I Am the Only Non-Returner

36 – Each of our hearts

It’s been a while since I went for a walk outside the shelter.

Now, the distance between shelters is no longer narrowing, but rather has begun to move further apart. Empty spaces where shelters once existed are visible here and there.

After walking for a while, I suddenly saw an empty space.

The place where I was almost killed by a white executioner with an axe.

The shelter where the man in the suit was has disappeared without a trace, with only the faint outline of a square remaining.

“I guess I couldn’t hold out at that time…”

The dimly shining eyes of people looking at me flashed through my mind.

Tsk-

I shake my head and take steps towards our shelter again.

I see a few people like me walking outside and around the shelter.

People who were interested in me for a moment soon looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.

The meaning of that sigh is probably shared by most people in the world today.

I hope stage 21 comes quickly.

But wouldn’t it be possible to live like a human being like before for a year…

Pisik-

Be human…

Did I live like a human being in the first place?

Rather, I am having more conversations with people now and having deeper connections…

A time when I was immersed in various thoughts and was walking around.

Brurrr-

When I looked at my smartphone screen, it vibrated and it was ringing again.

“What is this guy doing, is he free?”

Lingling: Phew… It’s hard. Are you okay?

“······”

It was absurd to say that everything was difficult, but at the same time, I deeply sympathized with it.

Brurrr-

Lingling: I wanted to have a variety of characteristics so that I could respond to any variables that arise during battle.

I see… I was like that too. We all think the same thing

Brurrr-

Lingling: Should I have bought a shelter graduation certificate? I thought it was a ridiculous reward, but now that I think about it again… I really think I’m going to go crazy if I keep going like this. You f*cking bastards… You are a bunch of bastards who only ask for compensation while demanding that you contribute. Do you know what? You can make someone commit suicide by giving them an order?

······ It is a suicide order…

I can fully guess how stressed you are.

Lingling: Sorry, I just wanted to talk to someone. I wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble if I had just upgraded the level of the trait in the last episode, but I ended up changing it to this trait… If I had, I might have died a long time ago. I became a ranker without even realizing it, and at first I was angry that you were always on top of me, but now I wonder what the point of all that is. I’m still at stage 14, but if it’s like this, I…

Lingling: Are you watching? If you’re watching, please say something, it’s really hard. But if you’re thinking of reprimanding, just don’t do it. No, please answer me anyway. Please answer with good words, not bad words. Even a short answer is fine, so just… Answer.

········· The one-sided message no longer came here.

When I returned to the room, I read the message again.

I don’t know why, but reading Lingling’s article brought me great comfort.

I wasn’t the only one who had a hard time.

I am receiving comfort from reading the words of someone who led someone to commit suicide…

Dog: Cheer up.

I wrote just three letters and looked at the screen for a moment.

Conversely, what if I were in that situation?

Dog:

I deleted the post again.

Dog: You’ve done well. If you just do what you did the first time… Wouldn’t you be able to survive?

Is this something I want to say to Lingling or something I want to say to myself?

I sent the message and lay down on the bed.

This is not a game where the goal is first place.

“All you have to do is protect the shelter until the end and survive…”

***

Kahi lay down on the bed, opened her left hand wide and looked at the ring. A light-colored ring worn on the middle finger.

I unconsciously imprinted the face of the man putting the ring on my finger into my head.

I’ve only seen scenes in dramas where a man puts a ring on his finger. He had no idea that he, who was just 20 years old, would be the main character in such a production. At that moment, he was so embarrassed that his face turned red.

The mood of the people who were applauding my strong reaction also became strange.

“Stupid Gomtaeng, really, you could have just handed it over. Why did you put it in? Really…”

My heart still races when I think of that time.

Perhaps that foolish Gomtaengi put it in his middle finger as a wish for good luck.

You couldn’t have put it on the first finger you reached without thinking about it.

“Aww, it’s annoying! Gomtaengi!”

I guess I’m just going to be like this for a while because the only sane man is Gomtaeng… So, I gathered myself and covered my face with the blanket.

***

Eun-chae was lost in reminiscence for a moment, thinking of Ka-hee, who for some reason did not come to her room today.

Kahi’s face turned so bright red after receiving the ring that she felt like running away to the bathroom.

I know. In such a situation, any woman would have no choice but to react that way.

I know… Even though I knew, my mind was so confused at that time that I ran into my room.

I hated him for no reason.

“Stupid bear…”

I was so shocked that I thought I had put it on my ring finger, and my heart still races when I think about that time.

“Don’t treat anyone like that…”

This is a contribution reward that I can’t always receive, so who should I give it to next time? Celebrity Hong Seol? Space mover Suzy?

“Why do I have this trait…! hehehe…”

I felt like crying. Every day, I was barely able to maintain the bare minimum of self-esteem.

Still, I was very fortunate that he chose the right to an independent shelter.

You can’t tell how happy I was inside when I chose independence because it was a situation where it had no choice but to become smaller as new people came.

It’s not like new people won’t come at all, but if you listen to the guy’s story, it doesn’t seem like he particularly wants to help. Then, the burden of contribution will be greatly reduced.

“Let’s do what I can, step by step…”

So, she asked her uncle to take charge of managing the facility. At best, contributing to the shelter meant cleaning bathrooms and toilets… I felt miserable, but what could I do? I wanted to do something to help the shelter.

However, even though I made up my mind, there were people who were worried…

Hong Seol’s eyes are looking up and down at the man while leisurely drinking coffee, showing off her slender legs. Suji, who is looking at the man’s thoughts to see if she can talk to him whenever she gets the chance, is now even approaching a woman from a distant country named Aksh*ta. Doing it.

Why do all these things catch my eye, as if I have some kind of superpower…

“Why are you like this? Really…”

I don’t know how many days it’s been since I last met you.

As I was looking at the man’s face all day, the first thing I noticed was that he was infected with parasitic insects.

“······Haaa… Come to your senses”

I guess I’ll say it like this. It’s probably because the excitement hasn’t subsided yet from having briefly played in a strange mission.

I barely suppressed the throbbing pain in a corner of my chest and let out a shaky breath.

***

As Hong Seol squatted in his room, he remembered what happened with that man.

Huge hands that seem to be twice as big as mine, and rough texture.

And the veins rising on the man’s face as he slowly changed.

A tongue lashing out with a twisted smile as it viciously grabbed its own chest.

Spooky-

I got goosebumps just thinking about that time.

Even after finding the bug, whenever I saw the man, I was afraid that he might suddenly attack me.

But because Hongseol was afraid of the man, she made more direct eye contact. He deliberately acted confident.

When I developed camera phobia in the early days of my debut as an entertainer, I had the experience of facing and overcoming my fear, so I was confident this time too.

“You can…You can!”

I had to do it. Because I had an intuition.

I have an intuition that I can survive here.

“You can!···You can!”

Today again, she strengthens her will by squatting so hard that her lower body trembles.

***

“You only drive~ Ooh! Ah!”

I am in a very good mood for the rest of the season.

Running (Intermediate)

– Movement speed increases by 100% for 15 seconds. (Can be used 3 times per stage)

The captain gave me this trait because he was concerned, perhaps because he saw me often leaving the shelter during battle.

“Heeheeheehee… Get one trait!”

When I thought of myself sprinting across the battlefield, a shiver spread throughout my body.

“Wouldn’t it be okay to just go to the debuff master? It would be nice to just see something like freeze or stun!”

Originally, I wanted to have attack characteristics, but no matter how hard I calculated it, it seemed difficult to surpass the captain or Kahi.

Once the advanced characteristics are unlocked and the debuff characteristics appear, I plan to ask the captain for the first time.

If the contribution level is level 7, wouldn’t it be acceptable to receive that much?

“Debuff Master Nam Nam-cheol… Phew! Quakekekekekekekekeke, I’m really looking forward to this…”

Huhuhuhuhuhu-

***

The next morning, after completing my routine, I was looking out of the shelter and enjoying the refreshing feeling.

Perhaps after this stage, your level will rise, and you will then be able to upgrade the sphere.

Remembering that the performance of the sphere was greatly upgraded last time, I am very excited about it.

Anyway, the core of defense is still the attack sphere.

The number of spheres cannot be increased anymore, but if the quality can be steadily increased, it will be a great help in the quest to dominate the first stage clear.

Because a combat-related meeting was held last night, everyone was preparing for breakfast according to their respective routines.

‘Eunchae and Kahi look a little tired today?’

On the other hand, Nam Nam-cheol and Hong-seol greeted each other in the morning with confident smiles as always.

One by one, we took our seats in front of the sphere, and Suji and Aksh*ta were placed behind me, waiting for that guy to come out.

I was also watching the empty lots and checking the time.

Suddenly, I remembered the time when I woke up in the morning and opened my smartphone for a moment.

This is because I was greeted by a huge amount of messages sent from Lingling.

‘Did I send you a reply for no reason…’

However, there were some useful contents among the messages, so I plan to reply often.

＜01:55＞

mana: 280 (+110)

When I put one ring on each side, my magic power increased to 280.

I can feel the clear energy welling up inside my body, passing through every corner of my body like a whirlwind.

＜00:04＞

Whoo-

Kwayit-! Crrr…

Tututututututututututu-!

Keeek!

The sound of the sphere bullets continuously exploding as if they were exploding and the terrible screams of the monsters raining down along with them create harmony.

You can see people synchronizing with the sphere. When you start hitting the monsters one by one, in a set order.

Thump!ㅡ Thump!ㅡ

The sound of the footsteps of a creature with an enormous weight that can be felt from afar causes the shelter to vibrate.

As if the vibrations were a signal, Suji began drawing the door, and Aksh*ta closed her eyes and muttered a spell.

I carry Aksh*ta on my back and hold Suzy’s hand tightly as I pass through a tunnel where I can’t even see an inch ahead.

Shhhhh!

The sound of artillery fire is heard as soon as you open the door on the other side.

Durability 26330/28500

It’s definitely powerful.

The sight I saw as I jumped out of the door was of shield soldiers tightly packed together on their shells, forming a defensive wall.

And the part of the carapace underneath was making a grunt, pushing something towards the tail.

Femishan’s scales are applied.

Match the magic power of [Population Hydrostatics] With the magic power of [Contaminated Chere Kat Sinyu].

Contaminated Chere Kat Sinyu offers only slight resistance.

Resistance failed.

With the message passing through my head in an instant, the magical light surrounding the body of the turtle scorpion, which was 1.5 Times larger than the earthworm monster, noticeably decreased.

Hmm!

At the same time, he hugged Aksh*ta and Suji by their waists and lightly threw them toward the shelter.

“aaah!”

Ladies, there is nothing we can do about this. Please take care of yourself.

Kwa Jang Chang Chang Chang!

And I immediately fell headlong onto the shield soldiers piled up below.