The Regressor Only Protects Me

Chapter 29: Government’s Dog (1)

A faction dominated by the police.

As expected, they were still expanding their influence based on the Constitution of South Korea.

Basing their actions on the Constitution meant that, at the very least, basic human rights were guaranteed within this faction.

And guaranteeing human rights also meant I could grow safely and steadily here.

For now, this seemed to be the most suitable refuge for me.

While negotiating with the police, we were able to join them without much difficulty.

To be honest, the moment I first saw them, I thought it wouldn’t be too hard to integrate into their group.

The police were gathering survivors from the streets, and we were among the survivors discovered during their patrol.

Of course, that didn’t mean there weren’t any problems.

The sergeant walking ahead turned slightly and spoke to Jin Jae-hee.

“...Still, you need to be careful with that sword. Inside the station, you must never expose it. Understood?”

Although he was addressing Jin Jae-hee, she didn’t seem to care much about his words.

Seeing her indifferent reaction, the sergeant shook his head slightly before walking on ahead.

The police station wasn’t far from here.

As soon as I saw the station, I let out a small sigh.

A massive wall.

The retaining wall surrounding the hill on which the police station was built resembled an enormous fortress wall.

While there were villas and studio apartments around, none of the buildings compared in size to the station.

It was clear the police station was the central hub dominating the area.

The sergeant approached the barricade at the main gate of the station.

A patrol officer saluted him.

“Loyalty. You’ve worked hard, sir.”

As expected.

The salute indicated that they were still adhering to regulations.

At the entrance, multiple layers of barricades were set up.

Unlike the makeshift barricades at the shopping mall, these were iron barriers manufactured in a factory.

Several patrol officers stood guard behind the barricades.

After inspecting us, one of the patrol officers promptly opened the barricade.

“Come on in. This way, please.”

The sergeant led the way, guiding Jin Jae-hee, myself, and the other survivors.

The police force was sizable.

Each of them was armed with guns and expandable batons.

Before entering the station, the sergeant stopped and addressed us.

“We’ll conduct a brief inspection of your belongings. It’s for the safety of the interior, so please cooperate.”

Several patrol officers approached to carry out the inspection.

At that moment, Jae-hee looked back at me, as if asking for my opinion.

I nodded.

I had no intention of turning them into enemies right now.

To use them, we needed to earn their trust.

Two male officers came over to search my body.

On Jae-hee’s side, a female officer approached her.

The female officer then noticed the longsword and pointed it out.

“This is not allowed.”

Unaware of the situation, the female officer attempted to confiscate it, but Jin Jae-hee irritably swatted her hand away.

As Jae-hee moved, the surrounding police officers quickly drew their guns and aimed at her.

The atmosphere turned icy in an instant.

At that moment, the sergeant who had brought us here waved his hand to calm the officers.

“It’s fine. I authorized it.”

“Sergeant, what do you mean...?”

One of the skeptical officers asked while keeping his gun trained, and the sergeant glanced at Jae-hee before replying.

“She seems suitable for the scouting team. Every person is valuable, isn’t that right? Lower your weapons.”

Although the officers looked doubtful, they cautiously lowered their guns.

Only then did Jin Jae-hee remove her hand from the sword’s hilt.

“Come on in. You must be hungry, right? We’ll prepare a meal for you.”

At the mention of a meal, some people’s faces lit up with joy.

We followed the sergeant into the police station.

The Manan Police Station was a five-story building with two basement levels.

The rescued citizens lived in areas from the second to the fourth floors.

First, we were taken to the fifth floor for a brief interrogation.

It was a superficial investigation.

They asked about the situation outside, any contact with the government, and if there had been any encounters with monsters.

Sion and Jae-hee consistently answered “No” to all the questions.

Afterward, we followed the sergeant to our designated living quarters.

We descended to the second floor.

Originally used for handling civil complaints, the interior of the police station had now become a living space for the citizens.

Even at a glance, over 200 people were crammed into an area that appeared to be about 100 square meters.

Men and women of all ages.

This was the perfect situation to use the term.

They spread out flimsy bedding, and some resourceful individuals had set up small tents.

In one corner, someone was boiling water on a gas burner, while children who had lost their parents huddled together, watching the newcomers.

Amidst the biting cold, people clustered tightly together, shivering.

It was like watching baby birds waiting for their mother on the edge of a cliff.

We had to watch our step as we walked.

Belongings were scattered all over the place.

“The second to fourth floors are for the citizens, and the fifth floor is where our police force resides. This is the best arrangement we’ve managed for now, but we’re planning to secure more living spaces. Of course, the scouting team will have to work hard for that. The two of you will stay here. As siblings, you shouldn’t have any complaints about sharing, right?”

The sergeant led us to a narrow space beneath the stairs on the second floor, introducing it as our spot.

Next to us was an elderly couple, in front were young men, and to the right were two orphans.

The space was too cramped to even stretch out one’s legs.

And yet, we had to live closely packed with complete strangers.

It was unbearably harsh.

“As for the restroom, we have a system in place. Here, take these.”

The sergeant handed Sion two plastic sticks.

One red and one blue.

He also gave two sticks to Jae-hee.

“The blue stick is for restroom use. Hand it to our supervisor when you need to go. The red stick is for meals.”

“Does that mean we’re allowed one meal and one restroom trip per day?”

Sion asked, staring at the sticks.

The sergeant nodded.

“Yes. That’s how we’re managing things. Supplies are scarce, and restroom use is the most critical issue...”

The sergeant closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

When we were at the shopping mall, we could use the restroom freely.

That was because the city’s water supply hadn’t stopped yet.

But now that the second round had begun, it seemed the water supply had been cut off.

“The water supply isn’t working, is it?”

Sion looked at the restroom beyond the sergeant and asked.

As the sergeant mentioned, two police officers were stationed near the restroom.

To use the restroom, citizens had to hand over a blue stick to gain entry.

Even though it was limited to once a day, the line for the restroom was still long.

“We’re currently melting snow to secure water, but the labor involved is a massive problem too.”

“...”

Sion listened to the sergeant’s explanation and thought for a moment.

Indeed, with snow everywhere, there shouldn’t be a water shortage.

The real issue was the manpower needed to melt the snow, which was being wasted on such a trivial task.

Using a restroom was a basic act of preserving human dignity.

Even in a situation like this, no one would want to lower themselves to relieving themselves outdoors.

After all, they were still human.

They wouldn’t be willing to give up that right.

But those matters didn’t particularly resonate with Sion.

“Every morning at 6:30, we conduct a headcount and roll call. We redistribute the two sticks at roll call, so please keep that in mind. Everyone is cramped and struggling. Let’s endure together and overcome this.”

“Do the citizens here not do anything?”

Sion called out to the retreating sergeant.

The sergeant turned back and looked at Sion.

“For now, no, they don’t.”

The sergeant waited for Sion to continue.

But Sion frowned, staring at something ahead.

He examined it briefly before turning back to the sergeant and speaking.

“Understood.”

Sion exchanged a few words with Jae-hee.

The sergeant watched them quietly before eventually walking away.

5F, police officers’ quarters.

“Sergeant, you’re saying the woman had a longsword?”

Ignoring the young lieutenant’s words, Sergeant Lee Chung-chun climbed to the fifth floor, taking off his police cap as he went.

He sat in a chair, leaning back as if exhausted.

The fifth floor of the Manan Police Station.

Just like the citizens’ quarters, the floor was covered with bedding.

Men and women were crammed together, either sleeping or resting.

Even the police officers had to submit sticks for food or restroom access.

This was a directive from the police chief.

Sergeant Lee sat back, tilting his head slightly to rest before eventually sitting upright.

Creak.

The chair’s hinges groaned noisily.

The young lieutenant spoke again.

“Sergeant, I’m asking if the woman really had a longsword.”

“Yes.”

“She’s dangerous, isn’t she? Why would you let someone like that in?”

The young lieutenant followed behind Lee Chung-chun.

The sergeant headed toward a supply room set up in a corner of the office.

The room had no door, with the entrance blocked off by a desk.

To receive food rations, everyone had to submit their red stick here.

Sergeant Lee did the same.

He placed a stick on the table, and the patrol officer seated across from him accepted it, setting bread and a bottle of water on the table.

Lee took the bread and water, returning to his seat.

The young lieutenant, still beside him, continued to chatter noisily.

“Sergeant, what if we end up like that psycho two days ago?”

Two days ago.

The Manan Police Station scouting team had found two young men who later caused a commotion here.

They had gone on a stabbing spree, killing two people and injuring four others.

The two were now locked up in the basement detention cell.

The incident had lowered morale at the station, which was why the lieutenant was so concerned.

Sergeant Lee sat down and began chewing on the bread.

A family photo sat on one corner of his desk.

He stared at the photo while taking a sip of water.

The water had been painstakingly collected by melting snow and bottling it.

The lieutenant, placing both hands on the sergeant’s desk, spoke with increasing frustration.

“Sergeant... please...! I just—what are we supposed to do?”

“Lieutenant. After 20 years of police work, you can tell just by looking into someone’s eyes. Whether they’ll harm us... or benefit us.”

“Ha... Sergeant! That’s just a gut feeling.”

“Yes, Lieutenant. So why don’t you trust my 20 years of instincts?”

Sergeant Lee looked up at the young lieutenant while chewing his bread.

The lieutenant appeared exasperated and on the verge of tears.

He was a newly promoted lieutenant from the police academy with only a year of experience at the station.

Rank-wise, he was above Lee, but in terms of experience, Lee far surpassed him.

The young lieutenant scratched his head vigorously, dislodging flakes of dandruff with each movement.

It had been a long time since he had bathed.

Nobody paid attention to cleanliness or hygiene anymore.

After a moment of thought, the lieutenant cautiously asked Lee.

“You’re not planning to bring her into the scouting team, are you?”

“I am.”

“...What?”

The lieutenant looked at Lee in shock, but Lee simply finished his bread and closed his eyes, preparing to sleep.

“Sergeant? Sergeant...?”

Without responding, Lee propped his feet on the desk and drifted off.

It was after 14 hours of continuous duty.

Lee didn’t resist the oncoming wave of sleep.

“Sigh...”

The young lieutenant sighed heavily, leaving Lee to his rest.

I took Jin Jae-hee to the relatively quiet stairwell.

I explained what I was seeing to her, and she asked back with a surprised expression.

“A quest window?”

It was a window invisible to others.

I stared at it blankly and replied.

“Yes, a quest window.”

“World Boss or Hidden Dungeon? What kind? No, wait. What’s the border color?”

Jin Jae-hee rattled off unfamiliar terms.

Her face showed clear signs of genuine bewilderment.

“...Gold.”

“Gold?”

She touched her chin, seemingly trying to recall something, and fell into thought.

Even Jin Jae-hee didn’t seem to know about this window.

Perhaps the me from the past life had deliberately kept it a secret from her.

But the quest window before me wasn’t an illusion.

It wasn’t an intervention by an administrator or a third party—it was a personal quest given only to me.

My gaze lingered on the reward section of the quest window.

“What’s the content?”

Jin Jae-hee asked again, and I paused for a moment before replying.

There was no harm in her knowing.

But this quest was undoubtedly a massive opportunity for me.

“The content is...”