I lay on the ground weakly, staring into the abyss—looking all around me, an encompass of darkness, which was all I could ever see...
Sighing, Is this the end? Haha... who could have thought I would die in this trash? Looking further into the darkness, I feel alone—no, I was alone. But at least I wasn't alone all the time.
I began seeing cockroaches and insects as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. But I could only see about three meters. It was really dark. I guess this is the garbage facility where they dump trash that isn't needed, letting it fall down here. But for what?
I was uncomfortable. Just like it was in the apartment. In that dirty room—still uncomfortable even when the mess was caused by me. Does it mean I wanted to be different? To be something that isn't me...?
I really hated this, looking at my palm—it was dirty...
...
...I never really changed at all, Adam thought. Even after experiencing everything...
Despite everything... it's still me.
I still feel the same, no matter what...
Suddenly, in the darkness, I see a cat. It was Berto. He purred at me, rubbed his body against me, and leaned close.
"Berto... why are you here? Where did you even come from...?"
Meooo.
Looking at him, he was getting slightly fat... as he played with the cockroaches and small insects. I smiled. Even if it was just an animal, he is my pet... and he makes me feel like there's someone with me. I petted his head...
My pain had lowered...
Purring against my hand, it felt like I wasn't alone. And I think... it's a bit better than my own world. My eyes widened a little as I realized that all these people—even in this apocalyptic world—they actually acted like humans. They laughed. They felt... actual empathy, which I didn't experience in my old world.
Even if I was in a desolated world, I still felt comforted—because they were with me...
Silence echoed through the dark chasm.
Thinking to myself... there's a limit to how much thought a human can do. He still needs to do something...
[There's something you have to do, isn't there... reader?]
I stood up, smiling, as my cat meowed. Confused, Berto walked away. I followed him—like he was the light. I saw a long hallway enclosed in scattered sheets of bolts and iron along the walls. I walked further, seeing pipes, and finally, stairs connected to the wall. I picked him up.
As I walked—unconsciously—the room was getting tighter. But I felt like something was there...
I kept walking, for a long time...
Then, my eyes lit up as I saw a blue luminescent light. A river-like flow of neon. I just sat down, resting.
Huff...
...
...So what am I gonna do now?
It had been long hours.
There was a sound of a wooden pole being struck—Mino hitting the woman repeatedly... because she was acting weird. And also... -_- she had eaten the food supplies.
"Damn it, this parasite!" she coughed, huffing.
The woman cowered and backed away...
Yoku woke up, not knowing what to do. Huh...?
But something else was on his mind. Adam had been gone for too long. It had been multiple hours, and he hadn't returned yet. And worse—this weird human had eaten all the supplies. Thanks to Fiver...
"Guys, I think we should look for Adam right now... and maybe find some supplies too. He's been gone for far too long."
As I packed up the things and prepared to go out, so did the group. Fiver just looked at everyone, conflicted—whether he should follow them. Then Yoku snapped:
"This is all your fault! You better give us a way to survive!"
And so, they entered through the broken lung of the hole, trying to find their lost friend...
Yuruki's POV
Over the past few days of observation, I realized this stratum—Ganoderm cubensis, short for glowing mushrooms—seems to have actually worked. Simon's plans to create this type of mushroom were successful...
They seem to attach to and destroy machines. They're attracted to gasoline, energy fuels, and batteries—like lithium.
They shouldn't be able to cause problems, with the exception of affecting people with low immune systems. She wrote something in her notes, walking up and down through vents and large pipes, trying to find a way to get to the center of the city...
And hiding from the automatons. She sighed, getting a little bored—but still resolute, trying to find someone, no matter what. Placing a music recorder on her chest, she listened to music with one ear...
Sigh, the facility was really good, she pouted—dangling her arms.
[The work that we need to do... why is that? is it because of validation?]