Bound for Seoul?
Even the man who had conducted the physical inspection wore a grim expression.
Whoa, look at those faces... Not that I'm thrilled about being stripped naked either... Tsk. Better just do as I'm told...
"Put your clothes back on..."
The man wielding the pitch-black spear spoke. He exuded an overwhelming aura of strength, and his deep, oddly mesmerizing voice prompted the examinee to answer almost involuntarily.
"Yes..."
As he hurriedly pulled his clothes back together, the spear-wielding powerhouse spoke up once more.
"Come to think of it, I haven't caught your name yet. I'm Kim Saebyeok."
"Haha... I'm Ko Youngchan."
"And your age, if you don't mind me asking...?"
"Thirty-five."
"Ah... So you're older than me. Well then, Youngchan-hyung... Now that the inspection is over, how about we step outside the mart to talk? It looked like you wanted somewhere private."
"Yes, anywhere is fine with me."
"Doyoung-hyung, I'm... heading outside for a bit. If Jian or Heejin come looking, let them know. We'll be talking right out front, but... I'll be back shortly."
"All right... Be careful."
"Will do."
Saebyeok and Ko Youngchan stepped out through the front entrance, walking far enough to ensure their voices wouldn't carry while staying comfortably in view.
"Here, Youngchan-hyung. Why don't you have this while we talk?"
Saebyeok offered him a chocolate bar—a luxury that had become practically extinct in this ruined world.
"...Are you... really giving this to me?"
"Of course. And please, drop the formal honorifics. Speak comfortably."
"Haha... How could I do that?"
"Well... suit yourself. Shall we get down to brass tacks, then?"
The instant Saebyeok's tone dropped, the air around them thickened, and Youngchan's breath caught in his throat. A suffocating, crushing pressure bore down on his entire body, as if he had been plunged into the black depths of the ocean.
He doesn't look angry... but I have to lay everything bare. Total honesty. That's my only chance...
Ko Youngchan took two or three deep, ragged breaths before finally finding his voice.
"My younger sister and I ran a small hair salon in Seoul. Then, out of nowhere, the world flipped upside down like this. Fortunately, both my sister and I awakened the most common classes—Knight and Archer. We managed to scrape by. I was the only man in the salon, and to keep overhead low, I'd installed basic solar panels and a rainwater filtration system from the very beginning to save on utility bills. Thanks to those piecemeal preparations, we were able to hold out."
"..."
"Along the way, luck was on our side and we managed to find systemic shops twice, so life was somewhat manageable. But in a world like this, predators inevitably show up. A group of raiders came. They either had superior classes or had visited shops far more often than we had, because we couldn't even put up a fight. They stripped us of everything. Right before my eyes, the salon staff and my little sister were..."
"Take your time. You don't have to rush."
Saebyeok listened with a healthy dose of internal skepticism.
How much of this can I take at face value? Even if he isn't lying, he might firmly believe rumors or faulty info to be the absolute truth... This is tricky.
Seeing Youngchan choking up, his throat seizing with grief, Saebyeok cracked open a sports drink and held it out.
"...If you keep giving me such precious things, how am I ever supposed to repay you...?"
"It's already open. And as you saw earlier... we aren't hurting for supplies. Drink. I wouldn't offer it if we couldn't spare it."
Feeling as though Saebyeok's piercing gaze could see right through his frayed, pathetic state, Ko Youngchan did as he was told.
Gulp. Gulp, gulp.
The sweet, lukewarm taste of the pre-apocalypse washed over his parched tongue and down his throat.
"Phaa... Thank you."
"Take a moment. When you're ready, continue."
"Whew... They raped them, then murdered the girls on our staff. They picked out the ones they didn't think were pretty enough and... Well, I was stabbed and tossed off the building, of course."
"..."
"They probably never imagined what was down there—a tiny idol, like a miniature pagan altar. As the darkness crept in and my consciousness frayed, I watched my sister... knocked senseless, dripping with that filthy white fluid, being hauled off like a sack of luggage. All I could think was: If only I could offer my everything just to butcher those bastards. In that fraction of a second, I must have prayed to every deity that ever existed. Haha..."
"And did someone answer?"
"Yes... though it cost me nearly everything. I can't fight anymore. I have no way to grow stronger or take revenge with my own hands."
"May I ask why?"
Saebyeok's expression betrayed genuine curiosity.
"I sacrificed it all. To an unknown voice that called itself a Fragment of the Crawling Chaos... It told me it was looking for entertainment. It stripped away my fertility, blinded my left eye, and warped my body so I can never use mana again."
"Then how did you manage to make it all the way here...?"
"In exchange, it left a small gift in my right eye. And gave me the coordinates to this location."
Saebyeok raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Whenever my life is in danger, my vision bleeds red to warn me. Even in my sleep."
"That's..."
"And knowing that Waves only spawn around clusters of twenty-five or more survivors was a massive help. Plenty of people died because they gathered in groups without knowing that."
"Wait. What? How do you know that?"
"Know what?"
"That Waves only occur where twenty-five or more people gather."
"The Crawling Chaos told me. When I asked if making it this far was impossible, it kindly explained. Whether it was telling the truth or not, I can't say for sure. But it said a bored powerhouse resided here, and that there was a very high chance he would hear me out."
"...I'll have to give this some serious thought. Well, I've heard your story, and there are still a few things I need to know. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Of course! Anything you want."
Saebyeok and Youngchan returned to the mart.
"Doyoung-hyung... Could you summon the main scouting team and the mechanics? We need to hold a meeting."
"...Why? Did something happen?"
"Yeah... I'll explain once everyone's here."
A short while later, everyone Saebyeok had requested gathered on the ground floor.
"First of all, thank you all for coming on such short notice."
Saebyeok stood before a whiteboard and addressed the group.
"Oppa! What's going on?"
"The reason I called you all here today is that while our scouting teams have been steadily expanding our operational range, I'd like to propose an expedition a bit farther afield."
"Where exactly are we talking about?" Doyoung asked.
"Seoul."
The moment the word left his lips, murmurs broke out across the room, quickly swelling into vocal pushback.
"Isn't that way too far?"
"We haven't even finished sweeping Incheon yet!"
"Don't tell me this is because of that newcomer? Why? Out of pity? That's a bit hard to stomach."
Kang Suho's blunt remark capped the dissent, drawing every eye back to Saebyeok.
"I understand your concerns. But this isn't out of sympathy. According to what he told me, there are significant numbers of survivors in Seoul. If there are decent people among them, rescuing and recruiting them will directly bolster our community's survival. Right now, we hold the luxury of time. And the current headcount at this mart simply isn't enough. It makes us nervous, but we have to scale up."
"..."
"And I'll be going alone. Jian and Heejin will stay here—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Jian shot to her feet, her voice rising sharply.
"Oppa!! If you're going, we're going together!!"
"She's right!!"
Heejin piped up without missing a beat.
"You two need to protect the mart... We need at least one high-tier combatant holding down the fort in case of emergencies... And besides..."
Saebyeok manifested the Magic Engineering Hover Bike, gesturing toward it.
"It won't take long. And at most, this thing only seats two... Haha..."
"Still!!"
"While I make a circuit and headhunt talent, I need you all to secure more living space and wrap up our exploration of the Incheon area."
"Sigh... Since when did you start acting like a stubborn kid throwing a tantrum?"
Doyoung clapped Saebyeok on the shoulder, shaking his head.
"Well, you could look at it that way. But ultimately, we need manpower. If we know where people are concentrated, there's no reason to turn a blind eye. And while I'm there, I'll gather vital intelligence."
"I'm still not convinced!! It's too dangerous!"
Heejin dug in her heels, barking her protests, while Jian stood half a step behind her, watching Saebyeok with deep, anxious eyes.
"I told you, I'll be back before you know it... Besides, with no system missions currently bearing down on our community, right now is the best window we'll ever get."
"Still..."
"I'm setting out tomorrow regardless. Ah! Daechul-ssi!"
"Yeah?"
"How much work is left on remodeling this building?"
"About half? Ah, and I finished up your place on the rooftop this morning. Go check it out... Wait, you didn't call me down here just to ask that, did you?"
"No. I was wondering if you could start renovating the adjacent buildings so they can accommodate newcomers."
"It's doable... How big are we talking?"
"As much as you can possibly manage."
"Wait, why?? What's got into you?"
"Daechul-ssi, I want to build a sanctuary where human society can actually function again. We need more hands in the kitchen... and we need more people for research, production, and perimeter defense, don't we?"
"Crazy bastard... Talk about grand ambitions. Well, not like anyone here can stop you when you set your mind to something anyway. Could've just told me one-on-one instead of wasting my time with a damn meeting..."
"Due process matters. Just because it's me doesn't mean I get to ignore protocol."
"Keke, don't give me that bullshit! If you cared about protocol, you wouldn't be running off on this reckless trip... Should I drag everyone back in here and put it to a vote?"
"No, sir. My apologies."
"Anyway, watch your back out there..."
"I will."
Saebyeok assigned Youngchan a place to rest for the day and tasked Minsu with keeping an eye on him. Afterwards, he retreated to his newly constructed rooftop home, where he found himself having to soothe an upset Jian and Heejin.
"Oppa... You know this isn't like you, right?"
"I know..."
"Then you need to explain... properly."
Jian looked genuinely vexed.
"First of all... it seems there's something called the 25-Person Rule."
"What? What's that?"
"From what I've gathered, Waves only spawn around survivor groups numbering twenty-five or more."
"What?!! Then our—"
"Shh! Hey, keep it down... That's why I couldn't say anything downstairs. If people find out, it'll cause panic and internal friction... Keep your mouths shut."
Heejin slapped both hands over her mouth, while Jian stepped closer, her eyes wide with shock.
"Oppa, that doesn't make sense. During our first Wave... there were barely any people here. Same with the second..."
"I know... We don't know which of the five Waves this rule started applying to, and it's hard to take the information at face value. That's why I have to verify it myself. And it's also true that we need more people."
"Hah..."
"We need intel on what's happening out there... TubeTube is long dead. If we don't scout with our own feet, we're blind. We can't stay cooped up behind locked doors forever. If we don't seize this window of opportunity to scout and gather intel while we have the upper hand, we could be blindsided at any moment."
"..."
"Whoever is orchestrating this is treating Earth like their personal playground... They won't just leave us alone once they get bored. I don't know when this nightmare will end, but even if they announce it's over, we can never let our guard down. That's why we need information from the outside, and that's why we need people..."