"My name is Kim Sotae, and this is my daughter, Kim Suri," said the middle-aged Korean man, about 45 years old, wearing a brown long-sleeved shirt and black jeans. He handed his business card to Kantsuke. Though slightly confused, Kantsuke accepted it.
"That's just my dad's thing. He always hands out business cards when introducing himself," said the teenage girl beside him, clearing up the mystery. She looked to be around 17, maybe younger. With long flowing black hair and porcelain-like skin, Suri resembled a delicate ceramic doll. She wore pink high-top sneakers, cuffed thick-fabric shorts, and a rainbow T-shirt featuring My Little Pony, topped with a faded denim jacket nearly white from wear.
"I'm Kantsuke, and this is Izzy. Nice to meet you," Kantsuke said, shaking hands with the Korean man. If it weren't for the guns they carried and the zombie apocalypse, it would have seemed like a casual business meeting rather than a supply run in a war zone.
"You used to run an import business from Earth?" Kantsuke asked, having noticed the company name on the card.
"Yes, mostly cosmetics and skincare products."
"Did you ever import anti-cancer medication?"
"I never sold any, but—" Sotae paused, glancing at Suri, who stood by the vault door next to Izzy. The girl had her pistol raised, pointing it across the aisle with Izzy supervising closely behind. The sight made Sotae visibly uneasy.
"Suri, be careful, sweetheart. That's dangerous," he said, his voice filled with the kind of parental worry reserved for seeing your child playing recklessly in someone else's house.
"It's okay, Dad. Miss Izzy is just teaching me how to reload fast. We're not actually firing anything," Suri said, smiling toward her father.
"Just don't let it go off by accident," Sotae muttered. He had taught Suri how to shoot before, but never advanced techniques like tactical reloads.
"No worries, Mr. Sotae. My friend here is very cautious about these things," Kantsuke reassured him, then returned to the topic. "So, about the anti-cancer meds. Did you ever bring them in?"
"Myself, no. But I do know someone who did. Are you ill?"
"It's for a friend. He's at our home right now—won't make it unless he gets radiation or anti-cancer meds."
"Do you smoke?" Sotae asked, offering a red cigarette pack with a yellow flower on it—reminiscent of both Kantsuke's father and Lemo, who was dying of lung cancer.
"No, thank you." Kantsuke declined politely, and Sotae withdrew the pack.
"His name was Babinieu, owner of Barbie Pharmaceuticals."
Sotae closed his eyes and massaged his temples as if recalling something painful.
"A week before the outbreak, I ran into one of his staff—Simon. We weren't close, and he always gave me a strange vibe, but we'd chat a bit while waiting at the dimensional cargo gate. Our pickup slots were next to each other—you get the picture?"
Kantsuke nodded.
"He once told me that his boss, Babinieu, was the exclusive importer of all pharmaceutical drugs from Earth to Ether. Why don't you try checking a pharmacy?"
"It's not a drug you can just find at a pharmacy. It requires special import clearance."
"That's unfortunate..." Sotae looked at Kantsuke, who now wore a deeply serious expression.
"The last time I saw Simon, he told me his boss had just bought Jim & Thompson Farm, which was about to go under. Dirt-cheap, apparently. Hard to believe a filthy-rich guy would invest in such a spooky place—but smart, don't you think?"
"Spooky how?" Kantsuke asked, puzzled. Buying up cheap land for profit was nothing new, even if it was supposedly haunted.
"You've never heard the stories about Jim & Thompson Farm?" Sotae looked at Kantsuke like he'd just dropped in from another planet.
"I'm from Earth."
"Ah, that explains it," Sotae chuckled before continuing.
"They used it as a storage facility. Its reputation for being haunted kept thieves away—especially Amun raiders, who regularly looted other warehouses. Clever, really."
Kantsuke furrowed his brow. He was starting to wonder what, exactly, made the farm so terrifying.
Sotae flicked his cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it under his shoe.
"You might find your anti-cancer meds there."
"Thanks, Mr. Sotae."
"No problem. Hey—you're using that radio model?" He pointed to the radio clipped to Kantsuke's belt.
"I've got the same one. Here—my frequency. You never know, we might need each other again someday."He pulled his matching radio from his back pocket and gave Kantsuke his frequency. They exchanged channels.
"My friends and I are setting up a base south of the city. If you're interested, you're welcome to join us."
"I'll think about it," Kantsuke replied.
"Thanks for teaching my daughter how to reload," Sotae said to Izzy with a warm smile.
"She's a quick learner," Izzy replied. Being around Suri reminded her of her own sixteen-year-old sister—missing and possibly gone.
"Suri takes after her mother," Sotae added, a bittersweet smile flashing as he thought of his late wife, lost to the zombies.
"Let's go, Suri. We've got what we need for today."
"Bye-bye! See you next time, Miss Izzy—you'll teach me more, right?" Suri beamed, a sweet, cheerful smile lighting up her face.
"Gladly," Izzy replied, smiling back and waving as the pink-shoed girl climbed into the car with her dad.
"What were you two talking about for so long?" she asked Kantsuke, who stood at her right.
"Lemo's cancer meds. You know anything about Jim & Thompson Farm?"
"Of course. Everyone in the city knows about it. Why?"
"We might be going there."
Izzy shivered. She'd just realized that Kantsuke, being from Earth, didn't know what had happened there a year ago.
You don't want to go there,she thought—but didn't say it out loud.