End of the World Broadcast

[What is this video?]
“Oh my god.”
Were there… still living people?
Was I really not the only one left in this damned world?
“Is this real?”
One year since waking up in the frozen, abandoned laboratory.
Days spent tracking traces of people while walking through desolate streets where all I could see were collapsed civilization and faded life.
But no matter where I went, I saw nothing but death.
In this depressing world where hope brings even greater despair.
While searching for survivors, I often thought deep down that I might be the only one left in this world.
Fortunately, it seems the world hasn’t completely ended.
As memories of painful and lonely times flash before me, joy forms in my eyes, which I thought had dried up long ago.

“Wait, wait, this isn’t the time.”
Before the joy streaming down my face could disappear, I hurriedly activated the drone.
I worried that it might have broken down or lost connection while I was sleeping.
Fortunately, as if last night’s luck wasn’t just a one-time thing, the drone worked well.

“Hello, good morning. So… I just found out someone is watching this video! These words floating in this window, they’re from you, right? If you’re still watching, could you send another message?”
After saying that, I wait for a response.
Contrary to my expectations, the message didn’t come right away, but it was still early, and I had turned off the drone while sleeping.
Given that the video transmission had been interrupted once, it wasn’t strange that it would take some time for them to find me again.

“Hmm……..”
…But no message came, no matter how much time passed.
I had been waiting since the sun began to rise, and even as it reached its zenith, the translucent window remained unchanged.

“Can I really communicate in real-time with this…?”
Unfortunately, the controller didn’t have a function to check when the messages I received were sent.
But considering that the controller was quiet until I fell asleep yesterday, it’s highly likely the message came while I was sleeping.
Could it be that when the drone is on, it simply records the video, and only transmits it when the drone is turned off?
If I think about it that way, it somewhat explains why messages that didn’t come during daylight arrived while I was sleeping.

“…No, that can’t be right.”
The blueprint clearly stated that it would conduct ‘real-time communication,’ and when connecting to the network, it said it would ‘transmit’ video.
If it was a record-and-upload method, it would have said it was recording.
And this isn’t the 21st century—even if it could do both real-time streaming and later uploading simultaneously, it seemed unlikely it would do just one of the two.

“Well… yeah, the response isn’t coming right away. It’s still early, and you all have your own things to do, so that’s natural. Actually, I didn’t expect an immediate reply either.”
Now that I’ve confirmed I can receive messages, if I keep the drone on and wait, someone will eventually send a message.
Still, after waiting this long, I thought at least one word would come—

“Hmm. Since it’s a waste of time to wait like this until night… I’ll start moving. By then, you might finish your work and come back to watch my video and send me a message. Yeah, that’s probably it.”
…Before disappointment could numb my thoughts, I forced a smile and got up.
The cooled heater. I organized the map and pencil I had been doodling on while waiting into my bag, and before leaving the house, I checked the cupboards and refrigerator one last time, just in case there might be something useful.
But all there was were dust, dead insects, and empty food wrappers.

“Seems like there’s no food, as expected. Most homes are like this. There are corpses, but no food. Nothing useful either.”

People probably wouldn’t choose death easily if they had supplies left, after all.
Even in cases where people didn’t choose to die by themselves, for different reasons, there’s often nothing left in the house.

“Still, usually there are some spices or sauces left, but it seems the person who lived here really wanted to live until the very end.”
I closed the kitchen shelf door with a bang—there was really nothing there—and left the house.

“May you have gone to a better place.”
Wishing peace to the homeowner who had lent me the house for a night, even though unwillingly.

“First… before going outside, I think I should go up to the rooftop and see what’s around.”
The wind is blowing stronger than yesterday, but it’s not snowing heavily, so I can look around.
I put down my bag and started climbing the stairs with a water bottle, telescope, and a sheet of paper for mapping.

“I don’t think I mentioned this to you, but I was actually cooped up for quite a long time while fixing the drone. It’s about time I find a supermarket.”
Thanks to the food I luckily gathered from the last supermarket I visited, I’m not about to starve immediately, but since this isn’t a world where you can get what you need right when you need it, I had to prepare in advance.

Getting lost, not finding buildings with food, or being unable to move due to injury or illness—considering all these possibilities, I should carry at least five days’ worth of food in my bag.

“Phew….”
Truly, this city had an excessive number of people living in it.
Residential buildings easily exceeded 20 or 30 floors.
Even though my physical condition has improved, climbing a building with more than 20 floors at once is difficult, and sweat that doesn’t match the weather soaks my entire body.
But since no one knows when the weather might turn bad, I diligently move my feet.

“Huff, huff, you look so comfortable.”
The drone floating in the air made me just a little bit envious.

“I always think this, but isn’t the scenery just amazing?”
Although it’s a city that has perished, the sight of numerous buildings and massive structures standing densely together was truly spectacular.

“In the past, each of those buildings, each streetlight in the city, must have shone brilliantly.”
Buildings glowing with colorful lights, people living with affluence, laughing without any worries—this city must have had such a past too.
If a lot of time passes, could we return to those days?
…Will I see such a scene in my lifetime?

“Let’s stop imagining for now and focus on what needs to be done. I have a feeling there’s a supermarket nearby.”
I bring the telescope to my eye and look around.
Since there are so many tall buildings, the view isn’t completely clear, but it wasn’t a wasted effort climbing up here—I could see every corner of this area at least.

“A large supermarket… or a shopping mall… finding a place where I can get food is easier than I thought.”
Many buildings are tall and wide, making it difficult to distinguish them just by their external appearance.
Nevertheless, commercial buildings like shopping malls and supermarkets had characteristics that made them recognizable even from a distance.

“I think you probably know this too… or maybe not, if you’re living in a peaceful place unlike me?”
Just because the cities I’ve passed through have ended up like this doesn’t mean every town and city on Earth looks exactly the same.
If the person watching this video isn’t in a similar situation as me, they might not understand what I’m talking about.
Or they might be offended if I assume their peaceful town is the same as this place.

“Alright. There’s not much to talk about by myself anyway. I’ll occasionally give you tips on how to survive in a city like this.”
People living in a world completely different from mine can understand what situation I’m in by listening to my advice.
And if there happens to be someone in a similar situation, they might be able to survive thanks to my video.
On the one hand, I can inform others about my situation, and on the other, I can forget my loneliness by chatting about anything. It’s a win-win for everyone.

“First tip is… unless you’re planning to eat rotten sauce or frozen corpses, don’t go into private homes looking for food.”
As we saw earlier, most homes don’t have anything that can be called food left.
Even what remains has rotted over time, so it’s safe to say there’s not a single proper food item left.

“The same goes for small markets or convenience stores. Places that are easily accessible and have a moderate amount of goods are just a waste of time and energy if you visit them.”
Of course, if you’re lucky, you might pick up some canned food that someone dropped while carrying it…
It’s fine to look around if it’s on your way, but it’s not worth going out of your way to find or plan to visit such places like I’m doing now, climbing a building.
You’d have a higher chance of finding something in a suspicious warehouse or in security offices or storerooms of buildings in areas with few people.

“Of course, people flocked to shopping malls and large supermarkets too. If we’re just talking about the number of people, far more gathered at these two places than the ones I mentioned before.”
It’s natural since these are the places with the most groceries that ordinary people can access.

“But because of that, there’s food that people couldn’t take away. Honestly, you probably don’t understand what I mean, right? It’s hard to understand until you see it yourself.”
Seeing is believing—rather than just explaining, it would be easier for everyone if I just capture the scene with the camera.

“Well, I think I can show you soon.”
Found it.
I took the telescope away from my eye and smiled.