Surviving Every Worldview

Chapter 22: Abduction (2)

The monitor attached to the controller lit up.

It’s a monitor that Seol Do-yeon added during the design process so she could see the front of the drone through its camera.

But now, even the remote control can’t move the drone.

While drawing the blueprint, she made sure that only those who had awakened the story could handle it.

Seol Do-yeon began to tell her story with her eyes tightly shut.

[Your story will unfold in the world.]

A story without a set form surrounded Seol Do-yeon.

Yoo Seon-woo said that when he starts a story, a scene from the story he wants to tell comes to mind in an instant.

For Seol Do-yeon, nothing like that came to mind, and at the same time, the message was slightly different.

But it was enough to get the drone going.

“It’s moving……!”

“Oh.”

“How about it! It’s a cutting-edge drone that can turn on by recognizing the sound of your fingers snapping and even has an automatic shooting function!”

-Boo-boo-boo-boo.

The room was filled with the sound of propellers.

Seol Do-yeon couldn’t contain her excitement and had to take the drone outside.

“We need to improve the noise problem.”

“Mr. Landlord, I need to concentrate right now, so be quiet.”

“Okay.”

Not wanting to disturb her, Yoo Yeon-woo stood up and disappeared out of sight.

Where he went and what he got up to do, Seol Do-yeon didn’t care.

Now was the time to focus on her first real test.

‘I’ve never drawn something that isn’t even human before, with so much thought put into its settings……’

This was a challenge in more ways than one.

It was her first time drawing a concept that could only be found in a game art book.

It was also the first time she was utilizing a story herself.

Everything has to work seamlessly, and she has to be able to handle it.

If she didn’t, she’ll have to keep waiting for Yoo Seon-woo to build up her skills.

There’s a difference between being pampered and being helped because you’re incompetent.

-Kwazizik!

Attracted by the sound of the drone, the undead began to pound the wall from inside the barricade.

The same sound continues as a dent forms in the wall, and it slowly buckles.

She’s been able to keep the undead contained so far because she hasn’t provoked them.

Now that the creature has been provoked, the wall quickly crumples like a sheet of paper.

-Tudadada!

As soon as there was a gap in the wall that held the undead, Seol Do-yeon fired her machine gun through it.

As each bullet pierced the flesh of the undead, the force of his punch weakened a little.

The drone had four 30-round magazines, for a total of 120 rounds.

She had to kill it before it runs out of ammo or the monster gets out.

It’s a method with no twists or excitement, but it’s the best she could do.

‘I can think of it as a game, because that’s what Seon-woo is doing.’

When the last bullet went off, the gun automatically reloaded.

It took five seconds for the magazine to change.

Due to the lack of settings, she couldn’t close this gap right away.

…….

The undead bent the metal wall with force and reached for the drone.

Luckily, it didn’t catch the drone, but the monitor filled the screen with its ghastly, bleeding face.

“Yuck.”

Seol Do-yeon winced for a moment but that was it.

From the gamepad-like design of the controller to the aiming point on the monitor, she deliberately created a game-like atmosphere so she wouldn’t be shocked.

Now, whatever she sees on the monitor doesn’t feel real to her!

“It’s worth it, it’s worth it…….”

She reloaded and fired again.

She’s getting the hang of the controls and dodging is getting easier but the undead didn’t fall until she used all thirty rounds again.

“…….”

The judgment was quick.

Seol Do-yeon reloaded the drone and flew straight at it, aiming at the undead’s head.

Then, covering the monitor with her hand, she fired the machine gun.

Gunfire ensued and soon, the pounding against the wall ceased, replaced by the sound of iron clanking.

……Seol Do-yeon had a vague idea of what was happening, but she didn’t remove her hand from the monitor.

She didn’t need to see the gruesome, horrifying sight.

Instead, she playfully mouthed the common phrase for such occasions.

“I did it…”

At that moment, Yoo Seon-woo clamped his hand over Seol Do-yeon’s mouth.

“……Don’t say that. If you do, you’ll get killed.”

His words were ridiculous, but she nodded.

Instead, she steered the drone back to this side without looking at the screen.

The drone returned safely but was covered in black, dirty blood, with a small, strange object on top.

“That’s it!”

She cheered as she threw the controller on the bed.

However, she couldn’t bring the dirty drone back home.

Yoo Seon-woo, who was watching from behind, put the drone in his inventory instead.

“Good job, you were so focused.”

“How was it? I did well! Didn’t you get a notification window saying that you cleared the event!?”

“It’s not a game…….”

Yoo Seon-woo wiped something off the desk with a wet tissue and placed it on Seol Do-yeon’s palm.

It was the loot from the drone.

“This is just the way the rewards come out. It’ll be the same from now on, so remember.”

“Ah…It would be nice to congratulate me on something like this, but don’t you have anything like that?”

“I’ll do it for you. Congratulations.”

“Oh, my God. Thank you-”

Seol Do-yeon applauded and put the reward in her pocket.

She didn’t immediately wonder what it was for since there was someone right next to her who could explain.

Instead, she turned to her room to prepare to leave as promised.

“Huh? What?”

When she checked her room, it was empty.

There was no computer, the desk was completely empty, and even the power strips underneath were gone.

So many things that should have been in the room had disappeared and been organized in that brief moment.

The only thing left in the room was a big box in the middle of the room.

“Why is everything tidy?”

“I took care of the heavy stuff first. You just need to pack the clothes and necessities.”

“You’re invading my privacy!”

Yoo Seon-woo didn’t reply and left the room.

“You’re disrespectful…….”

Seol Do-yeon clicked her tongue and started to pack the rest of her things.

It was her old high school bag, so she could only pack necessities and clothes, but it was enough.

‘It feels like I’m preparing for a trip.’

[※ Story completion level: 1 → 2]

While packing, Seol Do-yeon felt a strange feeling, but she didn’t know why.

She just assumed it was similar to the excitement she felt the night before a trip.

After everything was ready, Seol Do-yeon didn’t call Yoo Seon-woo and just lay down on the bed.

The banter ended only when he came back a few minutes later.

“……What are you doing without getting ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

Seol Do-yeon chuckled.

She had no intention of hiding anything.

Her mind raced with happy thoughts of what to say to get a funny reaction.

“I thought you said you were free today?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”

“So, I guess we can just hang out a little longer and then go to your home?”

Seon-woo shoved his hands in his pockets.

“…….”

He looked down at Seol Do-yeon wordlessly.

* * *

I dragged Do-yeon outside.

Whether she stretched her clothes or lost her balance in the process is none of my business.

“Ah… Okay, okay, okay! I’ll walk myself, now let go!”

“Okay, ride next to me. You can sleep if you’re sleepy.”

“I’m not that sleepy. And I wonder if I can sleep. I heard the highways are a mess…”

I let go of Do-yeon only after we reached the front of the parked car.

I started to put her luggage in the trunk, but she snatched the doll out of my hand and climbed into the passenger seat.

“…….”

When I got back into the driver’s seat, Do-Yeon was hugging the doll tightly and covering it with a blanket.

For someone who says she is not sleepy, this is a very determined posture.

“Why are you taking that doll with you?” I asked.

“Because it’s cute?”

If that’s the case, you should have held it from the beginning.

I asked Do-yeon as I set the destination on the navigation system.

“Let’s go. Are you sure you didn’t forget anything?”

“No-”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

I started the car and slowly drove away from Do-yeon’s house.

I watched her reaction as I reversed and swerved.

I kept worrying that she’d say she remembered something she’d left behind, but thankfully she didn’t.

“You must have really packed everything.”

“The way you’re talking, it’s ridiculous.”

As we made our way out of the alley and onto the main street, the hordes of undead that no one had dealt with began to appear everywhere again.

Even if we wanted to turn back, we couldn’t now.

Do-Yeon, meanwhile, was a bit shocked when she first saw what was happening outside.

“Wow, did you really drive through this place?”

“What did you think it would be like?”

“It’s just. I thought there would only be as many as I could see from my house. I didn’t think there would be so many…….”

“It’s okay.”

Seol Do-yeon gripped the drone’s controls tightly, glancing back and forth between the undead and me.

I had a vague idea of what she was imagining.

But driving through the oncoming zombies was something I had already done yesterday.

I don’t have to do it today.

[Your story begins.]

As I began my story, the noise of the moving car faded away.

It went from a normal engine sound to an electric engine car.

Once the noise was reduced to a minimum, even the nearby undead didn’t recognize the car.

It simply glided across the treacherous road, and Do-Yeon watched in wonder.

“Wow, how did you do that?”

“My awareness rating went up.”

“Is that… even possible?”

“Why?”

“It’s a car, after all. How is it that they can’t hear something this loud nearby?”

I asked back.

“Why raise my awareness if raising my rank will only reduce the amount of noise I make?”

“…Is that so?”

“It’s called a superpower, but it’s not good if you can’t do things like this.”

Even if there were people in front of me instead of undead, I could have done the same thing with a little more effort.

If I can’t fight them myself but this is the least I can do.

“So…we’re just driving, then? I thought you were just kidding about sleeping.”

“Well, if you’re sleepy, sleep. It’s a two-hour drive.”

“I’m not sleepy.”

With that, Do-yeon replaced the doll with her cell phone.

She then pulled her chair back and put on her wireless earphones, and it looked like she was completely lost in her own world.

Without the internet, she would have been bothering me the whole time.

Thank goodness.

“Ah!!”

The drive continued in silence for a while when Do-yeon suddenly let out a frustrated sigh.

“…What’s wrong with you?”

“We’re screwed, we’re screwed.”

“Why? Did you leave something behind?”

Seol Do-yeon shook her head.

She held out her cell phone, but I couldn’t see it because she was driving.

“The game server is closed, I haven’t played at all today…I didn’t run any events…….”

“It’s been closed since noon yesterday, what do you mean?”

“Really?! Didn’t you do it all at dawn and turn it off?”

Do-yeon muttered that it couldn’t be, and launched various games installed on her phone.

She didn’t look up, but the familiar startup music and dialog alternated with her ears.

Hello, teacher. Good to see you, admin. What are we doing today, Pioneer.

But the servers were all closed.

“Haaaaaa…….”

Do-yeon lost all strength and stretched out on the passenger seat.

She closed her eyes, pulling the blanket over her head.

“……I’m just going to sleep.”

You said you weren’t sleepy.

* * *

“Wake up, we’re here.”

About two hours later, I parked the car back where it came from and shook Seol Do-yeon to wake her up.

“Ugh… ah…wait………”

She replied in a half-dead voice.

She sounded too tired to get up, even if she wanted to.

Apparently, she’d been up all night with the drone, so it would be better not to wake her up.

-Tick, tick, tick.

Just then, someone tapped on the car window.

I looked back to where the sound came from, and there were two people, Lee Seorin and Kang Hyunseok, waving at me.

I motioned for them to put their hands away and rolled down the window.

“What the hell, why are you in the parking lot?”

“Wait a minute, Seon-woo. Could you please check the condition of the car and how much gas is left…Haa……”

Kang Hyunseok sighed heavily and turned around.

I decided not to say anything but I’ll pay him back later.

Afterward, Seorin staggered over and said.

“I heard your car and came over-”

“Huh? What?”

“You asked me why I was in the parking lot. I heard your car.”

Ah. So she answered.

“And him?”

“He said he followed me to check on his car.”

“Oh.”

“But where have you been―? On a day like this… …”

Sister Seorin rambled on.

It was as if she had noticed someone asleep in the passenger seat.

“Hmph…….”

Just then, Do-yeon heard the sound and was about to open her eyes again.

Sister Seorin studied her face intently, but she couldn’t remember who she was because Do-yeon’s someone I haven’t introduced her to yet.

“Huh?”

Seol Do-yeon rubbed her eyes and looked at me.

At the same time, when she spotted Seorin outside the window, she was startled and pulled the blanket over her head.

I tried to take the blanket away from her, but she resisted with a firm grip.

“……Who is she?”

“That’s…….”

“A friend?”

Seorin asked.

I want to introduce her, but Do-yeon won’t let go of the blanket covering her face.

……I reluctantly opened my mouth.

“I’ll tell you later…….”