Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 65: Space Dino Park (6)

It took longer than expected to chop the Cyber-Zombie Tyrannosaurus into pieces.

Its overwhelming size was a problem, but what was even more annoying was its regeneration—something that surpassed the realm of biological life.

Every time I sliced it, new flesh immediately grew back. Even when I blew it apart, it would instantly reassemble itself to its original form.

“Is that enough...?”

Finally, after confirming that none of the monstrous pieces of the T-Rex were twitching anymore, I retracted my blade.

The blue glow faded, and the blade returned to the appearance of a normal arm.

I shook my arm lightly to shake off the fatigue, then started walking toward the central control room in Sector D-7.

The control room door was already half-open, and from the gap, darkness spilled out.

Inside the control room, it was completely empty.

All the monitors were turned off, and a single chair lay toppled over as if someone had fled in a hurry.

Which meant the terrorist had already escaped.

I immediately started tracking them.

The escape route was a straight line, making it easy to follow.

The corridor was long and dark, but as I neared the outer wall of the station, the vast expanse of space came into view through the windows.

And far off in the distance, I saw something moving—a small escape pod just launching from the station.

“That must be it...”

It was quite far away.

At this rate, it would be difficult to catch up in time.

Should I break through the station wall and jump out into space to pursue it?

With my body, I could easily withstand reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

But doing so would make it difficult to return to the station...

“Hm...”

As I was debating whether or not to break the window, I felt a familiar presence on my shoulder.

The Child had appeared beside me without my noticing, and they were pointing a small finger toward a spot in space.

[Friend!]

The Child’s voice was slightly different from usual.

I followed their gaze.

A massive Space Mosasaurus was there.

Against the pitch-black backdrop of space, the creature’s enormous silhouette stood out even more vividly.

And it met my gaze.

A pair of massive, yellow, glowing eyes.

Those eyes stared at me, as if they were longing for something.

And I felt a connection—something akin to the bond I shared with Agu.

[It’s asking for help!]

The Child whispered again.

I stared at the Mosasaurus’s eyes for a long moment before giving the order.

“Kill it!”

The moment the command left my lips, the Mosasaurus opened its massive jaws in a silent roar aimed at the void of space.

And then, like a predator snatching up a tiny fish, it lunged toward the escape pod that had just started to accelerate.

With a single gulp, the Mosasaurus swallowed the escape pod whole.

At that moment, a disturbing sound echoed through the station walls.

Screeeech.

A dreadful noise, like metal twisting under pressure. Dust and debris fell from the walls and ceiling.

I looked back outside the window. The Earth was drawing closer.

“Don’t tell me... that explosion I felt while fighting the T-Rex... was this?”

The situation was obvious.

The station was plummeting toward Earth.

The explosion had clearly destroyed the orbital stabilizing systems.

Explosions, vibrations, the Earth looming closer.

The signs couldn’t be clearer.

It was a life-or-death crisis, and it was unlikely Ember could resolve it in time.

I looked back at the Mosasaurus outside the window.

It was still staring at me.

****

Ember was desperately holding off the zombies swarming the restaurant entrance.

At the makeshift barricade made from overturned tables, she gripped a chair tightly and swung it down at an approaching zombie’s head.

With a heavy thud, the zombie staggered back briefly—but then got up and kept advancing.

“This isn’t going to end...”

Sweat dripped down Ember’s forehead.

Scarlet and Aria were also fighting beside her, each using their own methods to fend off the zombies, but the number of zombies only continued to increase.

Victor, wielding a chair leg as an improvised weapon, struck down a zombie and shouted:

“Hurry up! Reinforce the barricade in the back!”

People, terrified and panicked, dragged tables and chairs to stack up the barricade as high as possible.

In one corner of the restaurant, Iris trembled as she huddled with her brother Daniel, but her eyes still held a glimmer of hope.

“A unnie... will take care of it soon...”

She whispered softly.

And then—

The zombies, as if their batteries had suddenly run out, simultaneously came to a stop.

One by one, they started collapsing to the ground.

“A unnie did it!”

Iris shouted with a cheer.

Moments ago, people had been frozen in the grip of deathly fear. Now, they collapsed to the floor in a wave of relief.

Ember dropped the chair to the ground and let out a deep, exhausted sigh.

Immediately, she opened her AR interface and connected to the station’s internal systems.

CCTV screens flickered to life one by one.

Everywhere she looked, zombies lay sprawled on the floor.

Aside from those in the restaurant, it didn’t look like there were many survivors left.

The only other living creatures visible were some of the dinosaurs, staring up at space.

Then, a series of red warning messages began flashing across Ember’s AR interface.

<WARNING: Entering Danger Altitude>

<WARNING: Propulsion Rocket Systems Fully Destroyed>

<WARNING: Emergency Thrust System Offline>

<WARNING: Estimated Atmospheric Entry in 7 minutes 23 seconds>

All the color drained from Ember’s face.

She rapidly scanned through the internal systems, analyzing all the data.

The result was the worst-case scenario.

Space Dino Park was plummeting toward Earth.

And the worst part—every emergency measure that could save them was already destroyed.

The escape pods were all marked as unusable.

“What do we do...”

Ember muttered, biting her lip, her expression darkening.

Scarlet and Aria, who had also caught on to the situation, approached Ember and exchanged grave looks.

“The explosion we felt while fighting the zombies... it was that, wasn’t it?”

Scarlet murmured.

“The superior MK Corp design, with shock-dispersing structures...”

Aria added.

The three of them stood in tense silence, each desperately trying to come up with a solution.

But there was no way out.

The station was too massive, and reentry had already begun.

When Ember turned her gaze back outside the window, she saw the Child and Agu standing atop a table.

Somehow, Agu was fully healed, and the Child stood coated in a golden sheen, gazing out into space. Beyond them, the Earth loomed closer and closer.

The scene felt oddly detached from the life-threatening crisis at hand.

Agu and the Child stood there, staring intently at the approaching Earth, each of their antennae twitching as if they were communicating with something.

And when the antennae finally drooped as though the communication had ended, the Child sensed Ember’s gaze and turned to look at her.

[They said it’ll be okay!]

The Child gave Ember a small, sad smile.

Seeing that expression, Ember felt her own sadness swell. She pulled the Child into her arms and gently patted them.

And in that moment—

The dinosaurs that had survived the chaos were now flying through space.

They swam through ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the void as if they were gliding through water, leaving the station behind.

“What... what’s going on?”

Ember moved closer to the window to get a better look.

The dinosaurs were all moving in the same direction, as if they had a clear purpose.

****

The Mosasaurus wore an expression as though it had made a firm decision.

Like a warrior about to fulfill an ancient duty.

[Aung dae...]

The Child’s expression turned sorrowful as they watched.

‘That’s not the Child...’

I tilted my head, staring at the Child.

The being that looked like the Child turned to face me.

[They want to help...]

[They want permission...]

Words that made no sense without context.

But in the gaze of the Mosasaurus and the Child’s desperate expression, I sensed that a crucial decision was approaching.

I looked back at the Mosasaurus floating in space.

It was still staring directly at me.

I muttered under my breath.

“Fine. Permission granted.”

The moment the words left my lips, the Mosasaurus twisted its massive body through the void of space.

And with a silent roar, it hurled itself toward the station with all its might.

KUUUUUUUNG!

A massive impact that shook the entire station.

The descent speed slowed ever so slightly.

But it wasn’t enough to stop the fall of the colossal station.

The Mosasaurus alone wasn’t enough to hold back the station.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“!!!!”

One after another, all the remaining dinosaurs—including the Triceratops—rose into space.

As if following the Mosasaurus’s lead, they each threw themselves against the station.

Now I understood—the dinosaurs of Dino Park had all been engineered to survive in space.

It was as if someone had anticipated this crisis a hundred years ago.

The station was now entering Earth’s atmosphere.

Red friction flames engulfed the station’s outer walls, blazing up like a firestorm.

But the dinosaurs did not retreat.

As if helping humans was their purpose.

The first to sacrifice itself was the Mosasaurus.

Its massive body was swallowed by the red flames, melting away bit by bit.

In its final moments, its enormous eyes seemed to look directly at me.

In that gaze, there was a sense of contentment.

“No...”

[Aung dae...]

The Child and I shouted in unison.

One by one, the dinosaurs were consumed by the atmospheric heat.

Like moths to a flame, they burned themselves up to slow the station’s descent even a fraction.

Each time one disappeared, it felt like a precious connection was being severed.

I tried to help by extending my shadows, but in this situation, they were utterly useless.

Unless I could swallow the entire station whole, there was nothing I could do...

The last one remaining was the Triceratops.

My favorite dinosaur.

Its entire body burned as it struggled to push the station upward until the very end.

And finally, just as it too was swallowed completely by the red flames—

“No...!!!”

My shadows erupted outward in every direction.

As if they intended to swallow everything.