Episode 195
Lee Jae-heon, who broke up with Yoon Garam, lured the green algae monster to the outskirts of the park as much as possible.
“Why don’t these chicks go home? Damn it…!”
It was for that reason.
It goes without saying, but chicks who are not skilled in such cooperative operations do not know the right timing to hit and run. I don’t know what it would be like for Hong Gyeong-jun or Kim Yeon-woo, who were trained as police officers, but there was no way that ordinary people who were always busy taking care of themselves could be skilled in such operations.
Perhaps because of this, Lee Jae-heon noticed that several survivors had been left behind, centered around Jung In-ho’s team’s former residence. While he was luring the green algae monster, he could have just moved to the place where the survivors were gathered, but he was hiding somewhere and was unable to escape, perhaps due to his lack of ability to understand the situation or because he was physically at his limit. In such a situation, the green algae monster couldn’t be left nearby.
“Ugh…fuck…!”
In the end, Jaeheon Lee had to walk almost once around the outskirts of the park.
‘Now I can’t even eat the caterpillars and I’m going crazy.’
In the story, the blood-tasting larvae were considered a cheat key for attracting fish and monsters, but unfortunately, they did not work on the current green algae monsters. Even though I tried, I thought it wouldn’t work, and even though I tried to find a caterpillar and threw it, no one paid any attention to it.
Thanks to this, he had to deal with the green algae monster on his own without any tricks, and although Lee Jae-heon felt a strange sense of discomfort, he did not try to think about it deeply.
“Ugh…!”
Rattling.
My body shook as my legs were caught in the vines.
I shook off the vines with great effort on my legs, which were no longer in good shape. With so much flesh falling off, it was difficult to even perceive the pain properly, but fortunately among the misfortune, thanks to that, I had no hesitation about applying strong force. There were once or twice that I hesitated because it hurt when I moved.
“Get the fuck out of here!”
The vines exploded beneath his feet with an unpleasant noise.
However, since the vines have teeth, they penetrate through the soles of shoes. Jaeheon Lee clearly felt the sensation of the soles of his feet becoming tattered and then turning into minced meat, but he tried to ignore it.
“…Tsk.”
The time right now is around 4 PM. The time the green algae monster was out of the water was getting closer and closer to the exact third day that could kill it.
It also meant that it had been about a day since Jaeheon Lee took on the role of bait.
‘I just need to hold on for another hour or two…’
He muttered to himself and started to move his feet even faster.
If the tree had been tall enough, I would have been able to climb on top of it and get some rest, but most of the trees in the park were tall enough to be compared to the jungle, and even their bark was smooth. No matter how hard I tried to climb up, not only was coming down a problem, but it was also difficult to move to the next tree.
Above all, Jaeheon Lee was in no condition to climb a tree. After wandering around the park all day, my sense of time became dull and I was almost completely dazed. Thanks to that, he is playing the role of bait better than anyone else, so is it a good thing? Occasionally, familiar voices could be heard from not far away, but when that happened, Lee Jae-heon only became further away from them.
“…I guess that’s my goal anyway…”
I couldn’t just include other guys.
I was running so hard that my neck was bleeding, and it was around 5 PM.
“…Fuck.”
“….”
“What, where are you going?”
The green algae monster no longer followed Jaeheon Lee.
“Ah, what a bastard…!”
The guy was returning to the large lake where he lived.
I guess I knew that if things continued like this, I would die. I guess that means they have a survival instinct because they were born like that. To be honest, I don’t even know if I can think. Whatever it was, it was a miserable situation for Lee Jae-heon, who was on the verge of losing all his efforts so far.
Lee Jae-heon did everything he could to see the green algae monster turning around and returning to the lake with its desiccated body. Even though he could barely hear, he swore behind his back, kicked his large body in an unpleasant way, and even threw a rock at the back of his head in a classic way. The problem is that even after trying all the damn things, the green algae monster did not stop.
Still, it sometimes reacts to stimulation, so in order to slow down the time a little, I got close enough to avoid being eaten and repeatedly hit and bounce…
“Heheheheheheha…fuck…!”
In the end, we arrived at a large lake.
Since Jaeheon Lee had made such a fuss, other survivors would probably have gathered here as well. It’s not yet night and it’s not dark, so I guess they can search the nearby area without any pressure. They said it was only a matter of time before other survivors arrived.
“You’re not a jingle bastard, really…!”
But that doesn’t mean there’s anything you can do about the green algae monster.
‘How can we stop that tank!’
The green algae monster has slow steps and slow movements, but its density is high and its attacks are heavy. Since there is no clear body that can be called a body, there is a high probability that there is a corpse inside, but the ‘green algae’ that makes up the body is quickly restored even if damaged, so it has considerable defensive power. Just as a child could not do anything to an elephant, no survivor could do anything to the green algae monster.
The time left until that withering green algae monster dies is approximately 30 to 20 minutes. Even if Lee Jae-heon threw his whole body to block the way, the green algae monster, which was on the verge of death with desiccation, would not give it much time even if it sucked up every drop of Lee Jae-heon’s blood. Even if you try to eat not only blood but also bones and flesh.
“….”
Jiik Jiik…
Lee Jae-heon sat down and blinked as he watched the monster moving towards the lake with his dry body.
“…No, no…”
Why did that bastard follow me in the first place?
‘There must be a reason.’
Judging by the survivors’ words, it was said that sometimes its rationality would turn on normally and other times it would turn off as if it had never been there in the first place. There was no reason why such a green algae monster did not react to the larva at all and only chased Jae-heon Lee with the intention of killing him.
I quickly thought about it. Because my blood is delicious for that guy? No matter how unlikely it was, his body changed a little when he remembered his past life, but his origin was still the same as that of the old manager in the novel. I’ve never heard of Lee Jae-heon’s blood being popular among monsters. So, is there something about me that only monsters can feel? If there was such a thing, I would have been filming survival and the animal kingdom, damn it.
There must be something that only I have.
“So…”
For example, lucid dreaming.
And a woman inside the green algae monster.
“….”
I remembered it stretching out its white, thin arms and strangling my neck.
“Boss…!”
“….”
“Manager, are you okay? Boss!”
A familiar voice came from far away and grabbed me and shook me, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to it.
The woman Jaeheon Lee encountered in his dream one day had a very familiar face. There was a woman who came up to me smiling with a familiar pretty face and calmly wrapped her arms around my neck and suffocated me in the bright red water. There was a being that I saw in my dream but inadvertently denied.
So far, a total of three people have been inside the green algae monster in his lucid dreams. Jung In-ho, Song In-myeong, and that woman whose name I don’t know. This is the woman I definitely saw, but erased, saying it couldn’t be possible.
“It’s dangerous if you stay here. You need to move now.”
“….”
“Director, please…! “Get up!”
“…Now…”
Hesitant.
Lee Jae-heon, who hesitated, continued speaking.
“babe.”
It seemed so unexpected and crazy to me, but there was nothing I could do about it.
“….”
“…Look at me. huh?”
The green algae monster continued walking towards the lake.
Is this the correct answer? At times like this, I should go in front of them and block them with my whole body, but I wonder if I’m wasting my time doing something strange. While blaming himself hundreds of times in his head, Jaeheon Lee called out the familiar name that stuck to his soul, not his body.
“Baby, I called you….”
I definitely saw you.
“Are you mad because I pretended not to know? Then I apologize. I’m sorry. sorry.”
“….”
“But fuck, I need to think about my position as well.”
I’m crying.
An unknown emotion spread through my brain.
“I said I wanted to live longer.”
Yes, I wanted to live. But, if possible, I wanted to live a happy life. I knew that wouldn’t work, so I wanted to enjoy wealth and fame to my heart’s content.
“What if you, and no one else… save me…”
His voice trembled.
In the world of my previous life, there was nothing that could be called a ‘unique life’. If you die, you come back to life as you die, and if you live, you live as you live. Since there is no way to die until the end of one’s lifespan, humans have been reduced to a status lower than expendable items. The only thing that defined them was the fate given to them by God and the grades they were able to build through it.
Therefore, there were people who wanted to cause ‘death’. In the name of raising the value of human life, there were people who opposed the government, insulted God, and created artificial deaths without following fate.
“He died like that in front of my eyes…”
Lee Jae-heon was a member of the government, a person who praised God and followed fate.
“What if you die like that? “Then how can I live?”
That’s why my family was ruined. I ruined the things I cared about.
A body that has become so tattered that it becomes tattered. A mind exhausted from repeated regression. The fatigue accumulated from acting as bait for almost a day. In the meantime, Lee Jae-heon’s mind was helplessly broken by the memories of his past life. He shed tears, even forgetting what situation he was in. It was none of Lee Jae-heon’s business to know who else was nearby.
“I just…”
“…Manager.”
“I wanted to die with you.”
I wasn’t hoping for something really big.
“I wanted to live with you all…”
I wanted to enjoy a decent daily life with people I liked and then die at the right time. That was all, that was all.
“….”
“…Ha….”
The green algae monster stopped at that.
It slowly looked back at Jaeheon Lee.
“…They say I really did something wrong.”
Laughs came out like laughter and tears came out like tears. The throbbing and hot head was consumed by the heat, making Lee Jae-heon’s fingertips tremble.
It’s been a long time since I felt this emotional. In the first place, Lee Jae-heon’s emotions were limited to the things he loved, so it was something that could not be helped. I lost my entire family because I was immature, and because my personality was dirty, everyone left me. It may be a self-inflicted problem, but honestly, there were many times when I wanted to ask the heavens what I had done so wrong that such problems occurred around me, not me.
“…Boss. “Wake up, if this goes on…”
“Was I that bad?” “I also wanted to have a good time with everyone when they die.”
“Boss…!”
“What is a predetermined fate, what is a lifespan, what the fuck… I don’t know since when did I become so responsible and live like this? Why are you saying I shouldn’t die, huh? What more should I do? “Please talk to me, someone, please talk to me…”
Lee Jae-heon pushed away the person who was probably the main character of this world, who gave him strength as if he wanted to help me stand up. When I stretched out my hand and dropped it, the other person was so shocked that he was pushed away without saying a word.
Jaeheon Lee spoke to the green algae monster about something inside it.
“…Fuck really.”
“….”
“If you made that face… you shouldn’t be held responsible.”
Jiik.
The green algae monster that had been dragging its feet calmly bent down and made eye contact with Jaeheon Lee. It was a monster without eyes, but I felt like our eyes had met. Perhaps it wasn’t just his illusion.
“….”
As soon as it hit the vine that was sticking out, its mottled neck was torn off with a crunching sound.
Only then did I come to my senses.
“…I love you too.”
About 10 minutes to go.
It was time for Lee Jae-heon to catch this monster.
