Chapter 345
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 345
Chapter Title: 139. The Weight of Life (3)
A message from Foxgames: I was just about to consult you about something.
The fact that he hadn't blocked me and was actively reaching out stirred mixed feelings in me.
One was relief that we could actually communicate.
The other was...
A familiar discomfort.
The initial relief faded quickly, replaced by that unease.
I know what kind of person this guy is.
More loyal to his instincts than anyone, yet he hides it behind a mask of hypocrisy to avoid showing his true face.
At that point, I could vaguely predict what he was going to say.
He's planning to kill his dog.
He posted it on the forum for a quick popularity boost, but now that it's getting out of hand, he's resorting to killing it.
I don't particularly advocate for animal rights or empathize deeply with animals, but I don't look kindly on people who treat life like an object.
His intentions are clearly repulsive.
Yet, despite the omissions, those ugly intentions align with my own to some extent.
"......"
Tap tap
I clicked my tongue.
A clear sign of disdain and contempt.
Why does he keep beating around the bush?
His ugly intentions are so obvious—does he really think a single veil of hypocrisy can hide them?
I can't understand that mindset, nor do I want to.
Before the war, a Chinese animal psychology expert analyzed why mutations kill the humans who raised them like this:
Mutations can sense and recognize human goodwill just like other animals. Yet they kill their humans because they understand the true intentions behind that goodwill.
Take an extreme example: an adult man giving money to a street girl under the pretense of help, only to demand her body later.
The conclusion is simple.
There's a manual made by Lee Sanghun.
A procedure called "Preparing for Farewell," which details how to painlessly dispose of a pet dog or cat undergoing mutation, giving the family time to deliberate.
I don't agree it's painless.
Because Lee Sanghun's manual uses poison on animals mid-mutation.
Now the baton passes to Foxgames.
He's the one who'll act, not me.
Trickle—
After handling business in the central toilet, I sat back at the computer and spotted a new message.
I'd expected as much.
That he'd make this decision.
And that he'd ask for another favor.
"......"
Tap tap
*
"The pup... it's cute."
I had Su read Foxgames' pup-rearing saga and asked for her thoughts.
"But that's a mutation, right?"
Su had grown tough indeed.
Realistic enough to survive this apocalypse fully.
Though she'd started harshly criticizing Foxgames lately, I couldn't forget he was a purebred doomsayer too.
Foxgames posted something new.
Unlike his previous bright, fluffy, cute-filled posts, this one unflinchingly revealed the dark reality enveloping us.
True to his good-guy cosplay mastery, Foxgames pulled off the pitiful act flawlessly.
Even though he'd chosen to kill the dog he'd taken in himself, the forum users reacted favorably.
....
...
That's why image management matters.
No matter how you look at it, Foxgames' antics are no different from some YouTuber scooping up a stray dog for views, using it as content, then discarding it like trash.
Considering the times, his actions might be understandable, but knowing the full story of the Blackie incident, I can't see it in a good light.
But I'm not free from that ugliness either—I've joined in on Foxgames' new content: his plan to kill the dog he raised.
For details, refer to his new series "Preparing for Farewell."
In a short, low-res 640x400 video, a blurry man sighs while staring at a black dog panting with its tongue out in a fairly spacious bunker.
Narration plays.
- If every life has weight, could we measure it?
Face hidden, Foxgames tears open a large bulk sausage pack—imported from America, by the looks—with an industrial cutter.
The black mutation pup wags its tail at the sound.
Foxgames pets it, then divides the sausages amicably between his plate and the pup's.
Of course, more for the mutation.
But while serving, out of the pup's sight, he opens a small packet and dusts it on the sausages.
Rat poison.
Not domestic—made in South America where rodent issues are worse, far more potent than Korea's regulated stuff.
I know because I joined John_nenon's group buy.
Meal time begins.
Foxgames demonstratively eats the cheap bulk sausages from the same pack alongside the mutation dog.
Narration appears.
- How nice it would be to have scales to weigh the value of life.
- At least my scales tip toward me.
The gloomy post ends with the familiar "to be continued."
"......"
Tap tap
I messaged Foxgames.
He replied.
Scholars differ, but a mutating animal's intelligence doesn't exceed humans', though its reasoning via perception rivals ours.
It goes beyond recognizing objects and reacting—grasping the principles behind them, understanding phenomena through its own thinking.
So, to fool a mutation, fool it like you'd fool a person.
Foxgames opening the pack and eating the same meal in front of it was to reassure the mutation he planned to kill.
That he's eating the same thing.
So even if symptoms appear, it won't suspect poison in the food.
That's how an Indonesian elderly couple killed their mutating pet monkey.
Lee Sanghun imported the method, rebranded it as his own, and took credit.
Circumstances aside, it's undeniably effective for disposing of mutations still under human control and reliant on our food.
Foxgames' remaining posts will likely show the poisoned mutation dog slowly dying.
"Man."
Bang Jaehyuk's mother brought it up at dinner after seeing it.
"An era where people can't trust beasts and beasts can't trust people."
"......Better than clubbing it to death, right?"
Bang Jaehyuk snorted, and Ha Taehun chimed in from the side.
"Yeah, Jaehyuk picked up a stray dog too, but bashed it with a steel pipe the second it showed mutation signs."
"At least our Baek-eok sent it off painlessly in one go?"
As reactions around showed, Foxgames' post subtly influenced the whole forum.
The biggest impact hit the trend followers.
Copycats imitating Foxgames abandoned their pets once their leader ditched his pup.
But I messaged m9 to verify.
I messaged m9 for more than that.
One more thing to check.
I immediately tried talking to Kim Byungchul.
"Ah, Hunter Park!"
Kim Byungchul greeted me with a hearty laugh.
"Yeah, killed it. That bastard. Feels so damn good! Not just because of you, Hunter Park—you put in the effort too! Need synth-unna or rations? Tell me! Got permission from Captain Woo for some export!"
A relief washed over me.
At least I'd prevented tragedy for Kim Byungchul's family.
But an equally strong unease chilled my spine.
I asked.
"Oh, that? Obvious. Got bored of it. Cute, but no bond. Like a wild stray, y'know? Indifferent at meals, ignores calls, bares teeth. Then I saw Foxgames' post."
"Told Yerim to thank you! It's coming soon!"
Sure enough, a message from Kim Yerim arrived.
I was reading Kim Yerim's messages filling the screen with her blank expression when...
A new message arrived.
Foxgames.
I stared at his message with the same impassive face as when reading Yerim's.
Soon, more messages flooded in, competing with Yerim's to fill the screen.
The moment I saw that, I straightened up from my precarious lean-back.
Swallowed hard and checked the next one.
In his previous post, Foxgames talked about the weight of life.
He'd said how nice it would be to have scales or a balance to measure it.
I don't know either.
How to quantify lives.
The only methodology I can offer is based on capability.
It doesn't satisfactorily explain this situation.
All I can do is fall back on the age-old excuse that everything is relative.
Even serial killers value their family's lives more, right?
Everyone feels the weight of life differently.
What determines that weight isn't good or evil, but probably the depth of one's loneliness.