In the House, Part 12
There were no zombies to be seen here in Sector A of the Cosmos, where we currently stood. Why was that?
It wasn't because they had successfully suppressed the outbreak.
Space zombies didn't die.
But was it really that simple? Was it truly possible to just... not die?
My doubts branched out from that very question.
Nothing in this world is truly immortal. A passing dog, a gorilla, a human—even the universe itself has a lifespan.
Therefore, it wasn't that the zombies couldn't be killed; it was simply that we hadn't figured out how to kill them yet.
Suddenly, the concept of a "mycelium" came to mind.
When we hike up a mountain and spot a mushroom, we mistake it for an individual organism. But the mushroom is merely a fraction of the whole, a tiny part exposed on the surface.
It is nothing more than a fingernail-sized fragment sprouting from beneath the earth, where a vast network of fungal threads—hyphae—has taken root.
Even if you pluck the mushroom, the mycelium beneath remains alive.
In that sense, the zombies were mushrooms. Because they were connected by invisible threads, severing their bodies did not kill them.
And the source sustaining those zombies was likely located at the very heart of the Cosmos...
"What are you thinking about?"
My train of thought was cut short. I turned to look at Eldia.
"Ha-woon. Everyone else is asleep, so you can rest a bit more."
"I only planned to sleep for two hours from the start."
"Wow. You can actually do that? I guess it's because you're former special forces. I sleep so much myself..."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a shy smile.
I asked her, feigning a bit of naivety.
"Haha... What happened to your colleagues?"
"We'll be able to meet them as soon as the hangar opens."
"...I see. If we go deeper, are there many survivors?"
Eldia nodded, her expression darkening.
"I'm sure there are. Just like Mr. Truck. Though I ended up running away alone..."
She lowered her head as if weighed down by guilt.
Right on cue, she was looking for comfort.
"Anyone would have done the same."
"...Thank you."
Buzz, buzz—
A vibration buzzed from Eldia's terminal. It was time.
"Wake up."
I nudged Kang Hyun and Seo Ji-woo with my cane. The two of them jolted awake.
"...Whu... what time is it?"
Seo Ji-woo's eyelids were heavy and swollen. Kang Hyun's face was also quite puffy.
"Doesn't matter what time it is. Get up."
"Let's move. Follow me, everyone."
Eldia led the way. I followed, leaning on my cane, while Kang Hyun and Seo Ji-woo trailed behind, yawning.
The hangar wasn't far.
HANGAR
The gate slid open. It was a space enclosed on all sides by sophisticated steel plating. Just a single layer of this wall stood between us and the vast vacuum of space.
"Everyone, come over to the control room."
The control room was a booth that offered a clear view of the entire hangar.
Eldia sat down in front of the desktop with practiced ease.
Yes, a desktop.
"...Honestly, let's play rock-paper-scissors for this."
Seo Ji-woo quickly spun me around. Kang Hyun also chimed in, thrusting his hand forward.
"What? Go away. Shoo, shoo."
Seo Ji-woo shoved Kang Hyun back.
"Why me? Let me in on this."
Kang Hyun took another step forward, clearly eager. Seo Ji-woo furrowed her brows.
"You're just going to level up your terminal again."
"Ha-woon hyung said it was good."
Kang Hyun was trying to use me as leverage.
I couldn't let him do that.
"It's not that good. It's just nice to have maybe one person in the party with it. There's no need to go past level 3."
If possible, I had to eliminate the competition.
"See?"
Seo Ji-woo grinned. Kang Hyun looked deeply wronged.
"Fine. I'll upgrade something else then."
"Whoa! Finally?! You're finally giving up on that stubborn terminal obsession?!"
Her theatrical tone was dripping with exaggerated emotion. It seemed they had bickered about this quite a bit before.
"But still, no. Since you already hit level 3 on your terminal, your build is ruined. Go away."
Seo Ji-woo waved her hand dismissively.
"Ruined build..."
Kang Hyun looked genuinely hurt.
Suddenly, I grew curious.
"Seo Ji-woo, what skill are you trying to upgrade?"
"My Gravity Field."
She answered proudly, but something felt off.
"Then why haven't you used it once so far?"
"...Hey, we're both spellcasters, don't be like that~ I just haven't adapted to the environment yet. This Gravity Field requires a ton of mana, you know."
At that moment, Kang Hyun's eyes widened. Seizing the opening, he immediately pounced on her weakness.
"Then you don't need it either."
"Huh? What?"
"You don't need it. What's the point of leveling it up if you can't even use it?"
"Wh-what do you mean I don't need it? Leveling up the terminal is what's useless. I'll finish adapting soon."
"Use it then."
"...What?"
"Use it. See, you can't."
"...I just need to sleep for another hour or two, then I can use it."
"But you can't use it right now."
"Ah, seriously. Hey, don't be so childish—"
"You can't use it right now."
"...Fine! I can't use it right now! But your terminal is useless even if you level it up. If I upgrade my Gravity Field, at least I'll have a high ceiling later..."
Leaving them to their bickering, I quietly slipped toward the desktop.
I'm taking this.
It might be underhanded, but I had no choice. It was all for the greater good...
"What the..."
The desktop screen was dark.
It meant someone had already used it.
"I'm opening the hangar!"
Having finished her preparations, Eldia pressed the Enter key.
Beyond the reinforced glass, the massive hangar gate slid open. Right on cue, a spaceship glided in from the outside. The entire sequence unfolded in absolute silence.
"Ha-woon! We decided to play rock-paper-scissors."
Having reached an agreement, Seo Ji-woo and Kang Hyun both thrust out their fists. I shook my head.
"It's already been used."
"...What? Wow, that is so incredibly cheap!"
"Wow... Hyung..."
Seo Ji-woo's face twisted in disgust, and Kang Hyun looked genuinely disappointed.
"No, not by me. Someone else."
"...Huh? Let me see."
There was another explorer who had boarded the mothership besides us. And they had done so at least a day or two ago.
A few candidates came to mind. Lee Jun-ho, Ryu Yeon-hwa, Kate... As expected, they weren't ones to be underestimated.
"Everyone, come on out!"
Before we knew it, the hangar gate had closed.
We stepped out of the control room.
Hiss—
The spaceship's transport bay hissed open. A fairly large group of people stepped out.
"Eldia!"
A blond man who appeared to be their leader spread his arms wide toward Eldia. Eldia ignored him and gestured to us.
"Everyone, get inside the ship!"
Meanwhile, on the waste disposal ship, Gestalt.
Having safely made their way down, Truck and Robot located the submarine Seol Ha-woon had prepared.
—Put some back into it and lift.
〔Acknowledged...〕
The robot was incredibly feeble, but it still managed to launch the submarine into the sea of filth.
—Get in first.
Robot entered the submarine first, followed by Truck.
*Clang.* The hatch was sealed shut.
—Robot. Take a close look at this. Is it completely sealed?
〔Scanning... Yes... No gaps detected...〕
—Good. What about the fuel...
He checked the Xenon Battery, which served as a substitute for engine fuel. There was still plenty of charge left.
—Here we go.
Truck gripped the steering wheel with his robotic arm. With a quick spin, the vessel began to descend.
—...It's working well.
He let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
—The submarine is fine. Robot, are you okay?
〔Checking chassis... Power leak detected...〕
—That's because we haven't repaired you yet. Just hang in there. Switch to maximum power-saving mode for now.
〔Initiating power-saving mode...〕
*Whirrrrr.*
Its movements slowed to a crawl before it slumped onto the floor. Watching this made Truck's heart ache.
—Hang in there, buddy... Just wait a bit.
—I'll repair you soon. I'll make you better than ever.
Truck focused on the radar, carefully piloting the submarine.
"...I heard the story. You delayed our rendezvous to pack some cargo?"
The blond man named Raid grinned. He had a fairly jovial impression.
I gave a brief reply.
"Yes. We are a mercenary group, after all."
"Haha. That's fine. How did you get that injury, by the way? Were you bitten—"
"It's a disability. I'm crippled."
"Ah."
There were nine crew members in total.
I questioned Raid.
"Explain the operation first."
"It's simple. We'll use Eldia's supervisor authority to open all the hangars. The hangars in every sector of the Cosmos are interconnected, so we'll use them as elevator shafts."
"And we ride this spaceship straight into the deepest depths of the Cosmos?"
*Click!* Raid clicked his tongue and shot me a finger gun.
"Exactly. Jecol, prepare for takeoff!"
"Yes, sir."
*Rumble.* The spaceship rose vertically. In the cockpit, Eldia was tapping away on her laptop, preparing to activate her supervisor authority.
"...It's done. I've sent the signal, so they will open one by one."
Eldia closed her laptop.
*Thudddd—!*
The ceiling of the hangar parted.
"Alright. Let's go. You'll need to be careful from here on out. There are quite a lot of zombies in the deeper sectors."
*Whoosh—!* The ship blasted its thrusters and soared upward.
If we kept ascending like this, would we really reach the deepest part of the Cosmos?
"How long will it take?"
Seo Ji-woo yawned. She seemed sleepy.
Raid laughed.
"We have to go as fast as possible. Our operation was delayed quite a bit thanks to you guys."
He seemed to have a natural talent for passive-aggressive remarks.
"Everyone, sit down and buckle up!"
Seo Ji-woo, myself, and Kang Hyun sat down in that order.
*Whoooooosh—*
The rapid ascent of the spaceship made our ears pop. Kang Hyun and Seo Ji-woo swallowed repeatedly to relieve the pressure.
*Whoooooosh—*
After a few minutes had passed.
"Alright. We've arrived."
The spaceship came to a halt.
*Hiss...*
The door slid open.
"Get off. Chop chop~ We don't have time~ Especially after all the time you wasted~"
Prodded by Raid's nagging, I stepped off first. *Tap, tap.* I walked, leaning on my cane. Kang Hyun and Seo Ji-woo followed close behind.
"Why is it so dark? Hey, Kang Hyun. Turn on your radar."
"You called my build ruined earlier. Now you only look for me when you need me."
"...Fine, my bad. I was blinded by the desktop—"
*Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!*
The sound from the terminal was alarming. I glanced down at the screen. There were hundreds of red dots indicating zombies surrounding us.
I turned back.
"Is this the right place?"
It was strange that I even had to ask.
While we had stepped out, they were still inside the ship. They hadn't taken a single step forward.
"...Um, Eldia?"
Seo Ji-woo blinked, calling her name. In Eldia's hands was a lethal-looking firearm.
"I'm sorry."
Those were her first words.
A sudden apology.
"...Huh? Why are you sorry?"
Seo Ji-woo tilted her head. So that was what a face in complete denial looked like.
"I have no choice but to betray your trust."
At that moment, Kang Hyun took a step forward.
"Take one more step and I'll blow your head off."
Raid raised his gun. A red laser dot appeared on Kang Hyun's chest.
Eldia spoke as if trying to hold him back.
"...Kang Hyun. It's a laser. No matter how fast you are, you can't dodge light."
I glared at her. I understood the betrayal instantly, but I needed to extract as much information as possible.
"Was this your plan from the very beginning?"
"...I should at least thank you for your help. As a reward, I won't kill you myself. But our goals are different, so this is how it has to be."
"Ha. Are there even any survivors inside?"
"There might be a few."
Her tone was cold. Who cares if those bastards die or not? That sheer indifference pricked like a thorn. The angelic, pure image she had projected earlier was completely gone.
"Is your goal the Substance?"
"..."
Eldia's silence was answer enough.
"What you want is... eternal life?"
The corner of her mouth twitched.
"You're quick on the uptake. That's right. In the era of interstellar travel, wealth and glory hold no meaning. The only resource that truly matters is time."
Eldia continued.
"A clue to immortality—something you might not obtain even if you poured in all the energy of the universe—has manifested right here. Why on earth should we let it go?"
"Lady Eldia."
Raid's form of address changed. His tone carried a subtle warning not to drag the conversation out.
"Yes."
Eldia looked at us and smiled.
"This place is a prison. Hundreds, maybe thousands of zombies are locked up here. You will become our data. We need to know what happens when elite humans like yourselves are bitten... It's vital information."
"You've been experimenting with the zombies?"
No wonder there were no zombies in the area we just passed through.
"As long as you aren't afraid, it's quite possible."
Eldia wore her usual gentle smile.
"I hope you get along well. If you're lucky, you might just survive."
The transport bay of the spaceship sealed shut. They ascended the hangar shaft on their own, and—*Thud!*
The gate slammed shut. The interior plunged into pitch-black darkness, devoid of even a single speck of light.
"...Wow, insane."
Seo Ji-woo clutched the back of her head.
"My head is literally boiling right now. I mean, what kind of crazy... crazy bitch is that?"
She cracked her neck, exhaling hot, angry breaths, before—*flick!*—igniting a blue flame like a lighter.
The blue flame cast a dim, azure glow over our surroundings.
"Hey, Kang Hyun. You didn't suspect her either, did you?"
"Because Ha-woon hyung trusted her."
Kang Hyun turned to look at me.
Seo Ji-woo muttered in disbelief.
"She fooled Ha-woon... Does that mean that crazy bitch is smarter than Seer?"
"..."
Even I had been somewhat fooled.
My judgment of character wasn't always flawless, and there would always be masters of deception capable of pulling the wool over my eyes.
However, there was one thing I knew for certain...
—BOOM!
"Whoa!"
"...!"
An explosion erupted. A violent tremor shook the entire sector.
Screeech—
The screech of tearing metal and the roar of flying shrapnel filled the air. A shockwave surged from beyond the gate, rattling the hangar. The deafening crash of falling debris scraping against the walls followed immediately after.
Rumble—!
The shattered remnants of 'something' swirled violently inside the hangar.
"...Wh-what was that?"
Seo Ji-woo and Kang Hyun instinctively ducked.
I, on the other hand, stood perfectly upright.
"What... what just happened?"
"...Hyung?"
The two of them blinked in confusion, then simultaneously turned their gaze toward me.
I spoke in a low, calm voice.
"I planted batteries inside the spaceship."
I had bundled together two Zecatron Batteries I farmed from the VVIP room and secured them with Duct Tape. Considering the size and energy density of those batteries, the blast yield was likely dozens of times that of TNT.
And I had just detonated them.
The spaceship would have been completely obliterated.
"...You did that, Hyung?"
Kang Hyun asked me.
I slowly lowered my gaze to look down at him.
"Hyun."
There were many things I wanted to say to him, but I decided to keep most of them to myself.
Who he was, and what kind of person he was.
Whether he was putting on an act for all of us right now, or if he was showing at least a fraction of his true self.
Though I still knew nothing about him.
But precisely because of that—
"Do I look like the kind of person who blindly trusts anyone?"
This was a warning meant for him.