Clearing the Game at the End of the World - Chapter 34: Eyelids (7)

Chapter 34: Eyelids (7)

Thud! Thump! Thud!

‘Large and heavy enough to make the thick stone floor make sounds.’

Tick! Tick!

‘Medium size. A light sound that moves quickly, like a limping insect type. Like the mantis earlier, many insect-type individuals are in the raid.’

At this time, it is correct that level 8 individuals that have been infected are level 7, which use rodents or insects. Since it is the easiest gene for them to obtain, it must have been a long time since the queen digested it, and if they drilled a tunnel…

‘Pale. Level 6 special species. Apparently, the mutes in this world are moving with a few elites.’

It looks like a giant earthworm wearing a white mask. The creature has a developed front jaw, and these species dig under the ground using their strong jaws. It is often seen when digging a tunnel like this, but it is not a huge threat.

Most of the time, they just know how to make holes in the land, so they enter the burrow and collapse the ground below.

They are supposed to be useless subjects that eat land, so they only show up when a commanding entity with high intelligence appears on the mute’s side.

‘If there were enough resources and the prey provided to the queen as food were sufficient, it would have come out at the right time. However, due to Edeorna’s failure to hunt, the queen must have starved, so the production of troops was disrupted. In that situation, the resources to increase the artificial uterus of the nest are insufficient, and the number of special objects as earthworms increased.’

This meant that the queen was quite cautious with the troops. Even if it were a cave that could collapse at any time, it would not do so simply because some enemy troops passed through. They used this method to infiltrate the city and force them to retreat when necessary.

‘It is not something that a growing queen would plan… Did a sense of crisis promote the development of intelligence?’

It was still unknown.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The loud footsteps were getting closer and closer.

Kwakwang!

‘The sound of the iron gate being pushed at… my room.’

In the bathtub, Professor begged earnestly. Please… please go away…

“Sniff! Sniff, sniff!”

Someone was sniffing at the collapsed front door and came in.

Thud!

“Grrrr!”

Clack.

The bathtub lid was opened. Professor didn’t even blink as he lay still like a corpse.

“Kukukuku, kruk? Uuuu.”

‘They are created by combining various living things, and the only way mutes of various bodies and others can tell them apart is by the infection cells they share!’

So he jumped into the bathtub without covering his body. Because each step he tried to take to flee would signal for them to pursue him, and if there was someone outside who specialized in seeking, he’d be found.

‘I’ll lay here until I can no longer hear anything.’

The water was not clean, so it was a little uncomfortable, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable to hold my breath thanks to it being water-based mana. I observed the situation until it calmed down—

[You have always loved hiding since you were little.]

’!!!’

A sweet aroma that seemed to have entered the mind directly. The voice of a young boy whispering as if mocking. It was him.

[A troubled child. You didn’t get along well with other children, and of course, boys your age should be fascinated by things like secret bases, but you were a bit too much.]

A voice clearer than before. There was no longer any stuttering or unintelligible words. It was as if he was talking to someone else in his head.

After the first encounter with Edeorna, Professor thought a lot about this situation. Except for his head, his entire body’s cells were infected, and a long time had passed, so the infection was now able to act individually. Then it constantly showed his traumas as nightmares.

‘This conversation itself is a process of contaminating my brain.’

I couldn’t figure out just what the hell this was or why they put such a thing in the game, but one thing was certain. That the trap in GG that drove many players to death in reality, was the same kind. Then I have to fight it. He is undermining my consciousness and looking for a chance to dig in. If it doesn’t shake, that’s enough.

‘Resolutely, as if this were nothing. Fighting like there is nothing is what I’m good at.’

[Oh, I am scared, but there is something you misunderstood. Do you see me as an opponent?]

‘If it were a joke, I’d give it 3 points, but of course, out of 100. Did you see the joke-related part in my head?’

Keke!

It had a bad laugh every time I talked to it. I couldn’t see it, but I knew that he was having a lot of fun.

[No. I am serious. I am now enjoying my freedom as an independent individual for the first time in my life. Was it similar to getting drunk on a confession and erasing a horrible past at the moment a monster ceased to exist? Mother, I really am… sorry. I couldn’t do what you wanted me to. You don’t have a mother, right?]

… You bastard!

’… I guess you are born that way. Can’t find a single ounce of politeness in you.’

[Um… politeness is a restriction on various actions, all in order to maintain relationships with others, right? And are you and I strangers? Professor, we are comfortable with each other. We can even just walk around with our underwear on.]

Shit. Someone who knows everything about me. Either way, I felt drawn to the atmosphere.

‘Nice. Let’s pretend that you aren’t going to fight me. So what about the attack over the last few days? The infectious cells in my head are under your control. If you put your mind to it, they can be calmed down, and you wouldn’t have to do all this, right? When I fell asleep after Isaac put me down, weren’t you the one who sent the strange nightmare? What do I do when you tinker with something like that? And you aren’t willing to fight? Yet, you expect me to believe that?’

[Ahh, that?]

Kikiki…kiiki-

The red eyes smiled and showed white teeth. Such a bastard. As if he couldn’t stand it, he smiled and said,

[Ah, of course, there are reasons to explain it, well, look?]

Flinch!

‘This…’

Regardless of my will, my fingers moved. It was hard to control, as if they were stuck somewhere, but slowly my index and middle fingers were bent.

[The infectious agents, as you basically call them, are unicellular organisms. No matter how much consciousness I had when being born from Mother, passed over by Edeorna, it is nurtured in your head, Professor. My mother’s orders cannot directly control the infectious cell that is entrenched in the center of consciousness. All she can do is slightly push them in the direction she wants them to, and move these two fingers.]

Professor looked at his right finger, which wiggled as if to say hello, and felt nauseous. When he applied strength to his hand, the fingers were moved according to his will, as if they were his from the start.

[Um, ahh, cannot stand it. I wanted to try more. There are so many secrets to keep.]

‘What?’

Keke.

The illusion of red eyes came close enough that I could feel the breath now. Arms and legs grew from the smoke.

[Actually, it is all just an excuse. It was because I was enjoying it.]

’… What?’

[It is so fun to break down like a sandcastle swept by waves at a single word or memory. The feeling of controlling someone—the feeling that I know everything about that person and that I can hold and shake them! It is so much fun! The consciousness curled up like a baby! The image of you trying to pick and build up broken emotions and become strong! Ho-How painful!]

Ecstasy. Pure joy filled the mind. I could feel what he was feeling. The sound of a man who was genuinely happy that I was falling apart.

It is evil. It was truly a purely evil creature.

Tuk!

In an instant, the rushing emotions calmed down as if they had been cut down with a knife.

[That is good. Today, too, I came for that.]

Bubble—

Suddenly, my body turned unbearably itchy, just like when the cells first invaded my body.

[I encouraged the ones downstairs as much as possible. You will be fine as long as you are in here, but the moment you leave, I will come for your head and turn you dumb.]

‘What… Why are you doing this? If such a thing was possible, why did I..?’

Keke!

[Didn’t I say? This is fun.]

Chik!

A small, old TV-like flash appeared in the dark space of consciousness, where there were only the two of us.

[The place we are right now is in a game, so play a game with me.]

‘What…’

[‘Hold on for as long as you can.’ Not a huge thing. On this screen, the memories I carefully selected from your memory will appear. If you maintain your reasoning as you do now, even after watching them, you win. I will contain and hold the cells within your body, and I will stop speaking if you want.]

I didn’t want to see it, but even if I turned away, the screen ahead was following me.

‘What if I cannot stand it?’

[Looking weak already! One point deduction. Well, just because you can’t stand it, I won’t do anything particular.]

Keke!

The guy brought a small wooden chair, sat in front of the screen, and placed his hands behind his head as he said,

[No matter what I do, this body will be mine from then on.]

Flash!

The screen of what looked like an old TV turned on, and an image that looked like it had been shot with an old camera appeared. Professor couldn’t ignore the screen. Because it was the sins he did, the ones brewing inside him for a long time.

The war ended as abruptly as it began.

It wasn’t known what happened, but it felt like the captains on the battlefield realized something at one point. That the orders from above were not for lofty ideals or something bigger but only to dispel accumulated hatred. Because the last command they heard was to hold their position and annihilate the enemy according to the situation on the field.

It was played three times with the same content.

Even on the way home, there were no high hopes. There was only one thing left to remember my father by: a gas mask. So when I reach home, there will be things left to remember. A building that was built in an orderly fashion according to the trend but was a shelter so it wouldn’t have completely collapsed, and he stopped with a light thought.

And there, I received an unexpected gift.

Thud!

“Mot..her?”

“… You have grown a lot in 2 years. You seem to know to call me mother, son.”

“M-Mom!”

Father and mother, who were conscripts, had left one after another and left me alone. Watching life crumble down like a toy on the battlefield, watching the civilians live in sadness, and my mother, whom I thought was already dead. Was there much more healthy-looking than before? In the middle of a shelter in the Wasteland, with nothing left around.

Before the war, my mother used to run a bakery and had to make casings by pouring molten copper into molds within 2 years. In the tribulation that destroyed the world, I cannot even imagine the kind of life she lived.

[Such good times. Um, so much to miss.]

So my mother and I began to live our lives together. She fortified the shelter and procured the needed items from the surrounding area. When I saw my mother, who was silent when I spoke of my father’s death, secretly hug his clothes at night and cry, I thought of protecting her on behalf of my father.

Fortunately, the skills I learned in the 14th Unit were useful to make a living in the Wasteland.

Especially when it came to killing people.

“Mom, think about it again. Dome is the only group that is trying to uphold the banner of law and justice in this world!”

“Son, how many times has your mother said that there are no bastards to trust, and especially those who speak such slick words? You have been in the Wasteland only for a month, so you don’t know, but they…”

“I also saw everything to see and not to see in the military! I know a lot of things! We can’t live the rest of our lives like this!”

“.. If we can live together…”

I was turning more violent each day. Every time I killed someone, every time I cut through flesh with a knife and got covered in blood, I picked up the excuse that I had to do it to live, but I knew that those who had already died were the same as me. The nightmares and anxiety were getting worse.

It was then that I became interested in Dome. Their words of reconstructing civilization to how the past was, the sense of security and belonging that they offered was tempting. If you go to a safe place, then there will be no more killing. Working like ordinary people like in the old days…

So one day, my mother, who was injured outside, had sepsis, and I moved to the Dome with her on my back. They knew about my military career, and they welcomed us both.

Everything seemed normal. A small but neat office building was located in the middle of the city center of Upper Dome. Fresh air without a speck of dust thanks to the city-level semi-permeable shield generator that was in the experimental stage before the war. A place where you could see people smiling.

But there was one thing. My mother couldn’t return to her healthy state. At my request, the doctors directly from Dome injected her with antibiotics and took measures but she was still unconscious.

“We did everything we could. I wonder… if the variant virus has created some trouble…”

Clank!

“Then are you saying that my mother is dead?”

“No, she is alive. However, I don’t know when it will happen… We will continue to administer antibiotics to her in the future and will wait to see the results.”

“Damn it…”

Antibiotics were expensive even in the Dome, which retained some of the past civilization’s lifestyle. I had to pick up a gun and knife again to save my mother, and I prolonged her life with drugs that came from the bloodshed of countless people.

[Kekeke, this splendid narrative. How can I be watching this alone…]

It had been almost two months since I began to work for the Dome. Late at night, I could feel I was being watched. As my skills sharpened from the ‘work’ I’d been doing, I held up a pistol to the head of the intruder who entered through the window even before he could approach me.

“… You improved a lot. Rice bowl.”

“This voice… Ruwill? From the 14th Unit, Ruwill?”

At my question, he responded by pushing the muzzle away.

“So long. It has been around 3 to 4 months since our discharge.”

“Because we made so many enemies, it was better to scatter rather than cluster to have fewer targets. Nice to see you again, Ruwill. It would have been a bonus if you knocked on the door during the day.”

Aside from being happy, I didn’t forget that he sneaked into my house through the window. And I have killed too many to be blindly happy about seeing a person I worked on the battlefield with… as he was a master of assassination.

Haaa.

In the darkness without moonlight, Ruwill’s cigarette light followed him.

“….Gyosu. I heard rumors that you are an active member of Dome’s power unit.”

“I couldn’t help it. I had to pay for my mother’s medicine.”

“Medicine… medicine, huh…”

Tat!

Ruwill pulled a neatly organized file folder from his pocket.

“My job is to pass this on to you. It was nice to see you again, and I hope we don’t have to see each other in the future.”

Click!

Ruwill leaned back on the window and hesitated for a moment and said to me as I continued to aim the gun.

“… It couldn’t be helped. I didn’t know she was your mother. I am here with… my wife and my daughter…”

“Wait. What do you mean? Ruwill! Wait! Ruwill Bartos!”

I hurriedly followed, but he had already left with no traces other than the file he left.

Feeling the anxiety I left behind on the battlefield, I pulled out the file.

‘Stop, please stop…’

[What is this? Didn’t we talk about manners a few minutes ago? Going to the bathroom at the climax of a movie isn’t polite. Watch till the end.]

Shh…

===

Subject: Gyosu Park

Special Note: Served in the 14th Special Annihilation Operation Unit. He was enlisted at the age of a teenager and established good merit. Has a character that has been active in various fields to the extent that it is impossible to speak about his main role. Responsible for all sorts of supplies and was noted for excellence in both engineering and combat. Also called Professor Bob, Rice Bowl, Supply Soldier, and more. It is confirmed that his father died during an operation. Presumed that he moved to Dome to save his mother from sepsis. In a face-to-face consultation, it was confirmed that his mother had a negative attitude toward Dome.

Action: Confirmed as a talented person needed for Dome in various ways. D-36 was injected into the mother when she was asleep. Encourage him to buy medicines and hold them financially, and entice him to build relationships with them.

===

Tremble!

I went through the papers one by one. Description of Drug D-36. The next one was photos and personal information of those who would be approached by them, all people close to me, the home being eavesdropped on, and so on…

Flap! Flap!

“What justice… What law…?!”

Each time a paper was turned, my body trembled more and more. Everything is a lie. The fact that I did everything to heal my mother and that I am working for them—a friend I met at a bar—a woman who comforted me when my mother collapsed, and even this house! Everything is a lie!

That night, I sneaked out of the Dome carrying my mother. For some reason, all the doors of the Dome, which boasted of their security, were open. The winds of the Wasteland hardened the tears into sand.