A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 55: The Love Zone Player

I crossed my arms and looked down as I slowly opened my mouth.

“So…”

The white-haired kid kneeling before me had both hands bound and was looking around nervously, their eyes trembling with unease.

Their lips twitched slightly as if they had something to say, but they quickly pressed them together, remaining silent.

I lifted my head and asked Lucas and Bones, who were standing nearby.

“You brought them in because they were suspicious, lying in the snow?”

“…Yes.”

Here’s the situation.

Lucas and Bones had ventured farther away to search the area, avoiding me in the process.

This area was too close to the zone for large monsters to approach, so they didn’t find anything unusual at first.

Then, they noticed something small wriggling in the snow.

As they got close enough to make out the figure, they found a child, clutching their knees and lying on the ground.

Normally, they would’ve rushed over to check the child’s condition, but these two have a deep-seated fear of children in distress, probably because of me.

So, instead of approaching recklessly, they cautiously observed the child from a distance and eventually realized that the child was pretending to be injured.

There were no signs of a struggle, no hurried footprints, and the kid’s tracks were left neatly in the snow. The child even started to panic when they didn’t get closer, which made them more suspicious.

As a result, the two thoroughly bound the small child and brought them in front of me.

‘Their early training has paid off.’

Despite doing a good job, they both looked somewhat dissatisfied.

It seemed they weren’t entirely sure whether bringing the child in was the right decision, even though they had learned well.

But there was no way they could’ve mistaken this child for an innocent one.

Because I could

Name: Omononi

Title: Avoided a Tough Enemy

Affiliated Zone: Love

*Player has not unlocked the system, and friend requests are unavailable.]**

‘A player from the Love Zone, huh.’

So, was this kid sent by ‘God’?

The title ‘Avoided a Tough Enemy’ is given when a player successfully evades mid-to-large-sized monsters at least ten times in a row.

Judging by the title, it seems they’ve encountered many monsters along the way but somehow managed to make it here safely from the Love Zone.

‘It’s been about three months since the possession started. Players with titles are finally starting to appear.’

I wasn’t sure what this Love Zone player was doing all the way in Cola Zone, trying to deceive one of our NPCs.

But my cute cadets had long since undergone their mental conditioning, so this kid’s little act wasn’t going to work on them.

I clapped my hands together a few times, applauding Lucas and Bones for their effort.

“Well done.”

Lucas flinched, still not accustomed to my casual praise, but Bones, who had already grasped my nature through our training simulations, remained calm.

“But, sir…”

Lucas glanced down at the child they had forced to kneel, concern evident in his eyes as he spoke.

“No matter how I look at it, this seems like an ordinary kid. Maybe we were too harsh?”

“No. It was a very smart decision not to approach recklessly.”

I stepped forward toward the Love Zone player and pulled up the pant leg of the bound child. A knife, hidden in the heel of their shoe, was revealed.

“N-No…!”

Lucas, clearly startled at the sight of the weapon, clumsily removed the knife from the child’s heel and examined it.

The sunlight reflected off the blade as it glinted in the snowy landscape.

“The blade is sharp. It’s not surprising that a child in our zone would carry something like this, though…”

In fact, it wouldn’t be suspicious for a child in our zone to possess a knife.

But there was something particular about this knife that warranted closer inspection.

“It looks a little different from the knives we issue to our child soldiers, though.”

That’s because it wasn’t a knife we’d provide in our zone.

Even within the game, the weapon designs varied across zones, so the weapons crafted under different circumstances would naturally look different.

“It’s probably from another zone.”

“From another zone? Then are you saying this child is from a different zone?”

“I’ve never seen their face at any charity event, so they likely crossed over from another zone.”

Now that the knife had been discovered, and the possibility of the child being from another zone was raised, the team started to murmur among themselves.

Unlike the newer officers, who had never encountered a person from another zone before, Meursault remained composed, having been through this kind of situation a few times. He asked me calmly.

“What do you intend to do?”

“Well… we’ll halt the search for a bit and interrogate them.”

“Interrogate?”

Meursault frowned slightly, as if he was uncomfortable with the idea.

“You’re not planning to do it yourself, are you, Lord Haydam?”

“Wouldn’t it be easier for a kid like me to talk to them?”

At that, the team members exchanged glances with each other.

…Why were they exchanging such disrespectful looks when I said I’d handle it because I’m also a kid?

Meursault stared at me for a moment before muttering quietly.

“So, there’s something you want to hear from that kid, I take it.”

He was catching on quickly.

He must’ve realized that I had my reasons for wanting to interrogate the child myself instead of taking them back to the base.

With a tone that sounded almost like coaxing, Meursault said to me,

“Very well, Lord Haydam. We’ll set up a temporary tent for you.”

“Thanks.”

“But, please, don’t be too rough. They’re still a child.”

What?

“Well… I’m technically still a child, too.”

“Lord Haydam… have you no conscience?”

“Even though they had a weapon, you’re still treating them as a child, but I don’t get the same consideration?”

I glanced around at the others, wondering if they felt the same, and found them all busy avoiding my gaze.

Hah, these guys.

We’d definitely need to run some training simulations when we got back.

* * *

In the makeshift tent, it was just me and the Love Zone player, Omononi.

The others had gone off to stand guard.

After the others disappeared from sight, the first thing I did was use the confiscated knife to untie the rope binding Omononi.

I figured it was better to release the tension and free them rather than keep them tied up.

Besides, even if they tried to run away in this snowy wilderness, they’d be caught again in a matter of seconds.

“……”

Despite being freed from the bindings, Omononi remained crouched on the ground, stiff as a board, rolling their eyes nervously as if gauging the situation.

I gave the kid some time to think and then sat down on a folding chair a short distance away from them.

“Now, speak freely. No one’s around.”

Even though I had intentionally created a comfortable space for conversation, the kid hesitated and didn’t open their mouth easily.

Judging from how scared they seemed, it didn’t look like they came to this zone with good intentions…

“I have no intention of hurting another player. You can speak freely.”

I feigned friendliness without missing a beat, and after hesitating for a moment, Omononi finally spoke in a small, crawling voice.

“Are you… DopamineAddict?”

‘So, they recognize me right away.’

I had already confirmed earlier that this kid didn’t have access to the system.

It seems ‘God’ has told their players plenty about me.

If they had heard from ‘God’ that DopamineAddict was in the Cola Zone, it wouldn’t have been hard to figure out that I was him when Meursault called me ‘Haydam’ earlier.

Only HomeProtector had directly mentioned that I was targeting NPCs, but even without hearing it from me, any player could have guessed as much.

Since this kid seemed to know who I was, I figured I could speak a little more openly.

“What’s a player from the Love Zone doing all the way in Cola Zone?”

“……!”

At my words, the kid’s eyes widened in shock.

“H-How did you know I’m a player from the Love Zone?”

“What? How did I know?”

I was about to casually mention the system but stopped myself.

‘Something feels off…’

If this kid had heard about me, they should also know about the system, right?

But they genuinely seemed surprised that I knew which zone they were from.

‘That sneaky bastard, “God.”’

It seems God hadn’t told his players about the system’s existence.

The system is only revealed to those who possess a meteorite, so unless a player with one explains it, no one else can know about it.

Now that I think about it, God had said something strange before:

“We have quite a few players in our zone. But they’ve all pledged to serve me.”

At the time, I wasn’t sure what he meant by that…

It seems God has been pretending to be an actual deity, keeping the system hidden and playing the role of a divine figure.

He’s likely running a scam with his cult strategy, not just targeting NPCs but his own players as well.

‘But if that’s the case, something’s odd.’

If God hasn’t revealed the system to his players and is using it as some sort of divine “power,” why would he send this player, Omononi, to me?

If I reveal the system to them, it would expose God’s deception.

As I pondered this, Omononi, perhaps mistaking my silence for an answer, spoke with a brighter expression.

“As I thought, just as the Great God said, you’ve also received a divine revelation, haven’t you?!”

A… divine revelation?

‘What’s with this cringeworthy terminology?’

Instead of calling it the system, they were using the term “divine revelation.” It was clear that God hadn’t mentioned the system at all.

‘Wait… “Great God” you say?’

That term refers to a shaman, doesn’t it?

Well, I suppose there’s not much difference between a cult leader and a shaman.

It seems God has established a cult in his zone, portraying himself as a figure who receives divine revelations.

Seeing how Omononi used such respectful language like “the Great God,” it’s clear they’ve completely fallen for it.

‘Telling this kid that they’ve been deceived would probably backfire.’

If this kid had been sent all the way to Cola Zone under God’s orders, they must have deep faith in him.

After all, they’re someone who started in the Love Zone of all places. Even if they seem scared now, it likely means they’re just as crazy.

Given how God had cunningly made it seem like I, too, received “divine revelations,” even if I pulled something from my inventory or listed off details using the character window, it wouldn’t serve as proof of the system.

Even if I were to explain the truth about the system, there’s no telling if this kid would believe me.

At best, they’d probably assume I was trying to slander their “God”…

For people who’ve fallen for a shaman like that, the truth doesn’t matter—what matters is having someone to believe in.

God must’ve been confident that, even if I denied his divine revelations and revealed the system, this kid wouldn’t believe me easily.

His plan was likely to provoke me into denying their religion, which would then rally his followers to oppose me.

But God overlooked one thing.

I have no intention of denying his fake religion.

After all, the cult strategy is my specialty.

If someone else has gone through the trouble of setting up a cult, I might as well take advantage of it.

‘God, I’ll make good use of the followers you’ve sent me.’

“Um… DopamineAddict? You’ve received a divine revelation, haven’t you?”

Omononi, looking slightly anxious after my long silence, cautiously asked again.

I looked at them with a gentle smile and said,

“As you said. I, too, am a messenger of the divine.”