The Situation in Yeouido (3)
A long sigh of relief escaped from Haseon's tense lips. It seemed the kids' attention had shifted to Donggle, giving her some breathing room.
"Haseon, these are the siblings who'll be staying with us on the train for a while. They'll probably bunk in car 2, but I'll fill you in on the details after I get back. For now... I have someone to meet."
"Oh? Ah, sure! Go ahead!"
I headed back out, drones in tow. When I returned to that dark alley from earlier, the masked man was indeed standing right where I'd told him to wait, shivering as he kept watch for me.
"Alright, kids are settled. Now let's hear your business." I planted my spear on the ground with a sharp thunk and fixed him with a cold stare.
At my icy response, he swallowed hard, then slowly raised a hand to remove his hat and pull his mask down below his chin. He was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with a somewhat gloomy vibe.
"Let me introduce myself properly, one more time." He glanced nervously around, his face taut with tension, then stepped closer and whispered in a voice as tiny as a mosquito's.
"I'm an agent with the Management Department. But my real affiliation is closer to the Awakener Alliance."
"Awakener Alliance?"
It was an unexpected introduction. Was he some kind of spy? Things were getting complicated right from the start. I scanned him up and down.
"What do you think of the Management Department, by the way?"
"...Honestly? Not much."
They'd stuck a tracker on Haseon in the past, and I'd seen plenty on the gallery too. At my answer, he nodded with a wry, empathetic smile.
"We feel the same. The higher-ups in the Management Department put their own positions first, even in this mess."
He took a moment to steady his breath, then dropped a bombshell out of nowhere. "That's why the Awakener Alliance plans to gather more politicians in the next few days."
"Huh?" My eyes went wide. How had we jumped to that?
"Even when we led the charge against the monsters, the general survivors' support wasn't with us. It always went to the Management Department... the politicians."
He gave a bitter laugh. "People fear awakeners who wield raw power. Psychologically, they feel more secure with the politicians they voted for themselves back in the day—love 'em or hate 'em—handling the safe zone with their systems and bureaucracy."
He wasn't wrong. Just look at the gallery or the folks inside the safe zone; they were already adapting to the Management Department's assigned tasks and distributions. Awakeners had noticed this perceptual gap during the department's formation. Public sentiment leaned that way, and honestly, those politicians were rebuilding Yeouido faster than expected.
"But that shift in public opinion works in our favor." His eyes sharpened for a split second. "We could see them fracturing among themselves. They set up this Management Department, but the minister position's still vacant. This is our chance to make them turn on each other."
They had big plans. Curiosity hit me—why spill all this to me? When I shot him a suspicious look, he scanned the surroundings again and lowered his voice even more.
"Transport. We need you to secretly move some very important cargo and people to Yeouido."
According to him, the Management Department politicians lording over the safe zone were mostly nobodies from before the apocalypse—ones who couldn't even stand tall back then. People who'd never heard of them.
"They just got lucky surviving in Yeouido and exploited everyone's anxiety to slap on those armbands."
"I see...?" Politics wasn't my wheelhouse, so this was all news to me.
"Might as well make the most of it. We're bringing in some real heavy-hitter politicians to muddy the waters."
His plan: They'd connected via the gallery messenger with survivors from another region's safe zone, discovering that pre-apocalypse big shots—major corporate execs and politicians—were leading the pack there.
"We chatted beforehand, and yeah, they're a bit rigid and old-school, but they seem way more responsible and legit than the clowns in Yeouido right now."
I crossed my arms, pondering. Sure, pre-apocalypse clout might not matter much in the end times, but he disagreed.
"Public opinion will swing hard."
Awakeners might beat politicians in comparison, but politician vs. politician? Yeah, that tracked.
"...Where to?"
"Suwon Safe Zone." He handed over a slip of paper. "Load up the food and supplies we've stashed, head to Suwon. Deliver them to the safe zone there, then bring back the politicians and a few key people to Yeouido."
Supply run to Suwon, return trip with passengers. And rewards, of course.
"We'll give you mid-grade mana stones we've collected, plus credits. 70 mid-grade stones and about 1,000 credits—we can promise that much."
A hefty payout. 70 mid-grade mana stones... Perfect timing, exactly what I needed. Plus, I was curious how the fake kings in their rabbit hole would react to real famous politicians.
"Alright, I'm in." Couldn't pass it up for upgrades, and it was the only way to shake up Yeouido meaningfully right now.
"Embarrassing, but... could we do the mana stone reward upfront?"
A bit awkward, but I needed them now. Delaying upgrades was a loss. He promised a box of stones with the cargo transfer.
He gave me the pickup spot for the supplies, and we parted ways.
"Miss! Wait!"
As I walked off, the siblings' mother came panting toward the train from afar, clutching something in her hand.
"Mom?"
"Here, take this."
She pressed credits into my palm—probably from sorting and distributing convenience store food.
"No, I can't..."
"I heard awakeners use these credits to draw skills and get stronger? You're protecting my kids—this is the least I can do."
My chest tightened. "Mom, don't. At least come with the kids now..."
But she shook her head gently yet firmly. "It's fine. I'll wait here. I can earn credits too, and pass on Yeouido news."
She explained that since she usually left the kids home for work, her absence wouldn't raise suspicions about them vanishing.
"...If you change your mind or anything goes wrong, message the gallery. I'll come right back."
"Feels reassuring. Thank you."
She waved goodbye to the two kids peering from the window. The little passengers then scampered to the bombardment golem hunkered in the corner of the cab.
Clank, clunk!
The golem seemed to hit it off surprisingly well with the kids. It crouched low, letting them clamber onto its back, then adjusted its height to match eye level with the marimo in the tank.
Was it that fun to watch? ...Staring into the tank did have a calming effect, though.
"Alright, time to go..."
The train left Yeouido, stopping at a quiet track near Singil Station, the agreed rendezvous.
"This is it..."
Awakener Alliance members were already there, stacks of food and supply crates piled like mountains. Supplies bound for Suwon Safe Zone.
They gawked at the train's appearance at first, but relaxed when I opened the door and poked my head out.
"We'll load the cargo. Open the baggage car."
"We'll handle it—stand back. Kids, if you would."
Whirr—!
At my command, the waiting drones and golem swooped in, effortlessly hoisting the heavy crates. The golem stacked three at a time and hauled them to car 3.
So many crates they spilled into cars 2 and 3, the passenger areas.
"This one's open... Oh."
One crate was for me, packed with the promised mana stones.
The awakeners watched the drones in stunned silence, then burst into disbelieving chuckles.
"Heh, seriously... They haul better than we do."
"Those boxes are way bigger than their bodies..."
"That four-legged thing... I swear I've seen it in a game..."
"Oh~ That one?"
With everything loaded, I bid the awakeners farewell and set off for Suwon Safe Zone.
"Suwon's a ways off... Might as well upgrade in the meantime."
I opened the cab panel to use the prepaid mid-grade mana stones. First up: the spike reinforcement the bombardment golem had insisted on. And to haul Suwon's politicians and people, expanding car 3's passenger space.
Consuming 50 mid-grade mana stones and 1 month's fuel to upgrade front spikes to front grinder.
Consuming 3 months' fuel to expand space in car 3.
Screeech—! With the messages, the train groaned with metallic shrieks as its form shifted in real time.
The kids in the cab stared wide-eyed out the window. The golem lumbered up, peering approvingly at the panel, then tap-tapped my arm with its foot like a pat of praise.
"Yeah, thanks..."
The old spikes vanished, replaced by massive interlocking circular saw blades forming a grinder. It looked like it could pulverize anything.
Car 3's interior cracked and rearranged with pops, expanding sideways for more room. Seats adjusted too, adding a middle row.
"Performance is definitely up..."
I checked the external camera feed on the monitor and let out a hollow laugh. The huge railgun on the roof, the grinder covering half the front... The train looked even more ferocious now.
"Think people will freak out and run before they even board?"
Haseon's words drew a wry smile from me.