Kim Hyeonsu's Plan Begins

What was Jihye seeing right now?

It was a skill that never even appeared in the webtoon, so I couldn't begin to guess how she was putting it to use. One thing was certain, though — she was figuring something out.

"Aaah..!!"

"What?"

"My head hurts...! And I'm dizzy too..."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?! It hurts because it hurts!!"

"......"

"No, I mean...!"

Jihye, who'd snapped at me in a flash of pain, apologized and then calmly explained her Information Gathering skill.

The skill's ability could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be summed up simply and clearly.

CCTV with audio support.

But since it was only a Level 1 skill, neither the audio nor the video was clear, she said.

"So people look like black silhouettes. Still, I can tell if someone's wearing a hat, or what their hairstyle is like. Height and build too. And the conversation comes through like that crackling static noise, you know? So I can't make out what they're saying, but every now and then there are words I can pick up."

"So you can see and hear everything that happened here?"

"I'm not sure about that. Every time I use the skill, a specific scene just shows up."

"No skill cooldown or anything?"

"Doesn't seem like it... But every time I use this skill, my head hurts so bad! It's like I downed three bottles of soju plus some makgeolli on top — my stomach's queasy, I'm dizzy, there's this stabbing pain... Anyway, let me tell you what I saw first."

According to her, three people in total had raped and then murdered the woman with the painted nails.

But the surprising part was that before the killers left, someone else had come looking for this place.

"Hyeonsu..."

"Hyeonsu?"

"That's what the killers called the person who showed up. And they said something about tonight, and also..."

So Kim Hyeonsu really was involved, just as I'd thought.

But what did "tonight" mean?

Even piecing together everything else Jihye had overheard, there wasn't much that could serve as a real hint.

"Maybe it means they're attacking tonight??"

"Could be."

"Tonight" could be interpreted any number of ways. It could mean the timing of an attack, like Jihye said. It could be a promise to meet again. Or it could mean they were going to try framing us one more time.

Wait a second.

At that point, we still hadn't cleared our names yet.

So let's think about this from Kim Hyeonsu's perspective.

Out of nowhere, people whose strength he couldn't even gauge had joined up. Those people had thrown his carefully prepared plan off track, so he'd cooked up this scheme to drive them out.

If he thought the scheme would succeed....

"Let's wrap this up quick tonight. Before any more variables show up."

"Huh?? What?"

"I was thinking that's probably what Kim Hyeonsu would say."

"So it is an attack?"

"I think so. First, though, we need to set his derailed plan straight."

We headed back to the villa.

The atmosphere was still unsettled, and I could even feel wariness from some of the people.

"We'll be going now, mister."

"Huh, where to??"

"Anywhere. We won't be staying around here, though. Running into each other would just be awkward for everyone."

"But the misunderstanding's been cleared up! And I'm sorry... for jumping to conclusions without even hearing you out..."

"It's fine. It was a situation where that could easily happen."

"H-hey! Can't you just stay here..? Even just for a little while.."

"Why?"

"If other people really did that, then for whatever reason, they're targeting us! So..."

"You want us to stay and protect you?"

"Yes!"

"I refuse."

"What..?"

"Yeonghun and Jaemin almost got killed too. There's no reason for us to put ourselves at risk just to help you people. And sure, I said it was fine — but honestly, being hit with a completely one-sided accusation like that still pisses me off."

"That's..!"

I firmly turned down their plea for help and strode over to Seo Hayun.

Seo Hamin stepped in front of me to block my path, but I ignored her, pulled a small bottle of pills from my pocket, and held it out to Seo Hayun.

"Take it."

"What... is this..?"

"Poison."

"Kang Juhan!"

"Got it from a Random Box. No use to me. Feed it to someone else or take it yourself — up to you. It's a poison that guarantees a kill."

"......"

It was the lemon candy from the Cursed Random Box.

That was something I had to eat. And it had to be forced down my throat by someone else.

That was why I'd given it to Seo Hayun.

The candy now in her hand was guaranteed to end up in someone else's hands.

"KRAAAAH!!"

"KRAK!!!"

"KRAAA!!"

"KRAAAAH!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!!"

Two men racing down an alley filled with the deafening wails of zombies quickly ducked into a café with its entire storefront window smashed out.

"Got good instincts, that one? Keeps looking back."

"Let's put a little more distance. We just need to confirm they're leaving, right?"

"Yeah. But shouldn't we take those guys out too? Stronger ones mean better rewards, don't they?"

"Junggeon and Hyeonsu will handle it."

"True enough~ We just sit back, watch the show, and collect our cut, hahaha~"

"Crazy bastard."

"KRAAAAH!!!"

"KRAAK!!"

"KRAAAAAAH!!!"

Even as zombies poured in through the broken storefront, the two men tailing Kang Juhan's group were overflowing with ease. They were strong enough that zombies posed no threat at all in a situation like this.

After trailing Kang Juhan's party for a long while, the two men only stopped once they confirmed the group was heading into an old apartment complex along the Han River, hundreds of meters from the villa.

But they set up shop inside a building across the street and kept watching.

Until the sun went down.

Meanwhile, once everyone had gone back to their respective homes, Kim Hyeonsu quietly scaled the villa's wall.

And the place he headed for was, surprisingly, the building right next to the villa.

Whoosh!!!

The moment he stepped through the building entrance, a sharp blade tip came flying at his throat.

But Kim Hyeonsu didn't so much as blink. He turned his head with indifferent eyes and looked at the grinning man.

"Oh, it was you, hyung? Almost killed you~"

"Put it away."

"Yessir! My bad~"

"Where's Junggeon?"

"Third floor."

With every step Kim Hyeonsu took, cheerful greetings came from people stationed throughout the hallway. But he ignored every single one of them, rode the elevator up, and only acknowledged a greeting once he reached the third floor.

Not that he was really returning a greeting — more like just saying what he needed to say.

"You here?"

"You see them?"

"Yeah, I saw."

"How were they?"

"The one you first fought..."

"Cha Suho."

"Right, that guy was pretty solid too. Not as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good as me, though."

"Be clear."

"Nothing special. I could handle him alone."

"Then what about that Kang Juhan guy?"

"The one who showed up late and beat everyone down? Hmm... Honestly, he'd be a bit much. If I had to face him alone, that is."

Not getting the answer he wanted, Kim Hyeonsu frowned slightly and walked past five men, heading further inside.

He walked over to where a man covered in tattoos from the waist up was waiting.

"Park Junggeon."

"Drop the last name~ Don't make it so stiff~"

"Haa... Junggeon."

"Don't touch that one. He's mine. Got it?"

"You confident?"

"If you don't trust me, go do it yourself~"

"Then why didn't you kill him?"

He'd watched the entire fight from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the building right next to the villa — to gauge the enemy's strength. Which meant he'd also witnessed Kang Juhan and O Jihye leaving the villa alone after things settled down.

That was why he asked. If you're so confident, why didn't you kill him?

"Just killing him would be a waste~ We're doing all this shit to get quests. But did you really lose? Looked like you were holding back, but then again, so was he. Come on, tell me. Did you lose? Did you?"

"I can't beat him. Not alone."

"Oh~ That just makes me want to kill him even more. But we're definitely getting the quest, right?"

After confirming there were survivors at the villa, Kim Hyeonsu had deliberately approached them. By saving Seo Hamin and the others when they were in danger, he'd naturally become a member of the villa.

After that, he'd actively helped gather food, rescue survivors, and even assist with quests. He'd done everything he could to gather more survivors at the villa and help them grow safely.

There was only one reason for all of it.

"We've fattened them up this much. We're getting it for sure."

Because they could receive quests.

No — because he already had experience receiving quests through fights with other survivors. It wasn't just about getting quests. To receive better rewards, he'd rescued survivors, brought them to the villa, and actively helped them grow.

"But they might show up even if we don't call them."

"What do you mean?"

"It's weird that they left so suddenly even after clearing up the misunderstanding. It's like they're pushing us to start."

"Isn't that a good thing? The quest rewards will be better."

"Rewards aren't the problem. The problem is that variables could appear. If those variables make the plan fail, we die. This is a world where you either kill or get killed."

"Don't worry, friend. Even if they come, I'll kill that Kang Juhan or whatever his name is for you."

"......"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Even after Park Junggeon's confident words, Kim Hyeonsu still looked deep in thought — but eventually he nodded.

In all this time, the ever-confident Park Junggeon had never lost once.

Time passed, and the clock ticked past 10 PM under a blanket of complete darkness.

"They're still at the apartment."

"You sure?"

"I'm telling you, I'm sure."

The two men who'd been watching the apartment Kang Juhan's group entered confirmed that only one unit still had its lights on, then came back.

An apartment hundreds of meters away. Ten at night. Internet and phones all cut off. No way to contact each other, and even if they had some scheme going, it could be finished before Kang Juhan's group arrived.

Having made all his calculations, Kim Hyeonsu nodded.

"Alright. Tell them to start."

"Okay."

"See you later~"

The two men climbed over the wall and entered the neighboring building where their people were waiting. A short while later, more than thirty people scaled the villa's wall.

And a quest appeared.

Before the eyes of Kang Juhan's group, who were waiting not at the Han River apartment but in a building behind the villa.

But something was off.

One person alone hadn't received the quest.

"Wait! You all got a quest??"

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"Oppa, you didn't get one?"

"What the hell..! Why am I the only one not getting a quest?!!"

Kang Juhan shouted as if it were unfair — but it wasn't that he hadn't received a quest.

He was already running far more quests than anyone else.