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The Red Rooster was still walking across the vast ruins. It seemed that the only lifeforms there were insects...
Avoiding them, it moved little by little toward its destination.
When it had first passed through this place, the memories of its glorious past had been so dazzling that it was unbearably painful.
But now, perhaps because so much time had passed, its emotions had dried up completely.
"Ah... where is this? Am I even going the right way?"
"Please... this time, I must reach the Tarin Forest..."
Throughout its journey, the Red Rooster remained constantly wary of the insects.
The reason it could not even light a fire in the pitch-black darkness was also because it feared revealing its location to them.
In this place where countless buildings and roads had been destroyed, it used the ruins as cover, secretly avoiding their surveillance.
But the Red Rooster did not know.
The insects had already found it and were quietly following its trail—as if they were mocking it on purpose...
"Crack!"
A strange sound came from somewhere.
Startled by the sudden noise, the Red Rooster screamed and ran away.
[Eyes watching it flee in the darkness]
"Tch..."
As it ran frantically, a small, shabby warehouse appeared before its eyes.
"Oh! A house, a house!"
"Thank goodness... thank goodness..."
For the hungry and exhausted Red Rooster, there could be no better place.
It quickly searched around the building, found an entrance, and barely managed to get inside.
"Is... anyone here?"
There was no answer.
Of course there wasn't. The only life here was insects.
It quickly shut the door and let out a sigh of relief.
Crouching in the pitch-dark warehouse, it muttered.
"Ah... it was cold... this is a relief..."
"Ugh... I'm hungry..."
Inside, it was so dark that it was hard to distinguish anything.
The Red Rooster extended its hands forward and moved little by little to avoid bumping into things.
After some time, shapes gradually began to emerge in the darkness.
"Oh! A lantern! A lantern... please, please..."
On a table in the distance, it spotted a kettle-shaped lantern and desperately hoped it still had fuel.
Of course... it shouldn't have done that~
"Please... let there be fuel!"
It approached the lantern and carefully turned the handle.
"Creak... creak... click!"
Was it luck?... There was still fuel inside.
A small flame began to flicker within the lamp.
Before long, the darkness inside the warehouse retreated under the lantern's light.
The Red Rooster quietly stared at it.
That tiny flame seemed to melt its frozen heart...
After staring blankly at the flame, it turned around to look inside the warehouse.
"Waaah! Hooray, hooray!"
This place was a food storage warehouse.
Countless emergency rations were neatly arranged there.
However, so much time had passed that expiration dates no longer held any meaning.
The Red Rooster began rummaging through everything frantically.
There were dried foods and honey in abundance.
From the depths of despair, a smile formed on its lips.
"Hehehe... what is all this?!"
"Thank you! Hahaha~"
After gathering the food in one place, it checked each packaged box.
At that moment, it found something inside—
Strawberry Nose Chips, filled with memories that Ina had once loved so much.
"Oh? This is...?"
"How is something so hard to find in a place like this?!"
"Strawberry Nose Chips!"
Holding the chips to its chest, it thought of Ina.
"The beautiful memories I shared with Nia back then..."
"I miss it. Nia really loved these..."
"When I came home after work, Nia would always greet me... that time... the happiness I thought would last forever...
Nia's scent, her warmth... I miss everything so much. Nia."
[At that time, the Red Rooster called 'Ina' by the nickname 'Nia.']
It opened the box and checked the condition of the chips.
"Hmm... is this safe to eat? It should be fine, right?"
[As mentioned before, the expiration date on this product no longer has any meaning.]
The box was filled with the sweet scent of the chips.
It carefully tasted one.
"Mmm... incredible! It's perfectly fine! This is delicious! This is it!"
While eating the snack frantically, a thought suddenly came to it.
"I shouldn't eat something this precious all at once!!"
It stopped eating and hugged the box, its eyes welling with tears.
"Stop eating... only when I miss Nia too much. Just one. Only one at a time. There's not much left... sob..."
At that moment—
Through the ventilation opening of the warehouse, a rustling sound could be heard.
Rustle... rustle...
Startled, the Red Rooster screamed and instinctively threw both hands into the air.
At the same time, all the Strawberry Nose Chips scattered into the air.
Those precious snacks... those memories!!
They fell like rain right before its eyes, spilling onto the dusty warehouse floor.
Now...
They were dirty and no longer edible.
"I was trying to save them... what is this!!!"
[Its body trembled as it stared at the fallen chips.]
"Hmm... can I still eat these...?"
The Red Rooster fell into deep thought.
Its mind was filled only with thoughts of the chips.
Completely absorbed in them, it failed to notice—
a dark shadow appearing through the gap in the moonlit door.
It was an extremely dangerous situation, but it was already distracted.
Then suddenly, it realized the lantern light was exposing its position.
"Ah, the light! I have to turn it off!"
As it rushed toward the lantern—
a knocking sound came from behind.
[Thud, thud]
The Red Rooster froze in fear, as if its breath had stopped.
"It's over... it's an insect. My position has been exposed..."
Another knock followed.
[Thud]
Its body trembled in extreme fear.
Holding its breath, its gaze fixed on the door.
At that moment, the latch slowly turned, and the warehouse door began to open.
Though afraid, it prepared to use its last hidden card.
"If it's come to this... I'll break through head-on!"
[Creeeak—]
The sound of the door opening sent chills down its spine.
As the door opened, a massive insect stood blocking the entrance.
The insect muttered.
"Hmm... I have found Lord EAT once again."
"And such a... delicious scent as well?"