Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator : M.N 1391
Title: An Unexpected Reunion
Chapter: 22
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“Quickly!”
Hyena pointed somewhere as she shouted.
At that, Dae-sik and Juhun simultaneously turned their eyes toward the direction her finger was pointing.
Inside the holding cell she indicated, a strange middle-aged man was lying motionless like a corpse.
Meanwhile, Ji-hyuk, who had been guarding the cell, immediately raised his hands and dropped to his knees the moment his eyes met Dae-sik’s.
Because Dae-sik and Juhun bringing the fat man here could only mean those two had been taken down.
“Keys.”
At Dae-sik’s single word, Ji-hyuk hastily pulled the cell keys out of his pocket.
“Open it.”
Then Dae-sik’s gaze shifted to the fat man.
“Who’s that guy?”
The man lying inside the cell was clearly not a police officer judging by his clothes. But since he was inside a holding cell, his identity naturally aroused curiosity.
“I, I don’t know. Two days ago, he sneaked into the station, so we beat him up and locked him in there. I thought if he awakened, he might be useful…”
“And if he didn’t, you were going to turn him into a zombie?”
The moment Hyena stepped into the cell and turned the man’s body over, Dae-sik’s face twisted into a grim scowl.
“Ajusshi…?”
The man lying on the floor like a corpse was none other than the hardware-store owner who had given him the crowbar and cup noodles.
“Why is he here…?”
When Dae-sik seemed to recognize him, the fat man’s face drained of all color.
“I-It wasn’t me who beat him!”
Terrified, the fat man almost went into convulsions.
“Then who was it?”
“T-That… the one who died earlier! He’s the one who hit him!”
“That better be true. Otherwise, you’re dying by my hand today.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Dae-sik pulled a fruit knife still in its sheath from his pocket and handed it to Juhun.
“If this bastard tries anything funny, cut him right away.”
Then he quickly walked toward the cell where the old man was.
“How is he?”
“I think the beating messed him up badly. He hasn’t moved for a while, and his breathing’s getting weaker and weaker…”
The furrow between Dae-sik’s brows deepened.
“Do you need anything?”
Instead of answering, Hyena simply checked the man’s condition.
There was a wound on his head, and dark bruises covered many parts of his body.
‘This… doesn’t look like he was hit just once.’
Judging by the color and swelling of the bruises, the beating had likely occurred multiple times, severely, at that.
‘At least he hasn’t suffered brain damage.’
The only bit of good news was that some basic reflexes still remained. But his body temperature was far too low, and his pulse was unstable.
The biggest problem was that, as a doctor, she couldn’t do anything, no CT, no MRI, not even the most basic medical tools.
‘What should I do?’
Even if she skipped diagnosis, she still needed to treat him, but she didn’t even have basic instruments for that.
“Mr. Lee Juhun, does the station have any kind of emergency kit…?”
And then…
A strange sound echoed in her ears, and something appeared before her eyes.
『A trait has blossomed.』
『Unique Trait: Healer (Lv1)』
『A basic skill is granted.』
『Healing Light (Lv1): Can heal various wounds. Does not affect diseases.』
『The caster cannot move while using the skill.』
『The target affected by the skill cannot move for a certain period of time.』
······.
“Huh?”
The situation was so unexpected that surprise overtook joy.
Besides, she was a doctor.
A statement like “heals injuries” only made her wonder how effective it actually was.
‘Only external wounds? What about internal organs or inflammation…? Would it work on hematomas or cranial pressure?’
To her, the system message was infuriatingly vague and unscientific.
After a moment’s hesitation, Hyena looked at Dae-sik and asked a question.
“In games, healing skills are really useful. Do you think it’ll be the same in real life?”
In the end, she figured Dae-sik would be the one to know the answer better than her.
And Dae-sik immediately understood what her question meant.
“You awakened?”
Hyena silently nodded.
“Healing ability?”
“Yes.”
The murderous edge in Dae-sik’s expression softened slightly.
“Then try it.”
Was it that his words gave her confidence?
Hyena slowly inhaled, placed her hands on the man’s head and abdomen, and closed her eyes.
‘The most worrying parts are the head injury, internal organs, and rib fractures…’
There was no other option anyway.
Watching a patient die without doing anything would be worse.
She decided to use the skill on the most critical areas first, the head and the abdomen.
『Using Healing Light (Lv1).』
『Purification Points are consumed.』
『The caster cannot move until the skill is complete.』
After a few seconds…
A soft light began to flow from Hyena’s hands. It was the distinct glow that appeared whenever a healing-type ability was activated.
“Phew…”
Moments later, Hyena exhaled deeply and opened her eyes.
But the man still didn’t wake. His complexion had improved somewhat, but he couldn’t move, if anything, he looked even more rigid, like a statue. That was the side effect of the skill.
“Will he be okay?”
Hyena asked, looking at Dae-sik.
“How should I know?”
Dae-sik replied, sounding half-baffled.
“I mean, the system said the treatment succeeded, and his pulse stabilized… but I can’t quite believe it. I mean, this kind of thing actually works?”
What made her even more uneasy was the final message she had seen in the system window.
“And it said my Purification Points were low… so the treatment on his abdomen didn’t finish properly.”
At that, a faint smile formed on Dae-sik’s lips.
“That’s easy to fix.”
He walked straight out of the cell and grabbed the fat man by the collar.
“Hey, you can control the zombies in here right now, can’t you?”
From what Dae-sik could tell, this place served both as a holding cell for potential Awakeners and as a zombie breeding pit.
“I can, but… it takes a bit of time.”
“You’ve got one minute.”
“W-What?”
“Can’t do it?”
“I-I can! I’ll do it!”
About a minute later…
“I-It’s done!”
“Good. Bring a zombie close to the cell.”
After giving the command, Dae-sik motioned toward Hyena.
“Ms. Lee Hyena, come here.”
“W-What? But the old man…”
“That Purification Point thing, you get it by killing zombies. Think of it like experience points in a game.”
As he said this, Dae-sik handed her the crowbar.
“Go earn some points with that.”
Hyena nodded, then swung the crowbar toward a zombie that was pressed against the iron bars.
“Hi-yah!”
And so, she took her very first step as both a damage dealer and a healer.
* * *
“Ugh…”
The hardware-store owner regained consciousness several hours later.
They had turned all the zombies in the cell into points, but since the skill had a cooldown, treatment had taken quite some time.
“Huh?”
As he came to his senses, the old man spotted Dae-sik sitting right in front of him, and his eyes went wide.
“Hey, how are you here?”
But he couldn’t get up.
Instead, a message appeared before his eyes.
『Due to the skill’s rebound, you cannot move.』
“Just stay still, ajusshi. Not that you could move anyway.”
Dae-sik chuckled as he spoke.
“What happened to the villains who were here? Don’t tell me you already took them down? They had paralysis powers and zombie control, you know?”
“They’re already dealt with. Oh, by the way, was this guy the one who hit you?”
Dae-sik jerked his chin toward the fat man kneeling in the corner of the cell.
“No, not him. It was some dried-up twig of a fella—mean bastard. He’d come in every now and then, kicking and stomping me for no reason…”
At the old man’s “testimony,” the fat man’s expression brightened with relief.
“S-See? You heard him!”
“Shut up.”
But at Dae-sik’s single word, he clamped his mouth shut again and shrank into the corner.
“So, ajusshi, what are you doing here? What happened to our deal?”
When they had parted ways, Dae-sik and the old man had made a promise.
If the old man awakened, he would signal it from the hardware store rooftop using a car flare. It was one of the main reasons Dae-sik had kept watch from the safe house.
“Well, you see…”
The old man chuckled awkwardly and began to explain what had happened.
“Flyers kept blowing in front of the building, but the main character never showed up, and the cops were nowhere to be seen…”
He widened his eyes dramatically, wanting to make the situation more vivid since he couldn’t move his body.
“So I thought maybe something went wrong, or maybe the story wouldn’t move forward unless I went to help the protagonist myself.”
When he started saying words like “main character” and “plot progression,” Juhun and Hyena exchanged puzzled looks, glancing between the old man and Dae-sik.
“So you came to the station and got caught by these guys?”
Dae-sik asked, shaking his head slightly as if exasperated.
“Well… yeah, something like that. But it turned out fine, the main character must’ve escaped already, so all’s well that ends well.”
His voice carried both disappointment and relief.
Disappointed that he hadn’t met the protagonist, yet relieved that said protagonist had apparently survived.
“So I figured I was done for, but then you showed up to save me. Guess that makes me a pretty important supporting character, huh?”
“Looks like it.”
While they were chatting, the old man slowly regained control of his body.
“Ah, finally, I can move again.”
He grinned broadly and bowed his head toward Hyena, who had healed him.
“Thank you kindly, Doctor.”
“No problem. I’m just glad you’re okay. Any pain anywhere? Nausea, fever, dizziness?”
Even after that, Hyena, still skeptical about the healing skill’s effectiveness, kept asking questions and checking his condition.
When the examination finally ended, the old man smirked and said,
“So this young lady’s a healer, huh? Then you two must be combat types?”
“No, I’m a crafter.”
Dae-sik smiled as he revealed his ability.
“Really? Then why do you fight so damn well?”
The old man asked in disbelief, and Hyena answered on Dae-sik’s behalf.
“He’s an NIS agent.”
“What? Not a cop?”
“Cop?”
At the word “police,” Juhun looked puzzled.
“Uh… that’s not important, so let’s just move on.”
Seeing the misunderstanding about him snowballing, Dae-sik quickly changed the subject.
“So, ajusshi, what’s your ability?”
Judging by how he talked, it was clear the old man had awakened too.
“Well, obviously, it’s an ability the main character would definitely drool over!”