I Became the Drug-Addicted Childhood Friend

Chapter 56

Bright light is visible.  
The place Shihu reaches is so bright.  

"...A fire?"  

Buildings are burning.  
The closer he gets, the fiercer the flames grow.  
The crackling sound of fire can be heard from all directions.  
Everything is burning.  

It looks like the experimental facility he saw last time.  
The difference is that this place is smaller and closer to a ruin.  
It seems like monsters have walked through here, leaving nothing behind.  
It could be that another monster breakout occurred, just like before.  

"Is anyone alive...?"  

Can he find Seo Ah here?  
Is Seo Ah somewhere in this building?  
He doesn’t know yet.  
The smoke is thick.  

For now, he decides to enter the nearest building.  

*Crash.*  

He breaks down the closed door and enters.  
The reason the door wouldn’t open was because much of the building had collapsed.  

"-Help, help me, cough..."  

It’s a person.  
They’re trapped under debris.  
A name tag-like item hangs around their neck.  
They appear to be a researcher.  

"Is there anyone else inside?"  

*Scrape.*  
Shihu moves the debris to clear the way.  

"No... they left me behind... cough... Ugh."  

The air is too thick.  
If they weren’t Awakened, they wouldn’t last much longer.  

Shihu picks up the researcher and runs outside the building.  
To a safer area.  

"What happened?"  

He asks while running.  

"Escape... someone set the monsters free. I don’t know how, but..."  

"Why would they do that?"  

"Probably a villain. You’re Awakened, right? A good one? Phew, that’s a relief. You’re gonna help me, aren’t you? Thanks."  

They run past the destroyed barricades to an area where the fire hasn’t spread.  

"Is there anyone else?"  

Shihu waits for the researcher to answer.  

"Well, they’re either dead or escaped."  

"What about the test subjects?"  

"Huh? Human-shaped ones? You knew about them?"  

"Are they here?"  

The rumors of human-shaped test subjects had been circulating for a long time.  

"We disposed of all of them."  

"...Disposed?"  

"When the facility malfunctions, the protocol is to kill and run. That’s the manual. The suppression team is probably handling it now."  

"Where do I go?"  

"The biggest building in the center, in the basement... But why would you want to know... You want to rescue them? They’re not human, and I hate to say it, but they’re not worth saving."  

"Shut up."  

*Thud.*  

Shihu knocks the researcher unconscious.  
Then he starts running again.  
The layout of this place is similar to the experimental facility from before.  
There are strange organizations like suppression teams and rescue teams.  
He knows they’re government organizations.  

He suspected something was off back then, but now he knows for sure.  
The suppression team is the enemy.  

He keeps running.  
The central building is in sight.  

*Boom!*  

He breaks through the wall to enter.  

Is Seo Ah inside here?  
He doesn’t know what the disposal procedure is, but he has to stop it.  
He doesn’t know what state Seo Ah is in, but he must stop it.  

The inside is filled with flames.  
The fire isn’t a problem.  
The protective function of the academy uniform is enough to handle this.  
The researcher’s clothes have some protective function, but it’s not as good as the uniform.  

"Seo Ah?"  

He calls out, hoping for a response.  
But no one is there.  

He continues searching the building.  
Since the facility extends downwards, he searches for a way to go down.  

"Elevator?"  

*Creek.*  

He forces open the elevator doors.  
Of course, the elevator isn’t even on the floor Shihu is on, and it wasn’t even moving.  
So, he jumps down.  

He falls through the smoke and drops to the lowest floor.  

*Thud.*  

It’s unclear whether it’s a landing or a crash.  
Dust rises, but Shihu doesn’t know if it’s because he fell or because of the fire.  

He stumbles up and dashes through the facility.  
He sees signs of where the monsters were kept.  

As it’s the lowest floor, escape must have been difficult.  
Most of the monsters have likely gone through the disposal procedure the researcher mentioned.  

"-What’s that? Someone’s behind me!"  

It’s the suppression team.  
They’re wearing heavy armor that looks like spacesuits.  
Their voices are muffled inside the armor, making it hard to hear clearly.  
On their arms, they carry firearms and flamethrowers.  

Killing monsters is the right thing to do.  
The suppression team only kills monsters.  

*Thud.*  

But Shihu easily takes down the suppression team.  
They were likely the ones who started the fire in the building, so they’ll probably survive the collapse or the fire.  

"Who—"  

*Crack.*  

A blow with the hilt of his sword is enough.  
The suppression team’s armor is tough, but it’s specialized in blocking monster attacks, not human ones.  
Still, if they didn’t have the armor, it would’ve been a fatal blow.  

"Monsters—?"  

*Crack.*  

"Behind me!"  

*Thud.*  

As he runs, he neutralizes the suppression team.  
But he doesn’t manage to take them all down.  

He wants to interrogate them one by one, but there’s no time.  

"Everything’s done. Hurry up and follow me!"  

Done?  

"What’s going on?"  

It’s hard to see through the fog.  
Now that he notices, it’s not smoke—it’s fog.  
He thought they were using flamethrowers to spread fire, but it seems like they were dispersing gas instead.  

For dealing with so many monsters, this type of weapon is effective.  
The monsters won’t just stand still and inhale the gas, but the monsters in this place are all confined.  

"Done with the processing! Let’s go up!"  

"Where’s the human-shaped test subject?"  

"What are you talking about? They were transferred a while ago! Let’s go! We’ll die!"  

*Boom.*  

A foreboding sound echoes.  
Since the facility is so deep underground, if it collapses, it’ll cause even more trouble.  

"It could collapse!"  

*Boom.*  

The sound gets louder.  
The lights that barely flickered are now dying.  
Smoke and fog have covered everything.  

"But who are you... Damn it, it’s collapsing!"  

*Crash.*  

The building is collapsing faster than expected.  
The structure loses its support and crushes everything underneath.  

---

### **After the Collapse**

The fire has spread to the nearby mountain, but it hasn’t grown much.  

Where the flames passed, only ruins remain.  
No signs of life.  
Only ashes are left.  

The concrete cracks with a creaking sound.  
Then it shatters.  
And a hand emerges.  

It pulls apart the crack in the concrete.  
Once it’s wide enough, it crawls out.  

"-Cough."  

It was a close call.  
He wasn’t in his usual condition, and the situation was unlike any other.  
But in the end, he survived.  
Somehow.  

Shihu doesn’t die.  
He won’t die until he saves Seo Ah.  

Seo Ah isn’t below him.  
He should have asked where she was transferred.  
He’s not even sure if she was ever here.  

Blood drips steadily.  
Even with physical enhancement and protective skills, there are limits.  
Just running here took a toll on him.  

"Dammit."  

But still, somehow, he survived.  
Somehow.  

So where’s the next destination?  
Where should he go to find her?  

Exhaustion.  
It’s a feeling he hasn’t experienced in a long time.  

"...I’m going."  

His device is broken, so he can’t track his location.  
But he has to save Seo Ah.  

The person who knocked him out earlier—  
Where are they?  

Running is uncomfortable.  
He probably has a few broken bones.  
But it’s okay.  
He’ll heal.  
Compared to the pain Seo Ah endured, it’s nothing.  

He wipes the blood dripping from his forehead and keeps running.  

He finds it.  

The researcher lying there.  

"Get up."  

*Thud.*  
He steps on the researcher’s finger to wake him.  

"Ugh...?"  

The researcher comes to his senses.  

"Tell me what you know. Where’s the place where they transferred the human-shaped test subjects?"  

"That... um..."  

*Crunch.*  
He steps harder on the researcher’s finger.  

"Ah! I don’t know!"  

"Is there another experimental facility nearby?"  

"I’m just a low-level guy, so I don’t know about other facilities, but the factory that supplies resources here..."  

"Which way?"  

"Go straight along the road, about 10 kilometers. I know because I’ve been there with the vehicle. People live there, and we receive goods from there..."  

He doesn’t need to hear more.  
He immediately starts

 running in the direction the researcher indicated.  

Every second counts.  
If Seo Ah is alive, even if the possibility is small, he has to find her.  
He has to.  

He runs.  
The direction is the complete opposite.  
He cuts across the entire experimental facility, pushing through the flames.  

"Shihu!"  

Someone calls out to Shihu.  
There’s someone standing near the entrance of the facility.  

"Are you okay?"  

The silver hair is familiar.  

"...Lena?"  

"The device was destroyed, so the alert went off. The one we set up when we were on the team."  

"Ah."  

With the collapse of the building, the device was destroyed.  
It must have been how the alert went off.  

"I came along too."  

A girl with short blue hair.  

"Cheon Yuhwa? Why are you here?"  

She’s a rival, not someone Shihu is particularly close to.  

"I called for help. I happened to be with Lena. You disappeared after taking the top spot in the academy rankings... Anyway, what’s going on? You’re covered in blood, and everything’s burned."  

"I don’t have time. I need to rescue Seo Ah."  

There’s no time.  
Are his academy friends really going to help in this situation?  

"Seo Ah... Who’s that?"  

Cheon Yuhwa asks, not knowing much about Shihu’s personal life.  

"She’s my friend."  

"Is that so? Where are you heading?"  

"To the factory zone in that direction."  

"Then get in the car. My family’s driving. Cheon Yuseong! Over here!"  

She calls her twin brother.  

"Quite the unusual siblings..."  

Lena laughs.  
Now, there are four people.  

The SUV pulls up.  

"Hello!"  

The window rolls down, and Cheon Yuseong leans out.  

"Do you have a driver’s license?"  

Shihu asks casually.  
He knew Cheon Yuseong but didn’t expect him to be driving.  

"Our family’s a bit unique, so driving’s no problem. Get in!"  

"Thanks. I appreciate everyone coming to help."  

As Shihu gets in the car, he wonders if it’s a good idea to have someone who doesn’t know the situation join in.  
But it’s better than being alone.  

"...But is Seo Ah really alive?"  

Lena whispers, looking strangely like she might cry.  

"...Really?"