I'm still alive

The face and body are revealed through the hot steam. My face full of wounds was strange, and the scar on my whole body makes me frown on my own. I sighed deeply and poured hot water into my head. Then he began to shave his beard using the razor and shaving cream lent by the old man.

My mustache has really grown. Every time the razor moves, the hairs flow down to the floor, and a bare face appears between them. Looking at the bubble on the floor, I felt like I was shaking off the black residue that had been buried. I quietly close my eyes, letting go of the pain and pain that I have been through. Warm water and peace were so awkward.

'Here's your clothes.’

The old man opens the shower door and flips the clothes for today's mission. I began to wipe my head and body with a towel, nodding my head, and accepted the clothes thrown by the old man.

After a day of training, the group failed to return to their quarters and fell asleep as if they were faint. And I and the old man, who woke up at dawn, went to the public shower for the bath after a long time. Of course, it's not time for the shower to open, but with the consideration of silver-rimmed glasses, this spacious space could be used by individuals.

Five meal tickets for one use, but they were piled up in a corner of the office, so I just punched them and stuffed them into my pocket. Although it is a shower room where each person can't even use 5 minutes, I have become a new person by shaving my beard neatly and wiping away dirty sweat.

Lastly, I checked my wristwatch by wearing clean clothes. An hour before the party gets up. Sleep time has decreased since coming to Eden, and wake-up times are getting faster and faster. But on the contrary, my condition got better and I began to gain muscle and stamina all over my body. Maybe I can play longer than I did in active duty.

When I opened the door and went out, the old man stood crooked in the corner of the changing room, staring at me. "Why is it taking so long?" I just smiled and walked past the old man and went out. When I opened the door, so fresh oxygen penetrated the tip of my nose with the cold dawn air.

Why didn't you just cut it? It's neat and nice to see.’

The old man walking shoulder-to-shoulder with me gives a thoughtless compliment. Without a beard, my face somehow felt colder. I touched my chin with my bare hands and gave a subtle smile, and so we passed the way the sun was rising and headed to the office.

* * *

One-day training, one-day mission. It is a schedule that has been decided for newly introduced people. I trained yesterday, so today is the day I'll be on duty. I woke up and changed my clothes for the group that had not yet been out of sleep. The group, dressed in mission uniforms in an awkward posture, comes out with sleepy faces and follows the elderly.

Good. I had a good breakfast and packed some snacks for lunch. Chae-yeon and her children also took her to school after a long time, so all the schedules began to run like a saw-toothed wheel. I take a deep breath, keeping the temperature Chae-yeon gave me in the morning.

I walk in the lead, followed by a line of people. The road is not that wide, and now walking in a row is imprinted like a habit. We started crossing the middle of Eden, where we started our daily lives yesterday, but today the strange glances around us were strange.

We're the rocks that rolled in. It wasn't a push-up of the embedded stone, it was an uninvited guest who was completely shattered. That's why residents have always looked at us fully armed with wary eyes or avoided fear with a young face.

But today was different. The residents, who encountered us while walking down the street, smiled at us or bowed their heads to greet us. I walked at a snail's pace and suddenly received a cup of warm tea from an old lady and stopped walking.

The cup of burdock tea was the beginning. We were able to receive food for a total of ten times throughout the walk to the main gate, and some uncle even poked a crumpled meal ticket into my pocket. The party that was following me also flinched as if embarrassed in front of the sudden hospitality.

But only the old man walked past me leisurely, drinking the tea. The eyes of the group who stopped naturally turned to the old man, and the old man was conscious of the gaze, so he quickly inhaled the steamy owl tea. And he opened his mouth to us.

'You know, if you've done a good thing, you should know how to be praised.

A good thing? Oh, were we doing a good thing? That was the question that came to the faces of the party. I had no righteous sense of duty to save people and to punish the bad. Of course, the reason why I started this job was just for my benefit.

However, the other party seemed to have never thought about what they were doing. In the direction of the water flow, most of the people struggled to survive and came here. Why do you do this hard work? Wouldn't it be a bad idea to work in a safe place even if it's not enough

But a fierce life has made the idea forget for a moment, and dims the sense of purpose that man has. And I knew that the aftermath would one day come with skepticism. But as if to reward us for all our hard work, the incoming attitudes of the residents and the old man's words were enough to blow the skepticism away in an instant.

Aren't we better people than we thought? He may not be a great hero, but wouldn't he be able to be honorable in front of this end of the world? Yes, what the party needed was such pride. Looking back, the group looked good. No, the faces were full of life, as if they were about to start running. The old man murmured quietly, as if to put an end to it.

'You guys are doing great.’

The short words washed away all the pain and hard work that had been suffered. And we strode vigorously toward the main gate, gulping down the tea that had cooled in the cold weather, as if we had promised. I kept thinking of the old times throughout my walk. The loud voice that I always patted on my head. The voice that grazed by the ear is dimly scattered in memory.

Yeah, you're doing great.

* * *

The old man never used the word "fight" in hunting. And always emphasized the word hunting and didn't forget to tell us to use our brains. We have few numbers. Nevertheless, we had to deal with the vagrants, and the method had to be limited.

There was no common head for the vagabonds, no organized system. It was just flying around like wild animals in the direction they wanted. The old man pinpointed that point correctly, and said that hunting, such as guerrilla warfare, should be carried out, not head-to-head.

Aim not at the dragon's mouth, but at the back of its teeth. After the meeting in a flash, we moved our steps near the base of the vagabonds and began to expand our own scope. Each checks the number and direction of the vagrants leaving and reports to the Central Headquarters, which will be our heads. The information, which had been accumulated and updated in memory, enabled the installation of a full-fledged trap.

A few awning traps were set up in the direction of the vagrants. It was a trap that seemed so easy on the outside, but the snow on the floor was enough to make the clumsy trap the best. The awls buried between the snows were waiting for someone to step on them, like a poisonous snake hiding its teeth, and we set up the traps everywhere in the area we built.

We decided to wait for a group as a test. After confirming that a group of about 10 vagrants had left, we hid in the alley building and prepared for an ambush. Of course, I wasn't sure that the same herd would pass through here, but the old man said that hunting was originally a continuation of waiting.

The biggest problem during the ambush was the cold. We were forced to unite like penguins and share body temperature. At first, it was awkward to share body temperature, but after a short period of adjustment, we all got together to rub warm flesh and bond.

Park Da-hye, who had seven colors at first, was smiling quietly between Yong-pal and Kim Hye-jung, and detective Kim Hye-jung and Kang smiled and clung to us. We sometimes forgot chocolate in that narrow space and listened to the sound of the wind.

'Brother.

Everyone was enjoying a brief peace, and Yongpal called me. I opened my half-closed eyes and looked at the dragon arm, and everyone's eyes turned to one place.

'It looks much better with a beard cut.’

I thought I was going to say something important, so I tried to take it seriously, but for a moment I lost my strength and had a ridiculous laugh in my lips. And what was so good, he held the smiling dragon's nose tight and let go. However, the group nodded their heads to see if they agreed with Yong-pal. Then Detective Kang continued.

When I first saw Dongyoon, I was really scared.’

Me? Scared? I took my hand in the back of my head before the horse I had never heard of and scratched quietly. When I met Detective Kang, I was tough, but I didn't mean anything. But the group I met recently was nodding their heads to see if they agreed. Then the old man began to scold me, poking me in the waist beside me.

So, just relax your face. I often shave my beard.'

I sometimes forget what I look like because I don't have to look in the mirror. I didn't know that....... I was going to fix it slowly because the party said so. I laughed awkwardly and scratched my nose, and as soon as I was about to open my mouth, the noise of the wind from afar began to get in.

‘…….’

Everyone stops talking and swallows saliva. For a moment I clung to the wall and began to focus on the sound coming from outside. the impertinent utterances of a madman When I checked my watch, I realized that quite a long time had passed. Behind me the old man whispered quietly.

'Move.'

Like trained soldiers, our party quickly took care of the weapons and equipment and began to move to the designated position. The ever-improving teamwork and the ever-present tension made us proficient vagrant hunters. I grabbed the crossbow and ran quickly to the top floor of the building.

The number of vagrants seen on the street was nine, down one from the 10 who left the area. No, the one's vacancy was occupied by a survivor who had been caught somewhere. The hostages, all torn clothes and tied to a thick string, were like trophies that the vagrants always took care of.

I clicked my tongue out of regret. I wanted to save a lot of survivors, but unfortunately today there is only one today. I slowly loaded the bolts and waited for them to crawl into the serpent's mouth. The same was true of the group who hid in the building and prepared for the ambush.

I hear a voice from far away.

'Hey! I heard Tae-sik's bastards didn't come in.'

Do you remember his name? It doesn't matter if it's not my family.’

'But you're still! You're making me nervous!'

Two front-runners touch and enter the range. GigiGig. I caught a crossbow screaming for a shot right away and gently exhaled. Anxious? Good hunch, but it wasn't something to say with a body in its mouth already. You can't go home the same way.

There's only one or two people who can't get in? Don't make a fuss.'

"Even if the Ten Saints say...….’

He seemed offended when a big man ignored his words. The cunning vagrant stopped there, kicked his tongue for a while, and soon took out a cigarette from his pocket. There's nothing to be afraid of, whether or not the smell spreads? He put his cigarette in his mouth and began to rummage through his pockets.

Huh? He stood there so still for a while and soon he gave out curses and frowned. Maybe there is no lighter. At that moment the slowed pack of people came into our firing range and stopped moving completely. And as if they were protesting against us, they started to take out cigarettes and relax. I licked my dried lips in the cold wind and put my finger on the trigger.

"Hey! Let me borrow a light...….’

Ping!

The shrewd-looking bum couldn't finish talking. Ping! With the sound of ringing, all the vagrant's eyes turned under the man's feet, where red blood splashed, and the wings of the devil we had prepared slowly lifted their heads.

I fired the bolt at the head of the tramp who stepped on the trap.