Clearing the Game at the End of the World

Chapter 58: Inside Out (5)

After Woojin finished laughing, he continued his explanation.

A persons deepest thoughts are bound to appear when they are feeling fear. I dont know what emotions you two shared just now, but I was looking at something else.

Tap tap.

Woojin spun the scalpel around and tapped the handle on Gyosus left hand.

See, look at it. The fingers that were tapping around just a bit ago are calm right now. You should be able to move them around normally right now, am I correct?

Gyosu looked at his left hand, unable to hide the shock on his face. Like the old man said, the fingers that Hyde had taken after becoming part of his body now completely felt like his.

It means the subconsciousness felt threatened and hid behind the main consciousness. Hes depending on you. At least for now.

Gyosu stared at Woojin, who announced this proudly with an annoyed expression. The wound he got from banging his head on the table was still bleeding. Every time the blood dripped, he could feel his patience dropping with it.

Then, the blood coming out of my forehead.

Ah, Im sorry about that. I didnt know you would respond that strongly. Hmm. It doesnt seem like a big wound, so Ill just put some styptic on it.

You just put my fingers on the line and are just finishing it with, Oh I was just acting? Dont you know that three fingers less in the Wasteland means the end of

I never said it was all acting. Of course, I was going to cut it off if you didnt come around.

After roughly applying some ointment on Gyosus forehead, Woojin continued.

Isnt that obvious? If you werent able to talk until your fingers were cut off, then it meant that the subconsciousness that felt threatened was not depending on the main consciousness but instead was still trying even harder to take over your body and that you werent able to stop it from doing so. If you at least get rid of the source of sensory it had in the body, then it would need to at least depend on you for external senses. And you would naturally be able to take control of your body like that.

Gyosu was about to talk back but closed his mouth again. The old mans serious eyes proved that he was genuinely thinking about cutting off his fingers.

Rustle, rustle

After taking out a piece of paper from his desk, Woojin scribbled something on the paper and handed it to Gyosu.

Heres your prescription. A mood stabilizer, and the anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics you always took. Thats it.

This is it? But theres nothing different from before.

I already told you. It cant be solved with medications. From what I think, theres only one way to cure this.

Clack

Gyosu swallowed nervously as Woojins voice turned serious.

The sound of him putting down the pen sounded like a judges gavel striking the sound block.

GG, solving it within that fame. I dont know if that Game of Gedroits or something could even be called a program now, but one thing that is certain is that its technology is advanced enough to plant a new consciousness into a persons mind, like you right now. So that means it should also have the technology to take out that new consciousness. Well, the best method is probably to do that all clear thing those Dome guys are crazy about and go to the Gedroits Company and shake that crazy old man until he gives you a solution.

Go to Gedroits..? What do you mean?

Oh, right, most of you people dont know. I guarantee you. Andre Gedriots, that old man, is still alive. One way or another.

Clomp, clomp, clomp.

Gyosu thought about what Old Man Woojin said as he went to the 3rd floor to pick up his medications.

Andre Gedriots is alive.

It was a topic that many people talked about in the Community. The old man was certain about his opinion.

Gedroits Company, the headquarters of the only online service of this era, GG, and the last remaining source of lost technology. Everyone assumes that its just the remnants of an incredible technological civilization but doesnt know exactly whats in that place.

Old Man Woojin recalled his past, reminiscing about his memories.

3 years ago, before I opened this hospital, I received a mission that was going to end up being the end of my mercenary career. You probably know this part too. The Dome said that whoever provided them with information related to the Gedriots Company would receive more Shilling than they could use in a lifetime. I fought in the Great Disaster and was pretty famous for my mercenary work back in the day, so I found a decent amount of information, but the more I looked into this Gedroits Company, the more ominous rumors I found.

After that, Woojin elaborated on the information he found at that time. The continuous supply of drones, the products from the Old Times that were sold under the GG name, and the disappearance of every designer and worker from the secret bunker..

Thinking about it, people like us dont attack the drones because we need the Community and GG to survive, but for the Psycho Gang and some scavengers, those drones are just flying bags of money. Just looking at the number of chargeable batteries coming onto the Market, you could see just how many of them were being hunted. But I havent heard of a single case where a trade has been delayed due to a lack of drones.

Woojin put all of the pieces of information together and came to one conclusion.

The Gedroits Companys secret server room wasnt just created to extend the games server life. But it was a massive facility that contained everything needed to survive after the destruction of the world, and Andre Gedroits was still alive in that facility, watching everything that was happening in the current world.

Is that why the Dome and Raptor are all so intent on that All Clear..

Rustle

50 thousand Shillings.

Ah, wait a moment.

Gyosu put down his thoughts for a moment and scanned his wrist against the portable bio-scanner in front of the pharmacy.

When the man sitting at the counter, protected by two layers of iron bars, checked that the money was paid, he handed him two labeled glass bottles.

One pill after eating in the morning and at night. Dont waste them. You cant die from overdosing.

Aw. Do I look like that kind of person to you?

A person that wasnt like that wouldnt even need these pills.

Gyosu laughed at the mans response as he left the pharmacy.

I have money and time to relax now, but I still need to depend on that darned game.

Gyosu thought about the now-quiet Hyde that was inside his head. It was complicated. His dependency on me and his desire to take over my body existed simultaneously. The fact that I could read those thoughts to some extent already showed how much this guy was dangerously intertwined with my own consciousness.

Right, I need to figure out what happened in the game and where it started.

Ill look for a way first. It is true that I wont feel right just killing him off like that. But if I cant find a way and he steps over the line at some point.

Ill consider him as an enemy then.

It was true he liked the guy, but there was no reason to keep him alive when my life was being threatened.

[Aint that too harsh of a verdict? You cant find any nicer infectious agent than me out there!]

And thats because you have no way of taking over my body. If you had a way to kick me out right now, are you still going to play friendly with me?

Snicker.

The guy just laughed at my question.

Were in the same situation right now, so lets just cooperate for now. Until you find a way to take over my body, and I find a way to kick you out.

And a smile that was similar to his spread across my face.

He was definitely like me.

The treatment room now contained one less person. Ian and Vex were sitting in front of Woojin with serious expressions, listening to what he was saying.

You both heard what Gyosu said back there, right?

Mm.

We were listening.

Right. You guys live in the Wasteland, too, so you shouldnt be too dense.

Woojin reached into the cigar pack Ian gave him, realizing it was empty, and turned to Ian, but continued to talk after seeing Ians hand move toward his holster.

Gyosu is completely over his heels for that Hyde or something right now, is that what you wanted to say?

I knew youd pick up on that.

Tap, tap. Rustle.

Vex was sitting anxiously on the chair and then started to organize the pens and documents that were scattered on Woojins desk with a nervous expression.

Lets talk about the complicated stuff later. The thing moved Gyosus body while he was unconscious. That one truth shows how much danger Gyosu is in right now. That means the subconsciousness could control the body any time the main consciousness is asleep. That could even mean that it could try to threaten Gyosu by going up on a chair with a rope around its neck when Gyosu is asleep, then go, Ill die if you dont listen to my commands. And Gyosu Park is the master of those cunning trickeries. If that personality absorbed all that knowledge, it might be easy to trick Gyosu like that.

An internal enemy. Thats a pain in the ass. We cant just kill him off or anything.

The two people nodded in unison, and Vex, who had completely organized the desk to the T, was now organizing the books on the bookshelf by alphabetical order.

Gyosu Park, that guy denies it, but who knows? Everyone knows what happened to players that got overwhelmed by GG! In my opinion, that possession or something isnt something inside the game. It was something made by the games program inside the players brain. Its creation is already based on reality. The mental illness is planted in the brain by that program! And most of the surviving humans have it! Everyone is relying on that pod, which is basically a mental illness trigger!

Bang!

Woojin slammed his hand on the table, his voice rising in rage. And he shared the single suspicion that he had that made him give up his life as a mercenary.

There is no such thing as a coincidence in this world. I think this world is caught in this massive trap made by Andre Gedriots.

And we are no bigger than a small part of that flow, unable to do anything about it. No matter how hard we struggle.

From the man who seemed like he could fight against any foe that came his way, a sigh escaped his mouth, worn down by the harsh truth of life.

Oi, jaw boy and oldie. Youre friends with Gyosu Park, right?

When the two of them nodded slowly, Woojin addressed them as he pressed the numbers into the safe on the back side of his desk drawer.

Then let me ask you a favor.

A-choo! Ugh, damn. This darned dust.

Gyosu left the hospital and was heading back home. He thought of talking with Ian and Vex after meeting for the first time in a while, but the two of them hurriedly returned home, saying that they had something to do.

Hmph. Leaving a patient alone like this. Those heartless bastards.

[Cant you cover up your face any better? This sand is irritating.]

Youre the one freeloading off my body, dont tell me what to do. Im the one actually eating the sand, and Im staying quiet.

Even after saying that Gyosu tightened the turban wrapped around his head.

A sandstorm just had to blow through in this open field. What luck.

Calculating the time he traveled, he was probably in the area between Area 45 and Area 43. He avoided places with buildings where survivors might be hiding or living. But if he knew this would happen, he would have chosen to avoid the storm, even if it meant a few scuffles here and there.

[I told you we should have gone that way.]

You just wanted to see the corpses, you man-eating species.

[Boo, thats racist.]

But time definitely went faster because he had someone to talk to. Of course, that guy was also a ticking time bomb, but he was already stuck with him, so he might as well look at the bright side of the situation.

Roooooooar!

Damn it, the storms getting even worse.

[Isnt this dangerous right now? Your body doesnt grow back in this world, does it?]

It doesnt. If push comes to shove, well just need to dig into the ground and wait until the storm passes.

It could take an hour to three days for a sandstorm to pass. So Gyosu started to calculate the food and water he had in his backpack. As he was detaching the survival shovel that was hanging on the bag when

Vroooom

Vrrooaoom!

A car!

He could hear the sound of an offroad vehicles rough engine approaching him.

[What? Whys that here? You erased your footsteps when you came here!]

There must be a better tracker on their side, then! Darn it, its going to be a one-sided fight in an open field like this.!

Gyosu hurriedly dug out the sand using his shovel and flattened his body against the ground. In the distance, he could see a large black truck racing through the storm. On the truck was the distinct pattern of a Raptor Societys scales.

[R-Raptor! Isnt that a really big organization? The guys that burn everything down except bullets?]

We really might die then. Theres no reason for them to come all this way, though. Were they really looking for my tracks until now?

Gyosu remembered Kesselrings scream as half of his face melted down from the poison and pulled out the loaded shotgun behind his back.

[Oh, lookie, a gun! Hold it with your left hand. I wanna shoot it.]

Shut up. If you mess it up in a real battle, Im just going to cut your fingers off.

Vraaaaam!

The sound of the engine was getting closer. A battle was not an option. To prevent them from chasing him, it was best to aim for the tires and shut down the enemys transportation, but

I dont know if its possible to even scratch those massive tires on that truck.

Even if he used a slug, he wasnt sure if it was going to puncture the tires of that truck. The situation was becoming darker every second.

Its coming directly this way. The front glass panel is directly in front of me. If Im lucky, I could start the fight with the driver down..!

Gyosu slowly pulled out the shotgun. He could do it. Just one shot, one shot to kill the driver and run!

[Take a deep breath, calm down, slowly, as if time was flowing slowly..]

Shut up, will you!

Aim for the right side of the front glass panel. The armored cars from Raptors were well known for their sturdy glass, so when theyre as close as possible.

Huh?

[Heh?]

Gyosu stopped his breathing, and when he aimed for the face of the driver that was slowly starting to appear through the sandstorm, Gyosu put down his gun and stood up.

That was because the lower chin of the driver was made up of very familiar metals.

Hey! Why are you guys here?

Krrrrrrrrgg

Beep beep!

They must have found Gyosu only after he stood up, as the truck Ian was driving approached him, beeping at him as a greeting. On the back of the truck was the Hummer, connected with a chain, and behind that was Vex, who was following on a Buggy that was very heavily accessorized.

Screeech dudududu

After stopping the car right next to Gyosu, Ian turned the window down and talked to the stunned man.

Keheheh! Oi, youngun, that looks like a hobo! Want a ride?

Ian leaned his arm on the windowsill, saying that cheesy line with a bizarre smile where only his upper lip was smiling.