The Trash Wants to Live

PR: Naa_chi

“I came in imagining something adventure-like, but when I helped install the pipes, I felt like a construction worker…”

“…”

“The first gate was chaotic, but… it was exciting.”

Jung Yi Joon made a long face while muttering. Since he wasn’t the only one who experienced that thrill, he briefly looked at Jang Eui Yeol and me. I then realized that he wasn’t his usual self.

But unlike him, I wasn’t traumatised by the situation I had experienced in the first gate. That’s why I came back and entered a gate again.

Also, the person who was injured the most was Jung Yi Joon.

He, who was the only gifted person, overused his power to save Jang Eui Yeol and me and eventually fainted with a nosebleed. Nevertheless, he entered this gate without any trauma, probably due to the inherent characteristics of gifted people.

Because gifted people are instinctively attracted to the world inside the gate.

I did not know why. They only climbed mountains because they were there. They instinctively liked the world within the gate.

Of course, it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I want to live here!’ It was just that they didn’t refuse to go inside the gate, as if they were on a journey.

I heard that even if you get fed up after attacking a gate, you would desperately want to enter another gate a few days later.

Even those who encounter humanoid monsters at level 6 or higher and have to give up on attacking the gate due to the impact…

Only low-level gates would make steady progress. I didn’t understand because I was ungifted, but these gifted people felt attracted to the gate.

Jung Yi Joon, who was wary, seemed relieved to see that Jang Eui Yeol and I didn’t have any adverse feelings. Jang Eui Yeol added a few words as if to reassure him.

“After the first gate, I thought I wouldn’t come back here again because I was so shocked. But… strangely, I was actually okay with coming back.”

“I know right? Something… makes you feel strangely comfortable.”

Jung Yi Joon cheerfully agreed with Jang Eui Yeol’s words. The others also seemed to agree with those words. Even Ki Hyun Joo, who had asked when she could leave on the first day, also nodded her head.

Is it because their powers belong to this world?

Instead of being from another world, was it more accurate to say that they both originated from another dimension? I wondered if that similar energy made them feel at home within the gate. As an ungifted person, I felt like I would never get to feel that way in my life.

“Hmm… Come to think of it, unlike the raid team, I don’t think our team saw any animals living here.”

When Jung Yi Joon said that he felt a little nervous, Ki Hyun Joo clicked her tongue at him for being insensitive. Unlike the raid team, the secure-drinking-water team had Jang Eui Yeol, so it was only natural.

To be exact, it’s not because of Jang Eui Yeol…

It was because of the bull he tamed. In contrast to the beloved Cookie, the unnamed bull was just called the bull. It was a monster from a higher level gate than the current gate.

Before entering the gate, I took a photo of it with the machine. The number came out to be -10. I had expected it to be 1 out of 10, but it was still a mystery.

In terms of middle and high school students in Korea, it was like a school gang leader1. As seniors of the freshmen students, they could loiter around, but not a single student who would dare to beat them up.

“Maybe everyone ran away because of the loud machine noises? Noises like the electric saw or the excavators.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

They were aggroed by the sound of the machines, but perhaps they saw the aura emitted by the bull, then turned around to run for their lives.

Well, I couldn’t tell them this even though I knew it, so I just laughed along with them.

“Come to think of it, I’m glad that the pipes have been connected quickly. I was worried that we might run out of drinking water before that…”

“Ah…”

Everyone frowned at my words. Recently, everyone was restless because of the water usage restrictions put in place to save drinking water. I wondered if the water purification facility would be put in operation before the pipe connection was completed. Everyone endured by not taking a shower, and only washing and brushing their teeth with the distributed water. Luckily, we didn’t have to do that for too long.

Of course, even though the pipe was drawing river water, it couldn’t be used immediately. It still had to go through a water purification facility… Nevertheless, using purified river water and using purified water tasted different…

Luckily, I was kicked out of the barrack, scorned for saying what I didn’t even want to think about. Of course, I would have only ended up being scolded for a bit if I had stayed inside, but I headed out to take Cookie for a walk while I was shunned.

[Hurry up, Ki Yoon Jae!]

Cookie walked around quickly and called out to me. Just like he had done in the mansion, every day he was busy looking around the base camp, which had become his new territory. Since he hated the leash, he didn’t have it on, so Cookie could roam around.

“Oh, Sweetie.”

“Huff huff huff!”2

Then, he went to the person who adored him and danced around with his short tail wagging vigorously. The people and soldiers of SNT were so friendly that everyone liked the cute Cookie. Thus, someone would always have a piece of beef jerky in their pocket, and when we met others on the walk like this, they would squat down and give Cookie a piece of beef jerky.

“Good boy, good boy.”

“Huff huff…”

As I slowly got closer, Cookie had finished the jerky he received. The soldier who gave Cookie the jerky greeted me and went back. After separating with the soldier, Cookie moved his short legs again and walked towards his next target to take some more beef jerky from other people.

After passing so many people, Chuck was the last person Cookie met.

“Ah, cutie.”

As soon as he saw Cookie, Chuck lay down on the floor to adjust his eye level. His huge body was like a mountain even if he laid on his stomach. Cookie often barked and ran around him whenever he laid down.

[Give me meat! Meat!]

Of course, that sounded more like looting jerky to me than a bark. Chuck smiled happily at the cute Cookie and made him do a lot of things.

“Paw, feet, lie down. Nice. High five!”

In response to his commands, Cookie gave him his paws, spun around, put his foot down, lied down, and quickly raised himself for a high-five. Satisfied, Chuck handed him the jerky. Cookie grabbed it with his forepaws and chewed it. As I slowly walked closer, Chuck got up from his stomach and sat down on the floor.

“Hmm, hmm…. You’re here?”

“Yes. Hello.”

Chuck seemed to really like dogs. It was a bit of a shock when I saw him lying down and flattering Cookie earlier, after barely caught up to Cookie who kept running at his own pace during the walk.

At first, Chuck was surprised to know that I had seen him, but after being caught more than a few times in his instinctive fawning over Cookie, he seemed to have given up now.

The beef jerky Chuck gave Cookie was bigger than the others so I sat near him, thinking that Cookie would take some time to finish it. Chuck spoke to me as I sat there staring at Cookie.

“Mr. Ki. Is Mr. Kwon… a master of Oriental Martial Arts?”

“Eh?”

“I don’t believe in Oriental Martial Arts. That thing they call ‘Qi’ or something like that?”

Chuck raised his fist. Smoke billowed from the fist that was the size of my face and quickly rose upwards.

“Actually, I didn’t believe in it even after I became a gifted person and could use the Force. After all, if there was actually a mysterious Oriental Martial Arts, then there should have been gifted people a long time ago.”

That was true. In fact, with the appearance of the gifted people, those who claimed to have super powers and masters of oriental martial arts collapsed. Ironically, it was also these gifted people that allowed them to stand back on their feet again.

After all, they haven’t thought of training by combining Force and Qi yet… It only appears later.

“But every time I see Mr. Kwon, I wonder if my thoughts were wrong. I believe more in my body than in my powers. Because a well-trained body will not betray you.”

This led him to believe that his ability only manifested when not using weapons. Chuck’s power was Firefist. I had been staying in the base camp, but he had not used his ability in the base camp. So I’ve never seen him in action, but from what I had heard, he would hit the enemy with a fiery fist or would blow them up.

“I have lived by that belief until now. But ever since I met Mr. Kwon, my belief has become gradually more clouded. Even though Mister Kwon is only half my size, the more I get to know him, the less confident I am that I can beat him. Even though I know his ability is not speed-related, I get confused whenever he moves so fast.”

“Hmm…”

“I asked Hyun Seo, but he said he didn’t know much about him and said Mr. Ki would know more.”

Chuck looked at me. His eyes shone with the desire to develop further.

“Is he really a Martial Arts master? Or is there a course at Sungwoon where you can learn stuff like that?”

“Haha…”

T/N: Somehow… The plot become more weirder…

1. Middle school or high school student who forces other students to give them money.
2. Cookie’s panting.