The Path Chosen by Those Who Remain

The blood was still wet on my hands and clothes when Han Seungpil died.

There was no body left behind. Not even a grave could be made. He vanished like a scrap of data, erased completely. The blood that had stained my hands and shirt disappeared too, as if he had never existed in the first place.

“Oppa… because of me… Oppa…!”

Beside me, where I sat in stunned silence, Han Seunghee—Seungpil’s younger sister—sobbed brokenly. My head was spinning. Could people really die this easily? All it took was a single gunshot to the back? He hadn’t even made a major mistake. What more could we have done in that situation?

Should I have ordered him to search the man’s body? No. Even if we had, the result would have been the same. The moment we approached for a pat-down, we would’ve been shot from the front. If I had gone instead of Seungpil, I would have been the one to die first.

So was there really no other way? Was getting caught by a lunatic an instant death sentence?

What if we had possessed a gun? That man wouldn’t have attacked so recklessly. He would have known that trying to kill us meant risking his own life. But he knew we only had melee weapons, so he drew his revolver with absolute confidence that he would win. That’s why he struck first.

In this uninhabited island, every other survivor was a potential competitor. The fastest way to gather coins, buy a gun, and eliminate rivals. It secured safety and provided loot from the dead as a bonus. The man who tried to kill us must have thought the same. Forming a tightrope alliance with someone who might stab ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you in the back was far less efficient than simply killing and taking.

And unfortunately, we were the first survivors he encountered. Or maybe not. He could have already killed others before us. The woman he brought might not have been his real daughter at all—she could have been a trophy taken after murdering her previous partner.

My mind was reeling. The nightmare I had feared the moment I first heard the island’s rules was now reality. From now on, I couldn’t trust anyone.

I had no idea what to do next. Did that mean I had to kill every survivor I met on sight? I didn’t want to die. My death would mean my mother’s death too. No—something far worse than death. She would become the loot of whoever killed me.

What if I had been the one shot instead of Seungpil? What if I had died back there…?

The nauseating thought made me press a hand to my forehead. That was when a familiar alarm rang in my ears.

Seungpil was dead. The system message confirmed it once again.

“Huh? What?”

Seunghee, who had been crying nonstop, lifted her head at the message. Her face was a mess of tears, eyes swollen and red like a rabbit’s. I was just as shocked. I had been so overwhelmed with thoughts that I had completely forgotten.

Death wasn’t the end. If we gathered 10,000 coins, we could resurrect a dead partner. And the ways to earn those coins were by hunting wild creatures… or engaging in sexual acts with a new partner.

If Seunghee, whose body was still frail, wanted to resurrect her brother, there was only one path available to her.

“Seunghee, you…”

I started to speak but closed my mouth. I realized that no matter how I phrased it, it would only sound like one thing: If you want to save your brother, you have to do dirty things with me.

“Uh, uh? Uhh??”

Seunghee’s brain seemed to have short-circuited. She looked back and forth between the terminal in her hand and my face, completely lost.

…What should I do? Should I explain it to her?

But no matter what I said or how I said it, I could already see her misunderstanding everything. To save Seungpil, she would have to form a new partnership with another man and earn coins through lewd acts. Since I also wanted to save Seungpil, we should cooperate and work hard to gather coins together. After all, there was no other man she could trust, right?

Put bluntly, that was the conclusion. But would Seunghee—who was usually emotional and rebellious—ever accept such a proposal? The image that kept flashing in my mind was the woman who had just shot herself with the revolver. Some people might choose death over living that way. And Seunghee… she might be that type.

As I stood there, unable ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to decide what to say, someone gently placed a hand on my shoulder. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was my mother.

“Changjae. Let me talk with Seunghee.”

Her expression was unusually serious. She had watched from afar as Seungpil died and disappeared. She also knew how to bring back the dead. It would definitely be better for Seunghee to hear it from her than from me.

“…Yes. Please do.”

Leaving behind Seunghee’s desperate, clinging gaze, I stood up.

That’s right. This was no time to stand around in a daze. Seungpil was dead, but not permanently. There were too many things to think about and too many things to do.

I would leave Seunghee to my mother and focus on what I needed to handle.

First was looting the corpses.

I headed toward where the two dead had fallen. But the bodies were already gone. They had vanished just like Seungpil.

New messages rang out one after another as I approached the area. Hwang Taeksu. Hwang Yeonju. The shared surname—did that mean they really had been father and daughter?

“……”

I picked up the revolver that had fallen where the woman’s body had been. It was a short revolver similar to those used by Korean police. I didn’t know the official name. Six chambers. Two bullets remained inside.

A gun cost 500 coins and each bullet 100 coins. So the revolver alone was worth 700 coins. Add the 466 coins we had just received…

This settled it. Engaging in sexual acts with a partner was far more efficient than hunting creatures. And hunting humans was even more efficient than that.

I checked where the man had fallen, but there was nothing left. No bloodstains, no clothing. Since his partner—his daughter—had also died, he must have died completely. Both in this world and in reality.

I didn’t know what thoughts had driven that man to assault his own daughter. Maybe he believed it was necessary for them to survive together. Perhaps he saw it as a necessary sacrifice to secure safety and ensure both their lives.

But one thing was certain: the daughter had not wanted it. In the end, the man was killed by his daughter, and she took her own life. Whether he did it for survival or simply because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he desired her, his choice had led to the worst possible outcome.

What about me, then?

My mother and I had reached an understanding. She might have suffered unspeakable emotional wounds, but at least we hadn’t reached the point of killing each other. That was only possible because of her concession and sacrifice. If she had resisted like Seunghee, the situation would have been far worse. I might not even be alive right now.

“Mother…”

In normal circumstances, it would be natural to react like Seunghee or the suicidal daughter—unable to accept it. But my mother had accepted what we did. She had even been the one to suggest it first. She had sacrificed herself to keep me alive.

──To protect a mother like that, what should I do? How far would I go?

-Click. Rattle.

I turned the revolver over in my hands. Its lethality was clear. A shot to the head or torso would kill a person with high probability. But at 100 coins per bullet, it wasn’t efficient. If I was going to kill, I should use melee weapons instead.

“Hoo—”

Just as my mother had made up her mind, I needed to make up mine.

Find the other survivors, massacre them, and steal their coins.

It was clearly the most efficient choice. It would eliminate potential threats and secure coins. If everyone had arrived on the island at the same time as us, the others probably hadn’t fully adapted to the rules yet. I needed to move before they established themselves.

I couldn’t kill innocent people in front of my mother. So I would have to go find them first, before they came to us. I would be the one to kill.

“E-excuse me!”

I turned at the voice. There stood Seunghee with a look of firm determination on her face.

What about her? If she said she was willing to make the sacrifice to save her brother, it might be manageable. At least she wouldn’t betray us until we gathered enough coins to resurrect Seungpil. But if she refused, there was no need to force her. I felt bad for Seungpil, but I had things far more important than him. Forcing someone who didn’t want it would only leave a potential threat behind—just like the daughter who killed her own father. My mother would hate it too. So if she refused, I would let her go. There was no reason for us to take care of her.

Honestly, Seunghee was of no help in survival. Still, my soft-hearted mother would probably insist on looking after her. In that case… what then? Maybe I could secretly deal with her later and tell my mother she left on her own. Yeah. That would be best. And since her body would disappear anyway, I wouldn’t even lose the coins…

Completely unaware that I was already thinking about how to dispose of her, Seunghee spoke to me with a tense expression.

“I… I want to date you. Will you go out with me?”

“……”

…That was completely unexpected. I was so flustered I couldn’t speak.

In the distance, my mother was watching us with an awkward smile.