HACKED 59

“Myeong, you are going to take all the food supplies here, right?”

Chirpy, who was examining the heaps of food, asked.

“I don’t think we can carry it all at once…. We should carry as much as we can now and come back a few more times later.”

Both Chirpy and the Incarnations. Aren’t they beings who can sustain their lives without eating or drinking? Of course, eating something delicious would make them feel better, but that is as far as it goes. So why is he asking as if it is a given?

“Do we have to take the food right now?”

“Pardon?”

“Huh?”

“What did you say?”

Unexpected reactions came back to my question. Not only Chirpy but also San Gun and Hwarang were aghast. Every single one of them had an expression that doubted whether they had misheard.

“To be honest, these things are just heavy luggage that isn’t very useful. Since meals aren’t essential for you all. Do several people really need to suffer to carry this right now? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to pack other daily necessities first?”

“No, Myeong. Baby. Wait a second.”

San Gun hurriedly cut me off. The usual playfulness had completely vanished from him.

“A person has to eat rice. How can you live without eating?”

It was a tone similar to disciplining a throwing-a-tantrum child. This time, it was my turn to be bewildered.

Is that something he is in any position to say?

Since falling into this world, I haven’t seen him put anything in his mouth, let alone eat regular meals. All he has consumed so far was my blood and, se… well, anyway, only that. What on earth is he talking about, being in that position?

“Pardon? But the Incarnations are….”

“We aren’t the problem. It’s you, you.”

Hwarang nodded with a serious face. Chirpy was the same. Since everyone except me reacted that way, I felt like I was the strange person instead.

If it were the me of a few days ago, I would have agreed with those words. Because I am the only human here, and a human cannot live without consuming water and nutrients in a timely manner.

But I had already heard the truth from Gumiho.

‘Since coming here, have you ever felt hungry or thirsty even once?’

Did he say that a synchronized Compiler gradually changes into something that is human yet not human? By becoming the power source and the will that supports the Pantheon, one stops feeling hunger or thirst.

There was no need to even doubt Gumiho’s words. My own body proved those words were true right now. This body, which had neither eaten nor drunk for days, was fine except for being tired. No matter how you look at it, it has already departed from the category of an ordinary human.

No one told me such an important fact. Except for Gumiho. Even Chirpy urged me to synchronize without any explanation, and after seeing me suffer while vomiting blood every time the building was damaged… only later did he make the excuse that he ‘thought I already knew.’

Don’t tell me these guys…. Do they still think I don’t know?

Something welled up inside me. Emotional sarcasm, more than necessary, burst out.

“Why should I? I have lived perfectly well without drinking a single drop of water until now, so why now? I heard that a Compiler synchronized with the Pantheon feels neither hunger nor thirst and becomes something other than human. Did you think I still didn’t know?”

“……”

“……”

“……”

A silence followed where one could almost hear a needle drop. It was uncomfortable. This is why I hate being crowded with others. To think I have to mind others’ business even though I didn’t say anything wrong.

“I won’t say things like ‘why didn’t you tell me beforehand’ or ‘did you hide it on purpose’…. I won’t say such childish things. Well, you probably had your own reasons. But if that’s the case, don’t mind my business either. Stop pretending to clumsily take care of me at this late hour.”

I don’t even know what kind of face I am making right now. It’s probably a mess.

“Owner.”

My arm was grabbed by a large hand that was a bit warmer than my own body temperature. The hand that was holding my wrist moved up and firmly grasped my shoulder.

When I looked up, my eyes met San Gun, who was looking down at me. He also had a complex and subtle expression. He seemed angry, yet disappointed, yet at a loss for what to do.

“I don’t know how much you found out, but… it is true that you don’t have to keep three meals a day regularly like ordinary humans.”

“Yes. Thank you for explaining it even now. Although it’s late.”

“That doesn’t mean the necessity for you to consume nutrients has completely disappeared.”

“What does that mean?”

“Think about it. We replenish our energy and recover from injuries through you. Then what do you recover with?”

“……”

“You fainted every time something happened. And the frequency of fainting is getting more common. Even if your health was originally poor, don’t you think it’s strange? Do you even know what your complexion looks like right now?”

I was rendered speechless.

How I was supposed to recover my energy…. I had never thought about such a thing. I only thought that my condition getting worse was due to the accumulation of stress while experiencing things like being suddenly attacked and seeing people die before my eyes.

“Even if you don’t want to eat, take good care of your meals. Since you don’t feel hunger and thirst in a timely manner, it’s easy to become negligent. However, because of that, you must take even better care. Otherwise, you might keep collapsing at any time and one day never be able to wake up again.”

“……”

“Everyone here is only looking at you, yet you tell us not to mind. Wouldn’t the person listening to such heartless words feel disappointed?”

Only then did the slyness return to San Gun’s voice, which had been dry throughout the explanation. It would be his own way of consideration to stop the sharp conversation at this point.

If it were a person with normal social skills, they would have laughed along with him and settled the conflict. However, my personality was rotten to begin with, so I ended up throwing a sharp remark until the very end.

“Isn’t it because I’m a biological battery that is convenient to use?”

“If I thought of you as just a mere power source, I would have tried to find a new power source and swap it in the moment you disappeared. Just like how the owner of this Pantheon changed from that guy to you.”

Even at my words, which were an blatant attempt to provoke him, San Gun did not get angry or feel offended. As if he had been waiting for this question….

“But, at least, I’m not.”

“……”

“Even if you are no longer the Compiler, even if you try to abandon me again… I will remain as your possession until the end. By becoming a terrible and loathsome curse that follows you forever, even if your semen doesn’t recover me at all, I will violate you over and over, and if you die, I will chew up your heart and suck dry every last drop of blood remaining in your veins before committing suicide.”

He listed those bone-chilling words as if they were nothing. It felt like I was seeing a hallucination of emotions that had become too old and too thick, rotting into a liquid that dripped down.

“……”

A chilling sensation started from the tips of my toes and climbed up my whole body. To escape this sensation, I had to answer something. However, I only moved my lips in vain and could not produce a proper sentence. In the end, this one sentence was all I could manage.

“…And my will in that?”

“None. Of course.”

The tip of his finger poked my cheek like a prank.

“So take good care of your body, Myeong. Don’t be a picky eater.”

With those final words, San Gun gave a grin. Then he returned to the usual immature and old-timer who couldn’t act his age. In the first place, the only things here were alcohol and snacks. However, he poured out nagging like, ‘If you eat snacks before a meal, you’ll ruin your appetite,’ or ‘If there is no rice and soup on the table, can you call that a proper meal?’ It reached the point where my ears were about to bleed. Not only Hwarang and I, but even Chirpy focused on the task of carrying the food while subtly covering his ears.

As I moved my steps while holding a heavy box containing processed foods like canned goods and ham, I briefly heard him muttering.

“Who is it? Which bastard told my owner useless things….”

The voice of Gumiho was heard overlapping the monologue that didn’t even intend to hide its gloominess.

‘That’s why I’m telling you not to trust anyone, dear. Everyone here has something they want and a scheme. While hiding disadvantageous content and only speaking of advantageous content, they want you to move according to their will.’

Not everyone tells me the whole truth that they know. But at the same time, not everyone only tells me lies. Then who should I trust, and to what extent?

I readjusted the box that was about to slide halfway out of my grip and moved my steps. There were still many loads for me to carry.