Chapter 289

Episode 289

The day dawned and Lee Jae-heon finally brought up the topic.

“I’d like to talk about two issues, but...”

“I’m already feeling anxious. “What is it?”

“The first is moving to a shelter.”

Munsan-gun flinched and looked at Lee Jae-heon, but it wasn’t because of Munsan-gun.

“It is very difficult to provide food here.”

On a mountain this size, there might have been one or two types of edible grass or fruit, but no matter how much the foraging team searched around, all they found was dry land, bug monsters, and a root or two of mugwort. For reference, the mugwort was dried and used as a substitute for tea leaves.

“I heard you said you ran out of cash?”

“you’re right. Now, if it’s not cash, you have to exchange it with barter...”

“What convenience stores want is mostly human body parts. Isn’t it?”

“That is also true. “It’s troublesome.”

Ha Seong-yoon nodded.

“Aside from fingernails... organs that cannot be removed unless the belly skin is opened are often required. Things like the gallbladder and stomach. “You can’t put something like that out there.”

In fact, I wondered if the doctor, Ha Seong-yoon, could provide a clean laparotomy if the situation were to arise, but Lee Jae-heon quietly swallowed that thought. There were many other alternatives, so there was no reason to cut someone’s ship. The mental strength of Ha Seong-yoon, the person responsible for splitting the ship, must also be taken into consideration.

“There is a way to find a convenience store other than that one... but it is less efficient.”

It was too inefficient to kill the monster and obtain a little food. Lee Jae-heon suggested that it might be better to change residence altogether.

“It’s not that far away. “I don’t think it’s that bad to have a vegetable garden in front of an apartment complex.”

“It’s okay. At that distance, Lee Jae-heon and others will be able to travel without burden...”

Vivian joined in Ha Seong-yoon’s muttering.

“There was definitely a lot to eat. “Regardless of whether or not there was poison inside, there was a strong feeling that it was a garden managed by someone.”

“Oh, I see. I don’t think the monsters got inside properly... Uhm, sorry. I don’t remember this very well. But I’m sure there were a lot of things growing in the garden.”

Ki-Jeong Kim nodded along with Vivian. It seems that the apartment complex where Do-yoon Han was saved was the building next to the garden that Jae-heon Lee was talking about. When Kim Ki-jeong’s opinion coincided with the information that Kang Min-ah had given her earlier, Lee Jae-heon nodded inwardly.

‘I guess monsters tend to invade the garden.’

Jaeheon Lee thought for a moment and said.

“...Of course, there is a high probability that there are some rules in the garden.”

“yes? But a garden is not a building.”

“Nevertheless, since it was a garden managed by apartment residents, wouldn’t there have been rules in reality? “Don’t go into other people’s gardens, don’t throw away trash, and make sure to only use water from somewhere else... I don’t know much, but aren’t there roughly these rules?”

“It may not be a very onerous rule, but there will definitely be sanctions.”

“In fact, taking the harvest from the garden is an unexpected theft from the garden owner’s perspective.”

“Then wouldn’t it be difficult to supply our own food from the garden?”

“But vegetable gardens... especially gardens managed by apartment complexes, are a bit of a different story.”

Han Do-yoon agreed with Lee Jae-heon’s words in his characteristic bright voice.

“Usually, people who grow something in their garden are generous! “It’s something to look forward to.”

Lee Jae-heon was secretly impressed by how bright and innocent he looked for someone who had been kidnapped, imprisoned, and violently assaulted.

‘If you look closely, the tendons are really thick. Kim Ki-jeong and others were very worried....’

As he was a person who had gone through a difficult situation, people around him were worried about him and trying to take care of him, knowingly or unknowingly. Although Han Do-yoon himself may not have felt it.

He continued speaking in his characteristic bright voice.

“Some of the people who live on the same floor as me have family members who have a vegetable garden, and we often receive well-grown vegetables. “He can’t eat it all by himself.”

“Ah... That’s right, actually, it’s difficult to deal with even from the perspective of someone who gardens. Usually, when you grow one crop, you get a basketful of it, but if it’s a type of fruit that you can eat from time to time, it’s a waste to give it to others, like eggplant or zucchini, that need cooking. “If you leave it at home anyway, it will rot because it is a hassle to cook and eat.”

Kwon Yeon-hee nodded loudly at Han Do-yoon’s words, and Kang Min-ah blinked.

“Uh... did you garden? “I didn’t know.”

“Oh no. Not now... when I lived with my parents. “I had a vegetable garden at my parents’ house, so we managed it together.”

“Wow....”

“...Are you going to do that if you go against your will?”

“Stray cat monsters are picky. At the very least, it is a completely different species from the abandoned monsters that were at least friendly to the survivors. They basically see humans as fellow competitors. “It is a big cat that invades its territory and harasses you... but at the same time, it is a toy that you can play with.”

“It’s not good for survivors either way.”

“Since when did monsters do good things to humans?...”

Lee Jae-heon shouted in response to the timid cries.

“It’s not your story!”

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, doesn’t he have the habit of interrupting?”

“Do it, do it, do it....”

Lee Jae-heon continued, ignoring Ha Seong-yoon, who looked dumbfounded.

“Not just those cat monsters, any monster can come up the mountain behind you. In that case, it may be better to move the shelter to a place where the rules of the underworld completely block monsters.”

“...Even if it’s the same for convenience stores... you may still end up going to the pharmacy. It seems that if you go back and forth from the shelter to the shopping center multiple times, you may attract a monster. “That is correct.”

Jeong In-ho nodded and asked.

“But it would be impossible to move it right away, right?”

“Shouldn’t you check the atmosphere of the garden at least three times? “It’s not like monsters are coming out of the mall right away, so I think it’s okay to proceed slowly.”

All survivors expressed their approval by nodding their heads at Ha Seong-yoon’s words. The survivors felt sorry that they had to always ask the search team for food.

Around that time, Lee Jae-heon opened his mouth.

“And here’s the second item on the agenda...”

“I feel ominous again, but tell me.”

“...I think it would be a good idea to explore the school again.”

“aha.”

A strange smile was drawn on Ha Seong-yoon’s face. The expression was somewhere between excitement and resignation.

“You must have a reason, right?”

“I think there’s an escape monster there.”

“It’s an escape monster... When you say it like that, it feels quite cheap.”

“There’s no reason to describe monsters in a classy way, is there?”

Lee Jae-heon slowly repeated the story he had shared with Park Da-young. Loopholes in school rules and plaster statues listed here and there. Since the facts about the regression cannot yet be revealed openly, these are just speculations that have been covered up appropriately.

“I’m not saying we should look into Unhak High School right now. The escape monster will be somewhere else... If you keep looking for it later and you get to the point where you can’t find it anymore, you can stop by the school. But....”

“After spending so much effort, it will be difficult to find that monster in Unhak High School again. Okay, I guess I should check it out before I look somewhere else.”

Hong Gyeong-jun crossed his arms and tapped his arms with his fingers. It was a habit he had when thinking about something.

“Then let’s do it like this.”

He stopped pointing his finger and continued speaking.

“Check the garden rules three times, and if there are no problems, move to the shelter, get some rest, and then enter the school. However, if there is a problem with the garden, let’s first look for other shelter sites. “It’s not urgent to go back to reality right away.”

“Over there...”

student Maeng Na-eun, who was quietly listening to the story, asked.

“Maybe we should go too? At school...”

“No way.” “We don’t have enough room to attract students.”

“But if there is someone who knows the school structure well...”

“That is correct, but it would be enough if you draw a map or tell us verbally before entering the school.”

“...Yes...”

Student Maeng Na-eun nodded slowly, but her expression was not very bright. It was not just her, but the other students wearing school uniform as well.

“....”

“....”

The students shared looks among themselves.

His gaze was as anxious and anxious as a candle swaying in the wind.