Fortune Cookie (8)

【Kiaaaaaak!】【Aaaaargh!】

The furious ghouls were rampaging through the streets, smashing every object in sight.

The sound of frozen glass shattering with a bang, the metallic infrastructure bending and snapping, monstrous screams that even silenced the wind, and the booming of stomping footsteps.

It wasn't just one sound—the waves of overlapping noises swept through the area. The darkness that had filled the residential area rippled.

"Huff... Huff..."

I gasped for breath, desperately trying to steady my breathing. My heart pounded wildly as if it were broken, and I felt throbbing pain throughout my body.

The place I was currently at was in an unnamed building in Sector C. More precisely, it was in a room on the building's third floor. I had been running nonstop to break through the tightening siege from all directions, and when I came to my senses, I was here.

【Kiaaaaaak!】

'... They're completely worked up.'

Perhaps they thought they'd almost caught me and lost me again, as the ghouls' rampage intensified. My blood ran cold at the racket coming from below.

Even so, I was confident: as long as I stayed hidden here, they couldn't find me.

If they'd been a mimic-type, they would have sensed my body heat and chased me to the ends of hell. Fortunately, among the mutants pursuing me, none had that particular ability.

'... I just want to stop being chased.'

Being hunted by vicious, murderous monsters was far from pleasant. Getting caught didn't mean becoming "it"—it meant death. It truly was a deadly game of tag. How could that possibly be enjoyable?

When I closed my dry, parched eyes, the events from just moments ago came back to me. Escaping the pursuit hadn't been easy—it was dozens of them, not just one or two.

I entered an unnamed boutique and exited into a connected, unnamed restaurant, and threw everything inside to buy some time.

In the process, the security robot Alpha met its end. While not completely disabled, Alpha could no longer walk on its two legs.

Given how desperate my situation was, I had no time or ability to look after Alpha. On top of that, Licorice had taken control of it and put herself in the sacrificial position, making it even less feasible. Alpha ended up being seized and brutalized by the ghouls.

It was partly thanks to Licorice's help that I escaped their pursuit, but the biggest reason was the change in weather.

Before I knew it, hail the size of fists began to pour down. The fickle weather of Titan. Usually, that fickleness had brought nothing but trouble, but today, it saved me.

Unlike the harmless snowfall that melted on skin, this hail could kill you if you got hit wrong—it rained down like a bombardment, throwing the ghouls into momentary confusion. Probably because of the simultaneous explosive sounds from all around.

Because of their mutant regenerative abilities, none of the ghouls actually died from the hail. Still, it was enough to make them falter, and I seized the chance to climb the building's external pipes, gripping them tightly, even stepping on protruding metal structures.

That's how I ended up here. This seemed like a room a family had lived in just days ago.

Honestly, considering I set out so boldly to break the flag, my escape was a bit pitiful. But what did that matter? There's no disgrace in survival—only desperation.

And it's not like I simply ran away. I learned a few things while fleeing.

One: the writhing flesh hadn't covered the entire residential area yet.

It was slowly spreading, but as of now, there were more areas not covered by the living tissue. It was spreading in real time, and would probably eventually take over the whole residential area, but not yet.

Second: the living tissue was divided into two types—those that were alive and writhing, and those that seemed frozen and dead.

When I moved into areas where the tissue was dead or absent, the fervor of the pursuing ghouls noticeably declined, as if they'd lost my trail for a moment.

I guessed that the living tissue itself was acting as some kind of sensor. Or perhaps all the creatures' senses were interconnected.

"....."

My arm throbbed. The pain jolted through my forearm—it was where a ghoul, bursting through the wall, had bitten me. Its immense biting force nearly severed my arm, but I managed to shatter its head a split-second faster.

Thanks to my quick reaction, only the armor of my suit was destroyed. My muscles were startled, but thankfully the bone remained intact.

- Hyun-woo, are you safe?

It was Licorice, who'd left momentarily to check on Nadia after helping me. At this point, I had deliberately cut off communications with her.

Though Nadia was in a similar predicament, since we weren't actually in the same area, overlapping communications would only cause confusion.

Survival hinged on split-second decisions. Anything that distracted my concentration had to be avoided as much as possible. While I shuddered at the thought of what Nadia would say to me later, I stood by my decision.

Ignoring the pain in my forearm, I replied.

- I'm safe. You weren't gone that long anyway.

- Maybe so, but these monsters are so unpredictable. Anything could've happened in that short time.

- That's true. Anyway, I've just been hiding and catching my breath. How's Nadia's side?

- They're about to reach Sector B.

- Already?

My eyes widened at the faster-than-expected pace. It wasn't that I'd been slacking—I'd also run like mad. I'd only just reached the edge of Sector C. The distance between us was greater than I thought.

- It wasn't 'already'. While you drew all the agro, Woof-woof had a relatively easy time. Also, unlike you, Woof-woof went in a straight line.

- Ah.

Now that I thought about it, that was true. I darted through alleyways while fleeing. The actual distance I traveled may have been longer, but it wasn't the direct route to my destination.

Nadia's group wasn't totally unpursued, but they were chased by fewer ghouls, and by using the tracks, their journey was more efficient.

The tram tracks had no living tissue at all, so it would have been easy to shake off any pursuers. Then came the hail, which helped even more.

- Since you said you're not hurt, I'm relieved. Honestly, I don't think you're in a position to worry about them.

- Why not?

- Do I have to spell it out? Can you make it to Sector A alone? There's not even a tram station nearby. Most of the lines are busted.

- Even without the tram, I can get to Sector B quickly.

Sectors C and D were my territory. While I didn't know about any secret passages, I could at least plot the shortest route. From Sector B onward, I'd have to use the tram if possible.

- So you're going your own way? "Woof-woof" wants you to join her.

- Not now. It'd be nice, but not here. Too many ghouls still roam the streets. I'll have to hide until things quiet down. If we try to group up now, we'll waste too much time because of me.

- Well, okay. You're on the ground, so your call is probably best. I'll tell Woof-woof for you, so Hyun-woo, you just rest a bit.

- Huh? No, you don't have to—

Tsk—

Before I could finish, my personal channel was cut off. Licorice had switched over to Nadia's side. It seemed like things were mostly sorted out. Then again, maybe she could've just put us all on the shared channel instead of relaying messages...

As I wondered about that, Licorice reconnected, accompanied by a sheepish cough. Apparently she'd thought of that herself.

I quietly looked into Alpha's mono-eye. For some reason, it was wobbling. Perhaps because Licorice was observing me through it.

- Hyun-woo!

- Nadia.

- You're safe? Not hurt? If you can't get to us, we'll come to you!

Nadia told me she had found somewhere to hide until the hail stopped. She was currently at the Sector C tram station and, though there had been fights with ghouls, she said she was safe for now.

Looking at the location floating on the hologram, there was quite a distance between her and me. I was still at the entrance, while she was at the station just before moving into Sector B. Meeting up right away was impossible.

I massaged my mostly recovered forearm and answered.

- I'm safe. Got away alright. Alpha is broken, though. And I'm not going to regroup right now.

- Why...?

Even though it was text, I could almost hear Nadia's shocked gasp and sniffles. I pictured her ears and tail drooping.

- It's dangerous. There are too many ghouls around here. I'm in hiding now, but it'll take time for them to move elsewhere. So, I'm going to change our plan.

- How?

- Let's regroup in Sector A. I'll go to the warehouse, you head for the lab.

I would go to Licorice's warehouse to pick up the security robots, while Eric and Nadia went to the lab to get the equipment Carrot mentioned. There would be quite a lot, but with Carry, it wouldn't be a problem.

The lab was near Central Tower, so the route was efficient, but the warehouse, though still in Sector A, was more isolated. That was troublesome.

Given the circumstances, it made sense to split our party and carry out the operation separately.

- You mean meet in the Central Tower basement?

- Yeah.

- Why not just call Roxy...?

Nadia's words trailed off uncertainly. As she said, calling Roxy was technically another option. If Roxy picked us up with the shuttle, travel would certainly be easier. But that was it.

The shuttle was our last resort. It wasn't silent, and the thruster lights were pretty bright, neither of which would matter as long as the ice storm continued.

- A mimic might attack the shuttle. We haven't encountered one yet, but the closer we get to the center, the higher the chances.

I didn't believe that monster tram was the only mimic. It was just the beginning—didn't we see a similar mutant in the waste disposal area?

If there were similar creatures in totally different places, it was foolish to think the residential area, with tens of thousands of residents, had only one such monster. Even if it was just the lesser evil, I had to assume the worst.

That's why I decided we should only call for the shuttle once things were completely settled here. Eric, who'd been listening quietly, spoke up in agreement.

- Understood. I'll follow your lead, Hyun-woo.

- Take care of Nadia, please.

- Don't worry. I'm not one to forget a favor.

His tone was stiff, but still reassuring. As I recalled his past behavior, Nadia's transmission followed.

- Idiot, what do you mean, "take care of"? I'll survive because I have Carry, so you look out for yourself, Hyun-woo. If you get hurt, I won't forgive you.

- Of course. Who do you think I am?

- Who? You always rush in and end up losing out. If you get hurt and pretend you're fine, and I find out? That's when your house will become Carry's cargo box. And for reference, Carry agrees with me.

"....."

Speechless at Nadia's intimidating words, I swallowed dryly. This was bad.

I was already injured.

I figured I needed to mentally prepare myself.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Situations just goes from bad to worse, don't they?【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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