Shin Yu-Seung opened her eyes because of the bright spotlight – lights that danced in the air. One of the flying drones circled around her head once, before disappearing into the distant black sky.
“Urgh, my head….”
Under the head-spinning dizzy spell, she staggered unsteadily back to her feet. The only things she could see around her were scrap metal and rubbish. She couldn't see any of the companions she was with.
….Could she have landed in this place all alone?
“Shin Yu-Seung?”
A boy pushed his head out from among the scrap metal like some kind of a baby octopus.
“Yi Gil-Yeong?”
Feeling happy now, she shifted her gaze over there, but then, the figure of woman leapt out from the piles of rubbish while stepping on the boy's head.
“Get out of the way! You stink, you know!”
“Ji-Hye unni!”
She figured out who came along with her. Her companions brushed away all the trash stuck on their bodies and stood upright.
“What's this? Is it just us?”
“I think so.”
“Heh, it's the reformation of Busan Alliance.”
Yi Ji-Hye spoke with a slightly excited tone of voice, but Shin Yu-Seung was different.
Why did it have to be Ji-Hye and Gil-Yeong? She alternated her gaze between her two companions and made a resolution in her mind.
'I'm the only adult here. So, I gotta stay sharp.'
Whether they knew her thoughts or not, Yi Ji-Hye and Gil-Yeong continued their glaring contest, only to suddenly delve straight into deciding the pecking order.
“Hm, hm. Hey, kids. We should choose the leader first, like how we've done so far, right?”
“Noona, you were the leader back in Busan Alliance. So, it's my turn now.”
“Hey, you. You weren't even born yet when I got admitted to the kindergarten, you know.”
“Ah? What's that got to do with anything?!”
“Shh. Both of you, keep quiet!”
The moment Shin Yu-Seung's voice was heard, all three of them pressed themselves tightly against a nearby wall in unison. A millisecond later, a drone flying around like some sort of an insect shone a spotlight on the alleyway they were standing in just now.
Giiiiii-iiing….
The drone hovered in position for a little while, and eventually, it disappeared beyond the alleyway, its sensors tilting this way and that.
Yi Ji-Hye asked in a tense voice. “Hey, wasn't that a drone?”
It was right then, the system messages could be heard from the sky.
[Someone has interfered with the scenario system.]
[Due to the unprecedented power, you have been forcibly summoned to the Main Island's 'Next City'!]
['Next City' is currently cut off from the space-time of the conflict region of the 'Great War of Saints and Demons'.]
[You can advance to the 'Great War of Saints and Demons' once you solve the sub-scenario of the applicable location.]
“Next City??” Gil-Yeong's eyes began sparkling. “Let's go and take a look!”
“Stop being childish, Yi Gil-Yeong. This isn't a game!”
Despite Shin Yu-Seung's warning, the boy broke into a sprint. Fortunately, there was no drone nearby, and the spot they were hiding in was situated in a surprisingly high altitude.
“Wow, this….”
They were treated to a magnificent sight where the whole city could be seen in one take. Bright neon signs illuminating the night streets; androids emitting blue light beams from their heads, roaming around said streets as if putting on a protest march.
They could immediately tell what the worldview here was from this spectacle.
Yi Gil-Yeong spoke confidently. “I'm gonna get super strong in this place and surprise Dok-Ja hyung later.”
“He'll get even mooore surprised if you get killed here, instead.”
“….Noona, why do you hate me so much??”
Disregarding the bickering duo, for now, Shin Yu-Seung carefully observed the panoramic view of the city below.
If one were to discount the slight disturbance created by the protest, it looked as if the city was functioning systematically according to a set of strict rules. This was a sci-fi worldview retaining a level of social order previously unheard of.
She remembered hearing that the 'Isle of Reincarnators' were graves of fading Fables. If so, why did a world like this one meet its doom?
In the meantime, Yi Ji-Hye and Gil-Yeong were excitedly yapping away, without any care given for Shin Yu-Seung's concerns.
“Will they have stuff like a lightsabre here?”
“What a helpless sword otaku….”
…..Hey, I think I know who this is.
[Kneel and pay your respects, oh, descendants of the Peninsula.]
Chapter end
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