Density of Life
After finishing our farming in the VIP room, we took the hot line and arrived at Sector A of the Cosmos.
"You can think of this as the entrance to the mothership, more or less," Eldia explained as she guided us inside.
I looked around, taking in our new surroundings. The interior resembled a high-tech research laboratory.
Keeping my guard up, I scanned the area using Sequence.
"There are no zombies within three hundred meters. I think we're safe for now," Kang Hyun said, looking down at his terminal.
"Does that thing actually show stuff like that?" I asked.
"Yes."
"What level is your terminal?"
"Level three."
"..."
No wonder.
"Wait, what? Was the terminal actually important? I leveled up something else," Seo Ji-woo suddenly chimed in, squeezing between us.
"I told you so," Kang Hyun said, puffing his chest out triumphantly.
"Hyung, what level is your terminal?" he asked, turning to me.
"Do you really think I'd waste points on that?"
"...Huh?"
Kang Hyun's eyes went wide, his face a picture of sheer bewilderment.
"Still, it's not bad to have at least one person in the party with it. What happens when you upgrade it?"
"Let me show you. Look here. First, it unlocks a radar function that detects zombies. And here, the range for sending messages gets wider, and you can see item details in much greater depth..."
Kang Hyun proudly showed off his terminal, rattling off its features. I paid little attention to the device, focusing instead on his sword.
It was, without a doubt, a broadsword.
"Oh. Then what about your companion skill?"
"...Companion skill?"
Kang Hyun tilted his head. He clearly had no idea what a companion skill was.
I let out a soft chuckle.
"Never mind. It's good. You made the right call upgrading your terminal."
At my praise, Kang Hyun shot Seo Ji-woo a smug, 'See that?' look. Seo Ji-woo let out a dry laugh.
"Eldia," I called out.
"Yes?"
"I'll leave things to you from here."
"...Ah. Yes."
She offered a gentle smile.
"Don't worry. Now that I've established contact with my colleagues, support will arrive at the hangar soon. You can rest until then. According to the orbital rotation... it should take about four hours?"
"Did we delay things because we stopped to farm?" Seo Ji-woo asked.
Eldia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "...I can't deny that."
The Cosmos was spinning in place to generate artificial gravity.
According to Eldia, the hangar's opening window was strictly limited. If they missed the docking point once, they would have to wait a considerable amount of time.
Her colleagues had already missed that window.
Because of me.
"My apologies. We needed to make sure we got our share of loot as well," I said with a wry smile, scratching the back of my neck.
"No, it's fine. Honestly, if it weren't for you all, I wouldn't have even made it this far. Once this is over, we will reward you properly."
"Oh, stop~ You don't have to go that far~ My, aren't you just so thoughtful~" Seo Ji-woo grinned, waving her hands dismissively.
As Seo Ji-woo beamed, I found myself intrigued by Eldia's remarkably polite and refined demeanor. "Eldia, by any chance, are you a noble?"
I was suddenly curious about where this Labyrinthian's home actually was.
"A noble? Goodness, no. I just came from an ordinary planetary system... though, to be honest, I did grow up quite well-off."
"..."
There was so much more I wanted to ask, but I couldn't dig too deep. The cameras were rolling. The culprit who murdered Kim Yoon-jun might be watching me from somewhere.
"Oh, right. Mr. Truck. Why don't you look around here? This is Sector A, the place you've been singing about. There might be some spare parts."
"─Yeah. I've been keeping an eye out anyway."
"Parts?" Eldia asked.
Truck looked at her.
"─Ah. Yes. Well..."
As if hesitating, he rolled his wheels back and forth with a soft *creak, creak*.
"─Actually, I..."
"Yes, I think I understand what you mean," Eldia said, catching on immediately. She was incredibly quick-witted. "Follow me. Your micro-model is the A0391-BIOLA, correct?"
"─That is correct."
"There should be replacement parts for it. This way."
"─Understood."
Truck and Eldia walked off together. *Rattle, rattle.* His chassis vibrated as if he were trembling with excitement.
"Hey. That truck is definitely a person, right?" Seo Ji-woo asked, her curiosity finally getting the better of her.
"Yeah. A human is controlling it."
I sat down on one of the laboratory chairs. Seo Ji-woo and Kang Hyun grabbed chairs of their own. Twirling a lock of her hair, Seo Ji-woo muttered, "Eldia is really sweet. I guess she'd have to be to willingly come back to a zombie-infested hellhole like this."
"Indeed."
I shifted my gaze to Kang Hyun, staring at the scabbard secured to his belt.
"By the way, isn't that a custom-made sword? How did you manage to smuggle it in?" I asked, keeping my tone casual.
"Ah~ This?" Kang Hyun smiled faintly and drew the broadsword. *Shring.* The blade gleamed under the laboratory lights. "Even if I don't hide it, it is always by my side."
"..."
He was saying those words directly to me.
A sudden thought crossed my mind. Do you know? Do you know that I suspect you?
"I see."
*Rattle, rattle.*
Right on cue, Truck returned, his wheels bouncing up and down. It seemed he had found exactly what he wanted.
"Did you find it?"
"─Yes. Look at this." Truck proudly showed off his rear. Several mechanical components were loaded onto his expanded cargo bed. "─These are spaceship engine components and a micro-mana reactor. With these, I can finally launch."
He placed them into a box Eldia had prepared, cradling it carefully with his robotic arms.
"Congratulations. Your first escape in three years?"
Truck let out a deep, heavy sigh.
"─Yes. After three long years, finally..."
"Mr. Truck," I said, my voice carrying a firm, resolute weight. "It's time for you to go back now."
"─..."
Truck froze. He tilted his camera lens upward to look at me.
This was as far as Truck would go with us.
Having received his generous help—including the invaluable Duct Tape—it was only right that he returned home safely.
"Ah. Right. Hold on a second."
I hacked into a nearby vending machine. I cleared out forty high-calorie energy bars—each packing eight hundred calories—along with batteries and medical supplies, stuffing them all into a large bundle.
"A parting gift."
Truck stared at me, his mechanical voice buzzing.
"─...Thank you."
Even in that brief reply, there was a faint, trembling vibration, as if he were holding back tears.
"Don't mention it. Consider it a reward for our mutual trust."
Truck loaded my gift onto his cargo bed.
Then, with a soft *rattle, rattle*, he turned to leave on his own, but—
"Wait a moment," Eldia called out, stopping him.
"This is a temporary keycard. I've copied the supervisor's clearance onto it, so you should be able to return the way you came without any trouble."
She pressed the copied card into Truck's mechanical hand, offering a warm, gentle smile.
Truck muttered, sounding utterly dazed. "─You truly are an angel, Supervisor."
I chimed in as well. "Did you descend from the heavens by any chance?"
"Oh, please. Mr. Truck helped us, so it's only fair that I help him in return. Safe travels."
Eldia and Truck shook hands. It was a rather bizarre yet heartwarming sight.
"─Yes. I shall be on my way."
Truck rolled past the gate and waved a mechanical arm. "─Thank you for everything, Seol Ha-woon."
"Take care, Julione," I replied, using her real name, which I had almost forgotten, as I waved back. "I hope you succeed in your mission to return home."
"─...Yes. I wish you, your two companions, and Eldia the best of luck. May you all complete your mission safely."
"Yeah~ Bye-bye~ Get back safe~!"
"Goodbye," Seo Ji-woo and Kang Hyun offered their own farewells.
The gate slid shut, and Truck vanished from sight.
"..."
I silently brushed my hair back.
Parting ways with a companion always left a bittersweet aftertaste. We had only been together for three or four days, but I had always believed that life was measured by density, not volume.
Someone you've known for a mere six years can hold more value than half your lifetime, while family members who have shared decades under the same roof can end up more estranged than complete strangers.
"So, do we just wait now?" I asked Eldia.
"Yes. For the next three hours... you're free to rest."
"Ah, in that case..." I stretched out flat on the laboratory floor. "I'm going to catch some sleep~"
"Rest well. I'll keep watch."
Grateful for Eldia's consideration, Seo Ji-woo immediately slumped down as well. "Ah, me too. I haven't slept in thirty-six hours."
"...Me as well."
Kang Hyun and Seo Ji-woo lay down in a neat row right next to me.
"Sure. Let's all sleep."
I gladly activated Dream Bubble.
*Rattle, rattle, rattle.*
Truck was on his way. He rolled forward with the majestic air of a triumphant general who had achieved a goal everyone deemed impossible—a goal he had clung to for three long years.
Once he returned home, he could write a book about this grand odyssey, or leverage his experience to become an elite crew member on another vessel. His future was a smooth, golden conveyor belt of success.
"─..."
Yet, Truck kept stopping. He would roll forward a bit, freeze, and look back.
Was it lingering attachment? Or perhaps a sense of sorrow?
*Rattle, rattle.*
"─Sigh..."
Letting out a heavy sigh, Truck steeled his resolve and stopped hesitating. He pressed forward.
Using the temporary administrator keycard Eldia had given him, he boarded the hot line and descended to the VVIP room of Den Mexico.
"─Hmm..."
He had intended to pass straight through, but he paused. With a series of idle *creaks*, he began to look around the interior, wondering if there was anything worth taking.
"─Oho."
Quite a few spoils of war remained.
Decks of poker cards. Rings. Incredibly expensive-looking wines, whiskeys, and even gemstones.
He loaded everything onto his cargo bed. Thanks to his recent upgrades—using spaceship-grade materials for everything from the cargo box to the frame—he could easily carry up to two to three hundred kilograms.
Once again, he set off.
Alone.
Inserting the keycard into the VVIP elevator, he descended toward the casino crawling with zombies.
"─Phew."
An involuntary sigh escaped him. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry.
The companion who had helped him achieve his three-year-old dream, who had breathed life back into him when he was on the verge of giving up.
He will achieve his goal too, won't he?
Of course he will.
Though they hadn't known each other long, Seol Ha-woon was the strongest, most meticulous human he had ever laid eyes on.
*Thud.*
The elevator doors slid open.
Truck was about to roll out, but a heavy silhouette collapsed forward, tumbling into the elevator cabin first.
"─...Ah! You!"
It was Robot. The companion who had sacrificed itself for their sake.
"─Hey! Wake up!"
Truck tapped Robot's faceplate repeatedly. There was no response.
"─Damn it..."
He peered inside the steel plating that had been pierced by the zombies. The damage was severe. The main motherboard was heavily compromised, but fortunately, it wasn't beyond repair.
*Whirrr.*
He switched his robotic arm to welding mode. *Sizzle! Crackle!* He did his best to patch up the damaged sections.
"─Hey! Snap out of it!"
He kept talking to Robot throughout the operation. A nearby zombie pricked up its ears at the noise, but it quickly lost interest and wandered off.
Those monsters tracked targets by detecting biological signs. They paid no heed to mere sights and sounds.
"─Initiating suction!"
Truck grabbed a spare mana battery he had scavenged and shoved it into the main motherboard.
*Sssssss—*
The motherboard and the battery fused together.
The battery would now serve as a temporary circuit.
All that was left was to wait for it to boot up on its own.
"─...Come on, wake up."
Several minutes ticked by in a tense silence, Truck's wheels trembling with anxiety.
[Bleep. Whirrr.]
"─Oh!"
Finally, Robot stirred.
"─Robot! It's me!"
...
Robot's display panel flickered erratically. *Bleep. Whir.* It seemed its processing unit was still dazed.
Truck patted Robot repeatedly and asked, "─Do you recognize me?"
> Target identified. Subordinate of Agent Seol Ha-woon.
"─Su-subordinate? Not subordinate, companion!"
> Companion of Agent Seol Ha-woon: Mr. Truck.
"─The name is Julione. Anyway, can you stand?"
*Thud. Thud.*
Robot dragged its shattered limbs, clumsily pushing itself upright. Exposed wiring sparked and leaked fluid from its legs, presenting a pitiful sight, but it was nothing a quick weld couldn't patch up.
"─Hold on. Let me patch you up."
If he did some temporary welding now and scavenged more parts from the mothership later, Robot could be restored to pristine condition.
"─There. How is it?"
> Diagnostics complete. System stability at 63%.
"─Good. In that case—"
*BOOM—!*
A massive explosion suddenly shook the area. Startled, Truck looked up at the ceiling of the elevator.
The sound had come from the VVIP room.
"─What was that?"
An inexplicable explosion. Though he couldn't tell exactly what had happened, one thing was absolutely certain: they could no longer go back up.
But why so suddenly? What triggered the detonation?
"─We have no choice. Robot, by the authority vested in me as Seol Ha-woon's companion, I command you. Follow me."
> Acknowledged.
"─Let's go. To the supervisor's office."
There would be plenty of spare parts in the supervisor's office. Even if he couldn't make Robot look brand new, he could at least swap out the broken components.
*Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.*
*Rattle, rattle, rattle.*
And so, the duo of Truck and Robot set off.