Chapter 8: 2. Cover
From the sky, rifts opened. From the ground, dungeon breaks erupted.
After the Cataclysm, many zones were renamed and reclassified. Areas that Hunters failed to reclaim were taken over by the monsters who survived.
Still, that didn’t mean no one lived in those zones. People who began to survive in lands where death was always one step away would sometimes kill monsters—and sometimes kill each other.
The place where I was born and raised. Before the Cataclysm, it was known as Dobong-dong. Now, it's called Zone C-281—an outlaw district. And it had been my home.
‘Even if I hadn’t been kidnapped by the lab, I was planning to leave here anyway, so it doesn’t really matter anymore.’
Neon signs of every color flashed chaotically in the damp, narrow alleyways, cloaked in darkness.
Splash. I stepped into a puddle as I made my way through the winding maze of streets. Somewhere nearby, laughter and chatter echoed, and the thick stench of cigarette smoke drifted by.
Taking it all in, I glanced down.
The “villain” I’d managed to extract safely from the lab was quietly following me, still clutching my hand.
I’d lived here for over ten years, so I was used to it—but the kid wasn’t. Even so, her face, still as lifeless as a doll’s, showed no trace of fear as she walked silently behind me.
She’s... surprisingly fearless. Just what the hell happened to her in that lab?
‘...Well, not my concern.’