A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 17. Cola Zone Meeting

The commander, processing paperwork in the office, looked up at the sound of children’s voices beyond the window.

Noting the time, a faint smile appeared on the commander’s lips.

“It must have started by now.”

Standing up, he approached the window, slightly pulling aside the blinds to peer outside. He could see the tops of the children’s heads as they gathered and enjoyed a barbecue in groups.

It wasn’t difficult to spot the Asian child with black hair among them, and the commander quickly identified his child.

“The big kid beside him must be Taejong… But who is that blonde?”

The large boy with red hair next to his son was a familiar face to the commander, but the blonde child was a new face.

Seeing him in a uniform that fit, he seemed to be a child soldier.

“Is that kid someone we knew from the slums as well?”

Meursault had said that his son Hayden used to hang out with kids from the slums and hunt to secure their own food.

Even when he saw someone get shot right in front of him, he didn’t waver—Hayden wasn’t an ordinary child.

When the boy, who had gone hunting, returned dragging a monster many times his own size… I even felt an inexplicable sense of crisis.

The impact the child left was so intense that the leader of a zone felt threatened by a ten-year-old.

Even Meursault, who only cared about Daphne, excitedly recounted Hayden’s heroic tales to me.

“He lured a hippo by stabbing his own hand and took it down with a single shot?”

Others might have scoffed, thinking it was an exaggerated story.

But Commander Hayden knew instinctively that it was all true.

Hayden Goodman was Luna Moon’s child.

Even if he injured his hand, he could heal it immediately, so he could execute plans that involved self-harm without hesitation.

“From the start, requesting such a meal gathering wasn’t the mindset of an ordinary person.”

Moreover, his boldness in the executive meeting and proving his shooting skills by hunting monsters exceeded all of the commander’s expectations.

“Is the child of a hero destined to be a hero as well?”

Commander Hayden recalled the day he first met Hayden.

It wasn’t hard to recognize the child offering him a ring as Luna Moon’s son.

Because.

Luna Moon looked at us with the gaze of someone observing a different species, something non-human.

“Perhaps Hayden too, like Luna Moon…”

No, that’s excessive thinking.

The commander chuckled, shaking his head to dispel the unnecessary speculation.

Hayden couldn’t be like Luna Moon.

Hayden was a child born in ‘this world’ by Luna Moon.

* * *

Unlike the carefree BangguseokYeoBo, Taejong greeted politely.

“TaejongTaeseBeyonce. I look forward to working with you.”

“TaejongTaeseBeyonce? Why is your nickname so long?”

“You can just call me Taejong, hyung.”

Huh? Even BangguseokYeoBo is going to call me hyung?

“BangguseokYeoBo is twenty years old.”

When I subtly revealed his age, BangguseokYeoBo jumped.

“Hey!! Are you seriously bringing up real age here? We’re all the same ten years old!”

“No, sir. If you started the game first, you are hyung. Since you’re younger, I’ll call you little hyung.”

“Well… call me whatever you like.”

BangguseokYeoBo seemed to relax a bit, appreciating Taejong’s respectful attitude despite him being younger.

But until now, I thought they called me hyung because I was older.

Is it because I started the game first?

Taejong, this kid, isn’t actually much older, right?

I should just leave it be to avoid any awkward formality.

“By the way…”

BangguseokYeoBo, momentarily softened by Taejong’s polite demeanor, shot me a glare again.

“Little hyung or not, why didn’t you enlist that guy?”

“Because he’s served. You haven’t. Have you forgotten why you were enlisted?”

Can’t believe I have to explain this again.

“I told you, you need to know how to handle firearms to survive.”

“Oh, right.”

Oh, right?

“You’re… doing well in the army, right? You seem like a slacker, though.”

“Hey, hyung! That’s harsh. How could little hyung be a slacker, he’s still a player!”

“…….”

Did BangguseokYeoBo just look very troubled, or was it my imagination?

“Alright, let’s share our progress. Then, let’s plan our next steps.”

“Yes! I’ll go first.”

Taejong eagerly took the lead to share his progress.

“I got hired as a house servant and I’m learning the ropes. Although I don’t have specific duties yet, they let me observe various places, saying that seeing and learning is crucial. What I found out is that, since they see me as a child, they freely talk about secrets in front of me. I think the information I gather will greatly help our strategy.”

Hmm.

Makes sense.

Our biggest strength and weakness is being young.

We are physically disadvantaged, but it’s a perfect disguise to lower their guard.

“Anything helpful you’ve heard so far?”

“Yes. Lieutenant Radu is having an affair.”

“…How is that helpful?”

“We can use it to blackmail him later!”

This kid has watched too many soap operas.

Thinking that an affair can be used for blackmail.

“Taejong, I’m an illegitimate child the commander had outside.”

“Oops.”

“Well, you’re just doing odd jobs now, so the scope of information you can gather is limited. Once you start getting more involved in the mansion work, you’ll find more useful info. Keep it up.”

“Yes! I’ll bring useful information next time.”

Satisfied with Taejong, I turned my attention to BangguseokYeoBo.

“What about you?”

“Me… well… nothing special…”

“Have you handled firearms?”

“I’m still in basic physical training…”

Seeing how he couldn’t even make eye contact and looked dejected when the military was mentioned, it must be tough for him.

I know how hard military life can be, so I understand the difficulties BangguseokYeoBo must be facing.

But if I sympathize and show support, he’ll probably go to his superior saying, ‘My friend is the commander’s son, don’t mess with me ㅇㅇ.’

Once things settle, I might reconsider, but for now, I need to keep a cool distance.

He needs to think I won’t always be on his side to stay cautious and diligent in his training.

“Have you heard anything about the extermination operation?”

“Oh! They said I might be conscripted for the next extermination.”

The extermination operation happens during the season when the snow melts the most.

There is a low mountain not far from the zone with a red flag, and when the snow on its peak is observed melting, the extermination begins.

When Meursault and I went hunting, the mountain was covered in snow, so there is some time until the next extermination.

“BangguseokYeoBo seems likely to participate in the extermination event without issues…”

I don’t plan to have Taejong participate in the extermination.

If something goes wrong with both me and BangguseokYeoBo in the first extermination, we need a player to handle the aftermath.

I’ve never died in the first extermination while playing Safe Zone, but this is now reality, so I need to plan for what happens if I die.

“Now I’ll tell you what I’ve found out. But first.”

Saying that, I showed them the Luna Moon ring I had strung on a leather cord and wore as a necklace.

“You two, touch this ring.”

They both touched Luna Moon’s ring, but.

Judging by their expressions, nothing happened.

It seemed just touching the meteorite wasn’t enough to open the status window.

I hid the ring inside my clothes again and spoke.

“I’ve opened the status window.”

“You opened the status window? There’s such a thing?”

Taejong just nodded, already knowing, but BangguseokYeoBo was shocked, thinking there were no special features when he was possessed.

“There was a condition to open the status window.”

“A condition? What is it? Can we open it too?”

I shook my head at the hopeful BangguseokYeoBo.

“At first, I thought it opened by touching a specific item… but it seems only the first player to touch it can open it. So you two can’t open it.”

“What, so we have to攻略 without a status window?”

“The status window only has functions like character information, inventory, and chat. There’s also zone development, but it’s useless in the Cola Zone. Chat is the only significant function.”

“Chat? What good is that?”

“If more than two people open the status window, they automatically enter a public chat room.”

Both BangguseokYeoBo and Taejong looked surprised.

They might have guessed there were other players in other zones, but this was their first time hearing it directly.

“There are currently eight people in the public chat room, including me. So there are seven other players with the status window.”

“Damn, how many people got possessed here?”

Exactly.

“Hey, by the way…”

BangguseokYeoBo lowered his voice as if about to ask something serious.

“Is the Dopamine Addict among those who opened the status window?”

“Why does he keep obsessing over me?”

Seeing Taejong’s puzzled look, I remembered telling him to pretend not to know I was the Dopamine Addict in front of BangguseokYeoBo.

Fortunately, BangguseokYeoBo was focused on me and didn’t notice Taejong’s brief

lapse.

“I’ll have to tell him soon. Keeping secrets between just two isn’t good for the team.”

But I planned to reveal my identity to BangguseokYeoBo after getting a favor from him. It’d be less embarrassing to repay a grudge.

When I didn’t respond, BangguseokYeoBo frowned and pressed.

“What? Why aren’t you answering? Wasn’t he there?”

“He was. Dopamine Addict opened the status window.”

At least I didn’t lie.

BangguseokYeoBo’s questions didn’t stop.

“Which zone is that bastard in?”

“Would anyone tell that?”

Now that was a lie.

“True… that rude bastard wouldn’t have told.”

Actually, I was the first to reveal my zone.

“Were there any players from our zone?”

Taejong asked, shifting the topic from Dopamine Addict to other players.

“No. It seems each zone has only one status window item. And from my recent observations, it looks like we’re the only players in our zone.”

Only BangguseokYeoBo and Taejong reacted to ‘pork belly.’ While the three of us had indifferent expressions during the meal, other kids looked… happy.

Despite having an ulterior motive for arranging the meal, seeing the kids enjoy it made me a bit proud.

Anyway, our zone had only the three of us as players.

With only four players, including the retired Safe8, having chosen ‘Cola,’ other zones likely had similar player counts.

“And this is my guess…”

I alternated my gaze between BangguseokYeoBo and Taejong.

“Luna Moon might have been a player.”