
[The wheel marks are only marks of entry and no traces of exit. More than 80% of the wall was damaged, and the half-destroyed turret had traces of melted muzzle. It appears that the people here gathered at this shelter during the evacuation and engaged in combat with an unidentified enemy. The shelter itself seems to be in relatively good condition. If you have any additional comments, please contact us.]
Chijik-
[There are claw marks near the ceiling that are identical to the traces so far. I think I went in through the skylight.]
[I can’t see any marks. That means there could be something unknown inside there that shrunk our balls to the size of a beanbag. I have one vote to get in.]
[I have one vote too. Anyway, we need to get some rest, both for radar operation and for our physical condition. If possible, a half-ruined shelter would be better than an open area.]
[I can’t feel any traces of other living things around. I also agree.]
Chijik-
“Everyone agrees.” Turn off the engine and pump up the bubbles. “First, go in and secure a shelter, and then move the vehicle inside.”
[Clap.]
Instead of an answer, I heard a heavy clanging sound, so it seemed like the guys in the other car had their hands halfway on the trigger.
Knock kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
Kkkkkkkkkk Kkkkkkk” I turned up the Geiger counter Although it is much lower than the center of a nuclear explosion, where the measured level is meaningless, or the level 7 level of the Chernobyl Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, it is still enough to kill those exposed to it.
The Bubble Shield is a defective product that consumes less power and has perfect blocking ability, but loses defense and recovery speed. This meant that if you even slightly brushed against something during combat, you would be exposed to radiation at that point.
‘That’s why I wanted to drag it to a long-distance battle or avoid fighting at all…’
Unfortunately, what was in his right hand was a large-caliber pistol. I got used to using my left hand to some extent, but shooting was a different matter, so I had no choice but to choose a pistol that I could use with one hand.
Fortunately, this variant left arm achieved a miraculous value of 0% absorption rate in radiation exposure tests, so if a fight broke out and the enemy came close, the first person to move forward and greet the enemy was himself. At least my left arm was able to block enemy bullets without worrying about the bubble shield coming off.
Srrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr orbit!
[Ugh, I can’t seem to get used to this mask even after using it for days and days.]
‘I think I’ve gotten used to it because I keep rationalizing that I’m alive because of this.’
The gray skin mask had six tubes extending from the outside to the back, and unlike its hard exterior, the inside was quite soft and had a rather strange feeling. If you put it to your mouth and lightly bite the tube-like protruding breathing part with your teeth, the contact surface will stick to your face, and it feels quite disgusting to see something writhing inside. This mask clearly feels like a living biological filter. Still, it was a decent product that filtered out everything from radiation to dust, so it was worth bearing the disgust.
After confirming that the skin mask was completely attached to the corner of my mouth, I lifted the communicator.
Crackling-
[Count to five and start. Ezel, just in case, get on the suit and wait. Triangular formation. I take cover for the other two in the front line, while I move to the back line.]
Crackling-
[….Confirmation.]
Swoouuuuuuuu.
I took a deep breath, maintained moderate tension, and grabbed the car door handle with my left hand.
[5. 4. 3. 2. 1-]
Jump up!
Jump, jump, jump!
As soon as I heard the count end, I saw Ian and Bex come out of the Hummer in front, kicking down the door.
Crash!
In an instant, the three formed a line and dug into the ruined shelter, confirming each other’s direction of entry with short hand signals.
The tension of the actual battle trembled up my spine and flowed through my fingertips.
****
That night.
Inside the shelter, the group huddled under a tarp, like students playing a card game under blankets on a field trip, and were synthesizing the information they had gathered by relying on the light of a small flashlight. The sound of warm stew being slurped was heard among the group. Although it was far away from my house in District 40, the taste of the stew made by the shelter’s automatic cooker was just like the taste of my hometown, so at first glance I felt like I had returned home.
Yes, automatic cooking. Contrary to what I thought, there were no enemies inside the shelter, and compared to the rough destruction on the outside, most of the facilities inside were in good condition. Just to be sure, I opened the control panel and tried manipulating it…
“Damn it. “It feels really strange to say this, but it’s so peaceful that I feel like I’m seeing nothing.”
Not only the electricity but also the shield concealment was working properly without a single thing missing. If there were no external enemies, I would have turned on the lights and rested comfortably.
“If you suspect something is wrong, you will slap yourself. Why are you slapping mine?”
“sorry. “I even sent a ‘no problem’ signal, but the four guys who kicked in the door were so pathetic that I stopped.”
Ezel said while rubbing his red, swollen cheek and pointing a finger at Ian, the person who made his cheek look like that.
“Put yourself in my shoes! Until now, I had only seen a sight that seemed to be possessed by something, but the party who went in armed and with a battle plan did not fire a single gunshot and only said ‘no problem’! If it were you, would you really see it as ‘nothing wrong’ or would it look like you were harmed by some unknown entity? Honestly, I still look at it! “There are definitely battle marks left on the inside, but there are no signs of going outside!”
“Hey… Angel? Can we stop talking about that…? It’s because I’m scared. a little.”
Ian gets angry and Ezel screams. Bex seemed to be doing fine these days, but he started talking again.
Perhaps because they had been on high alert for several days targeting an imaginary enemy, most of the group was on high alert.
Of course, that includes me too. There is no sound other than the wind nearby, but there are only traces of someone and the noises I make are scratching my nerves like crazy. Even breathing was uncomfortable and I was cracking up in this fucking silence that drove people crazy! There were more than one time that I wanted to cry.
[Wake. Everyone is in a bad state right now, but if you lose your temper, a real accident will happen.]
‘I know. ‘We have to solve it somehow.’
There is only one reason why I am in better condition than my group. This was due to the presence of Hyde, where people could talk freely without having to worry about noise. Hyde, who had been rarely coming to the surface of my consciousness lately, saying that he had work to do or that he was sleepy, must have recognized the seriousness of the situation and kept telling lame jokes in my head without stopping for a moment, and thanks to that, my condition wasn’t that bad.
‘Well, since we’re all veterans, it’s not like we’re panicking or something like this, but…’
“Where are the ghosts in the world, you bastard? If there were ghosts, do you think I would still be alive today? “If only 1/10th of the people I killed had turned into ghosts, they would have flocked in like an army of ghosts from The Lord of the Rings.”
“Then how do you explain this current situation? There are traces of monsters and traces of bullet marks and explosions. There were countless skid marks from vehicles rushing away. But there isn’t even a trace of blood, let alone a body! “Couldn’t there be some kind of ghost-type variant running around?”
Seeing him talk nonsense like that, I can’t even say he’s in his usual state. First of all, you need to organize something. If we at least present something that is clearly visible, the current confusion will subside.
“A variant is a variant caused by a virus. At least it’s something that can be physically explained. “It’s different from something like a ghost.”
Left ahhh.
The professor took out a piece of charcoal from his pocket, shining the dusty map in the light of the lantern.
“First, let’s summarize what we have personally confirmed. From the rescue signal. How many did you check, Ezel?”
“wait for a sec. I made a note of it… Oh, here it is. A total of 188 branches, with 65 buggies, 12 shelters, 55 regular vehicles, 56 shopping carts, carts, backpacks, etc. Since the radar operation time has been 47 hours so far, we have checked 4 items per hour. “The average group number of individual survivors in the wasteland is about 3, so we estimate casualties at around 564.”
“Where does the signal originate?”
“this. Portable connector sold at Area 38 Dome. Of course GG doesn’t work, and the time multiplier is the same as reality, unlike regular connectors. Of course, it is difficult to follow chatting, so it is used to watch recorded videos or use exchanges. “The 40th division, which is the center of survival, has quite a few connectors to spare, but it’s much more convenient for those who have to wander around here and there.”
“Oh, that one. I have also used it a few times when making transactions. It’s expensive, but the durability is crap, so I didn’t use it much. “It takes about 2 hours to transmit to the community, so isn’t this garbage difficult to use for real-time communication?”
The item Ezel took out was one he had seen several times at the exchange. Although it failed to create a device that runs GG due to technological limitations, it was possible to connect to the public community, so a minor version of the connector was created. In fact, miniaturization was not the intention, but the body customization function of the general connector, as well as the temperature maintenance and life preservation functions, were all unnecessary because I could not play the game, so I removed them all and it became so small.
“Then there is a high possibility that most of the victims are wanderers… I guess that’s what you’re saying?”
“yes. In the first place, the regular connector is provided cheaply by the dome as a player incentive policy, while the portable connector that cannot play games is sold at a very high price. “People who are settled down don’t need to have expensive portable devices.”
In response to Ezel’s words, the professor briefly noted, “Most victims are wanderers,” and then marked the points where the signal was confirmed.
“Okay then next. “What information has been confirmed about the enemy?”
“The victim was an individual, and there were several bullet marks that had splattered in the opposite direction of the hypothetical enemy location. Since the caliber was the same, it is presumed that the bullet ricocheted off the enemy’s body. Among the traces of explosions, there were many cases where soot appeared in the air. “Shields don’t ricochet like that, so the enemy is either an armored creature or a bipedal tank or something.”
“Uh… I think a little differently. The signs of tearing up Hepburn’s car were evidence of a creature with claws or a large, bladed cold weapon being used. If it’s not a human, I think it’s a species that resembles a cat. Some footprints have traces of the tips of the claws digging into them, and some do not. “It means it’s possible to hide your claws.”
“Whatever it is, it’s clear that the enemy is playing with a small number of victims. All confirmed victims sent a rescue signal, except in cases where there was no device to send a signal. This is not a surprise attack; it means that time is given for the victim to sense the crisis and send a signal! All of the victims had time to send out a rescue signal, even if they had left out one or two. This means that there was no will to attack the enemy by surprise. He leisurely approached the victim, laughed at their struggles, and took every single piece of bone without leaving a drop of blood! “Ugh, if that’s not a ghost, what is it?”
“Fuck it, fuck it. So you’re saying the enemy is a cat and a ghost wearing solid armor? “Isn’t that too innovative even for a ghost?”
“…It could be that a new type 3 variant has appeared. “Someone like District 27’s [Green World Snake] or District 44’s [Walking Kane], who makes an area his own territory.”
Type 3 variant. The moment the story came up, the group members who were each expressing their opinions nodded in unison.
“Could it have happened so suddenly?”
“Not until now. “But there are no other beings that are beyond common sense, right?”
“….”
There was one more thing, but the professor swallowed those words that could have added to the group’s confusion.
What he confirmed while looking for various rescue signals.
That was the amount of sand stuck between the sharp cuts here and there.
In this wasteland where sandstorms blew endlessly, the timing of the battle could be predicted to some extent by the amount of fine sand between the traces of new destruction.
The results of roughly calculating the wind speed depending on the location of the trail were surprising.
‘I can’t guarantee because I don’t have reliable measuring equipment, but… it all happened about four days ago. And it didn’t happen within 24 hours four days ago, it all happened at the same time.’
It took our group 47 hours to get here. It advanced at a slow speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour, checking 188 signal points and moving without stopping, except for brief stays.
Since we made it a rule not to spend more than 7 minutes per point, the distance we traveled by following the signal was approximately 330km.
330km is longer than the distance between Seoul and Busan.
This means that the victims, who were evenly distributed along that long road, were attacked within an hour or two, even if we calculate the error. Even the amount of sand traces did not increase sequentially as they moved, but increased and decreased in a jumbled manner, and as Ezel said, the victims had time to send out rescue signals, so the enemy did not move at incredible speed and attack the wanderers in Area 40.
An entity that has the ability to exist in multiple places simultaneously or move close to them.
I forgot about it at the time, saying it had nothing to do with me, but I had met such a being.
[A man in a white suit. In a white suit… Huh? A white suit and a flashlight…]
‘Don’t you remember? That guy. I’m sure we met, talked, and did business, but I don’t remember anything about what he looked like other than his suit and voice.’
[It is an honor to meet you. ‘professor’. It’s called ‘W’ for Artists’ Union.
He is the man who bought the paintings and watches from District 45 from me a few months ago, and the owner of the strange rumor that no matter where and at what time an appointment is made, he shows up and waits before the trader.
“…Once I finish eating, I can sleep for just three hours and then move on.”
“We are now about a day away from the area of influence of the Area 38 dome. “Are you going to keep checking for rescue signals?”
“….no. “I’ll stop by just one more place and then go straight to the dome.”
“One place?”
“Okay, here.”
The professor said, checking one of the rescue signal coordinates that Ezel had marked on the map.
“I have an acquaintance who can be the most helpful in a situation like this where I don’t know anything.”
It may be a new variant that no one knows about, but it definitely has information about groups that have been active in the wasteland for a long time, such as the Artists’ Union.
[40.227.90381]
The professor folded the map with a confused look on his face as he looked at the dot at the same location as the coordinates written in his notebook.
“I didn’t want to meet you like this… I know you’re not an ordinary guy, so I hope you don’t suffer in vain.”
The notebook the professor opened contains the coordinates [40.227.90381] along with ‘Speed Wagon’ / ‘Tangency area? It said, ‘Business? Let’s meet first.’
****
