Chapter 164

The backlash was immediate.
“What, what, quarantine?”
Claire blanched and scowled at the soldier.
“That’s what you’re going to say! Letting people die so you can stretch your legs in the safety of your own little world. You can’t help, but you discriminate against people?”
“It’s not discrimination, because the pollution levels exceeded the regulations….”
“What are the rules, you set them up.”
She crossed her arms and smirked.
“Hey, I don’t think you know who I am, just get the boss.”
“Yes?”
“Get the boss, I can’t talk to the end of the line.”
She had no qualms about wielding her dead father’s authority. No, she didn’t fully believe the story of his death either; she was suspicious of the whole situation that now surrounded her.
It was inevitable.
‘This is weird, this is not supposed to happen….’
Originally, Claire was going to be running on the road to Tandan Boulevard.
The Dennis family has a long history of political power. His father was a city councilman, and his brother, six years his senior, learned his trade by working for him. It was a typical elite family.
The glittering future has gone to hell in a handbasket.
Claire knew what happened to her life the moment she was labeled infected. The Harenthal government promises “humane treatment,” but in her eyes, it’s nothing more than livestock.
Infected people pollute cities by their mere presence. While their individual impact on the pollution index is negligible, it’s clear that they harm others. They can’t be treated well.
– Why are you letting these soon-to-be monsters live?
– It would be easy to just shoot them all dead.
My own words hit me like a boomerang.
“We have to move on somehow.
Claire chewed on her lip.
“Hey, what’s all the fuss about?”
Another soldier walked up from near the barracks.
“Ah, Sarge. We’re having a bit of a quarantine problem….”
“Trouble?”
A soldier stood in front of Claire. Uniform and mask, rifle slung over his shoulder. Even though he was dressed like any other soldier, his large frame made him feel intimidating.
“This is Sergeant Owen Lott. Go ahead.”
“…I’m Claire Dennis, and Britta City Councilman Jim Dennis is my father.”
“Yes. And.”
“And what? Don’t you know it when you see it?”
Claire gestured in two directions with her chin.
First, the back. Students who, like her, had high levels of measured contamination. Then, in the front, students who had made it through quarantine safely.
“I was with them, and they’re okay, but we’re not? What the hell is this?”
Dozens of eyes focused on Owen, but his expression didn’t change. He merely glanced at the sheet of paper handed to him by his subordinate and replied coldly.
“Claire Dennis, measured contamination level 113. You’re over the limit. It looks like you handled it properly, but if you had special disaster training at school, you’d know the standards.”
“…It must be the machine, look, there’s no wound!”
“Me, too! I’m not hurt anywhere.”
The students rolled up their sleeves and showed their arms. True to form, there were no bites or scratches on them. They looked fine, at least on the outside, but there was a catch.
“What do you think a parasite is, a zombie?”
Owen let out a tired sigh.
“You don’t have to be traumatized by a parasite to get infected; there are many cases where there is a spike in contamination but you don’t get sick. Conversely, you can get infected even if you don’t have a wound.”
In the early days of the virus outbreak, it was even more chaotic than it is now. Cases varied widely. Some cases were thought to be orally transmitted, while others were confirmed as contact.
The muddled standards have been clarified by Celbrosys Labs and Ishrad.
The instrument they developed allows you to check the “pollution level”. There are two types of instruments: one for humans and one for the environment.
“The pollution index in your city is now over 210. You’ve barely passed the green zone and are now in the red zone. You’ve been exposed to pollution for too long.”
The red zone. A place where you can get infected just by breathing.
“So, why are they fine and…!”
“Everyone’s immunity is different, so we’ll have to see how it goes for those who pass….”
Meanwhile, Owen is being held captive by Claire.
Peevish!
The soldier’s instrument flashed bright red.
“Uh, uh, is this okay?”
Leone panicked and floundered, but she had already passed. As a spellcaster with high mutation resistance, she scored a low 17p.
The problem was Kim.
“2, 214?”
The soldier read the numbers and was stunned. On the surface, Kim looked fine, but according to the numbers, she was already nearing the mid-stage, when her body is covered in crystals.
“You’ll have to go over there.”
“Oh, wait a minute, our team leader is a little weird.”
“Rules are rules. Illness doesn’t avoid status.”
“That’s not what you meant, hmm.”
Turkam scratched his neck. Owen, who had been leering at Kim even as they talked, came running up to them.
“This gentleman is fine. Let him through.”
“You’re fine, aren’t the numbers?”
“Didn’t get it? Dustborne’s….”
“…ah, ah, excuse me.”
The soldier, who had been whispered to be Moorish, jumped up and down in surprise, and Owen breathed a sigh of relief and saluted Kim.
“Thank you for your assistance.”
“You struggle every time.”
Kim was able to cross the quarantine without further restraint. Leone watched in awe as the events unfolded.
“Is this okay? Claire is giving me a death glare from behind.”
“It was misunderstood, but it’s not like I get special treatment because I’m some kind of amazing person.”
“Really?”
“Think of it as a constitution.”
At Celbrox Labs, we’ve been secretly preparing for the apocalypse. Instruments are part of that. Ever since the incident in Howland two years ago, the lab has been checking the contamination levels of its agents.
Kim’s number was always stuck at 214.
“Of course it’s helixivir.
A mutation rate of 41 percent would have a contamination level of 214. Luckily, the surroundings were not affected. After three days in the cramped sterilization chamber, the contamination index remained unchanged.
“My contamination levels don’t go up unless I use helixivir.
This is beyond the tolerance that spellcasters typically have. While other agents would have to take care of themselves after entering and leaving the red zone, Kim was able to keep moving.
‘It’s definitely a good talent.
A talent that’s been there since day one.
The moment I hit 5 stars, I was labeled “unknown.
[Drifters].
[Description: Strongly resistant to influences from foreign sources that are not ‘Polaris’. Can retain their sanity while in the ‘Mutant’ state, and can arbitrarily remove the ‘Mutant’ state and beyond].
“What do you mean, it’s foreign, so it’s resistant to foreign objects.
It’s a small thing, but I can’t deny that it helps. If I didn’t have the talent to withstand Helixivir, I would have died a long time ago.
“Well. I’ve heard that when it gets really bad, he can get a little out of sorts, but I’ve never seen him like that, so I’m guessing they don’t work for free.”
Leone squinted at Claire. Her expression was grim as she realized the absurdity before her eyes. The word self-inflicted came to mind, but it wasn’t very pleasant.
Because Claire wasn’t the only one infected.
“Don’t you care, you got it yourself.”
“I told you, we’d never meet again. I’ve done my duty when I got you out of there unscathed. You can contact the client separately.”
I can’t say their future is bright enough.
But it wasn’t something that anyone else could be responsible for.
We have neither the obligation nor the luxury to do so.
“I care about you first.”
Kim told the students, who still flocked to him like baby birds.
“After living in a refugee camp, you will be integrated into the city. There’s psychiatric counseling and reintegration programs to get you back on track. Ask the campers for details.”
He looked at Leone for a moment, then swallowed a sigh.
“That’s it for you guys. I hope your families are safe.”
“Go get some rest, you little buggers.”
Kim and Turkam started to leave.
Leone’s eyes darted around, scanning the camp. Soldiers manning the perimeter with masks on, medics walking around in hazmat suits. Refugees sitting in corners, eating bread.
The place was full of gloom. Just like school back then.
I stared at the back of Kim’s head again.
The brightest light I’d ever seen was receding.
Bam, bam, bam!
A strong impulse pushed her back.
“Wait a minute, sir, no, brother!”
“Kek, kulk! Hey, man, how old is your team leader?”
Kim ignored the outburst and looked down at Leone. She was face to face with a face even younger than the illustration.
“I’d like to follow you, can I?”
“Be specific. Are you saying you’re interested in my company?”
Nod.
“What do you think we’re doing?”
“The kind of stuff I’ve seen in the last two days, yesterday and today.”
“It’s just part of the job. It’s not what you think it is. We’re not nice volunteers or anything.”
“Yeah. I didn’t think so?”
Fragmentary scenes flashed through Leone’s mind.
Breaking a window to get onto campus and firing a minigun, giving someone who’s trying to bully you a taste of life’s spice, or pressuring your coworkers to throw you off the bus for being loud.
It certainly didn’t look all that innocent (?).
And I never once yelled at my students. He was meticulous in his planning. He didn’t gamble with civilian lives. He was the first to face danger.
He was the only one who ran to the danger zone and rescued us.
I was able to get to know the human being that is Kim.
Leone cleared her throat and took a moment to choose her words.
“…At this rate, I’m going to rot.”
She grabbed Kim’s sleeve.
“Everywhere I go, I’m going to have to beg off the well-off kids like I did at school, and I’m going to be paranoid and depressed because I don’t know when it’s going to happen again, and I don’t want to be called a bitch and I don’t want to worry anyone, so I’m going to pretend like I’m normal, like I don’t care.”
“…….”
“I want to live a better life than that.”
Turkam whistled, “Gasoline,” and whistled.
“You’re determined. What are you going to do?”
Kim didn’t respond right away. She didn’t say anything, only shared a glance. Unable to look away from the orange eyes that stared back at her, Kim was troubled.
“How do I do this?
Leone Laien.
A six-star agent from the Harenhal Guard.
“At first, I was going to take him.
It’s not a red flag, but it’s a performance car. Above all, the timing was right. Normally, I would have joined the guard as soon as I graduated, but I met him as a student, so it was easy to recruit him.
But being early wasn’t the only advantage.
“Isn’t he too young?”
“I just turned 19, so I’m an adult in the eyes of the law.”
“In the world, that’s called being young.”
Lack of experience is not a problem. Parasite is growing every day. It’s a rolling environment, and you’ll learn as you go.
But I was mentally hesitant.
Is it right to take students and turn them into combatants?
“Good grief, age doesn’t matter.”
Surprisingly, Turkam solved my problem.
“Ability, brains, and a little luck. I don’t know about ability, but he sounds pretty smart. Not to mention luck, because he’s alive and well.”
Then he chuckled.
“I mean, look at the first time you met Princess Ainoa, you said she was 20 years old, and you made her do all sorts of crazy things.”
Apparently, it was.
If Leone had to suffer, she wouldn’t suffer as much as Ainoa did back then….
“All right, follow me.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Kim smiled bitterly.
“It’s bright.
* * *
Apartment rooftop in a collapsed city.
A head covered in pink hair peeked over the railing. Chelsea, who had been scanning the range with her binoculars for a while, cautiously lowered her stance.
“Oh, my hands are cramping up. I’m gonna shoot you.”
“Don’t do it. I’m going to run away by myself.”
“If you want to get shot by the boss, go ahead, he cares about me, eh?”
“My favorite would be Asterisk.”
“Because I get paid more?”
“Because I work more.”
“Fuck!”
Chelsea swore at a restrained volume. Edwin was right. She had now been on duty for thirty-three days without a day off.
“Ugh. The company is too good to be true.”
When you’re done with a request, move on to the next one. Then another, and another. Asterike is busy, but the versatility of the spell favors Chelsea and Edwin’s combination.
Not to mention Kim.
“The boss is the busiest, so it’s hard for me to say anything.”
“One minute you’re all about escaping the common man. Now you’re sick of it?”
“You can never get tired of money, but the world, it seems to me, is becoming less and less useful.”
“Then we’ll just have to work to get it back to normal.”
“Pfft, pfft, pfft. You’re going to rest when this is over.”
Chelsea hands over the binoculars.
Edwin, looking down at the same thing, said.
“What are you going to do about that?”
A giant egg lay in the middle of the road. Instead of a shell, it was covered in mucus. The object, dubbed Egg, was responsible for exponentially increasing the pollution index in the neighborhood.
“Mr. Astericke, when you bang on fire, it sticks.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I didn’t ask you to do it. I can’t make someone do something I can’t do….”
Thump!
The ground shook with the beat.
“Ugh, crazy!”
Chelsea gasped and tugged at Edwin’s hindquarters. A black stalk grazed his hair just in time. Edwin checked the egg while Chelsea held on to him.
Dozens of stalks stretched indiscriminately in all directions. Each pulse of the egg sent vibrations through the stalks connected to the building.
Chelsea, realizing the situation, made a big impression.
“Eh, you’re an asshole. Help yourself.”
It was a precursor to hatching.