Chapter 8

Lunamoon’s Secret

Before the commander returned, the servants checked that we had finished the snacks and then guided us to our bedrooms.

Fortunately—or perhaps not—the commander didn’t seem to have any intention of sending Taejeong-Taese out of the residence, so he was assigned a bedroom as well.

The worn adult military uniform I had been wearing when I was transmigrated was discarded and replaced with a rough but clean set of pajamas.

After confirming that all the servants had left the room, I opened the system and examined it more closely.

‘First, the inventory…’

The items inside were Lunamoon’s Ring and Lunamoon’s Dog Tag.

Even though the commander had taken the dog tag from Safe Zone 8, it was now inside my inventory. Apparently, the system prioritized a player’s ownership rights.

I experimented with the ring I currently possessed.

It seemed that any item I owned could be stored inside the inventory window. Even if it wasn’t physically on me, I could retrieve it through the inventory whenever I needed it.

I could probably take the dog tag out as well, but I didn’t want to arouse the commander’s suspicions, so I left it where it was.

Next, I examined the chat window, which was still locked.

Presumably, I needed someone to chat with before it could open.

‘Maybe the chat window will unlock once another player opens their system.’

If the chat system became available and allowed me to communicate with other players, I would also be able to confirm whether obtaining a meteorite item really was the condition for unlocking the system.

I searched through every corner of the interface, but for now, Character Inspection, the inventory, and titles seemed to be the only useful functions.

The “Zone Development” system had also been unlocked, but—

‘The zones will become meaningless once the Second Apocalypse begins anyway.’

The reason the residents of the Beer Zone, who lived deep beneath the ocean inside a massive submarine, and the people of the Unicorn Zone, who had created a floating island, were eventually forced back onto land was the Second Apocalypse.

Like the First Apocalypse, the Second Apocalypse began when meteorites fell from the sky.

However, those meteorites spawned flying and aquatic monsters.

Until then, only land-dwelling monsters had existed, allowing some zones to escape into the sea or sky.

Once flying and aquatic monsters appeared, those zones would be forced to crawl back onto land.

That was when the war began.

The Beer and Unicorn Zones also needed somewhere to live, so they started attacking the safe zones. At the same time, the other zones—completely unprepared for aerial or underwater warfare—fell into chaos.

Because of that, players from each zone had two paths to choose from.

The first was to ignore zone development entirely and focus solely on strengthening themselves.

The second was to preserve their zone and transform it into a shelter.

Zones with better land and more resources usually built shelters, but a zone with poor basic conditions like Cola would easily become a target if it constructed one.

In other words, even if I built a shelter here, there was a high chance another zone would take it from me.

That was why Unicorn had been my main base.

The chances of another player stealing Unicorn’s shelter were significantly lower.

Other players couldn’t fly.

How did I fly?

I tamed a flying monster.

How did I tame one?

There were ways.

For some reason, other players claimed it was incredibly difficult.

Anyway, if the player who landed in Unicorn was following my guide, then that place would become a gold mine.

They would develop the zone into a shelter and prepare in advance for attacks from flying monsters.

As for why Unicorn had such a high starting difficulty despite not facing any monster attacks before the Second Apocalypse…

The Unicorn Zone faced almost no threat from monsters for the next ten years, allowing it to focus entirely on development.

It became self-sufficient in food, possessed advanced science and medicine, and had sophisticated weapons despite rarely engaging in combat.

The problem was that its residents were slightly insane.

You could call it the Mad Scientist Zone.

The fact that they launched the entire zone into the sky to escape the apocalypse should tell you everything.

The place was overflowing with NPCs more intelligent than the player, and the moment they judged someone to be even slightly dim-witted, that person was immediately turned into a test subject for the public good.

A zone’s difficulty was directly proportional to how awful its residents were.

‘More importantly, I need to decide on my second reward before the commander returns…’

The only immediate request I could think of was asking him to allow Taejeong-Taese to continue living in the commander’s residence.

The other option was to bring in Stay-at-home Wifey, whom I had enlisted.

But using a reward simply to keep two players near me felt wasteful.

Stay-at-home Wifey had only enlisted yesterday and probably hadn’t learned anything yet.

Still, if we wanted to discuss strategies for clearing the zone, I would need to meet with both of them regularly.

‘If I specifically summon only those two, it’ll attract unnecessary attention…’

At that moment, someone knocked on the bedroom door.

“It’s me.”

It was the commander.

His voice sounded far more exhausted than it had that afternoon.

“May I come in?”

“Yes, come in.”

Only after receiving my permission did the commander open the door and enter.

He was carrying something resembling a first-aid kit in one hand.

‘Ah, don’t tell me…’

“Give me your hands.”

Just as I suspected.

The commander had come to treat the wounds on my fingers.

He had probably noticed my damaged fingertips when I showed him the ring.

It was touching that he had remembered and brought a first-aid kit, but—

‘My wounds have already healed.’

How would he react?

Would he assume he had simply been mistaken because he had only seen them briefly?

Either way, I couldn’t keep hiding my fingers from him forever, so I quietly held out both hands.

“…!”

The commander flinched when he saw that my fingers were completely unblemished.

Then, in a trembling voice, he said,

“This healing ability… As I thought, you truly are Lunamoon’s child.”

‘What…?’

What did he mean?

If seeing my healed fingers convinced him that I was Lunamoon’s child…

Did that mean Lunamoon had possessed the same healing ability?

‘There shouldn’t be any NPC with that kind of power…’

I wanted to ask exactly what sort of healing ability Lunamoon had possessed.

But doing so would immediately make me suspicious.

It would be strange for me, supposedly her child, not to know about an ability the commander knew she had.

Regardless of my confusion, the commander now seemed completely convinced that I was his son.

His normally cold expression softened.

For a moment, he even looked overwhelmed with emotion.

“Haydam. You must have many things you cannot understand while you are still young. Why I married another woman despite loving Lunamoon. Why, even as a commander with such great authority, I failed to protect either you or her.”

He looked directly at me.

“When you grow old enough to understand my explanation, I will tell you everything I know. When that time comes, I ask that you also tell me everything you know. Will you promise me that?”

Everything he knew?

I wasn’t particularly interested in the commander and Lunamoon’s love story.

However, it would be useful to know how the meteorite ring—which contained the “secret of the apocalypse”—had ended up becoming a token between them.

I also wanted to learn exactly what kind of healing ability Lunamoon had possessed.

‘Could Lunamoon also have been…?’

No.

Assuming that she had also been a player was probably too much of a leap.

For now, the commander was waiting for my answer, so I slowly nodded.

He gave me a faint smile and lightly patted my shoulder.

“You must be tired. Get some sleep.”

“Um…”

“Hmm?”

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask of you.”

The moment I spoke, the Three Rewards counter appeared before my eyes.

“What is your request?”

The commander looked at me as though he were willing to grant anything I asked.

My second reward from him was—

“I’d like you to arrange a meal with children my age every month.”

“…A meal with other children?”

The idea had occurred to me after hearing that Lunamoon had possessed a healing ability as well.

If there was anyone else in this zone who could “heal”—in other words, “absorb food”—then they had to be a player.

That meant I could distinguish players from NPCs by sharing a meal with them.

They probably wouldn’t be accustomed to eating like players yet, so their awkwardness would undoubtedly show.

It was possible that Stay-at-home Wifey, Taejeong-Taese-Beyoncé, and I were the only remaining players in this zone, but there was no harm in making certain.

Sharing meals with children my age would also leave a good impression on the residents.

It would give me a natural opportunity to meet and speak with Taejeong-Taese and Stay-at-home Wifey whenever they attended.

Furthermore, the ones who would play active roles during the Second Apocalypse ten years from now were the children who were currently my age.

There was nothing wrong with earning their trust in advance.

The commander looked puzzled by my request.

“Why would you ask for something like that?”

“I was fortunate enough to receive good clothes and proper meals, but there are still starving children outside. I want to share what I have with them, even if it’s only a little.”

“Hmm…”

The commander hesitated instead of answering immediately.

That was understandable.

He had probably expected a request befitting a child, but gathering children of my age for a monthly meal was an entirely political proposition.

However, it was not beyond his ability to grant.

In situations like this, appealing to his guilt worked well.

Pretending to watch his reaction nervously, I fidgeted with my fingers.

“If arranging the meals would cost too much… I can eat only once a day.”

“What?”

The commander’s voice rose louder than I had ever heard it before.

I continued speaking.

“I went hungry often outside, so one meal a day is enough for me. I don’t need expensive snacks like the ones from earlier either. Would that still be impossible…?”

“…No. Something of that scale will not be difficult. It may be too late to arrange it this month, but I will ensure the first gathering is held at the beginning of next month.”

The commander looked paler than before as he answered.

But as proof that his words were sincere, the reward counter advanced.

[Three Rewards: 2/3]

‘Only one left.’

To maintain a good relationship with him, I should give him a little encouragement as well.

I grabbed the edge of his clothes with a delighted expression and exclaimed,

“Thank you, Dad!”

The commander flinched and stared at me.

“Dad…?”

“Ah, should I call you Your Excellency instead?”

“Ahem… No. Call me whatever you wish.”

He was clearly pleased, yet he was pretending otherwise.

Come on, man.

This wasn’t my first time playing the role of your son.

The commander insisted that I truly needed to sleep now. He laid me down on the bed and pulled the blanket over me.

“Sleep well.”

“Good night, Dad.”

The commander left the bedroom with strangely stiff movements.

Everything he did when dealing with a child seemed awkward, but his affection for Lunamoon’s son was unmistakable.

‘Come to think of it, I made a promise to Lunamoon. I said I would regard Commander Hayden as my real father…’

Treating him as my actual father might be difficult.

But I could at least prevent him from dying during the Second Apocalypse.

After all, he needed to survive and oversee my shelter.

‘Still…’

Why had that convenience store transmigrated so many players into this world?

As I lay down, Safe Zone 8’s final moments suddenly came back to me.

His failure hadn’t even been particularly severe.

He had merely failed to be acknowledged as the commander’s illegitimate son.

He had still been a player who could have stopped the apocalypse through countless other strategies.

Yet the system had eliminated him without mercy simply because he failed one.

Why bring several players into this world at all if failure meant immediate deletion?

‘If I’m the only one who received a special perk because I cleared every zone, then why were the other players brought here…?’

At that moment, a new system message appeared before my eyes.

[The chat function has been activated because two or more players have unlocked the system.]

[Would you like to enter the public chat room?]

[One-on-one private chats are available only between mutual friends.]

‘Oh…’

It seemed another player had unlocked the system.

So I had been right. The chat function required at least two users.

‘I need to confirm whether obtaining a meteorite item is truly the condition for unlocking the system.’

With that thought, I pressed the “Enter” button.

Two messages appeared in succession.

[‘Dopamine Addict’ has entered the public chat room.]

[‘T-Bastard’ has entered the public chat room.]

“…!!”

I shot upright in bed.