章 16: Hunger
Part 16
Hunger
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Leroy, who had decided to spend that night in the field, had gone out with the first light of the morning.
Leroy, who has been feeling a constriction in his chest since the moment he woke up, asked Darmond about this
Leroy: I have a pain in my chest. Is it related to instinct?
Darmond: You have to feed the it.
Leroy: But as long as I don't use instinct, I don't have to consume dead desire.
Darmond: I didn't know that either. If you want the evolutions you have undergone in a short time not to be erased from your body, you need to feed it.
Leroy: What? What do you mean by erasure of my evolutions from my body?
Darmond: Yes, the concept of evolution is not as easy as you think. Your condition can even be considered a mutation. You have to sacrifice something when you change. With every change, the instinct must be getting attached to you one more piece, it's getting hungry like you are, Leroy.
Leroy: Uhh... where am I going to find some dead desire…
Darmond: Think about that too. Your hunger does not concern me.
Leroy, who put his hand to his forehead, actually knew exactly where to go. Since he was a curious kid when he was little, he was involved in every mess and knew about the gangs on Eden, but he never figured out how to get to them. Leroy, who found the remedy in going to the side quarters on Eden, quickly set off.
…
At the end of a long walk, he had come to the area of "Rusville", located to the east of Eden. On Eden, which consists of 6 large districts, this was one of the 2 districts where illegal business was going on.
Leroy: What time is it, I wonder?
Darmond: It's only 10 in the morning, you have plenty of time.
Leroy: How do you know the time?
Darmond: It's so boring to stand inside your head that while you were idly asking questions in the cafe, I saw the "Clock" device hanging on the wall. I've been trying to figure out how it measures time for almost 1 day. Thanks to instinct, this was quite easy.
Leroy: Why can't I do such things?
Darmond: I don't know, maybe if you try to use your brain next time, you can achieve something.
Leroy, who remained silent in the face of this remark, began to wander around in Rusville. Dead desire had a trading network, and it was quite difficult to get to it. The sellers were only talking to the real buyers, and it was completely confidential. While Leroy was thinking about these things, he decided to enter the marketplace in the region.
The Rusville marketplace was a rather long and large place, built on unused roads. Its air devoid of technology was reminiscent of the "Old World" culture mentioned in books. Leroy, who had entered the marketplace, was walking along, looking around. The natives of Rusville will have realized that he is a foreigner, they started shouting.
"MY CHILD! COME HERE, WE HAVE THE BEST QUALITY GOODS."
"IF YOU BUY ONE, LET THE SECOND ONE BE FROM ME."
"COME ON OUT OF THERE!! IF HE BUYS TWO FROM ME, I'LL GIVE HIM TWO AS A GIFT."
Leroy, who continued on his way as if he had not heard all these sounds, was looking for something more interesting and remarkable. He was starting to lose hope, towards the end of the marketplace, he saw a place with a sign that said "PSYCHIC MADDOX".
He said to himself, "I think I can learn something from here." and went inside. There was only an old woman and a few chairs inside. The woman sitting in the middle of the room, which was quite dusty and dirty, said to Leroy, "Come on, sit down."
Leroy: Wouldn't you like to meet first?
Maddox: I already know your name. I'm Maddox.
Leroy: Did you know that my name is Leroy?
Maddox: Of course, from the very beginning.
Darmond: Could it be from what you just said? Moron.
Leroy: I don't have any money, I just came for a talk. Let me not disturb you.
Maddox: I know everyone who comes here, there is no need for money, since you will get service from me for the first time.
Leroy: Thank you very much.
The woman raised her hand and activated her weapon.
-
WEAPON!!
Perception of the future
If the user drops the blood of another desire user on his dagger-shaped weapon, she can make a prediction about the future with a 50% probability. The ability to predict applies only to living things. The near future is unpredictable.
-
Maddox: Hold out your finger.
Leroy stretched out his index finger and dripped a few drops of blood along with the dagger's cut. Since his finger would heal instantly, he quickly withdrew his hand and started waiting for Maddox.
Maddox: That's pretty weird.
Leroy: What happened?
Maddox: All I see is the sky. Normally, I would see icons depicting an event that was going to happen. There is only sky.
Leroy: What could this mean?
Maddox: I'm going to use my talent at full strength. I hope you will come back here some time and pay a nice fee.
Leroy shook his head in the sense of "OK".
Maddox: You? Did you kill people?
Leroy: What? No-
Maddox: People are falling from the sky. My ability to predict tells me this.
Leroy: It's very wrong for you to make such a slander to me when your prediction ability is probably 50% correct.
Maddox: I'm sorry, the gangs that trade desires are squeezing us a lot, so these issues are very scary for us.
Leroy: Do gangs that do illegal trade come here?
Maddox: Yes, every day.
Leroy: Do you know where the gang members stay?
Maddox: Marketplace is set up at the eastern entrance of Rusville. I know they came here from the opposite direction. So they must be gathering at the west exit.
Leroy: Believe me, what you said helped so much that I can't tell you.
Maddox: I don't know what the sky means, but bad things can happen to you.
Leroy: Thank you for your help. One day, of course, I will repay this service.
Maddox: You seem like a loyal person.
Leroy, who was preparing to leave the store, said from inside, "Im a loyal person?" Then Leroy thanked her one last time and went out. Then he started talking to Darmond.
Darmond: We have no money, how are you going to get a dead desire from them?
Leroy: I won't take it, I'll slaughter them.
Darmond: Don't be so sure of yourself. If there are people much stronger than you, you can die.
Leroy: Hunger is driving me crazy.
Darmond: Can you feel the hunger of instinct?
Leroy: More than enough.
Darmond, who remained silent on this situation, was drawn into the depths of Leroy's mind. Leroy, who was walking to the west exit, had seen strange things along the way. Children carrying knives, prostitutes showing themselves on the street, a lot of drug addicts with police uniforms and monopoly stores. It was as if the Eden authorities didn't care about the Rusville area. It was about noon when Leroy, having reached the western exit, had to find out where the men were.
While looking around, he saw a beggar sitting on the sidewalk, he asked him this:
"I came for a gang interested in illegal trade. I think you're a native of this place. Do you know where they are?"
The beggar looked at Leroy and showed the hat in front of him. It was very clear that he wanted money to talk. Leroy, who had no money, picked up the hat from the floor and started to take it away.
The rioting beggar shouted, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?".
Leroy: I'm going to have a nice lunch.
Beggar: Give me back my money!
Leroy: I will if you tell me.
The beggar, who had taken a knife out of his pocket, was looking steadfastly at Leroy.
Leroy: Are you trying to scare me with that thing?
He jumped forward, stabbed the knife into Leroy's stomach, then lifted it up to his ribs and completely slit it. When he pulled out his knife, he couldn't see any blood or a wound.
Beggar: You-
Leroy: Are you going to tell me? Or you going to lose both your money and you life.
Beggar: There is an abandoned factory 300 meters away from here. There are rumors about when the gang gathered there. That's all I know!
Leroy: Are you sure?
Beggar: Yes!
Leroy: You know what? I'll keep the money, but you can have your hat.
Beggar: DON'T! I need that money for my medicines.
Leroy: Unfortunately, I also need to feed my stomach. You know money doesn't fall from the sky.
Leroy, who took the cash had 130 Zenits from nothing. After throwing the hat to the beggar, he continued walking along the road where he was and soon reached the factory.
Darmond: I feel a huge mess inside. It must be here.
Leroy: Are they strong?
Darmond: On the top floor of the factory, a single person emits as much energy as the sum of the others. He's stronger than you, what are you saying?
Leroy: I'm saying I have no other choice.
Darmond: Come on, then hurry up. Because the hunger of instinct began to hit me too.
Jumping through the security wall of the factory, which is quite wide and tall, Leroy began to watch the surroundings. The factory had only one door in sight, but it had to have extra doors. Since he knew that it was absurd to enter directly, he began to move cautiously through the courtyard. This factory, which had a fairly large yard, seemed to produce its own raw materials.
At the end of a short search, he found a garage entrance at the back of the factory. Since the factory is no longer working, the garage should not have been preferred. So after making sure that there was no one outside, he approached the entrance and began to look inside through the small windows.
Leroy: I can't see how many people there are.
Darmond: There are 3 people inside.
Leroy: I'm not going to say how do you know that. I'm sure I'll get an like answer "thanks to instinct".
Darmond: How are you going to get in?
On top of this problem, Leroy, who was looking at the garage door again, noticed that there was another small door next to the entrance for people to enter separately. Leroy, who preferred that door, had just walked in!
The guys playing poker looked at Leroy, and one of them said, "Who are you?"
Darmond: What were you thinking?
Leroy: I thought the door would lead to a different place…
"Answer me, bastard!"
The men took machete from the table where they were sitting and started approaching Leroy.
!
While the 3 people opposite were walking slowly, Leroy, who was suddenly thrown forward, hit the heart of one of the men at an unresponsive speed. Thanks to the healing factor, Leroy, who could use his muscles with superior strength, was many times more agile than a normal person.
!!!
Leroy, at the moment when he hit the man's heart, his hand had passed through his body. Since he was killed in a single blow, the crystal of desire remained in Leroy's palms.
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DEAD DESIRE!!
Are you sure you want to consume?
-
"Yes"
The other 2 men, who were left in fear because their friend's desire crystal melted and shattered in seconds, reflexively went on the attack. Leroy, who was holding one of the machetes that came at him with his hand, was recovering so quickly from this slight blow that he did not seem to have received any damage.
Leroy, who did the same on the other man, consumed the dead desire again. The last gang member was scared, he was left alone and he couldn't move because he was in shock. Leroy approached him and said, "Is the person on the top floor of the factory your boss?"
The man stammered "We don't know, we're just on duty. I swear to God, he would say to anyone-"
Since he didn't want to waste time, he did the same on the last one and consumed 3 crystals in total. Leroy, whose hunger still hasn't stopped, was determined to get to the top floor.
Darmond said, in a way that Leroy couldn't hear, "I hope he doesn't get too carried away with cannibalism."
—————-
End of the episode
Hunger
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