The Age of Adaptation
Jeyca frowned.
She had no idea why she was here.
Even when she tried, over and over, to dig the memory up, nothing came back to her.
Every so often, that suffocating feeling came over her.
It was all because of that damned, incurable early-onset dementia.
But this time, the symptoms were a little more severe.
Everything was blurry.
The two people in front of her. What were their names again? Their serious conversation came through in broken snippets.
"...can't clear it... prepare..."
"Then... scout it..."
Jeyca hurriedly pulled out her notebook.
To her, the notebook was the only thing keeping her steady, the only thing that eased her symptoms.
When she had forgotten the conversations she'd had with those two—her parents.
When she'd forgotten something she absolutely had to remember.
When she'd blanked on how she was supposed to act in a given situation.
Jeyca would open the notebook and read quickly through it.
Messy English letters swam into view.
She swallowed and fixed the two names in her mind.
Yoo Sung-jun.
The man who had taken her in as a helper and become a reliable companion when she was carrying out missions like walking a tightrope over her own life, desperate and betting everything on the line.
Yoo Sung-hwan.
Yoo Sung-jun's younger brother, a man who would gladly step forward if it meant keeping a teammate safe, someone Jeyca had come to think of like her own little brother.
They were both precious companions.
As she read back through the records left behind, the things she'd forgotten slowly began to return, one by one.
They weren't vivid.
She was only reading the words and calling up images in her head.
For now, that was enough.
And then, just as she remembered the part about gathering 1 million points and curing this incurable disease—
"Jeyca? Jeyca!"
At the sound of her name, Jeyca tore her eyes away from the notebook.
Yoo Sung-jun was looking at her with a worried expression.
"Are you okay? You were staring at your notebook like you’d gone white as a sheet."
"What? Y-yes, I’m fine. It’s just..."
She trailed off.
She still didn't fully understand their conversation or the situation they were in.
She felt like bashing her own head in.
But if she did, their worry would only get worse.
So she had to look okay.
She had to emphasize that she could still move forward, that she could still be of use to the party.
There was still too much she owed him.
Thinking that, Jeyca focused on Sung-jun's words.
"The mission changed. Did you check it?"
"Just a moment."
Through her support window, Jeyca looked at the revised mission.
The mission had been changed into a one-time assignment.
A C-rank mission where all she had to do was find the culprit.
Maybe that was why the points felt so generous.
"Are you going to take it?"
"I'm torn. Whether it’s right to bring you along. Whatever’s in there is a level 6 mid-tier Infector."
Honestly, Jeyca wanted to do it.
If she cleared this mission, she'd be one step closer to being cured.
But the moment she saw Yoo Sung-jun's face, she had to set that feeling aside.
He looked genuinely worried—for her, for his brother.
Jeyca bit her lip in disappointment, then smiled.
"So this is a mission that's too hard for us to handle at our current level?"
"I can manage it, but you two need more preparation. Which means..."
At the other option he offered, Jeyca's mouth parted slightly.
If she could help him like this, there was no reason not to. Jeyca nodded and accepted Sung-jun's proposal.
"I understand. Then we'll split our roles, and Sung-hwan and I will move separately?"
"Yeah. I'll send you a message with what absolutely needs to be secured and what to watch out for."
"Got it."
Seeing Jeyca's positive response, Yoo Sung-jun felt a little more at ease.
His brother had understood him, and so had Jeyca.
They probably knew just how serious a thing Kalakwa awakening would be.
The big threat Jack Kalt talked about that's coming soon. Was the little finger not part of that?
Either Jack hadn't noticed it, or he'd noticed and kept quiet.
Those were the only two possibilities.
If it was the former, that was a relief. If it was the latter, then Sung-jun had no choice but to suspect Jack Kalt.
That raised a fundamental question: was the middle finger really moving?
Whatever the truth was, it would be cleared up once he brought the information back.
Still, he couldn't let his guard down completely.
The bastard might have poked the middle finger into action just to start something.
For what reason?
Maybe because he wants to form an alliance between me and Blood Rain.
As he kept thinking, Sung-jun rummaged through his bag.
For now, I can't stop making the Cell Degenerator.
Nothing had been learned about the middle finger yet.
But now he'd seen it with his own eyes.
He knew that another part of Kalakwa existed beyond that hole.
He didn't know what it was doing in there, but whatever it was, it wasn't something that would benefit humans.
So he had to check.
If it could be eliminated right away, then he would secure the Cell Degenerator and go straight into the raid.
This is a two-pronged operation.
An operation to keep Kalakwa asleep a little longer.
For that bastard, a dozen years, even several years, were no time at all.
Yoo Sung-jun intended to be ready by then.
Once he had stopped the freak show that part of it was putting on, once he had kept growing stronger, once he had secured their safety completely even after Dark Cover and claimed the same power he had in the game—
I'll cut you down again, just like before.
With that hard vow, what came out of the bag was a plastic packet.
He packed the mineral substance the queen had been carrying inside and sealed it tight.
When he finished, it had become a little cylinder no bigger than his index finger.
"Oh, right. You can't take an Infector into the Enter Room."
His younger brother, who had come closer, tilted his head and pointed at the sealed mineral.
As he said, they couldn't take it in like this.
Even if it was sealed, the rules didn't change.
So Yoo Sung-jun thought, and in the end, he came up with an answer.
"You remember how I ate the Muas brain before? I was able to come back without any punishment after that, right?"
"Huh! D-don't tell me..."
Ignoring his brother's horrified reaction, Sung-jun began self-hypnosis.
This was medicine. A huge pill he only had to close his eyes and swallow. No, should he call it food? Right, let's just call it food.
Gulp!
After bracing himself, he swallowed the mineral in one go.
Tch!
It was big enough to make his eyes water.
He'd probably need to visit a place that specialized in endoscopies if he ever wanted to take it back out later.
He'd packed it in a plastic bag strong enough not to be digested, so there shouldn't be any risk of it melting.
Yoo Sung-jun rubbed his stomach and checked his brother's expression.
His face was all twisted up at the thought that he had to do the same thing.
Smiling faintly, Sung-jun patted his shoulder.
"Sung-hwan, once you do it, you'll see it's easy. Just close your eyes and swallow. Or should I make Jeyca do it?"
Apparently he didn't want to dump it on Jeyca, because he shook his head in a hurry.
Well, now that he'd shown him, he'd figure it out on his own.
With a shrug, Sung-jun left the nest.
Sung-hwan and Jeyca would go secure the next material for the Cell Degenerator: the core of Undomination.
Meanwhile, Yoo Sung-jun planned to ask Quantum for help and get a guide who was good at leading the way.
If he had Analysis, he would have gone alone, but in the current situation, he had no choice but to borrow someone else's talents.
Even enhanced senses couldn't make him see what he couldn't see.
I should ask for someone stronger than Sung-hwan or Jeyca, someone who can at least protect themselves.
The reason he was asking Quantum instead of Blood Rain was simple.
I'll be able to judge at least a little whether they're a clan worth trusting or not.
If they were planning something else, he wouldn't forgive them.
Yoo Sung-jun thought of the 1.26 million points he would take from Choi Hyun-seok.
Should I squeeze him for as much as I can, then spend a few days preparing? Quantum will need time to get a helper ready, too.
And so the three of them switched the mission to mine exploration and returned.
Seven days passed after that.
There's a saying that when you're in a hurry, you should slow down and take a detour.
It probably means you should take your time and proceed carefully.
What nonsense.
When you're in a hurry, you should move fast.
And prepare even more thoroughly as a bonus.
None of the party members had rested.
They trained twice a day without fail, discussed their strategy, and after careful consideration, even finished their equipment modifications at the enhancement bench.
When they had finally finished preparing to raid Undomination, with just one day left until the world's embargo lifted, the three of them steeled their resolve.
"I finished talking with Cruiser. We'll be moving together with him."
"You got support from Quantum Clan, right, hyung?"
"They said they'd send support at the team-leader level. I think I'll be going in to investigate the hole with that person."
"You have to come right back after just the investigation, right?"
At Jeyca's worried question, he nodded.
"Of course. If we poke the bear and kill it by accident, Kalakwa might wake up."
Until they secured the Cell Degenerator, the goal was strictly confirmation.
What was the little finger doing beyond the hole?
That mission would decide whether it was a threat big enough to follow the middle finger.
Whatever it is, once I secure the Cell Degenerator, I'll go in for the kill.
After encouraging the two of them, Yoo Sung-jun finished preparing to leave.
"Let's all survive and meet again. Once you two and Cruiser's party combine, Undomination won't be that hard."
"I think so too. We've had a week to prepare."
His younger brother smiled faintly and vanished with Jeyca.
They must have received Cruiser's invitation and moved to his Enter Room.
He had kept his promise from before, that he would help with one mission.
I should move too. I told them I'd go first and wait...
Yoo Sung-jun selected the changed mission.
The creature in the giant hole mission.
The guide's text, sent from a number that looked familiar for some reason, had said he would go ahead and check the entrance first.
So if he went now, the guide should be waiting at the mouth of the hole.
"Oh? Looks like you're here. You're Meteor, right? Right?"
The moment the transfer ended, a shrill, noisy voice rang out.
Yoo Sung-jun could tell at a glance that this was the nest of the Doug Spider Queen.
And he recognized the guide approaching him just as quickly.
No wonder that number had looked familiar.
Yoon Choi.
The number-one team leader of Quantum Clan.
Not recognizing Yoo Sung-jun in his Omega Suit, she chattered away without pause.
"Sorry! I was supposed to meet you in advance and show you my talents and the rest of my specs so we could prepare, but I got buried in work and—well, Meteor, you know since you're close with Blood Rain Clan. You know how much they care about improving the bunker. So I ended up with a ton more work."
His head already hurt.
If she used that exact voice in a restaurant, he might actually start thinking of the version of himself from then.
Yoo Sung-jun deliberately lowered his voice into a deep, flat register.
"Cut the chatter."
"Huh! Y-yes, understood... Then shall we go? I've already scanned the entrance, so just follow me."
Because the visor on the Omega Suit Yoon Choi wore wasn't all that dark, he could see her eyes.
Longing and discomfort.
Both emotions sat there in her gaze.
Without hesitation, she entered the hole.
It was a hole sharply contrasted with the nest, damp and dreary in a way that made the skin crawl.
Slimy, half-coagulated mucus clung everywhere, slick and wet.
Thinking of the little finger's shape, it was easy enough to guess what the mucus was for.
That thing regulates the density of the mucus so it can hang from ceilings or walls and move around.
A creature that moved in three dimensions was always a pain in the ass.
Still, at their current level, they should be able to face it.
"It's really huge in here. I was shocked when I first saw it, you know? Meteor asking for help, of all people. What in the world could be inside?"
As if you need to ask. The little finger, you idiot.
"Come to think of it, we weren't even in a party, were we? Haha, wow, look at me. I'll send one right away. Just a second."
Yoo Sung-jun checked the party invitation she'd sent and opened his mouth.
"The ratio."
"Huh?"
"Wasn't it 9 to 1 when you heard it from Jack Kalt?"
Yoo Sung-jun pointed to a 5-to-5 split.
"You only need to show us the way. That's all. If a threat appears, you retreat and I stop it."
Getting straight to the point, Sung-jun made Yoon Choi laugh awkwardly.
"Was it? Ah, right, I remember now. It was, wasn't it? I guess I went a little crazy because I was blinded by the points. Sorry. I'll send it again."
Tsk.
He heard a small click of the tongue.
That was definitely the sound of disappointment.