The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 35

The Swamp of the Alligator Turtle (3)

Sion crouched down and began taking things out of his bag.

Everyone watched him.

What Sion took out was canned food.

Canned mackerel.

Sion carefully removed the cans one by one and placed them at his feet.

A woman watching him asked in a trembling voice.

“…Are you saying… are you saying we should eat now?”

The man next to her, his eyebrows furrowed, frowned.

“Is that the solution? Ah… Ah…”

Finally, Detective Lee Cheong-chun carefully inquired.

“Of course, we can replenish our energy by eating. But that’s just buying time. You said the alligator turtle surfaces to breathe every 10 years… right?”

Lee Cheong-chun looked at Jin Jae-hee for confirmation.

Jin Jae-hee nodded slowly.

Lee Cheong-chun was right.

The alligator turtle surfaces to breathe every 10 years.

Ten years is a long time for humans.

Even if they barely survived by eating the food they had now…

A week?

No, they wouldn’t last even three days.

This was a swamp.

The more you struggle, the more desperate you become.

‘…What are you going to do?’

Jin Jae-hee swallowed hard and looked at Sion.

Sion was still taking out cans one by one, stacking them like a tower.

It was an incomprehensible act to an ordinary person.

But for some reason…

Jin Jae-hee felt relieved that he was taking action.

He was never a man to act without thinking.

“Who wants to eat?”

Whoosh-.

A can flew through the air.

Jin Jae-hee barely caught it.

Sion grabbed the cans one by one and threw them to the remaining survivors.

The survivors each barely caught them and looked back at Sion.

Sion, breathing a little heavily, held a can of mackerel and rolled his shoulders.

It was an action that seemed to loosen his body.

Everyone could only watch him blankly.

“When I give the signal, run. If you hesitate, you’ll die instantly.”

“…Ah.”

“Yes…?”

Everyone couldn’t understand Sion’s words.

But among them, only Jin Jae-hee understood.

Sion turned and looked at the window.

A window with moonlight shining through.

He stared at the window for a moment, then firmly grabbed a can and threw it with all his might.

Crash-!

Shards of shattered glass scattered in the air.

The small pieces of glass sparkled in the moonlight as they fell to the street outside.

“…That was it.”

Jin Jae-hee immediately realized what he was doing.

In the end, this was the only way they could survive.

She threw the can she was holding with all her might.

Crash-!

The can she threw broke the window with an even louder noise.

Shards of glass sparkled and scattered.

People didn’t know what it was for, but soon they followed suit and threw cans at the window.

People with weak strength couldn’t break the window even if they threw it.

But they had to throw it.

They didn’t know what they were doing.

No, in fact, they didn’t know what they were thinking.

Their instincts told them this was the only way.

Crash-! Crash-!!!!

The windows were shattered.

After that, Kang Sion’s plan worked perfectly.

The change had begun.

Sasa sasa sha sha shak!

Snow Nepenthes [carnivorous plants that resemble tentacles] hiding in the snowfield.

A monster that attacks in response to shiny things.

The windows were shattered, and the reflective glass shards were attracting them.

The enormous number of tentacles that the monsters stretched out rushed towards the 4th-floor window.

Whiririk-! Kwang!!!!

The tentacles began to rummage through the 4th-floor self-serve bar in a frenzy.

Following that, the alligator turtle, sensing their dynamic movements, revealed its presence.

Tteok-, Crunch!

The alligator turtle began to bite off the tentacles.

One… two… three.

The faces of three alligator turtles continued to appear.

The monsters bit off the tentacles, and the tentacles wrapped around the alligator turtle’s face.

Sion, confirming their presence, shouted.

“Now!”

* * *

Snow Nepenthes react to shiny things.

That was the information I got while coming here.

I used that information.

Snow Nepenthes would react to the sparkling glass shards and move, and the alligator turtle would also react to the moving Nepenthes.

And the plan worked.

Dozens of Snow Nepenthes stormed the 4th floor.

The alligator turtle, which hunts prey by sensing movement, did not miss the Nepenthes, which moved more dynamically than humans.

Crunch, crunch-!

The alligator turtle began to bite the swirling tentacles indiscriminately.

And now was the only chance.

“Now!”

I rushed to the window full of Nepenthes in an instant.

People who were closer to the stairs jumped towards them.

But the people who headed to the stairs would probably die.

The stairs are more dangerous.

That place is still a minefield.

I don’t know how many alligator turtles are lurking.

But there was no time to tell them.

This was a way to escape from the alligator turtle, but it was impossible to be safe from the Nepenthes.

Taat-!

I crossed the window sill and threw myself into the air.

Below, I could see dozens of Nepenthes roots soaring up.

This is the 4th floor.

Originally, it would be a definite fracture.

But fortunately, the snowfield on the street, which was piled up to the height of a person, would definitely act as an airbag.

Whiririk- Poof!

I fell into the snowfield.

As expected, there was no impact.

I floundered, trying to get out of the snowfield.

I could hear the sound of Nepenthes from all directions.

Sasa sak, sasa sasa sak.

It was the sound of tentacles digging through the snowfield.

I floundered like a person who fell into the sea in a typhoon.

I struggled to get out, but it wasn’t easy.

In the meantime, the tentacles rushed in.

But they couldn’t stick to my body.

Swak- Seogeok!

Because Jin Jae-hee, who had approached, cut off all the tentacles with her sword.

She turned the blade and cut off the tentacles rushing in from the left again.

She didn’t rest.

She cut, cut, and cut again.

Without worrying about the tentacles wrapped around her body, she only cut off all the tentacles rushing at me.

There was no error.

This is why she is a regressor [someone who can turn back time].

This is why she is the strongest human.

She proved it before my eyes.

The Nepenthes were cut down by Jin Jae-hee’s sword and fell to the ground, soon slithering away into the snow.

The monsters seemed to recognize her strength.

“Haa, haa.”

Jin Jae-hee was breathing a little heavily.

It was because the cold was causing severe stamina consumption.

I stared at her blankly.

Then I looked at the entrance of the building at the sound I heard.

Detective Lee Cheong-chun and two people were popping out from there.

“Are you okay?!”

Detective Lee Cheong-chun rushed over.

The tentacles of the Nepenthes were still wrapped around the exterior walls of the building.

The Nepenthes were being pushed back by the alligator turtle.

And the monster’s face briefly appeared from the collapsed window.

Gaak-.

A strange cry.

A shell that looked harder than armor.

Sharp eyes like a dragon’s eyes.

And teeth and jaws stained with human blood.

The alligator turtle stared at the humans blankly and then began to disappear.

‘…Can’t come down to the ground.’

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

My lips were torn, and blood was묻어 나왔다 [묻어 나왔다 is Korean for ‘smeared’].

I looked at the back of my bloody hand once, then looked at the hand in front of me.

It was Jin Jae-hee.

She was holding out her hand to me.

I stared at it blankly, then grabbed her hand and got up.

Tuk tuk.

I brushed off the snow on my waist and turned back to her, and she opened her mouth.

“Thank you.”

Lee Cheong-chun and two people around me also spoke to me.

“Thank you so much. I really… I thought I was going to die…”

“Ah. I’m so glad. I’m so glad Sion is here.”

They said a word to me, and I looked back at them blankly.

Then I turned and said.

“Let’s hurry. It’s still night, and the Nepenthes will be back in the snow soon.”

We weren’t safe yet.

The street was dark.

It was quiet, and the cold was murderous.

We walked along, digging out only the minimum amount of snow.

After walking like that for a while, I suddenly turned around.

“….”

In that Ilbeonga [Likely a district or area name], dozens of Snow Nepenthes were rising like a bamboo forest.

No, it didn’t look like bamboo.

They were wriggling and moving.

Like seaweed stalks.

And dozens of Snow Nepenthes were swaying their bodies towards the moonlight.

It was a bizarre and beautiful sight.

* * *

At that moment when Sion was looking at the Nepenthes swaying in the moonlight.

Six people were watching it together on the rooftop of a commercial building.

The woman was smoking a cigarette with her mask pulled down, looking at Sion.

“How is it? Does it seem doable? The cops, I mean.”

Another woman approached her and asked.

The woman put her legs on the rooftop railing and scratched her calf with her hand.

Then she blew out cigarette smoke.

“The cops are no problem. Those two are the problem.”

The woman with long hair, who was the leader of the search party, said, looking at the police reconnaissance team cutting through the snowfield.

Among them, the leader was talking about two people.

Kang Sion, Jin Jae-hee.

The achievements that the two had shown earlier were a great threat to them as well.

Another woman approached the leader and said.

“Isn’t he similar to the man the Queen mentioned?”

At that voice, the leader hesitated a little and flicked off the cigarette ash.

“Well, we’ll have to catch him to find out.”

“How many people are there in the police station?”

The search party members asked the leader more and more questions.

Originally, they were not afraid of the police force.

Because they thought they could easily defeat them.

But their thoughts changed with the achievements they saw today.

Instead of feeling easy, they felt scared.

The leader felt the same way.

To win in the 2nd round, or rather, to comply with the Queen’s ‘edict’ [an official order or proclamation issued by a person in authority], they had to catch the best man no matter what.

The Queen is looking for a man.

It was to satisfy her sexual desire and possessiveness.

The Queen quickly adapted to the league from the 1st round and seized power.

The head of the force, whose number of forces exceeded 100, was given absolute power called ‘edict’.

All members belonging to the force knelt before the edict.

In the end, it was because of the edict.

If they carry out the edict well, they will be able to regain their freedom.

The leader threw the cigarette on the ground and put on her mask.

“Let’s go.”

And went down the building.

In the alley, a monster in the shape of a deer was in place.

Toontoon.

A monster that has been domesticated and named by the Queen.

And if you ride on the back of this Toontoon and move, you will be less exposed to the threat of Snow Nepenthes or other monsters.

They crossed from Manan-gu to Dongan-gu [Likely district names].

There were two main forces in Dongan-gu.

The forces centered around City Hall and Beomgye Station and the forces on the Hogye side.

There have already been several clashes.

The Queen was trying to completely take control of Anyang Dongan-gu through this war.

The horrors of the war could be seen everywhere near Beomgye Station.

Whiririk- Seogeok!

Useless beings were publicly beheaded.

The beheaded humans were thrown as food for Toontoon.

The streets of Beomgye Station, which used to be famous for pubs and commercial districts, have now become the residence of the 1st force in Dongan-gu.

Bonfires were lit everywhere, and they were grilling unidentified meat.

Their residence was confirmed around the building, and most of them were out on the street doing their jobs.

Handling the captured monster.

Escorting prisoners from the 2nd Hogye force.

Managing prisoners by gender.

Beheading.

Torture.

Building barricades.

Or just doing nonsense.

It had only been two weeks, but they were rapidly expanding their power around the ‘Queen’.

The search party rode Toontoon and entered Beomgye Station intersection.

The guard who found them shouted.

“It’s search party leader Lee Soo-eun.”

“It’s the leader.”

“Leader!”

When the search party returned, the women nearby flocked out.

Lee Soo-eun was the Queen’s direct subordinate and was a woman with power here.

Lee Soo-eun passed Beomgye Station intersection and walked along Rodeo Street.

The intelligence officer there approached her.

“The Queen is.”

“She’s inside. You just arrived. With the slaves.”

“Okay.”

Lee Soo-eun handed Toontoon over to the soldier and entered the building.

The 5th floor here.

A place used as a motel.

The elevator was not working, so I went up the stairs.

It used to be a motel, but now it’s just the Queen’s villa.

When I entered the 5th floor, naked people were kneeling in a row.

They couldn’t dare to meet Lee Soo-eun’s eyes.

They were the Queen’s slaves.

Lee Soo-eun walked along the hallway.

The suite here.

Two warriors were guarding in front of it.

“Haa-.”

Lee Soo-eun, standing in front of it, let out a short sigh.

The Queen, who has the largest force in the 2nd round, has abnormal sexual desire and possessiveness and is immersed in delusions.

I always had to be nervous when facing her.

After taking some time in front of the door, I carefully knocked.

Knock knock-.

“It’s the search party leader. May I come in?”

Lee Soo-eun spoke and swallowed dryly.

And from the inside, the Queen’s voice was heard.

(Continued in the next episode)