Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Chapter 75 - 75. 탄광 속 카나리아
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Translator: crow
Chapter 75: Canary in the Coal Mine
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Clothing, food, and shelter.
These are the three things that naturally come to mind when talking about what people need to survive.
Why these three?
Simply put, they're directly tied to survival.
To avoid starving to death, to avoid freezing to death.
In other words, they're the three elements chosen because no one wants to die.
On the flip side, what about someone whose survival instincts have vanished?
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"...No."
"That's a relief!"
Song Arin slowly replied to Yoo Daon's worried gaze with a drained expression, and Yoo Daon responded with her usual bright smile.
To her, who barely felt any fear of death—let alone none at all—incidents like this were nothing.
A living being without the fear it should have... where would she find fear, or comfort?
She might be seeking comfort in life not from herself, but from others.
'I really am... nothing without Jaeheon.'
So what could we—or rather, I—do for her?
I shook my head to clear the words that surfaced in my mind and looked ahead.
-Clack! Clack!
The 'Factory' was still clacking its teeth together with a bewildered look.
I glanced at the translucent window floating nearby.
What did it say under weaknesses again?
"Find the heart and destroy it..."
"Pardon?"
"It's nothing."
"Ah! ...Jaeheon, you're not hurt, right?"
Yoo Daon stretched out her finger and poked my arm, laughing as if handling delicate artwork.
"Were you worried?"
"Super worried! I had no idea you'd pop over the wall like that—"
-CRUNCH!
At the sound of it biting her right shoulder again, I drew my gun, and Song Arin hurriedly turned her gaze toward it as well.
...
With a blank expression, Yoo Daon stared at the 'Factory' clamped onto her shoulder.
Soon, it wrinkled its brow as if its head hurt and released its teeth, and Song Arin yelled in annoyance.
"The ability works! Hey! Dodge when it bites!"
...
"Daon, over here."
"Got it!"
Yoo Daon, who hadn't responded and had kept her mouth shut, ran to my side, and Song Arin clicked her tongue as she came over too.
"Where's the white-hair... and the blonde."
Song Arin asked after a brief moment of thought, referring to Ailin as the blonde.
She had zero intention of using anyone's actual name.
"Yeah, why haven't they come over?"
I looked beyond the wall.
No sounds came from there.
"Chaeyeon! Ailin!"
Soon, Ailin leaped through the air and landed gracefully on the floor, followed by Jang Chaeyeon tumbling down unsteadily.
Ailin stood up nonchalantly, while Jang Chaeyeon dusted off her knees and got up.
As I turned my head, the 'Factory' matched my movement by opening its jaw wide and jumping at us; Yoo Daon crossed her arms to block the teeth.
-CRUNCH!
Blood burst from her arms, but Yoo Daon calmly turned her head to look at me as if it were nothing.
"Should I buy us some time?"
"No need."
"I've got this."
Jang Chaeyeon stood beside me as if it were obvious.
[Coordinate Rip: 3 uses]
I hadn't found the heart yet, but let's rip off the legs first.
The world turned into graph paper, and its body came into view.
Lumps inside the throat.
Better not touch those.
The easiest part is...
My gaze shifted to its legs, and specifically, the joint areas started folding like crumpled graph paper.
Following my line of sight, Jang Chaeyeon reached out without hesitation, clenched her fist, and the 'Factory's' leg snapped like a twig.
"Argh!"
It collapsed with a frail cry.
"Good. Just like that—"
"Urk...!"
Before I could finish, it made a retching sound,
And then—
-RUMBLE!
It opened its mouth and began vomiting up black lumps.
"Eek!"
Song Arin recoiled with a shriek of disgust.
Something's off.
"Daon! Here!"
"Got it!"
Yoo Daon took position beside me.
The lumps spewed by the 'Factory' began wriggling and merging, taking the shapes of numerous people.
The difference was that when the 'Factory' had vomited before, it spat out one of our group members, but now they were just faceless, formless blobs.
It kept puking until its bloated chest completely deflated,
"Grrr..."
And then it started breathing heavily.
The lumps poured from the Factory's body turned to face us.
There were more than expected.
Ailin tapped my shoulder.
"It's a war of attrition. No need to fight."
"Sounds good."
"Huh? What?"
I grabbed Yoo Daon's wrist, who had been facing them off, and started running.
Song Arin and Ailin were already a few steps ahead, and Yoo Daon, dragged along with a dazed noise, soon snapped to and ran beside me.
Jang Chaeyeon was fending off the monsters from the rear, waving her hands vigorously.
As I ran while steadily catching my breath, four pairs of eyes turned to me.
"Listen up. First off, that thing isn't just one."
"Those aren't the only ones?"
Song Arin ran while speaking in a shocked voice.
"You're the finisher type who always swoops in for the last hit stylishly! I thought it was over when you snapped its leg so coolly!"
"For now, I get how Song Arin sees me!"
I sent the others ahead, turned around, shook a butane gas can a few times, popped the lid.
Flames hot enough to scorch my face engulfed the lumps.
With my other hand, I shot down more lumps, then started running again.
Sometimes Ailin picked them off with her gun, but mostly Jang Chaeyeon peeled them away as we shook them off; luckily, unlike usual, we had three people who could actually handle combat, so ditching them was no issue.
...Huff... Huff...
After shaking them off, Jang Chaeyeon panted heavily in a corner, while Yoo Daon—who didn't even seem to jog in the mornings—looked at me with a worried murmur.
"But... where's the Team Leader?"
"Yeah."
We needed to find the Team Leader first. No matter how good he was at sensing danger, we couldn't just assume he was fine and move on.
The threat wasn't over yet.
The original 'Factory' we saw was still out there, and our goal wasn't destroying the object but escaping to secure tickets.
"...Try spinning hypnosis?"
Song Arin, who had been silent until then, wiped sweat from her forehead and spoke up.
"Spin hypnosis?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. Blast it indiscriminately. If it hits a person, we'll roughly know where they are. The downside is..."
Song Arin looked at everyone except me.
"...It's indiscriminate, so it hits people around too?"
...
A brief silence, then I looked at the three.
"...Doesn't bother me."
Ailin shrugged.
"Me too!"
Yoo Daon raised her hand enthusiastically,
...
While Jang Chaeyeon just wore a displeased expression without a word.
"Chaeyeon...?"
"...Fine."
Only after I checked on her did she mutter sullenly.
"...Then let's start."
After a short discussion, Song Arin stood in front of us and closed her eyes.
Her hypnosis on others was simple.
Follow me.
Soon, a faint pain throbbed in my temple, and all three followed behind me with unfocused eyes.
I felt like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
"Song Arin, tell me if something catches."
"Don't talk to me. I'm concentrating."
Feisty.
Song Arin frowned deeply and took the lead.
Dragging around three people with blank expressions wasn't easy.
We'd stop at footsteps, stop at Factory noises, stop to check if the three were following, repeating that cycle as we searched for the Team Leader.
"...Think I found him."
How far had we walked? Just as my legs started aching, Song Arin snapped her eyes open and relaxed her brow.
"Where?"
"...Beyond this wall."
Song Arin pointed beyond the wall.
"...Let's go over."
Song Arin nodded and tapped Jang Chaeyeon's shoulder to wake her.
"Chaeyeon."
...
She stared blankly at my face, blinked a few times, then looked at me.
"Over the wall?"
"Yeah."
She nodded and boosted me over again.
As I hopped the wall and dropped down,
...
"Whoa, you scared me."
The Team Leader was huddled up.
"...Team Leader, it's me."
"I know. Thought you were fake again."
"...Fakes came?"
"Of course they did!"
As the others tumbled over, I locked eyes with the Team Leader.
"No, how are you unscathed?"
"Sense!"
"Huh?"
The Team Leader grinned confidently.
"Sense! Sense!"
"Huh."
Not even surprised anymore.
Anyway, now we had the Team Leader too.
"Shall we find the exit?"
"Got a good plan?"
Ailin tilted her head curiously at me, and as my gaze shifted to the Team Leader, she went "Ah" and looked at him too.
"So that's the method."
"As expected from a veteran. You read my mind right away."
"...What is it?"
The Team Leader muttered anxiously after overhearing.
"Team Leader."
"Yeah."
I spoke to him gently.
"Do you know what a canary in a coal mine is?"
"...No idea?"
The Team Leader shook his head desperately.
"Then be our canary for a bit."
"You know this is insubordination, right? If I get stabbed up top, you're done? Pay cut?"
With the anxiously muttering Team Leader out front, I looked at the others.
"Alright, everyone, get ready to head out."
Time to grab those tickets and get out of here.