If Kim Jeok-woo were given the chance to choose again, he would still tread the same path — the path of affirmation that had already determined his life.
From his pocket, he drew a bookmark. On it, a single line was written: “I regret nothing. Even if I were to live again, I would walk the same road.”
His thoughts wandered back to long ago — the day he drove a screwdriver into the throat of a soldier. The blood had fountained forth, red and hot, and from that day on, whenever he stepped outside, he wore a mask — not for sickness, but to keep strangers from recognizing his face.
“To be an enemy of the Federation… that is no easy thing,” he murmured to himself, until a sudden knock at the door shattered his thoughts and pulled him back into reality.
“Kim boy, the community’s food stores are running low. Today’s scavenger duty falls to you and Wei. You two are the youngest and most experienced we’ve got.” The woman at the door rubbed her nose awkwardly before continuing: “And since today’s the Federation airdrop day, if there’s chocolate in it, could you save some for my daughter? Her cramps are terrible.”
Kim Jeok-woo wanted to refuse, but the woman had taken care of him too many times before. He swallowed his rejection.
“Where’s Liam Wei?”
After learning Wei’s whereabouts, Kim packed lightly and headed to the meeting spot, where he found Wei flicking glass marbles alone.
“Yo, bro! You’re finally here — I’ve been waiting forever.”
Liam Wei was short — at least a head shorter than Kim — perhaps the difference between northern and southern genes.
“Bro, your fingers are freakishly long. No wonder you won the European championship. With my short fingers, I can’t shoot straight no matter how I try.”
“Even marbles have their techniques. I’ll teach you when we have time.” Kim patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.
“So, where are we heading today?”
“Baiseng Supermarket.”
“Baiseng? Wasn’t that place already picked clean the last time we went?”
“You know Baiseng doesn’t have a drug license in Fog City, but in neighboring Jiangcheng they used to sell medicine. Manager Chen, who worked there, said his former employer hid a lot of medicine in the warehouse office — just need a password to get in.”
Once they climbed into the truck, Kim asked, “So, did you get the password?”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Wei grinned triumphantly, waving a slip of paper.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMUxaDJq44
Kim didn’t answer — he simply sank into thought.
He wasn’t born in Fog City. This small city, sustained by gambling, was a mystery to him. No one knew why it had suddenly been swallowed by fog — everyone had their own theory, but none credible. Modern people, even without evidence, still tried to explain everything with logic; yet in Fog City, most cared only for pleasure. Social issues barely crossed their minds. Kim, like other outsiders, came here for a simple reason — to escape the suffocating world of endless competition.
“Hey, bro, are you thinking, or are you constipated? Can’t see your face, but you’re giving me creepy vibes.”
“Cut it out, kid. Just keep your eyes on the road in this fog.”
“By the way, any news from the base or the Federation today?”
“Haven’t checked the radio yet. Maybe the Federation’s finally sending troops to rescue us.”
Kim said nothing and switched on the radio. The broadcast wasn’t in either of his native tongues; even after learning from locals, he could only understand about seventy percent.
“Good day, citizens of Fog City! Today is another bright and beautiful day. Though the fog still lingers above our great Federation, do not lose hope. As long as there’s sunlight in your hearts, there will be sunlight everywhere. Under the great, glorious, and correct leadership of the Federation, the fog and the monsters will one day vanish. Now, the airdrop location and time for today — around 5 p.m. near the Sea Road bus stop — the Federation’s aid for Fog City. Please receive it with gratitude…”
“Sea Road? That’s right next to Baiseng Supermarket. Great. Once we grab the meds, we’ll check it out too,” Wei said casually.
Kim switched to another frequency.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4y2WKdgKRF
73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7LzDgQeIBy
“Survivors, this is Father Phano from the Base. If you’re heading toward Baiseng Supermarket, beware of the Papilio Thanatos — their numbers are unusually high today…”
By then, the truck had reached Baiseng’s entrance. Floating above the doorway were clusters of crimson flames, dancing like souls of the underworld beckoning them toward the river of death.
Fog City residents called them “Flowers of the Other Shore.” Those red flames were actually the moths’ luminous scales, flickering in the mist. Anyone who inhaled them would have larvae growing inside within ten minutes. The larvae would gnaw through the organs, crawl out through the skin, and devour the corpse until nothing but bones remained. Every night, when the mist glowed red, people indoors would rather hold their breath than look up at the drifting “flowers.”
Yet in this age of scarcity, the creatures’ bodies made potent medicine — just like the real flowers of the other shore: poisonous, yet healing. Survivors both feared and revered them.
Kim noticed a flicker of emotion cross Wei’s face as he stared at the moths — cold determination, quickly hidden beneath fear.
“Remember the first victim killed by a Papilio Thanatos?” Wei asked quietly.
“It was early April, 2025. That monster first appeared on the ‘you’ streaming platform. Everyone thought it was an April Fool’s prank…” Kim paused, his voice trembling. “But the footage was too real — too bloody. The platform deleted it soon after. The human part of the moth spewed yellow acid stronger than hydrofluoric acid. The victim dissolved into a pool of blood… The creature then extended its tongue-like proboscis to suck it up — it only took seconds…”
The truck fell silent.
Kim drew in a shaky breath. “The next dawn, all communication with the outside world was cut off. Transportation stopped. Only old radio signals still carried the Federation’s voice. Ninety-nine percent of the population either died from monsters or killed each other. They all put their faith in the slow-acting Federation. The ones left alive were either lucky — or trained soldiers from abroad. Since then, the city has been wrapped in fog… and people just started calling it Fog City.”
Wei stared at Kim’s trembling voice, then patted his arm. “Didn’t think you’d get scared too, bro.”
“Kid, I’m human too. Of course I get scared.” Kim reached for a gas mask, a spray can, and a backpack.
“Everyone’s scared. Everyone faces death. But the real question is — what do we do between life and death?”
“Bro, you don’t have to fight those things now. They’ll fly off soon.”
“No. It’s daytime — they’re weakest now. I’ve run from monsters before. Sooner or later, I’ll have to face them.”
Wei sighed. “Fine, then. As your brother, I’ll follow you through fire and hell.”
He donned his gas mask, handing Kim a windproof igniter and a bottle of eye drops — the survivors’ best defense against supernatural threats.
In sync, they triggered the flamethrower — the long blue-white tongue of fire shot forty meters ahead.
Just as Wei was about to step forward and film it, Kim stopped him. “Careful! You want to get poisoned by the scales?”
Wei shot him a sharp glare but quickly smirked again.
Under the “illusion field,” the moth’s oily protective layer vanished. Its human face twisted grotesquely as the flames consumed it. The shrill, inhuman scream — like shattering glass — filled their ears. Its insect half convulsed violently, spewing yellow fluid while the air filled with the stench of burning flesh.
To calm his nausea, Kim broke the silence. “Father Phano really is Fog City’s greatest inventor. With his eye drops, any demon or monster burns to ashes.”
“No, bro — you’re the genius here. You adjusted the acetone-ethanol ratio in the canister. A simple spray can turned into a military-grade flamethrower. Without you, Fog City wouldn’t have any survivors left.”
The flames dimmed. They stood shoulder to shoulder, silent before the charred remains.
After burning the corpses, they radioed the Base’s pharmaceutical team to retrieve the bodies, then entered the long-familiar supermarket in search of medicine. The warehouse office was divided into several rooms — they split up to search.
In one room, Kim spotted a strange silhouette in the corner. Driven by curiosity, he followed it — without telling Wei.
Meanwhile, Wei held his radio, speaking in a low voice to a stranger.
“In Fog City, the heart belongs to the Rabbits.”
“To give all, even unto death…” Wei replied coldly — his tone like that of another man.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.