Breathing Life into Real Dolls

1.

The next day, Seo Yuna, who I met for the extermination team schedule, appeared as always with her usual emotionless face.

I pulled her aside to ask about what happened yesterday.

“Yuna, you looked upset yesterday. Did something happen?”

“…”

Seo Yuna remained silent for a long while. It seemed she had something to say, so I patiently waited. Finally, she spoke.

“That ‘Land of Hope’ ability isn’t Baek Jihun’s, right?”

“…Huh?”

I tried to respond as nonchalantly as possible.

How did she find out? That ‘Land of Hope’ wasn’t Baek Ji-hun’s ability…

“Isn’t it his? Why?”

“I just felt it’s not Baek Jihun’s ability.”

“…Oh? Why did you suspect that?”

“…”

It was crucial to find out what made her suspicious. This feedback would be valuable for future plans.

After a brief pause, Seo Yuna, with her ever-stoic face, replied.

“The zombie virus outbreak was over 2 weeks ago. It’s unlikely that someone just awakened their power. So, the ‘Land of Hope’ must’ve been an ability that was awakened before but was used only yesterday.”

“…”

Indeed.

Baek Seona, who used the ‘Land of Hope,’ had indeed awakened her power only yesterday. Because I had triggered it.

However, to those unaware of this fact, it would seem as though she had awakened it long ago but only chose to use it recently.

There hadn’t been any cases of belated awakening so far.

Seo Yuna’s deduction didn’t end there. She continued,

“If Baek Ji-hun had such an ability, there’s no reason he wouldn’t have used it before. His sense of justice is unwavering, and above all… he has a built-up craving for recognition.”

Seo Yuna’s reasoning was sharper than expected.

She saw through the psychological state of Baek Jihun, who felt tormented for not being assigned any role.

Right, just because I noticed it didn’t mean others wouldn’t.

I wanted to hear the conclusion of her deduction now.

“So… according to you, Yuna, whose ability do you think ‘Land of Hope’ is?”

“…”

Seo Yuna paused again, silent. However, this time she stared straight into my eyes, as if trying to find something within me…

At last, she spoke,

“… It’s the captain.”

“…What?”

“Captain Kim Doha. All the battles so far were resolved with seemingly high strength and endurance stats. Everyone’s curious. What is the captain’s special ability?”

“…”

“It’s the captain’s ability, isn’t it? ‘Land of Hope’.”

Ah…

I see how one could make that mistake.

Furthermore, it was a misconception that wasn’t harmful to us. If I were suspected of being the real person hidden behind the ability, the likelihood of Baek Ji-hun, playing the role of the substitute, being targeted would decrease.

‘I need to keep this suspicion alive.’

So, how should I respond…?

With a meaningful grin, I replied,

“…Who knows?”

“……”

The conversation ended there. Seo Yuna didn’t press any further.

Good. My conversation with Seo Yuna was quite informative.

I intended to continue giving off the vibe that ‘in fact, I am the real person with the power’.

2.

Browsing the community, one could see the abilities that anonymous ability users share with each other. In other words, data on the power users was accumulated.

And about 3 weeks after the zombie virus outbreak, the average rank of people had risen quite a lot.

Originally, most were at an F grade about three weeks ago, but now an E grade has become a common ability.

It wasn’t just me who was advancing.

‘It’s about time…’

I was overwhelmingly stronger than other ability users.

The safety of myself and the D-Mart survivors was maintained because of this gap. After all, it was I who mostly dealt with over 20 ability users who initially dominated that place.

So, I needed to continue to maintain this gap.

It was time to enhance my power.

‘I’m heading to Paju.’

I will be leaving the D-Mart shelter for a while. But there was no need to let others know about it. It was like advertising that the house would be empty.

So, I only told Baek Seona.

“Oh, are you going to the Real Doll company’s warehouse?”

“Yeah, with Serena. It might take as short as two days or even more than a week. You never know.”

She responded with a reassuring smile,

“Don’t worry about this place. I have my ability! And you have to stay safe, too, okay?”

“I won’t be in any danger.”

“Don’t let your guard down!”

“Alright, alright.”

By the time the people of D-Mart notice my and Serena’s absence, Baek Sun-ah will likely cover for us, saying we briefly went out for a reconnaissance mission.

When I come back with a new Real Doll, I can simply say that I brought back another potential ally with abilities.

So, having only informed Baek Seona of my destination, I set off.

Towards Paju.

3.

The feeling of wheels touching the ground, stretching out ahead. The cool wind brushed past my ears. The swiftly changing scenery around me.

Woaaahhhhhhh—

Woaaahhhhhhh—

It would have been the best outing if not for the splitting screams of zombies.

But even amidst the zombie screams, someone next to me was fully enjoying what might be the best outing.

“Hee-ho-ho-ho-ho—! This is amazing, Master! So much fun!”

Serena pedaled her bicycle and gave me a radiant smile.

“Serena, look forward! You need to see where you’re going!”

We were cycling towards Paju.

I had a car. However, with the zombie virus outbreak, the roads were cluttered with cars that had crashed everywhere, and others stalled in the middle of the streets, making them unusable.

Using these roads would be impossible unless we cleared the way with something like a tank or bulldozer.

Thus, we opted for bicycles.

Bicycles allow us to weave between cars and can go as fast as 20km/h. Of course, with so many obstacles, we often didn’t achieve that speed.

Motorcycles weren’t bad either, but they were too noisy. They not only attracted zombies but also ran the risk of drawing the attention of other survivors.

In the end, the bicycle was the best choice, but my only concern was that Serena didn’t know how to ride one.

Fortunately, Serena began to learn, and after only falling once, she started to ride proficiently.

She truly had outstanding motor skills.

Woaaahhhhhhh—

Woaaahhhhhhhhhh—

If we just kept pedaling, the pursuing zombies would fall behind on their own.

At this pace, we felt we would soon arrive in Paju.

According to the road signs we followed, we were already in the middle of Ilsan.

[↑Jeongbalsan Station]

It was when we passed the road above Jeongbalsan Station, Line 3.

From the first floor of a department store building on our left, a voice called out to us.

“Hey—! Excuse me———!”

“…?”

It was a woman’s voice.

Considering she was outside despite the threat of zombies, there was a high possibility she was someone with abilities.

“It’s dangerous if you keep going that way———!”

“…Hold on for a second, Serena.”

“Yes!”

Screeeech—

We stopped our bicycles near the department store.

Woaaahhhhhhhhh—

Woaaahhhhhhh—

First and foremost, to avoid becoming a nuisance, we needed to deal with the zombies that had been chasing us.

“Serena. Kill all of them.”

“Yes, Master.”

Serena dashed into the middle of the zombies. Her movement was so fast that it would be difficult for an ordinary person to follow with their eyes.

It only took a few minutes to dismantle the dozens of zombies that had followed us.

4.

The woman who had warned us about the danger stood with her mouth agape, watching Serena’s combat skills in awe.

Black long hair with a perm, dressed in a tracksuit. She looked to be in her late twenties.

As the fight ended and we approached her, she became cautious, albeit belatedly.

“Wait, stop right there!”

Serena and I obediently halted.

“You guys are pretty strong, huh…?”

“…”

“Well, don’t think of doing anything dangerous. If anything happens to me, the over 50 ability users inside this department store will attack you in an instant…!”

“…We have no such intentions.”

I took a step forward.

“Instead, can you tell us quickly why it’s dangerous ahead?”

Keeping her guard up against me, the woman began to speak.

“There’s a military unit up ahead. To be precise… there are thugs armed with firearms who have occupied the military base.”

“Firearms?”

Yes, firearms. In fact, we had a few at our own shelter.

We cleaned up the nearby police station and managed to secure a few revolvers and ammunition. Only the leaders among the survivors at D-Mart secretly carried them, intending to use them in emergencies.

But the firearms at the military base… automatic rifles that could unleash firepower incomparable to revolvers.

Probably K2 rifles.

“I don’t exactly know how everyone gathered there. However, I’ve heard that they threatened survivors living nearby with guns and took them. Especially women…”

“Women?”

“Yes. I warned you because there was a foreign-looking girl beside you who looked pretty. Those thugs are notorious for hunting down beautiful women.”

Upon hearing this, Serena responded with a laugh.

“I’m not a foreigner. I’m Korean.”

“Oh, what?! Ah, hello…?”

“Hello.”

Admittedly, Serena did look as if she wouldn’t speak Korean.

The woman greeted Serena awkwardly with a noticeably flustered expression.

I stepped forward and extended my hand.

“We might as well introduce ourselves given the circumstances. I’d like to hear more about the military base. My name is Kim Doha.”

“Oh, uh… I’m Jin Serim.”

The woman, who introduced herself as Jin Serim, awkwardly shook the hand I extended. Given how the world had become, there hadn’t been much occasion for handshakes.

“Um… would you like to come in? It seems a bit odd to continue standing and chatting here. I can at least offer you tap water.”

“Tap water sounds good.”

It had been three weeks since the zombie virus outbreak, and the water supply was starting to cut off in certain areas.

If one could still drink tap water, they were relatively lucky.

We followed Jin Serim into the department store.

With her radiant smile, the young and pretty Serena seemed to have lessened her guard. Otherwise, it would be rare for her to invite outsiders in so easily.

Could it… possibly be a trap?