Apocalypse Survival Guide Chapter 33

Chapter 33. New Beginning (5)

Family. It was the word that was furthest from .

Thrown onto the icy satellite of Titan with no mory, I had no connections at all.

The broker was the one who extended a hand to , soone who couldn't find a place to ask for help nor anyone who would offer it. She did click her tongue in pity but created a new identity for so I could make a living.

I later realized that incurred a debt, but I thought it was inevitable and only natural. Without the broker's help, I wouldn't have lasted long and likely would have died.

Sohow, I never had an easy life. This instance was no different. Since Celestia saved us, I had to at least pretend to heed her request. No favors co without a cost.

I briefly wondered if I was the family Celestia ntioned, but quickly shook my head with a cynical smile. It made no sense.

'You need at least a similarity to be mistaken.'

Even false hopes have their limits. Her family was undoubtedly Myosotis, not , since I didn't pass the certification for the first-generation colony town.

At the ti, I wondered why, but now I understood.

"Haaa......."

- Help us. We'll adequately compensate you.

Did Celestia hear my sigh? Her voice grew urgent.

"Why , of all people?"

I could roughly guess why she didn't ntion it when we were in the town. Perhaps she didn't want others to overhear, or she hoped I wouldn't refuse. Frankly, I could refuse even now.

What I didn't understand was why ? I wasn't skilled in finding people.

- I've been watching you- No, observing everyone. From the central tower rooftop, the shuttles, and within the town.

I did feel eyes on , though I didn't know it was her observing.

"You thought I was the most suitable?"

- ...... Yes. At least, I thought you wouldn't lie. I sohow felt I could trust you.

There are those who fight better than I do, people who can handle technologies I can't, and if it's about reliability, even obedient robots. And that's the only reason she chose .

"I'm quite the liar. I'm good at conning too."

- Real liars don't say things like that.

"Then scratch that. I'm a truly nice person."

- It's too late to say the opposite now. If my allegiance with the pureblood supremacists seems suspicious, let assure you—I'm not one. And that includes Eric and everyone else with . We only pretended to be a part of them out of necessity. We've cut off communication with them now.

Despite what Celestia said, I didn't show much reaction, so she hesitated before speaking cautiously.

- ...... Is the communication line not working? Hello? No, the signal is fine.

I slapped my forehead. I sowhat suspected that Celestia and Eric weren't pureblood supremacists.

'Well, what do you know.'

When a day passed and the stench of blood left my body, I realized they didn't have the characteristic sll of the supremacists. Back then, I didn't notice, but now I knew; the supremacists reeked of a chemical odor that was almost pungent.

Whatever it was, it might have been what turned them into madn. If not, it could be what drove them to produce the monsters. Although it's just conjecture with no concrete proof, for now, it seed plausible.

Celestia, who had already exposed what wasn't truly secret to those in the town, asked to keep her request confidential.

Even if we fulfilled her request, there might be a limit to additional human support, she sighed.

"Never mind the supremacists. Any more detailed features?"

- Oh....... He's kind. So kind it's foolish—he smiles even when he knows he's at a disadvantage. Should I say he's soone who always shines? And he has a mole on his shoulder, with scars on his back that look like scratches. And also... I'm sorry. I was so young when we parted, I don't rember more.

"...... A mole on the shoulder, scars on the back....... Not exactly prominent. But how can you be sure he's alive?"

- The pureblood supremacists approached . They said my brother is still alive, on this satellite. I'd been searching for a while, but traces were only recently found. Despite this situation, my brother, as I rember him, would have survived.

"Ah, so that's why."

- Yes, that's why I was with the supremacists. Oh, I nearly forgot to ntion the most important part. My brother is... Myosotis. It ans a gift from God.

"......?"

Why state the obvious? Of course, he would be Myosotis. But "a gift from God"? That was just a montary curiosity.

"All right. I'll try to look for him. But don't get your hopes up."

Before Celestia could respond, I continued.

"First, foremost are Nadia, Carry and . I'll pull back if it's dangerous. Second, similar to the first reason, but I'm not going to tear through the base recklessly. I'll rely verify in passing as we head towards our destination. Understand?"

- ...... Yes.

"Don't regret it later."

- I won't. While you're there, I'll move to aid you, so please rember my request as well.

Celestia replied, her tone notably brighter.

- I'll definitely find him. Everything... to the end. No matter what.

Though the latter part of her words were too quiet to hear clearly through the communication, I felt a strange shiver. It felt like sothing sticky was clinging to , so I shook my shoulders uneasily.

With an apology for keeping long, Celestia ended the communication. Despite the rest period, I felt completely drained, as if I hadn't rested at all. My physical strength should have been restored.

"Hyun-woo, why'd you agree? It's dangerous."

Nadia's voice was filled with discontent. She'd been privy to my conversation with Celestia, as I'd shared the communication with her. It seed agreeing to the request didn't sit well with her.

What should I say? I also had a slight discontent against Celestia. As unfortunate as her circumstances were, our lives were on the line.

"She promised full cooperation, that's why I accepted for now."

There were many incomprehensible aspects.

"If she ca to rescue such a precious person, why co with so few? Why didn't Myosotis' chief send a team specialized in search instead? How could they be certain of survival despite having seen that hell? And so on.

I had a million questions. But there wasn't enough trust or ti between and Celestia to ask them. Our relationship survived because of her aid, but trusting her like Nadia did was another thing entirely.

"To escape from here, establishing a cooperative relationship is crucial. That way, they'll consider us more when leaving, right?"

"That's true, but...."

"Nadia, I only agreed because you're here. If I were alone, I'd have flatly refused."

"Does that an you trust ?"

"You state the obvious. If I don't trust you, then who?"

When I said that, Nadia brushed aside her complaints and, feeling better, giggled while wagging her tail.

"Let's move again. A bit further, and the base will be in sight."

"Yes!"

We temporarily put Celestia's request to the back of our minds. That request too could only be fulfilled if we survived first. Pondering now wouldn't bring instant answers nor solve anything.

Our journey resud, with the crunch of our steps on the snow filling the surroundings. The terrain was relatively level compared to past obstacles, despite so reverse stalagmites sticking up here and there.

No dangerous crevasses were in sight, nor did any quakes occur to form one. A stable planet crust implied that the terraforming facilities were still operational.

The device didn't just regulate the atmosphere; it created a gravitational field to stabilize the unstable crust. It didn't just anchor, as it redirected accumulated internal forces to unoccupied areas for release, though that point wasn't entirely certain.

It was then that sothing happened.

【Σ(°ロ°)】

Carry ca to an abrupt halt, startled. I briefly wondered if its thrusters had failed again, but it had deliberately stopped itself.

"Carry? What's wrong?"

【?(°Д°≡°Д°)?】

Ignoring my call, Carry looked around frantically, then, emitting a beep, increased its thruster output.

"Whoa, whoa? Carry! Where are you going?"

We began chasing the suddenly impulsive machine without understanding its reason. Fortunately, the terrain wasn't too cumberso, allowing for an easier pursuit.

After flying a considerable distance, Carry finally stopped. Its direction was towards the base, so thankfully, it didn't prolong our travel.

Just as I was about to scold the thing, my voice froze. I halted mid-questioning, having noticed sothing in my view.

"... A monster?"

What lay beneath the snow was a grotesquely deford creature. On the surface, it was clearly a mutated being. My voice expressed an incredulity due to the unusual state of the creature.

"Hyun-woo, is this...?"

"It took its own life. At least, that's how it appears to ."

The creature was propped against a rock, with a hole running straight from the jaw to the head. A plasma cutter rested diagonally across its body, the exposed edges suggesting a high-energy beam had caused the damage.

There were no signs of soone else's presence. Or if there were, they were now buried under the accumulated snow.

"Why was the tool activated? A malfunction?"

"Could the Blue Crystal minerals be responsible?"

Nadia pointed to the blue crystal protruding from the creature's skin. While we often saw tools get disabled by the minerals, hearing that safety locks were undone was a first.

The blue crystal's emissions, beyond a certain threshold, didn't just cause interference; they short-circuited circuits and physically disabled equipnt. While tools occasionally caught fire during this process, disabling safety locks was another story. Its notorious reputation wasn't unearned.

"Who knows. For now, let's not touch it. It might be different from the crystals we know."

It crossed my mind then—Carrot had been researching mutations. Not entirely sure, but research certainly required samples. Should I collect so of this?

I looked down at the creature once more. The corpse was motionless. I made up my mind. I decided to leave it for now, and if nothing happened by the ti we returned from the base, I would collect a sample then.

Carry began rummaging through the mutant's suit with its auxiliary arm. It pulled out sothing from a belt pouch—a processed piece of Blue Crystal, not raw mineral.

"... You sensed that emission?"

Who would have thought a mining sensor could be used like this? It seed ludicrous to question; Carry rely spat out a dim, lifeless chunk of crystal. It promptly loaded the piece it found into its intake.

"W-Well, then......"

A sigh similar to an elder's escaped unbidden. Starting to reprimand it, I changed my mind upon seeing the spent, dim Blue Crystal—it was clearly depleted of power. Carry must've been starved.

Our trusty transport robot doesn't bite, provided it's not hungry. This ti, the fault lay with for not feeding it properly.

'No armband...'

Looking for clues about why it was here, and why it ended up like this, I sought out an armband but couldn't find any. Likely lost amidst the transformation and subsequent shredding of its suit.

"Definitely from the base, though."

"Hyun-woo, it's neither blonde nor has blue eyes, no shoulder mole."

"Huh? Ah, right."

I knew there was a misunderstanding. Nadia was verifying if it fulfilled Celestia's criteria.

"This seems reusable."

"... You're taking that?"

I watched in disbelief as Nadia pulled the plasma cutter from the corpse. She crudely wiped the viscera off with snow.

Shy as she could be before strangers, Nadia was resolute when it was just us two.

"We're short on equipnt, aren't we? Better keep it. And surely, this person would have wanted that."

"... A person."

Nadia's words made pause. I quietly examined the creature's body. Despite its physical transformation, its actions indicated willpower until death. In that case, should it be seen as a monster? Or as a human?

Nadia saw a human, yet I......

"And because you said you trust , Hyun-woo. I want to show my appreciation."

Nadia's tail drooped. It wasn't until then I realized—she didn't do it willingly.

Still oblivious, I berated myself as I took the tool she was holding.

"Sorry."

"I wanted to hear sothing else."

"...... Thank you?"

"Correct."

Nadia, rejuvenated, playfully tapped Carry's monitor.

"Carry, it's safe now, but don't do this again. Understand?"

Carry, remorseful, rubbed against Nadia's leg, eventually letting her ride atop itself. Its thruster output remained stable, as if to exhibit its rejuvenated energy.

After paying respectful tribute to the deceased, we resud our trek. When we left, the deceased's eyes, once open, were closed peacefully.

As the base drew nearer, I manipulated my wristband, seeking the data Carrot had sent. A holographic screen materialized, revealing a docunt.

【Regarding Mutants Based on Human Beings, the Ghoul and the Mimic.】

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌ )】

Yeah, zombie Apocalypse in Space really is a fitting description.