This is the world after the collapse. Humans are faced with pollution that comes in the form of brown dust covering everywhere. Living things cannot breathe and if even a small amount is inhaled, It will die within minutes.

I was walking in a wide open desert in the middle of orange sand. Amidst the strong wind blowing past and hitting the body A tall figure wearing a gas mask. In a thick brown robe with a hood covering his head. A dull red scarf flutters in the wind. Wear a large backpack on your back and a small backpack on your front.

My two legs carried me through the wasteland through a long and arduous journey. I stopped and turned my head to look around. Eyes look up to the sky and look down to the ground. Before squatting down, he used his hands to scoop out a pile of dirt. Tiny grains of sand flowed through the cracks of my fingers and onto the floor.

I picked up some tools and planted them on the ground. The tool has a scale indicating the toxicity value.

“This place is probably no different from anywhere else.” I pulled it back up and put it in the large backpack behind me.

This is the world after the collapse. For nearly twenty years, humans have been faced with pollution that comes in the form of brown dust covering everything everywhere. Living things cannot breathe and if even a small amount is inhaled, It will die within minutes.

Toxins also penetrate into the ground. The trees and grass slowly died until there was nothing left. Many people died because of the toxic air and lack of food. Riots broke out all over the world. Governments, economies, and countries collapsed.

It can be said that the entire world has entered an era of chaos.

I looked at the small backpack that was carried in front of me. Holding it tight, 'this' is what I need to keep safe from this shattered world.

I continued on until I found a city ahead. It is a concrete city that is in a deteriorated condition. From past memories, this city was a large, bustling and prosperous city. But now the state is full of ruins and covered with desert.

I walked slowly past many houses. Found an old supermarket. It was quite dark inside, so I turned on the flashlight I had brought. All around you could see traces of shelves that had been ransacked and fallen into disarray.

This place must have been visited by someone before me.

I lifted the shelf up and looked at it with a flashlight. To make sure that there is enough to survive. When searching all over must be disappointed Because this place is like other places that I have traveled through. There's no food. and medicine Today I didn't get anything. But it's okay. At least I traveled all the way to this city.

An old two-story house nearby was used as a night camp. There is a basement here. It was completely dark inside. I light a lamp to provide light. Open your backpack and take out the air pollution meter. Pollution levels here are safe. That means I can breathe here.

I took off my gas mask. The face of a middle-aged man, about 40-50 years old, revealed itself in the light of the lamp. His jet-black hair began to have some white strands in it. As he combed his own hair, which was messy from his travels, the sand that was stuck in it fell to the ground.

I took out some canned food from a large backpack. Taste boring canned beans before taking a sip of the water from the bottom of the flask to swallow it. It tasted so bad I wanted to spit it out. But it's still better than nothing to eat.

I need to look at the map in order to prepare for my next trip tomorrow. The city where we are now is a large city. There are many buildings in the center. If you walk through the center, it's about 30 kilometers and you might still be able to find food, groceries, or other necessary things rather than having to detour around the city.

But you may have to meet a fellow survivor. ready to rob and kill To always compete for what you want. But now I need to You'd have to take a little risk.

The next morning, I got up and stretched. Leave the old house and leave in the morning. Along the way you can see the ruins of buildings. The sky expressway has collapsed to the point of being cut off. Found many car wrecks in an unusable condition. No other living things were found. I have to observe the window. and avoid walking in open spaces

so as not to be targeted by other survivors.

Wow!

“Oh!”

With my eyes only looking above, I seriously tripped over a piece of metal that had appeared on the road. before falling face down

"Hoy! Crazy! I hope it's okay.” I cursed before hurriedly opening the small backpack in front of me. To make sure that the things inside were not damaged, "It's still a little bit, it's still not a problem."

I hugged my bag tightly. before getting up and hurriedly walked and walked inside the building that was not too far from the place where I had fallen.

I sat down and brought out an instrument to measure air pollution. Make it known that in this building The air is enough to breathe. So I took off my mask to breathe easily.

“Damn, we were really careless.” If there were other people nearby, I would have been killed. Without hesitation, I took off my boots to make sure I wasn't seriously injured. There was a little blood flowing from between the nails. Even though it wasn't a big deal, it made me not able to walk very well. I washed it clean and found something to cover the wound. Before continuing your journey

The trip was discreet. His eyes swept above and below. To be careful and to look for food or necessary equipment. Until I saw a large department store. I had thought since last night that I had to come here. Then he began to carefully explore the surroundings of the mall. to make sure There is no one here.

When you are sure that there are no survivors around you So I walked inside the building. Broken glass all over the floor Traces of a broken door Burn marks around the area It made me realize that there had been riots over food fights here. I walked along the walkway. There are only restaurants around. It must be the food zone. But there's nothing left.

Especially since it's fresh food, there's probably hardly any left in this world.

I can't help but imagine that. If this world didn't happen I'll probably take my girlfriend to visit here. How fun will it be? Maybe she wanted to eat the Bonchon chicken I just walked past. Or maybe she wants to eat shabu. After that, I'll probably take her to buy some popcorn and then watch a movie.

But unfortunately the world right now isn't like that and she isn't here anymore...

As for the supermarket, it's not much different from other places. There were traces of ransacking scattered everywhere. But I still secretly hope that there will be something left. Any canned food is fine. Please extend my life a little longer.

While I was searching through the shelves

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang

A loud voice came from behind me.

'There are still people here?' I bowed my head down. Pull out the waist tuck. before slowly walking towards something where the sound was coming from I pulled up the fallen water dispenser. Found a lot of rats running out of their nests.

“Yessss! Really lucky, I thought there would be nothing left here.”

Today I got several more meals to eat. If you save That should be enough for a week. I skinned, cleaned the rats I caught and put them in my backpack.

Meanwhile, he saw a brown bag lying on the ground. I didn't wait and immediately went to see it. Open your backpack and take out an air pollution meter. When I found it safe, I took off my mask. Taking a deep breath, I took off my gloves and unwrapped the brown bag. Use your finger to prick the contents of the bag before tapping the tip of your tongue.

As soon as I tasted it, tears streamed down my face without realizing it. 'It's been over ten years now. That we didn't eat cocoa at all...'

I hurriedly took a rubber band and tied it to the mouth of the bag and continued walking. I couldn't waste too much time here. Must hurry in and hurry out. I walked up to the second floor, trying to find a pharmacy. I saw a shop whose name started with

W

In the past, my girlfriend and I used to go to this shop regularly. Because this shop sells both creams and medicine.

I entered without delay. Find what you need That is, various drugs. Things were scattered on the floor, so I had to use my hands to find them. Most of which only have expired skin care creams. I picked up a jar. In today's world, these things are probably not necessary, they will only be burdensome. I dropped the jar of cream before walking out of the store without anything in my hand.

When reaching the rooftop I walked up to the railing and looked out. In order to roughly see the shape of this city. Before that, when I opened the map, it must have been very different from now because that map was from 30 years before the world collapsed.

I looked back and forth, memorizing the route, planning in my head how to travel next. Looking for an escape route While I was thinking about various things in my head There was light reflecting into the eyes. The words in my head immediately popped up: ‘Shit!’ At that moment, I turned around and tried to bend over as quickly as possible.

Bang!!! Shocking! Wink!

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA The bullet tore through his left ear. Blood from the torn ear stains the scarlet scarlet. Now I don't have my left ear. But that's not important.

I hurriedly picked myself up. His left hand stops the blood from his ear. His right hand tightly hugged the bag in front of him and he hurried towards the downstairs. Amidst the bullets that were fired from time to time.

The light that had reflected into my eyes before It was probably the light from the scope mounted on the sniper rifle. If I hadn't regained consciousness any longer, I would have died. But I never thought that I would encounter someone with a gun like this.

I ran out of the shopping mall. Go back in the opposite direction from where someone shot me. I keep running away Try to use buildings to block the way of the shot. But with a lot of baggage injured right foot and missing left ear Makes me have to look for a place to hide first.

“Huh..heh.” I breathed heavily. before running into a house and hide in the closet The footsteps of a group of people running after him.

Bang! The sound of kicking the door sounded.

I peeked at the space between the cabinet doors.

“Dammit, where is that bastard?!” said a large young man wearing a gas mask and holding a sniper, pointing the tip of his gun around. There were another 5-6 people following, all wearing gas masks.

“Arthur, you better save your ammo. It just came alone. And besides, it didn't have any weapons. I don't think there's any need for a gun,” said another tall, thin young man following behind.

Hearing this, Arthur turned around and scolded. “If you have a gun and don't use it. Why do you have it? Frank!” Frank was taken aback.

“What are you two doing?” A slender woman with short, shoulder-length hair ran up behind. The gas mask made the face invisible. She looked over and saw Arthur and four others holding guns. “Where did the gun sound come from? It came from you guys.”

“You keep your mouth shut, Rebecca. I have a duty to protect my people. Whether I use a gun is my business!”

“Protect it? The last time you killed someone You say it like this. You did it because you were going to rob them. And for your own satisfaction, don't talk about making yourself look good.”

Arthur approached Rebecca. With his left hand he strangled her neck and pushed her body against the wall. “You talk so much.” The big man squeezed the woman's neck tighter. “I killed you right here. Then tell the old man that she was killed by a wanderer, okay?”

“Calm down, Arthur,” Frank rushed in to stop him. “If you kill Rebecca And who will take care of us?”

Arthur let the girl down. before pointing at his face and continuing, “You, don't try to get into trouble again. She was able to survive because the old man was still protecting her head.”

“I got it! There are still new blood spots here,” one man from the group said.

Arthur took his eyes off the woman, "Lead the way, Dutch." A group of five men hurriedly followed the trail of blood. There was only one girl named Rebecca left.

Fortunately, I had left a trail of blood on purpose. to make them go the other way But they would soon realize it.

There was only one young woman who didn't follow the group. She returned to her residence alone. It was a two-story building. She turned the key and unlocked it. and pushed open the door that was completely thick with iron. before walking upstairs

“Are you back, Rebecca?” The old man sat in the far corner of the room, using a paintbrush on a paper easel. When he heard the sound of approaching, he spoke up.

Young woman puts down her luggage Take off the gas mask. Revealing a sweet face Thin, pink lips Big, bright eyes Revealing brightness and cuteness

She walked over and stopped in the back. Looking at the picture the old man had drawn, his eyes lit up with interest. “Hmm… It's really beautiful. What kind of picture is it, Grandpa?”

“...Flowers…… They are the most beautiful parts of plants. bright and fragrant Their colors often contrast with the green that indicates abundance and moisture...flowers are what highlight the beauty of nature. Deliver images of profound beauty to the eyes and hearts of mankind,” the old man mused absently as he held a paintbrush, still writing ink onto the paper.

“Dear grandchild... In the past, our world was full of it. Its greenery and colors… but now there is nothing left.” The old man turned to the girl and continued speaking. “And how is it outside? Grandpa heard the sound of a gunshot. Is anyone wrong?”

“Grandpa, you don't have to worry. We're fine, but we have to do something about Arthur. That thing is going to kill people again.” Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest, showing her displeasure.

“To say that about Arthur is not right. This world has changed a lot. The harsh environment forced him to adapt accordingly.”

“Look, Grandpa, Arthur isn't that kind of person. It's getting crazier and crazier by the day. Before, the people he killed were just a small family passing by.”

“‘Then let them come back and talk to each other again.”

The young woman trailed off after her grandfather's picture. Walk to open a nearby water closet. He took out some water and poured it into a glass and drank it to quench his thirst. She realized something and turned back to the old man. The girl was so shocked that the water glass fell from her hand. When he found that the old man... There was a knife held at the neck.

“Shh, shh.” The man who lost his ear used his right hand that was holding a knife to raise his index finger to his mouth. Send a signal to her not to make a sound. His left hand locked onto the old man's neck before using the knife in his right hand to point at the young woman. He flicked his hand, indicating for her to go downstairs before following her down.

“Take out your gun slowly. And throw it here!” I said pressing the girl named Rebecca. She did as I said without hesitation, sliding the gun next to me. before raising his hands above his head

“Turn around and see!” The girl turned around slowly. Her body had no other weapons. I switched to my left hand and held a knife. Force the old man to squat together and use his right hand to hold the gun. Before standing up and locking his neck, he held a knife to the old man's throat.

“It is you, the wanderer that Arthur is hunting.” The woman stared intently at the knife in my hand. The old man I was hugging remained silent and refused to say anything. He stood quietly with his eyes closed.

“Yes, it is me,” I replied, tightening the knife in my right hand to put pressure on her. “Answer me! How many people are in your party?”

“Don't tell him, Rebecca!” The old man suddenly opened his eyes. Pug! I used the ridge of the hand holding the knife to strike the old man in the back of the head.

“Are you attacking a defenseless person?!” The woman was startled. She said indignantly and made to walk in.

“Ah-ah! Don't come in. Don't you see what I'm doing to this old man?” I dragged the old man back. Tighten the knife in your hand, flick it slightly and move it closer to the old man's neck. There was red blood oozing out.

“Answer the question! How many of you are there?!” I shouted softly.

“Seven people,” she answered reluctantly.

“And where are the rest of the people besides this old man and you?!”

"I'm looking for you."

In fact, I already know how many people there are in her group. And where did the rest go? But I just want to know how reliable her words are. Damn, this girl is really soft to the world.

“What is it that you really want?”

“I'm just a passerby. I don't want to hurt anyone. I want to get out of here. Without a problem."

“Release my grandfather. And then you go.”

“Do you think I'm so stupid? Is there any guarantee that you and this old man won't grab a gun and shoot me?” I knew in my heart that she didn't want to hurt me. But I'm worried about others who will follow.

”Let me ask another question: Do you guys have cars or other vehicles?”

“We have a car parked nearby.”

“Is it still usable?”

“Still usable”

I put the mask on the old man and had her pick it up and put it on before leading the way to the parking garage. I strapped the old man into the seat next to the driver. Grabbing the keys from her hand to escape, I promised her that I would let my old eyes grow old. When I reached a distance that I thought was safe, she believed me because I had no reason to kill this grandfather.

I have to do it as quickly as possible. Before her friends return

I drove about five hundred meters away. Then he glanced at the rear window. unexpectedly ‘They have arrived.’ The sound of bullets being fired ceaselessly. A group of armed men who arrived fired bullets at the car. Saw a young woman acting angry in the distance.

Bang bang!! Bang bang!

The taillights and side mirrors were shot until nothing was left. Heard the sound of a bullet whizzing by. My right chest and hip were shot. Unable to bear the pain, my hands fell off the steering wheel. My consciousness began to fade. The car began to lose control and lurch. Before the car shook, causing it to overturn several times.

Crunchy, crunchy……

I regained consciousness shortly after the car flipped over. Dizzy, barely able to maintain consciousness. Blood continued to flow from his chest and right shoulder. My right leg was crushed by a car wreck.

I looked for my small backpack. I tried to reach out and grab it, but I couldn't reach it. So I forced myself to pull my body, which was in a miserable state near death, from the wreckage of the car. I heard the sound of bones breaking in my right leg! Right now I can't lift my right arm that was shot. Left ear that no longer hears sound

I crawled up to my small backpack and opened it to check that the contents were still intact. I crawled out, still clutching my small backpack.

“That must be very important, young man,” said the old man who had crawled out and was lying next to him, spitting blood.

“Grandpa, what's wrong?” I looked at the old man's condition. Although there were no signs of being shot, he was injured and bruised until he was coughing up blood.

“They're coming. Is it good to just lie down like this? Take me hostage.” The old man smiled gently before coughing out blood.

Damn this grandfather. really a good person I scrambled to grab the old man again. But this time I couldn't stand. Because my right leg was already crushed. My gun flew away. So I used my left hand to grab a knife and stuck it at the old man's throat again and leaned against the car wreckage. Because I'm starting to not be able to take it anymore.

A group of well-armed men ran after us. I'm not ready to die yet. But now I hardly have any strength. My eyes are closing. I have to resist a little more. Otherwise, I would really die.

“You guys… stop moving…” I said softly.

The group of men stopped before a man named Arthur pointed a sniper rifle at me and laughed loudly, “Hahaha!!! Look at your condition now. What are you going to do?!!!”

All of a sudden.

The girl ran after him. I saw her come and slap and punch Arthur hard in the chest and scold Arthur.

“Have you gone crazy? I told you that Grandpa was in the car. Why are you shooting, you idiot?!”

Phew!!!

Arthur hit the woman on the head so hard that she fell and her gas mask nearly fell off. The girl rolled on the ground dizzy. She shook her head back and forth before speaking weakly and sobbing.

“Ugh… You really want Grandpa to die.”

“That's right! What a waste of supplies! And talk a lot but just teach people to be good people like this and that. This world has people like this. It can't survive!” Arthur shouted violently. before repeatedly kicking the woman in the stomach, slam!

Rebecca clutched her stomach in pain. She said in a trembling voice, “Huh… Ugh… You forgot, Arthur? Who saved our lives in the past? If you don't have grandpa All of us probably won't make it this far… gulp.”

“Who cares! Haha! The world has changed now, you idiot. Those who are weak must die! Only the strong To survive!” Arthur stuck the butt of his gun into Rebecca's head and laughed heartily.

While they were quarreling I saw a man named Dutch point at something in the sky. “Look!”

Everyone looked up and looked. Saw a large cloud of crimson dust covering the sky coming from the south.

“What the fuck is this?!” Arthur shouted.

“It's… It's the Red Storm!” Dutch said in fear.

I know. I've seen it before. Red storm is what everyone uses to call it. One phenomenon Dense dust and pollutants are gathered and carried by storms, causing it to appear red. The concentration of toxic substances is very high. Nothing can filter it. Even the gas mask You just have to escape from it.

"escape! We must escape. Let's get back to the car. We still have a working jeep!” Frank, a tall, thin man, shouted in fear. A group of young men started running. He turned to look at Arthur but found that Arthur was still standing. “What are you doing, Arthur? If you don't escape now, you won't be in time.”

“You guys go first. I'll follow you," Arthur said, turning his back on Frank.

“Let it go! There aren't many things for us to loot. Now let's survive first.” Frank tried to hurry.

“Go first, Frank!” Arthur turned to Frank and said sternly, “You don't have to wait for me!”

Frank hesitated before running after the other men back to the building.

“Run away… Rebecca,” the old man said softly. I saw him spit out a little blood.

“No, I'll stay with Grandpa.” Even though he was still dizzy, Rebecca continued to crawl towards the old man.

Bang!!! A gunshot rang out.

The bullet entered the old man's left chest, hitting his heart. His body convulsed and he died immediately. With me still pointing the knife at his throat.

“Let's stay with the dead body!!!” Arthur shouted through his gas mask.

“No!!!!!!!!” The girl's screams echoed throughout the area, wailing and wailing. The last person who was like her refuge had died. "Huh….huh Grandpa……huh… ..”

“Ah! Those idiots probably didn't know that the other car was running out of gas. Watch from the stream storm speed However, all of us here couldn't escape. Except, if I'm not mistaken. What's in your backpack is an oxygen tank?”

I was shocked. It must have been the moment I checked the contents of my bag. I didn't think it would be seen from that far away.

“Give me that bag!!!” Arthur points his gun at me.

Now I have nothing to bargain with. The grandfather I held hostage is dead. My condition was close to death.

I opened my small backpack and took out an oxygen tank. It had a cord attached to something in the bag.

“This oxygen is not for anyone. But it's there for this.”

I took out the thing connected to the oxygen tank. It was a glass jar containing something. “This is the last tree on earth…”

Everyone was shocked for a moment. When I saw this

Before Arthur could speak, “So what? Can't you see who's holding the gun? Send it now Or I'll shoot!” Arthur shouted, extending his hand.

“You don't dare shoot blindly… Because if you miss and hit the tank You won't survive.” I held the oxygen tank and glass tube tightly.

My eyes are about to close. I saw a faint picture. A large man was walking in. He grabbed the oxygen tank and tried to pull it out of my hand. I won't let it take me away. But now I hardly have the strength to resist it anymore. I'm probably close to getting back together with my girlfriend.

Bang!!! The sound of a gun rang out. The bullet went through the head of a large man who was struggling to get an oxygen tank from me. He collapsed before my eyes. Arthur died instantly.

The young woman threw away her gun and ran towards me.

“Look, Uncle, are you alright?” Her voice sounded trembling, but I felt warm inside. “Is this the tree? Is it real?” She looked at the tree with sparkling eyes. She seemed to have adjusted her mood.

'It's real, you idiot! Otherwise, wouldn't I take care of it this much?' I wanted to say that, but I just didn't have the strength to say it.

She stared at the small plant in the glass tube in wonder. “Where are they called flowers, uncle?”

If I went back to this question more than 20 years ago, I would have thought it was crazy. But if it's now Thinking about it, girl, it's such a pity that I've never seen flowers. Well, the world is like this.

“Not yet…”

“Why, uncle, shouldn't trees have flowers?”

I smiled at her innocent question. “She still needs more time to grow and show her flowers. It's still young now. Just like you.”

“Let me take a look,” she said to me and I handed her the glass jar. The girl picked it up carefully. He looked at it with excited eyes sparkling.

I let her admire it for a while and then asked for the glass jar back from her. “This thing will be the hope of humanity,” before putting the glass jar and oxygen tank back into the bag. then handed it to her “I want you to continue taking care of it.”

She paused for a moment.

“Uncle, are you crazy? The Red Storm is approaching right now. Either way, we won't survive.”

“No.” I used all my strength and pointed at my large bag.

before looking at her face one last time We talked until I lost consciousness.

After the red storm passed creating dust covering the entire city

In a wide open desert in the middle of the orange ground Amidst the fierce wind blowing past It appeared that a young woman was wearing a thick brown robe with a hood covering her head.

A dark red scarf stained with blood fluttered in the wind. Wear a gas mask connected to an oxygen tank. In the background was a large city that was shrouded in a dense red dust mist to the point where the buildings could hardly be seen.

She carried a large bag on her back. and a small backpack in the front Two legs carried her slowly. before stopping and looking back at the city she had just left.

“I will bear this burden myself. So that everyone doesn't have to kill each other again. I must find land where I can grow it again.”