Forced Progress

I didn’t really understand why a clean body that smelled nice counted as an optimal state for gameplay, but I figured hygiene mattered in a disaster situation, so maybe that was why.

It was only much later that I realized it was a seductive scent meant to efficiently gather ‘companions’.

Well, my hygiene didn’t matter right now anyway.

What mattered was that the system had led me to this bunker.

[Guiding the player to a .]

[Please move according to the system’s instructions.]

There was no one around I could trust, so even if that thing had been a hallucination created by my broken mind, I would have followed it anyway.

And at the end of that path, there really was a bunker where I could live safely.

That was when I became certain the system wasn’t a delusion, but reality.

[The bunker’s supplies are insufficient! You must begin outside activities to secure resources!]

Sometimes the system pushed and nagged me, but I spent my days stubbornly pretending not to hear it.

‘If I use things sparingly, the supplies are more than enough, though?’

Very occasionally, when resources truly ran low, I’d go out and scavenge some food.

That was all.

[Mandatory Objective Generated!]

[Investigate the cause of the disaster and identify its origin. Current completion: 0/100]

I’d been ignoring that red sentence at the very top for a long time now.

‘Why should I?’

The system’s goal seemed to be ending this disaster, but there was no reason I had to follow its orders.

‘Why should I put myself in danger?’

Even if I did nothing, someday this unbearable disaster would end.

Through the sacrifice of someone with ‘heroic qualities’.

[[TIP! You can overcome the disaster by gathering companions! Please look for companions!]]

[[TIP! Companions are important! Surviving alone is not recommended!]]

[[TIP! ‘Companions’ provide significant assistance to the player. You may receive ‘physical’, ‘mental’, and ‘material’ support.]]

[[TIP! Companions are very important.]]

[[TIP! PLE! ASE! FIND! COM! PAN! IONS!]]

[[TIP! GO! OUT! SIDE!]]

Hmph, so what.

No matter how much it begged, all I gave it was “so what”.

The system window looked like it was shedding tears of blood, but I didn’t care.

Maybe that was my karma.

…The karma of willful neglect I’d piled up with my own hands without realizing it, right up until this very moment.

***

[The game scenario has changed from ‘Disaster Simulation’ to ‘(Adults Only / 19+) Dating Simulation’.]

[Due to the scenario change, the individuals currently located in the bunker have been designated as ‘capture targets’.]

[Survive the disaster together with the capture targets who have come to find you!]

Th-this damn system bastard…!

[All capture targets have been encountered! Upon completion of the conditions, the main scenario will proceed automatically.]

[Main Scenario ‘1 – Encounter’ Start]

[Game progress has been updated for the first time! Congratulations!]

Congratulations my ass.

That cursed system had started pushing the story forward however it pleased.

[(Adults Only / 19+) Dating Simulation]

The system sparkled brightly in midair.

I wasn’t particularly sensitive to visual stimuli, so I could ignore the glowing tetrahedron with indifference.

I’d ignored it for how long already?

Did it really think I’d suddenly do what it said just because I’d met a few men?

I turned my gaze away from the system entirely, irritation twisting my thoughts.

But this time, it seemed the system had truly made up its mind to force me out of this bunker.

Assuming a system could even have intentions.

[Main Scenario ‘1 – Encounter’]

[Precious connections have come to find you, trapped in stagnant time and unwilling to escape.]

…What is it even saying?

Who is it calling a shut-in recluse?

[Through relationships with them, you may escape your long-standing loneliness.]

It probably thought that if it printed emotional, dating-sim-like lines, I’d really accept this reality as a dating simulation and obediently follow its script.

That was a huge misunderstanding.

First reason why: I wasn’t lonely in the slightest.

I hadn’t felt lonely even once since entering the bunker.

Honestly, that might actually be because of the system.

It talked to me constantly before I could even feel lonely.

If it wanted me to be lonely, it shouldn’t have sent messages in the first place.

Stupid.

Second: I didn’t care whether the world ended or not.

Death itself was scary in a normal sense, but if the world ended and everyone died together, I thought that was just unavoidable.

Third: I had no memory of ever playing games before the disaster.

At first, I did try following the system’s instructions like a game.

But I quickly gave up because I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to move or what I was supposed to prioritize.

Danger was absolutely not welcome.

I truly had no idea why this system had chosen me.

‘I’m lazy, I hate stepping forward, I’m not particularly righteous, and I don’t even remember playing games.’

If the system had picked me as the one to end this disaster, then it had made a genuinely stupid choice.

Judging by how it kept pressuring me without letting go, it didn’t seem capable of reversing a decision once made.

“Haah….”

I let out a sigh while tending to Hyeon Jaeyul, pretending exhaustion, and breathed out toward the system.

I felt like I could understand why it had changed the game’s genre.

In a [Disaster Simulation], the goal would be for the player to actively resolve the disaster.

But I hadn’t moved at all, and as a result, the game’s progress had stayed stuck at zero.

But what if it changed to a genre where the story progressed through surrounding circumstances, even if the protagonist didn’t act?

‘Then the game would move on its own, even if I don’t do anything.’

The chapter title, ‘Encounter’, and especially the ‘Adults Only’ tag attached to the dating simulation bothered me.

A closed bunker, four grown men (one of them unconscious), and one woman.

No matter what happened, it wouldn’t feel strange.

In a dating simulation, the game would probably advance by forcing contact between the ‘capture characters’ and me, the player.

‘If something happens that raises affection, wouldn’t it automatically move to the next chapter?’

In romance games, relationships between characters were the core of the scenario.

This chapter was titled ‘Encounter’, and after a meeting, events always followed.

That made this a genuinely dangerous situation.

Especially with ‘19+’ slapped onto it.

I shuddered at the thought.

‘Do you really think I’d let myself get swept up in that kind of danger?’

No matter how good their bodies or faces were, absolutely not.

‘Let’s run before I get tangled up. Even if not this bunker, I’ve already scouted a few places that are livable. I’ll hide there first.’

My thoughts raced.

My physical coordination wasn’t good, even if I tried to be generous.

But thankfully, my brain was fairly reliable.

Because of that, I remembered every route I’d ever taken.

Add my sensitive hearing to that, and avoiding danger wasn’t all that difficult.

I could hear sounds from very far away, letting me detect approaching monsters in advance.

My body was slow, a little—no, quite a lot—but strangely, I could vividly imagine how I should move.

My body just refused to follow those images.

It felt like I could only reproduce about ten percent of what I imagined, like running desperately underwater.

My stamina was the same.

I couldn’t even run for ten minutes before collapsing in exhaustion.

While gently brushing my fingers over the neatly stitched area near Hyeon Jaeyul’s eye, I shot a glance at the system windows rapidly popping up.

[Capture Target Name Collection: Current Progress (1/4)]

[Collected Name 1: Hyeon Jaeyul (Affection: 0)]

[Progress will slightly increase once all four names are collected.]

[Reward: ‘Situation Terminal’ function unlocked]

Seeing how eager the system was to push the game forward made my teeth grind.

I’d have to leave the bunker tonight.

***

“I said hello earlier, but we still don’t know each other’s names. I’m Jeong Iheon. And over there is—”

[A new name has been collected!]

[Current Progress (2/4)]

[Progress has slightly increased!]

‘Aaaagh, stop! Don’t say your names!’

I screamed internally in desperation.

The system was advancing the scenario on its own.

This was the last thing I wanted.

With people I didn’t want to get involved with standing right in front of me, I couldn’t say a word and forced a smile instead.

“Won-gyeong. Won isn’t his family name, but he absolutely refuses to say his surname. You can just call him Wongyeong.”

[A new name has been collected!]

[Current Progress (3/4)]

[Progress has slightly increased!]

“And the one over there scowling is Ju Noeul.”

[A new name has been collected!]

[Current Progress (4/4)]

[All character names have been collected! Reward ‘Situation Terminal’ function unlocked.]

[Situation Terminal: A device usable at ‘– –’ (Some information is restricted due to insufficient data).]

As soon as the system’s explanation ended, I felt the pocket of my light clothing grow slightly heavier.