The Regressor Is Obsessed With Me Chapter 16

16. Base Camp (3)

Well… at least only one human was emotionally offended.

[The Harmed Sister demands you throw that man away.]
[The Harmed Sister also insists you go check on your brother first!]

“Haha…”

Okay, non-humans were offended too.
But still—only one human.

[The Abandoned Princess recommends mediating the conflict before it escalates.]
[She warns that emotional disputes often become the spark for disasters.]
[The Administrator of the Planetarium agrees.]

Right.
Mediation first.
For the sake of future cooperation.

“I’ll go talk to my brother. Please wait here.”

“Do you have to go alone?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

The last thing this camp needed was Round Two of Fistfight: Regressor Edition.

I emphasized—firmly—that he should NOT follow me, and that I’d be right back.

“…You must return quickly.”

“Yes, yes.”

He seemed… oddly sulky today.
Probably just my imagination.

I walked through the camp in search of Saebyeok.

“Oh—there he is.”

Luckily, he wasn’t far.
He sat under a tree, eyes closed, looking like he was meditating.
Probably sulking in peace after brushing off the kids earlier.

I took a deep breath and called loudly:

“Chae Saebyeok!”

His eyes opened.

“Noeul?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“What are you doing here? Go rest. You must be tired.”

As if he hadn’t been on the verge of punching someone five minutes ago, he looked at me with warm concern.

“My precious brother looked upset, so here I am.”

Honestly—too softhearted for his own good.

I plopped down beside him.

…And realized I had no idea how to comfort someone.
He was always the one mediating.
I was always the one causing trouble.

Well.
I tried to copy what he used to do.

“Yeah… that jerk is annoying. The way he talks is just—ugh.”

Step one: relate.

Even the most reasonable words sound unbearable coming from the wrong mouth.

“Actually… he was like that on the first floor too.”

“……”

“Sometimes you look at him and just want to punch that mouth. Right?”

[The Harmed Sister strongly agrees with your words.]

…Not you.
I wasn’t asking you.

“You had every right to be angry.”

“…Did I?”

But his expression didn’t ease at all.
His brows were pulled tight, frustration tangled with confusion.

He ruffled his hair hard, as if trying to shake out his own thoughts.

“…Honestly, he wasn’t wrong.”

“……”

“In the end, we do have to choose. And I keep getting a bad feeling. But still, I…”

Ah.
So he wasn’t just angry.
He was already spiraling—thinking himself in circles.

Great.

I let out a slow breath and tapped the ground.

“Okay. Then let’s organize the situation first. Breaking it down will help.”

“…Yeah. Let’s go inside—”

“Yeonwoo is inside.”

I shoved his shoulder lightly so he stayed seated.

“If you see him right now, you two are definitely fighting again. Am I wrong?”

“……”

“I’ll filter things and explain. Just listen.”

I picked up a fallen branch and drew five rough circles in the dirt.

“The core problem is: not enough keys for the number of people. Correct?”

“Yeah.”

“And it’s not like people will immediately die because they can’t use one. Right?”

“Right.”

Next, I drew a cluster of little houses—tiny squares packed together.

“And here’s what’s been bothering me.”

I looked at him.

“Is the shortage of keys… actually a life-or-death crisis?”

He blinked.

“…What?”

“The ‘heart’ is just a key to move to the next floor. But is it truly necessary that every single person moves right now?”

I held up a hand before he could misunderstand.

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t go. I also want to leave. Badly.”

Meanwhile, I finished drawing about twenty houses.

A group.
A safe group.

“This floor has no time limit. You said so yourself.”

“Yeah. That’s why I waited for you.”

“Which means we can plan long-term. If—big if—we can manage resources.”

I tapped the cluster of houses.

“So. Why did you gather people here in the first place?”

“Huh? For safety. Groups scare off weirdos, we can rotate night watches, hunting is easier—”

“All advantages of a group. Now, how many people here are combat-capable?”

“Except for three or four, everyone can fight. Skill levels differ, but still.”

“So small-time killers can’t take on this group.”

I drew three tiny armed stick figures beside one house.

“The ones trying to clear the floor by killing others? They can’t target groups like this.”

“Yeah. They leave us alone now.”

Because a group of twenty was too big a bite.

“But they would go after smaller groups.”

Like me and Yeonwoo earlier.

“And just like here, people elsewhere will band together to avoid that fate.”

“Are there other groups?”

“Three or four. Roughly same size. Not enemies. Not close. Just… neighbors.”

Since Dongwoo and Dohwa scouted everything they could, that meant—

All groups were facing the same dead end.

“All right. Now.”
I pointed at the five circles.
“The key shortage.”

With groups growing stable and no immediate danger…

“They can’t risk going to the next floor and shrinking their numbers. That weakens them.”

If numbers dropped, they’d become vulnerable to other groups—or predators.

“So the first thing they’ll do is look for alternatives. Has anyone realized the ‘territorial tyrant’ is the only bipedal monster left?”

“Some probably know the monster exists. Not sure if they know it’s the only one.”

“For now, it’s fine. Everyone’s still adjusting.”

But later?

When food runs low?
When people get restless?
When they realize they’re trapped?

“…Killing people becomes the easiest method again.”

I drew a huge monster beside the tiny houses—its body filled with dozens of circles.
Its many “hearts.”

“To avoid that outcome, they’ll look for an alternative… but they can’t kill that monster alone.”

“Just like us.”

“Exactly.”

He said, gloomy:

“We’re worried they might attack us first. I don’t want to fight people but…”

His tone made me smile.

“Then how about thinking differently?”

He stared, confused.

“Tell me, oppa. That monster—how many hearts did you sense?”

“Around a hundred.”

“Perfect.”

“Perfect…? We still can’t kill it. And we need to defend the camp—”

“If twenty people aren’t enough, we just increase the number.”

He blinked.

“We form an alliance. With the other groups.”

A simple solution.

“Team up. Hunt that monster together.”

One monster.
One enormous key.
Solve the entire problem at once.

He still looked unsure.

“Killing that monster is a lot harder than killing people.”

“I know. And yes—some people will definitely prefer killing humans.”

That was how the hunter groups formed.

“There’s no guarantee the other groups won’t stab us in the back.”

“True.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“But—”

I looked at him quietly.

“You can’t kill them, can you?”

His mouth shut instantly.

Of course he couldn’t.

“…….”

He was all sharp eyes and bluster, but inside?
Mushy.
Ridiculously softhearted.

“So instead of doubting everyone… how about trusting them, just this once?”

If he couldn’t take the cruel path, then we’d take the hopeful one.

“What’s the worst outcome? We gain nothing. We lose nothing.”

Someone had to look out for this lovable disaster of a brother.

“…Yeah.”

His answer was small.
But firm.

“Good. Then let’s head back.”

Deep down, I still knew the regressor’s suggestion was the most logical.
Cruel but efficient.

But this was my brother.
And he didn’t want that route.

“There’s a lot to do.”

He nodded.

I stood and dusted off my hands.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll help you.”

Because this was family.
And I wanted him—and all of us—to survive.

In every sense of the word.