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The people at the base camp under dark clouds were on edge, their hearts pounding, trembling with anxiety. They anxiously waited for news from the guard team, their minds filling with negative emotions.

“…I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, hiding it would have made things worse. It’s better to leave it as it is.”

Just a few hours ago, the camp had been bustling with activity, but now it was hard to imagine. Every sudden sound or movement made them jump, rushing out of their tents to check their surroundings.

“Sorry, I was moving equipment…”

“Be careful! This stuff isn’t cheap, you know!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, and I already apologized. Besides, it’s our team’s equipment. Why are you so concerned?”

“What? ‘Our team’? How long have you been here?”

Stress filled the camp, turning even the smallest issues into arguments.

“Stop it! What are you doing?”

“The lighting team keeps bossing us around!”

Team leaders tried to calm their members and mediate disputes, but it didn’t seem like it would last long.

‘…Something’s off. No matter how anxious or tense people are, they shouldn’t become this aggressive in just a few hours.’

People usually maintain their social image, even in bad situations, and don’t suddenly go crazy or act like psychopaths. At least not for a day or two, or maybe longer. They prioritize their image until the threat becomes real.

But now, less than half a day in, they were already losing control of their emotions, like they were infected with a rage virus.

Winter and Yuna quickly sensed the camp’s mood and stayed hidden in their tent. Han Seo-jin paced around the camp’s outskirts, deep in thought. Kim Guk-min moved around, trying to reassure anyone who looked anxious or got into arguments.

In PD Choi’s tent, which served as a temporary command center, the assistant director and PD Choi were trying to contact the boat. The production team moved around, checking on everyone, following the lead writer’s instructions.

‘This… isn’t good.’

If the guard team returned with bad news, the camp’s anxiety would explode like a ticking time bomb.

The whole camp felt like it was surrounded by a time bomb.

Kweeeek—

Just when the camp was already on edge, a wild boar monster roared.

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll boil you alive.”

“…Kweeeek.”

“You think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re quiet? If you don’t want a hot bath, just shut up.”

“….”

The boar, faced with Jeong Gyeoul’s icy glare, couldn’t handle her killing intent and quickly quieted down. Some of the production team chuckled at the sight.

Seeing this, Kim Guk-min moved around the camp even more enthusiastically, doing his best to keep everyone calm despite the tense situation.

‘They better come back safely, no matter what news they bring.’

For the first time since his awakening, he felt utterly powerless.

***

“Team leader, I think we should stop.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The trail is leading us deeper into the darkness. This feels like a trap. It reminds me of when we rescued Bravo Team in Fallujah.”

“Possibly. I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

After overhearing the conversation between Yumin and the team leader, Mincheol quickly approached.

“Are you saying our enemy could be human? Like Daesh?”

“We don’t know anything yet. We need to consider all possibilities—monsters, beasts, or humans.”

Following the team leader’s orders, they soon found strange corpses. They looked like mummies, almost completely skeletal.

“Here’s a corpse, team leader.”

“…A corpse in the process of skeletal decay?”

“Is this the second filming team?”

“It would be better if it were. Given the island’s climate, this corpse must be from around the time of the pre-scout team’s visit. This island is under strict British Navy control. No one has entered except the pre-scout team.”

Given the island’s climate, skeletal decay would take about three weeks. That would have been around the time the survival team’s pre-scout team was here.

“…If it’s not someone from the pre-scout team, the timing doesn’t make sense.”

“And no one from the production team has died. If someone had died, filming wouldn’t have been possible.”

If filming had been impossible, it would have been a big issue. The PD would have been buried socially for forcing a dangerous pre-scout mission that resulted in deaths.

But there was no such news, and when they first arrived on the island, the filming team seemed fine.

“This is too creepy.”

“I agree. There’s too much weirdness to even know what’s strange anymore.”

“If we go back without finding anything, it’ll look ridiculous. But lives are more important. Let’s return and inform Hero Jeong Gyeoul about this location.”

“Right. Good idea. Let’s head back quickly. I have a bad feeling something’s about to happen.”

The soldiers’ instincts, honed from life-and-death battles, were as sharp as any hero’s. Among them, Yumin, a sniper, had saved the team multiple times.

Just as the team leader ordered a retreat, a massive creature flew up from the island’s interior.

“Take cover! Take cover!”

The team members quickly hid behind nearby trees and rocks, peeking out to see what was happening.

In the darkness, a creature covered in shimmering, rainbow-colored powder flew up. It had hundreds of razor-sharp teeth, two large, round eyes, and massive, translucent wings. Its body was made up of countless human corpses.

Despite their military training and encounters with various monsters, they had never seen anything like this. The giant moth, a being of pure terror and anxiety, was unlike anything on Earth.

“T-Team leader?”

“….”

The team leader was equally stunned.

“Retreat. As quietly and stealthily as possible.”

As they carefully moved backward, trying not to attract the creature’s attention, something grabbed Mincheol’s ankle from the ground.

“…!”

Mincheol, following the team leader’s order to stay silent, couldn’t stop himself from falling.

Thud—

He landed on the skeletal corpse they had found earlier. The sound of bones breaking echoed, and Mincheol’s injuries began to bleed.

At the same time, the giant moth’s eyes shifted, locking onto the guard team’s location.

Kweeeeeek—

The moment their eyes met, the soldiers’ minds were overwhelmed by an indescribable horror.

“Save me! It wasn’t me! I didn’t kill anyone!”

“Ahhh! Medic! Medic!!”

“My leg! My leg’s gone! Damn it! My leg’s blown off!”

The team members’ minds were breaking. Even the team leader began to see hallucinations—a baby strapped with bombs, a woman running with an anti-tank mine, children firing AKs, and scenes of his team members injured and dying.

‘Damn it! I can’t die here.’

Biting the inside of his cheek, the team leader snapped out of the hallucinations.

“Get a grip! You bastards!”

Slap—

He slapped the team members’ faces, but it had no effect. Drawing his dagger, he lightly stabbed their thighs.

“Damn, was that a mental attack? Is that thing a special species?”

“Special species? That’s at least an extinction-level species… no, maybe even a transcendent species.”

“Even if we survive, the PTSD from this will be worse than Iraq.”

“…Enough. Let’s just run. If we scatter, maybe at least one of us will survive.”

The team members, now somewhat清醒, muttered their thoughts.

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely get you out of here.”

“Did you just awaken or something? I don’t think bluster will work on that moth.”

“…!”

Yumin suddenly realized something and looked at the team leader.

“You have a way to contact someone, right? Something to alert Hero Jeong Gyeoul in an emergency!”

“…You’re quick. Yeah, I have something.”

The team leader smiled and pulled out a small dagger sheath from his pocket.

 

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