Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: My ID Is - 1
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While Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi area were wracked with extreme cold,
the Geom Island crew in Masan was enjoying a relatively mild winter.
The southern coast was naturally warmer to begin with, and they didn't have to worry about monsters while heating things up.
The fact that their shelter was an entire island was a massive advantage here.
Aside from the occasional small fries respawning on the island itself, it was safe enough to build roaring bonfires without a care.
Food wasn't an issue either, thanks to Poor Man's thumb trait shining through.
They had all sorts of vegetables, and even fresh fruit in the dead of winter.
On top of that, each member had stockpiled a hefty amount of rations through their own efforts.
All these factors combined to let the Geom Island crew live quite luxuriously.
It almost didn't feel like the apocalypse.
Late one day at the end of December,
Jung Mi-kyung, one of the Geom Island members, was the first to wake up.
Habitually glancing at the spot next to her, she saw its owner was already gone.
"Just go live there already."
The owner in question was Han Yeo-ul.
For some reason, she'd sweet-talked Yoo Hyun-i into basically starting a honeymoon setup together.
Every night, she'd slip away somewhere, and Yoo Hyun-i was probably with her.
Hyung-jun and Soo-yeon, the group's leaders, knew about it and had warned them not to get pregnant, at least.
Pregnancy in the apocalypse meant despair.
Mi-kyung headed out to the sea and stretched.
"Huuuuh... Haaah..."
Even in winter, Masan's dawn wasn't that cold.
She couldn't even imagine how Seoul was dealing with record-breaking cold waves bad enough to halt monster activity.
"Wish it was a bit colder here too."
Mi-kyung muttered something that would have gotten her curses from Seoul survivors, then started her stretches.
Loosening up first thing in the morning had become her daily routine.
She went to the concrete washbasin and gave her face a cat-like splash.
There was water on Geom Island, but they couldn't use it freely.
Each person was limited to 3 liters per day.
This was Hyung-jun's policy—he was a firm believer in the old saying that thrift leads to prosperity.
It wasn't wrong in the apocalypse, so everyone followed it without complaint.
Mi-kyung peered into the mirror and made a sour face.
"My skin's a total mess..."
Her once pale, glowing complexion was gone.
She'd done her best with moisturizing and blocking the sun with a neck gaiter, but once skin roughened up, it didn't bounce back.
Was it lack of sleep?
She got a solid 9 hours every night.
Winter days ended early, leaving nothing much to do, so bedtime came quick.
Mi-kyung poked the mirror in frustration and stood up.
It was about time for everyone else to stir.
She rolled up her sleeves and washed rice in cold water, her hands going numb.
"Ack, freezing."
She shook off her hands as she cooked rice in the pot.
Everything else could slide, but everyone agreed rice had to be hot, so no skimping.
As smoke rose from the wood-fired stove, Yeo-ul appeared out of nowhere.
Her face had been looking healthier lately—no illusion there.
"...Must've been nice and toasty last night?"
"Sharing a sleeping bag? Obviously warm."
"Lucky you. Some of us are out here since dawn."
"What side dishes we making?"
Yeo-ul rolled up her sleeves without missing a beat.
They were on meal duty together for now, so they'd be working side by side.
Mi-kyung muttered under her breath about there being guys around too, not none.
Yeo-ul, fed up, shot back.
"Why didn't you just seal the deal before Uncle left?"
"W-what seal?"
"Don't play dumb. Everyone knows you like Uncle. You switched from calling him 'Uncle' to 'Oppa' once I started."
"That's not it."
"You used to call him Uncle all the time. Even before I showed up."
At a loss, Mi-kyung twisted her fingers.
The reason she'd switched from "Uncle" to "Oppa" for Sung-ho was Yeo-ul.
Didn't want both calling him the same awkward thing.
The guys were oblivious, but the women picked up on it.
Yeo-ul loved bringing it up to tease Mi-kyung.
"But seriously, what's so great about Uncle? His build's too intimidating."
"...He's cool."
"Cool how?"
"Feels like whenever Oppa steps in, even impossible stuff gets handled. It's happened a few times... And us ending up here? Kinda thanks to him, right?"
"You don't care about looks much, huh."
"What's looks matter in the apocalypse? Ability's king."
"But looks do help. Gets you through when you're pissed off."
"Stop it, Hyun-i's hot..."
The two huddled by the stove, soaking in the warmth.
"Wonder what Uncle's up to right now?"
"Like I'd know."
No word since he'd taken the English docs translation from Soo-yeon and Hyun-i.
That was a month ago.
Hyung-jun and Ji-man called no news good news, but Mi-kyung couldn't relax.
"At least check in."
Feeling down for no reason, she buried her face in her knees.
Yeo-ul beside her pulled up the auction house and said,
"Sis, hasn't the auction house vibe changed a lot lately?"
"I don't go in, so no clue."
Not just Mi-kyung—most of Geom Island skipped the auction house.
Not much listed anyway, mostly trolls spewing trash talk.
Rumors galore, constant fights—everyone avoided it.
No need since they stuck to the island.
Yeo-ul browsing poked Mi-kyung's knee.
"Sis, looks like a ton of people died."
"What a grim thing to say."
"You know those auction house dirtbags? The nonstop cursers and fighters? Most are gone."
"...For real?"
Mi-kyung half-doubted as she summoned the auction house.
Sure enough, the atmosphere had shifted big time.
Even early morning auctions—9 running, barely any curses.
This was because Sung-ho had wiped out a bunch of those dirtbags, but holed up on the island, they hadn't noticed.
As Mi-kyung browsed listings, Yeo-ul got excited.
"Sis, sis! Here, this one."
"Whaaat..."
"Uncle's calling us. This code's Geom Island."
"Whoa, it is."
They jumped in with comments right away.
Meanwhile, Sung-ho reading the comments couldn't hide his awkwardness.
Da-jeong was lying right next to him.
Sleep-talking, even.
"Mmm... Sung-ho... you're too biiiig..."
What to do about this...
.
.
.
After hearing from Sung-ho, Yeo-ul immediately folded a paper airplane.
Her trait was perfect sync.
A bizarre ability that copied her partner's trait, split bonus stats, and let her use extra effects.
Thanks to it, Yoo Hyun-i's stats rose without lifting a finger, and she could use level 20 extra effects.
Well, not entirely idle, but anyway.
While Yeo-ul monitored around Geom Island, Mi-kyung blinked into the guys' dorm.
"Whoa, jump scare!"
Everyone bolted up in surprise, and Mi-kyung shook Yoo Hyun-i awake in the corner.
"Hurry! Message from Oppa!"
"...Which oppa..."
Hyung-jun, rubbing his eyes as he sat up, jolted at "Sung-ho."
"Give details. What'd Sung-ho say?"
"Japanese landed in Masan!"
"...How'd he know?"
"Dunno details. Heard from government shelter, I guess!"
Hyung-jun recalled the government shelter was in Seoul and freaked.
When did he get up there?
Anyway, everyone got up and hopped into the auction house to greet Sung-ho.
Sung-ho relayed what he'd heard from Yi Beom-seok and info gathered from the auction house.
The Geom Island crew gathered in the dorm wore grim expressions.
Soo-yeon pulled out a notebook and scanned it with her finger.
"Not Hapho-gu at least. Dozens of them? We'd know."
"True. We farm there daily."
Mi-kyung blinked around, Hyun-i and Yeo-ul flew paper planes nonstop—Hapho-gu was their backyard.
So, a bit farther away...
Then Yoo Hyun-i's eyes snapped open.
"Spotted Japanese in Yanggok-dong."
"How do you know they're Japanese?"
"Guys' hair all spiky. Like those old shaggy cuts that were trendy."
"Japanese do that?"
Hyung-jun tilted his head, but Mi-kyung jumped in quick—she knew.
"Haircuts cost a fortune there. Guys keep it long."
"Ah."
Now they bought it.
Sung-ho chimed in with more info.
Hyung-jun scoffed.
Sung-ho, still uneasy, asked Ji-man about sharks.
That explained it.
Sung-ho dropped the shark idea.
Mi-kyung, who'd been lurking, slipped in quick.
Grown a lot, yeah.
Sung-ho eyed Dingo—bigger than most large dogs—and closed the auction house.
Da-jeong's arm snaked around his neck from behind.
"Heading to Masan?"
"They're poisoned and dangerous. Gotta check."
"Hmm. Send ghouls to find farming dungeon?"
"Appreciate it."
Farming dungeons were popping nationwide right now.
Locations totally random—hard to find.
Da-jeong's ghouls scouting would boost odds plenty.
She reached out and pinched his cheek.
"Gonna keep quiet? People trust just you."
About his identity and the dimension gate.
Geom Island folks weren't dumb—they suspected.
They stayed mum 'cause it'd sour the mood.
"Hiding forever's no good. Time to come clean."
"Gutsy now. Used to clam up."
"Sometimes frontal assault's the way."
The swamp labyrinth experience sealed it for him.
After slaughtering the hunters, things flipped.
Auction house cleaned up, haters gone.
Not all, but immediate relief was real.
"Reveal myself, Geom Island might hate me..."
"They're good folks—no way."
"We'll see."
Complaints could come.
Why not tell sooner?
Why not help more?
Why not stop the end times...
If so, Sung-ho planned to cut ties without looking back.
Just hoped not from Hyung-jun.
.
.
.
While Da-jeong sent ghouls dungeon-hunting,
Seok-hyun and Geom-in headed for Incheon.
Originally bound for government shelter, but Geom-in veered off.
"S-sorry... gotta find someone..."
"Who?"
"People I tricked in Incheon before... Posed as government bigwig, said I'd get 'em into Seoul shelter if they came..."
"Battle Royale needed traits, huh."
"Y-yeah... Restraint and marksmanship."
"Lowbies probably dead by now. City travel's rough."
"R-right?"
Geom-in looked utterly depressed.
Guilt over the deception, no doubt.
But regrets now? Useless.
Seok-hyun said,
"You used people. We'll use and ditch you too?"
"N-no. Not anymore..."
"Once a user, always a user. Right?"
Geom-in hung her head, speechless.
"You're right... So I'll go alone. Bury the bodies at least."
As she stepped forward, Seok-hyun grabbed her shoulder.
"Hold up."
"Yeah?"
"Don't fully trust you, but trust Sung-ho. So I trust his trust in you."
"...Helping?"
"Truth? You'd leave, I'd be lost."
"R-right..."
Either way, good news.
They pushed for Incheon.
Weather eased a tad, and monsters poured out like they'd waited.
Seok-hyun taught Geom-in body fighting.
"Don't fear hits. You're strong enough—just don't realize it."
"No revives. Can die anytime."
"That mindset keeps you weak forever. Watch."
He charged a howling werewolf.
A brutal close-quarters brawl unfolded.
Geom-in gulped at first, then went slack-jawed.
"...Fight like that?"
A split-second lapse and claws'd shred his throat—yet he hacked arms, pummeled the beast.
"You, can fight, like this, too!"
Turning to her mid-shout, no red glow on Seok-hyun's face.
No major skill active.
Geom-in's heart raced.
'Maybe I can too...'
Seok-hyun's stats high, but not overwhelmingly so.
Full body enhancement? Could fight like that no problem.
But it escalated.
Started close combat, now grappling, rolling with the werewolf.
Grrrrowl!
Werewolf roared, clamping Seok-hyun's shoulder.
Blood gushed; he bared his teeth wide.
"You bit—so I bite!"
Yelp!
The werewolf's agonized cry echoed.
Geom-in broke sweat.
Never fight like that.
My ID Is - 1 End