Surviving in the 121st Century - Chapter 100



Only Krnovel

Episode 100

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Jincheol stood there blankly with a blanket draped over his shoulder, looking at the faded sky in the distance, dawning brighter.

A year ago, a decade ago, and even tens of thousands of years ago, the sun would have risen above the horizon just as it does now. Of course, more accurately, the sun would have been there and the earth would have revolved around it, but in any case, the sun would have always risen in the east and set in the west.

But the sun was not yet visible. The sky, without a single cloud to be found, was shedding the darkness of the previous day and becoming brighter, but the dazzling fireball had not yet risen above the horizon. Jincheol stood on the stone-fisted chariot, looking toward the east with an indifferent expression, waiting for the sun.

The cool dawn breeze shook Jincheol’s hair and his blanket. The cold air brushed against his skin and filled his lungs. Perhaps a small portion of this air was mixed with the breath of people ten thousand years ago. Jincheol thought so as he felt the cold dawn air fill his chest.

Not far away, the colorful flags that the Ologs had set up were fluttering in the wind, groping against the faded sky. Under the bright sky, the flags would have fluttered vigorously, but now, under the dark sky, they were just swaying like the hems of ghostly clothes.

The wilderness is filled with the empty sound of the wind. If those flags hadn’t been fluttering, I would have been captivated by the sound of the wilderness. My self scattered across the vast sky and the desolate land. As the wind disperses, my mind also disappears.

When the mind disappears, the pain disappears. The burning city, the dead comrades, the corpses hanging like fluttering flags will disappear. The anger and loneliness that are frozen in a way that cannot be touched will lightly disperse. In the end, nothing will remain.

Perhaps it would have been better not to wake up. It wouldn’t have been so bad to be buried deep in the ground for so long, and eventually just turn into dirt. My mind into the wilderness, my body into the dirt. Was it really necessary to wake up and be caught up in such worries?

At that moment, a ray of sunlight suddenly rose across the rugged horizon.

The sun was red, like blood, rather than bright. A dazzling radiance filled the field of vision. The desolate wilderness also glowed red, like hot iron. I couldn’t tell if it was the vitality of life or just the heat. Maybe it was both.

The sun moved slowly but with an unstoppable speed. Jincheol’s frowning gaze also followed its movement slowly. That sun must know him. They had met ten thousand years ago. Jincheol tried to speak to himself. Hello. It’s been a while.

The sun did not answer. It seemed that it was just a matter of climbing up the celestial sphere, and you, on this tiny piece of dust called Earth, were to fiddle around in the light I was emitting. And he would scold you, saying that ten thousand years were just a moment to him, and that it was nonsense to say it had been a long time. Didn’t we see each other yesterday, after all?

“What are you doing there?”

Jincheol, who was looking at the horizon while imagining the cynical answer of the sun, quickly lowered his gaze. Doljumuk, who was carrying a water jar under the tram, was looking up at him with a frown on his face.

Jincheol said.

“I waited for the sun.”

“···Is that what you’ve been waiting for?”

“They said they were coming.”

Stone Fist scratched his bald head with a puzzled expression.

“That… the sun comes even if no one waits for it… no, since it was going to come anyway, why wait for it…? But the sun rises no matter who waits for it…?”

He tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand, but soon stopped thinking and continued on his way. He poured the water he had brought into the pot hanging over the campfire and began preparing breakfast. He was a good cook, and he had enough seasonings and spices, so this morning would be great too.

At that moment, a white hair poked out from inside the tram. She frowned at the sunrise, looked around, and found Jincheol standing blankly on the tram with a blanket wrapped around him.

“···What are you doing?”

“Wait for the sun… No, that’s enough.”

Jincheol quickly threw off the blanket that was covering him and jumped under the tram. He landed with a thud and took water separately from the water jar that Doljukji had brought and washed his face. In the meantime, Snow also came down, and Doljukji’s hands became faster.

After a while, the three of them sat down in front of the campfire and started to eat breakfast. The meal consisted of a stew made with Uheo meat and some kind of potato-like crop, and a roasted bird of some unknown kind, all of which suited Jincheol’s taste.

“What kind of bird is this?”

“Shoobu. I bought it at the store next door yesterday.”

“It tastes like duck.”

“duck?”

“There is a bird with a broad beak and a waddling body.”

By the time the stew was completely emptied and the bones of the roasted bird were burned in the campfire, the bone chip hanging around Jincheol’s neck began to ding.

[The tunnel data has just been updated.]

“Okay? Okay. Where should I go?”

[Southeast.]

Jincheol tilted his head.

“If it’s southeast of here, that’s where we came from.”

[This isn’t connected to a highway, so if we were going in the same direction, would we have encountered each other? We must have just passed each other in the distance.]

“What? So I have to go back? I sent Sho-ogi away alone for nothing.”

Doljumeok, who was listening to Jincheol and Bonchip’s conversation, had shining eyes. Jincheol smiled upon seeing those eyes.

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

“···If we run quickly now, we can catch up with Sho-ogi.”

“Why? Sho-ogi will return to his own class anyway. In the end, we’ll have to part ways again.”

“But it’s better if we go together!”

The stone fist’s eyes were blazing. Jincheol was slightly flustered as he met that fiery gaze.

“Oh, okay, well. It would be nice if we went together.”

“hmm!”

Stone Fist nodded vigorously and quickly began to clean up the campsite with his hands. His movements were so hasty that after he finished cleaning up the campsite, he approached Snow, who was washing the pot, and took what she was doing. Snow looked at Stone Fist with a blank expression, as if she was nervous.

[Hehehe! Is this gorilla love? Red gorilla love? It sounds like a movie title! Hehehehe!]

Jincheol couldn’t help but chuckle at Bonchip’s nonsense. No, we hadn’t even talked to each other for the past few days.

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

After finishing his preparations, Doljumeok got into the driver’s seat of the tank, stuck his face out, and shouted. Jincheol shook his head slightly and climbed onto the tank. Snow also put on his artifact windbreaker and sat on one side of the tank.

After a clanking noise from inside, the engine roared and the tank began to move.

Jincheol, sitting on top, looked at the other Ologs, their tanks, and the Uhurs starting their day in Karakol. None of them seemed particularly interested in Jincheol and his party leaving. They were just busy moving about to start their own day.

Jincheol turned his head again and looked toward the east, in the direction the tank was moving. The sun, which had been as red as blood, had already risen to a yellowish blaze. Jincheol frowned at the sunlight and smiled faintly.

As the stone fist says, the sun rises without anyone waiting for it. It rises and sets endlessly, spinning and spinning due to the gravity of the stars and planets. Jincheol’s waiting had no effect on it. So it could be said that Jincheol’s waiting this morning was meaningless.

But the sight of the sun rising in the middle of the vast wilderness and filling the sky was beautiful. So Jincheol thought it was worth waiting for the sun just to see that sight. There was no meaning or meaninglessness to it. Jincheol would just wait for the sun.

“I’m really starting to like this land.”

[···This wilderness? You’re half out of your mind. What’s so great about a land filled with rocks and dust?]

Instead of answering Bonchip’s nagging, Jincheol just smiled. Snow, who was sitting next to him, silently looked at Jincheol’s profile.

The tram ran over the wilderness. Doljukki took the wheel, and Bonchip took control of the direction. The tram was fast, perhaps because the driver was in a hurry. Of course, it was uncertain whether he would be able to catch up with Shogi, who had left a night earlier, and whether he would be able to meet her on the way.

But after about half a day of departure, Jincheol felt that the possibility had increased. It was because the shape of the land filled with rocks, dirt, and sand was familiar.

“Hey, isn’t this just going back the way it came?”

[What do you want me to do? I’m just guiding you to the coordinates I checked in the morning. And since the scenery is so open, it’s only natural that they all look similar unless the path deviates significantly.]

“That’s true, but it’s a bit harsh.”

[What should I do~ Anyway, I’m the only one who can interpret the coordinates? Mr. Kang Jin-cheol, you’re practically a computer illiterate, right? A 21st century savage who fell behind in the 121st century?]

“···You crazy kid.”

[Isn’t it crazy to keep reconfirming facts that you already know? Hehehehehe.]

Jincheol also laughed.

“A crazy guy and a crazy AI. This is the end.”

[Fuck yeah~]

After running for a while, chattering nonsense, Jincheol suddenly discovered a trace of a campsite in the distance. Could it be where Sho-ogi had spent the night? Jincheol stopped for a moment to cool down the tank engine and searched for the trace, and was certain that she had been there. There was only one person and one animal staying at that campsite.

If it weren’t for Sho-ogi and her U-hu, then it was the traces of another lonely traveler, and only someone with considerable courage could do that.

As I was stirring the bonfire that had just burned down, a stone fist came over and spoke.

“Are we going back to Shogiant Gar?”

“Right? You feel that way too? But this kid just insists on going according to the coordinates···”

Jincheol’s expression hardened. A sense of foreboding flashed through his mind. Why did he feel like he was returning to Shogiant Gar? He was clearly tracking the location of the Ophesis people who had disappeared from Karakol.

“···Let’s keep going. If we do well, we might be able to catch up with Shogi today.”

Jincheol threw down the knife he was holding and stood up. Doljumeok tilted his head at his stern expression. The group took a short break and started moving again.

Contrary to Jincheol’s expectations, the party was unable to catch up with Shogi until the evening. She had been crossing the wilderness with little rest. In addition, the tank engine became so hot during the day that the party had to stop for a while.

They moved a little further in the cool evening, but were unable to catch up with Shogi until that night. The party set up a small camp and spent the night there.

Jincheol, who was looking at the campfire while Doljumeok and Snow were sleeping, spoke quietly.

“Aren’t you really going to Shogiant Gar?”

[I didn’t say I wasn’t going back there. To be exact, I don’t know.]

“Why don’t you know?”

[The coordinates I’m giving you now were confirmed using a dummy terminal. I connected to their terminal and extracted the locations sent by each terminal. Therefore, one-on-one location confirmation is possible, but that doesn’t mean that I have the entire coordinate system. Since the gyroscope and geomagnetic devices are broken, I can’t check my Earth coordinate system right now. I wonder if you can connect to any satellite.]

Jincheol threw one of the sticks into the bonfire.

“Say it simply without the complicated stuff, you punk.”

[Oh, I often forget that I’m explaining this to a Wi-Fi savage. To put it simply, I don’t know the coordinates of that Shogiant Gar. So I don’t know if the coordinates I’m tracking now overlap with Gar’s coordinates.]

“In the end, you have to go to find out.”

[That’s what it is.]

Damn. Jincheol felt the ominousness growing. And that ominousness continued to grow as they set off the next day and continued their journey. And Doljumeok and Snow felt the same. Thanks to that, the three of them were silent.

As I ran and ran through the familiar wilderness, dry grass began to increase, and at some point, green grass began to appear. I could also see the river flowing in the plains in the distance.

After a while of running across the meadow, the Stone Fist tank passed a small hill. Then, seeing the scenery unfolding below, Stone Fist, who was holding the steering wheel, instinctively stopped the tank. Jincheol muttered briefly.

“···Fuck.”

The black masses would be burnt tents and mobile homes. The crumpled pieces of paper would be their tanks, and the corpses strewn here and there would be Olog.

Shogi was kneeling alone in the middle of the ashes.