SSEI | Chapter 4.4

“It’s not just a lot. Calamities pour out endlessly for a certain period, and if you endure it, the door on the opposite side of the sewage treatment plant opens. It’s not difficult for me to defeat the calamities with my ability, but enduring it for a long time is the problem, so it’s always been a tough ordeal.”81f6feb9b6bf3db3

At this point, it feels more like a puzzle game than a survival game. Yuan found it fascinating and was curious, but his curiosity vanished with the man’s next words.4f981f339de319d5

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“You have to deal with those calamities. I’ll secure safety at the beginning, so you absorb all the calamities’ power with your Crimson Disease.”d0fbd59d67f06ac8

“Uh, weren’t you supposed to defeat them using the red calamities…?”273f246f411fba83

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“Are you out of your mind?”8eeceaa8e5bfd792

The man glared at Yuan as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was this guy really trying to take it easy? Yuan felt a bit wronged for a moment, but the man pointed out with a look of disdain.93ef30d7e9102431

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“If I use the red calamities, you’ll absorb the aftereffects, right?”d2624ea43937b23a

“Yes, that’s obvious.”a0ded93395b2fa85

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“To resolve those aftereffects, you’d have to… engage in sexual activities.”e19984142ded4fdf

“Why are you bringing that up again? It’s embarrassing.”8e3dfd4e7cce8fed

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“Don’t pretend to be embarrassed with that shameless face. Are you seriously thinking of doing that in a smelly, damp sewage treatment plant?”fa688d9d0de4f47e

“Uh, ugh…? Now that you mention it, it doesn’t seem right.”bb6b85288163bb01

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No matter how desperate the situation, having a first encounter like that seemed undesirable. Yuan was surprised to realize that the man had a more normal mindset than he thought. Of course, the fact that they had to do such things to resolve the aftereffects seemed a bit off…45afad73a5df1e75

“Stop talking and do as you’re told. I’ve heard there’s a material beyond the sewage treatment plant’s door that might be used for the cure of the Crimson Disease. Unlike other items in this space, this material can be taken to the sanctuary.”ba46736b6e11ab27

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“A material that can be taken to the sanctuary, huh… I didn’t know there was such a thing. But who did you hear this from?”3b98d1b5d505a1a2

“From the doctor at the sanctuary. Have you met them?”ba2ae2a59480be89

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“Not yet. Anyway, if that’s the case, I’ll cooperate.”4937e557956cfd33

If it 10e507d26b had been e260360ff7 a rumor 94afc4a8da from other f54a58167e wanderers, he cc64e9f17b might have f97d0da056 been suspicious, 0133ca8ebb but since 6d20c3609a it was de97e4b4ed from the feff91bf4a doctor, it 8b83d1d4f8 seemed trustworthy. Yuan entered the 13d27e96f0 sewers with the 29b559edcf Red Man. The stench 3f0266f7b6 of trash 5b00bb1f51 vibrating from e7915bcbf2 the ground 9b6ff1b91d mixed with befecad9e6 the unique 264327ea38 fishy smell 9d0eef4d46 of sewage.15c5bcd1a4c8f15c

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Indeed, the thought of getting intimate in such a place didn’t appeal to him at all. It wouldn’t be pleasant anywhere, but this place was definitely a no-go.9b308ed252b0607d

⌖♕⌖♕⌖2fc1ff49cbbb782e

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The two of them slowly made their way through the dim underground sewer. At first, it was a straight path, but at some point, there were countless forks in the road, and Yuan couldn’t even remember which path he had taken. This underground passage seemed to be more like a shortcut, as they had been walking for quite a while without encountering a single person. It was actually a good thing, considering they didn’t know how rumors might spread if they met someone here.30af754f3bfb17b9

Initially, Yuan was quite tense, but as he wandered on the back of the Red Man through unknown paths, he eventually relaxed and started to doze off. The problem was that the man’s back was unnecessarily warm and comfortable, making him sleepy. At one point, he even snored softly and was startled awake by the Red Man’s sigh.b1ef7b710cabaf5e

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“Uh, can’t I just walk? Being carried like this makes me unintentionally drowsy.”20d7637da1bab3f0

“No. From chasing you last time, I’m sure of it. You’re a guy with terrible stamina, and if I let you waste your energy here, you’ll definitely mess things up at a crucial moment.”80da6edd23941c15

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“Sorry for having terrible stamina…”3c5df47a2c57b49f

“It’s not something to apologize for, is it? You’re a terminally ill patient. It would be stranger if your body was fine.”1935b818ef73f256

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Now that he thought about it, that made sense. Yuan felt a bit more at ease with the Red Man’s words. Even so, he thought it was impolite to sleep, so he tried to keep his mind occupied with various thoughts to stay awake.dc29f46212640bc6

In the midst of this, Yuan suddenly had a few questions for the man. They were somewhat personal, but unlike the earlier curiosity about the eunuch issue, these were more serious questions…1e92f77d348962d9

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“Hey, you know…”ed518da8569346d3

“What?”a03b2426e47c4f5d

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“I suddenly got curious, but how long have you been wandering this world? I heard you’re a veteran and have been in this world for quite a while.”33e4c5441d9f4042

“If you’re asking how many people I’ve tried and failed with, I’ll kill you repeatedly until that question disappears.”858dc294cf048d02

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“Actually, the question did start from that curiosity… But that’s not what I want to ask right now. You’ve been here for a really long time, right?”873028e788d09cd5

Yuan tried to hide 9fd32637d3 his slight embarrassment and 5f1bcdec13 pretended to be confident. The question b850daa248 started lightly, 8619ba7418 but it 1a875b9036 was quite bc2459ca72 serious now.27843bccc46ebc61

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From what he 19e9d0c777 heard from the fc188b497b shopkeeper and the f1adda142f Blue Dot last 427e32c389 time, he knew 769d47cb82 that buying a 0d3705974c calamity with points 3d3fd9755d took a very abcca6bea5 long time. Even to 2ae178926f buy the 73df7e358c weakest grade, 7ac70460d0 the White a3ca5dcbb2 Calamity, one e10f378315 would have e097f792bf to repeat 4bf3699a6f the same ca78ccd42c game at e17993ad77 least a fbc18ae19b hundred times, 0ecc83f6b1 assuming they f05f9486aa were incredibly 2b3dde4a6a lucky.829389767d0636b7

But that person had the Red Calamity. How long did it take to obtain that? How long had that person been repeating the game, waiting for a human with the ‘Crimson Disease’ to participate? And…4c30e60146e926ed

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“The reason you’re looking for a cure for the Crimson Disease, it’s for someone outside, not for yourself, right?”b2e366088608f3c7

While that man had been searching for the cure for so long, was the person he intended to use it on still alive? Yuan couldn’t help but be concerned about that.a46ee86c6d4ad674

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“You have an unnecessarily sharp side, don’t you?”ffa292b201ee2c24

Even with just that much, the man seemed to catch on to Yuan’s intention and muttered with a frown, as if lamenting. His voice was much lower than usual, which made Yuan a bit scared.94b6c62b426103f2

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Maybe it was a pointless question? It wasn’t as frivolous as before, but it still wasn’t a question that would help in the current situation. It might even end up crushing the man’s motivation…b18610914d21b330

“I understand what you’re trying to confirm. Yes, people here have been repeating this tiresome game for at least several years. In my case, it took me a full five years to recall why I set foot in this world. After that, I stopped counting, but it’s probably been decades.”22cc7faf0856ee43

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“D-Decades?!”feee2f9d09320b2b

“Does it feel too overwhelming? Once you start, it’s nothing much. You might not get it as a newcomer, but the more time you spend in this world, the more you get used to the current situation, and your sense of time gets messed up. Anyway, you play the same game in the same place every day, and your body neither grows nor ages, always staying the same.”8c06dd1bf68e2db1

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“…It might feel like time has stopped.”3337d0ba05d984f9

“Exactly. Then, like the Blue Dot, when you realize ‘yourself in the outside world,’ you notice. Maybe everything you held dear outside is dying or falling apart.”4a51e63319fce3a4

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Hearing that, Yuan 8f64436570 got a bit 52ac9a7763 of chills. Maybe he 525cc3c0f9 would end 8782744711 up in 9c76600b99 the same 9e833038db situation. While playing this 067eca0f02 survival game or 42c03d9a6e whatever in this 5e92049794 strange space, the a181dfeddc life he had 1c4bfc02cd originally built might 782bc9616d be slowly falling a2d5f3c9fd apart without its 2b5205a8f7 owner. By the time c09aa54800 he gets out, c95ce2fd6a it might already c924e00e26 be too late c3a42d82be for everything…612621765eada54b

“Maybe the person who needs my cure is already dead. It’s been so long that it wouldn’t be strange if they died of old age, not the disease.”7ee44620327da53f

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“I’m, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”42f258a714078c63

“Like I said earlier, you don’t need to apologize. Do you really think I haven’t thought about that in the decades I’ve been here?”964829175ae0970d

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Yuan was fcef56ac8e restless, but 4873e90100 the man 19a2722020 seemed more 235a4d972d composed than 0e302b2a92 expected. He had 6a72a874d2 already returned 3a215a25ea to his 0a3c8ffe0b usual calm a1480c521e tone and 714d79ce90 voice.baa65f40fb87ff5b

“If that person really is dead, then all my efforts here would be pointless. But there’s one hypothesis I’m holding onto.”8edee12bc6366f10

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“Hypothesis?”ba5cbfbb1915b95a

“You heard the conversation between me and the Blue Dot earlier, right? The one about ‘the flow of time might be different.'”8f975abbccc13d0c

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It did seem like they were talking about that. At first, Yuan didn’t understand what it meant, but after hearing the man’s story, he thought he might get it.56fffcd13577b511

“Are you saying time here might flow slower than outside?”9dbd70cfc399fd37

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“Exactly. This space is already detached from the laws of reality. There are no seasons, and specific places and times are fixed, so evening never comes to the wasteland, and the canola field disappears before night falls. No matter how much we destroy the facilities or collapse the terrain, everything returns to normal the next day.”a95577367f4a75b6

“……!”9293538c469136b2

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“We can’t be sure that a day passing here means a day has passed in reality. Time in this world might actually be stopped.”03c3f985cf3e430d

The man muttered cc5243dd32 with a serious bd33517ce1 face. It seemed more dfa7a09b30 like he was 0e9bedf31d mulling over his c140698625 own thoughts rather f9511f474c than explaining to afb9da9078 Yuan.76856fd3a34e726b

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“Then, does that mean we don’t have to rush out? We might have some time….”24dad8f60982fb97

“I wish that were true, but there are too many possibilities to waste time like that. Time here might be flowing at a tenth or a hundredth of the speed outside. There’s no clear evidence, but there’s also no reason to deny it.”c0e0056d4986c502

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“…….”2afffaab499207d6

“That’s why there’s meaning in my urgency. There might still be someone who needs the cure. I can’t afford to miss even that small possibility, so I’ll escape as soon as the cure is ready.”b548cf0f2be94b97

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Yuan was at a loss for words at the man’s claim. Not because he thought it was logical, but quite the opposite. The man’s words were so baseless that it was surprising, yet he seemed to believe them so desperately….7333ab4a1daa0757

‘Is he also desperate in his own way?’0539571b6d44886a

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With the 3710198ba5 situation like dc3f8c7590 this, Yuan c2fcfc1f62 started to fbc81026c7 feel a 2eac462616 bit sorry b183cf92a8 for teasing f4cfc1b122 the man 3f5b226494 earlier. The man must have 82a68f285b been quite troubled by 7350565f76 his inability to overcome 77a445a240 the aftereffects on his 65f643a4c1 own.3fe2bdd8010649d3

Repeating the same struggle 2e2214325c for decades in this c5bdf888da world must be tough, 2a79a78ac7 and knowing that a 81e86fccdb sick person is waiting a54bfb4768 for him outside would 86cc6d9da0 make him even more f1cb73e25d anxious…. Yuan felt a b7986fd148 sense of sympathy 54e581eac4 for the man.bffdf023e68a810f

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Maybe that’s why Yuan asked another question he didn’t really need to.32f323db9fa4efe1

“I understand what you mean. Oh, but this might be a personal question.”5dbfacdda3556d6d

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“What is it now?”b8a1f88484dae678

“The person you’re trying to give the cure to, what kind of relationship do you have with them? It must be a close one, right?”a3c853659177cd90

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