Chapter 18

“Now it feels like I might survive.”

I shoved a roughly squeezed potato into my mouth, enjoying a sweet moment of rest.

Not the building with Dottle’s, but the one across the street.

Fortunately, there was a lounge in the area where the café used to be, so I took a break there.

My body was aching, and I was completely drained, so going back right now wasn’t an option.

Taking a short break wouldn’t hurt.

Of course, this place had been looted clean too… but still, having a spot to rest like this was a relief.

I leaned against my backpack, catching my breath, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

A shattered lightbulb. A room covered in brown paint.

…Actually, it’s probably not paint but blood.

If this were a horror game, I’d have bolted out in fear, but unfortunately, this was a place where seeing blood was part of the daily routine.

I’ve personally taken down over ten people with these hands, so getting spooked by a little bloodstain is kind of funny.

How did I end up like this?

I let out a hollow laugh and pulled a steel ball from my pocket.

It had a decent weight to it.

I usually carry it to shoot like a bullet and take down threatening enemies, but sadly, I didn’t get a chance to use it this time.

The guy looked like he’d only flinch if a car rammed into him.

At least I managed to slam him into the elevator. If I hadn’t, I’d have been a quick snack.

“…Sigh.”

Thinking about it again sends shivers down my spine.

Me, of all people, playing the protagonist in a horror game.

At least it’s more of an action-adventure genre. If it were pure horror, I’d probably be dead by now.

I let out another hollow laugh and got up from my seat.

I’ve rested enough; time to head back.

…I’m a bit worried about Mina.

It’s not like I’ve been gone long enough for something to happen, but leaving a kid who’s not even an adult yet alone still makes me uneasy.

She doesn’t have the ability to protect herself either.

Not like I can assign bodyguards like in the original story…

I opened the lounge door, waited for a passing hunter to go by, and quietly made my way toward the swamp area.

—

After walking for a couple of hours, I finally reached the swamp area and let out a sigh of relief as soon as I crossed the gate. There were a lot of hunters around here, so I couldn’t help but feel a bit on edge until I got inside.

Knowing those people could be potential enemies made it hard to relax.

Of course, with the swamp area guards keeping a close eye, there weren’t many who’d cause trouble here… but in a world like this, it’s not strange to have a few lunatics running around.

Some act like third-rate fantasy novel thugs.

Ah, since this is a web novel, it’s not weird for such characters to exist, right?

If that guy hadn’t bothered Mina, I would’ve ignored him.

Those types are usually a bit clingy.

As I walked, lost in thought, the hotel came into view.

The small hotel where Mina and I were staying. I opened the door and glanced at the front desk.

The owner was sitting there, tapping away at a calculator, counting money. He looked up as soon as he heard the door open and greeted me with a warm smile.

“You’re back sooner than I thought. Any luck?”

“Maybe.”

“That’s a vague answer.”

“I’ll have to check to be sure.”

Whether what I brought back was really those items or just a wild goose chase.

Considering the original story, this was more like a weapon that would throw the swamp area into chaos well after the story began.

Selling this for personal gain feels wrong… but back then, everyone was desperate to get their hands on it once they knew what it was.

Sell it, and you’re set for life. Use it right, and you could wipe out a small city.

…Nothing bad will happen, right?

Unlike the original, I’ve acquired this item without its identity being known, so I’ll quietly recover the data and sell it for cash.

In this era, only the government could make any real use of this data.

They’ve preserved as much of humanity’s most advanced technology as possible, so they’d find it useful.

The problem is, I’m probably on some wanted list by now.

There’s no press here, no newspapers—just word of mouth to figure out what’s going on.

But since this place is close to Seoul yet hard to access, without connections, there’s no way to know how the research institute was handled.

That’s why I can move around so freely.

In a way, it’s an upside of the apocalypse.

If this were a regular hunter story, I’d probably be hiding in some criminal organization by now.

“You must be tired after your first expedition. Go in and rest. Make sure to come out for meal times.”

“Thank you. I’ll pay back this debt someday.”

“I’ll be waiting for that day.”

I went straight up to the room and knocked on the door.

But there was no answer from inside. Maybe she’s out working.

I unlocked the door, went in, and set my backpack down in the corner.

I’ll unpack later; for now, I need a shower.

I grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

—

“Is there anywhere I can use a computer?”

“A computer… there are a few places. The power supply here is a bit unstable, but having a computer or not can make a big difference in work difficulty.”

“Seems like the hotel doesn’t have one.”

“The hotel’s computer broke a few months ago and hasn’t been usable since.”

Broke, huh.

“Mind if I take a look?”

“You know how to handle computers?”

“I can do some repairs.”

Of course, that’s only if the computer’s structure is similar to what I know.

But it’s not like computer designs change overnight, so I’ll figure it out.

I followed his lead and returned to the storage room within a day.

“It’s in this box.”

I immediately took the box off the shelf, set it on the floor, and opened it.

“Is there a place where I can dust it off? I need to clean it before I can even think about using it.”

“The rooftop should work.”

“Guess so.”

It’s not like radioactive winds or dust storms are blowing through here, so it should be fine.

I carried the box and followed the owner to the rooftop.

“This should do.”

“Right. I can’t leave the counter unattended, so I’ll head back down.”

I saw him off and opened the box to take out the computer.

The case was worn and rusted, unable to escape the passage of time.

But its familiar shape brought a wave of nostalgia, and I just stared at it for a while, resting my hand on the case.

Not long ago, I was turning on a computer like this and playing games.

Ah, I even miss disease games now.

They probably don’t exist here.

The companies that ran the servers are all gone, so of course.

I held back my longing and opened the case to check the internal condition.

Hmm.

It’s in better shape than I thought, considering it was working until a few months ago.

There’s a lot of dust, but that’s easy to handle…

I stuck my finger inside and generated a weak gravitational force. The dust gathered around my finger.

I blew the clumps of dust away and repeated the process.

“…But will it even work?”

The power supply and other parts are so worn out that they’d need replacing to fix it properly.

Still, I couldn’t just not try, so I started disassembling the computer with a rusty screwdriver from the box.

It’s more like dusting than actual repair… but there wasn’t much else I could do.

I didn’t have any spare parts.

Just… hoping it would work.

After faithfully performing my prayer-like ritual, I put the cleaned case back into the box.

Now I need to test it somewhere with power.

I carried the box downstairs.

As I reappeared, the owner approached with an expectant smile.

“How does it look? Any good?”

“I’ll have to connect it to know.”

“Alright. Follow me.”

I followed him to a small room on the first floor. It was set up like an office.

Is this where they handle paperwork?

“This computer was used here.”

I took out the case and monitor, placed them where he indicated, and started connecting the cables.

Mouse, keyboard, speakers… and the power cord.

Now, just press the button.

Please work. If this computer runs, things will get so much easier…

With a desperate heart, I pressed the power button.