Chapter 6: That soldier is a fake!

The search for survivors in the base exceeded an hour. The forward base was quite large.

“Dead.”

Mi-young Kang was also exhausted.

She checked the pulse and breathing.

Dead.

It would be nice if it were that simple. But this process inevitably involves looking at the face. Then memories come back. The things you did with that person.

Trivial episodes.

Career.

Likes and dislikes.

Small talk.

Everything.

Awakened individuals may be the blessed new humanity, but they have regressed in terms of humanity. Especially in this regard.

“Rest in peace.”

She covered the 47th body with a nearby cloth. She wanted to make a grave, but they had to be sent back to their families in the homeland.

As a soldier, that’s the right thing to do. She paid her respects and continued the search.

Next.

Maybe the next one will be different.

“A-are they alive?! The radio, I need to turn on the radio.”

Mi-young Kang quickly turned on the radio and shouted.

“Soldier, I’ve found a survivor! Relay this to Jin-young Kang as well.”

-What’s the location?

She put down her weapon and approached the injured. He was barely breathing in the command post. His pulse was unstable, and his heart was beating fast. He was on the verge of going into shock.

“This is the command post. One injured. As for the dead…”

She couldn’t continue. It was too gruesome. There were countless bodies that had been mutilated.

“I-I can’t estimate. Join immediately. Jin-young Kang knows the way. I’ll first check if the injured can be evacuated. Over.”

-Understood.

The radio channel closed. Mi-young Kang was relieved. A survivor found after a long search.

‘First aid is needed.’

The condition was serious.

The neck was half torn off with teeth marks, and the lower body was severed as if it had been attacked, making it impossible to move.

She tried to lift him, but he was too heavy. Mi-young Kang looked outside. The low-level monsters were gradually leaving.

“Damn it, the weather.”

The sun was setting.

Night is the time of the beasts.

Mi-young Kang knew that.

She didn’t want to waste time. Mi-young Kang held the soldier in her arms and activated [Exit].

A skill that allows one to leave the tower.

[Impossible!]

But a red warning window popped up.

“Tsk.”

Mi-young Kang lightly clicked her tongue.

She checked the time.

It was 9 PM.

Time inside the tower flowed the same as in reality. Exiting is stopped until the next morning. Until 9 AM.

[Tower exit is prohibited from 9 PM to 9 AM.]

[Violating this will result in the curse, ‘Deserter’.]

Mi-young Kang was reluctant to get the curse. She could endure it, but the injured wouldn’t.

“Eat this at least.”

“Ugh.”

She fed him herbs from her pouch and administered first aid with the medicines in the first aid kit. The result was just barely keeping him alive. Not perfect.

“Sister.”

“Major!”

Right then, Seong-han Lee and Jin-young Kang arrived at the command post.

Wheeze.

What’s that sound? It was the first question. It wasn’t hard to find out the truth.

The sound of a hole in the lungs.

It reached Seong-han Lee.

He arrived following Mi-young Kang’s trail.

He wiped his forehead with his hand.

“Damn it, it’s like someone blew a hole through him.”

Seong-han Lee swore as soon as he saw the injured.

It didn’t look like he was alive from the outside.

A growing feeling of discomfort.

[‘Mental Barrier’ has detected a mental abnormality.]

[Extreme confusion, madness, mental damage, etc. are removed in advance.]

“Ugh, my head.”

[Mental Barrier] activated and cleared it, but.

He couldn’t help but be appalled by the gruesome sight.

Seong-han Lee stared at the soldier.

‘Was he attacked by a monster during the raid?’

Especially the claw marks tearing at the neck.

It must be the hatchling’s doing.

There was no doubt.

He had seen several bodies like this on the way here.

A newborn hatchling is not mentally mature.

But its body is complete.

The species itself is born with a silver spoon.

It can easily take over a small base like this.

“You’re surprisingly calm? That’s no fun.”

“I do what I say I’ll do.”

“Huh, that’s a rare trait. You seem to have a lot on your mind. Care to share?”

Jin-young Kang gestured as if to say, “Tell me.”

Seong-han Lee bit his tongue with his front teeth and began.

“That soldier. He’s a fake. How can someone survive for nearly an hour in that state?”

It didn’t make sense from the beginning.

Surviving in that state.

Is that even human?

“I knew I wasn’t the only one who felt it.”

Jin-young Kang, who was sticking to him like a leech.

She clicked her tongue sharply.

“Can I be blunt?”

“A hatchling probably wouldn’t be able to speak yet.”

Jin-young Kang stroked her chin with her finger.

“Moreover, all I heard were screams and military terms. What else would there be?”

“That’s a valid point. It seems it was a good idea to bring you along. Hehehe.”

While the two were talking back and forth.

Mi-young Kang expertly applied pressure to the soldier’s wound.

“Major, something’s wrong.”

Seong-han Lee whispered to Jin-young Kang.

“That person doesn’t have [Mental Barrier].”

Mental Barrier.

An S-rank trait that blocks negative mental influences.

Seong-han Lee also acquired it on the way back.

He didn’t know the details.

But he wondered if he had achieved a hidden achievement.

“My sister has been weak since she was young. She’s not suited for that position.”

Jin-young Kang clicked her tongue with a venomous look.

Her gaze was directed at her sister.

[Iron-blooded Empress Mi-young Kang is in a state of charm.]

Charm.

Someone was manipulating Mi-young Kang’s perception.

Mi-young Kang waved her hand irritably.

“I won’t let him die this time. I’ll save at least one person.”

Mi-young Kang’s eyes reddened.

Mi-young Kang focused her mana on the wound.

She had put out the immediate fire with the first aid equipment from her uniform.

“Soldier.”

“Yes.”

“There’s a research building nearby. If you bring the mana pack, I might be able to save him.”

Seong-han Lee went outside the tent.

With Jin-young Kang, who was being supported, as a bonus.

“It’s over there.”

“Where are you talking about? It’s all tents and temporary buildings.”

“The cross flag!”

As Jin-young Kang said, a cross flag was waving in the distance.

“Is it here?”

“It’s here.”

The research building was a shabby tent, unlike its name.

It was full of various medical equipment and research facilities.

But the air conditioner had been running until recently.

There was a faint chill inside, isolated from the outside.

Jin-young Kang looked around for a moment and pointed to a nearby table.

“Can you put me down there?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Ouch! B-be gentle. You’re strong for a man.”

“I apologize!”

“There’s no need to apologize.”

Jin-young Kang sat on the table.

She took a moment to catch her breath and checked her ankle.

It was already swollen blue.

‘This is bad.’

Even Seong-han Lee, who had no medical knowledge, could see that it would be difficult to recover in a short time.

What to do?

He couldn’t just leave her here.

Even a high-level awakened individual could be seriously hurt if caught off guard alone.

“Don’t make that dying face. I don’t plan on dying alone. No matter how reliable my sister is… I don’t want to be left behind.”

Jin-young Kang spoke confidently and squeezed her ankle with both hands.

“I’ll do it.”

“It’s okay.”

A blue light emanated from her hands.

She was infusing it with mana.

One of a mage’s abilities.

A skill that heals injuries at the cost of mana.

When he checked the wound again, it had already improved.

“It’s not bad even in this state.”

“Please rest. I’ll look for the mana pack.”

“I want to help.”

Thud.

“…Ah! I want to, but my body is in this state, so I can’t. My internal mana is also depleted.”

Seong-han Lee didn’t want to handle the injured roughly either.

Looking around.

Seong-han Lee started searching for the serum, fiddling with drawers, cupboards, and research equipment.

It looked quite cramped from the outside.

But the inside was as spacious as a building.

Jin-young Kang, with her hands on her hips, started talking.

“By the way, Mr. Seong-han, is your ability [Recon]?”

“It’s not just [Recon].”

“Well, of course, it wouldn’t just be [Recon]. What else?”

Oh no, I did it again.

Seong-han Lee thought his mouth was the problem.

“Let’s just say the essence is similar.”

Seong-han Lee opened a large freezer.

He took out the blue serum that was stored inside.

“Is this it?”

“That’s it. Bring it all!”

The power was already cut off, so it was lukewarm, but it didn’t matter.

“If we inject all of this, there will be problems.”

“Right. That’s what we’re aiming for.”

The brightness is low.

In other words, it’s contaminated.

Considering that the hatchling’s heart itself is a mana circuit, it could inflict a fatal wound.

“You’re back.”

“Yes, I brought the serum. Major. Just need to inject it.”

Mi-young Kang’s face was drenched in sweat.

Only then did she regain her composure as if relieved.

“First, we’ll evacuate him to the rear. He’ll be fine. Rest easy.”

Jin-young Kang, sitting next to her, expertly injected the serum.

“……”

When the needle was inserted into the vein.

The wound started to regenerate.

At the same time, Seong-han Lee expertly raised his rifle and aimed at the soldier.

If it’s a fake, it would be hard to maintain that appearance.

The soldier’s pupils split into several parts.

“Major, this thing isn’t human.”

“What.”

The rifle’s charging handle was pulled.

[High concentration of mana wavelength detected.]

[Target, ‘Hatchling’ identified.]

[It is presumed to have used ‘
Polymorph’.]

Before he could make a judgment, the soldier’s neck split open.

[Commencing Auto Combat.]

What a cunning one.

Mi-young Kang’s eyes finally understood the reality.

They exchanged a big blow.

Mi-young Kang breathed heavily as if exhausted.

If she had been hit by that attack, she would have been shattered.

Seong-han Lee breathed a sigh of relief.

Thud.

Mi-young Kang collapsed.

It felt like it was trying to drain her energy.

A blue line was visible between the hatchling and Mi-young Kang.

[Will you accept the hidden quest?]

Quest?

Well, I’m going to die anyway.

Might as well try.

Seong-han Lee smiled wryly.

“Accept.”

[Hidden Quest has arrived!]

Let’s really mess this up.