Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 024
Chapter Title: Rescue (1)
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Sung Dong-gil's shoulders trembled under Lee Min-jun's hand, his grief transmitting through the shaking.
What must it feel like to learn of a loved one's death through a letter left behind?
Min-jun had never formed such bonds before the apocalypse hit, so he couldn't fully grasp it, but now he had a faint inkling.
"Uncle Dong-gil. Read this letter."
"Hnngh.... A letter? What letter.... Hnng!"
Dong-gil swallowed his snot and tears, then took the crisp A4 sheet.
"This letter.... Sob.... To the idiot who reads it...."
[To the idiot reading this letter.
No one's dumb enough to ignore my orders and come back, so you're the only one it'll be, Team Leader Sung.
First off, how do I look, all skin and bones after just a few days? You nagged me endlessly to lose weight, so I went all out on a crash diet. Now that I'm off to the next world looking like this, cut the nagging already. Ahem, anyway, enough fluff—here's the point.
Exactly one week after you headed out on patrol, a 'rift' appeared right in the middle of this room. Then came the message about the first wave, and those damn bugs poured out.
We barely managed to hold off the first batch, but we didn't have the strength left for a second. We needed a real solution before they came again.... And in the end, the System told us. To close that damn 'rift,' we'd have to pay 10,000 hours of Survival Time or go inside and destroy the 'core.'
So, your combat-ready Team 1 went in.... And they... never came back.
I'm sorry.
But back then, I didn't even have time to grieve.
The second wave was closing in fast, and with no word on Team 1's fate dragging everyone down, I had no choice but to make the call for the rest.
I stubbornly dumped my Survival Time here to buy time for the others to escape, so please don't tell them anything else.
Sigh.... I have so much more to say, but my time's almost up.
Finally, not as Police Chief to Team Leader, but as your old neighborhood hyung: This is my last request to you, Sung Dong-gil of Nowon-gu's Steadfast Spirit.
Don't go into that rift to save your team.
I'll gladly bear that sin in hell.]
As soon as Dong-gil finished reading, Min-jun approached the rift in the center of the room and checked the timer.
[00 : 24 : 39]
Tick.
[00 : 24 : 38]
'A day....'
He didn't know how many bugs would swarm out, but it was plenty of time to escape safely if they bolted now.
Min-jun turned to his companions, and eyes full of meaning poured toward him.
Dong-gil stared at him gravely, then spoke.
"I have no face to show them... but can I lay the Chief to rest first?"
With that, Dong-gil hoisted the mummified Police Chief onto his back and left the office.
* * *
One corner of the Songpa Police Station flower bed.
Even at high noon with the sun overhead, the sky was choked with dark clouds.
A gloomy day, as if the storm clouds weighing on someone's heart had been projected onto the heavens, ready to unleash rain at any moment.
In front of a mound of bare earth, three figures—a man and two women—stood in silent tribute. Then the middle-aged man with flecks of gray in his hair, Sung Dong-gil, raised his head and spoke.
His gaze remained fixed on the mound.
"I dragged you two into this, and now the Chief's like this. I have no face to show. You've still got plenty of time, so hurry up and get far away."
"What about you, Uncle?!"
"I'm—"
"No way. I can guess what you're thinking, and absolutely not. Who knows what's in there!"
Was it the Police Chief's dying words?
Or the fact that even with dozens of people in the station, no one dared enter afterward?
The thought that Uncle Dong-gil would die if he went into that rift now made even So-hee—who would've insisted on charging in any other time—raise her voice to stop him.
"I don't think they're still alive either. But... shouldn't I at least let them rest easy in that long sleep ahead? I trust you'd understand, Miss So-hee."
"That's...."
"I'm their team leader."
So-hee thought of her father at Garak Market and trailed off.
Min-jun, who had been silently watching, finally spoke up.
"What if—just what if—they're really alive. And we could actually save them. What then? Would we get the intel So-hee and I came for?"
"...Leader."
"How much Survival Time do you have left? Seems like you've got a fair bit, Uncle."
"...."
Realizing Min-jun's intent, Dong-gil met his eyes.
"No, Leader. I can't put you two in danger too—"
"You're their team leader, Uncle, but I'm the leader here too. So... Garak Fire Station intel. We'd definitely get it, right?"
Cutting him off and pressing, Dong-gil hesitated before continuing.
"Disaster Response Team 1 inside that rift is the core of our station. If... just if we could save them. Even without the Chief, we could rally the others again. Then we'd get not just Garak Market info, but the whole area's situation."
"Then it's settled. Let's go save them. Not for free, though. You owe So-hee and me 800 hours each as a commission."
So-hee sighed at Min-jun's words and replied.
"If I can't talk you out of it, Uncle, I guess I'm coming too. Can't turn my back on you now after all we've been through."
Ding!
Sure enough, as if eavesdropping on their conversation, the System chimed the moment they decided to rescue Uncle Dong-gil's team.
[You have completed the 'Sub Quest – Linked (2)'.]
[You have obtained the reward.]
[A new quest has been generated!]
「[Main Quest – (2)]
Difficulty: C
Clear Condition: Choose one method to close the 'Rift.'
① Pay 10,000 hours of Survival Time
② Destroy the 'Rift's' core
(Optional) Rescue 'Disaster Response Team 1' (0/5)
Time Limit: None
(Optional: 20:32:07)
Reward: Karma +3.0, Survivor's Base Camp, 3,000 hours
Failure: Karma -3.0」
It was only the second main quest since the one about gaining qualifications.
'Here of all places?'
Was closing this 'rift' such a big deal?
Like catching a rat while backing away from a cow, but whatever.
With the rewards from the last main quest still fresh, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to this one.
'But C-rank difficulty....'
Min-jun's eyes lingered on the difficulty in the quest window.
'Closing this rift takes 10,000 hours to begin with. Meaning whatever's inside matches that level of hardship.'
Dong-gil, having checked it too, hesitated before speaking.
"Leader, we really shouldn't—"
"No. We're doing it. Main quests are things we have to face eventually anyway."
"Yeah, Uncle. Put your mind at ease."
He noted the difficulty and felt a twinge of concern, but that was it.
Survival demands struggle.
The one unchanging truth even after the apocalypse scrambled morals and societal norms.
Min-jun hadn't forgotten his vow to the Jamsil Station survivors.
"Exactly. The quest window isn't all bad news. That optional part shows your team is all alive, Uncle."
"...."
Unable to reply, Dong-gil's eyes reddened, and he suddenly bowed at a perfect 90 degrees.
"Whoa, Uncle, what're you—"
"Leader! Miss So-hee! I'll never forget this debt, even in death!"
So-hee tried to pull him up, but he stayed bent and shouted.
Plip. Plip. Plip-plip.
The sky, which had begun to drizzle, let raindrops fall one by one.
The drops spotted the mound and the dirt.
Strangely, they darkened only the ground where Dong-gil bowed.
* * *
Dodging the intensifying drizzle, the three retreated indoors to finish prepping for the adventure.
Not that there was much to do. Just double-checking that rations and first-aid supplies were secure in their bags—that was it. The real key was steeling their resolve.
Shouldering their gear, they stood before the rift.
20:03:49
Tick.
20:03:48
Tick.
Standing there, the timer above the rift caught their eyes.
Comparing it to the quest window, it matched exactly the time limit for rescuing Dong-gil's team.
They had to save them before the second wave.
"Shall we?"
Calming their inexplicably racing hearts, the three reached into the rift.
* * *
The moment Min-jun's group crossed the rift, they doubled over and started vomiting.
"Ughhh!!"
"Damn it.... Urk!"
Was the C-rank difficulty because of this?
Crossing the rift was far more grueling than expected—like having your body shredded like paper with scissors and painstakingly taped back together.
A sensation he never wanted to feel again.
Min-jun steadied himself and checked on the others.
"Hah.... You two okay?"
"I'm fine.... Urrgh!!"
"Urk— Uwaaagh!"
But So-hee and Dong-gil vomited until their souls felt wrung out before they could finally stop and recover.
Once somewhat stabilized, their surroundings came into focus.
'....'
A deep chasm of pure shadow.
Even with its width, the unseen sky above hinted at its profound depth.
Not pitch-black, though—faint light allowed them to scan around when the System message arrived.
[You have entered Instance Dungeon: Nest of the Ferocious Hornet Ground Wasps.]
[Time in the Outside World flows 3 times faster than in the Present World.]
[We recommend purchasing the 'Time Guardian' item.]
'...Time?'
Min-jun quickly opened the Space Market and searched 'Time Guardian.'
Three items appeared.
[Daogi's Hourglass]
[White Rabbit's Pocket Watch]
[Candle Clock]
The hourglass for a week, pocket watch for a day, candle clock for half a day—they prevented time from draining faster as consumables.
Prices were steep, so he considered skipping, but the note about protecting skill usage time forced his hand.
'If skill costs triple, key abilities become unusable.'
With 24 hours to rescue the others, Min-jun's group shelled out 100 hours for the [White Rabbit's Pocket Watch], then checked their gear.
"Is this damn flashlight busted?"
Dong-gil smacked and shook his LED flashlight, but it wouldn't light. So-hee's was the same.
"Modern gear doesn't work here, it seems. Still...."
Click. With a sound, the gasoline lamp from the shopping mall lit up, dimly illuminating the 30-meter-wide chasm.
"Good thing analog works."
Casting long shadows, Min-jun's group pressed forward.
"Huh? What's this?"
After about five minutes?
Dong-gil knelt, probing the ground for traces.
Scattered footprints and charred remnants of solid fuel dotted the floor.