Securing the Bikini Costume Strategy (1)

I stared at the screen in disbelief.

“Huh? That’s it?”

If this was supposed to be a tutorial, shouldn’t it explain things properly? What the island environment is like, how we’re supposed to escape, where the other survivors are and how many there are, what we should hunt and what we can forage to eat. They’re not telling us any of the important stuff? They just toss us here and say “figure it out and survive on your own”?

──Complaining wouldn’t do any good. The phone was only playing a pre-recorded video anyway.

I slipped the phone into my pocket and peeled off my field jacket.

“Mom, put this on for now.”

I held out the jacket to her. Her current outfit was far too… revealing. It was dangerous in more ways than one. At the very least, we needed to cover some skin.

“No, I’m fine. You wear it, Changjae.”

“It’s easier for me to move without it. If I get scraped or something, it could be bad. Please wear it, Mom.”

I practically forced the jacket onto her despite her protests. I still had my combat uniform underneath, so going without the jacket was no problem. In fact, it was more comfortable this way.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Are your feet okay? The ground is all rocks. Does it hurt?”

“Yeah. It’s not too bad…”

She was checking the ground when she suddenly let out a scream and leaped into my arms.

“Centipede! There’s a centipede!”

She clung to my arm in absolute terror. Right beside where her foot had been, a massive centipede was crawling along. It was longer than the width of my palm. You’d never see one that big back in civilization.

…Would you just shut up for a second?

“Eek! Eeeeek!”

She buried her face against my arm, clinging with all her strength. Thankfully—or maybe not—she was so deep in panic that she didn’t seem to hear the message. Even so, the notification from the phone bothered me more than the centipede itself.

Damn it.

“…Mom. It’s gone now. You’re okay.”

The centipede must not have been interested in humans it couldn’t eat, because it quickly slithered away.

“Really? It’s really gone? There’s none left? Really?”

“Yes. It’s really gone.”

She asked me over and over. She must have been that scared. It couldn’t be helped. Ever since I was little, Mom had suffered from extreme entomophobia.

Even during the years when we were practically strangers, she once made a huge fuss about a spider in her bedroom. I rushed over thinking a tarantula had appeared, only to find a tiny spider smaller than a fingernail. After I caught it for her with a hollow feeling in my chest, she still refused to go back into the room. In the end, she slept in my room that night.

“Someone who can’t even kill a single bug” — that phrase was practically invented for my mother.

She had always been like this.

But this was going to be a problem. On a deserted island, there would be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spiders and silverfish that terrified her, not to mention mosquitoes, flies, and venomous insects like centipedes and wasps. I could endure it somehow, but what about Mom? If she panicked every time she saw a bug, she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“S-sorry, Changjae. Mom’s just really weak when it comes to bugs…”

“It’s okay, Mom.”

Once she finally calmed down, she pulled away from me, her face flushed with embarrassment. Even then, she kept scanning the area nervously, checking for more insects.

“Sit down for now. We need to conserve our strength. We don’t know what might happen.”

“Okay… sorry.”

I helped the restless woman sit on a rock. The field jacket reached down to her hips, so sitting on the hard stone wouldn’t be too uncomfortable. The only problem was the way she hugged her knees and crouched… her panties were…

…No. Don’t look. Don’t even think about it. If another weird message pops up, it’ll just make things awkward. Absolutely do not turn your head that way.

“…Mmm.”

Mom pressed her nose into the collar of the jacket and sniffed. Was there a weird smell or something? This was kind of embarrassing.

“Sorry, Mom. It smells, doesn’t it? I was wearing it.”

“No! It’s not that. I was just thinking it smells like you, Changjae.”

She answered with a bright smile. Good, it didn’t seem like it smelled bad. She rubbed her arms as if feeling a chill and smiled again.

“I don’t know how we ended up in a place like this, but having you with me makes me feel so relieved. It reminds me of when you went on that school trip back in high school.”

“School trip…”

There wasn’t a trace of anxiety on her face as she spoke. If anything, she looked a little happy.

“When you left for the military, we didn’t part on good terms, right? You didn’t come home on leave, and when I visited you, we couldn’t even talk properly. Maybe someone who was frustrated watching us sent us here so we could finally reconcile.”

As always, Mom smiled warmly at me while she talked. I couldn’t say anything in response. The regret of running away from her during my immature years, and the guilt of throwing away the chance to fix our relationship, filled my chest.

Before enlisting, I had a huge fight with Mom and ran away from home. After that, I bounced between my girlfriends’ houses without contacting her once before joining the army. Even on leave, I never went home and stayed at friends’ places instead. I even spent overnights at a superior’s house. I avoided all her calls and messages until she finally came all the way to my unit out of desperation.

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

I lowered my head, feeling complicated emotions. I knew she wasn’t looking for an apology. I really was a coward to the very end.

Mom smiled gently.

“It’s okay, Changjae. We can do better from now on, right? Let’s forget about the past and work together to escape this island! Fighting!”

She clenched her small fist with determination. Her completely unserious attitude almost made me relax too.

…It seemed Mom thought this was something like an escape room game. Had she really heard the same explanation I did?

Still, her bright demeanor was honestly a relief. It was much better than her screaming in terror about being kidnapped. Psychological issues were the most dangerous in situations like this.

“Yeah. Let’s escape together, Mom.”

Survive and escape with Mom. What should I do first to make that happen?

“──Mom. It says we can buy things from the shop. Let’s look together.”

“Huh? How?”

I sat down beside her and pulled out my phone. I’d noticed it during the tutorial video, but while the outside looked the same, the inside had been completely changed. There were no phone, messaging, or internet functions at all. When I turned it on, the only icons were [Map], [Shop], [Partner], and [Base]. It really was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a terminal modified exclusively for life on this deserted island.

I tapped the Shop button, and four categories appeared: [Equipment], [Consumables], [Tools], [Base]. I selected [Equipment].

“Oh, Changjae, there are guns too.”

The equipment list was extensive. From simple clubs to bladed weapons like knives, spears, and axes, and even firearms.

“Ah.”

Among the countless weapons, one immediately caught my eye. It was the K2 rifle I had used throughout my entire military service. But the price was a staggering 10,000 coins. There was no way I could afford it. I only had 9 coins total right now.

“It’s expensive~”

“Yeah…”

Even the cheapest gun, an old revolver, cost 500 coins. A single round for the revolver was 100 coins, and 5.56mm rounds for the K2 were 500 coins each. What kind of insane inflation was this?

“…Mom. Looks like we can’t buy a gun.”

“I guess not…”

I had no idea how many coins we’d be able to gather, but at this rate of one or two at a time, it would take ten years before we could afford anything. Still, I wanted to start with at least one weapon if possible. Since the system mentioned hunting, there were probably monsters or wild animals. And we might run into other survivors too. You never know.

If I excluded guns, what was the most ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠practical weapon? A spear, maybe? Since ancient times, the spear had been humanity’s strongest weapon. I had no intention of charging at mammoths or lions with a spear like a caveman, but if I considered throwing spears too, it would definitely be efficient for hunting.

What about an axe? An axe could be used to chop firewood or break things. It would also be useful for butchering game.

Hmm. What should I get?

The cheapest spear was 10 coins, while axes started at 15. At that price, it might be better to save up a bit more and buy an axe. Not that I could afford even the cheapest spear right now.

“Huh?”

I had naturally assumed that [Equipment] meant weapons first and foremost. So I hadn’t noticed at first.

Within the Equipment category, there were subcategories for armor and costumes as well.

“…Costumes?”

Armor made sense, but costumes? In most games, they released overpowered paid costumes to encourage spending. Both in appearance and performance.

“Costumes?”

As I clicked into the costume section almost as if possessed, Mom muttered in confusion beside me. She wasn’t into games, so she probably didn’t know. Usually, ridiculous cheat items were hidden in places like this.

I scrolled quickly through the costume list. And sure enough, I found something that could only be called a cheat.

“Ah!!”

Mom’s voice rose in surprise beside me.