Life Is Originally Alone (1)
『Go Cheon-su! Hey!』
A faint voice echoed from somewhere.
『Go Cheon-su! Go left!』
“Guhk!”
Water flooded into his mouth.
Go Cheon-su flailed his arms desperately. One of his backpack straps must have torn during the fall, leaving the bag awkwardly dangling from his left arm. Swimming was already tough enough, so he just ditched it.
In the chaos, that directing voice made Go Cheon-su instinctively veer that way.
Boom!
Splash!
The bridge's legs finally collapsed, sending debris crashing right where he'd been moments ago.
“Guh! Puah!”
The current dragged him under and spat him back up over and over.
With his mind a total blank, that voice was the only thing Go Cheon-su could cling to. Fighting the fading consciousness from the impact and oxygen deprivation, he poured everything into swimming toward the riverbank.
“Hahk… huuk…”
“Kuhk! Kehek!”
Swallowing water made pushing forward even harder. Go Cheon-su flailed with drastically slowing strokes.
Then the voice shouted.
Hold on? For what? A pointless end flashed in Go Cheon-su's mind, freezing his body solid.
Whoosh!
If not for the sudden push from behind, he would've stopped moving right then.
“Ah.”
A massive wave from the debris hurled him toward the bank.
『Go Cheon-su!』
The voice rang out again.
『Go Cheon-su, get upppp!』
Get up? His vision was pitch black. Go Cheon-su tried lifting his eyelids to see.
“Ngh… ugh…”
But his mouth opened first, spilling out a groan. Agony ripped through his entire body.
It was a familiar woman's voice. He realized it was Han Do-choe, but he couldn't respond right away.
Damn it…
He slowly pieced together his memories.
After the bridge collapsed, he'd plunged straight into the water. He could vaguely recall thrashing wildly to dodge the falling debris.
“Ugh…”
In that mess, a voice had guided him—Han Do-choe.
“Ah.”
Finally, Go Cheon-su opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. His body was sprawled on a riverside embankment. BOOM. Explosions still rumbled in the distance. The churning river lapped at his feet.
“Big bro… you saved me, huh.”
Visibility in the water had been near zero. Han Do-choe must've shared her vision and guided him via loudspeaker function.
“Thanks, big bro.”
He had zero strength left. He wasn't a great swimmer to begin with, so his stamina had tanked even more.
Go Cheon-su caught Han Do-choe's complaint as she returned to the chat and cautiously pushed himself up. BOOM. He spotted multiple bridges crumbling into the river. Turning his head, he checked his position.
“Where… is this?”
The current had swept him further downstream.
“Whew.”
And he still hadn't crossed the damn river. Go Cheon-su sighed.
Not even that wide a river…
The width was maybe 500 meters at most—walkable if it were shallow. But the swollen waters and fast current from the chain of explosions made it a nightmare.
Crossing was priority one, but something else came first.
“Where'd everyone go?”
No one around. Jang Seo-yeon, Yang Min-cheol, Kim Ha-ryeong—all gone.
Go Cheon-su pressed a hand to his forehead. They'd synced up well bringing him this far. Facing Daejeon's soldiers ahead, he'd thought they had a solid party.
“Ha.”
But in a blink, he'd lost his teammates.
“What a fucking joke…”
He scanned around again. Still no sign.
“Hm?”
Then he spotted something. Go Cheon-su bent down and picked it up from the ground.
“Ha-ryeong's?”
A bag with a red cross emblem. He peered inside: hygiene kits, meds, some food. Zipper was open, so not much left, but what remained looked usable. Forgetting his own lost gear, he slung Kim Ha-ryeong's bag over his shoulder.
“Bros, I'm in deep shit right now.”
Go Cheon-su sighed and shook his head.
“As you can see, this bag's all I got left. No sign of my teammates—they must've gotten swept downstream somewhere.”
“No clue what to do. Could use some viewer comfort.”
Go Cheon-su weakly formed a coin shape with thumb and index finger.
“If you wanna cheer up Go Cheon-su, skip the subs, likes, and bells—hit me with some Zen donations instead.”
He knew. That's exactly why he was doing this.
“Bros, I'm dead serious.”
Losing teammates was like dropping your hand in poker. Time to compensate.
“It's an emergency.”
Crossing the river, dealing with soldiers—both headaches. More Zen meant better loot scouting.
One viewer nailed it. Go Cheon-su froze mid-stride, mouth shut.
Go Cheon-su stared at the rushing river. Viewers weren't wrong.
Just…
“Bros, I was a voluntary lone wolf. Big difference.”
Go Cheon-su grumbled under his breath as he started walking. Couldn't waste time getting roasted. The longer he dwelled, the more he'd lose.
At least I've got one solid fan…
Han Do-choe had been all-in on saving him lately. Spending Zen like it grew on trees—literally hitting her limit sometimes—but it kept the worst at bay.
Her fan energy was obvious—even her tone screamed Han Do-choe.
“A raft?”
No tools in sight for crossing now. Time for a choice.
Cross or not?
Viewers had called it: these bridges were scripted to blow. If it was story flow, hints should drop around here.
Vrooom.
Then—a noise. Go Cheon-su whipped his head around.
Vrooooom!
A rubber boat roared in from afar.
“What the—.”
Go Cheon-su ducked into nearby bushes in shock.
Vroooom…
The boat slowed nearby. Peeking out, he spotted the riders.
Soldiers…
Watching them stretch lazily like the bridge collapses were all part of the plan, Go Cheon-su ground his teeth.
Those fucking bastards…!
They were the culprits who'd blasted his team away. Rage boiled as he clenched his jaw.
For future plays, Go Cheon-su reined in his fury. Streaming now—too much emotion fucked the game. Stay objective.
“Whew.”
Breath steady, he glared sharply at the soldiers.
“Looks like all the bridges this side are blown.”
“Other side too?”
“No way across now.”
They'd lured people here as a safe spot, then wrecked the paths. Go Cheon-su couldn't fathom why.
Rustle.
A noise from the bushes.
“What!”
Soldiers jolted, guns up, whirling toward it.
Nope. Their guns pointed elsewhere.
Rustle.
Something burst from the bushes at their shouts.
“What…”
One soldier deflated.
“It's a dog.”
A scruffy black mutt slunk out warily, street-stray style. Soldiers exchanged awkward chuckles.
“Thought it was that guy.”
“Heard he hit here already and bounced.”
“Bridges confirmed blown—let's roll.”
They turned the boat to leave.
“Ah.”
Go Cheon-su sighed softly. Letting them go meant zilch. Interrogate or steal the boat—pick one.
Damn. Wait…!
As he gripped his fist in the bushes—
Grrrrroooowl!
A massive roar, then a thorny vine whipped in.
“Guhk?”
Straight at the boat. Engine hit, veering—it even skewered a soldier.
“Kuh… hek.”
Chest pierced, he staggered, vomiting blood.
“Uwaaaak!”
“Fuck!”
Others screamed. Go Cheon-su whipped around too.
No way…!
Thorny vine? One monster came to mind.
But they'd passed the Detector zone already.
“Huh?”
Not a Detector. Go Cheon-su gaped at the beast yanking the vine—and charging their way.
“Wh-what the hell is that?!”
An Ent. No—a zombie. More precisely, an Ent mutated zombie-like.
Wood Zombie?
Go Cheon-su swallowed dryly at the chat shout. Before he could ask—
The Wood Zombie yanked the vine fully, snatching another soldier.
“S-save…”
Crunch!
Stems burrowed into the man. Slurp. Fluids sucked dry, he shriveled like jerky—then chomped whole.
“What the fuck is that, bros?!”
Go Cheon-su yelled in shock. Unforeseen monster—he froze up.
“Just my luck, seriously.”
Already solo and stressed—now this asshole shows up.
Seemed like the traces on the blocked road ahead. Already swept through once—bad luck running into it again.
Grrrrroooowl!
The Wood Zombie whipped the vine back at the boat.
“Gaaaah!”
Rat-tat-tat!
Impaled soldier fired wildly into the air.
“Fuck!”
Go Cheon-su flattened himself. Bullets zipped past like a panorama.
“Gaaak! Gyaaa!”
Pierced soldier dragged off like the first—sucked dry and munched.
This thing's combat power is insane!
Go Cheon-su groaned from the dirt. Blind and deaf Ents normally—but this Wood Zombie had senses back, snagging prey clean. Using the vines Go Cheon-su's group had dodged earlier as tools, no less.
Hybrid monsters now? Give me a break!
Games had ways monsters powered up, but hybrids like this? Flashy and brutal.
Already rattled, facing this? Go Cheon-su choked on tension.
“U-uaaaah! Uwaaa!”
One soldier left. Wood Zombie spun the vine again.
The guy fumbled restarting the stalled engine from the first hit.
Vroom. Vroom.
“P-please! Come on!”
No dice. Panicking, he dropped his slung rifle into the water.
Vine zeroed in, hurtling back.
“Gaaak!”
Scream followed.
Gruh?
But the vine missed flesh, splashing into the water after veering slightly.
“Hahk?”
The baffled soldier's gaze swung toward Go Cheon-su's bushes.
“Shit.”
Go Cheon-su held his axe. And he'd just slammed it down.
Well, not something—the vine itself, severed.