Coincidence (1)
After that, everything went smoothly. There weren't many zombies on the Shinsegae Apartment grounds after passing the intersection, and even those that were there could be handled easily with Ice Spear and ice shields.
Ice Spear
BOOM! The unfortunate situation where I'd have to abandon Lee Seoyul never came up. The bodies of four zombies exploded, splattering the road with blood.
"Hah, hah..."
We finally arrived at Northdong Station. I turned back, eyeing the gloomy buildings around the station.
"Ugh. Heuk. Blech."
Lee Seoyul wasn't in great shape physically; she was breathing like she was on the verge of collapse. I asked her, "...You okay?"
"Hah, y-yes, ugh, heuk. F-Fine. I'm f-fine."
She didn't look fine at all, but she insisted she was. She swallowed hard, nearly gagging—though to be fair, she'd been under a ton of tension.
"Let's rest a bit before we go."
"N-No, I'm f-fine."
"You'll drop dead."
Of course, I didn't mean rest right here. I led her slowly and cautiously into the old downtown area. A horrific space where dark red flesh masses had infested the city.
"......"
Lee Seoyul trembled violently and asked me, "Hoo, hoo, i-is, is, th-this, place safe?" Her body shook like an aspen leaf.
"Yeah."
"N-No, it looks like a place you definitely shouldn't enter."
Lee Seoyul clasped her hands tightly together. I looked at her calmly and said, "The things here have intelligence. They can tell humans apart. They don't touch anyone with attack abilities."
Precisely, just me. In a way, this place was safer for me than anywhere else. As long as I didn't barge into their base where the fetus was, they wouldn't attack me.
Come to think of it, probably safer than Our Love Church.
Crazy remnant bastards.
But I understood why she was scared. "...Intelligence?"
Lee Seoyul froze stiff. I didn't explain further. It wasn't information she needed to know yet, and besides, people there would explain it anyway— no point in me doing it here.
"Never mind. It's complicated. Let me know when you've caught your breath."
"...Okay."
She was perceptive enough not to ask more. I scraped off the flesh from a chair with my pickaxe and sat her down. Her legs trembled nonstop.
I need to hold back on bringing people like this.
This was the first time, so I'd put in the effort, but not being able to use Frost Blink hurt. Plus, human relationships being what they are, trusting her wasn't easy.
Shame.
A savior relationship. One where I'd bestowed a favor. Even though she was friendly and obedient, it was still like this. My distrust of people hadn't been fixed.
Even after spending the night with her.
But with this method, I had no idea how many more I could bring.
Takes too damn long.
Jeong Suhyun had joined early on. The Kim Yunjin-Choi Yuri couple had naturally merged in while I cleared out Our Love Church. Kim Jungshik's group had blended in amid bad circumstances, but going forward, it wouldn't be so easy.
Thought this would make things easier.
Even Lee Seoyul, after multiple checks, was like this—what about others? Human relationships were complicated.
Sure, I'd been prickly, but still, building trust in a day was tough.
Annoying.
I really missed that mass hypnosis from Northhyang General Hospital. If I had that, I could've used 50 mana to bulk up my base personnel in one go.
No.
But I shook my head. It was Frost Blink that let me strike the Liberation Army's Southdong base and hop between buildings freely. Plus, relationships built on mass hypnosis weren't real.
And it's an Abyss skill anyway.
I didn't know what unconditional obedience to me would lead to.
Sigh...
I tell myself I don't regret it, but here I am regretting it over and over.
"Um, I... I think I'm okay now."
"Ah, yeah."
As I sat there, Lee Seoyul spoke up with an anxious look. Not even five minutes had passed—she really hated being in the old downtown.
Click.
"Eek... Hiiik!"
That was how Lee Seoyul and I passed through the old downtown. She let out a total of 24 screams.
===
Ice Spear
The uphill path to Our Love Church. The usual signal. I summoned two Ice Spears and started walking.
The familiar back door. And then.
"Boss!"
"Jeong Dojin."
The familiar blond guy. Fortunately, nothing seemed to have happened at Our Love Church. Jeong Dojin was standing guard out front with tools in hand.
Feels like Jeong Dojin's always here when I arrive.
Probably just coincidence. I spoke to him. "No issues?"
"Yeah. But everyone heard the news and was worried about you. Said you might be pushing too hard alone."
Worried, huh. I'd even thought up what to say.
These guys really have good personalities.
Even after using them like tools, they accepted it. To be fair, what I did was for everyone's benefit, so this reaction was welcome.
People were different from media portrayals.
Usually, trolls go, "What the hell are you doing?!"
These folks trusted me too much—almost worried they'd hold me back.
"Uh, who's the lady behind you?"
Then Jeong Dojin noticed Lee Seoyul standing awkwardly behind me.
"Th-that's..."
I cut off Lee Seoyul as she tried to introduce herself. "New base member. Long story— we'll talk inside."
"Ah, got it. W-Welcome! Glad you made it!"
Jeong Dojin bowed 90 degrees. I was caught off guard. This guy wasn't like this before.
Ah.
Lee Seoyul was pretty, in a cute, innocent way.
This dude's got a girlfriend and...
Not my business. I led Lee Seoyul inside the church. She didn't seem to mind anyway.
"Wow..."
Her eyes sparkled as she looked around the first floor. We'd cleaned up a lot while living here.
Well, everyone except me, technically.
Still, it made me proud—maybe 'cause I was young at heart, or wanted to show off.
"Ah! Boss!"
Heading to the second floor, Kim Yunjin and Choi Yuri were sorting supplies in the hallway. Guess they'd gotten the word from Jeong Suhyun and were handling it today.
Kim Yunjin spotted me and came running. "You're back?"
"Yeah."
"No injuries... looks like."
She patted me down quickly. A few touches lingered.
Hm.
Her hands felt a bit off, but I didn't say anything.
"Huh?"
Then Kim Yunjin peered curiously behind me. "New face?"
A faint flinch from Lee Seoyul—probably imagination. She couldn't meet Kim Yunjin's eyes. I spoke up. "Yeah. Rescued her from Southdong this time. Name's Lee Seoyul."
"Aha..."
Kim Yunjin drew out the word. But Lee Seoyul kept her mouth shut tight.
Well, Kim Yunjin does look kinda intimidating.
Classic delinquent vibe—pretty like a celebrity, but hard for guys to approach.
But Kim Yunjin reacted differently than expected. "New girl!"
She beamed and rushed over, shaking Lee Seoyul's hands vigorously. "E-Eh? Y-Yes?"
Lee Seoyul's confusion was short-lived.
"How old are you? Job? Skills? Anything like attack skills?"
"Uh, um, I..."
Kim Yunjin rapid-fired questions. Despite her looks, she was showing real friendliness. Then Choi Yuri approached with an exasperated look. "Unnie, stop."
"Ahh! S-Sorry. It's just, first new girl besides Yuri. Hehe."
Choi Yuri had to intervene to get Kim Yunjin to let go.
"N-No, it's fine. I'm okay. I'm Lee Seoyul."
"I'm Kim Yunjin—let's get along!"
"Y-Yes."
Surprisingly, Kim Yunjin eased Lee Seoyul's tension. Still, better save full intros for later.
"Anyway, I'll head out. Gotta tell Jeong Suhyun and Kim Jungshik too."
"Sorry, boss. Got excited about the new girl."
"It's fine."
The better they got along, the better. I headed to the room with Jeong Suhyun or the deputy leader.
Creeeak.
Opening the door revealed Jeong Suhyun, still with his rifle aimed outward. Unexpectedly, Kim Inho was also there today, rifle out, watching the outside.
"I'm back."
"Ah, Junyoung. Saw you. Mission go well?"
Jeong Suhyun turned from the window to look at me. Kim Inho kept his eyes outside.
"Yeah, but..."
I nodded toward Kim Inho. Jeong Suhyun chuckled. "Just in case—added extra personnel while you were out."
"Makes sense."
Jeong Suhyun was thorough. While I was hitting the Liberation Army, it made sense to have an extra in the command room for raids. Reliable guy.
"Anyway, who's behind you?"
Then Jeong Suhyun's eyes flashed red briefly as he asked.
"New rescue. She'll stay at the base from now on."
"I-I'm Lee Seoyul."
Lee Seoyul bowed her head. Fair enough—Jeong Suhyun looked sharp at first glance.
"N-No need to be so tense, haha. If Junyoung brought you, you're trustworthy. Welcome. I'm Jeong Suhyun, his right-hand man."
"...Right-hand?"
"Jeong Suhyun. That's ancient history."
I grimaced. This guy, seriously.
"Hahaha. Too old-school? Can't say that either? Then number two?"
"Ah, haha..."
Lee Seoyul forced an awkward smile. But Jeong Suhyun didn't mind and continued. "Anyway, I'll fetch Kim Jungshik first. Introduce you properly at mealtime later."
"Sounds good."
Jeong Suhyun, lightening the mood, nodded to Kim Inho and headed out.
Creeeak.
"Huh?"
Lee Seoyul's expression turned strange. I sat at the table and asked, "Something wrong?"
"N-No."
Wonder what the issue was. No way to know.
Moments later.
"Junyoung! Heard you were back! With a new person too?"
Bang!
Kim Jungshik entered laughing with Jeong Suhyun. He looked a bit regretful as he said to me, "Could've given us a heads-up before heading out? Kinda bummed. Only told Jeong Suhyun... Huh?"
His words cut off. Kim Jungshik frowned.
"What? Something up?"
No answer. Lee Seoyul beside me was the same.
"What's the situation?"
Jeong Suhyun, slipping in behind Kim Jungshik, asked. But it wasn't for me to answer.
Suddenly, Kim Jungshik and Lee Seoyul stared at each other, mouths shut.
And then.
A bit later.
"Uh, wait. Lee Seoyul? That you?"
Kim Jungshik asked awkwardly.
"...Uncle Kim Jungshik?"
Lee Seoyul replied in a dazed voice.
What the hell.
What kind of situation is this?