The Protein Has Come to Me

'This guy didn't even appear in the original game...?'

The Sand Worm erupted from the ground like a colossal earthworm. Seeing it active in broad daylight, it seemed its subterranean habitat meant the weakness of sunlight didn't apply much to it.

Most grotesque of all was its head. Inside its circular maw, dozens of rows of densely packed teeth were grinding together with a bone-chilling sound.

"Are you telling me that... something like that was right beneath where we were standing?"

Serika immediately drew her sniper rifle and took aim. But a moment later, she broke into a cold sweat and lowered the barrel.

"I can't! It's too close to Revi! There's a risk of friendly fire!"

"Then just stay still, Serika."

"...What?"

Serika turned to look at me, clearly unable to believe I could answer without a hint of tension.

"Chanwoo, aren't you... worried about Revi?"

I shook my head briefly at her question.

"No, I'm not."

"What?"

"That kind of daytime-active monster? It doesn't stand a chance against Revi."

"KREEEEEEEEEE!"

The Sand Worm let out a frantic shriek and lunged. Its gaping maw cast a shadow, as if it intended to swallow Lyla, who was still on my shoulders, in a single bite.

"Eek! Re, Revi Unni! What do we do!"

"Hmm..."

Unlike Lyla, who was screaming at the top of her lungs, Revi closed her eyes for a moment, calculating.

And then...

Shing.

The blade held in her hand flashed, tracing a silver arc. She walked toward the Sand Worm as if she were out for a casual stroll. And just as the monster was about to engulf her, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠struck.

Slash.

"SKREEEEEEE?!"

The Sand Worm's face split in half, and it collapsed on the spot.

"Whoa..."

Serika's eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open.

"I can't believe it... Was that really Revi...?"

"You saw it. She did the same thing when we took down the Human Hunter."

"But back then... I thought that kind of movement was only possible because you were controlling her, Chanwoo!"

Serika exclaimed, her voice a mix of shock and excitement. I slowly shook my head.

"Nope. I just gave her a little nudge. Revi was always capable of that much."

"......"

Serika stared at Revi in silence. Having sliced through a Rook-class monster in an instant, Revi quietly sheathed her blade and turned toward me. I gave her a thumbs-up. Revi stood still, but the slight trembling of her fingertips betrayed her joy.

"Well done, Revi. Normally, we would've had to search every shadowed building to find monsters, but you've made the work much easier."

"...Thank you for the praise, Chanwoo."

Her expression remained stoic, but a subtly excited emotion tinged the end of her voice.

"However... will one of these be enough to scavenge all the materials needed for the circuit repairs?"

I shrugged.

"No. We'll need at least ten more."

Revi's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly. Finding the reaction amusing, I smiled mischievously. Because...

"Kreeee!"

"Kik! Kik!"

"Kagagagak!"

"Eek?! Chanwoo Oppa! They keep popping out of the ground!"

The Sand Worm—that thing doesn't travel alone. Most subterranean monsters like that move in packs. That was a fact proven in the original game.

"Lyla. Stay by my side while Revi fights for a while."

"Okay... I understand. Chanwoo... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Oppa."

The "You can do it!" spirit Lyla had been shouting while riding my shoulders was gone; she nodded quietly. She carefully climbed down from Revi's shoulder and walked toward me, looking hesitant. I naturally held out my hand. After a moment of hesitation, Lyla gripped it tightly.

It was a warmth that wasn't cold or fearful. It was the touch of someone trusting another. There was no more strange, stiff formality in her tone. For the first time, the words "Revi Unni" and "Chanwoo Oppa" flowed naturally from the girl's lips. It was a warm voice, as if she had truly become one of us.

The roars of the monsters surrounding us were getting closer, but strangely, I didn't feel tense.

"Revi, Serika. Do you need help?"

"No! I can handle this much on my own!"

"That's right. Chanwoo, just play word games with Lyla!"

At the two androids' confident declaration, I nodded lightly.

"Alright. Then... let's hunt those nine remaining ones to our hearts' content."

Unexpectedly, the successive appearance of the Sand Worms felt like stepping into an experience dungeon. In less than thirty minutes, we had finished off all ten of our targets. But the hunt was only the beginning.

The truly important part was the tedious task of dismantling the monsters to scavenge the parts hidden within their bodies. It took us much longer to dissect the carcasses and extract the tissues needed for circuit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠repair. By the time the sun began to set, we had finally finished all the work.

Crackle.

We entered a nearby abandoned building and lit a campfire. Maintaining our body temperature with the faint warmth, we each cooled our exhausted bodies.

"Good work. Thanks to you, we hit today's goal perfectly."

"Not at all. You were the one who did all the difficult dismantling, Chanwoo."

"That's right! Even in R.P.M., that dismantling work is notoriously hard, yet you did it so cleanly... As expected, human dexterity is amazing!"

"Haha... well, I have a bit of a knack for it."

The obsession from those days, when I would slice up 200 monster corpses a day for challenges and couldn't take my hands off the controller even at 100% fatigue. The hundreds of hours of grinding, relying on nothing but precise finger control that was more accurate than muscle memory in an extreme mode where one mistake meant an instant Game Over. In the end, those grueling times had come to life in this very moment of "real-world" survival.

Just as we were exchanging proud laughter:

"Sniff, sniff. But don't you think we reek of blood?"

"Hehe... you're right. I feel a bit gross too..."

"I agree. We need to wash as soon as possible. I am currently confirming a very strong urge to bathe."

"Haa... if only there were a sauna somewhere..."

I sighed, leaning my tired body against the wall. I knew where we were. Humanity had perished, and we were walking on the ruins of the apocalypse. A sauna? That was a wish, a luxury, bordering on delusion.

But at that very moment, as if a dream were seeping into reality, words that should never have come out in this reality were spoken with utter naturalness.

"Um..."

We turned our heads in surprise to see Lyla standing there, cautiously raising her hand.

"In our village... there is a sauna."

"...What?!"

"R-really?!"

"The kind of sauna that existed before humanity went extinct...?"

"I go into the hot spring sometimes. It makes me feel good... I'm sure the Unnis and Chanwoo Oppa would like it too..."

Hot. Spring.

I was speechless for a moment. Saunas definitely existed in Star's Doll, too. However, they were luxury structures for high-level players that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had nothing to do with survival. The construction requirements were absurd, and almost no one built them.

"But... there's a hot spring in this Underground Village?"

I tilted my head at Lyla's words, then held my breath as I imagined the scene. Immediately, a lethal calculation began to run in my head.

Underground Village. Population: All female. Shared bathroom structure. = Mixed bathing.

...In that case, there was a 99.9% chance that the hot spring there was a "mixed bath" as well.

"They say in the old days that you should always go to a sauna with a woman... I guess the ancestors were never wrong."

"Is a sauna really that good, Chanwoo?"

"Of course. When we get back, I'll teach you with my body, very slowly!"

"Chanwoo! Then I'll go in and scrub your back! I've wanted to try that for a long time... Of course, the front, too."

Serika laughed in a shy voice, even leaning her body against my arm. Seeing this, Revi stayed silent for a long time before quietly placing her hand on my other arm.

"...I will go in as well. If it's about scrubbing you, Chanwoo, I am confident I can do it more gently than Serika."

This... if we really go in, it's not going to end with just scrubbing shoulders, is it?

"Lyla, do you want to come in too?"

"What? M-may I...?"

"Of course. A girl is prettiest when she's clean."

"I agree. An entity with poor hygiene generally loses favor."

Revi answered with machine-like composure, but her gaze was wavering awkwardly. It was something she never would have said under normal circumstances. But now, she was clearly reacting to the concept of "washing together."

'Hehe... I'm looking forward to when we get back.'

A small laugh escaped me across the campfire. Even in the apocalypse, this moment was peaceful and warm.

But then.

"Sob... h-hic..."

"...Hm?"

"Lyla?"

"Why are you crying? Are you hurt?"

The girl had her head bowed low, trembling quietly. Her eyes were moist, her expression full of hesitation. And then, a single sentence fell quietly.

"I'm... I'm sorry... Chanwoo Oppa, Unnis... I'm sorry for everything..."

Her emotions had suddenly collapsed. It was a sob as if she could no longer bear everything she had been hiding until now.