NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20 - Departure
Chapter 20 – Departure
Five more days passed.
During that time, Jin…
…just ate, slept, and… did his business.
However, there were circumstances behind this.
First of all, it was hard for Jin to do anything productive because he was a patient.
Although he looked fine on the outside, he had become a wreck and was just starting to heal, so any small exertion would cause him excruciating pain.
It was enough to bring him to tears.
This was one of the worst conditions he had been in for a while, and he didn’t ignore the rest signals his body was sending him.
The second reason was the location.
Since this entire building was a resistance stronghold, everywhere he went had strict security.
He couldn’t just roam around on his own.
It was only because he had completed a mission for the resistance, essentially becoming a mercenary on their side, that he was even allowed to stay here.
Normally, staying wasn’t allowed.
So, with the restrictions, Jin had to endure the discomfort of his situation.
Therefore, the only place where he could rest comfortably was still the same: a corner of the treatment room.
The bed with a stiff matress was the only option.
He ended up spending his whole day there, just waiting for mealtimes—breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
That was the life he had resigned to.
Excuse finished.
Ah, breakfast is here.
Jin’s face brightened when he saw the food on his plate.
Bacon, omelet, hashbrowns, sausage, toast.
A rich, satisfying menu with no shortage of oil.
If only there was some spicy kimchi and cold dongchimi, the balance of flavors would have been perfect…
Feeling the void of that unfillable desire, Jin started devouring his meal.
The speed at which the food disappeared was noticeable; “devouring” was the perfect word for it.
It was always a strange sight.
Truly a marvel.
Albus, who was sitting nearby, spoke up.
“How do you eat every meal like someone who hasn’t eaten in three days? If that’s a talent, then you’re certainly talented.”
“This place’s… hospital food, it’s good,” Jin replied.
“Eat first. You’re spilling everything,” Albus warned.
From his past experiences, Albus knew it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for Jin to finish a plate.
Exactly one minute later.
A loud burp echoed like an alarm clock.
Albus naturally spoke up again.
“I heard you’re leaving today. Is that true?”
“What? Who told you that?”
“Who else? Your doctor.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Jin realize that there were only two people in this building with whom he could have a real conversation.
At least he had Ben, who would talk to him when he ran into him, but since Ben never went away from the garage…
Even in a place filled with so many people, it was the same.
He still felt like he was living in a spiderweb.
Chuckling lightly, Jin was handed a device by Albus.
“Here.”
“…Did you fix it?”
“Of course not. The circuits were completely fried. It was beyond repair. But I managed to find something similar.”
Jin, who had been feeling a bit down about the destroyed device due to the electric magic, gladly accepted the new one.
“I feel like I’m just receiving things…”
“It’s not free. All the treatment, the five meals you ate, you’re going to pay it all back later,” Albus said.
Jin knew that Albus’ words were a mix of sincerity and humor, with a hint of ambiguity in the balance.
“Pay it back later.”
It meant he might work with the resistance again in the future.
“Subtract it from my next commission fee.”
Finishing his sentence, Jin stretched his body.
After stretching the last bit of the lingering fatigue from his body, he got up from the bed.
“Well, let’s go.”
Naturally, it wasn’t a departure ceremony.
It was simply the day when the Solo was going his separate way.
The only ones who came to see him off were Albus and Grace.
And Ben, who came out to watch the first sortie of the Manticore, was also there.
Before leaving.
Still, since they had some bond, Jin exchanged numbers with the three of them and got on his motorcycle.
He put in the key, turned it, and started the engine.
After gently wiping down the vibrating body of the bike, he revved the engine, creating a powerful exhaust noise as he sped off.
Everything was still fine up to this point.
Who would have known?
In less than an hour, an accident would happen.
“Ugh…”
Jin groaned as he lay on the street.
He had no idea how many times he had rolled over before coming to a stop.
At the very least, his left arm was definitely broken.
It was impossible to put any weight on it.
But in this moment, the emotion that surged stronger than the pain was none other than anger.
Jin cursed into the air, mixing in metal-like words.
“You damn…!”
Of course, the status window didn’t blink an eye.
「???」
━━━━━━━━━━━
NEO ?? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??? ?? ?? ????
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Jin gritted his teeth.
He then lay on the ground, recalling the events that had just unfolded.
The road that connected sections.
The so-called highway, as expected, had no traffic lights.
It was basically a common highway that existed in every country, designed to minimize traffic bottlenecks and allow high-speed travel.
The problem was that there were flaws in the road.
Naturally, this was the aftermath of the corporate and family wars.
The company responsible for the road construction had disappeared midway.
Because of that, a section without a central divider stretched for over 10km, but Jin thought it was just how things were.
When a truck suddenly swerved over the centerline from the opposite lane, he was startled, but managed to dodge it with quick reflexes.
The problem was that he couldn’t avoid it completely.
And of course, the status window blocked his vision right then.
It was the perfect storm, a disaster added to disaster.
In common terms, he was unlucky.
And now, after flying a dozen meters and rolling another dozen, Jin was cursing at the sky, or rather, the status window.
“How the hell!”
He was so angry that even his curses couldn’t properly come out, his jaw muscles bulging as he gritted his teeth.
Blood rushed to his face, and it dripped from his torn forehead.
No.
Calm down.
Negative… no, only positive thoughts.
Yeah, I’m an irregular.
I’m a warrior that gets stronger after overcoming death.
Hey, Kakarot, are you watching?
I’m invincible.
Reconstruction is “god.”
Perhaps because of his wholehearted effort to mutter nonsense, the intense heat in his mind slowly started to clear.
Then naturally, the pain filled the empty space.
“Howl…”
Jin groaned as he confirmed his grotesquely bent left arm.
That’s when he heard the sound of someone approaching with a slight hiccup.
“Are you okay?”
Asking if someone was okay when they were clearly not was already ridiculous.
And this smell?
Could it be alcohol?
At that moment, beyond the vanishing status window, an old man appeared, his back to the sun, disheveled.
He made a space between his thumb and index finger and spoke.
“You should’ve moved just a bit more to the side. Why flinch when you turn?”
At the same time, more blood dripped from Jin’s forehead.
“Truck driver?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
So it was drunk driving?
In fact, while the status window was a problem, the real cause of the accident was the truck crossing the centerline.
Deciding to hold the driver accountable with his fists, Jin attempted to rise, trying to set his broken arm.
“At least take this. Heh… here. I’m sorry.”
The middle-aged man, smelling of alcohol, approached Jin and handed him something, gripping it tightly in his hand.
It was a crumpled bundle of bills of different colors.
In an instant, Jin’s clenched fist relaxed.
Ah, seriously.
I’m weak to this kind of thing.
Maybe it was because he’d lived without much money, but he knew better than anyone the importance of those few coins.
It was hard to judge whether it was because the old man hadn’t washed properly or simply because of his body odor, but Jin couldn’t just focus on the face value of the money he had handed over.
On top of that, the old man seemed a little off mentally.
Jin couldn’t get angry or forgive him; all he could do was sigh deeply.
Then, with a click of his tongue, he spoke.
“Hey, old man. I survived because I am me, got it? You know? If it were someone else, their limbs would have been snapped off like twigs and they would have been ground into the asphalt alive. So from now on, before you close your eyes at night, you’re going to chant three times, ‘I’m a murderer.’ That should guilt-trip you into not drinking and driving.”
As he said this, he realized that the person in front of him was a drunken, stumbling old man.
What was I thinking saying all that?
Jin regretted his words, considering he couldn’t even guarantee his own life right now.
“I’m leaving.”
With that, Jin walked past the old man, who was still swaying, and propped up the Manticore that had fallen to the ground.
Unlike its acrobatic flight, the vehicle wasn’t severely damaged.
Of course, the screen was shattered, with scratches and dents all over, but overall, it wasn’t a complete loss.
“Ah, damn it…”
It felt dozens of times worse than when his phone’s screen cracked the day he got it, but what could he do?
Rather than hitting the old man he didn’t even know, he had to keep moving forward.
After composing himself, Jin climbed back onto the Manticore.
“Hey.”
The old man had somehow caught up to him and now casually rested his hand on Jin’s shoulder, asking.
“What’s your name?”
“You sure have a lot of questions. Jin. Why, planning on buying me a meal later?”
Jin shot back with a slightly sullen look, and the old man grinned.
“You’re all ragged up. You won’t last long this way.”
“Who are you teasing? This is all your fault… Anyway, let’s not meet again, alright?”
Jin started the engine.
He didn’t look back as he sped up, quickly disappearing from the old man’s view.
The old man sniffled as he watched Jin’s figure fade, then turned back to his truck.
Inside, as the truck started to turn back across the central line, the crackling sound of a radio came through.
[Colonel? Is something wrong?]
“Ah, there was a little misunderstanding.”
[Misunderstanding?]
“It’s nothing major. I found someone that needed fixing, but I sent him off without feeling upset… He’ll be grateful later. Heh. Anyway, what’s the situation?”
[It’s certain that Styx is moving. And this ominous mana… It’s Crow. But there’s something strange about the whole thing…]
“What’s that?”
[According to the mana examiner, there were two unidentified individuals facing off with Crow. They couldn’t be identified, though.]
“…Couldn’t be identified? That’s hard to believe. If they faced that madman Crow, they must be at least a level 6 solo or direct family members.”
[We think the same. So, we’re thinking of focusing on the variations in mana patterns. What do you think, Colonel?]
The old man paused for a moment and gazed at the rearview mirror with sharp eyes.
But only for a moment.
He slowly shook his head.
“…No. Forget it. It’s a waste of manpower. Let’s finish the task we’ve been assigned.”
[If we assume they’re solo, we might be able to dig up more from the resistance’s accounts…]
“They’re not idiots. They’ve covered their tracks three or four times over. And the higher-ups aren’t going to get directly involved. So, if you don’t want to write a report later, let’s not do anything that could get us caught. See you later.”
[…Yes, see you later.]
With that, the radio went silent.
The old man, fumbling in the passenger seat, grabbed a bottle of alcohol.
He popped the cap with his thumb, took a swig, and then stomped on the gas.
The truck, driven by Colonel John Harrison of the Special Forces, sped towards Mute Town.