Guide to the Fallen World - Chapter 5

#5. The Calm Before the Storm

In other words, it had already been two years since Yeowon started living in the Ark, having escaped from her hibernation state.

Though it may seem like a short and insignificant amount of time compared to the roughly 500 years that had passed, two years was more than enough to begin understanding the gap left by the time that had gone by.

Yeowon had come to understand that the world had gone mad and collapsed, and she had gradually accepted that there was a clear difference between being a transhuman and an AI. This meant she had gotten used to Jay, the transhuman in the Ark.

Since Jay had been her only conversation partner from the start, it was only natural that, despite the initial impression, she had developed a sense of familiarity.

“Today’s menu is lettuce and cherry tomatoes. They were just picked from the cultivation area, so they should taste great.”

However, when dinner was served like this, it caused a slight crack in that sense of familiarity. Yeowon gave a playful smile with a hint of dissatisfaction as she stared at the blond android body of Jay.

“I prefer meat, but this is basically just a field of grass.”

“Ancestor, please don’t complain. This will give you a perfect intake of vitamins for today,” Jay replied.

“Intake, what are you talking about? You could just substitute it with synthetic vitamins. One pill and it’s done, so why go through all this trouble?”

“Ah, you really don’t get it, do you? In the shelter, vegetables are more expensive than meat! Do you have any idea how much effort I put into growing fresh vegetables on the ark? I had to germinate the seeds and nurture them all the way through!”

The android, who was grumbling, had the flawless appearance of an adult woman, with none of the uncanny valley effect that usually bothered people. This was thanks to Jay’s decision that having a physical presence would help build a sense of camaraderie and familiarity, rather than just existing as a network consciousness.

And that decision had proven to be effective.

Before long, Jay and she were bickering like an everyday pair.

Jay tilted her head slightly, her expression unchanged despite the playful jab. “You really don’t know when to stop, do you?”

“Hey, I’m just being honest!” Yeowon replied, munching on another piece of lettuce. “But I meant what I said—just, you know, no human in the mix and I’m good.”

Jay sighed, though there was a hint of a smile in her voice. “You’re impossible, you know that? But fine, I’ll make sure to keep your morning meals more… exciting.”

Yeowon grinned, feeling the familiar comfort of their banter, even if it was slightly absurd.

Yeowon smirked at Jay’s exaggerated reaction, unfazed by her playful outburst. “I said it was a joke. But, hey, what’s the point of dieting when the food’s this good?”

Jay shot her a pointed glare, hands on her hips. “You’re impossible. You just wait. All this lettuce? Gone. Straight to the compost!”

Yeowon laughed, raising her hands in mock surrender. “Alright, alright! No more complaining about food. I promise.”

Jay shook her head, muttering something under her breath as she moved on to prep for the next meal, but Yeowon could tell she wasn’t really upset.

Yeowon quickly guarded the plate of cherry tomatoes before Jay could snatch it away.

“Alright, alright, I admit it. I was too harsh. Sorry, Jay.”

“Hmph! You’re just like a typical guide, always so smug! I’ll let it slide this time since you admitted it. But next time, if you keep this up, I’ll just let you eat or not eat, your choice!” Jay huffed, crossing her arms as she turned away, though her playful tone betrayed her words.

Yeowon shrugged. Jay might say things like that, but when it came to Yeowon’s health, she never compromised.

She had never once allowed Yeowon to skip a meal without intervening.

It was clear that even Jay held a fair amount of affection and familiarity toward her, despite their occasional bickering.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Or rather, she wanted to believe that was the case.

With a faint smile, Yeowon popped the remaining cherry tomatoes into her mouth and quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, how much operating power does the Ark have left?”

Given the gravity of the question, Jay quickly calmed down as if the earlier excitement had never happened.

“Only 21% left now.”

“Hmm.”

Indeed, even two years ago when Yeowon had awakened, the Ark’s power reserves hadn’t been abundant. Over time, the remaining energy had been rapidly consumed by producing guiding drugs and maintaining the internal facilities. At this rate, the Ark might come to a halt before long.

“Shelter Yeouido, former Russia, and former Australia’s Esper groups have been confirmed to have secured fusion cores.”

“Oh, impressive. How did you find that out?”

Jay’s response came swiftly, revealing the meticulous network of monitoring and intelligence she maintained.

“The Espers observed every step of the process to secure the fusion core. And, of course, most of them didn’t bother to follow the conditions we set. There were lunatics who tried to extract the fusion core from the depths of the shelter, regardless of whether people died because the shelter’s barrier disappeared. Not to mention the thugs who secretly attacked other shelters to seize their cores.”

“So, does this mean the Ark’s power issue is resolved now?”

“I wish it were that simple… but everyone seems to be using the fusion core as bait to target the Guide. No, I’m absolutely certain. If we respond poorly, the Ark’s location could be exposed.”

“So, we’re screwed?”

“No, we’re not! I have an alternative!” Jay snapped back indignantly.

Ignoring Jay’s outburst, Ye-won bluntly asked, “Oh yeah? And what’s this alternative?”

“It’s not like there weren’t any groups that met our conditions perfectly. From our observations, there was a diligent group of Espers who scavenged ruined shelters, found broken fusion cores, and managed to reactivate them.”

“Hm. So you’re suggesting we do the same—have androids search through ruined shelters?”

“That’s right. There are ruined shelters scattered everywhere. If we’re lucky, we might find a fusion core in decent condition. So, we’ve been searching for fusion cores that meet some of the conditions, and we found one early this morning. We’ve pinpointed the location, and now we’re planning to send androids to secure the core.”

“That’s fortunate. But what are we going to do with the guy who targeted the fusion core of a perfectly good shelter and the guy who tried to attack the neighboring shelter? We can’t just cut off the supply of Guiding drugs just because they’re annoying.”

“Of course, an alternative was prepared for that. I made a slight adjustment to the versatility of the guiding drugs. For the espers who tried to break the conditions, I finished adjusting the guiding drug’s effectiveness so that it would be reduced when distributed to them.”

“Oh. Is that even possible?”

“*Ahem.* Of course. This is all thanks to my consistent analysis of survival esper wave patterns. It’s rewarding to have steadily gathered biological data from the espers.”

Seeing Jay looking proud of herself, Yeowon silently gave her a thumbs-up.

Indeed, Jay deserved such praise. Considering Jay’s skill over the past two years in using guiding drugs to foster competition among the espers for shelter revival, no amount of praise would be too much.

Amid the chaos caused by Earth’s gate phenomenon, the only thing ensuring the survival and safety of ordinary people is the artificial cities, ‘Shelters,’ created by the survivors.

Shelters are enclaves of survivors, built as barriers to protect from the threats of monsters rampaging outside. They are, without a doubt, humanity’s last stronghold.

Despite how crucial these shelters are for the survivors, just two years ago, each shelter was constantly at risk of being destroyed, not by monsters, but by runaway espers. The competition for resources among the survivors inside the shelters was fierce, and the conflicts between neighboring shelters were also enormous.

Now that guiding drugs have been distributed, those incidents are a thing of the past.

With the drugs in circulation, and espers partially taking responsibility for the survival of shelters that used to vanish helplessly day by day, the lives of people within the shelters have gradually stabilized.

Thanks to that, the population is also slowly increasing.

The tragedy of a shelter disappearing overnight no longer occurs, and the regular supply of guiding drugs has completely halted both esper rampages and deaths.

The changes brought about by this are also evident.

People no longer worry about esper rampages as they once did. Although the pace varies, order and peace have gradually settled in the shelters, and espers have become less reluctant to fight outside the shelters.

At the same time, interactions between shelters have become more active, leading to the emergence of merchant groups that risk their lives to mediate trade between shelters.

However, the entire world has become desperate to track down Jay and me, the suppliers of guiding drugs.

It’s only natural. From their perspective, the sudden cessation of guiding drug supplies would be the most terrifying scenario.

No matter how much I assure them that it won’t happen, words from someone hiding their identity are nothing more than empty promises. Because of this, shelters and espers across the regions have never once eased their efforts to find me.

Still, things are peaceful for now. In other words, nothing has happened.

Over the past two years, the espers’ efforts to find me have been somewhere between relentless and chilling… but thanks to the satellites, the location of the Ark has never been exposed.

It’s just that I’m on edge, worried about being discovered.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to get caught. The Ark is a decommissioned underground bunker created by Shelter Noah. It’s a large-scale military science facility, thoroughly hidden and kept secret.

If I had to compare, the Ark is like the legendary Atlantis of the ocean or the El Dorado of the jungle.

The problem is that I’m the one playing the role of Atlantis and El Dorado’s shining gold and treasures.

Ultimately, the biggest problem is that I’m a Guide.

According to Jay, I’m no different from a living golden statue. And just as people would covet bloodstained gold, espers desperately crave a Guide.

As proof, espers from all over the world have done everything imaginable to secure any clue about the Guide’s whereabouts.

In fact, their extraordinary efforts became an opportunity for me to better understand the once unfamiliar existence of espers.

The reason I memorized the characteristics of each shelter, along with the abilities and identities of the espers who ruled them, was partly due to this.

The obsession of the espers trying to find me was no joke.

Amid all this, it was entirely Jay’s ability to prevent humanity’s downfall by exploiting the compatibilities and conflicts between espers, their rivalries, positions, and their instinctive longing for a Guide.

Using the guiding drugs as bait, Jay skillfully led the development of shelters across the regions with a precarious balance, her tightrope-walking skills almost reaching the level of art.