Death's Endless Reach
I realized one thing about the world I had been reincarnated into: death is scattered all over the place far more than we think.
It's as if the whole world is yearning for the death of living beings. Whether just or unjust, rational or irrational, as long as it ends in death, the process doesn't matter.
As a normal office worker and ordinary citizen in reality, I wasn't particularly close to death, but in this world, I could sense that even the air itself was composed of death.
The severe smog caused by air pollution, the unrelenting famine in poor countries that doesn't get solved no matter what, the upper medical systems that only certain classes can enjoy forever, and the malice of chaotic and ruthless criminals.
Whether it's because it's a game or because this world is a future version of the one I lived in.
I haven't even had my birthday yet, but it feels like I've received a comprehensive gift set.
If I hadn't been a reincarnator, if I hadn't had knowledge of this world, if I hadn't obtained such a high-performance body, how many times would I have died?
I think about it while resting my arms on the railing of the communication tower that soars like a skyscraper, gazing quietly at the green hell below.
As many deaths as I've already crossed, there will be many more deaths that will come my way ahead.
I wonder anew how emotionally rich a human I am.
Do they all think death is that good.
It's not a world where you can even cover your own back. If we can't cooperate, but just don't touch each other and walk our own paths, it would be nice.
Everyone was desperate to not let the person ahead of them drag them down.
If it's just dragging down the ankle, that's still fortunate. In a society where cutthroat competition is in place, such social phenomena appear everywhere.
But those guys who are desperately struggling in this green hell, pouring out killing intent and rage to reach here somehow, are different.
Not only do they try to drag down the ankle of the one ahead, but they even try to steal their luggage. And naturally trying to take the life too is the cherry on top, as if it's a 1+1 sale.
It's the worst when they try to steal not even someone else's luggage but my own.
The value of the items in my backpack is condensed with my sweat and blood effort, devotion, and things like love or friendship.
Their intention to even try to undermine my center is so impure that I want to report it as sexual harassment.
That's why loners in abnormal circles are pestered.
"Leader, over there."
"I saw it too."
While I was thinking that, a team of prisoners emerged from the bushes and vines they were watching in the jungle area, ruthlessly dismantling them.
They were surprisingly a four-man specialized team for dogfights, all armed with jungle knives and lightweight armor, and it was clear they had reached here by cutting down everything blocking their path the moment the situation arose.
But death, that guy, is as tenacious as gum stuck to the floor.
What appeared newly from the jungle area they had just emerged from was not another prisoner team, but the horde of proto-species that was furiously pursuing them.
The proto-species chasing humans were emitting viscous green bodily fluids because their entire bodies had melted halfway due to the poison gas, but they let out grotesque howls as if pain or fear of death didn't exist at all.
And they rushed towards the humans in front without hesitation.
"Guaaaaaaaa!"
"Damn it! Stop it!"
"Shit, the blades are damaged!"
"Then just beat them to death! Anyway, all other escape routes are blocked, so we have to finish them here whether they're dead or food!"
"Is there definitely a way to escape here? If this is blocked too, then..."
Oh, did they realize that the escape route was blocked the moment I cut off the remote signals I was sending across the entire map?
In terms of even tracing the cause and reaching the very center of the map, I wanted to express pure admiration. At least it meant their heads were working to some extent.
But I can't help but be heartbroken that those guys didn't realize why this was happening.
After all, this is a disaster they brought upon themselves. Karma.
"I guess I should head down soon."
"Are we going to escape right away?"
"No, we have to finish it properly and escape. Besides, it's not time yet, so we can't escape."
Escape routes that open only when certain conditions are met usually have time limits.
Either exit through the designated escape route within a certain time, or exit through a properly working escape route after enduring for a certain time.
Either way, it's extremely demanding, so experienced EFD users rarely use conditional escape routes unless it's the worst case.
Especially since it's currently operating the gimmick composed of PVE-only missions in a PVP situation, there's nothing to say.
"Here, take this."
I handed the sniper compound bow to Lucy, and instead received Lucy's pistol and spare magazine.
It wasn't time to escape yet, which meant there were things to do. Lucy immediately understood her role and loaded arrows into the compound bow, preparing to snipe.
By chance, the communication tower was high for no reason and had many hiding spots like external railings or iron plates, making it perfect as a sniping point.
While Lucy finished preparing, I slid down the extension ladder like a seasoned firefighter.
Thanks to the dual pistols in my hands, it felt like testosterone was being secreted from my whole body.
"Cough! Cough! Shit, my oxygen filter's remaining time is running out!"
"Is there no one with remaining spare purifiers?!"
"I've already used mine up! This is the last one!"
"Guaaaaaaaa!"
The moment I came down from the communication tower, what I saw was the chaotic scene inside the base where a messy party was held.
The prisoners swinging weapons to force their way through and the proto-species trying to exchange them for food by catching them created a suffocating survival competition VIP seat that made you feel the value of the prize.
The poison gas effect is amazing.
I honestly didn't know well when playing games, but facing it in reality, I feel it.
The colorless, odorless, tasteless poison gas that had spread quickly across the entire map was literally created to kill all living beings within its range.
Naturally, its potency was not to be taken lightly because its original purpose was to wipe out all the proto-species that had settled in this area.
The only flaw was that it only acted through respirators due to game allowance, but for spore bulbs and worm-type proto-species that circulate air through spore masses or breathe through all body pores, it couldn't be more effective.
Current oxygen filter remaining: 44% > 40% > 36%
Of course, the purifiers on our side were being consumed very quickly thanks to the poison gas that affects all living beings, but honestly, it didn't matter.
The key was to eliminate all the guys who were trying to drag my ankle here.
Right now, me, Han Seungho of the dual pistols!
Originally, the warning was to avoid poop because poop is dirty, but if poop is moving, the story is different.
If that poop comes at me with extra effort, it's even more unacceptable.
I stood on the platform of the train preparing the emergency escape sequence and hardened into a defensive stance.
Since this was the most important base from the beginning, there were plenty of things to use for defense, so it wasn't difficult to set up a defensive stance.
However, for the guys who had to break through the hellish path from now on to reach here in a desperate escape, it was a completely different matter.
"Guaaaaaaaa!"
A prisoner swinging his jungle knife wildly with damaged blades from bodily fluids and blood fat was eventually surrounded by the proto-species and met a grotesque end.
Specifically, he was torn apart alive, and especially the worm-type proto-species kept digging into the wound areas, eating the flesh and organs inside.
If he had died instantly from such a thing, it would have been a happy ending, but the poor prisoner had to start a second life in a state where he couldn't live or die because a worm-type proto-species had implanted a larva into his head.
At that point, the proto-species stopped touching the prisoner who had become one with the worm and moved on to find the next target.
Was it because they had become like half their own kind? Or...
"Grrk, guaaaaaaa!"
The worm-type proto-species larvae that burst out from the prisoner's body in an instant and poured down like a waterfall.
They jumped up like tadpoles, pouncing on other prisoners or spitting sticky bodily fluids like tongues to grab ankles somehow.
That's why I hate worm-type proto-species. It's annoying, but they're tenacious in a double meaning.
Of course, that's one thing, and this is another.
"Now!"
Tatatang! Tatang!
My shout with the dual barrels of the compound bow that spewed fire at the perfect timing poured out lead bullets one after another.
The spore that was chasing the prisoners and got its skull pierced by the lead bullet exploded like a balloon with a bang, scattering a large amount of bodily fluid and spore smoke.
The worm-type proto-species don't die just from exposure to spore smoke, but if exposed to high concentrations of spores, they couldn't avoid becoming cordyceps.
In the end, they would only undergo the process of mutating into spore worms, but anyway, that moment was like honey to the prisoners.
"Hey! Thanks for the help! Which unit are you from...!"
"Wait!"
Fshaaaaat!
The guy who mistakenly thought we were allies waved his hand happily and ran over, but his limbs were cut off.
He ran straight into the wire traps pre-connected at the platform entrance and pillars, so he couldn't be fine.
"Damn it! That bastard is Super Rookie!"
"Indeed, that bastard was the first to settle here!"
There were two left.
But they weren't about to give up now, so they immediately took something out of their bosom and shot it into the sky. It was a signal flare.
"Seeing you shoot a signal flare the moment you saw me, you seem to be taking on the role of vanguard."
"You know your stuff. Our comrades will all be rushing here soon. With just you and one other comrade whose location we don't know, you won't be able to hold out for long."
"Well, that's not wrong."
I shook my gun barrel to agree with his words.
If it was really just the two of us.
"However, the urgent matter is not us but you guys."
"...!"
Bang!
I shot again to finish off the spore worm that had completed mutation.
The guy looked at me with a surprised expression, but I silently pulled the trigger towards the proto-species.
At this point, the guys would wonder why I wasn't shooting at the ones in front of me but only at the proto-species. Why am I helping the enemies who have an antagonistic relationship.
The reason is simple.
It's the kind of thing amateurs do to waste good meat shields.
Especially if it's a guy who does intentional trolling, I have to keep him alive longer. Because only by living and paying the price of sin can regret, bankruptcy, and obsession be completed.
At this point, the prisoners seemed to realize their situation, gritted their teeth, and swung their jungle knives to cut the wire traps one by one in front of them.
Should I stop their actions? No way.
If they refuse to be meat shields themselves, I can just stop shooting.
"Kyiiiiii!"
"Ouch! What a disgusting bug!"
A worm that crossed the boundary between vertebrates and invertebrates in an instant bit hard on the prisoner's ankle and was instantly crushed.
They had a setting specialized in quickly clearing paths and breaking through certain points, so they lacked firepower like us.
Probably they selected the ones who used their bodies well, had fast legs, and had some intelligence to use as vanguard.
So, there was no way they had guns.
"So, if you don't help me now, you'll be eaten alive by those guys."
"...You bastard!"
"Eh, our parents didn't do coin flips or gift options. They raised me through proper sweat and labor and correct education (spanking)."
Biologically perfect Korean national, the last bloodline of a proud Han family, who would dare to classify me as a dog animal?
I am Homo sapiens sapiens of the dual pistols!!
Tatang! Tatang!