I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 68: Quick decision
The blue window flickered once in the distance.
As if pleased.
***
Si Hon yawned.
The forest had grown deceptively calm.
For a long time, there was nothing but the steady rhythm of Seorin’s feet tearing through the snow and the muted whistle of winter wind slipping between trees and skeletal trees.
Frost drifted from disturbed branches above them, falling in quiet spirals. Si Hon hung over her shoulder, silent for once, the earlier chaos fading into a thin layer of exhaustion and cold.
The laughter earlier had died.
The system windows had vanished.
Even the air felt heavier.
After a while, Si Hon exhaled slowly, eyes half-lidded as he stared at the white blur of forest rushing beneath him.
"...Sigh. Man... I miss the tower."
Seorin didn’t answer.
He blinked once, then added casually, almost absently—
"By the way... System. Could I ask something?"
A pause.
Snow crunched.
Wind moved.
Then—
A blue window appeared beside him. Still. Quiet.
「Ask.」
"Why does the tower create a barrier whenever I step inside the circle?"
There was no emoticon.
No trembling.
Just words.
「It is anchored to you. Only you can make the barrier manifest, Si Hon.」
Silence.
"Ohhh," he murmured.
That made sense.
The Safe Zone had always responded to him.
The circle. The pulse. The invisible wall that forced the MUNCHES to pace outside like starving wolves, and the fact that it even stopped a boss monster attack.
He had never questioned it.
Why would he?
He was there.
When he was dropped here, he was always there.
Beneath him, Seorin’s pace shifted.
Subtle at first.
Then sharper.
Her breathing changed.
Her stride lengthened.
She began running faster.
Much faster.
Si Hon frowned upside down.
"What are you doing?"
No answer.
Her grip tightened slightly around his legs.
Then—
"Shit."
Her voice was no longer amused.
No laughter.
No teasing.
Just pure realization.
"Si Hon... did you forget...?"
He blinked.
"...Forget what?"
Her feet tore harder through the snow now, kicking up harder that white sprays behind them as she accelerated beyond her earlier pace.
"The barrier," she said. "You’re not there."
The words landed like a physical impact.
Si Hon’s stomach dropped.
Cold.
Heavy.
Violent.
The forest no longer blurred playfully.
It streaked past in violent motion.
"Shit... shit—"
His mind replayed it.
The red circle.
The invisible wall.
The moment he stepped beyond it.
Why didn’t he notice?
Why didn’t he check it?
Why didn’t he—
His breath caught.
Hana... and Arven that was still too weak and barely able to stand... the three Ursa Canis standing guard despite their own fatigue, and Sixxy, brave beyond reason but far too small to face something like, "Munches..." he muttered.
The word felt heavier now.
Behind them, the forest seemed to darken, even with his newfound Slight night vision skill
"Fuck."
His pulse spiked.
His chest tightened.
The snow suddenly felt suffocating.
Too white.
Too open.
Too exposed.
Then—
A translucent notification appeared beside him.
「Calm Mind — slight panic reduction has been activated.」
His breathing steadied a fraction.
But his thoughts still raced.
Another flicker..
「Calm Mind has been activated.」
Again.
「Calm Mind」
Again.
「Calm M」
Again.
「Calm」
Again.
「Calm Mind」「Calm Mind」
「Calm Mind」「Calm Mind」
Again.「Calm Mind」
「Calm Mind」「Calm Mind」
「Calm Mind」「Calm Mind」「Calm Mind」
「Calm Mind」「Calm Mind」「Calm Mind」
「Calm Mind」「Calm Mind」「Calm Mind」
Again.
The passive stacked.
Soft.
Automatic.
Desperate.
His heartbeat slowed.
The sharp edge of panic dulled— but the understanding remained.
If he wasn’t inside the circle... The barrier didn’t exist.
Which meant— Nothing stood between the tower... And the things beyond here.
Seorin ran harder.
Faster than before.
Faster than she should have been able to.
Her jaw clenched.
Snow exploded under her feet.
But still, Seorin didn’t cut straight through.
She weaved.
Sharp turns between frozen trunks, feet barely brushing the barks, movements precise despite her speed.
Branches trembled but didn’t snap. Snow fell in soft bursts instead of explosions.
She was choosing her path carefully.
Too carefully.
"Just cut the trees and run straight!" Si Hon shouted from her shoulder, frustration cracking through his voice.
"No," she snapped immediately.
She ducked under a low branch instead of breaking it.
"Don’t you remember?" Her breath came steady but strained. "If we disturb too much in this area... she’ll wake up."
The words hit harder than the cold.
Si Hon went silent.
The forest suddenly felt like it was listening.
He stared ahead.
No jokes.
No muttering.
Just calculation... The Distance.
Time.
If the MUNCHES had tested the boundary the moment he left— If they realized— If— The forest felt smaller now.
Oppressive.
Every second felt too long.
Every stride felt too slow.
For the first time since arriving on this floor... Si Hon understood something clearly.
The ’tower’ wasn’t safe.
It was safe because of him.
And he left.
***
(Near the tower)
The tower emerged through the trees like a dark needle piercing the white horizon, its silhouette rising cold and indifferent against the grey winter sky.
Seorin didn’t slow until the faint outline of the circle became visible beneath the snow— the place where safety should have been waiting. Only then did she skid to a stop just outside its boundary, feet carving deep grooves into the snow.
"Put me down," Si Hon said immediately, already twisting to slide off her shoulder.
This time, she didn’t argue. She lowered him carefully onto his feet.
For half a second, he just stood there, staring at the pale ground where nothing appeared different from the rest of the forest.
Then he stepped forward.
The moment his boot crossed the boundary—
The air pulsed.
A low hum vibrated outward from beneath the snow, and the circle ignited in a deep, glowing red, light expanded in a clean ring around the tower, rising like a translucent wall before settling into an invisible barrier that pressed faintly against the air.
Active.
Anchored.
Seorin stepped inside right after him.
They both looked around.
The campfire was dark— nothing but blackened wood and ash. No glow. No warmth, and most of all, it was... it was destroyed, like someone stepped on it repeatedly.
Against the tower wall, the three Ursa Canis that’s supposed to be sleeping and grooming eachother was... gone.
Gone.
Si Hon’s stomach dropped. He lowered himself onto the dirt without realizing it.
"Fuck... fuck..."
The word felt small in the empty circle.
His eyes shifted.
To ’The’ tent.
It was torn open— fabric ripped wide, collapsed inward as if something had forced its way through without hesitation.
He stood so fast the world tilted for a second, then staggered toward it.
The dirt around the entrance was disturbed— heavy impressions, deep gouges.
He stopped.
Hands went to his head.
His breath shook.
"Seorin..."
She was already scanning the ground, jaw tight, eyes sharp.
"Wait," she said quickly, stepping closer to the torn canvas.
She crouched, brushing the dirt aside with her hand.
"There’s no blood."
He blinked.
She straightened, scanning outward— and then she saw it.
A drag mark.
Wide.
Deep.
Something heavy had been pulled across the dirt to the outside of the circle toward the snow, carving a brutal line away from the circle and back into the forest.
It was fresh. The edges hadn’t softened. Snow hadn’t filled it in yet.
"Fuck," she muttered under her breath. "I fucking hate those things."
Si Hon followed the trail with his eyes. His pulse steadied unnaturally— Calm Mind working again, dulling the edge of hysteria but not the understanding.
[(⌐■-■): Hysteria, It’s when someone reacts with extreme, uncontrollable emotion— usually panic, fear, or distress to the point they can’t think clearly.]
"The trail’s fresh," she said quietly. "It just happened."
For a second, neither of them moved.
The forest beyond the circle looked darker, even with his newfound ’slight night vision’ skill.
Seorin stared down the trail, calculating distance, time, probability.
Then she turned.
Her hand came up, gripping his shoulder firmly.
"I’ll rescue them," she said.
It wasn’t a suggestion.
"Just stay here."
Si Hon’s head snapped toward her.
"No. Why would I stay?!"
Frustration cracked through him— guilt sharper than fear now.
She reached up and grabbed his face with one hand, not gently, forcing him to look at her. Then she exhaled and softened slightly, patting his head once.
"You’ll get in my way," she said bluntly. "Trust me."
Her lips twitched faintly despite everything.
"Before sunset," she added. "Actually... even when the sun sets it’s still dark. Just slightly grey."
A soft, humorless laugh escaped her.
"So stay inside the circle. Alright? Hehe."
He opened his mouth to argue—
But she was already moving.
By the time he turned, she was a blur cutting through the trees, following the drag mark at a speed that shattered the calm of the forest without breaking it— weaving between trunks, vanishing into white and shadow within seconds.
Silence swallowed the clearing again.
The red barrier hummed faintly around him.
Si Hon stood alone inside the circle.
At this moment... Si Hon has a choice that is needed to be solved quickly... and it’s either... he goes and follows or stay.
