Chapter 54

Episode 54. The Ruins of the Garden (2)

***

I stared at the Flower Humans.

Something resembling humans made of plants, visible near the gardeners. I’m not sure what to call them or even what they are.

At least they’re easy to kill, which is a relief. But there’s no need to engage them right now.

“They’re not showing any hostile behavior. Keep an eye on them and avoid engaging.”

They’re not even coming this way. The anomalies are just passing through the ruins and heading into the forest. No reason to provoke them.

“Stay alert for humanoid entities. I’ll observe the ruins for a moment.”

I took a closer look around.

The ruins in the garden were arranged in three concentric circles of megaliths, with colorful birds flying above my head.

Parrots, toucans, white crows, and the like.

[Are those… people?]

A soldier’s voice came through my radio. No, they’re not people. At least, based on the analysis from Yulje-myeon.

“There’s no reason to think walking flowers are people. Dissections confirmed they’re not made from humans.”

[Understood.]

“There must be a way to create them. They’ve been sighted all over the world.”

The walking flowers we were observing slowly moved across the clearing. The humanoid monsters soon disappeared into the forest.

Where are they going… and what are they planning? I wanted to follow, but it’s not possible right now. I can’t risk the team for my curiosity.

I turned off my body cam. I collected some soil and plants near the ruins, recorded the ruins with video and photos, and even snapped pictures of the flowers.

I pulled out a notebook and pen.

The ruins consist of numerous megaliths forming three circles. Wait, not just numerous—there’s a pattern. The central three circles are made up of 144 megaliths.

I marked north on my notebook. The megaliths are here, here, and here. If I think a bit more, I might figure it out.

This is a map.

The arrangement of the megaliths matches the surrounding terrain, like hills and other landmarks.

It probably represents the macro-structure of the garden. I’ll need to investigate what each megalith signifies.

I looked around again. The monsters I saw earlier were long gone. It should be safe to retreat now.

“They’re gone. Let’s move.”

[Where to?]

“We’ve documented a significant portion of the ruins. We’ll head back to the bunker as quickly as possible.”

[Understood.]

[Preparing to retreat.]

The soldiers began moving between the megaliths. I gathered my gear and followed. We need to return to the bunker and record everything.

***

The way back wasn’t too difficult.

We just had to retrace our steps. But that didn’t mean there weren’t concerns. Let’s think for a moment. There’s something deep in the garden.

“……”

I glanced around again.

We should be seeing stone towers by now. Wait a second. Something’s seriously wrong. I fired a flare from my bag.

[Director. What’s happening?]

[Dr. Kim. Where are you?]

I grabbed the mic on my tactical headset.

“Where… exactly are we?”

[That’s…]

[Take cover.]

Pssshhhh.

Recovery Team 1 soldiers threw smoke grenades ahead, and we quickly took cover behind the smoke. But what are we fighting?

I frowned.

Ahead… it’s definitely not the path we came from, but there’s a bigger issue. Things that shouldn’t be here are visible.

Wooden structures.

***

We’re lost. Well, that’s honestly a secondary issue. I don’t understand how or why people were living in this forest.

[Advance slowly.]

The soldiers of the recovery team moved forward cautiously, guns at the ready, using trees as cover.

In front of the wooden structures, something like an incense burner was burning. Probably some kind of insect repellent.

[Dr. Kim. Please give the order. Should we search the interiors of these structures?]

I’m insanely curious. Of course, I want to say yes. But I don’t know how dangerous this situation is or if these are people we can kill.

“Hmm. Are you confident?”

[We’ll begin the search.]

The recovery team took the bait.

The Recovery Team 1 Leader held a shotgun, and I loaded my rifle before following behind.

The Leader and I waited at the door to breach.

The entrance was too narrow for everyone, and wooden buildings are easy to shoot through. The other soldiers aimed their guns at the building from outside.

[Breaching.]

The shotgun blasted the door hinges, and the Leader smashed through the wooden door into the building.

“Ah! Don’t shoot!”

It’s Korean.

“Put your hands on your head. Get out of the building.”

The person hiding inside did as I said.

***

The person hiding in the wooden structure. Let’s call him “Uncle” for now.

Uncle knelt in the clearing in front of the wooden structure, following my orders. Other soldiers aimed their guns at him from unseen positions, while some kept watch.

I grabbed a neurotoxic grenade and an anesthetic grenade just in case. I stared at my prisoner through my gas mask. He had a rough, intimidating face.

“From now on, every time you refuse to answer my questions, I’ll crush one of your joints.”

“W-what are you talking about…? I never said I wouldn’t answer!”

“Good. Then here’s the first question. State your name and affiliation.”

Uncle swallowed hard.

He looked terrified, which was fortunate. If this is an act, I’ve got nothing to say.

“I’m a scientist with the Foundation. Researcher Seo. Employee number 31537364. You can check it when you get back.”

“Why are you here?”

“The garden called us.”

Honestly, that’s what I expected. Are they insane? Should I kill them? They haven’t done anything wrong, but I’m not sure.

“Do you want to go back?”

“Not really.”

“Are there others in the forest?”

“Yes. I’m not sure how many.”

“How have you survived until now?”

“There are weapons in the house.”

Does that make sense? We’ve been heavily armed and almost died multiple times just walking around. I pressed the bayonet against Uncle’s face.

“W-wait! I’ll tell the truth.”

“Go ahead.”

“We… offer sacrifices to the Owner of the Garden every full moon. That’s how we’ve survived, by receiving the Owner’s blessings.”

Honestly, it’s what I expected. Subspaces don’t just exist; something must sustain them. I nodded.

“Anything else to say?”

“No.”

“Alright… Uncle, go back to your house. Sorry about the door.”

“Y-you’re not going to kill me?”

Once a Foundation employee, always a Foundation employee. He knows the Foundation well. But I had no intention of killing him.

What’s the point?

“Do you want to die?”

“No.”

“Then… live happily in the forest.”

I lowered my gun, and Uncle hurriedly fled back to his wooden hut. It was a strange encounter, but we need to move. We’ve still got a long way to go.

***

We soon found our way again.

I’m not sure if we were genuinely lost or if there was some spatial distortion. Either way, it’s good we’re back on track.

By the way, does the fact that 5,000 people live inside the garden mean they’re scattered in forest huts like that Uncle?

Bzzzt.

A long-range communication request on the radio interrupted my thoughts. I raised my hand to halt the team and found a suitable spot to sit.

I don’t know who’s calling.

“Who is this?”

Please don’t tell me Ganymede has revived.

[This is Facility 82’s helicopter. We’re here to extract you, Director. We’ll land shortly, so please wait.]

“We’re in the middle of the forest. Landing isn’t possible. We’ll find a clearing, so lower a rope—”

[Take cover now.]

We did as the helicopter instructed, finding a ditch to lie in.

“We’re under cover.”

[Director Kim’s location confirmed. We’ll create a safe landing zone.]

What do they mean by “create a landing zone”? I looked in the direction of the helicopter noise. Something massive fell through the trees—

A massive explosion erupted.

A grayish dust cloud shot into the sky, and dirt scattered everywhere.

What… I thought it was a tactical nuke.

Sunlight broke through the forest canopy, illuminating us. A new clearing had appeared in front of us.

They must’ve used a thermobaric bomb or something similar to create a landing zone for the helicopter. We stared in shock as the helicopter descended.

[Landing now.]