Survivors' Camp
My eyes fluttered open at the sound of quiet conversation drifting through the air.
“Mmm…?”
Si-eun, who had been chatting with Ji-yun and Ji-su while nestled in my arms, looked over at me.
“Ah, Oppa. You’re awake?”
As I sat up groggily, Ji-yun greeted me with a bright smile.
“Oppa, did you sleep well? Did our voices wake you?”
“No, it was about time for me to get up anyway. What time is it?”
“The sun’s been up for a while… I’d say it’s around lunchtime?”
“Ha, I really slept in… Were you three talking all night?”
“Yes, Oppa. We don’t need sleep, so… I explained everything to Ji-su yesterday. We introduced ourselves to each other too. Turns out Ji-su was a fan of Si-eun unnie. She really is amazing, isn’t she?”
I ruffled Ji-yun’s hair as she chattered away, then turned my gaze to Ji-su.
When our eyes met, Ji-su quickly lowered her head.
“Ah… Good morning, Master…”
Looks like Ji-yun gave her a proper explanation. She doesn’t seem too shaken up.
I stood up without saying a word.
My cold reaction left not only Ji-su but also Ji-yun and Si-eun looking slightly flustered. But what could they do? It was time for the whip again.
Until Ji-su’s heart fully submitted to me, this was how things would be.
I looked at Ji-yun and said, “Like we talked about yesterday, I’m heading over to the survivors’ camp across the street today. There’s someone I need to find. While I’m there, I’ll ask around about your parents too.”
“Th-thank you, Oppa…”
“No need to thank me.”
I gave Ji-yun’s head one more gentle pat before standing up fully.
While I got dressed, the three women—Si-eun, Ji-yun, and Ji-su—tidied up the outdoor shower booth and other supplies, stowing everything inside the Sanctuary Cradle.
Having the Sanctuary Cradle really made moving around ridiculously convenient. I could just shove everything inside and go.
Come to think of it, Juniel wasn’t here. I’d sent her down to the first floor last night. I wondered if she’d come if I called her from here. I hadn’t tested the range of the telepathy yet.
I pictured Juniel and sent a mental command for her to come up.
A short while later, I heard footsteps climbing the stairs. Juniel appeared.
‘Oh, the telepathy works even from a decent distance. I should test the exact range later.’
After a quick bite to eat, I took the four women down to the building’s first floor.
The scene on the first floor was the same as yesterday. After a full day, the stench had grown even worse.
I pinched my nose shut and quickly stepped outside, summoning the Gate of Rest. I had Ji-yun, Si-eun, and Juniel enter the Sanctuary Cradle.
Since she might run into her parents, bringing Ji-yun along wasn’t an option. Si-eun would draw too much attention if she came with me, and Juniel… well, those horns on her head made her way too conspicuous.
The only woman I could comfortably take was Ji-su.
I set off slowly toward the survivors’ camp with Ji-su in tow.
While we were walking, Ji-su called out to me in a small voice.
“Um… M-Master.”
“?”
When I turned around, Ji-su kept her head lowered and said, “I… I’ll do better from now on… So please don’t…”
I couldn’t quite catch the rest, but I got the gist. She was asking me not to be so cold to her anymore.
I thought about reading her inner thoughts but decided against it. If something unpleasant came up, I’d probably end up tormenting her badly again.
I continued walking in silence, and Ji-su hurried after me.
Since the station was right across the street, we arrived in no time.
Two people were still standing guard at the entrance—a young man and woman who looked to be a couple. Their gear was similar to the gang we’d met yesterday. They wore box-like armor covering their necks and arms and carried baseball bats.
The difference was that each of them also held a wooden shield that looked like it had been slapped together from planks.
When we approached, both of them looked startled.
“Uh…”
“Hello. Is this the place where survivors gather?”
The pair stared at us blankly. Then the man seemed to snap out of it.
“Ah, sorry. It’s just so rare for people to come here on their own…”
“What? Isn’t this a survivors’ camp?”
“It is, but most people are brought in by our rescue teams. It’s extremely uncommon for anyone to walk in by themselves. And only two of you at that…”
Ah, so that’s why they were so surprised. Makes sense. At this stage, most people were still hiding, so very few would openly walk up like we had.
As I nodded in understanding, the woman asked me, “Please, come inside. Our survivors’ group never turns away anyone seeking shelter.”
“Ah, we didn’t actually come here to seek shelter…”
“Pardon?”
“We’re looking for someone. We thought they might be here…”
“I see. In that case, follow me. You can speak with our leader.”
After she finished speaking, the woman led us inside.
Still, wasn’t their security way too lax? Letting complete strangers in without any verification? What if I was some trash trying to take over this place?
‘Is their faith in the leader so absolute that they don’t worry no matter who shows up? Or are they just naive and stupid?’
Well, I’d find out once we were inside.
Following the woman’s lead, we entered the station. Countless tents filled the space, and I noticed that the opposite exit and the path to the above-ground trains had been completely blocked off.
The woman guided us to a small building that still had a convenience store sign hanging on it. She called out toward the inside.
“Leader! It’s Joo-hee. I’ve brought some survivors who came here on their own.”
“Come in.”
A young man’s voice answered from inside. The woman who had introduced herself as Joo-hee tilted her head with a puzzled “Huh?” and opened the door.
“Dong-seong oppa? Why are you here? Where’s the leader?”
The young man sitting inside smiled and replied, “The leader went out this morning. Said he’d look for food and check for anyone still hiding.”
“Haa… Again? He needs to rest. Why does he keep pushing himself like this every day…? You should’ve stopped him, oppa.”
“Like he’d listen to me? Anyway, these are the survivors who came looking for us?”
When the man called Dong-seong looked our way, I stepped forward and greeted him.
“Yes, hello. I’m Kang Min-gu. This is Seo Ji-su. We came because we heard survivors were gathering here. We’re looking for someone.”
“I see. Please, come in. Thanks for your help, Joo-hee. I’ll take it from here.”
“Got it, oppa. Take care.”
Joo-hee gave a polite bow and left. Dong-seong led Ji-su and me further inside.
“Please, have a seat. Hello, I’m Choi Dong-seong. I handle administrative duties here. Min-gu and Ji-su, right? Nice to meet you both.”
He looked older than me, and even though he was part of the leadership, his attitude was incredibly polite. If the leader really was such a great person, it made sense that the people under him had such a gentle vibe too.
“Normally the leader handles first meetings with newcomers… but when he’s not around, I fill in. So you two really came here on your own?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s impressive. With so many monsters roaming the streets, how did just the two of you…”
“Well… we got lucky, I guess.”
“Lucky, huh…”
Dong-seong looked deep in thought for a moment. Then he pulled out some paper and a pen.
“I’ll need to record some basic information about you two. Everyone who seeks shelter here has to do this, so please don’t feel pressured.”
“Um… we didn’t actually come here to seek shelter. We only came to look for someone.”
Dong-seong paused with the pen in his hand and looked at us.
“You just came to look for someone?”
“Yes.”
“And after that?”
“We’ll leave.”
“…Excuse me?”
Dong-seong stared at us with wide eyes. Honestly, I could understand his surprise. In a world crawling with monsters, a survivors’ camp should be the ultimate safe haven. It was only natural to be suspicious of people who didn’t want to stay and only planned to ask a few questions before leaving.
Still looking shocked, Dong-seong continued, “Ah… I’m sorry. This is the first time I’ve encountered this kind of situation, so I was a bit taken aback.”
“We have a lot of people to find. We need to check other areas too.”
“I see. Well, if that’s the case… Alright then. Could you tell me the names of the people you’re looking for?”
I gave him Ji-yun’s parents’ names. Dong-seong pulled out a thick stack of documents and began flipping through them one by one.
“Hmm… I’m afraid there’s no one here with those names. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, I see. Can’t be helped. Still, thank you for checking.”
“It’s no trouble at all. So… will you be leaving now?”
Not yet. I still needed to meet the leader.
I put on a careful expression and asked Dong-seong, “Would it be possible to ask the people here about the ones we’re looking for? They used to live nearby, so someone might know them…”
Dong-seong thought for a moment before answering, “That should be fine. Go ahead and talk to—”
Ding ding ding ding ding ding
The sound of a ringing bell came from outside. Dong-seong’s face twisted into a frown as he bolted out of the room.
“Emergency! Emergency! Combat team! Grab your weapons and head to the entrance immediately!”
At Dong-seong’s shout, a group of people rushed outside. He climbed a set of stairs where he could see the entrance and watched them. I stood beside him with Ji-su, looking in the same direction.
“Whoa. Goblins.”
There were about ten goblins. The combat team was facing off against them. They held crude wooden plank shields in one hand and bats, axes, or similar weapons in the other.
The goblins in front pulled out blowguns and fired poison needles with a sharp hiss. The needles thudded into the wooden shields. At the same time, the people in the back started throwing rocks at the goblins.
“Keeeeeek!!!”
A few goblins shrieked as they were hit by the stones and staggered backward. Seeing that, the people charged forward with their weapons raised.
“Die, you monster bastards!!”
The combat team swung their weapons at the goblins. The fight didn’t last long. They had taken down all ten goblins without suffering a single injury.
One of them, breathing heavily, approached Dong-seong.
“All goblins have been eliminated.”
“Good work, Jae-eon. Are there any still alive?”
“Two of them aren’t dead yet.”
“Perfect. This round should be for Min-ju and Sang-sik. Bring those two over and activate their classes.”
“Understood.”
After giving the order, Dong-seong headed back toward the office. As I followed, he said, “Monsters passing by sometimes attack like this.”
“I see. You all fight in a very organized way.”
Dong-seong looked proud at my comment.
“It’s all thanks to the leader’s excellent training.”
“I’d really like to meet this leader of yours.”
“He should be back by late afternoon or evening. If you stay until then, you’ll get to meet him.”
“Would it be alright if we stayed until then?”
“Of course. You said you wanted to ask people some questions, so take your time. I have work to do, so…”
Dong-seong gave us a polite nod and returned to the office.
Good. Looked like I’d get to meet the leader after all.
I wandered around the tents, asking people about Ji-yun’s parents. I didn’t learn anything about them, but after talking to many people, I picked up a few interesting facts.
First, a lot of them were suffering from headaches. The severity varied, but women seemed to have it worse than men, and young women had the most severe cases.
I suddenly wondered if it might be some kind of infectious disease and started keeping a bit more distance while talking to people. In a world like this, getting sick would be a death sentence.
Aside from the headaches, though, most of them seemed to be living quite comfortably. There was plenty of food from foraging, so no one looked starved. They even offered us snacks even though we were strangers. That said everything.
People were assigned to roles that matched their skills and classes, and everyone worked hard at their assigned tasks. Occasionally someone would act out and cause trouble, but the leader would step in and resolve everything. The leader’s reputation was incredibly high.
Everyone sang the leader’s praises nonstop whenever they talked about him. It got to the point where I started wondering if this guy was some kind of hero.
After hearing so much praise that my ears felt like they were growing calluses, I even started getting suspicious.
‘Wait, can a person really be that perfect?’
I was genuinely curious what this leader looked like.
And then, quite late that night, I finally got to see the face of the leader I had been so curious about.