Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: After the Crash
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...!! ...!!
A muffled voice buzzed in his ears, like he was waterlogged.
Even amid the dizziness, Jin thought to himself.
His eyelids... his eyelids were just too damn heavy.
A single thin layer of skin, yet they flat-out refused to obey him.
Jin groaned, "Kugh... urgh," as cold sweat poured off him.
Anyone who's spent a night in agony knows this one-man war all too well.
His body was locked up like sleep paralysis had hit it, but the exhaustion dragging on was brutally intense.
Then, barely cracking his eyes open, the whole world flashed a searing crimson.
Jin jolted upright.
Hell?!
Am I dead?
At the same instant, every sin he'd committed in life flashed before him like a montage.
Aros PC bang owner, sorry for swiping the CD key from seat 22. I just really wanted to play Warcraft at home. I was only in elementary school back then, with barely any pocket money a week...
In the middle of his mental confession, Jin blinked slowly once, twice.
Hold up—can you even get a life-flash if you're dead?
His scrambled brain finally clicked back online.
That's when the emergency alarm—blaring nonstop to snap him out of it—exploded in his ears: weeeeng weeeeng weeeeng!
Followed by an unfamiliar voice.
Repeated warnings like that don't just spook dogs.
What the hell's going on? Jin scrambled to sit up, only to scream "Euk!" and flop back down.
His entire body felt like it was ripping apart.
Correction—this had to be hell.
No way it'd hurt this bad otherwise.
Jin swallowed the pain, veins bulging, his beet-red face trembling as he clenched his teeth.
But he couldn't stay like that forever.
Ignoring it when he couldn't hear was one thing.
Now, with the AI shrieking for evacuation, no chance.
He dragged himself up, enduring the agony.
The transport ship's interior tilted blatantly into view.
And there in the corners, jammed in ㄱ and ㄴ shapes—Eanna and Eric.
Didn't matter what happened. First priority: get out.
He grabbed their ankles one by one and dragged them along.
Not a pretty sight, but no spare energy to care.
Hell, Jin could barely walk straight himself, stumbling like a drunk.
Finally reaching the entrance,
Was the sensor busted?
The door was half-open, jammed like it snagged on a rock—opening, closing, repeat.
No room to time a slip-through, especially dragging two injured.
Jin groped the wall, yanked off the plastic cover, and slammed the manual override button.
Pushed the door wide himself and stepped out, frowning at the alien landscape.
Where the hell is this?
Under a drab, hazy sky stretched a wasteland.
Barren land whipped by harsh winds.
Dry weeds everywhere, no plowing in sight...
But seriously—where?
Didn't they say head to a safe spot?
Jin whipped his head around.
And spotted the burning craft.
"Huk."
Startled, Jin hustled Eanna and Eric far from the transport, dumping them on solid ground.
Heaving a sigh.
Uncharacteristically wiped out already, Jin braced his hands on his knees and stared at the blazing ship.
Shot down?
Nothing else explained it.
No way a perfectly fine transport just drops out of the sky into this nowhere.
So Jin racked his brain.
Who did this?
Killgear?
Actavis Company?
Or some surviving merc?
No solid answer, naturally.
All three were suspects right now.
So he figured.
Screw standing here—head back, check the black box—
"Guek...!"
Pain burst out unbidden.
His gaze drifted to the source: his right arm.
"Crazy."
Jin flinched.
Is this my arm?
The jumper sleeve was shredded, exposing an arm swollen at least twice its normal size.
And it wasn't just swelling.
From knuckles to shoulder, the whole thing was pitch-black and necrotic. Beyond a bruise—full-on dead flesh.
Even for Jin, first time seeing his body this trashed.
Figured full recovery? At least four or five days.
That's when it hit.
Rustle—
Odd noise detected. Jin slowly raised his head.
The approaching footsteps from all sides froze dead.
Unnatural silence hung brief—then someone stepped out from behind a nearby boulder.
"Busted, huh?"
Grinning with yellowed teeth, a grimy-dressed man.
Homeless vibes so far, but the suspender-linked rifle and bandolier said otherwise.
And he had company—seven or eight strong.
"Which dumbass made that footstep?"
"Olson?"
"Wasn't me, bitch."
"Denying it? Gotta be you."
One by one, they emerged.
One raked his eyes over fallen Eanna's face.
"Whoa, fuck. Look at her. Hot as hell."
The guy next to him shot a glare.
"Eyes off. I'm first today."
"Why you?"
"You were dead last last time, dickhead!"
"Shut it—who's looting the transport first?!"
Jin got the gist.
Those violent gangs operating outside the city? These clowns fit the bill.
Crashed transport must've drawn 'em like flies.
But why so damn loud?
Jin stood crooked, watching their bickering.
Furious cursing boiled it down simple:
Kill the guy, rape the girl!
Woo! Woo! Woo!
What's with the helmet head?
Dunno—guy dies, girl gets raped!
Woo! Woo! Woo!
No need to hear more. Jin smashed his Gravis into the nearest face.
-HEADSHOT
One skull exploded. Jin gritted his teeth.
Recoil alone nearly shattered him.
All thanks to mana rampage.
Body already in tatters—inside, mana circuits shredded to hell.
Every twitch shredded his organs.
But he moved.
Dropped the now-empty Gravis and charged straight ahead.
Snatched the rifle from the crumpling corpse and sprayed the area.
Three more dropped. The last two fired back.
Jin rolled across the dirt.
Pulled the trigger mid-roll.
Those two down too.
But bullets clipped Jin's shoulder and calf.
Fight over in seconds.
Lying prone a good while to catch his breath, Jin finally stirred and rose.
Holstered the Gravis, then rummaged the corpses' pockets one by one.
KABOOM!!
The transport blew sky-high.
"...Fuck."
No strength left to bitch. Jin kept at it.
Pointless effort—pockets turned up zilch.
Guys living outside the city? Either weeded out or on the run. Bound to be dirt-poor either way.
Best haul: a single water bottle.
Staggering back to Eanna and Eric, Jin trickled water into their mouths.
Eric's visor? No clue how to pop it, so he poured into the usual straw hole—glug glug.
Bottle now half-empty and sloshing.
Jin just wet his own lips and chucked the empty over his shoulder.
That's when a voice came.
"...You... okay?"
Eanna.
No idea when she'd come to—hazy eyes fixed this way.
"Awake, huh?"
She asked the same thing again.
"Okay...?"
Only then did Jin glance at his legs.
Pants soaked dark with blood.
Should've clotted ages ago, but today it kept oozing. Body really was fucked.
But Eanna looked just as rough.
She'd pushed her mana circuits to the brink too—her sweat-drenched face burned fever-red, like a delirious patient.
Folks like that usually feel chills.
Body running hot, outside air feels freezing.
"I'm good. Here—put this on."
Jin draped his shredded aviation jumper—right sleeve burst open—over Eanna's shoulders.
Right then, secondary blast rocked the transport.
Time to bail. No staying here.
Scum would swarm the flames eventually.
And he'd never hold out.
Hauling his heavy ass up, he offered his back to Eanna.
Just like the building escape.
Eanna climbed on piggyback. Jin hunched forward max, scooping Eric with his free arm.
Proper piggyback needs thigh support for stability—but with an extra body...
Awkward as hell, but no choice. Had to hoof it.
So Jin walked.
Picked a direction and kept going—step after trudging step.
Before long,
the sky began darkening.
Eanna's voice whispered in his ear.
"...Sorry."
"For?"
"Snuck out... so family hunting me... won't be easy."
"Your communicator?"
"Melted... in the heat..."
"Told you—Purists are no good."
Jin snorted. Eanna's hand brushed near his temple.
"You... too."
"Yeah, fair."
Darkness deepened.
Jin was panting hard now.
As his breaths grew ragged, so did her tremors intensify.
Whenever her head lolled onto his shoulder, he'd rouse her mid-stride—fearing deep sleep spelled trouble.
"Got it," she'd murmur, only to slump again soon after.
Rinse and repeat.
Stars dotted the sky now.
Jin was hitting his limit.
Limbs going numb.
But he hid it.
Panting was telling enough.
Then Eanna spoke.
"...Can I... ask something?"
"Shoot."
"That... was it Walter?"
"..."
Jin didn't answer right away. He pondered in silence a beat, then opened slow.
"Not a monster, that's for sure."
"...Yeah...?"
Good.
Eanna mumbled, head drooping again.
Spotting sleep coming, Jin jumped in.
"Hey. You hitting Downtown again later?"
"...Why?"
"I'll show you the good spots. Introduce my crew too."
"Where's... that?"
"Rum Pump Pump—"
Jin started rambling.
Chef's a robot, not human...
Humanoid? Nah, just mech arms whirring.
24/7, holidays too—solid.
One gripe: chef can't season for shit.
But sweet kid.
Works nonstop, no breaks.
Wait—shouldn't it sleep?
Anyway, tunes! Killer sound system.
Tweaked the second-floor speakers myself...
He kept yapping.
Or he'd collapse right there.
Even realizing no replies from behind, his lips kept moving.
When had it started?
A tiny ember in Jin's chest began glowing faint.
Heat too small to notice.
Pathetic for a flame.
But it was there, real as anything.
「???」
NEO Awakened ???: Zahard??? ?? Status Window?? Awakened ?? Someone's Ember
Half out of it, Jin just kept walking at the sight.
Time dragged on.
Blood trickling from nose and mouth, he finally halted.
As if scripted, footsteps approached from ahead.
Click-clack.
High-heeled shoes.
A sweet, smoky scent wafted in.
"So here you were. Lucky I wasn't late."
"...You... how... here...?"
Kalifa gave a faint smile at Jin's question.
"Told you—controlling variables is a personal skill, right?"