Chapter 87

Although there were only a few dozen of us, taking control of the Homeplus building was not difficult.

This was thanks to the fact that vampires had been hiding among them and that the retainers had easily subdued them.

The people, under the retainers' control, exited the Homeplus building and gathered in the wide square. At the center of the gathering were nineteen vampires, kneeling like beasts and growling.

Unable to leave the Homeplus premises where the domain wasn’t established, I climbed to the rooftop to observe the scene from above.

Raising a megaphone, I began to speak.

[Testing, testing.]

The eyes of the crowd slowly turned toward the rooftop.

After finishing the microphone check, I officially addressed them.

[Greetings, everyone.]

My voice echoed across the square through the megaphone.

The remaining citizens, who had been staring at the vampires, now turned their attention to me.

[Some of you may have already realized this, but those creatures are vampires who had been hiding among you.]

The eyes of those who had narrowly escaped vampire attacks or had witnessed them up close grew cold and sharp.

Everyone here bore a deep-seated hatred for vampires.

This was because most of the people gathered here had experienced the death of family members or friends at the hands of vampires.

The revelation that vampires had been pretending to be companions while hiding their true nature infuriated them.

“Those traitorous bastards!"

"I’ll kill them with my own hands!"

"Kill them!"

Some people charged toward the vampires with fierce determination but were stopped by Jang Seong-jun’s telekinesis.

His A-rank telekinesis, which had improved significantly, effortlessly restrained dozens of people.

“Kim’s a vampire? Is this true?"

“Judging by their reaction, it doesn’t seem like a baseless claim. They say he tried to bite those nearby."

"Wait a minute, now that I think about it… I have a suspicion. Back then…”

Some people were still skeptical, but the notion that a dozen or so vampires could remain hidden among the survivors without leaving any traces was nearly impossible.

"What? That really happened?"

"I'm telling you! At the time, I thought I was mistaken, but now it all makes sense if that guy is a vampire!"

"...Damn it."

"Why? Do you have a suspicion too?"

"...Do you know what happens if you sleep with a vampire?"

"…You don’t catch something, do you?"

With testimonies popping up from all directions, the vampires' identities became increasingly solidified in people's minds.

"Where’s the team leader?”

“Did you hear the rumor? They say the team leader was a vampire too.”

“Team Leader Shin Jung-min? What nonsense are you spouting?”

There was no need to inform everyone of all the details. Doing so would only incite unnecessary chaos.

“Who are those people?"

“I don’t know. Aren’t they from headquarters?"

"That makes sense. How else would they have all those guns?"

"The people from headquarters are incredible. How did they identify the vampires so quickly?”

Before long, the crowd came to perceive us as being part of the Comprehensive Sports Complex Group's headquarters.

[These creatures cunningly infiltrated your community, pretending to be ordinary people, while secretly revealing their true nature and taking innocent lives.]

Angry voices erupted from the crowd.

[We are here to expose their crimes to the world and punish them.]

Some sharp individuals began to grasp the purpose of this gathering and started demanding the vampires' execution.

"Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!"

Under their lead, the cries for the vampires' deaths grew louder and more numerous.

There was no one here compassionate enough to pity the vampires who survived by drinking human blood.

Everyone present had endured too much loss—because of vampires.

'Exile the nineteen vampires.'

The reason for dragging them outside instead of dealing with them inside Homeplus was precisely this.

When their citizenship was revoked, the vampires momentarily showed expressions of relief as if freed from their torment.

I issued an order to the retainers restraining the vampires.

[Execute them.]

The moment my voice, carried by the megaphone, resounded throughout the square—

Bang! Bang!

Gunfire echoed, and bullets tore through the vampires' hearts.

[You have hunted a Low-Level Vampire (Lv. 22).]

[You have hunted a Low-Level Vampire (Lv. 26).]

[You have hunted a Mid-Level Vampire (Lv. 31).]

“Wooooooo!”

The people erupted in cheers as the vampires were executed.

[Citizen Kim Joo-won’s trust level has increased.]

[Citizen Jung Guk-il’s trust level has increased.]

[Citizen Lim Chae-eun’s trust level has increased.]

The crowd's cheers carried a hint of madness.

The frustration of surviving in this twisted world and their rage toward the vampires were embodied in those shouts.

This was the world we lived in.

In a world gone mad, you couldn’t survive without going a little mad yourself.

'Absolute Vision.'

I activated the skill as I looked toward the room where Park Sae-rom and Seo Ye-jin were waiting.

'Teleport.'

The teleport skill I acquired when Moon Byung-ho’s trust level reached 100 allowed me to combine it with Absolute Vision.

Although greater distances required more mental energy, I had yet to experience any strain.

“Oh, you’re here,” Park Sae-rom greeted me awkwardly.

“So… what should I do from now on?”

I smiled faintly and replied, “Surprising.”

“Pardon?”

"I thought you’d speak informally when we first met."

Park Sae-rom’s face turned red as she stammered an apology.

“T-that’s… I-I’m sorry.”

What I meant as a light joke to ease the tension seemed to have backfired, as she hung her head low like a scolded child.

Sighing lightly, I shifted the topic.

“Your supply team’s main job was to provide resources to the Central District Group and the Cha-ri unit dispatched there, correct?”

The Central District Group, headquartered just above the Taehwa River, fought daily battles against vampires crossing the river.

Thanks to their sacrifices, the Comprehensive Sports Complex Group could enjoy relative stability, providing resources and deploying the Cha-ri combat unit.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Continue doing what you’ve been doing. Let us know what supplies you need, and we’ll provide them.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and starting today, you’re the leader of Supply Team 3.”

“Yes, I… What?”

Park Sae-rom’s eyes widened as she asked in disbelief.

“You heard me. You’ll lead this team.”

After a few hiccups, she reluctantly nodded.

“I’ll do my best!”

[Citizen Park Sae-rom’s trust level has significantly increased.]@@novelbin@@

Contrary to my expectations, Park Sae-rom performed well as a team leader.

While some initially opposed her, that resistance didn’t last long.

After all, I provided unlimited supplies to back her up.

How many people could hold a grudge against someone who brought them from worrying about daily survival to pondering what to eat for dinner?

While Park Sae-rom managed Supply Team 3, I and my retainers were busy gathering precise information about this area.

The busiest of all was Seo Ye-jin.

The mice she had tamed spread across Ulsan, serving as scouts.

By combining her sensory-sharing ability with Absolute Vision, we gained an almost perfect understanding of the survivor groups situated north of the Taehwa River.

"Unbelievable."

The situation was far worse than I had anticipated.

"The higher-ups of the organizations are all vampires."

The Comprehensive Sports Complex Group, the Central District Group, and the Industrial Zone Group.

Vampires were at the center of these three major survivor factions.

In fact, the top positions in all three groups were occupied by high-ranking vampires.

The only places untouched by vampires were small survivor groups clustered in apartment complexes or tiny villages.

"Ridiculous."

The entirety of Ulsan was effectively in the palm of the vampires.

This wasn’t a case of survivors and vampires fighting a precarious balance of power.

The city was completely under the vampires' control, with the survivors acting as puppets dancing to their tune.

"This is like..."

A massive breeding ground.

Ulsan was now essentially a vast human farm run by vampires.

"I thought I was in a relatively safe position."

This was no different from setting up a forward base in the heart of enemy territory.

"What to do?"

The original plan had been to unite the survivor groups into a single entity.

With the abundant resources I had, it wouldn’t have been particularly difficult.

Before they caught on, I planned to issue citizenship to everyone, making them fully loyal to me. The idea was to arm them and form a military unit to wage war against the vampires.

"That’s ruined now."

It had gone awry from the start.

All the key positions in the survivor groups were occupied by vampires, so no matter what I did, information would flow straight to them.

"If that’s the case…"

My options in this situation were extremely limited.

The most provocative and effective choice was clear.

"I have no choice but to stir things up."

Mid-rank vampire Jung Hyun-seok climbed the apartment stairs with a wide grin.

After reaching a fairly high floor, he scanned the emergency staircase to ensure no humans had followed him.

"Nobody’s here."

Satisfied, he opened the door to the emergency exit and entered.

Soon, he arrived in front of Apartment 1004 and knocked rhythmically, like Morse code.

Knock-knock, knock-knock-knock.

After a moment, the door clicked open.

"You’ve arrived."

"Yes."

The door was cautiously opened.

"Is everything ready?"

"It’s perfect."

Jung Hyun-seok’s face lit up with excitement.

"Let’s go in."

Completely absorbed in the task ahead, they failed to notice the front door had briefly opened and closed again before fully shutting.

Passing through a dusty kitchen that seemed long-abandoned, they arrived at the master bedroom. In contrast to the living room, the bedroom was spotlessly clean.

"I’ve been waiting for you," said another man, bowing to Jung Hyun-seok as he entered.

In the room were four individuals, including Jung Hyun-seok and two other male vampires.

On the freshly made bed lay a naked woman, seemingly drugged, unable to regain consciousness.

Jung Hyun-seok licked his lips as he eyed her exposed body.

As he approached the bed, he made a small incision on her arm and licked it. Immediately, he frowned.

He turned to the lower-ranking vampires waiting nearby.

"How much of the drug did you inject?"

"Three doses, sir."

Jung Hyun-seok glared at him.

"I told you to limit it to two doses for smaller individuals."

The man next to him tried to defend himself.

"You said only for those under 160 centimeters..."

"Idiot. Can’t you see how thin she is? You should’ve adjusted the dosage accordingly."

"...I apologize."

After becoming a vampire, it had become far more intoxicating to drink drug-infused blood than to inject the drugs directly into their veins.

However, if the concentration of the drug was too high, the blood's taste would become dull, which annoyed him.

Jung Hyun-seok, smacking his lips, softened his expression and said, "Well, this isn’t too bad."

His face was brimming with anticipation.

Just as Jung Hyun-seok brought his mouth toward the woman’s neck—

Bang!

A loud gunshot rang out, and one of the vampires standing by collapsed.

"Huh?"

Before he could comprehend the situation—

Bang!

A second gunshot followed, and another low-ranking vampire dropped to the ground.

It wasn’t until then that Jung Hyun-seok grasped the gravity of the situation. He got up from the bed and surveyed the area with heightened vigilance.

"What… What’s going on?"

However—

Bang!

A gunshot echoed from behind him, and his heart was obliterated.

With all three vampires now dead—

Sshhh.

Moon Byung-ho materialized from thin air, wrapped the woman in a blanket, and lifted her.

Standing by the veranda window, he glanced outside.

Swoosh.

As Moon Byung-ho and the woman disappeared, the three vampire corpses in the room began to slowly vanish as well.