Entering Area 7
The view from the monorail, which was suspended on the tracks, was truly breathtaking.
Within the massive barrier and the blue barrier, six areas were divided, with the inner Area featuring towering skyscrapers of the ashen city, and the outer Area being recently expanded with high-rise buildings stacked one after another.
Scattered throughout the city were blue parks that added color to the desolate urban landscape.
The pollution generated in the city was almost neutralized by the inner barrier, but the people trapped inside this dome could only experience the blue sky and clear air from the park-like facilities.
It was truly a dystopian world that seemed to be desperately averting its gaze from despair.
This sight made me realize anew that this was the world of Project Zion that I knew.
Tiss....
I snapped out of my reverie at Shan's creaking voice.
I was worried if I could hold on until Shan, who was trembling, arrived.
Thanks to Emily, I was able to sit comfortably in a special compartment, but for Shan, it was exposure to an unprecedented number of people.
In the cramped space filled with the murmur of people and all sorts of noise, Shan was desperately fighting against motion sickness and stress.
Uuuuk.
So, so many people... I, my stomach is queasy.
For Shan, who had wanted to live quietly at home without going outside and only inside, this environment was a horror that went beyond culture shock, something she had never experienced before.
Mi... can't... hold on....
Starting from the terminal, she got motion sick, and eventually couldn't hold it in while riding the monorail, and Shan vomited rainbows inside her body.
There was a heavy foreign sensation in the middle of my chest.
Sigh.
Pat pat.
I gently stroked Shan's chest to calm her a little.
Hiing... T, Tiss is combing my hair... I miss it. I want to... rest, rest soon.
Hold on just a little.
After repeating soothing Shan by looking at the scenery and reading books or comics when bored, we finally arrived at the portal to Area 7.
Wooong wooong.
"Everyone, please line up!"
"Each of you will pass through the inspection station. Move after the person in front finishes their inspection."
It was like passing through a border, a simple customs check was being conducted at the place crossing into the Area.
To prevent monsters from invading the inner Area and to block the distribution of goods not permitted to the 7 Area, a more stringent inspection was being conducted than elsewhere.
Huh...!
Just as I thought I had finally escaped the pain of motion sickness on the monorail, Shan's face turned deathly pale at the long line and inspection heading to the portal station.
T, Tiss... so, that is....
Beep beep beep!
The sudden warning alarm drew everyone's attention to the inspection station.
"Hey you, don't move!"
With a clattering sound, the man hanging on the inspection station suddenly tried to flee, and the waiting security officer rushed in and subdued the man in an instant.
On the screen of the visible inspection system, illegal drugs that were smuggled in were clearly visible hidden inside the body.
The man whose limbs were bound was taken away by the hero after a while.
"There was a slight commotion. Next!"
Heeik.
Tiss, the, the inspection! It's an inspection! W, we're done now.
"It's not over."
Shan's eyes, already teary from fear, started to well up.
D, if I'm caught...! I, might be dissected alive!
"Take a deep breath."
The guy who was screaming "Kyaaak" forgetting the pain and breathing was.
A.
Thud.
He vomited steam from his head and collapsed.
I walked confidently past the inspection station.
There was no warning alarm that Shan was worried about.
Such a simple inspection station couldn't catch Shan, who was hiding the highest-ranking monster and Abaddon's spawn.
Uuu... ?
As we were with Emily, we simply passed through the inspection station, completed the entire inspection process as a free pass, and exited the inspection area.
It was really a short time, less than 30 seconds.
Is this... really, really the end?
"Yeah."
Haaaa... I'm, I'm glad.
The guarantee of a current hunter's identity was a surprisingly strong power.
Unlike the game where becoming a hunter or hero was too natural, when this became reality, the feeling was completely different.
Actually, thinking about how if you were a refugee with uncertain or no identity and got caught outside the border, you might be stuck with the terminal security team for days receiving boring investigations, Emily's backing was quite solid.
Emily, as if knowing what I was thinking, made a slightly pleased expression, but I didn't tell her that.
It was a bit bothersome, but it was good that I accepted her goodwill.
Sigh.
Stretching while yawning, now I felt like I could live.
After passing through the terminal and coming outside, the warm sunlight and clear air greeted us.
Ironically, the air in the less urbanized Area 7 was cleaner than the inner Area.
The wild nature untouched by human hands became blue grasslands due to the monsters that swallowed it, or became jungle, and sometimes within tens of kilometers, there were sub-zero ice zones or hot desert zones.
In other words, it meant we could absorb the essences of monsters that had adapted to such diverse environments and grow even more.
Uuu... It's hard. I... was too... too hard... I'm, I'm going to die.
Shan, who had just experienced her first long-time travel, muttered in a voice close to death.
I hate people... my, my stomach is still churning.
To Shan, who had only met her kin when necessary and hidden underground, this journey had been quite grueling.
"Wasn't the orphanage either teachers or kids many?"
A, a little different.
"What's different?"
In the end, are they not the same humans?
Th, there the teachers... are, are subordinates who exist to fulfill all that I want... so, the kids, the, the candidates for hosts of this body... were.
"I see."
Roughly, humans related to me and treated as subordinates are okay.
As expected, there's no place as cozy as my, my nest... I miss it already.
What to do if it's already gone flat.
"The dorm and mart are a bit far, right? Let's buy what we need before entering."
Ah... again, places with many people are a bit....
"I'll buy all the things you want to eat."
To eat... hah. Then, if I quickly buy and come out within 10 minutes, I'll forgive you.
After persuading Shan to buy food with words, we followed Emily's guidance to the mart to buy ingredients and finished the shopping, and only then were we able to arrive at the house.
.
.
.
Emily's hideout was a small villa located at a suitable distance in the city center.
"It's completely empty?"
"Well, it's a place prepared for sleeping while staying for a short time."
20 pyeong was not a small size for one person to live alone.
A, but it's not even a formal Area yet... why are there so many people...
"Well, since Abaddon died quite a while ago, the land has developed quite a bit."
Shan seemed to expect a quiet rural life with little development, and she was puzzled that the Area's appearance was completely different from her imagination.
Although it wasn't yet declared as an Area, humans hadn't expanded it in a day or two.
Since the front lines were built, supply lines created, and monorails installed, the area where humans lived was a place that was somewhat safe from monster invasions.
Of course, commercial areas like marts, restaurants, and lodging facilities would form in such places.
Among the people staying in Area 7, there were hunters hunting monsters back and forth between areas, management bureau staff, and merchants selling to them,
but in most cases, they were non-citizens who couldn't go to Areas 1-6.
Although thorough security management wasn't done even in the areas where non-citizens lived, and there were no heroes yet in this place, Emily's house was the optimal place as a hideout along with a suitable living area.
Drrriii!
When I put the terminal on the handle, the door that was tightly locked opened with a cheerful sound.
Is this the house Emily was talking about?
"Soundproofing is installed. Special blackout curtains are also attached."
As Emily said, the facilities were lacking, but soundproofing was definitely there.
No need to worry about anyone peeking in or conversations from here leaking outside.
"For a while, we can stay here."
The space Emily made for just sleeping while wandering around was really nothing but the bed besides that.
There was nothing but a metric one.
There was really nothing else.
Next, I should buy some appliances to fill it. No matter what, there should be a refrigerator or something.
Tiss... rest for just 5 minutes... sleep.
"Yeah."
Lying on the metric for Shan's struggling sake, Shan finally let out a sigh of relief.
Hwaaang.
Anyway, having a place to lie down comfortably was quite satisfying.
Th, this... no matter what they said there'd be nothing... it's really empty.
"Getting one by one is fine."
This place was desperate for supplies and manpower, whether legal or illegal.
There was no problem in earning money to fill the necessary things.
Tiss, I'm hungry.
"Didn't you eat various things on the monorail?"
Th, that's a snack... not a meal, right?
Strange.
She had eaten two bento boxes in one meal while suffering motion sickness?
Gurgle gurgle.
Without words, the stomach clock sounded clearly in my ears.
I, as the host, suddenly felt my stomach empty.
Haha.
Looking at our appearance, Emily laughed and started taking out the things she brought.
"Hungry is natural. Molting consumes a lot of energy."
Emily said that in addition to the essence, many nutrients were needed, so additional nutrient intake was essential.
Th, see. So that... eat chicken skewers. Dip in that yellow sauce.
At that, I picked and ate the food that Shan was supposed to eat without saying a word.
Ooze ooze.
While repeating chewing and swallowing hard, suddenly I felt Shan staring at the food with intense eyes.
Even though I would share the taste and nutrients by eating, she still looked like she was lacking.
I, I want to eat it directly. Tiss... is there no, no way?
"I'll look for one."
Yes!
Shan, who entered me, had suddenly lost many things she had enjoyed naturally.
A way for Shan to directly consume food.
I might need to look for monsters with multiple accessory organs like mouths or monsters that can create clones.
Sigh.
St, I'm full. If I eat this much... it's okay.
"Little miss, by the way, it's better to take off your clothes in advance. Clothes get caught on the shed skin and get in the way."
After filling Shan's stomach until she was satisfied, we took off the clothes we were wearing and settled on the mattress.
Click.
When Emily saw us preparing to molt, she sat on the floor, leaned her back against the wall, and naturally took out a book as if familiar.
"Tiss, I'll leave it to you for a while."
"Okay, little miss."
With Emily waving her hand as the end, I slowly closed my eyes.
Tiss... then, shall I start?
"Yeah."
With a feeling of something soft and fluffy enveloping my whole body, my consciousness gradually descended below.