Chapter 84

Park Sae-rom muttered while chewing on a chocolate bar.

"It's not like the entire Ulsan area is crawling with vampires. It's roughly... about half?"

It wasn’t an entirely hopeless figure.

At least it didn’t mean the whole city had turned into vampires.

"The southern part, below the Taehwa River, is vampire territory, so it’s dangerous. But as soon as you cross the river, it’s fine. Over there, humans are more dangerous!"

Listening to her through the Absolute One’s Eyes, something felt off.

This place was clearly located south of the Taehwa River.

In other words, it was vampire territory.

I immediately activated the Ring of Communication and conveyed my thoughts to Kim Geon.

[Could you ask her why she was being chased in vampire territory?]

Kim Geon nodded slightly and parroted my words.

"If this area is vampire territory, why were you being chased here?"

"Ah, that? Things just got a little messy."

Finishing off the chocolate bar, Park Sae-rom effortlessly switched to informal speech.

"Anyway, how much more of that stuff can you make? Like the one from earlier?"

When Kim Geon gave her a sour look, Park Sae-rom glanced around nervously and added a polite tone.

"Y-you?"

I chuckled at the exchange and bought a 1.25-liter bottle of cola and a pack of ABC chocolates from the shop.

Buzz—

The cold cola and chocolates materialized mid-air, and Park Sae-rom’s eyes immediately sharpened.

Before Kim Geon could grab them, she darted forward and snatched both the cola and chocolates.

Finally, I got my answer.

"Why do you think I risked my life coming all the way here? Obviously, to get food. I have people I need to feed."

Before even finishing the food in her hands, she was already back to speaking informally.

Kim Geon let out a faint laugh, but Park Sae-rom leaned in and made a suggestion in a sweet voice.

"So, about that... Could you maybe come with me for a bit?"

Kim Geon’s silent gaze, which seemed like a polite refusal, made Park Sae-rom’s voice grow even more urgent.

"No, seriously. Judging by how you look, you’ve got a lot of questions, too. Why don’t we go somewhere safer and have a more in-depth conversation?"

She had a point.

Talking here, in vampire territory, wasn’t exactly the best idea.

'Honestly, I’ve already learned what I needed to know.'

It was a huge gain just to confirm that there were still survivor groups north of the Taehwa River.

'The only other useful information might be about their organization.'

From what Park Sae-rom said, it didn’t sound like all the survivor groups were united.

I was curious about their situation.

[Let’s go and hear her out. I’m also curious about why humans are more dangerous.]

Kim Geon nodded slightly and asked,@@novelbin@@

"Where do we need to go?"

"First, transform."

As Kim Geon reverted to his black-winged form, Park Sae-rom stared at him in amazement and pointed across the river.

"Over there."

"Got it."

Kim Geon confirmed the direction and flapped his wings, soaring into the sky.

"Huh? Wait! I’m not on yet—!"

Park Sae-rom’s sentence was cut short.

Kim Geon had already grabbed her by both shoulders with his talons and lifted her into the air.

"Hey! Wait a second! That hurts! It really hurts!"

"Just bear with it."

"You son of a—! Carry me on your back!"

"No."

"Why?!"

Kim Geon spoke flatly.

"You stink."

Park Sae-rom froze, her face filled with shock.

"...What?"

"You reek. Badly."

It was true.

The Absolute One’s Eyes didn’t just provide vision—they also detected scents and airflow, and Park Sae-rom did, in fact, smell terrible.

It made sense.

In this ruined world, where even finding drinking water was a struggle, the chance to properly wash was practically nonexistent.

I was once again reminded of how much of a blessing my domain’s resources truly were.

"You bastard! Get down here! Now!"

Park Sae-rom thrashed and shouted, but Kim Geon remained calm.

"Hold still. You’ll fall."

"Ugh."

Glancing down at the ground far below, Park Sae-rom quickly quieted down.

With a look of satisfaction, Kim Geon flapped his wings harder, winning the battle of wills.

"...That’s all."

Seo Nuri bowed deeply as she finished her report.

She clenched her eyes shut.

The more she spoke, the more she realized how insignificant her findings seemed.

All she’d gathered was information about a giant tree, a massive protective wall, and something called “citizenship.”

She hadn’t figured out how those things had led to the deaths of Jeong Yeong-hoon and Go In-seok.

Bracing herself for criticism, she waited.

"Interesting."

!!

Seo Nuri’s eyes snapped open in surprise.

"A tree only the size of an apartment building, huh."

She was flustered.

It was the first time she’d seen the man in front of her show any emotion.

He always wore an expressionless face, issuing orders like a machine.

The idea of him smiling had never crossed her mind.

"Hmm."

Sinking deeper into the sofa, the man raised his wine glass.

He swirled the crimson liquid—blood—before taking a sip and giving a short command.

"Guide me."

Seo Nuri blinked in confusion.

"Pardon?"

The man calmly set his glass on the table and rose from his seat.

Then he spoke again.

"Guide me to where that tree is. I’m going there myself."

It took a moment for his words to register.

Seo Nuri quickly responded, flustered.

"Y-yes, sir! I’ll take you there immediately!"

********

The place Park Sae-rom guided us to was a Homeplus, housing a sizable survivor group.

It was a massive organization with a population nearing a thousand.

But what intrigued me more was—

"Yo, Park Sae-rom. Still alive, huh? Who’s the newbie behind you?"

"Back off. I’ve already claimed him."

"What? Now I’m even more curious because you said that."

"Go eat shit."

A rough exchange of greetings with a middle-aged man.

He was:

『Jung Woong (Lv. 21)』

Awakening Ability: Stone Fist

'Another one.'

An awakened.

'That’s already the third one.'

I’d only encountered about a hundred people in this thousand-strong group, yet I’d already found three awakened individuals—including Park Sae-rom.

'Five total now, counting everyone I’ve met so far.'

And I hadn’t even conducted a full sweep of the population.

Just following Park Sae-rom to the Homeplus rooftop, I’d already spotted two more awakened among the crowd.

'Why are there so many?'

Based on my experience, this ratio didn’t make any sense.

'This shouldn’t be possible.'

Out of over 50,000 people I’d taken in so far, there had only been six Naturals—those like Ha Dong-geon and Oh Eon-ju, who were awakened before becoming vassals.

That was roughly one awakened per 8,000 people.

Yet here, with just around a thousand people, there were already three.

'This place might be a hidden treasure trove.'

Naturals generally showed better performance, whether they became vassals or signed subordination contracts.

For me, gaining citizens with high potential was a jackpot.

'It’s frustrating that I can’t issue citizenship right away.'

Park Sae-rom led the way, confidently pushing open a door marked “Staff Only” in the dimly lit Homeplus.

The glow of a flashlight welcomed us.

"Ugh. Haven’t you cleaned this up?"

"What’s up, Park Sae-rom?"

"Oh? You’re back already?"

"What the hell? You’re early. Failed, huh?"

Park Sae-rom flipped them off.

"Screw you guys. Is that how you talk to a leader who barely made it out alive?"

"Leader, my ass. Where’s your backpack?"

"I ditched it to survive, you bastards."

She shook her head irritably, probably recalling the chase by the vampires, and tossed the cola and chocolates onto a sofa.

"Whoa, is that cola?"

"Oh! Guess you didn’t completely fail after all."

While her companions tore into the chocolates, Park Sae-rom grabbed the flashlight on the table and shone it at Kim Geon.

"So, what are you curious about, dear customer?"

"Who’s this guy?"

"Shut up and stay still."

Her tone oozed confidence, clearly intending to milk us for information fees—probably spurred by Kim Geon’s earlier comments.

'No need to waste time.'

I’d already glanced through the Homeplus during our approach.

The situation wasn’t great.

From their worn-out faces and shabby appearances, it was obvious they were short on supplies.

Large supermarkets like this had clear advantages—access to tools, food, and other essentials.

But even a well-stocked warehouse couldn’t sustain them forever.

They were already reaching their limit.

Park Sae-rom had risked her life just to scavenge some food.

'Open the shop.'

I decided to give them what they craved the most.

And far more than they expected.

'Shock therapy.'

Cans of water, tuna, and Spam.

Ramen, fruits, snacks, drinks—an avalanche of supplies materialized in boxes around Kim Geon.

"W-what?"

Park Sae-rom cautiously approached the growing mountain of boxes, opened one, and—

Rip—

It was filled with cola, her favorite.

"No way."

She froze like a broken robot.

"...Amazing."

Then—

"Huaaaaah!"

She burst into tears.

I was momentarily stunned by the unexpected reaction.

Even Kim Geon stood awkwardly frozen in front of her.

Her comrades inside reacted quickly.

"Sae-rom? What’s wrong?"

"Are you okay?"

"What is it?"

They gathered around her, confused by the sudden sobbing and the piles of boxes.

"I-I don’t get it... What’s going on?"

"What the hell? Where did all this come from?"

As they stared at the supplies in disbelief—

"Ahhh!"

"Sae-rom, calm down!"

Her comrades tried to console her as she sat on the floor, crying uncontrollably.

Meanwhile—

"Holy shit! Look! It’s ramen!"

"What? No way!"

Chaos erupted as they tore through the boxes.

"Wait, why is it all Jin Ramyeon Mild?!"

"Hey, Jin Ramyeon’s good, okay?"

"Whatever, just gimme one. I’m eating it raw."

In the middle of the frenzy, Park Sae-rom crawled over to Kim Geon, tears still streaming down her face.

"A-anything you want to know... hic... just ask, master... hic."

The shock therapy had worked—too well.

'Feels a little bittersweet.'

Still, she’d risked her life to feed her people.

That wasn’t something just anyone could do.

"Hic, this is like winning the lottery. Hic, jackpot!"

From that moment on, Park Sae-rom answered every question sincerely, like a devoted servant.