Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Father and Daughter
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"Ugh..."
"Are you okay?"
Ga-eun and I were staunching the bleeding from the leg of the man leaning against the pillar.
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered just leaving him behind. But if we did, this crazy girl would probably lose it. More importantly, Ga-eun and A-yoon wouldn't follow me if they saw me abandon an injured person.
Setting aside altruism or sympathy, a leader who can abandon the wounded could ditch anyone at any time. Who would trust that?
After seeing a few rounds of brutal layoffs at the company, I'd learned that lesson the hard way.
"Let me take a look at the wound."
I laid the man down and lifted his leg slightly. Elevating it above heart level should slow the bleeding a bit.
I'd thought it was amputated clean, but no—it had been torn off. The skin was in such a horrific state I could barely look at it.
"Urk..."
Ga-eun finally couldn't stomach it and went to the corner to vomit.
"Hey! Look at the teacher~!"
A-yoon had gathered the kids a short distance away, distracting them. Fair enough—this wasn't a sight for children. Even I'd never seen a human leg this mangled before.
"Ga-eun-ssi, if you're done throwing up, grab the bandages from the bag."
"Ugh... Y-yes!"
Luckily, the convenience store had stocked some basics like first-aid supplies, bandages, and gauze, which Ga-eun had brought. I'd considered using stuff from the trading post, but with eyes on us, I held off.
I handed her a few of the bandages she'd fetched.
"Here. But... will this be enough?"
"Bandages are longer than you think. I've done it in the military."
"R-really?"
Total bullshit. I had no idea if they were long enough.
But with duplication, I could make them as long as needed.
I secretly duplicated them out of sight while wrapping the wound.
"Hngh..."
"Hang in there just a bit longer, sir."
"It's fine~. This is nothing."
The middle-aged man with one leg torn off chuckled.
It was impressive.
How could he laugh? Blood was pooling under his mangled leg.
If we'd been even a little later, he'd have died from blood loss before any infection set in.
Of course, I had no intention of letting that happen.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Red Ointment Heals All ability has been activated. "Guhhh!"
It had a minor effect, but it worked somewhat.
This was a copied ability from one of the kids. Its healing wasn't strong yet—probably meant for quick recovery from scrapes. It wasn't fully effective on a severe wound like this.
Still, the bleeding slowed visibly. Dodging infection and blood loss would get us past the immediate crisis.
The downside? The name suggested red ointment, and it hurt like hell.
"Grrgh!"
"Just a little longer."
"This old man's tellin' ya... Ngh? I can handle it... Back in my past life, I was Guan Yu. Guan Yu."
His face screamed agony, but he was still bluffing.
His fed-up daughter scolded him.
"Dad! Quit talking nonsense and stay still!"
"Can't even joke with my own daughter."
"Jokes? Now?!"
"Why not~? It's funny. You're Hua Tuo, kid. Whoever you are."
He even joked at me. What a clown, teetering on death's door.
I finished wrapping the bandage meticulously and stood up.
"All done."
"Does that mean my dad will live now?"
His daughter asked immediately.
"Hard to say. I'm no doctor. Just bandaged it—no meds or shots, so infection's still a risk. You'll need to change the bandages regularly. The rest... I don't know."
"Oh... What do we do?"
"Heh heh. Just spit on it and it'll heal right up~."
"Spit? As if!"
She smacked her laughing dad's back.
Were they really father and daughter? Faces kinda matched, but their reactions were polar opposites.
The chuckling man finally looked at me.
"Uh... Got any soju on you, by chance?"
"Soju?"
To drink?
"Don't give me that look. Not for drinking. Alcohol's good for wounds like this."
"I already swabbed it with alcohol wipes before bandaging."
"That ain't enough. Soju. Need soju. Fresh one if possible."
He totally wanted to drink it.
Ga-eun hadn't packed any, but the trading post had every kind listed.
No way I'd pull it out here.
Doubt it'd even help... and if he chugged it, he'd bleed out for real.
"No soju."
"Shame. Tsk tsk..."
"Soju? Now?!"
His daughter tackled him again, bickering as usual by the looks of it.
Once things calmed, we exchanged introductions.
"Name's Wi Moo-jin. Weird surname, huh? Fifty-five. Ran a small company till I ended up like this. No more stair-climbing workouts for me."
"Nice to meet you."
I shook his offered hand. Rough grip, firm squeeze.
"This here's Wi Nara. Weird name, right? No idea who picked it~."
He slapped his daughter's shoulder, laughing heartily.
I knew exactly who.
"Ugh, seriously! I told you not to tease me about my name!"
"What's wrong~? It's a great name. Nara—pretty as can be."
"Don't say it with the surname!"
She must've gotten ribbed about it her whole life.
"I'm Park Daebu. Thirty-three. Worked at that company next door. This is—"
"G-Gong Ga-eun. Same company."
"Whoa~. Fine pair you two. Office couple?"
Ga-eun's face flushed red.
"Huh? C-couple?"
"No. Just senior and intern."
I shut down Wi Moo-jin's dumb joke cold.
"That so? Too bad."
"Dad, stay quiet. You're hurt—why so chatty?"
Nara grumbled but gripped his hand tight.
"Th-thanks anyway. Uncle. Sis. You saved my dad..."
She bowed to me.
Uncle, and sis, huh.
"Sorry about threatening you earlier. You could've been bad guys. Had no choice."
"It's fine. Makes sense."
In an apocalypse, not being wary of strangers would be the real danger.
Could Ga-eun or A-yoon do that? Hard to imagine.
"...But do I really look that old?"
"Huh?"
"I'm twenty. Retaker."
"Retaker?"
"Says I had to crap on exam day~."
"Don't tell that story! Anyway, you're older than me, so drop the formalities."
"Sure."
"Right away..."
No reason to hesitate now that I knew her age.
I took Nara and Ga-eun aside briefly.
"Want the rundown. How'd that happen?"
"Well..."
Nara bit her lip, then spoke cautiously.
"Not here—there's a survivor camp in the basement of the next building over."
"Survivors? How many?"
"Not sure exactly. Tons. Over a hundred."
A hundred?
That's a big group.
The protagonist's groups in the novel topped out at dozens, I recalled. Early days, maybe? More survivors than expected.
"We were with them... those bastards at first. Came here scavenging food. Then a wall collapsed, crushing Dad's leg. When we cleared it... it was like that."
"What about them?"
"Those fuckers... said abandon him since his leg was gone. Told 'em I'd die before leaving Dad. Begged to take him... they ditched us anyway. Those fuckers. They even have a nurse."
"A nurse?"
"Those fuckers. Fucking bastards. I'll kill 'em all if I catch them."
Nara clenched her fists. A small kitchen knife in her hand—the one she'd pointed at me earlier.
Honestly, in an apocalypse, their choice was rational. No way to treat him, too risky to carry.
Cold logic said they were right.
But apocalypse or not, not everyone can coldly abandon family without emotion. Impossible for most.
"Bastards."
Ga-eun scowled. I chimed in appropriately.
"So, where are these 'survivors'?"
"Basement path to the next building. They're in the underground parking garage."
"Parking garage, huh."
If subway's out, an underground garage was a solid pick. And I was headed there anyway.
"God, I wanna kill 'em all... Especially Yoon Cheol-woo. That fucker."
Nara balled her fists in rage.
"Yoon Cheol-woo?"
"Yeah. Total asshole. He led the push to leave Dad—said if problems arose carrying him, was it our responsibility? Threatened with a gun. Fucking bastard."
"Gun?"
That surprised me.
Guns aren't easy to come by, even in apocalypse. Where'd they get it?
"Yeah. Soldiers are leading them."
"Soldiers? Military's here?"
"Yeah. Not many... but they claimed to be soldiers. Told civilians to obey. So we did—came here for food on their orders."
"...I see."
I hadn't factored in the military much.
In the novel, they deployed at outbreak, got slaughtered by monsters quick. Regular weapons don't work on them.
But surviving soldiers with guns? That's a wildcard.
None of us—me included—could stand against guns.
"Yoon Cheol-woo a soldier too?"
"No. He's not. Soldiers are separate, but he and some guys got guns—said they served."
"The soldier who handed them out? What rank? Officer?"
"I-I know! Play games. Sis, it was that—three diamonds."
"Captain?"
"Yes! That's it."
Wait a sec.
Something more important than Captain.
"Hold on. Those soldiers... women?"
"Oh... yeah. All-female special forces, they said."
Hoo.
Women soldiers, huh?
Suddenly, a damn good reason to join that group.