Chapter 55

Chapter 5 Inside Out (3)

***

Swish-

The two people naturally distanced themselves from the professor.

"Are you crazy?"

"Hey! Watch your words!"

"So what? It's true. Once you get a mental illness, you're considered crazy. Am I wrong?"

The professor bitterly smiled at Ian's words. In fact, that was true. If someone kept hearing voices in their head and even had a personality that occasionally took control of their body, what else could it be but dissociative identity disorder?

An article in the community said that living in the wasteland, we inevitably go crazy in some way. So, we should hope to go crazy ‘well’ and live on.

I don’t know much, but it didn’t seem like the extreme efforts of a personality trying to take control in dissociative identity disorder would fall under the category of going crazy ‘well’.

"By the way, you're still using that voice signal, huh?"

"Hmm? Oh, that? As you know, our names became a bit known after the Sector 45 incident."

"Hap, Ian, and I, we became somewhat famous. It helps with business, so we operate under this name outside."

"Didn’t we get a bounty on our heads with that name?"

"Actually, after I started using this name, I made some money thanks to the freelancers who came looking for us. Usually, people who aren’t skilled carry fancy guns."

"Sector 43 is a place with a lot of conflicts. The Reptiles rarely come here. They have so many enemies that to break into Sector 43, they’d have to fight dozens of battles a day."

Huh... So, you became famous? To the point where it helps with business?

The professor turned his head, thinking, ‘What kind of fame can three people really have?’ He saw people around them pointing and whispering.

"Hey, isn’t that V and I?"

"Big iron bag and the old man... It’s definitely them. They’re the spice traders."

"And the guy in front, he’s definitely called Hap."

"They’re the trio, HIV, the conquerors of Sector 45!"

"Big shots have arrived at this backwater hospital..."

"Stay out of their way. They’re crazy, slaughtering hundreds of scavengers, domes, and Reptiles."

Murmurs,

Rustling!

The reaction was more intense than expected. It felt good. While becoming famous in the wasteland can make you a target, it also makes it easier to do business or find people when needed. It helps filter out the riff-raff, which is a good thing. Everything is good, except...

"Why do they call us that! HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS), it’s so offensive!"

"Why? I think it’s fine? Once you get it, you’re definitely dead. It sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it?"

"Hap, the community started combining our codenames to call us that. We couldn’t really stop it."

No matter what, calling us Team HIV, where my first wasteland fame is a sexually transmitted disease!

The professor clutched his head and muttered, while Ian, chuckling, watched and spoke.

"So, what exactly happened? How did you go crazy? You seemed fine the last time I saw you."

Hmm. The atmosphere felt like he was beating around the bush. Sure enough, he’s asking.

"Well... I had a problem while playing a game..."

"Oh,"

"Oh."

When the professor mentioned the game, Vex and Ian suddenly looked solemn. What’s with these guys?

"Game... You mean ‘that’ thing...?"

"Hey, Hap! It’s okay! There’s no high or low in professions... I think any form is fine as long as I live earnestly!"

"Huh? You guys saw my gameplay? How was it? Was it worth watching?"

Chill-

The professor, feeling relieved, saw Ian and Vex become even more restless, carefully choosing their words.

'What’s with them? Why are they even more solemn? They really saw it, didn’t they? Why are they reacting like this?'

"Um... Well..."

"It was quite avant-garde... Ahem! It wasn’t bad. Still, I recommend you stop if it’s driving you crazy."

These guys, their lukewarm reaction suggests they saw something uninteresting.

Ignoring the two who were awkwardly trying to comfort him, the professor continued describing his symptoms.

...

...

...

...

"So... You got infected with some kind of mutant virus in the game, and the personality created by the virus started messing with your brain in the game, and then it jumped into reality?"

"Yeah, you got it."

The professor’s words made Ian, who had been grinning, slightly grimace.

"Man, you’re really crazy now, huh?"

"Don’t call me crazy. I look like a crazy person."

"You have mental issues and you’re a guy, so you’re crazy. Dissociative identity disorder is something you only see in movies, it’s quite rare. So, what’s this other personality like?"

"What do you mean, ‘this other personality’?"

In response to my question, Ian poked my head with his thick fingers.

"Obviously, the friend inside your skull! If it can’t be cured, you’ll have to live with it for life, so we need to know what kind of person it is, right? If a friend you welcomed one day suddenly starts acting like a cannibal, you can’t just help them politely and shoot them, can you?"

It’s a harsh but common sense in the wasteland. A friend who was laughing and chatting yesterday could become a madman today and attack you. Knowing someone well means you might ‘send them off’ gently depending on the severity of the situation.

'This guy could easily do that, no doubt.'

The professor recalled the parasite, Hyde, he had encountered.

"Let’s see... First, it’s a bit like a child. When I first met it, it looked like a primary school kid, but now it’s grown to sound like a middle schooler. It seems to have some middle school syndrome. At first, it was very hostile to me, but now it seems quite cooperative. Of course, it hasn’t given up on taking control of my body. My left index, middle, and ring fingers are completely under its control. Sometimes, when it wants something, it scratches my body with them. Oh, its name is Hyde. When I briefly fainted and woke up, it said its name was Hyde. And... What else...?"

[Free from Mother’s influence, I saved your and that human woman’s lives once, I love freedom, I’m very curious, and oh! I prefer meat to fish! I still can’t forget the sensation of chewing meat when you were eating it yesterday! Shell! Let’s eat more of it! Preferably raw, not cooked! Mutes are meant to be eaten raw!]

"Ouch, be quiet! Do you think meat is that common? I was already drooling at the sight of dried and twisted scavenger corpses while passing through the wasteland. If you show that kind of inclination in my head one more time, I’ll put a gun to my head and pull the trigger the moment you try to eat someone."

[Ah, you noticed? Give me a break. Even though I’m estranged from Mother, I was born a Mute. Craving human flesh is an instinct. Humans are one of the most efficient species for genetic meals.]

"Hey, Hap?"

"Ah, this guy... What? Vex, why?"

"Um... People are staring at us..."

After muttering to myself for a while, I looked up to see people in the queue staring in shock and turning their heads. The guy next to me even picked up his bag and moved to the back of the line.

"What’s with everyone?"

"Well, you looked 100% crazy just now. You were drooling at scavenger corpses, naming your personalities, and talking about your fingers moving on their own... If this wasn’t Wujin’s clinic, they would have shot you first and asked questions later."

Ian said this while taking out a sleek revolver from his iron bag and handing it to the professor.

"Take it."

"What’s this?"

"It’s light, soft, and sturdy. Even if you’re weak or your hands don’t listen, you can aim easily. I put heavy bullets in, so it will be painless."

"So... If it gets bad, I should use this to end it?"

"Right. Even I find it hard to kill a friend with my own hands. I can’t follow you into depression. I’m not telling you to use it right away, but if you need it, use it."

What a jerk.

"I’m not crazy!"

"Ah, Hap. That line just now was totally crazy."

[Hey, Shell, your friends are hilarious!]

Outside, Vex and Ian were annoying, and inside, the parasite was scratching my insides. I felt like I was on fire inside. If I didn’t have Turret, I would have pretended to be crazy and attacked them.

Still, it was better than being alone. As we talked about the wasteland, their business, and my lengthy explanation of my gameplay, the sun was setting outside the window.

"Next! Hap! I, V! Come in quickly!"

"Oh, my turn... No, our turn?"

"I changed it earlier. On the way here. Bathroom."

"Since we’re all getting treated, it’ll be faster if we go in together."

"....Fine, do as you like."

I knew it. They were pretending to joke but really wanted to hear about my condition. If we go in as a group, they can hear the old man’s diagnosis