Anomaly-404 (2): Freedom After Quarantine
“Freedom...!”
I've finally been released from this containment cell.
Objectively speaking, life in here wasn't bad at all.
It was just a bit less free, no Minecraft, and a bunch of other minor annoyances.
The Agency still fussed over me and fed me delicious meals.
And I could use my smartphone way more than in my old cell.
Thanks to that, I caught up on all the backlog of content during this isolation period.
But...
“Still... so boooring...”
No matter how much great stuff there is, you eventually hit the bottom.
Toward the end of isolation, I spent less time on my phone and more playing with Ddongddong.
“Hmm... Our little angel's grown up so much, huh?”
“I've always been grown up!”
“Pfft, you were totally a baby before...”
After quarantine lifted, I reunited with No.1 and No.2 for the first time in ages.
The moment I saw No.1 unnie's face peeking into the cell, I grinned ear to ear.
She looks like a total delinquent on the outside.
A total nerd like me would've never hung out with her in normal circumstances.
But after going through all those ordeals together...?
We spilled everything from the hell adventures to the latest happenings, super excitedly.
No.1 unnie listened quietly, then pinched my squishy cheek.
“You had it rough, huh.”
“Owow... Why does everyone pinch my cheeks...?”
“'Cause they're so soft and chewy?”
“...”
Even as she said that, she listened to all my gripes, then let go and spoke.
“Anyway, our angel's living one dynamic life. Even I, a ghost, never went to hell, but you did.”
“I'm an angel, so maybe it's okay...?”
“Aigoo, that's why it's extra not okay.”
“Yeah, I guess...”
As we chatted away cozily, I suddenly got curious about what No.1 had been up to lately.
From what I could tell, after fully teaming up with the Agency...
They seemed to visit No.1 and No.2 pretty often.
“Oh, we're doing this chair rental business.”
“Chair rental...?”
“Yeah, that chair our cute angel merged into one. Sitting on it doesn't restore full power like before, but it boosts abilities.”
“Whoaaa...”
“Doesn't last long, but it makes you smarter, boosts physical stats—totally OP.”
Smarter... better physical abilities...?
I swallowed hard.
Then... maybe me too...!
I snuck glances and sidled toward the chair.
“Huh...? What're you doing?”
No.2, who'd been dozing on the chair, peeked over.
I plopped down quick...
“Hmm... Am I... smarter now...?”
Nothing changed...
No.1 unnie smirked at me and ruffled my hair wildly.
“Doesn't matter if an angel sits, but the buffs only work on humans.”
“But I'm human toooo...”
No.1 unnie flinched a bit, then pulled a chocolate bar from her pocket and popped it in my mouth.
“Nah... our angel's no ordinary human.”
“...!”
“You're such a special existence, that's why.”
“Aha...!”
Yeah... I've been feeling it lately.
That I might be... way more amazing than I thought.
She kept ruffling my hair, pondering something.
“Angel.”
“Yeah...?”
“Wanna get smarter?”
“...”
“Wanna get stronger too?”
I nodded furiously.
“Yes!”
Smarter and stronger? Who'd turn that down?
Not me, that's for sure.
“Why do you wanna get smarter?”
“I wanna build the coolest house too...!”
“Huh? House?”
No.1 unnie looked baffled.
“Build a house...? Do angels build special angel houses...?”
“Ah! Minecraft house!”
“Mine...craft...?”
Oh, looks like No.1 unnie doesn't know Minecraft.
Wonder if she's older than she seems, or just too buried in studies to play.
“What kinda game is that?”
I thought hard.
How to explain Minecraft...
“Eh...? That complicated?”
“It's life.”
“Life?”
“Digging dirt, building houses, farming, raising bees—life sim game.”
No.1 unnie stared into space, imagining, then grinned like she got it.
“Oh, like Monopoly? Yeah, I've heard there are more realistic board games!”
“...Unnie, when you were a chair, no one talked about Minecraft around you...?”
“...Too busy studying, didn't listen to chit-chat.”
Then No.2, sitting to my left, snickered.
“So outdated. Total boomer. Doesn't even know trendy Minecraft.”
“...You do?”
“Of course. It's that computer game!”
“Whoa... you know it!”
No.2 nodded.
“Latest version's... 0.8.2 or something...?”
“...”
“Sounds fun from what I heard.”
“...”
I turned to No.1 and No.2 on either side.
“Um, what year were you born?”
“...”
They clammed up instantly.
I grilled No.1 unnie relentlessly.
Maybe she's not 'unnie' age—could be grandma level...
“S... seventeen!”
“Pffft...”
“I'm eternally seventeen!”
Hmm...
I see.
“R... real talk! I was seventeen when I became a ghost, body doesn't age, mind neither!”
“...”
“I... I'm an eternal high school girl!”
Ah... that concept?
I nodded, accepting it.
“Later, let's play Minecraft together.”
“Huh?”
“If A-young unnie says okay, I'll bring it...!”
Time to unleash Minecraft culture on No.1 and No.2...!
Back in Han A-young's lab after so long.
The rich aroma of fresh-ground beans wafted around as Han A-young bustled about in her glasses.
“Hmm...”
I fiddled with my phone, sneaking glances.
She'd said sweetly not to worry about her, but...!
It bugged me.
Couldn't relax sprawled on the sofa giggling while she worked so hard...!
Glance. Glance.
Tap tap tap.
Han A-young hammered away at her laptop, typing up some report, then suddenly...
“Hehe... hihi...”
“...”
She let out this creepy giggle.
Looked like something was going well, but...
Zombie vibes—kinda scary.
She seemed happy, though...
From a third-party view, she looked precarious.
Gotta drag A-young unnie into it later too.
Minecraft's best feature? Multiplayer!
The more the merrier, so she should join my future Minecraft server plans.
Bonus: That's four people.
Mahjong crew assemble!
Hehe...
Four of us huddled around playing games sounds fun.
Munching crunchy cookies too.
Ah... wanna eat cookies...
Drooling over cookie thoughts.
Wriggle... wriggle...
Something squirming in the corner of my phone screen again.
Tiny, single-pixel thing.
I knew by now it wasn't just dust.
Could report to Han A-young right away, but...
Better trap it first so it can't escape.
While I pondered, it crossed half the screen.
“Hmm...”
I hesitated, then tap tap pressed hard on an app icon.
TikTok app ready to move.
I dragged it whoosh in front of the wriggler.
Flinch.
The thing panicked at the blocking icon, turned to dodge, but...
Plop.
Blocked it with the Lavalink app I'd installed last time.
-Tadak.
It realized I was surrounding it and scurried faster.
But my reflexes, honed by Minecraft water bucket clutches, were sharper.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Encirclement complete before it could slip away.
“Hehe...”
I giggled, zooming in on the screen.
There it was: a tiny red panda, tail swishing, trembling in fear.
Gotcha, you little punk!