EPZ 21

Chapter: 21

At the moment when unease crept in because of Morton’s unclear words—
bang!
A heavy vibration, as if something had slammed into the roof, shook the wooden house.

Dust fell from the old ceiling with a soft patter, drifting through the air. Tense gazes all turned upward.

It was fortunate they had made it indoors, but the house was an old wooden one, filled with traces of long years. That alone made it impossible to feel at ease.

“Is there a basement?” Kalif asked.

“As you can see, it’s a very small house. I don’t even have a spare room to offer,” Morton replied, shrugging as he pointed his chin toward the hallway.

The dark hallway held only two doors—one that seemed to be Morton’s room, and the other, where the pale face had appeared earlier.

Jigu looked between Morton and the hallway, then let out a small sigh.

‘Earth Protection Zone, Morton’s house.’

[Safety of this area has not been secured.]
[The area exceeds the maximum size of 66㎡.]
[Warning! There are non–party members inside the area!]

‘Earth Protection Zone, Morton’s house, living room.’

[This area cannot be designated as an Earth Protection Zone.]
[Warning! There are non–party members inside the area!]

‘This is troublesome.’

Before even thinking about party registration, a space had to be an “independent area” to be set as an Earth Protection Zone. It seemed the system did not recognize the living room as an independent space.

She had thought she had tested the skill in every possible way, but now that its range had increased from 6㎡ to 66㎡, new variables kept appearing.

Her vision was more red than usual. If she had to put a number on the danger level, maybe around 30%. It was not immediately dangerous, but the detection skill was clearly warning her of some unknown threat.

‘What is it, exactly?’

Jigu’s sharp gaze moved to Morton’s face, then to the tightly closed doors, before finally easing.

“Mom, it feels like a pajama party,” Ryan whispered.

“It does,” Peggy replied with a gentle smile.

The crackling sound of burning logs, the softly flickering fireplace, and the piles of fluffy bedding Jigu had taken out of her inventory.

Wrapped snugly in blankets, Ryan giggled quietly. Outside, the violent storm that had started earlier shook the wooden shutters as if it might tear them apart, but in front of the fireplace, everything felt strangely peaceful—almost cozy.

Peggy and Ryan lay closest to the fire. Maya was stretched out on the sofa beside them. A little farther away, Luke snored softly, with Edwin across from him. Near the entrance, in the quietest corner, Kalif sat leaning against the wall.

Jigu, watching Kalif’s wrist closely, stood up.

“Kalif. Sleep with me.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!” Edwin shouted.

But Jigu answered calmly, as if nothing was strange.

“We’ll just hold hands.”

Kalif’s mutation rate was at 88%. It was not a number she could feel safe about.

‘Even just holding hands helps a little.’

Unlike the Earth Protection Zone, her passive Guiding skill worked automatically. If they held hands all night, maybe the number would improve, even slightly.

Edwin, however, clearly took it another way. His face turned bright red.

“H-hands or not—absolutely not! No way! Go lie down on that sofa!”

“Kalif, is it really not okay?” Jigu asked softly, ignoring Edwin.

After pressing his lips together for a moment, Kalif quietly shifted over and made space beside him.

Edwin glared at him as if looking at a shameless criminal.

“Jigu, it’s cold there. It’s far from the fireplace and right next to the door. Please sleep inside.”

“No. It’s dangerous over there.”

“Pardon? What exactly is dangerous—”

“And there are lots of blankets. I won’t be cold.”

“W-wait—!”

Before he could finish, several thick blankets fell from midair and landed on Edwin’s head. Pulling them off, Edwin let out a long, troubled sigh.

“Jigu. Please have some sense of caution.”

She blinked blankly at the unfamiliar words. Seeing her reaction, Edwin groaned and whispered,

“I mean… don’t use your powers so carelessly.”

Jigu’s true nature was still unclear. One thing was certain—she was not a normal civilian. Yet she had no wrist device, the standard equipment given to all sentinels.

Too mysterious to be a civilian, yet weaker than most sentinels.

‘An experiment subject…?’

Officially, sentinel production had stopped after the virus spread. But no one truly believed that. Somewhere, new sentinels were surely still being created.

They might even be researching sentinels who could resist the virus. No—Edwin was sure they were. It happened openly even in Ranger Shelter.

Sentinels whose mutation rate exceeded 90% were said to be executed immediately, but that was only on the surface. In truth, they were used until the very end for humanity’s cause.

Sentinels were treated as expendable tools of war. Nothing more, nothing less. And an experiment subject would be treated even worse.

If Jigu was a sentinel who had escaped such inhumane experiments, Edwin was willing to hide her identity.

He looked at her with pity, but Jigu just whistled casually, pretending not to notice.

With another deep sigh, Edwin muttered tiredly,

“Anyway, don’t use your powers just anywhere.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“…You did understand what I said, right?”

“I did. Can I sleep now?”

“Haah… yes. Go to sleep.”

“Good night, Eddie!”

Doubt still lingered, but Edwin swallowed it down and nodded—then suddenly froze.

At some point, Jigu had neatly piled thick blankets on the floor and was slowly wriggling closer to Kalif’s side.

“W-wait! I told you to sleep over there!”

“Zzz… snore…”

“I can see you pretending!”

“Snore…”

Edwin’s brow twitched. She had been wide awake just moments ago, yet now she shamelessly pretended to sleep.

Should he scold her for boldly suggesting sleeping while holding hands with a man?
Or scold the captain who had given in without much resistance?
Or hit himself for caring so much?

Unable to speak from rising frustration, Edwin stared her down. Jigu cracked one eye open, checked his expression, then turned slightly and quietly took Kalif’s hand—before resuming her fake snoring.

“Unbelievable…”

Edwin sighed in disbelief, then turned away and lay down in the empty spot.

‘If I care, I lose. If I care, I lose!’

Rattle—bang—crash.

The wooden shutters shook violently in the wind. From beside her came a low growl. Jigu slowly opened her eyes and saw a tense back. Sam.

“…Sam, come here.”

She whispered softly. Sam, who had been sitting alert in the hallway, perked up his ears and hurried over. His warmth was comforting, but his body was stiff with tension.

“What are you so scared of?”

Jigu gently released Kalif’s hand and wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck.

Everyone else was breathing evenly, deep asleep. Jigu had not slept even once. She had only kept her eyes closed, watching the dark vision edged in red.

‘This place isn’t safe.’

From the moment they entered Morton’s house, the edges of her vision had been red. She thought it was because of the powerful tornado, but the wind had weakened now. Still, the red warning remained.

What danger was the system detecting?

Zombies wandering outside?
Or the two tightly closed doors… somewhere behind them?

Her cold eyes fixed on the dark hallway.

Thump. Thump.

A faint sound again—so small it could be mistaken for the shutters shaking in the wind.

“Grrr.”

Sam, who had been lying calmly, suddenly lifted his head and bared his sharp teeth.

“You haven’t slept at all.”

At that moment, a low male voice sounded behind her.

Jigu flinched and turned around.

Ash-gray eyes, wide awake and watching her closely, met her gaze.

 “You haven’t slept at all.”