Episode 165 [ LA CITY (3) ]
A dog was hanging on top of the robot’s camera and struggling.
whine. whine.
The robot couldn’t move its head and just stood there awkwardly.
[Does that monster think that Shane is a doll?]
“It seems like that, considering the situation…”
The doll leaning against the sofa had shiny cloth from how much it had been beaten.
Kyunghoon walked up to the sofa and examined the doll.
The label on the doll said ‘made in Korea.’
“This is a doll made in Korea.”
[Could it be a commemorative doll made by Shane?]
Eve said in a voice filled with laughter.
Unlike other times, Shane was unable to respond to her words because he was dealing with a dog.
Kyung-hoon scratched his chin as he looked at the dog playing with the robot. “
What should I do with this?”
It didn’t look dangerous, but in any case, that animal was no ordinary dog.
It was a monster with protruding wings and the ability to turn into a giant monster.
Kyung-hoon had never seen a monster that was not hostile to humans other than the monsters that Roselia had tamed.
Now he is friendly with robots . He could see it, but he didn’t know when his true nature would be revealed.
Woof. Woof. As Kyung-
hoon frowned, the dog on top of the camera eventually barked at Kyung-hoon.
“Besides, it doesn’t seem like he likes humans…”
[Humans. It might not be something I dislike.]
Kyung-hoon clicked his tongue at Eve’s words.
Eve continued.
[Why don’t you just wait and see. Seeing how close I am to Shane, we might be able to become good colleagues if we do well.]
“As usual, we can be good colleagues. “Any other advice?”
[Hmm…. Like the owner said, sometimes the feeling is more right. It feels good.] It
was most likely because it was cute rather than because it felt good, but Kyung-hoon had no intention of going against her opinion
. I picked up the photo. It was a faded Polaroid photo.
In the photo, there was a young couple, a child about 4 or 5 years old, and a dog hugging the child.
The photo was taken in this very living room. Unlike now, the bookshelf was lined with books. There were household items everywhere.
[The situation didn’t seem to be very good. The clothes were old and the man’s beard was rough. The food situation must have been bad.] Both the
couple were very thin.
You can see them in the back . The appearance outside the window was no different from now. The photo was taken after the city had changed like this. The
puppy in the photo was not that different from the puppy playing with the robot now.
“Did he turn into a mutant monster right after taking this photo? Or did he transform into that too? “Is it one of those appearances?”
Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell the exact details from just one photo.
Woof. When Kyung-
hoon looked at the photo, the dog barked again. Then Shane said in a shaky voice,
“I think they’re telling me not to touch them carelessly…”
Kyung-hoon made a bewildered look on his face. I looked at Shane,
“Are you sure you understand what the dog is saying?”
“No, I don’t understand. I have that feeling.”
Shane also seemed to have no other way to express it.
Well, in a world where there are AIs that make fun of their owners and dogs that transform, what’s the problem if there is a robot that communicates with dogs?
Kyunghoon shrugged his shoulders and put the photo down on the table again. .
The dog leaned his head towards the camera with a satisfied look on his face. It seemed like Shane was right.
“I’m going to take a look around the house.”
The puppy that was on top of his head was now dozing off. Instead of nodding, Shane shook his hand.
Kyunghoon left Shane, who had become a statue, and started looking around the house.
The other rooms were also organized like the living room
. There were things, but no important items were visible.
The child’s room was empty, and the couple’s bedroom was filled with only a bed and furniture. The same
was true in the study
. The study was also empty. There were only two pieces of paper left on the desk.
– Packed up . It looks like he left.
Kyung-hoon nodded, looking at the papers on the desk.
The paper, which looked like a torn sketchbook, had drawings and words written by a child.
There was a heart drawn between the crooked puppy and the child, and underneath it. There was a text left written in English.
[I’ll be back later. Wait for me. I love you.]
– Is this the child in the photo I saw in the living room?
I wasn’t sure, but the child I saw in the photo immediately came to mind, too. Kyung
-Hoon picked up another piece of paper. With his hand. It was not written, but a printed official notice.
*
[Notice regarding the evacuation of LA City]
1. Only humans can board the ship.
2. No more than the specified weight per person can be brought.
3. Contamination must be checked when boarding. If you do not comply, you will be denied boarding.
….
* Boarding times must be strictly adhered to. This fleet is the last legacy of the United States. Anyone who is late or does not follow instructions will be denied boarding and may even be summarily executed. .
United States City Combined Fleet.
*
– Was there still a U.S. Navy left?
“Well? Anyway, the name is different from before.”
I don’t know how many ships there were or how many were left, but the United States was different from other countries.
Even back then, there would have been monsters in the sea, but the United States maintained a fleet.
-Do they still remain today?
“We’ll find out.”
Rather, through this official letter, I learned what had happened to the people in the city.
“Still, I’m glad that not everyone died.”
It wasn’t written where they went, but at least there was hope.
-I think I also understand why the city is full of pets.
The people who lived in the city abandoned their pets and boarded the ship.
But Kyung-hoon frowned.
“But “Aren’t there too many monsters? Could it be that all the pets I left behind turned into monsters? Even so, there are too many of them?”
There were still many questions left.
While Kyung-hoon was searching, he also checked other floors of the building.
The inside of the building was clean.
The underground food storehouse and several refrigerators had been burgled, but all that remained were traces of the dog having eaten them.
There was no sign of any other monsters.
“Is that dog the owner of this building?”
-The first building is dominated by cat-transformed monsters and the second building is dominated by hamster-transformed monsters, so it appears that Bailey is in control of this building.
Considering the cute puppy appearance, it didn’t really suit me, but in the end, that was the only reason.
“Then we need to create spatial coordinates here.”
Eve also agreed with Kyung-hoon.
While Kyunghoon and Eve went to Seoul to make coordinates, Shane stood in the living room and served as a support for the dog.
And Bailey, lying on top of Shane, had a dream again for the first time in a long time.
*
Flutter.
The robot doll was thrown onto the sofa.
“no! “I don’t want to go!”
The child held the puppy and screamed at his mother.
The mother coaxed the child with a sad face.
“I have to go. People are waiting. “My baby is a good child.”
“Bailey’s not going! Then I won’t go either!”
The child had tears in his eyes and hugged the dog tightly. The dog, unaware of the situation, licked the child’s cheek.
“Did you see other domestic cats and dogs sick? “I can’t take people with me because I’m afraid they will get sick too.”
Mom bit her lip.
“You don’t have to worry about Bailey, she’ll be back in just ten nights.”
“Really?”
Mom couldn’t answer and turned her head away. Instead, my husband came into the living room and answered.
“okay. I’ll be back in just ten nights. We left plenty of food for you, and we also decided to leave a robot to keep you from getting bored. Then, would you like to leave a letter as well?”
“Photos too! “One each for Bailey and me!”
The child put the dog down and ran to the table. She brought two photos and showed them to the dog.
These were photos taken not long ago. Photos taken before packing up. The child placed one photo in front of the dog and put one in his pocket.
“I’ll be back soon. wait.”
bruise!
The dog barked happily at the child’s words, and the child’s parents looked at him with sad faces.
There were many ships in the distant harbor behind my parents.
From merchant ships, passenger ships, destroyers, and aircraft carriers. The ship had many signs of being broken here and there, but it was a very surprising sight for the dog.
*
Time has passed.
Kyung-hoon went to Seoul, and Shane put the dog down on the sofa and stayed by his side.
“Hmm, now the problem is my future career path.”
“Do I have to decide whether I should look for the mana stone written on the spear or chase after the people who left?”
“Both are at a loss. “It’s difficult to check each monster, and it’s impossible to know where people have gone.”
“Hmm. In the end, maybe we should search step by step.”
Hearing a pounding sound, the puppy woke up.
Woof.
Bailey blinked his eyes and showed that he had woken up.
[Hmm. Hmm. The puppy woke up.]
Other voices were also heard, but the owner of the voice was not visible. The puppy. tilted his head.
Bailey jumped off the robot’s lap.
Friends, strangers, and humans who could only hear voices were gathered in the living room.
Bailey was happy.
The owner did not come, but a friend came instead.
It had been a long wait. Now that the owner had sent his friend, it was time to find him.
Woof!
The puppy ran out the door and barked at the robot.
“I want you to follow me?”
At Shane’s words, Kyung-hoon opened his eyes and looked at the robot. The
robot had no choice but to scratch the camera.
As the group followed, the dog ran down the hallway and jumped into the open elevator door.
Startled, Shane and Kyung-hoon ran, but Bailey All he could do was look up and bark.
Woof! Woof!
Bailey was slowly going down. The wings sprouting from his shoulders were flapping leisurely.
Kyung-hoon and Shane also had no choice but to jump into the elevator shaft.
The human kicked the wall and the robot We went down using the rope attached to our arms. After
arriving at the first floor, the group followed the dog out into the street.
The dog guided the group to the other side of the city.
The street was still quiet. There was no longer any sign of life that was visible at first glance. .
However, when they arrived in front of the building that appeared to be a large shopping center, the group was greeted by an incredibly fierce spirit.
In Kyung-hoon’s eyes, he could see mana floating above the building.
Growling.
Bailey also growled at the building.
“At least he’s a captain. ”
Looking at the mana gushing out, he was not an easy opponent.
“Are you sure you called me to deal with the monster inside this building?”
Kyung-hoon looked at the puppy and asked, but the puppy just growled at the building.
Kyung-hoon looked at Shane. Shane shrugged.
“There’s no way he would understand what I’m saying.”
It seemed that two-way traffic was not possible.
Kyung-hoon was at a loss. He couldn’t take down every monster he met. He had to at least know the reason to plan a strategy.
The dog only growled at the sight of the building.
That was when a small sound was heard in Kyung-hoon’s ear. I heard it.
[…. Chichik. Chik. This is a New York City broadcast. Survivors, please come to New York City…. Once again….] The
small continuous broadcast was being heard from inside the shopping center. It was the voice of a young man.
bruise.
The dog listened to the broadcast and waggled its tail.
*
[..New York city broadcast.]
Pop.
A small finger flipped the switch and the voice stopped.
With an expressionless face, the girl took out a tape from a cassette connected to an old radio.
The tape was old, so I couldn’t tell when it would break.
She put the tape in her desk drawer and looked out the window.
The sea off New York was always the same.
The statue of the goddess leaning in the distance was half submerged in the sea, and the aircraft carrier and other ships that brought her there were sunk in the harbor.
The girl measured time by watching the sun set across the sea.
“It’s time to hunt.”
She got up right away.
The girl patted the photo on the desk one last time and went out.
In the photo, a young couple, a young baby, and a dog saw the girl off as she left the room.
