Chapter 226 – Stay at Home
When Jinsu and Artemis mobilized all their forces to seize the spaceship, there was only silence in the shelter.
[All residents are asked to stay at home. Penalty points will be given if unauthorized outside activities are detected.]
Since the entire announcement was made in Rose’s voice, everyone has been faithfully following the instructions.
In an empty city, only the sound of water flowing in parks and artificial lakes, and the occasional family of ducks crying loudly were the only things that made their presence known.
Although it was originally a quiet city, today it is so quiet that you can’t even hear the sound of a pin dropping.
Even though it was a sudden ban on going out, no one had any complaints. Since it happens to be a weekday, residents feel like they are enjoying an extra day off.
They are rolling around in their respective rooms, going to the next room and chatting, playing card games, or watching television.
There are no longer any broadcasting or film companies, but the Shelter database stores an amount of video media that one person would not be able to view even if they invested their entire life.
Movies, dramas, animations, documentaries, sitcoms, comedies, sports, and even religious broadcasts.
Of course, not all programs are provided considering the emotional impact of residents.
Now, types of videos that cause depression by dealing with unrealizable luxuries or pleasures have been excluded.
Anyway, since there are broadcasts by category all day long, you won’t be bored.
The most popular ones are comedy programs and animal documentaries.
Artemis graciously distributed subtitles to numerous foreign comedy programs, which resulted in laughter erupting throughout the apartment in the evenings when residents returned home from work.
Could this be the second coming of the comic concert that once brought laughter to all Koreans every Sunday evening and despair when the ending step roll went up?
Surprisingly, many people also watched real-time daily life stories that dealt with the observations of external survivors.
“When I first heard it, I thought it was a lie, but it was true. They pluck radishes that haven’t yet fully grown in the field, wipe them in the mud on a nearby rice paddy ridge, and chew them. “You look younger than me.”
“Wow…”
A group of women gathered on the railing of an apartment hallway and talking.
They described the worst scenes they had seen one by one, as if it were a candlelight ghost story.
Although leaving the central entrance is prohibited, chatting in the hallways or common spaces inside the apartment is allowed.
“I am a woman who entered a hastily constructed conventional toilet holding two pumpkin leaves in her hands. “I don’t think I’ve seen anything more terrible than that.”
A woman said, frowning.
She was known for being exceptionally neat even among her colleagues due to her mediocrity.
Even when she was in a maritime prison, she was one of the few women who went to the sea and washed every day.
“You are so lucky. If I go out and live now, I’ll never be able to bear it, right? “It’s a world without hot showers or toilet paper.”
At her colleague’s point out, she wrapped her arms around herself as if it was terrifying to even imagine.
“If it’s a pumpkin leaf, you’re a nobleman. “I even saw them carrying corn husks.”
“I was going to talk about newspapers, but what I saw was nothing.”
“Oh, stop talking filthy.”
As her other colleagues began to report what they had witnessed one by one, she hit her hand with her arm, feeling goosebumps.
Since then, there have been stories of prostitution over a few cans of food or gang fights over a pot of oatmeal.
“I can still see the face of the man who was taking the oatmeal from the bowl. “His eyes were swollen, and his nose was bleeding, and yet he looked so happy that he had just received a bowl of oatmeal.”
The meal they ate today was white rice, grilled salmon sprinkled with lemon juice, pickled radish, soybean paste seasoned vegetables, and a simple fruit salad.
Even the commander of a warlord cannot eat this often.
This is not only because of a lack of supplies, but also because it would be difficult to indulge in extravagance by one’s subordinates.
These days, if you’re unlucky, you can get shot by your subordinates at any time.
Even the most useless person in this city is treated like the most valuable person in the outside world.
The sense of comparison that they were enjoying the life they had chosen gave them not only a sense of relief but also a kind of pleasure.
In some ways, it may be a similar sentiment to how people enjoy slapstick comedy.
Meanwhile, there were also people who fell in love with the scenery outside the railing of the apartment hallway.
“If you go to the park when it’s empty like this, you’ll feel like you have a monopoly.”
“That’s right. “I feel uncomfortable because my daily routine is interrupted.”
Two women warming up in revealing clothes are having a conversation.
A woman with a short hair rests her arms on the railing and looks at her artificial lake in the distance with her body tilted.
Another woman with ponytails did her stretching by holding her other ankle with her hand and pulling it behind her buttocks.
“It finally sprouted?”
“How hard was it to get permission from Chrollo to grow this! I really feel like crying.”
In another corner, a group of women were talking proudly about the small flower pots they each brought with them.
It is a gathering of people who grow plants on the veranda and is the first approved club activity at the shelter.
We are receiving support with pollen, flower seeds, and nutrient solution because it helps manage air quality and maintain mental health of residents.
“You keep hitting and running all day and night!”
A woman on the hallway railing looked outside and shouted. There, security guards patrolling in groups of two were walking.
This is because, unlike ordinary residents who are on temporary leave, security guards had to patrol the city on heightened alert.
“Are you jealous? Are you jealous?”
“Don’t walk, run, you bitches. So, will we be able to get everything done on time?”
In an instant, people nearby came rushing in and booed, and the security guards responded by raising their middle fingers.
This is how a peaceful day passes in the midst of an emergency situation at the shelter.
While the city’s military carried out a clearing operation filled with poison gas, gunpowder smoke, and the smell of blood in an unfamiliar environment, the residents simply enjoyed a peaceful holiday without knowing anything.
* * *
Shelter Security Force Lounge.
Some members who had just returned from patrol were able to find their colleagues surrounding Nina.
“Wow!”
“W-what is this? “I’m not looking at nonsense, am I?”
“I think I’ll be impressed.”
The murmur of surprise was half admiration and half envy.
This is because there was a huge cake placed on the wide table.
Half is the basic composition of white whipped cream and sponge bread, and the other half is coated with sweet potato mousse. It’s so large that everyone in the lounge can enjoy it to their satisfaction.
Most people’s living standards have fallen since the outbreak of the infection war, but since the security forces had been imprisoned in prison even before that, it has been a long time since they had access to real cake.
At the front of the cake was a three-headed chocolate Nina with a deformed portrait drawn with food coloring. It is a dynamic stance of throwing a kick while wearing a fighting uniform.
“Sister, can I eat this chocolate?”
“Cute!”
“It seems like you really enjoy it.”
Fellow crew members admire the cake while surrounding it, not daring to touch it.
“Oh, it was my birthday.”
While everyone is making a fuss, I am actually quiet.
“You don’t really like it? “Something seems off.”
Her youngest said, massaging Nina’s shoulder.
“If you took care of me like this, I would burst into tears.”
In fact, the youngest’s eyes were slightly watering, as if she had already empathized.
“I think it would be impossible to find someone who knows how to make something like this and the ingredients before someone can take care of it.”
One of the older colleagues said.
The look in his eyes is as if he is secretly feeling blessed to see Nina.
“Of course I’m happy.”
Nina’s neck shakes back and forth as she massages it.
“But you can’t say thank you because the person who sent it is not here, right? “I don’t even like sweets.”
Although her words were calm, Nina’s eyes and the corners of her mouth curled up with a grin on her face showed she was very happy. More than the food itself, it’s the heart of the person who sent it.
“That’s right. “My cool sister isn’t the type to make a fuss about things like this.”
Perhaps because she was a follower of Nina, or because she couldn’t see her expression because she was behind her, the youngest was impressed.
“What is it? What is it? Why is everyone gathered together like this… Oh, my!”
“Kyaaah! It’s been a while since I saw this!”
Meanwhile, additional returning colleagues also started making a fuss as soon as they saw the existence of the huge cake.
No woman bothered to question why this precious food was here.
Because everyone knows that Nina is under the protection of the city manager.
For their birthdays, they only received a small cupcake.
“I know she’s pretty, but isn’t this too blatantly discriminatory? “Who would live in sorrow?”
A security guard belonging to another faction complained.
She sat with her legs crossed and glanced at Nina with a crooked gaze, but she couldn’t hide the envy in her eyes.
Precious food is also food, and I was very envious of receiving free favor from a powerful man.
Especially in today’s world, such desires are bound to increase.
“Are you going to go to the entrance to the upper area and lie down? “Why are you discriminating when we are the same people?”
“I won’t stop you. “Go and do it.”
“Hey… I need to stop you.”
Everyone clearly knows the result.
‘If you don’t like life here, I will send you out.’
This is because the attitude of the city leadership always comes down to one thing.
They pay no attention to the residents. They don’t even care about equity, they just give or control what they want.
“Hey! You guys come and eat too!”
Nina called, waving her hand.
“Really?!”
The co-worker sighed in bewilderment at the sight of the woman who had been complaining about her discriminating against others in anger and immediately running away.
Meanwhile, their leader Jinsu was looking at different types of cakes.
* * *
[Gurgling!]
[… Keluk… Kruk…]
On the screen of the central control room, infectious agents that vomit everything in their bodies are being broadcast live here and there.
They are making pancakes while spitting out dark red blood, digestive juices, and even internal organs.
“It looks pleasant and refreshing, but cleaning it up later will be a bit difficult. “You’re going to need a ton of rox.”
She said, holding the coffee in her hand and sipping it.
“How can you get away with seeing such a messy scene? “I couldn’t possibly drink it.”
More than half of the black tea in front of Artemis was cooling down. Well, when it comes to her body, I don’t think it’s too much for her as a beginner.
“Because I got a boner. Besides, I guess I became sadistic while fighting those guys, so seeing them suffer makes me feel good.”
[Crrrraaaaa-!]
The infectious agent, walking on four legs, howled and scratched its neck.
“Variant winner!”
I smiled and clapped. Since it feels pain, it must not be an ordinary infectious agent.
As there were various races, the biological mechanisms were slightly different, but it was not a problem.
There are ingredients, such as chocolate or onions, that are harmless to humans but poisonous to other animals, and vice versa.
However, regardless of the species, cyanide kills if swallowed.
No matter how different alien races may be with different physiological mechanisms, they are equal in the face of lethal poison gas that is openly aimed at killing people.
It’s also a mixture of all kinds of deadly toxins just in case, so you’re guaranteed to get one.
Blisters appear on the skin.
My lungs fill with water.
Some of the muscles spasm and some become paralyzed.
The autonomic nervous system is destroyed.
A comprehensive gift set may make the difference in being able to withstand a biochemical attack for a few tens of seconds longer, but you cannot avoid death.
Infected organisms that tried to survive by lying down on low ground and going into hibernation were killed by robots that moved around.
Ta-ta-tang!
Heads exploding without any reason.
[Wow… Hehe!]
Some of them came out of hibernation and tried to wake up and fight, but their body functions had already been seriously damaged, so they were as weak as someone who had starved for a month.
Poop!
There is no need to shoot those guys. Their necks were broken, or their heads were crushed by hundreds of kilograms of kicks or sticks.
Ujikkeun!
A huge tentacle came out of the ventilation hole and surprised the stalker robot that was performing purification work.
But this time no one was taken away.
Sigh!
This is because it was stopped by the Hercules robot, which responded immediately.
Like a wrestler putting on a choke, he places the head of the huge tentacle between his armpits and squeezes with all his might.
[Sigh-!]
A roar that seemed to amplify the sound of a snake’s tongue fluttering hundreds of times came from the tentacle’s snout.
The strength of the beautifully thick, muscular tentacles is comparable to that of even an anaconda, but when it comes to strength, even Hercules is not inferior.
Normally, it would have been difficult to respond as they would have been attacking and running away through the ventilation holes, but since they were held together like this and were competing with each other, they were perfect targets for shooting.
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tang!
In an instant, the stalkers formed a shooting formation and opened fire.
Puffuppuck!
The sound of meat exploding was heard, the tentacles turned to mush, and the balance of the struggle was lost.
Aaaaah!
The upper body rotated almost 360 degrees and tore off the tentacle it was holding and threw it away.
The tentacle, which was gushing blood from the cross-section, struggled several times and then fell limp.
At the same time, the giant nest was also facing a similar fate.
If in the past he was dissolved in acid, this time he was sentenced to be burned at the stake.
Puhwaaaaak!
As robots armed with flamethrowers surrounded him and bathed him in fire, he let out a loud scream for the first time in a long time.
The group of infected people who were supposed to protect him were already squirming on the floor after throwing up a show.
The pollutants sprayed by the giant nest and the poisonous gases we sprayed mix together to create a fantastic appearance.
But they are the only ones who suffer.
Among the thick fog, only the red-eyed robots stood silently and performed their mission.
[Kuuuuu!]
The giant nest, overcome by its unique evil, came to a complete halt.
[The primary removal target has been silenced and all compartments of the ship have been confirmed to have been gassed. The ship is completely under our control.]
The operation was completed after the report from the robot commander who was working on the front line.
