Chapter 4: Operation to Obtain Bikini Outfits (1)

The tutorial is complete. You will receive 3 coins as a reward. These coins can be used to purchase items. Please press the Shop button on the terminal.

”Huh? That’s it?”

Since it’s a tutorial, shouldn’t it be explained in more detail?

What is the island environment like? What are the escape methods? Where are the other survivors located and how many are there? What do they need to hunt and gather to survive?

Why not explain the truly important content?

Are we just going to throw people in here and leave them to fend for themselves?

—Even if I complain like this, it won’t do any good.

Anyway, the phone is just playing pre-stored videos.

I put my phone in my pocket and took off my field jacket.

”Mother, please put this on first.”

He handed his field jacket, which he had taken off, to his mother.

My mother’s clothes are really…too revealing.

This is dangerous in every way. At least some skin needs to be covered.

”No need, Mom’s fine. Changjae, you can wear it.”

”It’ll be easier for me to move around if I take it off. It would be troublesome if I got scratched anywhere, so you should wear it.”

He forcibly draped the field jacket over his mother, who was refusing to wear it.

I was wearing combat gear underneath, so not having a field jacket wasn’t a problem. In fact, taking it off made it easier to move around.

”Are your feet okay? The ground here is all stone. Doesn’t it hurt?”

”Hmm. You can still tolerate this… Ahh?!”

My mother, who was checking the ground beneath her feet, suddenly screamed and lunged at me.

”Centipede! Centipede!”

My mother, in a panic, gripped my arm tightly.

Unfortunately, a large centipede was crawling right at the mother’s feet.

Centipedes longer than a hand’s span. Such a size is almost never seen in civilized society.

『Ding! First successful breast contact! You have earned 3 coins!』

…Shut up first.

”Eee—! Eek—!”

My mother buried her face in my arm and clung to me tightly.

Whether to be thankful or unfortunate, the panicked mother had no time to pay attention to the notification sound.

Even so, because of the notification sound from my phone, I cared more about physical contact with my mother than about the centipede. Damn it.

”…Mother. It’s gone. Everything’s alright now.”

Perhaps uninterested in humans they couldn’t eat, the centipede quickly left on its own.

”Really? Really gone? Really gone? You’re not lying to me?”

”Yes. Absolutely true.”

The mother pressed her for answers several times.

It seems he was quite frightened.

There’s nothing we can do about it. My mother has had a severe phobia of insects since she was little.

Even during the period when my relationship with her was strained, my mother once made a huge fuss about a spider appearing in her bedroom.

I thought it was a tarantula or something, but when I ran over to take a look, there was only a spider in the room that was smaller than my little fingernail.

Speechless, I helped her catch the spider, but my mother still didn’t dare go back to her room. That last day, she even slept in the same room as me.

The saying “a person who can’t even kill an insect” perfectly describes someone like my mother. My mother has always been like that.

But this is a big problem.

If it were an uninhabited island, needless to say, the spiders and silverfish that the mother fears would be everywhere, along with pests like mosquitoes and flies, and poisonous insects like centipedes and wasps.

Even if I grit my teeth and bear it, what will happen to my mother?

If you panic every time you see an insect, you’ll definitely be unable to do anything.

”I’m so sorry, Changjae. Mom really doesn’t know what to do with bugs…”

”It’s alright, Mother.”

My mother, who had finally calmed down, blushed and stepped away from me.

But he kept looking around, afraid there might be other insects.

”Please sit down. Try to conserve your energy. Who knows what might happen?”

”Um… I’m sorry.”

Let the restless mother sit on the rock. The hem of her field jacket covers her hips, so even sitting on a hard rock shouldn’t be too uncomfortable.

However, the way he curled up with his knees drawn up made his underwear…

No. Don’t look. And don’t be conscious of it.

Any more strange subtitles will only make the atmosphere awkward.

You absolutely must not turn your head in that direction.

”…Hmph.”

The mother buried her nose in the collar of her field jacket, sniffing the scent.

Does it have a strange smell? I’m a little embarrassed.

”I’m sorry, Mother. Does it smell? This is something I wore.”

”No! That’s not what I meant. It’s that my clothes smell like Changjae.”

My mother responded with a smile to my apology.

It seems there shouldn’t be any strange smell.

The mother rubbed her arms as if she felt a chill and laughed.

”Although I don’t know why we ended up in a place like this, my mom feels especially at ease when I’m with Changjae. It also reminds me of when I went on school trips during my student days.”

”School trip…”

The mother, speaking these words, showed no unease whatsoever. She even appeared somewhat happy.

”Didn’t things go wrong when Changjae went to the military? He didn’t go home on leave, and they couldn’t even have a proper conversation at the meeting. So, someone who seemed worried sent us here to make up, right?”

As always, my mother said to me with a bright smile.

Faced with a mother like this, I couldn’t say a word.

Just as immature as he was as a child, his chest was filled with remorse for running away from his mother and guilt for severing the chance to mend the relationship.

Before enlisting, I had a big fight with my mother and ran away from home. I didn’t contact her once after that, and stayed at my girlfriend’s house until I enlisted.

He never went home during his leave, instead staying at friends’ places. When he stayed out overnight, he even stayed at the homes of military officers.

He ignored his mother’s calls and messages, which eventually drove his mother, who could no longer bear it, to come to the military base herself.

”I’m sorry, Mom.”

I lowered my head with mixed feelings.

I knew perfectly well that what my mother asked for was not an apology. I was, after all, a despicable coward.

The mother smiled gently.

”Don’t talk nonsense, Changjae. Just start doing your job properly from now on, okay? Forget the past, and work together with Mom to escape this deserted island! You can do it!”

The mother said, clenching her little fist.

Her completely unserious attitude made me relax involuntarily.

…It seems Mother is treating this situation like an escape room game. Are we hearing the same explanation?

But frankly, I was actually relieved by my mother’s clear-headed attitude. It was much better than her panicking after being inexplicably kidnapped. In such situations, psychological factors are most likely to cause trouble.

”Okay. I’ll definitely escape with you, Mom.”

They escaped alive together with their mother.

So where should I begin?

”—Mom. I heard we can buy things at the store, let’s pick them out together.”

”Huh? How do I do it?”

He sat down next to his mother and took out his phone.

I noticed this while watching the tutorial video: the phone looks the same, but its internal components have been completely overhauled.

Phone calls, text messages, and internet access have all disappeared. Upon startup, only four icons appear: [Map], [Shop], [Partners], and [Base]. It’s clearly a terminal specifically designed for survival on a deserted island.

Welcome to our store. Please select the service you require.

Clicking the store button will bring up the four main categories again.

[Equipment], [Consumables], [Tools], [Base].

I selected [equipment].

”Ah, Changjae, there are still guns here.”

The variety of equipment is dazzling.

The collection includes everything from simple sticks to cold weapons such as knives, spears, axes, and halberds, and even firearms.

”ah.”

Of all the weapons, this is the one that caught my eye.

It is the K2 rifle that I have been using throughout my military career.

But the price was 10,000 coins.

It’s an amount I simply can’t afford. After all, I only have a maximum of 9 coins on hand right now.

”It’s so expensive!”

”That’s right.”

Even the cheapest old-fashioned revolver in the firearms category costs 500 coins.

Add to that the fact that a revolver bullet costs 100 coins, and a 5.56mm bullet for the K2 rifle costs 500 coins. What kind of inflation is this?

”…Mother. It seems we can’t afford a gun anymore.”

”Indeed…”

Although I don’t know how many coins I can accumulate in the future, if I accumulate 1 or 2 coins each time like I do now, I still won’t be able to afford it even in ten years.

However, I still want to bring at least one weapon with me when I set off.

The description of the hunt suggests there might be monsters or wild animals. You should also be cautious when encountering other survivors.

What’s the safest weapon besides a gun? Is it really a spear?

Since ancient times, the spear has been one of humankind’s most powerful weapons. While we may not have intended to charge at mammoths or lions with spears like primitive humans, the spear was indeed suitable for hunting, especially considering its javelin-like qualities.

What about the axe?

An axe can be used to chop wood and destroy things. It should also be used to butcher prey.

Hmm. Which one is better?

The cheapest spears sell for 10 coins, while axes start at 15 coins.

At this price, it might be better to save up some more coins to buy an axe. Anyway, I can’t even afford the cheapest spear right now.

”Um?”

I assumed that weapons would naturally be the priority in the ‘equipment’ section.

Therefore, it was not noticed in time.

In addition to weapons, the equipment category also includes armor and costumes.

”…Fashion?”

Not only are there armor pieces, but there are also costumes.

Games often release overpriced, pay-to-win costumes to entice players to spend money, both in terms of appearance and performance.

”Fashion?”

As I clicked into the fashion section as if mesmerized, my mother muttered in confusion.

A mother who isn’t interested in games probably wouldn’t understand. These kinds of places often hide outrageous cheat codes.

I scrolled quickly through the fashion list.

As expected, they discovered an item that could be considered a cheat tool.

[★Beta Tester Exclusive Product]

[Hot Summer Day! Cute White Bikini]

[Limited-time offer: 23 hours, 35 minutes, and 44 seconds]

[Price: 30 coins]

The bikini was, as its name suggests, pure white.

Since it’s a bikini, it naturally exposes some parts. It’s even more revealing than the petticoat my mother is wearing now.

There’s clearly no reason to buy it based on that alone, and even if I did, my mother probably wouldn’t want to wear it.

However, there are also important additional notes below that you shouldn’t miss.

[※Option: An essential item for a comfortable life on a deserted island. Insects will disappear within a 100m radius of the wearer.]

”ah!!”

I heard my mother’s panicked cries beside me.