The Other Survivors' Base (2)
Well, what should I do about this? In truth, my course of action had been decided from the very beginning. I would do nothing.
Whether these people starved to death or not was none of my business. The fact that they couldn’t properly assess the situation and were living like homeless squatters on the bare ground, that they couldn’t even catch a single rabbit and were struggling pathetically, and that the women were going hungry because of it—none of it had anything to do with me.
Potentially, these people could become obstacles or competitors for me. It might even be better for me if they all just starved to death right here. But humans don’t die of starvation easily. Once pushed to the extreme, the odds were high they would cross the line. And once they crossed it and tasted the flavor of coins, everything after that would come easy.
Twelve men and twelve women. There might be an orgy party every single day. If that happened, this faction would gather power in the blink of an eye. With that many people and proper equipment to back them up, they could become a genuine threat to us.
In that case, maybe it was better to deal with them early.
“U-um… excuse me…”
I looked at the woman who was hesitantly approaching me. She was filthy and frail, her cheeks hollow from lack of food. If I threw Seunghee into the wild and let her struggle for a week, wouldn’t she end up looking like this? That woman was staring up at me with pitiful eyes.
It reminded me of the face Ppikppik made when she acted pathetic to beg her mom for food.
“Haah…”
Is this how Mom felt? I took off my backpack and set it down. The woman flinched. Who said I was going to eat you?
I opened the pack and rummaged through its contents.
“Do you people have a burner or any cooking tools?”
“Uh… no.”
I paused while pulling something out and glanced up at her.
“You don’t? Then what exactly have you been eating to survive until now?”
“We… we make campfires and boil or roast things like grass or mushrooms… Oh, we do have a pot. It’s small, though.”
“…I see.”
It was even bleaker than I’d imagined. Obviously they wouldn’t have a rice cooker. And without electricity, even if they did it would be useless. Giving them rice would be pointless. They couldn’t cook proper meals, and even if I gave them meat, they had no tools to grill it correctly. A campfire, of all things… These people were literally playing Surviving on a Deserted Island.
“This is meat.”
I pulled out the meat I’d hunted and stored on the way here. Three kilograms of pork, two kilograms of venison, and five hundred grams of rabbit. I’d been carrying it because it felt too wasteful to throw away, but this was perfect timing. I’d dump it here.
“Get the rest yourselves. With twelve couples, there must be at least a few of you who’ve been hoarding coins instead of spending them.”
“Wait, you’re… you’re giving this to us?”
“Yeah. And—”
◈ Essential supply for deserted island life. Does not spoil.
◈ Chicken flavor. One box equals one full day’s ration. Contains three individually wrapped bars.
I also took out one of the emergency rations I’d brought just in case. A single small box was one day’s worth. Inside were three items wrapped in plastic. They looked like the calorie bars you see in Korean snacks.
I tore one open and pushed it into the woman’s mouth.
“Mmph?!”
“Eat.”
After feeding her one, I put the rest back into the backpack—plastic wrappers and all. If someone found the discarded plastic later, it could cause unnecessary trouble.
“Mmm… it’s so good…”
The way she ate without a shred of suspicion the moment I told her to showed just how hungry she was. She nibbled away like a squirrel gnawing on an acorn.
“You ate it, right? Since you ate it, you’ll do exactly what I say.”
“Eh…”
She must have thought I was about to order her to do something strange. The woman, who had been nibbling the bar with tears glistening in her eyes, widened her gaze at my words.
“Never tell anyone you met me here. Everything about me is a secret. Understand?”
“Uh… yes.”
“Say the meat was just lying here on the ground. And don’t tell anyone about what you just ate. Wipe your mouth, get rid of the smell, then go back.”
This was for her sake, not mine. If she went back and said she’d picked up food because they were starving, but then admitted she’d eaten the only calorie bar all by herself, the other starving survivors wouldn’t take it well. She’d get cursed out even after bringing them meat. It was a stupid scenario, but judging by how loose this girl’s screws were, it was entirely possible. If I hadn’t warned her, I could already picture her returning with crumbs around her mouth, beaming like an idiot.
“Um, I’m really sorry, but… could you give me just one more? I have an older brother…”
See? Told you.
“Did you listen to everything I just said with your asshole?”
“Eep. N-no…”
If she’d gone to the military, she definitely would have been a reject. It was truly a blessing that this woman had never enlisted. I let out a deep sigh.
“If you have something like that, it’ll only cause fights. You might have taken it for your brother, but do you really think the others will just watch quietly? You and your brother will both get cursed out and have the food stolen. Even if you try to hide it, the way you act makes me willing to bet my entire fortune that you’d get caught one hundred percent of the time.”
“I-I see… yes…”
“So absolutely do not show any signs that you ate it alone. When you go back, wipe your mouth clean so no one notices. Got it?”
“Yes, yes.”
The woman hurriedly wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her dirty clothes. How pitiful. Why was I even nagging her like this? It wasn’t like I was her mother.
“Then I’m leaving. Let me repeat myself—do not tell anyone. That includes your brother. Understand?”
I shouldered my backpack again and walked into the forest. After unloading the meat, the pack definitely felt lighter.
“Um, excuse me—what’s your name?”
“Wilson.”
I pulled the name from that famous deserted island movie. Come to think of it, wasn’t Kaylee’s last name Wilson too? Whatever.
“Th-thank you, Mr. Wilson! Thank you so much!”
I didn’t answer and simply walked deeper into the woods. Where to next? I took out my phone while moving and opened the map. This area sat right on the border between the safe zone and the boundary zone. No other biological signatures were visible nearby.
I glanced back briefly. The woman who had been running with an armful of meat had tripped and fallen face-first into the grass. What was she even doing?
After parting ways with the survivor group, I decided to head east through the safe zone. Returning to the base right away had crossed my mind, but it felt like a waste after coming all this way. Especially when I thought about those wolf pups.
“I don’t want to do that again.”
The next time I came here, I’d have to cross the danger zone once more. There was no guarantee I wouldn’t run into similar creatures. It was unlikely the exact same monster would respawn in the same spot, but with the territory boss dead, another similar beast could easily claim the empty area.
This time they were wolves, so I could handle them with a pistol. But what if bears or a pack of velociraptors showed up next time? Even I would have no choice but to die for real.
Since I’d already made it to the safe zone, I decided to search a wider area.
Those survivors had gotten lucky and met right after entering the safe zone. If I looked around more, I might find other survivors. There could be another group that size—or even a larger one.
“The problem is… those four people.”
The four survivors who had left that group were still bothering me. They’d said they couldn’t stand the group’s stifling lifestyle and had walked out. That meant the ones who left were probably enjoying themselves without restraint.
Living in a guaranteed safe zone while earning unlimited coins. That was no ordinary threat.
“And… they know exactly where that group is located.”
Judging by the state of the main group, they didn’t seem to be moving from their spot. Which meant they were completely exposing their base’s location to the four who had left.
What if those four armed themselves with mined coins and raided the group? Kill the men, enslave the women. That future was painfully easy to picture. The more obedient men could be kept as slaves. Since everyone had come with family, taking hostages would be simple.
From that point on, a hierarchy would form among the survivors. Rule by the few over the many would begin. Coins would gather even faster, and the danger of the growing faction would only increase.
For now it should still be fine. From what the girl said, they hadn’t been gone long. They probably hadn’t collected enough coins to buy proper weapons yet.
“So before they grow any bigger…”
As I moved east, I stopped in my tracks. The map had picked up survivor markers. One, two, three… seven. It had to be the men from earlier. The number and direction matched the hunting party.
Still, I should confirm. I moved closer to their route and hid myself inside a suitable clump of trees and bushes.
“Here they come.”
They were walking straight toward the survivor base I had just left. Since I was concealed along their path, I could observe them clearly through my telescope.
“…Tsk tsk.”
They still looked completely ragged. Their shoulders were slumped, like soldiers whose unit had been knocked out in the first round of a division soccer tournament.
So the hunt had failed after all. They couldn’t return completely empty-handed, so they were carrying bundles of grass or herbs or whatever, but none of it looked particularly nutritious.
“Hang in there, boys.”
I secretly cheered for the young man walking at the front with the depressed face of a new hire who’d just been fired. Then I turned and started moving toward my next destination.