Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Subway (2)
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I followed the man's words without resistance.
There wasn't much else I could do anyway. What was I supposed to accomplish here? My weapons had been taken, my communicator confiscated. If killing me had been the goal, he wouldn't have bothered saving me from the mold in the first place.
Maybe I should've played dumb and pretended I hadn't figured out he was a deserter.
But whatever, it was too late now. Pretending ignorance at this point wouldn't fool him. Time would reveal his intentions soon enough.
We walked through the subway in silence once more. I dragged my heavy legs along, my eyes fixed on the sword hanging from the man's waist.
Contrary to Angela's warning, the subway was quiet. The nameless fugitive Black Badger moved forward briskly, as if intimately familiar with the place.
There was no sign of life besides us.
We passed through a long corridor and entered the turnstiles, which no longer functioned.
Descending the stairs brought us face-to-face with worn screen doors. Of the many, only one stood open and lonely. The nameless man headed toward the open screen door.
Before jumping down below it, he turned back to me.
"You're behaving nicely?"
"I don't have any other options."
The man stared at me intently.
I shrugged as I took in his bushy beard.
"There's no way I could win in a fight against you."
He chuckled softly.
"Good attitude. Let's eat first."
It hasn't even been that long since lunch.
I couldn't retort like that. I wasn't so oblivious as to say I wasn't hungry right now. I followed the man and jumped down from the open screen door onto the tracks.
A long tunnel stretched out before us. Though no electricity lit the narrow tunnel, visibility was secured. Luminescent mushrooms grew in a neat line along the tracks.
The mushrooms glowed green.
"Are you planting these?"
"Yeah."
Impressive.
I walked, admiring the beautiful row of mushrooms.
A bizarre black passage filled with green light. A cool breeze flowing through the tunnel.
After walking in silence for a while, something massive appeared ahead.
A gigantic train stood motionless.
"This subway station has all its entrances surrounded by that mold that tried to devour you, so no creatures come in."
"But isn't it connected to other stations?"
"I sealed them all off."
Faint light leaked from the train's windows.
The man approached the stationary train, slid the door open, and slipped inside where light poured out. I shuffled over and climbed into the train after him.
The sight that unfolded before me made me gasp.
"What the hell."
"Not bad, huh?"
The man grinned at my wide-eyed stare.
"Even if it doesn't look like it, I was called the Black Badger's Druid before I deserted."
Vegetables.
Neat shelves lined with orderly growing vegetables. Purple LED lights shining down on them. I gaped at the pots filling the entire car.
The scene filling my view felt utterly novel. Everything in the pots was vegetables I recognized. Broccoli. Romaine. Isabelle.
Most looked fresh enough to pick and eat right then.
...A master at surviving outside the Core?
The man let me gawk in stunned silence before speaking.
"You can't eat those yet, so come over here."
I finally tore my eyes from the vegetables and moved to the next car.
I'd already been shocked plenty, but the scenes in each car kept drawing more admiration.
Each car seemed dedicated to a different purpose. I passed cars filled with chirping chicks and clucking chickens. Cars densely packed with king oysters and unidentified mushrooms. Cars with rusted weapons, tools, and wooden blocks that looked like workbenches.
After those came a car showing signs of human habitation.
Unlike the others, this one still had its subway seats intact. The man gestured to the seat opposite what seemed to be his bed.
"Sit there."
Then he went to another car and returned with a pot.
"Chicken soup."
"No, wait."
"Eat up. It's good."
He handed me a rusty fork and spoon with a wink.
I was floored but didn't refuse. I took the bowl obediently and ladled out some soup.
We ate in silence for a while. The man seemed genuinely starving, while I was busy processing the situation unfolding before me.
Yoon had said supplies were the most important thing. New recruits spent their initial time stocking F Zone's supply depot, right? I recalled the stories from before leaving the Core. Survival living starts after D Zone.
But this is A Zone?
How the hell did I end up in A Zone? That was a mystery too.
Conversation resumed after the man finished his chicken soup.
"So. Is Ye-hyeon still alive?"
I slowly set down my spoon.
Then, after staring at the man half-buried in hair and beard, I countered.
"Why did you desert?"
"You can't answer a question with another question."
"I can't just hand over intel to a deserter."
"Hey. I'm a former Black Badger, you know."
The nameless senior raised his eyebrows as if my attitude was amusing.
"I'm safer than you, aren't I? And what am I gonna do from here?"
Safer than me?
Why bring me up all of a sudden? Not understanding, I stared blankly at him.
Misinterpreting my expression, he waved his hand dismissively.
"Fine, fine. I'll tell my story first, got it?"
"Uh? What exactly?"
"Let's see. Where to start."
Is it because he's been alone so long? Conversation feels off.
Ignoring my expression, the deserter Black Badger stroked his beard.
"Since I brought up Ye-hyeon, shall we start with him?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Ah, just listen. It won't hurt to know. You probably don't anyway."
Know what?
I was about to ask, but he spoke first.
"He grew up in a broken home, right?"
...What?
Caught off guard by the unexpected turn, I blinked. It was absurd that he was really talking about Ye-hyeon, but I'd assumed it'd be about his position or something since he said so.
Why bring up something so personal?
Flustered, but the situation didn't change. The man, my sword at his hip, continued with a face immersed in memories.
"During the first war, we were in the same unit once. That's when I heard the story. His mother died giving birth to him. But his father—never seen his face, don't know his name—but he must've been in a pretty high position."
"Excuse me."
"He visited the military base several times. To see his son's face."
"Excuse me?"
The man's unilateral storytelling left me baffled. I wondered if I should keep listening. Despite the discomfort, fragments of info I'd read before surfaced.
People online griped that Ye-hyeon's background was unclear, right? No info on father or mother.
Doesn't add up. Maybe his father was so high up that records were scrubbed.
"Military, politician, whatever... Anyway, Ye-hyeon would get called out at the most random times. Pale as a ghost."
"Pale as a ghost?"
"He was probably abused."
This isn't right.
Too far. Not something I should hear. Snapped back by his casual delivery, I raised my palm toward him and said firmly to the raised eyebrows.
"I won't listen anymore."
"Why? Not respectful to Ye-hyeon? Or seems useless? If the first, can you afford to care about that now? If the second, personal info like this can surprisingly be useful."
"I don't know why I'd hear 'can you afford to care' from you. Anyway, this isn't right."
"I like Ye-hyeon."
Bullshit...
Did my thoughts show? The deserter sneered.
A mocking laugh mixing various emotions.
"You're thinking I'm just digging up dirt for fun, huh?"
"Isn't that it?"
"Not just Ye-hyeon—I'll tell you about everyone. Jason, Richard, Ami, Yoon, Sca, Jonathan, Riccardo—all of them! I'm trying to help you, so why not listen?"
"How does this help me?"
"You need info, right? So you can dodge landmines and blend into the organization smoothly. Hey. You gotta be liked in the org to move freely. Earn trust to roam outside the Core freely, fake rookie."
"...Why do I need to move freely?"
Weird.
At first, I thought he'd just forgotten how to talk after living alone. But the more we spoke, the more it felt like we were talking past each other on different assumptions.
Like we're misunderstanding each other?
More precisely, he seemed to know something about me.
My stomach churned. I suppressed the rising unease.
"What do I even do moving freely outside the Core?"
The man looked at me like I was stupid.
We didn't move for a while. No words either. A brief silence born of misunderstanding. Sitting on the creaky train seats, we stared at each other across.
Only after a long moment did he answer, face saying he couldn't comprehend my question.
"Kill them."
"...What?"
"The ones you betrayed."
Bile rose.
"The guy you chased out of the Core. Your former comrade."
I desperately fought the urge to vomit and stared into his vivid green eyes. I saw him rolling down his sleeve.
His arm turning ashen too.
"The bastard ordering you to drag me to S Zone."
Boom!
A heavy thud echoed.
The train shook. Shock from the rear car rippled quickly through ours.
The shuddering car body. Collision echoes reverberating through the tunnel.
I turned to stare at the closed train door.
The senior shot up from his seat.
"Shit, already here. Let's go."
"Where to?"
"Next station."
He pulled a small knife from his back pocket and shaved off his beard in chunks.
Beard hairs fell to the train corridor. His revealed face was younger than expected. Surprising—he seemed older physically. Not the time to be surprised by that, though.
"Gotta survive a bit longer."
"What's out there?"
"What else? Your old friends."
The man swiftly gathered his weapons.
Then he suddenly thrust my sword back at me. Instead of questioning, I took it with thanks.
"Thank you."
"Wanted to chat comfortably for a few minutes, but whatever. If they sensed you're here, they wouldn't stay put."
"Can we escape?"
"Yeah. I've been deserting for nearly ten years. Stay quiet and follow. And hey. Weird coming from a ten-year deserter, but..."
He donned a balaclava and set off.
I buckled my sword and followed. Hurrying my steps, I listened closely. To the words from the man ahead and the sounds from whatever had hit the train's rear.
The deserter spoke without looking back.
"I've fought in two wars myself, veteran style. Not planning to just watch our side lose."
He dashed to the front car, yanked the door open, and jumped down.
I followed him into the green darkness, catching his trailing mutter.
More like musing to himself than to me.
A whisper sharp with resolve.
"Guess I'll hand you over to them."
We sprinted down the dark tracks.