Chapter 55

Quite a bit of time has passed since the world has been overrun by monsters and zombies. During that long period, the survivors have not simply been sitting idle.

“Everyone’s still alive. That’s a relief.”

“Do you think the people gathered here are the kind to die easily?”

In an old building on the outskirts of the city, a few humans gathered to greet each other.

The world had collapsed suddenly.

To survive, the survivors sought various methods, one of which was this:

“Then, let’s begin this information exchange session.”

Information exchange among survivors.

Survivor groups active in the vicinity, those who deemed each other trustworthy, had formed a regular meeting.

To some, this might seem like nothing special.

However, just creating a safe place to meet regularly required tremendous effort.

This information exchange was indeed valuable.

Except for exceptionally capable groups, the number of survivors in a group typically didn’t exceed thirty.

Issues like food and shelter, among countless other problems, naturally arose.

However, the capacity of small groups was limited.

By creating such a platform for exchange, they shared information and collaborated when necessary.

This significantly aided their survival.

When the exchanges first began, more than ten groups participated.

Now, only about five groups remained.

“Do you know the group that was active near the town hall?”

“Oh, the one with two awakened members.”

“Yes, that group. They decided to move to join the large group in the north.”

“Hmm.”

“The rumored large survivor organization?”

The leaders of each group began sharing their information.

“Hm, how many times is this already? It seems a lot of people are moving.”

“Honestly, I’m skeptical about the credibility of this information.”

“Well, the food supply in the district is starting to run out. We’ll have to make a decision soon.”

“Hmm…”

“It’s my turn next. Remember that mysterious explosion from last time?”

“Oh, yes. That was an enormous explosion. If there hadn’t been so many monsters drawn to the noise, we might have figured out the cause. Such a pity.”

“The debris from that explosion destroyed the building those mantis-like monsters had occupied. Thanks to that, the route in that direction has become a bit safer.”

“Really?”

“That explosion turned out to be beneficial for us.”

The leaders of each group gathered here began sharing their information one by one.

“Now it’s my turn.”

When it came to her turn, a woman began to speak.

She had an unremarkable appearance, but there was one distinctive feature: she participated in the meeting with her eyes closed.

She was blind.

“The information our group recently secured is…”

She started to speak casually, but the content was far from ordinary.

“What… did you say?”

“Is that true?”

The survivors, hearing what she said, opened their eyes wide in surprise.

And they had every reason to be.

“A military unit is still surviving?”

“And in this area?”

“Isn’t that too good to be true?”

It was information about a military unit that was previously thought to be annihilated.

“I’ve always been curious about this.”

At that moment.

A man, wearing a skeptical expression, placed his feet on the table and spoke.

“How does Sister Sua always come up with such rare information?”

“What do you mean?”

“The location of that military unit, I know it too. In fact, everyone here probably knows it. It’s a place even well-informed survivors wouldn’t go near.”

Other leaders nodded in agreement.

“That’s true.”

“Most places where military units were stationed are now occupied by powerful monsters, so it’s an unspoken rule not to approach them.

Besides, isn’t that the place where deserters are said to roam around?”

Seeing the others nod, the man grew more confident.

“A military unit active in such a place? How did you even get this information?”

“Does the source matter?”

“Of course, it does. Whether we can trust the information depends on its source. What if those deserters you mentioned are just pretending to be a legitimate military unit? That would be a bigger problem.”

He crossed his arms, challenging anyone to refute him.

However, Sua, the woman in question, remained calm.

“I can’t reveal my source.”

“Then…”

“But have I ever brought false information before?”

“What?”

She turned her head towards the others, her gaze seemingly pinpointing each person despite her blindness.

“Mr. Chanseong?”

“No, you haven’t. Last time, thanks to you, I even saved my life.”

“And Mr. Jung Gwon?”

“If it weren’t for the information Sua provided, our group would have starved to death.”

Everyone present had, at one point, been saved by Sua’s information.

Everyone present there had been saved by the information provided by Sua at one point.

“Let’s not question the occupation or abilities of other group members. This has been a rule since we started these exchanges.”

Right now, we’re just ordinary survivors, but we never know when someone among us might turn into a plunderer.

That’s why, in preparation for such a situation, each group exchanged information without asking or revealing their members’ abilities.

It was one of their unspoken rules.

“Not being able to disclose the source is the reason. However, all the information brought so far has been genuine, and there’s no reason to spread false information.”

“Hmm, that’s for sure.”

“If Sua had any strange intentions, wouldn’t she have acted on them sooner?”

“I think Kyung Su is just too suspicious.”

“Ugh, my apologies.”

“I accept your apology.”

And so, the conversation completely shifted to the woman named Sua. With a nod of her head, she continued, “So, I have a suggestion.”

“A suggestion?”

“I was thinking, what if we try to make contact with that military unit?”

“What?”

The group leaders, who had placed great trust in her, couldn’t help but oppose this idea.

“Sua, isn’t that too reckless of a decision?”

“I also think it’s a bit risky. We don’t even know if we can trust that military unit. Their situation might not be better than ours.”

“Even if it is better, there’s no guarantee they’ll accept us in the first place. Wouldn’t it be better to head towards that rumored large group instead?”

Even the woman who had been silently listening nodded her head.

“We understand your opinions.”

“Then…”

“So, our group will go to meet them first.”

“What?”

“All the concerns you mentioned. We can verify them by contacting them directly, right?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Won’t Sua’s group be in danger?”

“That’s true, but it’s worth the risk.”

Naturally, the conversation shifted towards making contact with the military unit.

Listening to this, Kyung Su clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Tsk. This isn’t good.’

Feeling uneasy, he looked at Sua and thought.

‘I don’t like this.’

He was unsettled by her all-knowing attitude and the way she moved as if she could see, despite being blind.

It gave him the creeps.

While he was thinking this, those unsettling eyes turned toward him.

“Kyung Su? Do you have any objections?”

Sua, who had just started speaking, opened her eyes.

Behind her closed eyelids were eyes rendered completely white from the loss of vision, creating an eerie sense of fear.

“N-no, I don’t. I’m just grateful you’re willing to take on the risk.”

“That’s a relief.”

Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Kyung Su had blurted out a thank you, which he instantly regretted.

‘Damn it. I got scared and said something I didn’t need to.’

Despite his embarrassment, he quickly regained his composure and thought calmly.

This contact with the military unit – he could not allow that under any circumstances.

With this the information exchange session came to an end.

* * *

“We will enter the military zone.” Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

I went straight to the point, at the group leaders’ meeting, which hadn’t been held for a while,

“Advancing into the military zone.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Well, saying it’s not dangerous would be a lie. But, you see,”

I casually opened the system window.

A particular sentence was still flashing there:

[World Event – Occupation Battle is in progress]

“For some reason, this world is telling us to carry out occupations.”

Occupation.

The criteria aren’t clear, but one thing is certain: as we expand our activity area and increase our control over it, we can become the ruler of a region.

“I’m a bit annoyed that the system is telling us to do this, but…”

“I don’t like it either. But for now, this world follows game-like rules. That means,”

Corporal Seo Su-hyeok muttered,

“To be honest, I also agree with that.”

“If we succeed, there will be rewards.”

The grand principle of games: complete a mission and get rewarded.

We don’t know what the rewards will be, but they’ll certainly be helpful for our survival.

In fact, we once received a ‘Mobile Fortress’ as a reward for our first occupation.

We haven’t been able to use it due to lack of space to summon it, but still.

‘Ever since coming to the surface, we’ve been so focused on settling down that we haven’t looked at the system achievements in a while.’

But now that we’ve settled to some extent, it’s time to follow the system’s guidance.

“Expanding our territory is a given. Moreover…”

“The danger has decreased a bit now.”

The one who chimed in was Private Jeon Gwang-il, grinning as he clasped his hands together.

On his hands were menacing steel gloves.

Those gloves were the reason I suggested advancing into the military zone.

‘The soldiers’ personal equipment has been completed.’

Grandpa Park and the engineers have crafted weapons in the workshop, and now every awakened soldier has received their own customized equipment.

The combat abilities of the unit members have been significantly enhanced.

Even if the military zone has turned into a place resembling a demonic realm, it’s not completely out of reach anymore.

“Well, even so, we’re short on information. We should start with some light reconnaissance.”

“Oh, so you’re not planning a full-scale extermination operation?”

“We need intel for something like that.”

Charging blindly into an area where you don’t know what monsters might be lurking around… is nothing more than a flashy suicide mission.

“If that’s the plan, I’m fine with it.”

“Just as you said, it doesn’t sound bad.”

Thus, the expedition into the military zone began.

* * *

While we call it the military zone, it doesn’t have a clear boundary that marks the start of it.

We cautiously began our movement, and soon enough, the number of buildings around us increased.

Grrr…

“Inside that shopping mall, there’s a horde of zombies.”

The number of monsters began to rise.

By this point, we could clearly say: this is the military zone.

“Everyone, get ready.”

“Yes.”

Of course, getting ready for our unit means:

“Enjoy your meal!”

We took out combat rations and quickly ate them.

Shortly after, a new line appeared in our status windows:

[Acquired Temporary Attribute – Enhanced Hearing (Eavesdropping)]

The combat rations made with Alahfur meat had taken effect, granting us this temporary attribute.

“Ugh, this really hurts my ears.”

“Heh, but isn’t it better than dying because we let our guard down?”

Whether it’s zombies or monsters, most of them tend to make noises.

Of course, there will be exceptions, but this trait is perfect for reconnaissance while minimizing combat.

There are drawbacks, though.

‘Ugh…’

The pain from the incredibly amplified sounds is intense.

However, this discomfort doesn’t last long.

Over time, you get somewhat used to it, and the pain lessens.

As the pain started to subside, I glanced around.

I could see all the soldiers standing with tense expressions.

The reason was clear.

The sounds we heard with [Enhanced Hearing (Eavesdropping)] were numerous.

‘There are too many.’

Just how many monsters and zombies are gathered in this military zone?

‘But there’s no need to get discouraged.’

It’s not like all those creatures will come at us at once.

“Everyone, we’re moving in.”

“Yes.”

Cautiously, we began searching the buildings within the military zone.

‘There are nearly twenty sounds coming from that building alone, so let’s avoid it for now…’

Using our heightened hearing to minimize engagements, we focused on buildings that seemed worth investigating.

“This place is clear.”

“Well, it’s been a long time, after all.”

Restaurants, convenience stores, all were thoroughly ransacked.

I entered a small snack bar and looked towards the counter.

There lay a decaying corpse, slumped over the counter.

The shape had deteriorated to the point where it was hard to recognize.

Yet, despite that, her face seemed familiar.

“The lady from the snack bar. She’s passed away.”

Honestly, there weren’t many fond memories around this neighborhood.

It was an off-limits area for our unit.

There were a few places that charged soldiers exorbitant prices, knowing they couldn’t go elsewhere for outings or visits.

Probably more disliked than liked by the members of our unit.

But seeing her like this, it couldn’t help but stir up mixed feelings.

“All that’s left now are corpses.”

Last time, during the raid on the market, I felt something similar.

During our growth in the unit,

It seemed like all the resources on the surface had already fallen into others’ hands.

Though we succeeded in awakening all our unit members,

Our spent time didn’t go in vain, but

It was clear that the people on the surface weren’t just idling around.

As we progressed with our search to some extent,

We encountered a group of survivors.

“Stay back.”

“D-don’t come any closer.”

“……”

Their reaction was unexpected – in a world overrun by monsters, seeing soldiers should have warranted a different response.

But seems like they are,

“Deserters.”

I understood the reason behind their reaction, yet it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“If you insist on coming closer, we’ll have no choice but to show that we’re no pushovers either.”

“They seem to have heard us.”

“That’s enough.”

“…Young-joon?”

Sergeant Min-jae seemed annoyed and was about to say something.

.

But I intervened.

“They’re just afraid of us.”

“……”

“I understand the reason they’re wary of us, so there’s no need to impose ourselves on them forcefully.”

“But…”

Min-jae frowned thoughtfully.

“If that’s the case, our expansion of influence will inevitably be delayed.”

Yeah.

That’s the crux of the matter.

To carry out our occupation mission, we need to grow our influence.

Recruiting survivors is essential in this process.

“But every survivor we meet treats us like potential threats.”

Unless we completely shed the identity of a military unit,

It seems like it will take ages just to improve perceptions about us.

As recruitment of survivors gets delayed,

We’ll likely suffer losses in future operations.

Yet, we can’t forcefully compel them to join us.

As we pondered over what to do,

Suddenly…

[Enhanced Hearing]

Strange sounds were picked up.

Thud…

Clang…

Groan…

Sounds of combat.

And in between,

Moans of humans.

“This is…”

The sound of metal clashing against metal.

It wasn’t a battle between humans and monsters.

It was humans against humans.

A conflict among our own kind was unfolding nearby.

And…

“It’s getting closer.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Translator: One Force

TL Note:

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