Ragged Wanderer (2)
The situation I was facing wasn't simple at all. I had enough food stocked for three people to last over a year. And now with the hydroponics room added on top, if we rationed carefully, we could hold out for two years without any resupply. That didn't mean I could just hand out the supplies I'd gathered to anyone, though. It was a matter of attitude.
Having lived safely, eating my fill in a warm place, my mindset was worlds apart from those scraping by outside. Rescuing the Han sisters had been a stroke of luck with a good outcome, but if I kept running into cases like them—or people with kids in tow—would it really be right to hand out free aid every time? No. If I didn't toughen up and kept repeating this soft-hearted behavior, I'd end up in serious trouble sooner or later.
The woman had gone down with the child, leaving the man still facing off against me. I explained the situation to Han Seol and Han Byeol, and they both gave the same opinion.
"We've reached an agreement, so we might as well just go, right?"
"Seeing an Awakener traveling with family suggests their original group collapsed or they split off. An Awakener like that should survive just fine on their own."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
We decided to move on.
"Step aside. I'm heading to the next apartment. I have no interest in your family."
The man couldn't back down easily, probably because he'd been caught with his wife and kid downstairs.
"Master, we need to burn the Stalker's corpse. Other monsters might smell it and come swarming."
That's when an idea hit me. I told the man,
"Burn the Stalker's body."
"Pardon? Ah, got it."
"Did you search from the first floor up to the nineteenth?"
"Yes, nothing but a few bottles of water."
"I see."
As two drones leisurely slipped out the front door, the man backed away until he was pressed against the elevator doors. With a zzzt, they cut open the neighboring apartment's door, and only then did he exhale in relief and slip inside.
There was nothing useful next door. When I returned, the man was watching to make sure the fire didn't spread while burning the Stalker's corpse.
I pulled a can of peach preserves and two cans of tuna from my eco-bag, tossed them on the floor, and said,
"Payment for your trouble. There's water in the kitchen drawer if you need it—take it or leave it."
The man, face tense, bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
"Th-thank you!"
This was the limit of the mercy I could afford.
By the time we'd stripped the twenty-first floor and headed back down, the Stalker was a pile of black ash, and the man had vanished with the 1.5-liter bottles from the kitchen drawer and the canned goods.
I told the Han sisters about the encounter, and Han Byeol laughed.
"Master's such a tsundere."
Han Seol said softly,
"I think that's part of what makes you cool."
We'd cleared up to the twenty-fifth floor, but nothing matched the haul from the twentieth.
"Looks like the twentieth was the jackpot. Most doors were locked, but they took every edible thing on their way out."
"That's typical for apartments. If the area's not monster-heavy, they might've come back for the leftovers."
Han Byeol mentioned that sometimes you find houses where the owner seemed like a total survivalist prepper—jackpots packed with disposables, high-proof booze, meds, and cans. She'd seen one once, full of that stuff, but sadly, the owner never made it home and died out there.
We stripped up to the thirtieth and scored three cans of whelk, plus pink salt and pepper. After piloting the drones so long, I was getting tired, so we decided to scout a bit more and head home.
That's when Han Seol spoke up.
"Do-hyun, have you heard about the Ragged Wanderer?"
"No, aren't they just scavengers picking up scrap?"
"There's an Awakener called the Ragged Wanderer roaming the city you're scouting right now."
"Ragged Wanderer? Tell me more."
Han Seol began recounting the tale of the Ragged Wanderer.
Ragged Wanderer
She's become an urban legend among survivors. But she really exists. People have met her, witnessed her, even seen her fight.
She doesn't loot others or kill without reason. The peculiarities? She always wears a long raincoat with a hood down to her ankles, a gas mask, and hauls a massive mountaineering backpack while wandering and scavenging. No one's heard her voice, so even her gender's unknown. The hood's always pulled low.
True to her mysterious vibe, she's left behind legend-like stories.
There was a small group of about thirty Awakeners called "Cross"—not many, but all melee bruisers and hardcore looters, infamous for it. One day, five Cross members spotted the Ragged Wanderer grabbing a few cans and water from a convenience store that hadn't been fully stripped. They approached, told her to drop the bag and scram. She refused.
Fight broke out on the spot. She tore four of them apart barehanded in seconds. The survivor bolted back to base and reported it. Nearly all thirty Cross members rushed there—and ran straight into her farming the corpses.
The result was a massacre. They couldn't land a scratch; she slaughtered them unilaterally. Only one survivor staggered off half-mad, got captured by another group later, and that's how her legend spread.
After that, others claimed encounters, but none were attacked or killed by her.
Another tale: Two groups clashing over territory lines escalated to war. Mid-battle, the Ragged Wanderer shows up. Both sides halt, wait for her to leave. She ignores the fighters, rummages a trash heap, pockets some scrap metal, and strolls off.
Later, asked why they stopped, everyone said they instinctively knew: harm that being by mistake, and we'd all die right there. In the end, the groups called a truce—"if something like that shows up, we're done"—shook hands, and merged.
Han Byeol said it was true; that group's still around.
"Byeol, didn't you say one of your contacts actually talked to the Ragged Wanderer?"
"Yeah, Lieutenant Kim bumped into her while scouting a house. Tried communicating. No one believed him..."
"Did you believe him, Miss Han Byeol?"
"Yes. Lieutenant Kim's not the type for boasts or lies. Want the story?"
"Please. Oh, hold on."
No standout buildings, sun setting, so we were heading home—when a bookstore caught my eye. It looked relatively intact compared to the surroundings.
"Oh..."
"Do-hyun? Something there?"
"Found a bookstore. Dusty, but tons of books. Any you want?"
"Master, if there are pens, grab a few ballpoints and notebooks too."
"Got it."
It felt like humanity's prosperous past was bottled here—from civil service exams to certification books... relics now not even worth burning for fuel, all lined up.
Odd detail: Cash register piled with bills and coins.
I grabbed stacks of notebooks and pens, then beelined for the manga section.
"Whoa... this is a treasure trove."
Frankly, more fun than cracking open apartment cans.
I scoured shelves for my all-time favorite that Jeong Su-hwan couldn't procure.
And there, on one shelf—I found it.
"Ah."
Problem: This series ended at nineteen volumes. One through six were missing; only seven to nineteen remained.
"If you're taking some, take 'em all or leave the early ones—why just snag one to six, seriously."
Thud thud. The drone's view shook.
"Huh?!"
No footsteps, no presence.
But something had nudged the drone. Vision wobbling, I reflexively swung the view back.
"..."
There stood a figure in a gray raincoat reaching her ankles, gas mask over the face, massive black mountaineering pack on her back.
"Master? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
Hate to admit it, but this matched Han Seol's description from ten minutes ago: the Ragged Wanderer.
Way smaller than I'd pictured. I'd imagined a hulking two-meter brute, post-apoc warlord with bloodstained mask. This one looked downright petite—short stature making the long coat drag to her ankles.
The Ragged Wanderer silently stared at the cans in the drone's bag. Then rummaged in her coat, pulled out a notepad and pen, and scribbled intently.
What book are you looking for?
My mind raced. Fire all three remaining dissolving liquid shots and bolt? Or talk first?
I told Han Byeol,
"Miss Han Byeol, tell me about that person who communicated with the Ragged Wanderer."
"Pardon? Oh... Lieutenant Kim ran into her scouting a house. She just stared silently, so he offered a can, said he didn't want to fight. She pulled out a notepad from her coat and showed writing that said 'thank you.'"
"Damn."
"Master?"
"Do-hyun? What's going on?"
I let out a deep sigh and said,
"The person standing in front of the drone right now... I think it's the Ragged Wanderer."
"What?! Y-you mean the Ragged Wanderer?!"
Han Seol panicked, flailing. Han Byeol stayed calm.
"Master, if the rumors are true... dissolving liquid probably won't work at all."
"Run then?"
"No. Try talking first and disengage. Bolting suddenly might make her chase."
I decided to try dialogue.
"I was gonna take this manga, but volumes one through six are missing. Not urgent, though. Is this bookstore your turf? I had no idea. I'll leave right now. Sorry."
I kept it low-key, polite.
The Ragged Wanderer took the notepad again, wrote, and showed it to me.
I have volumes 1-6 in my bag. Trade for peach cans?