The Regressor Only Protects Me

Chapter 30: The Government’s Dog (2)

I explained the quest window that appeared before me to Jin Jae-hee.

[Quest: Government’s Dog]

[Achievement Objectives:

● Achieve a comfort level of 30% or higher for citizens (Current: 3%)

● Establish a continuous food supply route (0/1)

● Achieve 100% internal manpower utilization for the police force (Current: 20%)

★ Reward: Achievement Points - 150]

I told her everything written there without omitting a single word.

Jin Jae-hee’s expression darkened.

She thought for a moment and then spoke to me.

“Achievement points are the scores for rulers. And achievement quests usually open during the mid to late stages of the game. Most achievements are necessary when issuing ‘Proclamations’ or ‘Decrees.’ Of course, they can be used earlier, but it’s strange that you, who don’t even have a faction yet, received this.”

No matter how I looked at it, this couldn’t be called the mid-to-late stage of the game.

Yet, achievement points that were supposed to be obtained in that phase appeared before me now.

A mere system error?

That didn’t make sense.

This system was created by an overwhelming, godlike entity capable of shaping the world into its current state.

Imagining a flaw in such a system was nearly impossible.

In the end, the quest window in front of me had to be seen as a unique advantage given solely to me.

Reaching that conclusion raised another question.

Why me, of all people?

Jin Jae-hee pondered for a moment but then shook her head.

“No matter how much I recall, I can’t think of a similar case from my past life. Even if it were an error, that doesn’t make sense either. For now... it’s undoubtedly a huge advantage.”

“Could it just be a coincidence?”

At my question, Jin Jae-hee immediately shook her head.

“Never. The administrator’s system doesn’t allow for coincidences. There’s always a reason why such advantages are given to you.”

Her words only amplified my unease.

Why did the administrator grant me this advantage?

And was it truly a benefit meant only for me?

I had no answers.

It was all an enigma.

“…Alright. If it’s an advantage, I’ll consider it a top priority to clear this task.”

“Yes. That’s the best approach for now. I’ll help you.”

Since resolving this would give me significant benefits, there was no reason to delay.

Moreover, if achievement points were valuable as ruler scores in the later stages, I needed to start collecting them now.

But before that, there was something else I had to do.

“First, I’ll search for my brother.”

The chances were high that my younger brother was here.

The original reason I came to this place was because I suspected he might have come here.

Jin Jae-hee spoke to me.

“Do you need help?”

“No, it’s fine.”

This was a seven-story building, after all.

I could find out my brother’s whereabouts in a day.

I put down the bag I was carrying and started walking among the people.

“Kang Junho, about this tall. Yes.”

“Have you by any chance seen someone named Kang Junho? He’s about up to my chest, with short hair.”

“Excuse me, sorry to bother you. Just one question.”

“Yes. He’s about this tall and thirteen years old. If you see him, I’ll be on the second floor.”

Kang Sion spent the entire day walking around the police station.

The station was quite crowded.

If there were about 200 people on each floor and survivors filled four floors, then roughly 800 people were crammed into the building.

He asked all 800 people about his brother’s whereabouts, one by one.

But his brother wasn’t there.

Junho, Sion’s younger brother, hadn’t come to the Manan Police Station.

The basement was under the police’s control, and access was restricted.

They claimed it was to maintain confidential security, but there was no reason for Junho to be in that restricted area.

From the second to the fourth floor, Sion asked almost everyone, but they all gave the same answer—they hadn’t seen him.

Sion grabbed a senior police officer wandering nearby and asked.

“Has anyone who entered this place gone back out?”

“…Yes. Well, people are free to leave. Some left because they didn’t want to follow our rules... and there were also a few expulsions.”

The officer replied in a tired, subdued voice before walking away.

In the end, no one could provide Sion with the answer he wanted.

Of course, his brother might have left the station after coming here, but that seemed unlikely.

Junho was young, and children in fearful situations tend to stay close to adults.

Even if he left to search for his brother outside, that would be a foolish decision.

As Jin Jae-hee had said, Sion was still weak.

He was like a candle flickering in the wind, and finding his brother required him to grow stronger.

Whether it was artifacts, his personal status window, or quests.

Now was the time to tackle the tasks given to him.

‘Let’s not be hasty.’

Rushing would ruin everything.

Sion repeated this to himself.

Before he knew it, darkness had fallen over the scenery outside the window.

The night in a city without electricity was so dark that it was terrifying to look at.

Occasionally, massive silhouettes illuminated by moonlight through the clouds appeared, seeming almost spiritual in their mystery.

As Sion gazed at the majestic sight, he felt he understood why ancient people imagined divine beings when seeing whales, giant squids, or natural disasters.

While Sion was staring out the window, a police officer descending the stairs noticed him and spoke.

“Control hours are about to begin. Please return to your assigned area.”

Sion looked at him.

He was a young officer, probably in his early 30s at most.

Sion silently nodded and went down to the second floor.

There, people were preparing for sleep under portable lights.

It resembled the scene of refugees sleeping together in a gymnasium during a disaster.

Sion pushed through the crowd to reach his assigned spot.

Jin Jae-hee was sitting there, waiting for him.

When Sion sat down, Jae-hee naturally asked.

“Did you find your brother?”

She whispered, but their proximity made her words seem louder.

The two had been assigned to the same space because others mistakenly thought they were siblings.

Sion shook his head.

Jae-hee turned her gaze elsewhere.

Around them, faint groans, coughs, and the sound of people shifting in their sleep filled the air.

Nearby, a man was sleeping beside Sion, and at his feet, an elderly person was curled up.

Sion glanced at the elderly person sharing a single padded coat and spoke to Jae-hee.

“From tomorrow, I’ll start completing the quest.”

“Alright.”

“I have a method in mind.”

“I’ll follow your lead. But there’s something you need to do as well.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll train whenever you have time.”

“Train?”

When Sion repeated the word, Jae-hee remained silent for a moment before continuing.

“Yes, training. Your body is still too weak. You need to be able to defend yourself in case I’m not around. That’s what the training is for.”

Sion nodded silently.

He agreed with her words.

Still staring ahead, Jin Jae-hee spoke to Sion.

“It’s going to be hard. I won’t go easy on you. It’s all to protect you.”

Jae-hee curled up slightly.

Sion glanced at Jae-hee once and then turned his gaze away.

Then, he slowly lay down.

As he lay there with his eyes closed for a moment, he looked up at Jae-hee and said,

“Get some sleep. You need to recover your strength.”

Jae-hee crouched under her fur hat, smoking a cigarette and keeping an eye on their surroundings.

She closed her eyes slightly and replied to him,

“I’ll sleep after you fall asleep.”

“……”

Sion thought briefly about her words but soon stopped.

The exhaustion from the day overwhelmed him, and sleep took over.

Sion soon fell into a deep sleep, and Jae-hee, after confirming there were no immediate threats nearby, lay down next to him.

The first day of the second round had ended.

It had only been a week and one day since everything began.

“……”

Jae-hee gazed into the distance, recalling memories from her past life, before drifting off to sleep.

Their sweet rest didn’t last long.

At 6:30 in the morning, police officers began shining flashlights to wake the sleeping people.

A controlled life.

It was the way of existence for those oppressed by powerful authorities.

At 6:30 in the morning, before sunrise, everyone inside the police station gathered in the parking lot on the first floor.

A heavy snowfall had blanketed the night.

Even during roll call, the snow continued to fall relentlessly.

I descended the stairs, walking among the crowd of people.

On the second, third, and fourth floors, lines were formed in orderly fashion.

People huddled close to each other, desperately resisting the biting cold.

“Second floor! Line up, please. This won’t take long. Line up!”

“Mister! Don’t sit down. Get up. Hurry!”

“Now! I’ll call your names one by one. Ji Seok-ho? Kim Yong-pyo?”

Police officers shouted commands at the people standing in line, their voices echoing through the space.

Jin Jae-hee and I joined the crowd, lining up in an inconspicuous spot.

Honestly, the cold made it nearly impossible to think clearly.

It felt like the temperature was well below -10°C.

Without realizing it, my teeth chattered uncontrollably, clashing together.

The cold.

It was pure agony.

Most of the people here had likely never experienced such intense cold.

Maybe those who served in the military were exceptions.

For anyone, enduring this level of cold in these harsh conditions was almost unbearable.

“Lee Jong-won! Song Seung-bo! Kang Jin-seok!”

From the front row, a police officer began calling names and handing out two sticks to each person while checking attendance.

The cold made my vision blur.

It felt like my hands and feet were on the verge of freezing.

Then, I felt something slip into my right pocket.

Swish.

“……”

When I reached into my pocket, I found a warm heat pack.

I turned my head to look behind me.

There was Jin Jae-hee, her fur hat pulled down to her eyebrows.

She had slipped the heat pack into my pocket.

She leaned slightly toward me and whispered,

“Don’t let anyone else see it. Here, a heat pack is more valuable than gold. That one lasts over 30 hours. Let me know when it cools down, and I’ll replace it.”

After saying that, Jae-hee turned her head away again.

At that moment, I was truly grateful she was a prepared regressor.

The warmth from the single heat pack melted away the cold that had gripped me moments ago.

Right now, it felt like the heat pack was humanity’s greatest invention.

Then, a police officer approached me and handed me two sticks.

“Kang Sion.”

“Yes.”

“Take two sticks. Next, Jin Jae-hee?”

I accepted the two sticks the officer handed me.

Since I hadn’t used the restroom or eaten yesterday, I now had a total of four sticks.

After handing sticks to Jae-hee, the officer moved to the next row.

Waiting in the freezing cold felt like torture, akin to being in a gas chamber during chemical warfare training.

Each minute felt like an hour, an excruciating test of endurance.

Eventually, after checking a few hundred people, the police officers began climbing the podium one by one.

Armed with batons and pistols, they stood guard, controlling the crowd.

Some of them smoked cigarettes as they stood in front, while another man emerged from the police station.

Warming my hands with the heat pack, I looked up at the podium.

The sky remained a heavy gray, with no sign of the rising sun.

A sea of heads stretched out before me, their backs turned.

Snow whipped through the air in a relentless storm.

The beams from the police officers’ flashlights cut through the gloom.

Then, a man climbed onto the podium.

He was a middle-aged man.

Despite the dire situation, the man on the podium maintained a well-groomed appearance.

Standing before the crowd, he spoke.

“Citizens, day five has begun. We are continuing our efforts to establish communication with headquarters and are adhering to government directives. I understand that you are physically and mentally exhausted. However, we, the police, will never give up until the very end. We will protect your safety and property to the best of our ability. Yesterday, 30 more people joined us here at the station. Unfortunately, 12 people left without permission. What I ask of you… is trust. Outside is a hellscape. Already, 12 of our officers and 22 members of the volunteer patrol have died on reconnaissance missions. Please, even though it’s difficult, tedious, and painful here, trust us, the police. You must follow our instructions. We will ensure you return to the warmth of your homes and families.”

An elderly man began clapping hesitantly, and soon weak applause spread from various corners.

While I couldn’t understand applauding in such a situation, it was clear the people placed their hopes in the police.

Despite the oppressive control, they seemed content for one reason.

As the police chief said, outside was a hellscape.

The police station was the only place they could live a semblance of a human life.

But despite their enthusiastic support, I couldn’t bring myself to clap.

The man on the podium, receiving applause from the citizens.

The chief of Manan Police Station.

I planned to eliminate him and seize control of this faction.

“Hoo-.”

A white breath escaped my lips.

Snow continued to fall heavily from the sky.

After the chief returned inside, the police herded the crowd back into the building.

My task here was clear: to complete the quest called “Government’s Dog.”

Following the others, I began walking back inside.

Turning my head, I finally saw the sun rising beyond the distant mountain ridge.

Its light shone brightly over the ruined city.