I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 672

"<...Valkyrie 1-3, HQ identified visually. Current onboard personnel: 47, 46 from the 107th Military Police Battalion and one Alpha-class mutant civilian. The Brooklyn evacuation operation has been successful.>"

"<This is the temporary command center TCC, confirming IFF recognition. I will mark the landing point on the HMD. A biohazard unit is currently moving toward the LZ. Proceed to the second coordinates after the transport flagship.>"

"<Understood.>"

"<...There are too many people.>"

"<Yeah... I’ve never seen so many people in Central Park.>"

Flying over the frozen New York Bay and passing through numerous skyscrapers that were now shells of their former selves, the plane slowed as it neared Central Park.

The Central Park that once appeared in old videos or TV shows no longer existed. Many temporary buildings had been erected, and walls were being built along the park's boundaries, separating it from the city.

Whether this should be considered a comfort, I wasn’t sure, but at least the buildings near Central Park still had electricity. It felt like a living heart in the midst of the dead Manhattan.

I didn’t really wonder what awaited me here. I already knew this world, which I had thought was completely dead, was still struggling to survive. I only wondered what I would be doing here next.

The transport aircraft, which felt like it might float in the sky forever, gradually neared the ground.

Around the landing point were about four or five people. Two of them wore protective suits, reminiscent of those from the COVID-19 era, holding something in their hands, while the other three wore masks.

The landing wasn’t particularly smooth, and as soon as it was complete, the door opened.

The soldiers standing in front moved out orderly as the rear door of the plane opened. I wondered what to do. I was a little anxious, but Captain Parkwason held my hand.

I awkwardly took his hand, hoping I didn’t look too pathetic, and stepped outside. At that moment, I naturally made eye contact with many new faces waiting near the landing area.

Captain Parkwason and what seemed to be one of the local leaders began speaking.

"<...Captain Edward Parkwason. From the 107th Military Police Battalion... you look different from the photo on your ID. It seems things were pretty horrific in Brooklyn, huh?>"

"<You could say that.>"

"<So, this kid next to you is a mutant. Did he come from Korea?>"

"<He says he did.>"

"<Damn, the immigration system's been down for a while now... it’ll be impossible to verify when he entered, and he probably doesn’t have a passport, right?>"

"<Doesn't seem like it. Looks like he lost it during the evacuation.>"

"<In this chaos, it's a luxury to even hope someone has it. Alright, I get it.>"

...I hoped things were going well.

They even mentioned the passport... but fortunately, everyone just accepted it. Where would my passport be? I woke up here, and it was lost in the confusion.

But at least this situation helped a little. In this chaotic world, claiming to have lost my passport worked well. Of course, it's something I should have kept, but...

The conversation, along with disinfection and virus checks, continued. The medical staff even took a little blood from my arm. They kindly told me to wait here since they’d heard I didn’t speak English very well.

...I wonder if I'll meet someone named Jenna today.

"<We’ll need to cross-check what happened during the Brooklyn evacuation with your team members later. Anyway, as mentioned, this kid will head into Central Park. Any objections?>"

"<None. But please make sure the kid understands the situation before separating. It would be nice to have a way to contact him, but... that’s probably asking too much.>"

"<...I’ve heard this kid was quite helpful at the base, but don’t get your hopes up. There’s a lot more to do here. If you understand, follow Lieutenant Richard over there to your temporary accommodation.>"

"<Didn’t you just say that the kid needs a full briefing?>"

"<What’s taking so long? Explain it already.>"

For a moment, Captain Parkwason looked like he was about to punch this guy, but I just blinked, pretending to be as harmless as possible.

Eventually, after a while, he casually added something.

"<Eugene.>"

"<...Yes?>"

"<Unfortunately, this is where we part ways. Not completely, but it will be a little difficult to meet again for a while.>"

"..."

...I expected it to some extent, but facing it in reality was harder than I thought. Was it because they were the first trustworthy people I met in this world? Or was it something else?

Before I realized it, tears started streaming down my face. I knew this could happen, so why was it so hard? While wiping my tears with the sleeve of my shirt, he hugged me once and chuckled, adding:

"<You’re like a stubborn little cousin. It’s not goodbye forever, kid. If you want, you can contact me anytime.>"

"<...Really?>"

"<Yeah. The good people here will help you adapt. I think you’ll be able to speak better English the next time we meet, so don’t disappoint me. You’re the youngest of the 107th Military Police Battalion, right?>"

"<Yes...!>"

"<Good. If anyone asks what you did in Brooklyn, tell them you were a proud member of our unit. We’ll meet again soon.>"

I couldn’t fully understand everything, but I got the gist of it.

He’s a responsible and good person. Meeting him felt like using up all my luck. And... there was also Sergeant Baker, who’s no longer here. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.

Just when I thought I understood a little, a man in a suit, who had been standing next to Captain Parkwason and talking, reached out his hand towards me.

He was Asian.

Introducing himself as Legion, he spoke fluent Korean.

"It’s nice to meet you, Eugene. I’m Illich Jensen, from the Department of Homeland Security’s Icarus division. You can call me Agent Legion."

"...You speak Korean...?"

"It’s one of my specialties. I’ll be assisting you from now on and will let you know what you need to do here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

"What’s the catch?"

"I’m not asking for anything grand, but I would appreciate it if you could cooperate while you stay here. Let’s move, for now."

...The conversation was going so smoothly, it was almost scary.

I began to wonder what the communication barrier I had been facing all this time had been about. But that didn’t mean I should blindly trust this guy.

Especially someone who seemed to embody suspicion in human form.

Still, thinking about it, I wasn’t likely to face the horrific events I had outside. At least, here it seemed like there was some semblance of authority.

And strictly speaking, I didn’t have time to feel suspicious of him.

As the atmosphere quieted, Agent Legion spoke again, adding a few words.

"I already know what you’re worried about. You might be thinking about bioexperiments... but honestly, with the current situation in Central Park, we don’t have the time or resources for that."

"...Is that so?"

"We don’t have the facilities for that. Do you see the surroundings?"

...He was right.

The surroundings were literally... or rather, it would be more accurate to say, they were in the midst of construction. All the trees had been removed and replaced with temporary buildings.

Civilians and soldiers were busy digging, and heavy machinery was in use. When I stared at the scene, he explained they were building shelters for people to stay in.

...He could’ve been lying, but I chose to stop questioning it. Like I told Captain Parkwason before I came here, people and time would be the most precious resources from now on.

If they dissect me, they’d be the ones at a loss. Otherwise... I don’t know.

Meanwhile, he pulled out a small tablet-like device, as if to dispel my doubts, and continued.

"Additionally, there are many people in similar situations to you here in Central Park. Some are civilians, but there are also soldiers and high-ranking officials. It wouldn’t make sense to capture and experiment on all of them."

"...How can I trust that?"

"Take a look."

He handed me the tablet.

Amid the English text, people could be seen passing by, one after another. But they all shared something in common—animal ears or unique hair colors and styles.

Some had even changed their gender. Though the number was very small.

He was doing his best to reassure me, and I nodded. The truth was, whether I believed it or not, I didn’t really have a choice.

We walked for a while longer, and gradually the people around us started to look a little different.

This place was specifically... not a bunch of ragged civilians, but rather a space where people in suits seemed to be gathering.

"This is..."

"Low Central Park, home to the temporary government offices, militia training areas, medical facilities, and housing for mutants. It might look nice now, but if you walk a little further, you’ll soon see the construction sites for more temporary buildings."

"...This situation is really dire."

"It can’t be helped. Let’s keep moving."

As he said, after walking a bit further, I was greeted by a construction site with all sorts of building materials.

He stopped and looked rather troubled.

"We’ve arrived... They said this is where the Alpha-class mutants will stay, but it seems like there was a request missing somewhere. Construction has been delayed."

"...What?"

"That’s where you’ll be staying, Eugene. It’s not finished yet, but if it’s not done by today, things could get tricky."

"...Are there no other places?"

He smiled faintly.

"I don’t even have a personal office, much less a couch to sleep on."

"..."

"For now, wait here. The order to gather the Alpha-class mutants hasn’t come yet. I can’t give you a definite answer, but I’ll check if there’s a place to leave your things."

"...Okay."

"Keep your things safe. Theft happens frequently here, even in places like this."

With that, he disappeared. The scene before me felt barren.

It seemed like my first task in Central Park would be building my own shelter.

"<Damn, the operation commander was right! Get a grip!>"

"<Requesting urgent evacuation! The operation in the Dark Zone has failed! I repeat, the operation in the Dark Zone has failed! We need to move to a location with both a decontamination facility and specialized medical support!>"

"<We have successfully rescued four members of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron (PJ). Team Leader Olivia is severely wounded, and the helicopter's fuel is now below 30%. We need a landing site!>"

"<LaGuardia, Kennedy, Newark airports... all of them have been seized by unidentified rioters. Kilo 1. The closest secure landing zone is Central Park HQ.>"

"<...Damn. It can’t be helped. As of now, Eagle Team is heading to Central Park. May God bless us.>"

Meanwhile, in Lower New York, Long Island, many began heading towards Central Park for their own reasons.

"Ugh, this is hard..."

"<Good job, kid. Not sure where you came from, but you're pretty good. Yeah, you’ll have to build your own shelter. My parents built their own house when they lived in Kansas.>"

"Okay, okay! Thanks!"

"<That kid, I don’t think he understood a single word you said. Let’s keep it reasonable. There’s still a hell of a lot to do.>"

At 7 p.m., after the unusually clear sunlight quickly dipped below the horizon.

Normally, and as others had expected, the shelter construction for Alpha-class mutants would likely take at least until tomorrow, or even the day after, to complete.

The prefabricated concrete blocks, too heavy for a human to carry, and the materials that, while not as heavy, would strain joints if mishandled.

All of these tasks had fallen on me. In an instant, I became like a biological crane, speeding up the construction process.

...Of course, I also had to coordinate energy supplies.

The air was yellow, and my body was drenched in sweat. Thinking back, I hadn’t even showered in days. My body felt grimy.

But when I asked myself if I could request a shower, the answer was, well, unclear. The reason was simple: I didn’t know much, and there was a lot to learn.

Amid all this, I was the only one officially moving in today. I had plenty of things to take care of. One of the first things was a folding bed and something resembling a wardrobe. The folding bed couldn’t even hold my weight, so I had to fix it.

Where and when would I eat? How would I receive the necessary communications? What would I be doing here, and what medical examinations would I undergo... there were so many questions.

What could I say? It felt like I had entered a refugee camp. I never imagined I’d become a refugee here.

Now that I think about it, it might be a bit late to say this, but since it was winter, the sun set incredibly fast.

Especially with so many tall buildings around, as soon as the sun moved even slightly off-center, the buildings blocked the light. Darkness was scary and unsettling, but at least now that I was here, I felt a little better.

Although I minimized the light, at least I could still see people moving around outside. Of course, I could spot them with thermal vision even with almost no light, but just having electricity gave me some relief.

If anything, it was unfortunate that the building I had "built" still didn’t have electricity. The same went for water. However, the sewage treatment system was somehow still functioning, which Agent Legion informed me about.

...If nothing else, biological functions are unavoidable. If that system collapsed, everyone would have been infected by now. So, at least I could go to the bathroom.

"...It’s a bit concerning that there’s no electricity..."

Seeing heat signatures to locate objects in the dark is completely different from reading letters in the dark.

Unless the letters themselves emit heat, of course.

Anyway, the reason I was complaining was simple. I was supposed to be studying English, and Agent Legion had kindly brought me some candles. He told me he had "borrowed" them from survival supplies, which made me a little perplexed.

What should I say? It felt like I had gone back in time. I wondered if this is how ancient scholars felt. Seeing how quickly everything collapsed once the electricity went out, it made me realize just how fragile modern civilization is.

The minimum amount of electricity was reserved for essential services like the sewage treatment plant, lights, and the hospital...

"Aahhh..."

Now that I think about it, the hospital was a bit of a comfort.

It had its own generators, so there was heating. Of course, I heard it consumed 24 liters of diesel every hour.

Thanks to Agent Legion, I was able to get water and other essentials, but he made sure to let me know that even distributing these supplies was a special exception in the current situation.

...I didn’t really want to know how other civilians were doing. I had a feeling I might already know.

'...Am I in the medieval era?'

I buried my head in the English dictionary and let out a deep sigh. It almost got burned with the virus, but luckily, after passing the sample test, I managed to keep it.

Because the pathologists had cut out part of the cover for the virus test, a rectangular hole had formed in the dictionary.

Anyway, maybe it was because I was feeling down, but I didn’t study very well today. Maybe it was because my study method was a bit primitive. I had been memorizing words and sentences one or two pages at a time.

I wanted something delicious to eat.

I missed my parents.

"Ah, damn it, more tears..."

My vision blurred.

Maybe it was because I had woken up early, but I was sleepy, exhausted from the day's work, and separated from Captain Parkwason and Sergeant Mitchell. I felt like I was abandoned again in this world.

At least I wasn’t freezing to death, and I didn’t have to fear any hostile intruders barging in through the door.

I didn’t know what would happen next, but thinking about it... so much had happened today. I wonder if I’ll meet Jenna, as Sergeant Baker had mentioned.

Without realizing it, I buried my head in the pillow.

And my consciousness shut down.

"<...I clearly remember that there weren’t any buildings here this morning. With the Alpha-class mutants and all, I thought there wouldn’t even be a shelter, but it seems they’ve managed to set something up...>"

Several hours later, the remaining lights went out. The deserted area of Lower Central Park, the shelter for Alpha-class mutants, stood silent. A figure, retracing their steps, arrived again, their long silver hair flowing as they exhaled deeply.

It was the second appearance of an Alpha-class mutant.