"Isn’t this our chance?""There you go again, chasing clouds. What chance are you talking about?""Think about it. In all this chaos, we could sneak a few pieces of equipment out and—""You’ve lost your damn mind. Don’t even joke about that. What if we get caught later?""That’s why I thought—what if we bust open the back gate of the base? Later, when the looters come and take stuff, we just say it was them. What are they going to do, huh?""Wow… You’re unbelievable. Seriously. You think the Defense Corps will just shrug it off if we report that civilians robbed us?""Then we quit when that happens. I’m not planning to spend the rest of my life being treated like trash here." A conversation between two men.And many others were listening.Some looked intrigued.Some looked like it wasn’t worth listening to. But just before the talk could go any further—someone interrupted. "Dao, what you’re saying has an extremely low chance of success. Military gear can’t be sold on the black market.""Oh—sir, you were listening?""You made sure everyone could hear you. Don’t pretend otherwise. You were being way too obvious.""Heh, sharp as always, sir." The two had been baiting others from the same unit all along, trying to see who would take the bait.Dao, the young Asian man, clicked his tongue and continued. "So what about you, sir? Not even tempted?""That’s a serious crime. Stop dragging people into nonsense and go sleep it off somewhere.""Geez… You still think you’re a commander or something?""What?""Quit acting all high and mighty. We’re all in the same damn boat now." At Dao’s words, the young officer’s face twisted into a scowl.But that only gave Dao an opening. "Someone who got demoted for assaulting a superior sure lives a stressful life for a guy that ranks among the best in this dump.""Heh, should I spill some classified info while I’m at it?" A sharp counter.Dao’s face contorted instantly. "The hell did you just say?""What? Did I say something wrong?""Got proof? You got any proof of that?""Do you have proof I assaulted anyone? You sure act like you’re convinced.""Why you little—!" The air turned violent, ready to explode into a fistfight.A few nearby soldiers quickly stood up to separate them. "Veng, calm down. You’ll really get kicked out this time.""Dao, drop it.""Tch…!" If there was one thing they all had in common—it was the dead look in their eyes.The defining feature of “Unclassified Soldiers.” "I didn’t do it."Dao spat the words out as he was restrained,bitterness and helplessness mixing in his voice.A fine line between frustration and injustice. Benjamin could relate.Unclassified soldiers—the problem children who refused to return to society and stayed behind.Why did they choose to remain?There were many reasons, surely—but none of them mattered.Because in the end, they were just excuses. "Ugh, when are those idiots ever going to grow up?"Perhaps because scenes like this were so common,someone muttered a lazy comment,and others chuckled in agreement. When the noise finally died downand the air began to settle,whispers started floating through the room again.Most of it was meaningless chatter.Only a few by the old military radio were exchanging actual information. "Doesn’t it seem more serious this time?""Yeah. Good thing the power hasn’t gone out here, at least.If it had, scum like Dao would’ve stolen all the supplies by now.""Shouldn’t we be helping civilians instead of sitting around?""Helping civilians? Now’s the time to lay low.Stick your neck out now, and it’ll bite you later.""Huh?""You don’t get it? People like us make perfect scapegoats.If something goes wrong while we’re out helping,guess who gets blamed when all this is over?""But if we just stay here, they’ll say we did nothing!""That’s nothing new. Anyway, the officers and commanders all went home 'sick.'That’s excuse enough for us." Their talk was weary, cynical—yet some of them let out bitter laughs. "Finz is right. The higher-ups don’t care about us anyway." Even now, no orders had come down from above.The same hollow sense of abandonment they always felt—but never got used to. Then— Beep! "Hm?" Beep. Beep. Suddenly, a receiving tone echoed through the room.An old transmitter crackled to life. Zzzzt—krrr— "Wait… that’s an emergency wartime broadcast.""Huh? But we’re not at war! Don’t joke like that.""I’m not joking. I used to work in comms—I know that signal." > [Message from the Central Control Center.> All personnel at the 5th Defense Force Base are to arm themselves and remain on standby in wartime readiness mode.] A distorted male voice, mechanical and clipped.But the words ‘5th Defense Force Base’ stuck clearly in everyone’s ears. > [Repeating: Message from the Central Control Center.> All personnel at the 5th Defense Force Base are to arm themselves and remain on standby in wartime readiness mode.] "If that’s real…""Then things are about to get really bad." If even the 5th Defense Force was receiving a wartime alert,it wasn’t something to take lightly.As their faces grew grave—one last message came through. > [I will be there soon.] --- "Are you serious?""About what?""You know what kind of people the 5th Defense Force are, right?""Probably better than you do." Eli Wayless looked troubled.A heavy topic to have while repairing an electric bike. "I heard most of them are criminals or… troublemakers.""If they were real criminals, they’d have been expelled from the Defense Force.Most just carry bad reputations—or are misunderstood.And some of them… it’s too early to judge.""But there are other Defense bases, aren’t there? At least—" She stopped mid-sentence.Something had just clicked in her mind. "Is this because of NH-03?""Yes.""Isn’t there any other option?" Option, huh.What was she really trying to say?I looked at her silently.Her face showed unease as she pressed on. "What are you planning to do at the 5th Defense Base?""Prepare. For the mutants.""Even if mutants show up, you don’t have to fight them." Ah.So that’s what she meant.Maybe what she truly wanted to ask was something else. "Do you think there’s anywhere safe to run?""You used to tell me to find safety! You said the Control Center was safe—""It is—for now. But someday, we’ll have to fight." Eli's expression darkened further,and then she burst out: "How do you even know that? Mr. Han, don’t you realize how weird you sound?Just like before—you talk as if you’ve already seen the future!" A question she must have held back for a long time.She had asked indirectly before—"Who are you really?""Why are you doing all this?"But now, her doubt had reached its peak. And my answer—had to be careful. Telling her that this world was the one from my game,that I’d seen countless possible futures—would only make me sound insane. So I gave her the story I’d been quietly preparing. "Seven years.""…Seven years?""Seven years is a long time, isn’t it?""…?""Believe it or not, I discovered—seven years ago—that NH-03 could cause mutations.""What…!?""I was certain mutants would eventually appear,and someone had to prepare for it.If not me, then who?" A blend of truth and lies—woven into a convincing tale. I hoped it would at least partly persuade her. "Someone had to be ready. It just happened to be me.""You’re saying… you spent seven years focused on just mutants?" Well—technically, yes.Just in the form of a game. "I’m not asking you to understand {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} why I act the way I do.That’ll take time.""Haa…" Eli let out a long sigh,then nodded, resigned. "I guess that’s all you’re willing to tell me.""Mm."“Ugh… ah!”At last, to sort through her tangled emotions, she ran a hand down her face. “…I get it now. You really are a strange person.” With that, Eli pressed her lips together and climbed onto the electric bike.When she finally spoke again, her voice carried a note of turmoil. “Even if everything you said is true… I still can’t really understand it.”“I don’t expect anyone to understand.”“But if… if what you said is all true, I think I’d start to feel biased.”“What kind of bias?”“That you’re… some kind of extraordinary person?”“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”“Hardly.” Eli gave a crooked smile and placed her foot on the pedal.Then, as if to end the doubt she’d been holding onto, she said: “Then why didn’t you ask me?”“Ask you what?”“You asked that older man if he’d come with you earlier.”“Oh, that.”“I’ve been watching you, Mr. Han. You only ever do what you think is necessary.”“…”“I don’t seem necessary to you, but somehow it’s just been taken for granted that I’m coming along.”“You were the one who offered to come in the first place.”“You don’t strike me as the type of person who’d accept that so easily.” No words came to mind.Even if he wanted to say something, he couldn’t.After all, he hadn’t exactly shown many redeeming sides of himself so far. “You’ve been a real help to me.”“Have I?”“You suggested shutting down the reactor for maintenance. You got food when we needed it…”“Ha…” She gave a dry, disbelieving laugh.But it was true—she had helped.Thanks to her, they’d kept the option to restart the reactor,and avoided gaining an unwanted negative trait. So he spoke in earnest— “You’re trying to comfort me, aren’t you?” She had misunderstood again.He brushed his hair back with a faintly bitter smile. And his gaze lingered on her face—a face so strikingly beautifulthat in his old reality, he would never even have had the chance to speak to someone like her. But despite the mood,his thoughts about her were at odds with the atmosphere. ‘No matter how you look at it, she’s an old soul trapped in a young body.’He couldn’t help but feel a touch of pity. ‘Why did she ever become a [Sociopath]? What could’ve happened to her?’ He recalled the titles attached to her—[Bloody Eli] and [Sociopath].

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