Chapter 31: Gold (1)
Christmas season arrived without fail.
Recently, a former game developer who changed his nickname from Anonymous 118 to Foxgames had set up a tree decorating site, following last year's tradition.
Users of the ever-present forums had flocked together to decorate each other's trees.
Unlike last year, this year, my Christmas tree was adorned quite well.
"Hmm, is this enough? Nah, boring, hmm... I should pay more attention next year, hmm hmm, Defender1, Defender2."
Haha, our forums friends can be mischievous. I adorned Defender's tree.
True to the named user style, Defender already had three trees full and the fourth one was on the process of being filled when I luckily managed to add my nickname to the candy cane decoration in the last spot.
"KILL, squawk!, Cimongkipapa: why?, Cimongkipapa, Memento Mori, Skeleton Friend, DragonC, Born to Kill, Cimongkipapada, SKELETON."
Outside, heavy snow had been falling for three days straight. My area and its surroundings had turned into a white wilderness. With the snow piled up gently, even the neighbouring golf course had regained its former charm.
Given the weather, there were hardly any human shadows around. Since the war, the only signs of life in the deserted wilderness were the occasional appearances of goral and wild boars searching for food.
It promised to be a rare peaceful and tranquil day, at least until the fierce howling of the wild from the southwest.
***
The monster invasion is linked to mold. A definite source of contamination, called a fissure, caused mold to grow in the vicinity. The mold then spawned various malicious pathogens, which, in turn, fed on the mold. Mutation was one of those pathogens, one of the worst enemies civilians could encounter.
There were various kinds of mutations. In Africa, there were lion mutations, in India, elephant mutations, and in China, panda mutations, each reigning supreme in their own right. However, the real problem mutations were those originating from livestock, the animals humans primarily raised.
Chicken, cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, and more. I hadn't heard of hamsters being affected. Among them, the most threatening was a mutation derived from dogs, the ancestors of which used to hunt humans. They had high basic combat abilities and intelligence. In my area to the southwest, there was a pack of mutated dogs.
The leader of that pack was a cunning and ruthless dog known as Gold, named for the golden fur covering its entire body. Despite government efforts to eradicate them when Korea was relatively intact, the eradication teams often returned empty-handed. Once, they even came close to my area, but recently, they had settled down in the southwest, proving themselves as dominant figures in the dog-eat-dog world.
From the Gold pack's territory came the fierce sounds of wild howling, echoing competitively. Were the mutated dogs fighting each other?
The primitive violence in their roars continued into late afternoon.
"Skeleton, did you hear that strange noise?"
It seemed Sniper Mother and Daughter also heard the noise.
Suu was the one who initiated communication.
"Seems like mutations. Anyway, be careful, and Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas. My mom also says Merry Christmas. And she's asking if she can use the computer around New Year's."
"Why?"
"She wants to do a countdown to New Year's with the people on the forum, following U.S. Eastern Standard Time."
"Well, the computer is acting up for a bit now. I'll find a way to get you a satellite device and a laptop soon, so please be patient. Is your mom okay?"
"Yeah."
"Alright then."
After ending the communication, I cleaned and maintained my weapons. I had received several weapons from Rebecca in exchange for internet usage fees. A Claymore anti-personnel mine, an recoilless rifle, a 7.62mm machine gun, and around 200 rounds of ammunition. Although I had enough explosives, I was still short on firepower. The Javelin battery she gave me was part of my homework. If I could restore the battery, she promised to give me a tank-killing weapon. Its power was beyond words.
It would be best if such a situation didn't arise, but we couldn't predict fate. Although there was a ceasefire in Seoul at the moment, no one knew when fighting might break out again. I pondered how to charge the dusty battery tester and charger when I realized the sun had set.
I took a quick wash and entered my heated tent, turning on the hot water mattress to get some sleep.
At that moment, motion sensors and other devices in my inner bunker flashed.
"..."
Something entered my territory.
Inside the main bunker.
I turned on the eavesdropping device and listened closely through the speaker.
I could hear distinct sounds of heavy breathing and dragging footsteps through the speaker.
Soon, the closed-circuit screen revealed the intruder's identity to me in black and white.
The intruder was not human.
It was a wounded and dying mutant dog that had made its way into my territory, dragging its feet towards me.
I couldn't see any other members of its pack.
Had it been attacked? Regardless, having such a creature in my territory was problematic.
I quickly grabbed a firearm, an axe, and a lantern before leaving the bunker and cautiously approaching the intruder.
In the dim light, I saw a large creature writhing in pain.
It eventually turned its head towards me, although even that seemed to require great effort, and then it collapsed to the side.
I aimed my firearm while shining the lantern.
"?"
I was quite surprised when I saw the creature's appearance.
The intruder in my territory was Gold, the leader of the pack from the southwest.
This creature had defeated all challenges and ruled as the dominant force in the area, even fending off numerous punitive expeditions.
So why had this once-powerful figure come alone to my territory in this state?
Gold lay on the ground, gasping for breath, and its eyes followed me intently, almost as if it were studying me like a human.
When I illuminated its body with the lantern, I saw its exposed ribcage, torn flesh, and the rich golden fur that earned it the name Gold. Then it disappeared into the darkness.
This was not the work of humans. Awakened may have possessed abilities beyond human, but they did not have the power to tear apart mutants like this.
These brutal wounds were inflicted by its own kind, the mutant dogs.
I recalled the competitive growls I had heard earlier. In animal societies, a leader naturally emerges. Power in the animal kingdom is not the same as in the human world. While humans can impose their dominance through various means, animals either grow old and weak or yield to a stronger challenger or leave the group.
Was that the case for Gold? Did it face a formidable challenger and end up here in defeat?
"..."
It was a pity. Gold had caused me some trouble before, but it had also protected my territory from the threats coming from the southwest, including humans, zombies, and other nuisances.
But it seemed like that protection had come to an end now.
Gold, the creature that had killed dozens of humans, played with punitive expeditions like toys, and filled its belly with the flesh of the fallen, struggled to its feet.
Ignoring me, it slowly made its way through my territory, which was littered with graves and industrial waste, towards the steep slope.
Its movements piqued my curiosity, but I remained cautious and followed Gold's lead.
Suddenly, a piece of debris underfoot made a crunching noise.
An unsettling feeling accompanied me as I followed behind Gold.
At first, everything felt unfamiliar. The darkness of the night obscured my vision, and the presence of a creature that could easily leap and kill me added tension to the atmosphere.
But when Gold suddenly stopped and turned its head to look at something, its eyes filled with curiosity, the black and white scene shifted back to the living, bustling village from before the war.
Sure.
This path was the main road that crossed through the center of the village.
Over there was the agricultural cooperative, and on the opposite side, there was a mart.
What it was looking at used to be the location of a butcher shop.
It was a store that sold good meat cheaply, and it had a great reputation for the taste of its beef. It had also transformed a significant portion of my meat into premium cuts.
It continued walking, its steps quickening.
Its footsteps, which had been dragging, transformed into a lively movement, much like the free-roaming dogs commonly seen in the village.
Next, it stopped at the spot where a noodle soup restaurant used to be.
It wasn't his favourite place to eat. The taste was mediocre, the prices weren't cheap, and, above all, the owner, a middle-aged lady, had once lightly criticized young people for not working and drinking soju in the daytime while having a bowl of soup. That unpleasant memory made him pause briefly.
In the countryside, where there weren't many other options, he resumed the quiet journey.
However, to Gold, it seemed like a store filled with good memories.
Looking at the saliva dripping from the sharp teeth under its protruding tongue, it was as if it remembered the moments when the owner, with a broad smile, would occasionally bring a dish full of bones outside the shop.
Gold took another step.
This time, it growled as if it were a person expressing his disapproval.
The gazed intently at a house as if targeting it.
It was the village chief's house.
Elder Kim, a well-known dog meat enthusiast, had a strong liking for dog meat. He used to secretly slaughter the breed of dog he raised in his nearby rural house, to the extent that it made it to the news. Seeing it growling so fiercely, one might wonder if he had caught a known dog or if it had almost become prey itself.
Gold took another step.
Its steps noticeably slowed down. The hind legs seemed to have lost their strength, and it moved forward only with the power of its front legs, dragging the lower body forward.
It ventured through the collapsed stone wall.
The wall that had been precariously holding up the lion-sized mass collapsed, showering bricks all around. The thick dust cloud momentarily concealed it.
Clank.
Mutated dogs with high intelligence knew how to use tricks.
He waited for the dust to settle while carefully observing the surroundings.
its rough breathing had been coming from the same place all along.
As the dust cleared, the its figure reappeared in front of me.
It was lying curled up in front of the ruined house, licking its wounds.
Behind its feeble tail, a tilted doghouse stood precariously, as if performing an acrobatic act.
Slowly, it walked through the broken stone wall and looked at the house.
This house, it looked familiar.
I didn't have a strong memory of it, but it occupied a corner of my memory of the living village landscape.
Isn't this the place where a dog used to park loudly whenever he passed by?
It was this house.
Where Gold used to live.
On the flipped doghouse, the name he was called by was written.
<Mix>
"Mix."
When I called its name, it looked at me.
"...Gold is better."
Humans are said to be vessels composed of memories.
In that respect, this dog was not much different from humans.
Mutation, they say, cannot be tamed according to conventional wisdom.
A woman who lived alone, relying solely on a cats in a place where there was no family or neighbours.
Here, another miracle was about to happen.
It began to emit a strange rhythm with its breath.
At first, I thought it might be exhaling its last breath, but that wasn't so.
Unlike humans, this beast, with no regulated vocal cords and no knowledge of pitch, was imitating a human song with its rough breath.
"Happy birthday..."
"Hey."
I called out to it.
It turned its head towards me when the song reached the part that goes "To my beloved."
"Do you want to live?"
My long-standing and disease-like curiosity was triggered.
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