Chapter 168

Humans fear everything that gives them pain.

That is why isolation always ranks among the things humans fear most.

Because humans are not designed to live in isolation, and when isolated, they feel extreme pain.

And we were isolated now.

“What spaces have appeared so far?”

“Sky 4,071 times, underwater 1,911 times, dirt 813 times, rock face 705 times, lava 426 times, muscle cross-section 660 times, darkness 444 times, and spaces that appeared fewer than 100 times include a vertically falling corridor, a tunnel laid with rails, a stalactite cave, an empty field, and gaps between organs.”

As I answered Cha Si-eon’s question, I scrolled through the photos stored on the tablet.

So far, I had classified over 10,000 photos.

They were all photos of the scenery beyond the doors.

This place was the waiting hall of 「Railway Station」.

We were isolated here.

And in a very bizarre form.

For some unknown reason, whenever we opened a door, the spaces I had just listed appeared.

Randomly, endlessly.

We took photos to understand the pattern.

But after 10,000 attempts, there was only one thing we had figured out.

We were trapped here now.

“It probably is not a mere coincidence that this phenomenon began right after I rendezvoused with Mr. Seo Do-un.”

“It probably is not.”

“Could 「Big Cat」’s older sister be taking out its anger?”

“I do not think that is it. The older sister said this space is 「Big Cat」’s domain.”

“If she is an older sister, she could seize her younger sibling’s things as much as she likes, could she not?”

“Such tyranny is common in the human world, but the case seems a little different here. The older sister did not seem able to enter the younger sibling’s space comfortably either.”

“That said, the possibility of this being 「Big Cat」’s doing seems even lower.”

“I think so too.”

If 「Big Cat」 could isolate us in this way, it would have done so long ago.

Rather than desperately stalling for time until the bombing fell.

As I thought this and nodded, Cha Si-eon added,

“But it seems we cannot state that definitively either. Not if this phenomenon does not continue permanently.”

“You mean this is a temporary phenomenon?”

“Yes. Perhaps this too may be stalling for time. Like earlier.”

Like earlier.

Was he saying that after stalling for time, another bombing might pour down?

The inference itself was reasonable, but its contents were too vicious.

So I lightly complained in order to watch Team Leader Cha’s words.

“Team Leader, words become seeds…….”

That was when it happened.

THOOM—!

“……!”

Along with a roar heard faintly from afar, I felt a vibration beneath my feet.

As if an explosion had occurred somewhere distant.

Cha Si-eon and I tensed despite ourselves.

Because we wondered if a bombing was truly falling.

Did about 3 minutes pass like that?

“……It seems to be a temporary phenomenon.”

Cha Si-eon broke the silence and spoke.

“Let us rest for now. I do not think indiscriminately opening doors will give us an answer, so from now on, we will open the doors once every hour.”

At Cha Si-eon’s proposal, I obediently nodded.

We had already wandered around for 3 hours, opening and closing doors like mad.

The act itself was not difficult, but as it accumulated, the stamina consumption was considerable.

Moreover, all the more so because it was labor with no end in sight.

So it was desirable to limit its beginning and end like this.

If we were to endure a situation whose end was unknown, that was.

I sat roughly on the floor, and Cha Si-eon handed me water and a protein bar.

I chewed it slowly and looked up at the glass ceiling.

“Should we secure one door connected to a cave or tunnel and leave it open?”

“Why?”

“So we can flee if a bombing falls.”

“You were the one who said words become seeds.”

“Still, we should make a countermeasure.”

At my answer, Cha Si-eon snorted as if dumbfounded.

Then he suddenly changed the subject.

“You said Mr. Seo Do-un has died and revived several times so far.”

“According to the older sister. I also have a few things that come to mind.”

I answered calmly, then looked at Cha Si-eon.

For some reason, Cha Si-eon was only looking at me silently.

Thinking, What sort of reaction is that after bringing it up first? I asked him back,

“But Team Leader, did you not notice anything strange while looking at my heart rate?”

“It was irregular sometimes. But before it stopped completely, it became normal again, so I suspected arrhythmia.”

Arrhythmia…….

Should I think of this as meaning she revived me so quickly that it did not even show up on a heart-rate check?

As I thought this, Cha Si-eon unexpectedly spoke.

“In fact, there were many agents who felt a sense of shame because of Mr. Seo Do-un.”

“A sense of shame?”

“People often said things like, If a civilian is doing that, then what have we been doing all this time?”

Uh…….

“So there were many agents who said it was luck rather than skill, or that luck too was a skill. But if Mr. Seo Do-un did not survive because of good luck, and instead died and revived, then in some ways, it is actually understandable.”

Cha Si-eon’s voice was even.

It was not a tone that subtly hid relief or amusement, but a voice stating the facts as they were.

So I too accepted it and answered.

“Even I did think I was too lucky. Though that special treatment seems to have ended now.”

“…….”

At my answer, Cha Si-eon’s gaze on me grew long again.

I wondered why he had been acting like this since earlier.

“If there is something you want to say, just say it.”

“Is Mr. Seo Do-un all right with the fact that he died?”

Cha Si-eon cut in the moment I spoke.

Finding that quite absurd, I laughed dryly and answered.

“It does not feel good.”

“Does it end with only feeling bad?”

“To be honest, it does not feel very real. It might be different if I had died and seen hell or something, but I do not remember anything.”

I spoke calmly, then remembered what the woman had said again.

-I know how much you fear death, even though you do not know it yourself.

……Certainly, it was not a situation that could end with “it feels bad.”

But, well.

What is the point of being afraid now?

“Moreover, I am not the only one who died and came back to life. Because I am not alone, I gained courage.”

This time, Cha Si-eon looked dumbfounded.

But I nodded and affirmed my own words.

“And there are actually good points to learning that I died and came back to life. I had been wondering why only I was dragged into Special Zones and could stop cores, but I feel like I have found a clue, so I think this is rather better than when I knew nothing.”

“Do you think Mr. Seo Do-un’s special constitution is because you died and came back to life?”

“Is that not highly likely? There is no other way to explain it either.”

Moreover, the woman had said this as well.

-And my breath is not something I give to just anyone. Though you do not know how precious it is and use it carelessly.

Breath.

I thought the answer was probably in that word.

When God created humans, He breathed breath into them, and there were major religions that claimed only humans had souls because of that.

Thinking this should be enough of an answer, I looked at Cha Si-eon.

Then Cha Si-eon unexpectedly spoke once more.

“The reason Field Division agents felt shame was not only because of Mr. Seo Do-un’s survivability.”

“……?”

“In fact, there were many agents who questioned Mr. Seo Do-un’s mentality as well.”

“Why that too…….”

“Because Mr. Seo Do-un has never wavered or collapsed inside a Special Zone.”

“It seems everyone does not know how much I suffer.”

“I think so too. What I have felt while watching Mr. Seo Do-un until now is that Mr. Seo Do-un is not a person without fear.”

That was obvious.

I felt fear.

So not once had I been fine while being dragged around Special Zones.

“Mr. Seo Do-un clearly knows fear. The only thing different from others is that your adaptation and recovery are bizarrely fast. And that level is far removed from the realm of the universal.”

I had suddenly been treated as a strange bastard who was not universal.

There are many types of isolation.

There is physical isolation, social isolation, and isolation of identity.

So I wish he would not treat me like an endlessly strange person without warning.

“What Team Leader usually says often starts with ‘get a hold of yourself,’ does it not? You disciplined me with things like, ‘Confusion comes later,’ and ‘Right now, face the situation,’ so I did as I was told.”

“I said to stay calm because it was a situation where staying calm was difficult. But I did not greatly expect that you would truly become calm.”

Uh…….

“But Mr. Seo Do-un sorted out your emotions or agitation beyond expectations. Almost like switching off a machine.”

“That is…….”

“We had a similar conversation once before coming here as well. Back then, Mr. Seo Do-un said you had ‘ended your inner conflict through a rational process and adapted to the situation.’”

That was true.

When I no longer reacted to the subject of contamination, Cha Si-eon had expressed doubt over the fact that my heart rate was normal.

“I understood the process, but I still have questions.”

“What do you mean?”

“The main cause of death for citizens isolated in Special Zones is carelessness. There are countless cases where people read the rulebook and still lose their lives because they are tense. It is not as if those people never thought, ‘Let us stay calm.’ But because they could not do that, they suffered disasters. Yet Mr. Seo Do-un, even if you become shaken, once you switch over, you almost never become tense again. That is the same now. Is Mr. Seo Do-un properly facing the current situation?”

“I think I am, more or less.”

“Then it would be normal for your stress to be severe. I will say it again, but Mr. Seo Do-un is not fearless. You are also not someone who does not know tension or anxiety. I can tell that much just from your heart rate. But right now, this is directly after you learned the fact that you died several times, we are isolated in this space, and we do not know what will happen or how. Yet is it possible for you to have already ‘ended your inner conflict and adapted to the situation’?”

“Are you any different, Team Leader……?”

“As I have told you repeatedly, do not compare yourself to me.”

Cha Si-eon even clicked his tongue as he spoke.

Right, Team Leader Cha was the Bureau’s ace.

He was not someone who could be compared to me.

“So are you saying I should be agitated right now…….”

“There is no need to deliberately do something you are not doing. What I am curious about now is how that is possible.”

“That is…….”

To question the very unit of someone else’s way of thinking.

Though I thought it was unfair, after thinking it over, I answered.

“Because I am an editor……?”

Cha Si-eon’s gaze, which had been serious all along, suddenly blurred.

It was a look that said, This bastard is talking nonsense again.